Lakers Waive Chris Duhon
According to GM Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers have waived back-up point guard Chris Duhon tweets Lakers.com writer Mike Trudell.
Duhon signed a four-year $13.25MM contract in July of 2010 by way of the mid-level exception. The final year of his contract would have paid him $3.75MM.
By waiving the nine-year veteran out of Duke before midnight tomorrow night (June 30), the Lakers only have to pay him $1.5MM guaranteed, saving $2.25MM with the cut. Duhon now becomes an unrestricted free agent.
DeQuan Jones To Become Unrestricted Free Agent
The Magic have decided against making a $988,872 qualifying offer to DeQuan Jones, meaning he'll become an unrestricted free agent Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Jones will play for the Magic's summer league team, as Robbins notes via Twitter, so he may still wind up re-signing with Orlando.
The undrafted Jones made the Magic roster out of training camp, and surprisingly emerged as a starter early in the season. The small forward from the University of Miami averaged 3.7 points on 43.6% shooting in 12.7 minutes per game for the Magic this past season.
Jones made the minimum salary in 2012/13, and I'd be surprised if he signed for more than the minimum this summer. His QO would have been for slightly more than the minimum, and if the Magic had given it to him, he probably wouldn't have received better offers.
Suns Waive Hamed Haddadi
The Suns have waived center Hamed Haddadi, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Haddadi's deal, which had been scheduled to pay him nearly $1.4MM in 2013/14, was only guaranteed for $200K as long as he was waived by today, as Coro points out.
It's certainly no surprise that the Suns want to save nearly $1.2MM with the move, even though the 28-year-old averaged more playing time in his 17-game stint with the Suns this past season than in any other year of his career. He notched 4.1 points and an eye-catching 5.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game for Phoenix after coming over from the Raptors at the deadline. Haddadi never made an appearance for Toronto in the few weeks he spent with the team, which acquired him from the Grizzlies in January as part of the Rudy Gay trade.
Without Haddadi, the Suns still appear well-stocked at the center position, with Marcin Gortat and No. 5 overall pick Alex Len. The team also faces a decision about whether to fully guarantee Shannon Brown's $3.5MM deal, which is only 50% guaranteed if the team cuts him loose today.
Marreese Speights Opts Out
Marreese Speights has declined his $4,515,000 player option for next season with the Cavs and will become a free agent, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Cleveland acquired Speights as part of a three-for-one deal with the Grizzlies in January. The Cavs have no intention of re-signing him, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
An April report indicated that the Cavs felt Speights did not fit their culture, and that they were hoping he would opt out, so it sounds like they got their wish. The 25-year-old big man averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in his 39-game stint with Cleveland, numbers that would have been career highs if stretched over a full season. Still, with No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett joining a crowded frontcourt that also includes Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller, there may not have been many minutes left over for Speights.
The move will leave the Cavs with $27.5MM in guaranteed salary for next season, so Cleveland would have wound up with plenty of cap room regardless of Speights decision.
Andrei Kirilenko To Opt Out
Andrei Kirilenko is opting out of his deal with the T’Wolves, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). The Russian will hit the open market rather than earn $10.22MM with Minnesota next season.
We’ve heard that the Wolves would like to bring Kirilenko back, but aren’t keen on a deal that would pay him $10MM+ per season. Kirilenko’s opting out may not be a sign that he is expecting a deal with an AAV beyond $10MM, but the 32-year-old could be seeking something in that neighborhood on a multi-year deal.
If the Wolves do not retain Kirilenko, they could be left with a decent chunk of cap space this summer. With AK off of the books, the Wolves have roughly $39MM in guaranteed salary for next season. Of course, the Wolves will have to commit a considerable amount of money to Nikola Pekovic if they decide to match his offer sheet. All indications are that the club wants to retain the 27-year-old.
Thunder Acquire Grant Jerrett
9:53pm: Oklahoma City has officially announced the move via press release.
12:17am: The Thunder acquired 40th overall pick Grant Jerrett from the Trail Blazers, GM Sam Presti confirmed, according to John Rohde of the Oklahoman (via Twitter). Jason Quick of the Oregonian first tweeted that Jerrett had been dealt by the Blazers. Portland will receive cash considerations for Jerrett.
