Knicks Rescind Langston Galloway’s Qualifying Offer
The Knicks have rescinded their qualifying offer to shooting guard Langston Galloway, making him an unrestricted free agent, sources told Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Galloway’s qualifying offer was worth $2.725MM.
The move was likely made to fit Brandon Jennings‘ contract offer into cap space, Begley continues. The former Bucks, Pistons and Magic point guard agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with New York on Monday. Galloway could still re-sign with the Knicks but rescinding the QO obviously reduces their bargaining power, since they could have matched an offer when he was a restricted free agent.
Galloway appeared in all 82 games in his second season with the Knicks, though he started just seven games. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.8 minutes while shooting 39.3% from the field.
The club has not renounced free agent forward Lance Thomas, so it can use Early Bird rights to sign him to a contract worth a maximum of approximately $6.2MM, Begley adds.
Several teams have shown an interest in signing Galloway, and Thomas also has a number of suitors, including the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nets and Hawks, Begley previously reported.
Magic Rescind Dedmon’s Qualifying Offer
The Magic will rescind their qualifying offer to Dewayne Dedmon, making the 7-foot center an unrestricted free agent, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Dedmon had gone into the free agent market as a restricted free agent after the Magic made a qualifying offer of $1,215,696.
Dedmon, who will be entering his fourth season in the league, has received some interest from the Warriors, who are seeking a rim protector to round out their roster, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Removing Dedmon from their roster gives the Magic more wiggle room to sign Raptors free agent center Bismack Biyombo, who committed to Orlando for four years and $72MM.
The pending acquisition of Biyombo, along with the presence of Nikola Vucevic, made Dedmon expendable. Recently-acquired Serge Ibaka can also slide over to the middle, if necessary.
Dedmon appeared in 58 games with the Magic last season, including 20 starts. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes.
Kings Waive Caron Butler, Duje Dukan
The Kings have waived small forward Caron Butler and power forward Duje Dukan, sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical.
That frees up more roster space, though Butler had already exercised his player option worth $1,551,659 for next season. Deleting Dukan from the roster gives them a little more cap room, since Dukan’s $874,636 contract was not guaranteed.
Butler might have trouble finding a new team if he doesn’t retire, though Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical believes the Heat might have some interest. The Kings obviously would have moved his contract if they could have found a taker. The 36-year-old barely saw the floor during the 2015/16 season, playing a total of 176 minutes in 17 games for the Kings. Most of his absences were primarily the result of DNP-CDs.
Dukan signed with the Kings after going undrafted last June. The University of Wisconsin product spent most of the season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, before appearing in one April game with Sacramento. Dukan can still play on the Kings’ summer team even though he’s been waived, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes.
Knicks Sign Brandon Jennings
FRIDAY, 1:07pm: The Knicks have officially signed Jennings, the team announced today (via Twitter).
MONDAY, 3:28pm: It’ll be a one-year, $5MM deal for Jennings and the Knicks, according to Goodwill (Twitter link). That could be a nice value pickup for New York if the former 10th overall pick can stay on the court in 2016/17.
3:19pm: Veteran guard Brandon Jennings has become the latest notable free agent to strike a deal with the Knicks, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to terms. ESPN’s Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that the Knicks were on the verge of reaching an agreement with Jennings.
It has been a busy offseason so far for the Knicks, who kicked things off in June by acquiring Derrick Rose in a five-year player trade with the Bulls. The team has since reached agreements with Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee on four-year deals that will pay them $72MM and $48MM, respectively.
Based on those deals, the Knicks weren’t expected to have a whole lot of money left to go shopping for a backup point guard, so landing Jennings could be a coup for the team, assuming there are no other moving pieces in play. We’ll have to wait for the full terms of the deal to surface before we can evaluate it, but if he’s healthy, Jennings is capable of backing up Rose and scoring points off the bench.
Jennings, 26, has been plagued by injuries over the last two years, having missed about half the season in both 2014/15 and 2015/16. He also saw his minutes and his production take a huge hit last season in both Detroit and Orlando. He averaged just 6.9 PPG for the season, after never having scored less than 15.4 PPG in any of his six previous seasons.
As is the case with Rose and Noah, the Knicks are presumably counting on Jennings to return to health and to look a little more like his old self going forward.
The Knicks figure to have renounce the rights to one or two of the free agents they’d wanted to re-sign in order to make room for Jennings. Derrick Williams, Langston Galloway, and Lance Thomas are candidates to be let go, with Williams likely heading that list.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bulls Sign Rajon Rondo
JULY 7, 1:44pm: The Bulls have issued a press release announcing their signing of Rondo.
JULY 3, 7:03pm: Rondo and the Bulls have a “mutual option” on year two of the deal, says Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). That means either side can opt out next offseason, which presumably suggests a player option on a non-guaranteed salary.
