Pistons Waive Josh Harrellson, Peyton Siva
The Pistons have waived Josh Harrellson and Peyton Siva, according to a trio of reports. There’s been no official statement from the team, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, Mark Deeks of ShamSports and Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News are all reporting that the team has released both of them (All Twitter links). Shams Charania of RealGM reported late Monday that the Pistons intended to waive Siva (Twitter link).
Both were on non-guaranteed minimum-salary contracts that were to become fully guaranteed if the Pistons didn’t waive them on or before July 20th. Siva’s guarantee date was listed as July 12, but multiple sources recently cited the date as July 20th, as I noted Monday. The team’s five contract agreements so far in free agency gave the team 16 players, so the releases of Siva and Harrellson help alleviate that numbers crunch, bringing the total down to 14. Detroit would be back up at 15 if it brought back restricted free agent Greg Monroe.
The Pistons also renounced their rights to Rodney Stuckey, Chauncey Billups and Charlie Villanueva, meaning they can’t exceed the salary cap to re-sign any of those players. That likely means none of them will be back with the team, Stuckey in particular.
Siva saw action in just 24 NBA games last season, averaging 9.3 minutes per contest, after the Pistons drafted him 56th overall in 2013. Harrellson, a three-year veteran, saw slightly more time, getting in 32 games and averaging 9.9 MPG.
Heat Sign Danny Granger
JULY 14th: The deal is now official, the team has announced. Of the signing, Heat president Pat Riley said, “One of our main priorities this offseason was obtaining a proven veteran like Danny with All-Star experience. We expect him to be a multi-position player and have a very successful season in our system.”
JULY 7th: The Heat and Danny Granger have struck a two-year, $4.2MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’ll be for the bi-annual exception and it’ll include a player option in year two.
It’s the second agreement Miami has reached today after securing a deal with Josh McRoberts for the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception. Granger, the long-time Pacers star, comes to Miami after finishing last season with the Clippers, largely failing to regain his scoring prowess after missing almost all of 2012/13 with injury.
In 41 combined games for the Pacers and Clippers last season, Granger averaged 8.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 20.7 minutes per contest. His total PER amounted to 10.9 and that was boosted by a small uptick in his dozen games with the Clippers.
The Wizards, Suns, and Clippers have been among the teams that have reached out to Granger since the start of free agency. Obviously, the former All-Star has lost a step or three in recent years but the Heat will be delighted if the 31-year-old can at least gain some of that form back. Excluding these last two forgettable seasons, Granger averaged 18.2 PPG and 5.2 RPG.
Wojnarowski reports that Granger was willing to take less than market value for the chance to join up with LeBron James in Miami which would imply that he was offered more elsewhere.
Bulls Trade Greg Smith To Mavs
MONDAY, 6:18pm: The Mavericks have announced that the trade is official. Dallas acquires Smith from the Bulls in exchange for the rights to Tadija Dragicevic.
9:24pm: Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com confirms the trade is happening, and is told that the Mavs will give up virtually nothing in the deal (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 10:40pm: The Bulls are expected to trade Greg Smith to the Mavs by Monday, a league source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune confirms that a trade is in the works, but stops short of calling it a done deal (on Twitter). Chicago is looking to clear Smith’s salary, at just under $950K, to aid in their ongoing efforts in free agency.
Smith was signed by the Bulls after the Rockets waived the center during the season. The 23-year-old was injured at the time, arriving amid a slew of late-season pickups that gave the Bulls cap flexibility for this year while helping them reach the roster minimum. Details of compensation from Dallas are unknown, but they would likely be modest for a recovering player on a minimum contract.
Smith played in 70 games for Houston in the 2012/13 season, but that was sandwiched between a total of 19 appearances in his other two seasons in the NBA. If healthy, he could fill a need for Dallas, who were reportedly interested in re-signing fellow big man DeJuan Blair at the minimum salary.
Bulls Trade Anthony Randolph To Magic
5:30pm: The deal is now official, the Magic has announced. The Magic receive second rounders in 2015 and 2016, cash considerations, and Randolph, while the Bulls receive the draft rights to Rakovic.
4:29pm: The Magic would send the draft rights to Milovan Rakovic to Chicago and Orlando would also receive cash as part of the deal, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).
3:38pm: The Bulls will trade Anthony Randolph and a pair of second-round picks to the Magic, who are expected to waive Randolph once they receive him, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Chicago has been shopping Randolph, whom the team acquired in a draft-night trade from the Nuggets, in an effort to clear cap room. His salary, worth more than $1.825MM for the upcoming season, is fully guaranteed, so it appears it will remain on the books for the Magic, who’ll use their cap space to absorb Randolph, with the second-rounders as enticement for them to do so. It’s not immediately clear what Orlando will give up, but it’s unlikely to involve any guaranteed salary.
