Wolves To Deal Luke Ridnour To Bucks
10:54pm: Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times tweets that a Ridnour-Ekpe Udoh swap, which had been rumored around draft time, could once again materialize. I'd assume that would happen within the framework of this deal, though I'm not sure what that would accomplish for Minnesota, since Udoh's $4,469,548 salary is larger than Ridnour's.
7:41pm: The Wolves have reached an agreement with the Bucks to deal point guard Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee in an arrangement that will allow Minnesota the room it needs to finalize its pact with Corey Brewer, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. No salary will head from the Bucks to the Wolves in the trade, so presumably there will be draft picks and/or cash headed to Minnesota.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier today that the teams were discussing the swap, as the Wolves sought to clear room to bring aboard Brewer along with the rest of their free agent haul. Ridnour, like J.J. Barea, was frequently mentioned in trade rumors over the past few weeks as Minnesota sought to clear its logjam at point guard.
Milwaukee's acquisition of Ridnour gives the team a backup for either incumbent point guard Brandon Jennings, or Jeff Teague, whom the Bucks have coveted. Ridnour is set to make $4.32MM in 2013/14, the final season of his contract.
Kings Form D-League Alliance With Reno Bighorns
The Kings will take over the basketball operations of the D-League's Reno Bighorns for the next two seasons, tweets Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings attempted to buy the Bighorns outright, and though owner Vivek Ranadive fell short of that goal, Sacramento will have the option to purchase the club at a later point, according to Bizjak (Twitter link).
The deal forms the latest hybrid partnership between an NBA club and its D-League affiliate. The Kings will run the basketball operations for the Bighorns, while local ownership in Reno will have control over the business side. The Kings will be the only NBA team affiliated with the Bighorns, after having to share the club with the Grizzlies and Jazz last year.
The Kings join the Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce), Nets (Springfield Armor), Celtics (Maine Red Claws), Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Knicks (Erie BayHawks) and Trail Blazers (Idaho Stampede) as the seventh NBA team to engage in a hybrid partnership. A handful of other NBA teams own their D-League affiliates outright.
Pelicans, Kings, Blazers Agree To Three-Way Deal
7:15pm: The Kings press release on the deal has Sacramento acquiring Vasquez from the Pelicans in exchange for Evans. The Kings also say they wind up with a 2016 second-round pick and future second-round considerations, presumably from the Blazers.
6:43pm: The Blazers announced their part, with Lopez and Harris coming from the Pelicans in exchange for Jeff Withey, future second-round draft considerations, and cash.
JULY 10TH, 6:12pm: The Pelicans have confirmed their end of the trade, via press release. They acquire Evans and Withey, send Lopez and Harris to the Blazers, and ship Vasquez to the Kings.
JULY 4TH, 6:04pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Portland will send Jeff Withey to the Pelicans and a future second round pick to the Kings as part of the three-team deal (Twitter links).
4:44pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that Terrel Harris, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, will also be sent to the Blazers in the deal. Meanwhile, Portland will pay Lopez's 15% trade kicker, which will be worth about $1.57MM in total, spread equally across the next two seasons. Stein adds that Sacramento will be receiving two second-round picks from the Blazers, rather than one.
4:39pm: The Pelicans will receive cash and future draft picks from the Blazers in the deal, tweets John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Sam Amick of USA Today adds (via Twitter) that the Kings will also receive a future second-rounder from Portland.
3:55pm: The Pelicans, Kings, and Trail Blazers have verbally agreed to a three-way deal that will make Tyreke Evans a Pelican, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). The deal will send Evans to the Pelicans, Robin Lopez to the Trail Blazers, and Greivis Vasquez to the Kings, with the Blazers sending out picks and cash, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
Evans had been preparing to sign a four-year, $44MM offer sheet with New Orleans, so rather than lose him for nothing, the Kings decided to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal. The Pelicans had been motivated to move Lopez in order to make room under the cap for their offer to Evans, so involving the two players in the same deal made sense. Meanwhile, with New Orleans putting together a backcourt that will feature Evans, Jrue Holiday, and Eric Gordon, Vasquez was the odd man out, making him expendable as well.
Sacramento agreed to complete the three-way deal with the Blazers and Pelicans after Jose Calderon passed on an opportunity to sign with the team. According to Wojnarowski, the Kings wanted to sign Calderon and flip Vasquez to another team, but the Spaniard decided he didn't want to be part of a full-blown rebuild in Sacramento. Calderon will continue to negotiate with other teams, including the Pistons, tweets Wojnarowski.
