Sixers Sign Dario Saric
JULY 15, 3:58pm: The Sixers have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Saric.
“We are thrilled to finally announce the highly anticipated signing of Dario Saric to an NBA player contract with the Philadelphia 76ers,” said GM Bryan Colangelo in a statement. “Our basketball team stands to benefit from both the on-court development and physical maturation of Dario as a professional player in Croatia and Turkey over the last few years.”
JULY 14, 8:10am: After insisting for months that he’d join the Sixers for the 2016/17 season, Dario Saric has delivered on that vow. According to agent Misko Raznatovic (via Twitter), the Sixers and Saric have agreed to terms on a new contract, and the young forward is headed to Philadelphia to sign his deal.
Philadelphia officials have been engaged in contract talks with Saric in recent weeks, with reports this week suggesting that a deal was imminent. The 22-year-old Croatian reportedly has a buyout in the neighborhood of $800K from Anadolu Efes, his team in Turkey, and NBA rules allow the Sixers to cover $650K of that. Philadelphia acquired the rights to Saric in 2014 in a draft-day deal with Orlando.
Because he’s signing his first NBA contract within three years of being drafted, Saric will be subject to the rookie scale, which was what made some observers skeptical that he’d actually join the 76ers this season. If he had waited another year, Saric would have had the freedom to negotiate a more lucrative contract. Instead, he figures to get a pact that’s identical to what this year’s 12th overall pick (Taurean Prince) will receive — that will work out to $2,318,280 for his rookie year, and $10,749,666 over the life of his four-year deal.
With Ben Simmons joining the Sixers as the No. 1 pick, Saric arriving from Turkey, and Joel Embiid looking to head into the regular season healthy for the first time since being drafted third overall in 2014, the Sixers believe they’ll have three players capable of contending for the 2016/17 Rookie of the Year award.
Clippers Waive Devyn Marble
3:42pm: The Clippers have officially waived Marble, the team confirmed this afternoon in a press release.
12:53pm: The Clippers will waive shooting guard Devyn Marble, whom they acquired in a trade with the Magic, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The deal, which was completed earlier today, was viewed as a way for L.A. to reduce salary before signing free agent point guard Raymond Felton.
Marble’s contract was non-guaranteed unless he was on a roster past 5 pm Eastern time today, and the Magic were planning to waive him before they found a trading partner in the Clippers. L.A. gave up C.J. Wilcox in the deal and received a 2020 second-round draft pick in return, along with Marble.
A second-round choice in 2014, Marble was traded from the Nuggets to Orlando shortly after the draft. He spent two years with the Magic, but appeared in just 44 games, including 28 this season. He would have made $980,431 next season if he had been retained.
Bulls Sign Second-Rounder Paul Zipser
JULY 15, 3:19pm: The Bulls have formally announced in a press release that they’ve signed Zipser.
JULY 13, 2:11pm: The Bulls have reached an agreement with second-round pick Paul Zipser, according to agent Misko Raznatovic, who tweets that his client will sign a two-year contract with Chicago. The terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but Raznatovic refers to the agreement as being for two “granted years” — it’s possible that was meant to read “guaranteed years.”
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Zipser, the 48th overall pick in last month’s draft, was rated this year’s 26th-best prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. The German forward has spent the last several season playing for Bayern Muenchen. Zipser didn’t see a whole lot of action in Euroleague play, but in 40 German League games, he averaged 7.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG to go along with a .539/.436/.807 shooting line, in 18.1 minutes per contest.
Shortly after the Bulls drafted Zipser, we learned that the team shouldn’t have major issues bringing the 22-year-old stateside. Givony reported at that time that Zipser had just one year remaining on his contract with his German club, with a buyout worth $600K.
Mavericks Sign Jonathan Gibson
JULY 15, 2:47pm: The signing is official, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.
JULY 13, 10:39pm: The Mavericks have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent point guard Jonathan Gibson, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a three-year pact that includes guarantees, Charania adds. The scribe’s report doesn’t specify the type or amount of the guarantees, nor which years of the arrangement they cover.
Gibson, 28, has been playing for Dallas’ summer league squad, making three appearances and averaging 22.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 29.5 minutes of action. He’s shooting .511/.440/1.000 from the field in Las Vegas this summer.
The guard went undrafted out of New Mexico State in 2010 after completing his senior campaign. He has primarily played overseas since then, spending the 2015/16 season in China with Qingdao. Gibson appeared in 36 games for the Double Star Eagles this past season, averaging 42.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists on 46.7% shooting overall.
Mavs Sign Nicolas Brussino
JULY 15, 2:07pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
JULY 7, 4:33pm: The Mavericks have reached a contract agreement with Argentinian swingman Nicolás Brussino, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports (ESPN Now link). Hat tip to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando, who also relayed the news.
It will be a three-year, minimum salary deal that includes a partial guarantee, Cauchi notes. The exact amount of that partial guarantee is unknown, but it is likely a minimal sum, though that is merely my speculation.
Brussino, 23, spent last season with Penarol in Argentina, making 59 appearances and averaging 14.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per night. His shooting line was .474/.394/.721.
Pistons Re-Sign Andre Drummond
JULY 15th, 12:01pm: The signing is official, the Pistons announced via press release.
JULY 1st, 11:40am: The two sides have reached an agreement on a five-year, max deal that includes a player option for the final season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
3:20am: The Pistons and restricted free agent center Andre Drummond are closing in on an agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary contract, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). If it’s a max deal, the exact value won’t be determined until next week when the cap is set, but it’s expected to be in the $125-130MM range.
