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Nemanja Dangubic Likely To Remain In Serbia

July 28th, 2014 at 9:48am CST by Chuck Myron

Spurs second-round draftee Nemanja Dangubic is close to signing with Serbian club KK Crvena Zvezda, the website Novosti.rs reports (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). KK Partizan, another Serbian team, is also pursuing him, but the 54th overall pick from this year’s draft is leaning toward Crvena Zvezda, according to the Novosti.rs report.

The Spurs acquired the rights to Dangubic, a 6’8″ shooting guard, in a draft-night trade with the Sixers. Dangubic, 21, would be the latest in a long line of Spurs “draft-and-stash” players from overseas. It’s no surprise the team isn’t bringing him aboard for this season, given the difficulty that Dangubic would face in finding playing time on a team that’s poised to return nearly everyone from last year’s championship roster.

Dangubic spent the last two years with KK Mega Vizura, another Serbian franchise. He averaged 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game this past season.

Rockets Sign Nick Johnson

July 26th, 2014 at 7:26pm CST by Ryan Raroque

SATURDAY, 7:26pm: According to Pincus, Houston indeed used part of the mid-level exception to sign Johnson (Twitter link). Pincus’ updated salary sheet for the Rockets indicates that Johnson’s three-year deal is worth a total of $2,332,826.

FRIDAY, 4:42pm: Johnson has signed with the team, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) and the RealGM transactions log, though the Rockets have yet to make an official announcement.

TUESDAY, 9:50pm: The three-year deal will be fully guaranteed, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The Rockets are already above the salary cap, and considering that the bi-annual and minimum salary exceptions can only cover a deal of up to two years, it’s a near certainty that they’re using a portion of the mid-level exception to sign Johnson for three years.

8:25pm: The Rockets are expected to sign rookie guard Nick Johnson to a three-year deal with a team option in the third year, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The nephew of Hall-of-Famer Dennis Johnson was selected with the 42nd overall pick in last month’s draft.

Johnson recently played for the Rockets’ summer league team in Orlando and Las Vegas. In Orlando, the 6’3 guard produced 15.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 5.0 APG while shooting 44.6% from the field in 29.4 MPG through five games; in Las Vegas, Johnson’s numbers dipped to 12.5/4.4/2.3/0.384 in eight games despite a slight increase in minutes (30.3).

The University of Arizona standout played a total of three seasons in college, increasing his scoring, rebounding, free throw shooting percentage, and free throws attempted averages every year. In his final season as a Wildcat, Johnson notched 16.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.9 free throws attempted per game, and 33.1 MPG in 38 contests while shooting 43.2% from the field and 36.7% from long distance.

Lakers Re-Sign Xavier Henry

July 25th, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 25TH: The Lakers have announced the signing as official in a team release.

“Xavier earned a spot on our team last season after being a training camp invitee, and we hope he continues the dedication to improving he has displayed for us thus far,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. “When healthy, Xavier provided our team with an offensive punch, and we expect he’ll strive to add to his skillset and become a well-rounded player.”

JULY 18TH: The Lakers will re-sign swingman Xavier Henry to a minimum-salary deal, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). It appears to be a one-year arrangement, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported as the sides neared agreement (Twitter link).

The Arn Tellem client was one of a handful of successful reclamation projects for the Lakers this past season, making the opening-night roster as a camp invitee and displaying a strong ability to score, averaging 10.0 points in 21.1 minutes per contest. Both numbers were career highs, as Henry had struggled to live up to having been the 12th overall pick in 2010.

The Pacers and Heat reached out to Henry this month, according to McMenamin (Twitter link), but he planned to work out for the Lakers after exploring options around the league, and the purple-and-gold maintained interest in re-signing him. Henry had wrist and knee surgeries in April but has been expected to be ready for training camp.

Omri Casspi Clears Waivers

July 25th, 2014 at 4:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Forward Omri Casspi has cleared waivers and hit free agency, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The news is a surprise, since the Kings had reportedly planned to submit a claim. The Pelicans released Casspi on Wednesday, as they had seemed likely to do after acquiring him from the Rockets in the Omer Asik trade.

