Bulls Re-Sign Kirk Hinrich
JULY 21ST: Hinrich and the Bulls have made the deal official, the team announced.
“Kirk has always been a big part of creating the professional culture we want day in, day out surrounding our club,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in the team’s statement. “He helps our team in so many ways, and Kirk had other opportunities elsewhere, but we are very happy he chose to remain in a Bulls uniform.”
JULY 13TH: 8:14pm: David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter) has the specifics. It’s a two-year, $5.6MM deal using the room exception and it includes a player option on year two.
4:06pm: The Bulls are set to re-sign Kirk Hinrich, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). The deal is more than the veteran’s minimum but less than he was offered elsewhere, according Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (on Twitter). The Hornets and Jazz were among Hinrich’s other suitors.
Earlier today, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) reported that even though the Hornets have been pursuing Hinrich, the belief was that he’d still wind up back in Chicago.
In 73 games (61 starts) last season for the Bulls, Hinrich averaged 9.1 PPG and 3.9 APG in 29 minutes per contest. Hinrich has put up a 10.8 PER over the last two seasons, a far cry from the 17.0 PER he put up in his best season for the Bulls (2006-07).
Spurs Re-Sign Matt Bonner
JULY 21ST: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 13TH: 4:40pm: It’s a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
4:17pm: Matt Bonner sent a text to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter) saying, “I’m coming back.” Presumably, this means that Bonner has re-signed with the defending world champions.
There has been mutual interest in a reunion between the Spurs and Bonner and little talk of another team making a run at the forward. The Red Rocket has spent the last eight seasons with the Spurs, averaging 5.9 PPG and 3.2 RPG in silver and black. Last season, Bonner averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 11.3 minutes per contest, the least amount of playing time he’s seen in his NBA career.
Mavs Sign Richard Jefferson
JULY 21ST: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 13TH: Free agent Richard Jefferson is finalizing a one-year deal with the Mavericks, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). RJ’s deal is for the veteran’s minimum, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (on Twitter).
Jefferson, 34, spent last season with the Jazz and averaged 10.1 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 27 minutes per contest. Jefferson isn’t quite the player that he was during his Nets heyday, but the Mavs are getting a solid veteran piece for next to nothing.
While he won’t be making big bucks this season, RJ has plenty of money already in the bank. According to Basketball-Reference, Jefferson has earned nearly $107MM over the course of his career.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Chuck Myron took a comprehensive look at the Heat and the salary cap.
- Omer Asik took a long, strange road to the Pelicans and Chuck outlined it all for you in one handy post.
- Chuck also looked at the Bulls and the salary cap.
- Here’s a running list of 2014’s offseason trades.
- Eddie Scarito asked you to pick the best non-LeBron signing and Pau Gasol won the poll.
- We featured the best of your comments in Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback.
- Follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, RSS, and Twitter.
- If you missed out on this week’s chat, get caught up here.
Knicks Open To Trading Smith, Shumpert
As the Knicks work to clear out the logjam in their backcourt, they’re discussing potential trade options involving Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, and Shane Larkin, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Tim Hardaway Jr., however, has been deemed virtually untouchable according to one source.
President Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills have mentioned the Knicks’ surplus in the backcourt, with Mills saying last week the Knicks are “heavy” at shooting guard. What they can get in return for Smith, Shump, and Larkin remains to be seen, however.
The Knicks tried to include Shumpert in deals earlier in the offseason in an effort to unload the contracts of Andrea Bargnani ($11.5MM) and Amar’e Stoudemire ($23.4MM) but no deal materialized for either player. Smith has a player option in his contract for $6.4MM for the 2015/16 season and is coming off of a down year. Larkin was recently acquired from the Mavericks in the trade that also netted Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert.
The Knicks have four shooting guards on the roster as of today and they also haven’t ruled out re-signing free agent PG/SG Toure’ Murry.
Hoops Links: Butler, Lance, LeBron
On this date in 2000, Isiah Thomas was named head coach of the Pacers, replacing Larry Bird, who stepped down following the 1999-2000 NBA season. Thomas, then 39, was a 12-time All-Star and led the Pistons to two NBA championships and was the Finals MVP in 1990. He also led Indiana University to the NCAA championship in 1981. As with Bird, who was the 1997-98 NBA Coach of the Year, the Pacers’ job was Thomas’ first coaching experience. Thomas coached the Pacers to three consecutive winning seasons, though each campaign ended with a first-round ouster.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- Six Championship Drive talks D.J. Augustin and Caron Butler.
