Nuggets Re-Sign Timofey Mozgov
SATURDAY, 2:02pm: The deal is official, according to the Nuggets website.
FRIDAY, 10:26am: The Nuggets and Timofey Mozgov have reached an agreement on a contract that will pay the restricted free agent $14MM over three years, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the third year will be a team option, which likely means that salary is non-guaranteed.
Mozgov, 27, was sent to Denver by the Knicks in the blockbuster deal that landed Carmelo Anthony to New York. He has yet to log significant minutes in any of his three NBA seasons, and was behind Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee at center for the Nuggets in 2012/13. However, with Koufos having been traded to Memphis, the door is open for Mozgov to earn more playing time going forward.
The Nuggets had long been expected to re-sign Mozgov, having begun negotiations with him on a multiyear deal shortly after the free agent period got underway. According to Wojnarowski, a few sign-and-trade scenarios were discussed, but both sides were ultimately committed to working out a new agreement that kept Mozgov in Denver. The seven-footer also reportedly drew interest from the Kings and Spurs.
When I examined Mozgov's free agent stock earlier in the year, I predicted that the Russian big man might be in line for a contract similar to Robin Lopez's three-year, $15MM+ deal. Mozgov is represented by ASM Sports, as our agency database shows.
Bucks Close To Signing Gary Neal
The Bucks are close to finalizing a deal with free agent guard Gary Neal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. (via Twitter). Sources tell Stein that Milwaukee took the lead after Neal's agent, David Bauman, broke off discussions with the Hawks.
The Bucks and Hawks were the leading pursuers of Neal after the Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer, which made Neal an unrestricted free agent. A deal is now expected to be completed today between Neal and Milwaukee.
Neal's one-year qualifying offer was worth about $1.12MM and would have allowed the Spurs to match any bids for him. The 28-year-old has posted nearly identical numbers in his three seasons in San Antonio, with his averages ranging from 9.5 to 9.9 PPG in 21.1 to 21.8 MPG. However, after posting a 41.9% three-point rate in each of his first two years, that mark fell to 35.5% in 2012/13.
Magic To Pick Up Options On Four Players
The Magic will exercise their 2014/15 options on Maurice Harkless, Andrew Nicholson, Nikola Vucevic, and Tobias Harris, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). For Harkless and Nicholson, the options are for their third years, while for Vucevic and Harris, they're fourth-year options.
Given the promise shown by Orlando's young players on rookie-scale contracts, none of these decisions comes as any surprise, and the moves may not become official for a while. The deadline to exercise team options on rookie-scale contracts is October 31st, so the Magic aren't in any rush. Still, Robbins says the moves could become formally completed prior to October 1st.
Picking up all four options will ensure that Vucevic (due $2.75MM in 2014/15), Harris ($2.38MM), Harkless ($1.89MM), and Nicholson ($1.55MM) will all remain under contract until at least the summer of 2015. In the 2014 offseason, the Magic will face decisions on fourth-year options for Harkless and Nicholson, and will have the opportunity to sign Vucevic and Harris to contract extensions.
Bucks Sign Miroslav Raduljica
3:46pm: Gardner is hearing that Raduljica's deal is for $3MM over two guaranteed seasons, with a third non-guaranteed year included as well (Twitter link).
12:01pm: A day after releasing one international big man, the Bucks have signed another. The team announced today (via Twitter) that it has signed Serbian free agent Miroslav Raduljica to a contract. According to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter), it'll be a two-year deal.
Raduljica, 25, played last season for Ukraine's Azovmash Mariupol, averaging 14.2 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 53 Ukranian League contests, to go with 61.6% shooting from the floor. The seven-footer has also played professionally in Serbia, Turkey, and Germany.
Terms of the agreement aren't known, but the Bucks still have a solid chunk of cap space, so they'd be able to ink Radjuljica to a deal worth more than the minimum.
Mavericks Sign Wayne Ellington
JULY 26TH: The Mavericks have finally made the deal with Ellington official, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 9TH: Wayne Ellington has reached an agreement on a two-year, $5MM contract with the Mavericks, according to Yahoo! NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
His fourth team in five seasons, Ellington spent half of last year with the Grizzlies before getting traded to the Cavaliers. While in Cleveland, Ellington saw the most playing time of his career, running for 25.9MPG and averaging 10.4PPG.
With news earlier in the night that Mavericks free agent Anthony Morrow had signed a two-year deal with the Pelicans, it's probable that Dallas views Ellington as a replacement from the viewpoint that he can also shoot threes while providing more versatility with the ball.
