Timberwolves Re-Sign Shabazz Muhammad
SEPTEMBER 16: Muhammad’s new deal with the Wolves includes a second-year player option, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.com. That option will be worth the minimum salary, so it’s likely to be declined, but it gives Muhammad some insurance in the event of a major injury or a poor showing in 2017/18.
Muhammad also got a 15% trade kicker on his contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
SEPTEMBER 15: The Timberwolves have issued a press release formally announcing that Muhammad’s deal has been finalized.
SEPTEMBER 12: Veteran free agent Shabazz Muhammad is nearing a deal that will keep him in Minnesota, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Muhammad will receive a veterans minimum salary of $1.6MM, and his Bird rights will remain in place for a potentially longer contract next summer (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old swingman has spent his first four NBA seasons with the Timberwolves. He entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, but became unrestricted when the Wolves renounced his rights to free up cap room.
Muhammad remained a free agent for so long because he has been unwilling to accept a minimum deal, but that’s all Minnesota has left to offer. The Wolves spent big on free agents this summer, signing Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague and using their mid-level exception to acquire Jamal Crawford. Several teams reached out to Muhammad early in free agency, with the Hawks, Nets, Bucks and Knicks among the suitors.
Muhammad has developed into a reliable reserve for Minnesota over the past two seasons. He appeared in 78 games last year, starting just one, and averaged 9.9 points per night.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link), Muhammad turned down a higher offer from another team to return to the Wolves — that rival suitor may have been the Lakers, who were linked to the free agent swingman and have their full room exception available. Additionally, Muhammad’s new deal will give him the ability to veto trades during the 2017/18 season.
Suns Sign Alec Peters To Two-Way Contract
SEPTEMBER 16: The Suns have finally made their agreement with Peters official, having formally signed him to a two-way contract earlier this week, according to RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.
Phoenix has now filled both two-way slots on its roster, with former Lamar standout Mike James occupying the other one.
JULY 6: The Suns will sign Alec Peters to a two-way contract, league sources tell Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Peters was selected by Phoenix with the No. 54 pick in the 2017 draft.
Players on two-way deals will spend most of their season in the G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with an NBA club, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.
Peters spent four years at Valparaiso and won the Horizon League Player of the Year award during his senior year. He scored 23.0 points while grabbing 10.1 rebounds per contest last season.
Pelicans Sign Tony Allen To One-Year Deal
SEPTEMBER 15: The Pelicans have officially signed Allen, announcing their deal today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 11: The Pelicans are finalizing a one-year contract with veteran swingman Tony Allen, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.
Barring a late breakdown in negotiations, this ends a prolonged free agent odyssey for the 35-year-old defensive stalwart. Early in the process, the Clippers were reportedly interested in working out a sign-and-trade deal for Allen until their roster got overloaded with newcomers. The Timberwolves were also interested, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reported.
It was apparent that the Grizzlies were moving on from Allen when one of the free agents they signed, shooting guard Ben McLemore, broke his foot and they still didn’t show any serious interest in Allen.
New Orleans needed another small forward after Solomon Hill suffered a torn hamstring, an injury that is expected to sideline him for most of the upcoming season.
Allen has only played for two teams in his NBA career. He spent his first six seasons with the Celtics before joining Memphis for the 2010/11 season. He was a rotation player for the Grizzlies over the past seven seasons and started 66 games for them last year. Overall, he appeared in 71 games and averaged 9.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 1.6 SPG in 27.0 MPG. He’s a career 28% shooter from long range, which has made him an increasing offensive liability in a league that has become heavily reliant on 3-point shooting.
Allen should still see quite a bit of action at both small forward and shooting guard, where Jrue Holiday is expected to start with the addition of point guard Rajon Rondo. With the offensive firepower provided by Holiday, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans can afford to have a defensive specialist at the wing spot.
As for the terms of Allen’s one-year deal, those haven’t yet been reported, but the Pelicans still have their bi-annual exception ($3.29MM) available and have a bit more breathing room below the luxury tax line after trading Quincy Pondexter earlier this month.
Knicks Sign Jarrett Jack To Non-Guaranteed Contract
SEPTEMBER 15, 12:17pm: Jack has officially signed his one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Knicks, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
SEPTEMBER 14, 4:10pm: The Knicks have agreed on a deal with veteran point guard Jarrett Jack, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders writes. The deal is said to be a one-year, non-guaranteed pact.
