Amar’e Stoudemire To Play In Israel
AUGUST 1, 8:50am: Stoudemire has officially signed a two-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to Pick (Twitter link). “I’m looking forward to help the team compete for titles,” Stoudemire said.
JULY 31, 10:01am: Amar’e Stoudemire, who announced his retirement on Tuesday, has signed to play in Israel next season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Stoudemire officially ended his NBA career at age 33 by signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, but he isn’t ready to give up the game completely.
Stoudemire will play for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he partially owns along with several other investors. Pick notes that he will become the most famous former NBA star ever to play in Israel.
Stoudemire spent 14 years in the NBA, playing for the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks and Heat. He appeared in 52 games for Miami last season, starting 36, and averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in nearly 15 minutes per night.
Stoudemire’s links to Israel are based in his embrace of Judaism. When he joined the Heat in 2015, he told Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel that he considers himself “culturally Jewish” and was planning to obtain Israeli citizenship.
“When I traveled to Israel for the first time, the world took hold of that and [the media] made it a big deal, and … it just kind of blew up from there,” he said. “But I was always this way, even when I was in Phoenix or even in high school here in Florida. But it just happened to become more visible when I traveled to Israel.”
Cavaliers Release Dahntay Jones
5:19pm: Cleveland may re-sign Jones to a veteran’s minimum deal, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor.
4:30pm: The Cavaliers have released veteran swingman Dahntay Jones, tweets Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Jones’ full $1,551,659 salary for next season would have become guaranteed Monday if he had remained on the roster.
Cleveland signed the 35-year-old swingman April 13th, and he appeared in just one game before the regular season ended. Jones made it into 15 playoff contests, mostly in a mop-up role, averaging 1.1 points in 3.3 minutes per night. His most notable moment was a one-game suspension for hitting Toronto’s Bismack Biyombo in the groin.
Jones was selected by the Celtics in the first round of the 2003 draft and traded to the Grizzlies on draft night. He has also played for the Pacers, Nuggets, Mavericks, Clippers, Hawks and Kings in his 13-year NBA career.
Rockets Sign Pablo Prigioni
JULY 29th, 5:05pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 13th, 10:50pm: The Rockets and unrestricted free agent Pablo Prigioni have reached an agreement on a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It will be a two-year pact for the point guard, Wojnarowski adds, but the dollar amount of the arrangement is unknown at this time.
The 39-year-old appeared in 59 games for the Clippers this past season and averaged 2.56 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.2 assist in 13.9 minutes per outing. His slash line was .374/.295/.875.
Prigioni becomes the only other true point guard currently on Houston’s roster and will serve as a veteran backup to starter Patrick Beverley.
Spurs Sign Patricio Garino
1:34pm: The Spurs have issued a press release officially announcing the signing.
12:55pm: The Spurs have reached an agreement on a partially-guaranteed deal for Argentinian forward Patricio Garino, a source tells Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links) confirms that San Antonio is signing Garino, noting that the George Washington product is playing in the Olympics this summer alongside Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili.
Garino, 23, spent four years at George Washington, increasing his production in each season. In 2015/16, the 6’7″ forward averaged 14.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG, and 0.8 BPG while shooting 43.0% on three-point attempts.
[RELATED: Spurs’ 2016 free agent signings via our Free Agent Tracker]
The Spurs hold the NBA draft rights to many international players, and signed a couple of them already this month, locking up Livio Jean-Charles and Davis Bertans. However, Garino was an undrafted free agent, who was free to sign with any team. According to Cauchi, the newest Spur received interest from teams in Spain, Germany, and Italy as well.
Terms of Garino’s new deal aren’t known, but based on San Antonio’s cap limitations, a two-year, minimum-salary contract seems likely.
Pacers Waive Shayne Whittington
The Pacers have waived big man Shayne Whittington, the team announced today in a press release. The move allows the team to avoid paying Whittington’s $980,431 salary for the 2016/17 season, which would have become fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster beyond August 1.
[RELATED: Upcoming deadlines for non-guaranteed contracts]
Whittington, 25, has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Pacers, going back forth between Indiana and Fort Wayne, where the team’s D-League affiliate plays. During that time, the Western Michigan alum has appeared in 27 total NBA games, averaging a modest 2.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 5.5 minutes per contest.
With Whittington no longer in the mix, the Pacers have reduced their roster to 15 players, the regular-season limit. Of those 15 players, 14 have guaranteed salaries, while Glenn Robinson III also has an August 1 guarantee deadline. Assuming Robinson sticks around past Monday, he and his 14 teammates look like they’ll make up Indiana’s opening-night roster, though teams can carry up to 20 players in the offseason, so the Pacers figure to add a few more players for training camp in the coming weeks.
As for Whittington, he still has a chance to earn his full salary on his current contract if he’s claimed off waivers. However, it’s more likely that he’ll hit the open market. A non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contract with an NBA team – perhaps even Indiana – is one option, though he could also decide to explore overseas opportunities.
Bulls Re-Sign Spencer Dinwiddie
The Bulls have circled back to guard Spencer Dinwiddie, with the team announcing via press release that he has been re-signed. The length and terms of the arrangement were not relayed in the release, but odds are that it is a minimum salary deal with little or no guaranteed money included. The addition of Dinwiddie gives the Bulls a roster count of 15, which is the regular season maximum.
