Magic Won’t Extend QO To Andrew Nicholson
The Magic will not extend a qualifying offer to Andrew Nicholson before this week’s deadline, meaning the 26-year-old will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent rather than as an RFA, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Nicholson, the 19th overall pick in the 2012 draft, had a solid rookie season in Orlando, averaging 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game, with a .527 FG%. However, his role didn’t increase at all over the course of the next three seasons, and he has yet to repeat his PPG and FG% marks from that rookie year.
If the Magic had elected to make Nicholson a restricted free agent, it would have meant extending him a qualifying offer worth about $3.395MM, and it would have given the team the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signed with another team. Instead, Nicholson will be free to sign anywhere. His cap hold of approximately $5.951MM will still apply to Orlando’s books until the team renounces his rights or he signs a new contract.
While Nicholson won’t exactly be one of the most-coveted free agents on the market in July, he may draw interest from teams that believe he can be used better than he was in Orlando. After shooting no three-pointers in his rookie year, Nicholson did try to develop a long-distance shot in subsequent seasons — he made 41 of 114 three-point attempts (36.0%) in 2015/16, which could appeal to potential suitors.
Pau Gasol To Opt Out Of Bulls Contract
Pau Gasol has formally notified the Bulls that he’ll opt out of his contract, declining his player option for 2016/17 rather than picking it up, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The move, which will allow Gasol to hit the open market, had long been expected, with a report way back in December suggesting the veteran was “very likely” to turn down that option.
[RELATED: Player option decisions for 2016/17]
Gasol, who signed with the Bulls in 2014, would have made $7,769,520 in 2016/17 if he had opted into the final year of his contract. However, the former third overall pick has continued to be productive during his time in Chicago, averaging 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season, and earning All-Star nods in each of the last two years. He should be in line for a raise, if he wants it, and likely another multiyear deal.
The Bulls, who traded former MVP Derrick Rose to New York last week, appear to be in the midst of a rebuilding phase, or at least a retooling phase. Gasol doesn’t seem to be part of those plans, and while neither side has come out and said that the Spaniard – who turns 36 next month – won’t be back, it would be a shock if he re-signed in Chicago.
Several teams will likely have interest in the 15-year veteran, including the Knicks, who sent Robin Lopez – a potential replacement for Gasol – to Chicago in the Rose deal. Earlier in the offseason, Pau’s brother Marc Gasol advised his brother to sign with San Antonio, and that’s a possibility the Spurs could explore if they miss out on their top target, Kevin Durant.
Grizzlies Claim Tony Wroten Off Waivers
The Grizzlies have claimed Tony Wroten off waivers, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Knicks waived Wroten with they agreed to acquire Derrick Rose.
GM Chris Wallace drafted Wroten back in 2012 and the University of Washington product played just one season for the Grizzlies. Wallace was forced to step down as GM back in 2014 during a front office shake-up and the team waived Wroten during that time, as Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
Wroten only appeared in eight games for Sixers last season before Philadelphia waived him on Christmas Eve. The Knicks later signed him to a two-year deal, minimum-salary deal that contained no guaranteed salary for the 2016/17 campaign. Memphis will pick up that contract by claiming the guard off waivers. Wroten is a career 23.1% 3-point shooter and has a career player efficiency rating of 12.6.
Grizzlies To Release Xavier Munford
The Grizzlies plan to waive point guard Xavier Munford, tweets international journalist David Pick. Memphis had a team option on Munford worth $874K for next season, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who was unable to confirm Pick’s report with the Grizzlies.
The 6’3″ rookie out of Rhode Island appeared in 14 games with Memphis this season, averaging 5.7 points and 1.6 assists per night. Munford inked two 10-day contracts in March before signing for the rest of the season on April 7th. He was one of a record-setting 28 players to appear on the Grizzlies’ roster.
Memphis isn’t assured of keeping free agent point guard Mike Conley, but the franchise fortified itself at the position Thursday when it drafted Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin.
Tyrone Corbin To Join Suns’ Coaching Staff
The Suns will hire Tyrone Corbin as an assistant to head coach Earl Watson, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. This is Corbin’s first coaching job since he was dismissed as head coach of the Kings midway through the 2014/15 season.
He started his coaching career in 2004/05 as an assistant with the Jazz. He was promoted to head coach in the middle of the 2010/11 season and compiled a 112-146 record in three and a half seasons.
