Warriors Sign Damian Jones
The Warriors have locked up the final pick of the 2016 first round, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed center Damian Jones to his rookie contract. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Jones will get a four-year deal that features two guaranteed years and two teams options.
Assuming Jones signed for 120% of the rookie-scale slot for the No. 30 pick, he’ll be in line for a $1,171,560 salary in 2016/17, and a four-year contract worth $5,977,897. The deal will put him in line for a contract extension in 2019, or restricted free agency in 2020.
[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]
A seven-footer out of Vanderbilt, Jones averaged 13.9 PPG and 6.9 RPG during his junior year before declaring for the draft. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com ranked him as the 21-best prospect in this year’s draft class.
The Warriors have undergone significant changes at the center position since the offseason began. Festus Ezeli and Andrew Bogut are gone, and Anderson Varejao remains unsigned. The team signed Zaza Pachulia to help fill that opening at center, but Jones figures to compete for a spot in the regular rotation in his rookie year.
A breakdown of the Warriors’ roster and depth chart can be found right here.
Warriors Re-Sign James McAdoo
JULY 13, 2:48pm: The Warriors have officially re-signed McAdoo, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 8, 2:00pm: It’ll be a minimum-salary deal for McAdoo, who will earn $980,431, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
1:46pm: The Warriors are bringing back another one of their free agents, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, who reports (via Twitter) that James McAdoo is re-signing with the club on a one-year deal. McAdoo had been an unrestricted free agent after Golden State declined to extend him a qualifying offer.
McAdoo, 23, has spent the first two years of his NBA career with the Warriors, but the former UNC forward hasn’t seen much action so far. In 2015/16, he appeared in 41 regular-season games for Golden State, averaging 6.4 minutes in those contests.
While McAdoo has flashed some promise, it remains to be seen whether he’ll get the opportunity to take on a larger role in Golden State going forward. The team has lost several of its free agents – including Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, and Brandon Rush – and traded Andrew Bogut. However, the Warriors have also added a few pieces, re-signing Ian Clark and landing Zaza Pachulia, David West, and – of course – Kevin Durant. in free agency. The club also drafted Damian Jones and Patrick McCaw.
[RELATED: Golden State Warriors’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
Although they didn’t extend him a qualifying offer, the Warriors still have McAdoo’s Early Bird rights, so they could go over the cap and pay him more than a minimum salary. It’s not yet clear what McAdoo’s new deal will be worth.
Timberwolves Sign Cole Aldrich
JULY 13: The Wolves have formally signed Aldrich, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JULY 3: Veteran center Cole Aldrich will sign a three-year, $22MM deal with the Timberwolves, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 27-year-old center spent the 2015/16 season with the Clippers and averaged 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 60 games.
Aldrich decided last month to opt out of his contract with L.A., which would have paid him the league minimum, approximately $1.23MM. The Clippers had hoped to keep the unrestricted free agent, but he chose to accept the offer from Minnesota.
The Bloomington, Minn., native will serve as a backup to Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns. The Timberwolves will be his sixth NBA franchise.
Sixers Sign Jerryd Bayless To Three-Year Deal
JULY 13: Nearly two weeks after agreeing to sign him, the Sixers have made their deal with Bayless official, confirming it today in a press release.
JULY 1: The Sixers have reached an agreement on a multiyear deal with unrestricted free agent Jerryd Bayless, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (Twitter links). The guard will receive a three-year deal worth $27MM, the scribe adds. All three seasons of the pact are fully guaranteed.
The addition of Bayless is a solid one for the Sixers, who desperately need backcourt depth and outside shooting. Philly was reportedly seeking to add veterans to its roster this offseason, and with Bayless set to be in the fold, are off to a solid start in that department.
The 27-year-old appeared in 52 games for the Bucks this past season, including 18 contests as a starter. Bayless averaged 10.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 28.9 minutes per outing while shooting .423/.437/.778 from the field.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sixers Sign Sergio Rodriguez
JULY 13: The Sixers have officially issued a press release to announce their deal with Rodriguez. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported on Tuesday that it’s worth $6.8MM over one year.
JULY 4: After striking a deal with Jerryd Bayless earlier in free agency, the Sixers have further fortified their backcourt by reaching an agreement with Spanish guard Sergio Rodriguez, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. According to Charania, the Sixers and Rodriguez have agreed to a one-year, $8MM contract.
Rodriguez, 30, was a first-round pick back in 2006, but hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2009/10 season, when he played a total of 66 games for the Kings and Knicks. Rodriguez previously spent time with the Trail Blazers, and appeared in a total of 285 regular-season NBA contests. However, he averaged just 13.2 minutes per game during his NBA career, and didn’t make much of an impact.
Over the last several seasons, Rodriguez has been a go-to contributor for Spain’s Real Madrid. In 27 Euroleague games during the 2015/16 season (23.4 MPG), Rodriguez averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 assists per game, while shooting 49.5% from the floor and 40.9% from three-point range.
The Nets had previously been dubbed the favorites to reach a deal with Rodriguez, but last Friday a report had indicated that an agreement between the two sides appeared “unlikely.”
Pelicans Waive Toney Douglas
The Pelicans have formally parted ways with point guard Toney Douglas, the team announced today in a press release. Assuming Douglas isn’t claimed later this week off waivers by another club, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
A former first-round pick, Douglas appeared in 61 games for the Pelicans in 2015/16, starting 18 of those contests. Averaging just over 20 minutes per game, Douglas recorded 8.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 2.3 RPG over the course of the year, making just under 40% of his three-pointers.
