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Thunder, Magic Swap Johnson, Purvis

July 20th, 2018 at 6:41pm CST by Luke Adams

6:41pm: It’s official, according to a Thunder press release.

3:51pm: The Thunder and Magic have agreed to a trade that will send Dakari Johnson to Orlando and Rodney Purvis to Oklahoma City, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). The Magic are also expected to receive cash considerations in the swap, Charania adds (via Twitter).

Both Johnson and Purvis are on the books for identical $1,378,242 salaries in 2018/19. However, Johnson’s contract was guaranteed, while Purvis’ is non-guaranteed, creating a little more flexibility for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder will still have to fill that roster spot if they waive Purvis, so the trade isn’t a major cost-cutting move. However, releasing Purvis and signing a 2018 second-rounder like Hamidou Diallo, Devon Hall, or Kevin Hervey in his place would allow OKC to replace Johnson on the roster with a slightly cheaper – and potentially more useful – player.

Johnson, 22, was selected by the Thunder with the 48th overall pick of the 2015 draft but didn’t sign his first standard NBA contract until 2017. The seven-footer appeared in 31 games last season for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.8 PPG and 1.1 RPG in just 5.2 minutes per contest.

Purvis, 24, joined the Magic down the stretch last season, parlaying a pair of 10-day contracts into a rest-of-season deal. The 6’4″ shooting guard posted 6.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 16 games (18.1 MPG).

Grizzlies Sign Yuta Watanabe To Two-Way Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have signed rookie forward Yuta Watanabe to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.

The signing has international significance. Watanabe will likely become just the second player born in Japan to appear in an NBA game. Yuta Tabuse appeared in four games for the Suns during the 2004/05 season.

The Grizzlies opened up a two-way contract slot by waiving swingman Myke Henry earlier on Friday.

The 6’9” Watanabe played for the Nets’ summer league team after going undrafted and averaged 9.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.6 BPG in 24.0 MPG over five games.

Watanabe played four years of college ball at George Washington University. Watanabe, 23, was named the 2017/18 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 16.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.6 blocks in 36.6 MPG.

Spurs Re-Sign Bryn Forbes

July 20th, 2018 at 5:25pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20, 5:25pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 10, 12:48pm: The Spurs are finalizing a deal to bring back restricted free agent guard Bryn Forbes for next season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). According to Charania, Forbes will sign a new two-year contract with San Antonio.

Forbes, who will turn 25 later this month, has spent the last two seasons with the Spurs, becoming a regular part of the team’s rotation in 2017/18. In 80 games (19.0 MPG) last season, he posted 6.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG with a .390 3PT%.

Because Forbes has two years of NBA experience, he’ll be on track for unrestricted free agency in 2020 if he plays out his new two-year deal with the Spurs. At that point, the team will have full Bird rights on him. San Antonio figures to re-sign him this time around using his Early Bird rights.

The Spurs issued qualifying offers to three players eligible for restricted free agency this summer, and both Forbes and Davis Bertans appear set to return on new multiyear deals. San Antonio’s third restricted free agent, Kyle Anderson, signed a four-year, $37MM+ offer sheet with the Grizzlies which the Spurs elected not to match.

Grizzlies Waive Swingman Myke Henry

July 20th, 2018 at 5:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have waived swingman Myke Henry, according to a team press release.

Henry was signed to a two-way contract in January. The DePaul product appeared in 20 games with Memphis last season, averaging 5.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.1 APG in 18.9 MPG. Henry, 25, also played in 38 G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue and Memphis Hustle last season, averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 2.1 APG.

By cutting Henry loose, Memphis frees up a two-way slot. Point guard Kobi Simmons is the other player on a two-way deal.

Spurs Sign Marco Belinelli

July 20th, 2018 at 3:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 20: The Spurs have officially signed Belinelli, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: Former Spur Marco Belinelli will return to San Antonio on a two-year, $12MM contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Spurs still have their mid-level exception available and may use that to ink Belinelli.

The 32-year old sharpshooter spent two seasons with the Spurs from 2013 to 2015. He started last season with the Hawks, then joined the Sixers after agreeing to a buyout in February. He averaged 12.9 points in 10 playoffs games with Philadelphia.

While Belinelli isn’t the sort of dynamic player who can impact games in a variety of different ways, his outside shooting makes him a valuable rotation piece. He attempted a career-high 5.3 threes per game in 28 regular season contests with Philadelphia last season, converting them at a 38.5% rate.

We ranked Belinelli as the 30th-best player available this offseason in our list of 2018’s top 50 free agents.

Belinelli is the second agreement of the night for San Antonio, which also reached a deal to re-sign veteran forward Rudy Gay.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Sign Lorenzo Brown To One-Year Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 2:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 20: The Raptors have officially signed Brown, the club announced today in a press release. The one-year deal is partially guaranteed, per Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic (Twitter link).

JULY 17: The Raptors are finalizing a one-year contract with guard Lorenzo Brown, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Brown played on a two-way contract with the club last season and earned G League MVP honors for Raptors 905.

The 6’5” Brown appeared in 14 games with the Raptors last season, averaging 2.3 PPG in 9.9 MPG. Brown, 27, has bounced around the league since he was drafted in the second round by the Timberwolves in 2013. He has played for the Sixers, T-Wolves and Suns, logging a total of 77 career NBA appearances. He’s a career 37.5% shooter overall and just 15.4% from long range.

