Suns Sign Michael Beasley
JULY 20TH: The Suns have confirmed that the Beasley deal is done, tweets Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
JULY 4TH: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that unrestricted free agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to sign with the Phoenix Suns for $18MM over three years.
According to Stein, Beasley, who played the last two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, chose Phoenix over four other interested teams. Beasley, 23, averaged 11.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 2011/12 as a member of the Timberwolves.
The T-Wolves decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Beasley last week, ensuring that he'd be an unrestricted free agent, and Minnesota wouldn't have a chance to match offers and retain him. The Suns, meanwhile, have now committed a sizable chunk of cap space to the agreement with Beasley and an offer sheet for Eric Gordon. There were rumors that the Suns would also aggressively pursue Goran Dragic, but the club may not have the necessary remaining cap space to make the point guard a competitive offer.
Odds & Ends: Kirilenko, Hill, Green, Grizzlies
After spending 10 productive seasons (19.1 career PER) with the Jazz, Andrei Kirilenko played overseas last season, but was widely viewed as a good bet to return to the NBA for 2012/13. Now, it's not clear whether or not Kirilenko will return to the Association, with one report suggesting he was on the fence, while another indicated a decision was likely by August 1st.
The latest on the Russian forward? NetsDaily passes along comments Kirilenko made to a Russian reporter, where he suggested that the Nets are still a possibility for him. It's hard to imagine Kirilenko settling for the veteran's minimum, which is all Brooklyn could offer at this point, so I still think CSKA Moscow is the 31-year-old's likeliest destination, but we'll have to wait out his decision.
Here are a few more Friday morning odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Grant Hill expected to re-sign with the Suns this summer, but only received a minimum-salary offer from the team, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- While the Celtics have received some criticism for signing Jeff Green to a four-year, $36MM deal, agent David Falk insists there were other teams willing to make big offers for his client, as he tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, commissioner David Stern thinks an official decision regarding Robert Pera's purchase of the Grizzlies is still a couple months away.
- The decision is still pending a Board of Governors vote, but the NBA will likely begin including small advertisements on uniforms beginning in 2013, as ESPN.com's Paul Lukas writes.
Suns Rumors: Brown, Lee, Harden, Mayo, Lopez
Phoenix may have lost star point guard Steve Nash, but don't expect the team to bottom out this season, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Suns have managed to add a few long-term pieces to the roster, including Goran Dragic, Luis Scola, and Michael Beasley, while maintaining spending flexibility for next summer. Let's round up a few Thursday afternoon Suns notes from Coro's piece and elsewhere….
- Having inked the aforementioned players, the Suns appear to be putting the brakes on major signings for the rest of the offseason. It's possible they bring back Shannon Brown, but unlikely they seriously pursue Courtney Lee, according to Coro.
- Signing Brown to a short, affordable deal would keep the team's cap flexible enough to make a run at James Harden or another big-name free agent next summer, says Coro.
- The Suns passed on O.J. Mayo due to "price and a questionable fit," according to Coro.
- Coro adds that teams have made "unappetizing" sign-and-trade proposals to the Suns for restricted free agent Robin Lopez, who is still seeking an offer sheet.
- Coach Alvin Gentry tells Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld that he isn't worried about the Suns' roster undergoing changes, and that he'll just focus on getting the best out of the players he has.
Clippers Sign Grant Hill
WEDNESDAY, 2:05pm: The Clippers have officially signed Hill, the team announced in a press release. Los Angeles will use its bi-annual exception on Hill, putting his two-year contract in the neighborhood of $4MM.
TUESDAY, 12:21pm: The Clippers will add Hill using either the bi-annual exception or a sign-and-trade, meaning he'll make more than the minimum salary, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports adds that it'll be a two-year contract.
11:40am: The Clippers have reached an agreement to sign Grant Hill, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR Phoenix first tweeted that Hill was headed to the Clippers. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the two sides are still finalizing the details of the contract, but says Hill has committed to sign with Los Angeles.
Latest On Courtney Lee
With most of the big-name free agents off the board, Courtney Lee appears to be the top option remaining on the market among wing players. As such, he's drawing plenty of interest — Paul Flannery of WEEI.com writes that agent Dan Fegan advised Lee to be patient, and that patience is close to paying off.
If the Timberwolves' offer sheet to Nicolas Batum is matched by Portland, as expected, both Minnesota and Phoenix will have plenty of cap space to use on Lee. The 26-year-old is also drawing interest from the Bulls and Celtics, though those clubs would likely have to acquire Lee via sign-and-trade.
A deal with Chicago might pique the Rockets' interest, as the Bulls have a $5MM trade exception that could be used to avoid sending salary back to Houston. As the Rockets pursue Omer Asik and Dwight Howard, it's unlikely the team would want to absorb any contracts, which a trade with Boston would require. According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Lee has expressed a "strong interest" in playing for Doc Rivers and the Celtics, but with a sign-and-trade difficult to work out and the bi-annual exception unlikely to be enough for Lee, that appears to be a long shot.
Lee may have been a Plan B for some teams that missed out on players like Batum, Eric Gordon, and O.J. Mayo, but as one of the top available targets out there now, he appears to be in line for a lucrative deal.
Free Agent Rumors: Timberwolves, Rush, Mills
A couple more notable names came off the free agent market this morning, when Kris Humphries landed a two-year deal from the Nets and Grant Hill agreed to sign with the Clippers. While a number of solid rotation players are still available, the market is rapidly thinning for teams in search of starters. As clubs continue to jockey to sign the remaining available players, we'll track many of today's free agent rumors right here:
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists who the Timberwolves will target with nearly $14MM in cap space if they lose out on Nicolas Batum, specifically highlighting Courtney Lee, Jordan Hill, and Greg Stiemsma.
- Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times says that despite the delay on an official decision regarding Brandon Rush's future, the Warriors are still likely to retain him.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez
- Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago discusses why the Bulls' title window will shrink over the next two seasons.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer describes the progress that Byron Mullens appears to be making with the Bobcats based on his performances at the Las Vegas Summer League.
- 76ers head coach Doug Collins says he feels "very good" about what the team has accomplished during this offseason, writes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com.
Timberwolves Eyeing Lee, Stiemsma
While much of today's speculation has revolved around whether the Knicks will match Jeremy Lin's offer sheet, another sheet that's worth nearly twice as much will be resolved tomorrow. If the Timberwolves' $46.5MM offer sheet to Nicolas Batum is matched by Portland, the T-Wolves are expected to shift their focus to other free agents, including Courtney Lee and Greg Stiemsma, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Shannon Brown Close To Signing?
According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter), Shannon Brown is close to signing a contract with an unknown team. Woelfel notes that the Bucks have been eyeing Brown, who has also drawn interest from the Suns. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brown re-sign with the Suns, after the team fell short in its pursuit of O.J. Mayo.
Brown, 26, has played for five NBA teams in his six-year career, most notably appearing in every regular season game for the Lakers in 2009/10 and 2010/11. For the Suns last season, he started 19 of 59 games, setting or matching career highs in PPG (11.0), MPG (23.7), and PER (13.6).
Suns Sign Kendall Marshall
The Suns have officially signed first-rounder Kendall Marshall to a rookie scale contract, according to Scott Bodrow of the Arizona Republic. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Marshall will almost certainly receive the full 120% of his rookie scale amount, giving him a first-year salary of $1,919,160.
Marshall, the 13th overall pick in June's draft, averaged 8.1 points and 9.8 assists per game in his sophomore season at North Carolina, and was considered the second-best point guard in the draft, behind Damian Lillard. Marshall is expected to back up Goran Dragic in Phoenix in his rookie year.