Agent Dan Fegan had spoken with the Kings, among several other teams, about Casspi with New Orleans poised to let him go, as Casspi told Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee earlier this week. Casspi also expressed interest in returning to Sacramento, where he played his first two NBA seasons, which doubled as his most productive. The Kings and any other team are free to sign Casspi now that he’s hit the open market, but Sacramento might wind up paying a greater premium than the minimum salary he would have made if the Kings had claimed him off waivers.

The Kings have their $2.077MM biannual exception available if necessary to sign Casspi, who was a regular part of Houston’s rotation this past season. There are already 11 teams limited to doling out just the minimum salary to free agents, so that could work to Sacramento’s advantage if the team indeed still envisions a reunion with the 26-year-old native of Israel.

Sacramento is nonetheless about $1MM beneath the tax threshold, and if Casspi consents to sign a one-year deal for the minimum salary, the Kings will only be on the hook for the two-year veteran’s portion of it, with the league picking up the tab for the rest. That would allow the team to stay beneath the tax line and retain Quincy Acy‘s non-guaranteed contract, as Stein points out (on Twitter). The Kings would have been on the hook for his full five-year veteran’s minimum had they claimed his contract off waivers, since that deal had covered two years instead of one.

Magic Sign Luke Ridnour

July 25th, 2014 at 3:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 16TH: 7:16pm: Ridnour’s deal will amount to $5.5MM over the two years, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.

6:28pm: The agreement is for a two-year contract, with the second year being non-guaranteed, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes adds that minor details are still being worked out, and it is still unknown what Ridnour’s annual salary will be.

1:13pm: The Magic will sign guard Luke Ridnour, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter). It’ll be the latest deal with a veteran for Orlando, which already has agreements with Channing Frye and Ben Gordon so far this month. The terms are unclear, but given the team’s willingness to overpay for Frye and Gordon, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an above-market arrangement for the 33-year-old Jim Tanner client.

Ridnour split last season between the Bucks and Bobcats, averaging a career-low 5.0 points per game. The Wizards and Kings were among the teams that reportedly called the Bucks in the lead-up to the trade deadline, but Charlotte wound up nabbing him instead. He played 15.1 minutes per game down the stretch for the then-Bobcats, a rate that dropped to 9.0 in the team’s four-game loss to the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. Charlotte renounced his Bird rights to clear cap space last week.

Orlando largely emphasized young players during the first two seasons of its post-Dwight Howard rebuilding project, but this summer appears to be a departure from that. The team still has ample cap space, so it appears that Ridnour will be receiving a chunk of that.

Hawks Sign Adreian Payne

July 25th, 2014 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks have signed No. 15 overall pick Adreian Payne, the team announced via Twitter. He’ll likely receive more than $1.855MM this season, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-round draft picks shows.

Payne, a 6’10” power forward, showed steady improvement over his four years at Michigan State, gradually expanding his shooting range and averaging 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds with 42.3% accuracy from behind the three-point line as a senior. The 23-year-old’s age appeared to be a concern for some teams, but the Hawks drafted him more highly than it seemed he’d go, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress listed him as the 19th-best prospect and Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegged him 22nd.

Atlanta struggled with injuries in its frontcourt this past season, and the presence of Payne will help the team add to its depth. Two Hawks big men who played key roles last season, Pero Antic and Mike Scott, remain unsigned.

Hornets Sign Noah Vonleh

July 25th, 2014 at 2:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hornets have signed Noah Vonleh, the No. 9 overall pick in last month’s draft, the team announced via press release. He’ll likely receive a salary of more than $2.5MM this year, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-round draft picks shows.

Vonleh quickly showed an acumen for rebounding in his lone season at Indiana University, grabbing 9.0 boards in just 26.5 minutes per game. He also averaged 11.3 points and 1.4 blocks per contest, and while he ventured outside the three-point arc for only 1.1 shots per game, he nailed 48.5% of them. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him as the fifth best prospect, though Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had the raw 18-year-old down at No. 10.

