Jodie Meeks Signs Two-Year Deal With Wizards
July 12, 4:10pm: The signing is official, according to NBA.com.
JULY 2, 11:38am: The Wizards have added some more outside shooting to their roster, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). League sources tell Charania that Washington has reached an agreement with veteran free agent Jodie Meeks, who will sign a two-year, $7MM contract.
Meeks has seen his last two seasons derailed by injuries, having appeared in just 39 total games for the Pistons and Magic since the start of the 2015/16 campaign. However, he was an effective outside threat for Orlando when he suited up last year, averaging 9.1 PPG on 40.9% three-point shooting.
According to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), the Wizards will sign Meeks using their bi-annual exception. The BAE can be used for deals worth up to $6,744,500 over two years, so that makes sense. However, using that exception would limit the Wizards to a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year.
Washington has about $94MM in guaranteed salaries on its books prior to adding Meeks or re-signing Otto Porter, so if the team intends to match a max offer for Porter, that hard cap could become a problem. If the Wizards instead opt to use a portion of their taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the Meeks signing, the team wouldn’t be subject to a hard cap.
The addition of Meeks probably doesn’t bode well for Bojan Bogdanovic‘s return to the Wizards. Meeks figures to fill a similar role in Washington, and Bogdanovic will likely be able to land a better offer from another club, with the Wizards focusing on Porter.
Since the offseason began, the Wizards have now traded for Tim Frazier and committed to sign Meeks in an effort to bolster one of the NBA’s lowest-scoring benches.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southeast Notes: Wall, Porter, Bosh, Muscala, Riley, Ellington
Wizards star point guard John Wall is making no apologies for his aggressive recruitment of Paul George during free agency, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Many observers took Wall’s comments as a slight against the team’s current small forward Otto Porter, but Wall explained his comments in a different way:
“Otto’s going to be a great player for us, a great role player for a lot of teams. There’s a difference between a role player and a superstar. It’s a big difference. There’s a lot teams that will make a lot of trades for a superstar. Look at Kevin Love getting traded for Andrew Wiggins, you never know who that player going to turn out to be.”
Buckner also points out that Wall is not in a rush regarding his own extension. Last season Wall qualified for the designated player exception after making the All-NBA third team. Wall maintained that he’s devoted to the city of Washington and plans to carefully consider whether he wishes to remain a Wizard in the long term. An extension could keep Wall in the District for the next six years.
Here’s what else you should know from the Southeast division:
- Former Heat star Chris Bosh penned an open letter to the city of Miami, thanking its residents for the past seven years of support. The 33-year-old power forward credited Miamians for showing him “how to stay strong and push through in the toughest moments,” which has “made [him] a better man, the person [he is] today.” In the letter, Bosh did not broach the topics of his current health or his future plans.
- Hawks big man Mike Muscala viewed his return to Atlanta as a “no-brainer,” writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Last week, Muscala agreed to a two-year, $10MM contract to remain with the Hawks.
- Heat president Pat Riley opined on various Heat players, with his comments about Wayne Ellington particularly effusive: “It would have killed me to see him go. He committed himself unlike anybody else. And just like James Johnson and Dion [Waiters], changed everything about how he played…And he’s so in, so committed, and he can see what did for himself with our help, and how it improved his game. He’s one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the league.” Riley goes on to mention that the team has Early Bird Rights on Ellington and credits the player’s loss of 20 pounds with yielding many benefits on the court. Ellington’s $6.3MM contract was guaranteed on Friday.
Pacers Sign Bojan Bogdanovic
JULY 10th, 10:48pm: Bogdanovic has officially signed with the team, according to a Pacers press release.
JULY 7th, 1:48pm: The Pacers have agreed to sign Bojan Bogdanovic to a two-year, $21MM contract with a partial guarantee in year two, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The news comes right on the heels of a report that the Wizards pulled Bogdanovic’s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Bogdanovic, 28, enjoyed the best season of his NBA career in 2016/17, starting 54 games for the Nets before being sent to the Wizards at the trade deadline. For the season, the 6’8″ swingman averaged 13.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG, with a .445/.367/.893 shooting line. He also chipped in 8.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 13 playoff games for Washington.
After receiving a qualifying offer from the Wizards, Bogdanovic entered July as a restricted free agent. However, Washington’s priority was to retain Otto Porter, and the team is now poised to match an offer sheet for Porter from the Nets. That put Bogdanovic out of the Wizards’ price range, particularly after the club agreed to sign a lower-cost replacement in Jodie Meeks.
Reports earlier in free agency pegged Bogdanovic’s asking price at $16MM per year over three or four seasons, which might have been attainable last summer, but was never realistic in this year’s market. The Pacers will get him at a $10.5MM annual salary, and will have an out for the second year if things don’t work out in Indiana in 2017/18. The new-look Pacers likely envision Bogdanovic as a replacement for C.J. Miles, who remains on the free agent market.
