Kings Sign Terence Davis To Two-Year Deal
AUGUST 6: The Kings have made it official with Davis, announcing his new deal in a press release.
“We are excited that Terence will remain a part of the Kings family,” GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “His combination of scoring, defense, athleticism and energy are integral parts of our team. “We are thrilled to see Terence’s continued development in a Kings uniform.”
AUGUST 4: The Kings have reached an agreement with restricted free agent guard Terence Davis on a guaranteed two-year deal that will keep him in Sacramento, his agents at CAA Basketball tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old came over to the Kings in a trade from the Raptors in March and played well in his 21 games coming off the bench, averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.3 RPG while shooting 37.2% on 5.4 three-point attempts per game in only 21.5 minutes a night. Davis’ defense has been at times erratic, but he has shown potential on that end as well.
After going undrafted in 2019, Davis put together a strong rookie season, including averaging 11.3 PPG in 17 MPG in the Raptors’ first-round playoff series against the Nets, and was rewarded with an All-Rookie Second Team selection a year ago.
Davis’ two-year deal is worth $8MM, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
That’s a far cry from the $9MM-per-year commitment Davis was rumored last month to be seeking, but as Scotto observes, it will put him on track to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023, when he’s still just 26 years old.
Between the 6’4″, 201-pound Davis and rookie Davion Mitchell, the Kings are loading up on tough, physical guards who can shoot to round out their backcourt core of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Buddy Hield remains in the mix for now too, though he has been the subject of trade rumors.
Sixers Sign Andre Drummond To One-Year Deal
AUGUST 4: The Sixers have officially signed Drummond, the team announced today in a press release. Minimum-salary signings are one of the transactions that can be formally completed during the free agency moratorium.
AUGUST 3: The Sixers have reached an agreement with free agent center Andre Drummond on a one-year deal, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com (Twitter link), it’s a minimum-salary contract.
It’s an interesting fit for Drummond, who – as a member of the Pistons and Cavaliers – has had some fierce battles with 76ers center Joel Embiid over the years. In 2021/22, he’ll be Embiid’s backup in the middle, taking the spot previously occupied by Dwight Howard, who has agreed to return to the Lakers, Drummond’s most recent team.
Drummond, who will turn 28 next Tuesday, is one of the NBA’s best rebounders, having led the league in the category in four separate seasons. In 2020/21, he averaged 14.9 PPG and 12.0 RPG in 46 total games (27.0 MPG) for the Cavs and Lakers.
Drummond has spent much of his NBA career putting up big numbers for lottery teams or borderline playoff clubs. He joined the Lakers last season hoping to contribute to a winner, but fell out of the team’s rotation entirely by the time L.A. was eliminated by Phoenix in Game 6 of the opening round. In Philadelphia, he’ll be looking once again to prove he can be a reliable role player on a title-contending club.
The Sixers, who have agreed to re-sign Furkan Korkmaz via his Bird rights and Drummond to a minimum-salary contract, still have the mid-level exception at their disposal in free agency.
Raptors Waive Aron Baynes
The Raptors have issued a press release announcing that they’ve officially waived veteran center Aron Baynes.
The move had been expected, since Baynes’ $7.35MM salary for 2021/22 would’ve become fully guaranteed if Toronto had kept him on the roster. Instead, the Raptors will clear that money from their books, creating some additional cap flexibility for the coming season.
Baynes, who signed a two-year contract with the Raptors during the 2020 offseason after enjoying a career year in Phoenix, was never a great fit with his new team. He averaged a modest 6.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 53 games (18.5 MPG) and his shooting percentages (.441/.262/.707) were significantly below his career rates.
While Baynes didn’t have a great year with Toronto, he should draw interest from teams in need of frontcourt depth. He’ll likely be available at a more team-friendly rate once he clears waivers.
The Raptors, meanwhile, have now waived four players – Baynes, Rodney Hood, DeAndre’ Bembry, and Paul Watson – who were on non-guaranteed contracts this week. The club, which is still working on the terms of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with Miami, will have a few bench spots to fill on its 2021/22 roster.
