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Al-Farouq Aminu Opts Out

June 25th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 25TH: Aminu has officially opted out, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (on Twitter).

2:24pm: The Mavs want to re-sign Aminu, as GM Donnie Nelson made clear today, Sneed tweets.

APRIL 29TH, 2:09pm: Mavs forward Al-Farouq Aminu said today that he’ll turn down his minimum-salary player option with the Mavs for next season, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link). Aminu nonetheless expressed his affection for the city of Dallas and the Mavs, Sneed notes, and he said he’d love to re-sign, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter).

The news is no shock, since 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.

He upped his production in the Mavs’ five-game playoff loss to the Rockets with 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per contest, buoyed by uncharacteristic 7 for 11 three-point shooting. Dallas will have Non-Bird rights on the Raymond Brothers client to give him 20% more than the $1,100,602 value of the option, though that isn’t much spending power, meaning the Mavs will likely have to use cap space or the mid-level or biannual exceptions. The Mavs only have about $28MM in commitments for next season, so there’s a strong chance the team opens cap space.

Hornets Acquire Jeremy Lamb

June 25th, 2015 at 12:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 12:18pm: The Thunder issued a press release confirming that they have acquired Ridnour and a conditional 2016 second round pick from the Hornets in exchange for Lamb.

11:41am: The deal involves OKC trading Lamb to the Hornets for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round choice, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Hornets acquired Ridnour when they agreed to move Barnes to Memphis.

WEDNESDAY, 6:36pm: The Hornets continue to be active prior to the NBA Draft, and the team is set to acquire guard Jeremy Lamb from the Thunder, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). The transaction will involve the contract of Matt Barnes, who was acquired by Charlotte from the Clippers in the Spencer Hawes for Lance Stephenson trade, though Barnes isn’t expected to end up in Oklahoma City, Bonnell adds. It’s unclear if that means a third team is involved, or if Barnes will be waived by the Thunder. Charlotte, who was reported earlier to be seeking a wing player, is also set to acquire Nicolas Batum from the Blazers in a separate deal.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

In Lamb, the Hornets acquire a 23-year-old shooting guard with upside, who never quite lived up to his status as a lottery pick with the Thunder. Lamb is under contract for 2015/16 at a salary of $3,034,356, and would be eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer. In 47 appearances last season he averaged 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. His career numbers through 148 games are 7.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.1 APG, with a slash line of .422/.348/.857.

Barnes, 35, was a candidate to be waived if he remained in Charlotte. His salary is partially guaranteed for $1MM through July 1st, but is fully guaranteed for almost $3.543MM after. The veteran appeared in 76 games for the Clippers last season, notching 10.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 29.9 minutes per night.

Grizzlies, Hornets Swap Ridnour For Barnes

June 25th, 2015 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

12:00pm: The Grizzlies confirmed the completion of the deal via press release.

8:57am: The Grizzlies have agreed to flip Luke Ridnour to the Hornets for Matt Barnes, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Hornets may waive Ridnour as his pact is non-guaranteed for 2015/16, but the Grizzlies plan to keep Barnes in the final year of his pact (link).

Ridnour didn’t get a chance to even take off his coat as the Grizzlies acquired him less than 24 hours ago. The 34-year-old was reportedly considering retirement as of March, and he hasn’t publicly said whether or not he intends to play next season. His $2.75MM salary is non-guaranteed, but if Charlotte intends on waiving him, they must do so before July 10th when it becomes fully guaranteed. Ridnour is a backup point guard who’s also seen time at the two, so the Hornets could theoretically hang on to him to bolster their backcourt depth.

Barnes, who came to Charlotte in the Lance Stephenson deal earlier this month, was a candidate to be waived if he remained in Charlotte. His salary is partially guaranteed for $1MM through July 1st, but is fully guaranteed for almost $3.543MM after. The veteran appeared in 76 games for the Clippers last season, notching 10.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 29.9 minutes per night.

Hawks, Wizards Swapping Picks

June 25th, 2015 at 10:22am CST by Chuck Myron

10:22pm: The deal is official, the Wizards and Hawks announced. The second-rounders going to Atlanta are for 2016 and 2019, according to the Wizards.

8:24pm: The Wizards have a deal to acquire the rights to 15th pick Kelly Oubre from the Hawks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), with the 19th pick going to Atlanta. Two future second-round picks will go to the Hawks, too, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Oubre was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school who endured a tough season at Kansas, averaging fewer than 10 points per game. Still, Washington is banking on the upside that Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors examined in a Prospect Profile. He’ll represent a cap hold of $1,600,200 on Washington’s books.

