Suns Sign Shannon Brown
WEDNESDAY, 3:33pm: Brown has officially signed his contract with the Suns, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
FRIDAY, 5:08pm: Shannon Brown has agreed to re-sign with the Suns, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report by Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports. The deal is for $7MM over two seasons, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports that only half of his second-year salary is guaranteed (Twitter link).
Earlier this week we passed along a report from Gary Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times that Brown was close to signing with a mystery team. He speculated that the team might have been the Bucks, but it appears it was Phoenix all along. Brown said in May that he was interested in returning to the team, but wanted a multiyear deal. He wound up getting two seasons after signing a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the team last year.
Brown averaged 11.0 points on 42.0% shooting last season, compiling a 13.6 PER and starting 19 games. That was enough to keep Brown's salary at the same rate for next season and give him at least a bit of the long-term security he wanted, while allowing the Suns to maintain the flexibility to go after a major free agent next offseason.
Mavericks Sign Bernard James
The Mavericks have officially signed second-round pick Bernard James, the team announced today in a press release. James was selected 33rd overall in June's draft, one of three players Dallas acquired on draft night from the Cavs in exchange for 17th overall pick Tyler Zeller. His first-year salary of $473,604 will be fully guaranteed, according to Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
James is a former Staff Sergeant in the Air Force, having served in Iraq, Afghanastan, and Qatar. His second-round selection provided one of the more memorable moments of draft night, when the Newark audience serenaded him with "U-S-A" chants. In five games for the Mavericks' Summer League team in Las Vegas, the 6'10" Florida State product nearly averaged a double-double, with 10.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 2.6 BPG.
Timberwolves Sign Alexey Shved
JULY 25TH: The Timberwolves have officially signed Shved, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 23RD: Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press passes along an interview conducted by Russia's R-Sport, in which the terms of Shved's deal with the Timberwolves are said to be three years and $10MM. That was reported to be Shved's asking price back in May.
While the Timberwolves have yet to officially finalize the signing, CSKA Moscow formally announced Shved's departure for the NBA earlier today.
JULY 10TH: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement to sign Russian guard Alexey Shved, according to an Associated Press report (via the Washington Post). Sports.ru first reported earlier today that Shved had left CSKA Moscow to sign a deal with the T-Wolves (Twitter link).
For the T-Wolves, it's yet another salary commitment in a July that has been full of them so far. When I examined the contract agreements the team has made with Brandon Roy and Nicolas Batum, I noted that there must be at least one or two more moves coming to clear the necessary cap space. With Shved heading to Minnesota as well, the club will need even more flexibility. As John Hollinger of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter), the Wolves must be "pretty confident in something," whether it's the Blazers matching on Batum, a separate trade or two, or something else.
Shved, 23, reportedly drew interest this offseason from the Wolves, Cavs, and Grizzlies, among other teams. The 6'5" guard went undrafted in 2010 and has played for CSKA Moscow since then. In 21 Euroleague games this season, he averaged 10.6 points in 21.6 minutes per game and shot 49.3% on three-pointers, according to DraftExpress.
Magic Sign Jameer Nelson
JULY 25TH, 7:56am: Nelson's deal will pay him $8.6MM in each of the first two seasons, and $8MM in year three, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The third season is partially guaranteed, but Nelson could make over $25MM if he receives the full guarantee.
JULY 16TH, 9:20pm: Jameer Nelson has signed a three-year deal with the Magic, tweets the Orlando Sentinel's Joshua Robbins.
JULY 5TH, 2:34pm: Nelson's agent confirmed to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that Nelson's new contract will be for three years (Twitter link).
9:52am: Jameer Nelson and the Magic have reached an agreement on a new contract, according to Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). The point guard turned down his player option for 2012/13 in hopes of signing a multiyear deal to remain in Orlando.
Reports on the amount of Nelson's 2012/13 option varied from source to source, perhaps due to incentives included in the deal, but it would have paid him at least $7MM, and perhaps in excess of $8MM. However, Nelson wasn't interested in playing on an expiring contract and becoming a year-long trade chip. While his new contract may not match the annual salary he would've earned in 2012/13, it's a near certainty that it will be for at least two or three years.
Nelson struggled at times this past season, setting a career-low in FG% (.427), and averaging just 11.9 PPG and 14.6 PER. But the 30-year-old is still a capable point guard and has expressed a desire to stay in Orlando long-term, something that can't be said about all the players on the Magic roster.
Nelson is the latest domino to fall on the point guard market, as Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Goran Dragic, George Hill, and Andre Miller have already agreed to deals.
Grizzlies, T-Wolves Swap Cunningham, Ellington
The Grizzlies and Timberwolves have agreed to swap Dante Cunningham and Wayne Ellington, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). There had been rumblings over the last couple weeks that the trade would be consummated soon, but the T-Wolves needed to work through cap issues before making the deal official.