As for the Pelicans, they get their man in Evans and figure to use him off the bench in a Manu Ginobili-type role, behind a starting backcourt of Holiday and Gordon. It's not clear where the cash and picks coming from the Blazers are headed, but I would guess the Pelicans will acquire something from Portland, since New Orleans is sending out multiple players in the move.
For Sacramento, the deal gives the team the opportunity to regain some value for Evans, and Vasquez's modest $2.15MM salary will allow the club to retain plenty of cap space to pursue other players. The Kings previously withdrew a four-year offer for Andre Iguodala, but should still have the flexibility to pursue Iguodala again, if they so choose. Sacramento may also get in on those draft and cash considerations from Portland, though we'll have to wait for further word.
Meanwhile, the Blazers continue to make use of their summer cap space by making trades rather than signing free agents, as Lopez will be absorbed using the team's room under the cap. Portland also agreed to acquire Thomas Robinson from the Rockets without including any outgoing salary. At the moment, only $500K of Lopez's 2013/14 salary is guaranteed, but the next two years of his contract will become guaranteed this weekend, since he won't be waived by tomorrow. He'll earn $5.12MM next season and $5.34MM in '14/15.
The three teams will be able to finalize the transaction when the July moratorium lifts next Wednesday.
Knicks Sign Tim Hardaway Jr., C.J. Leslie
6:47pm: Deeks corrects his earlier report, and confirms that Leslie's deal isn't fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 6:01pm: Leslie's two-year deal is fully guaranteed for both seasons, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports, contradicting earlier word that the pact only included a partial guarantee.
MONDAY, 2:37pm: The Knicks have officially announced Hardaway's signing and also formally announced the signing of undrafted free agent C.J. Leslie (Twitter links). We had initially heard a day after the draft that the Knicks had agreed to sign Leslie, who will be in line for the rookie minimum. He'll also have a partial guarantee on his deal, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
2:05pm: The Knicks have reached a contract agreement with first-round pick Tim Hardaway Jr., agent Mark Bartelstein tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Hardaway was the 24th overall pick in last month's draft, meaning he was the first of this year's draftees with a rookie-scale amount below $1MM. Still, as our chart of rookie salaries shows, Hardaway will earn 120% of that $997,300 cap hold, good for a first-year salary worth close to $1.2MM.
Bulls Release Richard Hamilton
JULY 10TH: The Bulls have waived Hamilton, tweets Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald.
JULY 2ND: With Richard Hamilton's full salary for 2013/14 set to become guaranteed if he's not waived on or before July 10th, the Bulls will indeed release him before that happens, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. By cutting Hamilton, the Bulls will save $4MM, as only $1MM of his $5MM salary is guaranteed.
The move comes as no surprise, as the Bulls have shopped Hamilton multiple times in the past in the hopes of shedding his contract. With Chicago projected to be in luxury-tax territory next season, getting out from under $4MM of Hamilton's salary will actually save the Bulls significantly more than that in tax payments.
Mike Dunleavy figures to get not only some of the money the Bulls will save by cutting Hamilton, but also many of the minutes that the veteran guard would have played. Dunleavy agreed to a two-year contract likely worth the mini mid-level exception with the Bulls yesterday.
As Berger tweets, if he can be had for a reduced salary, Hamilton still represents a decent option for a contending team. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) expects the Knicks to at least kick the tires on the veteran shooting guard, who shares an agent (Leon Rose) with Carmelo Anthony.
Clippers Re-Sign Matt Barnes
JULY 10TH: The Clippers have officially finalized the signing of Barnes, per a team release.
JULY 5TH: Matt Barnes is heading back to the Clippers, as Barnes himself announced today on Twitter. According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), Barnes has reached a three-year contract agreement to remain in Los Angeles.
The deal will be in the $11-12MM range, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), which means the Clippers appear to be using a portion of their mid-level exception to get it done. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com notes (via Twitter) that the third year won't be guaranteed, while Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) pegs the value at $9-11MM. The difference between Spears' and Turner's figures may be related to the amount of guaranteed money.
Barnes was linked to a ton of teams during free agency, including the Mavericks, Nuggets, Nets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans. However, he always seemed to be a good bet to stick in Los Angeles with either the Clippers or Lakers. A report earlier today suggested he would likely sign with one of those two L.A. teams for an amount around the mini mid-level.
