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Celtics, Cavs Complete Kyrie Irving Trade

August 30th, 2017 at 9:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics and Cavaliers have reached an agreement that will end the week-long hold-up of the Kyrie Irving deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). In addition to the previously agreed upon bounty—Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round pick—Boston will also send a 2020 second-round pick to Cleveland.

The additional pick on the move is Miami’s 2020 selection. Boston received the pick back in 2015 when the Heat attached it to Zoran Dragic in order to move his salary.

The two sides had an agreement in place eight days ago, but Cleveland had concerns over Isaiah Thomas‘ hip after examining the point guard during the routine post-trade physical. After the discovery, the Cavs re-engaged with Boston in the hopes of receiving either a young prospect or a future first-rounder on top of the players in the original offer, suggesting that the Celtics understated the scope of Thomas’ injury. However, Boston was firm on not giving up anything more than the second-rounder in the deal.

It was reported earlier today that there’s at least a slight chance that Thomas misses the entire 2017/18 season if his recovery doesn’t progress as smoothly as hoped. How IT heals and returns from his hip injury will be a major developing story as the season progresses for a bevy of reasons. The point guard can become a free agent at the end of the campaign. So can LeBron James. Both the team and James would certainly like to evaluate how Thomas fits alongside the four-time MVP before any future decisions are made.

For the Celtics, another excellent offseason seemingly concludes. A year after signing Al Horford to a four-year deal, the team made several additions that should help in both the short- and long-term. Boston landed the No. 1 pick in the lottery and dealt it to the Sixers for the pick that became Jayson Tatum – one of the most pro-ready prospects from the 2017 draft – and an additional future first-rounder. The franchise also agreed to terms with Gordon Hayward before trading for Marcus Morris.

Adding Irving to the mix only solidifies the Celtics as a true contender in the Eastern Conference. The C’s bested Cleveland and the rest of their conference rivals with 53 wins last season, though they were dispatched handily by the Cavs in the Eastern Finals as they watched an LBJ-led team dance into the NBA Finals for a seventh straight season.

The last team to win the East without LeBron? The 2009/10 Celtics. That squad, which was led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, beat James’ Cavaliers in the King’s last game before moving to Miami before reaching the NBA Finals. Boston will again look to get by James in 2017/18 in the hopes of landing the Eastern Conference crown and this time, the Larry O’Brien Trophy as well.

The Cavs and Celtics play each other in the league’s first game of the 2017/18 season. There’s plenty of time to get your popcorn ready for the October 17 showdown and the upcoming season.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Images

Trail Blazers Waive Andrew Nicholson

August 30th, 2017 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Trail Blazers have waived Andrew Nicholson from their roster, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. According to Wojnarowski, Portland will use the stretch provision on Nicholson, spreading out his remaining salary across the next seven years. The Blazers confirmed this afternoon that Nicholson has been waived (Twitter link).

Nicholson, 27, was a beneficiary of the 2016 salary cap spike, having inked a four-year, $26MM contract with the Wizards during free agency last summer. After signing that deal, Nicholson endured his worst season as a pro, appearing in just 28 games for Washington and averaging 2.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 8.3 minutes per contest.

Nicholson was included as a salary dump in a deadline deal with the Nets in February, and ultimately finished the 2016/17 season with averages of 2.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG to go along with a .387 FG% in 38 games. Those numbers were all career worsts.

Earlier this offseason, Nicholson was once again included in a trade as a salary dump, making his way from the Nets to the Trail Blazers in the swap that sent Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn. Reports at the time indicated that Portland would waive and stretch Nicholson, but the team didn’t make it official for more than a month.

As we detailed earlier today, waiving Nicholson before the end of August allows the Blazers to reduce his 2017/18 cap hit by more than $3.5MM, which also slashes the club’s projected year-end luxury tax bill by more than $5MM. Nicholson will now count against Portland’s cap for about $2.844MM for the next seven seasons.

Once he clears waivers, Nicholson will be free to sign with any NBA team except for the Blazers or Nets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sixers Sign James Blackmon Jr.

August 30th, 2017 at 7:45am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 30: More than two months after the Sixers’ agreement with Blackmon was reported, the Sixers have confirmed the deal in a press release, announcing that the undrafted rookie will come to camp with the team.

As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes (via Twitter), Blackmon has a partial guarantee, but is a good bet to start the season in the G League as an affiliate player with the Delaware 87ers.

JUNE 22: Indiana guard James Blackmon Jr. has agreed to an undrafted free agent contract with the Sixers, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.

Blackmon put up 17.0 points and 4.8 rebounds during his junior year with the Hoosiers. He has a reputation as an excellent shooter, but at 6’3″ he may be undersized to play his natural position of shooting guard in the NBA.

Blackmon was ranked 84th in the nation on Chad Ford’s list of the top 100 prospects and 83rd by Draft Express.

Sixers Sign James McAdoo To Two-Way Deal

August 30th, 2017 at 7:42am CST by marksuleymanov

AUGUST 30: The Sixers have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed McAdoo to the first two-way contract in franchise history.

AUGUST 26: The Sixers have agreed to a two-way deal with two-time NBA champion James McAdoo, as first reported by Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link). Tandem, McAdoo’s agency confirmed the signing.

McAdoo, 25, appeared in a career-high 52 games (two starts) with the Warriors last season but posted just 2.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG in just below nine minutes per game. The former North Carolina product went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft but latched on with Golden State in the summer league that season. Since then, McAdoo has bounced around between the NBA and the G-League and been a piece of the bench for a powerhouse Warriors team.

The two-way deal will enable Philadelphia to rotate McAdoo around the NBA and G-League but uncertain health surrounding Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons may allow him to secure playing time.

