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Grizzlies Sign Jordan Adams

July 7th, 2014 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have signed 22nd overall pick Jordan Adams, the team announced via press release. He’ll likely receive a salary worth more than $1.344MM next season on his rookie scale contract, as our table of salaries for first-round picks shows.

The UCLA shooting guard averaged 17.4 points and 5.3 rebounds with 35.6% three-point shooting for the Bruins this past season, his sophomore campaign. He was the 27th-ranked prospect heading into the draft on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings, and No. 28 on the board with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

Thunder Sign Mitch McGary

July 5th, 2014 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder have signed first-round pick Mitch McGary, according to a press release from the club.

Taken by the Thunder with the No. 21 selection, McGary appeared in 47 games during his two years at Michigan where he averaged 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. During his freshman season, McGary was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team after helping lead the Wolverines to the National Title game. During tournament play, McGary averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks while shooting .678 percent from the field.

Several teams had their eye on the energetic big man, but OKC reportedly promised to take him at No. 21. He’s likely in line for a salary slightly more than $1.4MM, as our table of salaries for first-round draft picks shows. I took a closer look at McGary in a prospect profile.

Raptors Nearing Deal With Greivis Vasquez

July 4th, 2014 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors are coming close to a deal with restricted free agent Greivis Vasquez, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. An agreement with the point guard would allow the Raptors to retain the top three free agents from last season’s roster, having already come to terms with Kyle Lowry and Patrick Patterson.

Vasquez said in May that it would be “heartbreaking” if he didn’t wind up returning to the team. Toronto’s brass nonetheless worried it wouldn’t be able to swing deals for both him and Patterson after the leaguewide market began bearing high-priced contract agreements earlier this week. Still, there haven’t been reports linking Vasquez to any other NBA club since the start of free agency.

The Arn Tellem client had his breakout season in 2012/13, averaging 13.9 points and 9.0 assists per contest as the starter in New Orleans, but he was a backup for both Sacramento and Toronto this season amid a pair of trades. He notched just 9.5 PPG and 3.7 APG in 21.5 minutes per game behind Lowry on the Raptors this past season, but it appears he’s about to commit to remaining a reserve for the foreseeable future.

Magic Waive Jason Maxiell

July 4th, 2014 at 9:30am CST by Chuck Myron

9:30pm: Orlando has officially waived Maxiell, the team announced via press release.

8:53am: The Magic are waiving Jason Maxiell, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). There doesn’t appear to be an official announcement of yet, but presumably one is on the way. Orlando was reportedly trying to find a trade partner to take him before his non-guaranteed contract was to have become fully guaranteed for $2.5MM on July 10th, and apparently the Magic have yet to find a team willing to take on the power forward.

Maxiell’s 3.2 points per game last season were his fewest since he was a rookie as his minutes were cut from 24.8 his final season with the Pistons to 14.4 in his first year with Orlando after he signed with the club last summer. The arrival of Aaron Gordon, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, figured to further impinge upon the playing time of the 31-year-old Maxiell, who doesn’t quite fit the mold of the franchise’s youth-focused rebuilding approach.

Still, it seems somewhat odd that the Magic apparently have no use for Maxiell at $2.5MM after agreeing earlier this week to sign Ben Gordon to a two-year, $9MM contract. The Andy Miller client is just a year removed from having started 71 games for the Pistons, and he seems in line to recoup most, if not all, of the salary he would have made with Orlando. The timing of the move, nearly a week before his contract guarantee date, gives Maxiell more of a chance to find a new deal on the market.

Bulls Plan To Amnesty Carlos Boozer?

July 2nd, 2014 at 10:33pm CST by Zachary Links

10:33pm: The Bulls told Boozer it’s a possibility he will be amnestied or used in a sign-and-trade but have made no final decisions, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

10:00pm: Carlos Boozer may have played his last game in a Bulls uniform. A source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Boozer’s departure is a “done deal” and says that the forward’s camp has been informed of the decision. NBA: Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic

Under the amnesty provision, Boozer still will be paid the $16.8MM he’s due next season, but it won’t count against the salary cap. The Bulls, of course, would have preferred to use Boozer’s expiring contract in a sign-and-trade scenario but they haven’t found any suitable offers. The Bulls obviously don’t want to pay Boozer for nothing, but they want to reallocate that space for something better, even if it’s not Carmelo Anthony.

As we learned last night, even if they’re able to convince Melo to come to Chicago, the Knicks have zero interest in taking on Boozer in an S&T deal. Even though others in the Knicks’ front office were warmer to the idea since Boozer’s contract could be used in a mid-season deal for someone like Kevin Love, Phil Jackson didn’t want to entertain the idea.

Of course, nothing has officially happened with Boozer just yet. The amnesty window runs from July 10th through the 16th.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Re-Sign Kyle Lowry

July 2nd, 2014 at 10:01pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 10TH: Lowry has officially re-signed, the team announced via press release.

“We made it known that our top priority heading into the offseason was to re-sign Kyle,” GM Masai Ujiri said in the team’s statement. “He was a key to our success last season and we are delighted that he wants to be here in Toronto to help us continue to build a championship program.”

