Pachulia seals one-year Warriors deal
Pistons get Bradley from Celtics in exchange for Morris, Raptors re-sign Lowry and snap up Ibaka
>> OAKLAND: Centre Zaza Pachulia has agreed to a US$3.5 million, one-year contract to stay with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said on Friday.
Golden State’s starter in a threecentre rotation l ast season, the 33-year-old Pachulia averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.1 minutes during the postseason, and scored in double digits four times.
Pachulia played for $2.9 million last season, willing to take a lower salary to be part of a team that would chase a championship — and he wound up with his first ring after 14 NBA seasons.
Booed early on by the home crowd at Oracle Arena as he found his way with a new team, Pachulia eventually got comfortable with the Warriors and elevated his play.
A native of the Republic of Georgia, Pachulia joins several familiar faces who have committed to the team.
Most notably, two-time MVP Stephen Curry is receiving a record $201 million, five-year contract, while Finals MVP Kevin Durant reached agreement on a deal for approximately $53 million over two years. Fresh off his first career championship, KD is expected to decline the second year on his contract in order to sign a max contract next summer.
The Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 in the NBA Finals.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons acquired guard Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics in exchange for forward Marcus Morris.
The deal brings one of the best twoway players in the NBA to Detroit, who also receive a 2019 second-round draft pick in the deal.
With Bradley on his way to Detroit, the Pistons withdrew their $5.5 million qualifying offer and renounced their rights to restricted free-agent guard Kentavius Caldwell-Pope.
That makes Caldwell-Pope, who was reportedly seeking some $25 million, an unrestricted free agent, with the Brooklyn Nets reportedly interested in acquiring him.
Bradley, 26, averaged 16.2 points per game and shot 39 percent from three-point range for the Celtics last season, when Boston reached the Eastern Conference finals.
But dealing him gives Boston room under the salary cap to sign All-Star free agent forward Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $128 million maximum contract.
Hayward, 27, chose the Celtics earlier this week over the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz, the team with which he played his first seven seasons since he was drafted ninth overall in 2010.
Morris, 27, played six NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Pistons. He averaged 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 79 games with the Pistons last season.
Also, Kyle Lowry re-signed with the Toronto Raptors on Friday as the franchise completed a multiyear deal for free agent power forward Serge Ibaka.
Lowry, who in May hinted he was ready to leave Toronto to increase his chances of winning an NBA championship, has re-signed on a reported three-year deal worth $100 million.
The three-time All Star has been a key pillar of the Raptors in recent years, averaging 18.2 points, 6.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game during five regular seasons with the team.
“Kyle has been a valuable part of our team’s success the past five years,” Raptors team president Masai Ujiri said. “He has grown as a player and person during his time in Toronto and we are excited that he wants to be here to help us continue building a championship program.”
Speaking after the Raptors were swept 4-0 by the Cleveland Cavaliers during the postseason, Lowry said his priority remained winning a championship.
“A ring. Nothing else. I just want a ring,” Lowry told reporters as he explained his decision to seek free agency in May.
Ibaka re-signed after joining from Orlando in February.