Chicago has to open up cap space one way or another to accommodate its agreements with Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic, as I explained this morning. Sending out Randolph will move the Bulls only incrementally toward that goal, one that’s unlikely to be reached unless Carlos Boozer leaves either by amnesty or salary-clearing trade. Still, it’s a maneuver that could allow the Bulls to use their Early Bird rights to re-sign Kirk Hinrich and preserve their room exception. Chicago also has an agreement in place to send Greg Smith and his guaranteed salary to the Mavs.
In 43 games with the Nuggets last season, Randolph averaged 4.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 0.7 APG while playing 12.3 minutes per contest. His career averages are 7.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 0.7 APG in six seasons.
Heat Sign Josh McRoberts
JULY 14th, 5:05pm: The Heat have made the announcement that the deal is now official. Of the signing, Pat Riley said (Twitter links), “We felt from day one that he was one of our main targets. We are delighted that this multi-faceted player will help us immensely in being the kind of team that Coach Spoelstra wants with his versatility.”
2:58pm: The deal that McRoberts received from the Heat was slightly better than the Hornets’ best offer, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer hears (Twitter link). The Heat released a statement today acknowledging their agreement with the power forward.
JULY 7th, 2:03pm: Josh McRoberts has verbally committed to sign with the Heat, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Miami appeared to be in a two-way battle with the Hornets earlier today. It’s a four-year deal worth the full value of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, with a player option for the final season, Stein adds (on Twitter). That would make it worth $22,652,350, as I explained.
The use of the mid-level will make the Heat hard-capped for the 2014/15, meaning they can’t go more than $4MM above the tax level at any point. That hard cap is projected to be about $81MM.
Charlotte apparently made the same offer to retain the slick-passing power forward, but the Heat have seemingly won out. An increasing number of executives reportedly believed that the client of agent Mike Conley Sr. would indeed end up with a deal for the mid-level.
It’s the first agreement so far this month for the Heat and team president Pat Riley, who’ve been courting LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in the hopes that the star trio will return. McRoberts isn’t the sort of significant free agent addition that Marcin Gortat, Kyle Lowry and Luol Deng, all of whom the Heat have reportedly had on their radar, would have been, but he is coming off a career year. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game for the then-Bobcats, but he also notched one of the league’s best assist-to-turnover ratios, averaging 4.3 and 1.1 in those categories, respectively. The Blazers, Mavs, Cavs, Clippers, Knicks, Spurs, Suns and Lakers were all among his reported suitors.
Pistons Sign Jodie Meeks
JULY 14TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
“Jodie’s approach to the game fits the style of basketball we want to play and his ability to shoot the ball from the outside is a skill that will help our team moving forward,” GM Jeff Bower said in the team’s statement.
JULY 1ST: 4:32pm: No options are involved as a part of the deal, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
3:53pm: The Pistons and Jodie Meeks have agreed on a three-year deal for more than $19MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The two-guard leaves the Lakers to fill a need in Detroit, which was woeful from behind the three-point arc last season, and he’ll receive a tidy raise for doing so after making just $1.55MM this past season in L.A.
It appears that Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy will use cap space on the maneuver, and the deal doesn’t bode well for the future of free agent guard Rodney Stuckey in Detroit. Meeks made a career-high 40.1% of his three-pointers this past season, though he’s only a 37.6% three-point shooter for his career. Still, that’s much better than Stuckey, who shot just 27.3% from behind the arc last season and carries a 28.6% mark in that category.
Meeks expressed desire to remain with the Lakers, and they were reportedly one of a number of teams making contact with him last night. The Pistons likely outbid others for the Andrew Vye client, who became the first free agent to agree to a deal in the 2014/15 season.
Magic Sign Channing Frye
JULY 14TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release
“Channing’s character, competiveness, veteran experience, and leadership ability are valuable additions to our developing team,” Magic GM Rob Hennigan said in the team’s statement. “His ability to stretch the floor and play sound team defense are also ways in which we envision Channing helping our team moving forward.”
JULY 9TH, 9:35pm Frye’s deal will be front-loaded and team-friendly in its latter years, a source with knowledge of the agreement tells Joshua Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The deal will see decreases of 4.5% each season–the most allowable under the CBA–which projects to salaries of $8,560,707, $8,175,476, $7,807,579, and $7,456,238 for each year.
