Flurry of deals marks the start of NBA free agency
Published 1:25 pm Friday, July 1, 2016
NBA free agency opened Friday, with several name players agreeing to contracts. Here’s a roundup of the latest agreements:
Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal
The Wizards wasted no time in locking up shooting guard Bradley Beal, agreeing to a five-year maximum contract worth $128 million not long after the free agent market’s opening bell Friday.
The sides started talks as soon as possible, just after midnight Eastern, and moved quickly to wrap things up in the morning, agent Mark Bartelstein said. The deal cannot be signed until the free agent moratorium ends on July 7.
Beal averaged 17.4 points in his fourth season for the Wizards. He has teamed with John Wall to form one of the most dynamic young backcourts in the NBA but has had difficulty staying healthy. Beal has never played more than 70 games in a season and has been bothered by stress fractures in his right leg throughout his career.
Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan turned the biggest year of his career into a very big contract.
The All-Star shooting guard is staying with the Toronto Raptors and agreed early Friday on the basic framework of a five-year deal, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. DeRozan and the Raptors still had some financial terms to complete but the sides agreed that he would be staying put, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
USA Today Sports first reported that DeRozan and the Raptors had reached a deal.
DeRozan averaged a career-best 23.5 points this past season for the Raptors, becoming just the third Toronto player to ever score at such a pace — joining Vince Carter and Chris Bosh.
Keeping DeRozan was an absolute top priority for the Raptors. He’s wildly popular in Toronto and has been throughout each of his first seven pro seasons, but probably never more than he is now. The Raptors are coming off the best season in team history, one where they won 56 regular-season games and reached the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals.
It was widely speculated that DeRozan would look elsewhere, possibly at the Los Angeles Lakers since he’s a Southern California native. But even on the night when Toronto was eliminated from the Eastern Conference finals by the eventual NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, DeRozan suggested that he would not be going anywhere.
“We’re looking forward to it,” DeRozan said when asked about the Raptors’ future.
Miami Heat: Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside is staying with the Miami Heat.
A person familiar with the terms of the agreement tells The Associated Press that Whiteside will be signing a four-year contract worth the maximum amount the Heat could offer, roughly $98 million. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be finalized and signed before July 7.
Whiteside made his announcement Friday 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.
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.
Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond
Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond now has a big contract, too.
Drummond agreed to terms on a five-year maximum contract worth $130 million on Friday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The two sides started negotiating the contract after the market opened at midnight EDT on Friday and quickly found common ground before coming to full agreement in the afternoon, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be signed until July 7.
Drummond averaged 16.2 points and an NBA-leading 14.8 rebounds for the Pistons last season.
Charlotte Hornets: Nicolas Batum
The Charlotte Hornets lived up to their word when they said re-signing Nicolas Batum was their top priority in free agency.
Batum agreed to terms on a five-year, $120 million contract with the Hornets Friday morning, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
This past season, his first in Charlotte, Batum averaged career highs in points (14.9) and assists (5.8) and also grabbed 6.1 rebounds a game.
Brooklyn Nets: Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin is heading back to New York.
Lin tweeted Friday 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 NBA’s offseason moratorium.
Lin’s 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 league’s 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.
