Spurs Sign Dejounte Murray
The Spurs have locked up first-round pick Dejounte Murray, according to Mike Monroe of The Rivard Report, who tweets that Murray has signed his rookie contract with the team. The move comes on the heels of San Antonio making its deal with Pau Gasol official.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
Murray, 19, was viewed as a possible lottery pick in this year’s draft, but ultimately fell to No. 29, where the Spurs snatched him up. The pick earned San Antonio a grade of A+ from ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider link) in his post-draft round-up, with Ford writing that the young combo guard has a chance to develop into an All-Star player if he can improve his shooting.
In his lone season at Washington, Murray averaged 16.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 1.8 SPG. As Ford notes, Murray’s outside shooting wasn’t impressive – he shot just 28.8% from three-point range – but that’s something that could improve with age.
As detailed in our breakdown of this year’s first-round rookie salaries, Murray will earn about $1.18MM in 2016/17, and just over $6MM over the course of his four-year rookie contract.
Spurs Sign Pau Gasol To Two-Year Deal
JULY 14, 10:34am: The Spurs have officially signed Gasol, the team confirmed today in a press release.
JULY 4, 1:48pm: While some contract details still have to be finalized, the Spurs and Gasol are in agreement, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter links). Gasol’s new two-year deal will be worth $30MM, with a player option for the second year, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein.
1:39pm: The Spurs are finalizing an agreement to bring aboard free agent big man Pau Gasol, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. While the Raptors, Trail Blazers, and Timberwolves had been among the teams in the hunt for Gasol, San Antonio was viewed as the frontrunner for the Spaniard after missing out on Kevin Durant.
Gasol, who signed with the Bulls in 2014, declined a third-year player option that would have paid him $7,769,520 in 2016/17 if he had opted into the final year of his previous contract. The former third overall pick continued to be productive during his time in Chicago, averaging 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season, and earning All-Star nods in each of the last two years.
The Spurs have long been viewed as a potential fit for Gasol, one that even Pau’s brother has advocated for. Back in April, Marc Gasol advised his brother to sign with San Antonio. With Tim Duncan leaning strongly toward retirement, San Antonio reportedly pursued Pau heavily, making him a top priority when it became clear Durant wouldn’t become a Spur.
While San Antonio was aggressive in its pursuit of Gasol, the Spurs weren’t necessarily a slam-dunk choice. According to Wojnarowski, Pau may have received offers in the $20MM-per-year range from other suitors, including the Blazers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Sign Jared Sullinger
JULY 14, 10:13am: The Raptors have officially confirmed their deal with Sullinger (Twitter link).
JULY 11, 1:52pm: It appears Jared Sullinger will remain in the Atlantic Division, with the big man tweeting out that he intends to join the Raptors. It will be a one-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reports (via Twitter). The arrangement is worth approximately $6MM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
The Celtics renounced their $4,433,683 qualifying offer to Sullinger on Sunday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Boston had limited playing time to offer the 6’9″ power forward after signing Al Horford in free agency and allowing Amir Johnson‘s $12MM deal to become guaranteed for next season. Sullinger met with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri on Sunday, Wojnarowski notes, which apparently went well, given the two sides struck a deal today.
Sullinger, 24, spent four years in Boston after the Celtics made him the No. 21 overall pick on the 2012 NBA Draft. He appeared in 81 games this past season, including 73 tip-offs as a starter, averaging 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.6 minutes per outing. The forward had a shooting line of .435/.282/.640.
Knicks Sign Maurice Ndour To Two-Year Deal
JULY 14, 8:54am: The Knicks have officially signed Ndour, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JULY 13, 12:27pm: Only the first year of Ndour’s deal with the Knicks will be fully guaranteed, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
11:12am: The Knicks have agreed to bring another player stateside from a European team, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has reached a two-year deal with Real Madrid forward Maurice Ndour. The pact, which figures to be for the minimum salary, will be guaranteed, per Pick.
Ndour went undrafted out of Ohio University in 2015, but he made a strong impression as a Knicks summer-leaguer last year, averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per contest across five appearances. The Knicks tried to get Ndour to back out of the commitment he made to the Mavs, who formally signed him about a week after his final summer league game, but were unable to convince him.
Ndour ultimately ended up being waived by Dallas and found his way to Real Madrid for the 2015/16 season. A year later, the Knicks finally have their man, adding him to a group of free agent signees that includes Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas. The club also locked up draft-and-stash prospect Willy Hernangomez, a Spanish center.
Since Kuzminskas got the Knicks’ room exception, and the team doesn’t have any cap room left, the minimum-salary exception is the only way New York can continue to add free agents. Ndour would earn $1,448,720 on a two-year, minimum-salary contract.
Nets Sign Luis Scola
JULY 13, 10:17pm: The Nets have issued a press release formally announcing that their deal with Scola is official.
JULY 12, 11:23am: Veteran big man Luis Scola has agreed to join the Nets on a one-year contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but Brooklyn has plenty of cap room to spare after missing out on its top RFA targets, so Scola won’t necessarily be limited to minimum-salary or mid-level-exception money.
