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LeBron James Signs Four-Year Deal With Lakers

July 9th, 2018 at 7:23pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9, 7:23pm: James has officially signed the contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

JULY 1, 7:11pm: LeBron James is headed to Los Angeles, with his agency Klutch Sports Group issuing a press release to confirm that James will sign a four-year contract with the Lakers (hat tip to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). The plan all along, Zillgitt tweets, was to keep the announcement as low-key as possible.

According to Klutch Sports, James’ new deal will be worth $154MM, though the maximum four-year salary for a player with 10+ years of NBA experience who changes teams as a free agent is technically $153,312,846.

James’ new contract with the Lakers will start at $35.65MM, with subsequent salaries of $37.44MM, $39.22MM, and $41MM. That final year will be a player option, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that LeBron will have the opportunity to opt out in 2021.

The four-year contract represents a departure from James’ last few seasons in Cleveland, when he signed shorter-term deals to maximize his earnings and his flexibility. He’ll be at least a Laker for the next three seasons, creating some stability for his family in Los Angeles and giving the Lakers time to build a championship-worthy roster around him.

The decision represents the culmination of a year-long saga. The Lakers, who had more cap space than any other NBA team heading into the 2018 offseason, were long rumored to be a potential landing spot for James, though several other teams – including the Cavaliers, Sixers, Rockets, Clippers, Heat, Celtics, Nuggets, and even the Warriors – were cited as possible suitors along the way.

[RELATED: More On LeBron’s Decision]

The Lakers were unable to secure a commitment today from Paul George, who will be headed back to Oklahoma City on a four-year deal of his own, but the team lands free agency’s big prize in James, who will join a roster featuring several up-and-coming prospects, including Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart.

With LeBron in the mix, it’s not clear if all those youngsters remain a part of the Lakers’ long-term plans. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Kawhi Leonard remains highly motivated to become a Laker, and the Lakers may be motivated in turn to increase their efforts to acquire him in a trade with the Spurs. That would mean breaking up the Lakers’ young core.

While the Lakers’ odds of landing another top free agent like DeMarcus Cousins or Clint Capela aren’t as high now that they’ve committed $35MM+ to James and are reportedly re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a $12MM deal, the team still has cap flexibility.

Accommodating James’ new max deal would reduce L.A.’s cap space to about $13.4MM, as cap experts Albert Nahmad and Bobby Marks detail, and adding KCP’s new $12MM salary would further eat into that room. However, the team could re-open substantial space by trading or stretching Luol Deng, or by renouncing Julius Randle. Deng has an $18MM salary for 2018/19, while Randle’s cap hold is $12,447,727. The Lakers will also have the $4.4MM room exception available once they use up all their cap space, which is expected to be used to sign Lance Stephenson.

[RELATED: Lakers to meet with Clint Capela]

As the Lakers complete their first steps toward a potential super-team, the Cavaliers will have to regroup now that James is leaving Cleveland for the second time in eight years. While the franchise was blindsided in 2010 when LeBron took his talents to South Beach, general manager Koby Altman and the Cavs’ front office had prepared for this eventuality by adding young, controllable players like Larry Nance, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton within the last year.

Even without a max salary for James to consider, the Cavs already have $102MM+ in guaranteed money on their books for 2018/19, a figure that doesn’t account for a new deal for Hood. Recent reports indicated that the club didn’t plan on trading Kevin Love or blowing up its roster if LeBron left, so we can assume for now that the Cavs will still aim to compete for the playoffs in ’18/19.

Although Cleveland will obviously take a significant step backward without its four-time MVP, the path to the postseason should be easier in the Eastern Conference than in the hyper-competitive West, which will welcome another All-NBA player as a result of James’ decision. Eastern contenders like the Celtics, Raptors, and Pacers will likely be thrilled to see LeBron head west.

