Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Add Jeenathan Williams To Camp Roster

August 2nd, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 2: The Rockets have officially signed Williams, they announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 1: The Rockets have agreed to a contract with Jeenathan Williams, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. It’s a training camp deal, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Trail Blazers waived Williams last week before his $1,719,864 salary for the 2023/24 season became guaranteed.

Houston had plenty of room on its camp roster to add Williams. His addition will increase the total to 17 players.

Williams, a 6’5” swingman, could have a better shot than most players on training camp contracts to gain a spot on the 15-man roster. The Rockets also have a two-way opening.

Williams, who went undrafted out of Buffalo in 2022, spent most of his first professional season with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s G League affiliate. In 32 regular season appearances for Salt Lake City, he averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 29.8 minutes per game.

That G League performance earned Williams a late-season call-up with the Blazers, who signed him to a multiyear deal on April 1. He got extended playing time for the lottery-bound club down the stretch, averaging 10.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG in five contests (25.4 MPG), including four starts.

Rockets Sign Jermaine Samuels To Two-Way Contract

August 2nd, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

1:30pm: Samuels’ two-way contract is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

8:30am: The Rockets have reached a contract agreement with free agent forward Jermaine Samuels, according to Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), who report that Samuels is signing a two-way deal with the club.

Samuels, 24, went undrafted out of Villanova in 2022 and spent his first professional season with the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 32 regular season NBAGL games, he averaged an impressive 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, making 66.6% of his shots from the floor.

Samuels’ strong G League play didn’t earn him an NBA call-up as a rookie, but he was invited to play for the Rockets’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month and performed well, averaging 11.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.3 APG in six appearances (27.3 MPG).

Reporting at the start of the Vegas Summer League indicated that Samuels had impressed team officials in practices and had emerged as a candidate for a two-way deal for the Rockets.

Trevor Hudgins and Darius Days are currently on two-way contracts for Houston, so Samuels will fill the team’s third and final two-way slot. Since two-way deals only feature small partial guarantees and don’t count against the cap at all, the Rockets could still make changes before opening night, but for now the team will have no available two-way spots after officially signing Samuels.

Celtics Waive Justin Champagnie

August 1st, 2023 at 4:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics have waived swingman Justin Champagnie, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Champagnie, 22, appeared in two regular season and four postseason games for Boston last season. The front office had a deadline today regarding Champagnie’s contract. He had a $50K guarantee if he remained on the roster through Tuesday.

Champagnie signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract in April but it was non-guaranteed for next season. By shedding Champagnie, the Celtics now have two openings on the 15-man roster.

He could benefit in the long run, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet notes (Twitter link). This frees him up to seek a two-way or camp deal where he could conceivably end up with more guaranteed money — the maximum Exhibit 10 bonus and the partial guarantee on a two-way contract are each worth $75K.

After going undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2021, the 6’6″ swingman inked a two-way deal with the Raptors for the 2021/22 season. The team brought him back aboard for 2022/23, but after he had appeared in just three games for Toronto, he was cut in December.

Raptors Sign Mouhamadou Gueye To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 1st, 2023 at 9:51am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Raptors have signed forward Mouhamadou Gueye, the team announced in a press release. According to Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy, Gueye’s deal with Toronto is an Exhibit 10 contract (Twitter link).

Gueye, a 6’10” forward who played college ball at Pitt, went undrafted in 2022 before joining the Mavericks on a training camp contract last season. Gueye was waived before the regular season began and played for Dallas’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends. Gueye averaged 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 29 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Legends as a rookie.

The Pitt product went on to play for the Raptors in Summer League this offseason. Toronto’s G League affiliate, Raptors 905, traded for Gueye in exchange for a 2024 G League first round pick last week, which is often a precursor to an Exhibit 10 deal for that player.

With Gueye, alongside the finalized additions of Garrett Temple and Kevin Obanor, the Raptors now sit at the offseason maximum of 21 players for their training camp roster. Gueye and Obanor are on Exhibit 10 contracts, Toronto’s three two-way spots are filled, and 16 players are on standard contracts.

Of those 16 standard contracts, at least 14 are fully guaranteed. Jeff Dowtin is on a non-guaranteed contract with a partial guarantee if he makes the opening day roster. Temple’s details aren’t yet known.

Duane Washington Returns To Knicks On Camp Deal

August 1st, 2023 at 9:41am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 1: Washington’s new deal with the Knicks is a training camp contract, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

JULY 30: The Knicks have signed Duane Washington, the team announced in a press release.

The 23-year-old guard was waived last week after picking up his two-way qualifying offer. New York already has its three two-way slots filled by Jaylen Martin, Nathan Knight and Dylan Windler.

Details of Washington’s contract weren’t released, so it’s not clear if it’s a standard deal or an Exhibit 10 contract that will give him a chance to earn a roster spot in training camp. New York currently has just 11 players signed to guaranteed contracts, with four additional players on non-guaranteed deals.

Washington played 31 games for the Suns last season, averaging 7.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per night before being waived in early February. The Knicks signed him to a two-way contract on February 28, and he appeared in five G League games but didn’t suit up for the NBA team.

