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Heat To Retain Wayne Ellington

July 7th, 2017 at 8:10pm CST by Austin Kent

With their free agent acquisitions of Kelly Olynyk, Dion Waiters and James Johnson now in the books, the Heat can breathe easy knowing that they’ll soon retain Wayne Ellington, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel tweets.

The Heat were very calculated about the order in which they officially signed the above-mentioned trio, doing so in such a way that they managed to keep Ellington on their books long enough for his partially guaranteed deal to kick in after July 7.

In 62 games for the injury-riddled 2016/17 Heat, Ellington averaged 10.5 points per game. The 29-year-old played a big role in Miami rallying after a disastrous first half of the season to compete for a playoff spot.

With Ellington on board for 2017/18, along with returnees Waiters and Johnson, the Heat have shown that they’re eager to double down on the gritty chemistry that powered them to their historic turnaround.

Heat Officially Sign James Johnson

July 7th, 2017 at 7:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

July 7, 7:47pm: The Heat have officially re-signed Johnson, the team announced over Twitter.

July 6, 10:00 PM: Johnson’s deal will be for four years and $60MM, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter links). Scotto adds that the contract contains a player option in the fourth season.

7:59 PM: The Heat and James Johnson have agreed on the framework of a four-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Johnson was widely expected to return to Miami.

Johnson floated around the league before signing a one-year deal with the Heat last offseason. He played a key role for Miami, earning 27.4 minutes per contest while serving as the team’s top perimeter defender.

The 30-year-old averaged double-digit scoring for the first time in his career (12.8 PPG) in 2016/17, and set new career-highs in RPG (4.9), APG (3.6), and 3PT% (.340).

The Heat struck out on bigger stars, such as Gordon Hayward, but rebounded by bringing in Kelly Olynyk and re-signing their own free agents.

The organization needs to clear cap space to accommodate lucrative deals for Olynyk, Johnson and Dion Waiters, and the team is working on moving Josh McRoberts to the Mavericks in order to do so.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Sign Dion Waiters To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2017 at 7:32pm CST by Luke Adams

July 7, 7:32pm: The Heat have officially re-signed Waiters, the team announced over Twitter.

Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel notes that the Waiters deal had to be announced prior to the Johnson confirmation, at which point a potential Wayne Ellington guarantee could follow.

July 6, 7:01pm: The Heat and Waiters are in agreement on the previously reported four-year, $52MM deal, per several reports. According to Scotto, the deal won’t include any options.

Scotto also reports that the Lakers made a one-year, $17MM offer to Waiters. L.A. has been reluctant to commit any second-year guaranteed money to free agents.

4:48pm: Waiters’ new deal is expected to be a four-year contract, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) pegs the total value at $52MM over four years.

4:31pm: The Heat are finalizing a contract agreement with Dion Waiters that will bring the free agent guard back to Miami, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Wojnarowski had indicated earlier today that Waiters was considering the Heat, Lakers, and Knicks, and would likely make a decision soon.

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Waiters, a former fourth overall pick, didn’t generate much interest in free agency last summer after the Thunder withdrew his qualifying offer, and ultimately signed a modest deal with the Heat. Although he was limited to 46 games (43 starts), the 25-year-old had a nice bounce-back season in Miami, averaging 15.8 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.3 RPG with a shooting line of .424/.395/.646.

Armed with a player option for 2017/18, Waiters turned down that option in search of a more lucrative deal on the open market, and was linked to the Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, and Kings. After Miami missed out on top free agent target Gordon Hayward, however, it made sense for Waiters and the Heat to work out a new agreement that allowed him to return to South Beach.

Terms of Waiters’ deal aren’t yet known, but the Heat figure to use a chunk of cap room to re-sign him, since their Non-Bird rights would only allow for a 20% raise. The club would also like to bring back James Johnson and has interest in Rudy Gay, among other free agents, so we’ll see how much cap space is left over after Waiters’ deal.

Waiters had ranked 21st overall on our list of 2017’s top free agents last week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Sign Fifth Overall Pick De’Aaron Fox

July 7th, 2017 at 7:29pm CST by Austin Kent

The Kings have officially signed fifth-overall pick De’Aaron Fox, the team announced via Twitter. The 19-year-old speedster joins the franchise after posting 16.7 points and 4.6 assists per game with Kentucky.

Per the NBA’s rookie contract scale, Fox will presumably make $24.6MM over the course of a four-year deal, starting with $4.6MM in 2017/18.

Fox will share point guard duties with George Hill.

The team had previously reached agreements with Harry Giles and Justin Jackson.

Warriors Re-Sign Zaza Pachulia

July 7th, 2017 at 6:32pm CST by Austin Kent

The Warriors have re-signed Zaza Pachulia, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The big man will receive a raise this year, in the form of a one-year, $3.5MM deal.

The 20% pay increase is the most the franchise could give the Georgian center, Anthony Slater of the Mercury News adds and will – per Bobby Marks of ESPN – increase the franchise’s luxury tax bill significantly, as much as $8.8MM in tax alone.

In 70 games for the Dubs this season, Pachulia posted 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. His biggest contribution to the team, however, is his physical presence in the paint.

