Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Hornets and Gordon Hayward reportedly agree to contract

The Celtics are losing one of their key contributors to the Hornets in free agency. Here’s Boston.com:

The Celtics lost Gordon Hayward to the Hornets on Saturday, as the small forward reportedly agreed to a four-year, $120 million deal with Charlotte.

Even though Hayward spent much of his three seasons in Boston missing time due to injuries, his departure is still a hit to the team. After struggling to regain his All-Star form in the 2018-19 season, Hayward bounced back this past year. He averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, showing some signs of the player he was prior to the gruesome ankle injury he suffered in his first game as Celtic…

While Hayward’s $34.2 million max salary is off the books, the Celtics don’t gain another max slot with him leaving. Moreover, the Celtics are currently over the $109.1 salary cap for next season. The Celtics’ salary for next season currently sits at $109.28 million, which includes the cap holds of first-round draft picks Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard as well as restricted free agents Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters.

Thunder will reportedly trade Steven Adams to Pelicans

In the middle of two days of frenzied free agent signing agreements, a multi-team trade is materializing that will send Thunder center Steven Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans. Via the Oklahoman:

The reality of a rebuild had hit by Monday, but Steven Adams’ name remained at the top of the Thunder roster entering the weekend, giving comfort to those fans still clinging to the past.

That last connection to the glory days disappeared early Saturday morning, when it was reported that the Thunder’s beloved center of seven years is headed to New Orleans as part of a four-team deal among the Thunder, Pelicans, Bucks and Nuggets.

In exchange for Adams, the Thunder will receive guard George Hill, forward Darius Miller, a 2023 protected first-round pick from the Nuggets and two future second-round picks from the Nuggets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It’s a tremendous haul for Adams, an old-school, 27-year-old center earning $27.5 million in the final year of his contract…

The Thunder selected Adams with the 12th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He became a full-time starter by his second season, and the quirky New Zealand native was adopted as an honorary Oklahoman.

Lakers and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agree to a deal

The Lakers and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are sticking together, and this time on a longer deal than they’ve agreed to in the past. Via the LA Times:

The Lakers agreed to re-sign guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year contract, keeping one of their most valuable players from this year‘s championship run in purple and gold.

The deal is worth $40 million, according to people with knowledge of the agreement not authorized to speak publicly.

Caldwell-Pope is represented by Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, the agency that also represents LeBron James, Anthony Davis and new Laker Montrezl Harrell.

Knicks and Elfrid Payton agree to contract

The Knicks and Elfrid Payton said their goodbyes, then quickly said “just kidding.” Here’s the New York Post:

After waving him on Thursday, the Knicks are set to re-sign Payton on a one-year, $5 million deal to fill the team’s hole at point guard, The Post’s Marc Berman confirmed.

Payton becomes the Knicks’ second signing since free agency began, joining swingman Alec Burks, who agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal on Friday night.

Last year, after signing a two-year, $16 million deal to join the Knicks, Payton started 36 games and averaged 10 points, 7.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

Cavaliers sign Isaac Okoro to rookie contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed their 2020 NBA Draft pick, guard/forward Isaac Okoro (oh-CORE-oh), General Manager Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Okoro (6-6, 225) was selected by the Cavaliers with the fifth overall pick in Wednesday’s draft. In his lone collegiate season at Auburn in 2019-20, Okoro played in 28 games (all starts), averaging 12.8 points on .514 shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. He was named to the 2019-20 All-SEC Second Team, All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team, becoming just the sixth player in SEC history to be named to an All-Conference Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team in the same season, joining Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2011-12), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011-12) and Nerlens Noel (2012-13), LSU’s Jordan Mickey (2013-14) and Texas A&M’s Robert Williams (2016-17). Okoro is Auburn’s highest draft pick since Chris Morris was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft.

Okoro finished the 2019-20 season ranked 10th among all NCAA Division I freshmen in field goal percentage (.514) and was named to the Auburn Athletic Director’s Honor Roll after maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in the fall. He became just the fourth Auburn player to ever earn SEC Freshman of the Week twice in a season (Nov. 18 and Dec. 9) and was the second Auburn freshman since 1990 to score in double figures in each of his first six NCAA games. Okoro won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup. He attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he averaged 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 steals as a senior in 2018-19 and led the team to a state championship.

Sixers sign Dwight Howard

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed Dwight Howard.

The free agent signing period doesn’t begin until tomorrow, but the Sixers were able to officially sign Howard today reportedly because the deal is for the veteran’s minimum.

Howard comes to Philadelphia after winning the NBA championship last season, appearing in 18 playoff games, starting seven. During the regular season with the Lakers, he saw action in 69 contests, tallying 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.9 minutes per game. Howard, who ranks fifth all-time in NBA history in field-goal percentage, shot a career-best .729 this past season, second in the NBA among players who played in at least 30 games. The Atlanta native notched nine double-doubles and collected double-digit rebounds on 16 occasions.

