Pelicans Sign Second-Rounder Cheick Diallo
JULY 22: The Pelicans have made it official with Diallo, announcing the signing today in a press release.
JULY 20: The Pelicans have struck a deal with second-round pick Cheick Diallo, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement on a three-year contract. Terms of the agreement aren’t yet known, but other players who were drafted just before or just after Diallo last month have received at least two fully guaranteed years, along with a starting salary worth more than the minimum.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
Diallo, 19, was projected as a late first-round pick by several draft experts and was ranked as the year’s 24th-best prospect by both ESPN’s Chad Ford and DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony. The 6’9″ big man didn’t see much action during his only year at Kansas, averaging just 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 7.5 minutes per contest, but is viewed as having significant upside, particularly as a defender.
On draft night, the Pelicans agreed to a deal with the Clippers, sending the 39th and 40th overall picks to Los Angeles in order to move up to No. 33 to snatch Diallo.
The Pelicans also recently agreed to terms with Terrence Jones, and are said to be finalizing a deal with Alonzo Gee. New Orleans is the only team in the NBA that has to formally complete any of the contracts they’ve agreed to this month, but the mini-flurry of news related to the team today suggests that the Pelicans are likely close to making things official with those players.
Pelicans Re-Sign Alonzo Gee
JULY 22: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Gee, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 21: The Pelicans and Alonzo Gee have agreed on a one-year deal worth $1.4MM, Michael Scotto of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter). Shams Charania of The Vertical recently reported that the two sides were close to striking an agreement.
Gee opted out of his previous contract with the Pelicans earlier this month. He would have earned about $1.379MM in 2016/17 if he had exercised his option, so this is only a slight increase. Still, judging by the amount of money tossed around this summer, it seemed like a logical decision for Gee.
Gee, 29, made 38 starts and appeared in 73 games for New Orleans last season. He averaged only 4.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG. Gee is a solid defender and a decent role player, however. His season ended after he suffered a ruptured right quadriceps muscle.
International Notes: Beaubois, Hernangomez, Harvey
After turning down the Mavericks‘ offer to sign a partially-guaranteed contract and compete in training camp for a regular-season roster spot, Rodrigue Beaubois has made it official with Baskonia, as Orazio Cauchi of Sportando details. Beaubois, a former NBA first-round pick who spent several seasons in Dallas, has inked a two-year deal with the Spanish team and will remain overseas rather than returning stateside.
Here are a few more international updates on players with NBA ties:
- Spanish forward Juan Hernangomez, who was selected 15th overall last month by the Nuggets, said prior to the draft that he’d love to come to the NBA immediately, and it seems he might get his wish. Nothing is official yet, but over at Sportando, Cauchi passes along a report from Gigantes del Basket indicating that Hernangomez is expected to sign with Denver. The Nuggets have reportedly reached agreements with their other first-round picks, Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley, but they’ve yet to formally confirm those signings — the team may be waiting for resolution with Hernangomez to make an official announcement.
- Tyler Harvey, a 2015 second-rounder whose NBA rights are held by the Magic, announced on Instagram that he has signed with Italian team Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino for the upcoming season. Harvey spent last season playing for the Erie BayHawks, Orlando’s D-League affiliate, but it seems the Magic won’t be able to keep as close an eye on the 23-year-old guard in 2016/17.
- Center Cady Lalanne is joining Chinese team Zhejiang Banks, sources tell international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Lalanne, a second-round pick in 2015, is one of many players whose draft rights are held by the Spurs.
- Kings draft-and-stash prospect Alex Oriakhi, a second-round pick in 2013, has signed a deal with Turkey’s Socar Petkim, per Sportando. It will be the eighth team the well-traveled big man has spent time with since he was drafted out of Missouri three years ago.
Wizards Sign Tomas Satoransky
JULY 21: The Wizards have officially signed Satoransky, the team announced today. “We are very pleased to be able to bring Tomas to the organization after monitoring his development overseas for the last several years,” team president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “He will provide energy and athleticism at both guard positions, giving us more depth and versatility in the backcourt.”
JULY 3: The Wizards and Tomas Satoransky, a 6-foot-7 guard and draft-and-stash prospect from Europe, have agreed to a deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Satoransky was the 32nd pick of the 2012 draft. The deal is for three years and $9MM, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
The deal has no options and is a solid value for the Wizards, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post tweets. This is another bench piece for the Wizards, who have added enter Ian Mahinmi, power forward Andrew Nicholson and Trey Burke all in the last 24 hours.
The addition of Satoransky would give Washington another young player to develop behind backcourt mainstays John Wall and Bradley Beal. Satoransky averaged 9.5 points in 24.0 minutes per game with 38.8% 3-point shooting for his Spanish team this past season, and the year before he shot 43.5% from behind the arc.
