Bulls Sign Vladimir Radmanovic
THURSDAY, 3:25pm: The Bulls formally announced the signing today in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 10:24pm: The Bulls have signed Vladimir Radmanovic to a one-year deal, the forward confirmed to David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. Radmanovic says that the deal will be announced by the club tomorrow.
Radmanovic, 31, averaged 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 49 games for the Hawks in 2011/12. For his career, the veteran has averaged 8.2 PPG and 3.9 RPG while shooting 38% from beyond the arc.
Odds & Ends: Delfino, Jamison, Knicks, Lopez
The Celtics have expressed some interest in Bucks swingman Carlos Delfino with O.J. Mayo off the market and Courtney Lee likely being too pricey, a source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter). Delfino, a restricted free agent, averaged 9.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 28.5 minutes per game last year for Milwaukee. Here’s more from around the Association..
- Antawn Jamison had a two-year $8MM offer to play for his hometown Bobcats, but agent Makhtar N’Diaye’s reminder about the forward’s will to win pushed him to choose the Lakers instead. The veteran reportedly signed for the veteran’s minimum.
- The Knicks will be forced to fill out their roster with minimum contracts and Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com has a list of players that could fit the bill. Among them are Delfino, Ronnie Brewer, Maurice Evans, Jodie Meeks, Mickael Pietrus, Sonny Weems, and Marco Belinelli.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich indicated to reporters, including Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio News-Express (via Twitter), that contract talks with Tim Duncan were rather simple. “He was just as big a pain in the neck as he was went he almost went to Orlando,” said the coach, referring to the big man’s brief flirtation with the Magic during the summer of 2000.
- Nets center Brook Lopez plans to use this summer’s Dwight Howard trade talk as motivation in 2012/13, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday.
Nuggets Re-Sign JaVale McGee
The Nuggets announced that they have re-signed free agent center JaVale McGee to a multiyear contract. The deal is for four years and worth $44MM, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The big man averaged 11.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 2.16 BPG in 61 games for the Nuggets and Wizards last season.
Denver acquired McGee from the Wizards as part of a three-team deal on March 15th that sent Nene to Washington. The athletic 24-year-old had a number of memorable mental lapses on the court during his time with the Wizards but appeared to turn a corner with the Nuggets.
“JaVale did a tremendous job for us after the trade,” Executive VP Masai Ujiri said in the release. “He worked hard on the court and did everything our coaches asked of him. Plus, he’s only 24 years old. With our coaching staff, he’s only going to get better.”
McGee turned in a pair of brilliant performances in the Nuggets' first-round series against the Lakers. The 7-footer put up 16 points and 15 rebounds Game 3 and followed that up with 21 points and 14 boards in Game 5.
Late last week, it was reported that the Nuggets offered McGee a five-year deal worth $50MM. The reported pact gives McGee a slightly higher average annual value while allowing him to re-enter the open market before his 29th birthday. The length and value of the deal is strikingly similar to the four-year, $43MM offer sheet that the Clippers matched last offseason in order to keep DeAndre Jordan away from the Warriors.
Blazers Notes: Cap Room, Batum, Sampson
Earlier today, the Trail Blazers announced that they have officially matched the Timberwolves’ offer for forward Nicolas Batum. It always seemed like Portland was going to keep the restrictred free agent this summer, but Minnesota made the Blazers dig deep in order to do so. The offer sheet for Batum was reportedly $46.5MM over four years and includes incentives and a 15% trade kicker that could increase the overall value to $50MM. Here’s more out of Portland..
- General Manager Neil Olshey says that the Blazers have a $3.5MM trade exception from the Raymond Felton deal with the Knicks, meaning that they are still technically over the cap, tweets Jeff Kramer of Storyteller’s Contracts.
- Olshey told reporters, including Ben Golliver of Blazer’s Edge (via Twitter) that the offer sheet wasn’t for as much as reports indicated, though he did not give a figure for its actual value. The GM also acknowledged that the club did its due diligence and talked sign-and-trade with Minnesota before opting to retain Batum.
