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Free Agency Rumors: Ibaka, Iwundu, Hernangomez, Bazemore

November 22nd, 2020 at 8:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Big man Serge Ibaka was not bereft of contending suitors in free agency, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Scotto notes that the Raptors, the team with whom Ibaka spent most of the last four seasons, apparently offered a one-year, $12MM deal to Ibaka for an encore appearance in 2020/21. Toronto was believed to be unwilling to offer multiple years, which would have cut into the team’s projected 2021 cap space.

The Nets also wanted Ibaka, but could only afford a taxpayer mid-level exception, which would have started at $5.7MM this season. Ibaka ultimately inked a two-year, $19MM contract with the Clippers.

Here are more free agency rumors:

Though swingman Wesley Iwundu ultimately opted to sign a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Mavericks, the Hawks, Pelicans and Kings were also in the running for Iwundu’s services this offseason, Scotto reports in the same piece.
The Mavericks and Kings also considered adding reserve center Willy Hernangomez before he agreed to terms with the Pelicans on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal, per Scotto. Hernangomez’s 2019/20 club, the Hornets, also apparently wanted to re-sign the 26-year-old big man.
Scotto reports that former Kings wing Kent Bazemore also found himself in high demand this offseason before agreeing to a one-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Warriors. The Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Celtics, Suns, Knicks, Nets, and Hornets were all interested in adding the three-and-D vet this offseason.

Free Agency Rumors: Markieff Morris, Craig, Bazemore, Sixers

November 22nd, 2020 at 2:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

A Morris brothers reunion might be in play for the Clippers, Jason Dumas of KRON4 News tweets. Dumas notes that there may be mutual interest in adding free agent forward Markieff Morris – most recently of the Lakers – to a Clippers frontcourt that includes newly re-signed forward Marcus Morris, Markieff’s twin brother. Marcus has agreed to a four-year, $64MM deal to remain with the Clippers.

Markieff’s minutes may be relatively minimal, as he would presumably be the fourth big man in the Clippers’ frontcourt rotation, behind starting power forward Marcus, starting center Ivica Zubac, and just-added veteran power forward/center Serge Ibaka, who will be signed using the club’s full MLE after the departure of Montrezl Harrell to the Lakers. Big man Patrick Patterson was also retained by the Clippers this offseason.

Marcus was a key role-playing piece in the Lakers’ championship run after joining the team off waivers this spring. In 18.4 MPG, Markieff averaged 5.9 PPG and 3.0 RPG, while shooting a stellar 42% on 3.3 three-point attempts per game and 77.8% from the charity stripe across 21 games en route to the Lakers’ 17th NBA title.

Meanwhile, if Marc Gasol ultimately leaves the Raptors for the Lakers, Toronto has strong interest in replacing him with Markieff Morris, and may be able to offer him more than the Clippers can afford.

Here are more free agency rumors:

Darren Wolfson of KSTP 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Timberwolves also considered adding free agent guard Torrey Craig to their offseason roster. Craig ultimately agreed to a contract with the Bucks this offseason, the terms of which have yet to be released.
Though Kent Bazemore wound up returning to the Warriors and his close friend Stephen Curry on a veteran’s minimum contract, the Clippers apparently considered using their $3.6MM bi-annual exception to sign the veteran swingman, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Though Sixers GM Daryl Morey has already made significant changes to Philadelphia, the club still needs a great perimeter scorer, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer observes. “Obviously, our job is to always look for opportunities,” Morey commented this weekend. “But we feel very good about where we are right now.” Pompey notes that in Ben Simmons, the Sixers have the kind of All-Star blue chip piece that could fit well into a deal for Rockets superstar perimeter scorer James Harden.

Serge Ibaka Signs With Clippers

November 21st, 2020 at 10:30pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Clippers have officially signed Ibaka, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Clippers will sign free agent big man Serge Ibaka, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Ibaka will receive $19MM over two years on his new deal, signaling that Los Angeles will use its full mid-level exception to complete the signing. Charania adds (via Twitter) that the contract will feature a second-year player option.

The agreement represents a major coup for the Clippers, who lost center Montrezl Harrell to the rival Lakers early in free agency and saw power forward JaMychal Green leave for a deal in Denver. Ibaka, who can play either the four or five, will help replenish the team’s frontcourt depth, giving L.A. a big man who can knock down outside shots on offense and protect the rim on defense.

After starting his career in Oklahoma City and spending a brief stint in Orlando during the 2016/17 season, Ibaka has been in Toronto for the last three-and-half seasons, winning a title with the Raptors (with Kawhi Leonard) in 2019. This past season, he averaged 15.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 1.4 APG with an impressive .512/.385/.718 shooting line in 55 games (27.0 MPG).

