Celtics Re-Sign Keyon Dooling
JULY 31ST: The Celtics have officially re-signed Dooling, according to a team release.
JULY 24TH: The Celtics and Keyon Dooling have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, a source tells Paul Flannery of WEEI.com (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg confirms with Dooling's agent that the guard will be returning to Boston on a one-year deal (Twitter link).
Because Dooling played for the Celtics last season, he was eligible to sign for more than the veteran's minimum, but Forsberg confirms it'll be a minimum-salary deal (Twitter link). Dooling's 4.0 PPG and 6.9 PER in 2011/12 were both career lows, so a larger guarantee was unlikely, though Forsberg adds that the 32-year-old's "locker room leadership" is invaluable (Twitter link).
Having used their full mid-level exception to sign Jason Terry, the Celtics will be hard-capped at $74.3MM this season. They'll only be on the hook for $854,389 of Dooling's $1,352,181 salary, with the league covering the remaining portion.
Celtics Sign Jason Collins
JULY 31ST: The Celtics have officially signed Collins, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 21ST: The Celtics have agreed to terms with center Jason Collins on a one-year, veteran minimum deal, reports Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter). Collins, 33, appeared in 30 games for the Hawks during the 2012/13 season where he averaged 1.3 PPG and 1.6 RPG in just over 10 minutes per contest.
By signing Collins, Boston has added a legitimate seven-footer to provide depth off the bench in place of Greg Stiemsma, who is headed to Minnesota after reaching a deal earlier on Saturday. Collins' best season came in 2004/05 with the Nets as he started in 80 games and averaged 6.4 PPG along with 6.1 RPG. Beyond the stat sheet, Collins remains a strong defender and brings 95 games of playoff experience to Boston.
Bulls Sign Nate Robinson
TUESDAY, 2:06pm: The Bulls have officially signed Robinson, the team announced today in a press release. It's a one-year, minimum-salary contract, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
MONDAY, 8:07pm: The deal should be completed tomorrow morning, tweets Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated.
6:28pm: Robinson's deal is for one year and should be finalized soon, sources close to the situation tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
5:01pm: According to agent Aaron Goodwin, his client Nate Robinson will sign with the Bulls, "barring unforseen problems," reports Sam Amick of SI.com (Sulia link). The guard spent most of the 2011/12 season with the Warriors after being waived by the Thunder on Christmas Eve. Terms of the deal are not yet known.
Robinson, 28, put up 11.2 PPG with 4.5 APG in 23.4 minutes per contest last season. Several members of the Warriors organization, including coach Mark Jackson, were said to be in favor of bringing back the diminuative guard for 2012/13.
Timberwolves Sign Brandon Roy
JULY 31ST: The Timberwolves have officially signed Roy, the team's PR Twitter feed announced today. The Wolves are currently introducing the former Blazer at a press conference.
JULY 27TH: With most of their other roster moves finalized, the T-Wolves are finally set to make Roy's contract official early next week. According to the team's PR Twitter feed, Minnesota will introduce Roy next Tuesday at a press conference.
JULY 5TH: Brandon Roy has reached a verbal agreement with the Timberwolves, reports Jason Quick of The Oregonian (via Twitter). Roy will receive a two-year, $10.4MM deal from the Timberwolves, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The former Trail Blazers star retired just prior to the start of the 2011/12 season due to a degenerative condition in his knees. Roy, soon to be 28, announced in June that he would make a comeback in the NBA as his health had improved enough to attempt a return. Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com correctly predicted the deal to be for two years with protection in case Roy's knees impede his ability to play (on Twitter).
The former Washington star had recently narrowed down his list of potential teams to include the Mavs, Warriors, Timberwolves, Pacers and Cavs. Roy had met with the Warriors over the weekend and sought a second meeting with the guard even though they had concerns about his health and asking price. Similarly, the Mavs planned to make a big push for the former All-Star but seemingly never came to fruition given the team's attention to more pressing needs over the past few days. As a result of Roy signing with another team, the Trail Blazers will receive a set-off amount that will reduce their financial obligation to the guard. The set-off amount figures to total a little more than $2MM in 2012/13.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld credits Timberwolves assistant Billy Bayno for attracting Roy to Minnesota as the two worked together in Portland and built a strong relationship. Look for the veteran shooting guard to be able to contribute 20 minutes per night as Roy adjusts to the grind of playing at the NBA level. During his final season with the Trail Blazers, Roy averaged 12.2 PPG, 2.7 APG and 2.6 RPG in 47 games.
Sixers Sign Maalik Wayns
TUESDAY, 10:32am: The Sixers have officially signed Wayns, the team announced today in a press release.
MONDAY, 8:50am: The 76ers and Maalik Wayns have agreed to terms on a contract that will earn him an invite to training camp, according to Terry Toohey of the Times Herald. Having played his college ball at Villanova, Wayns is a local product that went undrafted after entering the draft following his junior year.
According to Toohey, Wayns' deal is similar to the one Lavoy Allen signed a year ago when the Sixers selected him in the second round. The contract will include a small guarantee, and figures to pay Wayns the rookie minimum if he earns a spot on the team's roster.
Wayns, 21, averaged 17.6 points and 4.6 assists per game in his final season at Villanova. Wayns played for the Magic in the Orlando Summer League and was slated to play for the Warriors in Las Vegas before a groin injury made him unavailable. The 6'2" guard also worked out for the Sixers in the weeks leading up to June's draft.
Clippers Acquire Willie Green
The Clippers have acquired Willie Green from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the team announced today in a press release. Green was a free agent, so the deal is a sign-and-trade, as the Hawks confirmed in their own release.
