Warriors Agree To Sign DeWayne Dedmon
The Warriors have reached an agreement with undrafted rookie DeWayne Dedmon, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). According to Amick, Dedmon will receive a partial guarantee on his deal with Golden State.
Dedmon, a 7'0" center, declared his intent for the draft this past spring, but wasn't one of the 60 players selected in June. After averaging 6.7 PPG and 7.0 RPG in his final year at USC, Dedmon ranked 74th among Chad Ford's list of 2013 prospects at ESPN.com. The 24-year-old worked out for a handful of teams in the weeks leading up to the draft, including the Trail Blazers, Suns, Lakers, Grizzlies, and Bucks.
The Warriors currently have 12 guaranteed contracts on their books, plus Seth Curry's non-guaranteed camp invite. Throw in partial guarantees for Dedmon and Kent Bazemore, and the club has 15 players lined up for camp, likely with more to come. Depending on how much money the team guarantees Dedmon, that commitment could give him the upper hand on earning a regular-season roster spot.
David Lighty Accepts Hawks’ Camp Invite
Former Ohio State shooting guard David Lighty will be in camp next month with the Hawks, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Word that Lighty would accept a training camp invite from the team was first reported earlier in the summer by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Lighty, 25, went undrafted in 2011 as Chad Ford's 64th-best prospect in that year's rookie class. He has played overseas since then, most recently averaging 12.5 PPG and shooting 42.5% on three-pointers in 35 games for JSF Nanterre in France.
As Vivlamore notes, Lighty and Eric Dawson are the players confirmed to be camp invitees so far for the Hawks, while Shelvin Mack is on a non-guaranteed contract and Mike Scott only has a partial guarantee. Mack and Scott probably have a leg up on Lighty and Dawson for regular-season roster spots, but with only 12 guaranteed contracts on their books so far, the Hawks should have a few players competing for those last few openings next month.
Lakers Sign Shawne Williams
SEPTEMBER 3RD: The Lakers finally made the signing official, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com passes the news along via Twitter.
JULY 19TH: The Lakers and Shawne Williams have reached agreement on deal that will bring the veteran forward to training camp, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The wording of Begley's tweet indicates that it's just a camp invitation, which would mean a one-year, minimum-salary deal with no guarantee, but the precise terms of the arrangement are unclear.
Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote last month that Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, who had Williams on one of his Knicks teams, wanted to work with him again, and Begley notes that D'Antoni regards the 27-year-old highly. Williams reportedly worked out for the Lakers and several other teams this summer, including the Knicks. Agent Happy Walters said in June that Williams "loved his time" with New York but would make playing time a priority when he chose his next team.
The University of Memphis product has spent parts of five seasons in the NBA, last appearing with the Nets in 2011/12. He averaged double-digit minutes all five years, but he's put up just 5.7 points per game for his career.
Pacers Reach Agreement With Rasual Butler
After not catching on with an NBA team last year, Rasual Butler has reached an agreement to join the Pacers, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Indiana will sign Butler to a non-guaranteed contract, which figures to essentially amount to a camp invite.
Butler last appeared in the NBA for the Raptors in 2011/12, averaging a career-low 3.2 PPG and 4.8 PER in 34 contests. The 34-year-old participated in workouts last fall and this past spring, but didn't seem to draw much interest from NBA teams until now.
The Pacers have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, and, as our list of non-guaranteed deals shows, have also invited Ron Howard to training camp. Indiana will almost certainly add at least a couple more players to the team's camp roster, but as long as those guys are on non-guaranteed contracts as well, it seems Butler will be given the opportunity to earn a regular-season roster spot.
Suns Buy Out Michael Beasley
3:19pm: Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details on Beasley's buyout (via Twitter): He'll earn $7MM overall, instead of the $9MM he had been guaranteed.
Beasley's 2013/14 salary (and the Suns' cap hit) will be reduced from $6MM to $4.67MM. His second-year salary will be reduced from $3MM to $2.33MM — both the payment and the cap hit for that $2.33MM will be spread over the next three years (starting in 2014/15), according to Coro (via Twitter).
2:28pm: The Suns have officially waived Beasley, the team announced today in a press release. The release notes that the two sides reached a buyout agreement, meaning the overall amount the Suns owe him for the next two seasons will be reduced, along with the cap hits.
"The Suns were devoted to Michael Beasley’s success in Phoenix," said president of basketball operations Lon Babby in a statement. "However, it is essential that we demand the highest standards of personal and professional conduct as we develop a championship culture. Today’s action reflects our commitment to those standards. The timing and nature of this, and all of our transactions, are based on the judgment of our basketball leadership as to how best to achieve our singular goal of rebuilding an elite team."
1:55pm: Michael Beasley's stint in Phoenix will come to an end in the near future, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, who reports that the Suns will waive Beasley in the coming days. Stein indicates that Phoenix will likely make the move official this week, with the 24-year-old forward on track to clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent shortly thereafter.
Beasley signed a three-year, $18MM contract with the Suns last summer, but underwhelmed on the court in his first season in Phoenix, and was plagued by off-court issues as well. Most recently, the Kansas State product was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession, making his release a near certainty.
The Suns have elected to wait until after August 31st to officially release Beasley, meaning the team will pay his full $6MM salary for 2013/14 in normal intervals. Had Phoenix waived Beasley between July 1st and August 31st, the remaining guaranteed money on his contract ($9MM) would have been paid over the next five years. By clearing about $5.5MM in salary in last week's Caron Butler trade with the Bucks, the Suns made it more palatable to waive Beasley and eat his full salary this year, getting his contract off the books sooner rather than later.
