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Josh McRoberts Picks Up Player Option For 2017/18

May 23rd, 2017 at 5:06pm CST by marksuleymanov

Oft-injured Heat big man Josh McRoberts has picked up his player option worth $6MM for next season, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (link via Twitter).

McRoberts, 30, missed most of the 2016/17 campaign due to a stress fracture in his left foot. McRoberts was limited to just 22 games (14 starts) where the 6’10” center posted totals of 4.9 PPG, 3.4 PPG, and 2.3 APG. Injuries have plagued McRoberts for his entire stint in South Beach, as the 10-year NBA veteran appeared in just 81 out of a possible 246 games since signing a a three-year deal with the Heat during the 2014 offseason.

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel spoke to McRoberts’ agent Mike Conley to discuss the decision to exercise the player option this early.

“He already knew he was opting in,” Conley said. “It’s always been a matter of him being healthy, and he’s healthy now.”

This gives Miami a potential frontcourt option for next season, given that Chris Bosh and the team reportedly agreed to an amicable split earlier today. While Bosh’s issues with blood clots — which resulted in him using blood thinners — makes him an unlikely NBA comeback, the Heat are better off with a healthy McRoberts than without.

The Heat own the 14th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft and could conceivably draft a big man and utilize the “stretch provision” to waive McRoberts and pay a $2MM annual cap hit over the next three seasons, as Winderman noted. In that case, Miami would have an additional $4MM in cap space this offseason.

Over his career, spanning six teams, McRoberts owns a career totals of 5.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG.

Magic Hire John Hammond As GM

May 23rd, 2017 at 2:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

2:15 PM: Orlando has named Hammond its new GM, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

“John [Hammond] brings tremendous experience and is a great talent evaluator,” Weltman said today. “He has experiences in everything from day-to-day operations to player development. He built a great team in Milwaukee, and won a championship while in Detroit. We are very fortunate to have him as part of the Magic family.”

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports that Hammons’ new deal with the Magic will be for five years. The 62-year-old executive had one year remaining on his contract in Milwaukee, but ownership had indicated that it was unlikely to bring Hammond back beyond his current deal. The Bucks agreed to let him out of that contract in order to clear the way for Zanik to become the GM.

1:14 PM: Bucks GM John Hammond is expected to be named the Magic’s new GM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Orlando hired Hammond’s long-term colleague Jeff Weltman as team president earlier today.

Stein adds that if Hammond heads to Florida as expected, Justin Zanik will become the Bucks new GM. Milwaukee hired Zanik as the team’s assistant GM last summer. Prior to joining the Bucks, Zanik spent three years as the assistant GM of the Jazz.

Hammond has been the Bucks’ GM since 2008. He previously worked in the Pistons’ front office and he also had several assistant coaching stints in the NBA and college ranks.

Marreese Speights Opts Out

May 23rd, 2017 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Marreese Speights has opted out of his 2017/18 contract with the Clippers, according to a tweet from his representatives, ASM Sports.

Speights, 29, signed a two-year deal with Los Angeles last summer that included a player option worth nearly $1.46MM for next season. He will be seeking significantly more in a long-term contract this summer.

Speights played all 82 games in his first season with the Clippers, mainly as a reserve, and averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in about 16 minutes per night. A first-round pick by the Sixers in 2008, he has also played for the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Warriors during his nine-year NBA career.

Magic Choose Weltman As President of Basketball Operations

May 23rd, 2017 at 9:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

MAY 23, 9:31am: The Magic have announced the hiring of Weltman and will hold a press conference Wednesday, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.

MAY 22, 6:54pm: Bucks GM John Hammond also interviewed for the job, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

5:43pm: Raptors GM Jeff Weltman has reached a five-year agreement with the Magic to become their President of Basketball Operations, sources told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The deal was finalized in a meeting between Weltman and Orlando’s CEO Alex Martins, as well as the team’s ownership group, Wojnarowski continues. He replaces Rob Hennigan, who was fired last month.

The Magic had seriously considered making an offer to Cavaliers GM David Griffin, but focused their attention on Weltman in recent weeks, Wojnarowski adds. Weltman had been working under Raptors president Masai Ujiri. He previously had high-level jobs with the Bucks and Nuggets after starting his front-office career with the Clippers. He had been with the Raptors since 2013 after leaving the Bucks organization.

Weltman will have the ability to hire a GM who’ll report to him but Matt Lloyd, who had been serving as the interim GM, could remain with the organization, Wojnarowski adds.

The Raptors will likely fill the GM vacancy with assistant GM Bobby Webster, Toronto beat reporter Doug Smith tweets.

Kyle Lowry Opts Out Of Contract

May 12th, 2017 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

MAY 12: Lowry has officially opted out of his contract, according to his agency, ASM Sports (Twitter link).

MAY 8: As expected, Kyle Lowry will opt out of his contract with the Raptors and become a free agent this summer. Lowry confirmed the decision today to reporters in his exit interview following the Raptors’ elimination from the playoffs, though he’s not sure what his next move after that will be, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN 1050 tweets.

“Honestly I haven’t thought too far ahead of any of that,” Lowry said of his looming free agency. “I will be opting out, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten.”

Lowry, who called the prospect of entering free agency “fun, but stressful” (Twitter link via Sportsnet’s Michael Grange) had indicated way back in October that he’d likely opt out at season’s end. The decision is an easy one, as Lowry’s player option for 2017/18 is worth just $12MM. The 31-year-old will be able to easily exceed that on the open market.

Just because Lowry will opt out of his Raptors contract though, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll leave Toronto. The Raps will still have a leg up in contract negotiations, since they can offer him more years (five) and higher raises (8%) than any other team can (four years and 5% raises).

Still, Masai Ujiri and company will face some tough decisions this summer, with Serge Ibaka, Patrick Patterson, and P.J. Tucker also facing free agency. The Raptors front office will have to determine whether it’s worth potentially going into tax territory to keep the club’s current core together after a demoralizing second round sweep at the hands of the defending champion Cavaliers.

For the 2016/17 season, Lowry averaged a career-high 22.4 PPG to go along with 7.0 APG, 4.8 RPG, and a .464/.412/.819 shooting line in 60 games. He was named an All-Star for the third consecutive year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dante Cunningham Declines Player Option

April 29th, 2017 at 11:11am CST by Austin Kent

Forward Dante Cunningham has declined his player option with the Pelicans, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. The 30-year-old veteran will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

In 66 games for the Pels this season, Cunningham averaged 6.6 points per game. Although he’s never been much of a focal point during his three seasons in New Orleans, he’s established himself as a reliable rotation player.

Given that the veteran made just $3.0MM last season and was slated for only a modest raise in 2017/18 ($3.1MM), it’s no surprise that Cunningham opted out of the deal.

It’s not clear how much interest he’ll draw on the market but he’s a valuable addition to any club looking to add a consistent veteran, including the Pelicans themselves should they wish to pursue a new deal with the forward.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/27/17

April 27th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League transactions from today:

The Rockets have recalled Isaiah Taylor and assigned Troy Williams to the D-League affiliate, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Today the Rio Grande Valley Vipers play in the D-League’s championship game.

Baskonia Parts Ways With Andrea Bargnani

April 26th, 2017 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Former first overall pick Andrea Bargnani is back on the free agent market, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who writes that Spanish team Baskonia has officially parted ways with Bargnani. The two sides agreed to a two-year contract back in 2016, but have reached a buyout agreement that will bring the deal to an early end.

Injuries impacted Bargnani’s ability to contribute to Baskonia in 2016/17, limiting him to just 15 Euroleague games and 14 contests in Spanish League play. When he was able to get on the court, he was a decent role player for Baskonia, joining fellow former NBA players like Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, Tornike Shengelia, and Josh Akognon among the club’s leading scorers.

Although he’s still just 31 years old and is only a year removed from appearing in 46 games for the 2015/16 Nets, Bargnani seems unlikely to seek a return to the NBA when he gets healthy.

The former Raptor, Knick, and Net, who was the first player off the board in the 2006 draft, averaged a respectable 14.3 PPG in 550 career regular season NBA games, but saw his minutes cut back significantly during his final season in the Association. His best chance at a regular role going forward would be on a European club.

We first learned over the weekend that Bargnani and Baskonia were discussing a buyout.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/25/17

April 25th, 2017 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

In what could be the last D-League assignments of the season, Bruno Caboclo, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet have been sent to the Raptors 905 by the Raptors, the team announced today (Twitter link). Toronto’s D-League affiliate will look to extend the NBADL Finals to a third and deciding game with a win tonight, and VanVleet – who appeared briefly at the end of the Raptors’ win over Milwaukee on Monday – will Caboclo and Siakam as added reinforcements.
The Raptors 905’s opponent in the D-League Finals, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, likely won’t make any moves today — Kyle Wiltjer, Chinanu Onuaku, and Isaiah Taylor have been assigned to the Vipers for the last 10 days and will presumably remain with the Rockets‘ D-League affiliate as the club looks to clinch the NBADL title.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/24/17

April 24th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

After a Raptors 905 loss in the first game of the NBA D-League Finals on Sunday, Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam have been recalled to Toronto by the Raptors, the team announced today (Twitter link). Caboclo and Siakam figure to remain with the NBA club for tonight’s playoff game before being re-assigned to the Raptors 905 for Game 2 of the championship round on Tuesday. Since the NBADL’s series are best-of-three, Tuesday’s game could be the last of the D-League season.