NBA rumors: Latest news, free agent signings, trade buzz
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NBA free agency is in full swing, billions of dollars have been spent and there are still a lot of moving parts on the board.
The biggest question was answered on Monday morning, when Kevin Durant decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors. The 2013–14 MVP had been courted by the Thunder, Spurs, Celtics and Heat in addition to the Warriors.
A leap in the salary cap has caused teams to hand out record amounts of money to players. Dwyane Wade is leaving Miami for Chicago. The San Antonio Spurs have traded Boris Diaw in preparation to sign Pau Gasol. Mike Conley, the top free-agent point guard, is back with Memphis on the most lucrative contract in league history.
Check back on this page for the latest rumors from around the league. For more, also be sure to check out SI's ranking of the top 50 free agents.
• Grading biggest deals | Free agent tracker | Salary cap FAQ
Friday
Midnight
• The Trail Blazers have waived second-year big man Cliff Alexander to create the cap room to sign Festus Ezeli. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
Thursday
11:30 p.m.
• The Nets have signed Blazers restricted free agent guard Allen Crabbe to a four-year, $75 million offer sheet. Crabbe’s offer could reportedly reach $83 million with incentives. The Blazers have three days to match the offer sheet, which includes a fourth-year player option and a trade kicker. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
• The Nets promised Allen Crabbe he will be a starter, and he doesn’t want to come off the bench in Portland. (Jason Quick, CSN Northwest)
9:15 p.m.
• The Blazers have agreed to sign Warriors free agent center Festus Ezeli to a two-year deal. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
• Ezeli’s deal is worth $7.4 million in year one, and has a team option for a second year worth $7.33 million. (Marc Spears, The Undefeated)
8:45 p.m.
• Ante Zizic, the 23rd overall pick in the draft, will remain overseas next season rather than join the Boston Celtics, general manager Danny Ainge told reporters. The team is looking for more shooting and still deciding whether to keep 16th overall pick Guerschon Yabusele overseas. (Brian Robb, Boston.com)
• The Celtics will not waive forward Jonas Jerebko, meaning his contract is guaranteed for next season. (A. Sherrod Blakely, Comcast SportsNet)
• The Warriors will re-sign guard Ian Clark to a two-year deal. (Shams Charania, The Vertical)
7:30 p.m.
• The Celtics will exercise their team option on veteran forward Amir Johnson. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
• The Lakers will bring back reserve guard Marcelo Huertas on a two-year contract. (Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
6 p.m.
• Chicago-bound Dwyane Wade says the Heat ‘didn’t even fight’ to keep him in free agency. (Ethan Skolnick, Miami Herald)
• The Cavaliers announced they have traded Matthew Dellavedova to the Bucks and acquired a trade exception in return worth $4.8 million. Dellavedova signed an offer sheet of four years, $38.5 million with Milwaukee that the Cavaliers will not match. The Cavs will use the exception to acquire forward Mike Dunleavy from the Bulls. (Dave McMenamin, ESPN)
• The Wizards have re-signed guard Marcus Thornton, Thornton announced.
• The Bulls have waived recently-acquired guard Spencer Dinwiddie. (Shams Charania, The Vertical)
2:30 pm
• Manu Ginobili reportedly turned down a “very serious, big offer” from another team to return to the Spurs (Tom Osborn, San Antonio Express News)
• The Miami Heat and guard Rodney McGruder are reportedly finalizing a partially guaranteed three-year deal. (Shams Charania, The Vertical)
• The New York Knicks will sign center Marshall Plumlee to a multi-year deal with a one-year guarantee. (Al Iannazzone, Newsday Sports)
• The Wizards have waived Drew Gooden in order to clear up cap space. (Marc Stein, ESPN)
11:30 am
• The Detroit Pistons will sign restricted free agent Boban Marjanovic to a three-year, $21 million offer sheet. (Marc Stein, ESPN)
• Former NBA forward Anthony Randolph, who last played in Russia, will sign a two-year deal with Real Madrid in Spain. (Marc J. Spears, ESPN)
• The Spurs and the Warriors were reportedly both in talks with Dewayne Dedmon and Willie Reed. Dedmon has reportedly agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with San Antonio, meaning Reed may go to the Warriors. (Alex Kennedy, Basketball Insiders and Shams Charania, The Vertical)
• The salary cap for next year will reportedly be $102 million, which is $6 million lower than the previous projection. (Brian Windhorst, ESPN)
8:00 a.m.
• Manu Ginobili announced on Twitter that he will return to the Spurs next season after considering retirement. (Twitter)
• Several teams are trying to create cap space so they can sign Milwaukee Bucks restricted free agent Miles Plumlee. (David Aldridge, TNT)
12:30 a.m.
• With Dwyane Wade heading to the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat have reached out to restricted free agent Tyler Johnson with hopes of signing him to a cap-friendly deal. (David Aldridge, TNT) Johnson has signed a four-year, $50 million offer sheet from the Nets, which the Heat have three days to match. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
Wednesday
11:45 p.m.
• Warriors free agent guard Leandro Barbosa will sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the Suns. He previously played for Phoenix from 2003–2010. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
10:45 p.m.
• Veteran forward Richard Jefferson has agreed to return to the Cavaliers on a two-year deal, he announced on Snapchat.
10:15 p.m.
• Wade’s deal with the Bulls is worth $47.5 million over two years and includes a player option. The Nuggets offered $52 million over two years. No team offered a guaranteed third contract year. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
• The Bulls will trade Jose Calderon to the Lakers to clear cap space. (The Vertical)
• Also to clear cap room, the Bulls will send Mike Dunleavy to the Cavs, who will absorb his deal into a trade exception. (The Vertical)
• The Heat never increased their offer to Wade after other teams went higher. (Ethan Skolnick, Miami Herald)
9:30 p.m.
• Miami Heat free-agent guard Dwyane Wade has informed the Chicago Bulls he will sign a contract with them. (Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical)
• The Bulls must now clear salary cap space to bring in Wade. Brooklyn has emerged as a possible landing spot for Jose Calderon, who Chicago acquired from New York in the Derrick Rose trade. (Marc Stein, ESPN)
