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Sixers To Sign Shawn Long, James Webb III

July 7th, 2016 at 9:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers continue to fill out their roster for training camp, inking undrafted free agents Shawn Long and James Webb III, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). The pacts are identical two-year, minimum salary agreements that include partial guarantees of $65K for 2016/17, Pincus adds.

Long, 23, appeared in 34 games as a senior for Louisiana-Lafayette, averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 30.6 minutes per contest. The 6’9″ power forward shot .524/.269/.681 from the field in 2015/16.

Webb, 22, entered the draft as a junior out of Boise State, and despite some mock drafts slotting him as a potential second-rounder, he failed to have his name called on draft night. The forward made 31 appearances this past season and notched averages of 15.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30.6 minutes per outing. His slash line was .494/.248/.684.

Lakers Acquire Jose Calderon

July 7th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 7th, 8:07pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release.

JULY 6th, 9:22pm: The Lakers and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send Jose Calderon to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s unknown what Chicago is receiving in return, though with the team looking to clear cap room, it’s not likely to be a player.

Chicago had acquired Calderon as part of the Derrick Rose trade with New York and needed to clear his cap hit in order to ink Dwyane Wade, who has reportedly agreed to a deal with the team. Also being shipped out of Chicago tonight is Mike Dunleavy. The Nets were close to acquiring Calderon before Los Angeles swooped in, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

Calderon appeared in 72 games for the Knicks this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per outing. His slash line was .459/.414/.875.

Bulls Send Mike Dunleavy To The Cavs

July 7th, 2016 at 8:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 7th, 8:04pm: The trade is official, the Cavaliers announced.

JULY 6th, 9:06pm: The Bulls will send Mike Dunleavy to the Cavs, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Cleveland will use a trade exception to bring Dunleavy to the team, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). LeBron James personally recruited Dunleavy as a free agent last summer, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune mentions on Twitter.

The Bucks were also in pursuit of the veteran small forward, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Chicago needed to shed salary after agreeing to a deal with Dwyane Wade.

The defending champs were reportedly looking for a wing player this summer and Dunleavy should be a nice addition. He shot 39.4% from downtown in 31 games for the Bulls last season.

Suns Ink Bender, Chriss, Ulis

July 7th, 2016 at 7:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns announced that 2016 draftees Dragan Bender (No. 4 overall), Marquese Chriss (No. 8 overall) and Tyler Ulis (No. 34 overall) have officially inked their rookie-scale deals with the team.

Bender spent the 2015/16 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. He averaged 5.5 points on 47.9% shooting, while connecting on 41.1% of his attempts from three-point range. Bender was the youngest player in the 2016 NBA Draft and he also became the first Croatian ever to be a top-four selection in the NBA Draft, according to the official release.

Chriss, a 6’10” power forward, averaged 13.7 points on 53.0% shooting from the field and 35.0% from beyond the arc. He also added 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over his 34 games at Washington. Chriss notched 55 blocks overall to lead all Pac-12 freshmen.

Ulis, a 5’10” point guard from Kentucky, was named the SEC Player of the Year by the coaches and media after averaging 17.3 points, 7.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35 games this past season.

Wizards To Sign Daniel Ochefu

July 7th, 2016 at 7:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards have reached an agreement on a contract with unrestricted free agent Daniel Ochefu, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It’s a three-year, minimum salary deal for Ochefu that includes a partial guarantee of $50K for next season, Pincus adds.

The forward out of Villanova went undrafted this year and has to be considered a longshot to make the opening night roster. The Wizards have already bolstered their bench this offseason, adding Ian Mahinmi, Jason Smith and Andrew Nicholson to split time backing up Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris.

In 37 appearances as a senior for the Wildcats, Ochefu notched averages of 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line for 2015/16 was .627/.000/.684.

Lakers Sign Luol Deng

July 7th, 2016 at 7:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images

JULY 7th, 7:20pm: The signing is official, the Lakers announced.

JULY 2nd, 8:10am: The Lakers continue to add veterans to their roster, with the latest addition set to be small forward Luol Deng, who has agreed to a deal with the team, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a four-year, $72MM pact for the 12-year veteran, Charania relays. Landing an annual salary of $18MM is certainly a significant improvement over the $12MM projection for Deng’s next deal that was bandied about in May.

Deng was reportedly in high-demand around the league, with the Timberwolves, Celtics, Heat, Wizards, Clippers and Jazz all said to have interest in the veteran two-way forward. Utah was expected to be “very aggressive” in its pursuit of Deng, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, but the Jazz missed out on the veteran, who likely saw the opportunity to start in Los Angeles as the more preferable situation to a reserve role in Utah.

The 31-year-old has been a consistent contributor throughout his tenure in the league. Deng made 74 appearances for Miami this past season and averaged 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.4 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers on the year were .455/.344/.755. Deng is a hustle player who plays solid defense and his veteran presence should be a welcome addition to the young Lakers locker room, especially given the reported discord of last season resulting from the D’Angelo Russell/Nick Young video incident.

