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J.P. Tokoto Takes Required Tender From Sixers

September 7th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sixers second-round pick J.P. Tokoto has signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Wojnarowski refers to it as a “$525,000 tender offer,” so it would appear that this year’s No. 58 overall selection signed his $525,093 required tender that the Sixers needed to offer him to retain his rights. Philadelphia has yet to make an official announcement. It would be the second offseason in a row that a second-round pick of the Sixers has taken the required tender route after K.J. McDaniels did the same a year ago. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer first reported last month that Tokoto would head to Sixers camp one way or another.

The Sixers have made it a habit to use their cap space to sign prospects to long-term partially guaranteed deals that tie up the rights to players for as many as four years. Still, it’s unclear if the Sixers had designs on signing Tokoto at all this year, as he’d reportedly told them before the draft that he would be open to becoming a draft-and-stash pick. However, a later report indicated that he had no intention of playing this season in the D-League or overseas, so perhaps his thinking changed. In any case, both Philadelphia and Tokoto assume risk, since the Sixers would lose his rights if they waive him at the end of camp and Tokoto would be without any NBA money in that circumstance.

Tokoto, a client of Steve McCaskill, is betting on his ability to quickly establish his footing in the NBA. McDaniels wound up with a three-year, $10MM contract from the Rockets in restricted free agency this summer, and Tokoto is surely dreaming of a similar fate should he stick on his Sixers deal all season, since he, too, would have a crack at restricted free agency after only one season. However, Tokoto doesn’t have the pedigree of McDaniels, a fringe first-round prospect who was the No. 32 pick a year ago. Tokoto, a 6’6″ shooting guard from North Carolina, was the 46th-best prospect at draft time this year, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him at No. 52.

Ford called him one of the best wing defenders in the draft, and that’s in contrast to his offensive shortcomings. Tokoto averaged just 8.3 points in 29.1 minutes per game for the Tar Heels this past season, and though he shot 37.1% from behind the arc, he followed that up with an 0 for 10 performance from three-point range in summer league. He’s nonetheless a strong rebounder for his size, having come away with 5.6 boards per game for North Carolina this year.

Philadelphia has been active in recent days, agreeing to deals with Kendall Marshall and undrafted power forward Christian Wood. The Sixers reportedly have signed contracts or deals with 21 players, as I examined in this post, so either one of the deals is off, or the team will have to waive or trade somebody before the start of training camp later this month.

Do you think Tokoto is wise to bet on himself like this? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Cavaliers To Sign Jerrelle Benimon For Camp

September 6th, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Jerrelle Benimon has agreed to a training camp deal with the Cavaliers, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Benimon spent most of last season with the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, where he averaged 19.8 points, 11 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 44 games (Twitter link).

Benimon signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March and appeared in two games, going scoreless but collecting three rebounds in three minutes of playing time. After going undrafted last year, he signed with the Nuggets in September, but was waived during training camp.

The signing of Benimon, who played for Cleveland’s summer league team, brings the Cavs’ camp total to 15 players, not counting Tristan Thompson, who is still unsigned. Thirteen have fully guranteed contracts, while Jared Cunningham’s is non-guaranteed.

Heat Sign Greg Whittington For Camp

September 3rd, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 2:21pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced.

TUESDAY, 9:01am: The Heat and undrafted small forward Greg Whittington have reached agreement on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The 22-year-old from Georgetown had three partially guaranteed offers from NBA teams last month, as Charania reported then, so it’s surprising to see him take one without a guarantee, even though he played for Miami’s summer league squad. Still, the Heat seem to offer him a decent shot at the regular season roster, since they have only 13 fully guaranteed deals.

Whittington was a longshot for the draft, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him as only the 108th-best prospect. He nonetheless looked sharp during the Las Vegas summer league, averaging 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per contest while nailing eight of 17 three-pointers in five appearances after a so-so four-game stint for the Heat in the Orlando summer league. He had seen limited action since an ACL injury to his left knee during the summer of 2013. Academic trouble clouded his time at Georgetown, and after his dismissal from the school, he joined the Westchester Knicks, though he never appeared in a game.

Tyler Johnson would appear to have the inside track on the 14th regular season roster spot for Miami, since he has a partial guarantee worth half of his minimum salary, but James Ennis, Keith Benson and Corey Hawkins all have non-guaranteed pacts. So, Whittington will ostensibly compete with that trio to make it to opening night.

Going into camp, who do you think is the favorite for the Heat’s last regular season roster spot? Leave a comment to let us know.

Cavs Re-Sign J.R. Smith

September 2nd, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 2ND, 6:00pm: The deal is official, the Cavaliers announced.