The second overall pick in the 2008 draft, Beasley had the least productive year of his career in 2012/13, setting career-lows in PPG (10.1), RPG (3.8), PER (10.8), and FG% (.405), among other categories. He almost certainly won't be claimed on waivers, meaning he'll be free to sign with any NBA team after the Suns officially cut him. While a player with Beasley's talent will likely get another chance, I imagine many teams will steer clear due to concerns about a potential negative locker-room influence.
After trading Butler for multiple players and signing first-round pick Alex Len, the Suns are up to 17 players on guaranteed contracts. They'll reduce that number by one when Beasley is formally released, but will still need to make at least one more cut (or trade) before opening night to get down to the regular-season maximum of 15.
Raptors Release Quentin Richardson
SEPTEMBER 3RD: The Raptors have waived Richardson, the team announced in a press release. Assuming the transaction didn't become official until today, that means the stretch provision, which I mentioned below, wouldn't apply to Richardson.
AUGUST 30TH: The Raptors have waived swingman Quentin Richardson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Richardson was a salary throw-in in last month's Andrea Bargnani deal with the Knicks, and wasn't expected to still be on Toronto's roster by opening night.
Because of a trade kicker in Bargnani's contract, Steve Novak's and Marcus Camby's salaries weren't quite enough to allow the Knicks to take back the former first overall pick. So the team also signed-and-traded Richardson to the Raps as part of the transaction. The veteran's minimum-salary contract for 2013/14 is guaranteed, but the next two years of his deal are fully non-guaranteed.
There's virtually no chance Richardson is claimed on waivers, so Toronto will be on the hook for his full '13/14 salary. However, because the Raptors cut Richardson prior to August 31st, the team can use the stretch provision, extending the cap hits and salary payments for the 33-year-old over the next three seasons.
Fab Melo Clears Waivers
Big man Fab Melo has cleared waivers after being cut loose by the Grizzlies late last week, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Syracuse product was set to earn $1.31MM in 2013/14.
Melo's stint in Memphis didn't last very long as he came over via trade from the Celtics in mid-August. It's still unclear if the Grizzlies intended all along to waive the center after giving up Donte Greene to get him. Ultimately, the move cost the Grizzlies a little bit of cap flexibility but netted them at least $300K in cash as the C's gave them $1.66MM in the swap.
Melo was the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 draft and only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. He spent the bulk of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 games for the Maine Red Claws. Despite his lack of a real professional resume, it wasn't a given that Melo would clear waivers given his size and athleticism.
International Notes: Zaid Abbas, John Shurna
Earlier this week, former Blazers forward Luke Babbitt reached a deal with Russia's BC Nizhny Novgorod on a one-year contract that doesn't include an NBA out clause. Agent Bill Duffy explained that his client will benefit from playing 30 minutes per contest and developing his game further before returning stateside. Here's today's look around the globe..
- Jordanian forward Zaid Abbas has signed with Tianjin of China, agent Giovanni Funiciello told HoopsHype (on Twitter). Abbas had a bit of NBA interest, but his new deal means that he'll play a fourth consecutive season in China. The 29-year-old was said to be holding off on a new deal in China over optimism for an NBA deal this month, but it would appear that nothing materialized to his liking.
- Forward John Shurna signed with Spanish club Joventut de Badalona, according to Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival (via Twitter). The Northwestern product was in summer league with the Hawks after going undrafted in 2012 and joined the Bucks' squad this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Odom, Dentmon, T-Mac, Minnerath
On the heels of reports that Lamar Odom has been arrested on suspicion of DUI, at least one NBA general manager believes the veteran forward's NBA career is over.
"Just going by what he is giving you on the court, he would have been a risk anyway, maybe someone you give a partial guarantee to just to see if he can turn things around," the GM told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. "But with the circus that’s around him off the court now, no way."
As Odom continues to work through his off-court issues, let's check in on a few more odds and ends from around the Association:
- Justin Dentmon, who briefly played for the Mavericks last season, has signed with Lithuania's BC Kauno Zalgiris, according to the team (via Twitter).
- In his latest lengthy piece for Grantland.com, Bill Simmons examines Tracy McGrady's legacy, which Simmons argues will be marred by T-Mac's underwhelming collection of teammates.
- Undrafted rookie Nick Minnerath, who had previously tweeted that he'd be attending training camp with the Lakers, has officially signed Spain's Obradoiro, the team announced (translation via Sportando). The statement from Obradoiro president Jose Luis Mateo suggests that Minnerath will forgo Lakers' camp.
- Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com likes the signing of Monta Ellis for the Mavericks, giving the team a grade of A- for the move.
- In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Jeff Goodman takes a look at some candidates to become the next mid-major star, following in the footsteps of guys like Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Grizzlies Waive Fab Melo
Just two weeks after acquiring him from the Celtics, the Grizzlies have released big man Fab Melo, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's not clear if that was Memphis' plan all along, or whether the team changed its opinion on Melo after trading for him, but either way, his stint with the Grizzlies didn't last long.
In the deal that sent Melo to Memphis and Donte Greene to Boston, the Grizzlies gave up a non-guaranteed salary of about $1.03MM to add a guaranteed $1.31MM salary. However, as Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld tweeted last week, the Celtics also included $1.66MM in cash in the swap. So even though the Grizzlies still take a cap hit for Melo, ownership technically saved a little money in the deal, at the expense of some flexibility.
Assuming Melo isn't claimed on waivers, he'll become an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team except the C's. Meanwhile, by cutting him prior to the August 31st deadline, the Grizzlies can use the stretch provision on Melo, allowing the club to stretch his salary payments and cap hit into three equal parts over the next three years.
Of course, it's no given that Melo will clear waivers. As Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter) it's possible that a team with cap space or a trade exception big enough to absorb his salary will take a flier on the young seven-footer, which would take the Grizzlies entirely off the hook for his contract.