- Olshey reiterated that he is in “no rush” to hire a head coach and said his search will extend beyond the summer league period, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
- Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson says that the Blazers inquired about him in regards to the head coaching job but hasn’t been asked to interview, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Earlier this week it was reported that the club will interview Patrick Ewing for the job, but it is believed to just be a courtesy.
Bobcats Pull Qualifying Offer To Derrick Brown
The Bobcats have rescinded their qualifying offer to Derrick Brown, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The Bobcats extended the offer to Brown, valued at nearly $1.1MM, on the same day that they made D.J. Augustin a restricted free agent.
Brown, 24, enjoyed a career year for the Bobcats as he averaged 8.1 PPG with 3.6 RPG in just over 22 minutes per game. However, it wasn't likely that Brown would see that kind of playing time with the Bobcats this year with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeffery Taylor expected to see major minutes at the three.
The 6'7" forward was a second-round pick of the Bobcats in 2009 before being waived in 2011 and hooking on with the Knicks. Brown found his way back to Charlotte last winter for the minimum salary.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Rush, Warriors
Here’s a look at the latest out of the Pacific Division..
- The Lakers have stayed in contact with the Cavaliers in hopes of orchestrating a three-way deal with the Magic involving Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, but little progress has been made and no deal is remotely close, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Right now, the Cavs don’t seem willing to part with any of their young players including Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Kyrie Irving.
- Jordan Hill‘s agent Kevin Bradbury says the T’Wolves are “right there” with Lakers but there probably won’t be a deal reached tonight because he’s flying home from Vegas, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- The lack of news on the Warriors re-signing Brandon Rush doesn’t mean that they won’t re-sign him, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. GM Bob Myers is likely waiting for an over-the-cap club to extend him an offer sheet for the mid-level so that they can match.
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) knows that Antawn Jamison is 36 and shot 40% last season but believes that he’ll help the Lakers’ reserves immensely. The forward agreed to terms with the club earlier today.
Ray Allen Signs With Heat
JULY 15 12:40pm: According to a Miami Herald report, Ray Allen's contract has a player option for the 2013-14 season, giving the lethal three-point shooter an opt-out opportunity should things not work out after the first year.
WEDNESDAY, 10:02am: The Heat have officially signed Allen, the team announced in a press release.
FRIDAY, 8:52pm: The Heat have reached agreement on a deal with free agent guard Ray Allen, Heat owner Micky Arison announced via Twitter. The agreement was confirmed by agent Jim Tanner, tweets Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated. The veteran is widely expected to sign for the mini mid-level exception, worth $3.09MM per year.
Odds & Ends: Fields, Scola, Blazers, Gordon
The Knicks’ deadline to match Landry Fields’ 3-year, $18.7MM offer sheet from the Raptors is tonight at 11pm CDT. If they match Lin and Fields, the Knicks will have roughly $86MM committed to those two plus Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler for the 2014-15 season, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Include Jason Kidd and Steve Novak and it’s more than $92MM committed to seven players. The luxury tax penalties really start to get stiff in 2013/14 and that could make the Knicks' decision on Fields a difficult one. Here's more from around the Association..
Central Notes: Scola, Cavs, Korver, Pistons
Yesterday, the Rockets officially used their amnesty clause to release forward Luis Scola. It's possible that the big man will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent, but there are interested teams out there, including one out of the Central division..
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Lin, Smith, Knicks
Earlier this week, the Nets backed out of the Dwight Howard sweepstakes and instead opted to re-sign restricted free agent Brook Lopez. General Manager Billy King told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, that it was clearly time to walk away from the talks and focus on the pieces that are already in Brooklyn. “At some point, you have to decide that you’ve got a young center who is pretty good,” King said of Lopez. “It was about getting him under contract and getting him focused, and getting our team focused." Here's more out of the Atlantic..