[RELATED: Pistons, Ish Smith agree to three-year contract]
Drummond entered July as one of the top restricted free agents on the market, along with Bradley Beal of the Wizards. Like Drummond, Beal is nearing a five-year max deal with his team. Stein tweets that both agreements are expected to be finalized later on Friday, then will become official sometime after the moratorium ends.
Drummond, who turns 23 in August, earned his first All-Star nod in 2015/16 and was named to the All-NBA third team. The former ninth overall pick led the NBA in total offensive rebounds for the third consecutive seasons, averaging a career-high 16.2 points and an NBA-best 14.8 rebounds per game for the season.
Although he continued to provide rebounding, rim protection, and efficient offense, Drummond’s one glaring weakness is his free-throw shooting. His free-throw percentage dipped to a career-worst 35.5% in 2015/16 as he was getting to the line more than ever (7.2 attempts per game).
Still, it appears the Pistons are willing to cement Drummond as a long-term fixture in Detroit, despite his free-throw woes. Drummond’s cap hold is currently a modest $8.18MM, so if the team wants to make the most of its cap room, it may hold off on finalizing the big man’s new deal until it uses up all its space. The Pistons hold Drummond’s Bird Rights and can go over the cap to lock him up.
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Magic, Clippers Swap Marble, Wilcox
JULY 15th, 11:14pm: The trade is official, the Magic announced.
JULY 14th, 7:44pm: The Magic and the Clippers are finalizing a trade that would send Devyn Marble and a 2020 second round pick to the Clippers for C.J. Wilcox and cash considerations, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports (via Twitter). It’s unclear if any protections will be attached to the second-rounder.
Orlando was reportedly set to waive Marble today, but the opportunity to work out a swap with Los Angeles popped up, and the Magic will be able to extract some value for the player. Marble appeared in 28 games for the Magic this past season and averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 8.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .296/.250/.417. He will earn $980,431 if he remains on the Clippers roster past Friday.
Wilcox, 25, recently underwent surgery to repair a broken right hand and he is expected to be out of action for four-to-six weeks. He is set to earn $1,209,600 next season and has a team option worth $2,183,328 for 2017/18. The guard appeared in 23 games for the Clippers this past season, averaging 3.0 points in 7.3 minutes of action per outing, while shooting .394/.391/.750 from the field.
Spurs Re-Sign Manu Ginobili
JULY 14, 5:41pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
4:50pm: The Spurs and Ginobili have agreed to a one-year, $14MM deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.
1:07pm: The Spurs and Ginobili are discussing a one-year deal in the $10MM range, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). Ginobili figures to be one of the last deals the Spurs make official, since they’ll have to use up their cap room, then go over the cap (using his Bird rights) to re-sign him.
JULY 7: Early in the free agency period, Manu Ginobili announced his intention to play at least one more NBA season. And despite the fact that we’ve seen multiple star players leave their longtime franchises within the past few days, Ginobili won’t follow in their footsteps. The veteran guard tweeted this morning that he’ll be “coming back to the Spurs for another season.”
While no formal contract agreement is in place yet, agent Herb Rudoy expects to finalize one soon, telling Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News that a one-year deal could be completed by Friday or Saturday. “We are very close on terms and conditions,” Rudoy said. “It just needs some tweaks.”
While a return to San Antonio is imminent for Ginobili, Rudoy tells Orsborn that he turned down a “very serious, big offer” from another club on behalf of his client. “He was committed to coming back (to the Spurs),” Rudoy said. “Those were my marching orders.”
The Spurs hold Ginobili’s Bird rights, so the team can go over the cap to give him a raise, as long as his current cap hold doesn’t need to be renounced to create additional room.
Warriors, Anderson Varejao Nearing Agreement
The Warriors and unrestricted free agent Anderson Varejao are closing in an agreement that will keep the big man in Golden State, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It will be a one-year deal for Varejao, Stein adds, though no mention was made regarding the amount of the proposed contract.
Varejao was signed by the Warriors last season after Portland waived him, which was shortly after Cleveland, trying to lower its luxury tax hit, dealt him to the Blazers. He didn’t see much action for Golden State after the trade, appearing in 22 games and averaging 2.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 8.5 minutes per outing.
The 33-year-old has struggled with injuries the past few seasons, but does provide the team with a veteran presence off the bench. Coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Varejao was first acquired, “He’s a great insurance policy for us. It’s been good to get him minutes and get him some rhythm. He’s exactly who we were hoping for — a big who is smart, knows how to play and can fill in if we need him. We’ll see what happens in the playoffs with the rotation. But he’s got a lot of experience; we know he can play.”
Grizzlies Sign Mike Conley To Five-Year Deal
JULY 14th, 3:13pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 1st, 6:00pm: The Grizzlies and Mike Conley have agreed to a max contract that will pay the point guard $153MM over the next five seasons, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The deal will be the largest in league history.
Stein previously reported that Conley and the Grizzlies would have an agreement in place by Saturday morning. Memphis was Conley’s likely landing spot all along, but the point guard had concerns about the team’s roster and wanted to see the front office be aggressive in its attempts to upgrade it. The team’s chances of re-signing the 28-year-old likely increased as a result of signing Chandler Parsons, as the duo reportedly spoken to one another about teaming up in Memphis.
The Mavericks appeared to be Memphis’ biggest threat in the Conley sweepstakes, but after Hassan Whiteside re-signed with Miami, it seemed unlikely that the Ohio State product would wind up in Dallas. The Rockets, Pelicans, Nets and Lakers were also identified as challengers to steal Conley away from the Grizzlies. All five teams will have to look elsewhere for a point guard in free agency.
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