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Warriors Sign Nemanja Nedovic

July 10th, 2013 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 7:58am: The Warriors announced in a press release that the team has officially signed Nedovic, so presumably a buyout agreeement was reached.

TUESDAY, 4:34pm: 30th overall pick Nemanja Nedovic is working on a buyout with his Lithuanian team, and will sign with the Warriors for the 2013/14 season, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).

Given the uncertainty surrounding Nedovic's buyout, the Warriors' cap situation, and the available roster spots in Golden State, there was no guarantee that the Serbian guard would come to the NBA immediately. However, it appears he'll be able to sign his rookie-scale contract in the near future. As our chart shows, that would put him in line for a first-year salary worth about $1.06MM.

When Nedovic finalizes his buyout and signs with the Warriors, he'll join a backcourt that will include Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Toney Douglas. Andre Iguodala is also capable of playing both backcourt positions, and non-guaranteed players like Scott Machado and Kent Bazemore will be vying for roster spots as well.

Clippers Re-Sign Chris Paul

July 10th, 2013 at 7:34am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 10TH: The Clippers didn't waste any time once the moratorium ended, officially announcing Paul's new deal on the team's website.

JULY 1ST: Chris Paul took to Twitter to announce his return to the Clippers this morning, adding confirmation to news that's been expected for some time. His representatives had begun telling other teams this weekend not to bother making a pitch to him, since he had already committed to the Clips.

Agent Leon Rose confirms to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that Paul has verbally agreed to a five-year, $107MM deal, with the ability to opt out after four seasons (Twitter links). Presumably, that means Paul is getting the maximum salary, as our Luke Adams projected Paul would be in line for $107MM when he looked at maximum scenarios this spring. That number, like the deal itself, won't become official until the July Moratorium is over next week.

With Blake Griffin's extension set to kick in this coming season and Doc Rivers coming aboard this summer, the Clippers employ the league's highest paid coach and have committed more than $200MM to a pair of stars, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out via Twitter. The deals for both Griffin and Paul will run through 2018, though Griffin, too, can opt out after 2016/17. Griffin has an early-termination option for 2017/18, and I'd imagine Paul's opt-out clause is in the form of an early-termination option, too.

Paul didn't speak to any other teams after free agency began late last night, notes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, and if he had, it would have been surprising. The hiring of Rivers as coach and primary front office decision-maker appeared to clinch the deal for Paul, whom other teams, like the Mavericks, Rockets and Hawks, had hoped could be lured away.

Paul and Dwight Howard had been considered the top two free agents on the market, and CP3 was far and away the best point guard available. Teams looking for a free agent option who can run their offense must turn to a crop headlined by Jose Calderon, Brandon Jennings and Jeff Teague. The Clippers have been rumored to be pursuing Howard in a sign-and-trade, but that appears to be a longshot.

Raptors To Sign Julyan Stone

July 10th, 2013 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10TH: Stone's deal will be worth about $1.9MM over two years, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com. A minimum-salary contract would be worth $1,832,456, so it's not clear whether Charania's figure is just slightly off, or whether the Raptors are signing Stone using a non-minimum exception.

JULY 4TH: The Raptors have agreed to sign free agent guard Julyan Stone to a two-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The 24-year-old was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Nuggets, and became unrestricted.

With Sebastian Telfair and John Lucas III seemingly headed elsewhere in free agency, the Raptors are in the market for point guard help this summer. I doubt Stone will be Kyle Lowry's primary backup, but he could be a serviceable third-stringer at the point, and has played both backcourt positions in the past.

Presumably, new Raptors head of basketball operations and former Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri played a major role in luring Stone to Toronto. It's not clear if one or both of the years on Stone's deal will be guaranteed. Either way though, a multiyear contract for a player who has accumulated just over 200 NBA minutes in two seasons is rare.

While the level of guarantee on Stone's deal isn't yet known, I would assume it's for the minimum salary. Stone is represented by agent Giovanni Funiciello.

Clippers Waive DaJuan Summers

July 9th, 2013 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have reduced their roster by one, releasing DaJuan Summers, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Summers, signed back in April for the rest of the 2012/13 season, had a non-guaranteed minimum salary for '13/14, so the Clips won't take a cap hit for the move.

Summers, 25, appeared in just a pair of contests for Los Angeles last season. He has previously spent time with the Pistons and Pelicans, averaging 3.3 PPG in 83 career games. The timing of the move seems a little unusual, since the Clippers confirmed today in a press release that Summers would be on their Summer League squad, and his contract wasn't scheduled to become guaranteed until January.

In any case, Summers will become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he clears waivers.

Lakers To Amnesty Metta World Peace

July 8th, 2013 at 7:17pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lakers are set to use the amnesty clause on the contract of Metta World Peace barring some late change, according to Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register (on Twitter). The forward's contract calls for him to make about $7.73MM in 2013/14.

