NBA Free Agency Continuing Coverage: July 1st updates

With NBA Free Agency underway there's already been plenty of action. So far the Celtics have not made any major moves but that could all change at any minute. (Stay tuned to CelticsBlog for updates all weekend long)

With some crazy money being spent early in free agency it'll be interesting to see what the Celtics are willing to spend this year before the bigger jump in the salary cap comes at the end of next season.

Boston Celtics ongoing stories

There hasn't been too many developments coming out of Boston's offices but that doesn't mean Ainge and the crew aren't all working hard to secure Boston's next superstar. Some things to keep track of during the free agency period are below.

Evan Turner signs with Blazers

UPDATE: Evan Turner signs four-year $70 million deal with Portland

Whether you decide to call him 'The Kid', 'Mr. Average', or 'The Logo', it's undeniable Evan Turner has been instrumental to Boston's recent success. Yet it's just as obvious that the specifics of his situation in Boston are a big part of why Evan Turner was fielding serious offers this Summer.

Turner was in the running for Sixth Man of the Year this past season so the Celtics shouldn't be surprised that plenty of teams were interested in procuring ET's services. However he has also said that team culture and fit are of the utmost importance to him when deciding where he'll end up.

That said, the various teams interested in acquiring ET made the cost of retaining Turner prohibitively expensive for the Celtics who are looking to maintain flexibility.

Al Horford meeting scheduled

UPDATE: Celtics will offer Horford a max-contract

Al Horford has scheduled meetings with several teams and Boston is on the list. Horford is probably looking for a max-contract so it will be interesting to see what Boston is willing to offer him. Reportedly Horford also has a meeting with OKC, so if he's seen as a deal-sweetener for KD then Boston doesn't really have the exclusive.

KD to Boston

The biggest story to ever happen that hasn't happened yet. Again Boston is on the list for KD and its a pretty short list, with few other teams in the same position as Boston to offer a max-contract and still have enough spare cash to find another max-contract player to pair with KD.

Conventional wisdom suggests KD will stay at Oklahoma but when has conventional wisdom ever prevailed during free agency?

Dwight Howard signs with Atlanta

UPDATE: Dwight Howard has signed a three-year $70.5 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks, Bad news for anyone hoping for plan C (or is it plan Z?) But possibly good news for anyone hoping Horford is the Celtics true target.

So far there hasn't been any major changes in Boston, but that doesn't mean change isn't coming. With silly amounts of money being splashed around the league there's several teams who can make big changes this Summer, and Boston is definitely one of them.

Around the League Updates and Stories

Right now there's several players around the league who have re-signed with their current rosters and a few who have decided to move on, keep checking in here to keep track of it all.

DeMar DeRozan re-signs with the Raptors

In one of the more reasonable and predictable deals of this year’s Free Agency so far, DeMar DeRozan will return to Toronto. He’s reportedly signed a five-year $139 million-plus deal.

He earned his pay-rise this past season averaging 23.5 points-per-game during the regular season and helping lead the Toronto Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Although his playoff performance left a little to be desired, this deal shows the Raptors are comfortable making a long-term commitment to DeRozan and they value what he brings to their team.

Together, Lowry and DeRozan were one of the most effective backcourts in the entire league last season, and arguably the most effective in the Eastern Conference.

That said, the Celtics aren’t likely to be sore on missing out on DeRozan. The last thing Boston needs is another wing player who still struggles to shoot from distance. Besides, by all accounts he was happy to work out a deal with Toronto early and they were happy to retain his services. So, big dino-sized smiles all around at Jurassic Park.

Orlando Magic Making Changes

The aggressiveness that the Magic showed on draft-day has flowed over to Free Agency. Early reports indicate Orlando have managed to sign DJ Augustin with the details of the deal still yet to be disclosed.

The veteran point-guard can help provide support for the Magic’s young starting guard, Elfrid Payton. But more importantly this deal shows that Vogel is obviously looking to shake things up with his new team. Adding first, big-man Serge Ibaka trading for Jodie Meeks and now adding the experienced, Augustin.

It’s possible there’s still more moves to be made by the Magic but either way we’ll be looking at a very different team coming out of Orlando next year, but will they be a better one?

UPDATE: Jeff Green signs one-year $15 million deal with Orlando

More changes in Orlando, what exactly is Vogel up to?

Jordan Clarkson agrees to four-year $50 million deal with Lakers

This was probably to be expected. There was virtually no way for teams to pry Restricted Free Agent, Clarkson away from the Lakers without offering a deal that was heavily stacked at the back-end.

This seems like a deal that would have been balked at before the rising salary cap made an over $10 million-a-year deal for Jordan Clarkson seem relatively reasonable. However couple this with the fact that the Lakers have just committed to Mozgov on a massive deal and it makes you wonder whether they’ve gone ga-ga in la-la-land.

Nicolas Batum to return to the Hive

Batum has signed a five-year $120 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets. The deal also includes a player option in the fifth year.

The French-born, shooting-guard had a bit of a breakout season so it’s not entirely surprising he’s getting paid. Charlotte were obviously better with him on the team and they have few other scoring options on their current roster.

Yet for five-years at over $20 million per year it seems like a lot for Batum’s overall production. Regardless, retaining Batum was seen as priority number one for the Hornets during the offseason. They’ll also seek to re-sign Marvin Williams but sources say the franchise expects Courtney Lee to go elsewhere.

Detroit Pistons sign Ish Smith, closing in on a deal with Drummond

The point guard who most recently played with the Sixers was picked up by the Pistons on a three year deal. Smith provides the Pistons with some depth at the point position to back-up their starter, Reggie Jackson.

Detroit are also reportedly closing in on a deal with Andre Drummond. If reports are correct the Pistons premiere big-man will be signing a five-year max deal of around $130 million. Drummond has become the franchise’s centerpiece so their willingness to spend big to re-sign him is entirely unsurprising.

Hassan Whiteside re-signs with Heat

Hassan Whiteside, announced via the Player's Tribune that he's staying in Miami. He''s set to receive a four-year $98 million contract, a substantial raise after a productive season.

Some Celtics fans who were hopeful Ainge could convince Whiteside to come to Boston will be disappointed but it seems pretty clear from Whiteside's article he had little interest in changing to another team.

Jeremy Lin to the Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn and Lin have agreed to a 3-year, $36 million deal. So anyone who was hoping the Lin-sanity would come to Boston will just have to accept that they’re a little crazier in Brooklyn.

Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic sign with Milwaukee

Pesky PG, Matthew Dellavedova has agreed to a 4-year, $38 million contract with the Bucks. Dellavedova should fit well with Coach, Jason Kidd’s system helping ease the transition as Giannis Antetokounmpo adjusts to being the Bucks primary ball-handler.

The Bucks have also secured a three-year, $30 million deal with Mirza Teletovic, which should help with the Bucks spacing. Yet with Dellavedova, Teletovic and Antetokounmpo on the same team Milwaukee are surely already in the running as the hardest to pronounce line-up in the league.

Chandler Parsons moves to Memphis, Conley re-signs with record deal

The Grizzlies and Chandler Parsons have agreed to a deal that will see Parsons paid $94 million over four-years. There was intensified interest in Parsons around the league during Free Agency and the Grizzlies will be glad to have nabbed him.

Despite Parsons defensive inefficiencies he should help Memphis on the offensive end. The Grizzlies have also agreed to a record $153 million contract to coax Mike Conley to return.

Keep track of all the rumors and signings using the links below.

Bonus SBNation Links: Kevin Durant Tracker | Rumors Tracker | Contracts Tracker

Stay tuned for updates.