Jared Cunningham To Play In Germany

August 29th, 2017 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Former first-round pick Jared Cunningham is headed to Germany for the 2017/18 season, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando details. Cunningham has signed a one-year contract with Bayern Munich, the team confirmed (via Twitter).

Cunningham, 26, was the 24th overall pick in the 2012 draft, but had trouble sticking with an NBA team. From 2012 to 2016, the former Oregon State shooting guard played in just 84 total regular season contests, but spent time with six NBA teams, appearing in games for the Mavericks, Hawks, Kings, Clippers, Cavaliers, and Bucks.

Althought Cunningham failed to make an impact in the NBA, his G League averages (17.2 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.2 RPG in 69 games) were solid, and he posted big numbers for Jiangsu Tongxi in Chinese League play last season (34.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.2 APG in 31 games).

Cunningham will join a growing list of former NBA players who will play overseas in 2017/18, as we detailed earlier this month.

Wizards Sign Donald Sloan To One-Year Deal

August 29th, 2017 at 1:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 29: The Wizards have finalized their deal with Sloan, officially signing him to a one-year contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

AUGUST 17: The Wizards have reached agreement on a one-year deal with free agent guard Donald Sloan, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.

The 29-year-old played in China last season for the second time in his career. His last NBA experience was in 2015/16, when he played 61 games for the Nets, starting 33.

Sloan has been a journeyman since signing with the Hawks in 2011 after going undrafted out of Texas A&M. He played just five games for Atlanta and three for New Orleans during his rookie year and finished the season with Cleveland. He later returned to New Orleans, then spent two seasons in Indiana.

A 6’3″ combo guard, Sloan is averaging 5.5 points and 3.0 assists per game through his NBA career.

The Wizards now have 19 players under contract, one short of the maximum, with camp a little more than a month away.

Celtics Sign Ex-Hoya L.J. Peak

August 29th, 2017 at 1:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 29: The Celtics have officially signed Peak, per RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.

AUGUST 28: The Celtics and rookie swingman L.J. Peak have agreed to a partially guaranteed contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The former Georgetown forward will likely be ticketed to Boston’s G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, Wojnarowski adds.

Undoubtedly, Peak would have to be make a huge impression during training camp to nab a spot on Boston’s opening-night roster. Boston now has 19 players on the roster — 14 with guaranteed deals, three more with partial guarantees and a couple of two-way contracts, as Bobby Marks of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link).

The 6’5” Peak played three seasons with the Hoyas. He averaged 16.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 3.5 APG last season as a junior, then went undrafted as an early entrant. He played for the Rockets’ summer-league team and averaged 7.3 PPG in 13.7 MPG in four appearances while making half of his 3-point attempts.

Celtics Sign Andrew White

August 29th, 2017 at 1:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 29: The Celtics formally signed White on Monday, according to RealGM’s official NBA transactions log.

AUGUST 17: Syracuse guard Andrew White has signed a partially guaranteed one-year contract with the Celtics, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. He is probably ticketed for Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine, Himmelsbach adds.

The signing was confirmed to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com by White’s agent, Adie von Gontard.

At 6’7″, White was the leading scorer for the Orange last season at 17.4 points per game, while setting a school record for 3-pointers with 112. He played for the Cavaliers during summer league.

Sasha Vujacic Reaches Deal With Italian Team

August 29th, 2017 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

After spending the last two seasons with the Knicks, veteran guard Sasha Vujacic is set to head back overseas. Italian team Fiat Torino announced today (Italian link) that it has reached an agreement to sign Vujacic.

International basketball reporter David Pick, who classifies the contract as an offer sheet, indicates (via Twitter) that it’s worth $350K. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, the agreement includes an NBA buyout clause that must be exercised by September 17. Vujacic will presumably be locked in with Fiat Torino for the 2017/18 season if that buyout clause goes unused.

For Vujacic, the move to Italy will represent a homecoming of sorts — the Slovenian shooting guard began his professional career with Italian club Snaidero Udine back in 2001, spending his first three seasons with the team. He eventually made the leap to the NBA in 2004, spending several years with the Lakers before being traded to the Nets in 2010.

Since 2010, Vujacic has gone back and forth between the NBA and international leagues, spending time with the Nets, Clippers, and Knicks in addition to playing for teams in Turkey, Italy, and Spain. In 10 total NBA seasons, the 33-year-old has appeared in 581 games, averaged 5.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.3 APG, while shooting 36.7% on three-pointers. Vujacic struggled through one of his worst seasons as a pro last year in New York, shooting just 30.9% from the floor for the Knicks.

Jazz Draftee Nigel Williams-Goss To Play In Serbia

August 28th, 2017 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Jazz second-round pick Nigel Williams-Goss will begin his professional career overseas. Serbian team KK Partizan Belgrade announced in a press release that it has signed the rookie guard to a two-year contract (English link via Sportando).

With 15 players already on guaranteed contracts, the Jazz didn’t have room on their regular-season NBA roster for Williams-Goss, who was the 55th overall pick in this year’s draft. Many players drafted in that neighborhood have agreed to two-way contracts with their new NBA clubs, and Williams-Goss was said to be a candidate for a two-way opening in Utah. However, it appears either he or the Jazz decided to go in another direction.

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

According to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter), KK Partizan will pay Williams-Goss $130K, which is a significantly higher salary than he would have earned on a standard G League contract — if he had signed a two-way deal, the base value would have been $75K, though he could have exceeded that figure with NBA call-ups. Williams-Goss’ new contract in Serbia will include a $500K buyout for the 2018 offseason if the Jazz want to bring him stateside at that point, according to Pick.

Williams-Goss, who left Gonzaga after his junior year, was a key contributor for a squad that appeared in the Final Four for the first time this spring, falling to UNC in the championship game. The young point guard averaged 16.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.7 SPG in 2016/17 for the Zags.