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Lakers Acquire Jose Calderon

July 7th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 7th, 8:07pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release.

JULY 6th, 9:22pm: The Lakers and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send Jose Calderon to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s unknown what Chicago is receiving in return, though with the team looking to clear cap room, it’s not likely to be a player.

Chicago had acquired Calderon as part of the Derrick Rose trade with New York and needed to clear his cap hit in order to ink Dwyane Wade, who has reportedly agreed to a deal with the team. Also being shipped out of Chicago tonight is Mike Dunleavy. The Nets were close to acquiring Calderon before Los Angeles swooped in, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

Calderon appeared in 72 games for the Knicks this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per outing. His slash line was .459/.414/.875.

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Lakers Sign Luol Deng

July 7th, 2016 at 7:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito
Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images

Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images

JULY 7th, 7:20pm: The signing is official, the Lakers announced.

JULY 2nd, 8:10am: The Lakers continue to add veterans to their roster, with the latest addition set to be small forward Luol Deng, who has agreed to a deal with the team, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a four-year, $72MM pact for the 12-year veteran, Charania relays. Landing an annual salary of $18MM is certainly a significant improvement over the $12MM projection for Deng’s next deal that was bandied about in May.

Deng was reportedly in high-demand around the league, with the Timberwolves, Celtics, Heat, Wizards, Clippers and Jazz all said to have interest in the veteran two-way forward. Utah was expected to be “very aggressive” in its pursuit of Deng, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, but the Jazz missed out on the veteran, who likely saw the opportunity to start in Los Angeles as the more preferable situation to a reserve role in Utah.

The 31-year-old has been a consistent contributor throughout his tenure in the league. Deng made 74 appearances for Miami this past season and averaged 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.4 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers on the year were .455/.344/.755. Deng is a hustle player who plays solid defense and his veteran presence should be a welcome addition to the young Lakers locker room, especially given the reported discord of last season resulting from the D’Angelo Russell/Nick Young video incident.

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Lakers Ink Jordan Clarkson To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2016 at 7:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7th, 7:17pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

JULY 1st, 2:57am: Jordan Clarkson will remain a Laker, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that Los Angeles has reached a contract agreement with the free agent guard. Per Charania, the Lakers will re-sign Clarkson to a four-year, $50MM contract.

Clarkson, 24, enjoyed a breakout season for the Lakers in 2015/16, starting 79 games for the club and averaging 15.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, to go along with a .433/.347/.804 shooting line. He received a qualifying offer from Los Angeles, making him a restricted free agent giving the team the right of first refusal, but his comments in recent weeks suggested he never intended to leave the Lakers.

“We had two tough years, but I don’t want to be a guy that is afraid and will run away from challenges,” Clarkson said in early June. “I want to be a part of the situation when it turns around because I was here when it was down. I never want to leave.”

The Lakers’ agreement with Clarkson is the second deal the team has struck during the first few hours of free agency. Earlier on Friday, Los Angeles agreed to terms on a four-year contract with center Timofey Mozgov.

Clarkson ranked 20th on Hoops Rumors’ list of this year’s top 50 free agents, while Mozgov was No. 45.

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Hawks Re-Sign Kent Bazemore

July 7th, 2016 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The Hawks have sent out a formal press release announcing their new deal with Bazemore.

JULY 1: The Hawks have secured one of their own free agents, according to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta and Kent Bazemore have agreed to terms on a four-year, $70MM contract, which will feature a player option on the final year.Kent Bazemore vertical

It’s the second big-money deal the team has struck today — the Hawks also reached an agreement with Dwight Howard on a three-year contract worth $70.5MM. The two deals for Bazemore and Howard will almost certainly take Atlanta out of the running for Al Horford, meaning he’ll likely find a new home within the next few days.

Bazemore, who went undrafted out of Old Dominion, emerged as a reliable three-and-D player for the Hawks last season, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc.

We heard early in free agency that it might take an offer in the $19-20MM-per-year range to land Bazemore, and the Hawks will ultimately pay a little less than that — his reported deal averages $17.5MM annually. According to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter), Bazemore turned down four-year, $72MM offers from the Lakers and Rockets to return to Atlanta.

In addition to Los Angeles and Houston, the Bucks, Grizzlies, Nets, and Pelicans were among the rival suitors for Bazemore, and were in touch with him before he made his decision, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. There had been speculation that Bazemore would take a few days before deciding on his team — instead, he agreed to a contract with the Hawks on the day of his 27th birthday. Not a bad gift.

