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Pelicans Re-Sign Alexis Ajinca

July 9th, 2015 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 9TH, 9:33am: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 1ST, 1:00pm: The Pelicans will re-sign Alexis Ajinca to a four-year, $20.2MM deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Sam Amick of USA Today has the deal worth $20.5MM (on Twitter). Ajinca took to Twitter to reveal that he and New Orleans have a deal. It’s quite a raise on the minimum salary that the Bradley Ames client had been making. The Pelicans, who are above the cap, can use Early Bird rights on the center.

New Orleans withdrew its $1,147,276 qualifying offer to Jeff Withey shortly before reports of the agreement, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (on Twitter), making Withey an unrestricted free agent and further pointing to the team’s commitment to Ajinca as its backup center. The Pelicans have a deal on an extension with Anthony Davis, but Omer Asik, the team’s starting center, is a free agent.

Pelicans Re-Sign Omer Asik

July 9th, 2015 at 9:31am CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 9TH, 9:31am: The deal is official, the team announced.

9:07am: The guaranteed portion is worth almost $45MM, and it’s incentives and non-guaranteed money that could make it worth $60MM, sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

JULY 2ND, 8:59am: The agreement is finalized, tweets John Reid of The Times-Picayune, though the contract itself can’t become official for another week, when the July Moratorium ends.

11:32pm: The final year of the deal is not guaranteed, Stein adds (Twitter link).

11:18pm: Asik’s proposed deal would be for five years, $60MM, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

JULY 1ST, 9:56pm: The Pelicans and free agent Omer Asik are finalizing a deal that would bring the center back to New Orleans next season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The contract details are still being hammered out, but the two sides are expected to reach a verbal agreement by the end of the night, Stein adds.

Asik appeared in 76 contests for the Pelicans last season, averaging 7.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 26.1 minutes per night. His career numbers through 354 games are 5.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 0.9 BPG, with a slash line of .531/.000/.553.

Raptors Sign DeMarre Carroll

July 9th, 2015 at 9:26am CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 9TH, 9:26am: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).

JULY 1ST, 11:07am: The Raptors will sign DeMarre Carroll, the small forward revealed on his verified Twitter account (hat tip to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com). It’s a four-year, $60MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The Hawks weren’t going to give much more than $50MM on a four-year arrangement, tweets Arnovitz. Carroll said the Pistons and Suns also had interest but the Raptors simply went over the top with their offer, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Knicks, Lakers and Celtics all appeared to have interest in Carroll, too, as did the Hawks, but they were growing pessimistic about retaining the Mark Bartelstein client in tandem with Paul Millsap. Carroll is a three-and-D wing whose value skyrocketed after he signed a two-year, $5MM deal with Atlanta in 2013, and it wasn’t an easy decision for him to leave the Hawks, as he told Vivlamore (Twitter link).

Toronto will use much of its max-level cap space on Carroll, likely cutting the team off from a pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge or another marquee target. The Raptors gained $6.6MM worth of cap flexibility when they traded Greivis Vasquez last week.

Blazers Sign Ed Davis

July 9th, 2015 at 9:22am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 9TH, 9:22am: The deal is official, the team announced.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 2ND, 1:56pm: The Blazers are finalizing a deal with Ed Davis, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). It’s for three years and $20MM, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). It doesn’t include any options, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The deal appears to be small enough so that Portland can sign him using the mid-level exception if it retains LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez, though it appears more likely the Blazers will use cap space.

Agent David Bauman took to Twitter to confirm the deal (hat tip to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders). The Lakers made a concerted push to retain him even as they chased star free agents, but Davis’ commitment to the Blazers was too quick for L.A. to catch up to, a source indicated to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). The Knicks, Pistons and Celtics apparently showed interest, too, but Davis wound up with salaries lower than the ones Medina had earlier reported he was seeking.

Davis made 79 appearances for the Lakers this past season. He notched averages of 8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game, with a slash line of .601/.000/.487. His career numbers through 354 contests are 7.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG.

