Warriors Sign James Michael McAdoo
4:49pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
3:29pm: The Warriors and undrafted power forward James Michael McAdoo have reached agreement on a one-year deal, agent Jim Tanner tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The terms are unclear, but it’ll almost certainly be a non-guaranteed summer contract, and since the Warriors already have deals with at least 14 players, it might fit the criteria for an Exhibit 9 contract that would reduce the team’s liability in case of injury. It looks like it’ll be for the minimum salary either way, since the Warriors can give out no more than that.
McAdoo was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school, coming in sixth in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index for 2011. He was a lottery prospect after his freshman season at North Carolina, but his stock slipped over his final two years at the school, when he saw more playing time and scouts had greater opportunities to pick apart his game. His numbers were solid even if they weren’t overwhelming, as he put up 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game for the Tar Heels this past season.
The 21-year-old told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors this spring that he’s begun to feel more comfortable on the low block, so he could give the Warriors another option inside. Golden State is only known to be carrying 13 fully guaranteed deals, so McAdoo, a second cousin of Hall-of-Famer Bob McAdoo, has a decent shot at making the opening night roster as the team stands now.
Warriors Sign Mitchell Watt
The Warriors have signed former University of Buffalo power forward and Israeli league veteran Mitchell Watt, the team announced via press release. The terms are unclear, but it’s most likely a non-guaranteed training camp invitation for the minimum salary.
The 6’9″ Watt spent summer league with Golden State’s team, averaging 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game. He put up 13.4 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 30.3 MPG for Ironi Nes Ziona in Israel this past season, numbers similar to his production in his senior season at Buffalo.
The inking of Watt, which came at the same time Golden State formally announced its signings of Aaron Craft and James Michael McAdoo, gives the club 17 players. That’s three shy of the 20-man preseason roster limit, so more moves are probably in the offing.
Warriors Sign Aaron Craft
SEPTEMBER 2ND: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
AUGUST 6TH: The Warriors and former Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with a partial guarantee, agent Lance Young tells Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. It’s almost assuredly a minimum-salary arrangement, since Golden State is limited to paying no more than that.
The news comes not long after a report that Warriors reserve guard Nemanja Nedovic suffered a stress fracture in his right foot, as Leung points out, suggesting that Craft is an insurance policy in case Nedovic isn’t healed in time for the season. Still, the partial guarantee represents an investment in Craft, and it at least ensures he won’t walk away empty-handed should he fail to make the opening-night roster.
Craft earned raves from Warriors coach Steve Kerr for his play in college, as Leung notes (on Twitter), in spite of never having averaged more than 10.0 points per game over the course of his four seasons with the Buckeyes. He put up 7.4 points in 22.0 minutes per contest last month during Las Vegas summer league play for the Warriors after going undrafted in June. The 22-year-old also joined the Sixers for the Orlando summer league, though he didn’t see nearly as much playing time.
Mike Moser To Join Lithuanian Team
Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas has signed Oregon product Mike Moser, according to Enea Trapani of Sportando. Meanwhile, agent Adam Pensack tells Hoops Rumors (Twitter links) that Moser, who shined in camp with the Celtics this summer, does not have an NBA out clause in his deal.
While it’s somewhat surprising to hear that the Moser’s deal does not contain an NBA out given widespread interest from around the league, Pensack explained that the power forward wanted the opportunity to play major minutes for a strong Eurocup team. And, while the agent declined to disclose the terms of the deal, he explained that it’s a lucrative one-year pact.
The undrafted power forward averaged 13.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during his collegiate career and according to his agent, about “half” of the NBA wanted to bring him in for training camp. Pensack and Moser whittled that list down to about three or four clubs that were exceptionally interested, but the opportunity overseas was too good to pass up.
Grizzlies Waive Jamaal Franklin
5:07pm: Franklin has been waived, the team confirmed via press release.
3:31pm: The Grizzlies waived Jamaal Franklin today using the stretch provision, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link). Franklin had two years remaining on his contract, with a salary of $816,482 for next season, and $947,276 for 2015/16 which was non-guaranteed. By using the stretch provision, Memphis can now spread his guaranteed salary for this coming season evenly over the next five years, as well as his cap hit.
The second-year guard out of San Diego State was the No. 41 overall pick by Memphis in the 2013 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, Franklin split time between the Grizzlies and the NBA D-League. In 21 NBA games, Franklin averaged 1.9 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.3 APG. His slash line was .410/.455/1.000.
