Spurs Make Jonathon Simmons Unrestricted FA
1:00pm: Having spoken to Simmons’ representatives, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link) says they are no longer in talks with the Spurs. Referring to today’s move as “last call,” Young strongly suggests a reunion isn’t in store for Simmons and San Antonio.
Meanwhile, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that Simmons is in talks with “several” other clubs, while Charania confirms the UFA guard is focused on signing elsewhere.
11:27am: The Spurs continue to negotiate with Simmons as an unrestricted free agent, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
If that’s the case, it seems the team may have simply rescinded Simmons’ qualifying offer rather than renouncing his rights entirely. Withdrawing Simmons’ QO would leave the Spurs with his Early Bird rights, while renouncing him would leave only the bi-annual exception or Non-Bird rights for a new deal.
11:04am: In a surprising move, the Spurs have renounced Jonathon Simmons, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Today is the last day for teams to withdraw qualifying offers for restricted free agents, so San Antonio made the move just before the deadline.
A former undrafted free agent out of Houston, Simmons played a career-high 78 games for the Spurs last season, averaging 6.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG in a part-time role for the club. Although he has played just two years in the NBA, Simmons will turn 28 in September.
Despite his age and his modest production last year, however, the 6’6″ swingman has been viewed as one of the more intriguing players on the shooting guard market, given his two-way potential and his ability to play a key role for the West’s second-best team. Simmons also took on a larger role in the postseason, averaging 15.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in the Warriors’ four-game sweep of the Spurs.
The Kings, Clippers, Knicks, and Timberwolves are among the teams that have expressed interest in Simmons since free agency got underway, though most of those clubs no longer have the flexibility to make a competitive offer. Sacramento still has some room left, and under-the-cap clubs like the Nets and Sixers could be worth watching as well.
The Spurs’ decision to renounce Simmons is somewhat unexpected, considering the team was said to be preparing an offer in the range of $9MM annually for him at the start of free agency. However, San Antonio may have viewed Simmons as a non-essential piece after using the mid-level exception to bring Rudy Gay aboard.
Raptors Trade DeMarre Carroll To Nets
JULY 13: The trade is now official, the Nets and Raptors announced today in a pair of press releases. Brooklyn receives Carroll, the Raptors’ 2018 first-round pick, and the less favorable of the Lakers’ and Magic’s 2018 second-round picks. The Raptors receive Hamilton and create an $11.8MM trade exception.
JULY 8: The Raptors have agreed to trade DeMarre Carroll to the Nets in a salary-dump deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Brooklyn will receive first- and second-round picks for 2018 from the Raptors, and will send Justin Hamilton to Toronto.
Even though they lost P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson in free agency, the Raptors’ new agreements with Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka pushed them into luxury-tax territory. Team ownership had expressed a willingness to pay the tax in certain scenarios, but in this case, Toronto was believed to be looking for a way back below that threshold, having also reportedly shopped Cory Joseph and Jonas Valanciunas.
In Carroll, the Nets will be landing a veteran swingman who has battled health issues since leaving the Hawks in 2015. Carroll signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Raptors that summer, but only appeared in 26 games in his first season with the franchise, and never appeared to be back to his old self in 2016/17, despite starting 72 games. In 26.1 minutes per contest last season, Carroll averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG, with a shooting line of .400/.341/.761.
Carroll is owed $14.8MM in 2017/18 and $15.4MM in 2018/19, while Hamilton’s expiring contract is worth just $3MM. However, having had their offer sheet to Otto Porter matched by the Wizards, the Nets will have an excess of cap room to accommodate a salary dump of this nature, and should still have $15MM+ available if they want to pursue another free agent or take on another contract.
Meanwhile, the Raptors project to get out of tax territory by moving Carroll, and should have the flexibility to retain Joseph and Valanciunas, who are key pieces in their rotation. The team also still has its full mid-level exception available, though team salary isn’t very far below the $119.266MM tax line, and using more than the taxpayer MLE would create a hard cap of $125.266MM. As such, the club may not be eager to use that MLE.