- RotoWire looks at Lance Stephenson‘s fantasy value in Charlotte.
- FanDuel has seven ways LeBron James‘ return impacts the Cavs.
- There Is No Clutch has some thoughts on LeBron leaving Miami.
- The Starting Five says it’s business, not personal, for LeBron.
- Legion Report looks at more potential offseason moves for the Cavs.
- Red Rock Fantasy Basketball talks Trevor Ariza and more in this week’s podcast.
- Lakerholicz has six reasons why Carlos Boozer makes sense for L.A.
- The Daily Dribble gives us their all-time Lakers starting five.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Week In Review: 7/14/14 – 7/20/14
Now that the Cavs have landed LeBron James, could Kevin Love be next? LeBron reached out to Love to let him know he wants him to come to Cleveland and the Cavs are reportedly willing to include Andrew Wiggins in a deal. Meanwhile, the Warriors are still in it and they may or may not be willing to part with Klay Thompson to swing a trade for Love. Here’s more from the week that was..
- The Hornets signed Lance Stephenson.
- The Heat officially re-signed Dwyane Wade.
- Thompson wants a max extension.
- Ricky Rubio wants a max five-year deal.
- The Lakers claimed Carlos Boozer off waivers after he was amnestied by the Bulls.
- The Rockets, Pelicans, and Wizards worked a three-way swap.
- Andrew Bynum might sit out 2014/15.
- The Suns and Eric Bledsoe have a gap to close.
- The Bulls are close to signing Aaron Brooks.
- The Clippers will retain Glen Davis.
- The Pistons and Kings talked Josh Smith.
- The Cavs will sign Mike Miller.
- The Bucks will sign Jerryd Bayless.
- The Heat re-signed Udonis Haslem.
- The Wizards got DeJuan Blair in a sign-and-trade.
- Kevin Seraphin has signed the Wizards‘ $3.89MM qualifying offer.
- The Knicks signed Jason Smith.
- The Lakers will sign Wesley Johnson.
- The Nets re-signed Alan Anderson.
- The Wizards re-signed Drew Gooden.
- The Pacers and Rodney Stuckey have reached agreement on a one-year deal.
- The Lakers signed Ed Davis.
- The Lakers will re-sign Xavier Henry.
- The Pelicans will sign Jimmer Fredette.
- The Bucks are pushing to move Ersan Ilyasova, unless they’re not.
- The Warriors will sign Brandon Rush.
- The Bulls sent Anthony Randolph to the Magic.
- The Suns guaranteed Shavlik Randolph‘s deal.
- The Pelicans will ink a deal with swingman John Salmons.
- The Mavericks will ink Rashard Lewis.
- The Hornets and point guard Jannero Pargo have struck a deal.
- The Thunder re-signed Grant Jerrett.
- The Cavs and James Jones agreed to a deal.
- The Raptors will cut Dwight Buycks.
- The Rockets talked with draft-and-stash prospect Kostas Papanikolaou but things didn’t work out.
- The Wizards and Garrett Temple agreed to a deal.
- The Rockets re-signed Troy Daniels.
- The Magic will sign Luke Ridnour.
- The Suns will sign Anthony Tolliver.
- The Grizzlies are eyeing Glen Grunwald and others for a front office job that could become the GM role.
- The Lakers waived Kendall Marshall. The Bucks will claim him.
- The Bulls have waived Lou Amundson, Ronnie Brewer, and Mike James.
- The Pelicans will likely waive Omri Casspi.
- The Heat signed James Ennis.
- The Rockets have been working with No. 25 pick Clint Capela to secure his buyout from Chalon-Sur-Saone of France.
- The Grizzlies will keep Nick Calathes on their roster next season.
- The Jazz and Trevor Booker agreed to a deal.
- The Pelicans will re-sign Darius Miller.
- The Bulls have offered a three-year contract to Cameron Bairstow.
- Here are some of this week’s renounced players, including the legendary Brian Scalabrine.
- The Heat signed Shabazz Napier.
- The Raptors released Diante Garrett.