This move leaves the Grizzlies with 15 players on their preseason roster, 14 of whom have guaranteed contracts. The Grizzlies needed to waive Franklin prior to September 1st or they would have been forced to pay him his full salary during the 2014/15 season.
Clippers Waive Carlos Delfino
1:10pm: The move is official, the team announced via press release, so Delfino hits waivers in time for the Clippers to stretch his salary.
12:16pm: The Clippers will indeed waive Carlos Delfino today, a source tells Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). USA Today’s Sam Amick reported earlier this week that the move was likely to happen. The team will use the stretch provision to spread out his remaining salary, just as the Clippers will do with Miroslav Raduljica, whom the Clippers are also reportedly set to release, Bolch adds.
Delfino has a guaranteed salary of $3.25MM for the coming season, while his salary of the same amount for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. Using the stretch provision allows a team to evenly spread a player’s remaining salary out over two times the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one. That means Delfino’s salary will be stretched over five seasons, as Bolch points out. Since only half of Delfino’s remaining salary is guaranteed, that would reduce his cap hit to $65K for this season and each year through 2018/19. There had been confusion about whether the non-guaranteed season would count, and thus whether Delfino’s guaranteed salary would be stretched over three years instead of five. However, NBA Salary Cap FAQ author Larry Coon confirms to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times that Delfino’s salary will indeed be stretched over five years (Twitter link).
Raduljica’s contract is similarly structured, with fully guaranteed salary for this year and non-guaranteed salary for 2015/16. He’s set to make $1.5MM for this coming season, so waiving and stretching him drops his payout to $300K each year. Put together, today’s anticipated moves would give the Clippers an extra $3.8MM in breathing room against their hard cap. The team had been only $649,228 shy of that cap after Tuesday’s trade, according to the data compiled by Pincus for Basketball Insiders, so this gives the Clippers enough ammunition to sign veterans like Chris Douglas-Roberts and Ekpe Udoh, whom they have been eyeing, as Amick reported this week.
Cutting Delfino and Raduljica would drop the team’s roster to 11 players. The Clippers can only sign free agents for the minimum salary, having exhausted their cap exceptions, but it appears as though they’ll be able to add four minimum-salary veterans to field a full 15-man regular season roster once Delfino and Raduljica are officially gone. The timing of the moves will be key, since Sunday is the last day that teams can use the stretch provision to reduce salaries for the coming season, but it appears that the team will pull the trigger today.
Delfino missed all of last season with a right foot injury, and he’s reportedly expected to miss part of this one. The former 25th overall pick, who turns 32 today, has been a double-digit scorer in three of his last four healthy seasons, so it would seem there would be strong interest if he can fully recover.
Clippers Waive Miroslav Raduljica
FRIDAY, 1:09pm: The move is official, the team announced. It takes place in time for the team to use the stretch provision on Raduljica’s salary, a strategy the team indeed has been planning to pursue, as a report from today on the team’s waiver of Delfino indicates.
THURSDAY, 10:27pm: The Clippers are set to waive Miroslav Raduljica on Friday morning, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Los Angeles received Raduljica and Carlos Delfino in the trade that sent Jared Dudley packing to the Bucks. Sam Amick of USA Today indicated on Tuesday that the Clips were likely to waive the duo, and the team appears poised to follow through with at least part of that move tomorrow morning.
Raduljica, 26, spent his sole NBA season with Milwaukee last year but didn’t get to spend much time on the floor. In 48 contests with the Bucks, the big man averaged 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds over just 9.7 minutes per night. The Clippers will be on the hook for the $1,500,000 he’s owed this season, but won’t need to pay his non-guaranteed second year worth $1,567,500.
Waiving Raduljica will put the Clips at 12 guaranteed contracts. Should they choose to cut ties with Delfino as well, the team will roster only 11 players, two short of the league minimum. Los Angeles is reportedly likely to use the stretch provision to shed the injured Delfino’s contract. It’s not entirely clear whether or not they intend to use the same provision when they waive Raduljica, but that will presumably be the case, given the team’s proximity to its hard cap.
By moving Dudley and using the stretch provision on one or both of former the Bucks they acquired, the Clippers will distance themselves far enough away from the hard cap to be able bring aboard a veteran to fill out their roster. The team was recently linked to free agent big man Ekpe Udoh, as well as swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts.
