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.
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.
[Related: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Exhibit 10 Contact]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1:37pm: The deadline for Loyd to opt out of his deal with Darussafaka to join an NBA team has passed, and NBA rules don’t allow the Raptors to pay for his release, as David Pick and Murphy note (Twitter links). As such, it will be up to Loyd and his reps to see if they can figure things out with his Turkish club to free him up to head to Toronto.
11:44am: The Raptors are poised to sign guard Jordan Loyd to a two-way contract, reports Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Barring any snags with Loyd’s buyout from Turkish team Darussafaka, he’ll ink a two-year deal with Toronto, according to Murphy.
An undrafted free agent out of Indianapolis, Loyd played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in his first professional season in 2016/17 before heading overseas to play for Hapoel Eilat in Israel last year. The 6’4″ guard averaged 15.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 49 G League games in ’16/17.
Loyd, who will turn 25 later this month, participated in Summer League action for the Raptors in Las Vegas, posting 8.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 17.3 minutes per contest. As Murphy notes, the Raps played Loyd primarily at point guard in Vegas, and he adapted well, committing just four turnovers in four games.
Toronto isn’t currently carrying any players on two-way contracts after promoting Lorenzo Brown to the 15-man roster and withdrawing Malcolm Miller‘s qualifying offer, so Loyd is set to occupy the first of those two openings.
11:06am: The trade is now official, according to a press release issued by the Spurs.
8:07am: The deal will send Leonard and Green to Toronto in exchange for DeRozan, Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick, league sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News first reported Green’s inclusion in the trade (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the 2019 first-round pick is protected from 1-20. If it doesn’t change hands after one year, it would turn into a pair of second-round picks instead.
The extra assets beyond Leonard and DeRozan look good for the Raptors, who will get to hang on their top two prospects in Anunoby and Siakam, and will only surrender a late first-rounder, at worst. Toronto will also add Green, a three-and-D wing who is a career 39.5% three-point shooter and is on a $10MM expiring contract.
Toronto will also create a modest trade exception equivalent to Poeltl’s $2.95MM salary in the deal.
7:15am: The Raptors and Spurs have reached an agreement in principle on a deal that will send Leonard to Toronto and DeRozan to San Antonio, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Woj, there are more pieces involved on both sides, and players are still being informed about the deal. A trade call with the NBA is expected to happen later today.
4:53am: The Raptors are finalizing a trade to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs, Chris Haynes and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN report. San Antonio would receive a package headlined by DeMar DeRozan in the swap.
The Raptors and Spurs have been exploring such a trade for at least two weeks now, though Haynes adds that DeRozan was allegedly told during the Las Vegas summer league that he wouldn’t be dealt.
“Be told one thing & the outcome another,” DeRozan wrote in a story on his Instagram account early Wednesday morning. “Can’t trust em. Ain’t no loyalty in this game. Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing.”
Neither Leonard nor DeRozan appears to be particularly pleased with the potential deal, with Haynes noting in a subsequent tweet that sources have told him that Leonard has no desire to play in Toronto. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe tweets, Leonard would risk fines and possible forfeiture of his 2018/19 salary if he’s traded to the Raptors and doesn’t report to the team, unless he can provide a legitimate medical reason.
The two clubs are said to have discussed several packages and a deal could be agreed to in principle as early as today.
With Leonard eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, Raptors president Masai Ujiri is taking a substantial risk trading a committed All-Star for an outside player with eyes for Los Angeles. That said, the Thunder took a similar chance trading for Paul George last summer and it paid off when he re-signed long-term earlier this month.
Leonard, who has a 15% trade kicker, is set to earn approximately $23.1MM in 2018/19 (counting that trade bonus) before becoming eligible for free agency a year from now, so even if the Kawhi experiment doesn’t work, the Raptors could clear some long-term salary from their books in a deal. DeRozan will make $27.74MM annually for the next two years, with a player option worth the same amount in 2020/21.
Given the difference in salaries between the two stars, and the fact that the Spurs will likely receive another player or two in any deal, the Raptors may also take on another veteran to even out the ’18/19 money involved. Patty Mills ($11.57MM), Danny Green ($10MM), and perhaps even Pau Gasol ($16.8MM) would be candidates.
As we wrote yesterday, the supposed asking price for Leonard could be as high as an All-Star caliber player, high-potential young players, and draft picks. If DeRozan represents the first item on that list, it will be interesting to see what other pieces round out the offer. Toronto’s roster features a handful of intriguing young players, including OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Jakob Poeltl. The Raptors also control all their future draft picks.
At full health, a content, committed Leonard could easily justify such a substantial haul, but concerns about his quadriceps injury and his willingness to re-sign with a non-L.A. team trading for him may have diminished his value.
Although the Raptors have been prominently linked to Leonard of late, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports notes in his own story on the potential deal that the Lakers, Clippers, Sixers and Celtics were said to be suitors as well. On Tuesday, we learned that the Nuggets, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Wizards also talked to San Antonio about a possible trade.
Given that he was limited to just nine games last season, and didn’t look like his All-NBA self, it’s hard to gauge exactly what the Raptors might expect to see from Leonard on the court. Still, he’s just one year removed from back-to-back finishes as a top-three MVP candidate and a member of the All-NBA First Team.
Those All-NBA nods allowed Leonard to qualify for a Designated Veteran Extension worth 35% of the cap with the Spurs. By the time he officially became eligible to sign such an extension this week though, the star forward’s desire to leave San Antonio was well known, making a new deal with the Spurs an extreme long shot — even if the club was willing to offer it.
Leonard will lose his eligibility for that five-year super-max deal – worth an estimated $221MM – if he’s traded. If he’s sent to Toronto and becomes a free agent next summer, Kawhi would be eligible for up to five years and nearly $190MM with the Raptors or four years and $140.6MM with another team, based on current cap projections for 2019/20.
In nine seasons with the Raptors, DeRozan has averaged 19.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. The 28-year-old has been named an All-Star in four of the past five seasons and played an instrumental role in Toronto’s rise up the Eastern Conference ranks the past half decade.
Per Wojnarowski (via Twitter), a Spurs/Raptors swap has been close for a few days, but has nearly fallen apart multiple times. Ujiri wanted to let DeRozan know about the impending deal himself late last night, according to Woj, who adds that DeRozan and good friend Kyle Lowry talked a few hours ago.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.