Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign Chuma Okeke

August 1st, 2024 at 6:16pm CST by Rory Maher

6:16pm: The Knicks have officially announced (via Twitter) the signing of Okeke to an Exhibit 10 deal.

12:04pm: The Knicks plan to sign free agent forward Chuma Okeke, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Okeke, who played a couple of college seasons at Auburn, was the 16th overall pick of the 2019 draft. He has spent the past five years with the Magic, holding career averages of 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 189 regular season games, including 55 starts (20.3 minutes per contest). He posted a .383/.318/.789 shooting line over that span.

Okeke had an unusual start to his professional career, as he didn’t sign his rookie scale contract until 2020, a year after he was drafted, due to a torn ACL. That meant he hit free agency a year later than his 2019 first-round draft classmates as well. He became an unrestricted free agent when Orlando chose not to give him a $7.4MM qualifying offer.

Known primarily for his excellent work on the defensive end, Okeke has unfortunately battled injuries since he turned pro, playing between 27 and 47 games in three of his four active seasons. He was not a rotation regular in 2023/24 for Orlando, averaging a career-low 9.2 minutes per contest.

While the terms of the contract were not disclosed, it seems likely be a one-year, minimum-salary deal, perhaps with a partial guarantee. The Knicks currently have 14 players on standard contracts, so Okeke could be battling for a potential 15th spot in training camp, assuming the team decides to carry a full roster.

Gordon Hayward Announces Retirement

August 1st, 2024 at 9:06am CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent forward Gordon Hayward has chosen to retire. He posted his decision on social media on Thursday morning (Twitter link).

“Today, I am officially retiring from the game of basketball,” he wrote. “It’s been an incredible ride and I am so grateful to everyone who helped me achieve more than I ever imagined.”

Hayward, 34, burst onto the national scene in 2010 when he led Butler to the NCAA Championship game, narrowly missing a game-winner half-court heave at the final buzzer against Duke.

The Jazz selected him in the lottery with the ninth pick in that year’s draft. He spent his first seven seasons with Utah and made the All-Star team in the last of those seasons. He departed Utah on a four-year, $128MM deal with the Celtics but his career was sidetracked by a devastating left leg injury in his first regular-season game for Boston.

He left the Celtics in 2020 after declining his player option and was dealt to Charlotte in November 2020 via a sign-and-trade, inking a four-year, $120MM contract in the process. However, his years in Charlotte were a disappointment as injuries piled up and he was unable to lift the franchise to a postseason appearance.

Hayward’s career ended with the Thunder after he was dealt by the Hornets at last season’s trade deadline. Hayward had a limited role with Oklahoma City and expressed frustration after the team was eliminated.

“Obviously disappointing with kind of how it all worked out. This is not what I thought it would be. Certainly frustrating. … We have a great team here with great young players, a great coach. So the future is bright,” Hayward said, adding, “I feel like as a player I have a lot to offer. I just wasn’t given much of an opportunity to do that.”

However, a month after free agency began, Hayward decided to call it quits.

In 835 career regular-season appearances, Hayward averaged 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 30.7 minutes per game. He also saw action in 36 postseason contests, averaging 12.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 2.4 APG.

Grizzlies Sign Luke Kennard To One-Year Deal

July 31st, 2024 at 9:10pm CST by Luke Adams

9:10pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

11:54am: Free agent sharpshooter Luke Kennard is returning to the Grizzlies, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who hears from sources that the two sides have reached an agreement on a one-year, $11MM deal.

The Grizzlies turned down Kennard’s $14.8MM team option for the 2024/25 season on June 29, making him an unrestricted free agent, but the expectation was always that he’d agree to a more team-friendly deal to remain in Memphis.

Reporting at the time his option was declined indicated that Kennard and the team were “eager” to discuss a new contract, and the 28-year-old was never linked to any other suitors during the month he spent on the open market.

Kennard was limited to just 39 games (22 starts) this past season for health reasons, including a left knee bone bruise, but was effective when he was available, with averages of 11.0 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game.

