Celtics Ink Jaylen Brown
The Celtics have officially signed 2016 lottery pick Jaylen Brown, the team announced via press release. Brown was one of the five remaining 2016 first round picks who had yet to put pen to paper on their rookie deals.
Brown was selected with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He appeared in six games this summer for the Celtics split between the Utah and Samsung Summer Leagues in Las Vegas, averaging 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 29.0 minutes per game. Brown was named to the Samsung All-NBA Summer League Second Team in Las Vegas.
The 6’7” forward from the University of California was selected to the five-player USBWA Freshman All-America team, was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was the lone freshman this season to make the All-Pac 12 First Team, according to the release. He averaged 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 34 appearances and shot .431/.294/.654 from the field in his lone collegiate season.
Celtics, Ben Bentil Finalize Contract
6:10pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
11:46am: After signing second-round pick Demetrius Jackson, the Celtics have also finalized a deal with another second-rounder, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, who reports (via Twitter) that Ben Bentil received a three-year deal with a partial guarantee in year one. Himmelsbach first reported over the weekend that Boston and the young power forward had agreed to terms on a contract.
[RELATED: Update on unsigned 2016 draft picks]
There had been some uncertainty about whether or not Bentil would join the Celtics right away, since the team selected six players in the draft. However, first-round picks Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic will be stashed overseas, and Boston hasn’t yet committed to adding Abdel Nader to its roster. That left the door open for Bentil, Jackson, and third overall pick Jaylen Brown to join the C’s as rookies.
Of course, just because Bentil received a contract from the Celtics, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guaranteed a roster spot for the regular season. Including Tyler Zeller and Gerald Green, Boston has 14 guaranteed salaries on its books for the 2016/17 season. Jackson figures to receive a more sizable guarantee than Bentil, and the team also has John Holland on a non-guaranteed deal, so it may be an uphill battle for Bentil to crack the regular-season roster unless the Celtics make a trade or cut a player with a guaranteed contract.
Bentil, who left school after his sophomore year, averaged 21.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG during his last season at Providence. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com ranked him as this year’s 45th-best prospect, and the Celtics made him the 51st pick in last month’s draft.
Celtics Sign Tyler Zeller To Two-Year Deal
JULY 27th, 6:09pm: The signing is official, Boston announced via press release.
JULY 23rd, 10:15am: The Celtics will re-sign restricted free agent Tyler Zeller to a two-year deal, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports (on Twitter). The deal is worth $8MM per year and there is a team option for the second year, Bulpett adds. The Celtics also signed second round pick Demetrius Jackson and have agreed on a partially guaranteed deal with second round pick Ben Bentil, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
R.J. Hunter, James Young, John Holland and Bentil are in position to fight for the final roster spot, Himmelsbach tweets. It remains to be seen just how much more creative Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is going to be after he said he was looking to add another significant piece to a group that features newcomer Al Horford. If there were to be another move for Boston, it would likely come in the form of a large trade, according to recent reports. The Celtics also plan to sign unrestricted free agent Gerald Green.
Zeller spoke fondly of the Celtics after the season and was open to a return. It would not have been surprising, however, if he had signed elsewhere with the hopes of having a larger role than the one he had last season with Boston. Zeller averaged 6.1 points and 3.0 rebounds last season. He did not play in three of the six playoff games.
Celtics Sign Demetrius Jackson
JULY 27th, 6:07pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 26th, 5:40pm: The Celtics have signed 2016 draftee Demetrius Jackson to a four-year, $5.5MM deal, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (via Twitter). It’s unknown how much of that salary is guaranteed, but the fourth year is a team option, notes Scotto.
Jackson, 21, was the No. 45 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft by Boston. He joins a crowded Celtics roster that now has 18 players heading into training camp, which is three over the regular season maximum.
The point guard spent three seasons at Notre Dame, appearing in 103 games and averaging 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting .467/.381/.782 from the field.