Corbin landed an assistant’s job in Sacramento in 2014/15 and was appointed interim head coach when Michael Malone was fired. He held that position for 28 games, posting a 7-21 record, until the Kings hired George Karl.
Earlier this month, Corbin was mentioned as a candidate for the lead assistant’s position with Golden State.
James Anderson To Play Overseas
Former Kings swingman James Anderson has reached an agreement with the Turkish club Darussafaka, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). The contract details are unknown, though Pick does classify the deal as a long-term pact. It is also unknown if the contract contains an NBA-out clause.
Anderson will be joining former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, who is now head coach of Darussafaka. The 27-year-old opted out of his deal with Sacramento in May in order to become an unrestricted free agent. He was in line to earn $1,139,123 for the 2016/17 campaign.
The swingman made 51 appearances for the Kings this past season, including 15 starts. Anderson averaged 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 14.1 minutes per night while shooting .376/.267/.759 from the field.
Darrell Arthur Won’t Exercise Player Option
Darrell Arthur has declined to pick up his player option, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays via Twitter. Arthur was set to make slightly over $2.94MM during the 2016/17 season, but he will hit free agency instead.
The power forward previously indicated that he would like to remain with the Nuggets regardless of whether or not he opted to turn down his option. Arthur should have a few suitors looking to bring him aboard, as he received strong interest from other teams at this past season’s trade deadline.
Arthur appeared in 70 games for Denver during the 2015/16 campaign, accumulating 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. The 28-year-old ranked 26th in the league among power forwards in ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus.
Sixers, Shawn Long Agree To Deal
The Sixers have come to an agreement with Shawn Long, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The deal is partially guaranteed and will cover two seasons, Pompey adds.
Long impressed the team during a workout last month. “I call him a stretch five, stretch four,” said VP of player personnel Marc Eversley after the May 16th workout. “He has the ability to go out make a shot.The other thing that he does well is that he can take you off the dribble. He utilizes a pump fake well.”
Long is an athletic center, who spent four seasons at Louisiana Lafayette. The big man tested out his jumpshot while in college, taking 2.4 shots from behind the arc per game and making 34.1% of them. He averaged 18.8 points and 12.2 rebounds last season and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranked him as the 29th best senior in his class.
Philadelphia was shopping both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor leading up to Thursday’s draft, but didn’t come away with a deal for either of them. Long will have a better chance at making the regular season roster should the Sixers ship out one of their centers.
Wizards To Sign Sheldon McClellan
Shortly after the completion of Thursday night’s draft, the Wizards struck a deal to sign former University of Miami shooting guard Sheldon McClellan, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reports (via Twitter) that McClellan’s deal with the Wizards will be partially guaranteed, adding that the 23-year-old turned down teams that wanted to draft-and-stash him with a second-round pick.
McClellan wasn’t the only undrafted prospect to reach a deal with the Wizards. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter) that Texas A&M’s Danuel House agreed to a deal with Washington, while Aldridge tweets that the team will sign former Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski. Finally, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post says (via Twitter) that Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu will sign with the Wizards.
While McClellan has some guaranteed money in his contract, the terms of the other deals aren’t known, so it’s not entirely clear whether Washington will bring all those players to camp in the fall, or if they’ll just play for the Wizards in Summer League games next month.
As for McClellan, he ranked 60th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress.com. He’s coming off a senior season in which he averaged 16.3 points per game and made 40.6% of his three-pointers for the Hurricanes.
Sixers, James Webb III Agree To Two-Year Deal
The 76ers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract for undrafted free agent James Webb III, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Charania, the former Boise State forward will get a partial guarantee on his new deal with Philadelphia and will have a chance to compete for a roster spot.
Webb, who left Boise State after his junior year, ranked 72nd among the top 100 prospects at DraftExpress.com. ESPN’s Chad Ford was even more bullish on Webb, placing him 60th on his big board prior to the draft. Last season, the 6’9″ forward appeared in 29 games for the Broncos, averaging 16.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Philadelphia will have plenty of cap room at its disposal once the new league year begins in July, but given his status as an undrafted free agent, Webb seems unlikely to sign for more than the minimum. If it is indeed a minimum-salary contract, he’d be in line for $1,448,720 over two years.
The Sixers brought Webb in as part of a group workout in late May.