NBA News Blog – Page 728 – NBA Blog

Thunder will keep Kyle Singler

Again, a reminder: Backups and bench depth are important, too. Teams in free agency go after the big stars first, generally, but locking up the supporting cast is important as well. The Oklahoma City Thunder will keep Kyle Singler. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

On the opening day of free agency, the Thunder swiftly accomplished one of the two things it set out to do this summer.

The team agreed to re-sign restricted free agent Kyle Singler, coming to terms with the reserve forward on a five-year deal worth more than $24 million on Wednesday. The deal could keep Singler in Oklahoma City through the 2019-20 season, although the fifth year of the deal is a team option.

At first glance, the contract might appear to be a bit steep for a player who is projected to be the Thunder’s 11th man next season. But when compared to deals other players received around the league it begins to look more like fair market value.

Mike Dunleavy, for example, re-signed with Chicago for three years and nearly $15 million. Al-Farouq Aminu landed a four-year, $30 million deal with Portland. Danny Green re-signed in San Antonio for four years, $45 million.

Suns meet with LaMarcus Aldridge

Every NBA team in need of a big-man with serious game is interested in Portland Trail Blazers free agent powe forward LaMarcus Aldridge. The Phoenix Suns are included in that mix. Here’s the Arizona Republic reporting:

The Suns’ Wednesday meeting with free agent LaMarcus Aldridge might have closed some ground in their chase for a much-needed star.

With an intricate plan in place for the first day of free agency, the Suns showed Aldridge what type of team that they envision being before they even met with him. The Suns opened free agency by adding veteran center Tyson Chandler with a four-year, $52 million agreement and by coming to terms to keep guard Brandon Knight on a five-year, $70 million contract.

Those were important to do first because Chandler and Knight were along for the ride when the Suns brought an eight-man contingent for a two-hour meeting with Aldridge, who is believed to be mainly considering San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Phoenix.

The meeting was broken into segments, starting with Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver meeting alone with Aldridge. President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby and General Manager Ryan McDonough had the next meeting.

We’re just one day into free agent negotiations and it’s already fascinating.

Clippers, Paul Pierce agree to deal

Now this is the kind of signing that is worth paying attention to. A move where a really good team that has a realistic eye on the NBA championship adds a key veteran who could mean the difference in a tightly-contested playoff battle against another really good team. Paul Pierce to the Clippers. Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting:

The Clippers gained a giant lure in their pursuit of DeAndre Jordan on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with Paul Pierce on a three-year, $10.5-million contract that will reunite the veteran small forward with Coach Doc Rivers.

Pierce and Rivers won an NBA title together with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and will almost surely try to pitch Jordan on their collective potential with the Clippers, who will get the last word in the bidding for the free-agent center Thursday.

The Clippers will sign the former Inglewood High star with their so-called mini-midlevel exception, their primary financial tool in free agency, and will likely slot him into the starting small forward spot vacated by Matt Barnes, who was traded last month.

Pierce, who turns 38 in October, is a 10-time All-Star who gives the Clippers some championship experience in their starting lineup and a clutch presence who hit a game-winning shot in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season for the Washington Wizards.

I support pretty much any free agent move that shakes things up in an interesting way. This gives us one more thing to look forward to next season.

DeMarre Carroll will sign with Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are about to get better, while the Hawks take a step backward. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution blog reporting that a key member of the Hawks is leaving as a free agent and headed North to sign with the Toronto:

The Junkyard Dog is headed north.

DeMarre Carroll announced via social media that he will play for the Toronto Raptors.

Carroll tweeted: “#WeThe North I will be playing for Toronto Raptors next year!!!! I’m Blessed for this Opportunity!”

Carroll will sign a four-year, $60 million deal as an unrestricted free agent.

In an Eastern conference where second place — behind the Cleveland Cavaliers — is wide open for the taking, this is a full-priced but still very nice move for Toronto.

And here’s the Toronto Star on the Carroll/Raptors news:

Carroll, 28, was a key member of the 60-win Hawks team last season, primarily because of the level of toughness and defence he brought. While a solid scorer — he averaged 12.6 points per game in the regular season and more than 17 per game in the playoffs — the six-foot-eight forward’s reputation is as a defender.

Does he consider himself tough?

“If you see me in a fight with a bear, you’d better help that bear,” he famously said last season.

Carroll broke the news of his own signing on social media, putting a note on his Twitter account that included an Instagram photo of him and family members beaming next to Ujiri, Casey and Toronto executive vice-president Jeff Weltman.

Jazz hire Igor Kokoskov as assistant coach

The Utah Jazz announced today that Igor Kokoskov (kuh-KOS-kov) was hired as assistant coach, joining Head Coach Quin Snyder’s staff. In addition, Andrae Patterson has been named as player personnel/player programs coordinator.

Kokoskov has spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA, most recently with the Orlando Magic during the 2014-15 season. His previous NBA experience includes, one season with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2013-14), five seasons with the Phoenix Suns (2008-13), five seasons with the Detroit Pistons (2003-08) and three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers (2000-03). He reached the Conference Finals in each campaign with Detroit and captured an NBA title in 2004, becoming the first non-American assistant to win an NBA championship and the first to serve on an NBA All-Star Game coaching staff.

As a member of Alvin Gentry’s Los Angeles Clippers staff in 2000, Kokoskov became the first full-time non-American assistant coach in NBA History.

