Bobcats Amnesty Tyrus Thomas
JULY 10TH: The Bobcats have officially amnestied Thomas, according to Bonnell (via Twitter).
JULY 4TH: The Bobcats will amnesty Tyrus Thomas' contract in order to make room to sign Al Jefferson, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. As I noted in our story on the Jefferson signing, since cap holds for Gerald Henderson and Cody Zeller ensure the Bobcats only have about $10MM in cap space, amnestying Thomas will create the necessary room to bring Jefferson aboard.
NBA teams will have the opportunity to amnesty players during the seven-day period beginning on July 10th, so the move won't become official until at least next week. When it's finalized, the Bobcats will eliminate Thomas' $8.69MM salary for 2013/14 and his $9.39MM salary for 2014/15 from their books. Charlotte will still have to pay Thomas all or most of that money, depending on whether he's picked up by another team, but the Bobcats will no longer take the cap hit.
Charlotte is one of 15 NBA teams that has yet to use its amnesty provision under the new CBA. While the Pelicans don't have any amnesty-eligible players left on their roster, 13 other clubs will still have the opportunity to use the amnesty clause starting next Wednesday. For the Bobcats, Thomas was the only player on the roster still eligible to be amnestied.
Bobcats Sign Al Jefferson
JULY 10TH: The Bobcats signing of Jefferson has been finalized, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The team confirmed the move in a press release.
JULY 4TH: The Bobcats have reached an agreement on a three-year deal with Al Jefferson, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). According to Stein, the contract will be worth about $41MM, and the third year will be a player option. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer pegs Jefferson's average annual salary at $13.5MM, while Sam Amick of USA Today confirms (via Twitter) that the overall value will be $40.5MM.
Jefferson, 28, spent two days visiting with the Bobcats, but it still comes as something of a surprise that Charlotte would land him. When I explored the team's potential to add a max-salary free agent earlier this year, I noted that overpaying for an impact free agent may not be the best use of the Bobcats' resources, since they're more than one player from contention. As Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets, Charlotte's agreement with Jefferson isn't very damaging long-term, but an annual salary of $13.5MM is a significant price to pay.
The Bobcats' agreement with Jefferson is even more unexpected since we heard just last night that the big man intended to wait until after Dwight Howard signed, in case that resulted in more interest from the losers of the Howard sweepstakes. Jefferson was also reportedly seeking a four-year deal worth around $15MM annually.
While Jefferson isn't considered a strong defender, he's a very effective offensive post player, having averaged 18.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG for the Jazz over the last three seasons. The Excel Sports client will join a frontcourt in Charlotte that already features a pair of defense-first players in Brendan Haywood and Bismack Biyombo.
Assuming no sign-and-trade agreement with the Jazz is on the table, Jefferson's deal with Charlotte will remove his maximum-salary cap hold from Utah's books when the July moratorium is lifted. The Jazz could still decide to re-sign Paul Millsap, but if they don't bring back either of their free agent bigs, they'll have a ton of cap room available this month.
As for the Bobcats, with cap holds for Gerald Henderson and Cody Zeller on their books, the team only has about $10MM in cap space. Assuming Charlotte doesn't intend to renounce its rights to Henderson, clearing the room for Jefferson's first-year salary will likely require amnestying Tyrus Thomas, as Lowe notes (via Twitter).
Bobcats Sign Cody Zeller
Fourth overall pick Cody Zeller has signed his rookie contract with the Bobcats, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
Zeller's selection at No. 4 was one of the biggest surprises on draft night. The 20-year-old big man had a productive sophomore season at Indiana, averaging 16.5 PPG and 8.1 RPG, but he was behind Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, and Ben McLemore on most boards. All three of those prospects were still on the board when the Bobcats grabbed Zeller.
Assuming Zeller signs for 120% of his cap hold, as most rookies do, he'll earn about $3.86MM in his first season in the NBA, as our chart shows.
Pistons Sign Josh Smith To Four-Year Deal
JULY 10TH, 12:11pm: The Pistons have officially signed Smith, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 6TH, 3:47pm: Smith's deal includes $54MM in base salary, but the value could rise to $56MM if he reaches performance incentives, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
2:54pm: No sign-and-trade is planned at the moment between the Pistons and Hawks, so the Smith acquisition figures to be an outright signing, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Windhorst also says the Rockets never engaged in sign-and-trade discussions about Smith with the Hawks.
2:34pm: Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears the deal totals just $54MM (Twitter links).
2:01pm: Josh Smith and the Pistons have agreed to terms on a four-year, $56MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Detroit lands perhaps the most enticing name on the free agent market now that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are locked up, using its cap space to reel in the athletic forward. The Rockets appeared to be pursuing a sign-and-trade for Smith as recently as last night, but couldn't get any traction on a move that would have reunited Howard with his AAU teammate.
