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Cougars Guard Rob Gray Gets Invite From Rockets

June 22nd, 2018 at 6:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

University of Houston guard Rob Gray will play for the Rockets’ summer league team and apparently has a training-camp invite, according to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.

Gray revealed the agreement in a text to Duarte.

“I will be playing summer league/training camp with them trying to earn a roster spot for the upcoming season,” Gray said.

Gray did not get drafted despite being a prolific scorer the past two seasons. He averaged 19.3 PPG, 4.4 APG and 3.7 RPG in his senior year while leading Houston to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where it lost on a buzzer-beater to eventually national championship runner-up Michigan. Gray averaged 31.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in those tournament games.

The 6’1” Gray shot 35.9% from long range last season after making 38.2% of his 3-point attempts as a junior, when he averaged 20.3 PPG.

Carmelo Anthony Won’t Opt Out Of Contract

June 22nd, 2018 at 4:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Carmelo Anthony won’t exercise the early termination option on his contract before Saturday’s deadline, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times. As Stein writes, that means Anthony is opting into the final year of his contract with the Thunder, which will put him in line for a salary of $27,928,140 in 2018/19.

Despite any lingering issues he has with the club over his role last season, Anthony wasn’t going to leave that much money on the table. Oklahoma City and Anthony can pursue a buyout, which would allow the veteran forward to try to find another team where he could get more playing time and touches. Anthony said after Oklahoma City was eliminated from the playoffs that would not accept a limited role again, Stein notes.

Anthony averaged 16.2 PPG and 1.3 APG in 32.1 MPG during the regular season, all career lows. His production dipped to 11.8 PPG and 0.3 APG in the Thunder’s six playoff games and he was often off the floor during crunch time.

The Thunder could, of course, try to trade him but moving Anthony’s salary would be nearly impossible.

Anthony’s decision to decline the ETO has major implications in regard to the team’s luxury-tax situation as it seeks to re-sign Paul George. The Thunder’s tax bill could approach $80MM if George were re-signed to a max contract with a first-year salary of $30.3MM, as Stein points out.

The Thunder general manager Sam Presti told the media after Thursday’s draft that the club has been talking with Anthony’s representatives.

Kings Expected To Sign Cameron Reynolds

June 22nd, 2018 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie Cameron Reynolds has agreed to sign a free agent deal with the Kings, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

While Charania doesn’t provide any additional details on the agreement between Reynolds and the Kings, the fact that he distinguishes it from a Summer League deal suggests that the former Tulane wing should be on Sacramento’s training camp roster in the fall.

In his final college season in 2017/18, Reynolds averaged 15.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 36.0 minutes per contest for Tulane. Although his three-point numbers took a little dip from 2016/17, he still made 2.0 threes per game at a rate of 35.3%.

Any contract Reynolds signs with the Kings can’t be made official until the new league year begins in July.

Clippers Expected To Sign Desi Rodriguez

June 22nd, 2018 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers and Seton Hall forward Desi Rodriguez have reached an agreement on a training camp deal, a source tells Jeremy Woo of SI.com (Twitter link).

Rodriguez becomes the second Seton Hall player who quickly caught on with the Clippers after going undrafted on Thursday. His teammate Angel Delgado has reportedly agreed to sign a two-way contract with the franchise.

Rodriguez, 22, averaged 17.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG during his senior season in 2017/18. He also posted a shooting line of .498/.373/.736 and knocked down a career-best 1.8 threes per game.

Assuming Rodriguez does finalize a camp deal with the Clippers and isn’t just with the team for Summer League play, he’ll count toward the team’s 20-man offseason roster limit and could have a chance to compete for a roster spot in the fall. If he doesn’t make the Clips’ regular-season roster, he’d be a candidate to join the team’s G League affiliate.

Brandon McCoy, Jordan Barnett To Join Bucks

June 22nd, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Following the conclusion of last night’s NBA draft, the Bucks quickly scooped up a pair of undrafted rookies. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Milwaukee reached an agreement with UNLV’s Brandon McCoy. Meanwhile, Alec Lewis of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that Missouri’s Jordan Barnett received a training camp invite from the club.

McCoy, the No. 73 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, declared for the draft after his freshman year at UNLV. The 7’1″ forward/center averaged a double-double (16.9 PPG, 10.3 RPG) to go along with 1.8 BPG in his lone college season.

As for Barnett, he was a senior in 2017/18, averaging a career-best 13.7 PPG and 5.9 RPG for Mizzou. The 6’7″ sharpshooter also knocked down 41.4% of his three-point attempts.

