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Pacers Sign T.J. McConnell To Four-Year Extension

September 3rd, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 3: The Pacers have officially announced McConnell’s extension, confirming the deal in a press release.

“It is safe to say that every team in the NBA would like a player that possesses the same intensity, competitive spirit, and passion for the game and his teammates as T.J. McConnell,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “T.J. has become a steadying veteran presence for our team both on and off the court, and his value to our franchise cannot be overstated. He was an integral part of our success last year and we’re happy that he will continue to be a part of what we’re building here.”

AUGUST 30: The Pacers and veteran guard T.J. McConnell have reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension worth $45MM, agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The deal will begin in 2025/26 following the expiration of McConnell’s current contract, which will pay him $9.3MM this season. In total, he’ll be owed $54MM for the next five years, taking him through the ’28/29 season.

McConnell, who has been with the Pacers since 2019 after spending the first four years of his NBA career in Philadelphia, began last season out of Indiana’s crowded rotation. However, it didn’t take long for him to reestablish himself as one of the team’s top reserves.

The 32-year-old ended up appearing in 71 games, averaging 10.2 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game. He posted a .556/.409/.790 shooting line and earned Sixth Man of the Year votes, then played a key role off the bench in the postseason, putting up 11.8 PPG, 5.1 APG, and 3.1 RPG in 17 games (20.5 MPG).

With Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard cemented as building blocks in the Pacers’ backcourt, it was unclear how aggressively the team would pursue an extension with McConnell as he nears his mid-30s and the cost of the roster continues to rise. However, today’s news signals that the front office remains as confident as ever in his ability to be a positive contributor for many years to come.

When we discussed McConnell’s extension candidacy in our recent Offseason Check-In story on the Pacers, we identified Mike Conley‘s recent two-year, $20.75MM deal as a potential point of comparison for the Indiana guard. Now locked up for $54MM over five years, McConnell will earn an annual salary slightly above Conley’s for a significantly longer term.

While McConnell is four-and-a-half years younger than Conley, it’s still a little surprising to see the Pacers make such a lengthy commitment to a bench player at this stage of his career. We’ll have to wait for the full details, but it wouldn’t be surprising if some of McConnell’s salary on the back end of the deal is non-guaranteed.

McConnell is the fourth Pacer to sign a long-term contract worth at least eight figures annually this summer. Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin received lucrative four-year deals a free agents, while Nembhard inked a three-year extension that ensures he’ll be under contract for the next four seasons.

With McConnell locked up, just one of the top eight players from Indiana’s postseason rotation is entering a contract year — starting center Myles Turner will become extension-eligible in January.

Davis Bertans To Work Out For Warriors

September 2nd, 2024 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent forward Davis Bertans has been invited to work out for the Warriors, Marc Stein tweets. Bertans is looking to receive a training camp invite.

Bertans became a free agent when the Hornets waived him in early July. He had a $16MM salary for 2024/25, but only $5.25MM of that total was guaranteed before Charlotte cut him loose.

Bertans, 31, was dealt to the Hornets from the Thunder midway through the 2023/24 season in the Gordon Hayward trade. He saw his role expand on a lottery-bound Charlotte squad, averaging 8.8 points on a .394/.375/.889 shooting line in 28 appearances.

Once one of the more sought-after stretch fours in the league, Bertans signed a five-year, $80MM contract in 2020.

He spent one full and one partial season with Washington after it re-signed him, then was dealt to Dallas. He came off the bench for one-and-a-half seasons with the Mavericks, then was moved to the Thunder in an offseason trade. He saw limited action in 15 games with OKC before he was dealt to the Hornets.

Bertans is a career 39.6% three-point shooter. He’s averaged 7.7 points in 18.0 minutes in 475 career games.

The Warriors have 15 players on their standard roster but three of them have non-guaranteed deals, as our roster counts show.

Yongxi Cui May Sign Two-Way Deal With Nets

September 2nd, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Chinese guard Yongxi Cui appears to be headed to the Nets on a two-way contract covering two seasons, according to Lucas Kaplan and Net Income of NetsDaily. They cite reports out of China over the weekend, but add that Brooklyn officials are refusing to confirm or deny a deal with Cui.

