Bucks Sign Greg Monroe To Max
JULY 9TH, 12:33pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
“The entire Bucks organization is thrilled to welcome Greg to Milwaukee,” GM John Hammond said. “Greg will be a fantastic complement to the talented young roster we’re assembling. The fact that he chose Milwaukee speaks volumes about the culture we’re developing and the bright future we envision for the Bucks.”
“Greg is a skilled low-post scorer and rebounder, and will add a whole new dimension to our young roster,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s just 25 years old and still scratching the surface of his potential. I’m looking forward to helping him develop along with our other talented young players.”
11:40am: Falk strongly denies to Marc Berman of the New York Post that the Knicks didn’t offer the max (Twitter links), and confirms to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that the Lakers and Blazers did, too, with Milwaukee’s playoff-readiness at the heart of Monroe’s decision (Twitter link).
10:37am: The Knicks, Lakers and Blazers also offered the max, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck hears, so that’s conflicting information on New York’s offer (Twitter link). The max for three years will be an estimated $50MM, as Wojnarowski pegs it in his full story.
9:20am: It’ll be a three-year contract with a player option on the final season, Wojnarowski tweets. Monroe will be eligible for a higher max bracket in two years, just as the salary cap is projected to reach its peak.
JULY 2ND, 9:02am: Greg Monroe will sign a maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The David Falk client was to meet with the Knicks, who long appeared the front-runners for him, as well as the Lakers and Blazers. The Knicks didn’t offer the max to Monroe, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt hears, perhaps explaining why he didn’t end up in New York (Twitter link). He’ll make about $16MM this coming season on a max deal, though it’s not immediately clear how long the contract, which can’t become official until the July Moratorium ends next week, will run.
Milwaukee has reportedly been keen on signing a marquee center, having eyed Tyson Chandler and Brook Lopez, among others, and Monroe, No. 7 on our Free Agent Power Rankings from last month, fits the bill. The Bucks will have to sign him using cap room, meaning his deal will almost certainly become official before Khris Middleton’s reported five-year, $70MM pact does, since Middleton’s cap hold will balloon from $2.725MM to eight figures once he signs.
It’s no surprise that Monroe is leaving the Pistons, as even though Falk and Monroe insisted that Detroit had a shot to keep him, with Monroe going so far as to say the Pistons had the “upper hand” at one point, it seemed a strong bet that he’d leave ever since he signed his qualifying offer from the Pistons last year. The Pistons reportedly offered less than the max when Monroe was a restricted free agent in 2014, so it appears his gamble paid off. I thought he’d at least come close to the max when I examined his free agent stock this past spring.
Bucks Re-Sign Khris Middleton
JULY 9TH, 12:30pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
“Khris played a huge role in our turnaround last season and has become a leader on our young team,” GM John Hammond said. “Keeping Khris in a Bucks uniform was a huge priority for us this offseason, and we’re thrilled that he’ll continue to grow with our young core as we work towards building a championship-caliber team in Wisconsin.”
9:46am: Milwaukee and the Mike Lindeman client indeed have an agreement, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
JULY 1ST, 2:28am: The Bucks and restricted free agent Khris Middleton are close to signing a new deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. The proposed arrangement will be for five years, and $70MM, Stein notes. The deal will include a player option for the fifth year, adds Stein. Milwaukee had tendered Middleton a qualifying offer worth $2.275MM, and would have had the right to match any offer sheet the forward were to sign with another franchise.
It doesn’t come as a shock that Middleton will return to Milwaukee, as the Bucks were set to match any offer sheets for the restricted free agent, according to a previous report by Stein. The ESPN scribe had pegged the degree of certainty that Middleton would be back with the Bucks in 2015/16 as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Retaining Middleton and signing a big man in free agency are Milwaukee’s top two offseason priorities, Stein adds (via Twitter).
Middleton’s proposed deal would be for less then the league maximum, but not by much. A league executive had told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that the young forward would draw an offer of around $15MM annually, with the max being an estimated $15.8MM for a player with his experience level, while another executive told Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times that he doubted Middleton would command that amount, and estimated the 23-year-old would only receive $9MM per year on his next deal. Deveney’s estimation was closer, with Middleton’s average annual salary on the pact coming in at approximately $14MM per season.
In 79 appearances this past campaign, including 58 as a starter, Middleton averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per night. His career numbers are 11.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG, with a shooting line of .453/.403/.858.