Kokoskov rejoins Coach Snyder after having also served as an assistant to him at the University of Missouri during the 1999-00 season, where Kokoskov became the first European coach to hold a full-time position with an NCAA Division I school.

In 2004, Kokoskov served as an assistant with the Serbia National Team at the Athens Olympic Games under renowned European coach Zeljko Obradovic. He has also served as head coach of the Republic of Georgia National Team for seven summers (2008-14), qualifying for the European Championships twice for the first time in team history. In 2012, he earned the Order of Honour, Georgia’s highest civilian honor, for his success with the team.

A native, of Belgrade, Serbia, Kokoskov became a United States citizen in 2010.

Patterson joins the Jazz front office staff after serving as an assistant coach for the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated D-League team, during the 2014-15 season. Prior to the Stampede, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at Arlington after two years as the school’s director of basketball operations/video coordinator and one as a student assistant.

He enjoyed a successful professional playing career that began when he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 46th overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, where he played from 1998-2001. Following his NBA career, he played nine seasons internationally for clubs in the top European leagues, including both CB Estudiantes (2001-05) and Bàsquet Manresa (2005-06) of the premier Spanish ACB League, as well as KK Zadar (Croatia-A1) and Panellinios BC (Greece-A1) in 2006, Ironi Ashkelon (Israel) in 2007, before finishing his playing career with Egaleo AO (Greece-A1) from 2007-09.

As a collegian, the Abilene, Texas, native played for Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight for four seasons at Indiana University (1994-98), where he was an All-American and four-time All-Big Ten selection and led the Hoosiers to four NCAA Tournament appearances while earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Report: Lakers will keep Robert Sacre

Look, people, Some free agent priorities are higher than others. And you need to remember, it isn’t all about the starters. Good bench guys at a cheap price are important, too. Every good team needs role players. Now, the Lakers aren’t actually a good team right now, but that’s not the point. If you can get an NBA player for under $1 million for the season, and he’s capable of tying his shoes, and he’s tall, then it’s probably a good deal for the dollar.

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog reporting:

The Lakers exercised a $981,359 team option to retain center Robert Sacre for the 2015-16 season, according to league source familiar with the situation.

The Lakers did not formally decide until the deadline at midnight on Tuesday. Sacre’s contract now become guaranteed.

Though Sacre averaged only 4.6 points on 41.2 percent shooting and 3.5 rebounds as mostly a backup center, the Lakers still valued him for numerous reasons. The Lakers do not currently have any true centers on their roster, while they have a glut of power forwards, including Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. Tarik Black and Ryan Kelly.

Blazers, Al-Farouq Aminu agree to deal

Al-Farouq Aminu is an excellent hustle player, but so far in his NBA career he’s considered backup material. Good backup material, with the potential to do bigger things thanks to his hustle and defense. But the Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly willing to pay him more than expected. Here’s the Oregonian reporting:

The Trail Blazers did not waste any time plugging their hole at small forward.

Shortly after NBA free agency opened at 9:01 p.m., the team agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Al-Forouq Aminu, his agent, Raymond Brothers, confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The deal, first reported by Yahoo Sports, is valued at $30 million over four years.

Aminu, 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game last season for the Dallas Mavericks and is entering his sixth NBA season.

The No. 8 overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft, Aminu features high-level defensive ability and a high-energy style, but a below-average long-range shot.

Report: Spurs will keep Kawhi Leonard

Report: Spurs will keep Kawhi Leonard

The San Antonio Spurs are built around their famous “big three” of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but Kawhi Leonard has been just as important as all of them for several seasons now. And it appears he’s sticking around for Duncan and Ginobili to try to squeeze out another championship or two before hanging the sneakers up and calling it a career in the coming few seasons. Here’s the San Antonio Express News Blog reporting:

As expected, Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs have agreed to the general framework on a maximum contract extension that could pay him more than $90 million over five years, a league source told the Express-News on Tuesday.

A source close to Leonard has said for several months that the discussion on his extension would be quick. That it was, with news breaking just minutes after the NBA’s annual free agent period began at 11 p.m. CST on Tuesday.

Leonard, 24, will not immediately sign the deal to preserve his cap hold of $7.2 million, which will aide the Spurs in their pursuit of coveted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge.

Grizzlies extend qualifying offer to Nick Calathes

The Memphis Grizzlies have extended a qualifying offer to guard Nick Calathes, General Manager Chris Wallace announced today.

By extending a qualifying offer to Calathes prior to the June 30 deadline, Memphis holds the right to match any offer sheet he may sign with another team after becoming a restricted free agent on July 1.

Calathes (6-6, 213) averaged 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.09 steals in 14.4 minutes in 58 games (zero starts) for Memphis last season. The 26-year-old posted a 92.2 defensive rating, leading all NBA players who appeared in at least 55 contests.

Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (45th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft following a two-year collegiate career at the University of Florida, Calathes owns NBA career averages of 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.00 steals in 15.6 minutes in 129 games (seven starts) in two seasons, both with the Grizzlies.

Thunder trade Luke Ridnour to Raptors

It’s happened again.

IT’S HAPPENED AGAIN.

Veteran NBA guard Luke Ridnour has been traded yet again.

The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired a trade exception and the rights to forward Tomislav Zubcic from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Ridnour and cash considerations, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

The Thunder will have one year from today to exercise the trade exception.