NBA Trades and Free Agency News Tracker for 2016-17 Season: Mavs Re-sign Nowitzki, Cavs Re-sign Jefferson
NBA teams continue to fill out their rosters as the 2016-17 NBA Season draws near. Here are the latest NBA Free Agency and Trade News.
1. Mavericks re-sign Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with the Mavericks on a deal that was not disclosed. Nowitzki played 18 years with the Mavs, and is currently the active player with the longest tenure in an NBA team.
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Nowitzki played a key role in many of Dallas' greatest achievements, including the team's first ever 60-win season, its 2006 Finals appearance, its record 67-win season in the 2006-07 season, and the Mavs first NBA championship in 2011, beating the much favored Miami Heat.
Nowitzki averaged 22.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists for his entire Mavs career.
Nowitzki's individual accomplishments include the NBA Finals MVP in 2011, NBA MVP in 2007, 13-time NBA All-Star, 12-time All-NBA Team, 3 pt Shootout Champion in 2006, Rank 7th in all-time scoring, and the all-time leading Maverick in terms of games, rebounds, points, field goals, free throws and 3pt field goals.
2. Cavaliers sign Jefferson
After a 3-1 deficit in the NBA finals against Golden State, Jefferson announced that he will retire. But as the Cavs turned the series around and won the Championship, fans started clamoring for Jefferson to play "one more year!"
In a Twitter post, Cleveland Cavaliers announced, "It's officially official: Richard Jefferson is back!"
David Griffin, Cavaliers GM, said about Jefferson, "RJ's versatility on the court and leadership off it were core parts of our identity and success last year. In many respects, his impact was greater as the stakes got higher. His NBA finals performance is a testament to his dedicated, steady approach and his presence in our locker room throughout the year and postseason cannot be overstated."
3. Mavericks sign Hornsby, Warney
The Mavs sign free agents Jameel Warney, forward, and Keith Hornsby, guard.
Hornsby played for UNC-Asheville in his freshman and sophomore year, and transferred to LSU for his junior and senior year. During his time as a senior at LSU, Hornsby was the second highest scorer for his team, contributing 13.1 points per game, behind NBA's 2016 number 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons.
Warney played for the Mavericks in the Summer League, averaging 6.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 block and 1.2 steals in 6 games. He was undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, but he did have a successful college basketball career.
Warney averaged 19.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1. 6 assists per game in his senior year at Stony Brook.
4. Celtics sign Tyler Zeller, Gerald Green
Boston Celtics signed Gerald Green for an undisclosed deal. With this contract, 9-year veteran Green returns to the team he once played his first two NBA years for. Last season, he played for the Miami Heat, where he averaged 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists.
7'0" center Tyler Zeller re-signed with the Celtics. This will be the 3rd year Zeller will be playing for Boston; his first two years was spent with the Cavaliers.
Last season, Zeller averaged 6.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
5. Other NBA trades and free agency news
Maurice Harkless signed a 4-year $40 million contract to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers. Amar'e Stoudemire retired as a New York Knick. Wizards re-sign Marcus Thornton. A rumor suggests San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks are engaged in a bidding war to get Greg Monroe.
