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Hornets Sign Josh Perkins

The Hornets have signed undrafted Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins, the team announced today in a press release.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link) first reported shortly after the June draft that Perkins would sign an Exhibit 10 deal with Charlotte, so today’s announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. The club also confirmed its new deal with Joe Chealey.

A fifth-year senior in 2018/19, Perkins averaged 11.0 PPG, 6.3 APG, and 2.7 RPG in 37 games for the Zags. Over the course of his college career, he knocked down 38.6% of 651 total three-point attempts.

While Perkins will likely end up playing for the Greensboro Swarm in his rookie year, it’s possible he’ll have a shot to earn a roster spot for the Hornets. The team is up to 17 players under contract after today’s signings, but only 13 have fully guaranteed salaries for 2019/20 (a 14th is on a two-way contract).

Hornets Re-Sign Joe Chealey

AUGUST 6: The Hornets’ new deal with Chealey is now official, the team announced today in a press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

AUGUST 1: After spending the entire 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Hornets, former Charleston guard Joe Chealey is expected to rejoin the team as a free agent.

Edge Sports, Chealey’s agency, published a tweet this week congratulating him on his new deal with the Hornets. However, the announcement doesn’t specify what kind of contract he’ll sign, and the team has yet to issue an official update. An Exhibit 10 pact is probably the most likely outcome, but Charlotte does still have a two-way slot open too.

Chealey, 23, signed with the Hornets as an undrafted free agent in July 2018 and had his contract converted to a two-way deal in October. He only appeared in one game with the NBA club in his rookie season, but was a regular starter for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.

In 43 NBAGL games (31.3 MPG), the young point guard averaged 16.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.7 RPG with a .436/.340/.773 shooting line. His season ended in March when he suffered a torn left meniscus.

Chealey and fellow two-way player J.P. Macura became unrestricted free agents this summer, with the Hornets signing Robert Franks to fill one of the newly-opened two-way contract slots. Second-round pick Jalen McDaniels looks like the best candidate for the second slot, but the team has yet to tip its hand.

Hawks Sign Brandon Goodwin To Two-Way Deal

AUGUST 6: The Hawks have officially signed Goodwin to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 23: The Hawks will bring in Brandon Goodwin on a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Each team is awarded a pair of two-way deals and Atlanta has already used one on Charlie Brown Jr., as our two-way contract tracker shows.

Goodwin was not selected in the 2018 NBA Draft. He went to camp with the Grizzlies last fall on an Exhibit 10 deal and latched on with the Nuggets later in the season, ultimately occupying one of their two-way deals.

The point guard played in 16 games for Denver last season, scoring a total of 23 points and dished out 14 assists over 57 minutes of action. In 27 G League games for the Memphis Hustle and Iowa Wolves, he averaged 21.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 5.1 APG.

Goodwin most recently played for the Nuggets’ Summer League team.

Draymond Green Signs Four-Year Extension With Warriors

8:55pm: The deal is official, according to a tweet from the Warriors.

10:14am: The Warriors and Draymond Green have agreed to a four-year, maximum extension worth nearly $100MM, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Green, who was set to hit free agency next summer, will remain with Golden State.

Green’s new deal, which starts during the 2020/21 season, brings his total contract to $118M over five years. The three-time All-Star will make $22.2MM, $24MM, $25.8MM and $27.6MM over the course of the extension, Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link).

It’s a bit surprising for Green to agree to these terms since he would have been eligible for a five-year, $204MM deal next summer from the Warriors — or four years and $151MM from other teams. He could have qualified for an even more lucrative deal with Golden State if he had earned All-NBA honors or won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020.

However, the defensive specialist elected for the long-term security, especially after seeing former and current teammates Thompson and Kevin Durant sustain career-altering injuries just before hitting free agency. Green’s new deal starts at 120% of this year’s $18,539,130 salary.

After signing Klay Thompson to a five-year maximum deal earlier this summer and Stephen Curry also on a long-term pact, the Warriors have kept the core of their recent championship teams intact.

Green, 29, had a down year by his standards in 2018/19, averaging 7.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 6.9 APG for the Warriors in 66 games. Green’s 7.4 PPG was his lowest total since his sophomore campaign in 2013/14.

However, the former Defensive Player of the Year remained an effective player for Golden State, helping the organization reach its fifth NBA Finals in as many seasons. He continued his trademark strong postseason play, averaging 13.3 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 8.5 APG in 22 contests.

When Thompson returns from a torn ACL, the Warriors’ core figures to contend for a fourth championship in six seasons. Golden State offset the loss of Durant by acquiring D’Angelo Russell from the Nets in a sign-and-trade.

With Green off the board for 2020, an already weak free agency class has taken a hit. Barring extensions, Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan figure to headline next summer’s free agency class.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sindarius Thornwell To Sign With Cavaliers

6:52pm: Thornwell’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

6:09pm: The Cavaliers will sign Sindarius Thornwell to a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The agreement was confirmed by Thornwell’s agent, Andy Shiffman of Priority Sports.