One of the most decorated active players in the NBA, Howard was originally selected by Orlando with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. All told, he’s appeared in 1,113 games (1,045 starts) over 16 seasons for the Lakers, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston and Orlando. He holds career averages of 16.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 blocks in 33.5 minutes per game. Howard, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Walt Bellamy, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone are the only players in NBA history to average at least 16 points and 12 rebounds over 1,000-or-more career games.

Over his career, Howard has been selected an NBA All-Star eight times, selected to All-NBA teams on eight occasions, earned the Defensive Player of the Year Award three times and been named to five All-Defensive teams. He’s led the NBA in rebounding five times and blocks twice.

Internationally, Howard has represented the United States in numerous competitions, dating back to 2006, including the 2008 Olympic Games at which Howard helped the “Redeem Team” capture the gold medal. Prior to the NBA, Howard played high school basketball in his hometown at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy where, as a senior, he received several awards declaring him the best high-school player in the country.

Howard will wear No. 39 for the 76ers.

Magic sign NBA rookie Cole Anthony

The Orlando Magic have signed rookie guard Cole Anthony, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

Anthony was selected in the first round (15th overall) of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Anthony (6’3”, 190, 5/15/00) played in 22 games (20 starts) last season as a freshman at The University of North Carolina, averaging 18.5 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 4.0 apg. and 1.32 stlpg. in 34.9 minpg. He led the Tar Heels in scoring and had the second-highest scoring average for a freshman in school history. Anthony was named Third Team All-ACC and to the All-ACC Freshman Team. He scored 20+ points nine times, including a career-high 34 points during his collegiate debut on Nov. 6, 2019 vs. Notre Dame. The 34 points was the most-ever by a UNC and ACC freshman.

As a high school senior (2018-19), Anthony was named 2019 USA Today First Team All-America and the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. He was the Most Valuable Player of both the 2019 McDonald’s All-American Game and the 2019 Jordan Brand Classic. Anthony was also a member of the U18 USA National Team, earned All-Tournament honors at the 2018 FIBA U18 Americas Championships and led Team USA in scoring at the 2019 Nike Hoops Summit. He is the son of Crystal McCrary and 11-year NBA veteran Greg Anthony.

Anthony will wear #50 with the Orlando Magic.

Heat and Avery Bradley reportedly agree to a contract

Former Lakers guard Avery Bradley, who declined to rejoin the team for the Disney NBA bubble due to family coronavirus safety reasons, will be joining the team they beat in the 2020 NBA Finals. Via the Miami Herald:

The Miami Heat will sign veteran guard Avery Bradley to a free-agent deal, a league source said to the Miami Herald.

Bradley’s two-year contract includes a team option in the second year.

Bradley, who will turn 30 on Thanksgiving, is a skilled three-point shooter and considered one of the league’s better defensive guards.

After guard Goran Dragic and center Meyers Leonard agreed to return to the Miami Heat in the opening minutes of free agent negotiations Friday night, the Heat received commitments from outside free agents Maurice Harkless and Bradley on Saturday.

Hawks and Kris Dunn agree to a contract

Free agency began yesterday and the Hawks have been as active as any team in the NBA, making moves both yesterday and today. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution with the latest:

On Friday night, they added Danilo Gallinari, an experienced veteran whose 3-point shooting will shore up the offense (they were the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA last season at 33.3%). On Saturday morning, they agreed to terms with Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn, the AJC has confirmed, who is sure to give them a boost on defense. It’s a two-year, $10 million deal, with a player option on the second year. ESPN first reported the move…

Improving the team’s 3-point shooting, as well as team defense, were both absolutely necessary if the Hawks wanted to take a step forward this season. They went 20-47 last season, but feel they’re nearing the end of their rebuild, as their young players gain more experience and as they have the most cap space in the league to add more talent via trades/free agency.

Although Trae Young is an offensive marvel, he ranked last in the league in ESPN’s defensive real plus-minus stat at minus-6.17. Dunn, 26, is one of the best guard defenders in the league and figures to balance out the backcourt with his defensive prowess and intensity. From a fit standpoint, this move makes plenty of sense – the Hawks had the third-worst defensive rating last season (114.4), and tended to try and outscore opponents instead of getting stops.

Hawks and Danilo Gallinari agree to a contract

Trae Young is getting some scoring help. A forward who gets buckets will be leaving Oklahoma City and heading to Atlanta. Here’s the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the news:

The Hawks are finalizing a deal with unrestricted free agent Danilo Gallinari, the AJC has confirmed.

Gallinari, 32, averaged 18.7 points and 5.2 rebounds with the Thunder last season and shot 40.5% from 3-point range. The Hawks were the worst 3-point shooting team in the league last season (33.3%), and it’s one of the major problems they needed to address heading into 2020-21.

The move greatly bolsters the Hawks’ offense as they aim to go from a 20-47 team to the playoffs the very next season. Gallinari, a forward, also brings significant experience to a young roster. This will be his 13th season in the NBA, and he started 62 games and was a major contributor for a Thunder team that took the Rockets to seven games before falling just short in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. ESPN first reported the three-year, $61.5 million contract.