As we’ve noted in other stories on agreements between NBA teams and undrafted free agents, the wording involved in these reports can create a little uncertainty. Charania’s tweet, for example, doesn’t specify what kind of deal McCoy agreed to, while Lewis’ report doesn’t clarify whether Barnett has formally accepted the Bucks’ invite to camp. As such, it’s possible both players will just end up playing for the Bucks in next month’s Summer League.

For now though, we’ll assume that both of these players are on track to attend camp with the Bucks in the fall. If that’s the case, they’ll be able to finalize their contracts with the team once the new league year begins in July.

Dakota Mathias Gets Partial Guarantee From Cavaliers

June 22nd, 2018 at 10:27am CST by Arthur Hill

Purdue’s Dakota Mathias has agreed to a partially guaranteed contract with the Cavaliers, tweets Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated.

The 22-year-old senior is known for his accuracy from long distance. He finished sixth in the NCAA this season in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.6% and is the Boilermakers’ all-time leader with 250 made 3-pointers.

No details were released on how much of his contract will be guaranteed.

Lakers Expected To Sign Joel Berry, Jeffrey Carroll

June 22nd, 2018 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are expected to add a pair of undrafted rookies to their roster sometime after the new NBA league year begins, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter links). According to Scotto, the Lakers have reached agreements on free agent deals with UNC guard Joel Berry and Oklahoma State guard Jeffrey Carroll.

A four-year veteran with the Tar Heels, Berry increased his scoring average to 17.1 PPG in 2017/18, though he struggled a little with his efficiency, posting a shooting line of .396/.344/.893. He won a national championship at North Carolina in 2017.

As for Carroll, he recorded 15.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG in his senior year with the Cowboys. Carroll ranked as the No. 96 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, while Berry wasn’t in the top 100.

At this time of year, reporting on agreements between teams and players can sometimes be ambiguous, since there’s a difference between Summer League deals, two-way contracts, and training camp invites. However, it sounds like both Berry and Carroll will be in camp with the Lakers this fall. Scotto classifies Berry’s agreement as a free agent deal and Carroll’s as an Exhibit 10 contract.

Raptors To Sign Rawle Alkins To Camp Deal

June 22nd, 2018 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

Rawle Alkins is expected to head to training camp with the Raptors this fall, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Toronto agreed to sign the Arizona guard to a camp deal.

Alkins, who wasn’t picked on Thursday night, entered the draft after his sophomore season with the Wildcats. In 2017/18, he averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a shooting line of .432/.359/.724. He was ranked as the 49th-best prospect of the 2018 class on Jonathan Givony’s top-100 list at ESPN.com.

NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players during the offseason up until the regular season begins, at which point they have to cut their rosters down to 15 (plus two two-way players). While exact terms of Alkins’ agreement with the Raptors aren’t known, he’ll likely receive a small guarantee as a camp invitee and may have a chance to compete for a roster spot during the preseason.

The signing can’t be finalized until after the new league year begins in July.

Rockets, Gary Clark Agree To Two-Way Contract

June 22nd, 2018 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will fill one of their two-way contract slots for 2018/19 with undrafted rookie Gary Clark, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that Clark and the Rockets have reached an agreement on a two-way deal.

The No. 56 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s ESPN.com big board, Clark didn’t hear his name called on Thursday night, but quickly came to terms with the West’s No. 1 seed following the draft.

In his senior year at Cincinnati in 2017/18, the 6’8″ forward did a little of everything for the Bearcats, averaging 12.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.2 BPG. He also posted an impressive .526/.435/.741 shooting line.

R.J. Hunter‘s two-way contract with the Rockets reportedly spans two seasons, so Clark seems likely to take Markel Brown‘s spot on Houston’s roster. He’ll likely spend most of his time next season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, though two-way rules will allow him to be with the Rockets for up to 45 days during the G League season.

Jazz Trade No. 52 Pick To Rockets

June 21st, 2018 at 11:00pm CST by Austin Kent

11:00pm: Houston bought the No. 52 pick from Utah, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets, so there will be no future draft picks changing hands.

10:49pm: The Jazz will trade the No. 52 pick to the Rockets, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Houston will select Purdue swingman Vince Edwards with the pick.

It’s not currently known what they’ll be giving up to buy back into the second round.

Edwards thrived in four seasons with the Boilermakers and could step into Houston’s rotation as a reliable, battled tested wing option. The 22-year-old shot .392 beyond the arc in four collegiate seasons.