The Pacers will use cap room to sign Bogdanovic, and won’t have a whole lot of space left after also having signed Darren Collison to a deal that looks similar to Bogdanovic’s. Based on my rough calculations, Indiana’s team salary will be at around $94MM after officially adding Bogdanovic.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Bojan Bogdanovic is not the same player as Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has agreed to a three-year deal with the Kings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Zach Randolph Signs With Kings
JULY 10th, 5:58pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.
JULY 4th, 12:26pm: The Kings will sign Zach Randolph to a two-year, $24MM deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. Both seasons are fully guaranteed, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Randolph, who will turn 36 later this month, spent the past eight years in Memphis. His role with the Grizzlies was diminished this season as he lost his starting job and saw his playing time reduced to about 24 minutes per night.
The Cavaliers had also been linked to Randolph and were reported to be greatly interested in adding the bruising power forward. However, Cleveland is well over the cap and couldn’t have offered nearly as much as Sacramento did.
Today’s signings of Randolph and George Hill leave the Kings with $25.3MM in cap space, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. That will be cut further by the upcoming addition of Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is expected to get $27MM over three years. That doesn’t leave enough for a reported max offer to Otto Porter, so the Kings may have decided to move in a different direction.
In addition to what he provides on the court, Randolph can serve as a mentor to the Kings’ young big men, Willie Cauley-Stein, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissiere. For Memphis, it’s the latest move away from their grit-and-grind tradition as veteran guard Tony Allen is also considered unlikely to return.
Sacramento will be the fifth franchise for Randolph, a 16-year veteran who started his career with the Trail Blazers and had brief stints with the Knicks and Clippers.
Wizards Match Offer Sheet For Otto Porter
The Wizards announced they will match the Nets’ four-year, $106.5MM offer to Otto Porter, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Porter still has to pass a physical before the move becomes official, notes David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Washington had until 11pm Central to decide on the offer sheet, so the Wizards beat the deadline by about two hours. They had vowed to match any offer, even as Porter was negotiating with other teams.
The new contract will make Porter the team’s highest-paid player next season with a $24.8MM salary, Buckner notes. It also pushes Washington above the luxury tax line for the first time ever.
The Wizards have $126.5MM in salary committed for the upcoming season with 13 guaranteed contracts and two non-guaranteed, along with an $11.4MM tax bill, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now.
The Nets’ offer to Porter includes a 15% trade kicker and a player option for the fourth year, along with a provision stating that Porter will receive half of his annual salary by October 1st of each year.
By matching, Washington brings backs a key piece of last season’s roster, as Porter appeared in 80 games, all as a starter, and averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per night. He has been with the franchise since being taken with the third pick in the 2013 draft and has been a regular starter for the past two seasons.
For the Nets, it’s the latest in a string of misses in restricted free agency. Over the past 12 months, Brooklyn has submitted offer sheets to Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, Donatas Motiejunas and Porter, and all were matched by their current teams.
Tonight’s decision won’t free up the Nets’ cap room right away. Porter has two days to undergo the team physical, then the Wizards have two more days to report the results to the league. So it’s possible that Brooklyn’s cap situation will not be resolved before Wednesday. Brooklyn will have $28.3MM once the process is complete, Marks posts.
Wizards Sign Mike Scott
JULY 8, 1:25pm: Mike Scott has officially signed a 1-year, $1.7MM deal with the Wizards, tweets Candace Buckner of the Washington Post.
JULY 4, 8:51am: Free agent forward Mike Scott has reached a veterans minimum agreement with the Wizards, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
The five-year veteran is coming off an injury-plagued season that limited him to just 18 games. He missed the start of the year after having surgery on his left knee and didn’t take the court until mid-December. He put up career-worst numbers with 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in limited playing time and was traded to Phoenix at the February deadline. The Suns waived him the following day.
Scott, who will turn 29 this month, is the latest addition to the Wizards’ bench. They reached a deal with Jodie Meeks on Sunday, and Candace Buckner of The Washington Post speculates that the 15-man roster will be more or less set if Otto Porter re-signs.
The agreement with Scott puts the Wizards right on the edge of the cap, with $98.8MM in guaranteed contracts, Bobby Marks posts on ESPN Now. A max deal with Porter would move Washington $7.2MM over the tax line, creating a penalty of $11.4MM.
Hawks Request Waivers On Jamal Crawford
7:28pm: The Hawks have formally requested waivers on Crawford, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
The Cavs appear to be the frontrunners of all the teams mentioned to be in the hunt for Crawford’s services. Per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the veteran guard is “theirs to lose.” Crawford will be able to officially finalize a deal with the Cavs or another team once he clears waivers.
5:37pm: The Hawks have finalized a contract buyout with Jamal Crawford, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 36-year-old was acquired in the three-way deal that sent Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers.
Particularly interested in the news will be the Cavaliers and Celtics who, along with the Timberwolves, Bucks and Wizards, are reported to be in the mix for the services of the combo guard. David Aldridge of TNT notes that the Lakers could be in pursuit as well.
