Cavaliers To Re-Sign LeBron James
4:40pm: The third year is a player option, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
4:26pm: The last major free agent has finally come off the board, with the Cavaliers and LeBron James reaching an agreement on a new deal, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). According to the scribe it will be a three-year, $100MM arrangement. There is no indication yet if the deal includes any options, be it player or team.
The agreement will see James become the highest paid player in the league for the first time in his career, with the veteran set to earn approximately $31MM this coming season, Windhorst notes. The deal will pay him in excess of $33MM in 2017/18, which would be the highest single-season contract in league history, per the ESPN scribe.
There was little intrigue this offseason regarding James making his return to Cleveland, despite the superstar remaining unsigned until now. With the Cavs securing the NBA title this past season, it was merely a matter of when James would sign, not if.
James appeared in 76 games this past campaign, averaging 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 35.6 minutes per outing while shooting .520/.309/.731 from the field. The 31-year-old was equally impressive in the postseason, logging 26.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 7.6 APG in 21 contests.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pelicans To Ink Sacre To Training Camp Pact
The Pelicans have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent center Robert Sacre, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The scribe classifies it as a training camp deal, meaning the arrangement is likely a minimum salary one that includes little or no guaranteed money.
Sacre, who played the last four seasons with the Lakers, had also drawn interest from the Timberwolves and Rockets, according to a report by Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
The 27-year-old appeared in 25 games for Los Angeles during the 2015/16 campaign, averaging 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per outing. Sacre’s shooting line on the season was .413/.000/.658.
Raptors Sign Drew Crawford, Yanick Moreira
After playing for the Raptors last month in Summer League action, guard Drew Crawford and center Yanick Moreira will join the team in training camp this fall. The Raptors announced today (via Twitter) that they have signed both Crawford and Moreira to contracts.
Crawford and Moreira each spent last season overseas, with Crawford playing for Bnei Hertzeliyya in Israel, while Moreira split time between UCAM Murcia (Spain) and Rouen (France). Crawford has also spent some time in the D-League, playing for the Erie BayHawks in 2014/15 after playing his college ball at Northwestern. Moreira spent two seasons at SMU before going undrafted last year.
Neither Crawford nor Moreira will head into camp with great odds of earning a regular-season roster spot for the Raptors. The club already has 14 players with guaranteed contracts, which ostensibly just leaves one opening available.
[RELATED: Toronto Raptors’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
Besides Crawford and Moreira, Fred VanVleet and Jarrod Uthoff will also be competing for that open roster spot, and the Raptors – who still have two openings on their offseason roster – may bring in a couple more players to join that competition. With Delon Wright sidelined for several months as he recovers from shoulder surgery, VanVleet may be the frontrunner for that 15th spot.
Camp invitees who don’t make the Raptors’ regular-season roster could ultimately end up playing for Toronto’s D-League affiliate.
Devyn Marble To Play In Greece
It has been an eventful summer so far for Devyn Marble, who has been involved in a handful transactions in the NBA and now overseas. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link), Marble’s agent has confirmed that his client will head to Greece to join Aris Thessaloniki for the coming season.
A second-round pick in 2014, Marble was traded from the Nuggets to Orlando shortly after the ’14 draft. He spent two years with the Magic, but appeared in just 44 games, including 28 this past season. The former Iowa Hawkeye was sent to the Clippers last month in a deal for C.J. Wilcox, just before his 2016/17 salary became guaranteed. The Clips subsequently waived him, making him a free agent.
By signing with Aris Thessaloniki, Marble will join a team that last season featured American players such as former Marquette guard Jerel McNeal and former Florida State forward Okaro White. White has since signed with the Heat on a partially guaranteed contraact.
Thunder, Chris Wright Agree To Deal
The Thunder are poised to add another player to their offseason roster, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has agreed to a partially-guaranteed deal with forward Chris Wright. Wright played his college ball at Dayton and should not be confused with the former Mavericks point guard with the same name.
[RELATED: Thunder sign Russell Westbrook to extension]
Wright, who turns 28 next month, previously appeared in a total of 32 NBA games for the Warriors and Bucks, but has spent most of his time in recent years overseas. Most recently, Wright appeared in 34 Israeli League games last season for Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion, averaging 12.2 PPG and 5.1 RPG while shooting 61.5% from the floor and playing solid defense.
Wright figures to have an opportunity to compete for a regular-season roster spot in Oklahoma City this fall. It’s not clear how big his guarantee is or what his contract will look like, but a minimum-salary pact appears likely, even though the club still has some cap room available.
The Thunder figure to make a handful of roster announcements soon, with Wright’s signing among them. The team has yet to formally complete a previously-reported deal with Ronnie Price, and also hasn’t signed first-round pick Domanatas Sabonis.