One of the NBA’s best three-point shooters, the 6’5″ wing has made at least 44.6% of his attempts from beyond the arc in each of the past four seasons, including 45.0% in 2023/24.

Kennard was the No. 29 player on our list of this summer’s top 50 free agents. He was the only unrestricted free agent in the top 40 who remained unsigned.

Prior to officially re-signing Kennard, the Grizzlies are carrying 13 players on standard contracts, with a team salary of approximately $160.75MM. Assuming the $11MM salary reported by Wojnarowski is accurate, Kennard’s new deal would push team salary above the luxury tax line by about $1MM. That figure would increase if Memphis wants to add a 15th man or decides to waive Mamadi Diakite (whose salary is partially guaranteed) to replace him with another minimum-salary player.

Still, as Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, that surplus is small enough that it likely wouldn’t be too difficult for the Grizzlies to duck out of luxury tax territory at some point later in the season. A team’s tax bill isn’t calculated until the end of the season.

Devonte’ Graham Signs Non-Guaranteed Contract With Blazers

July 31st, 2024 at 1:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 31: The signing is official, the Blazers confirmed today in a press release. Graham’s contract is non-guaranteed, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian confirms (via Twitter).

JULY 30: Free agent guard Devonte’ Graham has agreed to a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Graham appeared in 46 games with the Spurs the past two seasons.

Graham wound up on the free agent market after the Spurs traded him to the Hornets earlier this month and Charlotte waived him. Graham’s $12.65MM contract was only partially guaranteed for $2.85MM before he was cut loose.

Terms of the contract with the Blazers haven’t been revealed, but Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report believes it’s a camp deal, noting the Blazers currently have all 15 roster spots filled. One of those players, Dalano Banton, has a partially guaranteed contract. His $2.2MM salary is only guaranteed for $217,533 if he’s waived before opening night.

Graham, 29, played sparingly with the Spurs last season, averaging just 5.0 points per game on a .352/.301/.813 shooting line. He appeared in only 23 contests, logging 13.6 minutes per night.

Graham began his NBA career with the Hornets, for whom he played from 2018-21. He spent 2021/22 and part of ’22/23 with the Pelicans before being traded to San Antonio midway through that season. During his best year, 2019/20, Graham finished fifth in Most Improved Player voting, averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Knicks Re-Sign Precious Achiuwa On One-Year Contract

July 30th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have re-signed Precious Achiuwa, according to a team press release.

Achiuwa signed a one-year, $6MM contract, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. He qualified for a no-trade clause upon re-signing a one-year deal but agreed to give up that right, Katz adds (Twitter link).

Achiuwa became a free agent when the Knicks failed to extend him a $6.3MM qualifying offer. They wound up re-signing him for slightly less than that amount.

New York was motivated to pass on the qualifying offer because it may have affected its hard cap situation as it tried to work out the details of the trade to acquire Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn.

The Knicks acquired Achiuwa in late December as part of the OG Anunoby deal. He wound up playing a significant role amid long-term injuries to Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, among others. Achiuwa appeared in 49 games after the trade, making 18 starts and averaging 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per night.

Following the free agent departure of Isaiah Hartenstein, Achiuwa and Jericho Sims are the top options to back up Robinson.

Re-signing Achiuwa to a $6MM salary keeps the Knicks below the second tax apron, which represents their hard cap. His willingness to give up the no-trade clause could facilitate a deal down the road. As a first apron team, the Knicks are not allowed to acquire more salary than they send out in a trade. If they had re-signed him at a lower figure, it would have reduced the pool of players they could acquire for him.

New York now has 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts and another on a partial guarantee — Sims’ $2.1MM contract becomes guaranteed if he on the roster past Aug. 16, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link).

Hawks Waive Bruno Fernando

July 30th, 2024 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

2:28pm: The Hawks have officially cut Fernando, according to a press release from the team.

1:08pm: The Hawks are waiving big man Bruno Fernando, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move will let Atlanta off the hook for Fernando’s $2,717,391 salary for the 2024/25 season. That money was set to become fully guaranteed if the 25-year-old remained under contract through this Thursday. By waiving him before then, the Hawks will be able to remove it all from their cap, taking the team’s salary below the luxury tax line.

