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Wolves Re-Sign Chase Budinger

July 12th, 2013 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 12TH: The Timberwolves have officially re-signed Budinger, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 2ND: The Wolves have reached agreement on a deal with Chase Budinger that will keep him in Minnesota, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The deal will pay him $16MM across the next three seasons.

Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) adds that the deal will include an opt out after the second season (2014/15). For what it's worth, Budinger told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) that a deal is "really, really close" but not finalized, though he could just be keeping things mum until it's all official.

We heard earlier this week that Budinger got a four-year offer from the Wolves, along with J.J. Redick. Budinger came to the Rockets roughly this time last year along with Lior Eliyahu and a 2012 first-round pick that turned out to be Terrence Jones. In his debut season for Minnesota, Budinger missed significant time with knee trouble but averaged 9.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 22 minutes per contest across 23 games.

The Wolves certainly weren't the only team in pursuit of the Arizona product and the Bucks were among the clubs making a serious run at him. The Pelicans, Pacers, and Mavericks were also said to have interest.

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) first reported that the two sides were nearing agreement on a pact. Budinger is represented by BDA Sports Management, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Celtics, Nets Officially Complete Trade

July 12th, 2013 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics and Nets have officially completed the trade that will send Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn, the teams announced today in a pair of press releases.

"Today, the basketball gods smiled on the Nets," said Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov in Brooklyn's statement. "With the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, we have achieved a great balance on our roster between veteran stars and young talents. This team will be dazzling to watch, and tough to compete against."

The Nets receive Garnett, Pierce, Jason Terry, and D.J. White in the deal, while the Celtics receive Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, and Keith Bogans (signed-and-traded), along with 2014, 2016, and 2018 first-round picks. The '14 pick will be the Hawks' or Nets' selection, whichever is worse. The '16 and '18 picks are unprotected. The Celtics also have the ability to swap first-rounders with Brooklyn in 2017.

The deal couldn't be formally finalized until today because Joseph wasn't eligible to be traded within three months of signing with the Celtics on April 12th.

For more details on the swap, check out our initial post on the agreement.

Hawks Re-Sign Kyle Korver

July 12th, 2013 at 10:22am CST by Alex Lee

JULY 12TH: Korver's deal with the Hawks is now official, the team has announced in a press release.

JULY 3RD: The Hawks have reached an agreement with Kyle Korver on a four-year contract extension worth about $24MM, reports Marc Stein of ESPN (via Twitter).

Korver, who spent last year in Atlanta, averaged 10.9 points per game in 30.5 minutes for the Hawks in 2012/13. It was the first time he averaged double figures in points or more than 30 minutes per night since leaving Philadelphia in 2008. Korver, 32, shot 45.7 percent from downtown last season, and was a coveted free agent.

Interest in the former Creighton star had heated up in recent days. At one point, the sharp shooter seemed destined for Brooklyn, with the Spurs and Bucks also in the mix. Korver is represented by Excel Sports Management, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Cavs Sign Jarrett Jack

July 12th, 2013 at 10:18am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 12TH, 10:18am: The Cavaliers have officially finalized their deal with Jack, according to a press release from the team.

JULY 6TH, 4:44pm: The final year of Jack's salary is partially guaranteed, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. That may mean it's not a team option as reported below, but that wouldn't necessarily be the case. Gustavo Ayon's deal with the Bucks includes a team option that's already been picked up for this season, but the contract is still non-guaranteed.

3:56pm: The Cavaliers and Jarrett Jack have agreed on a four-year, $25MM deal, a source tells Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Jack, like Carl Landry, spent last season with the Warriors, but with Landry set to sign with the Kings, it looks like both are headed for new teams. The last year of Jack's deal will be a team option, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

The Excel Sports Management client helped the Warriors off the bench last season, notching 12.9 points per game on 40.4% three-point shooting. It appears he'll fill the same sixth-man role for the Cavs behind guards Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, according to Windhorst (on Twitter). When I examined Jack's free agent stock this spring, I expected a team with cap space would make him an offer for a $6MM annual salary, and it looks like that's about what happened.