Hamilton, 27, will head to Toronto in the swap, coming off a career year for Brooklyn. The veteran center averaged 6.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 64 games (18.4 MPG) for the Nets. He also made a career-best 0.9 threes per game, albeit at a mediocre 30.6% rate. Hamilton could be an interesting addition to Toronto’s frontcourt, but the Raptors figure to be on the lookout for help on the wing, with big-bodied swingman Carroll and Tucker both moving on this summer.
As for the draft picks changing hands in this deal, the Raptors’ first-round pick heading to the Nets will be lottery-protected, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). Toronto has already traded its own 2018 second-round pick, but holds the rights to the less favorable of the Lakers’ and Magic’s second-rounder, so that figures to be the other selection headed to Brooklyn.
The deal won’t be finalized until the Nets’ cap room for the Porter offer sheet officially opens back up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kings Sign Bogdan Bogdanovic To Three-Year Deal
JULY 13: Bogdanovic has officially signed his three-year, $27MM deal with the Kings, per agent Alexander Raskovic (Twitter link).
JUNE 29: Bogdanovic’s three-year deal is expected to be worth $27MM, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. That’s considerably less than the $36MM that was initially reported, though it’s possible there will be some non-guaranteed money at the end of the deal that accounts for the discrepancy.
JUNE 28: The Kings have struck a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic, according to Jason Jones and Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Bogdanovic – not to be confused with Wizards RFA Bojan Bogdanovic – is expected to sign a three-year contract with Sacramento worth $36MM.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, the 27th overall pick in the 2014 draft, was originally selected by the Suns, but his rights were sent to the Kings in a draft-night trade in 2016, when Phoenix moved up to No. 8 to select Marquese Chriss.
A 6’6″ sharpshooter, Bogdanovic was named the MVP of the Turkish League this year after averaging 14.7 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.5 RPG. The 24-year-old also earned All-EuroLeague honors and helped lead Turkish team Fenerbahce to its first ever EuroLeague title.
Because it has been more than three years since he was drafted, Bogdanovic is no longer subject to the NBA’s rookie scale. As such, the Kings will sign him using cap room. The deal can become official next month.
Serbian website Kurir first reported that the Kings and Bogdanovic had reached an agreement, as Orazio Cauchi of Sportando details.
Nuggets Officially Sign Paul Millsap
JULY 13, 12:38pm: The Nuggets have officially signed Millsap, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JULY 3, 10:05am: Millsap’s third year will be a team option, Nick Kosmider of The Denver Post confirms. We’ll have to wait for Millsap to officially sign to see whether it’s a true team option, or whether that third year will just be non-guaranteed (perhaps with a buyout attached).
JULY 2, 10:00pm: The Nuggets have reached a deal with Paul Millsap, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The agreement is said to be for three years and $90MM. Matt Moore of CBS Sports suggests (via Twitter) that the third year is a team option, which would be a coup for the Nuggets, though that hasn’t yet been confirmed.
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
Millsap entered free agency as one of the most talented players available and will join a Nuggets squad currently anchored by promising youngsters Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray.
In Millsap, the suddenly dangerous Nuggets will add a reliable veteran on the heels of four consecutive All-Star seasons. In 2016/17, the 32-year-old averaged a career high 18.1 points to go along with 7.7 rebounds and over a three-pointer per game. He ranked fifth on our list of 2017’s top 50 free agents.
Prior to committing to the Nuggets, Millsap had engaged in talks with the Kings and Suns, according to Charania in his full report for The Vertical. Charania suggests that the forward was ultimately intrigued by the young core that the Nuggets have assembled. The Timberwolves also reportedly had interest in Millsap, but would have needed to move contracts to create space for him, and opted instead to sign Taj Gibson to a more affordable deal.
