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LeBron James Signs Extension With Lakers

August 18th, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 18: The Lakers have officially signed James to an extension, the team announced (Twitter link via Marc Stein).

AUGUST 17: Superstar forward LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Lakers, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

It’ll be a new two-year, maximum-salary deal that includes a second-year player option, per Wojnarowski. That means James is now under contract with the Lakers through at least the 2023/24 season, with an option on ’24/25. The agreement also includes a 15% trade kicker, Woj adds.

James is earning $44,474,988 in 2022/23, which exceeds the standard maximum of $43,279,250 for a player with 10-plus years of NBA experience. Because he’s still eligible for a 5% raise on a new extension, LeBron’s 2023/24 salary will likely be $46,698,737. His ’24/25 player option will be worth $50,434,636, an 8% raise on the first year of his extension, for a total two-year value of $97,133,373.

The value of James’ extension could increase further if the NBA salary cap for ’23/24 comes in higher than anticipated. The cap is currently projected to be $133MM, but if it ends up exceeding $133,425,000, LeBron’s starting salary on the extension would instead be worth 35% of the cap.

James became eligible for a new two-year extension on August 4. He was ineligible to sign a deal longer than that due to the NBA’s Over-38 rule.

Despite his new eligibility, there was a sense that James wouldn’t rush into a new deal right away. The four-time MVP would have been able to retain leverage and perhaps wield more influence on the Lakers’ roster moves by holding off on that commitment. Taking that route would also have given LeBron a chance to assess the team’s roster additions – and new head coach Darvin Ham – during the 2022/23 season.

However, it appears that James was comfortable renewing his commitment to the Lakers despite last season’s disappointing 33-49 showing and lingering questions about the roster. The new deal will give LeBron the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at age 39, at which point he’s expected to try to team up with his son Bronny James, who would be draft-eligible no earlier than 2024.

While the Lakers almost certainly wouldn’t have considered moving him anyway, James’ extension will make him ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season — he can’t be dealt for six months after signing the contract, since it exceeds the NBA’s “extend-and-trade” restrictions.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) previously noted, the Lakers’ potential 2023 cap room won’t be affected in any real way by James’ new extension, since his free agent cap hold would have been equivalent to his extension salary. Los Angeles projects to have over $20MM in room next summer when several contracts – including Russell Westbrook‘s – expire, which will open up some options for the team but won’t be enough for another maximum-salary player.

James’ new deal makes him the highest-paid player in NBA history in terms of total earnings, at least for the time being, Marks tweets. Assuming LeBron’s deal ends up being worth $97.1MM, he’ll be at $532MM in career earnings, surpassing Kevin Durant‘s $508MM.

Pacers Sign Deividas Sirvydis

August 18th, 2022 at 11:12am CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 18: Indiana has officially signed Sirvydis, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 4: The Pacers have agreed to a one-year deal with swingman Deividas Sirvydis, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Scotto adds (via Twitter) that Sirvydis will compete for a roster spot in training camp, which suggests his deal is likely either partially or non-guaranteed.

Sirvydis, 22, was the No. 37 pick in the 2019 draft. Born in Lithuania, he holds two years of NBA experience with the Pistons and most recently played summer league with the Pelicans. Scotto notes he averaged 19.7 points per game during those summer league outings.

Across his two seasons with Detroit, Sirvydis only appeared in 23 games. He did play in 21 regular season contests in the G League this year, averaging 12.5 points per game on 45% shooting from the floor.

Once they officially sign Sirvydis, the Pacers will have 15 players under contract. That count doesn’t include unsigned draft pick Kendall Brown or the four players the team has reportedly agreed to sign to Exhibit 10 deals.

Tyler Hall Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Mavs

August 16th, 2022 at 5:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyler Hall has signed a contract with the Mavericks, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.

The 6’5” Hall had a cameo appearance with the Knicks last season on a 10-day hardship exception contract. He started 25 games last season for the G League Westchester Knicks, averaging 15.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 4.2 APG while draining 41.5% of his 3-point attempts.

