Knicks Sign Joakim Noah To Four-Year Deal
JULY 8, 12:34pm: The Knicks have officially signed Noah, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JULY 1, 9:41pm: As expected, the Knicks and Noah have agree to a four-year, $72MM deal after their meeting today, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. It will be a fully guaranteed contract with no options, per Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
2:42pm: Noah has posted a photo on Instagram that shows him wearing a Knicks cap, which is a pretty strong signal that he’ll sign with the team when the moratorium ends next week.
JUNE 30, 11:58pm: Noah and the Knicks are nearing an agreement on a four-year deal worth around $72MM, sources tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
11:11pm: With free agency now open, the Knicks are discussing the framework of a deal that would be in the four-year, $70MM range, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter links). The two sides will continue negotiations during their Friday afternoon meeting, per Charania.
7:05am: The Knicks are the strong favorites to land longtime Bulls big man Joakim Noah when the free agent period opens in July, according to multiple reports. Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ian Begley, Shams Charania of The Vertical, and Sam Amick of USA Today all independently reported late on Wednesday night that the Knicks are in the driver’s seat in the Noah sweepstakes.
According to Charania and Amick, Noah has a meeting set up with Phil Jackson and the Knicks after free agency formally gets underway at 12:00am on July 1st. Marc Berman of The New York Post clarifies that the meeting between the two sides is expected to happen during the day on Friday, rather than late at night, but he also suggests that the Knicks are the prohibitive favorites for Noah. There’s belief on both sides that an agreement could come quickly, says Charnia.
Amick indicates within his report that Noah is still expected to consider multiple teams besides the Knicks, but those clubs have yet to line up a formal meeting with the 31-year-old. Sources tell Stein and Begley that a few teams with interest in Noah have “all but conceded” that the Knicks are No. 1 on his wish list by a sizable margin — the two-time All-Star has expressed strong interest in signing in New York in recent days, since teammate Derrick Rose was traded to the club, per the ESPN duo.
Assuming Noah and the Knicks do indeed work something out, his starting salary may end up in the range of $18MM, according to Bontemps. That would be a significant investment from the Knicks, who are expected to have over $30MM in cap room, and would likely take the team out of the running for some mid-tier free agents, in addition to max-salary players.
Noah underwent surgery on his separated left shoulder back in January, and while he should be ready to go for the 2016/17 campaign, he hasn’t played a game since that procedure. In 2015/16, he appeared in just 29 games, averaging 4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per contest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sixers’ Furkan Korkmaz To Remain In Turkey
The 26th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Furkan Korkmaz, is set to remain in Turkey for another year, according to multiple reports. Sportando, Eurobasket, and TrendBasket are among the international outlets confirming that Korkmaz is returning to his Turkish team, Anadolu Efes, for at least one more season. International basketball journalist David Pick first reported on draft night that Korkmaz wouldn’t join the 76ers right away.
Korkmaz, who will turn 19 later this month, was selected by the Sixers with the third of their three first-round picks in June. Unlike fellow first-rounders Ben Simmons and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, he didn’t sign his rookie deal with Philadelphia last week in order to join the club for Summer League action.
Korkmaz, in his age-18 season, played sparingly for Anadolu Efes in Euroleague action this year, averaging just 8.3 minutes per game in 19 appearances. He did shoot 42.3% on three-pointers during that small sample size.
While Philadelphia won’t be bringing over Korkmaz right away, the team may end up signing another Anadolu Efes player this month. Dario Saric, the 12th overall pick in 2014 and Korkmaz’s teammate in Turkey, is a good bet to join the Sixers for the 2016/17 season.
Blazers Sign Festus Ezeli
FRIDAY, 10:04am: The Blazers have made their deal with Ezeli official, announcing the signing in a press release.
THURSDAY, 8:36pm: The Trail Blazers and unrestricted free agent Festus Ezeli have come to an agreement on a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). It will be a two-year deal worth $16MM, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets. The arrangement includes a team option for the second year, Spears adds (via Twitter). Ezeli became an unrestricted free agent after the Warriors renounced his rights earlier this week. He met with team officials on Wednesday in Portland, where things apparently went well.
It remains to be seen what effect inking Ezeli will have on the team’s dealings with restricted free agent Allen Crabbe. The swingman reportedly agreed to a four-year, $70MM offer sheet from the Nets, but a later report noted that no offer had been made. With Brooklyn signing Heat restricted free agent Tyler Johnson to a $50MM offer sheet, it’s unclear if Crabbe remains in the Nets’ plans, or is now viewed as a fallback option if Miami matches the offer to Johnson.
Ezeli saw only 16.7 minutes per game last season, but he made the most of his time, sporting a 17.7 player efficiency rating and averaging 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Celtics Sign Al Horford
JULY 8: The Celtics have officially announced the signing of Horford, who says in a statement that he’s “extremely excited” to be heading to Boston.
JULY 2: The Celtics plan to sign Al Horford to a four-year, $113MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Horford, on his verified account, changed his avatar to the Celtics’ logo and tweeted, “Celtics Pride,” in an unsubtle way of announcing the agreement.
The signing is a coup for the Celtics, who have not landed a free agent in his prime in quite some time, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe relays. The decision is also somewhat surprising, given that the Hawks appeared to have momentum to re-sign the veteran, according to Wojnarowksi, who just minutes prior reported the Celtics figured Horford would stay in Atlanta. Alas, the Hawks and Horford were $6MM apart on a deal, Wojnarowski tweets.