Millsap’s move to Denver makes him the latest Eastern Conference star to head west. Three of this year’s Eastern All-Stars have joined Western Conference clubs in the last couple weeks, with Jimmy Butler traded to Minnesota and Paul George landing in Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets had attempted to make a splash in the free agent market a year ago, meeting with Dwyane Wade and making a strong pitch to the veteran guard. While Denver struck out in 2016, the team got its man this time around, and the timing is good for the franchise — Gary Harris is extension-eligible this offseason, and Nikola Jokic may be a restricted free agent next summer, so the window to sign a max free agent may have closed quickly. Millsap had been on Denver’s radar for some time, with reports suggesting the team was close to trading for him last offseason and prior to the 2017 trade deadline.
As for the impact Millsap will have on Denver’s free agency plans this summer, it looks as if the Nuggets still have enough room for Mason Plumlee‘s qualifying offer after their commitment to Millsap, which will allow the team to match any offers for Plumlee.
However, the club seems likely to renounce Danilo Gallinari‘s cap hold to fit in Millsap, which would eliminate the possibility of a new deal in Denver for the longtime Nugget. Of course, during the moratorium, discussions are always fluid, so it’s possible Denver could make trades to clear other contracts and maintain Gallinari’s cap hold.
As things stand right now, Millsap’s deal will eat up most of the rest of the Nuggets’ cap room, but the club will still have a little space, and will be able to use its $4.3MM room exception once that space is used.
Meanwhile, the Hawks will have a new-look frontcourt under new GM Travis Schlenk, who also traded Dwight Howard last week. Atlanta will lose a key big man in free agency for the second offseason in a row, with Millsap departing a year after Al Horford left for Boston. Still, Schlenk never sounded overly enthusiastic about making an aggressive offer for Millsap, and letting him walk will leave the team with more than $30MM in cap room to use elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Wizards Sign Devin Robinson To Two-Way Contract
The Wizards have signed undrafted rookie Devin Robinson to a two-way contract, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. The club has now filled both of the openings for two-way players on its roster.
Robinson, a 6’8″ forward out of Florida, averaged 11.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG with a .524/.391/.723 shooting line in his junior year in 2016/17. An early entrant in the 2017 draft, Robinson was viewed as a top-50 prospect by DraftExpress, but wasn’t one of the 60 players to come off the board on draft night, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Wizards previously signed Pittsburgh alum Michael Young to a two-way deal, so they’re now at their limit for two-way players. Both Young and Robinson have been playing for Washington’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas.
For details on what two-way contracts are, how they work, and how much they pay, be sure to check out our breakdown from earlier this year.
Jazz Expected To Waive Boris Diaw
The Jazz are expected to waive veteran forward Boris Diaw before his 2017/18 salary becomes guaranteed this weekend, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. The team had been exploring trades involving Diaw’s non-guaranteed contract, and a deal is still possible, as MacMahon acknowledges (via Twitter). But an outright release appears to be the more likely outcome.
A 14-year NBA veteran, Diaw joined the Jazz in a trade last offseason, and appeared in 73 games for the team, making 33 starts. However, 2016/17 was one of the worst seasons of Diaw’s long career — his 4.6 PPG was his lowest mark since his rookie year, and his numbers in several other categories, including FG% (.446) and 3PT% (.247), were far below his career averages.
Diaw is entering the final year of his contract and had been slated to earn $7.5MM in 2017/18. However, that figure is fully non-guaranteed for two more days, meaning Utah could waive him and not be on the hook for any of it.
While Diaw’s contract would make a good trade chip, any deal involving the veteran forward would likely involve the Jazz taking back a chunk of salary. That scenario no longer looks as viable for Utah, since the club has agreed to a handful of free agent contracts that appear to require cap room.
Within the last couple days, the Jazz have agreed to sign Thabo Sefolosha (two years, $10.5MM), Jonas Jerebko (two years, $8.2MM), and Ekpe Udoh (two years, $6.5MM). Based on the reported terms, those three deals look a little too expensive to fit into the team’s mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, signaling that Utah will instead use cap space – and probably the room exception – to finalize them. Waiving Diaw would clear the necessary room.
Mavericks Sign Maxi Kleber
JULY 13, 7:34am: The Mavericks have officially signed Kleber, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 12, 4:29pm: The Mavericks have reached a deal with German forward Maxi Kleber, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. It will be a minimum contract containing a partial guarantee, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
The 6’9″ Kleber averaged 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds last year for Bayern Munich in German League action, and 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in EuroCup play.