The 6’8″ Cui, who graduated from the NBA Global Academy, was originally expected to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Trail Blazers. Although that arrangement was reported in late June, it has not yet been made official as Cui and his representatives were searching around the league for guaranteed money.

The Nets held a workout with Cui prior to this year’s draft, the authors add, but they didn’t have any picks and he wasn’t selected.

Cui saw limited action while playing for Portland in the Las Vegas Summer League. He appeared in three games and averaged 3.0 PPG in 7.2 minutes per contest.

Cui, 21, has spent the past two years with the Guangzhou Loong Lions, one of the top teams in the CBA, and averaged 15.6 PPG last season while showing an impressive shooting touch from three-point range. He had offers to play college basketball in the U.S., according to the NetsDaily authors, but preferred to remain in his native country.

“He’s got really good feet and plays super hard,” Chris Ebersole, the NBA’s Head of International Basketball Development, told NetsDaily. “Those ingredients, for both on-ball defense and off-ball positioning, serve him well.”

Brooklyn has a pair of two-way slots to fill, with Jaylen Martin the only two-way player currently on the roster. The authors note that Jalen Wilson and Keon Johnson both earned standard contracts last season after starting out on two-way deals.

Evan Fournier To Sign With Olympiacos

September 2nd, 2024 at 11:26am CST by Arthur Hill

11:26am: Fournier’s deal with Olympiacos covers two years and is worth more than $4MM, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

10:24am: Fournier has decided to accept the offer from Olympiacos and is finalizing a three-year contract, tweets Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.

9:03am: Olympiacos is among the European teams talking to longtime NBA guard Evan Fournier, according to Pantelis Diamantopoulos of Sport24.

With few NBA roster spots still available, Fournier has “started to ferment” the idea of returning to Europe, according to Diamantopoulos. A report late last week indicated that several clubs from Spain, Italy and France have either made formal offers or expressed interest in signing him.

Diamantopoulos states that Fournier wants to join a team with a legitimate shot at winning the EuroLeague and has already turned down Milan. Olympiacos reached the EuroLeague Final Four last season and upgraded its roster this summer with the addition of former Kings power forward Sasha Vezenkov.

Fournier is seeking a salary of two million Euros (roughly $2.2MM) from interested teams, which could present an obstacle to a deal with Olympiacos, reports Konstantinos Melagies of Gazzetta in Greece. Melagies adds that the “red and whites” already have a large roster in place, and coach George Bartzokas likes the players he has now. The team may have to give up additional money to part with any of its current contracts. However, Melagies believes that Olympiacos may be motivated to make another big move in hopes of winning a title while celebrating its 100th season.

After helping France capture a silver medal at the Olympics last month, Fournier and his agent approached NBA teams to see if there was any renewed interest, according to Melagies, but the effort was unsuccessful. He describes negotiations as “hot” and states that a resolution is expected within the next few days.

Fournier, 32, began last season with the Knicks but only appeared in three games before being traded to Detroit at the February deadline. He has previous experience in Europe, playing for JSF Nanterre and Poitiers Basket 86 in France before coming to the NBA, where he has spent the past 12 seasons.

Grizzlies’ GG Jackson II Injures Foot, Requires Surgery

August 30th, 2024 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies second-year forward GG Jackson II has suffered a foot injury that will require surgery, according to a team press release (Twitter link).

Jackson sustained the injury playing basketball outside of Dallas on Tuesday. He attempted a contested layup and experienced an unstable landing on his right foot.

Subsequent imaging revealed a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot. The surgery is scheduled to be performed on Wednesday.

Memphis was snake-bit by injuries last season and its run of bad luck continues with Jackson’s offseason ailment.

Jackson excelled in the Las Vegas Summer League last month, getting named to the All-Summer League First Team.

In his first season, Jackson earned All-Rookie Second Team honors. Jackson was the only All-Rookie member who wasn’t drafted in the first round; he was selected 45th overall in 2023 and initially signed a two-way contract before being promoted to the 15-man roster in February. He received a four-year deal at that time.

Jackson appeared in 48 games, including 18 starts. He averaged 14.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per contest, attempting an average of six 3-pointers per game and making 35.7%.

