2015 July | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Sign Rakeem Christmas

July 27th, 2015 at 2:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:06pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

1:01pm: The Pacers haven’t formally announced the deal yet, but their official team Twitter account passed along a tweet from Christmas that depicts him signing his contract.

MONDAY, 9:32am: The final two seasons are partially guaranteed, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM, who hears the deal is for $4.3MM, slightly less than the $4.5MM originally reported (Twitter link)

THURSDAY, 6:14pm: The Pacers and rookie Rakeem Christmas have reached an agreement on a contract, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports (on Twitter). The pact is for four-years and $4.5MM, with the first two seasons fully guaranteed, Haynes adds. Christmas was the No. 36 overall selection in this year’s NBA Draft.

Christmas’ draft rights had been acquired from the Cavaliers earlier today in exchange for the 2019 second round pick that Indiana garnered from the Lakers in the Roy Hibbert trade. Cleveland reportedly made the deal for Christmas in order to acquire a draft pick that it could use to help flip Brendan Haywood‘s uniquely valuable non-guaranteed contract.

The 23-year-old averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks to go with a slash line of .560/.000/.681 during his four years spent at Syracuse. Christmas logged 17.5 PPG and 9.1 RPG during his senior season.

Pacers Sign Glenn Robinson III

July 27th, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MONDAY, 2:02pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

“Glenn comes to us with a set of skills we think will blend in with our team,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. “We expect him to be very good on the defensive end and he can score the ball. We look forward to seeing him improve throughout the year.”

SATURDAY, 11:48am: Glenn Robinson III has agreed to a three-year contract with the Pacers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Agents Austin Brown and Aaron Mintz of CAA informed Wojnarowski of the agreement.

Robinson, 21, became an unrestricted free agent after the Sixers declined to make him a qualifying offer. The 6’7” swingman appeared in 35 games last season. He averaged 1.2 points in 25 games for the Timberwolves, who waived him in March. He averaged 4.4 points in 10 games after the Sixers claimed him.

The Pacers still have some cap space left even with the addition of Robinson III because they have yet to make their deal with Lavoy Allen official, former Nets executive Bobby Marks tweets.

Robinson will have to fight for playing time at the wing positions with Paul George, Monta Ellis, Chase Budinger, Solomon Hill and C.J. Miles.

Robinson declared for 2014 draft after his sophomore season with the University of Michigan and was taken with the 40th overall pick by Minnesota.

Pacers Re-Sign Shayne Whittington

July 27th, 2015 at 1:59pm CST by Will Joseph

1:59pm: The deal is official, the Pacers announced.

“Shayne has been with us for more than a year and shown us a lot of good things,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. “He has grown as a player, has improved and we expect him to continue to do so to be a part of what we do. He’s a hard worker with a variety of skills for a big man.”

JULY 27TH, 10:37am: It’ll be a two-year deal with the first season fully guaranteed, Shade tells Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

JULY 12TH, 7:56pm: The Pacers and forward Shayne Whittington have agreed to a one-year, guaranteed contract, reports RealGM’s Shams Charania, who spoke with Whittington’s agent, Ron Shade (Twitter link).

Whittington is a restricted free agent. In April, the Pacers assigned Whittington to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League. It was the forward’s second trip to Fort Wayne last season.

Whittington, 24, averaged 2.9 points per game and only appeared in 20 games without making a start.

Heat Waive Henry Walker

July 27th, 2015 at 1:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:37pm: The move is official, the team announced.

1:14pm: The Heat plan to waive Henry Walker today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). A reunion is nonetheless possible should he clear waivers, Charania adds. His salary is to become guaranteed if he remains under his existing contract through Saturday, as our schedule of salary guarantee dates shows. The move would be no surprise, as the forward’s release had been a matter of speculation. Miami has let Walker know that he’ll go on waivers, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Walker first joined the Heat on a 10-day contract in February, later signing another 10-day deal before finally inking a deal that covered the rest of the season plus a non-guaranteed 2015/16 salary. He saw his first regular season NBA action since 2011/12 in his time with the Heat, averaging 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game with 34.1% three-point shooting across 24 appearances. The Mike Naiditch client made 13 starts, an uncommonly high number for a late-season pickup, yet it apparently wasn’t enough to ensure his place on the roster for this coming season.

The release of Walker would take Miami down to 14 players, leaving a spot for the team to sign shooting guard Josh Richardson, this year’s No. 40 overall pick, whom the Heat have been trying to clear room for. Miami only has to carry 13 players into the regular season, but the Heat are still reportedly trying to trade Mario Chalmers. Regardless, subtracting Walker would keep $100K from the Heat’s books, a number that would be multiplied many times over if the Heat don’t end up below the $84.74MM tax threshold by season’s end. Miami currently has about $89.2MM in guaranteed salary on its books.

Do you think that Walker will stick in the NBA this time? Leave a comment to let us know.

Cavs Re-Sign Matthew Dellavedova

July 27th, 2015 at 1:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:35pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

12:13pm: It is indeed the qualifying offer that Dellavedova will sign, McMenamin writes in a full story, which puts his reporting in agreement with that of Mannix.

10:56am: The Cavaliers will re-sign Matthew Dellavedova to a one-year deal worth about $1.2MM, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Chris Mannix of SI.com indicates that the Bill Duffy client is taking his qualifying offer (Twitter link), which is worth $1,147,276. Either way, it’ll likely cost the Cavs nearly four times as much in luxury tax penalties. The restricted free agent nonetheless appears to be taking a sharp discount from the $4MM he was reportedly seeking.

Dellavedova, who went undrafted in 2013, quickly established himself as an NBA player and further proved his worth in this year’s playoffs, and especially in the Finals, when he served as a fill-in for the injured Kyrie Irving. GM David Griffin made it clear he wanted him back, but Cleveland’s tax concerns appeared to slow negotiations. Dellavedova wanted to move on a deal at this point in part because of a desire to have his future settled before he starts playing for the Australian national team this summer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The Cavs can make him a restricted free agent again next summer, since he’ll only have three years of service.

The deal puts a further squeeze on J.R. Smith, who remains unsigned, though Dellavedova’s willingness to sacrifice ostensibly leaves more flexibility for the team to pay Smith what he would like to make, depending on just how much tax owner Dan Gilbert wants to shell out. The Cavs sliced their projected luxury tax bill to little more than $4MM when they agreed to trade Mike Miller along with Brendan Haywood to the Trail Blazers, but that doesn’t include what they’d have to pay for Dellavedova’s salary, nor does it take into consideration a new deal for Tristan Thompson, who remains a restricted free agent.

Is this a fair deal for Dellavedova, or should he have held out for more? Leave a comment to tell us what you think.

Blazers Acquire Brendan Haywood, Mike Miller

July 27th, 2015 at 12:55pm CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 12:55pm: The deal is official, the Cavs and Blazers announce. Miller receives $428,241 from Cleveland thanks to his 15% trade kicker, though that amount will apply to Portland’s cap, lifting Miller’s total cap hit to $3,283,181, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

8:49pm: The Cavs will not receive draft picks in the deal, Wojnarowski tweets. The Blazers, however, will send cash, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 8:19pm: The Cavs have agreed to trade Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Blazers, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Cleveland is set to gain two trade exceptions in the deal — one for $10.5MM and another for $2.85MM — Wojnarowski tweets.

Mar 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Brendan Haywood shoots prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Cavs are also set to send the better of the 2019 second-round picks that they own from the Lakers and Timberwolves plus their 2020 second-round pick, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst (on Twitter).

Haywood’s contract is non-guaranteed for next season at $10,522,500. It will become guaranteed on August 1st and therefore the Blazers are expected to waive him, Windhorst writes in a full story. The Cavs, of course, had been shopping Haywood and his sizable contract for months to no avail.

The Cavs are still interested in making deals with Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova, but at the moment, are set to cut their luxury tax bill from a little more than $32MM to just over $4MM by shedding the salaries of Haywood and Miller, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets.

Heat Rumors: Trades, Dragic, Richardson

July 27th, 2015 at 12:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat have been busy today, formally announcing trades that sent Shabazz Napier to the Magic and Zoran Dragic to the Celtics. They reportedly remain in pursuit of a deal that would take Mario Chalmers and his $4.3MM off their hands as they seek to avoid paying repeat-offender tax penalties. Here’s the latest from South Beach:

The amount of cash going from the Heat to the Celtics in the Dragic trade is $1.5MM, a league source tells Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. The Suns had paid the rest of his more than $1.706MM salary as a signing bonus last year. Miami will have $1.9MM left to spend in trades, while the Celtics, who took in cash as part of the Perry Jones III trade, too, only have $400K left that they can receive, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter links).
The 2019 second-round pick that the Celtics owe the Heat as part of the Dragic deal is top-55 protected, so Miami is unlikely to ever actually receive the selection, Himmelsbach reports in the same piece.
The Heat let No. 40 pick Josh Richardson know last week that they think he’s an NBA-caliber player and that they were doing what they could to find room on the roster for him, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (All Twitter links). The Dragic and Napier trades give the team 15 players, Jackson notes, speculating that Miami will release Henry Walker before his non-guaranteed salary becomes partially guaranteed for $100K on Saturday, a move that would open a spot for Richardson. Still, the roster remains fluid, so Jackson wouldn’t dismiss the idea that Walker will still be with Miami.

Celtics To Waive Zoran Dragic?

July 27th, 2015 at 12:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:21pm: A source who spoke with Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the Celtics will try to flip Dragic in another trade rather than waive him (Twitter link). Either way, he won’t be playing for Boston. The Celtics can’t aggregate Dragic’s salary with others in a swap for two months, though they can work a trade that sends him out by himself.