The Warriors, Nuggets and Mavs were among the teams that had contact with Jack on the first day of free agency, and Dallas appeared to be intensifying its pursuit after Dwight Howard turned them down. The Mavs agreed to sign Jose Calderon last night, so perhaps that prompted them to drop out of the race for Jack.

It looked like the Warriors were poised to renounce Jack's Bird rights yesterday, but assuming the Nuggets agreed to a sign-and-trade for Andre Iguodala, they wouldn't necessarily have had to do so, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors points out. Now, it's a moot point, since Jack and Landry, Golden State's 29-year-old bench free agents, are headed elsewhere.

It's the second signing of the summer for the Cavs, who also used some of their ample cap space on a two-year, $9MM deal for Earl Clark, as our free agent tracker shows. Jack's is the first of the deals to include guaranteed money beyond next season. Only Anderson Varejao's deal extends beyond 2014, though Jack and first-round picks Anthony Bennett and Sergey Karasev will add to next summer's ledger.

Cavaliers Sign Earl Clark

July 12th, 2013 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12TH: The Cavaliers have officially signed Clark, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 4TH: The Cavaliers and Earl Clark have reached a two-year contract agreement, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (via Twitter). Deveney reports that the deal will pay Clark $9MM over the two next seasons, while TNT's David Aldridge tweets that the second year will be a team option.

After three years of limited playing time in Phoenix and Orlando, Clark had a bit of a breakout season for the Lakers last year, averaging 7.3 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 59 contests (36 starts), while playing significant minutes in place of the clubs' injured bigs.

Cleveland had been in hot pursuit of Clark all week, with Deveney joking yesterday (via Twitter) that the Cavs seemed to be giving Clark a more aggressive pitch than they gave LeBron James three years ago. While the 25-year-old expressed some interest in returning to Los Angeles, the Lakers had limited cap flexibility to offer Clark a new deal, since the club is already well into tax territory.

For the Cavs, a $4.5MM annual salary for Clark shouldn't put much of a dent in the team's summer cap space. Taking into account cap holds for Anthony Bennett and Sergey Karasev, Cleveland had about $33MM in guaranteed salary on its books prior to the agreement with Clark. Depending on whether the team intends to guarantee C.J. Miles' salary, or keep cap holds on the books for players such as Wayne Ellington and Marreese Speights, there still could be close to $20MM available in cap room.

Clark is represented by BDA Sports Management, as the Hoops Rumors agency database shows.

Lakers Re-Sign Robert Sacre

July 12th, 2013 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 8:59am: Larry Coon of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Sacre's minimum-salary contract will actually be for three years, rather than two, though only the first two years are guaranteed.

WEDNESDAY, 1:29pm: Sacre will get a fully guaranteed, multiyear deal from the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com (via Twitter). I'd expect it to be for the minimum salary, but that's still a little unexpected, considering Sacre's limited role and the Lakers' reluctance to add guaranteed salary for 2014/15.

1:15pm: The Lakers have re-signed 2012 second-round pick Robert Sacre, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (via Twitter). The team had extended a qualifying offer to Sacre in June, so I wouldn't be surprised if the 24-year-old simply accepted that one-year offer, worth $988,872.

During his rookie season in 2012/13, Sacre split time between the Lakers and the D-League's D-Fenders. In 32 NBA games, the seven-footer averaged 1.3 PPG and 0.8 RPG, appearing in just 6.3 minutes per contest. In his seven D-League appearances, Sacre's averages increased to 11.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 32.7 MPG.