The 6’9” Jackson projects as a backup at both forward spots but he’ll likely miss some early-season action as his foot heals.

Celtics Sign Lonnie Walker To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 30th, 2024 at 3:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 30: Walker’s Exhibit 10 deal is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

AUGUST 28: The Celtics are signing free agent shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), Walker will receive an Exhibit 10 training camp contract.

The 6’4″ swingman will be competing for the reigning champs’ 15th and final regular season roster spot. If Walker is waived before the regular season begins and decides to play in the G League with the Celtics’ affiliate, his Exhibit 10 contract would make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Should he make Boston’s regular season roster, Walker could actually compete for rotation minutes off the bench, at least during the regular season. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes (via Twitter) that the veteran wing connected on almost 40% of his catch-and-shoot three-point tries across his past two seasons, while with the Lakers and Nets.

The 25-year-old is also deceptively athletic, and can finish effectively around the rim when given more extended time on the ball.

The high-flying guard spent his first four pro seasons with the Spurs, who selected him with the No. 18 pick out of Miami in 2018. He spent 2022/23 with the Lakers, providing useful bench minutes sporadically during L.A.’s run to the Western Conference Finals. In 2023/24, while on the lottery-bound Nets, Walker averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals across 17.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .423/.384/.763.

Boston’s interest in Walker dates back at least to last season. Ahead of February’s trade deadline, the Celtics inquired with Brooklyn about a potential deal for Walker, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Omer Yurtseven Signs With Panathinaikos

August 30th, 2024 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center Omer Yurtseven has signed a contract with Panathinaikos, the Greek club announced today in a press release. The two sides worked out an agreement after Panathinaikos’ interest in Yurtseven was reported several weeks ago, finalizing a two-year deal that includes a second-year option.

Yurtseven, 26, spent the past three seasons in the NBA, appearing in a total of 113 games for the Heat and Jazz during that time and posting averages of 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest.

The seven-footer showed promise as a rookie in 2021/22, earning backup center minutes for the Heat for a significant chunk of the season, but was limited to just nine appearances the following year due to an ankle injury. He inked a multiyear contract with the Jazz during the 2023 offseason, but it wasn’t guaranteed for 2024/25, so Utah cut him loose at the start of free agency.

Yurtseven’s deal with Panathinaikos will reunite him with head coach Ergin Ataman, who also coaches the Turkish national team. In a statement passed along by the team, the big man cited Ataman’s presence as a “very important” factor in his decision to join the Greek club.

Panathinaikos is coming off a dominant season in which it went 26-1 in Greek League play and defeated Olympiacos to win the championship. The team also had a 23-11 regular season record in EuroLeague competition and knocked off Maccabi Tel Aviv, Fenerbahce, and Real Madrid in the postseason to win its seventh EuroLeague title.

Bruno Caboclo Signs With Hapoel Tel Aviv

August 30th, 2024 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA first-round pick Bruno Caboclo has signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv, the Israeli club formally announced today (via Twitter). According to a Sport5 report relayed by Sportando, the contract covers two seasons. Previous reporting indicated the second year would be a team option.

Caboclo was said to be working out with the Warriors this week in the hopes of landing an NBA contract. While it’s possible Caboclo’s deal includes an NBA opt-out clause in the event that he receives an offer from Golden State or another team, the fact that he’s officially moving forward with Tel Aviv suggests that no NBA opportunity he likes has materialized.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo spent parts of seven seasons in the NBA, but appeared in just 105 total games for the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets from 2014-21. He averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per contest.

Caboclo has been more effective on the international stage, winning a German League (BBL) title in 2023 with Ratiopharm Ulm and earning All-EuroCup Second Team honors that season before spending the 2023/24 campaign with Partizan Belgrade in the EuroLeague. He also represented Brazil in this year’s Olympics, leading the national team with 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game across four outings.

Hapoel Tel Aviv, which is aiming to earn a promotion to the EuroLeague by winning a EuroCup title in 2024/25, also added NBA veterans Patrick Beverley and Ish Wainright earlier this summer.