Nets Ink Thomas Robinson
JULY 9TH, 12:27pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
5:30pm: Robinson’s deal will be for the league minimum, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post tweets.
JULY 2ND, 4:44pm: The Nets are close to signing free agent Thomas Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter links). It will be a two year contract with a player option for 2016/17, Kennedy adds. Robert Windrem of NetsDaily first reported that the two sides shared mutual interest. The Spurs also were noted to have some level of interest in the free agent.
Robinson considered signing with the Nets last season after being waived by the Nuggets, with the forward reportedly agreeing to sign a 10-day contract with Brooklyn before being claimed by the Sixers. The 24-year-old is well-traveled, having played for five NBA teams since being selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
In 32 appearances for Philadelphia last season, Robinson logged 8.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.5 minutes per game. His career numbers are 5.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 0.6 APG, with a slash line of .463/.000/.538.
Nets Sign Shane Larkin
JULY 9TH, 12:26pm: The deal is official, the Nets announced via press release.
JULY 2ND, 1:59pm: The Nets and Shane Larkin have agreed to a two-year, $3MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). It’ll include a player option on the second season, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. Brooklyn will use part of its $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception on the guard who played this past season with the crosstown Knicks.
Larkin confirmed the deal to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The guard wasn’t expected to return to the Knicks, as Newsday’s Al Iannazzone notes (on Twitter). New York declined its team option for 2015/16 on Larkin’s rookie scale contract this past fall, so the most the Knicks could have paid him next season on a new deal was the value of that option, slightly more than $1.675MM. Other teams were free to pay him more, but the Nets don’t appear to have exceeded that amount.
The Relativity Sports client was the 18th overall pick just two years ago, but he saw little playing time for as a rookie for the Mavs, who traded him to New York in the Tyson Chandler deal. Larkin started 22 games for the Knicks last year, but nonetheless moves on. He passed up more money from one of the three of four teams with interest, but goes into a Brooklyn backcourt already well-stocked with point guards, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com writes on Twitter.
Nets Re-Sign Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young
JULY 9TH, 12:23pm: Both deals are official, the Nets announced via press release.
“We are very pleased to welcome Brook and Thaddeus back the Brooklyn Nets,” GM Billy King said. “Brook is one of the premier big men in this league, while Thad proved to be a perfect complement to Brook last year after he was acquired from Minnesota. Being able to re-sign both of our free agent targets allows us to provide the continuity in our frontcourt that we were looking for going into the upcoming season.”
11:02am: Lopez’s deal doesn’t include a player option, after all, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck (Twitter link).
10:35am: The Nets and both players have indeed reached agreement, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Young is getting a player option, too.
12:55am: Lopez’s deal will include a player option after the second season, Wojnarowski reports.
JULY 1ST, 12:04am: The Nets appear to be all but finished securing Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, as expected. A source close to the talks told Marc Stein of ESPN.com to “consider them done deals” (Twitter link). Lopez is expected to sign for three years and $60MM, which is about the maximum, while Young is expected to get four years and $50MM, according to Stein.
This news doesn’t come as a surprise, with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports previously reporting that Brooklyn was the frontrunner to re-sign both players. The Nets have reportedly been planning to pay Lopez his full market value, although the agreement could include some financial protections for Brooklyn should a recurrence of the seven-footer’s past foot issues sideline him again, Wojnarowski noted. Lopez could also opt to have the agreement include a player option for the third year, which would allow him to re-enter free agency after the maximum contract salaries elevate with the flow of new television money.
Young had reportedly been leaning toward opting out back in May, though Young’s agent, Jim Tanner, had suggested that he instead opt in and hit free agency next summer, when the salary cap is projected to surge. The 27-year-old averaged 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game this season, and was acquired by Brooklyn in a midseason trade with Minnesota. Young will still likely listen to pitches from other teams despite the mutual interest in a return to Brooklyn, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Magic are reportedly interested in signing the forward, per Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
Latest On Tim Duncan, Spurs
JULY 9TH, 12:14pm: Duncan and the Spurs are making progress toward a two-year deal worth $5MM in the first season, with a player option for year two, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (on Twitter).
JULY 2ND, 12:52pm: Tim Duncan will “be on the court next year,” he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News, ostensibly signaling that he will return to the Spurs rather than retire (Twitter links). The Spurs have been operating on the premise that the legendary big man would indeed be back, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com made clear in May reports, though the most recent dispatch indicated that Duncan still hadn’t made up his mind.