Raptors Sign Garrett Temple To One-Year Deal

August 1st, 2023 at 9:23am CST by Rory Maher

AUG. 1: Temple’s deal with the Raptors is official, per team release.

JULY 31: The Raptors are signing free agent wing Garrett Temple to a one-year deal worth $3.2MM, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Based on the terms of the agreement, Temple will be receiving the veteran’s minimum in 2023/24 for a player with 10+ years of experience. We’ll have to wait to see whether or not the contract is fully guaranteed.

Temple, 37, was waived earlier this month by the Pelicans before his $5.4MM salary became guaranteed. He reached unrestricted free agency a couple days later when he wasn’t claimed off the waiver wire.

Toronto will be Temple’s 12th team as he enters his 14th NBA season, having spent the past two seasons in a limited role with New Orleans. He holds career averages of 6.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.7 APG on .402/.345/.740 shooting across 716 regular season appearances (288 starts, 20.9 MPG).

Temple is known for being a good locker room presence, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). The Raptors currently have 15 players signed to standard contracts (14 guaranteed), so Temple will fill the 16th roster spot and potentially the 15th on a guaranteed deal.

If his contract is guaranteed, the team would be about $1.9MM below the luxury tax line, Murphy adds. Toronto also has all three of its two-way slots filled, as shown by our tracker.

Raptors Sign Kevin Obanor To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 1st, 2023 at 9:21am CST by Rory Maher

AUG. 1: Obanor’s deal with the Raptors is official, per team release.

JUNE 26: The Raptors are signing free agent forward Kevin Obanor to an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win (Twitter link).

Obanor went undrafted last week after a five-year college career. He spend his first three seasons with Oral Roberts and final two with Texas Tech.

As a “super senior” for the Red Raiders in 2022/23, Obanor averaged 14.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG on .492/.331/.810 shooting in 32 games (30.9 MPG). He shot 38.1% from deep over 156 college games.

If Obanor is waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K. His Exhibit 10 contract could also be converted into a two-way deal if he impresses during Summer League and training camp.

Bucks Re-Sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo

July 28th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

3:58pm: The Bucks have officially re-signed Antetokounmpo, the team announced in a press release.

2:51pm: Free agent forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has agreed to re-sign with the Bucks, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The older brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis has spent the last four seasons in Milwaukee, averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game (162 games) during that time. Prior to 2019, he primarily played overseas and in the G League, though he did have a brief NBA stint with New York in 2015/16.

According to Charania (Twitter link), Thanasis chose the Bucks over multiple other options, including the Knicks.

Given Thanasis’ limited contributions at the NBA level, it would be a little surprising if multiple teams were vying to offer the 31-year-old a fully guaranteed contract — we’ll have to wait to see what the details of his new deal are. Based on the Bucks’ financial situation, it figures to be worth the veteran’s minimum.

Milwaukee currently has 14 players on guaranteed contracts, so if the team plans to have Thanasis on its regular season roster, he would fill the 15th and final spot, barring additional moves. In that scenario, the Bucks would be carrying two pairs of brothers on their 2023/24 squad, with Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez also under contract.

Wizards Sign Jared Butler To Two-Way Deal

July 28th, 2023 at 12:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 28: The Wizards have officially signed Butler, according to a press release from the team. The club has one open two-way slot remaining.

JULY 24: The Wizards have agreed to sign free agent point guard Jared Butler to a two-way deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein at Priority Sports informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Butler, 22, was selected with the No. 40 overall pick out of Baylor in 2021. He played out his rookie season with the Jazz, who waived him ahead of the 2022/23 season. He joined the Nuggets’ NBAGL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, at the start of last season, before eventually latching on with the Thunder on a two-way deal this past March.

Across 48 total NBA contests in his two seasons of experience, Butler holds averages of 4.1 PPG on .415/.343/.688 shooting, along with 1.5 APG.

Last year in the NBAGL, he enjoyed significantly more run, and accordingly had more impressive stats. He posted averages of 16.7 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.3 RPG, and 0.9 SPG in his 27 total games split between the Grand Rapids Gold and the Thunders’ G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.

Trail Blazers Waive Jeenathan Williams

July 28th, 2023 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

11:37am: The Blazers have officially waived Williams, the team confirmed today in a press release.

9:52am: The Trail Blazers will waive shooting guard Jeenathan Williams before his salary for the 2023/24 season becomes guaranteed, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Williams’ $1,719,864 salary for ’23/24 is fully non-guaranteed — it would have become guaranteed if he had remained under contract through August 1, as our tracker shows.

Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report previously noted that the 24-year-old was unlikely to be retained through that date.

Williams, who went undrafted out of Buffalo in 2022, spent most of his first professional season with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate. In 32 regular season appearances for Salt Lake City, he averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 29.8 minutes per game, posting an impressive .523/.417/.848 shooting line.

That G League performance earned Williams a late-season call-up with the Blazers, who signed him to a multiyear deal on April 1. He played a major role for the lottery-bound club down the stretch, averaging 10.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG on .615/.375/.667 shooting in five contests (25.4 MPG), including four starts.

Releasing Williams will leave Portland with 12 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. If they’d like to keep Williams around without having to guarantee his salary, the Blazers could try to re-sign him on a new non-guaranteed or two-way contract, but he would have to pass through waivers first.