July 2015 – Page 23 – NBA Blog

Lakers, Lou Williams agree to deal

It’s been a tough free agency period for the Lakers. They need all the help they can get, at almost every position. And even though they already have a scoring guard by the name of Kobe Bryant, adding another will help, whether that player gets used as a point guard or simply as scoring punch off the bench. They just need players, period. Enter Lou Williams. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

Lou Williams has a new home and the Raptors have escaped making another tough decision that might not have resonated well with fans.

Williams, reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $21 million (U.S.) contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, sparing the Raptors from being anything like a villain in the departure of another free agent.

Along with Amir Johnson (to Boston on a two-year, $24 million deal) Johnson was a key part of last year’s Raptor success, and there were fans who would have liked both to return.

But the Raptors were not going to pay Williams that salary for three years and they weren’t going to go near $12 million a season for Johnson.

Pacers will keep Rodney Stuckey

Here’s the Indianapolis Star with an update on guard Rodney Stuckey:

The Indiana Pacers continued shaping their roster on Sunday by working a deal with in-house free agent Rodney Stuckey.

The team and Stuckey have agreed on a three-year deal worth $21 million with a player option the third year, according to his agent.

Stuckey, 29, had a career year in his first season with the Pacers. Though Stuckey started 36 games, he found his niche as the Pacers’ high-scoring sixth man in averaging 12.6 points on 44 percent from the field, the highest shooting mark of his eight seasons.

Kings, Rajon Rondo agree to short-term deal

The Sacramento Kings have landed some temporary help at the point guard spot. Rajon Rondo’s stock is down these days. He’s never been a good outside shooter, but his overall affect on a team has been questioned lately. Joining the Kings, who have plenty of individual talent that can use some help working together efficiently as a squad, will be a good test, and fun for fans to watch. Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting:

The Kings reached an agreement with point guard Rajon Rondo on a one-year deal worth approximately $10 million, a league source confirmed Friday.

Rondo met with the Kings on Friday and left the facility before deciding to sign with the team.

Best known as a four-time All-Star with Boston, Rondo finished last season with Dallas.

It was Rondo’s first full season since tearing his right ACL in 2013. He averaged 8.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists in 22 games with the Celtics before he was traded to Dallas last December.

No Tristan Thompson, Cavs agreement yet

No Tristan Thompson, Cavs agreement yet

Here’s the News Herald reporting on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hope to retain the services of rugged role-playing power forward Tristan Thompson but apparently haven’t come to a final free agent contract agreement just yet:

We’re not privy to what caused the interruption in the Cavs’ bliss. All we know is that there was a snag and Thompson has yet to agree to a deal.

It’s undoubtedly not the length of the contract. The five-year deal is the maximum allowed under the NBA’s salary-cap regulations.

Maybe Thompson wants a player’s option in the final year of the contract.

Perhaps it’s coming down to dollars and cents (sense?). The most the Cavs can offer him under the rules is around $90 million. The Cavs were reportedly offering $80 million. That’s the difference of him making $16 million a year as opposed to $18 million.

For as much as I respect Thompson’s lunch-pail game, that’s a lot of money for a 10.1-point career scorer.

DeAndre Jordan leaving Clippers to sign with Mavericks

Now this is a big one. Center DeAndre Jordan, he of massive hops, free throw struggles and impressive defensive ability, is leaving the Los Angeles Clippers and joining the Dallas Mavericks. Nobody expected this. Jordan fits in well on the Clippers, catching lobs from Chris Paul and having limited responsibility on offense while being part of a winning squad. But the Mavs offered monster money, and big DeAndre is reportedly accepting it. Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog reporting:

Following a sluggish performance on the opening day of free agency, the Mavs rolled up their collective sleeves and have bounced back in a very big way.

First, early Friday morning, the Mavs convinced Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews to agree in principle to a four-year free agent contract. Then, on Friday afternoon the Mavs beat the odds again and secured a verbal agreement from Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who accepted a four-year, $81 million contract from the Mavs.

Thus, Jordan becomes the first marquee player – aka a big fish — from another team to sign a free agent contract with the Mavs in the team’s illustrious 35-year history.

Wooed aggressively by the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Clippers and Mavs, Jordan had narrowed his choices down to the Mavs and Clippers. And after mulling over what the Mavs and Clippers had to offer, Jordan decided he wanted to jump-start the rest of his career in Dallas.

Richard Jefferson staying with Mavs

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting that veteran small forward Richard Jefferson, whose NBA career is winding down, will stick with the Mavericks next season:

Small forward Richard Jefferson has agreed to return to the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, a source said.

