The Houston Rockets signed All-Star guard James Harden to a four-year, $118 million contract extension Saturday.The deal assures the Rockets of one additional year of Harden under contract in 2018-19 because of a player option that could return him to free agency in 2019, league sources told The Vertical.Harden's salary for next season will be $26.5 million under the new salary cap and increase incrementally over the course of the deal.Rockets owner Leslie Alexander made the announcement at a news conference Saturday."I'm happy to be here for four more years," Harden said. "This is home for me."The 26-year-old Harden averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds for the Rockets last season.--New Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade joined New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony in speaking out against recent gun violence that has dominated the news.Both athletes expressed their demands for social change in the wake of police shootings of African-American men and the sniper who killed... [More]

The Houston Rockets signed All-Star guard James Harden to a four-year, $118 million contract extension on Saturday.The deal assures the Rockets of one additional year of Harden under contract in 2018-19 because of a player option that could return him to free agency in 2019, league sources told The Vertical.Harden's salary for next season will be $26.5 million under the new salary cap and increase incrementally over the course of the deal.Rockets owner Leslie Alexander made the announcement at a news conference Saturday."There's no indecision," Harden said. "There's no doubt. There's new life."I'm happy to be here for four more years. This is home for me."The 26-year-old Harden averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds for the Rockets last season.Harden has been an All-Star in each of the four seasons he has played for Houston. He was traded to the Rockets in 2012 in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder and led Houston to the 2015 Western Conference finals.The Rockets were ousted by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs last season.

The Denver Nuggets re-signed free agent forward Darrell Arthur to a multi-year contract, the team announced Saturday.Arthur averaged 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in a career-high 21.7 minutes over 70 games (16 starts) last season. He made a career-high 45 three-pointers while shooting a career-best 38.5 percent from three-point range.Arthur, 27, has spent the past three seasons with Denver Nuggets."Darrell embodies all of the values and characteristics that we look for in a player," general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. "D.A.'s commitment to our team, organization and city has always been evident and we were thrilled that he chose to stay in Denver and continue being an integral part of what we are building here."In 443 NBA games (98 starts), Arthur has averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 18.4 minutes with the Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies over seven seasons.

The Sacramento Kings signed free agent guards Arron Afflalo and Garrett Temple, and forwards Matt Barnes and Anthony Tolliver on Saturday.Terms of the agreements were not disclosed by the team.Afflalo has career averages of 11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 28.7 minutes per game in nine NBA seasons.Barnes returns to the Kings as a 13-year NBA veteran after spending the 2015-16 season with the Memphis Grizzlies. Last season, he had career highs in field goal attempts per game (9.1), free throw percentage (80.4 percent) and tied a career-best with 5.5 rebounds per contest. He owns career averages of 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game.Tolliver, a 10-year NBA veteran, has career averages of 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 19.6 minutes per game. He played 72 games with the Detroit Pistons last season.Temple spent the previous four seasons with the Washington Wizards, where he averaged 4.6 points and 1.5 assists in 17.4 minutes per game."Adding... [More]

New Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade joined New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony in speaking out against recent gun violence that has dominated the news.Both athletes expressed their demands for social change in the wake of police shootings of African-American men and the sniper who killed five white police officers in Dallas this week."The system is Broken," Anthony said Friday in an Instagram post. "Point blank period. It has been this way forever. Martin Luther King marched. Malcolm X rebelled. Muhammad Ali literally fought for US. Our anger should be towards the system. If the system doesn't change we will continue to turn on the TVs and see the same thing. We have to put the pressure on the people in charge in order to get this thing we call JUSTICE right."Anthony called for professional athletes to take a stand as well."There's NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore," he wrote. "Those days are long gone. We have to step up... [More]

The Indiana Pacers officially signed veteran free agent center Al Jefferson to a multi-year contract on Saturday.No terms were announced by the team but the deal is worth a reported $30.5 million over three years.The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson spent the last three seasons of his 12-year NBA career with Charlotte. Jefferson, who was drafted by Boston in 2004 (first round, 15th overall) out of Prentiss (Miss.) High School, played three seasons with the Celtics before being traded to Minnesota. He spent three years there before being traded to Utah, where he played three seasons. He then signed as a free agent with Charlotte in 2013."We want to welcome Al to the Indiana Pacers," Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in a statement. "Al is a good, solid, veteran player. We know what he brings to our team, scoring, rebounding and he's a handful down in the post. Not only do we think he'll help us a lot on the court, we think he will be a good mentor for Myles Turner.... [More]

Jamal Crawford will get a chance at winning his fourth NBA Sixth Man of the Year award with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers announced Friday that Crawford re-signed with the team. Terms of the deal were not released, but multiple reports said he is returning to Los Angeles with a three-year, $42 million deal. The 36-year-old has spent the last four seasons with the Clippers and has won two of his sixth man awards He claimed the award last season after averaging 14.2 points in 79 games and also in 2014. Crawford is the only three-time winner of the award and reportedly was displeased with the Clippers' original one-year, $12 million offer. Since entering the NBA as a first-round pick in 2000, Crawford has played with the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers.

G Deron Williams was re-signed by the Mavericks to a one-year, $10 million contract on Friday.

C JaVale McGee was waived by the Mavericks on Friday.

F Jared Dudley was signed to a multiyear contract by the Phoenix Suns, the team announced Friday. ESPN had reported earlier that Dudley agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal.

