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Suns Sign Tariq Owens

July 18th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have signed undrafted rookie Tariq Owens to a one-year contract, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

Owens, a 6’10” forward, played college ball at Tennessee and St. John’s before joining Texas Tech for the 2018/19 season. He helped lead the team to the national title game by averaging 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 38 games (25.4 MPG).

The Suns carried Owens on their roster this month for Summer League play, though he didn’t see any action.

The undrafted free agent likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he looks like a candidate to end up with the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate.

Suns Sign Jared Harper To Two-Way Deal

July 18th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The Suns have officially signed Harper to a two-way contract, per RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.

JULY 17: The Suns have reached an agreement to sign undrafted rookie Jared Harper to a two-way contract, reports Gina Mizell of The Athletic (via Twitter).

A 5’11” point guard, Harper declared for the 2019 draft as an early entrant after helping lead Auburn to the Final Four as a junior. In 40 games for the Tigers, he averaged 15.3 PPG and 5.8 APG with a .399/.370/.828 shooting line.

Although Harper wasn’t selected on draft night, he caught on with Phoenix for Summer League play, averaging 10.5 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.5 RPG in four games in Las Vegas (21.8 MPG). The Suns liked what they saw from Harper enough to commit one of their two-way contract slots to him.

Phoenix’s other two-way contract slot remains open for now, as our tracker shows.

Celtics, Javonte Green Agree To Deal

July 18th, 2019 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics will sign Summer League standout Javonte Green to a partially guaranteed contract, reports Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Bontemps, Green will get an opportunity to earn Boston’s final regular season roster spot.

Since going undrafted out of Radford in 2015, Green has bounced around among a few international leagues, playing for teams in Spain, Italy, and Germany. In five Summer League games for the Celtics in Las Vegas this month, the swingman averaged 10.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in just 22.6 minutes per contest.

On the heels of that performance, Green was said to be drawing significant overseas interest, according to a report earlier this week. The expectation was that the Celtics wouldn’t be able to bring him to camp and then make him an affiliate player for the Maine Red Claws — by giving him a partial guarantee and a chance to vie for a roster spot, Boston will ensure he doesn’t get away.

The Celtics currently have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with Max Strus and Tremont Waters expected to sign two-way deals. The team could bring in a few more players to compete with Green for the 15th spot on the roster.

Pacers To Sign Amida Brimah

July 18th, 2019 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have reached an agreement to sign free agent center Amida Brimah, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Agent Daniel Hazan tells Haynes that Brimah will sign a one-year deal with Indiana. It’s not clear if it will be an Exhibit 10 contract, but that seems probable, since I doubt Brimah will get a significant guarantee.

Brimah, 25, went undrafted out of UConn in 2017 and has signed a pair of contracts with the Spurs since then. Those training-camp deals were designated to secure the big man’s G League rights, and as a result, he has appeared in 95 games for the Austin Spurs over the last two seasons.

In 47 games last year, Brimah averaged 8.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 2.9 BPG in 23.3 minutes per contest for San Antonio’s NBAGL affiliate. He also earned G League All-Defensive honors for a second consecutive season.

More recently, Brimah appeared in six Summer League games for the Nets in Las Vegas earlier this month, showing off his rim-protecting abilities by averaging 2.2 BPG in just 12.5 minutes per game.

Bulls Re-Sign Shaquille Harrison

July 18th, 2019 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

1:00pm: The Bulls have officially re-signed Harrison, the team announced today in a press release. The club also confirmed that its deal with Luke Kornet has been completed.

8:11am: Free agent guard Shaquille Harrison will re-sign with the team that waived him earlier this month, having agreed to a one-year deal with the Bulls, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games for Chicago last season, averaging 6.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.9 APG with strong defense in 19.6 minutes per contest. Despite having a regular rotation role, he became a cap casualty when the club needed to clear enough space to finalize its deals with Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky.

The Bulls drafted Coby White, acquired Satoransky via sign-and-trade, and re-signed Ryan Arcidiacono this offseason, so Harrison will join a crowded backcourt that also features Kris Dunn and Antonio Blakeney. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets that the club has discussed waiving Blakeney and is open to trading Dunn, so it’s possible there will be a 15-man roster spot available for Harrison, but for now it looks like an uphill battle.

One factor working in Harrison’s favor is the Bulls’ head coach. According to Johnson (via Twitter), the former Tulsa standout is a Jim Boylen favorite.

Financial terms of Harrison’s new contract aren’t yet known. Although a minimum-salary deal seems likely, Chicago does have some of its room exception available.

Wolves Promote Naz Reid To Standard Contract

July 18th, 2019 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

After signing Naz Reid to a two-way contract earlier this month, the Timberwolves have negotiated a new deal with the undrafted rookie, per president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas. According to Rosas, Minnesota has inked Reid to a new standard multiyear contract (Twitter link via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic).