By committing their full mid-level exception to Ibaka, the Clippers will hard-cap themselves for the 2020/21 league year and they don’t have a whole lot of wiggle room below the $138.93MM apron. However, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), the club can create a little extra breathing room by waiving non-guaranteed contracts for Joakim Noah and Justin Patton. Bringing back Noah on a new one-year, minimum-salary deal would cost the team about $1MM less than his current deal.

The Clippers remain in the market for a play-making guard and another big man, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. However, the team will likely be limited to minimum-salary offers or perhaps a portion of the bi-annual exception.

The Raptors, one of the many teams that made an effort to sign Ibaka, were believed to be averse to offering multiyear money, since it would compromise their projected cap room for the summer of 2021. They reportedly offered the big man a one-year, $12MM deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Clippers Pursuing Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol

November 21st, 2020 at 8:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers are in the running to sign Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol away from the Raptors, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Sources tell Stein that adding Gasol is considered more realistic because of the intense competition to land Ibaka, led by Toronto and the Nets.

The Lakers would also like to add another big man, Stein notes, but they’re financially limited after signing Montrezl Harrell and re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. It appears the Lakers would be limited to a veteran’s minimum offer.

The Clippers need reinforcements in the front court after losing Harrell and JaMychal Green on the first night of free agency. L.A. kept midseason pick-up Marcus Morris, giving him $64MM over four seasons.

The Raptors should have an edge in the competition for Ibaka, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. The Nets are limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.7MM, and although the Clippers have the full MLE of $9.3MM, Toronto is expected to make a larger offer, although only for one year to preserve cap room for next summer’s free agent market.

Ibaka, 31, averaged 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in 55 games last season. Gasol, 35, averaged 7.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 44 games.

Pistons Expected To Waive-And-Stretch Dedmon

November 21st, 2020 at 2:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 21: The Pistons likely won’t use the stretch provision on McGruder after all, according to Edwards (Twitter link). The team will save some money in its trade for Delon Wright and no longer needs the extra space that waiving and stretching McGruder would provide.

NOVEMBER 20: The Pistons have made a flurry of reported free agent moves and they’ll apparently clear cap space by using the waive-and-stretch provision on two recent acquisitions.

They’ll waive center Dewayne Dedmon and use the stretch provision to ease the cap hit, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). They’re likely to do the same with Rodney McGruder, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.

Detroit officially acquired Dedmon from the Hawks on Friday in exchange for Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas. Dedmon was slated to make $13.33MM in the upcoming season with an identical contract number that was only guaranteed for $1MM for the 2021/22 season.

The Pistons acquired McGruder from the Clippers in a three-team trade that became official on Thursday. McGruder had a guaranteed $5.2MM contract for the upcoming season with a non-guaranteed salary of $5MM for 2021/22.

Those non-guaranteed years are significant because they allow Detroit’s front office use the stretch provision for five years instead of three, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report notes (Twitter links). Since only the guaranteed money counts, Dedmon would only count $2.9MM against the Pistons’ cap over the next five seasons, while the cap hit on McGruder would be just over $1MM in those years.

The Pistons made the trade with Atlanta because it allowed them stretch Dedmon’s contract over five years, rather than stretching Snell’s $12.2MM expiring contract for three years, Edwards tweets.

Those moves will allow Detroit to ink free agents Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee, as well as completing a sign-and-trade with Houston involving Christian Wood.

Malik Fitts Joins Clippers On Exhibit 10 Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 9:49am CST by marksuleymanov

NOVEMBER 29: Fitts’ Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers has become official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 21: The Clippers have agreed to sign Saint Mary’s forward Malik Fitts to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Under his Exhibit 10 deal, Fitts will come to Clippers training camp on a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary contract. The deal allows a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

After transferring from South Florida following the 2016/17 campaign, Fitts joined Saint Mary’s and displayed impressive scoring and shooting ability across two seasons. In 68 total games with the Gaels, Fitts averaged 15.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.7% beyond the arc.

“Clipper Nation let’s get it!” Fitts wrote in a tweet about joining the Clippers.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, KCP, Haliburton, Suns, Warriors

November 21st, 2020 at 8:34am CST by Luke Adams

After crunching the numbers, ESPN’s Bobby Marks says (via Twitter) the most the Lakers can offer free agent wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for 2020/21 is about $12MM. That would give the team just enough money to fill out the roster with players on minimum-salary contracts and remain under the hard cap of $138.93MM.