Kleber, 25, is from Wurzburg, the same hometown as Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki.
Kyle Korver Re-Signs With Cavaliers
JULY 12, 8:28pm: The signing is official, the Cavaliers announced on their website.
JULY 2, 3:09pm: Kyle Korver has agreed to a new three-year, $22MM contract with the Cavaliers, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The final season is only partially guaranteed, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The 36-year-old came to Cleveland in a January deal and provided a needed outside threat. He averaged 10.7 points in 35 games and shot .485 from 3-point range.
The Cavs acquired Korver’s Bird rights when they brought him over from Atlanta, which is fortunate because they don’t have any available cap room to use to re-sign him. The 14-year veteran will get a nice raise from the little more than $5.2MM he made this season.
Several other teams expressed an interest in Korver, including the Pelicans and Bucks, but he decided to remain with the Eastern Conference champions and take another shot at a ring.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors, Omri Casspi Agree To Deal
6:44pm: It’ll be a one-year, minimum salary contract for Casspi, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Casspi’s minimum will be worth about $2.1MM, though it’ll only count against the Warriors’ cap for approximately $1.47MM.
Minimum salary deals can be finalized during the July moratorium, so Golden State doesn’t have to wait until Thursday to make the signing official.
6:23pm: The Warriors have lined up a deal to add another shooter to their roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that free agent forward Omri Casspi has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the team. Sam Amick of USA Today first reported (via Twitter) that Golden State was in talks with Casspi.
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
Casspi, 29, opened the 2016/17 season with the Kings, but quickly saw his role in Sacramento’s rotation reduced by new head coach Dave Joerger. Casspi was included in the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans, and while the Pelicans were excited to get him as part of that deal, his stint with the team was short-lived, as he suffered a broken thumb in his first game as a Pelican. Casspi was subsequently waived by New Orleans and later finished the season with the Timberwolves after getting healthy.
Although the 2016/17 season didn’t really give him a chance to show off his talents, Casspi enjoyed the best season of his career in 2015/16 with the Kings, averaging 11.8 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 69 games (21 starts), making a career-high 40.9% of his three-pointers. If he can regain that form, he should have a very nice year with a Warriors team that will get him plenty of open looks.
Financial terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but the Warriors could only offer a minimum salary contract unless they’re willing to dip into their $5.2MM taxpayer mid-level exception for Casspi. A minimum deal seems likely.
Jodie Meeks Signs Two-Year Deal With Wizards
July 12, 4:10pm: The signing is official, according to NBA.com.
JULY 2, 11:38am: The Wizards have added some more outside shooting to their roster, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). League sources tell Charania that Washington has reached an agreement with veteran free agent Jodie Meeks, who will sign a two-year, $7MM contract.
Meeks has seen his last two seasons derailed by injuries, having appeared in just 39 total games for the Pistons and Magic since the start of the 2015/16 campaign. However, he was an effective outside threat for Orlando when he suited up last year, averaging 9.1 PPG on 40.9% three-point shooting.
According to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), the Wizards will sign Meeks using their bi-annual exception. The BAE can be used for deals worth up to $6,744,500 over two years, so that makes sense. However, using that exception would limit the Wizards to a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year.
Washington has about $94MM in guaranteed salaries on its books prior to adding Meeks or re-signing Otto Porter, so if the team intends to match a max offer for Porter, that hard cap could become a problem. If the Wizards instead opt to use a portion of their taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the Meeks signing, the team wouldn’t be subject to a hard cap.
The addition of Meeks probably doesn’t bode well for Bojan Bogdanovic‘s return to the Wizards. Meeks figures to fill a similar role in Washington, and Bogdanovic will likely be able to land a better offer from another club, with the Wizards focusing on Porter.
Since the offseason began, the Wizards have now traded for Tim Frazier and committed to sign Meeks in an effort to bolster one of the NBA’s lowest-scoring benches.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.