Grizzlies Sign Jarell Martin
The Grizzlies have signed first-round draftee Jarell Martin to a rookie scale deal, the team announced via a press release. Martin was the No. 25 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft after being a consensus First Team All-SEC selection last season. The 21-year-old was the No. 39 ranked prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The big man out of LSU will likely receive a salary of more than $1.230MM this season and a total of nearly $6.274MM over the course of his four-year contract, as our salary chart for 2015 first-rounders shows. These figures presume he’ll get 120% of the scale amount, which is the norm.
Martin made 33 appearances for the Tigers during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 16.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.1 minutes, with a slash line of .509/.269/.690. His career averages were 13.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.4 APG.
Magic Sign Mario Hezonja
The Magic have signed Mario Hezonja, this year’s fifth overall pick, the team announced. He’ll almost certainly receive a salary of more than $3.741MM this season and a total of nearly $16.897MM over the four-year rookie scale contract, as our salary chart for 2015 first-rounders shows. Those figures presume he’ll get 120% of the scale amount, which is standard procedure. The Arn Tellem client will likely put some of that toward his $1.4MM buyout from Barcelona of Spain. The Magic can only cover $625K of that.
Hezonja’s selection wasn’t too surprising, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him as the fifth-best prospect while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him sixth. The Croatian swingman is a versatile scorer with tantalizing outside shooting skill, though he has a reputation for a poor attitude.
The Magic are likely done with signings for more than the minimum salary, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel wrote. That frees the team to formally sign Hezonja, a maneuver that lifts his cap hold by about $900K.
Jazz Re-Sign Joe Ingles
FRIDAY, 2:34pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
MONDAY, 6:17pm: The Jazz are finalizing a deal with Joe Ingles, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The sides have reached agreement on a pact worth $4.5MM over two years, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link), a raise on the minimum salary he made this past season as a rookie. The move can’t become official until Thursday at the earliest, since the July Moratorium still holds.
It’s no surprise to see the sides agree to terms, since they had mutual interest in a continued partnership as the regular season ended, according to Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah made a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent and reached out to him as soon as the free agent negotiating period began July 1st.
Ingles will see more than his Non-Bird rights would have provided him, so Utah will either have to use cap space or the $2.814MM room exception to accommodate his deal. The two-year length of the contract means he’ll again be eligible for restricted free agency in 2017.
The Jazz nabbed the Bradley Ames client off waivers from the Clippers at the start of this past season. Clippers president Doc Rivers said he’d wanted to re-sign Ingles after he cleared waivers, but he never got a chance to do so. Instead, the 27-year-old Australian, who’ll turn 28 in October, spent his first NBA season in Utah after several years playing in Europe.
Nets Sign Wayne Ellington
FRIDAY, 2:17pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
11:14pm: It’s a two-year, $3MM deal with a player option, reports Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That would appear to exhaust Brooklyn’s taxpayer’s mid-level, Mazzeo notes, leaving the team with only the minimum to hand out to outside free agents.
THURSDAY, 7:59am: The Nets have an agreement in principle with Wayne Ellington, the team announced via press release. Teams usually announce signings rather than agreements, so it’s unclear if a formal contract has yet been signed. Brooklyn has a portion of its taxpayer’s mid-level left over after agreeing to terms with Shane Larkin for part of it, though it’s not yet known if the team is using that or if Ellington is merely getting the minimum salary.
Ellington leaves the Lakers despite making it clear to GM Mitch Kupchak that he preferred to come back. The Lakers reportedly reached out to him on the first day of free agency, as did the Cavaliers, Warriors, Wizards, Spurs and Hawks. The Knicks also apparently had interest.
The Thaddeus Foucher client who turns 28 in October is coming off career highs of 10.0 points and 25.8 minutes per game for the Lakers. That’s in spite of 37.0% three-point shooting that was below his 38.2% career rate.
Thunder Sign Cameron Payne
The Thunder have signed Cameron Payne, this year’s No. 14 overall pick, the team announced. His rookie scale contract is likely worth slightly more than $9.6MM over four years, with a first-year salary of nearly $2.022MM, presuming he gets the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our table of salaries for 2015 first-round picks shows.
Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors had predicted in our final mock draft that Payne would go to the Thunder amid rumors of a promise from the team. Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who originally reported that chatter, had Payne as the No. 14 prospect in his rankings. Payne starred at mid-major Murray State, averaging 20.2 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 turnovers this past season, and he told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors before the draft that he compares his game to that of Tony Parker.
The signing of the Travis King client raises his cap hold by roughly $300K, but it does little to affect flexibility for Oklahoma City, which is already well above the $70MM cap. The Thunder figure to pay the tax should they match Portland’s offer sheet to Enes Kanter, as expected, but the club didn’t end up trading its pick and seems committed to Payne as a backup for Russell Westbrook.
LeBron James Re-Signs With Cavs
1:26pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
“LeBron’s re-signing today is a reflection and continuation of his strong, personal commitment to help deliver championships to Northeast Ohio and Cavs fans everywhere,” GM David Griffin said in the team’s statement. “We share this deep level of commitment with him. His impact upon this team, his community and the game are impossible to overstate and we look forward to continuing on our mission together.”
FRIDAY, 12:10pm: James signed this morning, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team has yet to make a formal announcement.
THURSDAY, 12:01pm: Agent Rich Paul notified the Cavaliers that client LeBron James will sign with them on the first day he can in free agency, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. That would indicate that James will sign today. It’s no great surprise, unlike last year, as James has been likely to stay with Cleveland, though the timing of the move, which comes before an agreement between the Cavs and fellow Paul client Tristan Thompson, is somewhat unexpected. It’s a two-year deal with a player option, Broussard adds in a second tweet, with salary figures that indicate it’ll be a max contract. That’s the very sort of arrangement that Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group wrote months ago that James was likely to sign.
