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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.

Suns Sign E’Twaun Moore To One-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29: The Suns have officially signed Moore, per RealGM’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 22: Free agent shooting guard E’Twaun Moore has reached an agreement to sign a one-year deal with the Suns, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Stein reports that the deal will be worth $2.4MM, which suggests it’s likely a minimum-salary pact, rounded up. Moore’s minimum salary this year, as a nine-year veteran, will be $2,331,593.

Moore, 31, has spent the last four seasons in New Orleans, bouncing back and forth between roles as a starter and a backup during that time. He has been an effective scorer and shooter for the Pelicans, averaging 10.7 PPG on .474/.404/.736 shooting in his four years with the team.

Moore represents the latest intriguing addition for a Phoenix team that appears to be poised to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference in 2020/21. Having kicked off their offseason by acquiring Chris Paul in a trade with Oklahoma City, the Suns have since reached free agent agreements with Jae Crowder and Moore, as well as their own restricted free agent guard Jevon Carter.

The team also drafted big man Jalen Smith with the No. 10 pick on Wednesday and reportedly wants to re-sign RFA forward Dario Saric.

Suns Sign Damian Jones

November 22nd, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 29: Jones’ signing is official, according to the RealGM Transactions Page. He only has a $350K partial guarantee in year one, with a non-guaranteed second season, per Dave King of The Bright Side (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 22: The Suns have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent center Damian Jones, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Jones will earn the veteran’s minimum, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

Jones, 25, spent last season with the Hawks and was acquired in July of 2018 from Golden State. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Warriors, having been drafted by the team at No. 30 in 2016.

Jones played 55 games with Atlanta last season, averaging 5.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 16.1 minutes per contest. He’s expected to provide depth behind starting center Deandre Ayton in the frontcourt, with Phoenix seeking their first playoff berth since the 2009-10 season.

Over the past week, the Suns also traded for Chris Paul (in a deal that sent out Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ricky Rubio), agreed to sign Jae Crowder, and reached a deal to bring back Jevon Carter.

Suns Sign Ty-Shon Alexander To Two-Way Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 12:20am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 24: Alexander has officially signed his two-way contract with the Suns, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 22: The Suns have agreed to sign undrafted rookie guard Ty-Shon Alexander to a two-way contract, according to Matt Babcock of Babcock Hoops (Twitter link). Alexander essentially confirmed the report, quoting Babock’s tweet and thanking the Suns for the opportunity.

Alexander played his college ball at Creighton, declaring for the draft this year after his junior season. In 31 games (34.7 MPG) for the Bluejays, he averaged 16.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .431/.399/.860 shooting.

Mike Schmitz of ESPN, ranking Alexander as the ninth-best undrafted prospect, praised his “smooth shooting stroke and stellar defense,” suggesting he has the tools to develop into a three-and-D off guard.

Tariq Owens finished the 2019/20 season as Phoenix’s only player on a two-way contract, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer, so the club will likely look to sign a second two-way player to join Alexander.

Suns Re-Sign Jevon Carter To Three-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 9:28pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Suns have officially announced their new deal with Carter.

“We are excited to bring back Jevon,” general manager James Jones said in a statement. “Intensity and effort are constants for him, both in games and in the work he puts in every day in the gym. His fearless mentality provided us a spark last season and we look forward to his return.”

NOVEMBER 21: The Suns and restricted free agent guard Jevon Carter have reached an agreement on a new contract, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Carter will sign a three-year, $11.5MM deal, per Wojnarowski.

The 32nd overall pick in the 2018 draft, Carter began his NBA career with the Grizzlies before being traded to Phoenix in the summer of 2019. As a backup point guard for the Suns last season, he averaged 4.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.4 APG on .416/.425/.852 shooting in 58 games (16.3 MPG).

The Suns made Carter a restricted free agent by issuing him a qualifying offer earlier this week, so the team would have been eligible to match any offer sheet he signed elsewhere. Instead, he negotiated a new deal directly with Phoenix and will now look forward to backing up newly-acquired All-Star point guard Chris Paul in 2020/21.

In addition to acquiring Paul, the Suns have reached a deal to sign Jae Crowder in free agency. However, the club still has some outstanding business to address, as Dario Saric remains on the restricted free agent market. Phoenix is prioritizing re-signing the RFA forward.

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.

Free Agent Rumors: Bogdanovic, VanVleet, Augustin, Thompson

November 20th, 2020 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that Bogdan Bogdanovic has re-emerged as a free agent option for teams outside of Milwaukee, the RFA swingman and his representatives are expected to take meetings when free agency opens, according to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who say that the Hawks and Lakers are known to have interest.

