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Jusuf Nurkic Signs Four-Year Deal With Trail Blazers

July 1st, 2022 at 11:17am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Trail Blazers put out a press release officially announcing Nurkic’s new contract. The announcement included a statement from GM Joe Cronin, who said it was “incredibly important” to bring back the veteran center as a key piece of the team’s core.

“Nurk’s physicality, rebounding prowess and defensive acumen make him an integral part of what we do on both sides of the ball,” Cronin said.

JULY 1: The Trail Blazers will re-sign center Jusuf Nurkic at $70MM over four seasons, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nurkic’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, confirmed the agreement.

The deal shows that Nurkic is still viewed as part of the future in Portland. There had been speculation around the trade deadline that he might be moved as part of a rebuild, but the Blazers have been heading in the other direction, making roster moves aimed at a quick return to contention.

Nurkic, 27, averaged 15.0 points and 11.1 rebounds last season, but he was sidelined by plantar fasciitis in mid-February. With Portland well out of the playoff race, the team opted to not have Nurkic try to return for the end of the season.

Nurkic started his NBA career with the Nuggets, but was traded to the Blazers in 2017 after Nikola Jokic emerged as a star in Denver. He overcame a compound fracture of his left tibia and fibula in 2019 and was fully healthy heading into last season.

Re-signing Nurkic ends any interest that Portland may have had in the Suns’ Deandre Ayton. The Blazers had been mentioned as a possible destination for the free agent center.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report first reported earlier in the week that a four-year deal in the range of $17MM per year for Nurkic and the Blazers was a likely outcome. It’s a pay raise for the big man, whose last contract was worth $48MM over four years.

Portland has been busy so far in free agency, reaching multiyear agreements with Anfernee Simons and Gary Payton II in addition to Nurkic.

Raptors Sign Otto Porter To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The Raptors have sent out a press release officially announcing the signing of Porter. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca recently reported, the two-year deal will be worth $12.4MM.

JULY 1: On the heels of winning a championship with Golden State, free agent forward Otto Porter has agreed to a two-year deal with the Raptors, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who reports that the second year of Porter’s new contract will be a player option.

Porter, 29, averaged 8.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.1 SPG in a part-time role with the Warriors this past season, posting a shooting line of .464/.370/.803 in 63 games (22.2 MPG). He was also a regular part of the rotation during the club’s playoff run, appearing in 19 games and logging 19.5 minutes per contest.

The third overall pick in the 2013 draft, Porter has long been considered a solid three-and-D forward with good size. He signed a maximum-salary offer sheet as a restricted free agent in 2017, but battled injuries over the course of the deal, bouncing around from Washington to Chicago to Orlando, and ultimately had to settle for a minimum-salary contract with the Warriors last summer.

Golden State had another minimum-salary offer on the table to Porter this offseason, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), but after rebuilding his value on the champion Warriors, the former Georgetown star figures to get a earn more than that on his deal with the Raptors. Terms aren’t yet known, but Toronto has its mid-level exception available.

The Raptors are already loaded at the forward spot, but have committed to playing a relatively positionless style, and Porter – who has a career .398 3PT% – fits the team’s need for outside shooting.

Porter’s wife is from Toronto, which was one factor in his free agency decision, tweets Haynes.

Theo Pinson Re-Signs With Mavericks

July 1st, 2022 at 10:18am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: Pinson’s new deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

JULY 1: The Mavericks will keep Theo Pinson on a one-year deal, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The 26-year-old guard only played in 19 games during his first season with Dallas, but his greater value involved the team’s “chemistry and culture,” notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Pinson, who was on a two-way contract for most of last season, is no longer eligible for that type of deal, but the Mavs believe he has “development potential,” MacMahon adds.

Pinson is best known as the vocal leader of Dallas’ bench, which harassed opponents so much in the playoffs that it amassed $175K in fines for “decorum” violations. Pinson wasn’t eligible to participate in the postseason because of his two-way deal, but he still found a way to make an impact as the Mavericks advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

After going undrafted out of North Carolina in 2018, Pinson broke into the NBA on a two-way contract with the Nets. After two years in Brooklyn, he was claimed off waivers by the Knicks and then got an opportunity in Dallas last season, starting with a pair of 10-day contracts in December.

Hawks Sign Aaron Holiday To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Hawks have officially signed Holiday, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: Aaron Holiday is joining the Hawks on a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It will be a veteran’s minimum deal, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

The 25-year-old guard began last season with the Wizards before being traded to the Suns at the February deadline. Holiday averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 22 games with Phoenix, but he wasn’t in the playoff rotation and saw minimal playing time in six postseason games.

