2017 July | Hoops Rumors

Marreese Speights Signs With Magic

July 27th, 2017 at 8:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 27, 8:01 PM: The signing is official, according to a team press release. “Marreese (Speights) has developed into [an] effective shooting big man during his pro career,” said President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman. “He is a veteran player that brings playoff and championship experience to our team. We are very happy to have Marreese and his family in Orlando.”

July 23, 3:31 PM: Speights’ deal with Orlando will be a minimum salary arrangement, Pick tells Hoops Rumors.

12:22 PM: Marreese Speights is “on course” to sign with the Magic, tweets international basketball writer David Pick.

Speights recently held a face-to-face meeting with Orlando officials, who have been searching for shooting help. The 6’10” Speights is a reliable shooter from distance for a big man, connecting on 37% from 3-point range for the Clippers last season while averaging 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The Magic have their $4.328MM room exception available, so all or part of that could be used to add Speights. Even if he signs for the veteran’s minimum of $2.1MM, it will match the value of the contract he opted out of with the Clippers.

Speights spent one season in L.A. after signing there last summer. Before that, he was part of the rotation for Warriors teams that captured the 2015 NBA title and won 73 games in 2015/16. A first-round pick of the Sixers in 2008, he also spent time with the Grizzlies and Cavaliers.

Wizards Notes: Wall, Porter, Brooks

July 27th, 2017 at 7:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

John Wall, who signed a four-year, $170MM extension with the Wizards this offseason, said the decision to stay in Washington was an easy one to make, Chase Hughes of Comcast Sportsnet relays.

“Returning to the only team I’ve known in my professional career was an easy decision for me,” Wall said. “…I understand my role as the leader of this franchise and I will continue to work hard to improve my game and make our team better. Washington, D.C., is my second home and I take seriously my efforts in the community and look forward to strengthening that bond. Our fans are amazing and I’m excited to bring them and this city continued success and a team they can be proud of.”

Here’s more from Washington:

Owner Ted Leonsis believes the Wizards will be title contenders after locking up Wall long-term, Hughes passes along in the same piece. “This signing means stability for the Wizards for years to come and solidifies our commitment to drafting and then developing talent here at home. It’s John’s unique blend of skill and leadership that makes us a championship-caliber team,” Leonsis said.
The team brought back Otto Porter on a four-year, $106.5MM deal this summer and part of the reason for the move was to maintain continuity, Leonsis added (via Hughes in a separate piece). “The data points are, for the most part, the teams whose core has stayed together have good results,” Leonsis said.
With Wall sticking around long-term, the Wizards have a clear vision for the future, Zach Rosen of NBA.com argues. Rosen adds that Scott Brooks is known as one of the best developmental coaches in the league, which should help to maximize the team’s talent.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Wiggins, Irving, Nuggets

July 27th, 2017 at 3:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nearly a month has passed since the Thunder offered an extension to Russell Westbrook, writes Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript. Oklahoma City is hoping the reigning MVP will agree to extend his current contract by five years in a deal that would start with the 2018/19 season. Westbrook is eligible to receive 35% of the salary cap — currently projected at $102MM for that season — along with 8% raises each year. The deadline to accept the offer is October 16, the day before the regular season begins. Katz says the organization remains “cautiously optimistic” that Westbrook will agree to the extension.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Extension talks continued this morning between the Timberwolves and Andrew Wiggins, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Wolfson doesn’t believe Minnesota would include Wiggins in a trade offer for Kyrie Irving.
Former Nuggets forward Mike Miller thinks Irving would be a good fit in Denver, relays Ashish Mathur of Amicohoops. In an appearance Wednesday on Altitude Radio, Miller, who spent a year with Irving in Cleveland, said the point guard is “definitely interested” in being traded to the Nuggets. “I’ve already asked that question,” Miller said. “… I think he will. I really do. Like anything else, when people look at cities, Denver’s an unbelievable city we all know that. And with what the organization has built there, he would be crazy not to and he’s definitely, definitely interested in it and I told him by putting this thing out there he has no choice.” Mathur speculates that Denver would have to offer Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler and a draft pick to make the deal work.
Unless they can pull off a trade, the Nuggets are looking at only “minor tweaks” before the season starts, writes Christopher Dempsey of NBA.com. Denver’s roster is virtually filled with not much cap space remaining. Dempsey adds that the team achieved its top offseason priority of signing Paul Millsap.

Celtics Working On Two-Way Contract With Jabari Bird

July 27th, 2017 at 1:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics and second-round pick Jabari Bird are working on a two-way contract, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

The 6’6″ shooting guard out of California reportedly impressed team team officials with his summer league play. He was the 56th player taken in this year’s draft after averaging 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds as a senior with the Golden Bears.

It appears as though the Celtics will have 16 players in camp with guaranteed contracts, so a two-way deal may be Bird’s best path to a future with the team. Boston has already signed Kadeem Allen to one of its two-way contracts.

Phil Pressey Signs With Barcelona

July 27th, 2017 at 1:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Three-year NBA veteran Phil Pressey will play for Barcelona next season, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

The 26-year-old point guard spent last season with Santa Cruz in the G League, where he averaged 18.0 points, 8.1 assists and 2.1 steals in 46 games. Those numbers put him fourth in the league in assists and fifth in steals.