It’ll probably take a while for Vonleh to show his full potential in the NBA, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined the power forward’s prospect profile, but his upside appears high. The departure of Josh McRoberts in free agency this summer could open up some more playing time for Vonleh this year, though he’s still expected to be a reserve.

Charlotte has yet to sign No. 26 overall pick P.J. Hairston, whose rights the Hornets obtained in a draft night trade with Miami, though that might have to do with Hairston having hired an agent who wasn’t certified.

Hornets Re-Sign Jannero Pargo

July 25th, 2014 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

JULY 18TH: The Hornets and point guard Jannero Pargo have struck a deal, according to Pargo’s agents at Priority Sports & Entertainment (Twitter link; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Mark Bartelstein client returns to Charlotte presumably to reprise his role as the team’s third point guard after the Hornets agreed to a deal with Brian Roberts to replace Luke Ridnour, who’s off to Orlando, as the primary backup to Kemba Walker. It’s a fully guaranteed one-year deal for $1.5MM, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). That figure is closely aligned with his minimum salary, which would be $1,448,490, so presumably it’s a deal for that minimum.

Charlotte had renounced its rights to the 34-year-old earlier this month as it cleared cap room, but while that move meant the team gave up its Early Bird rights to him, it didn’t necessarily preclude a new deal. He saw just 8.3 minutes per game in 29 appearances this past season, but apparently the Hornets like having the 10-year veteran around. This year’s deal is a slight upgrade on the one-year contract that Pargo signed last year with the team, since that arrangement was only partially guaranteed.

Pargo made the most of his meager playing time last season, averaging 4.7 points per game and draining a career-high 40% of his three-pointers on 2.1 attempts per contest. His 18.9 PER was also a career-best.

Grizzlies Sign Patrick Christopher For Camp

July 25th, 2014 at 11:07am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 25TH: Free agent shooting guard Patrick Christopher has agreed to a non-guaranteed deal with the Grizzlies, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It appears it’ll be a summer contract that will allow the former University of California standout to go to training camp in October with a chance of making the opening night roster.

Christopher had a similar arrangement with the Bulls last year, but he was one of the team’s first cuts, in early October, and he didn’t appear in a preseason game. He wound up joining the D-League’s Iowa Energy, averaging 13.6 points in 33.4 minutes per contest and swishing 44.6% of his three-point attempts.

The 26-year-old will join a fairly crowded roster in Memphis, which has 14 players on guaranteed contracts. That doesn’t include Jarnell Stokes, this year’s 35th overall pick, who remains unsigned. Memphis can carry up to 20 players into camp, but it appears there’s just one spot up for grabs on the team’s regular season roster, which can have no more than 15 players.

Pelicans Re-Sign Darius Miller

July 25th, 2014 at 9:52am CST by Alex Lee

JULY 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 18TH: Shortly after adding free agent Jimmer Fredette to their backcourt, the Pelicans have struck a deal with small forward Darius Miller, reports John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (via Twitter). After being selected by the Pelicans in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, Miller averaged 3.3 points in 14.6 minutes per contest over two seasons in New Orleans. However, in June the team opted not to extend the Kentucky product a qualifying offer that would have been worth $1.15MM for next season. The terms of this deal are not yet known.

The 6-foot-8 Doug Neustadt client was the sixth Wildcat taken in the 2012 draft, including Miller’s current and former teammate Anthony Davis, who the Pelicans took No. 1 overall. In his senior year, Miller helped lead the Wildcats to a national title, averaging 9.9 PPG on .474/.376/.797 shooting.

Miller figures to provide depth on the wing for the Pelicans, who possess a talented roster but don’t really have any small forwards with Miller’s height or length. A year after adding Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans to a roster that already contained a budding superstar in Davis, the Pelicans added Omer Asik, Jimmer Fredette and have now brought back Miller this offseason.