Pelicans Sign Arinze Onuaku
THURSDAY, 1:07pm: The Pelicans have officially announced the signing of Onuaku in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 10:16pm: The Pelicans have agreed to sign Arinze Onuaku to a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The first year of the deal is unguaranteed and the second is a team option.
The Syracuse product has never played in the NBA, but does have 43 D-League games under his belt. He's averaged 11.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for his career in the D-League, which included five games in 2010/11 and a 38 games last season which were good enough to earn him an appointment to the league's 2013 All-Star team. Onuaku will have to prove he belongs in training camp to have a shot to stick on the New Orleans roster.
The Pelicans have had a busy Wednesday night. News broke earlier that the team had inked Lance Thomas to a two-year deal which contained a partial guarantee for the first year and a team option for the second.
Pistons Sign Josh Harrellson
WEDNESDAY, 11:27am: The Pistons have officially signed Harrellson, the team announced today (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 9:04pm: The Pistons have reached agreement on a deal with forward Josh Harrellson, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The deal will be for two-years with a partial guarantee on year one and a club option on year two, Wojnarowski tweets.
Harrellson, 24, saw just six games of action last season with the Heat, averaging 1.7 PPG and 1.2 RPG. The big man had one ten-day contract with Miami but the club opted not to extend him a second ten-day offer. Harrellson saw more burn in his debut NBA season in New York (2011/12) where he averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 14.6 minutes per contest.
The Pistons have been looking to add another big man to round out their bench behind Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe before the start of the season. The club was giving serious thought to bringing Jason Collins in for a tough, veteran presence but after deciding that he wouldn't be a fit, it seems that the team's final roster spot will go a younger player.
Bulls Invite Dexter Pittman To Training Camp
After being released by the Grizzlies in April, Dexter Pittman will join a new NBA team in hopes of earning a roster spot for the coming season. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports that Pittman has turned down an offer from an Italian club in favor of a training-camp invite from the Bulls.
Pittman, 25, has spent most of his three-year NBA career with the Heat, winning a title with the team in 2011/12. However, he was sent to Memphis in a deadline deal back in February, and was cut by the Grizzlies just before the club's playoff run started. In 48 career NBA contests since 2010, Pittman has averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG, while those averages increase to 13.6 PPG and 8.4 RPG in 37 D-League games over the same period.
With Pittman's addition not yet official, the Bulls only have 12 players under contract, so there definitely should be room for the former second-round pick on the regular-season roster if he earns a spot. Still, I'd imagine Pittman's deal will be fully non-guaranteed, affording the club some flexibility.
Cavs Sign Anthony Bennett
The Cavaliers announced that they have signed No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett. With Sergey Karasev (No. 19) and Carrick Felix (No. 33) also in the fold, Cleveland has now signed all three 2013 Draft selections.
The Cavs surprised everyone with their selection of Bennett on draft night. While most reports had Cleveland zeroing in on Kentucky's Nerlens Noel or Georgetown's Otto Porter, they instead went with Bennett, an undersized forward out of UNLV. Scouts were enthralled with Bennett's athletcism leading up to the draft, but his shoulder issues prevented him from working out, which caused concern for some talent evaluators.
In his freshman year at UNLV, Bennett averaged 16.1 PPG and 8.1 RPG. The youngster has solid range for a power forward but will have to improve defensively.
Grizzlies Sign Nick Calathes
AUGUST 20TH, 2:20pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Calathes, the team announced today in a press release. According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter), the delay was related to Calathes' FIBA letter of clearance.
AUGUST 9TH, 3:57pm: According to Stein (via Twitter), the second year of Calathes' deal will be a team option, which probably means it's non-guaranteed.
2:39pm: After missing out on free agent point guards like Mo Williams and Beno Udrih, the Grizzlies have reached an agreement with a player who didn't have other NBA options. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter), the Grizzlies will sign Nick Calathes to a two-year deal worth a little less than $2MM. Calathes himself confirmed on Twitter that he'd be heading to Memphis for the coming season.
Calathes, a second-round pick in 2009, has spent the last several seasons playing overseas, most recently for Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. The 24-year-old guard was named the 2012/13 EuroCup MVP after averaging 12.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 6.7 APG while shooting 52.1% in 17 contests during the EuroCup competition. Memphis acquired his NBA rights in a trade with the Mavericks last month.
According to a report out of Russia after the Grizzles/Mavericks trade, Calathes informed Lokomotiv Kuban that he'd like to come to the NBA for the 2013/14 season. With Memphis in the market for a point guard for the coming year, it made sense for the two sides to work something out. Calathes will be one of Mike Conley's backups, along with Tony Wroten, who played limited minutes in his rookie season, and Jerryd Bayless, who is more of a combo guard.
If he were to sign a minimum-salary contract with the Grizzles, Calathes would earn about $1.31MM over the next two seasons. So, assuming the figure is closer to $2MM, it appears Memphis dipped into its mid-level exception to get a deal done.
