- The Pistons are reaping the benefits of Andre Drummond‘s decision to put off his extension until this summer, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Because Drummond waited on his big-money deal, Detroit had the cap room to trade for Tobias Harris during the season and then sign free agents Jon Leuer, Ish Smith and Boban Marjanovic. “We either wouldn’t have been able to do Tobias during the year, or if we had done Tobias, we wouldn’t have been able to add the people we added this summer,” said coach/executive Stan Van Gundy. “It goes to Andre’s character, his true commitment to the Detroit Pistons beyond just getting the contract and [owner Tom Gores’] commitment and his relationship with Andre.”
- Andre Drummond‘s new five-year max deal with the Pistons includes an 8% trade kicker, league sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Players earning a max salary can’t exceed that salary via a trade kicker, but with the salary cap set to get another bump next year and in subsequent seasons, Drummond will technically be earning less than his max after the first year of the contract.
JULY 15th, 12:01pm: The signing is official, the Pistons announced via press release.
JULY 1st, 11:40am: The two sides have reached an agreement on a five-year, max deal that includes a player option for the final season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
3:20am: The Pistons and restricted free agent center Andre Drummond are closing in on an agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary contract, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). If it’s a max deal, the exact value won’t be determined until next week when the cap is set, but it’s expected to be in the $125-130MM range.
[RELATED: Pistons, Ish Smith agree to three-year contract]
Drummond entered July as one of the top restricted free agents on the market, along with Bradley Beal of the Wizards. Like Drummond, Beal is nearing a five-year max deal with his team. Stein tweets that both agreements are expected to be finalized later on Friday, then will become official sometime after the moratorium ends.
Drummond, who turns 23 in August, earned his first All-Star nod in 2015/16 and was named to the All-NBA third team. The former ninth overall pick led the NBA in total offensive rebounds for the third consecutive seasons, averaging a career-high 16.2 points and an NBA-best 14.8 rebounds per game for the season.
Although he continued to provide rebounding, rim protection, and efficient offense, Drummond’s one glaring weakness is his free-throw shooting. His free-throw percentage dipped to a career-worst 35.5% in 2015/16 as he was getting to the line more than ever (7.2 attempts per game).
Still, it appears the Pistons are willing to cement Drummond as a long-term fixture in Detroit, despite his free-throw woes. Drummond’s cap hold is currently a modest $8.18MM, so if the team wants to make the most of its cap room, it may hold off on finalizing the big man’s new deal until it uses up all its space. The Pistons hold Drummond’s Bird Rights and can go over the cap to lock him up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
1:41pm: The Pistons have officially signed Gbinije, the team announced in a press release.
1:29pm: The Pistons have agreed to terms on a deal with Michael Gbinije, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). Gbinije, who was the 49th overall pick in this year’s draft, will sign a three-year contract with Detroit, per Charania.
While the terms of Gbinije’s first NBA contract aren’t yet known, the Pistons have the flexibility to offer him three years because the team has yet to use all of its cap room. Andre Drummond‘s new maximum-salary deal will eventually eat up Detroit’s remaining cap room when it’s made official, but for now, Drummond’s cap hold only counts for about $8MM, giving the team some flexibility.
Gbinije, who turned 24 this year, averaged 17.5 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.9 SPG during his senior year at Syracuse, making 39.1% of his three-point attempts. Given his extensive college experience, the rookie wing could be ready to contribute to the Pistons immediately as a part of the team’s regular-season rotation.
For the full breakdown of which of this year’s 60 draftees have agreed to NBA deals and which ones are set to play overseas, be sure to check out our list of 2016 draft pick signings.
JULY 12: The Pistons have officially signed Marjanovic, the team announced today in a press release. We heard on Sunday that San Antonio wouldn’t be matching Detroit’s offer sheet for the big center.
JULY 7: The Pistons are set to sign Spurs restricted free agent Boban Marjanovic to an offer sheet worth $21MM over three years, league sources tell ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). Once Marjanovic officially puts pen to paper and the Spurs receive the offer sheet, San Antonio will have three days to match it.
Marjanovic, who turns 28 in August, joined the Spurs a year ago, and saw a little action during his first year as an NBA player. Appearing in 54 game, the 7’3″ center averaged 9.4 minutes per contest, making the most of that playing time by averaging 5.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG to go along with a .603 FG%. The sample size was small, but Marjanovic’s production worked out to 21.0 PPG and 13.7 RPG per 36 minutes.
The Pistons’ reported contract agreements will use up all their salary cap space, but because the team’s deal with Andre Drummond is not yet official, the team still has some room to fit in Marjanovic’s offer sheet. Drummond will earn a maximum salary of $22MM+ in 2016/17, but for now, he’s still on Detroit’s books for cap hold worth just over $8MM.
As for the Spurs, they had to move Boris Diaw just to clear cap room for Pau Gasol‘s new contract, so it seems unlikely that they’ll match the Pistons’ offer sheet for Marjanovic. ESPN’s Marc Stein tweets that San Antonio is resigned to losing the Serbian center. The Spurs appear to have found a replacement already, reportedly agreeing to terms with free agent center Dewayne Dedmon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that it is easier for the franchise to be successful at attracting free agents now that the team has established itself as being on the rise, Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays. “Guys look at us probably a little differently,” Van Gundy said. “Young team, on the rise. I think both Jon Leuer and Ish Smith liked the idea that they were playing with guys in their own age group and even younger in most cases – that this roster has a chance to grow throughout the length of their contracts.”
The Spurs have decided not to match the three-year, $21MM offer sheet the Pistons gave to center Boban Marjanovic, tweets David Mayo of MLive. Marjanovic should serve as a backup to Andre Drummond, whom Detroit expects to sign later this summer.
The 7’3″ Serbian native played sparingly during his first NBA season after signing with the Spurs last summer. He averaged 9.4 minutes over 54 games, but made an impact with 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting better than 60%.
Marjonic became expendable in San Antonio with the additions of Pau Gasol and Dewayne Dedmon.
In a move to clear cap space to sign center Boban Marjanovic, the Pistons intend to waive Joel Anthony and Cameron Bairstow, David Mayo of MLive reports. Neither player is owed any guaranteed money, so the team won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of the moves. Detroit is reportedly set to ink Marjanovic to an offer sheet worth $21MM over three years.
Bairstow, 25, appeared in 18 games with Chicago last season, averaging 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per outing. The two-year veteran was drafted out of the New Mexico with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. As a senior for the Lobos, he averaged a Mountain West Conference-high 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 32.9 minutes in 34 games. Bairstow holds career averages of 1.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 4.6 minutes in 36 NBA games with the Bulls. He was acquired from the Bulls in June in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who was reportedly waived by the Bulls today as well.
Anthony, 33, appeared in 19 games for the Pistons in 2015/16, averaging o.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.1 minutes per outing. He shot .600/.000/.750 from the field on the year. Anthony was set to earn $2.5MM next season.
Jennifer Stewart/USA TODAY Sports Images
JULY 8: The Pistons have officially signed Leuer, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 2: The Pistons and unrestricted free agent Jon Leuer have reached an agreement on a contract that will land the forward in Detroit, his agents at Priority Sports tweeted. It will be a four-year deal worth $42MM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). The contract is fully guaranteed, adds Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
Detroit has been on the market for a stretch-four and Leuer, who has shot 37.5% from beyond the arc over the course of his five-year career, can certainly help to that end. He may not be as newsworthy an addition as Al Horford, whom the team was reportedly courting, but landing Leuer on a deal with an average annual salary of $10.5MM in the current free agent market is a nice fallback for the boys from Motown.
Leuer made 67 appearances for the Suns this past season, averaging 8.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per outing. He shot .481/.382/.762 on the season.
The Pelicans could still make a push for signing Rajon Rondo even after securing an agreement with E’Twaun Moore, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Reid acknowledges that there are other teams in the mix for Rondo and New Orleans appears to be a long-shot. There were conflicting reports on Friday as to whether the team was interested in Rondo.
Reid confirms an earlier report that the Pelicans were interested in Jeremy Lin, but the point guard’s price was too steep for the team. Lin signed a three-year, $36MM deal with Brooklyn on Friday.
Here’s more from around the league during this crazy start to free agency:
- The Wolves had interest in Luol Deng before he signed with the Lakers and they made calls to both Pau Gasol and Kent Bazemore before the latter signed with Atlanta, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. The team would also like to add depth and has interest in Randy Foye, Willie Reed, Courtney Lee, Kris Humphries, Jamal Crawford, Brandon Bass, and Ian Mahinmi.
- The Thunder have also expressed interest in Reed, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
- Amar’e Stoudemire would be interested in returning to the Knicks, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. “If they want to bring me back, that would be a nice opportunity,” Stoudemire said.
- The Lakers bumped up Deng’s offer to $18MM per season after Bazemore turned down the same offer, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
- Ish Smith‘s new deal with the Pistons will pay him $5.7MM in year one, $6MM in year two and $6.3MM in the final season, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (Twitter link).
- Former first-round pick Jan Vesely has interest from NBA teams, but it will take a starting salary of $11-12MM to bring him stateside, Net Income of SB Nation tweets.
- Rade Zagorac is negotiating a deal to play overseas with Red Star Belgrade, international journalist David Pick tweets. The Grizzlies acquired the No.35 overall pick in a deal with the Celtics on draft night.
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at who the Mavericks can still get in free agency.