Despite his solid performance last season, Douglas became expendable this summer based on the Pelicans’ free agency additions. In addition to agreeing to bring back Tim Frazier, the team also worked out deals with Langston Galloway and E’Twaun Moore, creating a bit of a logjam in the backcourt.
[RELATED: Pelicans’ free agent signings via our Free Agent Tracker]
Douglas was also a candidate to be released because his salary for the 2016/17 season was fully non-guaranteed. Per Basketball Insiders, Douglas’ guarantee date was July 12, so despite the team not issuing an official announcement until today, the move was finalized before that Tuesday deadline.
Hawks Waive Lamar Patterson
7:56pm: Patterson has officially been waived, the team announced via press release.
4:53pm: The Hawks are cutting ties with Lamar Patterson and intend to waive the shooting guard, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports (via Twitter). No official announcement has been made by the team at this time. As a result, Patterson will become an unrestricted free agent, provided he clears waivers.
The 24-year-old’s contract is non-guaranteed, so Atlanta won’t be on the hook for any of his $874,636 salary as a result of this move. Patterson’s deal wasn’t going to be guaranteed until January 10th, which is the league-wide date, meaning his release was not motivated by an impending deadline.
Patterson made 35 appearances for the Hawks this past season, averaging 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .350/.245/.727.
Hawks Sign Dwight Howard To Three-Year Deal
JULY 12TH, 6:45pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. “We would like to welcome Dwight, and his family, home to Atlanta and into our Hawks basketball family. We feel Dwight will have a huge impact on both ends of the court with his physical presence and the force he brings to the game,” coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said. “We also look forward to his impact in our community as we all look to take Atlanta to another level on the court and off. We feel very fortunate to add a player of Dwight’s caliber and we look forward to assimilating Dwight into our team.”
JULY 1ST, 5:55pm: Howard’s three-year deal is fully guaranteed, with no option years, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Spears adds that the Hawks increased their initial offer by about $7MM.
5:40pm: The Hawks and Dwight Howard have struck a deal, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to terms on a three-year contract. The pact will be worth $70.5MM, per Charania. It’s a homecoming for Howard, who was born and raised in Atlanta.
Howard, 30, met with the Hawks shortly after free agency began today, and multiple reports indicated that the team made a strong impression on him during that meeting. The former first overall pick was expected to meet with the Celtics and reportedly had interest from at least a couple other teams, but got an offer he liked from Atlanta and decided to take it.
Howard made 71 appearances for the Rockets in 2015/16, averaging 13.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.63 blocks in 32.1 minutes per game. He shot 62% from the field, but just 48.9% from the free-throw line.
The eight-time All-Star declined his 2016/17 player option with the Rockets last month, opting to hit the open market instead of returning to Houston. Howard would have earned more than $23MM in 2016/17 if he had picked up the option, and essentially matched that yearly figure on his new deal — of course, Howard’s agreement with the Hawks will pay him that amount annually for the next three years, rather than just for one year.
The Hawks’ agreement with Howard doesn’t necessarily take the team out of the running for Al Horford. ESPN’s Marc Stein Stein first reported on Tuesday that Atlanta would seriously consider Howard as a free agent target if the team was unable to wedge its way into the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. According to Stein, the Hawks planned to go after Howard with the idea of playing him alongside Horford in their frontcourt.
Still, Horford is being heavily recruited by the Celtics and other clubs, and is expected to get a max deal, so he may land elsewhere. If Horford does leave Atlanta, Howard at least represents a viable replacement at center for the Hawks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Grizzlies Acquire Troy Daniels
JULY 12TH, 4:06pm: The deal is official, the Grizzlies announced via press release. Daniels was acquired for an undisclosed amount of cash, per the announcement.
JULY 9TH, 6:50pm: The Grizzlies are finalizing a three-year, $10MM deal with free agent shooting guard Troy Daniels, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Daniels will join Memphis in a sign-and-trade with the Hornets (Twitter link).
Daniels appeared in 43 games with Charlotte this season, averaging 5.6 points in a little over 11 minutes of playing time. The 24-year-old 3-point specialist connected on 48% of his shots from beyond the arc.
By sending Daniels to Memphis via trade, the Hornets will create a trade exception worth half of his salary in the first season of the new deal, tweets The Vertical’s Bobby Marks. That exception will be $1.6MM, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). The Grizzlies will be Daniels’ fourth NBA team in his three-year career.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Grizzlies Waive Tony Wroten
Less than a month after he was waived by the Knicks, Tony Wroten has been cut again. The Grizzlies announced today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with Wroten, placing him on waivers. The move ensures that Memphis won’t be on the hook for the guard’s non-guaranteed 2016/17 salary.
Wroten, 23, only appeared in eight games for the Sixers last season before Philadelphia waived him in December. The Knicks later signed Wroten to a two-year deal, minimum-salary deal that contained no guaranteed money for the 2016/17 campaign, but removed him from their roster in a related move last month when they acquired Derrick Rose from the Bulls. The Grizzlies claimed him off waivers at that point.
A former 25th overall pick, Wroten began his NBA career in Memphis in 2012, before later joining the Sixers. In 145 total games, the Washington product has averaged 11.1 points and 3.0 assists per contest, but has shot just 41.3% from the floor, including a paltry 23.1% from downtown.
Although Wroten has flashed some promise and is still young, the fact that he has now been cut twice in consecutive months doesn’t bode well for his NBA future. When Wroten was waived by the Knicks, a report from Stefan Bondy and Frank Isola of The New York Daily News indicated that the team made the decision due to an undisclosed disciplinary issue.
Other teams will once again have the opportunity to put in a waiver claim for Wroten this week. Assuming he clears waivers this time around, he’ll be free to sign with any team.