NBA Free Agency: Lakers win Carlos Boozer in amnesty auction; Mavericks re-sign Devin Harris
With all the major free agents off the market, teams were busy picking smaller contract players in order to fill up the roster. There are still a few notable free agents on the market like Ray Allen who is mulling retirement, Eric Bledsoe and Shawn Marion. However,none of these players have come close to signing with any team so far.
Here’s all the news from Day 17 of the NBA Free Agency:
Los Angeles Lakers awarded Carlos Boozer contract off partial waiver claim
After being waived off by the Chicago Bulls, Power Forward/Center Carlos Boozer has been claimed off his amnesty waivers by the Los Angeles Lakers to a one year contract. If Boozer had not been picked up off the waivers by the end of 18th July, he would have become an unrestricted free agent. The Lakers bid was not made public, but according to ESPN’s Marc Stein the Lakers won the waivers auction with the highest bid of $3.25 million.
The amnesty clause allows a team to waive a player during the current labour deal and have 100 percent of his salary off the books and tax. The Chicago Bulls have used this amnesty clause on 6”9’ inches forward Boozer after he spent four seasons with the franchise.
Boozer arrived in Chicago after the team acquired him via a sign and trade with his former team, the Utah Jazz in the off-season of 2010. In a total of 280 games for the Bulls, Boozer averaged 15.5 points and 9 rebounds. Boozer took to Twitter to thank the team for the four years.
One Year Deals
As the teams were on the lookout for players, a number of one year deals were reported and announced. On Wednesday Clippers forward Glen Davis re-signed with the team to a one year deal worth the veteran’s minimum contract of $1.2 million.
Although Davis was far more productive for his former team the Orlando Magic, with the Clippers he contributes off the bench offering the team another big man to replace Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan and bang the boards for rebounds. He is also a player who has had his share of post-season wars which includes a championship with Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers in Boston in 2008, thus he brings veteran presence to the locker room.
Another player who signed a one year deal was former Piston Rodney Stuckey. After Lance Stephenson was grabbed by the Charlotte Hornets for a three-year deal worth $27 million, the Pacers who had already picked C.J. Miles went ahead and signed Stuckey as well. The terms of the deal have not been made public. Stuckey averaged 13.9 points last season, his seventh season with the Pistons.
Mavericks re-sign Devin Harris
The financial terms of the deal were not announced, but the ESPN reports that the Dallas Mavericks have signed point guard Devin Harris to a four-year deal worth $16.5 million. Harris played for Dallas on a one-year, $3 million deal last season and missed the first half of the season with a toe injury. However, he was impressive on his return . After returning from injury, Harris averaged 7.9 points and 4.5 assists in 20.5 minutes of playing time across 40 games for the Mavericks.
Acquired by the Mavericks as the No. 5 overall pick in a draft-night trade in 2004, Harris was sent to New Jersey in a trade that brought Jason Kidd to the Mavericks in 2008. Harris also played in Utah and Atlanta.