8:56pm: The deal is for two years and includes a player option for 2016/17, and Smith will earn approximately $5MM this season, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group tweets.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AUGUST 20TH, 8:36pm: It appears that unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith is set to re-sign with the Cavaliers, with the player taking to his personal Instagram account to relay the news. It is unclear what the length and terms of Smith’s deal with the team are. The Cavs reportedly wanted Smith back on a modest one-year deal, as Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer wrote last month, and Smith had been seeking a three-year deal, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Smith wrote, “Happy to say that I am returning to the Cavs! It’s been a long ride this summer but I can say for sure, well worth the wait. When I opted out of my contract, I wanted to understand the landscape of the NBA and where I fit best. The Cavaliers had things they needed to do in order to piece together a championship caliber roster. I ended up deciding that instead of potentially securing a larger deal elsewhere, I wanted to rejoin an incredible organization in pursuit of the ultimate goal, an NBA championship. Thank you to the Cavaliers for making this happen. Can’t wait to get started!

The Cavs are about $4MM above the tax threshold for now, but they still haven’t re-signed Tristan Thompson, a move that they still appear likely to make. A deal around the max for Thompson would mean Smith’s contract would cost the Cavs $3.75 or more in tax penalties for every dollar it’s worth. Smith had declined his one-year, $6.4MM player option for the upcoming season.

Smith, 29, averaged 12.7 points per game and shot 39% from three-point range during the regular season with the Cavs after being acquired from the Knicks. The guard’s career numbers through 11 NBA seasons are 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists to go along with a slash line of .424/.372/.737.

Clippers Sign Chuck Hayes To One-Year Deal

August 31st, 2015 at 7:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:37pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s website.

5:00pm: The deal is not fully guaranteed, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).

4:39pm: The Clippers and Chuck Hayes have reached agreement on a one-year deal, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Hayes was set to sign with the Rockets, but that deal fell apart last week. It’ll have to be for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Clippers can give. The deal between Houston and Hayes was reportedly for the minimum with a partial guarantee, though the level of the guarantee on the latest deal for the Calvin Andrews client is unclear. Andrews has nonetheless confirmed the existence of the Clippers deal to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link).

Several teams had expressed interest in Hayes for coaching or front office jobs, but still only 32, he was focused on continuing his career as a player, as Andrews said last week. Hayes has a chance to keep playing with the Clippers after putting up career lows across the board, including in minutes per game, with the Raptors this past season. Still, at only 6’6″, the undersized center has performed well on the boards during his 10-year career, pulling down 8.1 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per game for the Rockets in 2010/11.

The deal with Hayes would appear to complicate the team’s reported talks with Glen Davis and Ryan Hollins, and perhaps its apparent interest in Chris Singleton, too. The Clippers have been carrying 14 fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster count shows, so that leaves room for only one more player on the regular season roster.

Whom should the Clippers carry as their 15th man? Hayes, Davis, Hollins, Singleton or somebody else? Leave a comment to chime in.

Suns Sign Cory Jefferson, Henry Sims

August 29th, 2015 at 3:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SATURDAY, 3:15pm: The signings are official, according to the RealGM transactions log. No formal announcement has been made by the Suns.

TUESDAY, 6:16pm: The Suns have agreed to training camp deals with Henry Sims and Cory Jefferson, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports. The length and terms of the contracts are unknown, but they are likely minimum salary agreements that include little or no guaranteed money, though that is merely my speculation. Phoenix already has 15 players on its roster, including 13 with fully guaranteed pacts.

Sims, 25, made 73 appearances for the Sixers last season, including 32 starts. He averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.2 minutes per contest. His career numbers through three NBA campaigns are 7.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG to go along with a slash line of .475/.174/.760. The big man wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer by Philadelphia this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Jefferson, the final pick of the 2014 draft, appeared in 50 games for the Nets this past season, averaging 3.7 points in 10.6 minutes per game. The 6’9″ forward was waived by Brooklyn back in July so the team could avoid his non-guaranteed salary becoming partially guaranteed for $150K.

Jazz Sign J.J. O’Brien

August 28th, 2015 at 3:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Jazz have signed unrestricted free agent forward J.J. O’Brien, the team announced. The length and terms of the deal were not relayed, but it is likely a minimum salary training camp deal that may include a small partial guarantee, though that is merely my speculation.

O’Brien, 23, went undrafted this year out of San Diego State after making 36 appearances as a senior, averaging 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. His career NCAA numbers are 8.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a slash line of .471/.247/.601.

