International Notes: Nogueira, English, Ennis
Today's international news and rumors deal with a pair of former NBA players and a pair of 2013 draft picks. Here's the latest on the notable names from around the globe:
- Hawks first-rounder Lucas Nogueira will play for Spain's Asefa Estudiantes Madrid for the 2013/14 season, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 16th overall pick will almost certainly be the highest pick from this year's draft to spend next season overseas — 28th overall pick Livio Jean-Charles looks like he'll be the only other first-rounder heading to Europe.
- According to a La Gazzetta dello Sport report, passed along by Sportando, Italian club Virtus Roma has interest in Kim English. English was selected in the second round of the 2012 draft by the Pistons, but was released earlier this offseason.
- Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida writes that the Heat were hoping that James Ennis would join the club's D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. However, Miami didn't want to sign Ennis and have him taking up one of the Heat's 15 roster spots for 2013/14, so Ennis would have only made about $25K if he'd joined the Skyforce — he opted for a more lucrative contract in Australia instead.
- Ukrainian club BC Budivelnyk has officially signed Blake Ahearn, who has played for the Heat, Spurs, and Jazz, and spent last fall in camp with the Pacers (hat tip to Sportando, via Twitter).
James Ennis Signs To Play In Australia
It's seemed likely for the past few days that 50th overall pick James Ennis would wind up overseas rather than with the Heat this season, and now that indeed appears to be the case. The Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League have announced on their website that they've signed the former Long Beach State small forward. The deal includes an NBA out for this season if an opportunity with the Heat arises, though Ennis almost certainly won't be playing stateside this season, barring a trade or a rash of injuries for Miami.
The Hawks originally drafted Ennis, but traded his rights to the Heat on draft night in exchange for a future second-round pick. Miami's 2017 second-rounder will go to Atlanta, unless it falls between 31st and 40th overall, according to RealGM.com. If it does, the Hawks get the Heat's 2018 second-rounder.
Ennis, 23, has a 6'11.5" wingspan despite his 6'7" height, as DraftExpress.com shows. He averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in a breakout senior year this past season in college. Ennis backed it up last month with a 12.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG effort in seven summer league contests with the Heat.
The Heat will retain the NBA rights to Ennis in perpetuity until they bring him to camp, trade him, or renounce those rights. The Scott Nichols client had offers from France and Russia, but the NBA out for this season prompted him to sign with Perth, his agent tells Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link). If Ennis does sign with the Heat this season, he'll still receive the full value of his Australian contract, Nichols says to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida (Twitter link).
Bobcats Re-Sign Jannero Pargo
FRIDAY, 3:42pm: The Bobcats have officially re-signed Pargo, the team announced today in a press release.
THURSDAY, 3:21pm: The Bobcats have agreed to terms on a contract with Jannero Pargo, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Charlotte is believed to be capped out, and used its room exception to sign Josh McRoberts, so Pargo will be in line for a minimum-salary deal. Shams Charania of RealGM.com confirms as much, tweeting that it'll be a one-year pact.
Pargo, 33, started the 2012/13 season with the Wizards, before being waived by Washington. He subsequently signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hawks, then signed two 10-days deals with the Bobcats, followed by a rest-of-season deal (details via our 10-day contract tracker). Overall, he appeared in 32 games, averaging 6.5 PPG and 2.1 APG. Pargo ranked among the top scorers, three-point shooters, and distributors still on the market.
For Charlotte, Pargo figures to slot into the team's third point guard spot, behind Kemba Walker and Ramon Sessions. Even though the Mark Bartelstein client finished last season with the Bobcats, he wasn't eligible for a raise via the Non-Bird exception, since the team renounced his rights earlier in the summer to clear cap room.
International Notes: Murphy, Lawal, Johnson
So far today, the international rumor mill is a little busier than the NBA version, so let's round up a few of the latest reports on various teams overseas….
- Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports that unrestricted free agent Kevin Murphy will sign with France's SIG Strasbourg. Murphy was selected by the Jazz in the second round of last year's draft, and spent time in both Utah and Reno, with the D-League's Bighorns. The 23-year-old guard was included as the only outgoing piece from Utah to Golden State in the trade that landed the Jazz several expiring contracts and future draft picks, and was later waived by the Warriors.