Nuggets Sign Nate Robinson
FRIDAY, 3:28pm: The Nuggets have officially signed Robinson, the team announced today in a press release.
MONDAY, 2:47pm: The second year of Robinson's deal will be a player option, according to Amick. That will give the veteran point guard the chance to opt out in search of a larger or longer-term contract next summer.
2:26pm: The Nuggets and Nate Robinson have reached a contract agreement, reports Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. According to Hochman, Robinson will ink a two-year deal with the Nuggets. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports and Sam Amick of USA Today reported earlier this afternoon that the two sides were moving toward an agreement.
According to Amick's previous update, the Nuggets were offering Robinson the bi-annual exception, since the team no longer has its mid-level exception, having used it to sign J.J. Hickson. Assuming Robinson signs for the full value of the BAE for two years, his deal would be worth about $2.02MM for the coming season, and $4.12MM in total.
Robinson appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Bulls last year, averaging 13.1 PPG and 4.4 APG in just 25.4 minutes per contest, good for a 17.4 PER. The Aaron Goodwin client also had some memorable performances in the playoffs, including scoring 34 points in a triple-overtime Bulls win against the Nets.
Once Robinson is locked up, the Nuggets will have three quality point guards on the roster, with Ty Lawson and Andre Miller also on board. At least one report earlier this month suggested the Nuggets were exploring trade options for Miller, so perhaps signing Robinson means the team will revisit that possibility.
International Notes: Celtics, Calathes, Goudelock
After publishing a pair of posts yesterday rounding up the latest international updates on current, past, or future NBA players, we have a few more items of note today, including a follow-up on yesterday's Colton Iverson report. Here are this afternoon's international notes:
- There were conflicting reports yesterday on whether or not Iverson was heading overseas, but Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes that the Celtics second-rounder has agreed to a deal with Besiktas of the Turkish League. It's a two-year contract with an NBA out after the first season, says Washburn.
- According to a report from RSport.ru (English translation via Sportando), Nick Calathes has informed Lokomotiv Kuban that he would like to come to the NBA for the 2013/14 season. The Russian club still hopes to hang on to Calathes, who would need to be bought out of his deal in order to join the Grizzlies.
- Ex-Laker Andrew Goudelock has signed a one-year contract with Russian club Unics Kazan, the team announced today (Twitter link). Goudelock was last season's D-League MVP and played well for the Bulls in this year's Summer League, so it seemed as if there would have been NBA opportunities available for him. However, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (via Twitter), Goudelock had yet to receive a guaranteed contract offer from an NBA team, prompting him to head overseas.
Grizzlies Sign Jamaal Franklin
FRIDAY, 12:07pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Franklin, the team announced today in a press release.
THURSDAY, 4:12pm: The Grizzlies have reached agreement with Jamaal Franklin on a three-year deal, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter). The third year of the deal will be a team option.
Memphis drafted the former San Diego State swingman with the 41st overall pick last month. The 22-year-old also drew interest from the Bulls, Knicks, Clippers, and Hawks and was thought by some to be a late-first round talent. In his final collegiate season, Franklin averaged 17 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 3.3 APG.
Mavericks Re-Sign Bernard James
JULY 26TH: The Mavericks have officially re-signed James, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 22ND: Having cleared waivers yesterday after being released by the Mavericks last week, Bernard James is expected to return to Dallas, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com).
The Mavericks had previously pushed back James' contract guarantee date in hopes of keeping him on the roster, but ultimately needed to waive him to clear about $300K in cap room to help sign Monta Ellis. James had been on a minimum-salary ($789K) contract, whereas an empty roster spot only has a cap hold of about $490K.
When Ellis signs, the path will be clear for the Mavs to re-sign James to another minimum-salary deal, since teams are permitted to go over the cap for minimum deals. According to Stein, the two sides have an agreement in principle to complete a new contract once Ellis officially inks his deal.
Bucks Request Waivers On Gustavo Ayon
According to the Bucks' PR Twitter account, the team has requested waivers on center Gustavo Ayon. Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter) notes that the 28-year-old big man would have been on the books for a guaranteed $1.5MM next season had he not been waived by today's deadline.
Ayon played 12 games for the Bucks last season after being dealt by the Magic, averaging 3.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and about 13 MPG in 55 total games played last year. Though Milwaukee had exercised their team option on him last month, it was seen more as a postponement on a decision regarding his contract. The Mexican native participated in three summer league games with the Bucks in Las Vegas earlier this month, averaging 6.0 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 19.7 MPG.