The 6’7″ forward played summer league ball for Utah in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. The addition of O’Brien will give the Jazz a roster count of 20, which is the preseason maximum.

Thunder To Sign Talib Zanna For Camp

August 28th, 2015 at 3:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have agreed to bring Talib Zanna to camp for a second consecutive autumn, as Shams Charania of RealGM cites sources who say they’re reached a one-year, non-guaranteed deal (Twitter link). The power forward, who went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2014, spent this past season with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate, furthering the team’s familiarity with the Relativity Sports client. RealGM’s player page for Zanna lists him as under contract with OpenJobMetis Varese of Italy, so it would appear as though that deal has an NBA out.

Zanna, who turns 25 in October, split summer league between the Thunder and Cavs, putting up 6.0 points and an efficient 4.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Indeed, at 6’9″, he showed a touch on the boards in the D-League this past year, pulling down 11.0 RPG to go with 13.3 PPG in 27.7 MPG. It’s a skill he didn’t show as much of in college, where he topped out at 8.6 RPG in 30.3 MPG as a senior.

Oklahoma City has 15 fully guaranteed contracts, and they reportedly have camp deals with shooting guards Dez Wells and Michael Qualls. That would make it tough to envision Zanna breaking through and sticking on the roster for the regular season. Still, it’s an opportunity for the Thunder to continue their relationship and get a closer look at him, perhaps with a late-season 10-day contract in mind.

Deal Between Rockets, Chuck Hayes Falls Apart

August 27th, 2015 at 11:18am CST by Zachary Links

11:18am: Andrews expressed surprise at how the deal came undone, Berman also tweets. The Rockets are one of the teams that wants Hayes in a non-playing capacity, as Andrews reveals to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

“I think when we came up with the agreement, after that point, they had some other activity, the Ty Lawson trade, the Jason Terry signing,” Andrews said. “That put Chuck in a precarious situation. The result of that squeezed him out of the equation. They had some cap stuff they were concerned with. We didn’t get into a lot of details. It’s a tough situation. It’s very disappointing. This is the business. These things happen. I commend them for telling us now as opposed to dragging us through camp. We’ll explore if there are other teams interested. He wants to continue to play. There’s multiple teams that want him to join his staff, including the Rockets, if that’s what he wants to do. He wants to continue to play.”

10:59am: The dissolution of the agreement appears to have rankled the Hayes camp, as comments Andrews made to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston indicate (Twitter link). “We are extremely upset and disappointed. We know this is a business,” Andrews said.

AUGUST 27TH, 10:46am: The center won’t be signing with the Rockets after all, agent Calvin Andrews tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Andrews cited “limited roster flexibility” and “other financial considerations,” a hint that the unraveling of the deal had to do with the dilemma the Rockets face with No. 32 overall pick Montrezl Harrell. Hayes, 32, has received multiple offers for coaching and front office positions, and while he has interest in going that route eventually, he remains focused on continuing his playing career for now, Andrews said.

JULY 30TH, 11:33am: Hayes’ deal includes a partial guarantee, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

JULY 29TH, 9:18pm: The Rockets have agreed to terms with free agent center Chuck Hayes on a contract, sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). It’ll be a one-year veteran’s minimum deal.

The 10-year veteran big man played his first six NBA seasons with Houston, and GM Daryl Morey has shown a fondness for reunions with his former players. The market for the 32-year-old was been quiet this month after coming off a season of career lows – Hayes averaged just 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game across 29 appearances. He was a starter his last two seasons in Houston.

Hayes made nearly $5.959MM in 2014/15, so he’ll be taking a significant pay cut this season.

Suns Sign Deonte Burton

August 26th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns have signed unrestricted free agent Deonte Burton, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It is a non-guaranteed training camp pact, adds Pincus, and most likely for the league minimum, though that is merely my speculation. The agreement will also include limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it is likely an Exhibit 9 contract. The addition of Burton will give Phoenix a roster count of 18 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed deals.

Burton, 24, went undrafted out of Nevada in 2014 after averaging 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists against 2.0 turnovers in 38.6 MPG as a Senior. His career NCAA numbers were 16.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 4.0 APG to accompany a shooting line of .439/.337/.751.

The guard appeared in the 2014 summer league with the Wizards before catching on with the Kings for training camp. Burton was cut by Sacramento last October and later signed with Germany’s Ratiopharm Ulm for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. His numbers in 31 appearances for Ratiopharm were an underwhelming 2.6 PPG, 0.6 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 10.1 minutes per contest. Burton played in the 2015 NBA Salt Lake City Summer League for the Sixers’ squad.