Day thirteen of NBA Free Agency has come and gone, but deals are still being made. The Utah Jazz have been an active team in the last two days, while the San Antonio Spurs also made some moves. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks re-signed a veteran and the Los Angeles Lakers were impressed by a kid in the summer league.
Jazz bring Ekpe Udoh back to the NBA
The Utah Jazz have continued their flurry of moves over the last 24 hours by agreeing to a two-year, $6.5 million deal with Ekpe Udoh. The 30-year-old who was selected sixth overall in the 2010 draft has spent the last two seasons playing for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and EuroLeague.
He has revitalized his career, as he averaged 12.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1 steals while shooting 58.4% in EuroLeague play last year. In 2017 he was named a Turkish League All-Star, All-EuroLeague First Team, won the Turkish and EuroLeague championships and was the EuroLeague Final Four MVP.
Utah waives Boris Diaw
The Utah Jazz have waived veteran Boris Diaw before his $7.5 million salary became guaranteed on July 15. The Toronto Raptors reached out about trading for Diaw, but talks never gained any traction. Last season, he averaged 4.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 44.6% from the field and 24.7% on three-pointers.
Hawks reach deal with Ilyasova
The Atlanta Hawks have re-signed veteran power forward Ersan Ilyasova to a one-year, $6 million deal. Ilyasova finished last season on the Hawks after spending time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers. For all three teams combined, Ilyasova averaged 13.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists last season.
He also shot 43.1% from the field and 35.3% on three-pointers.
Spurs added Paul and renounce Simmons
The San Antonio Spurs have withdrawn their qualifying offer to restricted free agent Jonathon Simmons. They have done this in the hopes of signing him to a new contract, but Simmons is also in discussions with several other teams.
In another move, the Spurs and Brandon Paul have reached an agreement on a guaranteed deal.
Paul went undrafted in 2013, he has been playing in Europe but spent one season on the Cleveland Cavaliers G-League team. Last season he played for Anadolu Efes in the BSL and EuroLeague. He averaged 9.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.7 assists while shooting 39.5% from the field and 41.5% on three-pointers.
Lakers sign Alex Caruso
The Los Angeles Lakers have signed summer league player Alex Caruso to a two-year deal. It is a two-way contract so he could play in the NBA or the G-League. He has impressed the team during the Summer League, especially when he started in place of Lonzo Ball. Caruso went undrafted in 2016 and spent the season playing for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G-League. He averaged 11.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 46% from the field and 40.1% on three-pointers.
