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Jazz Add Johnny Juzang Via Two-Way Deal

July 15th, 2022 at 2:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 15: The Jazz have officially signed Juzang, the team announced.

JUNE 24: The Jazz will sign undrafted former UCLA wing Johnny Juzang to a two-way deal, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Following a 2019/20 freshman season with Kentucky, Juzang transferred to his hometown UCLA. While with the Bruins, the 6’6″ swingman was named Second-Team All-Pac-12 in 2021 and First-Team All-Pac 12 in 2022. For his contributions to UCLA’s NCAA Final Four run in 2021, Juzang was honored as an NCAA All-Tourney selection. The 21-year-old was also voted onto the All-American Third-Team during what wound up being his final collegiate season.

During his junior season, Juzang averaged 15.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG and 0.7 SPG through 30 games, including 29 starts. He posted a slash line of .432/.360/.835.

Utah went without a pick in this year’s draft.

Pacers Waive Duane Washington, Three Others

July 14th, 2022 at 7:18pm CST by Rory Maher

7:18pm: The four cuts are now official, according to a press release from the Pacers.

3:15pm: The Pacers are waiving Duane Washington and using the waive-and-stretch provision on Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and Nik Stauskas in order to create the necessary cap space to sign Deandre Ayton to a maximum-salary offer sheet, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Washington, 22, went undrafted last year after three college seasons with Ohio State. He signed a two-way contract with the Pacers and had a productive rookie season, appearing in 48 games (20.2 MPG) while averaging 9.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.8 APG on .404/.377/.754 shooting. More than half of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc.

Washington received a promotion at the end of the season when his two-way deal was converted to a standard contract, but his salary for next season was non-guaranteed. He and the team previously agreed to push back his guarantee date from July 6 until July 15, so he’ll be released one day in advance of that deadline.

Fitts, Morgan and Stauskas were all sent to Indiana for salary-matching purposes as part of the trade that saw Malcolm Brogdon head to Boston. Each of the three players received significant guarantees on their minimum-salary contracts in order to complete the trade, but obviously none of them were part of Indiana’s long-term plans.

The stretch provision allows teams to pay players they waive over multiple years. In this case, the three salaries will be spread out over three seasons, because they were all waived between July 1 and August 31 and only had one year on their contracts.

Of the four players being waived, Washington seems like the best bet to immediately find a new team, whether it’s via waiver claim or a new deal after clearing waivers. Despite being a rookie, he had the most productive season in 2021/22, even if it was due in part to Indiana’s disappointing season that saw the team finish with a 25-57 record.

Heat Sign Jamaree Bouyea To Exhibit 10 Contract

July 14th, 2022 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 14: Bouyea’s deal with the Heat is now official, the team announced in a press release.

JULY 13: The Heat will bring rookie free agent guard Jamaree Bouyea to training camp, where he’ll have a chance to compete for a roster spot, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), Bouyea is signing an Exhibit 10 contract.

Bouyea wasn’t selected in the June 23 draft after spending five years at the University of San Francisco. In his last two college seasons, he averaged 17.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 1.7 SPG with a solid shooting line of .483/.368/.755 in 59 games (35.1 MPG).

After going undrafted, Bouyea has suited up for the Heat at both the California Classic Summer League and the Las Vegas Summer League.

While Bouyea is probably a long shot to earn a spot on Miami’s 15-man regular season roster, an Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to a two-way contract before the regular season begins. It also makes a player eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived before the season and then joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Raptors Sign Justin Champagnie To Two-Year Contract

July 14th, 2022 at 10:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors have signed Justin Champagnie to a two-year contract, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.

It’s a minimum-salary deal with a $325K partial guarantee for the first year, Murphy adds.

The structure of the contract means Champagnie will still be competing for a roster spot in camp. D.J. Wilson got a similar deal from Toronto last week.

They will compete with Armoni Brooks and David Johnson for the remaining roster openings. Rookie Ron Harper Jr. holds one of the two-way contract spots. That signing is now official, according to the NBA transactions log.

Champagnie held a two-way slot at the end of last season and received a qualifying offer, which made him a restricted free agent. The size of his new partial guarantee makes him ineligible for a two-way slot with Toronto this season, Murphy adds in another tweet.

Champagnie fractured his thumb during Summer League practices, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets, but is expected to fully recover by training camp,

The undrafted wing, who turned 21 last month, appeared in 36 regular-season games last season. He averaged 2.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 7.8 MPG.

Trail Blazers Sign Second-Rounder Jabari Walker

July 13th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers have signed second-round pick Jabari Walker to a standard contract, the team announced in a press release.

Walker, who turns 20 later this month, was the 57th pick of last month’s draft after two seasons at Colorado. In 33 games (28.1 MPG) for the Buffaloes last season, Walker averaged 14.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG on .461/.346/.784 shooting, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors in the process.