JULY 7TH, 5:04pm: The Magic have reached agreement on a deal with Channing Frye, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The deal will be for four years and $32MM (link).
While Frye has been garnering interest from around the league, the Magic weren’t seen as a likely destination and weren’t really mentioned as a possibility. The incumbent Suns wanted to re-sign him, the Warriors and Cavs were ready and waiting when Frye opted out of his deal with Phoenix, and there was mutual interest between the big man and the Blazers.
The 31-year-old missed all of 2012/13 with an enlarged heart but wound up playing and starting in all 82 of the Suns’ regular season games last season. Frye averaged 11.1 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 0.8 BPG in 28.2 minutes per contest. He’s had slightly better marks in those categories and in PER, but he was nonetheless a bright spot for the Suns last season.
In a league that is falling more and more in love with the idea of a stretch four every day, Frye is a hot commodity. The 6-foot-11 can consistently connect from the outside and owns a career 38.5% mark on three-pointers.
Orlando has upgraded their power forward situation in a big way this offseason. Frye will presumably be the starter with No. 4 overall pick Aaron Gordon in reserve.
Heat Re-Sign Mario Chalmers
MONDAY, 2:00pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced.
“It’s great to have Mario back,” team president Pat Riley said in the team’s statement. “We’re happy that he wants to continue his career in Miami, he’s one of our core players, and I believe he will have a great season.”
SUNDAY, 10:50pm: It’s a two-year, $8MM+ deal, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter).
5:11pm: The Heat will re-sign Mario Chalmers to a two-year deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Terms of the deal are not yet known for the Sam Goldfeder client.
LeBron James, who affectionately referred to Chalmers as “‘Rio”, is gone, but the Heat appear to be on their way to keeping the rest of their core in place. Chalmers is back on a two-year deal, Bosh will re-sign on a max deal, and Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are close to new contracts in Miami.
The Heat were said to be considering sign-and-trade possibilities for Chalmers last week. The 28-year-old struggled mightily in the playoffs, averaging only 6.4 points per contest, and was benched for the team’s final postseason game. It was the first time he didn’t start for the Heat in the past three seasons, and he recorded a career-high 14.0 PER this past year during the regular season. He tied his career mark with 4.9 assists per game, and his 9.8 PPG approached his best, too.
Hornets Send Scotty Hopson To Pelicans
The Hornets have traded Scotty Hopson to the Pelicans, both teams announced via press release late Sunday. Charlotte had just acquired Hopson from the Cavs on Saturday. The Hornets receive cash in return.
It’s perhaps only fitting that Hopson has been in two trades in as many days, since his contract was largely designed to be swapped. The Cavs signed him on the last day of March this past season for the rest of the 2013/14, and they tacked on a non-guaranteed 2014/15. Cavs GM David Griffin used the mid-level exception in an apparent attempt to make Hopson’s non-guaranteed salary larger, and thus more useful for salary matching purposes in trades. Griffin nonetheless could have signed a veteran of 10 or more seasons to the minimum salary and created an even larger non-guaranteed 2014/15 salary while spending much less in prorated guaranteed salary last season.
Hopson played all of seven minutes at the end of last season for Cleveland, and it seems doubtful he’ll add to that total for New Orleans. The 6’7″ swingman has played primarily overseas since going undrafted out of the University of Tennessee in 2011, and if he so much as makes it to training camp this fall, it’ll be a first for the one-time McDonald’s All-American.
Chandler Parsons To Join Mavericks
8:00pm: Sign-and-trade talks between the two sides have ended without a deal, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
6:25pm: The Rockets and Mavericks have expressed a willingness to try and hammer out a sign-and-trade deal, but it’s not clear if the league will allow them to do so, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
4:59pm: The Rockets have decided not to match the offer sheet Chandler Parsons signed with the Mavericks, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Parsons will now earn more than $46,084,500 over the next three seasons with Dallas, a figure slightly less than the maximum he could have received in an offer sheet over that timeframe.
The Rockets were hoping to land free agent Chris Bosh and also match the Mavs’ offer sheet for Parsons. However, when Bosh surprised Houston by returning to Miami, the Rockets decided to spend their money elsewhere.
Parsons will earn $14.7MM next season, $15.36MM in 2015/16 and $16.02MM in 2016/17 for a total of $46.08MM over three years. The third and final year of the deal includes a player option.
Houston chose to decline the extremely reasonable $960K team option for Parsons this season in a move that preserved their right to match offers for the third-year forward in restricted free agency rather than see him become an unrestricted free agent next summer.