Mavs Sign Kyle Collinsworth
2:49pm: The deal is official, the Mavs announced via press release.
8:46am: The Mavs signed undrafted rookie Kyle Collinsworth to a two-year deal, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Collinsworth confirmed the news via Twitter.
It is unclear what the exact figures are, but it’s a partially guaranteed deal and Collinsworth has secured a training camp invite with a sum of guaranteed money, Jones relays. Collinsworth landed the contract after he shined in summer league play with Dallas.
Collinsworth set an NCAA record of 12 triple-doubles over the course of his career at BYU. His versatility helped him secure the contract and Dallas is a good fit because the Mavs are particularly thin at the wing spots with space on their roster, Jones writes. Collinsworth averaged 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game last year for BYU.
Grizzlies, D.J. Stephens Agree To Deal
The Grizzlies and swingman D.J. Stephens have agreed on a partially guaranteed two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). Stephens played for the Grizzlies’ summer league team.
The 25-year-old Stephens has three games of NBA experience with Milwaukee in 2014. The Cavs signed Stephens to a training camp deal last September, but then waived him shortly before the season started. In the previous fall, Stephens inked a non-guaranteed minimum-salary camp deal with the Pelicans and was among the team’s final cuts about a week before Halloween in 2014.
Stephens went undrafted out of the University of Memphis in 2013, despite a 46-inch vertical leap. He never averaged double figures in points during his four years at Memphis, but he used his athleticism on the other end of the floor, winning the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year award in his senior season. He played overseas after his college career.
Pelicans Sign Langston Galloway
JULY 21st: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 6th, 10:24pm: The pact will pay Galloway $5MM per season, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
4:35pm: Galloway received a two-year deal from New Orleans, with a player option for the second season, according to Scotto (Twitter link).
3:46pm: Point guard Langston Galloway will sign with the Pelicans, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops. Contract details are still being finalized, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Galloway became an unrestricted free agent on Monday when the Knicks rescinded their $2.725MM qualifying offer. Galloway became expendable when New York reached a one-year, $5MM deal with free agent guard Brandon Jennings. Begley notes that New York held Early Bird Rights on Galloway and could have offered up to $6.1MM in the first year of a new deal (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old was a regular part of the Knicks’ rotation this season, his second in the NBA. Galloway appeared in all 82 games, averaging 7.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.8 minutes while shooting 39.3% from the field and 34.4% from 3-point range.
He will help offset the loss of Eric Gordon, who signed Saturday with the Rockets. Galloway joins Solomon Hill and E’Twaun Moore as free agent acquisitions for New Orleans this offseason.
Nuggets Re-Sign Mike Miller
JULY 21st: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 18th: The Nuggets will re-sign Mike Miller to a two-year deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Miller will receive more than $5MM over the length of the deal, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Miller played sparingly for the Nuggets last season, seeing 7.9 minutes per game over 47 contests. He shot just 35.5% from behind the arc, down from his career mark of 40.7%.
The Nuggets entered the day with 17 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Juan Hernangomez and Petr Cornelie are included on that list, although both are expected to play overseas next season. Miller will likely make the team and play sparingly again, while serving as a veteran mentor for the franchise’s young talent.
Guerschon Yabusele To Play In China
Guerschon Yabusele, whom the Celtics drafted 16th overall last month, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports. Boston still holds Yabusele’s NBA rights, as Himmelsbach points out.
There have been recent reports suggesting that Yabusele playing overseas was likely, so this news is not entirely surprising. What’s more, the French forward likely needs more seasoning before playing in the league. He is only 20 and he brings versatility and a lot of potential.
At 6’8″ and 240 pounds, Yabusele likely does not lack strength, but there’s been some concern that he’s too short. He has, however, worked to improve his jumper and possesses above-average length and athleticism. He averaged 8.2 points and 6 rebounds in eight summer league games for Boston this year, per Himmelsbach.
Pelicans Ink Solomon Hill To Four-Year Deal
JULY 21st: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 1st: The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with Solomon Hill, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The pact will be for $48MM over four seasons, reports Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter links). Kushner adds that the deal will be guaranteed and it will contain incentives. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets that the deal will be for $52MM over four seasons, so perhaps that figure represents his maximum earnings.
GM Dell Demps was very high on the combo forward and had been targeting him since the beginning of free agency, Kushner adds. Sources tell Kushner that the team feels Hill is a high-IQ, team player and a good passer, comparing the forward to DeMarre Carroll (Twitter link). New Orleans wants Hill to be the team’s new “two-way” small forward, Stein tweets.
Hill was set to make roughly $2.3MM next season for the Pacers, but Indiana decided not to exercise its team option for the final year of his rookie deal. Hill had an up-and-down career for the Pacers before breaking out in the playoffs this past year.