Hornets Sign Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers
The Hornets have officially signed first-round picks Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers, according to a team release. Rivers was selected 10th overall, with the pick acquired in the Chris Paul trade, while Davis was, of course, the first overall pick.
Terms of the deals weren't disclosed, but both players figure to receive the full 120% of the rookie scale amount for their slots. That would mean a $5,144,280 first-year salary for Davis and a $2,238,360 rookie salary for Rivers. Their contracts will include two guaranteed seasons and two team options.
Jazz Sign Randy Foye
TUESDAY, 7:39am: Foye's deal with the Jazz is worth $2.5MM over one year, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). It appears the team used a portion of its mid-level exception for the signing.
MONDAY, 10:01pm: The Jazz have signed Randy Foye to a one-year deal, according to Ric Bucher of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Terms of the deal are not yet known.
The Knicks have long been linked to the Tri-state area native, but the shooting guard did not factor into their plans. The Mavericks, Rockets, Hawks, Suns, and Bucks were all said to be interested in Foye as well but the Jazz were never known to be among his suitors.
Foye, 29 in September, hooked on with the Clippers as a free agent in the summer of 2010 on a two-year, $8.5MM contract. In two years with Los Angeles, Foye averaged 10.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 25. 3 minutes per contest. For his career, the former seventh-overall pick has put up 11.6 PPG and 3.2 APG.
The Villanova product joined the Clips' starting lineup last season after Chauncey Billups' season ending injury and shot 39% from long range, his best of any full season. As a team, the Jazz shot just 32.3% from beyond the arc in 2011/12.
Nets Sign C.J. Watson
MONDAY, 3:06pm: The Nets have officially signed Watson, the team announced today in a press release.
SATURDAY, 8:12pm: The Nets have agreed to terms with point guard C.J. Watson on a two-year deal for the veteran's minimum, reports Peter Vecsey of the New York Post (via Twitter). The former Tennessee star became an unrestricted free agent on Friday after clearing waivers. Watson's second year of the contract will be a player option.
Watson, 28, averaged 9.7 PPG and 4.1 APG in 49 games for the Bulls during the 2011/12 season. He filled in admirably as the starting point guard at different points during the season as Derrick Rose battled various ailments until suffering a season-ending torn ACL during the first round of the playoffs against the Sixers. With the Nets, Watson will serve as the backup to All-Star Deron Williams.
Bulls Sign Kirk Hinrich
1:37pm: Hinrich's two-year deal will pay him roughly $8MM, says K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. In that case, Hinrich will receive more than $3.09MM in year one, meaning the Bulls are using their full mid-level exception, hard-capping their 2012/13 team salary at about $74.3MM.
JULY 23RD, 12:33pm: The Bulls have officially signed Hinrich, the team announced today in a press release. Since Chicago couldn't work out a sign-and-trade with Atlanta, the deal is expected to consume the team's full taxpayer mid-level exception.
JULY 8TH: The Bulls have reached a verbal agreement on a deal with free agent guard Kirk Hinrich, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). While details are still being finalized, Hinrich is expected a receive a two-year, $6MM contract from the Bulls. Hinrich returns to the franchise that drafted him in 2003 after spending parts of the last two seasons with the Wizards and Hawks.
By adding Hinrich to their backcourt, the Bulls have given themselves more stability at the guard position with Derrick Rose on the shelf for at least a portion of the upcoming season. The former Kansas star averaged 6.6 PPG and 2.8 APG in 48 games during the 2011/12 season.
Clippers Sign Ryan Hollins
MONDAY, 1:25pm: The Clippers have officially signed Hollins, the team announced today in a press release.
THURSDAY, 4:34pm: Free agent Ryan Hollins has verbally agreed to join the Clippers, according to agent Todd Ramasar on Twitter. Earlier today it was reported that Los Angeles reached out to Hollins in hopes of securing a backup big man for the minimum salary.
The 27-year-old was waived by the Cavs in late March and promptly picked up by the Celtics. In 39 games last year, Hollins averaged 13.4 minutes per contest and put up 3.4 PPG and 2.1 RPG. While he has always shown promise as an athletic big, Hollins' inability to rebound was rather apparent in his time with Cleveland and Boston.
