Heat Match Tyler Johnson Offer
7:22pm: The move is official, the team announced.
JULY 10th, 6:02pm: The Heat have matched Brooklyn’s $50MM offer sheet for Tyler Johnson, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson signed the offer on Thursday, so tonight was the deadline for Miami to make a decision.
The Nets’ offer contained a significant jump in salary for the third and fourth season to make it difficult for the Heat to match. Johnson will receive $5.628MM in the first year and $5,881,260 in the second, followed by $18,858,765 in season three and $19,631,975 in season four.
This is the second disappointment of the day for Brooklyn, which earlier learned that Portland has matched a four-year, $75MM offer sheet to Allen Crabbe. The Nets still have more than $30MM in cap space available and are expected to move on to other free agents.
Spurs Won’t Match Offer For Boban Marjanovic
The Spurs have decided not to match the three-year, $21MM offer sheet the Pistons gave to center Boban Marjanovic, tweets David Mayo of MLive. Marjanovic should serve as a backup to Andre Drummond, whom Detroit expects to sign later this summer.
The 7’3″ Serbian native played sparingly during his first NBA season after signing with the Spurs last summer. He averaged 9.4 minutes over 54 games, but made an impact with 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting better than 60%.
Marjonic became expendable in San Antonio with the additions of Pau Gasol and Dewayne Dedmon.
Heat Trade For Luke Babbitt
5:32pm: The trade is official, the Heat have announced.
JULY 10th, 5:16pm: The Heat are in “advanced trade discussions” with the Pelicans for combo forward Luke Babbitt, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. New Orleans will receive draft considerations and cash in return.
The draft considerations involve the heavily protected 2018 pick the Pelicans sent to Miami in a February deal for Jarnell Stokes, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The draft choice was protected unless it fell out of the top 55 (Twitter link). Miami is also sending the first of its allowable cash outlays for next season to New Orleans (Twitter link).
The 6’9″ Babbitt has six years of NBA experience with the Pelicans and Trail Blazers. He played in 47 games last season, averaging 7.0 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Heat Re-Sign Udonis Haslem
3:37pm: The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal worth $4MM, Ethan J. Skolnick of the Miami Herald tweets.
8:39am: Udonis Haslem is finalizing a deal to stay in Miami for his 14th season, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The veteran power forward has been in negotiations with the Heat this week and is hoping to receive a contract for something more than the veteran’s minimum.
Haslem, 36, has been with the franchise since 2003, but has seen his playing time drop steadily in recent years. He appeared in 37 games with Miami this season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.0 minutes of action. Team president Pat Riley recently singled out Haslem for becoming a mentor with younger players and said he would like to keep him for another season.
The Heat may need Haslem on the court more often next season if Chris Bosh‘s availability remains limited by health issues. Another veteran big man, Amar’e Stoudemire, is also a free agent and may not return to Miami.
Blazers, Meyers Leonard Agree To Deal
The Blazers and Meyers Leonard have agreed on a four-year deal worth $41MM, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). Portland had extended Leonard a qualifying offer on June 29th.
Leonard is a solid rotation piece for the Blazers because of his ability to rebound and hit outside shots consistently. Leonard, who is recovering from an injured shoulder, declined an extension from the Blazers in October, but the backup big man had said he was interested in staying in Portland. Meyers’ season was cut short in March when he dislocated his shoulder and he may not be ready at the start of the season.
Leonard appeared in 61 games last season, including 10 as a starter. He averaged 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .448/.377/.761.
Heat To Sign James Johnson
Free agent combo forward James Johnson has agreed to a one-year deal with Miami, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 29-year-old combo forward will receive $4MM.
Johnson spent the past two seasons with the Raptors, where he built a reputation as a defensive specialist. He played in 57 games and started 32, averaging 5.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 16.2 minutes.
Jackson has also played for the Bulls, Kings and Grizzlies in his eight-year NBA career. He made $2.5MM this season with Toronto.
Heat To Sign Wayne Ellington
Wayne Ellington will sign with Miami, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 28-year-old shooting guard is expected to receive more than $12MM over two seasons.
The addition of Ellington reduces the chance that Miami matches Brookyn’s $50MM offer to Tyler Johnson, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat now have five guards under contract, as Ellington joins Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson, Briante Weber and Rodney McGruder.
Ellington appeared in 76 games with the Nets after signing with Brooklyn last summer. He started 41 times and averaged 7.7 points in a little more than 21 minutes per game. He has also played for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Mavericks and Lakers in his seven-year NBA career.
Hornets Re-Sign Marvin Williams
JULY 10, 11:30am: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 2, 4:52pm: The final season is a player option, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link).
4:38pm: The Hornets and Marvin Williams have struck a deal that will see the forward remain in Charlotte, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a four-year, $54.5MM arrangement, Wojnarowski adds. He joins small forward Nicolas Batum in re-signing with Michael Jordan’s club this offseason.
The 30-year-old former second round pick out of North Carolina wasn’t without alternatives to the Hornets, with Williams turning down offers in the $15MM per year range in order to remain with the team, Wojnarowski tweets. The Nets were reportedly one of the teams in pursuit of Williams, though it is unknown if the team was among those mentioned offering in excess of $15MM per. Brooklyn moved on and inked Trevor Booker to a two-year, $8MM pact once they received word that Williams was leaning toward returning to Charlotte.
Williams had a productive 2015/16 campaign, averaging 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28.9 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers on the year were .452/.402/.833.
Celtics Renounce QO For Jared Sullinger
The Celtics have decided to renounce their $4,433,683 qualifying offer for Jared Sullinger, tweets Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation. The news first appeared on the NBA’s transaction wire, and a source confirmed it to O’Connor.
The move, which also affects Sullinger’s exception rights, means he will go from being a restricted free agent to an unrestricted one. 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.
Sources at summer league games told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE that the market has slowed considerably for restricted free agent big men. Teams are reluctant to tie up their cap space for three days while waiting to see if the player’s team will match an offer.
It is uncertain whether the Celtics’ move will help Sullinger get an offer more quickly. He started 73 games for Boston last season and was the team’s leading rebounder with 8.3 per night, but he has faced questions about his conditioning throughout his four years in the NBA.
Knicks Sign Mindaugas Kuzminskas
JULY 9, 7:50pm: The signing is official, the team announced today.
JULY 5, 2:28pm: The Knicks have agreed to sign Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas and bring him over to the NBA, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The two sides have reached agreement on a two-year deal, as first reported by Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link), and as confirmed by Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Kuzminskas, 26, has spent the last few seasons with Unicaja Malaga in Spain. In Euroleague play this past season, the forward averaged 12.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG, shooting 54.9% from the floor and 37.7% from downtown in 23 games (20.7 MPG). Kuzminskas had been set to play in Turkey next season with Darussafaka Dogus, David Blatt‘s team, but has reportedly informed the club that he wants to make the move to the NBA.
Per Sportando (Twitter link), the Knicks will have to pay a “high” buyout in order to bring Kuzminskas stateside, though it’s not clear exactly how significant that payment will be. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), New York offered Kuzminskas a two-year, $6MM deal, so it sounds like the club will likely use its room exception – worth about $2.9MM in 2016/17 – on him. That would allow the Knicks to use up all their cap room finalizing other moves before making this deal official.
We had heard on Monday that Kuzminskas recently worked out for the Lakers and Hawks — at that point, he was said to be close to making a decision on whether to continue his basketball career in the NBA or overseas.