JULY 2ND: Kyle Lowry has agreed to a four-year, $48MM deal to stay with the Raptors, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Lowry has been heavily courted by the Heat, Rockets, and others, but it appears that he’ll be staying put with the club that helped resurrect his career. The deal includes a player option for the fourth year (link). NBA: Playoffs-Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors

It was expected that the Raptors would pitch Lowry on a deal with an average annual value of $12MM a year but the club was reportedly considering making it a five-year offer to help keep him away from other suitors. For one reason or another, a fifth year wasn’t necessary and the Raptors got to keep their standout guard on a deal that is probably much more comfortable for them. This is strictly speculative on my part, but the opt out clause after year three could have been the compromise that kept Lowry satisfied with four years rather than five.

The Andy Miller client had significant interest from an impressive group of teams including the Heat, Rockets, Lakers, and Mavericks but he’s slated to stay north of the border for at least the next three seasons. It’s easy to see why. After averaging 10.6 PPG and 5.0 APG for the first seven years of his career, Lowry blossomed into a star last year for Toronto, putting up 17.9 PPG and 7.4 APG. The 28-year-old led Toronto to the Atlantic Division crown and although they were bounced by the sixth-seeded Nets in the first round, the Raptors organization reinvigorated Toronto’s basketball fans.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Waive Ronnie Price

July 2nd, 2014 at 3:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have waived guard Ronnie Price, the team announced via press release. His minimum salary contract was to have gone from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed had Orlando failed to release him by the end of July 10th, as our schedule of contract guarantee dates shows.

Orlando agreed to a two-year, $9MM deal with Ben Gordon earlier today, crowding a backcourt that includes Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier, Willie Green and rookie Elfrid Payton. The team also acquired swingman Devyn Marble, the No. 56 pick in Thursday’s draft.

Price was little-used last season in Orlando, appearing in only 31 games and averaging 2.4 points in 12.2 minutes per contest. Agent Mike Higgins will now help the 31-year-old look for a deal in unrestricted free agency.

Nets Hire Lionel Hollins

July 2nd, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:32pm: The fourth year is a team option, but Hollins could make as much as $20MM total on the deal if the Nets pick up that option, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).

1:57pm: The Nets have reached a deal with Lionel Hollins making him the head coach, the team announced (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that Brooklyn and the Steve Kauffman client were close to a deal this morning. The sides had been discussing a contract for four years and $18MM, Stein tweets.

Brooklyn moved swiftly to hire Hollins after striking a deal with Milwaukee on Monday to allow Jason Kidd out of his contract so he can coach the Bucks. The Nets reportedly spoke with University of Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie, and while George Karl, Ettore Messina and Mark Jackson were also rumored to be candidates, Hollins was seemingly the front-runner even before the Nets had officially let go of Kidd.

Hollins, 60, was also among the favorites for the Lakers vacancy, which is once more the only open head coaching position in the league. He meets Brooklyn GM Billy King‘s desire for an experience coach after the team experimented with the neophyte Kidd last season, having coached the Grizzlies to a franchise-record 56 wins and the Western Conference Finals in 2012/13. He’s 214-201 in parts of seven seasons as an NBA head coach, all of them with the Grizzlies.

The Cavs also met with Hollins about their coaching vacancy this offseason, as did the Wolves. The Jazz and Warriors had interest in him, too.

Pacers Sign Shayne Whittington

July 2nd, 2014 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

11:59am: The deal is official, the Pacers have announced. It’s a minimum salary contract, since it couldn’t otherwise become official during the July moratorium. He suffered his injury, a broken left fibula, in early May, according to the release. That explains why there were no reports of him having gone through predraft auditions for clubs.

11:30am: The Pacers will sign Western Michigan power forward Shayne Whittington to a one-year, partially guaranteed contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). That’s in spite of a knee injury that will force Whittington to miss the first half of the season, as Wojnarowski also tweets.

Whittington went undrafted after putting up 16.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a senior this past season. The client of Ronald Shade and Herb Rudoy didn’t appear to garner much attention on the predraft workout circuit, but he did impress in the Portsmouth Invitation Tournament, according to Wojnarowski.

Indiana has struck deals with a pair of power forwards today, reeling in Spanish league sharpshooter Damjan Rudez in addition to Whittington. Still, both are untested commodities against NBA competition, and the team has no plans to waive the partially guaranteed contract of Luis Scola, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star reported earlier.

Magic Sign Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton

July 2nd, 2014 at 10:01am CST by Chuck Myron

10:01am: Their contracts are indeed for 120% of the rookie scale, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

9:44am: The Magic have signed No. 4 overall pick Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton, the 10th overall pick, the team announced via press release. Official signings with first-round picks are one of the few maneuvers allowed during the July moratorium. They’re both presumably getting the standard 120% of the rookie scale, so Gordon will likely make slightly more than $3.992MM this season while Payton will probably draw nearly $2.398MM, as our table of salaries for first-round picks shows.

Orlando pulled a surprise with its choice of Gordon, a power forward from Arizona, while Dante Exum and Marcus Smart were still on the board, but the team filled its need for a point guard not long after, swinging a trade to acquire Payton. Orlando gave up No. 12 pick Dario Saric, a 2017 first-rounder and a 2015 second-rounder to the Sixers in exchange for the point guard from Louisiana-Lafayette.

Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors gave the Magic an A for their draft, one in which they also netted No. 56 overall pick Devyn Marble. Still, he pointed to the risk involved with Gordon when he examined him as part of our Prospect Profile Series.