- Alessandro Gentile has re-signed with his Italian team for three years.
- The Pistons have waived Josh Harrellson and Peyton Siva.
- The Celtics will keep Phil Pressey.
- The Lakers agreed to sign Ryan Kelly.
- The Rockets signed Ishmael Smith and also Joey Dorsey and Jeff Adrien. Smith was waived by the Suns.
- The Mavs signed Eric Griffin.
- Highly touted 2015 NBA draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay will play professionally overseas next year rather than attend SMU.
- The Pelicans signed Patric Young.
- Sixers second-round draft pick Vasilije Micic has an agreement to play for Bayern Munich in Germany.
- The Hornets traded Scotty Hopson to the Pelicans. It was one of three trades in four days involving the swingman, who wound up going from the Pelicans to the Rockets in their three-way swap with the Wizards.
Heat Re-Sign Chris Andersen
JULY 19TH, 12:38pm: The Heat have announced that the signing is official.
“Chris Andersen has had two great seasons with us and without him, we would not have been able to win the 2013 NBA Championship,” said president Pat Riley. “I’m happy he decided to come back and we’re looking forward to a great season from him in the power rotation.”
10:13pm: Andersen’s deal is a two-year pact in the neighborhood of $10MM, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
JULY 13TH, 7:46pm: The Heat have reached agreement with Chris Andersen on a multi-year deal, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Exact terms of the deal are not yet known.
The Cavs and Mavericks were among the teams known to have interest in Andersen. Andersen likely had interest in a reunion with LeBron, but he’ll stay put with a Heat squad that is expected to feature Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, and Mario Chalmers. Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter) adds that the Knicks made a late run at the big man.
Andersen, 36, scored 6.6 points per game this past season, the second-highest total of his 12-year career. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per contest with an 18.5 PER as Miami’s first big man off the bench.
Bulls Sign Nikola Mirotic
JULY 18TH: Mirotic’s contract is official, the team announced in a press release.
“We feel Nikola will be a great addition to our frontcourt where he he’ll be able to space the floor with his outstanding shooting ability,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said. “We’ve known Nikola for several years and we are confident he will be a great fit for our team both on and off the court. He’s a player with great potential.”
JULY 13TH: 5:48pm: Mirotic’s deal will be for $17MM+ over three years, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
5:33pm: The Bulls and Nikola Mirotic have reached agreement on a multi-year deal, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The terms of the deal are not yet known. Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com reported last week that the two sides were nearing agreement.
The 6’10” forward has to make good on his buyout of Real Madrid, but that’ll be easier than once thought since the $3MM+ can be paid out over the course of multiple years. Mirotic is the most intriguing of the NBA’s draft-and-stash prospects, with interest only growing since he became the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft. He put up modest numbers of 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game for Real Madrid this past season, but he shot 40.9% from behind the three-point line.
The Bulls aren’t bound by the rookie scale, since it’s been three years since Mirotic was drafted, but they can only pay $600K of his buyout this season, meaning the rest would have to come out of Mirotic’s salary. Still, since Real Madrid is willing to spread the buyout payments, it might not require a salary larger than the $5.305MM mid-level exception to bring him stateside. Estimates have varied from well above that amount to only $3MM.
Wizards Acquire DeJuan Blair Via Sign-And-Trade
9:23pm: The deal has been completed, the Wizards announced. Washington will receive Blair from the Mavs in exchange for the rights to Emir Preldzic, a 2009 second-round pick.
5:55pm: Blair’s contract will be for three years and $6MM, with a team option on the final year, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
WEDNESDAY, 12:51pm: The teams are on track to finalize the deal today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It remains unclear what Dallas would receive in the transaction, but presumably it wouldn’t involve any guaranteed salary.
SUNDAY, 10:25pm: The Wizards and Mavs are in advanced discussions on a potential sign-and-trade that would send DeJuan Blair to Washington, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Wizards have strong interest in the big man and are in talks to see if a sign-and-trade is possible before the Mavs are forced to renounce him (link).
Blair, who was used inconsistently by the Spurs and hardly at all in the postseason, signed with the Mavericks last summer on a one-year deal. In 15.6 minutes per contest, Blair averaged 6.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG for Dallas last season. For his career, Blair has averaged 7.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 18.2 minutes per night.