Duncan is still a free agent, though he said to Monroe that he spoke to Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich in recent days as the team prepared its pitch to LaMarcus Aldridge. Duncan’s willingness to take a discount will play heavily into San Antonio’s ability to offer Aldridge a max deal, though the Jim Tanner client has long shown a willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the Spurs, and he seems poised to play for less than the nearly $10.362MM he saw this past season.
Duncan’s longtime teammate Manu Ginobili has yet to announce his decision about retiring or coming back to play, though Tony Parker recently expressed confidence that both Duncan and Ginobili would be back. However, Ginobili’s return seems less of a safe bet than Duncan’s was, as Bucher and Berger’s reports conflicted on whether the Spurs thought the Argentinian swingman would retire.
Blazers Sign Damian Lillard To Max Extension
JULY 9TH, 12:12pm: The deal is official, the team announced, confirming that it runs for five seasons, through 2020/21.
“From the day he arrived in Portland, Damian has embodied all of the characteristics we value and expect as a player and a person,” GM Neil Olshey said. “The level of commitment we are making to one another provides the foundation our organization will be built on. We could not find a finer example of the organizational culture we are working to create than Damian.”
5:33pm: Lillard released a statement regarding his new deal, hat tip to Spears (via Twitter). “Just thankful, man. I play the game out of love and it’s inspiring to be rewarded for doing things the right way and being a high character person,” Lillard said. “It’s also comforting knowing that none of what I’ve accomplished has been handed to me.”
JULY 2ND, 4:57pm: The Blazers and Lillard have agreed to the max extension, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Spears hears from a source who estimates it’ll be worth between $125-129MM, though that would be based off the standard 25% max and doesn’t take into account the 30% max he’d make if he triggers the Rose rule.
JULY 1ST, 8:02am: The Blazers and Damian Lillard are nearing agreement on a five-year max extension, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The news is no surprise, as Lillard was intent on seeking a max extension, as Shams Charania of RealGM reported in April, while Portland had plans to be “very aggressive” to sign the Aaron Goodwin client to just that sort of deal, as Stein later wrote.
The rookie scale extension would be the second during this year’s signing window, as Anthony Davis and the Pelicans quickly agreed to a five-year max extension of their own just as the calendar flipped to July 1st. Both will become the Designated Players for their respective teams, meaning that no one else on Portland or New Orleans can sign a five-year rookie extension until Lillard or Davis are either traded or their extensions run to term. For Portland, that affects C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard and the newly acquired Noah Vonleh.
Lillard, whose extension would kick in for the 2016/17 season, would receive an estimated haul in excess of $120MM, according to Stein, though that figure would be based on the point guard ending up with the standard 25% max for veterans of seven or fewer years. However, he made the All-NBA Third Team in 2013/14, and even though he didn’t earn another All-NBA selection this past season, Lillard can still trigger the Derrick Rose rule and end up with a 30% max if he returns to one of the All-NBA teams or wins MVP. The difference would be an estimated starting salary of around $25MM with the 30% max and roughly $21MM on the 25% max.
Pistons Acquire Marcus Morris, Bullock, Granger
JULY 9TH, 11:35am: The deal is official, both teams announced. It’s Morris, Bullock and Granger to Detroit for a 2020 second-rounder.
3:31pm: Detroit hasn’t made a final decision on Granger yet, but he’ll most likely be waived, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press tweets.
JULY 2ND: 2:34 pm: The Suns and Pistons have agreed to a trade that sends Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to Detroit in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). The deal would clear nearly $8.423MM in additional cap flexibility for Phoenix as it chases LaMarcus Aldridge.
However, the Suns still have about $57MM in commitments against a cap projected between $67.1MM and $69.1MM, and with Aldridge, for whom Phoenix reportedly emerged as a strong contender, in line to make some $19MM on a max deal next season, it appears as though Phoenix still has more cap clearing to do, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe and Wojnarowski point out (Twitter link). Wojnarowski mentions Markieff Morris, who’ll make $8MM next season, and P.J. Tucker, who’s set for $5.5MM, as possible targets for other cap-clearing moves.
