Bulls Sign Dwyane Wade
JULY 15, 8:56pm: The Bulls have issued a press release officially announcing their deal with Wade.
“We are thrilled that Dwyane has decided to come to Chicago,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in a statement. “It’s not often you get the opportunity to add a three-time champion and 12-time All Star to your roster. We are delighted he has decided to become a Bull, as he provides a great veteran perspective on the court and in the locker room. He will be a tremendous fit with our team.”
JULY 6, 9:50pm: The deal includes a player option for the second year, Wojnarowski tweets.
8:30pm: Dwyane Wade has informed the Bulls that he plans to sign with the team, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Wade’s deal will be for $47MM over two seasons. Chicago was the only place Wade could see himself playing outside of Miami, as people close to the shooting guard told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is pending, as Chicago will need to clear cap space to accommodate a significant contract for the 34-year-old.
The Bulls are working to trade Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy in an attempt to clear space. The team has a trade in place for Calderon, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports via Twitter that the Nets could be a potential trade partner. The Bulls remain confident that they will be able to move Dunleavy before the night is over, Johnson adds on Twitter.
Wade felt the team no longer appreciated him and that, coupled with bitterness over contract talks, led to his departure, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Heat were unwilling to offer a third year, which also factored into Wade not re-signing. Wade is a Chicago native who grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, as Wojnarowski writes.
The Bulls believe having Wade on the roster will not only offer a more competitive team during the 2016/17 season, but it will also help them land a marquee free agent next summer, Johnson tweets. Johnson tweeted earlier in the day that Wade could choose the Bulls without a face-to-face meeting since he met with the team twice back in 2010.
The Heat selected Wade with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 draft. He led the team to three NBA titles and five Eastern Conference crowns. The 12-time All-Star will head to Chicago and join Jimmy Butler and newly signed point guard Rajon Rondo in the backcourt.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Sign Randy Foye
7:42pm: Foye’s one-year deal is worth $2.5MM, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein.
JULY 15, 1:07pm: The signing is official, the Nets announced via press release.
JULY 14, 12:05pm: After missing out on their top targets last week, the Nets continue to move on to alternate options in free agency. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), the team has reached an agreement on a one-year deal with shooting guard Randy Foye.
The Nets attempted to add some talent and youth to their backcourt early in free agency by signing Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe to offer sheets. However, the Heat and Blazers, respectively, matched those offer sheets, and Brooklyn has turned to veteran free agents since then, agreeing to deals with Greivis Vasquez, Luis Scola, and Anthony Bennett.
[RELATED: Nets’ free agent signings, via our Free Agent Tracker]
A former seventh overall pick, Foye has played for the Timberwolves, Wizards, Clippers, Jazz, Nuggets, and Thunder over the course of his 10-year NBA career. Last season, he appeared in a total of 81 games for Denver and Oklahoma City, averaging a career-low 5.9 PPG, and shooting just 30.0% from three-point range, also the worst mark of his career.
Foye is only three years removed from a 2013/14 campaign in which he started 78 games and averaged 13.2 PPG and 2.3 3PG, and at age 32, he should still have something left in the tank. Joining the Nets, whose roster isn’t exactly loaded with talent, could give him the opportunity to earn consistent playing time in 2016/17. If he has a bounce-back season, he could land a decent deal as a free agent in the summer of 2017, when the salary cap exceeds $100MM.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mavericks Finalize Contract With Seth Curry
JULY 15: The Mavericks have officially signed Curry, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 4: The Mavericks are nearing a two-year, $6MM agreement with free agent guard Seth Curry, league sources informed Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). The 6’2” combo guard played in 44 games with the Kings last season, including nine starts, and averaged 6.8 points in 15.7 minutes. He shot 45% on his 3-point tries.
Stephen Curry‘s brother appeared in just four NBA games with three different teams prior to his breakthrough season with Sacramento. The 6’2” shooting guard had his qualifying offer of approximately $1.2MM rescinded by the Kings on Sunday. He made $947,276 during 2015/16.
The Kings considered Curry expendable after they agreed to terms with free agent guard Garrett Temple. Curry hit the free agent market after declining his player option of $1MM for next season. That decision has apparently paid off with Dallas offering a bigger salary and an additional year.
Dallas already had a busy Monday, with the Warriors declining to match its four-year, $94MM offer sheet for restricted small forward Harrison Barnes. Golden State also agreed to trade starting center Andrew Bogut to the Mavericks.
While Curry can play the point, it’s more likely he’ll back up Wesley Matthews at shooting guard.
Kings Sign Three First-Round Picks
The Kings have secured the three players they selected in the first round of this year’s draft, locking them up to rookie-scale contracts. The team announced today in a press release that Georgios Papagiannis (No. 13), Malachi Richardson (No. 22), and Skal Labissiere (No. 28) have all signed their deals.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
Sacramento acquired the rights to all three of their first-round picks via trades. Richardson was acquired in exchange from the Hornets in a deal for Marco Belinelli, while the team landed the Papagiannis and Labissiere picks in a swap with Phoenix that resulted in the Suns drafting Marquese Chriss.
The Papagiannis pick at No. 13 was viewed as one of the biggest surprises on draft night, since virtually no mock drafts had him coming off the board so early. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com had the Greek center ranked as the 50th-best prospect in this year’s draft class. However, the Richardson and Labissiere selections received more positive feedback from draft experts.
As our breakdown of salaries for 2016’s first-rounders shows, Papagiannis will be in line for a probable first-year salary of about $2.202MM, with a four-year total exceeding $10MM on his rookie contract, assuming he signs for the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale. Richardson ($1.44MM first year, $7.095MM overall) and Labissiere ($1.189MM first year, $6.066MM overall) will receive more modest deals.