Amick and Nehm suggest it’s “widely known” that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had been recruiting Bogdanovic to Milwaukee. Since it seems that union won’t happen, teams hoping to eventually lure Giannis away from the Bucks will probably become a little more interested in Bogdanovic, according to The Athletic’s duo, who mention the Mavericks and Heat as a couple of those clubs.

Here’s more on free agency:

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News tweets that he has consistently heard the Raptors‘ goal is to re-sign Fred VanVleet on a Malcolm Brogdon-type contract. Brogdon’s four-year, $85MM deal was cited way back in August as a probable market-setter for VanVleet’s new contract.
The Suns have reached out to D.J. Augustin, who is also drawing real interest from the Bucks, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Gambadoro adds that the veteran point guard is likely to accept the best offer he receives.
Even after winning a championship, the Lakers aren’t content to be passive in free agency, says general manager Rob Pelinka. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays, Pelinka vows his club will be “aggressive” as it looks to continue making upgrades. “We’re not going to just sit back and not expect others who are in position to try to better their roster or better their teams,” Pelinka said. “So we have to stay aggressive. I think the danger of winning is complacency, and I won’t — we won’t allow that to creep in here. We’re going to try to improve our team and put Coach (Frank) Vogel and his staff in the best possible position to defend.”
The Lakers would love to land Tristan Thompson in free agency, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. Mannix says the Raptors are also expected to express interest in Thompson, though Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) hears Toronto hasn’t reached out to the Canadian center yet.

Suns Turn Down Team Option On Cheick Diallo

November 19th, 2020 at 4:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Big man Cheick Diallo is now an unrestricted free agent heading into his fifth season, after the Suns decided to not pick up his $1,824,003 team option, per Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype (Twitter link).

After spending his first three seasons with the Pelicans, Diallo agreed to a two-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Suns last summer. Diallo was drafted with the No. 33 pick in 2016. Scotto notes that the 6’8″ forward/center out of Kansas is reputable around the league as having a “high motor.”

A little-used reserve in 2019/20, the 24-year-old Diallo averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG. Across 47 games, he logged an average of 10.2 MPG.

Suns Won’t Pick Up Frank Kaminsky’s 2020/21 Option

November 19th, 2020 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns won’t be exercising Frank Kaminsky‘s team option for the 2020/21 season, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The option would have been worth $5MM.

Kaminsky, 27, averaged 9.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG on .450/.331/.678 shooting in 39 games (19.9 MPG) for Phoenix in 2019/20. A patella stress fracture shortened his season, however, and he played a very limited role during the Suns’ 8-0 run in the bubble at Walt Disney World.

Plugged-in Suns reporter John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 predicted earlier this week that the team would likely prioritize re-signing Dario Saric in free agency while letting other bigs like Aron Baynes and Kaminsky walk.

Kaminsky will now be free to reach a deal with any team once the free agent period opens on Friday.

Free Agency Notes: Heat, Gibson, Beasley, Millsap

November 19th, 2020 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat president Pat Riley provided a major hint on his free agency plans during his post-draft availability on Wednesday night, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, who tweets that Riley said he hopes to “run this thing back.”

The Heat can essentially go one of two directions this weekend. One direction is renouncing most of their own free agents and opening up cap room to pursue outside FAs. The other is remaining over the cap and making an effort to bring back several of their own free agents, starting with Jae Crowder and Goran Dragic. It sounds like Riley is prepared to take the latter path.

Here’s more on free agency:

Although the Knicks waived Taj Gibson and turned down Bobby Portis‘ option, Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) hears that the team still has some mutual interest with both players, who could return on more modest salaries. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News suggests (via Twitter) that the Suns, Clippers, and Warriors are among the other clubs to watch for Gibson.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said today during an appearance on The Chad Hartman Show in Minnesota that drafting Anthony Edwards doesn’t mean the team doesn’t plan to re-sign Malik Beasley. “We hope that relationship (with Beasley) continues,” Rosas said (Twitter link via Dane Moore of News Talk 830 WCCO). Wolfson (via Twitter) thinks that the Wolves and Beasley could work out a two-year deal.
Paul Millsap plans to weigh his options at the start of free agency and see what kind of market develops before making a decision, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. No deal is imminent yet for Millsap, who is expected to receive interest from the Nuggets and Trail Blazers, among others.
Suns GM James Jones said on Wednesday night that his front office will be looking for “Suns fits” in free agency, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes. “I feel really good about our ability to build on the rest of our roster,” Jones said.