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The Cavaliers have agreed to terms with head coach Tyronn Lue on a five-year extension worth $35 million, according to The Vertical. Lue's decision to pass on an extension earlier in the season after taking over for David Blatt turned out to be a smart move.
After his promotion to head coach following David Blatt's firing in January, Lue gambled on himself and decided against signing a shorter, less lucrative deal as Cavaliers coach - never signing a three-year, $9.5 million contract framework.
Lue's decision turned out to be prophetic, because the Cavaliers' improbable 3-1 comeback victory in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors allowed for him to become compensated among the NBA's elite head coaches.
Amare Stoudemire has officially retired as a New York Knick after 14 seasons in the NBA, but he's really a Phoenix Sun writes Paul Coro. I remember really enjoying those Phoenix teams with him and Steve Nash running beautiful pick-and-rolls, and Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa running the court on the wings, under Mike D'Antoni's 7 seconds or less offense. Stoudemire had some truly dominant seasons with the Suns. I had an appreciation for Raja Bell as a 3-and-D glue guy too, for whatever that's worth.
But to get back to the one called S.T.A.T, Stoudemire was an All-Star six times, selected to two All-NBA first teams, and was named 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year after jumping straight to the league out of high school back when that was allowed. I still wish the best prep ballers could turn pro out of high school, but that's a topic for another time. I'm sure somewhere Amare is taking one of his relaxing red wine baths.
S/o to Amare Stoudemire on a heck of a career! That him/ Nash pick and roll was unstoppable.. Was a MONSTER!! Much respect.
— Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) July 27, 2016
Congrats to my brother @Amareisreal on a great career! I was lucky to play with you. Enjoy your next chapter.
— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) July 26, 2016
Farewell, Amare.
Speaking of farewells, Andrea Bargnani has signed with Saski Baskonia in Spain, also known as Laboral Kutxa.
The move most likely signals the end of his 10-year NBA career after being selected by the Toronto Raptors with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft. Bargnani was bought out by the Brooklyn Nets in late February and obviously there were no suitors for his services, so he's taking his game back overseas to play in the Liga ACB, also known as the second best basketball league in the world.
Fun fact: Rodrigue Beaubois also inked a two-year deal with the team last week. If you don't know who that is, maybe you haven't played enough NBA2K or been an NBA nerd for long enough.
In injury news, Anderson Varejao is likely to miss the Olympics in Rio due to a back injury. Tiago Splitter will also be out due to injury, which is terrible news for Brazil basketball and the host country's medal hopes during the Summer Games.
New Deals
- Celtics give 2nd-rounder Demetrius Jackson 4-year, $5.5M contract
- Moe Harkless, Trail Blazers agree to 4-year, $40 million contract
Instant reaction: I like both of these deals quite a bit for Boston and Portland. Locking up Jackson on a cheap 4-year deal is a low risk, high reward move on an interesting point guard prospect. That's very little money under the new salary cap. Harkless, on the other hand, has been talked about around Canis quite a bit for weeks now and he would have been a nice big defensive wing for the Wolves (though it doesn't sound like they were ever truly interested) but he's officially heading back to Portland. The Blazers have put a premium on retaining their players and $10 million per year for Harkless, who is 23 year old, feels like great value in comparison to a lot of other contracts handed out this summer.
Musical Guest
Today's musical guest is.... Little Dragon!