On Day 7 of NBA free agency, here's our team-by-team analysis of the major and minor deals.
Updates on each deal will be posted here throughout the day.
All deals listed alphabetically by team.
Atlanta Hawks
1. Agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal with center Mike Muscala
Playing at the minimum the past four seasons, Muscala has been one of the league's better values. He'll get a nice raise on a deal that should still be team-friendly.
Muscala has developed into a skilled offensive center with 3-point range. He shot an impressive 41.8 percent from the 3-point line, and while that's not likely sustainable, Muscala has to be defended beyond the arc (he is a career 38.5 percent 3-point shooter) and is also a capable passer facing the basket.
As a center, Muscala is a weak defender, which probably limits him to a reserve role. The market for such players will probably end up around this price point, particularly for a team like the Hawks that isn't a contender. Muscala also got a player option that allows him to get back on the market next summer in case he does enjoy a breakout season with the departure of starting center Dwight Howard.
Muscala's original contract pays one last dividend in the form of a veteran's minimum cap hold. That will allow Atlanta to sign him last and use cap space first. If the Hawks decline to match the offer sheet the New York Knicks gave restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr., they'd be at about $20 million in cap space. Any savings Atlanta got by buying out Jamal Crawford will add to that amount.
With Hardaway's departure, the Hawks could look at former Detroit Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is unrestricted after the Pistons withdrew their qualifying offer to him Friday. Caldwell-Pope could be an upgrade on Hardaway at barely more cost than Hardaway's offer sheet.
Boston Celtics
1. Traded for Marcus Morris
My evaluation of Boston's trade of Avery Bradley and a draft pick for Morris can be found here.
Cleveland Cavaliers
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with forward Jeff Green
In theory, Green should be a perfect fit for the Cavaliers' needs: a combo forward who can shoot the 3 and defend a variety of positions. Essentially, on paper Green is a younger version of Richard Jefferson, who has played a bigger role in the past two NBA Finals than he did during the regular season.
Of course, several teams have found out before that the Green they get on a nightly basis doesn't match up to the idealized version. Green can shoot ... but he's also a 33.3 percent career 3-point shooter who shot just 27.5 percent last season. He can defend multiple positions ... but he's also a below-average defensive rebounder for a small forward and a liability as a power forward.
Fortunately, Cleveland isn't investing nearly as much as Green's past teams in terms of the draft picks they've traded or salary they've offered. At the minimum, the Cavaliers probably couldn't have done much better for a player of his ilk. Cleveland surely could have done better using its taxpayer midlevel exception, but given that each dollar of salary they spend costs the Cavaliers between $4 and $5 in taxes, using the entirety of the midlevel would have meant an additional $20 million or so in total payroll.
For Green, who took a one-year deal for $15 million last season with an Orlando Magic team that underachieved expectations and lost 53 games, taking less money represents a chance to get back on a contender. At this stage of his career, that trade-off makes sense.
Detroit Pistons
1. Traded for Avery Bradley and a 2019 second-round pick
2. Renounced Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, making him an unrestricted free agent
Detroit is trading Morris for Bradley and a draft pick, precipitating the departure of Caldwell-Pope. My evaluation of these moves can be found in my trade grades.
Golden State Warriors
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, $3.4 million deal with center Zaza Pachulia
Pachulia's return via non-Bird rights, which allowed a 20 percent raise from his $2.9 million 2016-17 salary, has seemed inevitable for a while. The Warriors have already exhausted their avenues for adding a player who makes more than the minimum salary, suggesting their confidence that Pachulia would remain their starting center.
Even with a raise, Pachulia is still a bargain -- at least before you consider the fact that his salary costs Golden State nearly three times as much in luxury tax, as ESPN's Bobby Marks notes. That price is certainly worth it for the Warriors, who want a traditional 7-footer to start games. At 33, Pachulia is on the downside of his career but should remain effective in that role at least another season.
Golden State is nearly out of roster spots. Counting second-round big man Jordan Bell, who has yet to sign, the Warriors have one remaining. GM Bob Myers told reporters Friday, before Pachulia's signing was reported, that the last two spots would probably go to centers, and re-signing JaVale McGee is surely the preferred option for the final spot.
Indiana Pacers
1. Agreed to a reported two-year, $21 million deal with forward Bojan Bogdanovic
The Pacers' moves this offseason have made it difficult to understand their direction. Since trading Paul George for 25-year-old Victor Oladipo and 21-year-old Domantas Sabonis, Indiana has signed free agents who don't fit the timetable of those two younger players or top prospect Myles Turner (also 21).