Bucks Sign Larry Sanders To Extension
The Bucks have officially signed Larry Sanders to a long-term contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. Sanders himself broke the news this afternoon on Instagram, writing, "It's official. Can't believe I've been granted this opportunity to represent Milwaukee for the next five years and hopefully the rest of my career." The caption accompanied a photo of Sanders signing his new deal.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein first reported earlier this month that Sanders and the Bucks were nearing an extension agreement. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports chimed in last Friday with a similar report, adding that the deal figured to be for four years and $44MM, with a few incentives that could boost the overall value to about $48MM for the Dan Fegan client. Prior to that report, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors had predicted that Sanders would be in line for an annual salary in the neighborhood of $11-12MM.
Sanders, 24, didn't appear to be a real extension candidate heading into the 2012/13 season, but enjoyed a breakout year and established himself as a core piece in the Bucks' frontcourt. After averaging 4.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and a 12.0 PER in limited minutes during his first two years in the NBA, Sanders increased those averages to 9.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and an 18.7 PER this past season.
Because his extension won't take effect until the 2014/15 season, the new deal will keep Sanders under contract through 2018, assuming it's a four-year pact as initially reported. It will also make him Milwaukee's highest-paid player starting next season, exceeding O.J. Mayo's $8MM salary.
By finalizing his agreement with the Bucks, Sanders becomes the second of 18 eligible players to extend his rookie-scale contract this offseason. John Wall and the Wizards agreed on a five-year max extension earlier this summer.
Blazers Sign Dee Bost
The Trail Blazers have signed Dee Bost to a contract, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Freeman hears from a source that the deal is non-guaranteed and that Bost is expected to ultimately land with the Idaho Stampede.
The point guard graduated from Mississippi State last season and averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 assists as a senior. Bost is the school's all-time assist leader with 633 dimes, good for eighth all-time in the Southeastern Conference.
Bost got a training camp invite from the Blazers at the end of July and made a strong impression on the club early. The 23-year-old went undrafted in 2012 and spent last season overseas with Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 turnovers in 21.5 minutes per contest.
International Notes: Wright, Aminu
Yesterday, it was reported that Heat big man Jarvis Varnado is nearing agreement with Italian club Sidigas Avellino. Varnado has a non-guaranteed deal with the Heat for 2013/14 and if the club only carries 13 players, he won't have a spot on the roster. Here's today's news from around the globe..
- Former NBA player Antoine Wright has been looking to make an NBA comeback, but he'll instead join Israel's Gilboa Galil, a source tells RealGM's Shams Charania (via Twitter). Back in April, the former No. 15 overall pick hooked on with Venezuelan club Gualqueries de Margarita. The 28-year-old also had a stint in the D-League to attract attention from the Association.
- Raptors summer league forward Alade Aminu has reached agreement on a one-year deal to return to Pinar Karsiyaka of the Eurocup league, a source told Charania. Aminu, the older brother of Al-Farouq Aminu, played with the Turkish club last season and was also pursued by clubs in Spain, Italy and China. The 25-year-old is not expected to accept summer league invitations next year.
Bobcats Sign Anthony Tolliver
AUGUST 19TH, 12:26pm: The Bobcats' signing of Tolliver is now official, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
AUGUST 10TH, 12:21pm: Tolliver's deal is for the veteran's minimum of $1.027MM, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
10:32am: The Bobcats and Anthony Tolliver have reached agreement on a one-year deal, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The deal is fully-guaranteed and won't be finalized until Friday, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Tolliver is a client of Larry Fox, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Tolliver, 28, reportedly narrowed his free agent choices down to the Bobcats, Bulls, and Jazz on Wednesday. However, the scope of the search expanded once again when the Lakers entered the fray on Thursday and the Magic, Spurs, and Knicks continued their pursuit as late as yesterday.
The 6'8" forward spent the 2012/13 season with the Hawks, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 62 games (15.5 MPG). For his career, Tolliver has averaged 6.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG across five seasons.
Deshaun Thomas To Play In France This Season
FRIDAY, 3:59pm: French team JSF Nanterre has officially announced the addition of Thomas, as Sportando notes via Twitter.
THURSDAY, 6:15pm: According to Bob Baptist of The Columbus Dispatch, Deshaun Thomas will opt to play in France this season (hat tip to Sportando). The 6'7 forward was selected 58th overall by the Spurs in June and averaged 12.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG while shooting 41.4% overall and 37.5% from long range in five summer league games. Thomas wasn't immediately sure of the name of the team he signed with, but acknowledged that he'll be playing in Paris.
The former Ohio State Buckeye candidly spoke about his decision to play overseas, telling Baptist:
“(The Spurs) didn’t know what they want to do with their 15 (roster) spots . . . and I needed to make a decision…In this business, you have to think about family. I still could have gone to (training camp) and tried to make the (Spurs’) roster, but with my son and a family to provide for, I had to look at that. And developing a year ain’t going to hurt."