Blazers Sign Al-Farouq Aminu

July 9th, 2015 at 9:20am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 9TH, 9:20am: The deal is official, the Blazers announced.

11:48pm: Aminu confirmed the agreement with the Blazers on Twitter (h/t David Aldridge of NBA.com on Twitter).

JUNE 30TH, 11:29pm: Al-Farouq Aminu will sign a four-year, $30MM deal with the Blazers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The figure means that Portland will be using cap space unless it can engineer a sign-and-trade, and it also represents a significant raise on the minimum salary the forward made this past season.

The Mavs had been concerned that Aminu would land a lucrative offer, and so they were reportedly poised to try to convince him to sign a one-year deal that might have allowed him to further up his value. Blazers GM Neil Olshey drafted Aminu when he was with the Clippers, so he is quite familiar with the fifth-year player.

Aminu proved a valuable part of the Mavs rotation even as he recorded his fewest minutes (18.5) and points (5.6) per game since his rookie season. His 14.4 PER set a new career high, and ESPN ranks him sixth among small forwards this season in its Defensive Real Plus/Minus metric. He saw equal time at small forward and power forward, according to Basketball-Reference, and he’d rank seventh in Defensive Real Plus/Minus among players at the four. Even though he was mostly used in a reserve role in the regular season, he was featured more prominently during the playoffs. He started two of five postseason games against the Rockets, averaging 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 64% from 3-point range.

Aminu had visits scheduled with the Knicks, Celtics, Raptors, and Pelicans, but apparently the nationwide tour has been called off just minutes into free agency.

Grizzlies Sign Brandan Wright

July 9th, 2015 at 9:03am CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 9TH, 9:03am: The deal is official, the team announced.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 1ST, 5:39pm: The Grizzlies have reached an agreement with free agent Brandan Wright, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The deal is for three years, and nearly $18MM, Wojnarowski adds. The Mavs, Pacers, Clippers, and Suns all had expressed interest in signing the big man.

The team will likely use the $5.464MM mid-level exception to facilitate the signing. It would also make it tougher for the Grizzlies to sign Mo Williams, with whom they’re reportedly close on a deal. It also gives Memphis insurance in case Kosta Koufos signs elsewhere.

Wright, 27, split last season between the Mavs and the Suns, who acquired him at midseason. In 40 games for Phoenix he logged 7.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 21.5 minutes per contest. His career numbers are 7.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.0 BPG, with a slash line of .606/.000/.683.

Raptors Waive Luke Ridnour

July 9th, 2015 at 8:48am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors have waived Luke Ridnour, the team announced, ending the odyssey that saw him traded four times in one week. The point guard had been expecting the move, as his $2.75MM non-guaranteed salary was to become fully guaranteed if he didn’t hit waivers by Friday.

Ridnour, who told TNT’s David Aldridge this week that he’s still thinking of retiring, finished this past season with the Magic, who traded him to the Grizzlies last month. Memphis flipped him to the Hornets, who in turn sent him to the Thunder. Oklahoma City sent him to Toronto, the final destination for his contract, barring the unlikely event a team claims him off waivers.

The 34-year-old had career lows in points, assists and minutes per game this past season. Still, he’s just two years removed from having started all 82 games for the Timberwolves in 2012/13.

Pelicans Sign Anthony Davis To Max Extension

July 8th, 2015 at 11:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves at New Orleans Pelicans

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 9TH, 11:13pm: The signing is official, the team announced. “Words cannot describe the excitement of the New Orleans Pelicans to have Anthony Davis as the cornerstone of our organization,” said Pelicans GM Dell Demps. “Anthony is a great person, a phenomenal player and the ideal representative of his family, the Pelicans and the New Orleans community. We are thrilled to have Anthony commit to the Pelicans as we continue to build our team to have sustained success.”

JUNE 30TH, 11:03pm: The Pelicans and Anthony Davis have agreed to an extension moments after they became eligible to do so, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). It’s a five-year max deal worth an estimated $145MM, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. The full value won’t be known until next July, when the NBA sets the salary cap and max salaries for 2016/17. It’ll have either a player option or an early termination option on the final year, according to Marc Stein on ESPN.com (Twitter link). Davis took to Twitter to confirm the deal (hat tip to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News).

