Rockets To Waive Andrew Goudelock
The Rockets are parting ways with point guard Andrew Goudelock, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Houston won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of the move and Goudelock will become an unrestricted free agent, provided he clears waivers. Combo forward Michael Beasley was also reportedly on the bubble with the team, but waiving Goudelock likely means that Houston intends to keep him.
Houston is cutting ties with Goudelock well in advance of August 1st, which is when his salary of $1,015,696 for 2016/17 would become fully guaranteed. The team normally doesn’t make decisions this far in advance of deadlines, but the organization wanted to give the guard as much time to find a new team as possible, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter links).
Goudelock appeared in just eight games after signing with the Rockets in March when he completed his season in China. He averaged 2.8 points and 0.5 assists in 6.3 minutes per outing, shooting .450/.111/.750 from the field.
Bucks Acquire Dellavedova From Cavs
JULY 7, 3:53pm: The Cavs and the Bucks have agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that sends Dellavedova to Milwaukee in exchange for cash and the rights to Albert Miralles, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. Cleveland will also create a trade exception worth $4.8MM as a result of the swap, Haynes adds. The Cavs have announced the deal is official via press release.
JULY 4, 1:13pm: The Cavaliers won’t match the Bucks’ offer sheet for Dellavedova, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.
JULY 1, 3:40pm: LeBron James has tweeted congratulations to Dellavedova, wishing him good luck in Milwaukee, which makes it sounds as if the Cavs won’t match Milwaukee’s offer sheet.
3:04pm: An agreement between the Bucks and Dellavedova is now in place, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter link) says Milwaukee and Cleveland have had some sign-and-trade discussions, but there’s no traction there at this point. The Bucks aren’t expecting the Cavs to match an offer sheet.
2:59pm: The Bucks are nearing an agreement with Matthew Dellavedova on a four-year, $38MM deal, reports ESPN’s Zach Lowe (via Twitter). David Aldridge of NBA.com confirms (via Twitter) that the two sides are close to a deal, pegging the exact value at $38.4MM.
Dellavedova is currently a restricted free agent, having received a qualifying offer from the Cavaliers. Assuming the Cavs don’t take that qualifying offer off the table, Milwaukee would have to sign the guard to an offer sheet, and hope Cleveland doesn’t match. If the Cavs were to rescind the QO, the Bucks could sign Dellavedova outright as an unrestricted free agent.
The Kings, Hawks, and Mavericks were among the other teams that reached out to Dellavedova’s camp to express interest after free agency got underway last night. According to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link), Sacramento viewed Dellavedova as a sign-and-trade possibility, so perhaps the Bucks and Cavs will discuss that option as well. If it’s an offer sheet, Cleveland will have three days to match once it’s formally signed.
Dellavedova, 25, was a part-time player for the Cavs during the last three seasons, averaging 7.5 PPG and 4.4 APG while shooting 41.0% from three-point range in 2015/16. He also played some key minutes in the postseason for Cleveland the last two years, though his minutes were reduced in this year’s playoffs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wizards Acquire Trey Burke
JULY 7TH: The trade is now official, the Jazz announced.
JULY 3RD: The Jazz are close to completing a trade that will send point guard Trey Burke to the Wizards, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Utah will reportedly receive a second-round pick in return (Twitter link). The pick is for 2021, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge.
Burke has been on the trading block since the Jazz made a deal to acquire George Hill from the Pacers. Burke has spent his entire three-year career with Utah after being acquired from the Timberwolves in a 2013 draft-day deal. He averaged 10.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game this season in a reserve role, but there were rumblings that Jazz management had soured on Burke after he failed to win the starting job when Dante Exum was lost for the season with an injury.
Burke’s acquisition may mean the Wizards are not planning to re-sign point guards Ramon Sessions and Garrett Temple. Both are 30-year-old free agents.
Kevin Durant Signs With Warriors
JULY 7TH: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 4TH: After nine years with the franchise, Kevin Durant has decided to leave the Thunder and will join the Warriors. Durant formally announced his decision on Monday morning in a post on The Players’ Tribune. Per ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the deal will be a two-year pact worth about $54.3MM, with a player option for that second year.