Jefferson celebrated DeAndre Jordan’s decision to come to Dallas at a Manhattan Beach, Calif., bar Friday with a group including Mavs owner Mark Cuban and small forward Chandler Parsons.

In a video sent by Cuban on CyberDust, he laughed and asked Jefferson if he knew where he’d play next season. Jefferson joked: “We’ll see!”

Heat draft pick Justise Winslow signs his rookie contract

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed forward Justise Winslow.

Players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they want to come to the NBA right away. This is a standard signing and absolutely not a surprise.

Winslow, who helped Duke to the 2015 NCAA Championship as a freshman, appeared in 39 games (all starts) for the Blue Devils and averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.33 steals and 29.1 minutes while shooting 48.6 percent from the field, 41.8 percent from three-point range and 64.1 percent from the foul line. He was selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team and the USBWA All-District II Team. He was the third-highest scoring freshman in the ACC and capped the season with the second-most double-figure scoring efforts (31) and the second-highest rebound average by a freshman in the conference. He posted seven double-doubles and finished second on the team in rebounds (252), steals (52), blocks (34) and free throws made (100), while placing third in points (492), assists (82) and three-point field goals made (46). Additionally, during the NCAA tournament, he outperformed each of his statistical categories from the regular season as he started all six games and averaged 14.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.67 blocks and 1.50 steals while shooting 50.9 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from three-point range and 75.9 percent from the foul line.

He started all five games for USA Basketball and averaged 12.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18s. During the 2013 FIBA U19 Worlds, he averaged 9.8 points and 6.0 rebounds and was named to the 2013 All-FIBA World Championship team after posting 9.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals (2nd in tournament) at the U17 Worlds. Additionally, he was a member of the 2014 U.S. Junior National Select Team that played at the Nike Hoop Summit, where he scored a team-high 16 points to help the USA to a win over the World Select Team.

Winslow was selected in the first round (10th overall) by the HEAT in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Raptors sign rookie Delon Wright

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed guard Delon Wright from the University of Utah to his rookie scale contract. He is under contract through the 2016-17 season, with two team option years to follow. The Raptors selected Wright with the 20th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

All first-round draft picks are guaranteed to receive a contract from the team that drafted them, assuming they wish to come to the NBA right away. So, this is a standard, routine signing.

Wright, 6-foot-5, 190 pounds, was named the 2015 recipient of the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s top point guard. A first-team All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Defensive Team selection, Wright averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals in 35 games last season. As a junior, he contributed 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals in 33 contests earning first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honours.

Wright is the brother of Portland Trail Blazers forward Dorell Wright.

Wright will join the team for Samsung NBA Summer League 2015 in Las Vegas. The Raptors will open the preliminary round of the tournament Friday, July 10 against the reigning Summer League champion Sacramento Kings at Thomas & Mack Center (3:30 p.m. PT / 6:30 p.m. ET).

Nets agree to deals with Thomas Robinson and Shane Larkin

The Brooklyn Nets are upgrading their bench with a couple of nice supporting-cast players. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

The Nets continued to act on their mission to get younger and more athletic, agreeing to two-year free-agent deals Thursday with Thomas Robinson and Shane Larkin, according to league sources.

Both deals come with player options for the second year, as the Nets continue to reshape their roster following their most important moves of the summer — re-signing Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young.

Robinson will earn the veteran’s minimum next season, while Larkin – who spent last season with the Knicks – will make roughly $1.4 million.

Blazers set to add Ed Davis

Trail Blazers set to add forward Ed Davis

At this point, there’s no reason to think that LaMarcus Aldridge will be back with the Portland Trail Blazers. They’ve added several big-men, and have now reportedly agreed to a deal with Ed Davis. Here’s the Oregonian reporting:

Unrestricted free agent Ed Davis has verbally agreed to sign a 3-year, $20 million free agent contract with the Blazers, according to Yahoo Sports. The deal will not become official until the NBA free agent moratorium ends on July 9.

Davis, 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, averaged 8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game and shot 60 percent from the field last season for the Los Angles Lakers. The No. 13 pick of the 2010 NBA draft, who is 26 and entering his sixth NBA season, is a skillful rebounder and effective interior scorer who adds even more athleticism to the Blazers’ evolving roster.

After striking out on Greg Monroe, Davis’ signing was a must for the Blazers, who are still waiting to hear if All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge plans to return to Portland.