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Bucks Sign Jason Terry

August 22nd, 2016 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 22nd: The signing is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 19th: Terry says he has agreed to sign with the Bucks, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. “They are a young team on the cusp of doing great things and the Bucks have a great coach in Jason Kidd,” Terry said (Twitter link).

AUGUST 18th: The Bucks are in advanced contract talks with veteran point guard Jason Terry, NBA sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Terry, who turns 39 next month, averaged 5.9 points and 1.4 assists in 17.5 minutes for the Rockets last season while appearing in 72 games.

Milwaukee only has 13 players with guaranteed contracts but it is over the salary-cap limit. The Bucks still have the $2.9MM room exception at their disposal. The Rockets informed Terry last month that he was no longer in their plans.

It’s somewhat curious that the Bucks would be interested in Terry, considering they signed free agent Matthew Dellavedova away from the Cavaliers to compete with Michael Carter-Williams at the point guard spot. They also have Tyler Ennis on the roster and it’s noteworthy that the club used Giannis Antetokounmpo with great success as a point forward the second half of last season.

However, Terry could not only provide a veteran locker room presence but also some outside shooting. He’s a career 37.9% shooter on 3-point attempts and could play off the ball with Antetokounmpo running the attack.

Terry has averaged 14.3 points and 4.1 assists in a career that began with the Hawks in 1999/2000.

Jazz Sign Marcus Paige

August 22nd, 2016 at 5:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Jazz have signed 2016 second round pick Marcus Paige (No. 55 overall) the team announced. The length and terms of the arrangement are unknown, nor if any guaranteed salary was included. Utah still has approximately $10MM in available cap space, so Paige’s deal wouldn’t be limited to the league minimum. Though, it would be a surprise if it was in excess of that amount.

The 22-year-old was a member of the Jazz’s summer league squad, averaging 7.0 points, 1.6 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 19.7 minutes of action in nine games. With Utah’s preseason roster count at 16, including 14 players possessing fully guaranteed deals, Paige is likely ticketed for the D-League to start the season.

Paige spent four years at North Carolina, notching career averages of 13.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists to go along with a shooting line of .407/.375/.844. Paige was recognized as an Academic All-American for three of those seasons, including First Team honors following his senior season. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in 2015 and 2016 as well as the 2014 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year, per the release.

Abdel Nader To Play For Celtics’ D-League Team

August 22nd, 2016 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

One of six Celtics draftees in June, Abdel Nader had been the only one whose 2016/17 outlook had not yet been determined. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, however, a decision has been made. Charania reports (via Twitter) that Nader has turned down a “lucrative” offer from a European club and has agreed to play for the Celtics’ D-League affiliate.

[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]

When the Celtics drafted Nader, the team hoped – and expected – to retain his rights by getting him to commit to playing for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s D-League team. The move would allow the Celtics to keep a close eye on the 58th overall pick while not exposing him to other NBA clubs.

As Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe detailed earlier this month, an impressive Summer League showing complicated the issue for Nader and the Celtics, with agent Cervando Tejeda suggesting that his client is “an NBA player.” However, if Boston had signed the former Iowa State forward to an NBA contract, then not had room for him on their regular-season roster, the club would have lost his NBA rights, despite being able to assign him to the Red Claws.

Even with two of their first-round picks remaining overseas for the 2016/17 season, the Celtics have a crowded roster, which would have made it very difficult for Nader to crack the regular-season 15. Currently, the C’s have 16 players on guaranteed contracts, and that total doesn’t include John Holland or 2016 second-rounder Ben Bentil — Holland’s pact is non-guaranteed, while Bentil has a partial guarantee of $250K.

Jeff Adrien To Play Overseas

August 21st, 2016 at 10:00am CST by ChrisCrouse

Jeff Adrien has signed with Israel’s Bnei Herzliya, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The club, which was founded in 2002, is in the country’s top league, Ligat HaAl.

Adrien was out of basketball during the 2015/16 season. He found himself in several run-ins with the law in his time away from the NBA, including one where he was arrested for stealing a Mercedes from a valet. In a separate incident, he was arrested for getting into a physical altercation with a hotel security guard. He was later arrested again for refusing to comply for police during a routine traffic stop in which Adrien lost his cool and pushed the arresting officers, per TMZ.

Adrien previously played overseas for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association during the 2014/15 season. He was with the Pelicans for their training camp last fall, but was waived prior to the season. In six seasons since going undrafted out of the University of Connecticut, Adrien has played for five NBA franchises and he sports a career player efficiency rating of 15.0.

Thunder Sign Semaj Christon

August 20th, 2016 at 2:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder have signed Semaj Christon, the team announced via press release. The length and terms of the deal were not relayed. OKC is currently under the salary cap, so the team isn’t restricted to paying Christon the league-minimum.

The 23-year-old was originally selected with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Christon spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, appearing in 44 games and averaging 18.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 35.3 minutes. With Oklahoma City already having 15 players with fully guaranteed deals, there’s a better than average chance Christon begins this season with the Blue as an affiliate player.

Christon spent last season playing in Italy with VL Pesaro where he appeared in 30 games and averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 33.2 minutes. In his two seasons at Xavier, Christon averaged 16.2 points, 4.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 64 contests.