“The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player — as that has always steered me in the right direction,” Durant wrote. “But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth. With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.
“It really pains me to know that I will disappoint so many people with this choice, but I believe I am doing what I feel is the right thing at this point in my life and my playing career,” Durant added.
Although the team wasn’t formally allowed to speak to him until this past Friday, the Warriors’ pursuit of Durant has been ongoing for months, with Golden State players remaining in contact with him, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets.
Wojnarowski adds that the Warriors sold Durant on the opportunity to win multiple titles together, and to ease Stephen Curry‘s workload. Durant will join a stacked Golden State roster that will feature not just Curry, but Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as well, creating an incredibly imposing “big four” — all four players earned spots on one of the 2016 All-NBA teams earlier this year.
[RELATED: Updated Warriors’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
With Durant on the way, the Warriors will need to clear the cap space necessary to sign him to his new contract. The most logical roster move for Golden State looks like a trade of center Andrew Bogut, who is set to earn $12,681,081 in 2016/17. According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), at least three teams have expressed interest in acquiring Bogut.
Meanwhile, restricted free agent Harrison Barnes will also be headed elsewhere as a result of the Durant acquisition. The Mavericks are expected to offer Barnes a max deal when the July moratorium ends on Thursday, so Dallas could very well be his next destination. The Warriors may rescind Barnes’ cap hold, allowing him to sign with the Mavs as an unrestricted free agent — per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link), the team is doing just that with Festus Ezeli‘s QO, which will make him a UFA.
Once the Dubs officially get Durant under contract, the team will likely just have the room exception – worth about $3MM – and the minimum-salary exception to fill out its roster. Given the free-agent prices we’ve seen so far this week, that money may not go far, but it’s also entirely possible that veterans seeking a title will want to join the Warriors’ stacked squad and will be willing to take a pay cut to do so.
As for the teams that failed to land Durant, the Thunder are obviously the most interesting case. With Russell Westbrook a year from free agency himself, Oklahoma City may have to seriously consider the possibility of exploring the trade market for Westbrook, rather than risking having him leave for nothing. However, now that they won’t be paying Durant $26MM+ in 2016/17, the Thunder have a little flexibility to try to go out and fortify the roster with another free agent addition, so GM Sam Presti will have some difficult decisions to make.
The Heat, meanwhile, now have the opportunity to mend fences with Dwyane Wade since the team won’t need a huge chunk of cap space for Durant. The Spurs will likely move on to other free agent pursuits — they’re currently considered a frontrunner for Pau Gasol. The Celtics were at least able to add a top-five free agent over the weekend by reaching an agreement with Al Horford, so they’ve improved their roster this week and still have cap room and assets to make additional moves. As for the Clippers, they were informed earlier in the process that they were out of the running for Durant, and have already begun reaching deals with their own free agents, including Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers.
With Durant eligible for an increased maximum salary a year from now, and Curry’s contract also set to expire next summer, the Warriors are on track to finalize a pair of massive contracts in 2017, assuming Durant does indeed sign a long-term deal with the team at that point.
Because Golden State will only have Durant’s Non-Bird rights in 2017, the club will have to make sure it has enough cap room to fit the former MVP’s new max salary (approximately $35MM) next summer, unless he’s willing to take a much more modest raise. For now, keeping that cap room available doesn’t look like it should be a problem for the Warriors, who only have two guaranteed salaries – Thompson’s and Green’s – on the books for 2017/18
With Durant’s decision now official, the rumor mill for the free agent market figures to come back to life — there had been little free-agent news this morning, as the league waited for the star forward to announce his destination.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Magic Sign Second-Rounder Stephen Zimmerman
The Magic formally announced four free agent signings today, and didn’t stop there, moving on to locking up their lone draft pick. The team announced this afternoon in a press release that second-rounder Stephen Zimmerman has officially signed his first NBA contract. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Zimmerman, a center out of UNLV, was the 41st overall pick in last month’s draft. Because the Magic sent their first-round pick to Oklahoma City in the trade that landed Serge Ibaka, Zimmerman was Orlando’s only draftee of 2016.
In his lone season at UNLV, Zimmerman averaged 10.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG in 26 contests (26.2 MPG). The seven-footer was ranked 40th overall by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, which was nearly right in line with his draft slot. On the night of the draft, Givony noted (via Twitter) that Zimmerman, who turns 20 in September, may have been selected higher if not for medical concerns about his right elbow.
With deals for Bismack Biyombo, Evan Fournier, Jeff Green, and D.J. Augustin now finalized, the Magic don’t appear to have any cap room left. It’s possible the team uses some of its room exception to sign Zimmerman, but his deal is more likely to be a two-year, minimum-salary pact.
Hawks Re-Sign Kent Bazemore
JULY 7: The Hawks have sent out a formal press release announcing their new deal with Bazemore.
JULY 1: The Hawks have secured one of their own free agents, according to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta and Kent Bazemore have agreed to terms on a four-year, $70MM contract, which will feature a player option on the final year.
It’s the second big-money deal the team has struck today — the Hawks also reached an agreement with Dwight Howard on a three-year contract worth $70.5MM. The two deals for Bazemore and Howard will almost certainly take Atlanta out of the running for Al Horford, meaning he’ll likely find a new home within the next few days.
Bazemore, who went undrafted out of Old Dominion, emerged as a reliable three-and-D player for the Hawks last season, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc.
We heard early in free agency that it might take an offer in the $19-20MM-per-year range to land Bazemore, and the Hawks will ultimately pay a little less than that — his reported deal averages $17.5MM annually. According to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter), Bazemore turned down four-year, $72MM offers from the Lakers and Rockets to return to Atlanta.
In addition to Los Angeles and Houston, the Bucks, Grizzlies, Nets, and Pelicans were among the rival suitors for Bazemore, and were in touch with him before he made his decision, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. There had been speculation that Bazemore would take a few days before deciding on his team — instead, he agreed to a contract with the Hawks on the day of his 27th birthday. Not a bad gift.
The value of Bazemore’s new deal is right in line with the four-year, $70MM deal agreed to by Evan Turner and the Trail Blazers earlier today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Magic Re-Sign Evan Fournier
JULY 7, 1:25pm: The Magic have now confirmed all their previously-reported free agent signings, wrapping up their series of announcements by tweeting that they’ve re-signed Fournier.
JULY 1, 3:19pm: Fournier’s new contract will include a player option in the fifth year that would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
2:27pm: The Magic have reached an agreement with restricted free agent Evan Fournier on a five-year contract that will be worth about $85MM, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (via Twitter). Both sides had been interested in finding common ground on an extension, with Fournier indicating as free agency opened that he wasn’t sure if he’d even take any meetings with rival suitors.
Fournier, 23, enjoyed a breakout season for the Magic in 2015/16, starting a career-high 71 of 79 games for the team and establishing new career-best marks in several other categories as well, including PPG (15.4), APG (2.7), RPG (2.8), and 3P (2.0). He also had a very solid shooting line of .462/.400/.836.
With his rookie contract having expired, Fournier received a qualifying offer from the Magic earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent and giving the team the right of first refusal. Given the numbers we’ve seen on many of the early free agent agreements today, it seems possible that Fournier could’ve found a maximum-salary offer sheet – which would have been worth closer to $95MM over four years – from another team. Instead, he’ll take slightly less than that to remain with the Magic on a five-year pact.
Since sending Victor Oladipo to the Thunder as part of the trade package that landed Serge Ibaka in Orlando, the Magic have been very active in fortifying their backcourt. The club acquired Jodie Meeks in a trade with the Pistons, then agreed to sign D.J. Augustin earlier today, before reaching an extension agreement with Fournier.
