Mavericks Sign Ricky Ledo
The Mavericks have signed 43rd overall pick Ricky Ledo, the team announced via press release. Dallas acquired the rights to Ledo from the Bucks, via the Sixers, as our rundown of offseason trades shows.
Ledo attended Providence University, but he never played for their team after the NCAA ruled him academically ineligible. Still, the shooting guard impressed teams during pre-draft workouts. He averaged 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds this month on the Mavs summer league team.
Agent Seth Cohen of the Verus Management Team first tweeted news of the deal this afternoon. The Mavs haven't yet reached an agreement with their other draft pick, 18th overall selection Shane Larkin, who suffered a broken ankle in summer league.
Warriors Sign Jermaine O’Neal
JULY 23RD: The Warriors have officially signed O'Neal, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 9TH: Free agent big man Jermaine O'Neal will sign with the Warriors on a one-year deal, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter links). We had heard over the weekend that Golden State had interest in the Arn Tellem client, and that he was expected to make a decision soon.
The agreement with O'Neal is the latest move in a busy week for the Warriors. In addition to coming to terms with O'Neal, Golden State agreed to sign Andre Iguodala, Toney Douglas, and Marreese Speights, and will send $24MM+ in expiring contracts to the Jazz.
According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter), O'Neal's contract will be worth $2MM, which exceeds the minimum salary for a veteran with his experience. That means Golden State will either be signing O'Neal using the bi-annual exception or part of the mid-level exception. A sign-and-trade is also a possibility, but appears much less likely.
O'Neal, 34, has had problems staying on the court throughout his NBA career, but was productive in the games he played for the Suns last year. In 55 contests (18.7 MPG), O'Neal averaged 8.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG to go along with a 16.7 PER.
Mavericks Sign Monta Ellis
JULY 23RD, 2:45pm: The Mavericks have finally made the Ellis signing official, announcing the deal today in a press release.
JULY 12TH, 3:36pm: The deal is expected to be in the $28MM range, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
2:47pm: The Mavericks and Monta Ellis have reached an agreement that will land the free agent guard in Dallas, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Ellis will receive a three-year deal that figures to be worth between $25-30MM overall, depending on how the Mavs' cap situation shakes out.
It was just two days ago that GM Donnie Nelson told reporters that the Mavs likely wouldn't be too involved in the Ellis sweepstakes, but it appears that was just a smoke screen. The Kings, Hawks, and Bobcats were cited as other potential suitors for the free agent guard.
Ellis reportedly parted ways with longtime agent Jeff Fried recently, after being disappointed by the lack of interest he was receiving on the open market. Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports was expected to replace Fried as Ellis' rep, though players typically have to wait 15 days before hiring a new agent, so it's not clear if Fegan negotiated the deal with the Mavs.
Even if Ellis receives $30MM from the Mavs for three years, he'll be earning a lesser annual salary than he could have received from the Bucks. The 27-year-old turned down an $11MM player option to hit the open market, and reportedly turned down a three-year, $36MM extension offer from Milwaukee last season.
According to Stein, the Mavericks continue to negotiate with Samuel Dalembert, and could pursue other bigs as well, but Dallas may be capped out after Ellis' deal, leaving just the $2.65MM room exception to offer non-minimum players.
Gary Neal To Become Unrestricted Free Agent
The Spurs are in the process of withdrawing their qualifying offer to Gary Neal, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The move increases the likelihood that Neal will end up landing with a team besides San Antonio, with Stein adding (via Twitter) that the free agent guard is expected to be "snapped up quickly."
Neal's one-year qualifying offer was worth about $1.12MM, and allowed the Spurs to match any bids for him. Had Neal signed an offer sheet with another club, the Spurs would have had three days to decide whether to match it or let him walk. Now, the 28-year-old will be able to sign outright with a rival suitor.
Neal 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.
It's not clear where Neal will land once he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times reported a couple weeks ago that the Bucks were one of four interested teams.
Clippers Sign Byron Mullens
MONDAY, 5:26pm: The Clippers announced that the deal has been signed.
SATURDAY, 6:02pm: Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that Mullens is expected to sign his contract on Monday or Tuesday next week (Twitter link).
5:46pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Clippers and Mullens have agreed to a two-year deal worth $2MM. The second year will be a player option.
WEDNESDAY, 10:01pm: The deal would include a player option for 2014/15, and is on track to be finalized late tonight or on Thursday, Wojnarowski writes.
9:16pm: The Clippers and Byron Mullens are close to an agreement on a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Wasserman Media Group client became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats declined to tender a qualifying offer last month. The Lakers had interest in Mullens at the start of free agency, but may have moved on after adding Chris Kaman and re-signing Robert Sacre.