Brown dominated in 32 G League starts last season, averaging 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 8.8 APG and 1.8 SPG.

The Raptors have opened up some roster spots over the past week by waiving forward Alfonzo McKinnie and rescinded their qualifying offer to another forward, Malcolm Miller.

Raptors Sign Chris Boucher To Camp Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

2:20pm: The Raptors’ deal with Boucher is now official, the team announced in a press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, a source informs Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic (Twitter link).

12:12pm: The Raptors have agreed to terms on a training camp deal for free agent power forward Chris Boucher, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). While the exact terms aren’t known, Boucher’s contract with Toronto likely won’t include much – if any – guaranteed money.

Boucher, 25, signed a two-way contract with the Warriors last offseason after going undrafted out of Oregon. Although he was a member of Golden State’s 17-man roster for the entire 2017/18 season, he appeared in just one NBA game, spending most of his time with the Dubs’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. He was waived in June.

Boucher, who grew up in Canada, played for the Raptors’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas earlier this month. In four games (20.8 MPG), he contributed 10.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and an impressive 3.3 BPG, earning himself a training camp invite.

If he doesn’t make Toronto’s regular season roster, Boucher could be a candidate for a spot on the Raptors 905 in the G League, or could end up on a two-way contract with the club. The Raptors currently have a pair of open two-way slots — the team is hoping to fill one with Jordan Loyd, but there’s uncertainty about whether he’ll be able to get out of his contract with Darussafaka.

Suns Trade Dudley, Second-Round Pick To Nets For Arthur

July 20th, 2018 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

2:16pm: The Nets and Suns have officially completed their trade, according to a press release issued by the Nets. Dudley, who told Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that he’s not a fan of buyouts, expects to play for Brooklyn. Wojnarowski suggests the Nets may envision Dudley as a stretch four in their lineup.

9:16am: The Nets and Suns have agreed to a trade that will send Jared Dudley to Brooklyn and Darrell Arthur to Phoenix, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nets will acquire a top-35 protected 2021 second-round pick in the deal, according to Wojnarowski.

The deal appears to be financially motivated, with Wojnarowski indicating that Arthur and his $7.46MM expiring salary will likely be bought out by the Suns. Dudley, who is on a $9.53MM expiring contract, could have a similar conversation with the Nets, Woj adds.

The savings in the trade are minimal for the Suns, but it’s possible they have another move or two up their sleeves. According to Basketball Insiders’ salary data, Phoenix will have a team salary of $98.63MM after the deal, which is good for $3MM+ in cap room.

[UPDATE: Suns to acquire Richaun Holmes from Sixers]

According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports (Twitter link), the Suns had been trying to buy out Dudley for the last couple weeks. Arthur is a little cheaper and it’s possible he’ll be more amenable to a buyout.

As for the Nets, they remain in asset-collection mode after having acquired a pair of draft picks from the Nuggets in a salary-dump deal that included Arthur earlier this month. Today’s move will ensure that Brooklyn once again has a second-round pick in the 2021 draft — the club traded its own ’21 second-rounder in the Dwight Howard deal with Charlotte.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Sign Braian Angola-Rodas

July 20th, 2018 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have signed undrafted rookie Braian Angola-Rodas to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The transaction was finalized several days ago.

Angola-Rodas, who began his college career at North Idaho State before transferring to Florida State, averaged 12.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 3.0 APG in his senior year for the Seminoles. The 6’6″ shooting guard attempted more three-pointers than two-pointers last season, knocking down 1.8 threes per game at a 37.6% rate.

Angola-Rodas earned a spot on Orlando’s offseason roster despite an underwhelming showing for the club’s Summer League squad earlier this month. In five games (17.4 MPG) in Las Vegas, the 24-year-old averaged 5.4 PPG on 33.3% shooting.

As we explained earlier this week, Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year deals worth the minimum salary. They can be converted into two-way contracts, but players who sign Exhibit 10 deals often end up being waived before the start of regular season and joining their team’s G League affiliate. If Angola-Rodas takes that path, he’ll end up on the Lakeland Magic this fall.

Mavericks Sign Ray Spalding To Four-Year Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20: The Mavericks have officially signed Spalding, the team announced today in a press release. The contract will include two guaranteed seasons, notes Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

JULY 19: The Mavericks have agreed to terms on a four-year contract for second-rounder Ray Spalding, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The deal will be worth at least $5.72MM, Spalding’s four-year minimum, though it’s unlikely to be fully guaranteed.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Spalding, a power forward out of Louisville, was the 56th overall pick in the 2018 draft. In his final college season, he averaged 12.3 PPG and 8.7 RPG in 27.7 minutes per contest for the Cardinals.

The Mavericks acquired the No. 56 pick – which they used to select Spalding – along with the No. 60 pick in a draft-night trade that sent the No. 54 selection to Philadelphia. The Sixers used No. 54 to draft Shake Milton, while Dallas used the 60th overall selection to nab Kostas Antetokounmpo. Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s younger brother has since signed a two-way contract with the Mavs.

It has been a busy day for the Mavericks, who also reached agreements with Dirk Nowitzki and Yogi Ferrell. Dallas will sign Spalding to his first NBA contract with some of their remaining cap room. If the Mavs had used up their cap space first before locking up the second-round pick, they would only have been able to offer him up to two years using the minimum salary exception or room exception.