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Spurs Sign Dante Cunningham

July 20th, 2018 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

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

JULY 16: Free agent forward Dante Cunningham has agreed to terms on a deal with the Spurs, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Cunningham will sign a one-year contract with San Antonio.

Cunningham, 31, is coming off a season in which he appeared in 73 total games for the Pelicans and Nets, having been sent to Brooklyn in a deadline-day trade. On the year, he averaged 5.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a .451/.345/.596 shooting line.

After making just two 3-point shots in his first six NBA seasons, Cunningham has shown an increased willingness to fire away from beyond the arc in recent years. Over the last three seasons, he has knocked down 184 threes at a 35.2% rate, solid numbers for a player who sees most of his action at power forward. He’ll likely be expected to continue stretching the floor in San Antonio.

Cunningham won’t be in line for a big payday with the Spurs. His one-year deal is expected to be worth $2.5MM, says Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).

That would exceed Cunningham’s minimum salary, so the Spurs may be using a portion of their mid-level exception to complete the signing. San Antonio used approximately $6MM of the $8.641MM MLE to sign Marco Belinelli.

Having added Cunningham, Belinelli, and Lonnie Walker while re-signing Rudy Gay, Davis Bertans, and Bryn Forbes, the Spurs now have 14 players on NBA contracts for the 2018/19 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Georgios Papagiannis Signs Long-Term Deal With Panathinaikos

July 20th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Georgios Papagiannis‘ time in the NBA is over, at least for now. After spending two seasons with the Kings and Trail Blazers, Papagiannis is heading back to Greece, having signed a five-year contract with Panathinaikos, the team announced today (Twitter link).

Papagiannis, 21, was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Kings, who had traded down from No. 8. It was a surprising pick at the time, and the 7’1″ center was unable to prove skeptics wrong during his brief NBA stint. He appeared in just 38 games for Sacramento before being waived in February as part of a series of trade-deadline moves.

Although Papagiannis caught on the with the Trail Blazers to end the 2017/18 campaign, the club waived him earlier this week, clearing a path for him to return to his old team in Greece. Papagiannis played for Panathinaikos from 2014 to 2016 before he made the leap to the NBA.

Lakers Waive Malik Newman

July 19th, 2018 at 11:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Lakers have waived Malik Newman, according to the team’s website.

Newman inked a two-way contract with Los Angeles as free agency began this year. He played in five summer league games for the team and averaged 3.2 points in 9.8 minutes per game.

The guard spent one season at the University of Kansas, scoring 14.2 points per game. He helped lead the school to the Final Four where the team lost to Villanova, the eventual champions.

Lakers Sign Jeffrey Carroll

July 19th, 2018 at 6:54pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Lakers have officially signed Jeffrey Carroll, the team announced today. The signing was originally reported by Michael Scotto of The Athletic back in June.

The contract will contain an Exhibit 10 clause, something that was introduced in the newest CBA. The clause allowed a player to receive a bonus from the NBA club should he play for the franchise’s G League affiliate and remain there for 60 days.

Carroll went undrafted out of Oklahoma State on this year’s big night. Entering draft night, he was ranked as the No. 96 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com. In 188 collegiate games, Carroll averaged 12.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.

The guard most recently played for the Lakers’ summer league squad in Las Vegas. He scored 4.2 points in 9.0 minutes per contest.

Cavs Sign Channing Frye To One-Year Deal

July 19th, 2018 at 3:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 19: The Cavaliers have officially signed Frye, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 14: The Cavaliers have agreed to bring back veteran forward Channing Frye, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. According to Charania, Frye will sign a one-year, minimum-salary deal with Cleveland.

Frye will earn approximately $2.39MM this season and count for roughly $1.51MM on the Cavs’ cap sheet.

The 35-year-old played in 144 games for Cleveland over parts of the last three seasons. He was traded from Orlando to LeBron James‘ squad at the 2016 deadline before being dealt to the Lakers during a massive overhaul at the 2018 trade deadline. Now, he’ll head back to Cleveland from Los Angeles as LeBron goes in the other direction.

Frye, a 13-year veteran averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest in limited minutes (13.1 MPG) last season. He’s widely known as a solid locker room presence and that will likely be valued by a team that could end up embarking on a total rebuild should it trade Kevin Love.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Marcus Smart Signs Four-Year Deal With Celtics

July 19th, 2018 at 2:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:36pm: Smart has officially signed his new contract with the Celtics, according to agent Happy Walters, who tweeted a photo of the signing. The team has also issued a press release confirming the deal.

9:25am: Marcus Smart has agreed to a four-year, $52MM deal to remain with the Celtics, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports first reported that the Celtics and Smart were finalizing a deal in that neighborhood after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said the two sides were engaged in serious discussions.

The final terms are a little higher than the $46-$50MM range that was reported yesterday, and the deal takes one of the last high-profile free agents off the market. Smart has been with the Celtics since being selected with the sixth pick in the 2014 draft and has developed into one of the league’s top perimeter defenders.

Smart’s contract will push the Celtics into luxury tax territory, at least for now, notes ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). It will also become Boston’s only contract between $7-20MM, which could make it a valuable trade chip down the line, adds Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link).

A restricted free agent, Smart had expressed frustrations with the slowness of the process while waiting for an offer. He met with several teams, including the Nets and Grizzlies, last week during the Las Vegas Summer League, according to Charania, but also had a private meeting with Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. Significant progress was made in the past few days, allowing the team to quickly finalize a deal in a meeting this morning with Smart and his agent, Happy Walters.

The Celtics were happy to get a long-term deal done with Smart a year before backcourt mates Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier both become free agents, Charania adds. The team will now have at least one of its point guards locked up before entering into negotiations with Irving and/or Rozier.

Smart appeared in 54 games last season, with his playing time limited by a right hand injury caused by punching a glass frame and a torn UCL he suffered in his right thumb while diving for a loose ball in March that caused him to miss the start of the playoffs. He posted 10.2 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG during the regular season, along with 1.3 steals per night.

“It’s been a tough summer with free agency and his mom’s (cancer),” Smart’s high school coach, Kenny Boren, tells Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. “It’s been tough emotionally for him.” (Twitter link).

Smart ranked 14th on our list of the Top 50 Free Agents of 2018. His signing leaves Clint Capela of the Rockets and Rodney Hood of the Cavaliers as the best unsigned players left on the market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Sign Antonio Blakeney To NBA Contract

July 19th, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 19: The Bulls have officially signed Blakeney, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 18: Bulls two-way player Antonio Blakeney will be promoted to Chicago’s 15-man NBA roster, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who reports that the team intends to sign Blakeney to a minimum-salary contract.

Blakeney, who spent the entire 2017/18 season on a two-way deal with the Bulls, appeared in just 19 games for the club, spending most of his time with the Windy City Bulls in the G League.

The former LSU standout was one of the G League’s best players in 2017/18, posting an impressive 32.0 PPG to go along with 6.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 32 games. Blakeney’s performance earned him NBAGL Rookie of the Year honors for the 2017/18 season.

As Johnson details, Blakeney projects to be Chicago’s third point guard behind Kris Dunn and Cameron Payne. If Dunn and Payne stay healthy, Blakeney may continue to spend time with the Windy City Bulls, since his NBA role could be limited.

Blakeney will get a guaranteed two-year, minimum-salary deal, per Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It’ll be worth about $2.94MM in total.

Hawks Waive Jaylen Morris

July 19th, 2018 at 1:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks have waived Jaylen Morris, whose $1,378,242 salary for next season was non-guaranteed, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The 22-year-old shooting guard played six games last season after inking a pair of 10-day deals, then signing for the rest of the season in March. He saw 16.3 minutes of action per night and posted a 4.7/2.7/1.2 line. He also played for the Hawks’ entries in this year’s Salt Lake City and Las Vegas summer leagues.

The Hawks have another non-guaranteed contract remaining in shooting guard Antonius Cleveland, whose $1,378,242 salary won’t become guaranteed until January 10.

Yogi Ferrell Backs Out Of Deal With Mavericks

July 19th, 2018 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 20, 7:48am: Ferrell has reportedly reversed course on his agreement with the Mavs and opted to re-enter free agency. We have the full story here.

JULY 19, 11:50am: Yogi Ferrell will return to the Mavericks on a two-year deal worth $5.3MM, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The second season will be non-guaranteed with a July 7 trigger date, Charania adds.

Dallas will use Ferrell’s Early Bird rights, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad, with the first season paying him less than the $2.9MM qualifying offer the team rescinded last week. That will enable the Mavericks to keep all of their roughly $6MM in cap space.

The Mavericks promised to give Ferrell the backup shooting guard spot at the start of the season, according to Charania. Dennis Smith and Luka Doncic, the team’s first-round picks the past two seasons, are expected to be the starters in the backcourt.

Dallas signed Ferrell to a 10-day contract in January of 2017 after he was waived by the Nets. He averaged 11.3 points in 36 games, then played all 82 contests last season, posting a 10.2/3.0/2.5 line.

Ferrell went undrafted out of Indiana in 2016 and spent much of his time in the G League after signing with Brooklyn, appearing in just 10 games for the Nets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Sign Joel Berry

July 18th, 2018 at 8:35pm CST by clarkcrum

The Lakers have signed point guard Joel Berry, the team officially announced today. Terms of the deal have not yet been released.

Berry, 23, went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft after spending four seasons at North Carolina. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 NCAA Final Four as a junior after leading North Carolina to a National Championship.

As a senior last season, Berry earned First Team All-ACC honors after averaging 17.1 points in 33.1 minutes per game. He was a member of the Lakers’ 2o18 NBA Summer League squad, but failed to see any game action after suffering an ankle injury.