The NBA signings and rumors keep happening.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Hawks Re-sign Scott
Restricted free agent Mike Scott has signed a deal to remain with the Atlanta Hawks.
Scott, a high-energy forward who averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds last year, was reportedly mulling playing in China.
But he and the Hawks were able to agree to a three-year, $10 million deal, a source told Yahoo.
Scott played especially well in the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, boosting his stock.
Scott, 26, was a second-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
Thunder Try to Bring European Player Over
The Oklahoma City Thunder were exploring a deal that would’ve allowed center Tibor Pleiss to join them this season, but the buyout on his European deal remained too high.
Pleiss, 7'1” and 24 years old, was the Thunder’s first-round draft pick back in 2010.
Pleiss has developed into a top player, prompting the renewed interest in buying out his deal with Laboral Vitoria of the Spanish ACB league, league sources told Yahoo.
The buyout would have cost about $1 million, but the Thunder didn’t have enough cap space to complete the deal.
The Thunder now plan on working out a deal to bring Pleiss to the team for the 2015-16 team.
Latest on Team USA Roster
There’s lots of reports about people who have supposedly already made it or not on the final roster.
The only locks that are seemingly universal are Kevin Durant, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, and Derrick Rose.
USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski and USA managing director Jerry Colangelo said the scrimmage on Friday night will help form the final roster.
“If somebody just knocks somebody out, in terms of performance, that’s big,” Colangelo told NBA.com. “That is a big factor. So, not to put pressure on anyone, but it’s one thing to practice, it’s another thing to play in games.”
“We’re not ready to make our decision yet,” Krzyzewski told FOX Sports Radio. “We have a scrimmage (Friday). Tomorrow morning we will come up with a list of 14 or 15 players that we would like to advance in training camp.”
Spurs Ink Parker to Extension
Tony Parker is by far the youngest of the San Antonio Spurs’ Big Three, a fact that could have complicated things going forward as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili get closer to retirement.
As they are wont to do, the Spurs made things real easy.
The Spurs signed Parker to a multi-year contract extension on Friday, ensuring that the six-time All-Star point guard will be in the fold whether Duncan and Ginobili are able to continue their careers or not. The Spurs did not disclose the deal, but Yahoo! Sports first reported that it was a three-year extension worth $43.3 million that will kick in in 2015.
“So happy,” Parker told the San Antonio Express-News. “Spurs for life!”
Parker has spent all of his 13 NBA seasons with the Spurs, blossoming from an erratic 19-year-old from France into one of the elite point guards in the game. He has helped the Spurs win four of their five NBA titles, the last one coming in June with a dominating victory over the defending champion Miami Heat.
Parker turned 32 in May, but has shown little sign of slowing down. He averaged 16.7 points and 5.7 assists in 29 minutes per game last season and still thrives by changing speeds to keep defenders off balance. The lightning quickness that got him noticed by the Spurs before he was drafted in 2002 is still there, and he can still blow by defenders at the top of the key to get into the paint for a floater or stop on a dime for one of the best pull-up jumpers in the league.
Duncan will turn 39 next season and Ginobili just turned 38, seemingly putting their careers much closer to the end than Parker’s. But coach Gregg Popovich has done a masterful job of managing minutes and keeping the wear and tear on them to a minimum, so there really is no telling how long this championship-drenched trio can stick together.
Duncan opted in to the final year of his deal earlier this summer and Ginobili made the difficult decision to pull out of the FIBA World Cup so he could rest a stress fracture in his leg and be ready for training camp next season. Popovich signed a contract extension and the Spurs brought back Boris Diaw, Patty Mills and Matt Bonner to try to do just about the only thing this remarkably enduring franchise has yet to do — repeat as champions.
Parker was set to enter next season on the final year of his contract at the bargain price of $12.5 million. But taking less money to keep the core together is something the Spurs’ stars have been doing for years, so it’s no surprise that the Spurs were able to retain Parker with a quiet negotiation and easy agreement on a deal that will take him through 2017-18.
With all the work the Spurs have done this offseason, there still is one big thing that needs to be addressed.
NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is eligible for an extension on his rookie deal, and Popovich has already dubbed him the player who will take over the franchise when Duncan finally decides to retire.
There is plenty of time to address that issue. The Spurs have until Oct. 31 to sign Leonard to a new deal.
Raptors Sign Will Cherry
Former University of Montana point guard Will Cherry has agreed to a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors of the NBA.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Cherry told KECI-TV, and he said it may not “until it’s time for me to actually pick out a jersey number.”
Cherry played for the Canton Charge in the NBA Developmental League during the 2013-14 season, averaging 11.6 points and nearly four rebounds per game.
He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the NBA Summer League and averaged 12.8 points, four rebounds and three assists in five games in Las Vegas. He twice scored 21 points. In one of those games, he had 14 fourth-quarter points to help Cleveland to an 82-70 win over San Antonio.
The Oakland, California, native says signing with an NBA team has been his dream and he hopes to represent Montana and the Grizzlies well.
“It’s big for me, but it’s also big for the city (of Missoula) and state of Montana,” Cherry said. “I’m just trying to represent the Griz and make a lot of people proud. I know it started with the summer league. Griz fans, they travel everywhere. They’re everywhere, you know, so I can’t escape them — and I don’t want to escape them. What I’m doing right now is definitely much bigger than me. So I’m happy to represent the 406 (area code) in a great fashion, in a great way in the NBA.”
Cherry helped Montana to back-to-back Big Sky Conference championships and consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.
He will be in Los Angeles working with Raptors personnel this week and will participate in an NBA camp starting Aug. 10 in Las Vegas.
Cherry will be the first former Griz player to play in the NBA since Larry Krystkowiak, the current Utah men’s basketball coach who was drafted in 1986.
Heat Sign Shawne Williams
Forward Shawne Williams, who spent part of last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, has signed with the Miami Heat.
A six-year NBA veteran, Williams has averaged 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 251 career games, including 36 starts. He averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds last season in 36 games with the Lakers, including 13 starts.
Williams also played last season with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League. He was the 17th overall pick in the 2006 draft by Indiana.
Nuggets Sign Green
The Denver Nuggets signed guard Erick Green to a deal on Friday.
Green was the 46th overall pick in the 2013 draft and spent last season playing for Montepaschi Siena of the Italian League, where he averaged 11.3 points and 1.2 assists.
The 6-foot-4 Green led the NCAA in scoring his senior season at Virginia Tech.
On Thursday, Denver reached deals with first-round picks Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