Davis was an All-NBA selection this season, and if he is again so honored in 2015/16, or if he wins MVP, he’ll trigger the Derrick Rose rule and be eligible for a maximum salary of approximately 30% of the cap instead of just 25%. That 30% max will be an estimated $25MM, or thereabouts, for 2016/17, while the 25% max would be about $21MM. Davis will presumably receive the maximum 7.5% raises on whatever the starting salary in his new deal is.

New Orleans has been planning a max extension for its budding star for a while, and John Reid of The Times-Picayune wrote today that the Pelicans intended to act quickly. They did just that, securing the Wasserman Media Group client for at least five more seasons, since the extension won’t kick in until after 2015/16.

Warriors Sign Kevon Looney

July 8th, 2015 at 12:02am CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Warriors have signed Kevon Looney to a rookie scale contract, the team announced via a press release. Looney was the final pick of the first round in this year’s NBA Draft. The 19-year-old appeared in 36 contests for the Bruins last season, averaging 11.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 30.9 minutes per game. His slash line was .470/.415/.626.

The forward out of UCLA has lottery-level talent, but long-term concerns about his hip likely caused him to last until the No. 30 overall pick. Looney believes that he can continue to play without surgery but will reportedly undergo a medical evaluation to determine if a procedure is necessary. “I had suffered a hip injury when I first got to UCLA, and I played the whole season with it,” Looney told Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group regarding his condition. “I went through the [draft] workouts with it. I still can play now. I can play just fine. I can walk good. I’m not hurting right now. I’m looking to the doctors to tell me what they really want to do, but this is an injury that I had, and I can actually play with, and I can actually do well with it.“

Looney, who is represented by both Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management and Todd Ramasar of Stealth Sports, will earn $1,191,960 this coming season in the first year of a four-year deal, assuming that he receives the standard 120% of the rookie scale. The forward is in line to take home $1,182,840 for the 2016/17 campaign, $1,233,840 the following season, and $2,227,081 in the final year of the pact.

Jazz Sign Trey Lyles

July 7th, 2015 at 6:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:50pm: The Jazz have officially signed Lyles, the team announced.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

4:06pm: Trey Lyles, this year’s No. 12 overall pick, has agreed to sign his rookie scale contract with the Jazz, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). That a first-round pick would do so is not usually news, as the existence of the rookie scale usually resolves all meaningful negotiation, but the sides had been struggling to hash out details, as GM Dennis Lindsey acknowledged. The Jazz still haven’t made any formal announcement. The Jazz are giving him four years at $10.4MM, according to Aldridge, who appears to be rounding up from $10,386,049, which is 120% of his scale amount and the most Utah can pay.

Utah could have paid the Rich Paul client as little as 80% of rookie scale, but that would be highly unusual for a lottery pick. Lindsey suggested that the hangup had to do with cap holds, and indeed, many teams with the flexibility to open cap room wait to sign their first-round picks. The Jazz entered July with about $49MM in guaranteed salary and have since reportedly struck a two-year, $4.5MM deal with Joe Ingles, and apparently are poised to sign draft-and-stash point guard Raul Neto, too. The cap hold for Lyles will jump from $1,866,500 to $2,239,800 when he signs for 120% of the rookie scale, so the Jazz would retain a touch of financial flexibility if they wait.

Lyles hasn’t participated in any summer league games or practices for the Jazz so far, likely a matter of consternation as Utah revives its in-house summer league this year. It’s not uncommon for draftees to appear in summer league games even before they sign.

Just how the combo forward’s game will translate to the NBA remains a mystery, as Arthur Hill of Hoops Rumors wrote in his prospect profile of one of the many University of Kentucky players in this year’s draft. Still, he has an intriguing mid-range game and was the ninth-best prospect this year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked him 18th. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors had him going 13th in his last mock draft.