Hawks Request Waivers On Jamal Crawford

July 7th, 2017 at 6:28pm CST by Austin Kent

7:28pm: The Hawks have formally requested waivers on Crawford, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.

The Cavs appear to be the frontrunners of all the teams mentioned to be in the hunt for Crawford’s services. Per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the veteran guard is “theirs to lose.” Crawford will be able to officially finalize a deal with the Cavs or another team once he clears waivers.

5:37pm: The Hawks have finalized a contract buyout with Jamal Crawford, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 36-year-old was acquired in the three-way deal that sent Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers.

Particularly interested in the news will be the Cavaliers and Celtics who, along with the Timberwolves, Bucks and Wizards, are reported to be in the mix for the services of the combo guard. David Aldridge of TNT notes that the Lakers could be in pursuit as well.

In 82 games for L.A. last season, Crawford posted 12.3 points per game. The veteran has spent each of the past five seasons with the Clippers and has long been one of the league’s most impactful reserves.

If a contending team like the Cavs or C’s lands the three-time Sixth Man of the Year, it may drastically bolster their shot at competing in the East.

Upon news of the buyout, which was also promptly reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Sam Amick of USA Today notes that the Wolves, Wizards and Cavs are out front in the race to land the guard’s services.

Bucks Sign JeQuan Lewis

July 7th, 2017 at 4:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Bucks have signed JeQuan Lewis to a free agent contract, the team announced via a press release on its website. The terms of the deal have not been made public.

The signing was announced along with that of Bronson Koenig’s two-way deal on Thursday.

Undrafted out of VCU, Lewis is a 6’0″ guard that put 15.2 points and 4.5 assists per game as a senior. He’ll compete for Milwaukee in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, alongside Koenig.

Bucks Sign Second-Rounder Sterling Brown

July 7th, 2017 at 4:06pm CST by Austin Kent

The Bucks have signed second-round pick Sterling Brown out of SMU, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The senior shooting guard averaged 13.4 points per game in the NCAA last season.

The two parties inked a three-year pact with the first two seasons guaranteed. Considering Milwaukee’s second-round pick ended up being Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon last season, the addition of Brown could end up being a shrewd move for the franchise.

Brown is a brother of former Lakers guard Shannon Brown and, per Draft Express’ scouting report, started to blossom as a pro prospect during his junior season. Now he’s an efficient jump shooter that has flown under the radar as a sleeper.

Rockets Waive Ryan Kelly

July 7th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets have waived forward Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Kelly’s contract, acquired in one of Houston’s half dozen pre-Chris Paul trade deals, would have otherwise become guaranteed had he lasted through the day.

As Feigen notes in a separate tweet, Kelly was initially added as a trade chip but was obviously not used. Houston had picked him up from Atlanta in exchange for $75K.

Kelly, a sharp shooting 26-year-old power forward out of Duke, appears to be just on the brink of actually catching on in an NBA rotation. Although he started 59 games between his first and second seasons with a destitute Lakers club, he’s failed to make an impact since. This marks the fourth time in the last nine months that Kelly has been waived.

Heat Sign Kelly Olynyk To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2017 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7, 3:19pm: The Heat have officially signed Olynyk, the team announced today in a press release.

“As soon as Kelly Olynyk became an unrestricted free agent, we pursued him,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He is not only a post player, he can also play away from the basket. What we like the most is that he is a playmaker, tough defender and rugged rebounder. At just 26 years old, he fits in perfect with our young core that will play together in their primes.”

JULY 6, 6:45pm: The Heat have reached an agreement on a four-year contract with free agent center Kelly Olynyk, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal is worth $50MM. Olynyk’s new deal will include a fourth-year player option, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

Because the Celtics withdrew Olynyk’s qualifying offer earlier this week, he’s an unrestricted free agent and can sign outright with Miami. Boston needed to clear the big man’s cap hold from its books in order to help create enough space for Gordon Hayward‘s new maximum salary deal with the team. Until Olynyk’s QO was rescinded, he had been a restricted free agent, but becoming unrestricted helped accelerate his market.

Olynyk, 26, appeared in 75 regular season games for the Celtics last season, averaging 9.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG and once again showed off an ability to make an outside shot (.368 career 3PT%). His most memorable performance in Boston came in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Wizards, when he helped the C’s seal the series with a 26-point outburst.

By signing with the Heat, Olynyk will join a frontcourt that needed a little depth, given Willie Reed‘s free agency. Veteran power forward James Johnson also reached the open market over the weekend, but Olynyk’s deal won’t preclude a new agreement with Johnson, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, who tweets that the team still intends to get something done with the unrestricted free agent.

Having now reached eight-figure deals with Olynyk and Dion Waiters, the Heat only have about $6MM in cap room left over, but could open up another $6MM+ by waiving Wayne Ellington‘s non-guaranteed contract and another $4MM or so by stretching Josh McRoberts‘ deal.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that the Mavericks and Heat have had discussions about a trade that would create more space for Miami, so it’s possible that Dallas is willing to take on McRoberts — Tyler Johnson would be the other logical trade candidate on the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.