We wrote just last week that the Knicks were in the market for a veteran point guard, supposedly considering a number of options ranging from Jack to Trey Burke and Archie Goodwin. Already rostered on the squad are Ramon Sessions and promising – but raw – lottery pick Frank Ntilikina.
Where Jack slots into the Knicks’ plans remains to be seen. The deal that Scotto reports is non-guaranteed, so it’s possible that the club will simply gauge Jack’s effectiveness through training camp. The 33-year-old has been ravaged by injuries since the first half of the 2015/16 season.
If Jack can establish himself as reliably healthy – a potentially significant “if” – he could potentially slot into the starting position ahead of Sessions, a career backup. If Jack ends up getting released, Sessions and second-year man Ron Baker could share the role until Ntilikina is ready to assume the top spot, which may not happen this season.
Through 12 seasons, including 343 starts, Jack has averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 assists per game. Aside from a two-game stint with the Pelicans last season, Jack’s last stint saw him post 12.2 and 5.4 across two seasons with the Nets.
Trail Blazers Sign Isaiah Briscoe To Camp Deal
SEPTEMBER 14: The Blazers have officially signed Briscoe to a camp deal, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 13: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement with former Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe, who will join the club on a training camp deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Once it’s finalized, the signing will bring Portland’s roster count to 17 players.
Briscoe, 21, declared for the NBA draft in the spring following his sophomore year at Kentucky, despite ranking outside the top 80 on many experts’ draft boards. The 6’3″ guard worked out for several teams leading up to the draft, including the Blazers, but suffered an ankle injury in mid-June and had to cancel his last few sessions. He went undrafted.
In his second season with the Wildcats, Briscoe posted solid averages of 12.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 4.2 APG, though he continued to struggle with his outside shot. After making just 13.5% of his long-distance attempts in his freshman year, the New Jersey native improved his three-point percentage in 2016/17, but only to a modest 28.8%.
While the Sixers picked up Briscoe for Summer League play in July, it’s the Trail Blazers who will take an extended look at him this fall. Currently, the Blazers have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, and it’s possible they’ll keep that 15th regular season spot open to start the season, in order to keep their tax bill down. If they do carry a 15th man, the Blazers figure to consider Briscoe, Archie Goodwin, and any other players they may invite to camp.
Portland is one of the three NBA teams without an NBA G League squad, so Briscoe won’t have the opportunity to become an affiliate player for the Trail Blazers. However, if the club likes what it sees from the rookie guard, a two-way contract is a possibility — the Blazers have only used one of their two-way openings so far.
Suns Sign Peter Jok
SEPTEMBER 14: The Suns have formally signed Jok, according to RealGM’s official log of NBA transactions.
AUGUST 24: Undrafted shooting guard Peter Jok has reached an agreement on a partially guaranteed contract with the Suns, reports Chad Leistikow of The Des Moines Register (hat tip to Sportando). Guardian Mike Nixon tells Leistikow that Jok had three other offers, but opted for a deal with Phoenix.
“I feel like it’s a great opportunity for myself because it puts me in a position to earn a spot on the team,” Jok said in a text message to the Register. “And if I don’t, then I’ll be playing for [the Suns’] G League team to work on my game, which I see as a positive.”
With 14 players officially on NBA contracts and two more on two-way deals, the Suns currently have 16 players on their roster. That number increases to 18 with the additions of Jok and Alex Len, who remains a restricted free agent.
Although Phoenix is approaching its 20-man offseason limit, the club still has just 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so Jok could have an opportunity to compete for a regular-season roster spot. If the 23-year-old doesn’t break camp with the Suns, he’ll likely join the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League team, as an affiliate player.
In his final year at Iowa, Jok averaged an impressive 19.9 PPG to go along with 5.5 RPG and 2.6 APG. The 6’6″ guard had a shooting line of .467/.380/.911. Jok joined the Pelicans for Summer League play last month, but only had a part-time role in three games with the team, averaging 9.0 PPG in 17.9 MPG.
Perry Jones Signs Camp Deal With Pelicans
SEPTEMBER 14: Jones’ deal with the Pelicans has been finalized, per RealGM’s official log of NBA transactions.