The trade with the Pistons by itself breaks up the Morris twins just months after they signed rookie scale extensions with designs on staying together. Marcus Morris instead ends up in Detroit’s frontcourt, as the Pistons use more of their cap space on complementary players after reaching agreement with Aron Baynes earlier today. The deal was made by Detroit to land Morris, who is expected to be the starting small forward next season, Ellis tweets. Morris appeared in 81 games last season for the Suns, including 35 as a starter, averaging 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. His slash line was .434/.358/.628.
Bullock will compete for a roster spot with Cartier Martin, Quincy Miller, and Adonis Thomas, relays Ellis (Twitter link). He has never made more than 43 appearances in a season since entering the league with the Clippers, who selected him with the No. 25 overall pick back in 2013. Bullock appeared in 11 games for Phoenix after arriving via trade from Los Angeles, averaging 0.4 points and 0.9 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per contest.
Granger may not be thrilled with the trade, especially since it takes him away from the Suns’ vaunted training staff, who have been working 16.8 to get the veteran healthy and back on the court. The 32-year-old managed 30 appearances for the Heat last season, and zero with Phoenix after it had acquired him via trade. Granger’s career numbers are 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, with a shooting line of .434/.380/.848.
Jimmy Butler Re-Signs With Bulls
JULY 9TH, 11:25am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
“We are thrilled that Jimmy has committed to remain a Chicago Bull for years to come,” GM Gar Forman said in the press release. “As one of the leagues rising stars, we look forward to his continued growth and him being a major contributor to our team’s continued success.”
JULY 1ST, 1:21pm: Jimmy Butler and the Bulls are finalizing a max contract for five years with a player option after year four, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). It’ll be worth an estimated $95MM, according to Wojnarowski, with the precise value to be determined, when the deal can become official at the end of the July Moratorium next week. Other teams pursuing him have given up the chase, Wojnarowski adds. The client of Happy Walkers and Steve McCaskill was strongly leaning toward taking Chicago’s five-year offer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com had reported earlier, and it long appeared as though the Bulls would keep him, with the power to match offers and the willingness to pay the max.
The restricted free agent reportedly intended to seek short-term offer sheets, but wound up re-signing with Chicago on a deal that won’t allow him to choose free agency until 2019. Still, when the Bulls tendered a maximum qualifying offer, that meant Butler couldn’t sign an offer sheet that would let him into free agency sooner than 2018, and he apparently put off meetings with the Lakers, Sixers and Mavs when that offer from Chicago came in. The only recourse would have been to sign his standard qualifying offer, worth less than $4.434MM, and while that would have let him into unrestricted free agency next summer, it would have been a profound financial sacrifice for this coming season.
Butler already gambled on himself when he passed up $11MM salaries on a proposed extension with Chicago this past fall. The former 30th overall pick apparently would have settled for between $12.5MM and $13MM a year at that point, but his performance this season, which earned him this year’s Most Improved Player of the Year award, sent his value skyrocketing.
The result will cost the Bulls even more than the difference between what he might have taken in an extension and an estimated $16MM starting salary for this coming season. Chicago, which also agreed to a three-year, $14.4MM deal with Mike Dunleavy today, is almost certain to pay a stiff tax bill, since it entered free agency with $63MM already against a tax threshold likely to land somewhere around $82MM when the league sets it at the end of the moratorium.
Raptors Sign Cory Joseph
JULY 9TH, 11:22am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
“We have watched Cory grow as a player and see him as a great fit in our system,” GM Masai Ujiri said in the team’s statement. “He is another player with a defensive skill-set that will be an asset to our team.”
10:16pm: It’s a four-year year deal worth $30MM, ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard tweets. It includes a player option after the third year, Broussard tweets.
JULY 5TH, 9:21pm: Newly-minted unrestricted free agent Cory Joseph is nearing a deal with the Raptors, reports ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Earlier on Sunday, the Spurs pulled their qualifying offer to Joseph, making the point guard an unrestricted free agent. The Spurs originally extended a qualifying offer to Joseph on June 30, then making him a restricted free agent, but, that, of course, was before the team reached an agreement to sign LaMarcus Aldridge. The client of Rich Paul filled in nicely this past season as a starter when both Tony Parker and Patty Mills were injured in December. Joseph would be expected to become Toronto’s backup point guard and provide the backcourt with some defensive prowess.
The Raptors’ interest in Joseph precedes the summer.Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets that the Raptors attempted twice to trade for Joseph, but were turned down. Joseph is from Canada, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has pledged to pursue Canadian players.