Shane Larkin To Play In Spain
Free agent guard Shane Larkin will join former teammate Andrea Bargnani in Spain next season. According to an announcement from Spanish team Laboral Kutxa Baskonia, Larkin has reached an agreement to play for the club next season. Bargnani, who played with Larkin for the Nets and Knicks, signed a deal with Baskonia last month.
A first-round pick out of Miami in 2013, Larkin only lasted one season with his original team, the Mavericks, before heading to New York for one year and then playing last season in Brooklyn. In 202 career NBA games, Larkin, who will turn 24 in October, has averaged 5.8 PPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.1 SPG, with a shooting line of .430/.328/.762.
Back in April, before he decided not to exercise his $1.5MM player option with the Nets, Larkin told reporters that he doesn’t want to “play a 10-year career with eight different teams,” suggesting he was seeking a multyear deal.
“I just turned 23, so I’m still young,” Larkin said. “Being able to get with a team on a two-year deal or three-year deal saying, ‘This is what we want you to be. We want you to spark our offense, push the tempo, be this guy and this is what we feel you can do for the team,’ then that’s perfect. Whether I’m a starter or whatever, it’s cool either way.”
It’s not yet clear whether Larkin will have more than a one-year stay in Spain, or whether he’ll end up joining his fifth team in five years after one season with Baskonia. We also don’t yet know if Larkin was able to match the $1.5MM salary he would have earned if he hadn’t opted out of his Brooklyn contract. His new deal was presumably negotiated by new agent Jim Tanner of Tandem Sports & Entertainment, who was hired by Larkin last month.
Nuggets Sign Juan Hernangomez
AUGUST 9th: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 29th: The Nuggets have come to terms on a rookie scale deal with Juan Hernangomez, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). The 20-year-old was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Hernangomez’s arrangement with Denver is a standard rookie contract that will see him earn $1,987,440 this season, $2,076,840 in 2017/18, $2,166,360 in 2018/19 and $3,321,030 the final season, with the last two years being team options, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes.
The 6’9″ forward appeared in five games for Denver’s squad in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 10.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per outing. Hernangomez spent the 2015/16 campaign with the Spanish club Movistar Estudiantes, making 34 appearances and notching averages of 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.8 steals while shooting .455/.358/.717.
Nuggets Sign First-Rounder Jamal Murray
AUGUST 9th: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 19th: The Nuggets have reached an agreement with No. 7 overall pick Jamal Murray, as Malika Andrews of The Denver Post relays. Murray will make slightly under $6.6MM over the first two seasons, per the rookie scale, as our breakdown of salaries for 2016 first-rounder shows. The contract includes a team option on year three and four.
Murray may be the best shooter in his draft class, as I mentioned in his Prospect Profile. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com had the combo guard ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the draft.
The 19-year-old averaged 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists during his lone season at Kentucky. He shot 40.8% from behind the arc and 50.2% from the field overall.
Nuggets Ink Malik Beasley
AUGUST 9th: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 12th: The Nuggets and No. 19 overall pick Malik Beasley have agreed to a deal, Malika Andrews of The Denver Post reports. “Thankful to be a part of that less than 1 percent,” Beasley posted on his official Twitter account. “This is only the beginning too. GrindTime!!”
Beasley will earn the rookie scale, which is approximately $2.77MM over his first two seasons and Denver will hold team options on the third and fourth years, Andrews notes. Jamal Murray, the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to sign his rookie-scale contract soon, the scribe adds.
The 19-year-old appeared in 34 games for Florida State this past season, averaging 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.8 minutes per night. His shooting line on the year was .471/.387/.812.
Eastern Notes: Saric, Ibaka, Heat, Wizards
- Serge Ibaka gives the Magic a much better defensive option against Eastern Conference counterparts LeBron James, Al Horford, Chris Bosh and Paul Millsap, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel breaks down in his latest column. Ibaka, who was acquired from the Thunder in a draft-night deal, provides the club with its first legitimate power forward in 15 years, Schmitz declares.
- The Heat’s development and scouting staff will play an integral part in getting the franchise back to the status of serious contender, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel opines. The coaching staff needs to develop the skills of Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson, while the scouting staff must maximize next year’s first-round pick, Winderman continues. That will help attract free agents to South Beach because the Heat can no longer rely on quick fixes, Winderman adds.
- Center Micheal Eric, who played on the Wizards’ Las Vegas summer league team, has signed with Spanish Club Bilbao, league sources informed J. Michael of CSNmidatlantic.com. Eric had the option of joining Washington for training camp but decided to head overseas when the club wouldn’t offer a partial guarantee, Michael adds. The 28-year-old Eric averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in five summer league outings.