The Clippers officially signed three players Sunday, including 11-time All-Star James Harden, to deals, the team announced Sunday.

Forward Nicolas Batum and veteran center Brook Lopez also both officially were signed to play for the Clippers this coming season.

Harden reportedly inked a two-year, $81.5 million deal.

“James takes on a tremendous workload for our team, as a playmaker and a scorer, and he does it with consistency and dependability,” said Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations. “The NBA season is grueling, and James has proven he is built for it, in a way few are. He loves to play. He works on his game. He positions his teammates to succeed and his team to win.

“He’s a true partner, as shown by this agreement, which allows us to reward James and continue building in the present and future.”

Last season, Harden averaged 22.8 points, 8.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds in 79 starts. He was the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in total points, assists, steals and 3-pointers.

For Batum, his re-signing marked the start of his fifth season with the team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the 36-year-old forward reportedly signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal. The deal includes a team option as well as a trade kicker.

He appeared in 78 games last season and averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists, while shooting 43.3% from 3-point range (tied for third highest in the NBA) and was a finalist for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award.

He is one of seven active players in the NBA with 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 1,500 3-pointers.

Lopez, a veteran center, reportedly signed a two-year, $18 million deal.

Lopez, 37, averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks (fourth in NBA), playing 31.8 minutes in 80 games with the Bucks last season. He shot 50.9% (394-774) from the field, 37.3% (139-373) from 3-point range and 82.6% (114-138) from the free-throw line.

Last season marked Lopez’s third straight campaign with 100+ three-pointers and 100+ blocks, and the sixth in his career, the most in NBA history.

— Janis Carr

Lakers add Thiero

The Lakers officially acquired the draft rights of second-round pick Adou Thiero as part of a historic seven-team trade.

The transaction that brought Thiero to Los Angeles was headlined by Kevin Durant joining the Houston Rockets and also involved the Hawks, Nets, Warriors, Timberwolves and Suns.

The deal had the most teams involved in a single trade in NBA history, beating out the six teams involved in the transaction that sent Klay Thompson to the Mavericks last offseason.

The seven-team deal revolved around Durant, five other players and a slew of draft picks.

The Lakers selected Thiero with the No. 36 pick in the second round of the NBA draft on June 26 after a pair of draft-day trades. They originally had the No. 55 pick.

Thiero, 21, averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game during his junior season with the Razorbacks after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Kentucky. He played for Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer John Calipari for all three years of his college career.

Thiero, who’ll wear No. 1 with the Lakers, won’t participate in the team’s summer league games. He’s in the final stages of his return-to-play process from a left knee ailment he dealt with at Arkansas. Thiero is expected to be fully cleared for training camp.

The free-agency moratorium ended Sunday morning, allowing teams to sign players or make transactions they agreed to terms on over the past week.

The Lakers will sign center Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, and 23-year-old wing Jake LaRavia.

The Lakers fell to the Warriors on Saturday as part of the California Classic in San Francisco before facing the Heat on Sunday. They’ll face the Spurs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN)

The team will then head to Las Vegas to participate in the league-wide Summer League, with their first game scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. (ESPN) against the Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.

— Khobi Price

Cavs make moves

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a pair of familiar players back next season.

The Cavs announced they have re-signed Sam Merrill to a four-year contract and brought back Larry Nance Jr. for a second stint on a one-year deal.

Cleveland’s acquisition of Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls for Isaac Okoro was also made official on the first day of the signing period.

Merrill averaged 7.2 points and made 137 3-pointers in 71 games last season. The fifth-year guard had 27 points and nine 3s on Feb. 2 at Dallas.

Merrill was the final pick in the 2020 draft by New Orleans before joining the Cavaliers in March 2023.

Retaining Merrill became a priority after Ty Jerome agreed to deal with Memphis.

Nance spent parts of four seasons with the Cavs from 2018-21. He appeared in 182 games, including 76 starts, and averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 forward/center also was part of Cleveland’s last NBA Finals team in 2018.

Nance played for Atlanta last season and averaged 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 24 games with three starts.

Ball, who prepped at Chino Hills High before going to UCLA, gives Cleveland a veteran point guard. Darius Garland is likely to miss the start of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his left big toe earlier this month.

The 27-year old Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35 games this past season after missing the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns because of a left knee injury.