Barnes, an Aaron Goodwin client, outperformed his minimum-salary contract with the Clippers in 2012/13, averaging 10.3 PPG and recording a 15.5 PER. While his new salary will take up a portion of the Clippers' MLE, the team isn't done looking for more help, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. As Markazi tweets, L.A. still has room to sign another veteran for more than the minimum, though the player would have to come fairly cheap.
Clippers Re-Sign Ryan Hollins
JULY 10TH: The Clippers have officially re-signed Hollins, according to a team release.
JULY 7TH: The Clippers will re-sign backup center Ryan Hollins, who's agreed to a one-year deal, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The California native is represented by BDA Sports Management, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Hollins, 28, averaged 3.4 PPG with 2.3 RPG for the Clippers last season in 11.1 minutes per contest. The big man is extremely well-traveled but his new deal with the Clippers means that he won't have to seek out a seventh NBA destination this year.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Clippers Sign Darren Collison
JULY 10TH, 4:56pm: Collison's deal with the Clippers is now official, the team announced today on its website.
JULY 6TH, 10:40pm: HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus says (via Twitter) that if Collison's reported $1.9MM salary is accurate, then Barnes' three-year deal is for $10MM and not the $11MM-12MM we reported yesterday.
10:12pm: Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com offers some specifcs from cap guru Nick Silva regarding how much Barnes and Collison took from the MLE. She says Barnes signed for $3.25MM in the first year ($3,396,250 in the second and a non-guaranteed $3,542,500 in the third) and Collison the aforementioned $1.9MM (Twitter link).
8:59pm: According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Collison will make $1.9MM in the first year (Twitter), and as noted by Star-Telegram Mavs beat writer Dwain Price, that's less than half of the MLE (Twitter).
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne tells Marc Stein, that it's believed Matt Barnes took less from the Clippers in order to make the Collison deal happen (Twitter).
Collison is represented by BDA Sports Management, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
8:45pm: Sources reveal to ESPN.com's Marc Stein that Darren Collison will sign with the Clippers for a two-year deal with a player option for the second year (Twitter).
With no sign-and-trade option available between the Mavs and Clippers, Collison is opting to take a portion of the Clippers' Mid-Level Exception in order to go back to Los Angeles (Twitter).
Pelicans Sign Greg Stiemsma
4:50pm: The Pelicans have officially announced the signing of Stiemsma in a press release.
10:15am: The Pelicans have reached an agreement to sign Greg Stiemsma, according to agent Mark Bartelstein (Twitter link via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). The deal will be for one year and $2.7MM, says ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter).
Stiemsma, 27, was released on the weekend by the Timberwolves, prior to his 2013/14 contract becoming guaranteed. However, based on the figure reported by Broussard, the big man seems to be in line for a salary nearly identical to what he would have earned anyway.
Stiemsma appeared in 76 games for the Wolves a year ago, averaging 4.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG as a center off the bench. For New Orleans, he'll serve as a de-facto replacement for Robin Lopez, who the Pelicans agreed to trade to Portland.
Sam Amick of USA Today first reported yesterday (via Twitter) that the Pelicans were among about 12 suitors for Stiemsma, while ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted earlier today that New Orleans appeared to be the frontrunner.
Warriors Add Andre Iguodala On Four-Year Deal
JULY 10TH: As we've noted in a pair of other posts, Iguodala's deal is now official, after he was incorporated into the three-way deal between the Warriors, Jazz, and Nuggets.
JULY 5TH: The Warriors have reached an agreement to sign Andre Iguodala to a four-year, $48MM deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
With the Nuggets opposed to facilitating a sign-and-trade for Iguodala, the Warriors appear to be signing the free agent swingman using cap room. The team will clear a huge chunk of salary from their books by sending Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson, and Brandon Rush to the Jazz, which should be enough to clear the space necessary for Iguodala.
Iguodala had been pursued by the Kings and Nuggets, among other teams, before agreeing to terms with the Warriors. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Denver made Iguodala a four-year, $52MM offer, and also proposed five-year scenarios, but the 29-year-old opted for Golden State instead. Earlier this week, the Kings made Iguodala a four-year offer reported to be in the $52-56MM range, but withdrew it before he made his decision.
Even after agreeing to sign Iguodala, the Warriors haven't dropped out of the race for Dwight Howard. A sign-and-trade is still a viable option if Howard wants to come to Golden State and the Lakers are willing to negotiate, particularly since the Warriors may be more open to moving Klay Thompson and/or Harrison Barnes once they lock up Iguodala.