Amar’e Stoudemire Announces Retirement
Amar’e Stoudemire has decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement today after signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
“I want to thank Mr. Dolan, Phil [Jackson] and Steve [Mills] for signing me so that I can officially retire as a New York Knick,” Stoudemire said in a statement. “I came to New York in 2010 to help revitalize this franchise and we did just that. Carmelo [Anthony], Phil and Steve have continued this quest, and with this year’s acquisitions, the team looks playoff-bound once again. Although my career has taken me to other places around the country, my heart has always remained in the Big Apple. Once a Knick, Always a Knick.”
The 33-year-old was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, entering the league fresh out of high school. He appeared in 846 regular season games in his career, averaging 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per contest and shooting .537/.236/.761 from the field. Stoudemire likely expected to play more than he did with Miami in 2015/16, appearing in just 52 games and logging 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per outing on the campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wizards Sign Bradley Beal To Five-Year Deal
JULY 26, 2:15pm: The Wizards have finally made it official with Beal after using up the rest of their cap room, announcing today that they’ve re-signed their standout guard.
“Bradley has proven himself as one of the top young shooting guards in the league, and we feel that he has the potential to rise to an elite level as he enters the prime of his career as one of the cornerstones of our team,” president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “He is an outstanding member of the community and a great example of the type of player and person we want to represent our franchise.”
JULY 1, 9:46am: The two sides have agreed to a five-year, maximum salary contract, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
JUNE 30, 11:24pm: The Wizards are close to reaching the first major free agent agreement of 2016, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who reports that Washington is nearing a five-year, maximum-salary deal for Bradley Beal (Twitter link).
While The Vertical pegs the value of the five-year contract at $128MM, the exact total won’t be known until the NBA announces the salary cap amount for 2016/17, which won’t happen until next week. Based on a $94MM salary cap, a five-year max deal for Beal would be worth about $126.5MM. Either way, it would be a huge payday for the former third overall pick.
Beal, who turned 23 on Tuesday, is a talented scorer when healthy, averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game on 44.9% shooting in 2015/16. However, he also established a new career low in games played this past season, appearing in just 55 contests. The former third overall pick has never played more than 73 games in a season, due to injuries.
Still, the Wizards’ max offer to Beal comes as no surprise, as a report earlier in the offseason indicated the team would put such an offer on the table when free agency began. Beal’s cap hold is only worth about $14MM, so Washington figures to hold off on finalizing his new contract — if the team finds other uses for its cap room, it can make those moves first, then go over the cap to lock up Beal.
Heat Sign Dion Waiters
JULY 26, 12:27pm: The Heat have officially signed Waiters, the team confirmed today in a press release.
“Dion is not a Room Exception player,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He wanted to play for the Miami HEAT and chose to forgo other more lucrative financial opportunities to be a part of our championship organization. We are very honored that he made the commitment to come to South Florida and sign with us. Dion is young, athletic and explosive, which fits in with our roster. He will add a great dimension for us at the off-guard spot. I really like the depth and versatility that we now have in our perimeter positions. Welcome aboard Dion!”
JULY 25, 3:48pm: Waiters received a two-year deal worth nearly $6MM, sources told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The club did use its room exception and Waiters has a player option on the second year, Wojnarowski adds.
2:13pm: The Heat have reached an agreement on a new contract with free agent shooting guard Dion Waiters, according to Jon Krawczynski and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The AP duo reports that Waiters will sign a one-year deal with Miami worth the club’s $2.898MM room exception.
Given the kind of money we’ve seen thrown around so far this month, a one-year, $2.898MM deal for Waiters looks incredibly team-friendly. At the start of free agency, the Thunder issued a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589 to Waiters, making him a restricted free agent. Although Oklahoma City later rescinded that offer, allowing the 24-year-old to hit the open market, Waiters could have signed that one-year QO at any time while it was still on the table. Instead, he’ll earn less than half that amount with Miami.
