NBA notebook: Lakers reportedly sign F Beasley

[July 21, 2018]  The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to sign free agent forward Michael Beasley to a one-year, $3.5 million deal, according to multiple reports Friday.

Beasley, 29, spent last year with the New York Knicks, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Those were his highest marks since the 2010-11 campaign, and he managed them in 22.3 minutes per game while appearing in 74 contests (30 starts). Beasley also shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range last season.

The second overall pick in 2008, Beasley will be joining his seventh NBA team, including two stints with the Miami Heat. During the second stint, he played the 2013-14 season with new Lakers teammate LeBron James, as the Heat went on to lose the NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs. He joins James, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Rajon Rondo as the Lakers' free agent acquisitions this summer.

ESPN reports Beasley also drew interest from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

--Free agent guard Yogi Ferrell will sign with the Sacramento Kings for two years and $6.2 million, according to a Yahoo Sports report, hours after he spurned a reported deal to return to the Dallas Mavericks.

Ferrell's agent, Cervando Tejeda, told Yahoo Sports eight hours before news of the Kings' agreement that his client, after sleeping on it, decided to back out of a two-year, $5.3 million deal he agreed to with the Mavericks.

The Mavericks rescinded Ferrell's $2.9 million qualifying offer last Friday, a move that made the 25-year-old an unrestricted free agent. The move had been viewed as a formality with Ferrell close to agreement on the new deal that averaged less annually ($2.65 million) than the qualifying offer. Ferrell averaged 10.2 points while playing in all 82 games for the Mavericks last season.

--Brooklyn picked up forward Jared Dudley and a second-round pick in a trade with the Phoenix Suns, the Nets announced.

The Suns receive forward Darrell Arthur in return, but are expected to waive Arthur following a contract buyout. Arthur, 30, is due $7.4 million for the upcoming season. The second-round pick is for 2021 and reportedly is protected through No. 35, the latest in a haul of draft picks collected by the Nets.

Dudley, 33, joins his sixth team as he heads into his 12th season. He's a career 39.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc and has averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 788 career games. He's due $9.5 million this season.

--Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said he was sorry for any miscommunication with former star DeMar DeRozan ahead of this week's trade to the San Antonio Spurs.

Mar 28, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Knicks forward Michael Beasley (8) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

DeRozan posted an Instagram message after the trade leaked, inferring that Ujiri had misled him during a conversation at a Vegas Summer League game. DeRozan wrote, "Be told one thing & the outcome another. Can't trust em. Ain't no loyalty in this game. Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing... Soon you'll understand... Don't disturb..."

Ujiri confirmed their conversation, but insists it was done in good faith. "I had a conversation with DeMar at summer league, and I really want to leave it at that," Ujiri said, per ESPN. He also said that the opportunity to land a player of Kawhi Leonard's caliber made the move too good to pass up. "When you have a chance to get a top-five player, which doesn't come very often, I think you have to jump on it," he said.

--The Philadelphia 76ers sent center Richaun Holmes to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for cash.

The move, in which the 76ers received $1 million back, cleared the way for Philadelphia to sign 2017 second-round pick Jonah Bolden to a four-year, $7 million deal.

Holmes, who turns 25 in October, averaged 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 48 games last season. In 156 career games, he's averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds. Bolden, 22, was drafted 36th overall by Philadelphia in 2017 and stashed away at Maccabi Tel Aviv last season. He averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 29 games.

--The San Antonio Spurs announced the team has signed free agent forward Dante Cunningham.

While details weren't given, it's been reported to be a one-year deal worth around $2.5 million.

The 6-foot-8 Cunningham, 31, reportedly considered the Spurs and the Brooklyn Nets after averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 73 games for Brooklyn and the New Orleans Pelicans last season. The nine-year veteran has played for Portland, Charlotte, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans and Brooklyn.

--Field Level Media

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