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Knicks Sign Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant

July 30th, 2015 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks announced (via Twitter) that they have officially signed first-round picks Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant. The Knicks selected Porzingis No. 4 overall and selected Grant with their other first-round selection at No. 19.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The selection of Porzingis was panned by many Knicks fans who were hoping for a more familiar name, but he has since silenced critics with some impressive performances in Summer League action. Recently, Knicks GM Steve Mills said that scout Clarence Gaines believed the Knicks should have taken Porzingis first overall if they had won the draft lottery. The Knicks weren’t ready to go quite that far, but they were happy to have the forward fall to them at No. 4. Porzingis, who turns 20 on Sunday, was praised by DraftExpress for his fundamentally sound shooting and high-level mobility for a 7-footer.

On draft night, the Knicks shipped Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Hawks to secure the No. 19 pick, which they used to select Grant. The Notre Dame standout spent five years – including a redshirt season – in South Bend, and has shown tremendous poise for a player his age. Prior to the draft, I spoke with Grant about why he didn’t declare for the draft earlier and the progress he made as a senior last season. Grant also told Hoops Rumors that he was hearing he would not slip past No. 22 in the draft and he was proven right in June.

Porzingis is slated to earn $18.65MM over the next four years, according to the 2015 rookie scale. Grant, meanwhile, will earn $7.568MM over that period of time.

Knicks Re-Sign Louis Amundson

July 30th, 2015 at 8:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 30TH: The Knicks announced that they have officially re-signed Amundson, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets.

JULY 11TH: The Knicks have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent Louis Amundson, Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports (Twitter link). It is a one-year, $1.65MM arrangement, adds the Newsday scribe.

Amundson appeared in 41 games for New York last season, averaging 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.9 minutes per contest, with a slash line of .432/.000/.463. His career numbers through nine NBA campaigns are 3.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists, with a shooting line of .478/.000/.441.

The 32-year-old had previously indicated that he would consider playing in Europe if he wasn’t re-signed by New York. “I would like to play. I’ve been in this league, so I know what that’s like,” Amundson said. “So, I think going overseas would be a new experience for me I think I’d enjoy. I’d get an opportunity to play. So yeah, everything’s on the table.’’

Kings Waive Eric Moreland

July 29th, 2015 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:15pm: The move is official, the team announced.

12:08pm: The Kings are placing Eric Moreland on waivers rather than guarantee his salary, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). His minimum salary would become fully guaranteed if the Kings don’t release him by the end of Saturday, as the schedule of guarantee dates shows.

The big man who went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2014 saw only two minutes of NBA regular season action before a labral tear in his left shoulder knocked him out for the rest of the season around New Year’s Day. Sacramento had signed him to a three-year partially guaranteed deal for the minimum salary before the season, but no guaranteed money remains on the pact. The 6’11” 23-year-old put up fairly impressive rebounding numbers in seven games while on D-League assignment, averaging 12.7 boards in 28.7 minutes per contest.

The news of Moreland’s impending release is probably an auspicious sign for Kings point guard David Stockton, even though he plays a different position. Sacramento is carrying 14 fully guaranteed contracts, and Moreland would have become the 15th if the Kings had kept him this weekend. That means Stockton, whose salary wouldn’t become guaranteed until January, has an opening on the regular season roster to fight for.

Who do you think has a better shot to stick in the NBA, Eric Moreland or David Stockton? Leave a comment to let us know.

Bucks Sign Chris Copeland

July 29th, 2015 at 11:23am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 29TH, 11:23am: Copeland has officially signed with the Bucks, the team announced.

JULY 23RD, 2:24pm: The Bucks and Chris Copeland have a verbal agreement on a one-year deal, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Tuesday that the sides were finalizing a deal, but the Spurs and Thunder remained in the mix, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports revealed shortly afterward. The John Spencer client will see in excess of $1.1MM on his contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). That indicates that he’s receiving a slice of Milwaukee’s $2.814MM room exception, since the minimum salary for the three-year veteran is $981,348.

Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times first identified the Bucks as an interested party nearly two weeks ago, and he heard last week from some higher-ups around the league that Milwaukee had become the front-runner for him. The sides met on Tuesday, Woelfel later reported, and he worked out for the team that day as well, according to Spears.

Copeland just finished a two-year deal with the Pacers that he signed after a surprising season as a rookie for the Knicks in 2012/13. He and Bucks coach Jason Kidd were teammates in New York. The Pacers elected not to make a qualifying offer of more than $3.9MM, so Copeland has been an unrestricted free agent this month.

The 31-year-old was the victim of a stabbing outside a New York nightclub in April that left him with injuries that curtailed his season, one in which he’d fallen out of the Pacers rotation after injuries to others thrust him into use. Normally a strong outside shooter, he made just 31.1% of his three-pointers in 2014/15, and he never made the sort of impact in Indiana that he did with the Knicks.

Do you think Copeland will be a part of the rotation for the Bucks this year? Leave a comment to let us know.

Nuggets Sign Nikola Jokić

July 28th, 2015 at 12:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 28TH, 12:26pm: The signing is official, the Nuggets announced. For more details on the contract, click here.

JULY 14TH, 8:34am: The Nuggets have yet to make an official announcement, but the signing has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.

JULY 13TH, 11:09am: The four-year deal is worth $5.5MM, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who indicates that Jokić has already signed the deal. The team has yet to make any formal announcement (Twitter links).

JULY 10TH, 11:28am: It’s a four-year deal with an option on year four, agent Misko Raznatovic tweets (hat tip to Sportando’s Enea Trapani). It’s not clear whether that’s a team or player option. The team still hasn’t made any formal announcement.

JUNE 30TH, 12:12pm: The Nuggets are finalizing a fully guaranteed three-year contract with Nikola Jokić, whom Denver drafted 41st overall last year, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post wrote in May and again on Twitter today that Denver was expected to sign the 6’10” center before summer league, but it wasn’t clear just what sort of deal he would be getting.

Jokić had been insistent on a long-term deal, but he was enthusiastic about the prospect of joining Denver and had begun making it known he was on his way there, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com chronicled. The 20-year-old averaged 16.5 points, 9.7 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game for KK Mega Vizura in his native Serbia this past season.

Denver has about $53MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.1MM cap, so the Nuggets could open cap space and sign Jokić into that. Otherwise, they’d have to use the $5.434MM mid-level exception on him. Either way, the signing couldn’t become official until next week, when the July Moratorium is over.

Hornets Sign Elliot Williams For Camp

July 28th, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 12:04pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

MONDAY, 4:47pm: The Hornets will sign former first-round pick Elliot Williams to a training camp deal, a source tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Williams was with Charlotte on a 10-day contract this past season, but the team let him go to make room for Mo Williams, who’s since moved on to the Cavs. The terms of the deal aren’t immediately clear, but while Charlotte has its full $5.464MM mid-level exception available, it seems likely it will be a minimum-salary arrangement.

Elliot Williams reportedly worked out earlier this month for the Knicks and Spurs, but instead it appears he’s circling back to the Hornets, where GM Rich Cho is a familiar face from their time together with the Trail Blazers organization, Bonnell notes (on Twitter). The 22nd overall pick from 2010 has struggled to find his footing in the NBA, appearing last season only on a series of five 10-day contracts split between Charlotte, the Jazz and the Pelicans. The now 26-year-old shooting guard put up 2.8 points in 9.2 minutes per game across 13 appearances in 2014/15. He saw more extensive action in 2013/14 with the Sixers, with whom he put up 6.0 PPG in 17.3 MPG.

Charlotte had already been carrying 15 players, at least 13 of whom have fully guaranteed deals, as our Hornets roster page shows. Rookie Aaron Harrison, who’s on a deal that’s partially guaranteed for $75K, would seem Williams’ prime competitor for an opening-night roster spot.