SEPTEMBER 11: Forward Perry Jones has agreed to a training camp deal with the Pelicans, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jones, 25, has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2014/15 season. The Thunder used a late 2012 first-round selection on him and he remained on their roster for three seasons. He played 143 games for Oklahoma City, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 14.7 MPG.
He played in Russia and the G-League last season. He appeared in 24 games with the Iowa Energy, posting averages of 6.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.8 APG in 21.8 MPG while shooting just 31.3% from the field.
Jones faces an uphill battle in making the roster, even though forward Solomon Hill could miss most of the season with a hamstring tear. The Pelicans are reportedly finalizing a contract with veteran swingman Tony Allen.
Clippers Sign C.J. Williams To Camp Deal
SEPTEMBER 14: The Clippers have officially signed Williams, according to RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.
SEPTEMBER 5: Free agent shooting guard C.J. Williams has signed a training camp deal with the Clippers, according to Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). The team has yet to officially announce the signing, but if and when L.A. completes its reported agreements with Williams and LaDontae Henton, the club’s 20-man offseason roster will be full.
Williams, 27, signed a training camp deal with the Mavericks a year ago, and while he didn’t earn a spot on Dallas’ regular season roster, he did end up joining the Texas Legends, the Mavs’ G League affiliate. The N.C. State alum appeared in 50 games for the Legends, averaging 12.8 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a shooting line of .441/.386/.789.
More recently, Williams was part of the Team USA squad that brought home gold at last week’s AmeriCup. In five games in that tournament, the 6’5″ guard averaged 8.8 PPG, making 51.4% of his shots from the floor.
The Clippers currently have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts for 2017/18, with Marshall Plumlee, DeAndre Liggins, and Tyrone Wallace among the non-guaranteed players vying for a roster spot, so Williams will have an uphill battle to make the 15-man roster. He may end up back in the G League for the ’17/18 season.
Bulls Sign Diamond Stone
10:02am: The Bulls have made it official, issuing a press release to announce Stone’s deal.
8:02am: The Bulls are bringing former Maryland center Diamond Stone to training camp, according to Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days, who reports (via Twitter) that Stone has agreed to a two-year, partially guaranteed deal with the club.
According to Reichert (via Twitter), Stone’s guarantee doesn’t exceed $50K, making him eligible to become an affiliate player for the Windy City Bulls this season if he doesn’t make Chicago’s regular season roster.
Stone, 20, was the 40th overall pick in 2016, acquired on draft night by the Clippers, who sent the No. 33 pick to New Orleans for Nos. 39 and 40. However, the young center barely played during his rookie season, appearing briefly in seven games for L.A. Stone saw a little more action in the G League, averaging 16.2 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 13 total games for the Santa Cruz Warriors and Salt Lake City Stars.
The Clippers sent Stone to Atlanta in the three-way July trade that landed Danilo Gallinari in L.A. However, like Jamal Crawford, who also went from the Clips to the Hawks in the deal, Stone was subsequently waived by Atlanta, despite his guaranteed salary for 2017/18.
The Bulls currently only have 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible Stone will be given the opportunity to win a regular season roster spot. However, Nikola Mirotic figures to fill the club’s 14th roster spot if and when he re-signs, and Stone will face competition from other non-guaranteed players – such as David Nwaba – for the final opening, if Chicago even carries a full 15-man roster. Stone currently seems more likely to land in the G League after he spends the preseason with the Bulls.
Jazz Sign Nate Wolters To Two-Way Deal
SEPTEMBER 13: The Jazz have officially announced Wolters’ two-way contract. Having also signed Naz Mitrou-Long today, Utah now has 19 players on its roster.
SEPTEMBER 12: Nate Wolters is close to signing a two-way contract with the Jazz, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
The 26-year-old point guard was a second-round pick in 2013 and began his career in Milwaukee. He started 31 games as a rookie, but was waived by the Bucks the following season and caught on briefly with the Pelicans. Wolters was in training camp with the Nuggets last year before spending the season in Serbia.
Wolters would fill the second two-way slot in Utah and would give the team 18 players in camp. The Jazz already have 15 guaranteed contracts, so the odds are against Wolters earning a roster spot.