Heat president Pat Riley indicated at a recent press conference that his team didn’t intend to use its room exception this summer, preferring to save it for a potential mid-season acquisition. Of course, Riley likely didn’t anticipate a player of Waiters’ caliber being willing to sign for such a modest one-year deal.
A former fourth overall pick, Waiters hasn’t developed into a star, but he has been a steady scorer off the bench over the course of his four NBA seasons. For his career, he has averaged 12.8 PPG, with a shooting line of .411/.334/.707. Last season, he appeared in 78 games (15 starts) for Oklahoma City, averaging a career-low 9.8 points for the Northwest division champs.
Although the Heat suffered a major blow when Dwyane Wade decided to sign with the Bulls rather than returning to Miami, the team has been active as it attempts to replace Wade’s production and fill the holes on its roster. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, the Heat have signed or re-signed veteran free agents Wayne Ellington, Tyler Johnson, James Johnson, Willie Reed, Derrick Williams, and Hassan Whiteside, in addition to Waiters.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cavs, Tyronn Lue Agree To Five-Year Extension
JULY 26: The Cavaliers have officially issued a press release announcing Lue’s new deal.
“Ty took over our team under very trying circumstances and his calm, confident approach was invaluable as we found our way to success,” GM David Griffin said in a statement. “His vision, leadership and tactical acumen were fundamental to us reaching our goals. We couldn’t be happier to have Ty continue to lead our group into the future.”
JULY 25: Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has agreed to a five-year, $35MM extension, league sources informed Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Lue was named head coach after David Blatt was fired on January 22nd. Cleveland went 27-14 the rest of the regular season under Lue’s guidance, then made history by winning its first championship. Lue was instrumental in keeping the team focused after it trailed the Warriors 3-1 in the Finals, then made its historic comeback to claim the title.
Lue had been Blatt’s associate head coach since the summer of 2014, when Blatt got the head job over him.
Lue became the league’s top-paid assistant at that time with a four-year deal worth $6.5MM. After he was named head coach, the Cavs and Lue’s representatives came to a verbal agreement on a renegotiated deal that would have paid him $3MM prorated for last season and $3MM this season, with a team option for a third year at $3.5MM with a buyout.
However, Lue reportedly didn’t sign that deal and there were no performance standards or stipulations that would have kept the verbal agreement valid after the season.
Pistons Sign Ray McCallum
JULY 26: The Pistons have officially signed McCallum, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 25: The Pistons have reached an agreement with free agent guard Ray McCallum, reports Michael Scotto of The Associated Press. According to Scotto (via Twitter), McCallum will ink a one-year, minimum-salary deal with Detroit.
[RELATED: Pistons’ 2016 free agent signings, via our Free Agent Tracker]
For McCallum, joining the Pistons will represent a homecoming of sorts. Although he was born in Wisconsin, the former second-round pick attended high school in Detroit, and played his college ball at the University of Detroit Mercy. Since entering the NBA in 2013, McCallum has spent time with the Kings, Spurs, and Grizzlies.
Last season, McCallum appeared in 31 games for the Spurs before being waived and joining the Grizzlies for 10 games down the stretch. The 25-year-old rarely saw any action in San Antonio, but averaged 21.9 minutes per game in his 10 contests with Memphis, which would have been a career high. In those games, McCallum averaged 6.9 PPG and 2.7 APG, and shot 38.5% on three-pointers.
The Pistons, who used their cap room this month and then went over the cap to lock up Andre Drummond, still have their $2.9MM room exception available. However, McCallum will be signed using the minimum salary exception.
Hawks Sign Matt Costello
JULY 26: The Hawks have issued a press release formally confirming their deal with Costello.
JULY 18: According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), Costello got a two-year, minimum-salary deal from the Hawks. The pact includes a $50K guarantee in year one.
JUNE 24: The Hawks have agreed to a deal with Matt Costello, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The big man will play on Atlanta’s Summer League team.
Costello averaged 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds during his senior season at Michigan State. The Michigan native ranked 72nd among all seniors, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
Costello wasn’t expected to be drafted on Thursday night and he probably faces long odds of making the Hawks’ regular season roster. Entering the day, Atlanta had 12 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource shows.