The value of Bazemore’s new deal is right in line with the four-year, $70MM deal agreed to by Evan Turner and the Trail Blazers earlier today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Free Agent Notes: Timberwolves, Wizards, Randolph

July 7th, 2016 at 1:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder
The Timberwolves offered veteran small forward Luol Deng a three-year contract at $12MM per season, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP Radio (Twitter link). Head coach and president of basketball operations Tim Thobideau refused to fully guarantee the third year, Wolfson adds. In the end, the Timberwolves didn’t come close to signing Deng, as the former Heat starter agreed to a four-year, $72MM contract with the Lakers.
In other news regarding free agency:
  • The Wizards have interest in re-signing shooting guard Alan Anderson and will meet with him this weekend, league sources told J. Michael of CSNmidlatlantic.com (Twitter links). The meeting is expected to take place in Las Vegas, Michael adds. Anderson, who made $4MM last season, appeared in just 13 games with the Wizards after undergoing a second surgery on his left ankle. The previous season, he played in 74 games with the Nets and averaged 7.4 points in 23.6 minutes.
  • Shooting guard Brandon Paul is drawing major interest around the league after some strong performances for the Hornets’ summer-league team, Sportando tweets. He’s averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through four games in the Orlando Summer League. The 6’4” Paul went undrafted in 2013 out of the University of Illinois and has been playing for a Spanish league team, FIATC Joventut.
  • Forward Anthony Randolph will remain in Europe and sign a one-year deal with Spain’s Real Madrid, a source told Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Randolph received interest from the Mavericks this summer, Spears adds. The contract will be the $1.5MM-$2MM range, international journalist David Pick tweets. The 6’11” Randolph hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, when he appeared in 43 games with the Nuggets.
  • Power forward Willie Reed has drawn interest from the Warriors, Spurs, Heat, Thunder, Timberwolves and Pacers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Reed, an unrestricted free agent, averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes over 39 games with the Nets last season.
  • Free agent center Robert Sacre, who played the last four seasons with the Lakers, has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and Rockets, Wolfson reports in a separate tweet.
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And-Ones: Calderon, Davis, Sullinger

July 7th, 2016 at 12:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks big man Kyle O’Quinn says the team’s offseason moves should translate into a playoff berth in 2016/17, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I’m excited about every year, but this year it looks so clear,’’ O’Quinn told Berman. “A lot of people will put us in there. It’ll be a different element in training camp instead of being a startup trying to shock the world. We made a lot of changes and it looks like the playoffs, but you got to put the work in.”

Here’s the latest from around the NBA:

  • The Bulls and Sixers had discussions about Philly acquiring Jose Calderon, but the two sides were unable to reach a deal and the point guard was traded to the Lakers instead, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
  • Several teams are looking to clear cap room to make a run at Bucks restricted free agent Miles Plumlee, Aldridge tweets.
  • Unrestricted free agent Glen Davis, who sat out last season after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments, a cyst, and bone spurs in his left ankle, has resumed basketball activities and is looking to catch on with an NBA club, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets.
  • The Celtics face a tough decision regarding restricted free agent Jared Sullinger, with the team in need of his rebounding, but not in the position to match a large offer sheet by another team, were the big man to sign one this offseason, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com.
  • The Hawks are still actively trying to improve the team and are looking to add another frontcourt player and a point guard, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution notes. One big man option for Atlanta could be Kris Humphries, who expressed a desire to return during his exit interview with the team, Vivlamore adds.
  • Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox will have surgery to repair a broken right hand on Friday, the team announced. Wilcox was given a timeline of four-to-six weeks before he will be able to return to basketball-related activities, according to the team.
  • The Lakers are pleased with what they have seen in summer league play from 2016 lottery pick Brandon Ingram, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com writes. “I’m very excited about what he can do,” coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously he’s young and there’ s a lot of work to do. This is a grown man’s league. But as far as knowing how to play the game and the skill set of being able to handle the ball, bring it up, post up, his defense — he’s been all over the place defensively, getting deflections for us — I’m very excited about the way he’s played so far.”
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Unsigned Draft Picks: Pacific Division

July 5th, 2016 at 9:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the 2016 NBA draft now in the books, the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team,  it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.

While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal.  Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks.  Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.

Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Pacific Division. These listings don’t include players selected in this year’s draft:

Golden State Warriors

  • Mladen Sekularac — Selected No. 55 overall in 2002.

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Phoenix Suns

  • Alec Brown — Selected No. 50 overall in 2014.
  • Dwayne Collins — Selected No. 60 overall in 2010.
  • Ron Ellis — Selected No. 49 overall in 1992.
  • Milos Vujanic — Selected No. 36 overall in 2002.

Sacramento Kings

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Mindaugas Kuzminskas Worked Out For Lakers

July 4th, 2016 at 9:37am CST by Luke Adams
  • Lithuanian small forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas has recently worked out for the Lakers and Hawks, and will soon make a decision on whether to continue his basketball career in the NBA or overseas, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (via Twitter).
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