Redick to 76ers on busy day
JJ Redick is trusting the process. And Gordon Hayward got his sales pitch from Miami.
The first day of NBA free agency Saturday saw things starting to take shape, though there’s still dozens of more moves to come in the next few days. After an opening flurry that saw Stephen Curry get a $201 million deal from the Warriors and Blake Griffin take about $175 million to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers, most teams started to look at names more within their price range.
With nearly $1 billion in deals agreed to just in Day 1 of this year’s free agency period, there is still no shortage of money out there for teams to hand out.
Still out there is another massive offer: John Wall has a chance to sign a four-year extension worth $168 million with the Wizards, another deal under the so-called “super max” structure that allowed Curry to get his record payday.
In other major free agent developments Saturday: Redick: The sharpshooter agreed to a $23 million, one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. He made his intentions for next season clear with three simple words. “Trust the process,” he tweeted, his way of saying he was heading to the 76ers, who have made that phrase their mantra during their long rebuilding process. Redick averaged 15 points and made 43 percent of his three-pointers last season for the Clippers, who now need two new starting guards next season after point guard Chris Paul was traded to the Rockets.
Hayward: The coveted small forward was greeted by Heat players for his free-agent visit, along with a banner strategically placed outside American Airlines Arena showing him in a Heat uniform. The All-Star forward who is coming off the best season of his career spent several hours with Miami officials such as team President Pat Riley, and is still expected to visit with Boston and Utah — the incumbent team — before making a decision in the coming days. Jrue Holiday: Curry wasn’t the only point guard to get richer. Holiday agreed to return to New Orleans for $126 million over five years, with incentives potentially pushing that to $150 million. The Pelicans were also talking with Nick Young and Ty Lawson about coming to New Orleans. Patty Mills: The former St. Mary’s player is returning to San Antonio for the next four years at $50 million. Kyle Korver: Cleveland offered the shooting guard a contract. The 36-year-old has expressed a desire to stay with Cleveland after making it to his first NBA Finals. Jose Calderon: The Cavaliers also agreed to a deal with the veteran Calderon to back up All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, reportedly for the veteran’s minimum. Joe Ingles: Utah, still hoping to re-sign Hayward, agreed to re-sign its forward for four years, $52 million. Langston Galloway: Detroit got some solid insurance at point guard, agreeing with Galloway on a three-year deal. Dion Waiters: The guard, who spent last season with the Heat, had a list of free-agency targets revealed that not only included Miami but also Chicago, New York and Sacramento. Michael Carter-Williams: The former Rookie of the Year agreed to a one-year, $2.7 million contract with the Hornets. Cristiano Felicio: A person familiar with the situation said Chicago agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract to retain the reserve forward. Pacers hire new GM: Indiana has hired Chad Buchanan as the team’s general manager.
Buchanan, 44, replaces Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, who moved up when Larry Bird left in May. Pritchard will still be in charge of the final decisions.
Bird will continue to work with the team as a consultant.