Jazz Match Gordon Hayward Offer Sheet
The Jazz have matched the Hornets maximum-salary offer sheet to Gordon Hayward, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). Hayward will sign with Utah today. The move was expected, as the Jazz had been planning to match any offer the restricted free agent would receive on the market.
Hayward will receive a total of $62,965,420 over the course of the deal, with a starting salary of $14.746MM. It’s the most that Charlotte or any team other than the Jazz could have given him in an offer sheet. He was eligible for as much as $84,789,500 over five seasons if he’d signed directly with Utah, which helps explain why the Jazz all along seemed content to let him negotiate with other teams, only to swoop in and match.
The 24-year-old secured the max offer from Charlotte amid interest from several teams. The Jazz were unable to sign Hayward to a rookie-scale extension last fall, which put in motion the process leading to him becoming a max player this offseason. Utah offered significantly less during extension negotiations, so Hayward’s choice to decline their offer and hit free agency has paid off for the small forward.
The Priority Sports & Entertainment client will look to lead an improved youth movement in Utah alongside new addition Dante Exum, whom the Jazz selected with the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft. Hayward turned in career-best averages in points, steals, assists, and rebounds per game in the 2013/14 season, but did so in the most inefficient year of his career on a Jazz team that struggled in only winning 25 games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jazz Sign Rodney Hood
6:42pm: The signing is official, the team has announced.
1:20pm: The Jazz have signed No. 23 overall pick Rodney Hood, as Hood reveals on his verified Twitter account. He’ll likely receive slightly more than $1.29MM this coming season, as our chart of salaries for 2014 first-round picks shows.
The 6’8″ former Duke Blue Devil touted his versatility and readiness to play when he spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors before the draft. He averaged 16.1 points per game with 42.0% three-point shooting this past season in his lone year at the school after transferring from Mississippi State.
The Jazz took Hood at the back end of the range into which Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors thought he would fall when he examined the 21-year-old’s prospect profile. That sets Utah up with the potential for strong value from the pick. The Jazz also have the rights to No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum, who remains unsigned but will likely ink soon.
Jazz Sign Dante Exum
6:40pm: The signing is official, the team has announced.
5:20pm: The Jazz have signed the No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum, reports Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). He’ll likely receive slightly more than $3,615,000 this coming season, as our chart of salaries for 2014 first-round picks shows, and confirmed by Gennesy via a second tweet. Exum joins No. 23 overall pick Rodney Hood, who signed earlier today, in Utah.
Exum will most likely begin his career as a shooting guard, but may eventually shift over to the point guard position, especially if last year’s first rounder, Trey Burke is unable to develop into an effective starter.
Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, LeBron, Morrow, Blake
Phil Jackson might be expecting Carmelo Anthony to rejoin the Knicks, but ‘Melo hasn’t ruled out the Bulls just quite yet, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Meanwhile, the Heat expected to have had an answer from LeBron James by this point, according to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick. James was frustrated with some of coach Erik Spoelstra‘s strategy during the Finals this year and wasn’t impressed with team president Pat Riley‘s end-of-season press conference last month, Skolnick adds.
While the NBA world waits on the decisions of superstars like Anthony and James, let’s round up the latest from free agents all around the league..
- Anthony Morrow has received interest from several teams, but it appears he’s deciding between joining the Clippers, Heat, Wizards, Raptors and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com, who adds that each of the teams Morrow is considering would be willing to use some or all of their mid-level exception to sign him (Twitter links). Given that the Clippers and Heat have both used up the full amount of their mid-level exceptions, signing Morrow would likely require a sign-and-trade to complete.
- The Warriors took “another” look at DJ White today, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter), thereby implying it’s at least the second time Golden State has looked at the big man. White had his rights renounced by Charlotte earlier today.
- Other teams submitted much stronger bids for Steve Blake but he “desperately” wanted to play for the Blazers, as he agreed to do today, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). The Lakers weren’t among the teams making an aggressive play for the point guard, as they offered only the minimum salary, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hears.
- The Jazz, Pelicans, Rockets, and Nets are interested in Francisco Garcia, a source tells Haynes (Twitter link).
- The Wolves are making an effort to sign Evan Turner to one-year deal, a source tells tells Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. Turner played poorly last season after being shipped to Indiana at the trade deadline.
