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Chris Paul Signs Four-Year Max Deal With Rockets

July 8th, 2018 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The new contract with Paul is official, the Rockets announced on Twitter.

JUNE 30: The Rockets will lock up Chris Paul to a long-term deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the All-Star point guard has agreed to a four-year, maximum-salary contract with Houston.

As our breakdown of max salaries for 2018/19 shows, a four-year max for Paul should be worth $159,730,592.

Paul turned in a stellar season in his first year in Houston, dispelling any concerns about his ability to mesh with James Harden. Paul averaged 18.6 points and 7.9 assists and helped the Rockets post the NBA’s best record at 65-17. However, he suffered a hamstring injury late in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals and missed the last two games as Houston fell to the Warriors.

The big payday for Paul comes a year after he bypassed free agency and opted in to the final year of his $24.6MM contract to help facilitate a trade from the Clippers to the Rockets. At the time, there was a belief that CP3 and the Rockets had a general understanding that the team would take care of him when he eventually reached unrestricted free agency.

That turned out to be the case, though the 33-year-old was eligible for a full max contract over five seasons, so Houston got a bit of a break with a four-year deal.

With Paul locked up, the Rockets will now shift their focus to retaining key contributors like Clint Capela and Luc Mbah a Moute. If Houston re-signs Capela to a lucrative new deal, team salary figures to exceed the luxury tax threshold for 2018/19.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hornets, Bulls, Magic Complete Three-Way Deal

July 8th, 2018 at 8:27am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 8, 8:27am: The trade is now official, according to press releases from all three teams. In addition to receiving Biyombo, the Hornets will also acquire 2019 and 2020 second-round picks from the Magic. Orlando holds multiple second-rounders in each year, so it’s not yet clear which selections are changing hands.

“There were some elements of (the trade) that we were discussing individually the last few weeks, but the deal actually came together just [on Saturday],” said Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. “It was really kind of a quick-hitter.”

The Bulls intend to waive Stone, per Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).

JULY 7, 8:20pm: The trade has been agreed to in principle, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

JULY 7, 7:51pm: Charlotte, Chicago and Orlando are close to a trade that would send Timofey Mozgov to the Magic, Bismack Biyombo to the Hornets and Julyan Stone to the Bulls, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bulls guard Jerian Grant will also go to Orlando in the deal, Woj adds (Twitter link).

The Hornets will give up more than $17MM in the trade between Mozgov’s $16MM salary for next season and Stone’s non-guaranteed $1,656,092. This will be the second trade of the summer for Mozgov, who was shipped from the Nets to the Hornets in a deal that became official yesterday. He has two years left on his current contract, with a $16.72MM salary for 2019/20.

In Biyombo, Charlotte picks up a shot blocker to replace Dwight Howard, who went to Brooklyn in the Mozgov deal. Biyombo’s contract is nearly in line with Mozgov’s, paying him $17MM in 2018/19, with a player option for the same amount the following season. Orlando breaks up a logjam at center that had existed since drafting Mohamed Bamba, while Mozgov becomes the third-string center in Orlando and probably won’t see much more playing time than he did in Brooklyn.

Chicago plays a minor role in the trade, creating modest savings by sending out Grant’s $2,639,314 salary in exchange for Stone’s non-guaranteed figure. The Bulls could be looking to shed any salary they can before their expected matching of the Kings’ offer sheet for Zach LaVine.

Stone’s guarantee date is August 1, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now, and the Bulls can increase their cap room to $16MM by letting him go and getting rid of Noah Vonleh‘s cap hold. Taking on Biyombo’s contract pushes the Hornets up to $120.3MM in salary with 14 guaranteed deals, just $3.4MM under the luxury tax.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Sign Devin Booker To Five-Year Extension

July 7th, 2018 at 10:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have officially signed guard Devin Booker to a contract extension that will cover five years and pay him the maximum salary, the team announced today in a press release. The club also tweeted out of a photo of Booker with the finalized contract.

“I am humbled and honored to commit to the Suns organization long term,” Booker said in a statement. “I have loved calling Phoenix home the last three seasons as this team and community are special to me. Thank you to the Suns for drafting me and believing in me. I look forward to the future and pursing a title as a Phoenix Sun.”

The Suns and Booker met earlier this week and were said to be making progress toward finalizing a new five-year max extension. The deal couldn’t be completed until after the July moratorium ended on Friday.

