The Indianapolis Colts have released defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins.
Hankins signed a three-year deal worth $27 million in free agency last season. He made 15 starts and finished with 44 tackles and two sacks.
But with the Colts switching to a 4-3 defense that favors speed
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By making the move, the Colts save nearly $8.5 million under the salary cap and now have roughly $75 million to spend in free agency.
Indy also swapped first-round picks with the New York Jets on Saturday, getting two second-round picks this year and another in 2019 in return.
The only player Indy has signed so far is defensive end Denico Autry, who played last year in Oakland.
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The Houston Rockets believe they got a steal by adding Southern California’s De’Anthony Melton with the 46th pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night – and they aren’t worried about his off-court headlines.
Melton was drafted by the Rockets following a season in which he was ruled ineligible because of an extra benefits scandal.
”He’s a guy that if he had played we feel pretty comfortable that he would have been a top-20 pick
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Houston also added Purdue forward Vincent Edwards in a trade for cash with Utah after the Jazz selected the senior with the 52nd pick.
”We feel like both these guys are not too far from potentially contributing for us,” Morey said.
USC never had Melton in the lineup last season due to eligibility concerns tied to a sprawling college basketball corruption case. The 6-foot-4 Melton, who started 25 games as a freshman and averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists
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His eligibility first came into question when USC’s Tony Bland was one of four assistant coaches around the country accused of taking bribes to influence players to sign with certain agents, advisers and apparel brands. Bland was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to four charges concerning bribery and wire fraud.
”Obviously we have to do our homework and look into everything,” Morey said. ”That was something we were extremely comfortable that was not an issue.”
After leading his high school to consecutive state titles, Melton averaged 8.3 points
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Melton and Edwards will join a team led by James Harden and Chris Paul that won a franchise-record 65 regular-season games but was eliminated by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
Paul and center Clint Capela lead a group of free agents the Rockets will work to re-sign. Houston is also expected to make a play for LeBron James, but NBA rules kept Morey for commenting directly on any potential free agent targets.
”This was really about setting up our future but it doesn’t affect free agency,” Morey said of the draft. ”Now we shift our focus to free agency. And the challenge of upgrading a very good team is not easy, so we’re going to have to be aggressive.”
The 6-foot-8 Edwards was named second-team All-Big Ten after averaging 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game last season. He shot 39.8 percent from 3-point range and was an 83.3 percent free throw shooter last season. Edwards joined Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine and Tulane’s Jerald Honeycutt as the only three players in the last 25 years to finish their college careers with at least 1
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”He sort of can do it all,” Morey said. ”He can defend multiple positions. He really fits our style of play … one thing unique about him is he can handle the ball and pass at his size and he’s already an accomplished shooter.”
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