Celtics Sign Gerald Green
JULY 27th, 6:05pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 23rd, 8:50am: The Celtics will sign unrestricted free agent Gerald Green, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports (on Twitter). It is a guaranteed one-year deal, Deveney writes in a full story. Green’s deal is for the minimum, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald tweets.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Green, whom the Celtics drafted at No. 18 in the 2005 draft. Green has played for eight franchises and spent last season with the Heat. Miami never reportedly seemed interested in re-signing Green, but the swingman did play decently. Green averaged 8.9 points per game last season.
By adding Green, the Celtics continue to seem headed toward making a trade. It’s been an interesting summer for Boston, which landed Al Horford early in free agency and it may not be over. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has already said he would still like to add one more big piece. The Celtics will have 14 guaranteed contracts on their roster, once they sign No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown, as Deveney points out.
Mavericks Sign Jameel Warney, Keith Hornsby
JULY 27th, 5:56pm: The team has officially signed Warney, the Mavs announced via press release. Dallas also signed free agent guard Keith Hornsby, as was relayed in the same announcement. Hornsby went undrafted out of LSU this year. No contract details for either player were released by the team.
JULY 26th, 2:55pm: The Mavericks have reached an agreement with undrafted free agent Jameel Warney, reports Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (via Twitter). Exact details of the deal aren’t known, but if figures to be a minimum-salary pact, and according to Scotto, it will include a partial guarantee.
Warney, 22, played his college ball at Stony Brook, averaging 20.1 PPG and 10.7 RPG in his senior season, the second straight year he averaged a double-double. The young power forward also chipped in 3.1 blocks per contest, and shot 62.9% from the field. His performance earned him a spot on Jonathan Givony’s 2016 big board at DraftExpress.com, as he squeezed in at No. 100.
The Mavs have 14 players on guaranteed contracts on their books, and have another three players with partial guarantees, so Warney will face an uphill battle as he attempts to earn a regular-season roster spot. Warney will enter camp behind Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Powell, and Quincy Acy on Dallas’ depth chart at power forward.
Mavs, Dirk Nowitzki Finalize $50MM Deal
JULY 27th, 5:21pm: The deal is official, the Mavericks announced via press release.
JULY 22nd, 1:59pm: The second year of Nowitzki’s new deal is only partially guaranteed for $5MM, Stein writes within his full story on the agreement. Still, barring something drastic happening between now and next summer, it’s hard to imagine the Mavericks waiving the future Hall-of-Famer to get out of that second year — it’s likely a precaution in the event that Nowitzki decides to retire in 2017.
1:48pm: About two and a half weeks after reaching an agreement on the framework of a two-year contract, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks have finalized that contract, and the deal will pay him more than initially expected, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). According to Stein, Nowitzki’s new pact will be worth $50MM, an increase over the $40MM figure reported earlier this month.
Because the Mavericks hold Nowitzki’s Bird rights, the team can go over the cap to re-sign him, and can give him any salary up to his maximum, which is nearly $31MM for the 2016/17 season. Dallas has been keeping Nowitzki’s $12.5MM cap hold on the books while finalizing all the other agreed-upon signings and trades from the offseason — now that the team has no more cap room left, the 38-year-old’s deal can be completed.
Increasing Nowitzki’s salary by an extra $5MM per year shouldn’t have an impact on the team’s ability to bring in any other players. The pay bump also ensures that Dirk’s latest deal is worth slightly more than the final two-year, $48.5MM contract Kobe Bryant signed with the Lakers.
Even at $20MM annually, Nowitzki’s new deal would have represented a significant increase in salary on his last contract, which was worth $25MM over three years. At $50MM over two years, Nowitzki’s new annual average salary matches the overall value of that three-year pact.
The longtime Maverick opted out of the final year of that previous deal last month, choosing instead to work out a new, multiyear contract with Dallas. Although there were rumblings that the Warriors – and perhaps other teams – intended to reach out to Nowitzki, the Mavs were always the strong favorites to re-sign him.
Despite turning 38 in June, Nowitzki has continued to be extremely productive for the Mavericks, even as the team has slipped from title contention in recent years. In 2015/16, the German big man averaged 18.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.7 3PG. Nowitzki’s field-goal percentage did slip to .448, his worst mark since his rookie season, but he shot a respectable 36.8% on three-pointers and continued to handle a significant offensive load for the franchise.
Nowitzki’s new two-year contract was reportedly expected to include a player option in year two, as of earlier this month. There’s no indication yet that has changed, now that the two sides have formally hammered out the details.
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Blazers Sign C.J. McCollum To Extension
JULY 27: The Blazers have officially signed McCollum to his extension, the team announced today in a press release.
“I’m ecstatic to be able to extend my career in Portland and grateful for the trust and the opportunity the organization has provided for me,” McCollum said in a statement. “Since I arrived in Oregon I’ve considered it home and look forward to building something special, not only on the court, but in the community as well.”
JULY 25: The Trail Blazers and C.J. McCollum have reached an agreement on a maximum-salary contract extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, the deal will add four years to McCollum’s current contract, locking him up through the 2020/21 season. Based on current cap projections, the deal would be worth about $106MM.
The 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft, McCollum became eligible for a contract extension for the first time this month, after playing the first three seasons of his rookie contract. He’s set to earn a modest $3.22MM salary in 2016/17 before getting bumped up to the max the following year. If he hadn’t agreed to an extension with Portland, McCollum would have been eligible for restricted free agency next summer.
After starting just three of 100 games in his first two seasons as a pro, McCollum became a full-time starter in 2015/16. He responded by increasing his scoring average from 6.8 PPG to 20.8 PPG, and chipped in 4.3 APG and 1.2 SPG as well. Although McCollum’s huge increase in production was largely due to a similar increase in playing time, he was also a more efficient contributor in his third season, establishing new career highs in FG% (.448), 3PT% (.417), and FT% (.827).
Because Portland inked Damian Lillard to a five-year contract extension last year, making him the team’s “designated player,” McCollum was limited to a four-year extension. Wojnarowski adds that the agreement for the team’s starting two guard won’t include any options or a trade kicker.
While the exact value of McCollum’s contract won’t be known until the NBA officially sets the 2017/18 salary cap next July, the league currently projects a $102MM cap, which would result in a starting salary of about $24MM on McCollum’s new deal. The Blazers already have nearly $62MM committed to Lillard, Allen Crabbe, and Evan Turner for the ’17/18 campaign — McCollum’s deal figures to bring that total to about $86MM.
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Hornets Sign Treveon Graham
The Hornets have signed unrestricted free agent Treveon Graham, the team announced. The length and terms of the arrangement were not relayed, though it is most likely a minimum salary deal with little or no guaranteed money.
“We were impressed by Treveon’s play last season in the D-League and followed him closely during his four-year career at VCU,” said GM Rich Cho. “We are excited to add someone with Treveon’s ability on both sides of the ball to our training camp roster.”
Graham appeared in 46 games for the Idaho Stampede in the NBA D-League during the 2015/16 season, averaging 15.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.4 minutes per contest. The swingman participated in summer league ball this offseason with the Jazz in Las Vegas and with the Magic in Orlando, earning 2016 All-Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League honors along the way.
Blazers To Re-Sign Maurice Harkless
Restricted free agent Maurice Harkless has agreed to a four-year, $40MM deal to re-sign with the Trail Blazers, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. The pact will be fully guaranteed with no options and it could reach $42MM with incentives, Charania adds.
Several teams were reportedly interested in Harkless early in the free agent process, including the Wizards, Pistons, Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz. But instead he’ll return to Portland where he emerged as a valuable rotation player on an up-and-coming Blazers team after being acquired from the Magic via trade last summer.
Harkless appeared in 78 games for Portland last season, including 14 tip-offs as a starter. He averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per outing, while shooting .474/.279/.622 from the field.
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