Fernando’s salary guarantee date was originally set for June 29. He and the Hawks reached an agreement to move it back to July 10, then pushed it back again to August 1.

Given that Atlanta likely would have waived him on June 29 or July 10 if he hadn’t agreed to move back his guarantee date, Fernando had some incentive to play ball in the hopes of receiving his full salary, like he did a year ago after the team postponed his guarantee deadline, then ultimately hung onto him.

It looks like it won’t work out for him this year though, and it may be more difficult for him to find a new NBA home this late in the offseason, with fewer roster spots available around the league. Still, the free agent market for centers has been picked pretty clean, so he should immediately become one of the most intriguing options available.

A five-year veteran who was a second-round pick in 2019, Fernando began his NBA career with the Hawks and was traded back to Atlanta in February 2023.

After playing eight games for the Hawks down the stretch of the 2022/23 season, he didn’t play much at all in the first half of ’23/24, appearing in just 13 of Atlanta’s first 49 games for an average of 6.5 minutes per contest. However, he was thrust into a larger role in the second half due to a series of frontcourt injuries, averaging 7.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG while shooting 59.4% from the floor and 70.1% from the line over his final 32 games (18.7 MPG).

Assuming the Hawks officially waive Fernando before 4:00 pm CT on Tuesday, he’ll be on track to clear waivers on Thursday. A team interested in placing a claim would have to commit to guaranteeing his 2024/25 salary.

Blazers’ Grant, Simons Still Candidates To Be Traded

July 30th, 2024 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers made a handful of trades right around this year’s draft in June, including agreeing to acquire Deni Avdija from Washington in a deal that was eventually finalized in July. Portland hasn’t been active on the trade market since then, but Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian wouldn’t be shocked if the club makes one more big move later this summer or in the fall.

“I would be surprised if Jerami (Grant) or Anfernee Simons, if one of the two is not moved,” Fentress said during an appearance on Sactown Sports 1140 in Sacramento (YouTube link; hat tip to HoopsHype). “I was told that that’s definitely the goal, that one of the two would probably be gone before training camp. Both being gone? That might be different. They obviously have time. They can wait until the trade deadline and see if someone else will offer more.”

As Fentress explains, the Trail Blazers have made it clear that they view Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe as franchise building blocks in the backcourt, but Simons is probably better than both of them right now.

That could create problems this fall, Fentress suggests, since the Blazers will have to decide whether they want to start all three guards or if Simons will be in the lineup over one of those cornerstone players. If Simons isn’t in the starting five, he likely wouldn’t be thrilled with his situation, Fentress speculates.

As for Grant, there’s no real urgency for the Blazers to make a move there, since they don’t have a similar logjam at forward and the 30-year-old is under contract for at least three more seasons. But Fentress believes Grant would like to spend his remaining prime years with a team closer to contention rather than one going through a rebuild.

“I predict both of them will be gone by next summer,” Fentress said.

While Fentress didn’t mention the center position, that may be another spot where something has to give sooner or later. Portland selected Donovan Clingan in this year’s draft lottery, adding the rookie to a group of fives that already includes Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams. Williams has battled injuries and Clingan may not be ready to play a significant role right away, so the club may stick with all three big men in the short term, but it seems unlikely they’ll all be part of the Blazers’ long-term future.

Chimezie Metu Signs With Barcelona

July 30th, 2024 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

After spending his first six professional seasons in the NBA, free agent big man Chimezie Metu will continue his career overseas, having signed a one-year contract with Barcelona, the Spanish club announced in a press release.

The 49th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Metu began his career with the Spurs before signing with the Kings in 2020. He emerged as a regular rotation player in Sacramento, starting 20 of his 60 games in 2021/22 and averaging 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.

After spending two years in San Antonio and three in Sacramento, Metu inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Suns last summer. However, the 27-year-old played sparingly for the club, averaging 12.1 MPG in 37 appearances before being sent to Memphis in the three-team deadline deal that saw Royce O’Neale and David Roddy land in Phoenix.