Mavericks Sign Jared Cunningham
The Mavericks have signed 24th overall pick Jared Cunningham, the team has announced. Terms weren't disclosed, but if he signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, as most first-round draft picks do, he'll make a first-year salary of $1,156,320.
The 6'5" shooting guard averaged 17.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists, and made 45.0% of his shots from the floor in his junior season at Oregon State in 2011/12.
Celtics Sign Jamar Smith
The Celtics have signed free agent guard Jamar Smith, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Bulpett says the move was made earlier this month, and though the team has yet to confirm the signing, Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com says Smith has earned an official invitation to training camp in the fall. So, it's likely Smith has a non-guaranteed deal, perhaps with a team option for a second season, as RealGM.com suggests.
The 6'3" Smith, 25, went undrafted in 2010 out of Southern Indiana and played last season for BK Prostejov in the Czech Republic. The Celtics had him in camp in 2010, and he's a part of the Celtics summer league team this year. He appeared in 48 games for the Maine Red Claws, Boston's D-League affiliate, in 2010/11, racking up 13.7 points and 5.0 assists per game to go with 43.2% three-point shooting.
Bulpett adds that the team is also pursuing Dionte Christmas, a 6'5" guard out of Temple who went to camp with the Sixers in 2009.
Celtics Acquire Courtney Lee
5:49pm: The second-round picks the Blazers will get are both for 2013, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. They'll receive the Celtics' own selection, along with the Timberwolves' pick that the C's acquired in an earlier deal. Freeman also passes along word from Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who says he is hopeful Pavlovic will make the team out of camp (Twitter link). Freeman confirms, via Twitter, that the Celtics will send the Blazers cash to cover Pavlovic's salary, which will likely be the veteran's minimum. Pavlovic's 2012/13 contract is non-guaranteed, so he could be waived without the Blazers taking a cap hit, Freeman confirms in an email to Hoops Rumors.
4:05pm: In making their own official announcement about the trade, the Trail Blazers noted that they'll acquire two future second-rounders from the Celtics, rather than just one (Twitter link).
2:12pm: The Rockets have officially announced the Lee sign-and-trade agreement in a press release. Based on the team's announcement and a tweet from Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, the deal looks like this:
- Celtics receive: Courtney Lee (sign-and-trade from Rockets)
- Rockets receive: JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Sean Williams, Bobcats' 2013 second-round pick (from Celtics), and the rights to Jon Diebler (from Trail Blazers)
- Trail Blazers receive: Sasha Pavlovic, second-round pick (from Celtics)
According to ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter), Lee will earn exactly $5MM in his first year, making his total contract worth the same as the maximum mid-level exception (four years, $21.35MM). The Rockets, meanwhile, are expected to waive Moore and Williams in the very near future. Diebler, the player whose rights Houston receives from Portland, was selected by the Blazers 51st overall in 2011 and spent last season overseas.
Nuggets Sign Randolph, Amnesty Andersen
FRIDAY, 6:31pm: The Nuggets have officially announced the signing in a press release on the team's website.
TUESDAY, 9:28pm: According to a report by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post, the Nuggets have signed forward Anthony Randolph and will use their amnesty provision to cut Chris Andersen. This will be Randolph's fourth destination since being drafted by the Warriors in 2008. The 6'10 forward averaged 7.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG, while shooting 47% from the field in 15.2 MPG last season for the Timberwolves. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo reports that the deal will be for $6MM over three years (Twitter link).
Mavericks Sign Jae Crowder
The Mavericks have officially signed second-round pick Jae Crowder, according to a team release. Crowder was the third of three Dallas picks in June's draft, taken 34th overall with one of the selections acquired from Cleveland in the trade for 17th overall pick Tyler Zeller.
Crowder, a 6'7" forward, averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in his final season at Marquette. Terms of his contract weren't disclosed, but he'll likely earn something close to the rookie minimum this year, with at least some guaranteed money included in the deal.