Meanwhile, the Sixers – who met with James’ representatives earlier today – will be another team to watch in the wake of LeBron’s agreement with the Lakers. Philadelphia was the only other suitor with a significant chunk of cap room available, so the team will have to turn its attention elsewhere as it debates how to use that space.

Currently, the 76ers have nearly $27MM in space, and the team could increase that number if it waives or buys out Jerryd Bayless, who is on an $8.5MM+ expiring contract. That gives the Sixers plenty of flexibility to pursue a top free agent or to focus on re-signing J.J. Redick and adding one or two more rotation pieces.

James’ decision caps an extremely eventful first day of the 2018 NBA free agent period. Each of the top five players on our list of 2018’s best 50 free agents have now agreed to deals, though many notable names in the top 15 remain available. That list includes Capela, Cousins, Randle, Aaron Gordon, Jabari Parker, Zach LaVine, and Tyreke Evans.

Austin Kent contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavs Sign Luka Doncic To Rookie Contract

July 9th, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have signed No. 3 overall pick Luka Doncic, according to a team press release.

Doncic will receive approximately $6.56MM in his rookie year, rising to $7.683MM in his second year, $8.04MM in his third season and $10.17MM in the fourth year.

Dallas acquired the draft rights to Doncic from the Hawks in exchange for the rights to fifth overall pick Trae Young and a protected 2019 first-round pick.

The 6’7” Doncic is the reigning EuroLeague Most Valuable Player and EuroLeague Final 4 MVP after leading Real Madrid to the 2017-18 EuroLeague title. He is expected to jump immediately into the starting backcourt alongside 2017 lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr.

With Doncic locked up, the top 16 picks in this year’s draft are now officially under contract.

Clippers Re-Sign Avery Bradley

July 9th, 2018 at 6:03pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9, 6:03pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

JULY 3, 3:09pm: The second year of Bradley’s contract features only a small partial guarantee, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). If the Clippers want to move on from the guard after year one, they’d only be on the hook for a total of $14MM.

JULY 2, 11:55pm: The Clippers will bring back free agent guard Avery Bradley, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Bradley will sign a two-year, $25MM contract to remain with the club.

Bradley, 27, had an eventful contract year in 2017/18. He was traded from the Celtics to the Pistons during the 2017 offseason when Boston needed to clear cap room to sign Gordon Hayward, then was flipped to the Clippers midway through the season in Detroit’s blockbuster acquisition of Blake Griffin.

Plagued throughout the year by a sports hernia that ultimately ended his season early, Bradley wasn’t at his best in 46 total games for the Pistons and Clippers. For the season, he averaged 14.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a shooting line of .414/.369/.768.

Because the Clippers held Bradley’s Bird rights, the team had the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him, leaving the mid-level exception available for another deal.

Known for his stout perimeter defense, Bradley will rejoin a backcourt that currently features Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams, incoming rookies Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson, second-year guard Jawun Evans, and veterans Milos Teodosic and Patrick Beverley.

Teodosic’s days in Los Angeles may be numbered, as his 2018/19 salary is only partially guaranteed. Beverley doesn’t have a guaranteed deal either, but he seems unlikely to be waived unless his health is a serious concern. Beverley missed most of the 2017/18 season after undergoing right knee surgery to repair a microfracture and a meniscus injury.

Bradley’s deal with L.A. is the team’s second contract agreement of the 2018 free agency period. The Clippers are also reportedly signing Mike Scott.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Sign Torrey Craig To Two-Year Deal

July 9th, 2018 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

After playing on a two-way contract with the Nuggets last season, Torrey Craig will be promoted to the 15-man roster for the 2018/19 campaign. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Craig has agreed to a two-year, $4MM contract with Denver. Chris Dempsey of Nuggets.com first tweeted that the deal was done.

Craig, 27, appeared in 39 games for the Nuggets in 2017/18, averaging 4.2 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 16.1 minutes per contest. He also played 15 G League games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging an impressive 22.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 2.0 BPG with a .477/.386/.787 shooting line.

