Heat Sign Dion Waiters To Four-Year Deal
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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.
Celtics Trade Avery Bradley To Pistons
2:56pm: The Celtics and Pistons have sent out press releases confirming that Bradley and a 2019 second-round pick are headed to Detroit in exchange for Morris. The deal is now official.
9:17am: The Celtics and Pistons are finalizing a trade that will send Avery Bradley to Detroit, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Boston will also send out a 2019 second-round pick and will receive Marcus Morris in the swap.
Because Morris’ $5MM salary for 2017/18 is about $3.8MM lower than Bradley’s figure, the move will allow the Celtics to create the cap room necessary to finalize their maximum salary deal with Gordon Hayward, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. The club also has the $4.328MM room exception available for another free agent.
[RELATED: Gordon Hayward to sign four-year deal with Celtics]
Boston had reportedly been shopping Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Marcus Smart in an effort to clear enough space for Hayward’s new contract. With Bradley on the move, Crowder and Smart are poised to stay put, at least for now.
In addition to creating some cap space, the trade will add a power forward to a Celtics rotation that is in need of bigs. So far this offseason, the Celtics have waived Tyler Zeller and lost Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk in free agency, creating some frontcourt concerns for a team that already lacked reliable rim protection and rebounding. Morris isn’t an elite rebounder, but the 6’9″ forward has the ability to guard bigger players.
During his two seasons in Detroit, Morris missed just five regular season games, making 159 starts for the Pistons. He averaged 14.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.3 APG, with a shooting line of .426/.345/.763.
As for the Pistons’ side of the swap, the team had entered the offseason with a need for some backcourt depth and has now added Bradley and Langston Galloway. With Detroit’s payroll on the rise and its backcourt filling up, it will be interesting to see whether the team remains committed to retaining Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
By exceeding the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Galloway, the Pistons created a hard cap of $125.266MM, significantly limiting their ability to match a big offer sheet for KCP unless they can shed a contract or two. Team salary is currently in about the $109MM range. For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Twitter link) suggests the club’s talks with Caldwell-Pope haven’t progressed, and speculates that the team may make him unrestricted or decline to match an offer sheet.
Bradley, 26, enjoyed his best season in 2016/17 on a per-game basis, averaging new career bests in PPG (16.3), RPG (6.1), APG (2.2), and a handful of other categories. He also provided excellent perimeter defense and shot .463/.390/.731.
Although Bradley is a very solid pickup for the Pistons, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent a year from now, which is perhaps one reason the Celtics ended up moving him — Crowder remains under contract for three years, while Smart is a restricted free agent next summer and Morris has two years left on his deal, so the team retains some control on all three of those players. Wojnarowski suggests that the Pistons may be aggressive in pursuing a new deal for Bradley, who is extension-eligible, but the team’s cap situation limits its ability to give him a major raise before next summer.
Before agreeing to a trade with the Pistons, the Celtics reportedly talked to the Jazz about a sign-and-trade involving Crowder and to the Knicks about a deal that would have included Smart. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers and Clippers were “prominent in [Bradley] talks until the end.”
As an aside, it’s worth noting that the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement was put to good use in this deal. Under the new CBA, over-the-cap teams are permitted to take back 175% of their outgoing salary, plus $100K, instead of 150% plus $100K (up to a $5MM difference in salaries). In the old system, Detroit would only have been able to take back up to $7.6MM for Morris, but the new CBA allows the team to squeeze in Bradley’s $8.809MM salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bojan Bogdanovic’s Becomes UFA; Pacers Make Push
1:45pm: The Pacers have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Bogdanovic, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
1:36pm: The Wizards have withdrawn their qualifying offer on Bojan Bogdanovic, giving up their right of first refusal on the free agent forward, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. As a result of the move, Bogdanovic will be an unrestricted free agent and can sign outright with any team.
Bogdanovic, 28, enjoyed the best season of his NBA career in 2016/17, starting 54 games for the Nets before being sent to the Wizards in a deadline deal. For the season, the 6’8″ swingman averaged 13.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG, with a .445/.367/.893 shooting line.
Despite his solid production, Bogdanovic isn’t viewed as an elite two-way player, so it came as a bit of a surprise when one report indicated he was seeking $16MM annually over three or four years. That sort of money may have been available for a player like Bogdanovic in free agency a year ago when nearly every team had cap room, but the market hasn’t been as prosperous this time around.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News suggested on Thursday that Bogdanovic’s price tag was “quickly dropping,” though perhaps becoming unrestricted will help. The Hawks, Kings, and Nuggets were among the teams showing interest earlier in free agency — it’s not clear if they’re all still in the mix.
The Wizards are poised to match the Nets’ offer sheet for Otto Porter and reached a deal with Jodie Meeks earlier this week, which made Bogdanovic the odd man out in D.C.