Holiday became an unrestricted free agent this week when the Suns elected not to tender a qualifying offer.

The 23rd pick in the 2018 draft, Holiday spent three seasons with the Pacers before being traded to Washington last summer in a five-team deal. The former UCLA star was mostly a backup in Indiana, but started 33 games during the 2019/20 season.

Holiday should help fill the void left by Delon Wright, who is headed to the Wizards in free agency.

Magic Re-Sign Bol Bol To Two-Year Contract

July 1st, 2022 at 9:41am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 7: The Magic have officially re-signed Bol, per a team press release.

JULY 1: Bol Bol has agreed to a two-year deal with the Magic, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.

Orlando traded for Bol in February, but he was still recovering from foot surgery and hasn’t played for the team. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman indicated after the season ended that the team was still interested in the 22-year-old big man and hoped to re-sign him.

Bol appeared in 14 games last season, all with the Nuggets, averaging 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per night. He played just 53 combined games during his two-plus years in Denver.

A second-round draft pick in 2019, Bol was an intriguing prospect because of his perimeter skills mixed with a lean 7’2″ frame. He showed flashes of talent in the G League and Summer League, but hasn’t been able to translate that into a consistent role in the NBA.

Like Mohamed Bamba, Bol is reportedly returning to the Magic despite the club not issuing him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent earlier this week.

Nuggets Sign Bruce Brown To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The deal is now official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.

JULY 1: The Nuggets have reached an agreement to sign free agent wing Bruce Brown to a two-year, $13MM+ contract, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will include a second-year player option, Andrews adds (via Twitter).

Denver appears likely to use the taxpayer portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing — a two-year deal worth the full taxpayer MLE would come in at around $13.3MM.

Brown became eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer after accepting his $4.7MM qualifying offer from Brooklyn a year ago. He spent his first two NBA seasons in Detroit from 2018-20 and has been a Net for the last two years.

Brown does a little bit of everything on the court, playing and guarding multiple positions while providing some scoring (9.0 PPG), play-making (2.1 APG), rebounding (4.8 RPG), and even three-point shooting (40.4%) in 2021/22.

The 25-year-old is the type of player who doesn’t need the ball on offense and can switch onto virtually anyone defensively, making him an ideal fit for a Nuggets team that has been looking to upgrade its defense around stars Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr.

According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), the Nuggets had Brown high on their list of targets and love his defensive versatility. As Singer notes (via Twitter), it looks like Brown will essentially take Austin Rivers‘ place on the roster, since Denver now has a projected 14 players under contract for 2022/23, plus restricted free agent Vlatko Cancar.

Cavaliers Sign Ricky Rubio To Three-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 8:44am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The Cavaliers have officially signed Rubio, the team announced in a press release. As we previously relayed, the team used its mid-level exception to complete the deal after a sign-and-trade didn’t materialize.

JULY 1: The Cavaliers have reached an agreement to bring back free agent point guard Ricky Rubio on a three-year, $18.4MM contract, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The third year will be partially guaranteed, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Based on the financial details reported by Haynes, it appears Cleveland will use a portion of its mid-level exception to sign Rubio. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) was the first to report the two sides were nearing a deal.

Cleveland acquired Rubio from Minnesota in a 2021 offseason trade and he played a key role in the Cavs’ first-half success this past season. Despite serving primarily as a reserve, the 31-year-old averaged a career-high 13.1 PPG to go along with 6.6 APG and 4.1 RPG in 34 games (28.5 MPG).

However, Rubio’s season came to an early end when he tore his left ACL in December. The Cavs subsequently used his expiring contract as a salary-matching piece in their trade for Caris LeVert, resulting in Rubio finishing the season with the Pacers.

There had been reports throughout the offseason indicating that there was mutual interest in a reunion between the Spaniard and the Cavs — that reunion has now come to fruition.

ACL tears can sideline NBA players for a full calendar year or more, and even when they return to the court, it often takes them some time to get back to full speed, so expectations for Rubio in 2022/23 – especially in the first half – should be tempered.

Given that Cleveland agreed to a three-year deal though, it seems as if the team is counting on him to be around for the long haul and will be patient as he recovers from his knee injury and gets his feet back under him.

Once Rubio is healthy, he figures to once again slot into the backup point guard role behind All-Star guard Darius Garland.

Trail Blazers Sign Gary Payton II To Three-Year Deal

July 1st, 2022 at 12:37am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Payton, according to a press release from the team.

“We are excited to have Gary join us in Portland,” general manager Joe Cronin said. “Gary brings an elite defensive acumen and championship pedigree that will be essential to how we play basketball. His competitiveness and toughness will accent Coach (Chauncey) Billups’ style of play.”