James, 30, turned in another stellar season in 2014/15, averaging 25.3 PPG, 7.4 APG, 6.0 RPG, and a 25.9 PER. This past campaign might not have been James’ career-best, but he was nothing short of dominant overall. After cruising to his eleventh consecutive All-Star selection, James put on a heroic effort in the postseason. Even after losing Kevin Love to a shoulder injury in their first round battle with the Celtics and Kyrie Irving to a knee injury in the Finals, LeBron kept his Cavs afloat into a hard-fought championship series against the Warriors.
LeBron and his squad experienced some road bumps in 2014/15, including an up-and-down start to the year and apparent friction between first-year coach David Blatt and core players. Ultimately, however, LeBron will continue to push to see things through in Cleveland as he promised to do this time last year. Of course, it also helps that James appears to have far more control over personnel moves now than he did in Miami.
There was never much question as to whether LeBron would re-sign with Cleveland, but the Cavs are surely breathing a sigh of relief now that they have word of his return.
Cavs Sign Mo Williams
FRIDAY, 11:39am: The deal is official, the team announced.
“We’re very excited to welcome Mo back to Cleveland and we feel he will be a great fit with our team,” GM David Griffin said. “Mo is a proven, high-caliber playmaker and his ability to space the floor at either guard position will be essential for us.”
MONDAY, 8:40am: Point guard Mo Williams has reached an agreement with the Cavaliers, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a two-year, $4.3MM contract that includes a player option, league sources told Wojnarowski. Williams had also considered offers from the Spurs, Mavericks and Pelicans, Wojnarowski adds in a separate tweet. (Twitter links).
Williams, who played for the Hornets during the second half of last season, will provide insurance behind Kyrie Irving. The agreement will not deter the Cavaliers from trying to re-sign Matthew Dellavedova, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
A report last week indicated a deal between the Grizzlies and Williams was close but it was later denied. The Cavs had their $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level to spend. They will have $1.3MM of it left over, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets.
The 32-year-old Williams, who began last season with the Timberwolves, gives Cleveland scoring punch off the bench and could also start if Irving’s kneecap injury does not heal in time for the start of the regular season. Williams averaged 17.2 points and 6.0 assists in 27 games with the Hornets.
Wizards Sign Kelly Oubre
11:59pm: The Wizards have yet to make an official announcement, but the RealGM transactions log indicates that the signing has taken place.
4:55pm: The Wizards have reached an agreement with Kelly Oubre on a rookie-scale contract, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Washington acquired the rights to Oubre in a draft night trade with the Hawks.
The 19-year-old swingman out of Kansas will likely earn close to $1.920MM this season, the first of his four-year rookie scale contract, assuming he signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our table of likely salaries for first-round picks shows. Oubre would then be in line to make $2,006,640 in 2016/17, $2,093,040 the following season, and $3,208,630 in the final year.
Oubre appeared in 36 games as a freshman for the Jayhawks, averaging 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, with a slash line of .444/.358/.718.
Heat Sign Gerald Green
8:56pm: The signing is official, the Heat announced. “We are fortunate to be able sign a proven veteran like Gerald,” said team president Pat Riley. “He is a dynamic talent who possesses great athleticism, and has the ability to shoot from distance and spread the floor. He’ll be a perfect complement to our team.”
8:28am: It’ll be a minimum-salary contract, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Mavericks had been interested before their deal with DeAndre Jordan fell apart, Berger adds.
8:02am: The Heat will sign Gerald Green to a one-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Miami has its $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception at its disposal if Green is getting more than the minimum.
Green departs from the Suns, which is no shock after agent Kevin Bradbury took coach Jeff Hornacek to task this past spring in response to Hornacek’s criticism of Green’s defense. The swingman nonetheless seemed open to a return. The Clippers had interest and expressed that to Green’s camp, but with DeAndre Jordan coming back and Paul Pierce in the fold, L.A. has only the minimum to spend. Green seemed likely to pursue a deal approaching $5MM a year, though he’s unable to get quite that much from the Heat.
The Heat will still meet today with Marcus Thornton, who also ended last season with the Suns, in spite of their agreement with Green, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Still, it’s tough to see Miami signing both, Jackson tweets, particularly since the Heat are already short on roster space, as Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post notes (on Twitter).
Jazz Sign Raul Neto
8:47pm: The deal is for three years and $2.8MM, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
THURSDAY, 8:18pm: The Jazz have officially signed Neto to a multiyear contract, the team announced. The exact length and amount of the agreement were not released.
TUESDAY, 11:04am: Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Raul Neto isn’t expected to return to Murcia of Spain and will instead sign with Utah, his coach told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear if the Jazz and the 23-year-old have agreed to terms, but Neto traveled to Utah this weekend and he and the team were to discuss their future, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News details, and he was already wearing team gear as of last night, Genessy tweets.
The 6’1″ Neto is speedy, with a high basketball IQ, but his outside shooting is poor, according to Pick (Twitter link). The native of Brazil nailed just 20.5% of his three-pointers this past season in Spain, and he averaged 8.9 points, 3.9 assists and 2.7 turnovers in 22.4 minutes per game.
The Jazz originally acquired his rights via trade in 2013, the day after the Hawks drafted him 47th overall. His contract with Murcia was to run though 2017, but it would appear as though the deal includes NBA out clauses. It’s unclear how much cost, if any, would be involved in a buyout from the Spanish team.
Utah has plenty of cap flexibility, even if the wake of its two-year, $4.5MM deal with Joe Ingles. The Jazz entered July with only about $49MM in guaranteed salary. They’ve also reportedly been in talks with draft-and-stash center Tibor Pleiss.