Pressey signed with the Celtics after going undrafted in 2013 and spent his first two NBA seasons in Boston. After being waived in 2015, he briefly signed with the Trail Blazers, then was claimed off waivers by the Jazz, but never played for either team. He had short stays with the Sixers and Suns during the 2015/16 season.

He signed with the Warriors last September, but was waived before the season started and was in the G League for the entire year.

Jarnell Stokes Signs With Chinese Team

July 27th, 2017 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Jarnell Stokes, who played briefly for the Nuggets last season, has signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Dario Destri of Sportando.

The 23-year-old center/power forward signed with Denver shortly before last year’s training camp and appeared in two games before being waived in mid-November. He joined the Sioux Falls franchise in the G League in March.

Stokes was selected 35th overall by Utah in 2014 and traded to Memphis on draft night. He played 19 games as a rookie, then had short stints with the Grizzlies and Heat in 2015/16. Stokes has spent most of his career in the G League and won both regular season and playoff MVP honors in 2016.

Terrance Ferguson Obtains FIBA Clearance

July 27th, 2017 at 11:34am CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder rookie Terrance Ferguson has received clearance from FIBA that will allow him to sign an NBA contract, according to Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript.

Ferguson, the 21st pick in this year’s draft, is the only remaining unsigned first-rounder. He was unable to participate with the Oklahoma City team in the Orlando Summer League because of a contractual conflict with the Adelaide 36ers, the Australian team he played for last season.

Ferguson, 19, spent a single season with Adelaide, averaging 4.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in about 15 minutes per game.

NBA teams are not part of the process of getting clearance, Katz notes. Negotiations are conducted between FIBA and the player’s last team.

Katz adds that the Thunder ran into a similar problem when they signed Norris Cole midway through last season. They had to wait nearly a week for him to obtain clearance from his Chinese team before officially adding him on March 1.

Arron Afflalo Signs One-Year Deal With Magic

July 27th, 2017 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 27, 11:03pm: The signing is official, according to a tweet from the team.

JULY 25, 4:10pm: The Magic have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent swingman Arron Afflalo, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). Once the signing is official, Orlando looks to be capped out.

Although the Magic front office is under new management now, with Jeff Weltman and John Hammond running the show, the move represents a reunion for the two sides — Afflalo previously played for the franchise from 2012 to 2014.

The 31-year-old journeyman has played for six different franchises in ten seasons. His career slash line is .451/.386/.825, with his best scoring season coming as a member of the Magic in 2013/14. That season, Afflalo scored 18.2 PPG, while shooting 45.9% from the field. The former UCLA Bruin started all 73 games in which he played during that campaign. Over the course of Afflalo’s career, he has averaged 11.3 PPG and has started 534 of his 709 games played.

On Sunday, it was reported that the Magic were “on course” to sign Marreese Speights to a minimum salary contract. The signing has not yet been made official.

Khem Birch Signs With Magic

July 27th, 2017 at 10:51am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have signed free agent center Khem Birch, the team announced on Twitter.

The 25-year-old spent last season with Olympiacos in Greece, averaging 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 37 games.

Birch played collegiately at Pitt and UNLV and signed with the Heat after going undrafted in 2014. He spent the 2014/15 season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League and was named to the 2015 Futures All-Star team. He played in Turkey during the 2015/16 season.

The Montreal native is a member of the Canadian National Team.

Cavaliers Notes: James, Billups, Irving, Rose

July 27th, 2017 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James‘ future after the upcoming season is a mystery even to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, writes Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. Gilbert acknowledged at Wednesday’s press conference with new GM Koby Altman that the Cavs have no control over what James may decide to do in the summer of 2018. The three-year contract he signed last summer includes a player option worth more than $35.6MM for 2018/19. “I think he is very hungry for this season and he will tell you that, too,” Gilbert said. “Beyond this season I don’t know. We’re focused on this season.”

There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:

Gilbert took issue with reports that Chauncey Billups turned down a front office position because of money, Ridenour adds in the same story. Billups supposedly interviewed twice with the team about possibly replacing former GM David Griffin, but Gilbert downplayed those sessions, calling them “informal.” He also said an ESPN report that Billups pulled his name out of consideration because of a lowball salary offer of $2MM were erroneous. “It was nothing to do with money at all,” Gilbert said. “For you guys to think that we’re in this payroll tax or luxury tax to where we are and we’re going to worry about — I don’t want to ever say a million dollars or two [million] dollars or three is not a lot of money — but relatively speaking, you know our track record and that’s not how we make decisions. It had nothing to do with money.”
The refusal by Gilbert and Altman to admit that Kyrie Irving has asked for a trade was a strategy to preserve the point guard’s value, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Pluto notes that Irving and his representatives have had several days to deny the rumor and have remained silent. The writer adds that getting sufficient value in return for Irving is the biggest challenge facing Altman as he settles into his new job.
The Cavaliers have made attempts to reach out to Irving, but he doesn’t want to talk to anyone from the team, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic (subscrition site).
Derrick Rose hoped to sign with the Spurs or Clippers when free agency began, but both teams passed on him, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Bucks coach Jason Kidd was interested, but the only offers came from the Lakers and Cavaliers.

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