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Manu Ginobili Announces Retirement

August 27th, 2018 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has announced his retirement from the NBA. The team issued a press release today confirming the news, while Ginobili published his own statement via Twitter.

“Today, with a wide range of feelings, I’m announcing my retirement from basketball,” Ginobili wrote. “IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23 years. It’s been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams.”

It’s the end of an era in San Antonio, where the Spurs have now seen Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Ginobili depart within the last two-plus years.

Ginobili, 41, was the 57th overall pick in the 1999 draft, making him one of the best second-round picks in NBA history. After being drafted, he played overseas for three more seasons, then joined the Spurs in 2002, spending the next 16 years with the franchise.

Over the course of his NBA career, Ginobili appeared in 1,057 regular season contests, averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG. He also played in 218 more postseason contests, winning four championships with the Spurs. A two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player, the Argentinian shooting guard was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2008.

Ginobili, who had been the NBA’s second-oldest active player and now becomes one of just seven players to spend his entire career of 16 years or more with a single time, will eventually be a Hall-of-Famer.

The Spurs had Ginobili under contract for one more season and had wanted him back for the 2018/19 campaign, but he’ll call it a career before finishing out that deal. If Duncan’s retirement in 2016 is any indication, San Antonio figure to waive Ginobili at some point and allow him to earn his $2.5MM salary for the coming season.

Ginobili’s departure will open up a spot on the Spurs’ projected regular season roster — with the veteran guard no longer in the mix, the club has just 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there will be at least one spot up for grabs, if not two. It’s not yet clear if San Antonio will make any roster moves to fortify its backcourt in the wake of Ginobili’s retirement.

According to the Spurs, Ginobili will speak to the media about his retirement decision at some point before training camps begin, but it won’t happen this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Sign Vince Carter

August 24th, 2018 at 12:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 24: Nearly a month after agreeing to terms with the Hawks, Carter has officially signed his one-year contract with the team, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta now has 15 players on guaranteed contracts for the 2018/19 season.

JULY 25: Vince Carter has reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Hawks, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Carter will receive a veteran’s minimum contract worth $2.4MM, adds Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The deal guarantees a 21st season for Carter, who will turn 42 in January. The oldest active NBA player, he spent last season with the Kings, playing about 18 minutes per night and averaging 5.4 PPG in 58 games.

The Hawks envision Carter as a mentor who will be a strong locker room leader for a young roster, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

After six years of playing for contenders in Dallas and Memphis, this is Carter’s second straight signing for a team that has little chance of making the postseason.

A return to the Raptors, where Carter began his NBA career in 1998, might have made a nice story, but it appears unlikely to ever happen, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Lewenberg adds that Carter has gotten opportunities to come back to Toronto, but hasn’t followed through.

The Hawks have used up virtually all of their cap space after completing their acquisition of Carmelo Anthony earlier today, and have committed most of their room exception to Alex Len. As such, it made sense that Carter would receive a minimum-salary contract — it’s all Atlanta could offer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Sign Danuel House To One-Year Deal

August 22nd, 2018 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 22: The Warriors have officially signed House, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 25: The Warriors are signing free agent swingman Danuel House to a one-year contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). House’s deal will be a non-guaranteed training camp contract, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

House, who went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016, has spent time with the Wizards, Suns, and various G League teams since entering the league. Last season, he inked a two-way contract with Phoenix in December and appeared in 23 games for the club.

While House’s overall numbers with the Suns were modest, he finished the season strong when he got the opportunity to take on a major role down the stretch. In Phoenix’s final five games, the 25-year-old averaged 14.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.4 APG with a .492 FG%. That wasn’t enough to earn a qualifying offer last month though, so he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Golden State currently has 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with restricted free agent Patrick McCaw expected to get a new deal at some point. If the team carries a full 15-man roster into the regular season, House should get a chance to earn that final opening, but the in-the-tax Warriors may leave that 15th spot open to start the year.

Heat Sign Guard Briante Weber

August 21st, 2018 at 4:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 21: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

AUGUST 13: The Heat have agreed to a partially-guaranteed contract with guard Briante Weber, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Weber played for the Grizzlies last season on a 10-day contract after he was released in mid-January by the Rockets. He appeared in a total of 18 NBA games, averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.2 APG in 13.2 MPG. Weber, 25, played one game for Miami during the 2015/16 season, so this is his second stint in the organization.

He has also donned the Warriors and Hornets uniforms. Overall, he’s logged 45 NBA games, averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.4 APG in 13.6 MPG.

Weber provides depth at the point guard spot behind starter Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson. The addition of Weber gives Miami 14 players on the roster, not counting its two-way contracts, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Raptors Sign Kay Felder

August 21st, 2018 at 12:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 21: The Felder signing is now official, the Raptors confirmed today in a press release.

AUGUST 20: The Raptors have agreed to a one-year, partially-guaranteed contract with point guard Kay Felder, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

Felder hit the free agent market when the Pistons, who signed him to a two-way contract in mid-January, declined to extend a qualifying offer to him this summer.

Felder, 23, appeared in just two games with Detroit. He averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 per game over 14 games with the Bulls last season before he was waived in December.

The 5’9” Felder, a second-round pick in 2016, played his rookie season with the Cavaliers and saw action in 42 games. He was traded to the Hawks during training camp last season and was subsequently waived. Chicago then claimed him.

