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Suns Re-Sign Alan Williams

July 26th, 2017 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 26: The Suns have formally re-signed Williams, the team announced today (Twitter link). The deal will now officially eat into a portion of the cap room Phoenix had available.

JULY 10: The Suns have agreed to a deal with restricted free agent Alan Williams, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that Williams will remain in Phoenix on a three-year, $17MM contract.

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Williams, 24, took on a bigger role in his second season with the Suns in 2016/17, though he only averaged 15.1 minutes per contest in 47 games overall. Still, he was very productive when he played, recording 17.6 points and 14.8 rebounds per 36 minutes.

A report last weekend indicated the the Suns had made Williams an offer in the neighborhood of $5-6MM annually over four years. His new deal is in that salary range, albeit for three years instead of four. Assuming he plays out the contract, the big man will be on track to return to free agency when he’s 27, perhaps setting himself up for a bigger payday at that point if he continues to develop.

The Suns entered the free agent period this month with an eye on a couple top-tier power forwards, but after missing out on Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap, the franchise decided to focus on retaining its own young players and perhaps accommodating salary dumps to add more assets.

With Williams locked up, Phoenix may shift its focus to getting something done with its other restricted free agent, Alex Len, assuming he remains in the club’s plans.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Re-Sign Tyler Ennis

July 26th, 2017 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 26, 1:14pm: The Lakers have officially re-signed Ennis, the team announced today in a press release. Barring another cost-cutting move, it appears L.A. is now capped out.

JULY 25, 3:39pm: The Lakers have reached an agreement to bring back free agent guard Tyler Ennis, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). Shelburne reports that Ennis will get a two-year, minimum salary deal with a team option on the second year.

Ennis, who will turn 23 next month, was selected by the Suns with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, but has bounced around the league since then. In addition to spending a little time in Phoenix, Ennis has also had stints with the Bucks, Rockets, and Lakers, appearing in 132 total regular season contests.

While Ennis hasn’t been able to stick with one team for long, the Lakers “really liked” what they saw from him down the stretch in 2016/17 after acquiring him at the deadline, tweets Shelburne. The Canadian point guard averaged 7.7 PPG, 2.4 APG, and 0.9 SPG, with a shooting line of .451/.389/.864 in 22 games as a Laker. All of those averages would have been career highs for a full season.

The Lakers were rumored to be considering Ennis, Derrick Rose, and other guards in recent weeks. The club displayed serious interest in Rose, but the former MVP committed to the Cavaliers on Monday night, prompting L.A. to move quickly to lock up Ennis.

The timing of Ennis’ signing will be interesting to keep an eye on. Currently, the Lakers have $815,615 in cap room remaining, which is exactly enough to sign a rookie, such as Thomas Bryant. The club could still sign Bryant using the minimum salary exception after signing Ennis and going over the cap, but a deal with that exception is limited to two years. If the Lakers wait to officially finalize Ennis’ contract, it’s likely a signal that they hope to use that remaining cap room to sign Bryant or another rookie to a three- or four-year pact.

Rockets Re-Sign Troy Williams

July 25th, 2017 at 6:53pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25: The Rockets officially re-signed Williams, announcing by press release on their website.

JULY 20: Free agent forward Troy Williams is returning to the Rockets, his agency ASM Sports announced today (via Twitter). According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), Williams will get a three-year contract with a fully guaranteed first year and trigger dates for years two and three.

A 22-year-old forward out of Indiana, Williams landed with the Grizzlies last summer after going undrafted. Williams played 24 games for Memphis, starting 13 of them, before he was waived in January to make room on the roster for Toney Douglas. The Rockets picked up Williams and signed him to a rest-of-season contract, letting him become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Although the Rockets didn’t tender Williams a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, the team retains his Non-Bird rights, which allow for a three-year deal. Without those Non-Bird rights, the Rockets would have only been able to offer a two-year minimum salary contract, since the club has already used its full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception.

The Rockets also reportedly agreed to re-sign Bobby Brown.

Hawks Re-Sign Mike Muscala

July 25th, 2017 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25: The Hawks have officially re-signed Muscala, the team announced today in a press release. Finalizing Muscala’s deal cuts into Atlanta’s remaining cap room, suggesting that the club may not have any immediate plans to maximize that space.

JULY 7: The Hawks have agreed to a two-year, $10MM deal with free agent big man Mike Muscala, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The agreement will feature a second-year player option, Charania adds (via Twitter).

Muscala, who turned 26 last Saturday, appeared in a career-high 70 games for the Hawks in 2016/17, setting new career highs in PPG (6.2), RPG (3.4), and several other categories as he saw his role in the rotation expand.

With Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap no longer in the picture in Atlanta, the team was in need of frontcourt depth. While the Hawks figure to add at least one or two more bigs to the roster at some point, Muscala could be in line for even more minutes going forward for the retooling franchise.

The Hawks have a minimum salary cap hold on their books and hold the Bird rights for Muscala, who has spent the last four seasons in Atlanta. So his new agreement won’t affect the team’s remaining cap room until it becomes official. It also won’t have an impact on the club’s ability to match the Knicks’ offer sheet for Tim Hardaway Jr., though it’s not clear if the Hawks are seriously considering doing so.

Nets Acquire Allen Crabbe From Blazers

July 25th, 2017 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

A year after aggressively pursuing shooting guard Allen Crabbe as a restricted free agent, the Nets have landed their man. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Trail Blazers are trading Crabbe to Brooklyn in exchange for forward Andrew Nicholson. Upon acquiring Nicholson, Portland will waive him and stretch his contract, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).

When Crabbe reached restricted free agency in 2016, he was one of a handful of players to sign an offer sheet with the Nets. That deal, worth nearly $75MM over four years, looked like an awfully steep price to pay for a player with 17 career starts to his name. However, the Blazers thwarted Brooklyn’s attempts to poach Crabbe, matching the Nets’ offer sheet and bringing him back to Portland.

A year later, that decision to match Crabbe’s deal – while retaining other RFAs and adding Evan Turner – looks like it may have been a mistake. The Trail Blazers were in position to pay a huge tax penalty in 2018 if team salary remained as high as it was, and dumping a contract or two appeared to be an inevitability. By swapping Crabbe for Nicholson and stretching the $19MM+ left on Nicholson’s contract over the next seven seasons, the Blazers will clear approximately $16.5MM from their 2017/18 cap, ending up only about $3MM above the tax threshold.

It remains to be seen if the Blazers have another move up their sleeves — the club has been linked to Carmelo Anthony, despite Carmelo’s apparent unwillingness to waive his no-trade clause and accept a deal to Portland. Even if no second deal is coming though, the Blazers should be happy with this trade from a financial perspective. It will allow the club to shed more than $50MM in total projected salary and tax penalties.

From the Nets’ perspective, the deal will allow them to land a player they loved at a slightly lesser cost, albeit a year after they had hoped to acquire him. Once the Blazers matched Crabbe’s offer sheet last July, he was ineligible to be traded to Brooklyn for a full year, but once those 365 days passed, it made sense for the two teams to engage on trade discussions.

By sending out Nicholson in the swap, the Nets appear to have the cap room necessary to absorb Crabbe’s salary without having to make any corresponding roster moves. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Crabbe also waived his trade kicker, making things a little simpler for both teams. That decision will cost the 25-year-old some money, but he’ll have a chance to assume a larger role in Brooklyn than he had in Portland.

In 79 games last season for the Blazers, Crabbe set new career bests with 10.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, a .468 FG%, and a .444 3PT%. While it remains to be seen how Brooklyn’s starting lineup will shake out, Crabbe figures to see plenty of minutes alongside D’Angelo Russell in a new-look Nets backcourt.

The Blazers will generate a trade exception worth $12,969,502 in the deal. That figures represents the difference between Crabbe’s and Nicholson’s salaries for 2017/18.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Sign Lorenzo Brown To Two-Way Contract

July 25th, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have filled the second two-way contract opening on their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve inked free agent guard Lorenzo Brown. Malcolm Miller received the club’s other two-way deal earlier this month.

Brown, a second-round pick in 2013, appeared in 63 total NBA regular season games for the Sixers, Timberwolves, and Suns between 2013 and 2016. Last offseason, the 26-year-old battled for the Pistons’ third point guard spot in training camp, but lost out and was waived by the team.

After failing to earn a spot on Detroit’s regular season roster out of camp, Brown played in Russia and China. He eventually returned stateside and joined the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ D-League affiliate, with whom he averaged 23.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 11 games down the stretch this season.

For more details on how two-way contracts work, be sure to check out our breakdown here. We also have a tracker that shows how teams are using their two-way openings.

Cavaliers Sign Derrick Rose

July 25th, 2017 at 1:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 25: The Cavaliers have officially signed Rose, the team announced today in a press release.

“We are very excited to be able to add a player of Derrick’s caliber and experience to the team,” new Cavs GM Koby Altman said in a statement. “Derrick could have gone to a number of other teams, but his specific mindset, goals and total focus and commitment to winning are what resulted in him signing with the Cavaliers. We are confident he will be a very good fit with our organization and we look forward to the many ways he will contribute to the team.”

JULY 24: The Cavaliers will sign Derrick Rose, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). The point guard met with the organization earlier today and Charania adds that Rose has already completed his physical with the team.