Interestingly, there was also a time when Horford preferred to sign with the Wizards, per Wojnarowski. What’s more, the Thunder pitched to Horford, but he turned them down because there was no assurance that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would be there long-term, Wojnarowski tweets. Horford also reportedly had some level of interest from the Lakers, Magic, Pistons, and Nets, but those teams were never serious suitors for the veteran big man.
In Horford, the Celtics now have one of the better big men in the league. The longtime Hawk leaves the franchise he joined as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft, and the city in which developed into a four-time All-Star. Horford appeared in all 82 regular season games for Atlanta this past season, averaging 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.1 minutes per night. His shooting line was .505/.344/.798.
We ranked Horford as this year’s No. 3 free agent, behind only Durant and LeBron James. This is turning out to be a big weekend for Boston, which hosted Durant Saturday and still as the cap flexibility to land the superstar, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical points out on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Trail Blazers Waive Cliff Alexander
The Trail Blazers have waived power forward Cliff Alexander, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). The move was required for Portland to free up the cap room necessary to sign Festus Ezeli without losing the rights to key restricted free agents.
Alexander, 20, signed with the Blazers as an undrafted rookie out of Kansas last July, but only saw action in eight games for the club during the 2015/16 season, playing a total of 36 minutes. Alexander’s contract had originally called for his 2016/17 salary to become guaranteed on June 30, but Portland pushed that guarantee date back to July 25, meaning the team won’t be on the hook for his cap hit for the coming season.
Per Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (via Twitter), assuming Alexander isn’t claimed off waivers by another team, the Blazers say he will be welcome to continue playing with their Summer League team this month.
Meanwhile, the Blazers also still face decisions on their three restricted free agents. Allen Crabbe has agreed to a huge four-year offer sheet with the Nets that Portland has three days to match, while Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless still remain unsigned.
Allen Crabbe Signs Offer Sheet With Nets
JULY 7th, 10:14pm: Crabbe has signed an offer sheet with the Nets worth $75MM over four years, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). There are performance bonuses included that can up the value of the agreement to $83MM, the scribe adds.
6:47pm: The offer to Crabbe is being refuted, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Crabbe will meet with the Nets on Tuesday to discuss a contract, but apparently no offer has been made.
JULY 3rd, 6:22pm: Allen Crabbe will receive a four-year, $70MM offer sheet from the Nets, tweets international journalist David Pick. He adds that Portland doesn’t plan to match the offer for the restricted free agent.
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.
It has been a busy three days for the Nets who have also added Jeremy Lin, Justin Hamilton and Trevor Booker, while making a $50MM offer to Tyler Johnson.
Sixers To Sign Shawn Long, James Webb III
The Sixers continue to fill out their roster for training camp, inking undrafted free agents Shawn Long and James Webb III, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). The pacts are identical two-year, minimum salary agreements that include partial guarantees of $65K for 2016/17, Pincus adds.
Long, 23, appeared in 34 games as a senior for Louisiana-Lafayette, averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 30.6 minutes per contest. The 6’9″ power forward shot .524/.269/.681 from the field in 2015/16.
Webb, 22, entered the draft as a junior out of Boise State, and despite some mock drafts slotting him as a potential second-rounder, he failed to have his name called on draft night. The forward made 31 appearances this past season and notched averages of 15.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30.6 minutes per outing. His slash line was .494/.248/.684.
Lakers Acquire Jose Calderon
JULY 7th, 8:07pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release.
JULY 6th, 9:22pm: The Lakers and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send Jose Calderon to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s unknown what Chicago is receiving in return, though with the team looking to clear cap room, it’s not likely to be a player.
Chicago had acquired Calderon as part of the Derrick Rose trade with New York and needed to clear his cap hit in order to ink Dwyane Wade, who has reportedly agreed to a deal with the team. Also being shipped out of Chicago tonight is Mike Dunleavy. The Nets were close to acquiring Calderon before Los Angeles swooped in, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
Calderon appeared in 72 games for the Knicks this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per outing. His slash line was .459/.414/.875.
Bulls Send Mike Dunleavy To The Cavs
JULY 7th, 8:04pm: The trade is official, the Cavaliers announced.
JULY 6th, 9:06pm: The Bulls will send Mike Dunleavy to the Cavs, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Cleveland will use a trade exception to bring Dunleavy to the team, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). LeBron James personally recruited Dunleavy as a free agent last summer, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune mentions on Twitter.
The Bucks were also in pursuit of the veteran small forward, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Chicago needed to shed salary after agreeing to a deal with Dwyane Wade.
The defending champs were reportedly looking for a wing player this summer and Dunleavy should be a nice addition. He shot 39.4% from downtown in 31 games for the Bulls last season.
Suns Ink Bender, Chriss, Ulis
The Suns announced that 2016 draftees Dragan Bender (No. 4 overall), Marquese Chriss (No. 8 overall) and Tyler Ulis (No. 34 overall) have officially inked their rookie-scale deals with the team.
Bender spent the 2015/16 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. He averaged 5.5 points on 47.9% shooting, while connecting on 41.1% of his attempts from three-point range. Bender was the youngest player in the 2016 NBA Draft and he also became the first Croatian ever to be a top-four selection in the NBA Draft, according to the official release.
Chriss, a 6’10” power forward, averaged 13.7 points on 53.0% shooting from the field and 35.0% from beyond the arc. He also added 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over his 34 games at Washington. Chriss notched 55 blocks overall to lead all Pac-12 freshmen.
Ulis, a 5’10” point guard from Kentucky, was named the SEC Player of the Year by the coaches and media after averaging 17.3 points, 7.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35 games this past season.