Felder would appear to have little chance to make Toronto’s opening-day roster, barring injuries. The Raptors already have Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, Lorenzo Brown, and two-way player Jordan Loyd at that spot.

Celtics Sign P.J. Dozier To Two-Way Deal

August 21st, 2018 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 21: The Celtics have officially signed Dozier to a two-way contract, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

AUGUST 3: The Celtics will sign free agent guard P.J. Dozier to a two-way contract, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link). While Deveney classifies it as a done deal, there has been no confirmation yet from the club.

Dozier, who went undrafted out of South Carolina in 2017, spent training camp with the Mavericks last fall, then signed a two-way deal with the Thunder after being cut by Dallas. The 6’6″ shooting guard made his NBA debut in February, but appeared in just two games for the Thunder, spending most of his rookie year with the team’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.

In 43 NBAGL contests (28.5 MPG), Dozier averaged 12.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.3 SPG. He posted a shooting line of .465/.340/.653. Dozier stuck with OKC for Summer League action last month, recording 11.0 PPG on 52.2% shooting in five games in Las Vegas.

Looking to turn over their two-way contract slots this summer, the Thunder didn’t tender qualifying offers to Daniel Hamilton or Dozier earlier this offseason, freeing them up to sign anywhere. Dozier will join a Celtics team that has already filled its other two-way spot with Walter Lemon Jr.

Rockets Sign Bruno Caboclo

August 20th, 2018 at 3:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 20: The Rockets have officially signed Caboclo, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 17: The Rockets have reached an agreement with free agent forward Bruno Caboclo, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets.

Caboclo became an unrestricted free agent when the Kings declined to extend a qualifying offer in late June. The 6’9” Caboclo was acquired by Sacramento in February in a trade with the Raptors.

Caboclo received an Exhibit 10 contract, RealGM tweets, giving him a chance to make the roster in training camp. He could eventually fill a two-way contract slot, since the Rockets waived guard R.J. Hunter on Friday.

Caboclo, still just 22, never developed as Toronto hoped when it made him the 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft. He’s appeared in just 35 games in his four NBA seasons, averaging 1.5 PPG in 6.1 MPG. He saw action in 10 games with Sacramento, averaging 2.2 PPG in 10 MPG.

Hawks Sign Daniel Hamilton

August 20th, 2018 at 1:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 20: The Hawks have finally made it official with Hamilton, confirming his deal today in a press release. The team now has 14 players on guaranteed NBA contracts, with Carter poised to become the 15th when he officially signs.

JULY 25: The Hawks will sign forward Daniel Hamilton to a one-year contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the deal will be guaranteed.

Hamilton, 22, spent last season on a two-way deal with the Thunder, appearing in six NBA games and averaging 2.0 points in 4.7 minutes per night. He was a 16.1 PPG scorer in the G League and pulled down 7.2 RPG in 45 games with the Oklahoma City Blue.

A second-round pick by the Nuggets in 2016, Hamilton was traded to OKC on draft night. Today’s agreements with Hamilton and Vince Carter gives the Hawks 18 players heading into camp, two short of the league maximum.

Hawks Sign Alex Poythress To Two-Way Contract

August 20th, 2018 at 1:48pm CST by clarkcrum

AUGUST 20: Nearly a month after agreeing to terms with him, the Hawks have officially signed Poythress, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 24: The Hawks have agreed to sign free agent forward Alex Poythress to a two-way contract, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.

Poythress, 24, played his college ball at Kentucky before going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. After initially playing for the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, to begin his rookie season, Poythress was signed by the Sixers near the end of the 2016/17 season, where he played in six games for Philadelphia.

Poythress returned to Indiana for the 2017/18 season, signing a two-way contract with the Pacers in August 2017. He appeared in 25 games, averaging 1.0 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per game. He was waived by Indiana earlier this summer.

The Hawks already have Jaylen Adams under contract as one of their two-way players, so absent another move, he and Poythress will occupy Atlanta’s two-way contract slots for the upcoming season.

Nets Sign Australian Wing Mitch Creek

August 20th, 2018 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have officially signed Australian swingman Mitch Creek to an NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release. The terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but it’ll almost certainly be a minimum salary deal that is non-guaranteed or includes a modest partial guarantee.

In addition to announcing their new deal with Creek, the Nets also confirmed the previously-reported signing of former USC guard Jordan McLaughlin, who is said to have signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the club.

Creek, a longtime standout wing for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia, eyed a deal with the Nets earlier this summer, but had to work through some contract-related roadblocks in order to free himself up to sign with Brooklyn.

Late in July, reports out of Australia began to surface suggesting that Creek was opting out of his contract with German club Wuerzburg in order to attend training camp with the Nets, as NetsDaily relayed at the time. However, the 36ers reportedly filed an injunction to prevent him from making the leap to the NBA without receiving compensation.

Creek had previously been under contract with Adelaide through the 2018/19 season, but exercised an out clause in that deal to play in Germany. As such, the 36ers believed they should be entitled to some sort of compensation, particularly in the event that he earns a spot on the Nets’ regular season roster. It’s not clear what sort of agreement the 36ers, Nets, and Creek reached, but Adelaide made an announcement earlier this month indicating that the 26-year-old was free to head to the NBA.

In 31 games in Australia last season, Creek averaged 14.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.5 APG. He was named to the All-NBL Second Team. He also played for the Mavericks’ Summer League team last month, recording 6.8 PPG and 5.2 RPG in five games in Las Vegas.

Brooklyn now has 18 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed salaries.