Blazers Ink Second-Round Pick Jake Layman
11:59am: Layman’s three-year deal with the Blazers will be worth $600K in 2016/17, with subsequent salaries of $905K and $1.1MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Per Pincus, the final year will be non-guaranteed.
JULY 7, 12:30am: The deal is official, the team announced.
JULY 6, 9:48pm: The Trail Blazers have come to terms with 2016 second-rounder Jake Layman on a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth approximately $2.7MM and the first two seasons are fully guaranteed, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays.
Portland acquired the forward’s rights in a draft night trade with the Magic, shipping them $1.MM in cash and a 2019 second-round pick in exchange for the No. 47 overall selection.
Layman, 22, appeared in 36 games for Maryland in 2016/16, averaging 11.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 31.4 minutes per night. His shooting line was .500/.396/.832.
Wizards Decline Option On Drew Gooden
The Wizards have declined their option on veteran power forward Drew Gooden, making him an unrestricted free agent. The news was first reported by ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and confirmed as official in a tweet from J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com.
Salary-cap issues forced the Wizards to set Gooden free. Gooden’s $3.5MM salary for 2016/17 would have been guaranteed if he remained on the roster on July 15. Washington’s guaranteed payroll jumped to $96MM with the reported free agent additions of three other big men, Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith.
Gooden, who turns 35 in September, has played in Washington the past three seasons. He appeared in 30 games last season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.2 minutes. A calf injury was partially responsible for Gooden’s lack of playing time.
Gooden, who has been in the league since the 2002/03 season, has developed into a stretch four during the latter stages of his career. He averaged 41.2% and 39.0%, respectively, on 3-point attempts during his first two seasons with the Wizards. That dropped to 17.1% in limited action last season.
Hornets Re-Sign Nicolas Batum
JULY 7: The Hornets have officially announced their new deal with Batum.
JULY 1: The Hornets have struck a deal with Nicolas Batum, and will bring the veteran forward back on a long-term contract, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter links). Charania reports that Batum and the Hornets have agreed to a five-year, $120MM deal, which will include a player option on the final season.
Batum, 27, would have been eligible for a maximum-salary contract worth in excess of $150MM, so it seems he was willing to settle for significantly less than that to remain in Charlotte, despite the fact that we heard earlier in the night that he was seeking a max deal.
The longtime Trail Blazer was traded from Portland to Charlotte last June, and had a nice bounce-back season in his first year with the Hornets, averaging a career-high 14.9 points per game, to go with 6.1 RPG, 5.8 APG, and 2.0 three-pointers per game.
Prior to reaching an agreement with the Hornets, Batum had scheduled a face-to-face meeting with the Mavericks in Dallas and planned to the Knicks, Lakers and Wizards via phone. It’s not clear whether or not all of those conversations took place. The Lakers reportedly had Batum at or near the top of their free agent wish list.
We ranked Batum eighth on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents, suggesting that he was one of the best – and most versatile – wings available. Teams that missed on Batum may shift their focus to players like Kent Bazemore and Marvin Williams instead.
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Pacers Acquire Jeff Teague; George Hill To Jazz
JULY 7: The Pacers, Jazz, and Hawks have all issued announcements formally confirming that the three-way swap is official. Teague goes to Indiana, Hill heads to Utah, and Atlanta gets the rights to Taurean Prince, the 12th overall pick in last month’s draft.
JUNE 22: The Pacers, Jazz, and Hawks have agreed to a three-way trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who reports that Indiana will acquire Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague and send George Hill to Utah in the deal. The Hawks, meanwhile, will get the No. 12 overall pick in tomorrow’s draft from Utah, says Wojnarowski.
Teague, 28, has been the subject of trade rumors this year despite having an All-Star appearance on his résumé. With just one year left on his contract, Teague has become somewhat expendable in Atlanta due to the continued development of fellow point guard Dennis Schröder, who has made no secret about his desire to be the starter going forward
Teague, who said earlier this month that he played the 2015/16 season with a torn patellar tendon in his knee, still appeared in 79 games, averaging 15.7 points and 5.9 assists, and shooting 43.9% from the field and 40% from three-point range. According to Wojnarowski, the Pacers intend to try to extend Teague’s contract beyond the 2016/17 season. The veteran point guard will be eligible to restructure his deal beginning on July 13th.
In Hill, meanwhile, the Jazz are acquiring a solid defender who can also contribute on the offensive end, particularly from beyond the arc. In 74 regular-season games, Hill averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game, to go along with a 40.8% mark from three-point range. The 30-year-old was also solid in Indiana’s first-round playoff loss to Toronto, increasing his three-point percentage to 48.1% for those seven games. He’ll team with Dante Exum at the point in Utah, and his arrival may push Trey Burke to the trade block.
Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests (via Twitter) that the trade won’t become official until July, which makes sense if no other pieces are involved. That would allow the Jazz to use their cap space in July to absorb Hill’s $8MM salary without moving any other players. From the Pacers’ perspective, Teague’s salary – which will increase to $8.8MM due to his 10% trade kicker – is only a marginal increase on Hill’s.
As for the Hawks, they’d clear Teague’s salary while taking on a cap hold of just under $2MM for the No. 12 overall pick. The move would reduce the guaranteed salaries on Atlanta’s books for 2016/17 to about $44MM, not including the cap holds for their two first-rounders or pending free agents, giving the team plenty of room to re-sign Al Horford and potentially pursue another free agent or two as well.
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Knicks Sign Marshall Plumlee
JULY 7: Plumlee’s agency, Priority Sports, has officially announced the big man’s deal with the Knicks (via Twitter). According to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (via Twitter), the contract is for three years, and is fully guaranteed in year one.
JUNE 24: The Knicks and Marshall Plumlee have agreed to a free agent deal, Shams Charania of the Vertical reports (Twitter link). The details of his contract are not available yet, though Charania reports that Plumlee’s salary will be guaranteed.
Plumlee was the 81st-best prospect in this year’s class, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. He averaged 8.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during his senior season at Duke.
The Knicks had only five players under contract entering today, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. The team came to terms with Ron Baker earlier today, which, along with Plumlee’s agreement, brings the roster count to seven.
Blazers, Magic Finalize Shabazz Napier Trade
THURSDAY, 10:26am: The Magic announced today in a press release that they’ve acquired cash considerations from the Blazers in exchange for Napier.
TUESDAY, 12:08pm: The Magic are finalizing a trade that will send point guard Shabazz Napier to the Trail Blazers in exchange for cash considerations, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The deal can’t become official until Thursday, at the earliest.
Napier, who will turn 25 next week, was the 24th overall pick in the 2014 draft, and spent his rookie year with the Heat. He was a rotation piece for most of that season, averaging nearly 20 minutes per contest. However, Miami sent him to the Magic last summer for a heavily-protected second-round pick, and he saw his role reduced in Orlando, averaging just 10.9 minutes per game in 55 appearances.
[RELATED: Magic and Trail Blazers depth charts at RosterResource.com]
With Elfrid Payton penciled in as the Magic’ starting point guard, C.J. Watson still in the mix, and D.J. Augustin set to sign with the team as a free agent, there was no room left in the rotation for Napier heading into next season, making him expendable.
The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, have utilized primary shooting guard C.J. McCollum as a alternative to Damian Lillard at the point, but the team doesn’t really have another backup point guard on the roster with Brian Roberts eligible for free agency. Napier will add depth at the position.
Hornets Acquire Marco Belinelli From Kings
JULY 7: The Hornets have formally confirmed in a press release that they’ve acquired Belinelli from the Kings in exchange for the rights to Malachi Richardson, the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s draft.
JUNE 23: The Hornets and Kings have agreed to a trade that will send the No. 22 overall pick to Sacramento in exchange for veteran shooting guard Marco Belinelli, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links). The deal that will make Belinelli a Hornet can’t be processed until July, but Charlotte will be selecting a player for the Kings at No. 22 tonight.
The deal comes as a bit of a surprise, since Belinelli hasn’t exactly been at his best during the last two seasons in Sacramento. In 2015/16, he scored in double digits for the team, but shot just .386 from the field and .306 from three-point range. Both marks were the worst of his nine-year NBA career.
Still, the Hornets are apparently confident that Belinelli, a 37.9% career three-point shooter, can bounce back and give them more positive value than the No. 22 overall pick could have. The 30-year-old is under contract for two more seasons, with a salary of $6.33MM in 2016/17 and $6.606 the following year. If he comes back strong next year, that’s not a bad price for a bench scorer and outside shooter.
The Hornets only currently have $46MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season, so they should have plenty of room to absorb Belinelli’s salary under the cap in July. The move also gives the team some insurance in case Courtney Lee signs elsewhere as a free agent.
As for the Kings, they’ll clear a little salary and are now armed with two first-round picks. We heard earlier this evening that Sacramento is exploring deals involving the No. 8 pick. Acquiring a second first-rounder could give the club a little more ammunition to attempt to move up, and would still allow the team to add a first-round rookie tonight if it decides to move that No. 8 pick for future selections.
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Mavericks Acquire Andrew Bogut From Warriors
THURSDAY, 9:24am: The Mavericks have formally confirmed in a press release that they’ve acquired Bogut and a future second-round pick in exchange for a conditional future second-rounder.
