Clippers Re-Sign Luc Mbah A Moute
JULY 8th, 7:12pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 4th, 3:46pm: Mbah a Moute has agreed to a two-year, $4.5MM contract with the Clippers, tweets Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the team will use the bi-annual exception to complete the deal, which includes a second-year player option.
2:46pm: The Clippers have been active in recent days when it comes to reaching agreements with their own free agents, and are on the verge of locking up another one. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link), Los Angeles is finalizing a new deal for veteran forward Luc Mbah a Moute.
Mbah a Moute, who turns 30 in September, started 61 of his 75 games for the Clippers last season. Although he averaged just 3.1 PPG, a career-low, he was relied upon for his defense rather than his offense, providing versatility and reliability on that end of the floor.
Assuming the Clippers finalize an agreement with Mbah a Moute, he will become the fourth free agent the Clippers have agreed to re-sign in four days. The team lost Jeff Green to the Magic and Cole Aldrich to the Timberwolves, but has struck deals to bring back Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, and Wesley Johnson.
Jamal Crawford Re-Signs With Clippers
JULY 8th, 7:12pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 3rd, 5:32pm: The Clippers will re-sign veteran guard Jamal Crawford for $42MM over three years, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Crawford had been reported as unhappy with L.A.’s initial offer and was considered a threat to leave, with at least five teams having interest. The Clippers’ first offer was $12M for one season, according to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The 36-year-old Crawford is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, an Award he has captured three times. He averaged 14.2 points per night in 79 games with the Clippers this season.
Crawford, who made $5.675MM during 2015/16, is the second Clippers guard to re-sign this weekend. Austin Rivers inked a three-year, $37.5MM deal on Saturday.
Mavs Sign Dorian Finney-Smith
The Mavericks announced via press release that the team has signed free agent Dorian Finney-Smith. The arrangement is for three years and includes a partial guarantee for the first season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
The 6’8″ forward out of the University of Florida went undrafted this year. Finney-Smith led the Gators in rebounding in all three of his seasons with the team and he led the team in scoring in each of his final two campaigns. Finney-Smith is slated to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League as a part of Dallas’ squad.
Finney-Smith averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 31.8 minutes in 36 games in 2015/16 and was named to the Second Team All-SEC by the conference’s coaches and Third Team All-SEC by the Associated Press, according to the official release. In 134 career collegiate games, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
Suns Sign Jared Dudley
JULY 8th, 5:01pm: The Suns announced that the signing is official.
JULY 1st, 9:14pm: After spending four years in Phoenix earlier in his NBA career, Jared Dudley is returning to the Suns. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the Suns and Dudley have reached an agreement on a three-year, $30MM deal. The pact will be fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of The Associated Press.
Dudley, who will turn 31 later this month, was one of the more talented outside shooters available in free agency this summer. For his career, Dudley has made more than 700 three-pointers, shooting at a 39.9% clip. He made 42.0% of his shots from downtown this past season for the Wizards, averaging at least one three-pointer per game for the seventh straight year.
While Washington reportedly had interest in re-signing Dudley, Phoenix’s primary competitors for the veteran’s services appeared to be the Nets and the Jazz. Brooklyn reportedly made a two-year, $18MM offer to Dudley, while Utah spoke to him multiple times.
For the Suns, Dudley will provide a young team with veteran leadership, and will help make up for some of the outside shooting that was lost when Mirza Teletovic reached an agreement with the Bucks.
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Nets Ink Trevor Booker
JULY 8th, 4:27pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
3:24pm: Booker’s deal is for two years and $18MM, per Jones (on Twitter).
JULY 2nd, 3:01pm: The Nets and unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker have reached an agreement on a contract, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known. Brooklyn apparently pivoted to Booker when negotiations with Marvin Williams fell through, with Williams looking more and more like he will be making his return to the Hornets next season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Brooklyn continues to add veteran pieces and Booker will join Jeremy Lin and Justin Hamilton, whom GM Sean Marks previously came to agreements with, on a revamped Nets squad. Booker was reportedly drawing interest from multiple unnamed teams.
Booker, 28, appeared in 79 games for the Jazz last season and averaged 5.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.7 minutes per outing. His slash line was .490/.293/.670.
Mavericks Waive JaVale McGee
The Mavericks have parted ways with center JaVale McGee, the team announced via press release. He now becomes an unrestricted free agent, provided he clears waivers. The franchise was reportedly looking to find a trade partner for McGee, whose salary of $1,403,611 for 2016/17 was scheduled to become fully guaranteed on July 12th.
It’s no surprise Dallas found no takers for McGee, given that free agency is in full swing and there are plenty of available reserve options still on the market for a new home. Since the big man’s guarantee had not yet kicked in, the Mavs won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of waiving McGee.