JULY 1: The Trail Blazers are finalizing a three-year contract agreement with free agent guard Gary Payton II, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to be worth $28MM. It will include a player option and incentives, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report first reported that Portland was in hot pursuit of Payton with a deal believed to be worth in the range of $8MM annually. The price tag reported by Charania comes in a little higher than that, as the Blazers have apparently committed to using most of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign the 29-year-old.

Payton, who has never signed an NBA contract worth more than the minimum salary, caught on as the Warriors’ 15th man last fall, then secured a regular spot in the rotation, carving out a niche as a defensive stopper.

While most of Payton’s value stems from his ability to slow down perimeter scorers, he had his best offensive season in 2021/22 too, chipping in 7.1 PPG in just 17.6 MPG and shooting an impressive 61.6% from the floor. He played a key role in the Warriors’ championship run, returning from a fractured elbow in the NBA Finals to defend the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets, Golden State wanted to bring back Payton but was unwilling to match Portland’s offer, which would have cost the Warriors exponentially more due to the subsequent luxury tax penalties.

Payton is on track to join a Portland team that has made it a priority this offseason to upgrade its defense and struck a deal last week to acquire forward Jerami Grant from Detroit. The Blazers were also linked earlier today to versatile free agent wing Bruce Brown, but he may be out of their price range now that they’re using their MLE on Payton.

Raptors Sign Thaddeus Young To Two-Year Extension

June 30th, 2022 at 11:22pm CST by Rory Maher

11:22pm: The Raptors’ new deal with Young is already official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. That signals that the team technically signed Young to a veteran extension on June 30, rather than waiting for him to reach the open market and signing him to a free agent contract.

For practical purposes, the outcome is the same — the Raptors have locked up Young to a deal reported to worth $16MM over two years. One notable difference is that he’ll become trade-eligible immediately instead of on December 15 like a free agent signee.

5:47pm: The Raptors are re-signing forward Thaddeus Young, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who hears from agents Jim Tanner and Max Wiepking that Young will get a two-year, $16MM deal that includes incentives.

Toronto held Young’s Bird rights after acquiring him from San Antonio at February’s trade deadline, giving the Raptors the ability to exceed the salary cap to retain him.

Young, who turned 34 on June 21, averaged modest totals of 6.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.0 SPG on .518/.354/.469 shooting in 52 regular season games between the two teams last season (16.3 MPG). Still, he was productive on a per-minute basis, and is a smart player on both ends of the court who provides veteran leadership to a fairly young Raptors team.

The 15th pick of the 2007 draft, 2021/22 was Young’s 15th NBA season. He played for Philadelphia during his first seven seasons before bouncing around a little bit, making stops in Minnesota, Brooklyn, Indiana and Chicago prior to last season.

Young holds career averages of 12.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.4 SPG on .502/.332/.663 shooting in 1085 games (29.3 MPG). He’s unlikely to find a large role with Toronto over the next couple of seasons, but the Raptors traded their first-round pick in the draft (and got back an early second-rounder) to acquire him, so obviously they made re-signing him a priority.

Mike Muscala To Return To Thunder

June 30th, 2022 at 10:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran center Mike Muscala will return to the Thunder on a one-year veteran’s minimum contract, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (via Twitter).

The club declined its $3.5MM team option on Muscala prior to the start of free agency. The veteran’s minimum for a player with nine years of NBA service is projected to be $2,641,682.

Initially drafted by the Hawks with the No. 44 pick in 2013 out of Bucknell, Muscala eventually evolved into a modern floor-spacing power forward/center. He split the 2018/19 season between the Sixers and Lakers. Muscala first signed with the Thunder in 2019.

The longtime vet, who turns 31 tomorrow, has spent his last three seasons with Oklahoma City. In 43 games last year for a rebuilding Thunder club, Muscala averaged 8.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG during 13.8 MPG. On offense, the 6’10” big man has carved out a niche as a bench shooting threat, boasting a career three-point conversion rate of 37.7% on 2.5 tries a game. Last season, he connected on 42.9% of his 3.8 looks a night.

Muscala joins fellow re-signed OKC veteran Luguentz Dort in returning to a rebuilding Thunder club loaded with present and future young assets.

Oklahoma City enjoyed one of the most active drafts among any NBA team this year, selecting Gonzaga power forward/center Chet Holmgren, NZ Breakers wing Ousmane Dieng, and Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams in the lottery. Ever the completist, team president Sam Presti also grabbed Arkansas power forward Jaylin Williams with the No. 34 pick in the second round. They join a team loaded with other exciting young players in Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, and Darius Bazley.