Wolves To Sign-And-Trade For Kevin Martin

July 11th, 2013 at 9:13pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 11TH 9:13pm: The Timberwolves have officially announced, via the team's Twitter feed, that they've acquired Martin and cash from the Thunder and will send Ridnour and a 2014 second-round pick to the Bucks. The Wolves own the Lakers 2014 second rounder, which is the selection that will go to Milwaukee. Regarding the addition of Martin, Wolves president Flip Saunders said, "He is familiar with Coach Adelman's style of play and had success playing for him in Sacramento and Houston. We expect that to continue in Minnesota." (Twitter link)

The Bucks will send the draft rights to 2003 second round pick Szymon Szewczyk to Oklahoma City in the deal and get cash back from the Thunder, the team tweeted. The Thunder will have until July 11 of next year to acquire a player via the trade exception they picked up in the deal, tweets Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.

JULY 11TH 10:18am: The Thunder will send cash to the T-Wolves as part of the sign-and-trade for Martin, and create a $7MM TPE, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's still not entirely clear what the Wolves are sending out in the trade — either that missing piece has yet to be reported, or the team intends to fold its Luke Ridnour deal into this one.

JULY 10TH: Marc Stein of ESPN.com pegs the deal in the $30MM range, noting that the Wolves and Thunder will roll the agreement into a sign-and-trade that will net Oklahoma City a trade exception. It's unclear exactly what the Thunder are getting in the trade, but presumably, draft picks and/or cash will be headed OKC's way.

JULY 2ND: Kevin Martin has reached agreement with the Wolves on a four-year, $28MM deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter) reported earlier tonight that Minnesota offered Kevin Martin a four-year deal in that vicinity. Martin is represented by Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Martin, of course, spent last season with the Thunder after coming over from Houston in the James Harden trade. The guard averaged 14.0 PPG while shooting 45% from the floor in 27.7 minutes per contest last season. Martin was a hot commodity this summer and the Blazers and Grizzlies were said to have serious interest in signing him.

It has been a busy day for the Timberwolves, who re-signed Chase Budinger just hours ago. The forward will get a $16MM, three-year deal from Flip Saunders & Co. Martin will pair with Ricky Rubio in the Wolves' backcourt, giving the club one of the more intriguing guard combos in the league.

The Thunder were said to be seeking a sign-and-trade for Martin if they could not retain him, but they'll now watch the guard leave without anything in return.

Rockets Sign Isaiah Canaan

July 11th, 2013 at 8:54pm CST by Alex Lee

The Rockets and second round pick Isaiah Canaan have agreed to a three-year contract with the third year being a team option, according to agent Reggie Brown (Twitter link and story via Fox Houston's Mark Berman). Canaan was said to be drawing first round interest in June's draft, but dropped to No. 34 where the Rockets jumped on him.

Canaan averaged 21.8 points and 4.3 assists per game as a senior at Murray State. He figures to be ready to score at the NBA level, and should be an offensive asset off the bench for the new-look Rockets sooner rather than later. If the rumors that the team is shopping Jeremy Lin prove true, Canaan could be thrust into a significant role on a team with title aspirations.

Pistons Release Kim English

July 11th, 2013 at 8:22pm CST by Alex Lee

The Pistons have released second-year guard Kim English, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit reached an agreement with Chauncey Billups earlier today, further maxing out the roster and making English the odd man out.

A 24-year-old Missouri product, English played 41 games for the Pistons last season and also spent some time in the D-League. Overall, he averaged 2.9 PPG over 9.9 minutes. English was drafted a year ago by Detroit with the 14th pick of the second round, which made the second year of his deal unguaranteed.

The 2013/14 season on English's contract would have become fully guaranteed had he not been waived on or before July 12th. Assuming he clears waivers, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

Spurs Sign Jeff Pendergraph

July 11th, 2013 at 8:13pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 11TH: The Spurs have officially signed Pendergraph, the team announced today in a press release. The deal is for two years and $4MM, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

JULY 6TH: The Spurs have reached agreement with free agent forward Jeff Pendergraph on a two-year deal, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Pendergraph is a client of Impact Sports Basketball, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

The 6'9" forward saw 10 minutes per contest for the Pacers last season and put up 3.9 PPG with 2.8 RPG. Pendergraph spent his first season in the league with the Blazers and missed his sophomore year (2010/11) due to a knee injury.