Metu, who was immediately waived by Memphis, signed a 10-day contract with the Pistons in March, then agreed to a two-year deal with the club when that contract expired. The former USC star appeared in 14 games for Detroit down the stretch, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 29.4 MPG, but the Pistons declined their minimum-salary team option on him for 2024/25, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Metu will join a Barcelona team that posted a 23-11 record in Spanish League (ACB) play and a 22-12 mark in EuroLeague play in 2023/24. Barca lost to eventual champion Real Madrid in the ACB postseason and was denied a spot in the EuroLeague Final Four by Olympiacos.

Sixers Sign Reggie Jackson

July 30th, 2024 at 7:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have officially signed veteran guard Reggie Jackson, the team announced today in a press release. He received a one-year contract, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The move had been anticipated since last Tuesday, when word broke that Jackson would be cut by the Hornets and that he intended to join the 76ers after clearing waivers. The 34-year-old gave up approximately $3.3MM in a buyout agreement with Charlotte, which is the amount he’ll earn on his new minimum-salary deal with Philadelphia.

“Reggie is a playoff-tested veteran who brings leadership and experience to our backcourt,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “He’s been a dynamic offensive player throughout his 13 seasons in the league.”

Jackson spent the 2023/24 season in Denver, backing up Jamal Murray at the point. He averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game, posting a .431/.359/.806 shooting line in 82 outings (23 starts).

Jackson exercised a $5.25MM player option in June, but the Nuggets wanted to go in a different direction with their backup point guard spot and traded the 34-year-old to Charlotte along with multiple second-round picks in a salary-dump deal. Denver signed Russell Westbrook to fill the backcourt hole created by that trade. The Hornets, meanwhile, made that deal with Denver in order to acquire those future second-rounders rather than Jackson, who wasn’t in their plans for 2024/25.

Now that their addition of Jackson is official, the Sixers have 13 players on standard contracts — 12 are on fully guaranteed deals, while Ricky Council‘s salary is non-guaranteed. Philadelphia figures to add at least one more player on a standard contract at some point between now and opening night, though it remains to be seen if the team will fill both 15-man roster openings.

Jackson will provide additional depth in a Sixers backcourt that features rising star Tyrese Maxey, veterans Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon, and rookie Jared McCain.

Suns Trade David Roddy To Hawks For E.J. Liddell

July 29th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 29: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Suns. As we detailed in separate stories, Phoenix isn’t expected to retain Liddell into the regular season, since the team has 16 players on guaranteed contracts after signing Tyus Jones.

JULY 26: The Suns and Hawks have agreed to a minor trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Phoenix is sending forward David Roddy to Atlanta in exchange for forward E.J. Liddell.

It’s a cost-saving move for Phoenix, which is above the second tax apron and cannot take in more salary than it ships out in a trade.

Liddell has a $2.1MM contract and a $2.3MM team option for 2025/26. Roddy has a $2.8MM salary and a $4.8MM team option for 2025/26. Atlanta has until October 31st to exercise its ’25/26 option on Roddy, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link).

Roddy was shipped from Memphis to Phoenix in a three-team deal at last season’s trade deadline. The 23rd overall pick of the 2022 draft will be entering his third season. He started 13 of 48 games for the banged-up Grizzlies last season, averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.7 minutes per contest. He saw less action in a Suns uniform, appearing in 17 games off the bench and averaging just 3.7 minutes in those outings.

It remains to be seen how Roddy slots in to the Hawks’ plans, since they have a number of options at both forward spots. It stands to reason they value him over Liddell, since they’ll add some salary in this transaction. Indeed, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link) reports via a source that the Hawks view Roddy as a better roster fit than Liddell.

Liddell, a 2022 second-rounder out of Ohio State, has only been under contract with Atlanta since July 6. He was thrown into the Dejounte Murray blockbuster with New Orleans for salary-matching purposesl

Liddell had his rookie season delayed by a devastating right knee injury in July 2022. Last season, he appeared in just eight games off the bench for New Orleans. He played 26 games for the Birmingham Squadron in the G League, averaging 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest.