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Nuggets Re-Sign Paul Millsap

November 21st, 2020 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 3: The Nuggets have officially re-signed Millsap, the team announced today in a press release. All of Denver’s reported offseason moves have now been finalized.

NOVEMBER 21: The Nuggets lost Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee on the first day of free agency, but they’re bringing back their other key frontcourt free agent. Denver has agreed to re-sign Paul Millsap to a one-year contract worth $10MM+, agent DeAngelo Simmons tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Millsap, 35, played fewer minutes per game (24.3) in 2019/20 than he had in any season since 2007/08, but he remained highly effective in those minutes. He averaged 11.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a solid shooting line of .482/.435/.816 in 51 games (48 starts).

Since arriving in Denver in 2017, Millsap has helped stabilize the team’s defense alongside Nikola Jokic in the frontcourt. With Plumlee and Grant departing in free agency, Millsap will share time up front in 2020/21 with the newly-added JaMychal Green, with youngsters like Michael Porter and Bol Bol expected to take on larger roles too.

Millsap received interest from “over half of the league” as a free agent, according to Charania (via Twitter). Earlier today, the Celtics were cited as a strong contender for the big man. However, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that personal reasons played a major part in Millsap’s decision — he didn’t want to uproot his family from Denver.

Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said back in September that he’d “love to see” Millsap spend the rest of his career in Denver. While this contract won’t guarantee that, it’s a good first step.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Sign Rajon Rondo To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: Rondo has officially signed his contract with the Hawks, the team announced in a press release.

“Rajon is an intense competitor, a proven winner and a true student of the game,” Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “His resume and experience speak for themselves. We’re excited to add him to our group.”

NOVEMBER 21: The Hawks are signing free agent point guard Rajon Rondo to a two-year, $15MM deal, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The contract won’t feature any team or player options, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today.

The Lakers and Clippers were both reportedly interested in signing Rondo as a free agent, but he’ll return to the Eastern Conference with a Hawks team that values his leadership and locker room presence and will be pushing hard to make it back to the playoffs in 2020/21.

Rondo is the third veteran free agent that has agreed to sign with Atlanta since free agency opened nearly 24 hours ago, joining Danilo Gallinari and Kris Dunn. As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN notes (via Twitter), the Hawks entered free agency determined to improve defensively in the backcourt, and will do so by adding Dunn and Rondo to the mix.

Rondo played an important role in helping the Lakers capture the NBA title in Orlando this past season. He suffered a fractured right thumb shortly after arriving at the Disney World complex, but was able to return in time for the playoffs, averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists off the bench in 16 games. He turned down a minimum-salary player option in order to reach free agency.

Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio first reported earlier in the week that the Hawks were expected to offer two years and $15MM to Rondo. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the club still projects to have upwards of $20MM in cap room available, so another splash – such as a potential offer sheet for Bogdan Bogdanovic – remains possible.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Facundo Campazzo Signs Two-Year Deal With Nuggets

November 21st, 2020 at 3:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 30: Campazzo has officially signed a multi-year deal, according to team press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Nuggets will sign Campazzo using their bi-annual exception, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, who reports that the deal will have an overall value of $6MM.

NOVEMBER 20: The Nuggets have reached a two-year agreement with Argentinian guard Facundo Campazzo, HoopsHype tweets.

The contract is fully guaranteed, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

The Real Madrid point man has been one of Europe’s top guards for several seasons. Campazzo, 29, has played overseas since 2008 and has been with Real Madrid since 2014.

Several NBA teams were reportedly interested in him, including the Spurs, Timberwolves and Mavericks. He could emerge as the top backup behind Jamal Murray in Denver.

A two-time EuroLeague champion and three-time Spanish League champion, Campazzo has also been part of four Argentine League championships. He’s also won a EuroCup Defensive Player of the Year award.

In 28 EuroLeague games last season, Campazzo averaged 9.9 PPG and 7.1 APG. His 3-point percentage slipped to 31.0% but he’s typically a reliable outside shooter, knocking down 37.5% of his long-range shots the previous two EuroLeague seasons.

Nets Signing Jordan Bowden To Exhibit 10 Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 3:19pm CST by JD Shaw

The Nets have agreed to an Exhibit-10 deal with undrafted guard Jordan Bowden, according to Jeff Garcia of News 4 San Antonio.

Bowden will attend training camp with the team after spending four seasons at Tennessee, averaging 13.7 points, four rebounds and one steal per game last year.

An Exhibit-10 contract, as Garcia explains, is considered a one-year deal worth the league minimum salary. However, the deal comes with a $50K bonus if the player doesn’t make the roster and plays for the team’s G League affiliate instead, which is the traditional route players take with this deal.

Bowden, 23, is a 6-foot-5 guard with impressive range and a physical style of play. He’ll attend a Nets camp that consists of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and others, with Brooklyn possessing one of the most talented teams in the league.

Kahlil Whitney Receives Camp Deal With Hornets

November 21st, 2020 at 3:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with swingman Kahlil Whitney, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media.

He joins three other former Kentucky players on Charlotte’s roster — Malik Monk, P.J. Washington and second-round pick Nick Richards — Zagoria notes. Whitney had a disappointing one-and-done season with the Wildcats, averaging just 3.3 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 12.8 MPG during an 18-game stint. He withdrew from the school due to his lack of playing time.

An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.