MONDAY, 6:11pm: The Mavs will receive a conditional 2019 second-round draft choice along with Bogut, a league source told Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
3:37pm: The Mavs are sending a future second-round pick to Golden State as part of the deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
1:35pm: The Warriors and Mavs are now in agreement on a trade involving Bogut, Stein reports (via Twitter).
1:29pm: The Warriors and Mavericks are in the “final stages” of negotiations on a trade that will send Andrew Bogut to Dallas, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). There are still some details to be sorted out, but it looks like a deal will get done, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Stein had reported earlier today that the Mavs had emerged as a strong potential suitor for Bogut, in the wake of Kevin Durant‘s agreement with Golden State.
Because the Warriors need to clear cap room, the Mavs won’t be sending back any salary in the proposed deal, and will absorb Bogut into their own cap space. The other parts of the deal aren’t known yet.
Dallas will have to send something to Golden State in the deal, but it could just be a heavily-protected future draft pick or the NBA rights to a previously-drafted player. If draft picks are involved in the swap, I’d expect the Mavs to land the better pick, since they’re essentially doing the Warriors a favor, allowing Golden State to clear the room necessary for Durant.
A former No. 1 overall pick, Bogut remains a solid presence in the middle when he’s healthy. His 5.4 PPG for the Warriors this past season represented a career-low, but he contributed 5.3 RPG and 1.6 BPG to go along with a .627 FG%. Golden State obviously didn’t lean on Bogut for offense, but the team seemed to miss his rim protection and rebounding in the NBA Finals after he went down with a knee injury.
In addition to finalizing a deal for Bogut, the Mavericks are attempting to secure an agreement with Harrison Barnes, and will look to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki, per Wojnarowski.
Meanwhile, with a probable landing spot lined up for Bogut’s $12.68MM salary, the Warriors intend to fully guarantee Shaun Livingston‘s $5.78MM salary for the coming season, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
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Pacers Acquire Thaddeus Young From Nets
JULY 7: The swap sending Young to the Pacers in exchange for the rights to No. 20 overall pick Caris LeVert and a future second-round pick is now official, according to a Nets press release.
JUNE 23: The Pacers have agreed to acquire Thaddeus Young from the Nets in exchange for the No. 20 overall pick in tonight’s NBA draft and a future protected second-rounder, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). The scribe had reported earlier that several Western Conference teams had been aggressively pursuing Young, who Brooklyn was looking to deal to the highest bidder in an effort to land a first round pick, which it nabbed from Indiana in the swap.
This is the second big move by Indiana in the past two days, with the team landing point guard Jeff Teague from Atlanta in a three-team trade on Wednesday. It certainly appears that team executive Larry Bird is serious about retooling his squad for new coach Nate McMillan.
For Brooklyn, flipping Young for a first-rounder clearly signals that the franchise is shifting into full-rebuild mode. Given the Nets’ lack of talent, it is a bit puzzling why they would give up on Young, who is under contract for three more seasons at a fairly reasonable rate. Young, 28, is slated to earn $12,078,652 next season, $12,921,348 in 2017/18 and $13,764,045 the final year.
In 73 appearances for Brooklyn this past season, Young averaged 15.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 33.0 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .514/.233/.644.
Mavs Sign Harrison Barnes To Four-Year Deal
THURSDAY: Barnes is officially a Maverick, tweeting out a photo that shows him formally signing his new contract early on Thursday morning.
MONDAY: With Harrison Barnes poised to be renounced by the Warriors and reach unrestricted free agency, he and the Mavericks have reached a verbal agreement on a four-year, $94MM contract, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The Warriors’ agreement with Kevin Durant opened the door for Dallas to secure a commitment from Barnes without having to worry about Golden State matching an offer sheet.
[RELATED: Mavs, Warriors agree to Andrew Bogut deal]
Barnes, 24, had been with the Warriors since the team drafted him in 2012. The former seventh overall pick turned down a reported $64MM extension offer prior to the 2015/16 season, and is now in position to make an additional $30MM over the several years because of that decision.
Barnes has been a solid rotational piece for the Warriors throughout his first four NBA seasons, shooting 37.6% on three-pointers and averaging double-digits in points for his career. However, he was inconsistent in the playoffs, no-showing in some key games down the stretch for Golden State. In the NBA Finals, Barnes shot just 35.2% from the floor, including 31.0% from three-point range, and many of those attempts were uncontested.
Still, Barnes was never really more than the fourth option on offense in Golden State — he’ll almost certainly have a larger role in the offense in Dallas, and will get a chance to show that there’s still room for improvement in his production. The UNC product will replace Chandler Parsons at small forward for the Mavericks, after Parsons reached a deal to join the Grizzlies earlier in free agency.
The Mavs had been prepared to sign Barnes to an offer sheet before word broke that the Warriors would be making him an unrestricted free agent.
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