Lakers Ink Jordan Clarkson To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2016 at 7:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7th, 7:17pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

JULY 1st, 2:57am: Jordan Clarkson will remain a Laker, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that Los Angeles has reached a contract agreement with the free agent guard. Per Charania, the Lakers will re-sign Clarkson to a four-year, $50MM contract.

Clarkson, 24, enjoyed a breakout season for the Lakers in 2015/16, starting 79 games for the club and averaging 15.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, to go along with a .433/.347/.804 shooting line. He received a qualifying offer from Los Angeles, making him a restricted free agent giving the team the right of first refusal, but his comments in recent weeks suggested he never intended to leave the Lakers.

“We had two tough years, but I don’t want to be a guy that is afraid and will run away from challenges,” Clarkson said in early June. “I want to be a part of the situation when it turns around because I was here when it was down. I never want to leave.”

The Lakers’ agreement with Clarkson is the second deal the team has struck during the first few hours of free agency. Earlier on Friday, Los Angeles agreed to terms on a four-year contract with center Timofey Mozgov.

Clarkson ranked 20th on Hoops Rumors’ list of this year’s top 50 free agents, while Mozgov was No. 45.

Grizzlies Ink Chandler Parsons

July 7th, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports Images

JULY 7th, 6:42pm: The signing is official, the Grizzlies announced via press release.

JULY 1st, 2:27pm: The Grizzlies and Chandler Parsons have reached an agreement on a multiyear deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The pact will cover four years and will pay Parsons the league maximum, the Vertical scribe notes. The Blazers also reportedly offered him a max deal, but instead Parsons is headed to Memphis.

Parsons becomes the first upper-tier free agent to choose Memphis in free agency, Wojnarowski notes (on Twitter). Though, the small forward’s status as a star is certainly up for debate given his statistical track record. The only other free agent signed by the franchise for above the mid-level exception prior to Parsons was Darko Milicic, adds Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). I’d wager that Memphis and its fans are certainly hoping this addition provides more of an impact given the dollar figures involved.

With Parsons in the fold, the team will turn its attention to retaining point guard Mike Conley, who is an unrestricted free agent. The addition of Parsons may be the deciding factor for Conley, with Sam Amick of USA Today noting (via Twitter) that Parsons is confident that the point guard will return to Memphis next season.

The 27-year-old reportedly eliminated the Mavs from consideration after team balked at offering him max dollars, a not unreasonable stance given Parsons’ injury history. He made 61 appearances this past season for Dallas, notching averages of 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 29.5 minutes per outing. He shot .492/.414/.684 from the field on the campaign.

In five NBA seasons, Parsons has averaged 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists. He was the No. 38 overall pick of the Rockets in the 2011 NBA draft.

Pistons To Waive Joel Anthony, Cameron Bairstow

July 7th, 2016 at 6:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In a move to clear cap space to sign center Boban Marjanovic, the Pistons intend to waive Joel Anthony and Cameron Bairstow, David Mayo of MLive reports. Neither player is owed any guaranteed money, so the team won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of the moves. Detroit is reportedly set to ink Marjanovic to an offer sheet worth $21MM over three years.

Bairstow, 25, appeared in 18 games with Chicago last season, averaging 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per outing. The two-year veteran was drafted out of the New Mexico with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. As a senior for the Lobos, he averaged a Mountain West Conference-high 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 32.9 minutes in 34 games. Bairstow holds career averages of 1.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 4.6 minutes in 36 NBA games with the Bulls. He was acquired from the Bulls in June in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who was reportedly waived by the Bulls today as well.

Anthony, 33, appeared in 19 games for the Pistons in 2015/16, averaging o.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.1 minutes per outing. He shot .600/.000/.750 from the field on the year. Anthony was set to earn $2.5MM next season.

Heat Sign Rodney McGruder

July 7th, 2016 at 5:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:10pm: The signing is official, the Heat announced via press release.

11:27am: The Heat and shooting guard Rodney McGruder are close to an agreement on a partially guaranteed three-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.

McGruder has played on Miami’s summer league team the past two seasons. He’s averaging 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists through three games in the Orlando Summer League this month.

The 24-year-old McGruder appeared in 48 games last season with the Heat’s D-League’s team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He started 44 games and averaged 15.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field and 38.4% on 3-point attempts. He gives Miami some depth at shooting guard in the wake of Dwyane Wade‘s impending departure to the Bulls.

McGruder went undrafted in 2013 after starting three seasons at Kansas State.

McGruder was a training camp signee with the Thunder that year but was waived before the season opener. He then played in Hungary before signing with the Celtics in 2014 prior to training camp. He was once again waived before the start of the season and wound up in the D League with the Maine Red Claws and Skyforce.