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Nets Re-Sign Joe Harris To Four-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 9:04pm CST by JD Shaw

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

“From the moment he arrived in Brooklyn, Joe has epitomized what it means to be a Net,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “On the court, Joe has improved every season, and he’s worked diligently over the past four years to become a core member of our team. He is an excellent teammate, and his approach to the game, along with his character, have had a positive impact on all facets of the organization. Off the court, Joe is an outstanding person, and he and his family have become integral parts of our Nets family.”

NOVEMBER 20: The Nets are re-signing free agent Joe Harris to a four-year, $75MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The news of Harris returning to Brooklyn was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harris, one of the league’s top three-point shooters, will help spread the floor alongside the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant next season. He averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 30.8 minutes per game last year, shooting 49% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.

In addition to Harris, Irving and Durant, Brooklyn also has Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan on its roster entering the 2020/21 season. The team is widely expected to be at the forefront of contention in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets lost swingman Garrett Temple in free agency, who agreed to a one-year contract with Chicago. Plagued by injuries, Brooklyn finished with just a 35-37 record last season, the seventh-best in the East.

Harris’ deal will have luxury-tax implications for the Nets, who project to be well over the tax threshold in 2020/21 and figure to face significant penalties. While those penalties will be reduced if the NBA falls short of its revenue projections, Brooklyn’s current projected tax bill is $47.5MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Sign Montrezl Harrell To Two-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 8:41pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22: The Lakers have officially signed Harrell, per a press release from the team. He and Marc Gasol – who reached an agreement with L.A. on Sunday – will replace JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard up front.

NOVEMBER 20: The Lakers have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent center Montrezl Harrell, agent Rich Paul tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) first reported that the two sides were nearing an agreement.

This is one of the more surprising pieces of news tonight, as Harrell has spent the last three seasons with Los Angeles’ other team, the Clippers. The big man is coming off the best year of his career, having averaged 18.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 63 games (27.8 MPG). He was named the league Sixth Man of the Year in September.

Coming off such a productive season, Harrell was expected to be in line for a significant raise, but his pay bump will be a more modest one. He’s expected to sign for about $19MM over two years, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who tweets that the second year will be a player option.

That price allows the Lakers to slide him into their mid-level exception. According to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), Harrell will be turning down more money from the Hornets to join the Lakers. It’s fair to assume the big man’s Klutch Sports connection helped seal the deal for the Lakers — LeBron James and Anthony Davis are among his new teammates who are also repped by Klutch.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN outlines (via Twitter), with Harrell getting the full MLE and Wesley Matthews being signed using the Lakers’ bi-annual exception, the team is now hard-capped and has about $20MM in wiggle room below that threshold. With nine players under contract so far, there’s still a chance the team could bring back some of its own unsigned free agents, but it’ll be a tight fit squeezing in a market-value deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and filling out the rest of the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavericks Sign Trey Burke To Three-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 1: Burke’s deal is now official, according to an announcement from the Mavs.

NOVEMBER 20: The Mavericks have reached a three-year agreement with guard Trey Burke, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. The total amount of the deal is in the $10MM range, Stein adds.

Burke’s agent, Sam Permut of Rock Nation, negotiated a 7.5% trade kicker as part of the contract, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. It also includes a player option in the third year.

Burke was added to Dallas’ roster prior to the restart after Willie Cauley-Stein opted not to play. Despite a bout with COVID-19 and an ankle sprain, Burke delivered some quality minutes for the Mavs.

He averaged 12.0 PPG and 3.8 APG in the final eight regular-season games and 12.0 PPG and 2.3 APG in six playoff games, including three starts. He’s a career 34.5% 3-point shooter but made over 40% of his attempts in both the regular season and playoffs last season.

Burke, 27, has passed through four other organizations. He’ll compete for minutes behind Luka Doncic and could also join the Mavs’ superstar in some two point guard looks.

Jazz Sign Jordan Clarkson To Four-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 8:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 23: Clarkson is officially back under contract with the Jazz, as the team issued a press release announcing his new deal.

“Jordan was an integral part of our team’s success last season,” executive VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said in a statement. “He’s an aggressive, competitive talent that leads by example and provides a big scoring spark. He is a great fit with our roster and we’re excited to bring him back.”

NOVEMBER 20: The Jazz are re-signing Jordan Clarkson to a four-year deal with a total value of $52MM, agent Rich Paul tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Clarkson will have a player option in year four, reports Keith Smith of RealGM (Twitter link).

Utah made Clarkson, one of its top reserves after acquiring the shooting guard from the Cavaliers last season, its top free agent priority. The front office engineered a couple of trades this week to create more cap flexibility. The Jazz reached an agreement to deal Ed Davis to the Knicks and worked out a separate deal that sent Tony Bradley to the Pistons.

Utah struck quickly in free agency. Along with reaching the agreement with Clarkson, the Jazz are bringing back forward Derrick Favors for a second stint by using their mid-level exception.

A prolific scorer, Clarkson averaged 15.6 PPG in 24.7 MPG in 42 regular-season games with the Jazz. He upped that to 16.7 PPG in 28.4 MPG during seven postseason games. Clarkson is a career 34.2% 3-point shooter but improved upon that somewhat last season, draining 36.6% of his attempts with Utah.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Timberwolves Re-Sign Malik Beasley To Four-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 7:47pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 27: The Timberwolves have made it official, announcing today in a press release that Beasley has re-signed with the team.

NOVEMBER 20: The Timberwolves have reached a deal to re-sign restricted free agent shooting guard Malik Beasley, agent Brian Jungreis tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Beasley will sign a four-year, $60MM contract to remain in Minnesota, according to Charania, who reports – along with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) – that the deal includes a team option in year four.

After a strong breakout season in Denver in 2018/19, Beasley had his role reduced at the start of the 2019/20 season and was eventually shipped to Minnesota in a deadline deal. He had the best stretch of his career in 14 games as a Timberwolf, averaging 20.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG on .472/.426/.750 shooting, lining himself up for a nice payday as a restricted free agent.

There was a sense that Beasley’s recent legal troubles may complicate his RFA payday, but if those off-court issues affected his value, it doesn’t appear the impact was significant. He faces felony charges of fifth-degree drug possession and threats of violence after being arrested in September and recently had his parental rights challenged.

However, the franchise has supported Beasley through that situation, according to Krawczynski, who notes (via Twitter) that this new deal represents a “big show of faith.” It seems the Timberwolves still view the young wing – who turns 24 next week – as a building block for the future — he’ll join Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards as the cornerstone pieces in Minnesota.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers Re-Sign Rodney Hood

November 20th, 2020 at 7:38pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 22: Hood’s new deal is official, according to the Trail Blazers, who announced the signing in a press release.

“Rodney played a critical role in our run to the Western Conference Finals in 2018-19 and was off to a great start last year prior to his season being cut short due to injury,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “Now fully healthy we expect him to make an immediate impact and are pleased he chose to stay in Portland.”

NOVEMBER 20: The Blazers have agreed to a two-year, $21MM deal with free agent Rodney Hood, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Hood will return to Portland for a third straight season.

For Hood, the second season of his deal is non-guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds. He declined a $6MM player option to become a free agent earlier this week.

Hood, 28, missed much of last season after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon in December. In the 21 games he did play, he averaged 11 points, 3.4 rebounds and 29.5 minutes per game, proving his worth as a scorer alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

The Blazers also traded for Robert Covington and Enes Kanter over the past week, setting their sights on contending next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Sign Josh Jackson

November 20th, 2020 at 7:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 1: Jackson’s contract with the Pistons is now official, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 20: The Pistons, who have been quite busy in the first few hours of free agency, are finalizing a deal with Grizzlies small forward Josh Jackson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. It’s a two-year deal, according to the Detroit News’ Rod Beard (Twitter link).

Detroit also reportedly reached agreements on Friday with big men Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor.

Jackson, a 2017 lottery pick of the Suns, has had a rocky NBA career. He had a number of off-court issues in his first two NBA seasons and Phoenix traded him to the Grizzlies last offseason. In an attempt to revive his career and value, Jackson agreed to spend a good portion of last season in the G League.

As the season progressed, Jackson returned to Memphis and appeared in 22 games as a reserve. He averaged 9.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.6 APG in 17.3 MPG. Jackson has made just 29.8% of his 3-point attempts during his three-year career.

Jackson, 23, grew up in Michigan and played two high school seasons in Detroit before moving to California for his last two prep years. He’ll compete for minutes against last year’s lottery pick, Sekou Doumbouya as well as Svi Mykhailiuk and rookie Saddiq Bey.