Since Green was coming off a minimum-salary deal and only had Non-Bird Rights, he couldn't have received much of a raise. Still, it's likely more than a minimum-salary deal, since the Clippers could have signed him outright if they intended to pay him the minimum. I would guess the Clips will use the traded player exception acquired in the Reggie Evans trade to absorb Green's salary. Green could sign for a first-year salary up to about $1.48MM, while the Evans trade exception is worth about $1.62MM.
Green, 31, adds a little more depth to a Clippers' backcourt that lost Randy Foye, but added Jamal Crawford and retained Chauncey Billups. Green posted a career-high 13.9 PER for the Hawks in 2011/12, averaging 7.6 PPG and career-best shooting percentages of .471/.442/.857 in 17.4 minutes per game.
For the Hawks, the move nets them a small trade exception (worth Green's 2012/13 salary) along with the rights to Schortsanitis. The Greek center seems unlikely to ever make the leap to the NBA, having been selected by the Clippers in the second round of the 2003 draft. Still, if the Hawks didn't intend to re-sign Green, at least they were able to acquire a small asset for him.
Magic Hire Jacque Vaughn
MONDAY, 3:43pm: The Magic have officially hired Vaughn, introducing him in a press conference today (link via NBA.com). According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter), Michael Curry was the only other coaching candidate to meet with the DeVos family.
SATURDAY, 9:55am: The Magic are set to hire Jacque Vaughn as their next head coach, a team official told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Orlando has issued a press release confirming the news and will introduce their new coach to the media on Monday afternoon.
Vaughn, 37, has spent the last two years as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. While the former point guard shared responsibilities with the rest of the Spurs assistant coaching staff, he was not technically among the top three to sit on the bench as those spots belonged to Mike Budenholzer, Don Newman, and Brett Brown.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan has history with Vaughn as he was working for the Spurs when the signed the guard in the summer of 2006. Hennigan cast a wide net in his coaching search, also conducting first-round interviews with Michael Curry, Jeff Hornacek, Michael Malone, Lindsey Hunter, and Brian Shaw. Hunter and Curry both made the final three, but Vaughn was reported to be the frontrunner for some time.
Vaughn will become the successor to Stan Van Gundy, a coach who compiled a 259-135 record during his time in Orlando and guided the club to the 2009 NBA Finals. Of course, Van Gundy's breakup with the Magic was anything but smooth as the coach battled with star center Dwight Howard and upper management.
The question now is whether Vaughn will have the opportunity to coach Howard. Earlier this week, Luke Adams ran down the possible destinations for the six-time All-Star.
Warriors Agree To Terms With Draymond Green
The Warriors and Draymond Green have agreed to terms on a contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski tweets that Green's deal will be worth $2.6MM over three years, with a team option for year three. $250K of $900K in that third season will be guaranteed, while presumably each of the first two years are fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
Because the Warriors are signing Green for more than the rookie minimum, they figure to be using a portion of their mid-level exception to consummate the deal. If Golden State can also ink Carl Landry to a contract, the veteran forward will likely get most of the rest of the team's MLE.
Green, the 35th overall pick in June's draft, averaged 16.2 points and 10.6 rebounds in his senior year at Michigan State. The 6'8" forward was viewed as a probable late-first-round pick, so it's not surprising that he'll earn a little more than the rookie minimum with the Warriors.
Odds & Ends: Blazers, Przybilla, Gentry, Villanueva
With Olympic basketball underway in London, new Timberwolves Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved led the Russian squad to a victory over Great Britain in each team's first game. Former NBA veteran Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 22 points for Britain, and has also reportedly agreed to play in Israel for the coming season. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter) confirms an Israel Today report suggesting that Mensah-Bonsu has agreed to terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv. The 28-year-old had played in regular-season games for the Mavericks, Spurs, Raptors, Rockets, and Hornets in four NBA seasons.
Let's round up a few more Monday odds and ends….
- The Trail Blazers will interview their final four coaching candidates today and tomorrow, starting with Steve Clifford today, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Kaleb Canales, Terry Stotts, and Elston Turner are the other finalists.
- Joel Przybilla says he's meeting with teams this week and will decide "really soon" where he'll play in 2012/13, though he didn't say if the Blazers are still in the running, according to Quick (Twitter links). We heard last week that the Bucks, Blazers, and Mavericks were all interested in the big center.
- Suns coach Alvin Gentry isn't concerned that the team hasn't extended his contract, which will expire at the end of the coming season. "My view is if a person has a three-year contract, you assess it at the end of three years," said GM Lon Babby, and Gentry is on board with that approach, as he tells Randy Hill of FOX Sports Arizona.
- Plenty of Pistons fans were disappointed that Detroit didn't amnesty Charlie Villanueva earlier this month, but the veteran forward tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he plans to take advantage of the opportunity and use fans' scorn as motivation.
Sonny Weems Signs With CSKA Moscow
A pair of players from last year's CSKA Moscow squad have made the jump to the NBA this summer, as Alexey Shved and Andrei Kirilenko both signed deals with the Timberwolves. Sonny Weems, however, is heading in the other direction. CSKA Moscow has officially signed Weems to a three-year deal, the team announced in a press release (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Weems, who spent three seasons in the NBA from 2008-11 with the Nuggets and Raptors, also played overseas in 2011/12, signing with Lithiuana's Zalgiris B.C. during the lockout. After averaging 7.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per contest over the course of 140 NBA games, Weems averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game with Zalgiris in Euroleague action.
The Knicks were said to have interest in Weems before signing Ronnie Brewer, and the Celtics also had some interest before adding Jason Terry and Courtney Lee. Weems was still seeking an NBA contract two weeks ago, but considering the amount of interested teams that decided to go in another directions, I speculated during last week's live chat that the 26-year-old could end up back overseas.