Jordan McRae To Play In Australia
Sixers second-round draftee Jordan McRae has signed with CTI Melbourne United of Australia, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). The terms aren’t immediately clear, but it looks like this year’s 58th overall pick is set to spend the season overseas rather than with Philadelphia, which acquired his NBA rights in a draft-night swap with the Spurs.
The 23-year-old shooting guard gradually emerged as a scoring force over his time at the University of Tennessee, averaging 18.7 points per game as a senior this past season, 10.1 more than he’d poured in as a sophomore. McRae led the Volunteers in scoring this year, outpacing 35th overall pick Jarnell Stokes, and he also possesses a 7’0.5″ wingspan, according to DraftExpress, to aid him defensively. McRae prides himself on his versatility and is confident he can play point guard, too, as he told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors prior to the draft for our Prospect Profile Series. McRae will have a chance to refine his skills in Australia, where he’ll play for former Bulls and Mavericks center Chris Anstey, the CTI Melbourne United head coach.
Philadelphia was among the teams to have McRae in for a predraft workout, as McRae also informed Zach. The patiently rebuilding Sixers will wait to bring him stateside, just as they’re doing with No. 12 overall pick Dario Saric and 52nd overall pick Vasilije Micic, two others among the six 2014 draftees whose rights the team possesses. McRae will join fellow second-round pick DeAndre Daniels, whose NBA rights belong to the Raptors, in Australia this season.
Jazz Sign Toure’ Murry
THURSDAY, 1:05pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
WEDNESDAY, 12:53pm: The Jazz have yet to make an official announcement, but the signing has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.
TUESDAY, 5:05pm: Murry’s deal includes a $250K guarantee for this season, and is non-guaranteed for 2015/16, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
2:42pm: The Jazz and Toure’ Murry have finalized a deal, reports Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the sides were close to a two-year, $2MM arrangement.
The Knicks elected not to tender Murry a qualifying offer this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent after his first NBA season, though they were among the teams reportedly interested in re-signing him. The Clippers, Heat and Lakers were also apparently in the mix.
Utah appears to be using cap space to sign the Bernie Lee client to a deal for more than the minimum. It’s somewhat surprising that he’d receive that, since Murry averaged just 7.3 minutes per game in 51 appearances last season. He played for the Rockets D-League affiliate in 2012/13 after going undrafted out of Wichita State two years ago.
Sixers Sign Joel Embiid
SEPTEMBER 29TH: The team finally acknowledged the signing, including Embiid on its preseason roster.
AUGUST 28TH: The Sixers still haven’t made an official announcement, but the appearance of the move on the RealGM transactions log provides further confirmation that the signing has taken place.
AUGUST 26TH: No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid has signed his rookie scale contract with the Sixers, according to his verified Twitter account. The team has yet to make an official announcement, but it appears as though the last remaining first-round pick from this June who had yet to sign with his NBA team or agree to play elsewhere has inked his deal. He’ll make nearly $3.69MM, as our table of salaries for this year’s first-rounders shows.
Embiid was a strong contender, if not the front-runner, to become the No. 1 overall pick until he suffered a broken foot shortly before the draft. The most recent estimate has him out anywhere from between November and February, though it appears as though he’s in line to see action at some point this season for Philadelphia. A back injury that forced him to miss the final six games of his college career at Kansas sparked concern for much of the spring, but ultimately that didn’t seem to depress his draft stock nearly as much as his foot did.
Whenever he’s healthy enough to play, he’ll look to build upon last season’s breakout campaign, one in which he came to join college teammate Andrew Wiggins, a far more heralded prospect coming out of high school, and Jabari Parker as contenders for the top pick. The 7’0″ center only began playing basketball in 2011, so his skills are raw, but with a game that shows shades of Hakeem Olajuwon, his upside is vast, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors examined this past April in his Prospect Profile of Embiid.
He’ll join fellow Cameroonian native and mentor Luc Mbah a Moute on the Sixers, and Mbah a Moute’s close ties to Embiid appeared to be one of the reasons Philadelphia acquired the veteran forward as part of its participation in the Kevin Love trade. The 20-year-old Embiid won’t encounter much in the way of immediate expectations in Philadelphia, which is in a long-term rebuilding effort, and while Embiid is a centerpiece of that project, the Sixers appear willing to wait for his skills to more fully develop.
The Sixers had been carrying 16 players after Tuesday’s acquisition of Hasheem Thabeet and before Embiid’s signing, though Philadelphia appears poised to waive Thabeet. Embiid is one of just eight players with fully guaranteed deals on Philadelphia’s roster.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.