The 24-year-old shooting guard spent his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers after being taken with the 48th pick in the 2017 draft. Thornwell played 15.8 minutes in 73 games as a rookie, but those numbers dropped to 4.9 minutes in 64 games last season. He averaged 2.5 PPG during his time in L.A.

He became a free agent when the Clippers waived him last month before his $1,618,520 salary for next season would have become fully guaranteed on July 20.

The signing will bring Cleveland to 14 players officially under contract, along with one two-way player, plus the expected additions of Marques Bolden and J.P. Macura. Teams can bring 20 players into training camp.

Warriors Sign Devyn Marble To Exhibit 10 Deal

The Warriors have signed swingman Devyn Marble to an Exhibit 10 contract, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

Marble, 26, averaged 13.3 PPG in 34 games for Italy’s Aquila Basket Trento last season. He was the 56th overall pick in the 2014 draft and was acquired by the Magic in a draft-night deal with the Nuggets. He appeared in 44 games with Orlando before he was traded during the summer of 2016 to the Clippers, who quickly waived him.

Marble played briefly in Greece before joining Trento in January 2017.

The Warriors had 16 players on the roster prior to the signing, so they’ll bring in a few more players before camp begins.

Raptors Waive Two-Way Guard Jordan Loyd

5:01pm: Loyd has reached an agreement to play overseas with Valencia Basket, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

4:48pm: The Raptors have waived guard Jordan Loyd, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link) and other media members.

Loyd was one of the team’s two-way players. He appeared in 12 games last season, averaging 2.4 PPG in 4.6 MPG. Loyd, 26, excelled at the G League level last season, making the NBAGL First Team.

Loyd, who went undrafted in 2016 out of Furman, averaged 22.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.8 SPG in 41 games for Raptors 905.

Toronto reduced its roster count to 19 players with the move and both of its two-way slots are now open. Murphy speculates that Loyd received a big overseas offer and the franchise didn’t want to hold him back (Twitter link). The parting was a mutual decision, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.

Pacers Sign JaKarr Sampson To One-Year Deal

AUGUST 2: The Pacers have officially signed Sampson, the team confirmed today in a press release.

The guarantee details on Sampson’s deal have yet to be reported, but it’s probably safe to assume it’s not fully guaranteed unless we hear otherwise.

JULY 24: Forward JaKarr Sampson has agreed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Pacers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Sampson had signed to play overseas with Shandong in the Chinese Basketball Association, so either that deal fell through or he had an out clause. He played six games with Shandong last season and 24 G league games with the Windy City Bulls.

Sampson, 26, has bounced around since making his debut during the 2014/15 season with Philadelphia. He’s also played for Denver, Sacramento and Chicago. In four games with the Bulls last season, he averaged 20.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 31.8 MPG. In his career, Sampson has played 173 NBA games, averaging 5.5 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 16.0 MPG. He’s a career 25.7% shooter from beyond the arc.

The 6’9” forward will add depth at both forward spots behind starters T.J. Warren and Domantas Sabonis.

Nuggets Sign 2017 Second-Rounder Vlatko Cancar

AUGUST 1: The Nuggets have officially signed Cancar to a contract, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but Denver has its mid-level exception available, so it could exceed two years.

JULY 13: The Nuggets are expected to sign Slovenian prospect Vlatko Cancar, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). Cancar was Denver’s second-round pick (49th overall) in the 2017 draft.

Cancar, 22, was selected as a draft-and-stash player and expected to remain in Europe for a couple of seasons before joining the Nuggets. The 6-foot-8 forward has appeared in three Summer League games for Denver, averaging 9.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG.

The forward suited up for San Pablo Burgos in Spain last season.

Patrick Patterson Bought Out By Thunder, Plans To Sign With Clippers

The Thunder and Patrick Patterson have agreed to a buyout and the big man intends to sign with the Clippers once he clears waivers, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). Oklahoma City today on its website that Patterson has been released.

Los Angeles is limited to offering the veteran’s mininum, which is roughly $2.3MM for a player with Patterson’s level of experience (nine seasons), as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Patterson had one year and approximately $5.7MM left on his deal. It’s unclear how much he will give up to free himself from Oklahoma City, but it seems safe to assume that it’ll be about the same amount as he’ll earn in L.A.

If the Clippers’ new-look roster has a weakness after an eventful offseason, it would be in the frontcourt. The team re-signed JaMychal Green this offseason to play the four, but options behind him are limited. Patterson could have a place in the rotation from day one or he could simply be an addition for depth. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Maurice Harkless all have the ability to play the power forward spot, with Harkless the most likely candidate to see significant time at the position.

The Kentucky product struggled to make a real impact with OKC after signing a three-year deal with the franchise during the 2017 offseason. He finished his Thunder stint playing in 145 out of a possible 164 regular season games while averaging slightly under 15 minutes per contest. He also appeared in six playoff contests for the club.

Once Patterson clears waivers on Saturday and officially signed with the Clippers, the team will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts for the 2019/20 season.