In fairness, Bogdanovic isn't ancient at 28. (He's younger than the team's other addition in free agency, 30-year-old point guard Darren Collison.) Still, signing Bogdanovic is more of a win-now move than it is a developmental one. I'm also not a big fan of the value.
Bogdanovic demonstrated during his brief stint with the Washington Wizards (who rescinded his qualifying offer and made him an unrestricted free agent, facilitating this move) that he is a dangerous 3-point shooter when given more open looks than he got with the Brooklyn Nets. Bogdanovic shot 39.1 percent beyond the arc and made a robust 2.7 3s per 36 minutes in Washington. However, his defensive limitations made it hard to play Bogdanovic big minutes or late in games.
Fortunately for the Pacers, their commitment isn't substantial. Just $1.5 million of Bogdanovic's 2018-19 salary is guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, allowing Indiana to move on after this season without much pain. Even after signing Bogdanovic and Collison, the Pacers have about $13 million in cap space, assuming they stretched the salary of guard Monta Ellis after waiving him earlier this week.
Memphis Grizzlies
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, $3.3 million deal with forward Tyreke Evans
This is a homecoming for Evans, who starred at the University of Memphis once upon a time, and now will attempt to rebuild his value with the Grizzlies. Evans is taking a steep pay cut from the $10.2 million he made last season, presumably having found the market cool to his services.
Evans' loss is the Grizzlies' gain. With only the remainder of their non-taxpayer midlevel exception and the biannual exception available, this is the most Memphis could offer. Evans is better than the Grizzlies could have expected to do with that money. I like the idea of making him an offensive focal point of the second unit playing in a big backcourt with combo guard Andrew Harrison, although if Chandler Parsons continues to be limited by his knees, Evans could end up Memphis' starter at small forward.
The Grizzlies are now a little less than $17 million shy of the luxury tax and are nearing a full roster. The bulk of that money will surely go to re-signing restricted free agent JaMychal Green, with Memphis likely to use some of the remainder of the midlevel exception to sign second-round picks to contracts longer than two years. The Grizzlies have a pair of them, Dillon Brooks and Ivan Rabb, although Brooks might be a candidate for a two-way contract.
Oklahoma City Thunder
1. Agreed to a reported one-year, minimum deal with guard Raymond Felton
With a payroll that's already in the luxury tax, the Thunder could add a point guard only at the minimum. Given that limitation, Felton was about as good a veteran as they could hope to get. He should be an upgrade over Semaj Christon and Norris Cole, who together filled that role last season.
There is a reason Felton has been available at the veteran's minimum the last two seasons. Never a particularly efficient scorer even in his heyday, Felton has hovered around a .500 true shooting percentage in recent seasons. Felton's subpar 3-point shooting (31.9 percent last season, 32.7 percent career) is a key culprit and will make it difficult for him to play alongside Russell Westbrook. Still, Felton's ability to competently run an offense, and the addition of Paul George, should help Oklahoma City perform much better in 2017-18 when Westbrook is on the bench.
Assuming the Thunder don't waive Christon, whose 2017-18 salary becomes guaranteed later this month, the Thunder have just one remaining roster spot. (Forward Jerami Grant also has a non-guaranteed salary but is a near lock to make the team.) Nick Collison could return at the minimum to fill that spot and provide veteran leadership.
Orlando Magic
1. Agreed to a reported two-year, $12 million deal with guard Shelvin Mack
Seeing the Magic overpay a backup point guard is one of my favorite summer traditions. Two years ago, it was C.J. Watson on a three-year, $15 million deal. Last summer, it was D.J. Augustin for $29 million over four years. And now it's Mack, a serviceable second-stringer who nonetheless doesn't merit a salary greater than the value of the taxpayer midlevel exception.
Signing Mack assuredly means Orlando will waive Watson, whose salary is just $1 million guaranteed through July 10. It's less clear what it means for Augustin, who started 20 games in 2016-17 but posted a poor .513 true shooting percentage when he came off the bench (down from .560 as a starter).
Mack is a bulldog of a point guard who is relentless at times attacking the rim. Yet his poor 3-point shooting (30.8 percent last season, 32.1 percent career) has prevented Mack from becoming an efficient scorer, and he's only adequate as a playmaker. Mack is unlikely to come any closer to solving the Magic's backup point guard situation than his predecessors.
Orlando can still create a little more than $10 million in cap space by waiving Watson and the two non-guaranteed players signed by the previous regime, Marcus Georges-Hunt and Patricio Garino. Unless the Magic plan to use Jonathan Isaac as a power forward, they're still in need of a backup for starter Aaron Gordon, and Orlando could always use more shooting with the second unit. Mack won't help there.