The deal falls short of the maximum contract Smith was looking for, and gives him just a slight bump from the $13.2MM he made last season with the Hawks. The Warriors and Hawks also had interest, and the Celtics reportedly were set to target Smith in the wake of having traded Paul Pierce, but no team pursued him with as much vigor as Detroit, as Wojnarowski writes. The Pistons met with the client of Wallace Prather and Brian Dyke in the first hours of free agency, and though an offer didn't come out of that encounter, it was clear the team regarded him as more than the "Plan B" he appeared to be for other suitors who were waiting to hear from Howard.
The Pistons also had their sights on Andre Iguodala, and would like to have re-signed Jose Calderon, but with both of them agreeing on deals with other teams, it looks like president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and company circled back to their No. 1 option. The team should still have close to $10MM in cap room to complement an impressive front line of Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.
The 27-year-old Smith saw his numbers dip a bit from his career year in 2011/12, averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists this past season. Though Smith is multitalented, the hole in his game is three-point shooting. He took more shots from behind the arc than ever in 2012/13, but he connected on just 30.3% of his 2.6 long-range attempts per game.
Wizards Re-Sign Garrett Temple
JULY 10TH, 12:08pm: Temple's signing has been finalized, according to the team (Twitter link).
JULY 3RD, 3:30pm: Lee confirms that Temple will indeed sign for the minimum salary ($916,099), as I speculated below.
11:21am: The Wizards and Garrett Temple have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post (via Twitter). According to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, Temple's contract will be worth a little less than $1MM.
Temple, 27, appeared in 51 contests for the Wizards last season, starting 36 of them. The John Hamilton client averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.3 APG in part-time duty for Washington, and figures to be the third-string point guard next season, behind John Wall and Eric Maynor.
As our free agent tracker shows, the Wizards have already been busy this week, agreeing to sign Maynor to a deal likely worth the bi-annual exception and bringing back Martell Webster using their mid-level exception. Having used those exceptions, the Wizards likely will sign Temple to a minimum-salary deal, which would be worth about $916K for a player with his experience.
Pacers Sign C.J. Watson
JULY 10TH: The Pacers have officially signed Watson, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 1ST: C.J. Watson has reached an agreement on a two-year contract with the Pacers, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld first reported the agreement (via Twitter) after noting that the two sides were closing in on a deal. It was actually Watson himself who first broke the news, though his tweet was somewhat cryptic.
Watson, who turned down a player option that would have kept him in Brooklyn for 2013/14, averaged 6.8 PPG with 2.0 APG and a 13.9 PER in 80 contests for the Nets last season. According to Kennedy, Watson's new deal is expected to pay him more than the minimum salary he made in Brooklyn on his previous contract.
The Pacers headed into the offseason in the market for a point guard to play behind George Hill, with backup D.J. Augustin and third-stringer Ben Hansbrough ticketed for free agency.
Wizards Sign Eric Maynor
JULY 10TH, 11:58am: The Wizards have officially signed Maynor, according to the team (Twitter link).
JULY 1ST, 7:15pm: The deal will likely be a two-year pact for the bi-annual exception, with a player option in the final season, TNT's David Aldridge tweets. That would entail a starting salary of $2.016MM if Maynor gets the full value of the exception.
7:00pm: Eric Maynor and the Wizards have agreed to a multiyear deal, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The Wizards had been reaching out to reserve point guards, sources told HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy earlier today (Twitter link), and they had interest in Beno Udrih, Darren Collison and John Lucas III in addition to Maynor, according to Lee. They contacted the representatives for Maynor, Collison and Lucas, according to Lee's sources, and they've also reached out to Garrett Temple while keeping A.J. Price on their radar.
The Andy Miller client hit the unrestricted free agent market when the Blazers decided against making him a qualifying offer, but over the course of the spring both Maynor and Portland had expressed interest in a return. It was the drafting of C.J. McCollum seemed to signal the end for Maynor with the Blazers, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman noted.
Maynor's best days were as a backup to Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, but he had trouble getting back on track after a torn ACL caused him to miss much of 2011/12. The Thunder shipped him to the Blazers at the deadline this past season, and now Maynor will serve as a backup for John Wall in Washington.
Knicks Acquire Andrea Bargnani
JULY 10TH, 11:07am: The Knicks and Raptors have both confirmed that the deal is now finalized (Twitter links). Toronto receives Camby, Novak, Richardson, a 2016 first-round pick, and 2014 and 2017 second-rounders in exchange for Bargnani.
JUNE 30TH, 11:20pm: The Raptors just completed the deal that will send Bargnani to New York, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The deal cannot be officially made until July 10th, however.