- 6'9" forward Gani Lawal has signed with VEF Riga of Latvia, according to the team (hat tip to Sportando). After being selected in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Suns, Lawal appeared in just one regular-season game for Phoenix, but had reportedly been drawing NBA interest again this offseason.
- Former Celtics big man JaJuan Johnson has signed with Italy's Giorgio Tesi Pistoia, the team announced (translation via Sportando). Johnson was drafted 27th overall in 2011 and spent the 2011/12 season in Boston before being included last summer in the three-way trade that sent Courtney Lee to the C's. After being cut by the Rockets, Johnson played for three D-League teams in '12/13.
Luke Harangody Signs With Unics Kazan
Luke Harangody has signed with Unics Kazan in Russia, the team announced according to Sportando. Harangody spent last season in the D-League, where he averaged 19.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per contest for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
The Notre Dame product spent the two seasons prior in the NBA, appearing in 70 games in stops with the Celtics and Cavs. Cleveland thought enough of Harangody to extend him a $1.1MM qualifying offer last summer, but he was waived before the season began and ended up in the D-League.
Knicks Sign Beno Udrih
4:01pm: The Knicks have officially signed Udrih, the team announced today (Twitter link).
9:08am: The Knicks have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with point guard Beno Udrih, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. As Iannazzone adds in a second tweet, Udrih will sign for the veteran's minimum, since that's all the Knicks can offer. ESPN.com's Marc Stein adds (via Twitter) that Udrih had a meeting scheduled with the Grizzlies today, but has cancelled it after deciding on New York.
Landing the 31-year-old Udrih looks like a major coup for the Knicks, who were initially viewed as a long shot due to their limited financial flexibility. Still, the team remained focused on Udrih, making him their top priority, and yesterday emerged as the favorites to sign him, as Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote.
Udrih spent last season with the Bucks and Magic, heading to Orlando in the deadline deal that sent J.J. Redick to Milwaukee. In 66 games overall, he averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.6 APG to go along with a 14.2 PER. In New York, he'll essentially take Jason Kidd's spot on the roster, complementing returning point guards Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
The agreement with Udrih almost certainly takes the Knicks out of the running for other point guards they've been linked to, such as Bobby Brown and Chris Duhon. The team will still have room for one more guaranteed salary on the 15-man roster, but another big man is a more likely addition.
Udrih, who is represented by Pinnacle Management Corp., will receive a 2013/14 salary of $1,272,279, the minimum for a player with his NBA experience. The Knicks will only have to pay $884,293 of that amount, while the rest will be covered by the league.
Trail Blazers Sign Mo Williams
THURSDAY, 11:07am: The Blazers have officially signed Williams, the team announced today in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 1:14pm: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a contract with free agent guard Mo Williams, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It'll be a two-year deal worth about $5.6MM, tweets Wojnarowski, while Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com adds (via Twitter) that the second year will be a player option. ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported earlier this afternoon that Williams was expected to make his decision as soon as today.
Williams' decision comes as something of a surprise, since the Blazers hadn't been linked to the veteran in recent weeks — the Grizzlies, Heat, and Knicks had been viewed as a few of his primary suitors. Portland also has plenty of backcourt depth already, with Damian Lillard starting at the point and Wesley Matthews at the two. Earl Watson, C.J. McCollum, Terrel Harris, Allen Crabbe, Will Barton, and even Dorell Wright can also play one or both guard positions.
Still, considering the bench was Portland's Achilles heel last year, adding another veteran contributor like Williams to the rotation can't be a bad thing. I'd assume his deal will actually be closer to $5.42MM for two years, since the team is capped out. If the 30-year-old agreed to sign for the room exception, he'll earn about $2.65MM in 2013/14, with an option worth about $2.77MM for the following season.
In 2012/13 with the Jazz, Williams started all 46 games he played for the team, averaging 12.9 PPG and 6.2 APG to go along with shooting percentages of .430/.383/.882. The Blazers will be the fifth team Williams has played for in his NBA career. The 10-year veteran also had two stints in Utah to go along with stops with the Bucks, Cavs, and Clippers.
The agreement with Williams looks like bad news for Harris, who is on a non-guaranteed deal and facing a drug-related suspension. Williams will be Portland's 16th player under contract, so Harris appears to be the odd man out for when the team finalizes its 15-man roster. Teams can carry up to 20 players during the offseason, so he doesn't need to be cut quite yet, but it'd be a surprise if Harris was on Portland's opening night roster.