Booker’s new contract will go into effect starting in the 2019/20 season. Currently, based on a $109MM cap projection for that league year, a five-year deal would be worth $158MM. However, that figure could go up or down depending on where the salary cap ultimately lands. The starting salary will be worth 25% of the cap.

Booker, 21, has improved his numbers across the board during his first three seasons in the NBA, establishing new career highs in PPG (24.9), APG (4.7), RPG (4.5), 3PT% (.383), and several other categories in 2017/18.

The Suns haven’t won more than 24 games in a season since Booker debuted with the team, but the franchise appears to be trending in a positive direction. So far this offseason, the club has added No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, young three-and-D wing Mikal Bridges, and veteran wing Trevor Ariza, among others, so Booker should have more help going forward.

Booker was one of 23 former first-round picks eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. While the Suns guard was the first one to officially sign a new deal, there are several other candidates to get one before the mid-October deadline, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Myles Turner, and Larry Nance.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Waive Dwight Buycks

July 7th, 2018 at 5:23pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 7, 5:23pm: Buycks has officially been waived, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

JULY 5, 7:39pm: The Pistons will waive backup point guard Dwight Buycks, Michael Scotto of The Athletic reports. The 29-year-old averaged 7.4 points and 2.0 assists per game off the bench for Detroit in 2017/18.

Had he remained on the roster through September 1, his minimum deal for 2018/19 would have become guaranteed.

While Buycks battled for key reserve minutes behind de facto starter Ish Smith last season, the return of a healthy Reggie Jackson bumped him further down the team’s depth chart.

With Buycks out of the picture, the Pistons will rely on Jackson and Smith, with recently signed veteran Jose Calderon available for spot minutes.

As for Buycks, who had been out of the NBA since 2014/15 prior to catching on in Detroit, it’s back to the open market.

Thunder Sign Deonte Burton To Two-Way Contract

July 7th, 2018 at 3:54pm CST by clarkcrum

The Thunder have signed former Iowa State guard/forward Deonte Burton to a two-way contract, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM. The Thunder also officially announced the signing.

Burton, 24, went undrafted in 2017 before signing with Wonju DB Promy of South Korea’s KBL, where he started 63 games and averaged 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game last season.

He is currently playing for the Thunder in the Las Vegas Summer League, who are coached by Mark Daigneault. Daigneault also coaches the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, where Burton is likely to spend most of his time next season.

Kevin Durant Re-Signs With Warriors

July 7th, 2018 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 7: The Warriors have made it official, announcing that the team has re-signed Durant.

JUNE 30: Kevin Durant will inform the Warriors tonight that he prefers a one-year contract with a player option for 2019/20, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Durant intends to sign a contract for those terms sometime after the moratorium ends, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link). It will provide the maximum that Durant can receive on a one-year deal based on his 2017/18 salary, giving him $30MM next season with a $31.5MM option for 2019/20 (Twitter link).

The move saves some money next season for the Warriors, who will be well into the luxury tax, and it sets Durant up for a possible five-year contract with full Bird Rights next summer, when the cap is projected to rise to $109MM.

Golden State currently holds Early Bird rights on Durant, which would permit him to sign for a salary starting at $35,654,150. However, an Early Bird contract can’t span fewer than two guaranteed years, so the team will have to use his Non-Bird rights to honor Durant’s request. That will mean a 20% increase, taking him from $25MM to $30MM.

That savings of about $5.6MM will be huge for the Warriors, who face a significant tax bill for every dollar they spend. They may now be more inclined to use their taxpayer mid-level exception, which starts at $5.337MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers Re-Sign Jusuf Nurkic To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2018 at 12:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 7, 12:20pm: Per Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, Nurkic’s partial guarantee in the final season of his new contract – 2021/22 – is for $4MM.

JULY 7, 7:23am: The Trail Blazers have officially re-signed Nurkic, the club early on Saturday morning in a press release.

JULY 6: Restricted free agent center Jusuf Nurkic has agreed to a four-year, $48MM contract to remain with the Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

The deal includes a partial guarantee in the fourth season, Wojnarowski adds. The contract could be worth up to $53MM, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

The 7-foot Nurkic, who turns 24 in August, posted averages of 14.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 1.4 BPG last season. Nurkic started all 79 games in which he played.

Nurkic could have signed for more money a few months ago, according to Wojnarowski’s follow-up story, but turned down that offer. With the market shrinking, Nurkic decided to take the Blazers’ revised offer.

Nurkic’s career took off when the Nuggets traded him to Portland during the 2016/17 season. He was one of the top big men available on the free agent market this summer, coming in at No. 16 overall on our list of 2018’s top 50 free agents.

With Nurkic back under contract, the Blazers have now made three signings this week, adding Nik Stauskas and Seth Curry to the mix as well. Those new deals project to take Portland over the tax line, though there’s still plenty of time for the team to dip back below it — last year, for instance, the Blazers went well over that threshold before moving Allen Crabbe and Noah Vonleh to avoid becoming a taxpayer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Sign Aaron Gordon To Four-Year Deal

July 7th, 2018 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: Per Robbins, the four-year deal between Gordon and the Magic only amounts to $76MM in total value, with an average annual salary of $19MM. Gordon’s 2018/19 salary will be worth $21,590,909, decreasing by 8% of that amount each season through 2022.

JULY 6: The Magic have officially completed the signing of Gordon, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links), who notes that the annual salaries on the deal will decline each season, creating slightly more cap flexibility for Orlando in future years.

Orlando also finalized the signing of free agent point guard Isaiah Briscoe.

JULY 1: The Magic have reached an agreement on a four-year deal with restricted free agent Aaron Gordon, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania reports that the four-year agreement will be worth $84MM, for an average annual value of $21MM.

According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link), no team or player options are included in the agreement. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link) first reported that the Magic and Gordon were closing in on a deal.

Gordon had been a restricted free agent, so while he could have agreed to a new contract with another team, Orlando would have had the right to match any offer sheet he signed. As such, it made sense for the two sides to negotiate a new deal directly.

Gordon, 22, enjoyed a breakout season for the Magic in 2017/18. After averaging 9.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG in his first three years in the NBA, the former fourth overall pick upped his numbers to 17.6 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 58 games last season.

Gordon’s shooting numbers were slightly down in 2017/18, as he posted a career-worst .434 FG%. However, that was largely a result of his increased willingness to launch outside shots. Gordon attempted 5.9 threes per game, knocking them down at a 33.6% rate.

Although Gordon suggested multiple times as his free agency approached that he’d love to land a maximum-salary contract, that was always a long shot, given the lack of cap space available around the NBA. Still, the former Arizona Wildcat did well to land a guarantee in excess of $80MM. It’s the largest overall free agent commitment so far in 2018 for a player who didn’t get a max deal.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

With Gordon back in the fold, the Magic will be an over-the-cap team and will have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available if they continue to explore free agent signings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Waive Jonas Jerebko

July 7th, 2018 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have officially waived Jonas Jerebko, the team announced today in a press release. He’ll become a free agent on Monday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

Jerebko’s 2018/19 salary was still non-guaranteed, but would’ve become fully guaranteed if Jerebko had remained on Utah’s roster through Monday. As a result of the move, the Jazz will clear the forward’s full $4.2MM cap hit from their books.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, since Jerebko had a solid season as a reserve for the Jazz in 2017/18. In 74 games (19 starts), the 31-year-old averaged 5.8 PPG on .466/.414/.807 shooting, stretching the floor from the power forward spot.

Waiving Jerebko won’t free up any cap room for the Jazz, but it’ll create more breathing room below the tax line, perhaps opening up an opportunity for the team to use a chunk of its mid-level exception.

Utah’s offseason so far has been primarily focused on bringing back incumbent free agents, with Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto inking new deals. Thabo Sefolosha had his 2018/19 salary guaranteed, and the Jazz will still need to make a decision on Ekpe Udoh, whose $3.36MM would also become guaranteed next week.

Timberwolves Sign Keita Bates-Diop

July 7th, 2018 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

Second-round pick Keita Bates-Diop has formally signed a contract with the Timberwolves, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. Terms of the deal aren’t yet known.

A forward out of Ohio State, Bates-Diop was viewed as a potential first-round pick in 2018’s draft, but slipped all the way to No. 48, where the Wolves snagged him. The former Buckeye standout was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2017/18, averaging 19.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.6 BPG with a .480/.359/.794 shooting line.

Tom Thibodeau and the Timberwolves don’t typically rely on their bench too heavily, and Bates-Diop may not be ready to contribute right away, so his role figures to be limited during his rookie season. However, he projects as a potential stretch four at the NBA level.

The Wolves are using a portion of their mid-level exception on Anthony Tolliver, but still have plenty of that exception available if they want to use it to lock up Bates-Diop. Without the MLE, Minnesota would only be able to offer a two-year deal, likely at the minimum.