- The matter of whether Mike Miller will re-sign with the Grizzlies will likely come down to contract length rather than salary, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in subscription-only piece. Memphis wants him back on a two-year deal, but Miller is pushing for three or four seasons.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been in contact with Paul Pierce‘s representatives at Excel Sports Management, but it’s unlikely the veteran forward ends up in Houston, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Alex Lee and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Renounced Players: Thursday
Many of the agreements signed during the July moratorium were contingent on teams clearing cap space to accommodate them, and to do so, teams must sometimes renounce their Non-Bird, Early Bird or full Bird rights to their own free agents to erase their cap holds from the books. Teams that renounce those rights no longer have the ability to exceed the cap to re-sign those players unless they use an exception like the mid-level or the biannual. The end of the moratorium usually brings about a fair number of renouncements, so we’ll track today’s here, with the latest on top:
- The Mavs have renounced Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link). That doesn’t mean the Mavs don’t intend to re-sign Nowitzki, as they already agreed to do. Teams that sign players to offer sheets are permitted to rescind their renouncements if the original club matches the offer sheet. In this case, the Mavs will rescind their renouncement of Nowitzki if the Rockets match the offer sheet for Chandler Parsons, and they’ll use cap space to re-sign Nowitzki if Houston doesn’t match.
- The Jazz renounced their rights to Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush, according to Deeks tweets.
- The Hornets renounced Jannero Pargo, Anthony Tolliver, DJ White, Luke Ridnour, Josh McRoberts and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Deeks notes in the same tweet. Just like the Mavs, the Hornets may rescind these renouncement if the Jazz, as they reportedly intend to do, match Charlotte’s offer sheet for Gordon Hayward.
Jazz Acquire Steve Novak
JULY 10TH: The trade is official, the Jazz announce via press release. The second-round pick going to Utah is New York’s 2017 selection that the Raptors acquired in a previous trade.
JULY 4TH: The Raptors and Jazz have struck an agreement on a trade that sends Steve Novak and a second-round pick to Utah, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Utah is giving up Diante Garrett, but Toronto plans to waive Garrett and his non-guaranteed minimum salary after the trade is official following the July moratorium, which runs through Wednesday, Wojnarowski adds.
Toronto appears to be making the move to clear room beneath the projected $77MM luxury tax line to accommodate a deal for Greivis Vasquez and perhaps other signings, with space tight following the team’s agreements with Kyle Lowry and Patrick Patterson. The team is reportedly closing in on a deal with Vasquez, but it only has roughly $7.5MM in flexibility beneath the tax threshold.
Novak was little-used in Toronto this past season after having been an integral part of the Knicks rotation the previous two years. He averaged just 10.0 minutes per game, but as usual, he was stellar from behind the arc, nailing 42.6% of his three-point attempts. He led the league with a 47.2% three-point percentage in 2011/12, and that summer he signed a four-year, $15MM deal that made him a pricey luxury at the end of the bench this past season for the Raptors.
Utah uses its ample cap flexibility to pick up one of the league’s premier three-point shooting specialists. Novak will make nearly $3.446MM this coming season and $3.75MM in 2015/16, but it seems like Utah is OK with the commitment as it slowly rebuilds.
Hornets Sign Gordon Hayward To Offer Sheet
THURSDAY, 7:58am: Hayward has officially signed the offer sheet, the Hornets announced via press release, starting the three-day matching period. The Jazz will likely wait all three days to match, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 7:05am: It’ll be an offer sheet for the max that runs four years with a player option for the final season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’ll also include a 15% trade kicker, Wojnarowski adds. The option and the trade kicker appear to be designed to dissuade the Jazz from matching, but the Jazz have been adamant that they will match, according to Wojnarowski.
Indeed, Utah has been so intent on matching any such deal that the Jazz consider the offer sheet a “non-issue,” a source tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Several teams called the Jazz about a sign-and-trade for Hayward to see if there was some way of preventing them from matching, but the Hornets never did, Wojnarowski writes, and there’s no chance Charlotte and Utah will arrange a sign-and-trade at this point, Genessy tweets.