The 6’9″ forward has had a stellar Summer League with Portland thus far, posting averages of 13.0 PPG and 8.3 RPG on .682/.375/.667 shooting in three games (19.6 MPG).

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Blazers had a small portion of their mid-level exception remaining to give Walker a contract that exceeds two years if they wanted to. Most of their mid-level was used to sign Gary Payton II.

Portland now has 15 players on standard deals, with one two-way spot still open. Although his last name is quite common, it’s worth noting that Walker is the son of former NBA player Samaki Walker.

As Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets, the younger Walker recently said his father taught him one of the keys to having a long career is to understand his role.

“My dad taught me that a ‘role player’ isn’t a bad thing. You can make a lot of money being a role player. You can be a starter being a role player. A lot of people don’t embrace that. So that’s going to be an advantage for me,” he said.

Knicks Sign Mitchell Robinson To Four-Year Contract

July 12th, 2022 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: The signing is official, the team tweets.

JULY 1: The Knicks are bringing back unrestricted free agent center Mitchell Robinson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who hears from agents Thad Foucher and Joe Smith that Robinson has agreed to a four-year, $60MM deal to remain in New York.

Robinson, 24, has spent his first four NBA seasons with the Knicks after being selected 36th overall in the 2018 draft. He emerged in 2021/22 as the team’s regular starting center, averaging 8.5 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 1.8 BPG in 72 appearances (25.7 MPG), including 62 starts.

Robinson has made 72.2% of his career field goal attempts, including 76.1% in ’21/22, but doesn’t have an expansive offensive game, averaging just 4.8 field goal attempts per contest this past season.

The big man has conveyed some dissatisfaction with his limited offensive role in the past and didn’t agree to an in-season extension with the Knicks, prompting some speculation that he could end up elsewhere once he reached the open market. However, there were a number of reasons why it made sense for New York to bring him back.

For one, at age 24, Robinson was one of this summer’s youngest unrestricted free agents and still has room to grow. His athleticism and ability as a lob threat also bring a different dimension to the Knicks’ frontcourt than incoming center Isaiah Hartenstein will provide. Plus, his minimum-salary cap hold gives New York the flexibility to use up its cap room before going over the cap to re-sign him using his Bird rights.

The Bulls and Pistons were among the teams said to have interest in Robinson in the weeks leading up to free agency, but Chicago went for a lower-cost center in Andre Drummond, while Detroit landed rookie Jalen Duren in a draft-night trade. The Raptors also had interest in Robinson, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), but the Knicks had been confident in recent days that they’d be able to re-sign him.

Jake Fischer first reported earlier this week that Robinson was expected to return to New York on a four-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $60MM.

Jalen Brunson Signs Four-Year Contract With Knicks

July 12th, 2022 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: Brunson’s deal with the Knicks is official, the team announced on Twitter.

“We are beyond thrilled to add Jalen Brunson to our organization,” said Knicks president Leon Rose. “He’s a competitor, a leader, a play-maker, and most importantly a winner. His addition is a perfect complement to the team that we are building and the culture we are establishing.”

JUNE 30, 8:36am: Brunson has now formally agreed to a four-year, $104MM contract with the Knicks, agents Aaron Mintz and Sam Rose tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The deal will include a fourth-year player option.

JUNE 30, 4:05pm: The Mavericks have been informed that free agent point guard Jalen Brunson intends to sign with the Knicks, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Brunson’s new deal will be worth in the neighborhood of $110MM over four years, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who tweets that Dallas didn’t get the opportunity to make a final offer. Marc Stein (Twitter link) hears the contract will be worth about $105MM, plus incentives.

The meeting that Brunson had set with the Mavericks in New York City at the start of free agency is no longer taking place, according to Stein (Twitter link). A report last night suggested that Brunson would meet with the Knicks, Mavericks, and Heat at the start of free agency, but word broke earlier today that the meeting with Miami wasn’t happening either.

Brunson, 25, appeared in 79 regular season games last season (31.9 MPG), averaging 16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 4.8 APG on .502/.373/.840 shooting. He also posted a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, considered a strong benchmark for a ball-handler.

Brunson also excelled with a larger role in the postseason, averaging 21.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.7 APG on .466/.347/.800 shooting in 18 games (34.9 MPG). He led the team to back-to-back first-round victories over Utah in the absence of injured star Luka Doncic, scoring 41 points and 31 points, respectively.

Despite his strong performances last season, Brunson isn’t without flaws. He’s only 6’1″ and although he’s strong, he’s not the best athlete, which limits his defensive versatility.

The Knicks and Brunson have been linked to one another for months. As has been repeated ad nauseam, Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose is Brunson’s former agent, Rose’s son Sam Rose is Brunson’s current agent, and Brunson’s father Rick Brunson was recently hired as a Knicks assistant.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated previously reported that part of the Knicks’ pitch to Brunson is the ability to be the full-time starting point guard. In Dallas, he’s more of a secondary option at the position, with Doncic running the show.