The pact will be a one-year, minimum salary arrangement, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. It was previously reported that the two sides were in serious discussions about a one-year deal.

Rumors of Rose earning a max contract swirled earlier this season, but it appeared increasingly unlikely that he would land that kind of offer, particularly after suffering another knee injury late in the 2016/17 campaign.

Rose’s decision to join Cleveland comes just days after news of Kyrie Irving‘s trade demands became public. If the team intends to give Irving a new home, Rose should be able to get an opportunity to win as well as a chance to play a meaningful role.

The 2010/11 MVP was also considering the Lakers, a team in which he met with last week. Los Angeles may have been able to offer him an increased role, but the organization isn’t close to being championship contenders.

The Cavaliers will be Rose’s third team as he enters his 10th season. He spent eight years in Chicago before being dealt to the Knicks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Re-Sign Joe Ingles

July 25th, 2017 at 12:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 25: Three and a half weeks after reaching an agreement with him, the Jazz have officially re-signed Ingles, the team announced today in a press release. The delay was a result of Utah using up its cap room before going over the cap to finalize Ingles’ deal.

JULY 1: Restricted free agent Joe Ingles is finalizing an agreement to stay in Utah, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. The deal will reportedly pay him $52MM over four seasons (Twitter link). There are no options for either side, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).

Getting Ingles back in the fold could help the Jazz make their case to keep Gordon Hayward, Wojnarowski notes. Ingles and Hayward are close friends and share the same agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports (Twitter link).

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Ingles, a 29-year-old small forward, has spent his entire three-year career in Utah. He appeared in all 82 games this season, and while he averaged a modest 7.1 points per night, he showed an impressive ability to make a three-pointer (.441 3PT%) and provided solid defense.

Ingles reportedly had a meeting scheduled with the Nets on Sunday and there was at least one report indicating that the Magic were preparing a significant offer, though a separate report suggested Orlando’s interest was overstated. The Clippers were also planning to meet with Ingles this weekend.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Waive Quinn Cook, Axel Toupane

July 25th, 2017 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

11:55am: Bobby Marks of ESPN suggests that Toupane also had a partial guarantee on his contract that would have increased from $25K to $200K if he hadn’t been cut today. By waiving both Toupane and Cook, the Pelicans will carry a total of $50K in dead money for the duo — that figure would’ve increased to $300K after today.

11:12am: The Pelicans have reduced their offseason roster by two players, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived guard Quinn Cook and swingman Axel Toupane. Cook and Toupane will become unrestricted free agents later this week if and when they clears waivers.

Both Cook and Toupane had been on non-guaranteed minimum salary contracts in New Orleans. According to Basketball Insiders’ data, Cook’s salary became partially guaranteed for $25K earlier this month, and would have become guaranteed for another $75K if he had remained on the roster through July 25. As for Toupane, his deal was fully non-guaranteed until January.

Cook and Toupane both signed contracts with the Pelicans during the final days of the 2016/17 season, allowing the franchise to get a look at both players down the stretch and over the summer before making a determination on their status. Apparently, New Orleans decided that neither youngster was in the team’s 2017/18 plans. The Pelicans still have one player – Jordan Crawford – on a non-guaranteed contract.

Having played well in the G League over the last couple years, Cook and Toupane should be candidates for training camp invites or two-way contracts from other NBA teams once they clear waivers.

Brian Roberts To Play In Greece

July 25th, 2017 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25: According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Roberts’ deal is worth $950K in year one and $1MM in year two, with an NBA out in between. That opt-out comes when we expected, but the value of the deal is smaller than previously reported.

JULY 24: NBA free agent point guard Brian Roberts has signed with Greek club Olympiacos, the team announced this weekend (Twitter link). Roberts will receive a two-year contract from the franchise.

According to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, Roberts’ new two-year deal will be worth $4MM, and will also include an NBA opt-out. While Scotto doesn’t specify the details on that opt-out clause, I’d expect Roberts would have the opportunity to return to the NBA next offseason, following the first year of the deal.

Roberts, who played his college ball at Dayton, made his NBA debut in 2012 and has spent the last several seasons with New Orleans, Charlotte, and Portland. In 2016/17, he appeared in 41 games for the Hornets, but saw limited minutes, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.3 APG.

The Hornets, who had been seeking a reliable backup for Kemba Walker, tried Roberts and Ramon Sessions there last season, but both players were free agents this summer and it appears neither will return. Sessions remains on the market, but Charlotte signed Michael Carter-Williams to be Walker’s new backup.

Meanwhile, Roberts will have the opportunity to play a larger role overseas next year for Olympiacos, and will also get a pay raise after earning the minimum in Charlotte. His new Greek club earned a spot in the EuroLeague Final Four in 2016/17, falling in the championship game to Turkish team Fenerbahce.