Thunder Sign Ryan Gomes
August 7th, 5:14pm: The Thunder have officially announced the signing of Ryan Gomes, according to a press release from the team.
July 29th, 9:05pm: The Thunder reached agreement with Ryan Gomes on a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The forward spent last season in Germany with the with the Artland Dragons.
Gomes last played in the NBA in 2011/12 for the Clippers and averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 32 games. The seven-year veteran has career averages of 10.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG for three different teams.
The 30-year-old was released from the Clippers via the amnesty clause, allowing him to cash in on his $4MM salary for last season. Gomes worked out for the Bobcats and other clubs last fall, but was unable to find a taker in the NBA. The Spurs also had interest in Gomes during this go-round.
Mavericks Sign DeJuan Blair
AUGUST 7TH, 3:52pm: The Mavericks have officially signed Blair, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 31ST, 9:15pm: For the second time in as many days, Blair has taken to Twitter to announce he has signed with the Mavs. While Blair's tweet indicates that it is official this time around, neither the team nor its beat writers have confirmed the deal.
JULY 30TH, 10:04pm: ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling is reporting that a deal between Blair and the Mavericks has yet to happen.
6:45pm: The Mavericks and DeJuan Blair have reached an agreement on a new deal. After ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported earlier today that the two sides were in serious talks, Blair himself broke the news via his Twitter account. Dwain Price from the Star-Telegram tweeted that the contract will be a one-year deal at $1.4MM, though if it's a minimum-salary deal, as expected, its value will be closer to $948K.
Blair's deal with the Mavs is the latest move in a busy offseason for the club. Although Dallas missed out on its top target, Dwight Howard, the team has used its cap space to add several free agents, including Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis, Samuel Dalembert, Gal Mekel, and Wayne Ellington. The Mavericks also re-signed Brandan Wright and Bernard James, and are on track to finalize a contract with ex-Mav Devin Harris.
Blair, 24, has spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Spurs, but saw his role reduced as Tiago Splitter emerged as a productive rotation player for the team. After he averaged 8.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and a 17.5 PER in his first three years, Blair's rates fell to 5.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and a 14.6 PER in 2012/13. As Kennedy tweets, the Happy Walters client looks poised to see a boost in playing time in Dallas, as part of a frontcourt that also features Dirk Nowitzki, Wright, James, and Jae Crowder.
The signing of Blair likely means the Mavs won't end up landing Greg Oden, who is drawing interest from several teams, most of whom can offer a larger salary than Dallas can.
Greg Oden Signs With Heat
AUGUST 7TH: The Heat have officially signed Oden, the team announced today (Twitter link).
AUGUST 2ND: Greg Oden will sign with the Heat, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. It's a two-year deal with a player option for the final season, Goodman adds. The two sides agreed on a minimum-salary contract, according to fellow ESPN.com scribe Marc Stein, who adds that Oden will officially sign the pact on Monday (Twitter links).
The deal is a coup for Heat president Pat Riley, not only because Oden chose Miami over five other finalists, but because he consented to the minimum salary, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. That allows the Heat to preserve their mini mid-level exception should an enticing player come available at some point this season.
The Spurs and Mavs appeared as of last night to be Miami's primary competition, with the Pelicans next in line, followed by the Kings and the Hawks. Sources from three Western Conference teams among those spurned finalists told Stein minutes before news broke of Oden's decision that they were informed that they wouldn't be landing the former No. 1 overall pick, and that they believed he was headed to Miami (Twitter link).
Oden tells former Ohio State teammate Mark Titus of Grantland.com that the Heat became the front-runners for him when he visited Miami during the NBA Finals. Three months ago, Oden told Titus that he wanted to play in Cleveland because he liked playing in Ohio. About a year ago, Oden let Titus know that the plan was to reunite in Memphis with Mike Conley, another of their Buckeye teammates. Conley's father, Mike Conley Sr., is one of Oden's agents.
The 7'0" center has only played 82 games in his NBA career, but he was on the Blazers roster for five seasons, meaning he qualifies for a minimum salary of $1,027,424 this season, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports confirms (Twitter link).