With his two-way deal expiring, Craig was tendered a qualifying offer last month by the Nuggets. That one-year offer was only for another two-way contract, but any other team could have signed the 6’6″ forward to an offer sheet. Denver decided not to take any chances, locking up Craig to a two-year standard contract that should assure him of a roster spot.

Assuming his new deal is indeed worth $4MM, Craig may have been signed using a portion of the Nuggets’ mid-level exception, since that figure exceeds what he could have received using the minimum salary exception or his Non-Bird rights.

With Craig out of the mix for one of Denver’s two-way slots, Monte Morris and Thomas Welsh appear likely to open the 2018/19 season as the Nuggets’ two-way players.

Nuggets Sign Nikola Jokic To Five-Year Max Deal

July 9th, 2018 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9: The Nuggets have officially signed Jokic to his new mega-deal, the team announced today in a press release.

“It’s not every day that you find a player with the incredible skillset to lead an NBA franchise that Nikola has, but also the character and personality to match that,” Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke said in a statement. “Seeing Nikola grow on and off the basketball court is something in which our organization has taken immense pride, and we were determined to do whatever it took to keep Nikola in a Nuggets uniform for a very long time.”

JUNE 30: Jokic has agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary deal with the Nuggets, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). A full max contract for Jokic projects to be worth $147,710,050.

Denver also reached an agreement to re-sign Barton.

JUNE 25: The Nuggets will decline Nikola Jokic‘s team option for 2018/19 in order to make him a restricted free agent, as we detailed on Sunday. Once Jokic officially reaches free agency, he and the team intend to finalize a five-year, maximum-salary contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Denver’s plans for Jokic come as no surprise, given the comments made by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly following last Thursday’s draft. At the time, he suggested the Nuggets would do all they could to make sure they locked up their star center for as many years as possible.

“Nikola’s going to be here for a long, long time,” Connelly said. “I think whatever we do, we’re going to ensure he’s here as long as possible. When that moment happens, we’re going to talk to Nikola and his brothers and his representation. He’ll be in Denver for a long, long time. He’ll be buying (a home) here.”

Had they simply exercised their 2018/19 option on Jokic, the Nuggets could have kept him under team control for a mere $1,600,520 next season. However, taking that route would have risked alienating Jokic and his representatives, and would have put him on track to unrestricted free agency in 2019, at which point he would have been free to join any other team. By declining that option, Denver ensures that it will have the right of first refusal, though the team will simply negotiate directly with Jokic’s camp rather than waiting for an offer sheet.

Jokic, 23, enjoyed the best season of his three-year career in 2017/18, setting new career highs in PPG (18.5), RPG (10.7), APG (6.1), and 3PT% (.396), among other categories. While the former second-round pick isn’t an elite defender, he’s one of the NBA’s best frontcourt play-makers, and will be paired up front with a strong defensive presence in Paul Millsap.

As for the exact value of Jokic’s contract, a five-year deal can be worth up to $146.45MM based on a $101MM cap projection. Such an agreement would start at $25.25MM, eventually increasing to $33.33MM by 2022/23. We outlined the exact year-by-year breakdown when we took an early look at maximum salary projections earlier this year.

Adding $25.25MM to the Nuggets’ salary commitments for 2018/19 will increase the team’s total guaranteed money to $131MM+ for 12 players. That figure doesn’t account for Will Barton, who will be an unrestricted free agent. If Denver wants to re-sign Barton, the club will likely make a strong push to shed another salary, with Kenneth Faried‘s and Darrell Arthur‘s expiring contracts serving as the most obvious trade pieces.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Sign Will Barton To Four-Year Deal

July 9th, 2018 at 1:59pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 9: The Nuggets have officially signed Barton to his new four-year contract, according to a press release from the team.

“Will Barton is a fearless competitor that never backs down,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. “He has continuously pushed himself to be the best player and teammate he can be and gives it his all no matter what role he is asked to play. We are very excited to have gotten this deal done and to keep an important player like Will as a key part of our future.”

JUNE 30: The Nuggets will come to terms on a four-year deal with free agent swingman Will Barton, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports tweets. The news comes an hour before the official free agency period begins.

The four-year contract will be worth $54MM, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets, with a player option in the final year. Per Zach Lowe of ESPN, the final year of the four-year deal will include a player option.

Barton, a 27-year-old shooting guard, is coming off a career year with the franchise. The prolific two guard averaged 15.7 points per game on the season but 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists in games that he started.

It was previously reported that Barton would be meeting with the Pacers later tonight but Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes that that meeting was never scheduled.

With Nikola Jokic‘s recently reported five-year extension factored in, the acquisition of Barton at over $12MM annually will put the Nuggets on pace to shatter the luxury tax line.

Of course club president of basketball operations Tim Connelly will have plenty of time to rectify that and, as we wrote earlier, will be looking to shed contracts in trades.

At the end of the day, while the deal could put the Nuggets over the tax if they can’t unload any of their unwanted contracts, they have $34MM set to expire next summer when Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler and Darrell Arthur all come off their books.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacers Sign Kyle O’Quinn

July 9th, 2018 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9: The Pacers have published a tweet welcoming O’Quinn to the team, signaling that the signing is now official.

JULY 6: The Pacers have reached a contract agreement with free agent center Kyle O’Quinn, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that O’Quinn will sign a one-year, $4.5MM deal with Indiana.

O’Quinn, 28, enjoyed the most productive season of his career in 2017/18, establishing new career highs in PPG (7.1), RPG (6.1), FG% (.582), and several other categories in 77 games (18.0 MPG) for the Knicks. Coming off a successful year in New York, O’Quinn was one of the few veterans in the NBA who turned down a player option for 2018/19.

That player option was worth approximately $4.26MM, so O’Quinn appears poised to exceed that salary on his new deal with the Pacers. Based on the reported terms, it appears that Indiana will use its room exception, worth $4.449MM, to finalize its deal with the veteran center after using up the rest of its cap space.

The Pacers have been busy this week, striking a three-year, $22MM deal with sharpshooting forward Doug McDermott early in free agency, then agreeing to terms on a one-year, $12MM pact for Tyreke Evans. Those two deals are expected to eat up just about all of Indiana’s cap space, but even after using their room exception on O’Quinn, the club will able to add minimum-salary players.

Before reaching an agreement with the Pacers, O’Quinn reportedly met with the Clippers and drew interest from the Sixers and Pelicans.

In Indiana, O’Quinn will join a talented and versatile frontcourt that features Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Thaddeus Young, and T.J. Leaf. With Al Jefferson and Trevor Booker no longer in the mix, there should be a regular rotation role available for O’Quinn.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Sign Julius Randle

July 9th, 2018 at 10:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 9: The Pelicans have officially signed Randle, per the NBA’s transactions log. The team’s new deal with Ian Clark has also been finalized, according to the league’s list of official transactions.

JULY 2: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with Lakers free agent forward Julius Randle on a two-year, $18MM contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The second year will be a player option, Wojnarowski adds.

The acquisition of Randle would strongly suggest that the Pelicans are not confident in re-signing DeMarcus Cousins. At the very least, adding Randle would give them some insurance if Cousins signs elsewhere. Not only does New Orleans already have superstar Anthony Davis up front but also Nikola Mirotic, who was acquired from the Bulls and jumped into the starting lineup with Cousins sidelined by a season-ending Achilles injury.

Davis was instrumental in recruiting Randle to New Orleans, according to another Wojnarowski tweet. Randle had his rights renounced by Los Angeles per his request earlier on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Pelicans ironically lost free agent point guard Rajon Rondo to the Lakers shortly before the news of Randle’s agreement broke.

Randle’s opt-out will give him the opportunity to explore the free agent market once again next summer. Randle, a former seventh overall pick, averaged 16.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, and a .558 FG% in 26.7 minutes per game last season.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, may be poised to replace Cousins with Randle and Rondo with Elfrid Payton, who reached an agreement with the team on Sunday. The terms of the two deals strongly suggest that New Orleans will use its mid-level exception to sign Randle and its bi-annual exception to bring Payton aboard.

A two-year signing using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception would be worth about $17.7MM, which matches up with Randle’s reported $18MM agreement. The bi-annual exception is worth $3.382MM and would accommodate Payton’s reported $2.7MM salary.

Using either exception would hard-cap the Pelicans at $129.82MM for the 2018/19 league year, so while they could go over the cap to re-sign Cousins, their team salary would have to stay below that $129.82MM threshold. Taking into account Randle’s and Payton’s reported agreements, the Pelicans are at approximately $104MM in guaranteed salary for nine players. That total doesn’t include Cousins or non-guaranteed players like Darius Miller ($2.2MM).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz To Guarantee Ekpe Udoh’s 2018/19 Salary

July 9th, 2018 at 7:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have informed center Ekpe Udoh and his representatives that they intend to keep him on their roster, guaranteeing his salary for the 2018/19 season, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Udoh, 31, returned to the NBA in 2017 after a two-season absence, inking a two-year deal with the Jazz. However, that contract was only guaranteed for the first year. Utah could have avoided the second-year guarantee for Udoh by waiving him today. Instead, his $3.36MM salary will become guaranteed.

Udoh didn’t have a significant role with the Jazz in 2017/18, averaging just 12.6 MPG in 63 contests. However, he showed off his impressive shot-blocking ability in those limited minutes, posting 1.2 BPG. As Jones writes, the big man also provided veteran leadership to younger teammates in the locker room.

With Udoh set to return, Utah’s roster for 2018/19 is all but set, according to Jones. The Jazz entered the offseason with seven players on guaranteed contracts. They’ve subsequently drafted Grayson Allen, re-signed Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto, and guaranteed salaries for Thabo Sefolosha and Udoh.

Royce O’Neale‘s non-guaranteed salary is also a lock to be guaranteed, which increases the club’s roster count to 14 players, leaving one spot on the projected 15-man roster. For now, David Stockton occupies that spot, but he also doesn’t have a guaranteed salary. If the Jazz do add a 15th man in Stockton’s place, it figures to be a younger player, sources tell Jones.

Georges Niang, who is a two-way restricted free agent for the team, could be a candidate for that last roster spot based on his Summer League play so far.

Spurs Decline To Match Grizzlies’ Offer Sheet For Kyle Anderson

July 8th, 2018 at 7:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Spurs are declining to match the offer sheet Kyle Anderson signed with the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It was previously reported that San Antonio was leaning against matching the four-year, $37.2MM offer.

Anderson will likely become Memphis’ starting small forward, Wojnarowski notes. The 24-year-old has been excellent on the defensive end and the organization views the deal as an investment toward its goal of “recapturing” the Grit and Grind era, Woj writes in a full-length piece on ESPN.com.

Anderson, a UCLA product, enjoyed a more prominent role than expected in 2017/18, with Kawhi Leonard sitting out nearly the entire season. The wing appeared in 74 games, averaging 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per contest with an efficient .527 FG%.

The Spurs are already over the cap, committing $105.6MM for the upcoming season with only 10 players under contract. Matching Anderson’s offer sheet would have left the team without much financial flexibility as it aimed to fill out the remainder of the roster. San Antonio still has to consider new deals for its other restricted free agents, Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes.

Anderson’s departure represents the latest in a string of lost restricted free agents for the Spurs. The club opted to withdraw qualifying offers for Cory Joseph and Jonathon Simmons in 2015 and 2017, respectively, allowing them to sign elsewhere. In 2016, San Antonio opted not to match Boban Marjanovic‘s offer sheet with the Pistons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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