2016 NBA FREE AGENCY LOS ANGELES LAKERS SIGN TIMOFEY MOZGOV TO 4 YEAR CONTRACT... WTF JIM BUSS
Associated Press 11:19 a.m. EDT July 1, 2016
Timofey Mozgov, DeMar DeRozan and Hassan Whitside are some of the early NBA free agency signings. Time_Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov acknowledges the crowd during a rally June 22, 2016, in Cleveland.(Photo: Tony Dejak, Associated Press)
We"ll keep updating this story as players across the NBA sign this month.
Jeremy Lin is heading back to New York.
Lin tweeted that he was signing with the Brooklyn Nets. Terms were not immediately disclosed, and Lin cannot sign with Brooklyn until at least July 7 because of the NBAs off-season moratorium.
Lins breakout in the NBA came in New York with the Knicks during the 2011-12 season. The craze was dubbed Linsanity, when the then-little-known second-year guard from Harvard scored at least 20 points nine times in a 10-game span and blossomed into one of the leagues biggest stories at that time.
Lin started with Golden State, then played for the Knicks and has spent the past four seasons with Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers and most recently Charlotte. He averaged 11.7 points per game last season.
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Lakers land Mozgov, keep ClarksonA person familiar with the negotiations tells the Associated Press that center Timofey Mozgov has agreed to a four-year, $64-million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers moved swiftly in the opening minutes of the NBAs free agent signing period to use a big portion of their roughly $55 million in cap room on the 7-foot-1 Mozgov, a six-year NBA veteran.He won a ring with the Cleveland Cavaliers last monthbut barely played in the postseason, averaging 5.8 minutes in 13 playoff appearances. He started 48 games for the Cavs during the regular season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds while making 56.5%of his shots.
Meanwhile, guard Jordan Clarkson has agreed to a four-year, $50-million deal to return to the Lakers.
Clarkson is a rising star after two seasons with the Lakers, who acquired the 46th overall pick from Washington on draft night in 2014. The Missouri product has been a steady scorer and a rare bright spot on the two worst teams in Lakers history.
After averaging 11.9 points per game and making the NBAs all-Rrokie team in the 2014-15 season, he boosted his production to 15.5 points last season, second-most on the team behind Kobe Bryant.
Hassan Whiteside staying with HeatA person familiar with the terms of the agreement tells the Associated Press that Hassan Whiteside will be signing a four-year contract worth the maximum amount the Miami Heat could offer, roughly $98 million.
Whiteside made his announcement on Snapchat and through a post on The Players Tribune, a few hours after he met with the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks in New York to hear their sales pitches. He went into those meetings leaning toward the Heatand apparently emerged even more convinced that staying with the franchise that helped him resuscitate his career was the best move.
It is life-changing money after a breakout season. Whiteside will be signing a contract worth roughly 100 times more than what he made this past season, when he averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and a league-best 3.7 blocked shots per game. His career path is well-known, taking him to less-than-glamorous leagues in Lebanon and China, stints in the NBA Development League and even getting cut from teams at that level.
The Heat signed him in November 2014, and less than two years later, Whiteside has become one of the games most dominant centers and one of the highest-paid players in Miami franchise history.
Magic agrees to terms with PG D.J. AugustinA person with knowledge of the situation tells the Associated Press that the Orlando Magic have agreed on a contract with former Detroit Pistons point guard D.J. Augustin.
Terms of the deal were not immediately available.
Adding Augustin gives new Magic coach Frank Vogel an experienced guard to play behind young starter Elfrid Payton.The 28-year-old Augustin played 62 games with Oklahoma City and Denver last season. He averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 assists in 19. minutes per game.
Hornets agree to terms with Batum on 5/$120M dealA person with knowledge of the situation tells the Associated Press that the Charlotte Hornets have agreed to terms on a five-year, $120-million deal to keep Nicolas Batum.
Batum made no secret of wanting to stay in Charlotte and play for coach Steve Clifford, who helped revive his career after Batum was acquired in a trade with Portland.
Batum averaged 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists for the Hornets last season and resumed his role as one of the top two-way small forwards in the game.
DeMar DeRozan staying with RaptorsA person with knowledge of the negotiations says All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is staying in Toronto after agreeing to the parameters of a deal.
DeRozan and the Raptors still were in the process of completing terms, though the sides agreed that he would be staying put.
DeRozan has spent all of his seven NBA seasons with the Raptors. He averaged a career-best 23.5 points this past season, when he helped Toronto reach the Eastern Conference finals.
Source: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/2016/07/01/nba-free-agency-tracker/86592308/