Wizards, Danuel House Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Wizards have agreed to a two-year deal with undrafted free agent Danuel House, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). House had played for Washington’s Summer League squad this month, but didn’t officially have a spot on the team’s 20-man fall roster.
With his new deal, House will be in attendance at training camp for the Wizards later this year, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com, who tweets that the Texas A&M alum got a partial guarantee as part of the agreement. Michael had written this morning that, given House’s solid showing in Summer League play, the Wizards might end up regretting it if they had let him go.
House, a 6’7″ forward, was ranked as 2016’s 87th-best prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. The 23-year-old averaged 15.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 36 appearances during his senior year at Texas A&M.
In other Wizards news, the team won’t have to make a decision right away on whether or not to keep Jarell Eddie, writes Michael at CSNMidAtlantic.com. Eddie’s contract was originally set to become guaranteed if he remained on Washington’s roster beyond today, but the two sides have agreed to push back that deadline until the start of the regular season. That will allow the 24-year-old forward to compete for a roster spot this fall, rather than being cut today.
Sixers Acquire Sasha Kaun, Will Waive Him
5:52pm: The Sixers intend to waive Kaun, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As I noted below, Cleveland sent Philadelphia enough cash to make the move worth the 76ers’ trouble, per Wojnarowski.
5:42pm: The Sixers and Cavaliers have completed a trade, according to a press release issued by the 76ers. The deal sends center Sasha Kaun and cash considerations to Philadelphia in exchange for the rights to Chu Chu Maduabum. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets that the move clears the way for the Cavs to finalize their signing of Chris Andersen.
Kaun, 31, played his college ball at Kansas and was selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. However, as a draft-and-stash prospect, it took him seven years to formally join an NBA roster. Kaun agreed to a two-year contract with the Cavaliers last summer, and still has one season remaining on that deal — he’s owed $1,333,420 in 2016/17.
In his lone season in Cleveland, Kaun didn’t see much action, averaging only 3.8 minutes in 25 games. While it’s possible he’ll see a larger role with the Sixers, Philadelphia has a logjam in its frontcourt at the moment, so this looks like a salary dump for Cleveland. I imagine the Cavs are sending the Sixers more than enough money to cover Kaun’s salary.
Meanwhile, the Cavs didn’t open up any cap room by moving Kaun, since cap holds for LeBron James and others ensure the team is still well over the cap. Wojnarowski’s suggestion that the move opens the door for the club to add Andersen is probably more about clearing a roster spot, and perhaps limiting the team’s tax bill.
Heat Sign Okaro White
JULY 15, 5:01pm: The Heat have made their deal with White official.
JULY 14, 6:30pm: The Heat have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent forward Okaro White, Greek basketball journalist George Zakkas tweets and international journalist David Pick confirms (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are unknown, but it does include a partial guarantee, Pick notes.
The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, spending this past season with Aris BC, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.
White attended a free agent mini-camp that Miami held in June, but didn’t come away with a contract offer. He appeared in the Orlando Summer League for the Magic’s squad and has been suiting up for the Heat’s squad in Las Vegas, chipping in 10.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG over four contests.
Hawks Sign Jarrett Jack
JULY 15: Jack is officially a Hawk, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 10: Free agent point guard Jarrett Jack has agreed to a one-year deal with the Hawks, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The contract is for the league minimum.
The 32-year-old Jack had his season cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in January. Before the injury, he appeared in 32 games for the Nets, all starts, and averaged 12.8 points and 7.4 assists. Brooklyn waived Jack at the end of June after unsuccessfully trying to find a trading partner. He was scheduled to make $6.3MM next season, but only $500K of that was guaranteed if he was cut before July.
Jack will probably back up Dennis Schroder in Atlanta. The Hawks needed point guard depth after trading Jeff Teague to the Pacers.
Jack said his rehab from the torn ACL is going “very well,” tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hawks Sign Malcolm Delaney
JULY 15: The Hawks have formally signed Delaney, the club announced today in a press release. Delaney’s salary has been reported as $2.5MM, though it’s unclear if that figure represents the total value of his contract, or his per-year salary.
JULY 3: The Hawks and combo guard Malcolm Delaney have agreed to a guaranteed two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.
The former Virginia Tech guard played overseas for the last several years and turned down a two-year, $5MM offer from Barcelona in the hopes of landing with an NBA team this year last month, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. The Nets and Rockets were reportedly interested in Delaney in May, but neither team pulled the trigger on a deal.
Delaney went undrafted in 2011, and the closest he has come to NBA action was a summer league stint with the Pistons in 2012, though he was involved in discussions with the Rockets in 2014, but ended up heading overseas to play in Germany instead. In 58 combined games this past season, Delaney averaged 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 30.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the season was .409/.361/.871.
Hawks Sign Kris Humphries To One-Year Deal
JULY 15: The Hawks have issued a press release officially announcing Humphries’ deal.
JULY 11: Free agent power forward Kris Humphries has agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract to remain with the Hawks, league sources informed Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Humphries drew quite a bit of interest during the free agent process, with the Wizards, Suns, Celtics, Nets, Wolves, Spurs and Hornets reportedly in the mix. In the end, he chose the team for which he played 21 games last season, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes. He also appeared in 28 games with the Wizards and four games with the Suns last season. The 6’9” Humphries will be entering his 13th season.
Humphries figures to be the main backup to Paul Millsap, though he’ll have to compete for minutes with Mike Scott and Mike Muscala.