6:17pm: The second year of Rondo’s deal is only partially guaranteed, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
5:57pm: Point guard Rajon Rondo has agreed to a two-year, $28MM contract with the Bulls, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The entire contract is guaranteed and neither side has an option, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today, who reports the deal at $30MM over two seasons.
Either way, it’s a significant raise for Rondo, who signed a one-year $9.5MM contract with the Kings last summer. He led the league in assists with 11.7 per game during his single season in Sacramento, while scoring 11.9 points a night.
“I’m excited,” Rondo said. “Great organization with pieces around me that I’m excited about.” (Twitter link).
The move brings the Bulls up to the salary floor, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who says the team offered one- and two-year deals of all of its targets. It also raises the possibility that Jose Calderon, who was acquired in a trade with the Knicks last week, may be waived.
Hornets Sign Ramon Sessions
THURSDAY, 11:23am: The Hornets have officially signed Sessions, the team announced today in a press release.
MONDAY, 1:36pm: The Hornets have landed a backup point guard, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has agreed to sign Ramon Sessions. The two-year pact will be worth $12.5MM, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) pegs the exact value at $12.3MM.
Sessions, 30, has bounced around the NBA since entering the league in 2007, playing for six teams over the course of his career. Most recently, the former second-round pick appeared in all 82 games for the Wizards last season, backing up John Wall at point guard. It was a solid year for Sessions, who contributed 9.9 PPG, 2.9 APG, and a.473 FG% during his first full season in Washington.
In Sessions, Charlotte lands a backup at the point for Kemba Walker, and one that will come much cheaper than Jeremy Lin, who agreed to a three-year deal worth $12MM annually with the Nets. Sessions will earn about half that with the Hornets, on a shorter term, and his agreement will still leave Charlotte with a little leftover cap space to go shopping for a big man.
Since free agency opened, the Hornets have also reached deals to bring back Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sixers Sign Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
The Sixers made three picks in the first round of last month’s draft, and the team has already locked up two of those rookies, signing them to their rookie deals. The team issued a press release earlier today confirming the signing of No. 1 pick Ben Simmons and announcing that Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is now under contract as well.
The No. 24 pick of this year’s draft, Luwawu-Cabarrot was the second of Philadelphia’s three first-rounders, joining Simmons and 26th overall pick Furkan Korkmaz. Luwawu-Cabarrot and Simmons have become the first two draftees from this year’s class to formally put pen to paper on their deals, though second-rounder Patrick McCaw reportedly reached an agreement with the Warriors as well.
Luwawu-Cabarrot, a French forward, spent last season playing for Mega Leks in the Adriatic Basketball Association. In 28 games, he averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.7 SPG, while shooting 37.2% on three-point attempts. Assuming he signs for the maximum 120% of the rookie scale, Luwawu-Cabarrot will earn $1,326,960 in his rookie season, with a four-year rookie contract worth $6,689,604, as I outlined here.
Both Simmons and Luwawu-Cabarrot will participate in Summer League action for the Sixers.
Kings To Sign Matt Barnes
Free agent forward Matt Barnes will sign with the Kings, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The deal is for $12MM over two seasons, with a player option on the second year, according to James Ham of CSNCalifornia (Twitter link). Sacramento rescinded its qualifying offer to Seth Curry earlier in the day to create room for Barnes.
Barnes, who spent one year in Sacramento during the 2004/05 season, played for the Grizzlies last year, averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 76 games. He earned $3,542,500 during his lone season in Memphis.
It’s uncertain how the signing will affect the Kings’ plan for Rudy Gay, who is rumored to be the subject of trade talks with the Pacers. Sacramento gave up another wing player on draft night when it traded Marco Belinelli to the Hornets.
Kings To Rescind QO For Seth Curry
7:12pm: The Kings rescinded Curry’s offer so they could sign another veteran player, tweets James Ham of CSNCalifornia.
5:28pm: The Kings plan to rescind their qualifying offer for Seth Curry, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Curry would have made 1,215,696 under the offer
Curry developed into a rotational player for Sacramento this season, appearing in 44 games and starting nine. He averaged 6.8 points per night and shot 45% from 3-point range. He made $947,276 during 2015/16.
The Kings considered Curry expendable after they agreed to terms with free agent point guard Garrett Temple earlier today.
Bret Brielmaier To Join Nets’ Staff
Cavaliers assistant Bret Brielmaier will join the Nets’ coaching staff, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. His hiring will complete the staff of new Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson, who was hired in April.
Brielmaier has been an assistant in Cleveland for the past three seasons. He worked under Mike Brown, David Blatt and Tyrone Lue.
Brielmaier started his NBA career with the Spurs in 2009/10 as a player development assistant and was later promoted to video coordinator.