Hornets, Suns, Wolves Agree To Three-Team Deal
FRIDAY, 11:51am: The Hornets' acquisition of Robin Lopez is complete, says Jimmy Smith of the Times Picayune, who adds that New Orleans will end up with Hakim Warrick as well (Twitter links). We'll have to wait for further reports or an official announcement to see how the full deal looks.
THURSDAY, 8:20pm: There won't be a resolution to the deal on Thursday night but the odds of the trade going through have improved, tweets Coro. The Hornets' cap situation is not holding up the deal from progressing further.
1:40pm: Alex Laugan of Bright Side of the Sun provides a fantastic breakdown of why this deal is currently on hold, as the Hornets' side of the transaction needs to be modified to be legal under the CBA. In all likelihood, New Orleans will need to include at least one more player or remove Hakim Warrick from the deal to make it work.
Warriors Sign Kent Bazemore
THURSDAY, 8:45pm: The Warriors have officially signed Bazemore, according to a team release.
TUESDAY, 10:30am: The Warriors have agreed to sign Kent Bazemore to a two-year, partially-guaranteed contract, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (via Twitter). Exact terms of the deal aren't known, but it will almost certainly be a minimum-salary contract.
Bazemore graduated from Old Dominion this spring, but went undrafted last month. The 23-year-old averaged 15.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his senior year at ODU, and played for the Warriors' Summer League team in Las Vegas. Since Bazemore is a wing player, his signing shouldn't affect the Warriors' pursuit of a big man.
Rockets Sign Lamb, White, Jones
The Rockets have officially signed first-round picks Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones to rookie contracts, according to a team release.
Lamb, 20, was selected 12th overall by Houston after starring at UConn in the backcourt. Named an NBA Summer League All-Star, Lamb led the Rockets in scoring with 20.0 PPG. After winning an NCAA championship with the Huskies during his freshman year, Lamb finished his career at UConn by being one of only six players to score 1000 points by the end of his sophomore year.
White, a 21-year-old forward from Iowa State, was drafted 16th overall by the Rockets. In his lone season with the Cyclones, White led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals, making him the only player in the country to be able to claim such a distinction. The big man averaged 8.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 3.6 APG during the NBA Summer League.
Jones, 20, brings championship experience to Houston as he helped lead Kentucky to a title this past spring. The forward averaged 14.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 1.8 BPG in 76 games over his two seasons with the Wildcats. Jones is off to a strong start for the Rockets as he scored 18.2 PPG and grabbed 8.6 RPG during the 2012 NBA Summer League.
Clippers Sign Ronny Turiaf
5:30pm: The Clippers have officially signed Turiaf, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine.
THURSDAY, 12:22am: The Clippers have reached a contract agreement with Ronny Turiaf for the coming season, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Turiaf's deal with the Clips will be for one year, and will pay him the veteran's minimum — for a player with Turiaf's seven years of experience, the minimum salary is $1,146,337.
After winning a ring with the Heat, Turiaf decided to opt out of the second year of his contract. While his performance with Miami wasn't exceptional, the second-year player option had been included in his deal as an "insurance policy." Presumably, the belief was that the big man could earn a larger or longer guarantee on the open market, though it seems that wasn't the case.
As Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker shows, Turiaf is the fifth free agent to sign with the Clippers this summer. In addition to fellow big man Ryan Hollins, Turiaf joins Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, and Chauncey Billups as the club's offseason free agent additions. Los Angeles also acquired Lamar Odom from the Mavericks in a June trade.
Delonte West Re-Signs With Mavericks
THURSDAY, 5:05pm: The Mavericks have officially re-signed West, according to a team release.
TUESDAY, 6:44pm: According to a tweet from ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Delonte West will re-sign with the Mavericks on Wednesday. Earlier tonight there was a report from ESPNLosAngeles.com that the Lakers were interested in making an offer for West, but it appears the eight-year veteran will forgo that possibility to stay in Dallas.
Terms of West's deal aren't yet known, but the Mavs still have the cap flexibility to offer the veteran guard more than the veteran's minimum. The one-year pact also allows the Mavs to retain flexibility for next summer, when the team is expected to revisit the free agent market in hopes of landing an impact player.
Grizzlies Trade Jeremy Pargo To Cavs
The Grizzlies have sent Jeremy Pargo, a 2014 second-round pick and cash to the Cavs for D.J. Kennedy, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link). Pargo is entering the final season of a two-year, $2MM contract, and his $1MM is guaranteed for 2012/13. Kennedy has two more seasons on his deal at the minimum salary, both of which are non-guaranteed. The Cavs put out a press release on their website confirming the move.
"Our approach remains consistent as we try to bring in young talent, create future opportunity with draft picks as potential assets and maintain flexibility," Cavs GM Chris Grant said in the release. "Jeremy adds depth to our backcourt. He is a young, aggressive, athletic guard who we feel fits well with our style of play, both defensively and offensively. We look forward to welcoming him to Cleveland."
Pargo, the younger brother of Jannero Pargo, made his NBA debut for the Grizzlies last season after going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2009. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 assists in 9.6 minutes a game as a backup to point guard Mike Conley. The 6'6" Kennedy wasn't drafted last year out of St. John's, but caught on with the Cavs in the final week of the season and played in two games, scoring 12 points and pulling down seven rebounds in a total of 59 minutes. Kennedy spent most of the season in the D-League, putting up 15.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 4.4 APG in 37.4 MPG.