Financially, the deal works out almost perfectly, as the Grizzlies take on Ellington's $2,083,042 salary, while Cunningham and his $2,090,000 salary head to Minnesota. Ellington is in the final year of his rookie deal, while Cunningham has one more team option for 2013/14. From an on-court perspective, Ellington joins a Grizzlies' backcourt that has also added Jerryd Bayless and was in need of a shooter. Cunningham will add size to a T-Wolves' frontcourt that includes Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Derrick Williams, and Greg Stiemsma.
Having moved Cunningham, the Grizzlies will look to re-sign Hamed Haddadi for something close to the minimum, tweets Tillery. The Wolves, meanwhile, still need to officially finalize deals for Stiemsma, Alexey Shved, and Brandon Roy.
Bulls Sign Marco Belinelli
TUESDAY, 3:03pm: The Bulls have officially signed Belinelli, the team announced today in a press release.
MONDAY, 5:16pm: Belinelli's deal has been agreed to and is for one year at the bi-annual exception of $1.96MM, sources told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
2:02pm: The Bulls and Belinelli are finalizing details on a one-year deal that would pay Belinelli a little under $2MM (Chicago's bi-annual exception), according to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. An international report suggested the contract would be for two years, so we'll have to wait to see what the two sides work out.
FRIDAY, 3:16pm: Marco Belinelli and the Bulls appear to be in "advanced talks," according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). Kennedy cautions that nothing is imminent yet, but the Bulls figure to be seeking a two guard to replace the departed Ronnie Brewer.
According to Kennedy, Belinelli and the Bulls may be talking about a deal involving the bi-annual exception, though using the BAE would create a hard cap for the Bulls this season. The club is already well over the cap, and when it reached an agreement with Kirk Hinrich, it was for the $3.09MM taxpayer mid-level exception rather than the full $5MM mid-level exception.
That's not to say that the Bulls couldn't still access the full MLE and the BAE — the team hasn't passed the tax apron yet, so those exceptions are still available. But using them would mean the team would be forced to keep its payroll below the apron (about $74MM) for the rest of the season, and it would almost certainly mean letting Omer Asik walk. If the Bulls hoped to land Belinelli without introducing that hard cap, they would have to work out a sign-and-trade or get 26-year-old to accept a minimum-salary deal.
Earlier this week, Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld named the Bulls, Magic, Warriors, and Knicks as potential suitors for Belinelli, while Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com reiterated Chicago's interest in the former Hornet yesterday.
Knicks Sign Pablo Prigioni
JULY 24TH, 1:47pm: The Knicks have officially signed Prigioni, the team announced today (Twitter link via Jonah Ballow of NYKnicks.com).
JULY 11TH, 7:32pm: Prigioni's contract will be for the rookie minimum of $473,604, Zwerling writes. He'll likely be the team's third string point guard behind Jeremy Lin and Jason Kidd.
6:18pm: The Knicks have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with Spanish league point guard Pablo Prigioni, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com confirms via Twitter. The 35-year-old has been "on the radar" of Knicks GM Glen Grunwald for the last five years, Zwerling says. The team has been linked to Prigioni at various times during the summer. Marc Berman of the New York Post initially heard from Prigioni's agent, George Bass, that the agreement had been struck (Twitter link).
Wizards Sign A.J. Price
1:14pm: The Wizards have officially signed Price, the team announced in a press release. The deal is for one year, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
11:04am: Looking to land a point guard to back up John Wall, the Wizards have agreed to sign A.J. Price, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Terms of the deal aren't yet known.
A former second-round pick, Price has spent the first three years of his career with the Pacers. The 25-year-old has averaged 6.0 points and 2.0 assists in 14.9 minutes per game in 150 career contests. Because he has only been in the NBA for three years, Price was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but after he posted a career-low 3.9 PPG and .339 FG% in 2011/12, the 6'2" guard did not receive a qualifying offer from Indiana.
As our Free Agent Tracker shows, the Wizards have been all but inactive on the free agent market this summer. Before Price, Washington's only other free agent activity had involved re-signing Cartier Martin for less than $1MM.
Sixers Sign Maurice Harkless, Arnett Moultrie
The 76ers have officially signed their pair of first-round picks, Maurice Harkless and Arnett Moultrie, to rookie contracts, the team announced today in a press release. Harkless was the 15th overall pick, selected with Philadelphia's own first-rounder, while Moultrie was drafted 27th overall with a pick acquired from the Heat.
As our rookie scale contract chart shows, Harkless and Moultrie would be in line for 2012/13 salaries of $1,731,960 and $1,042,320 if they signed for the full 120% permitted for first-year players.
Nets Sign Tornike Shengelia
TUESDAY, 10:22am: The Nets have officially signed Shengelia, the team announced today (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 4:03pm: The Nets have agreed to sign second-round pick Tornike Shengelia to a two-year contract, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported (via Twitter) that Shengelia was "on the verge" of a two-year deal with Brooklyn.
Shengelia, who was selected 54th overall in June's draft, was considered likely to return to Europe after playing in the Belgian League a year ago. However, the Georgian forward showed enough during the Orlando Summer League to earn a spot on the Nets for the coming season.