Celtics To Sign Marcus Georges-Hunt

August 20th, 2016 at 12:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Marcus Georges-Hunt, Keith Smith of RealGM reports (via Twitter). The scribe terms it a training camp arrangement, so it’s likely for the league-minimum and includes little or no guaranteed salary.

The addition of the undrafted forward out of Georgia Tech will give Boston 19 players on its roster, which is one below the preseason maximum, but four over the regular season limit. So the 22-year-old will certainly have his work cut out for him if he hopes to remain on the roster through tip-off on opening night, especially considering 16 of those players I mentioned possess fully guaranteed deals. In all likelihood, if Georges-Hunt manages to impress the coaching staff, he’ll be ticked for Maine and the team’s D-League affiliate.

Georges-Hunt appeared in 36 games as a senior for the Yellowjackets, logging averages of 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 32.4 minutes per outing. His slash line on the campaign was .454/.342/.823. He played for Brooklyn’s squad in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, averaging 2.8 points and 1.0 rebound in 13.2 minutes per contest over four appearances.

Bucks To Re-Sign Steve Novak

August 20th, 2016 at 8:57am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bucks are planning to re-sign unrestricted free agent Steve Novak, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The details of the proposed arrangement are unknown, but with Milwaukee over the cap, it is more than likely for the veteran’s minimum. The team does still have the Room Exception available, but it would be surprising if it was used in this instance. The addition of Novak would give the team 15 players under contract, which is the regular season maximum.

Milwaukee is seeking to add veteran leadership to its bench, which also prompted the reported signing of Jason Terry, notes Gardner. The Bucks currently have the youngest roster in the league and the additions of the 38-year-old Terry and 33-year-old Novak would bring some balance and leadership to the locker room, Gardner adds. Novak has worked with the Bucks medical and training staff this summer to rehab the sprained left MCL that prematurely ended his season and his deal would be finalized after receiving medical clearance, a team source told Gardner.

Novak has garnered some interest around the league, per his agent Mark Bartelstein, but the veteran has been holding off on making a decision because his clear preference is to remain in Milwaukee. “There have been a few teams that we’ve talked to; you always got to keep your doors open,’’ Bartelstein had said earlier this week. “But we’re still talking with the Bucks and, hopefully, we’ll make a deal with them. Steve would love to stay in Milwaukee. It’s a very special place for him.’’

The forward was the No. 32 overall pick in 2006. He has appeared in 459 career regular season games, averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per outing. He owns a career shooting line of .438/.431/.877.

Heat Re-Sign Beno Udrih

August 17th, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Eddie Scarito

11:38am: The signing is official, the Heat announced.

10:10am: The Heat have agreed to a deal to re-sign unrestricted free agent point guard Beno Udrih, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It’s a one-year, fully guaranteed pact, notes Charania. The scribe didn’t relay the dollar value of the arrangement, but with the Heat well over the cap with $102,872,092 in salary already committed for next season and having used the room exception to ink Dion Waiters, it would have to be for the league minimum.

Miami reportedly had a “standing invitation” for Udrih to join them in training camp if he was unable to land a better deal elsewhere. Udrih played 36 games with Miami last season before agreeing to a buyout in February to help the team avoid the luxury tax, which certainly gained him some fans within the organization. Udrih’s addition now gives the Heat 15 fully guaranteed pacts.

In those 36 games for the Heat last season, Udrih averaged 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 16.3 minutes per outing. He shot .434/.333/.882 from the field.

Blazers Sign Grant Jerrett

August 17th, 2016 at 8:38am CST by Eddie Scarito

AUGUST 17th: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

AUGUST 16th: The Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Grant Jerrett, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The scribe classifies it as a training camp pact, so it’s almost assuredly for the league minimum and likely includes little or no guaranteed salary.

Portland currently has 16 players on its roster, including 14 with fully guaranteed deals. So, unless Jerrett truly impresses the coaching staff during the preseason, he’s likely ticketed for the D-League to begin the year.

Jerrett last appeared in an NBA regular season contest during the 2014/15 campaign, when he played in a combined eight games for the Jazz and the Thunder. The power forward averaged 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.4 minutes while shooting .269/.067/1.000.

Nets Expected To Sign Trevor Cooney

August 15th, 2016 at 10:10am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets intend to sign undrafted free agent guard Trevor Cooney, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Brooklyn is inking Cooney with an eye on him joining the team’s D-League squad as an affiliate player, Pick adds. No further details on the potential arrangement were relayed by Pick, but it is almost assuredly a minimum salary deal with little or no guarantee. Cooney will attend training camp with the Nets, then, once waived, would join the Long Island Nets as a designated affiliate player, Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor speculates (On Twitter).

For those unfamiliar, an affiliate player is someone who was under contract with an NBA team, was released and cleared waivers, and whose NBA team unilaterally claimed his D-League rights. NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players they release, thus keeping them out of the D-League draft or the waiver system that the D-League uses during the season to determine which of its teams get newly signed players. You can read a more in-depth explanation of affiliate players in the Hoops Rumors Glossary.

As for Cooney, he went undrafted this year after completing his collegiate career at Syracuse. In 37 games this past season as a fifth-year senior, Cooney averaged 13.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 36.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .348/.354/.806.