Bucks Sign Jaylen Adams To Two-Way Contract

November 21st, 2020 at 3:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24, 9:00pm: The signing is official, per team press release.

NOVEMBER 21, 3:04pm: Free agent guard Jaylen Adams has agreed to a two-way contract with the Bucks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Adams signed with the Trail Blazers prior to the restart as a substitute player when Trevor Ariza opted not to participate in Orlando. He made three brief appearances during Portland’s postseason run.

The 6’2” Adams also appeared in 34 games last season with the Hawks, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.9 APG in 12.6 MPG. Additionally, he spent a chunk of last season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd. Adams, 24, went undrafted in 2018 after a stellar college career with St. Bonaventure.

Pistons Expected To Waive-And-Stretch Dedmon

November 21st, 2020 at 2:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 21: The Pistons likely won’t use the stretch provision on McGruder after all, according to Edwards (Twitter link). The team will save some money in its trade for Delon Wright and no longer needs the extra space that waiving and stretching McGruder would provide.

NOVEMBER 20: The Pistons have made a flurry of reported free agent moves and they’ll apparently clear cap space by using the waive-and-stretch provision on two recent acquisitions.

They’ll waive center Dewayne Dedmon and use the stretch provision to ease the cap hit, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). They’re likely to do the same with Rodney McGruder, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.

Detroit officially acquired Dedmon from the Hawks on Friday in exchange for Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas. Dedmon was slated to make $13.33MM in the upcoming season with an identical contract number that was only guaranteed for $1MM for the 2021/22 season.

The Pistons acquired McGruder from the Clippers in a three-team trade that became official on Thursday. McGruder had a guaranteed $5.2MM contract for the upcoming season with a non-guaranteed salary of $5MM for 2021/22.

Those non-guaranteed years are significant because they allow Detroit’s front office use the stretch provision for five years instead of three, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report notes (Twitter links). Since only the guaranteed money counts, Dedmon would only count $2.9MM against the Pistons’ cap over the next five seasons, while the cap hit on McGruder would be just over $1MM in those years.

The Pistons made the trade with Atlanta because it allowed them stretch Dedmon’s contract over five years, rather than stretching Snell’s $12.2MM expiring contract for three years, Edwards tweets.

Those moves will allow Detroit to ink free agents Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee, as well as completing a sign-and-trade with Houston involving Christian Wood.

Bucks Re-Sign Pat Connaughton

November 21st, 2020 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 24: The Bucks have officially re-signed Connaughton, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 21: The Bucks and Connaughton have adjusted their agreement and will now complete a three-year, $16MM deal, his representatives at Excel tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The Early Bird/player option noted below likely played a part in this renegotiation, as Milwaukee would have had to use part of its mid-level exception to complete the deal that was initially reported. Now the Bucks will be able to use their Early Bird rights on Connaughton while using their mid-level on D.J. Augustin.

NOVEMBER 20: The Bucks have reached an agreement on a two-year deal for free agent guard Pat Connaughton, his agents inform ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). According to Woj, the two-year contract will be worth $8.3MM with a player option in year two.

Connaughton, who will turn 28 in January, has been a regular rotation player off the bench for the Bucks in each of the last two seasons. He averaged 5.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a .455/.331/.775 shooting line in 67 games (18.6 MPG) in 2019/20.

The Bucks held Early Bird rights on Connaughton, allowing them to re-sign him without dipping into their mid-level or another exception. However, players signed using Early Bird rights aren’t permitted to get a second-year option in their contracts, so it seems like something’s got to give there.

Milwaukee will continue to seek ways to upgrade its roster after its rumored sign-and-trade deal for Bogdan Bogdanovic fell apart earlier this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sixers Sign Dwight Howard To One-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 2:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 21: The Sixers have officially announced the signing of Howard, confirming the move in a press release. Because it’s a minimum-salary deal, it can be completed during free agency’s moratorium period.

NOVEMBER 20: The Sixers and Dwight Howard have reached an agreement on a one-year contract, agent Charles Briscoe tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Word of Howard’s agreement with Philadelphia comes shortly after the veteran center published a tweet saying that he would be returning to the Lakers. He quickly deleted that tweet, with Charania reporting at the time that Howard was still mulling his options. Now it appears he’ll head east after winning a title in Los Angeles.

Howard will presumably be the primary backup for Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. He’ll receive the veteran’s minimum of $2.6MM, though the cap hit for the Sixers will be just $1.6MM. The contract is guaranteed, according to The Athletic’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). Last season, Howard signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Lakers and worked his way into their good graces.

Howard will be playing for seventh team in his 17th season. He got steady minutes off the bench with Los Angeles, appearing in 69 regular-season games while averaging 7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 18.9 MPG. He also saw action in 18 of the Lakers’ postseason games, averaging 5.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Re-Sign Gary Clark To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 23: The Magic have officially re-signed Clark, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Magic have agreed to a new two-year contract with free agent forward Gary Clark, bringing him back for a second straight season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The agreement is worth $4.1MM, Wojnarowski adds, which suggests it’ll be worth slightly more than the minimum. The second year of the contract will include a team option, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

Orlando tipped its hand that it wanted to bring back Clark but extending him a $1.82MM qualifying offer, which made him a restricted free agent.

The Magic signed Clark after the Rockets waived him in early January. Clark, 25, appeared in 24 games for Orlando, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 14.8 MPG. Clark, who turned 26 earlier this week, played a total of 69 games with Houston after going undrafted out of Cincinnati.