Andrew Ladd inks seven-year, $38.5 million deal with Islanders

As Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin and Fran Nielsen exit, Andrew Ladd will enter the New York Islanders fold after signing a seven-year, $38.5 million contract as free agency opened on Friday.

Once possible targets Taylor Hall and Steven Stamkos saw their futures set on Wednesday, the Islanders turned their sights to the 30-year-old forward.

Ladd and his wife were on Long Island Thursday to tour the Islanders’ new practice facility not far from the team’s old home at Nassau Coliseum. One day later he inks a deal that will likely put him next to John Tavares beginning next season.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion has scored at least 20 goals in four of the last five seasons between the Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets. That trend has a good chance of continuing should head coach Jack Capuano place him on the top line.

Ladd could have played out the next six years of his career in Winnipeg, but after reportedly turning down a $36 million extension over six years he was dealt to the Blackhawks at the trade deadline.

Jeff Green to join Magic on one-year deal

Free agent Jeff Green has agreed to a one-year, $15 million contract with the Orlando Magic, league sources told The Vertical.

Green, 29, averaged 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 80 games with the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies last season. Clippers coach Doc Rivers – who coached Green in Boston – gave up a first-round pick to acquire the 6-foot-9 forward at the NBA trade deadline to help the team’s postseason push. The Clippers wanted Green back, sources said, but now the capped-out franchise could have a hard time finding his replacement.

Green had discussed some multiyear options but wanted to finalize a one-year deal Friday, sources said.

Green, the fifth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft out of Georgetown, has played nine NBA seasons, with Oklahoma City, Boston, Memphis and the L.A. Clippers. He has averaged 14 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists for his career.

Solomon Hill agrees to $52M deal with Pelicans

Free-agent forward Solomon Hill has reached agreement on a four-year, $52 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources told The Vertical.

The Indiana Pacers declined the $2.3 million option on the final year of his rookie contract, clearing the way for Hill to hit unrestricted free agency and strike a substantial deal with the Pelicans.

Hill, 25, scored big in a market that is rewarding youth, athleticism and upside. He averaged 7.7 points, four rebounds and 57.9 percent 3-point shooting in the Pacers’ seven-game series loss to the Toronto Raptors.

When Pacers star Paul George missed most of the 2014-15 season with a broken leg, Hill emerged as the team’s starting forward.

Hill has averaged six points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in three NBA seasons.

The Pacers have reshaped their roster this offseason, adding Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson.

Tiger Woods withdraws from the British Open

For the first time in his career, Tiger Woods will miss at least the first three majors in a season.

Woods withdrew from the British Open on Friday, making official that the 14-time major champion will miss the first three majors of the year.

Australian Marcus Fraser replaces Woods in the field at Royal Troon in Scotland from July 14-17.

Woods missed both the Masters and U.S. Open, the first two majors of the year. He entered the U.S. Open on the Monday of Masters Week in the event that his back, operated on three times since March 2014, was in good enough shape to take on the rigors of Oakmont Country Club. Woods had also officially entered the Open Championship.

The 40-year-old hasn’t played competitive golf since finishing tied for 10th place in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. A month later, he underwent a second microdiscectomy surgery on his back. A month after that, Woods had a follow-up procedure on the same region in his back.

At last week’s Quicken Loans National, which Woods and his foundation host, Woods suggested he might not want to play at all in 2016.

“I don’t know,” said Woods. “I want to play. Put it that way. I want to play. I don’t know if I will. But I do want to. But I’m trying. I’m trying each and every day I’m doing my workouts. … I’m working my tail off.”

Chandler Parsons agrees to max deal with Memphis

Free agent Chandler Parsons has agreed in principle to a four-year, $94 million maximum deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, league sources told The Vertical.

Parsons represents the first significant free agent to ever choose the Memphis organization. The deal was completed in a meeting in Los Angeles on Friday morning with Grlizzlies management, Parsons and his agent, Dan Fegan.

Parsons joined the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year deal in 2014 after the skilled forward played three seasons with the Houston Rockets. Parsons averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists, and shot 41.6 percent from 3-point range in 61 games this past season before opting out of the third year of his deal.

Parsons had performed at his highest level with the Mavericks, averaging 18.8 points, five rebounds and 2.7 assists in February before undergoing season-ending knee surgery in March. Doctors described the procedure as minor and his treatment allowed for a quick return to on-court training and clearance for basketball activities.

Parsons gives Memphis an upgrade on the wing with his perimeter shooting and versatility.

In five NBA seasons, Parsons has averaged 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists. He was the 38th overall pick of the Rockets in the 2011 NBA draft after a standout career at the University of Florida.

Why the Mets still pay a 53-year-old who hasn't played in 15 years over $1 million each July

Every sport has its fair share of notoriously bad contracts.

One of the most notorious is the strange "deferred money" contract that the Mets gave to Bobby Bonilla in 1999.

Bonilla was a good player who played two stints for the Mets — in the early '90s before skipping around the league and returning in 1999.

However, the Mets were dissatisfied with his performance in 1999 (he played only 60 out of 162 games that year and performed abysmally when he did play), so they didn't want to pay him the $5.9 million he was owed the following year.

In order to get out of the deal, the Mets and Bonilla's agent, Dennis Gilbert, brokered a deal that would defer the payment of the $5.9 million until 2011. ESPN's Darren Rovell explains it fully:

 

"The Mets owed Bonilla $5.9 million for the 2000 season and no longer wanted him. So the club negotiated with Gilbert to attach an 8 percent annual interest rate to that money. With the clock starting in 2000, that adds up to $29.8 million. The first installment of the payout came on July 1, 2011, and the Mets will pay their sixth installment on [July 1]."

 

The Mets chose this option thanks, in part, to Bernie Madoff. The Wilpons, who own the Mets, had a number of accounts with Madoff, who promised exorbitant returns, which motivated them to think that they would have enough money to make these deferred payments.

Alas, Madoff was exposed in a Ponzi scheme, and the Wilpons now have a relatively small, yet consistent financial hardship each year.

The deal looks laughable now for the Mets, but surely Bonilla doesn't mind the $1 million paycheck each July.

TODAY IN HISTORY - JULY 1ST

1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and educator, founded Clemson University (d. 1888) is born.

1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (b. 1800) dies.

1870 – The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.

1878 – Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.

1881 – The world's first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.

1885 – The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.

1903 – Start of first Tour de France bicycle race.

1906 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded the Estée Lauder Companies (d. 2004) is born.

1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.

1922 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States.

1952 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter is born.

1961 – Carl Lewis, American long jumper and runner is born.

1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail.

1966 – The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto.

1967 – Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American model and actress is born.

1968 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established.

1968 – The Nuclear non-proliferation treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.

1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States.

1972 – The first Gay pride march in England takes place.

1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.

1980 – "O Canada" officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.

1981 – The Wonderland murders occur in the early morning hours in Los Angeles, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash.

1984 – The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA.

1987 – The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world's first all-sports radio station.

1997 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (b. 1917) dies.

1999 – Forrest Mars, Sr., American businessman, created M&M's and the Mars bar (b. 1904) dies.

2000 – Walter Matthau, American actor and singer (b. 1920) dies.

2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (b. 1924) dies.

2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (b. 1951) dies.

2007 – The Concert for Diana is held at the new Wembley Stadium in London and broadcast in 140 countries.

2009 – Karl Malden, American actor (b. 1912) dies.

2013 – Neptune's moon S/2004 N 1 is discovered.