Hall, 25, attended Dallas’ mini-camp for free agents in late June and apparently made enough of an impression to get a training camp invite. He also appeared in three Summer League contests for the Wizards last month.

His Exhibit 10 contract puts him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived during the preseason and then spends at least 60 days as an affiliate player for the Mavs’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

The Mavs now have 18 players officially under contract and one more reported deal — Marcus Bingham‘s Exhibit 10 agreement.

Bulls Sign Carlik Jones To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 16th, 2022 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have signed guard Carlik Jones to a training camp contract, as tweeted by Keith Smith of Spotrac and confirmed by Jones himself.

The deal is a one-year, non-guaranteed contract that includes Exhibit 10 language, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means it could be converted into a two-way contract before the regular season begins or it could put Jones in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League affiliate.

Jones, 24, went undrafted out of Louisville in 2021 and spent most of his first professional season with the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League team. He made the All-NBAGL Third Team and the All-NBAGL Rookie Team by averaging 21.1 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 4.7 RPG in 33 regular season G League contests (35.6 MPG).

Jones also signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks and another with the Nuggets, appearing in five NBA games as a rookie. He subsequently suited up for the Bulls in last month’s Las Vegas Summer League, registering 11.6 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 2.2 SPG with a scorching hot .548/.667/.846 shooting line in five appearances (24.7 MPG).

Chicago is carrying 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so there likely won’t be room for Jones on the regular season roster. However, the team has one two-way slot open and its only current two-way player, Justin Lewis, is facing ACL surgery, meaning there may be a path to a two-way deal for Jones.

Alex Morales Agrees To Contract With Magic

August 15th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Undrafted rookie guard Alex Morales has agreed to Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic, Adam Zagoria tweets.

He averaged 5.0 PPG in 13.5 MPG while appearing in five Summer League games with the Warriors.

Morales was the Northeast Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 16.8 PPG , 7.2 RPG and 4.3 APG in his second season with Wagner and had a year of eligibility left when he entered the draft.

The Exhibit 10 contract puts him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived during the preseason and then spends at least 60 days as an affiliate player for the Lakeland Magic.

Orlando currently has 18 players under contract and has reached Exhibit 10 agreements with four others, meaning the team could end up signing and immediately waiving certain players to secure their G League rights.

McKinley Wright IV, Mouhamadou Gueye Sign With Mavericks

August 15th, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 15: The Mavericks have officially signed both Wright and Gueye to Exhibit 10 contracts, Hoops Rumors has learned.

AUGUST 14: The Mavericks will sign McKinley Wright IV and Mouhamadou Gueye to training camp deals and will give them a chance to compete for roster spots, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Wright, a 23-year-old point guard, signed a two-way contract with the Timberwolves last August after going undrafted out of Colorado. He appeared in just five games for Minnesota, spending most of the season with the team’s G League affiliate in Iowa, where he averaged 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 18 games. Wright played for the Suns in this year’s Las Vegas Summer League and is on Team USA’s roster for the World Cup qualifiers later this month.

Gueye, a 24-year-old forward, is a free agent who played last season at Pittsburgh after transferring from Stony Brook. He averaged 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Panthers during his lone season in the ACC.

Dallas has 14 players with guaranteed contracts and just one of its two-way slots filled, so there will be opportunities for whoever is impressive during training camp and the preseason.

Kings Sign Sam Merrill

August 12th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

9:00pm: The signing is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

4:39pm: The Kings are set to sign free agent shooting guard Sam Merrill, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Tony Jones of The Athletic reveals (via Twitter) that Merrill is signing a non-guaranteed two-year contract, meaning Merrill will be competing to join the team’s eventual 15-man roster in training camp. Sacramento currently has just 12 players inked to fully guaranteed deals, per our roster tracker.

Earlier this summer, Chima Moneke and Matthew Dellavedova were both also signed to non-guaranteed deals with a chance to make the opening night roster. Moneke’s contract includes a $250K partial guarantee.