TUESDAY, 11:36pm: Gordon Hayward has agreed to a major offer sheet with the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Terms of the agreement haven’t been disclosed, although it’s highly likely that Charlotte is offering more than the four-year, $48MM deal that Hayward turned down from the Jazz last fall. As we noted earlier, the Hornets were content with their meeting with Hayward; however, Utah is expected to match any offer for the 6’8 forward.
Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter) notes that Hayward can’t officially sign anything until July 10th; at that point, the Jazz would have three days to match the offer, and Falk maintains that all indications so far is that they will.
Hornets Notes: Hayward, Roberts, Delany
Somewhat lost amid the shuffle of a three-team trade and the latest updates on LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony is Tuesday’s late-night agreement between the Hornets and restricted free agent Gordon Hayward on a max offer sheet. The Jazz are reportedly determined to match, so it doesn’t seem as though Hayward will end up in Charlotte. Still, the net effect could be a jump in the value of fellow restricted free agent small forward Chandler Parsons, making it harder for the Rockets to hang on to him, argues Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Here’s more on Hayward and the Hornets:
- Hayward intended to meet with the Suns before he decided instead to commit to the offer sheet from the Hornets, a source tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- The Hornets are planning a visit with free agent point guard Brian Roberts, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’s No. 1 on Charlotte’s wish list as it searches for a backup point guard to Kemba Walker, Wojnarowski adds.
- Pat Delany has officially joined the team as an assistant coach, the Hornets announced. He had been serving as the coach of the Heat’s D-League affiliate.
And-Ones: Crawford, Hayward, 76ers
With a logjam at the guard spots and limited payroll flexibility, the Warriors are willing to help Jordan Crawford find his next team with a sign-and-trade deal, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The source added that the former Xavier guard has drawn interest from the Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets (Twitter links).
You can find more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes below:
- The Hornets were pleased with their meeting with Gordon Hayward today, but the Jazz maintain that they’ll match any offer sheet for the 24-year-old forward, tweets NBA.com’s David Aldridge.
- 76ers GM Sam Hinkie said that he’s involved in plenty of conversations, but not as many as the media has been reporting, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Hinkie doesn’t think the addition of a high-profile guard will hurt Michael Carter-Williams‘ confidence, adding that the 2013/14 Rookie of the Year is the team’s point guard of the future.
- Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will not be in attendance during LeBron James‘ meeting with Pat Riley tomorrow, a source tells Zac Jackson of FOX Sports Ohio.
- ESPN’s Marc Stein says he’s been strongly advised to dismiss rumblings that Nike has purchased billboards in Cleveland in anticipation for LeBron’s eventual free agency decision; however, It doesn’t mean that LeBron has ruled out a return to the Cavaliers either (Twitter links).
- Former Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin will join the Kings as an assistant coach, a source tells Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. A week ago, we relayed that Corbin was set to interview for a spot on Michael Malone’s coaching staff.
- Nik Stauskas is slated to sign his rookie deal with Sacramento today, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Timberwolves president/head coach Flip Saunders admits that he should have sent Chase Budinger to the D-League last season for a rehab assignment last season, noting that the swingman’s return from knee surgery has been a tough transition (Twitter link via Nate Sandell of 1500 ESPN).
- The Knicks added Joshua Longstaff and Rasheed Hazzard to Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff, notes Jonah Ballow of NYKnicks.com. Longstaff was previously a Thunder assistant, while Hazzard formerly worked for the Lakers.
- Former Oakland star Travis Bader signed a deal with ASVEL in France but would be allowed to opt out of his contract if he can make an NBA roster, writes Brian Calloway of the Detroit Free Press.
Hornets Pursuing Marvin Williams
7:57pm: Williams will travel to Charlotte and visit with the team, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
7:38pm: The Hornets are going after Marvin Williams as a possible replacement for Josh McRoberts, who recently left Charlotte as a free agent and signed with the Heat, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The two sides have discussed parameters of a deal, but no agreement is imminent, Wojnarowski adds. Williams was most recently linked to Miami, who coincidentally withdrew their interest once was McRoberts was signed with their mid-level exception.
In 66 games last season, Williams averaged 9.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 25.4 MPG while shooting 43.9% from the field and 35.9% from beyond the arc. The Jazz reportedly still hope to sign Williams to a new deal, but sources tell Wojnarowski that the 28-year-old forward’s desire for financial security be more than what Utah is willing to pay.