McGee, 28, appeared in 34 games for the Mavs this past season and averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per outing. The center shot .575/.000/.500 on the year.
Heat To Sign Derrick Williams
The Heat have agreed to a contract with free agent forward Derrick Williams, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The arrangement is for one year and will pay Williams $5MM, the scribe adds. Ian Begley of ESPN.com first reported Miami’s interest in Williams.
The Knicks had expressed their desire to bring Williams back to New York for next season, but the team lacked the cap flexibility to re-sign him, though, the forward “only” landing a salary of $5MM in the current free agent market is a bit surprising. Williams isn’t necessarily a starting caliber player, but he can certainly be a valuable contributor off the bench. The 25-year-old opted out of his contract with the Knicks in June and was slated to earn $4.598MM for 2016/17, so he secured himself a small raise for his troubles.
Williams appeared in 80 games for the Knicks this past season, including nine tip-offs as a starter. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 17.9 minutes per outing. Williams’ slash line on the year was .450/.293/.758.
A.J. Hammons Signs With Mavericks
JULY 8th, 3:31pm: The signing is official, Dallas announced via press release.
JULY 6th, 5:32pm: The Mavericks have signed second-round pick A.J. Hammons to a guaranteed three-year rookie deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The 7-footer out of Purdue was taken with the 46th pick in last month’s draft.
Hammons, a 280-pound center, was Dallas’ only selection this year. He had a productive senior season with the Boilermakers, averaging 15.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and putting up a 31.3 player efficiency rating.
He will be part of the Mavericks’ summer league team in Las Vegas, beginning this weekend.
Lakers Sign Timofey Mozgov To Four-Year Deal
JULY 8: The Lakers have formally announced their deal with Mozgov, via a press release.
JULY 1: The Lakers have reached an agreement with free agent center Timofey Mozgov on a four-year contract worth $64MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). We heard earlier tonight that the two sides were in serious discussions and were nearing a deal.
It’s an eye-popping payday for Mozgov, who will turn 30 later this month. He was a part-time starter and rotational piece for the Cavaliers’ championship team this past season, averaging 6.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 0.8 BPG in 17.4 minutes per contest. However, he was essentially a non-factor in the playoffs, averaging less than six minutes per game in the 13 postseason contests in which he played.
A year ago, Mozgov was a full-time starter in the postseason for the Cavs, averaging 14.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 2.4 BPG during the team’s 2015 playoff run. That’s the sort of production the Lakers will likely be hoping for from the seven-footer going forward.
Before agreeing to sign Mozgov, the Lakers had been linked to a number of other free agent centers, including Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside, among others. However, it’s not clear how much interest there was from the players’ sides in those cases. For what it’s worth, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets that Pau Gasol wouldn’t have been entirely opposed to a Lakers reunion.
By reaching a non-max deal with a center, the Lakers will also now have a little extra cap flexibility to address other positions.
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Jazz Acquire Boris Diaw From Spurs
FRIDAY, 12:38pm: Diaw is officially a member of the Jazz, according to the team, which issued a press release to announce its trade with the Spurs. Utah acquires Diaw, a 2022 second-round pick, and cash considerations for the rights to Hanlan.
TUESDAY, 3:49pm: The Spurs and the Jazz have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Boris Diaw to Utah, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). San Antonio had been working to trade Diaw in a deal that cleared cap room for Pau Gasol, so the Jazz won’t be sending out any salary in the swap. Instead, as Wojnarowski tweets, the Spurs will get the rights to 2015 second-round pick Olivier Hanlan, who spent last season playing overseas.
Diaw, 34, had spent the last four-plus seasons in San Antonio, serving as a rotational player for the perennially-contending Spurs. He played just 18.2 minutes per game in 2015/16, matching a career low, but was solid when he was on the floor, averaging 6.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG, and posting a .527 FG%.
In Utah, Diaw will be joining an increasingly intriguing roster that will include offseason additions George Hill and Joe Johnson. Utah already has a solid young foundation in place, with Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, and Rodney Hood among the club’s players under contract. The Jazz have supplemented those core pieces this offseason with some solid veteran acquisitions, and should easily be in playoff contention next season.
[RELATED: Utah Jazz depth chart at RosterResource.com]
The Jazz should have the cap room necessary to absorb Diaw’s $7MM salary without making any other notable moves, while for the Spurs, clearing that figure from their cap will allow the team to finalize its agreement with Gasol. San Antonio could have waived Diaw last week and saved $4MM in cap room, since his $7MM salary was only guaranteed for $3MM at that point. However, the Spurs opted to keep him, and were able to clear his entire salary while adding Hanlan to their lengthy list of draft-and-stash players.
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