The 6’4″ Merrill was selected with the final pick in the 2020 NBA draft out of Utah State by the Pelicans, then was dealt to the Bucks. He played in 30 games for the eventual champs, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 7.8 MPG during the regular season. During that rookie season, Merrill connected on 44.4% of his field goal attempts and 44.7% of his 1.6 triples a night.

The Bucks traded him to the Grizzlies during the 2021 offseason. He appeared in just six games for Memphis, averaging 9.7 MPG. The 26-year-old averaged 22.5 PPG, 5.5 APG and 5.5 RPG in two contests for the Grizzlies’ NBAGL affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.

Adding Merrill gives the Kings another potential long-distance shooting option as the team continues to retool its roster around its core of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell.

Jordan Hall Signs Two-Way Contract With Spurs

August 11th, 2022 at 11:21am CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 11: The Spurs have officially signed Hall to his two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 23: Free agent swingman Jordan Hall has agreed to a two-way contract with the Spurs, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Hall went undrafted last month and played with San Antonio in the Las Vegas Summer League. A previous report stated that he was expected to sign with the Spurs, but it didn’t clarify that he’d be receiving a two-way deal.

At 6’8″ and 215 pounds, Hall has been known as a point forward. He averaged 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game with Saint Joseph’s last season, but he shot only 39% from the floor. The 20-year still showed potential as a well-rounded player.

San Antonio now has both two-way spots filled. The other went to Dominick Barlow, who most recently played in the Overtime Elite league. The Spurs are pushing forward with a rebuild after trading away Dejounte Murray for three first-round picks and a pick swap.

Hall will have the opportunity to compete for a spot on the 15-man roster as the season progresses. He’s set to spend time with both San Antonio and the team’s G League affiliate while on his two-way deal.

Wizards Sign Makur Maker To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 10th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have signed center Makur Maker to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Athletic’s report followed up on a tweet from Edward Smith that showed Maker putting pen to paper.

Maker, the cousin of former NBA lottery pick Thon Maker, attended Howard University during the 2020/21 season, then played for the Sydney Kings in ’21/22, winning an NBL title with the Australian club. He averaged 7.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG on .429/.361/.769 shooting in 16 games (16.8 MPG) for the Kings.

Maker also suited up for the Bulls in last month’s Las Vegas Summer League, registering 7.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in five contests (12.0 MPG).

Robbins’ report suggests that Maker will likely end up playing for the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League team. Maker’s Exhibit 10 contract puts him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived during the preseason and then spends at least 60 days as an affiliate player for the Go-Go.

Washington has also reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with undrafted rookie free agents Quenton Jackson and Davion Mintz.

Gorgui Dieng Signs One-Year Deal With Spurs

August 9th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 9: Dieng’s signing is official, the Spurs announced in a press release.

JULY 5: The Spurs and free agent big man Gorgui Dieng have agreed to a one-year deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It’s a reunion for Dieng and the Spurs — he signed with San Antonio on the buyout market near the end of the 2020/21 season before joining the Hawks last summer.

Terms of the new agreement aren’t yet known, but Dieng is coming off a one-year, $4MM contract and wasn’t a regular part of Atlanta’s rotation in 2021/22, appearing in 44 games and averaging a career-low 8.4 minutes per contest. His 3.5 PPG and 2.8 RPG were also career worsts. In other words, it seems unlikely he’ll get more than the veteran’s minimum from the Spurs.

The 32-year-old, who will be entering his 10th NBA season, has also spent time with the Timberwolves and Grizzlies since entering the league as the 21st overall pick out of Louisville in 2013.

Dieng will be San Antonio’s 14th player, assuming the team signs all three of its first-round picks and retains Tre Jones and Keita Bates-Diop, both of whom are on non-guaranteed contracts.

The Spurs still have a ton of cap room at their disposal, so it’s possible a more significant roster shake-up is coming, but it remains unclear how they intend to use that room.