Wizards Sign Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, Leaky Black

August 30th, 2024 at 6:45am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 30: Over a month after agreeing to terms with them, the Wizards have officially signed Lewis, Nowell, and Black, having listed all three players as part of their 21-man training camp roster.

AUGUST 28: The Wizards have reached contract agreements with free agents Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, and Leaky Black, league sources tell Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Robbins and Charania, all three players will sign Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington and will be given an opportunity to compete in training camp for regular season roster spots.

Lewis, 23, was the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, but only appeared in 131 games across his first four NBA seasons due in large part to injuries, including a torn ACL he suffered during the 2021/22 season. The 6’1″ guard has averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 13.3 minutes per game for the Pelicans, Raptors, and Jazz. Last season, he was traded three times – from New Orleans to Indiana to Toronto to Utah – before reaching unrestricted free agency when the Jazz declined to issue a qualifying offer.

Nowell, a 6’4″ shooting guard, spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota from 2019-23, averaging 9.1 points per game on .447/.322/.798 shooting in 184 appearances for the Timberwolves. Despite showing promise as a scorer, Nowell was unable to find a regular NBA job last season — he was waived by Sacramento ahead of opening night, then signed two 10-day contracts apiece with the Grizzlies and Pistons during the season. The 25-year-old spend most of the 2023/24 campaign with the Stockton Kings in the G League.

Black, 25, spent his rookie season with the Hornets after going undrafted out of UNC in 2023. The 6’6″ forward saw limited action in 26 NBA games while on a two-way contract with Charlotte. He played a larger role for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBAGL, posting averages of 7.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.8 MPG across 25 total Showcase Cup and regular season outings. His two-way deal covered two seasons, but he was waived by the Hornets about four weeks ago.

Exhibit 10 contracts allow players to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by their NBA teams and then spend at least 60 days with the club’s G League affiliate, so it’s possible Lewis, Nowell, and/or Black will end up playing for the Capital City Go-Go. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted to two-way contracts prior to opening night, but Lewis and Nowell have more than three years of NBA service and are therefore ineligible to be two-way players.

The Wizards currently have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed), with a pair on two-way deals. While Black figures to be in the mix for the team’s open two-way slot, it will be an uphill battle for Lewis or Nowell to make the standard regular season roster unless Washington intends to trade or waive a player with a guaranteed contract.

Stephen Curry Signs One-Year Extension With Warriors

August 29th, 2024 at 6:33pm CST by Rory Maher

6:33pm: Curry has signed the extension, the team’s PR department announced (via Twitter).

11:28am: Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has agreed to a one-year, $62.6MM extension with the Warriors, agent Jeff Austin tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Curry was limited to a one-year extension due to the Over-38 rule. He was already under contract for the next two seasons, with salaries of $55.8MM in 2024/25 and $59.6MM in 2025/26. His new extension will cover the 2026/27 campaign, meaning he won’t hit free agency until 2027.

Curry’s salary on the one-year extension won’t be affected by where the ’26/27 cap lands, since he’ll be eligible for a 5% raise on his previous salary, even though that figure will exceed that season’s league-wide maximum.

Widely regarded as the greatest shooter in basketball history, Curry holds career averages of 24.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.5 steals on .473/.426/.910 shooting in 956 regular season games (34.2 minutes per contest). The 10-time All-NBA guard, who has won four championships and made six NBA Finals appearances, has spent his entire 15-year career with Golden State.

The Warriors had an up-and-down season in ’23/24. They went 46-36 and were eliminated in the play-in tournament by the Kings. The 36-year-old still performed at a very high level though, averaging 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists on .450/.408/.923 shooting in 74 regular season games (32.7 minutes). Curry earned an All-NBA Third Team nod for his efforts.

Curry is coming off a star showing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, when he was dominant in both the semifinal (vs. Serbia) and final (vs. France) en route to his first gold medal with Team USA. He had struggled for much of the tournament leading up to those games, but obviously stepped up in a major way when he was needed most.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Curry will surpass $500MM+ in career on-court earnings with the new extension, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players to reach that threshold.

Curry, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., and owner Joe Lacob have all expressed a desire for the 6’2″ guard to remain with the Warriors for the rest of his illustrious career. The extension agreement has both sides one step closer to achieving that goal.