What do you think of Williams’ chances to stick with the Hornets for the regular season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pelicans Sign Kendrick Perkins

July 28th, 2015 at 11:13am CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 28TH, 11:13pm: The deal is official, the Pelicans announced.

JULY 21ST, 6:49pm: The Pelicans and unrestricted free agent Kendrick Perkins are in the process of finalizing a contract agreement, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). It will be a one-year pact for the veteran’s minimum, Stein adds.

The Clippers, Rockets, and Knicks had all expressed interest in the 30-year-old center. Instead, Perkins will add depth and grit behind starter Omer Asik, who re-signed with New Orleans this offseason for five years and approximately $60MM.

Perkins appeared in a combined 68 games for the Thunder and the Cavaliers, averaging 4.0 points and 5.5 rebounds for OKC and 2.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG for Cleveland. His career numbers through 12 NBA seasons are 5.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.2 BPG to go along with a slash line of .530/.000/.597.

Celtics Sign Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter

July 27th, 2015 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have signed No. 16 pick Terry Rozier and No. 28 pick R.J. Hunter, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge announced in a press conference today, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe relays (Twitter link). Boston had put off the moves while it officially remained below the cap, but with the long-anticipated David Lee trade becoming official today, Boston went over the cap and thus no longer had motivation to keep the cap holds for Rozier and Hunter as low as possible. Rozier will see more than $1.824MM this season and nearly $8.77MM over the life of his four-year rookie scale contract, while Hunter’s salary is almost $1.149MM with nearly $5.861MM total on his deal, assuming they both signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our chart shows. Their cap holds had been equivalent to 100% of the scale.

Rozier was a surprise pick, as he was the 23rd-ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com but just No. 47 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings. Our Eddie Scarito had him going 29th in the final version of the Hoops Rumors 2015 Mock Draft, right after Boston’s second pick of the first round. Still, the point guard from Louisville impressed coach Brad Stevens with his motor during a pair of predraft workouts, and Ainge didn’t want to risk waiting for him to drop to No. 28.

Ainge and company made a more conventional choice with Hunter, whom Ford ranked 24th and Givony had 26th. Our mock draft had the Georgia State shooting guard and NCAA Tournament hero going at No. 22. The two account for 17 fully guaranteed contracts on Boston’s roster, though the team is reportedly going to unload the newly acquired Zoran Dragic. That would still leave Boston one over the regular season limit.

Which of Rozier and Hunter will have the better NBA career? Leave a comment to share your opinion.

Mavs Sign Brandon Ashley To Camp Deal

July 27th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MONDAY, 3:00pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

SATURDAY, 12:41pm: The Mavericks have reached agreement with undrafted Arizona power forward Brandon Ashley on a partially guaranteed multiyear deal, RealGM’s Shams Charania tweets. The 6’9” Ashley averaged 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds as a junior last season before declaring for the draft. He averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds as a sophomore before breaking his foot in February of that season.

Ashley played seven games for the Hawks in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He originally committed to play for the Lakers in the summer league, then shifted gears and instead joined Atlanta.

According to his draft profile by ESPN Insider Chad Ford, Ashley’s attributes include length, athleticism, shot-blocking ability and an improving jump shot. On the downside, he needs to add strength and refine his post game and footwork, along with showing he has the motor and toughness to play in the NBA.

Mavs Sign Jamil Wilson To Camp Deal

July 27th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

MONDAY, 2:57pm: The Mavs have officially signed Wilson, the team announced via press release.

SUNDAY, 10:43am: Jamil Wilson will be added to the Mavs’ training camp roster, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. The forward’s deal will be partially guaranteed, according to Charania.

The Marquette product reached an agreement with the Suns prior to last season, which allowed Phoenix to secure his D-League rights. The Suns then waived Wilson and he signed with their D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. There’s a good chance that Wilson will follow the same path and end up on Texas Legends, the D-League affiliate of the Mavs, although that is just my speculation.

The forward played for the Wizards in this year’s summer league in Vegas. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.7% from the field.