The Lakers’ other free agent options are somewhat limited now that they’ve committed their full mid-level exception to Montrezl Harrell and their bi-annual exception to Wesley Matthews. However, a sign-and-trade remains an option for Los Angeles – since the team already hard-capped – if enough salary can be sent out.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

After ESPN’s Jonathan Givony suggested on Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast that Tyrese Haliburton‘s camp may have had a hand in orchestrating his draft-day slide to the Kings at No. 12, Haliburton was asked about that possibility and neither confirmed nor denied it, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I don’t know about all the behind-the-scenes stuff that really goes on,” Haliburton said. “But I do know that Sacramento was a perfect place for me and somewhere that we really looked at and thought it would be a perfect fit, somewhere where we felt I would have an opportunity right away.”
Suns officials confirmed to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that the organization is enacting furloughs on some employees and pay cuts for many others. Sources tell Rankin that more than 30 employees have been furloughed due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, while remaining employees within all departments are taking 20% pay cuts.
In a pair of articles for The Athletic, Anthony Slater examined what’s next for the Warriors in the wake of Klay Thompson‘s second consecutive season-ending injury and explored how James Wiseman can help the team right away.
The Clippers will have a new advertisement patch on their jersey for 2020/21, announcing in a press release that they’ve reached a deal with L.A.-based technology company Honey.

Western Rumors: Howard, Lakers, Carmelo, Cousins, Kanter, More

November 21st, 2020 at 1:58am CST by Luke Adams

Before he agreed to a deal with the Sixers on Friday night, Dwight Howard posted a message on his Twitter account indicating that he would be re-signing with the Lakers.

“I’m staying right where I belong,” Howard wrote. “Laker nation I love y’all. Purple and gold never gets old.”

A few minutes later, the tweet had been deleted, and a little later in the evening, Howard was set to join the 76ers. So what happened?

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, sources within the Lakers’ organization are adamant that they never put a formal offer on the table for Howard and that they discussed a “deal concept.” Howard, on the other hand, believe that if he agreed to the “deal concept,” the two sides had a deal.

As Haynes writes, Lakers management told Howard’s agent they had to consult with team ownership and get approval before making an official offer. The veteran center waited for almost an hour without hearing back, sources tell Haynes. Ultimately, the communication breakdown resulted in Howard preparing to head east for the 2020/21 season.

Here are a few more free agency notes and rumors from around the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers haven’t ruled out the possibility of re-signing Carmelo Anthony, even after lining up deals to acquire Robert Covington and Derrick Jones, tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic.
The Rockets touched base with DeMarcus Cousins‘ camp today, a source told Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Iko’s report came before the team reached a deal with Christian Wood, so it’s not clear whether or not signing Cousins remains an option for Houston.
Now that the Lakers aren’t an option for Tristan Thompson, the Clippers could emerge as a real possibility, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who notes (via Twitter) that it’d be a chance for Thompson to reunite with Tyronn Lue.
The Lakers and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope remain interested in getting a deal done, but will have to reach a compromise on salary, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Caldwell-Pope is seeking a raise, while the Lakers won’t have a ton of wiggle room below their hard cap.
The Celtics gave Enes Kanter a choice of being traded to either the Grizzlies or Trail Blazers in the deal that was completed earlier today, and Kanter chose Portland, a source tells Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Count the Timberwolves among the teams with interest in free agent big man Paul Millsap, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link).

Clippers Re-Sign Patrick Patterson

November 20th, 2020 at 6:18pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Patterson’s deal with the Clippers is now official, per a team press release.

NOVEMBER 20: The Clippers are bringing back veteran forward Patrick Patterson on a one-year contract, his agent Sam Goldfeder tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

While Wojnarowski didn’t provide the terms of the contract, it’s probably safe to assume it’s another minimum-salary contract. Bobby Marks confirms as much (via Twitter).

Patterson, 31, spent the 2019/20 season with L.A. and played part-time minutes for the club, averaging 4.9 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 59 games (13.2 MPG). He shot the ball well from beyond the arc (.390 3PT%) but is unlikely to see his role expand going forward and will provide frontcourt depth off the bench.

The Clippers are expected to try to re-sign at least one or two more of their free agent forwards, with Marcus Morris and JaMychal Green also on the open market.

Clippers Interested In Terry Rozier?

November 20th, 2020 at 11:22am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers want to add another guard to their roster and have talked to the Hornets about Terry Rozier, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

Rozier, 26, still has two years and nearly $37MM left on the contract he signed with Charlotte last summer. He averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists during his first season with the team.

The Clippers remain interested in free agent Rajon Rondo, Mannix adds, but there are concerns that he will get a larger offer from someone else. L.A. is down a guard after trading Landry Shamet this week in a three-team deal.