9:38pm: Martin isn't interested in being sent to Toronto in a sign and trade deal, meaning that the Knicks will have to look elsewhere, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Earl Barron or Quentin Richardson are probably in line for a nice payday, but not a Keith Bogans-style one (link).
8:49pm: The deal will likely be made official on July 10th, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that a sign-and-trade of a minimum salary player such as Kenyon Martin or Pablo Prigioni would get the deal done.
8:33pm: The trade will not be approved by the league office tonight and as a result, the teams will have to restructure under 2013/14 cap figures, tweets Beck. Both sides are still motivated to do the deal, but it will have to be re-worked after July 1st. It's unclear at the moment as to why the league office shot the deal down (Twitter links).
6:33pm: The Raptors are getting the Knicks' 2017 second-round selection plus the 2014 second-round pick from OKC, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet (on Twitter).
6:03pm: The Knicks will send a 2016 first round pick in the deal, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times (on Twitter). Frank Isola of the Daily News (on Twitter) points out that the deal must be finalized tonight for salary cap purposes. The Knicks will send not one, but two second-round picks to the Raptors in the trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
The Knicks have already traded their own second-rounders through 2016, so the second-rounders are probably be the Kings' 2014 pick (top-55 protected) and the Thunder's 2014 pick. Otherwise, it will involve one or both of the club's original 2017/2018 seletions.
5:50pm: The Knicks have agreed to a deal that will bring Andrea Bargnani to New York, a source tells Howard Beck of the New York Times (agreement news via Twitter). The Knicks will send Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick north of the border for the Italian big man. The deal has been agreed to but is awaiting final approval from the NBA (Twitter link).
Several teams have pursued Bargnani, but the Knicks recently emerged as the “strong favorites” to land him. The former No. 1 overall pick has career averages of 15.2 PPG and 4.8 RPG in seven NBA seasons. He's owed $22.25MM over the next two seasons.
Moving Barngani would be the first major move by new Raptors decision-maker Masai Ujiri. Outgoing GM Bryan Colangelo was open about his desire in past years to move Bargnani, but no deal ever materialized for him.
We heard earlier today that the Knicks were open to the idea of trading the sharpshooting Novak. The 30-year-old shot an eye-popping 47% from long range in 2011/12 but came back down to earth when he shot at a 42.5% clip from downtown last season. Novak will earn a combined $11MM over the next three seasons.
Camby, 39, returns back to the organization that drafted him in 1996. The shot-blocking big man has impressed in recent years with his tremendous rebounding but played in just 24 games for the Knicks last season. He'll earn $7.5MM between next season and 2014/15.
Bulls Sign Mike Dunleavy
JULY 10TH: The Bulls have officially signed Dunleavy, according to a press release from the team.
JULY 1ST: The Bulls and Mike Dunleavy have a verbal agreement on their rumored deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Chicago will likely bring the 32-year-old swingman aboard using their mini mid-level exception, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports pegged two years and $6MM as the terms of the agreement.
Dunleavy, who spent the past two seasons with the Bucks, spurns the Rockets, Mavs, Lakers Wolves and Knicks to head to Chicago, where he's reportedly intrigued with the idea of playing with Derrick Rose. He'll provide size, shooting and scoring punch off the bench for the Bulls, as the 6'9" Dunleavy has averaged double-figure scoring for nine of his 11 years in the league.
I looked at his free agent stock in the spring, figuring he and agent Arn Tellem might go for the mini mid-level with a contending team if his father didn't wind up with a coaching job somewhere. There are still a couple of head coaching vacancies, but it doesn't appear as though Mike Dunleavy Sr. will be getting back in the league this season.
Blazers Acquire Thomas Robinson
JULY 10TH: The Blazers have formally finalized their acquisition of Robinson from the Rockets, according to team owner Paul Allen (via Twitter). The picks being sent to Houston will be a 2015 second-rounder from the Wolves or Nuggets (whichever pick is higher) and a 2017 second-rounder from the Blazers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
JUNE 30TH: The Trail Blazers have agreed to acquire forward Thomas Robinson from the Rockets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The deal allows Houston to clear enough cap space in order to offer a maximum contract to Dwight Howard.
Portland will send the Rockets the draft rights to Kostas Papanikolau and Marko Todorovic and two future second-round picks, league sources said. With the forward's salary now off of the books, the Rockets can offer Howard a four-year deal worth roughly $88MM in their meeting later tonight.
Robinson earns $3.5MM next season — not an unreasonable amount for a player with his potential, but too much for the Rockets as they need to squeeze in a max contract for this summer's top available big man. Houston also cut Aaron Brooks and Carlos Delfino loose last week in order to carve out space for D12.
The fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG in limited playing time last season. This is his second trade with the first coming at the deadline earlier this year, sending him from Sacramento to Houston.