Atlanta is reportedly flipping the rights to the 19th pick, Jerian Grant, into Tim Hardaway Jr. in a deal with the Knicks.

Hornets Acquire Nicolas Batum

June 24th, 2015 at 8:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

8:09pm: The trade is official, the Blazers announced. “Nic Batum was a key contributor to all of our recent success,” said Blazers executive Neil Olshey. “He will truly be missed as a person and a player. We wish Nic all the best for the future.”

6:08 pm: The Blazers and Hornets are finalizing a deal that would send Nicolas Batum to Charlotte in exchange for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The Yahoo! scribe had reported earlier today that the Hornets were seeking to acquire a wing player in advance of the NBA Draft, but Wojnarowski had relayed that the team was aggressively shopping big man Cody Zeller.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Batum, 26, certainly can be considered an upgrade for Charlotte, despite him coming off a subpar 2014/15 campaign. He appeared in 71 contests for the Blazers, averaging 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. His career numbers are 11.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 4.8 APG, with a slash line of .446/.363/.834. Batum is set to earn $12,235,750 for the 2015/16 season, and that amount is fully guaranteed.

It’s a bit of a surprise that the Hornets would deal away Vonleh, the team’s lottery selection of a year ago. The 19-year-old only appeared in 25 contests for the Hornets after getting off to late start due to a preseason sports hernia injury. The immediate conclusion would be that Vonleh was acquired by the Blazers to protect themselves in the event that unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge departs this offseason, but the deal was made with Aldridge’s knowledge, and was done independently of his free agent decision, Wojnarowski tweets. Vonleh averaged 3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per contest this past season, and is set to earn $2,637,720 in 2015/16.

Henderson, 27, recently picked up his $6MM player option for next season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He appeared in 80 games for Charlotte during the 2014/15 campaign, and averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers last season were .437/.331/.848.

Ed Davis Opts Out With Lakers

June 24th, 2015 at 7:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers forward Ed Davis has declined his player option for the 2015/16 campaign and will become an unrestricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The move comes as no surprise since it had previously been reported that Davis intended to decline his option worth $1,100,602 and test free agency. Davis has said that he would prefer to return to Los Angeles next season.

The Lakers have also expressed a willingness to bring back Davis, and would be open inking him to a multiyear arrangement as long as the cap hit was a reasonable amount. With Los Angeles likely to turn down its 2015/16 team option for Jordan Hill worth $9MM, the Lakers will need depth in its frontcourt, and Davis could certainly fit the bill. The Lakers have approximately $35MM in guaranteed salary already on the books for next season, so they wouldn’t have much trouble re-signing Davis or Hill under the projected $67.1MM cap. Though the team is certainly hoping to use its available cap space on a big ticket free agent this summer.

Davis was solid for the Lakers this past season, appearing in 79 games, 24 as a starter. He averaged 8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 23.3 minutes per contest. His career stats are 7.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG, and owning a shooting line of .556/.000/.566.

Brandon Rush Opts In With Warriors

June 24th, 2015 at 7:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

Brandon Rush has picked up his minimum-salary player option with the Warriors, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made a public announcement, but it appears as though the move has indeed taken place. The news isn’t surprising, since the seven-year veteran saw sparse playing time this past season for the NBA champs.

Rush signed with Golden State last summer, returning to the team with which the former 13th overall pick scored a career-high 9.8 points per game as a valuable sixth man in 2011/12. A Mark Bartelstein client, he wound up with a two-year, $8MM pact the following summer but tore his ACL in the opening week of the 2012/13 season, and his career hasn’t gotten back on track since. Rush averaged less than a point in 8.2 minutes per game across 33 appearances this past season.

The Warriors already had more than $77.6MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16, well in excess of a projected $67.1MM cap, so Rush’s option, worth nearly $1.271MM, compounds the team’s financial issues. The tax threshold of $81.6MM looms as the team seeks to re-sign Draymond Green, so it’s no surprise that the Warriors are reportedly looking for takers for David Lee and his nearly $15.494MM salary.

Rockets Exercise Option On Papanikolaou

June 24th, 2015 at 4:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets have exercised their team option for Kostas Papanikolaou, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The forward is set to earn $4,797,664 during the 2015/16 campaign, and though his deal is a non-guaranteed one, it would become fully guaranteed if he remains on Houston’s roster past October 4th.