The Dallas Mavericks kept free-agent guard Deron Williams at home, re-signing him to a one-year, $10 million contract on Friday.The Mavericks also signed rookies A.J. Hammons and Dorian Finney-Smith and waived 7-foot center JaVale McGee.Williams, a three-time NBA All-Star, spent last season with his hometown team and averaged 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.The 7-foot Hammons was selected 46th overall in the second round of the NBA Draft last month out of Purdue. He averaged 15 points and 8.2 rebounds as a senior for the Boilermakers last season.The 6-8 Finney-Smith was an undrafted rookie free agent from Florida who led the Gators in rebounding the past three seasons. He averaged 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds as a senior.McGee averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 34 games for the Mavericks last season.

Jamal Crawford will get a chance at winning his fourth NBA Sixth Man of the Year award with the Los Angeles Clippers.The Clippers announced Friday that Crawford re-signed with the team. Terms of the deal were not released, but multiple reports said he is returning to Los Angeles with a three-year, $42 million deal.The 36-year-old has spent the last four seasons with the Clippers and has won two of his sixth man awards He claimed the award last season after averaging 14.2 points in 79 games and also in 2014.Crawford is the only three-time winner of the award and reportedly was displeased with the Clippers' original one-year, $12 million offer. Since entering the NBA as a first-round pick in 2000, Crawford has played with the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers. Besides retaining Crawford, the Clippers announced the re-signings of guard Austin Rivers along with forwards Wesley Johnson and Luc Mbah a Moute.Rivers will reportedly get... [More]

The Sacramento Kings are "actively seeking" to trade veteran forward Rudy Gay, ESPN reported Friday.The team is also trying to deal center Kosta Koufos and guard Ben McLemore.Gay, 29, is heading into his 11th season in the league with career averages of 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds over 723 games. Last year with the Kings, he averaged 17.2 points and 6.5 boards in 70 games.The former No. 8 overall pick by Memphis in 2006 spent the first seven years of his career with the Grizzlies before being traded to Toronto on Jan. 30, 2013, but he played only 51 games with the Raptors.On Dec. 9, 2013, Gay was again traded to Sacramento and signed an extension with this Kings the following November.Gay is an established scorer, never averaging fewer than 10.8 points in a season. He's averaged over 17 points in nine straight seasons dating back to 2007-08.Koufos, 27, has averaged 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in his eight seasons while the 23-year-old McLemore is averaging 9.7 points in three years.

Chris Andersen is on the verge of a reunion with former teammate LeBron James.The veteran free agent forward/center is close to signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, head coach Tyronn Lue told NBATV on Friday night.The signing was first reported by the Miami Herald earlier this week.Andersen, 38, is entering his 15th season in the league. He spent two years with James in Miami with the Heat, winning a championship in 2013.Last year, Andersen began the season with the Heat but was traded after only seven games to the Memphis Grizzlies. Between the Heat and Grizzlies, Andersen averaged 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 27 games.Andersen has averaged 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks during his career.On Jan. 25, 2006, Andersen received a two-year suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy and missed the 2006-07 season and most of the next but was reinstated on March 4, 2008.Andersen went undrafted and made his NBA debut on Nov. 23, 2001.

C Ian Mahinmi was signed by the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Mahinmi recorded career-highs in points (9.3) and rebounds (7.1) last season with Indiana. Those numbers were considerably better than the 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds he averaged in his previous eight campaigns with San Antonio, Dallas and the Pacers.

F/C Jason Smith was signed by the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Smith has averaged 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds over nine seasons with Philadelphia, New Orleans, New York and Orlando. The journeyman stepped it up in 2015-16, averaging 7.2 points in 76 games.

SG/SF Mike Dunleavy was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Chicago Bulls on Thursday in a cap-clearing move to make room for Dwyane Wade. Dunleavy is headed to the reigning NBA champion Cavaliers in exchange for the rights to Vladimir Veremeenko, who the Washington Wizards selected No. 48 overall in the 2006 draft, and Albert Miralles, who the Toronto Raptors drafted No. 34 overall in 2004. The 14-year-veteran Dunleavy was a productive starter who averaged more than 10 points per game in 12 out of 13 seasons from 2003-14, but settled into a background role now at the age of 35. Dunleavy averaged 11.5 points on 44.1 percent shooting along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his career, but last year averaged only 7.2 points -- the second-fewest since his rookie year -- over 31 games.

C Al Jefferson joined the Pacers on a three-year, $30 million deal. Jefferson never spent more than three seasons with any team. A below-the-rim post player, his signing seems to signal McMillan will play some slower-pace, half-court sets while primarily preferring an up-tempo offense. Jefferson, 31, was drafted by the Celtics but traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he worked under former Bird teammate Kevin McHale. Last season he was limited by a knee injury and served a five-game suspension for violating the substance-abuse policy and averaged 12 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He also has a history of chronic foot problems.

PG Jose Calderon was traded from the Bulls to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday in a cap-clearing move to make room for Dwyane Wade. Calderon was shipped to Los Angeles along with the Denver Nuggets' 2018 second-round draft pick and Chicago's 2019 second-rounder in exchange for the rights to Ater Majok, the Lakers' pick at No. 58 overall in the 2011 draft. Calderon is an 11-year veteran who played for four teams, never officially suiting up for Chicago. The Spaniard was acquired in the deal that sent former All-Star guard Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks on June 22. Calderon has career averages of 9.9 points and 6.5 assists while sporting a 47.4 percent field goal percentage.

F Jonas Jerebko had his contract option picked up by the Celtics on Thursday. The Celtics guaranteed the contract Jerebko at $5 million next season.