Heat Re-Sign Victor Oladipo
AUGUST 7: The move is official, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, who confirms that it’s a one-year deal for the veterans minimum. Miami will retain Bird Rights on Oladipo.
“We really like Victor’s versatility and how he impacts the game in multiple ways,” team president Pat Riley said. “His speed skill set fits perfectly into the core we have built.”
1:00pm: It’s a minimum-salary contract for Oladipo, a source confirms to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
AUGUST 4, 12:29pm: Free agent guard Victor Oladipo has agreed to a deal to rejoin the Heat, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While Charania doesn’t provide any additional details on the terms of the contract, he tweets that Oladipo’s plan is rebuild his value and return to the open market in 2022, which suggests it’s a one-year deal. Given Miami’s limited cap flexibility, it’s likely worth either the veteran’s minimum or something close to it.
Oladipo, who was named an All-Star in 2018 and 2019, has been slowed in recent years by a ruptured quad tendon he suffered in January 2019. The 29-year-old missed approximately a full calendar year while recovering from the injury and didn’t look like his old explosive self upon returning.
The Pacers traded Oladipo to the Rockets in the four-team James Harden blockbuster earlier this year, and Houston subsequently flipped him to Miami at the trade deadline. The former No. 2 overall pick was able to play in just four games for the Heat before health issues ended his season.
Oladipo went under the knife in May, once again undergoing surgery to repair his right quad tendon. There had been some speculation that he might not sign a new deal for a few months while he gets healthy, but it appears he’ll complete his rehab while under contract with the Heat.
According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), the veteran guard is optimistic that he’ll be able to return to the court sometime between late December and early February.
Oladipo’s best individual season came in 2017/18 with the Pacers, when he averaged 23.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.3 APG, and a league-high 2.4 SPG with a .477/.371/.799 shooting line. While the Heat aren’t expecting those kind of numbers from him when he returns this year, they reflect his ability to make a major impact on both ends of the court when he’s fully healthy.
If Oladipo can contribute during the second half of the 2021/22 season, he’ll give the Heat another option to deploy in tough defensive lineups that will feature the likes of Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo, P.J. Tucker, and Markieff Morris.
Kemba Walker Agrees To Buyout With Thunder, Will Join Knicks
12:55pm: Walker’s deal with the Knicks will be a two-year contract worth about $8-9MM annually, league sources tell Ryan McDonough of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).
9:03am: Veteran point guard Kemba Walker has agreed to a contract buyout with the Thunder, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who reports that Walker will sign with the Knicks once he clears waivers.
The Thunder acquired Walker from Boston back in June in Brad Stevens‘ first major roster move as the Celtics’ president of basketball operations. Although that deal was considered a salary-dump, with Oklahoma City receiving a first-round pick for taking on Walker, a report last week stated the Thunder believed they might be able to flip him to another team for an asset. It appears those efforts were unsuccessful.
While Walker clearly wasn’t in Oklahoma City’s long-term plans, the fact that the team agreed to buy him out already is a little surprising, since the 31-year-old still had two years and nearly $74MM left on his contract. We’ll have to wait for details on how much of that money he’s giving up as part of the agreement with the Thunder.
The move will open up more playing time for the Thunder’s young ball-handlers besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, including Theo Maledon and Josh Giddey, notes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).
The Knicks, meanwhile, are on track to add Walker using their leftover cap room. Based on the terms of their reported contract agreements to date, the Knicks project to have about $8-9MM in space available, and it sounds like the team won’t be making any additional cost-cutting moves to clear extra room to accommodate Walker, per Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report confirms (via Twitter) that Walker’s deal with New York will be worth about $8MM annually, though it’s unclear how many years it will cover.
Walker, was limited to 43 games in 2020/21 due to knee issues, but put up strong numbers in the games he played, averaging 19.3 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.0 RPG on .420/.360/.899 shooting in 31.8 minutes per contest.
The four-time All-Star will join a Knicks backcourt that also features Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, and second-round pick Miles McBride. The team is also signing veteran swingman Evan Fournier in free agency to add some more scoring punch to its lineup.
The move represents a homecoming for Walker, who has been linked to the Knicks multiple times in the past. He was born and raised in the Bronx.
Celtics Sign Enes Kanter To One-Year Deal
AUGUST 13: Kanter has officially signed his contract, according to a team press release.
“Enes has a unique ability to both score and rebound. Beyond his on-court contributions, he is a great teammate. We are thrilled he chose to return to Boston,” Celtics president Brad Stevens said in a statement.
AUGUST 4, 11:21am: Kanter’s one-year deal will be worth $2.7MM, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
The veteran’s minimum for a player with Kanter’s 10+ years of experience is about $2.64MM, so it sounds this will be a minimum-salary contract.
However, Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link) says there’s still a chance the C’s could bump up that number and use part of the mid-level exception to complete the signing, depending on how the rest of the week plays out. Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) hears that the club has “three or four balls still in the air,” albeit nothing too major.
10:58am: The Celtics have reached an agreement to bring back veteran center Enes Kanter on a one-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Kanter has bounced back and forth between Boston and Portland during the last few seasons. He finished the 2018/19 campaign with the Trail Blazers, spent ’19/20 with the Celtics, rejoined the Blazers for ’20/21, and is now headed back to the C’s for the coming season.
Kanter is a reliable scorer and rebounder, who played in all 72 games for Portland in 2020/21 and averaged a double-double (11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG) while logging just 24.4 minutes per game. He’s not a strong defender, but he’ll fill a hole in the Celtics’ frontcourt following the departure of veteran center Tristan Thompson, who is being traded to Sacramento.
It’s an interesting signing from an optics standpoint for the Celtics, who essentially salary-dumped Kanter a year ago when they sent his contract to Memphis along with the No. 30 pick in the draft (Desmond Bane) in exchange for two future second-rounders. A year later, new president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is signing up for a reunion with the 29-year-old.
NBA 2021 Free Agency: Day 2 Recap
After a wild first day of free agency on Monday, things slowed down a little on Tuesday, with only two of today’s reported free agent agreements exceeding $12.1MM. Still, another 20+ free agents came off the board over the course of the day.
[RELATED: 2021 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
Listed below are Tuesday’s notable contract agreements and news items. For the most part, these deals aren’t yet official, so the reported terms could change — or agreements could fall through altogether. Generally speaking though, teams and players are on track to finalize these deals sometime after the moratorium ends on Friday.
Here are Tuesday’s noteworthy free agent agreements:
Note: Some of these salary figures may includes options, incentives, or non-guaranteed money.
- DeMar DeRozan, Bulls agree to three-year, $85MM contract (sign-and-trade).
- Talen Horton-Tucker, Lakers agree to three-year, $32MM contract.
- Rudy Gay, Jazz agree to two-year, $12.1MM contract.
- Patty Mills, Nets agree to two-year, $12.1MM contract.
- Kendrick Nunn, Lakers agree to two-year, $10MM contract.
- Ish Smith, Hornets agree to two-year, $9MM-ish contract.
- Georges Niang, Sixers agree to two-year, $6.7MM contract.
- Robin Lopez, Magic agree to one-year, $5MM contract.
- Bruce Brown, Nets agree to one-year, $4.7MM contract.
- Abdel Nader, Suns agree to two-year, $4.2MM contract.
- Carmelo Anthony, Lakers agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Nemanja Bjelica, Warriors agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Sam Dekker, Raptors agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Andre Drummond, Sixers agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Taj Gibson, Knicks agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- James Johnson, Nets agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Malik Monk, Lakers agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Markieff Morris, Heat agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Hassan Whiteside, Jazz agree to one-year, minimum-salary contract.
- Didi Louzada, Pelicans agree to four-year contract.
- Jock Landale, Spurs agree to two-year contract.
- Tony Snell, Trail Blazers agree to one-year contract.
- Bryn Forbes, Spurs agree to contract.