On Sunday, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle noted that the team was on the fence regarding Papanikolaou’s option. Houston was reportedly considering rolling the dice and declining its option on the forward, and would then try and re-sign him as a free agent this summer. The Rockets already have $54,629,767 in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2015/16 season, and the addition of Papanikoloau’s salary would increase that amount to $59,427,431.

Papanikolaou was a regular part of the Rockets’ rotation during the first half of the 2014/15 season, but the acquisition of Josh Smith cut into the 24-year-old’s minutes the rest of the way. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

Grizzlies Acquire Luke Ridnour

June 24th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:33pm: The trade is official, the Magic and Grizzlies announced via press releases.

10:21am: The Grizzlies and Magic have agreed to a trade that will send Luke Ridnour to Memphis, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Magic will get the rights to 2013 second-round pick Janis Timma, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The 34-year-old Ridnour was reportedly considering retirement as of March, and he hasn’t publicly said whether or not he intends to play next season. His $2.75MM salary is non-guaranteed, though it becomes fully guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 10th. So, the move doesn’t immediately add to the roughly $47MM the Grizzlies have in guaranteed salary for next season, nor does it reduce the Magic’s nearly $39MM in commitments. Orlando was almost certainly going to waive Ridnour before his salary locked in, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

The Grizzlies have a trade exception worth more than $3MM as a vestige of having sent Quincy Pondexter to the Pelicans in January’s Jeff Green trade, so the Grizzlies could use that to officially acquire Ridnour before July 1st. They could open cap space to make the move if they wait until next month to formalize it, though they’re unlikely to go under the cap unless Marc Gasol bolts, so it would seem the trade exception will go to use. Orlando, which is already under the cap, doesn’t have the chance to create a trade exception of its own for Ridnour.

Memphis is gaining a backup point guard who’s also seen time at the two, so his acquisition would seemingly create competition for Beno Udrih, whose salary of nearly $2.175MM is partially guaranteed for $923K, and Nick Calathes, who’s entering free agency. The Grizzlies can make Calathes a restricted free agent if they tender a qualifying offer $1,147,276 by month’s end, though perhaps today’s news is a signal that they’re prepared to move on from him. It’s also possible that the Grizzlies will try to flip Ridnour in another trade, Wojnarowski suggests.

Timma, a small forward who turns 23 next month, averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 28.9 minutes per game this past season for VEF Riga of Latvia. It’s assumed that his contract with that team expires this year, as Mark Porcaro notes in our Draft Rights Held Players database.

League OKs Tony Ressler’s Purchase Of Hawks

June 24th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Private equity mogul Tony Ressler and his partners have officially assumed control of the Hawks after receiving unanimous Board of Governors approval today, the league announced. Controlling owner Bruce Levenson, who last September announced his decision to sell as he self-reported racially insensitive emails that he had sent in 2012, and the rest of an often-divided consortium of co-owners have relinquished the team in the $730MM deal. The Ressler group is also assuming some $120MM in arena-related debt, raising the total purchase price to $850MM, as several reports made clear in April, when Ressler and his partners secured an agreement to buy the team. USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt reported a few days ago that league approval and the transfer would take place today.

“We are pleased that the NBA’s Board of Governors has approved the purchase of the Atlanta Hawks by principal owner Tony Ressler,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “Tony and his diverse and experienced ownership group will bring tremendous energy and passion to the Hawks and the team and its fans will greatly benefit from their commitment to the Atlanta community.”

Former player Grant Hill, private equity investor Rick Schnall, women’s wear magnate Sara Blakely and her husband, entrepreneur Jesse Itzler, are among those in Ressler’s group. They beat out another bid that reportedly involved baseball legend Hank Aaron as well as former Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien and current Grizzlies minority owner Steve Kaplan. Former Suns and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, former player Junior Bridgeman and neuropsychologist Richard Chaifetz also apparently teamed for a run at the Hawks as part of a bid that once included Hill.

The new owners appear poised to work on a deal that would make Mike Budenholzer team president and coach, as well as one that would give assistant GM Wes Wilcox a promotion to GM, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last week. Former GM Danny Ferry received a buyout earlier this week that gave him more than he would have received over the remainder of his contract, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Ferry had been on a leave of absence since September that he began after the revelation that he repeated racially charged comments about Luol Deng that had been written in a scouting report from an outside firm. The departures of Ferry and Levenson allow the team to move on from the scandal that hung in the background amid the team’s 60-win season.

Ressler and the front office face a challenge this summer to retain both Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll with only Early Bird rights on them and perhaps not enough cap space to meet their collective market price, as I examined in our Offseason Outlook for the team. Atlanta holds the 15th, 50th and 59th picks in Thursday’s draft.