Fournier ranked 14th on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Notes: Timberwolves, Wizards, Randolph
- The Wizards have interest in re-signing shooting guard Alan Anderson and will meet with him this weekend, league sources told J. Michael of CSNmidlatlantic.com (Twitter links). The meeting is expected to take place in Las Vegas, Michael adds. Anderson, who made $4MM last season, appeared in just 13 games with the Wizards after undergoing a second surgery on his left ankle. The previous season, he played in 74 games with the Nets and averaged 7.4 points in 23.6 minutes.
- Shooting guard Brandon Paul is drawing major interest around the league after some strong performances for the Hornets’ summer-league team, Sportando tweets. He’s averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through four games in the Orlando Summer League. The 6’4” Paul went undrafted in 2013 out of the University of Illinois and has been playing for a Spanish league team, FIATC Joventut.
- Forward Anthony Randolph will remain in Europe and sign a one-year deal with Spain’s Real Madrid, a source told Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Randolph received interest from the Mavericks this summer, Spears adds. The contract will be the $1.5MM-$2MM range, international journalist David Pick tweets. The 6’11” Randolph hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, when he appeared in 43 games with the Nuggets.
- Power forward Willie Reed has drawn interest from the Warriors, Spurs, Heat, Thunder, Timberwolves and Pacers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Reed, an unrestricted free agent, averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes over 39 games with the Nets last season.
- Free agent center Robert Sacre, who played the last four seasons with the Lakers, has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and Rockets, Wolfson reports in a separate tweet.
Mavericks, Pacers Finalize Jeremy Evans Trade
THURSDAY, 1:05pm: The Pacers have officially confirmed the trade, announcing in a press release that they’ll receive Evans, cash considerations, and the rights to Emir Preldzic from the Mavericks in exchange for the rights to Stanko Barac.
WEDNESDAY, 11:57am: The Mavericks and Pacers are finalizing an agreement on a trade that will send Jeremy Evans and cash to Indiana, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links). ESPN’s Marc Stein first reported on Tuesday that Dallas was “increasingly likely” to move Evans and his $1,227,286 salary to free up a little extra cap room.
Evans, 28, appeared in 30 contests for Dallas this past season, including two starts. The veteran forward only played 8.4 minutes per contest, averaging 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks to accompany a shooting line of .542/.250/.714. He had season-ending surgery on a torn labrum in March.
The Pacers almost certainly aren’t counting on Evans to have a major role in their rotation, but he could help provide some depth at small forward, with Solomon Hill headed to New Orleans in free agency. With Hill, Ian Mahinmi, and potentially Jordan Hill all potentially ticketed for new homes, Indiana has done a nice job replenishing its frontcourt this offseason, adding Al Jefferson and Thaddeus Young, along with Evans.
[RELATED: Indiana Pacers’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
As for the Mavericks, the contracts and trades they’ve agreed to this July had them just slightly over their available cap room, based on the reported salary figures. So it makes sense that the team would look to move Evans to create a little extra flexibility to fit all those deals. Dallas also may trade or waive JaVale McGee before his 2016/17 salary becomes guaranteed next week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Timberwolves Sign Lottery Pick Kris Dunn
The Timberwolves have signed point guard Kris Dunn, the fifth pick in last month’s draft, the team announced in a press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed but assuming Dunn received the standard 120% of his scale amount, he would make $3,872,520 in his first season and $19,302,919 through the remainder of his four-year rookie contract.
Dunn was the first point guard chosen in the draft after a stellar career with Providence. The two-time Big East Player of the Year and conference Defensive Player of the Year averaged 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a junior last season.
The 6-4 Dunn will compete for minutes with Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, though either could be traded by the start of the season to open up playing time for Dunn. Minnesota has shopped Rubio and head coach Tom Thibodeau is optimistic his trade value will increase from teams who failed to sign a starting point guard in free agency.
The Timberwolves and Bulls were engaged in draft-night trade talks involving Dunn and Jimmy Butler, per several reports, but couldn’t agree on a deal. Chicago wound up agreeing to terms with free agent point guard Rajon Rondo.