Even without Dwight Howard in the picture, the Lakers are well into luxury tax territory and cutting MWP loose with the amnesty provision will save them about $21.5MM in total. Peace, of course, has a reputation as a tenacious defender but his performance has been in decline as of late and he's certainly not worth the cost for a club that doesn't figure to contend in 2013/14.

Using the clause on MWP means that the Lakers will eliminate his cap hit from the books while still paying him his full salary. For a refresher on the amnesty clause, check out the full explanation in the Hoops Rumors glossary.

Wizards Sign Otto Porter, Glen Rice Jr.

July 8th, 2013 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have locked up their 2013 draft picks, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, who reports (via Twitter) that Otto Porter and Glen Rice Jr. have signed their respective deals.

Porter, the third overall pick, will be on a standard rookie-scale contract, which figures to pay him about $4.28MM in his first NBA season, as our chart of rookie salaries shows. Rice, on the other hand, was a second-round pick (35th overall), meaning he isn't subject to the same scale.

The terms of Rice's deal aren't known, but the Wizards are believed to have committed their mid-level exception to Martell Webster and their bi-annual exception to Eric Maynor. If that's the case, it would leave room for just a minimum-salary contract for Rice.

Celtics Sign Kelly Olynyk

July 7th, 2013 at 8:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Celtics announced that they have signed first-round pick Kelly Olynyk. The 7'0" forward was the 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Olynyk was a consensus All-American and the West Coast Conference Player of the Year during the 2012-13 season for Gonzaza. He averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 26.4 minutes per game, while finishing third in the nation in field goal shooting at 62.9%.

Olynyk’s draft rights were acquired from Dallas in exchange for the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira and two future second round draft picks. If C's go to 120% of the rookie scale, Olynyk will earn $2MM in his first year.

Wolves Waive Stiemsma, Gelabale

July 7th, 2013 at 4:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wolves announced that they have waived center Greg Stiemsma and forward Mickael Gelabale. Both moves have been expected for some time.

Both players had contracts for the 2013/14 season that were said to become guaranteed if they were still on the Wolves’ roster at the end of the month. Stiemsma was set to earn $2.69MM next season while Gelabale would have made $916K. According to the Hoops Rumors schedule of guarantee dates, Stiemsma would have had his contract locked in on July 17th while Gelabale would have been guaranteed on the 22nd.

Stiemsma, a former Celtic, averaged 4.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 15.9 minutes per game last year. Gelabale, who spent several years overseas, scored 5.0 PPG in 17.9 minutes per contest.

Magic Sign Victor Oladipo

July 7th, 2013 at 9:41am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have signed No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo, the team announced via press release. His rookie-scale figure is close to $4MM, so he’s likely to receive a first-year salary equal to 120% of the scale amount, like most first-round picks. That would give him slightly more than $4.76MM, as our salary chart for this year’s first-rounders shows.

The signing of first-round picks is one of the few transactions allowed during the July Moratorium, so the move is official. Oladipo gives the Magic a high-energy defender with a rapidly improving offensive game. When I examined his potential this spring, I figured Oladipo would continue his rise on draft boards around the league, and he wound up just one pick shy of the top spot.

He was a full-time starter for just one season in high school and two at Indiana University, but the 21-year-old wound up eclipsing fellow shooting guard prospect Ben McLemore in the eyes of the Magic, who have appeared ready to deal Arron Afflalo to clear a space in the lineup for Oladipo.

Devin Harris To Sign With Mavs

July 6th, 2013 at 8:04pm CST by Spencer Lund

10:27pm: Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reiterates our contention that Harris will likely spend a lot of time at shooting guard next to Calderon in the Mavs' backcourt. MacMahon notes that Harris spent half his time next to Jeff Teague at shooting guard last season with the Hawks, so the transition won't be difficult. Acquiring Harris also allows the Mavs to bring their rookie guards, Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel, along more slowly.

8:04pm: Although the deal can't be made official until Wednesday when the NBA's July moratorium is lifted, ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon says the Mavs struck a deal today to bring Devin Harris back to Dallas for a three-year deal in excess of $9MM. With Harris' and Jose Calderon's deal, the Mavs have solved their backcourt problems from last year.

The 30-year-old Harris averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.4 APG in 24.5 MPG during part-time starting duties with the Hawks last year. But Harris primarily played as the off-guard when Jeff Teague was in the game at the same time. This might be how the Mavs choose to use him in conjunction with Calderon.

6:40pm: Marc Stein of ESPN.com is hearing that Hawks unrestricted free agent Devin Harris is "closing in" on a deal to go back to the Mavs for a three-year deal worth $9MM plus (Twitter).

Harris is repped by Excel Sports Management, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.