Chicago had waived Dinwiddie back on July 7th in an effort to clear cap room for free agent pursuits. The Bulls had acquired the 23-year-old from Detroit in exchange for power forward Cameron Bairstow in June.
Dinwiddie completed the 2015/16 campaign, his second in the NBA, with averages of 4.8 points, 1.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes over 12 contests. He was drafted by the Pistons with the No. 38 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft. Dinwiddie owns career averages of 4.4 points, 2.7 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes through 46 regular season games in the league.
Cavs Re-Sign Richard Jefferson
JULY 28, 12:46pm: The Cavaliers have officially re-signed Jefferson, the team announced today in a press release.
“RJ’s versatility on the court and leadership off it were core parts of our identity and success last year,” GM David Griffin said in a statement. “In many respects, his impact was greater as the stakes got higher. His NBA Finals performance is a testament to his dedicated, steady approach and his presence in our locker room throughout the year and postseason cannot be overstated. We’re very thankful he decided to continue his career and we know that his teammates appreciate what he brings to this team at a very deep level.”
JULY 6, 10:12pm: The contract will be worth $5MM over two seasons, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets.
9:59pm: The Cavaliers and veteran Richard Jefferson have agreed to a deal that will see the player remain in Cleveland, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It will be a two-year arrangement, according to the scribe, but the dollar amount is not yet known.
This certainly comes as a reversal for Jefferson, who told reporters that his career was done after the Cavs won the NBA Finals, adding that it was a “hell of a way to go out.” A few days later, the veteran forward admitted that his decision to retire was hardly set in stone, adding that his Cavaliers teammates were trying to talk him out of it, and that it was “still up for debate.”
Jefferson appeared in 74 games for Cleveland in 2015/16, averaging 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 17.9 minutes per contest. The small forward shot .458/.382/.667 from the field on the campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wizards Re-Sign Marcus Thornton
JULY 28: The Wizards have issued a press release announcing their deal with Thornton, which is a minimum-salary pact.
JULY 7: The Wizards have agreed to a deal with Marcus Thornton, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (Twitter link). It will be a one-year, $1.3MM arrangement that is fully guaranteed, Scotto adds.
The 29-year-old had indicated back in March that he hoped to return to Washington in 2016/17, and it appears that Thornton’s wish has been granted. The veteran will compete for minutes off the bench with Tomas Satorasnky, Kelly Oubre and Trey Burke. You can view the Wizards’ current depth chart here.
Thornton made 14 appearances for Washington last season, averaging 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.0 minutes per outing. His slash line was .393/.333/.762.
Nets Sign Egidijus Mockevicius
JULY 28: The Nets have officially signed Mockevicius to a camp deal, per RealGM.com. Mockevicius certainly won’t be assured of a regular-season roster spot, but Brooklyn currently doesn’t have a ton of depth at center, with only Justin Hamilton behind Lopez, so the rookie could receive 15-man consideration if he impresses in camp.
JUNE 26: The Nets have agreed to a partially guaranteed, one-year deal with Egidijus Mockevicius, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, it’s likely a minimum-salary arrangement.
Mockevicius played four seasons at Evansville, shooting 61.7% from the field. The 6’10″center is ranked 97th in Jonathan Givony’s T0p 100 prospects on DraftExpress.com. The big man averaged 15.6 points and 14.1 rebounds per game while sporting a 29.3 player efficiency rating during his senior season.
Brook Lopez is the only center under contract for the Nets, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Brooklyn will need to add at least one more bruiser in the frontcourt and Mockevicius’ staying power will likely be tied to who else the team can add in free agency.
No Deal Yet For Celtics, Colton Iverson?
10:19am: A source tells Jay King of MassLive.com that there is no agreement at this point between Iverson and the Celtics, despite the fact that the seven-footer wants a shot to play in the NBA.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Iverson and the C’s won’t eventually finalize a deal — Pick’s report didn’t materialize out of thin air, so it seems likely that the two sides are talking. We’ll pass along any updates as they become available.
8:51am: Three years after landing him on draft night, the Celtics have agreed to a deal with big man Colton Iverson, according to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). It’s not clear if there’s any guaranteed money included on Iverson’s deal, which will bring him to camp with the C’s.
Iverson, who played his college ball at Minnesota and Colorado State, was selected 53rd overall in the 2013 draft with a pick Boston acquired from Indiana in exchange for cash. Since then, Iverson has played overseas, spending time with various teams in Turkey and Spain. The 27-year-old played for Pinar Karsiyaka last season, averaging 11.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 33 Turkish League contests (21.2 MPG).
The timing of Iverson’s move is interesting, since the Celtics’ depth chart looks pretty crowded this season. Iverson will be the team’s 19th player under contract, not counting 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader, who remains unsigned. Of those 19 players, 16 are believed to have guaranteed contracts for the coming season, while John Holland‘s deal is non-guaranteed and Ben Bentil received a partial guarantee.
With an uphill battle to make the regular-season roster, Iverson could end up being one of the players the Celtics cut in training camp and assign to their D-League affiliate in Maine.