Here are a few more of the day’s most notable headlines:
- Stephen Curry and the Warriors agreed to four-year, $215MM veteran contract extension.
- The Hawks reportedly made a five-year, $125MM contract offer to restricted free agent John Collins.
- The Spurs will acquire Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, and three draft picks – including a first-rounder – from the Bulls in the DeRozan sign-and-trade.
- The Bucks are preparing to sign both George Hill and Rodney Hood after they clear waivers later in the week.
Previously:
Jazz Sign Hassan Whiteside
AUGUST 6: The Jazz have made it official with Whiteside, announcing his deal in a press release.
“Hassan is one of the more physically gifted players in the game today and has a vast amount of valuable professional basketball experience,” Jazz GM Justin Zanik said in a statement. “We’re excited to add someone with his skillset and feel he’s a great fit with our current roster.”
AUGUST 3: The Jazz have agreed to a deal with free agent center Hassan Whiteside, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Whiteside is coming off his least productive season in seven years, having averaged 8.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 36 games (15.2 MPG) for Sacramento, but he remains a solid shot-blocker and rebounder, especially as a backup center.
The 32-year-old seven-footer signed a one-year deal with the Kings last year but could never get fully on track with his new team. The Jazz will be hoping that in Quin Snyder‘s system, backing up All-NBA center Rudy Gobert, Whiteside will be able to turn things around.
The Jazz recently traded reserve center Derrick Favors to the Thunder in a cost-cutting move, and Whiteside gives them some level of schematic continuity coming off the bench.
The Jazz are believed to be limited to minimum-salary deals after committing their taxpayer mid-level exception to Rudy Gay, so Whiteside’s deal figures to be worth the veteran’s minimum.
Sixers Sign Georges Niang To Two-Year Deal
AUGUST 6: The Sixers have officially signed Niang, the team announced today in a press release.
“Georges is a talented player who can stretch the floor and he immediately bolsters our frontcourt depth,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “He has shot over 40-percent from three for his career and has steadily improved his overall game each season he’s been in the NBA. We’re excited to welcome him to Philadelphia.”
AUGUST 3: The Sixers have agreed to terms on a two-year deal with free agent forward Georges Niang, according to Ben Dowsett, who reports (via Twitter) that Niang’s contract will be worth $6.7MM.
Niang, 28, has spent the last four seasons in Utah after beginning his NBA career with the Pacers. He had his best season in 2020/21, earning regular minutes (16.0 MPG) for a Jazz squad that finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record.
Niang appeared in all 72 games, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG with an impressive .425 3PT%. It was the third straight year in which he made at least 40% of his three-point attempts. The former Iowa State standout also has the size necessary to match up with threes and fours on defense.
We’ll have to wait to see what other moves Philadelphia makes this week before we know exactly how the team completes the Niang signing. Based on the reported terms of the agreement, it would comfortably fit within either the mid-level exception or the bi-annual exception, though Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com (Twitter link) suggests the plan is to use part of the MLE.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier today that Niang was on Philadelphia’s radar.
Sixers Waive George Hill
5:40pm: The Sixers have officially waived Hill, announcing the move in a press release.
12:12am: The Sixers are planning to waive veteran guard George Hill, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Hill, acquired by Philadelphia at the trade deadline in March, is currently under contract for 2021/22 with a cap hit of $10.05MM. However, only about $1.28MM of that salary is guaranteed, so the Sixers can save some money and generate a little extra cap flexibility by releasing him before his salary guarantee deadline this week.
Hill, who began the 2020/21 season with Oklahoma City, averaged 8.7 PPG and 2.4 APG on .482/.388/.800 shooting in 30 total contests (22.4 MPG) for the Thunder and Sixers. He didn’t make much of an impact in the postseason for Philadelphia, with just 4.7 PPG and 1.5 APG in 12 playoff games (17.1 MPG).
While Hill wasn’t exactly a bargain on his $10MM salary, he’d be a worthwhile investment at a lower rate. If and when he clears waivers, he should receive interest from teams looking to add an affordable veteran guard to their bench.