And-Ones: Kaun, Varejao, Hornets, Barnes
Center Sasha Kaun has retired after playing one season with the Cavaliers, according to Gary Bedore of KUSports.com. The 31-year-old Kaun played sparingly with Cleveland, appearing in 25 games. He was traded to the Sixers earlier this month, then waived. He played seven seasons with CSKA Moscow after completing his college career at Kansas. “I was very blessed and fortunate to play as long as I have,” he told the Journal-World from Colorado.
In other news around the league:
- Warriors reserve center Anderson Varejao has returned to the U.S. from Brazil to undergo tests on his back, according to Brazil’s Olympic website. The report, which was later posted by the San Jose Mercury News, puts Varejao’s Olympic participation in doubt and clouds his availability for training camp. Varejao just re-signed with the Warriors last week after playing spot minutes the second half of last season and during the playoffs.
- Noel Gillespie has been named head coach of the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ new D-League affiliate, the team announced on its website. Gillespie spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Nuggets. Before that, he was on the Suns’ staff for 10 seasons.
- The Mavericks probably overpaid to obtain Harrison Barnes as a restricted free agent, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko. Dallas hopes that Barnes blossoms now that he’ll be a bigger part of its offense than he was with the Warriors, but he’s been a middle-of-the-road player and there’s no guarantee he’ll get much better, Sefko adds. Barnes was lured away with a four-year, $94MM offer sheet that Golden State couldn’t match.
- Yogi Ferrell’s minimum contract with the Nets has a $100K guarantee, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The former Indiana University point guard agreed to a one-year deal with Brooklyn last week after going undrafted.
Blazers Agree To Deal With Tim Quarterman
The Trail Blazers have signed guard Tim Quarterman to a partially guaranteed two-year deal, according to the team’s website. The story was first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The 6’6” Quarterman went undrafted after he declared following his junior season at LSU. He posted averages of 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.97 steals in 33 games last season with the Tigers. Quarterman shot 31% on 3-point attempts and 66% from the free throw line during his three seasons at LSU, so he’ll have to improve his shooting to stick.
The opportunity is there for Quarterman to earn a roster spot. Portland has Damian Lillard and Shabazz Napier at point guard and C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe at shooting guard. Swingman Evan Turner could also see backcourt minutes.
Quarterman made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a host of teams. Quarterman had trouble blending with No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons in his final season at LSU, as his points and assists dipped while he bounced in and out of the lineup. He did improve his 3-point shooting to 34.3%.
Hornets Sign Mike Tobey
The Hornets have added an undrafted free agent to their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed center Mike Tobey to an NBA contract. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though a minimum-salary deal seems likely.
Tobey, a 7’1″ center out of Virginia, averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 15.7 minutes per contest during his senior year. The 21-year-old joined the Hornets for Summer League action in Orlando, and recorded 10.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in his five appearances with the squad.
[RELATED: Hornets’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
The Hornets entered the day with only 14 players on their offseason roster, so the team figures to add a few more bodies before training camp begins in the fall. Depending on the terms of his new contract, Tobey could have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot, though Charlotte already has some depth at the center position, with Cody Zeller, Roy Hibbert, and Spencer Hawes under contract.
Sixers Sign Brandon Paul
JULY 25: The Sixers have issued a press release formally announcing the signing of Paul.
JULY 18: The Sixers and Brandon Paul have reached an agreement on a partially guaranteed deal, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The 6’4″ shooting guard played for Philadelphia’s Summer League team this offseason, where he averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 steals in 19.6 minutes per game.
The 25-year-old didn’t shoot the ball well during four years at the University of Illinois, making slightly less than 32.5% of his shots from behind the arc. However, he played for Liga ACB last season and made improvements in that area, making 35.3% of his attempts.
The Sixers had 19 players on the roster entering the day, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Paul will face stiff competition for roster spot and once the season begins, it’s more likely he will be suiting up for the 87ers, Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate.