Kings To Sign Garrett Temple
The Kings and shooting guard Garrett Temple have agreed on a three-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Sam Amick of USA Today Sports tweets that the deal is worth $24MM in total. The third year is a player option, Amick adds.
It became clear after the Wizards acquired Trey Burke that Washington had no plans to re-sign Temple, who is 30. Temple, however, did provide the Wizards with solid production. He averaged a career best 7.3 points per game in a career-high 43 starts. The move could end up being a shrewd one for the Kings. Temple is a solid reserve player with versatility, as James Ham of CSNBayArea.com tweets.
Temple earned the veteran minimum for the last two seasons. He is now obviously cashing in big, comparatively speaking. The Celtics, Nuggets, Kings, Pelicans and Hawks all reached out to Temple, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
Ben Simmons Signs Rookie Deal With Sixers
While free agent contracts can’t be signed during the July moratorium, first-round rookies are free to sign their deals, and No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons has done just that. Simmons tweeted out a photo on Saturday that showed him putting pen to paper and making his first NBA contract with the Sixers official.
The cap hold for Simmons had been equal to the rookie scale amount for the first overall pick, which is $4,919,300 for 2016/17. However, as I outlined last month, first-round picks nearly always sign for 120% of that rookie-scale figure, which is the maximum amount allowed. That means Simmons’ cap hit will increase to $5,903,160 now that he’s under contract.
Although some teams will wait to finalize their deals with their first-round rookies in order to maximize their cap flexibility, that shouldn’t be an issue from the Sixers, who are well below the cap and almost certainly won’t need to make use of that extra $1MM or so this summer.
Now that he’s officially under contract, Simmons is set to participate in Summer League option with the 76ers this month.
Clippers To Re-Sign Wesley Johnson
The Clippers plan to re-sign Wesley Johnson to a three-year, $18MM deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Johnson wisely elected for free agency last month.
Johnson would have earned $1,227,286 next season had he chose to opt in, but with the salary cap’s rise, he was able to cash in for much more. The move comes as no surprise, since team president and coach Doc Rivers has said that he wants to re-sign as many of the Clippers’ free agents as possible, and Johnson noted that he would prefer to remain in Los Angeles.
The Clippers also agreed to re-sign Austin Rivers on Saturday. Johnson, 28, appeared in 80 games for the Clippers in 2015/16, averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 20.8 minutes per outing with a shooting line of .404/.333/.652.
Rockets, Eric Gordon Agree To Deal
The Rockets and Eric Gordon have reached an agreement, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. The deal, which can be finalized next week, is worth $53MM over four years, Wojnarowski adds.
Gordon, 27, is a talented scorer when he’s healthy, having averaged 16.6 PPG with a .383 3PT% over the course of his eight-year NBA career. However, in those eight seasons, he has played just 417 total games, or about 52 per year. During his five seasons in New Orleans, Gordon never played more than 64 games in a season, having dealt with multiple injuries. Gordon averaged 15.2 points in 45 games for the Pelicans last season.
It’s quite clear that the Rockets are building around James Harden as an offensive-minded team under new coach Mike D’Antoni. Houston agreed to a deal with stretch four Ryan Anderson earlier on Saturday. Gordon and Anderson had been teammates with the Pelicans.
The lack of state income tax in Texas may have been an added incentive for Gordon, who also received interest from the Knicks and Grizzlies. New York ultimately reached a deal with Courtney Lee to fill the club’s opening at the two.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wizards, Ian Mahinmi Agree To Deal
The Wizards and Ian Mahinmi have agreed to four-year pact worth $64MM, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The Pacers tried to re-sign Mahinmi, but were not going to offer that kind of money, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays.
This is the second major move for the Wizards this offseason, following their agreement to re-sign shooting guard Bradley Beal to a five-year max, maximum-salary contract. The team was also linked to Al Horford, Luol Deng, and Jared Dudley, before those players reached deals with other teams.
A 6-foot-11 center, Mahinmi enjoyed the best season of his career last year at the age of 29. He averaged 7.1 rebounds per game and 9.3 points on 58.9% shooting. Mahinmi had served as a backup for seven previous seasons, so it remains to be seen whether or not his success is sustainable.
Mahinmi joins a Washington front court that already features Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat. He’ll be expected to help improve a defense that ranked No. 14 in efficiency, and also looks to be the replacement for Nene, who is an unrestricted free agent after having spent four seasons with the Wizards.
The Spurs, Timberwolves, Hornets, Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic were also mentioned as potential suitors for Mahinmi.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks Sign Courtney Lee
JULY 8: The Knicks have made it official with Lee, announcing that his deal has been signed (Twitter link).
JULY 2: The Knicks and Courtney Lee have agreed to a four-year deal, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The deal is worth $48MM and it’s fully guaranteed with no options, Michael Scotto of The Associated Press reports.
New York has been looking for a shooting guard to add to a starting rotation that is set to feature Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah. The Knicks were reportedly in the mix for Eric Gordon, with potentially disgruntled Heat star Dwyane Wade lurking as a fallback option, but landing Lee appears to be a more prudent pickup, given his consistent health.
“Excited to be a part of the Knicks and play in the Garden. The fans and city are amazing, and the team is ready,” Lee said, per Kennedy.
After agreeing to a deal with center Joakim Noah, the Knicks were projected to have approximately $12MM in cap space remaining, so Lee may be the team’s latest notable free agent addition. An unselfish two-way player with good shooting ability, the 30-year-old looks like a solid addition for New York.
Lee finished the 2015/16 season with the Hornets, appearing in 28 games after being acquired from Memphis and averaging 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists during his time in Charlotte. He shot .445/.392/.885 from the field for the Hornets.
The Wolves, Kings, Nets and Hawks were all reported to be interested in Lee before he agreed to terms with the Knicks, though Atlanta and Sacramento have landed alternate targets in Kent Bazemore and Arron Afflalo, respectively.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kings To Sign Arron Afflalo
5:12pm: The second year is only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, Sam Amick of USA Today reports (Twitter link).
2:02pm: The Kings and unrestricted free agent shooting guard Arron Afflalo have agreed to a deal that will land him in Sacramento, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s going to be a two-year, $25MM pact for Afflalo, Wojnarowski adds.
There wasn’t much chatter attached to Afflalo prior to this deal coming together. The veteran opted out of his contract with the Knicks and the $8MM he was slated to earn in 2016/17, and the move has paid off with Afflalo increasing his annual salary to $12.5MM courtesy of Sacramento. One would assume he is joining the Kings as a starter, given his reported disdain for the reserve role the Knicks placed him in last season. Though, a $4.5MM per season raise may make coming off the bench more palatable, if that is to be his role.
Afflalo appeared in 71 games for the Knicks in 2015/16 and averaged 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 33.4 minutes per outing. He shot .443/.382/.840 from the field on the campaign.
Kings To Sign Anthony Tolliver
The Kings and unrestricted free agent Anthony Tolliver have agreed to a deal, Sam Amick of USA Today reports (Twitter link). It’s a two-year, $16MM pact that is partially guaranteed for $2MM in 2017/18, the scribe adds.
Tolliver made 72 appearances for the Pistons this past season, averaging 5.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 18.6 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .386/.360/.617.
The 31-year-old’s deal is the one of the few handed out since free agency commenced that includes a partial guarantee. But even if by some chance he is released prior to next season as a result of not having a full guarantee, Tolliver will be have pocketed at least $10MM for his efforts, as well as be in line to hit the open market next summer when the cap is expected to increase once again. Not a bad deal for the journeyman, all things considered.
Rockets To Sign Ryan Anderson
The Rockets and Ryan Anderson have agreed to terms on a deal that will bring the forward to Houston, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Anderson’s pact is for four years and $80MM, the scribe adds.
Houston beat out a number of other suitors for the services of the sweet-shooting stretch four. The Kings and Wizards were among the teams vying to ink the 28-year-old, but the opportunity to play alongside James Harden in Houston, and of course, $80MM, snagged Anderson.
Anderson, a former 21st overall pick, has only played more than 66 games once in a season, but is coming off a solid year for the Pelicans. He averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, to go along with a shooting line of .427/.366/.873. Anderson’s career numbers through eight NBA seasons are 13.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 0.9 APG.
Magic Sign Bismack Biyombo
JULY 7, 10:18am: The Magic have formally announced Biyombo’s signing (via Twitter).
JULY 2, 2:45pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical tweets that the pact will be worth $72MM over four years.
2:27pm: The contract is estimated at four-years and approximately $70MM, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
2:15pm: The Magic and unrestricted free agent Bismack Biyombo have come to terms on a deal, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter). The agreement is for four years, but the amount of the pact has yet to been reported.
Biyombo’s stock rose dramatically during the Eastern Conference playoffs, when his playing time spiked after Jonas Valanciunas was injured. He averaged 5.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while appearing in every regular-season game, then bumped those averages to 6.2/9.4/1.4 in 20 playoff games. He opted out of his deal and the $2.9MM he was set to earn next season and all but assuredly secured himself a hefty raise as a result.
Toronto reportedly wanted to retain Biyombo, but only held his Non-Bird rights, which meant it would have to use cap room to re-sign him. A number of roster moves designed to free cap space would have been needed to make that a possibility. Moves that the team was either unwilling or unable to make.
The addition of Biyombo, coupled with the trade acquisition of former Thunder forward Serge Ibaka certainly gives Orlando and imposing frontcourt defensively. It remains to be seen if these additions will prompt the team to shop center Nikola Vucevic, whose salary of $12,250,000 is looking more and more like a bargain every day.