The Nets prioritized young backcourt players in free agency this summer, signing Allen Crabbe and Tyler Johnson to lucrative, long-term offer sheets. However, the Trail Blazers matched Brooklyn’s offer sheet for Crabbe, and the Heat matched Brooklyn’s offer sheet for Johnson, leaving the Nets with a huge chunk of cap room and a gaping hole in their backcourt.
[RELATED: Brooklyn Nets’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
Scola shouldn’t take up too much of the team’s cap space, and he’ll provide depth in the frontcourt rather than at guard. Despite having turned 36 in April, the Argentinian power forward has managed to stay incredibly healthy over the last few years, missing just 15 total regular-season games since entering the NBA in 2007.
In 2015/16, his lone year with the Raptors, Scola started all 76 regular-season games he played for the Raptors, averaging 8.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 0.9 APG, while shooting 40.4% on three-point attempts — 65 of the 75 three-pointers Scola has made in his career came last season.
The former second-round pick fell out of the Raptors’ rotation during the club’s playoff run, but he provided veteran leadership in Toronto last season, and should do the same in Brooklyn. He’ll join Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Trevor Booker, and Justin Hamilton as incoming free agent additions for the Nets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Sign Greivis Vasquez
JULY 13, 10:15pm: The Nets have officially signed Vasquez, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 10, 8:56pm: Greivis Vasquez has agreed to a one-year deal with the Nets, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Vasquez missed most of the 2015/16 season after undergoing surgery on his right ankle in December.
Vasquez appeared in 29 games for the Bucks this year, all as a reserve. He averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 assists in 20.0 minutes of playing time. Vasquez has also been with the Grizzlies, Hornets, Kings and Raptors during his six seasons in the NBA.
He joins a Brooklyn team that also added point guard Jeremy Lin through free agency and may be seeking more backcourt help after offer sheets to Allen Crabbe and Tyler Johnson were matched earlier today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blazers Re-Sign Allen Crabbe
JULY 13, 10:00pm: The signing is official, the Blazers announced. “Allen is an important part of the core of this team and a building block for its future growth,” said GM Neil Olshey.
JULY 10, 4:13pm: The Blazers have matched Allen Crabbe‘s four-year, $75MM offer sheet with the Nets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (on Twitter). Crabbe had signed the offer sheet on July 7th, and this was the final day the Blazers were able to match the deal.
Portland’s decision does not bold well for the Nets, who may also see their offer for Tyler Johnson matched by the Heat That would leave Brooklyn with plenty of salary room, but not many intriguing options. The Blazers, meanwhile, have made it clear that they are all-in for this season, as Wojnarowski tweets. Portland has added Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli while returning Meyers Leonard.
In Crabbe, the Blazers now return one of the team’s best shooters and defenders. The third-year shooting guard had a breakthrough season this year as a Trail Blazers reserve. He appeared in 81 games and averaged 10.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per night while shooting 39% from beyond the arc.
Magic To Waive Devyn Marble
The Magic plan to waive Devyn Marble prior to his 2016/17 salary becoming fully guaranteed, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports. Orlando has until Friday to part ways with the swingman, or else the team will be on the hook for the $980,431 he is due for next season.
Orlando currently has 13 players under contract, including Marble, two under the regular season maximum and seven beneath the preseason limit. The team could still re-sign Marble at a later date, if it desired, provided he clears waivers.
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.
Grizzlies Sign James Ennis To Two-Year Deal
JULY 13TH, 4:58pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 3RD, 1:10am: The Grizzlies have reached an agreement with free agent small forward James Ennis on a two-year, $6MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). It’ll be a fully guaranteed deal, according to Charania.
Ennis, who turned 26 on Friday, was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but the Pelicans opted not to issue him a qualifying offer, despite his strong finish to the season. In nine games for New Orleans down the stretch, Ennis averaged 15.9 PPG, with an impressive .500/.480/.792 shooting line. He put up 29 and 28 points in his final two games of the year.
A second-round pick in 2013, Ennis made his NBA debut in 2014, and was a part-time player for the Heat in that 2014/15 season. His production in Miami, and in a 10-game stint in Memphis last season, was far more modest than those numbers he put up for the Pelicans.
The Pelicans, Mavericks, Clippers, Warriors, and Hawks were reportedly among the other teams to inquire on Ennis this week. But he’ll join the Grizzlies, who have already committed more than $250MM to Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons in free agency, as our tracker shows.
Heat Sign Stefan Jankovic
The Heat continue to fill out their preseason roster, announcing that they have signed unrestricted free agent forward Stefan Jankovic. The length and terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is more than likely a minimum salary arrangement.
Jankovic went undrafted out of the University of Hawaii this year and is currently playing on Miami’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas where he has appeared in two games, notching a total of eight points, three assists and two rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
The 22-year-old was named the Big West Player of the Year this past season after averaging 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.2 assists in 24.7 minutes of action over 33 games. Jankovic shot 54.3% from the floor overall, 39.3 % from three-point range and 77.2% from the foul line.