It was a busy draft night for both the Thunder and the Blazers. Oklahoma City landed Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, and Alex Abrines to go along with Jerrett. Meanwhile, even without Jerrett, Portland still walked away with C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe, Jeff Withey, and Marko Todorovic.
No. 26 Pick To Thunder, No. 29 To Warriors
FRIDAY, 9:52pm: The Thunder confirmed their end of the trade via press release. Oklahoma City acquired the rights to Roberson (No. 26) in exchange for Archie Goodwin (No. 29) and cash (presumably the $1MM that Kawakami reported).
THURSDAY, 11:22pm: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has the details on the Warriors' trades via Twitter. According to Kawakami, Golden State gave up $1.6MM and a 2014 second-rounder for the Wolves' 26th overall pick and Malcolm Lee. The Warriors then got $1MM from the Thunder to move back to No. 29. Finally, Golden State sent Lee and the 29th pick to the Suns for No. 30. The key takeaway here is that Lee's guaranteed 2013/14 salary is now on Phoenix's books.
9:42pm: According to Katz (via Twitter), the Warriors also sent a future second-round pick to the Wolves in order to initially grab the 26th pick.
9:17pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports now reports (via Twitter) that the Thunder have moved up to No. 26, while the Warriors will acquire OKC's No. 29 pick. According to ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman (via Twitter), Golden State bought the 26th pick from Minnesota, then sent it to the Thunder for the 29th pick and cash. The Thunder will take Andre Roberson with the 26th pick, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
9:13pm: The Timberwolves have agreed to send the No. 26 overall pick to the Warriors, according to ESPN.com's Andy Katz (via Twitter). The Wolves had previously picked up an extra first-rounder by sending their 9th overall pick to the Jazz for the 14th and 21st picks. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune first reported (via Twitter) that the Wolves appeared likely to move the 26th pick.
Kwame Brown Exercises Player Option
Kwame Brown has exercised his $2.95MM player option to remain with the Sixers for next season, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The move was a no-brainer for the former No. 1 overall pick who saw limited action over 22 games in 2012/13. His averages of 1.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 12.2 minutes per contest were all career lows.
Philadelphia signed Brown to a two-year, $5.765MM contract last season, but he was unable to settle into the role of backup center as the team might have hoped. Half of his appearances were starts as the Sixers suffered from injuries to others on their front line, Andrew Bynum in particular.
The move cuts slightly into the cap room the team opened during last night's Jrue Holiday-for-Nerlens Noel trade. The Sixers don't figure to be a top destination for free agents this summer, with Holiday on his way out and Bynum not expected to return.
Bobcats To Extend QO To Henderson, Not Mullens
5:46pm: The Bobcats have confirmed via press release that they're tendering a qualifying offer to Henderson.
12:31pm: The Bobcats will extend a qualifying offer to Gerald Henderson, making him a restricted free agent, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). However, according to Bonnell, Byron Mullens won't receive a QO of his own from the Bobcats.
Both Henderson and Mullens met the starter criteria in Charlotte, meaning that their qualifying offers would have been worth $4,531,459 each. For Henderson, that's a modest increase on what would have been a $4,267,426 offer, but it represents a significant increase for Mullens, who otherwise would've been in line for a $3,293,976 QO. Perhaps that played a part in the Bobcats' decision, though Mullens' unproductive second half (7.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG in 20 games after the All-Star break) likely didn't help his case either.
When free agency opens next week, both Henderson and Mullens will be free to negotiate with any team, but only Mullens will be able to sign outright with a rival club. If Henderson signs a rival offer sheet, the Bobcats will have three days to match it.
Ray Allen Exercises Player Option
Ray Allen has exercised his 2013/14 player option and will return to the Heat, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter). Earlier this afternoon, we heard that Allen was expected to remain in Miami one way or another. Rather than opting out and negotiating a new deal, the 37-year-old sharpshooter will simply play out the final year of the contract he signed last summer.
Now that Allen has opted in, all four Heat players with options are set to return to the team for '13/14. James Jones and Rashard Lewis also picked up their respective player options, while the Heat exercised Mario Chalmers' team option.
Allen's player option is worth approximately $3.23MM, adding another guaranteed contract to Miami's books for next season. The team's projected salary now sits at over $85MM, a figure that doesn't include Jarvis Varnado's non-guaranteed contract or Chris Andersen's cap hold.