In 82 games for L.A. last season, Crawford posted 12.3 points per game. The veteran has spent each of the past five seasons with the Clippers and has long been one of the league’s most impactful reserves.
If a contending team like the Cavs or C’s lands the three-time Sixth Man of the Year, it may drastically bolster their shot at competing in the East.
Upon news of the buyout, which was also promptly reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Sam Amick of USA Today notes that the Wolves, Wizards and Cavs are out front in the race to land the guard’s services.
Bojan Bogdanovic’s Becomes UFA; Pacers Make Push
1:45pm: The Pacers have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Bogdanovic, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
1:36pm: The Wizards have withdrawn their qualifying offer on Bojan Bogdanovic, giving up their right of first refusal on the free agent forward, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. As a result of the move, Bogdanovic will be an unrestricted free agent and can sign outright with any team.
Bogdanovic, 28, enjoyed the best season of his NBA career in 2016/17, starting 54 games for the Nets before being sent to the Wizards in a deadline deal. For the season, the 6’8″ swingman averaged 13.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG, with a .445/.367/.893 shooting line.
Despite his solid production, Bogdanovic isn’t viewed as an elite two-way player, so it came as a bit of a surprise when one report indicated he was seeking $16MM annually over three or four years. That sort of money may have been available for a player like Bogdanovic in free agency a year ago when nearly every team had cap room, but the market hasn’t been as prosperous this time around.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News suggested on Thursday that Bogdanovic’s price tag was “quickly dropping,” though perhaps becoming unrestricted will help. The Hawks, Kings, and Nuggets were among the teams showing interest earlier in free agency — it’s not clear if they’re all still in the mix.
The Wizards are poised to match the Nets’ offer sheet for Otto Porter and reached a deal with Jodie Meeks earlier this week, which made Bogdanovic the odd man out in D.C.
Wizards Receive Otto Porter’s Offer Sheet From Nets
The Wizards have received Otto Porter‘s four-year, $106.5MM offer sheet from the Nets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal contains a player option on the final year and ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports (Twitter link) that the contract includes a 15% trade kicker.
Porter’s deal has a peculiar wrinkle in it that will have him collect 50% of his annual salary by October 1 every season, Lowe tweets. Such an arrangement is not common in the NBA. ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link) that the 50% threshold is the maximum allowed under the CBA.
Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post reports that the Wizards not only plan on matching — they also tie up Brooklyn’s cap space for as long as possible. The deadline for the team to match is July 8 at midnight, but Porter still needs to pass a physical with the Wizards and he’ll have two days to do so once Washington matches the offer.
At that point, Washington would have two days to announce that Porter has passed the physical. That means the Georgetown product’s offer sheet could theoretically stay on the Brooklyn’s cap through July 12.
[RELATED: Nets, Otto Porter agree to max offer sheet; Wizards plan to match]
The Wizards – one of three franchises (along with Charlotte and New Orleans) to never pay the tax – will be over the luxury tax line once they match the offer sheet. The club now intends to complete its reported deal with Jodie Meeks using part of the taxpayer mid-level exception rather than the bi-annual exception, to avoid being hard-capped.
The Nets have been aggressive with restricted free agents since Sean Marks took over GM duties. Last year, the team presented Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas with lucrative offer sheets, but didn’t ultimately land any of those players.
Brooklyn isn’t the only team that was hoping to steal Porter away from Washington. The Kings presented Porter with a max offer last weekend, though the small forward decided to meet with other teams before signing. Sacramento then went in another direction, using most of its available cap room on Zach Randolph and George Hill.
Latest On Jamal Crawford
4:21pm: The Celtics are also among the teams Crawford would consider if he’s bought out, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
3:52pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link) hears that in addition to the Wolves, Cavs, and Wizards, the Bucks would be in the mix for the shooting guard’s services in the event of a buyout. Kennedy mentions the Lakers as well, though Spears’ report (noted below) suggests the mutual interest between L.A. and Crawford has faded.
2:45pm: The three-team trade between the Nuggets, Clippers, and Hawks is expected to be finalized today and Jamal Crawford will work with Atlanta on a buyout agreement shortly after landing on the team, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com tweets.
It initially appeared that the shooting guard preferred to sign with the Lakers given his home in Los Angeles and his relationship with No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball. However, Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated reports (Twitter link) that neither Crawford nor the Lakers have much interest in working on a deal. The scribe adds that 37-year-old is expected to have interest from the Wolves, Cavs, and Wizards once a buyout is completed.
The Warriors were considered front-runners to sign Crawford earlier in the week, but the team opted to sign Nick Young to bolster its second unit. Crawford played for the Warriors during the 2008/09 season.
Atlanta is under no obligation to reach a buyout agreement with the shooting guard and the team could decide to trade him or keep him on the roster. It was reported earlier in the week that if Crawford wanted a buyout, he would have to give up a “significant portion” of his salary. He’s set to make over $17.2MM in guaranteed salary over the next two seasons.