Lowry remains loyal to Raptors

Toronto rewards All-Star guard with three-year, $100 million deal

Kyle Lowry is staying home, saying he wants to finish what he started with the Raptors in Toronto.

Lowry announced on The Players' Tribune website on Sunday that he will re-sign with the Raptors, adding that it was an easy decision.

He'll sign a three-year deal worth $100 million, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were not revealed publicly.

Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap shoots against Washington Wizards forward Jason Smith during an April playoff game in Atlanta. Millsap has agreed to terms with the Denver Nuggets on a three-year deal worth $90 million. AP File

"It was up to me to decide whether this thing we have - is it worth sticking around for, and running it back again, and seeing if we can take that next step?" Lowry wrote. "And like I said - to me, that was an easy decision. The answer is yes."

The three-time All-Star averaged 22.4 points and 7.0 assists last season for the Raptors, who also struck a deal to retain forward Serge Ibaka.

"If you're looking for people to believe in - choose the people who believed in you first," Lowry wrote. "And if you start something? Man, you finish it."

So Toronto's star-powered backcourt is now set for at least the next three years, after shooting guard DeMar DeRozan got a five-year deal worth $139 million last summer.

Lowry and DeRozan led Toronto to the Eastern Conference finals in 2016, and the Raptors were out in the second round this year in part because Lowry got hurt during the postseason.

When the Raptors got Ibaka before the trade deadline last season, they made it clear they had no intentions of letting him walk away this summer in free agency.

Now that's been proven.

Meanwhile, Ibaka has agreed to terms on a three-year contract worth $65 million, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

The NBA's moratorium on signings expires on Thursday.

Nuggets get Millsap

The Denver Nuggets have been chasing starry veterans the past two years, determined to add experience and firepower to a promising young core.

They finally landed a big one, agreeing to terms with four-time All-Star Paul Millsap on a three-year deal worth $90 million, a source told Associated Press on Sunday.

The former Atlanta forward was one of the strongest free agents remaining on the board two days into the new business year, not counting Warriors superstar Kevin Durant, who is expected to re-sign with Golden State.

The Nuggets engaged with Millsap early in the process, outlasting several other teams, including the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks, whose new GM Travis Schlenk acknowledged they could get outbid for the 32-year-old's services.

Iguodala still a Warrior

Swingman Andre Iguodala has agreed to a three-year deal to remain with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, with the 33-year-old reserve confirming the move on Twitter.

"Sources close to Andre Iguodala reporting agreed to terms to return to the bay ...." Iguodala tweeted, a poke at the uncertainty surrounding all news in the first days of the NBA's free-agency frenzy.

Iguodala's deal, worth $48 million according to multiple reports, comes after he met with the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.

The Warriors are working to retain the core of a club that has won two NBA crowns in three seasons and came within a game of sweeping all three.

Golden State last week agreed to terms on the richest contract in NBA history with a five-year "supermax" deal worth $201 million to star guard Stephen Curry, with the two-time MVP reaping the benefits of a salary-cap jump and a willingness to take less than he could make elsewhere to keep the Warriors a title contender and on budget.

Rockets land Tucker

Iguodala's rejection of the Rockets, who landed point guard Chris Paul in a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers to join star shooting guard James Harden, prompted Houston to strike a deal with forward PJ Tucker. Multiple reports said it is for four years and $32 million.

Tucker met with the Toronto Raptors, who obtained him last February in a deal with Phoenix, but talks with Houston players, including Harden and Paul according to ESPN, prompted him to join the Rockets.

Known for intense defensive play, Tucker averaged 6.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 81 games for the Suns and Raptors last season.

The Rockets also agreed to terms with Brazilian free-agent center Nene, who took a three-year deal worth $11 million, ESPN reported, after a four-year offer for $15 million was withdrawn because it violated NBA salary-level rules.

Cavs keep Korver

The Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost to Golden State in the Finals for the second time in three seasons last month, reached deals to keep 3-point sharpshooter Kyle Korver and add Spanish reserve point guard Jose Calderon.

The Cavs reached a three-year deal with Korver worth $22 million, ESPN reported, while Calderon has a one-year deal.

Korver averaged 10.1 points a game for Atlanta and Cleveland but could not match that mark in the playoffs.

Minnesota and forward Taj Gibson agreed to a two-year deal worth $28 million, according to multiple reports, that reunites Gibson with former coach Tom Thibodeau.

They were together from 2010 to 2015 with the Chicago Bulls, along with Jimmy Butler, who was traded by Chicago to the T-wolves last month.

"Taj could fit into any team in any role, and that's the thing that you really respect about him," Thibodeau said. "He not only embraces the role that you ask him to play, he stars in it."

Zhou Qi set to blast off with Rockets

The Houston Rockets have agreed to a multiyear contract with 7-foot-2 Chinese center Zhou Qi, league sources told ESPN on the weekend.

The structure of the deal is undergoing final touches, but Zhou is expected to join the Rockets next season.

The 21-year-old Zhou, from Xinxiang, Henan province, was the 43rd pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He comes to the Rockets 15 years after the franchise drafted Hall of Famer Yao Ming with the No 1 overall pick.

Zhou has played the past two seasons with the CBA's Xinjiang Flying Tigers, averaging 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game. Beyond his shot-blocking and rebounding strengths, he has shown an ability to stretch the floor as a three-point shooter.

Zhou made his debut with the Chinese National Team during the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea, and at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha he led China to a 76-73 victory over South Korea in the first round with a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds.

He won a CBA championship in 2016 and was named the league's defensive player of the year.

Agencies