Hawks, Danilo Gallinari Finalizing Three-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 7:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks and free agent forward Danilo Gallinari are finalizing a three-year deal worth $61.5MM, agent Michael Tellem informs ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Gallinari, 32, had a strong season in Oklahoma City in 2019/20, averaging 18.7 PPG and 5.2 RPG on .438/.405/.893 shooting in 62 games (29.6 MPG). He’ll now head to Atlanta, where he’ll become one of the Hawks’ go-to scoring threats alongside Trae Young and John Collins, stretching the floor in the frontcourt.

Gallinari spoke last month about potentially prioritizing the chance to win a title over finding the most lucrative contract possible in free agency. While Atlanta is a team on the rise and badly wants to make the postseason in 2021, joining the Hawks certainly won’t give the veteran forward his best chance at a championship.

Still, it’s hard to fault Gallinari for opting for a lucrative long-term deal, since this may have been his last, best opportunity to secure a big multiyear payday. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the $61.5MM that Gallinari will receive is the largest amount ever on a multiyear contract for a player in his 30s who has never made an All-Star team.

The Hawks, who entered the evening with more cap room available than any other NBA team, still have about $26MM to work with, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

An earlier report indicated that Atlanta was confident about landing at least two players from a group that included Gallinari, Rajon Rondo, Joe Harris, and Davis Bertans, so those are the players to watch for the Hawks. Given the positional overlap between Bertans and Gallinari and the fact that Harris is considered likely to re-sign in Brooklyn, Rondo looks like the team’s best bet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Sign De’Aaron Fox To Five-Year Max Extension

November 20th, 2020 at 6:55pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Kings have officially locked up Fox to his new five-year extension, per the NBA’s transactions log. He’ll earn just over $8MM in 2020/21 before his new deal begins in ’21/22.

NOVEMBER 20: The Kings and De’Aaron Fox have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The new deal will go into effect starting in 2021/22, with Fox playing out the final year of his rookie contract in ’20/21.

According to Charania, the deal will start at 25% of the cap unless Fox meets certain Rose Rule criteria, in which case it could be worth up to 30% of the cap. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) reports that the Rose Rule terms in Fox’s new deal call for a starting salary of 26% of the cap if he makes the All-NBA Third Team, 28% for All-NBA Second Team, and 30% for All-NBA First team.

The exact value of Fox’s new contract will depend on where the 2021/22 cap lands. If it increases by 3% over this year’s figure, which is currently the expectation, Fox would earn $163MM over five years on the standard max, or up to $195.6MM if he meets his Rose Rule criteria.

For the Kings, it’s a massive investment in their cornerstone player, who averaged a career-best 21.1 PPG to go along with 6.8 APG, 3.8 RPG, and 1.5 SPG in 51 games (32.0 MPG) last season. While it will be interesting to see how lottery pick Tyrese Haliburton fits alongside Fox, Sacramento is making it clear with this move that the Haliburton pick has no impact at all on Fox’s long-term future with the franchise.

The Kings will now have three players earning more than $20MM annually beginning in 2021/22, though Harrison Barnes‘ and Buddy Hield‘s futures in Sacramento are far less certain than Fox’s.

Fox is one of a handful of players eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason who is expected to receive the max. Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell are also in line for maximum-salary deals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Sign Derrick Favors To Three-Year Contract

November 20th, 2020 at 6:39pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: Favors’ new deal with the Jazz is now official, per the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 20: The Jazz and center Derrick Favors are reuniting, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement on a deal.

Jones says the three-year pact will be worth about $27MM, with a third-year player option (Twitter link). That suggests that Utah is using nearly its full mid-level exception on Favors.

The Jazz and Favors have been linked for several weeks, with Favors spending time in Utah from 2011-2019. The team traded him to New Orleans last year in exchange for 2021 and 2023 second-round picks.

This past season, Favors averaged nine points, 9.8 rebounds and 24.4 minutes per game with the Pelicans, starting in 49 of his 51 contests. The veteran big man was drafted third overall back in 2010 after spending one season at Georgia Tech.

For Utah, Favors is expected to provide frontcourt production behind the likes of Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert. The Jazz lost a grueling seven-game series to Denver in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs, playing without Bogdanovic due to injury.

Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.