The Mavericks had long projected confidence in their ability to re-sign Brunson, but that confidence had waned considerably over the past week or so. They held his Bird Rights, giving them the ability to offer more years (five) and money than other teams, but reportedly were only willing to go as high as $106MM over five years, which is obviously considerably less annually than the Knicks are offering.

Dallas projects to be far over the salary cap, limiting the team’s ability to secure an adequate replacement for Brunson. However, Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs aren’t expected to immediately pursue a replacement, instead relying on incumbent guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway Jr. for backcourt depth.

Hardway missed about half the season, including the postseason, but he should be healthy for 2022/23, Stein notes. Dallas eventually plans to go after veteran guard Goran Dragic once the team pursues higher priority targets, including wings and frontcourt players, per Stein.

It’s worth noting that reports two days ago said the Knicks were expected to land Brunson on the terms outlined above, and now his commitment to New York has all but been finalized before free agency officially opens, so it’s possible the Knicks will face a tampering investigation in the future.

Isaiah Hartenstein Signs Two-Year Deal With Knicks

July 12th, 2022 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: The Knicks have officially signed Hartenstein, the team announced (via Twitter).

“We are very excited to welcome Isaiah Hartenstein to the Knicks family,” said Knicks president Leon Rose. “He’s a versatile big man who impacts the game on both sides of the floor and who plays with a passion and energy that is contagious.”

JUNE 30: The Knicks and free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein have agreed to a two-year, $16.7MM deal, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be fully guaranteed, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Hartenstein had been linked to the Knicks in the days leading up to free agency, with New York said to be in the market for a backup at the five. The expectation is that the team will still re-sign Mitchell Robinson as its starting center, though no agreement is in place yet.

With Serge Ibaka still rounding into form following offseason back surgery, Hartenstein emerged early in the 2021/22 season as the Clippers’ primary backup center and thrived in the role, making 62.6% of his shots from the field and handing out 2.4 APG in just 17.9 minutes per contest. He even flashed the ability to hit the occasional three-pointer (14-of-30) and played solid defense.

Hartenstein has played for four teams in four NBA seasons and has never earned more than the minimum, but his performance this past season put him in a good position to land a multiyear deal and a raise, which he’ll get in New York.

If the Knicks are able to turn their deal with Jalen Brunson into a sign-and-trade, there are scenarios in which they operate over the cap this offseason, in which case Hartenstein would be in line for a chunk of the mid-level exception. However, if the club goes below the cap and uses room, it will have enough to accommodate both Brunson and Hartenstein.

Nuggets Sign DeAndre Jordan

July 12th, 2022 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: Jordan’s deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced.

JUNE 30: The Nuggets are signing DeAndre Jordan to back up two-time MVP Nikola Jokic at center, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) that Jordan will be signing a one-year contract worth the veteran’s minimum.

Jordan, who will turn 34 later this month, began the 2021/22 season on a minimum-salary contract with the Lakers. However, he was waived by Los Angeles in February and caught on with the Sixers for the rest of the season. In total, he appeared in 48 games for the two clubs, averaging 4.3 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 13.0 minutes per contest.

Jordan will no longer rank among the NBA’s leading rebounders and blocks like he did in his prime, but the Nuggets apparently believe he still has something left in the tank after an up-and-down ’21/22 campaign.

Danilo Gallinari Signs Two-Year Deal With Celtics

July 12th, 2022 at 11:14am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 12: The Celtics have officially signed Gallinari, the team announced in a press release.“We are thrilled to welcome Danilo to Boston,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “With his elite shooting abilities, he has long been established as of the league’s best scorers with size.”

JULY 10: After being waived by San Antonio on Friday, Gallinari has cleared waivers and agreed to a two-year, $13.3MM deal with the Celtics, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter). The contract is fully guaranteed, agent Michael Tellem tells Wojnarowski.

JULY 1: Danilo Gallinari plans to sign with the Celtics after the Spurs officially release him, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) that signing with Boston was Gallinari’s preference, after Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggested on Thursday that he was leaning that way.

Gallinari is expected to receive a two-year contract worth $13MM with a player option on the second season, sources tell Italian basketball writer Davide Chinellato (Twitter link). Boston will presumably use its taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the signing.

The 33-year-old forward, who spent the past two seasons with Atlanta, was sent to San Antonio this week in the Dejounte Murray trade. He agreed to push back the guarantee date on his $21.45MM contract for next season to help accommodate the deal and will likely receive a partial guarantee of about $10-11MM from the Spurs before being let go.

Gallinari will provide Boston with a veteran shooter who can play several positions. He has connected at 38.1% from three-point range during his career and averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds with the Hawks last season.

Injuries plagued Gallinari early in his career, but he has been relatively healthy over the past four seasons, playing 68, 62, 51 and 66 games.

The Bulls were also reportedly in the running for Gallinari.