The Mullens signing would have to take place for the minimum salary, since the Clippers are over the cap and split their mid-level exception between Matt Barnes and Darren Collison. The Clips don't have their bi-annual exception, having used it to sign Grant Hill last summer. Bringing Mullens aboard may take the team out of the running for Antawn Jamison and Lamar Odom, two other big men who had been Clippers free agent targets.
Mullens is a 7'0" three-point gunner who could give the Clippers some floor spacing on offense if he continues to improve his touch. He's a career 30.1% shooter from behind the arc, and made 31.7% of his 3.9 three-point attempts per game this past season.
Celtics To Sign Phil Pressey
MONDAY, 4:17pm: The Celtics have officially signed Pressey, according to a press release.
THURSDAY, 12:05am: The contract includes some guaranteed money, Washburn writes.
WEDNESDAY, 9:42pm: The Celtics and Phil Pressey have agreed to a multiyear deal, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. The team and the undrafted point guard from Missouri were reportedly working toward a contract this weekend, after the two sides put together an arrangement for summer league.
Washburn reported shortly after the draft that he expected the team to "immediately go after" Pressey, and the Celtics had him in the fold for summer league by the next morning. A more formal contract took a little longer, but Pressey has at least earned a chance to showcase his skills in Celtics training camp. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reported this weekend that the two sides were talking about a one-year deal, and though it now appears his contract will cover at least two seasons, it's not clear how much of a guarantee is involved.
The 5'11" Pressey averaged 9.4 points, 6.6 assists and 4.0 turnovers per game in five summer league contests in Orlando last week, but he was more impressive in college, where SEC coaches voted him first-team all-conference this past season. Both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony had him within the top 60 in their final rankings before the draft, so it was somewhat surprising that a team didn't use a second-round pick on him.
Celtics Sign Vitor Faverani
JULY 22nd, 4:17pm: The Celtics announced the deal, making it official.
JULY 15th, 2:23pm: The Celtics have reached an agreement in principle on a three-year deal with Brazilian big man Vitor Faverani, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Talks between the two sides had been reported last week by TuBasket.com, though there were some questions about whether the C's would be able to negotiate a buyout.
Faverani, 25, has spent the last several seasons overseas, including the 2012/13 season with Valencia. In 23 Spanish League contests, Favenari averaged 9.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG while shooting 59.4%.
If the Celtics agreed to sign Faverani to a three-year deal, the team won't be able to use the minimum salary exception, even if not all three years are fully guaranteed. So it appears likely that the team will use a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing, though contract terms aren't yet known.
Cavs Sign Sergey Karasev
The Cavs have signed first-round pick Sergey Karasev, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer (via Twitter). The No. 19 overall selection will be introduced in a press conference tomorrow.
There was speculation that the Russian forward might spend the 2013/14 campaign overseas, but he'll be with Cleveland next season. Prior to the draft, Karasev was talking to teams in his native country and reportedly came away confident that he would go inside of the top 15 picks. Several teams were said to be zeroing in on him and the Cavs even thought about trading up to No. 13 to guarantee that they'd get him.
Raptors Sign D.J. Augustin
JULY 22ND: The Raptors have officially signed Augustin, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 17TH: D.J. Augustin and the Raptors have reached agreement on a one-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He'll make $1.26MM, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun wrote today that he expected the Raptors to use the $2.15MM left on their mid-level exception rather than their $2.016MM biannual exception, but Augustin's deal would fit within either. Augustin will likely become the primary backup to point guard Kyle Lowry, since the team's deal with Julyan Stone appears to be off.
Augustin's name hasn't been mentioned frequently this month, as our rumors page on him doesn't show any entries since February, except for today's. The Pacers shopped him at the trade deadline, but couldn't find any takers for his expiring contract as he struggled through a disappointing season. The Thad Foucher client notched career lows in points (4.7) and assists (2.2) per game, as well as field goal percentage (35%). Perhaps in Toronto he'll be able to find the form he showed in 2010/11, when he started all 82 games for the Bobcats and put up 14.1 PPG and 6.1 APG against just 1.9 turnovers per contest.
John Lucas III Signs With Jazz
JULY 22ND, 2:37pm: The Jazz have officially announced the signing of Lucas in a press release.
JULY 15TH, 4:05pm: Free agent point guard John Lucas III has informed his other suitors that he will sign with the Jazz, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal with Utah is set to be wrapped up sometime this week. Lucas is represented by Lee Basketball Services, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Lucas spent last season with the Raptors where he averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG in 13.1 minutes per contest. Recently, we heard that Lucas was among the many point guards that the Knicks were considering this summer. Lucas has spent parts of five seasons in the Association with a three year intermission that took him through Spain and the D-League.