The Grizzlies are close to the luxury tax threshold of $70.31MM, so the deal might be a way for them to save money, since they could waive Kennedy without owing him anything. The Cavs have plenty of cap room to absorb the $1MM owed Pargo, and helps them at point guard, where the team is thin behind starter Kyrie Irving.
Jordan Hill Re-Signs With Lakers
JULY 25th, 5:09pm: The Lakers have officially announced the signing, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (Twitter link).
JULY 20th, 7:59pm: Power forward Jordan Hill has reached an agreement to re-sign with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth nearly $8MM, his agent Kevin Bradbury tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Bradbury said Thursday the Timberwolves were "right there" with the Lakers in the competition for Hill's services, but apparently the Lakers won out, helped by their status as a title contender.
"Jordan was excited about the fact that Steve Nash decided to join the Lakers and the prospect of winning a championship in LA," Bradbury said to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Wednesday, a report by Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com suggested the Lakers would turn their attention to re-signing Hill and extending the contract of Andrew Bynum if they were to back off trade talks for Dwight Howard, but it's unclear exactly what bringing back Hill means for a Howard-to-L.A. deal.
The Lakers are limited to paying Hill no more than $3,632,527 for 2012/13, believed to be the value of the team option in his previous contract. The Rockets declined that option long before a midseason trade that sent him to the Lakers. Teams are prohibited from re-signing players to contracts that would give the player a higher salary in a season than what he would have earned if his option had not been declined. Bradbury told David Aldridge of TNT that Hill turned down larger offers to return to the Lakers (Twitter link).
Hill averaged 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds a game with a 15.8 PER last season with the Rockets and Lakers, coming to L.A. in a midseason trade. He appeared in only seven regular season games for the Lakers, but played in all 12 playoff games, leading all postseason performers in offensive rebounding percentage.
The Wolves, who've missed out on other targets like Nicolas Batum and Courtney Lee of late, seem poised to shift their focus to Celtics restricted free agent Greg Stiemsma, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Rockets Sign White, Jones, Lamb
4:03pm: Jeremy Lamb has also signed his rookie deal, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link). Assuming he signed for the full 120%, the 12th overall pick will earn $2,020,200 in his rookie season.
3:46pm: A pair of Rockets first-round picks, Royce White and Terrence Jones, have signed their rookie contracts, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The team's other first-rounder, Jeremy Lamb, is expected to sign in the coming days.
With Houston exploring a variety of roster moves this offseason, including trying to trade for Dwight Howard, it made sense that the team's three first-round picks had yet to sign. Now that White's and Jones' deals are official, their first-year salaries will officially show up among Houston's 2012/13 commitments. As the 16th and 18th overall picks, White and Jones will likely be in line for salaries of $1,645,440 and $1,485,000, respectively.
The two rookies are also ineligible to be traded for 30 days now, though if the Rockets wanted to include them in a deal for Howard or another player, the team could reach an agreement and then finalize the deal after that 30-day period.
Lakers Sign Antawn Jamison
JULY 25TH: The Lakers have officially signed Jamison, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (via Twitter).
JULY 18TH: The Lakers have agreed to terms with Antawn Jamison on a one-year deal worth the veteran's minimum, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer first reported earlier this week that Jamison had decided to become a Laker.
The decision is a little surprising, since Jamison could surely have landed a larger deal from another team, such as his hometown Bobcats. When the veteran forward discussed his free agency with Bonnell during the first week of July, it sounded as if he was leaning toward signing with Charlotte, but acknowledged that the opportunity to contend for a title would be tempting.
"The only thing left I haven’t accomplished is to be part of a championship team," Jamison said. "But the realization is signing with Miami or L.A. or Boston doesn’t mean it’s a shoo-in [a title run] would happen…. Spending two or three seasons [on a title contender] increases the chances, but it’s not guaranteed.
Even with no guarantee of a title, Jamison makes the Lakers that much more dangerous. Los Angeles has managed to add Jamison and Steve Nash to its roster this offseason without its mid-level exception, which GM Mitch Kupchak has indicated the team doesn't plan to use this summer.
Jamison saw his shooting averages dip to .403/.341/.683 in Cleveland last season, but still managed to average 17.2 PPG, along with a 16.1 PER. Surrounded by Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, Jamison will likely see a bump in his offensive efficiency, even at age 36.
Knicks Sign Ronnie Brewer
WEDNESDAY, 3:49pm: The Knicks have officially signed Brewer, tweets Jonah Ballow of NYKnicks.com.
TUESDAY, 10:52am: The Knicks have reached a contract agreement with Ronnie Brewer, according to TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). The former Bull will sign with New York on a one-year deal, which figures to be for the minimum salary.
Brewer was released by the Bulls earlier this month, clearing his non-guaranteed 2012/13 contract from their books. The 27-year-old had been set to earn $4.37MM if his contract with Chicago had been guaranteed, so he'll take a significant pay cut in joining the Knicks. Having spent their mid-level exception and with no means to sign-and-trade for Brewer, the Knicks can only offer the veteran's minimum for a player with Brewer's experience, which will be $1,069,509.
For the Knicks, Brewer represents a solid addition to a backcourt that is heavy on point guards and figures to be missing Iman Shumpert at the start of the season. Brewer will likely split time with J.R. Smith at shooting guard until Shumpert is healthy enough to return, and will perhaps see some time at the three as well.