Knicks Sign Metta World Peace
TUESDAY, 3:57pm: The Knicks have officially signed World Peace, the team confirmed today (via Twitter).
MONDAY, 3:07pm: World Peace confirmed on NBA TV that he has agreed to sign with the Knicks, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
2:46pm: In spite of World Peace's denial, new reports on the agreement continue to trickle in, and Ron Artest Sr. has essentially confirmed the deal with multiple outlets, so it looks to me like it'll get done.
2:28pm: Despite multiple outlets reporting the agreement, World Peace has texted Sam Amick of USA Today to say it's not a done deal, and that he's "still talking to other people" (Twitter link).
2:14pm: Newsday's Al Iannazzone reports (via Twitter) that World Peace will receive the rest of the Knicks' mini MLE and will have a second-year player option, as I speculated below.
2:04pm: The Knicks and Metta World Peace have reached an agreement in principle on a two-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Sam Amick of USA Today reported earlier this afternoon that World Peace had met with the Knicks in Las Vegas and planned to sit down with other teams, but it appears as if those additional meetings won't be necessary.
We heard nearly a week ago that the Knicks would top World Peace's wish list if the Lakers were to amnesty him. Since then, the Lakers made the move official, and many more rumors about World Peace's preferred destinations surfaced. Various reports over the last week, including many that quoted MWP himself, indicated that he might sit out the 2013/14 season, end up on the Clippers, or play with a Chinese team.
Ultimately, it seems as if many of those quotes from World Peace were intended to ensure that he cleared waivers and was able to choose his own destiny. It's not clear yet whether the ex-Laker will receive the rest of the Knicks' mini mid-level exception, or if he'll sign for the minimum. Either way, he'll still earn more than the $7.73MM salary that the Lakers cleared from their cap. It wouldn't surprise me if the second year of his deal with the Knicks is a player option, giving him some security while allowing him to hit the open market next summer if he so chooses.
Heat Amnesty Mike Miller
2:11pm: The Heat have officially confirmed the move in a press release, with Riley calling the decision "very difficult" and adding that Miller will be "sorely missed."
1:48pm: Mike Miller's agent was informed by the Heat last night that the team will use the amnesty clause to release Miller, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Heat president Pat Riley told reporters last week that the team was leaning toward not using its amnesty provision this year, but left the door open to the possibility.
Miller was set to earn $6.2MM in 2013/14 and had a $6.6MM player option for '14/15. The Heat will still pay him those two years of salary, or perhaps a slightly smaller amount if Miller ends up signing with another team. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the veteran's reps are reaching out to gauge interest from other clubs.
The Heat won't create any additional cap flexibility this season to add another player by amnestying Miller, but will significantly reduce their tax bill. The exact amount won't be finalized until the end of the season, but like the Lakers with Metta World Peace, the Heat should easily save $10MM+ by removing Miller from their books.
Although Miller had some big moments in the postseason over the last couple years, injuries have limited his production since he signed a five-year deal with the Heat in the summer of 2010. During his three seasons with the team, he has averaged 5.4 PPG and shot 41.2% on three-pointers in 139 regular-season contests.
The Heat had five other amnesty-eligible players besides Miller, all of whom would have still been eligible next summer. Assuming the Miller move becomes official later today, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, and Joel Anthony will no longer be amnesty-eligible.
Pistons Sign Chauncey Billups
JULY 16TH: The Pistons have made the Billups signing official, issuing a press release and (re-)introducing the veteran guard to Detroit media today.
JULY 11TH: The Pistons have reached a contract agreement with former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the ex-Piston will return to Detroit on a two-year deal worth $5MM+. The second year will be a team option, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Billups, 36, indicated last week that he hoped to play at least two more years in the NBA, so seeing him secure a multiyear deal, even if the second year isn't fully guaranteed, isn't a shock. In addition to the Pistons, the Cavaliers, Spurs, Mavericks, Knicks, Kings, Nets and Wolves all expressed some level of interest in the veteran guard.
The two years Billups spent with the Clippers only resulted in 44 total games, due mostly to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in February 2012. In the contests he did play with the club, he averaged 11.5 PPG and 3.1 APG in 24.4 minutes per game, while shooting 37.7% on three-pointers.
For the Pistons, the hope is that Billups will be solid as a backcourt rotation piece and will help mentor Brandon Knight. The team appears to be using either cap space or its $2.65MM room exception to fit Billups onto the roster.
Lakers Sign Nick Young
JULY 16TH, 10:36am: Young's deal with the Lakers is actually a two-year pact, with a player option in year two, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Since it's a minimum-salary contract, the option is worth the minimum as well.
JULY 11TH, 6:35pm: The Lakers have officially signed Young, the team announced today (via Twitter).
5:17pm: According to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, Young's deal with the Lakers is for one year and $1.11MM, which is the veteran's minimum for a player entering his seventh year of NBA service.
4:14pm: Nick Young has agreed to sign with the Lakers, according to agent Mark Bartelstein (Twitter link via Sam Amick of USA Today). Considering Los Angeles has already committed its mini mid-level exception to Chris Kaman and can't acquire players via sign-and-trade, Young will presumably sign a minimum-salary deal.
Young, 28, averaged 10.6 PPG with a .413 FG% in 2012/13 with the Sixers. Prior to playing in Philadelphia, Young had spent most of the rest of his six-year NBA career with the Wizards. Although he had a brief stint with the Clippers in 2011/12, the USC product "will be with the team he always dreamed of playing for" when he officially signs with the Lakers, according to Bartelstein.
While Young isn't a particularly efficient player (12.8 career PER), he'll provide some much-needed scoring for a Lakers team that's expected to open the season without Kobe Bryant. Assuming the contract is for one year and the minimum, which seems likely given the club's cap constraints and desire to avoid adding long-term salary, Young could provide a good return on the Lakers' investment.
Rockets Sign Omri Casspi
JULY 16TH, 9:23am: The Rockets have made the Casspi signing official, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). As Feigen originally reported, it's a minimum-salary pact.
JULY 6TH, 2:58pm: Wojnarowski pegs the value of the deal at $2.6MM, which would make it more than a minimum-salary arrangement. It makes more sense that Casspi would come at the minimum, rather than at a deal that eats into the team's $2.65MM room exception, but we'll see how it shakes out when the deal becomes official after the July moratorium. Wojnarowski also notes that the Rockets became more intrigued with Casspi and his shooting touch after their agreement with Howard.
2:45pm: Casspi's deal is for the veteran's minimum, and the second year is a team option, Feigen tweets. That means a salary of $947,907 this year and $1,063,384 in 2014/15.
2:27pm: Omri Casspi and the Rockets have agreed on a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Houston had been pursuing the 25-year-old former first-round pick since the trade deadline, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes (on Twitter). Casspi became an unrestricted free agent when the Cavs declined to offer him a qualifying offer this summer, following a season when it appeared he'd fallen out of favor in Cleveland.
A report during the season indicated the Creative Artists Agency client would head back to his native Israel to play, but it sounds like there was enough NBA interest to keep Casspi stateside. His numbers have been in freefall since his rookie year with Sacramento, when he notched 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. His 4.0 PPG and 2.7 RPG in limited minutes this year were far cries from his earlier production, and his three-point shooting, a strong suit when he was a King, deserted him in Cleveland. Presumably, the Rockets are looking for him to regain his stroke to give James Harden and Dwight Howard more room to score in the paint.
The Rockets appeared to be close to landing Casspi around the March 1st buyout deadline, but their agreement with Aaron Brooks scuttled that idea. Now, Brooks is gone and Delfino is headed to Houston.
Sixers Claim Tim Ohlbrecht, James Anderson
The Sixers have claimed Tim Ohlbrecht and James Anderson off of waivers from the Rockets and signed both players to non-guaranteed deals, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Rockets placed both players on waivers this past Saturday.
Anderson and Ohlbrecht were each about to enter the second year of a three-year minimum-salary deal with the Rockets, but the final two seasons were non-guaranteed in both cases. Philadelphia is a logical landing spot for both players as recently-minted GM Sam Hinkie spent years in the Houston front office. If they make the 76ers, they'll join another ex-Rocket (sort of) in Royce White.
Anderson was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft, but the Spurs declined to pick up the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him a free agent last summer. He spent training camp with the Hawks, re-signed with the Spurs early in the season, and wound up with the Rockets in January after San Antonio let him go.
Ohlbrecht was undrafted out of Germany, but Houston picked him up in February in the hopes that the 6'11" center could develop into a frontcourt contributor. Neither he nor Anderson played an integral role for the Rockets this past season.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Celtics Waive Kris Joseph
One of the five players acquired by the Celtics in their trade with the Nets has already been released. The Celtics announced today in a press release that they've waived Kris Joseph.
For Joseph, it's the second time in the last year that he has been cut by the Celtics. The team drafted him in the second round of the 2012 draft, but elected to release him last season before his '12/13 contract became fully guaranteed. Boston is doing the same thing this year — Joseph's deal was set to start becoming guaranteed if he remained on the roster beyond August 1st.
Joseph, 24, had been a part of the Nets/Celtics blockbuster for salary-matching purposes. Assuming he isn't claimed on waivers, the former Syracuse forward figures to seek out a training camp invite with another NBA team for the fall. Failing that, he could return to the D-League, where he earned All-NBDL Second Team honors last season.
Lakers Sign Wesley Johnson
MONDAY, 3:30pm: The Lakers have officially signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.
SUNDAY, 12:09am: The Lakers agreed to a one-year deal with shooting guard Wesley Johnson, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The fourth pick in the 2010 draft signed for the veteran's minimum, which is about $916K for a player with Johnson's experience.
The 6'7" Johnson played for the Suns last season and averaged 8.0 PPG in 19.1 MPG. Johnson was drafted by the Timberwolves and played limited minutes with the Wolves through his first two seasons.
According to our Agency Database, Johnson is represented by Landmark Sports Agency, Inc. Bresnahan mentions, via Twitter, that Johnson's length allows him to play a little small forward as well as his more natural shooting guard position.
Grizzlies Re-Sign Jon Leuer
JULT 15TH: The Grizzlies' re-signing of Leuer is now official, tweets Tillery.
JULY 2ND: Right on the heels of their extension agreement with Tony Allen, the Grizzlies have agreed to re-sign Jon Leuer, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). It'll be a three-year, $3MM deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 6'10" forward is a client of Mark Bartelstein, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Leuer came to the Grizzlies in a trade with the Cavs back in January that sent Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, Marreese Speights, and a future first-round pick to Cleveland. The 6'10" forward has moved around quite a bit over the course of his young career.
After being drafted by the Bucks heading into the lockout year, he signed up to play in Germany, but came back in time for the start of the 2011/12 season. The 2012 Samuel Dalembert draft night deal brought him to the Rockets, who waived him shortly thereafter, paving the way for him to hook up with Cleveland.
Leuer has averaged 3.7 PPG in ten minutes per contest over the last two years.
Hawks Sign Elton Brand
1:14pm: The Hawks have formally announced Brand's signing in a press release, making it official. The veteran's one-year pact with the team will be worth $4MM, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. While that's an increase over the $2.1MM Dallas paid him last season, it's a significant pay cut from the $18MM+ overall salary he was earning after being amnestied by the Sixers.
12:20pm: The Hawks have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with Elton Brand, agent David Falk tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. Terms of the contract have yet to be reported, but Brand figures to sign for a portion of Atlanta's cap space, rather than the minimum salary.
Brand, 34, is coming off a season with the Mavericks in which he established new career-lows in a number of categories, including PPG (7.2) and RPG (6.0). Still, he remained relatively efficient (15.2 PER), and Falk tells HoopsHype that he believes his client could play another four or five years.
The Mavs were believed to be in the hunt for Brand, who also drew interest from the Knicks, Lakers, and Cavs, among other teams. For the Hawks, the former first overall pick becomes the latest addition to a revamped frontcourt that lost Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia, but has gained Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll.