2016 NBA Free Agency: Everything You Need to Know from Day 5
The NBA celebrated the Fourth of July with an incredible spectacle, thanks to Kevin Durant's shocking decision to join the Golden State Warriors.
The league spent the next day picking up the pieces.
The Warriors carried on, cobbling together a supporting cast for their star-studded squad. A day after nabbing Zaza Pachulia to play center with their $2.9 million room exception, per The Vertical's Shams Charania, Golden State secured a signature from David West. According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, the two-time All-Star will sign a one-year deal for the $1.55 million veteran's minimum.
Last summer, West took an $11 million pay cut to join the San Antonio Spurs, and he flirted with retirement this time around before agreeing to terms with Golden State, per Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes. West wasn't the first vet to take pennies on the dollar to play with the NBA's newest superteam. Nor is he likely to be the last, per Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy:
According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Rusty Simmons, the Warriors' collection of aging jewelry seekers could include Mario Chalmers, Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen and Jermaine O'Neal—the last two of whom haven't set foot in the Association since 2014.
Even David Lee, who got his wish with a trade out of Oakland a year ago, might consider a return to Oracle Arena.
Meanwhile, the rest of the West continued to steel itself against the Golden State juggernaut.
According to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs will send Boris Diaw to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Olivier Hanlan, a 2015 second-round pick. The deal will help San Antonio clear up the requisite space to fit Pau Gasol's two-year, $30 million-plus pact into their cap.
Deeper in the heart of Texas, the Mavericks got their man locked in, with a little help from the Warriors' leftovers. With Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Seth Curry in tow, Dallas swung Dirk Nowitzki back to the Metroplex by way of a two-year, $40 million deal, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Should Nowitzki see this contract through, he'd join Kobe Bryant as one of two players in NBA history to have spent 20 years with the same team.
Wade's World
Don't expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to rest on their laurels now that the Warriors have eschewed theirs. The defending champs might soon have another ace in the hole ahead of a potential Finals rubber match with Golden State: Dwyane Wade.
As the Miami Herald's Ethan Skolnick wrote of the Miami Heat stalwart:
"...joining LeBron James in Cleveland is an option...The Cavaliers have been coveting Wade ever since James returned to them. They don't currently have anything other than the taxpayer mid-level to offer ($3.48 million), which would be a huge reduction in pay. So they would need to make multiple deals to accommodate more salary, including finding takers for Iman Shumpert and likely Channing Frye.
Or James would need to take a historically large cut, which wouldn't sit well with the players' union, but maybe he doesn't care about that. He repeatedly told me, when I was covering the Cavaliers during the 2014-15 season, how much he missed Wade. That may be priceless.
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According to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, Wade is seeking a deal worth "around $50 million." The Heat thus far have offered $40 million, with the Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls waiting in the wings. The Nuggets, per Stein, are ready to pay the 34-year-old what he wants if he's willing to leave South Beach behind for the Rocky Mountains.
According to Woj, Wade will meet with Nuggets brass in New York on Wednesday, and could hear out his hometown Bulls thereafter. In the meantime, Miami might have other ways to meet his demands.
Such are the stakes now that Golden State seems to have the Larry O'Brien Trophy on lock. Any team that hopes to challenge the Warriors, with their All-NBA foursome and influx of title-hungry travelers, will have to move boldly and briskly in pursuit of reinforcements.
Celtics Plotting Next Move
Up I-95, the Boston Celtics, fellow losers in the Durant race, remain vigilant in their pursuit of another star after landing Al Horford over the weekend, according to the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett:
"Sources are telling us that the C's are still holding the line on their offers from prior to the draft. They will make trades if teams come around to their price.
Jimmy Butler and Jahlil Okafor are said to be still available, but getting them now won't be as easy as on draft night when Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively, both coveted the No. 3 overall pick so they could take Providence's Kris Dunn.
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Henderson Goes Home
As far as NBA homecomings go, Gerald Henderson Jr.'s return to the City of Brotherly Love isn't about to convince Skylar Grey to warm up her pipes. But in this summer of mind-bending transactions, it's as close as anyone's going to get.
According to Woj, the 28-year-old swingman will sign a two-year, $18 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Henderson came on the scene as a highly touted recruit out of Episcopal Academy in suburban Philly, playing alongside fellow NBA player Wayne Ellington, before starring at Duke.
Henderson may get to play alongside another Blue Devil, Jahlil Okafor, if the Sixers don't move their sophomore-to-be this summer. Either way, the former Portland Trail Blazer will be tasked with beefing up a perimeter rotation in Philly that remains painfully thin, even after the additions of Jerryd Bayless and Sergio Rodriguez.
Knicks Nab Imports
Hey, New York Knicks fans: Get ready for more verbal gymnastics from Walt Frazier next season, courtesy of Phil Jackson's latest additions.
According to Woj, the Knicks will bring Willy Hernangomez, a 2015 second-round pick who they acquired on draft night, stateside on a multiyear pact. The 22-year-old center was with Real Madrid last season and played in Sevilla with Knicks sensation Kristaps Porzingis two years ago.
"He's ready to come over here," Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek said, per ESPN.com's Ian Begley. "He had a pretty good year over there in Europe. He's a big body, skilled; he's a low-post guy that will fit good in the system."
The fit—at least in terms of letters on the back of his jersey—is less certain for Mindaugas Kuzminskas, New York's other international signee of the day.
"He's an athletic, big wing who can guard multiple positions, so that gives him a chance to play in the league," ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said of the 6'9" Lithuanian, per Begley. "He's always been a below-average outside shooter. But he's athletic and he's got a great motor. He's not exactly Jonas Jerebko, but he's in that mold."
With Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Porzingis on the roster, the Knicks will need newcomers like Hernangomez and Kuzminskas to help Joakim Noah do the team's dirty work.
They might also need a pronunciation expert to make sure New York's broadcasters don't trip over the latest tongue twisters to suit up at Madison Square Garden.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Washington Wizards couldn't get a meeting with Kevin Durant, but they won't go home entirely empty-handed this summer.
According to Charania, the Wizards will add Jason Smith, one of the league's elite pick-and-pop shooters, to their frontcourt on a deal that, per Sheridan Hoops' Michael Scotto, could net him $16 million if he doesn't opt out after Year 2.
No flurry of mid-range jumpers can make Wizards fans soon forget that Durant, a Beltway-raised superstar, didn't so much as offer an audience to his hometown team. But between Smith, Ian Mahinmi, Trey Burke, Andrew Nicholson, Tomas Satoransky and the return of Bradley Beal, Washington has strengthened its ranks for new head coach Scott Brooks to mold into an Eastern Conference playoff contender.
Full Recap of Day 5 Deals
Here's a look at all of the contracts agreed to on Tuesday:
- Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks for two years and $40 million, per Stein.
- Gerald Henderson to the Philadelphia 76ers for two years and $18 million, per Woj.
- Jason Smith to the Washington Wizards for three years and $16 million, per Scotto.
- David West to the Golden State Warriors for one year and $1.55 million, per Aldridge.
- Willy Hernangomez to the New York Knicks for at least three years, per Begley.
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas to the Knicks, per Begley.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Cap information via Basketball Insiders.