Per Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Reid signed a four-year, minimum-salary deal with a guaranteed first year. The Timberwolves used a portion of their mid-level exception to complete the signing.

Reid, who declared for the draft after his freshman year at LSU, wasn’t selected on draft night in June, but quickly reached an agreement to join the Wolves on a two-way deal. That contract would have limited him to 45 days on Minnesota’s regular season roster, with the rest of his time spent in the G League. By signing a standard contract, Reid can be assigned to – and recalled from – the Iowa Wolves at any time, with no restrictions.

Reid’s strong showing at this month’s Las Vegas Summer League contributed to the Wolves’ decision to move him out of his two-way slot and onto their projected regular-season roster. The youngster averaged 11.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.0 APG in seven games (18.6 MPG) in Vegas.

Minnesota now once again has two open two-way contract slots.

Raptors Sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson To One-Year Deal

July 18th, 2019 at 10:03am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed Hollis-Jefferson, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 8: Hollis-Jefferson’s deal with the Raptors will be worth the minimum, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.

JULY 7: Free agent forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will join the Raptors on a one-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Hollis-Jefferson, 24, spent the first four years of his NBA career in Brooklyn after being selected with the 23rd overall pick in 2015. While he’s a strong defender and can make some plays on offense, his shooting percentages bottomed out in 2018/19, as he made just 41.1% of his attempts from the floor and 18.4% from beyond the arc in 59 games.

Hollis-Jefferson never appeared to be in the Nets’ long-term plan, as the franchise previously withdrew his qualifying offer and renounced his rights, making him an unrestricted free agent. RHJ will have an opportunity to rebuild his stock and hit the market again next summer.

Since losing Kawhi Leonard (and Danny Green), Toronto has focused on adding younger wings with potential upside on low-cost deals. In addition to Hollis-Jefferson, the team agreed to sign former top-10 pick Stanley Johnson.

The Raptors also agreed to a three-year deal with Matt Thomas, which will use part of the team’s mid-level exception. Depending on the value of Hollis-Jefferson’s new contract, he could also be signed using some of Toronto’s MLE.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Sign Luke Kornet

July 17th, 2019 at 7:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 17: The deal is official, Charania tweets. It is fully guaranteed for both seasons with a total value of $4.5MM.

JULY 2: The Bulls will bring in Luke Kornet, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The pact will be for two seasons.

Chicago will get a chance to further develop the 23-year-old big man. Kornet saw action in 46 games for the Knicks last season, starting 18. He also spent time on their G League squad, averaging 18.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 3.6 APG with a blistering .514/.485/.730 shooting line in 11 games for the Westchester Knicks.

The Bulls have had an eventful offseason, adding Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky over the past 48 hours. It’s unclear how much opportunity Kornet will see in Chicago, as the team has a full roster of bigs, led by Wendell Carter Jr.. and Lauri Markkanen

Suns Sign Frank Kaminsky To Two-Year Deal

July 17th, 2019 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 17: The signing is official, the Suns announced on Twitter.

JULY 1: The Suns and free agent big man Frank Kaminsky have reached an agreement on a two-year deal worth approximately $10MM, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Phoenix is expected to complete the signing using the team’s $4.8MM room exception after using up all of its cap space to sign Ricky Rubio to a three-year, $51MM contract.

Kaminsky, the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft, was the subject of trade and buyout speculation earlier this year as he fell out of the Hornets’ rotation for several weeks. The 26-year-old ultimately earned a more regular role in the second half, but had a down year in Charlotte, averaging 8.6 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 47 games (16.1 MPG).

Kaminsky didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Hornets, so he entered the market as an unrestricted free agent. Despite a somewhat disappointing stint in Charlotte, he still has some upside as a stretch big man.

The Suns, whose Ryan Anderson experiment failed last season, have now lined up deals for two bigs who can knock down three-pointers. In addition to agreeing to sign Kaminsky, they’ll also acquire Dario Saric in a trade with the Timberwolves once the July moratorium ends.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Sign William Howard

July 17th, 2019 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 17: The signing is now official, according to a release from the team.

JULY 15: French forward William Howard, who was on Utah’s roster for Summer League play this month, has reached a verbal agreement to sign with the Jazz, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As Jones details, the deal has not yet been made official because there’s a small buyout issue to be sorted out. Howard technically remains under contract with Limoges, but Crawford Palmer – the sports director of the French club – confirmed that all involved parties are looking to free up Howard to join the Jazz. As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays, Utah is expected to pay a buyout worth 150K Euros.

Howard, 25, averaged 10.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 16 EuroCup contests in 2018/19. Although he was part of Utah’s Summer League team, he didn’t actually play in any games, having been ruled out of the team’s final matchup on Saturday due to right groin soreness.

Still, as Jones details, the Jazz like Howard’s shooting ability and wanted to add more depth on the wing.

Details of Howard’s new contract with the Jazz aren’t yet known.