11:17am: The Celtics intend to release the newly acquired Zoran Dragic, a league source tells Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That means the Celtics are prepared to eat Dragic’s salary of more than $1.706MM, assuming he goes unclaimed off waivers. The Heat sent along enough cash in the trade that sent Dragic to Boston to cover his salary, however. Phoenix, which originally signed Dragic, advanced $200K of Dragic’s salary, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (on Twitter), so the cash from Miami will take care of the rest.

Dragic, the brother of Goran Dragic, saw action in just 16 games split between the Suns and Heat last season. Zoran came with his brother in the trade that sent them to Miami at the February deadline, but Goran was apparently on board with today’s move that sent his brother to Boston. The Heat are ineligible to re-sign Zoran until next July because of the trade. This season was to have been the last on Goran’s two-year contract, and the Heat can’t sign him until its scheduled expiration.

The Celtics had little room for the extra player, as they had already been in line to carry 16 guaranteed contracts before today’s trade. Boston will instead pocket the 2020 second-round pick it acquired in the transaction, adding it to its robust stockpile of future draft assets. It’s the eighth extra second-rounder the Celtics have coming their way.

Do you think Zoran Dragic will latch on with another NBA team this season? Leave a comment to let us know.

Magic Acquire Shabazz Napier

July 27th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by ChrisCrouse

NBA: Preseason-Orlando Magic at Miami Heat

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

MONDAY, 11:46am: The trade is official, both teams announced via press release. It’s a 2016 second-rounder going to Miami. Orlando receives cash in addition to Napier.

2:52pm: The deal is expected to be formally announced Monday, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The second-round pick is heavily protected, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). The Magic will keep the pick unless they have a top five record next season.

SUNDAY, 12:23pm: The Magic will acquire Shabazz Napier from the Heat, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets. The Heat will receive a protected future second-round pick, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Miami was aggressively trying to deal Napier in addition to Mario Chalmers because of luxury tax concerns, according to previous reports. Napier set to make roughly $1.3MM this season and has a team option on his salary for the 2016/17 season. Thus, the deal as reported will allow the Heat to create a trade exception worth $1,294,440, the precise value of Napier’s salary this season.

Orlando will now have 10 players on its roster who were drafted since 2011 with four players coming via trade, as former Nets executive Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link). Napier will presumably be the team’s third string point guard behind 2015 rookie of the year candidate Elfrid Payton and new addition C.J. Watson.

Napier was reportedly a favorite of LeBron James, and his addition to the Heat last summer seemed like a play to retain the four-time MVP, who instead returned to Cleveland. Miami came away with Napier’s rights in a 2014 draft-night deal with Charlotte, which used the No. 24 pick to take the point guard last year. Miami gave Napier 10 starts, and he averaged 19.8 minutes per game, but he played in only one game after March 9th as he battled a sports hernia that ultimately ended his season prematurely.

Celtics Acquire Zoran Dragic From Heat

July 27th, 2015 at 11:13am CST by Chuck Myron

11:13am: The trade is official, the Celtics and Heat announced. The second-rounder going to Miami is a protected 2019 selection, according to the Heat.

11:07am: The Heat are sending enough cash in the deal to cover Dragic’s salary, reports Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).

10:49am: The second-rounder going to Boston is for 2020, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

10:11am: The Celtics are acquiring Zoran Dragic from the Heat, reports Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald and ESPN (Twitter link). He’s the brother of Goran Dragic, who’s OK with the deal, Le Batard adds. The Heat are also sending out a second-rounder, with another heavily protected second-rounder heading from Boston to Miami, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It looks like the Heat aren’t taking salary back in the deal, so they’ll be able to reap luxury tax savings on top of the more than $1.706MM owed to Dragic for this coming season.

Miami has been carrying about $90.9MM in guaranteed salary, above the league’s $84.74MM tax threshold. The Dragic deal won’t take the team under that figure, and the Heat continue to look for takers for Mario Chalmers and his $4.3MM salary, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). Miami would be subject to repeat-offender tax penalties if it’s above the tax threshold at the end of the regular season.

The Celtics use cap space to take in Dragic. Boston is set to complete the David Lee trade later today, but as that move has lingered as unofficial, the C’s have been able to operate as a team with cap space, making moves like the Perry Jones III trade and signing Jordan Mickey for more than two years. Boston had already been in line to carry 16 fully guaranteed contracts for the season ahead, so it would seem Dragic’s place on the opening night roster for the Celtics is not assured.

Miami also whittled its tax bill down with Sunday’s agreement to trade Shabazz Napier to the Magic. The Napier and Dragic deals stand to save the Heat around $11MM in salary and tax penalties combined, depending on other transactions, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

Month: November 2024