- According to Smith (Twitter link), the Bulls‘ three-year contract for Ryan Arcidiacono also has a team option for its final season.
JULY 12: Ennis, who expressed his confidence in the Sixers’ 2019/20 outlook earlier this week, has now officially signed his new deal with the team, per a press release.
“We are excited to welcome James back to the 76ers,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “James had opportunities elsewhere, but he is determined to win here in Philadelphia. That’s the type of competitor he is, and it shows how much he cares about our fans and team. His heart, hustle and playmaking were integral to our success last season and we’re thrilled to have him back.”
JULY 2: Free agent swingman James Ennis has agreed to return to the Sixers on a two-year, $4.1MM deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal features a second-year player option, according to Charania, who adds that Ennis turned down bigger offers to stay in Philadelphia.
Ennis, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday, joined the 76ers in a midseason trade after beginning the 2018/19 season in Houston. In a total of 58 games for the two clubs, he averaged 6.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG on .469/.353/.716 shooting, serving as a three-and-D option.
Reports indicated that the Knicks, Lakers, and Clippers were among the teams that had interest in Ennis this week. A source told Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw that the Bulls, Spurs, and Mavericks also had interest.
However, Ennis, who told Hoops Rumors last month that he’d “love to come back” to the Sixers, will do just that — Charania suggests that the opportunity to play for a championship contender appealed to the veteran free agent.
It’s not clear whether Ennis’ deal will be a minimum-salary pact or if the Sixers will use their last bit of remaining cap room to complete the deal. A two-year deal at the minimum would be worth $4,012,890, so that seems like a strong possibility.
While Philadelphia lost Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick in free agency, the team has done a good job filling out its roster with both impact players and role players. Tobias Harris, Mike Scott, and Ennis will be back, and will be joined by new additions like Al Horford, Josh Richardson, and Kyle O’Quinn.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Rockets always loom as a threat when stars become available on the market and the Russell Westbrook sweepstakes are no different.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link) hears that Houston is attempting to slip into negotiations with Oklahoma City, focusing on the possibility of a three-team trade. It’s unclear which players the Rockets would offer up in such a scenario, though I’d speculate sending Chris Paul elsewhere is the angle. Houston could swap Paul and Westbrook easily, as they both make $38.5M, though the rebuilding Thunder don’t appear to be a fit for Paul. Finding that third team would likely be necessary if in that type of deal.
The Heat appear to be the frontrunner to land Westbrook and the eight-time All-Star has reportedly placed Miami atop the shortlist he gave team’s front office, as Windhorst notes. Still, the two sides have barriers to overcome if they are going to come to an agreement on a trade. Miami is hard-capped, meaning the franchise cannot take back any additional salary in any trade. The team also lacks the ability to trade away a first-rounder until the 2025 season, having already dealt away its two future picks (OKC owns Miami’s unprotected 2021 and lottery unprotected 2023 selections).
Here’s more surrounding Westbrook and the Thunder:
- Will the Bulls get involved in the Westbrook sweepstakes? It doesn’t sound like it. “When you look at the financial aspect of a player that’s 30 going out four years and the amount of money that’s going to be made, those things can tie your hands up and put your organization in a tough position,” VP John Paxson said without mentioning Westbrook directly (via Mark Strotman of NBC Chicago). “You want the superstars. You want to do what the Clippers are doing and the Lakers are doing, but we’re realistic right now. We’re not in that position. We hope that in a couple years with the development of these young guys, players around the league view us as a destination point where they can win at the highest level.”
- The 22% stake in the Thunder organization owned by the late Audrey McClendon is up for sale, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg reports. The franchise is worth approximately $1.5 billion, according to the latest Forbes report. Oklahoma City has sold out 355 games in a row, which is the third-longest active streak in the league.
- Dan Devine of The Ringer breaks down the possible destinations from Westbrook but struggles to find a new home for the point guard. Still, the scribe contends that there will be a team willing to trade for him before training camp starts.
JULY 11: The Bulls have officially re-signed Arcidiacono, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
JULY 2: The Bulls are bringing back Ryan Arcidiacono on a three-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The point guard will make $9MM over the three seasons.
Chicago will likely wait to make the deal official until after using their cap room. The team has commitments to Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky (via sign-and-trade) that it will need to complete using cap space.
Satoransky and Arcidiacono will join Coby White and Kris Dunn in what is becoming a crowded point guard picture in Chicago. There have been rumors that the Bulls are exploring the trade market for a deal involving Dunn.
Arcidiacono played in 81 games during his sophomore NBA season averaging 6.7 PPG, 3.3 APG, and 2.7 RPG in 24.2 minutes per contest.. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania native signed on with the Bulls during the summer of 2017 after going undrafted out of Villanova.
Bulls head coach Jim Boylen is excited about the new players his team brought in this offseason, and he hopes that the additions of veterans Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky alongside rookies Coby White and Daniel Gafford will allow him to deploy a deeper roster during the 2019/20 season, writes Sean Highkin of NBC Sports Chicago.
- Thaddeus Young‘s three-year contract with the Bulls will have a total value between $40.6MM and 43.6MM, depending on whether he earns his incentives, tweets Pincus. The third year on Young’s deal is partially guaranteed for $6MM.
JULY 9: The Bulls confirmed (via Twitter) that Carter underwent his core muscle surgery today. The team says the youngster’s rehab process is expected to take about six to eight weeks, putting him on track to participate in camp in September.
JULY 3: Wendell Carter Jr. will undergo a procedure on July 9 to repair a core muscle injury, per the team’s website. The big man is expected to be ready for training camp.
The 2018 No. 7 overall pick was limited to just 44 games during his rookie season because of a thumb injury. He had surgery to repair the ailment during the campaign.
Carter Jr. will miss the entire Summer League as he manages his latest injury. The Bulls have been active in free agency adding depth in the frontcourt. Chicago added Luke Kornet and Thaddeus Young over the past few days to supplement their big man rotation. The team also drafted Daniel Gafford in the second round of this year’s draft.
The Bulls and Grizzlies have discussed a sign-and-trade for Justin Holiday that would send former top-10 pick Kris Dunn to Memphis, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune hears.
Holiday played for the Bulls last season before the team dealt him to the Grizzlies. Memphis made the December trade hoping to remain in the playoff hunt, surrendering two second-round picks to Chicago as well as Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks (the wrong Brooks from the failed three-team trade with the Suns).
Chicago has made Dunn available in trade talks after drafting Coby White and acquiring Tomas Satoransky. Three of the team’s offseason goals were to add depth in the frontcourt, bring in point guard competition, and add outside shooting. The first two can be checked off the list.
Shooting on the wing remains on the Bulls’ wish list, Johnson adds. Holiday is a career 34.9% shooter from behind the arc.
The free agency deals began a week ago, but the details of those arrangements are slowly trickling in as they become official. Let’s take a look at some contract notes from players around the league:
- Nikola Vucevic’s four-year, $100MM deal with the Magic will decline by 8% annually, Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights tweets. Vucevic will make roughly $28.4MM in the first year of his front-loaded contract.
- Terrence Ross‘ four-year, $52MM contract with the Magic will start at $12.5MM, per Siegel. Ross will make $13.5MM during the 2020/21 season, followed by $12.5MM and $11.5MM in the two ensuing years.
- Al-Farouq Aminu will take home the full non-taxpayer’s mid-level on his deal with the Magic. He’ll make approximately $9.3MM during his first season and approximately $9.7MM and $10.2MM, respectively, over the ensuing two campaigns.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s two year deal with the Lakers is worth approximately $16.6MM in total value. KCP can make roughly $1.2MM in annual incentives on top of that amount, a source tells Siegel (Twitter link). The shooting guard has a player option on the second year of the pact, which also has a 15% trade bonus. Since his deal could be a one-year contract (if he chooses to turn down the player option), Caldwell-Pope has a default no-trade clause.
- JaVale McGee also has a player option on the final year of his two-year deal with the Lakers, Keith Smith of RealGM tweets. McGee, who will make $8.2MM over the length of his contract, also has the ability to veto a trade.
- Markieff Morris‘ two-year deal with the Pistons contains a second-year player option, Smith tweets. Morris was signed via the bi-annual exception.
- Bruno Fernando‘s three-year deal with the Hawks is worth $4.7MM, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. It appears Atlanta will be using cap space to sign the rookie.
- Tomas Satoransky final season of the three-year, $30MM deal with the Bulls is only guaranteed for $5MM, Fred Katz of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Chicago brought the point guard to town via sign-and-trade.
JULY 7: The Bulls’ acquisition of Satoransky via sign-and-trade is now official, the team announced in a press release. 
JULY 1: The Bulls have reached an agreement with the Wizards to acquire restricted free agent point guard Tomas Satoransky via a sign-and-trade deal, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
In return, the Wizards will acquire two second-round picks. The 2023 second-round pick (protected 31-36) that the Bulls sent the Wizards in the Otto Porter trade will also have its protections removed as part of this deal, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Wojnarowski (via Twitter) has the full details on the assets the Wizards are acquiring from the Bulls. They are as follows:
- Either the Bulls’ or Grizzlies’ 2020 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable).
- The right to swap the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick for either the Bulls’ or Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable).
- The 31-36 protection removed from the Bulls’ 2023 second-round pick.
According to Wojnarowski, Satoransky will ink a three-year contract with Chicago. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link) hears the deal will be worth $30MM, while Johnson tweets that the third year isn’t expected to be fully guaranteed.
A former second-round pick, Satoransky has spent his first three NBA seasons in Washington, and assumed the starting point guard role when John Wall when down last season. In 2018/19, he averaged 8.9 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.5 RPG in 80 games (27.1 MPG).
While Satoransky isn’t a big-usage player, he has been an efficient caretaker in the backcourt. Last season, he shot .485/.395/.819 and turned the ball over just 1.5 times per game.
The Bulls entered the summer with about $23MM in cap room and intended to use it on a pair of veterans, including a point guard. They reached a three-year, $41MM deal with Thaddeus Young on Sunday night, and now figure to use their leftover space to finalize the acquisition of Satoransky. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the 27-year-old will get the opportunity to start at the point for the Bulls, who will presumably be patient with lottery pick Coby White.
As for the Wizards, they agreed to terms with Ish Smith this morning, but will be in the market for more point guard help with Wall expected to be sidelined for a good chunk of 2019/20. According to Aldridge (via Twitter), they’re talking to Isaiah Thomas and hope there’s a fit there.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.