Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Montrezl Harrell Returns To Sixers On One-Year Deal

July 18th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 18: Harrell has officially re-signed with the Sixers, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 6: Free agent big man Montrezl Harrell is returning to the Sixers on a one-year contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).

Harrell became a free agent when he declined his veteran’s minimum-salary option for next season. He settled for another veteran’s minimum contract that’s fully guaranteed, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice tweets.

Because Harrell’s option salary had been based on a 5% raise and the cap increased by 10%, his new salary ($2.89MM) will top the one he would’ve received on his old contract ($2.76MM), so he made the right call to opt out. Philadelphia will carry a $2.02MM cap hit for the 29-year-old in 2023/24.

Harrell appeared in 57 games for the Sixers in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per night. He only appeared in two postseason games.

Prior to last season, Harrell had posted career averages of 12.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 21.5 MPG across 458 games, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2020. His numbers this past season were his lowest since his rookie year (2015/16).

Harrell will once again fight for rotation minutes in Philadelphia, this time with Nick Nurse making those decisions.

The agreement between Harrell and the Sixers puts into question the status of restricted free agent Paul Reed. Philadelphia is adding another big man, Mohamed Bamba, on a one-year deal.

Bucks Sign Jazian Gortman

July 18th, 2023 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have signed rookie free agent Jazian Gortman, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

Gortman, 20, played for the YNG Dreamers in the Overtime Elite program before becoming draft-eligible this spring. He averaged 13.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.5 SPG while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 80.8% from the free throw line.

After going undrafted, Gortman joined the Bucks’ Summer League team, though he saw limited action in Las Vegas, logging just 45 minutes across five games. He scored a total of 24 points on 10-of-24 shooting to go along with five assists and four rebounds.

While the exact details of the agreement aren’t yet known, RealGM doesn’t classify it as a multiyear or two-way contract, so by process of elimination, it sounds like it’s a one-year standard deal.

I’d expect the contract will be non-guaranteed and will include Exhibit 10 language, putting Gortman in position to either have it converted to a two-way deal or to become an affiliate player for the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee’s G League team) if he’s waived.

Jerome Robinson To Sign Camp Deal With Warriors

July 17th, 2023 at 8:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent guard Jerome Robinson has agreed to a training camp deal with the Warriors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Robinson will compete for a regular season roster spot, according to Wojnarowski.

Golden State currently has two spots open on its 15-man roster, though the Warriors are likely to carry only 14 players on standard contracts due to their luxury tax issues.

Robinson has played with the Warriors’ G League affiliate, Santa Cruz, in each of the past two years. Robinson was a 2018 lottery pick for the Clippers but was traded during his second season to the Wizards. He hasn’t played an NBA game since the 2020/21 season, when he made 17 appearances with Washington. Overall, he has appeared in 113 NBA games, including 12 starts.

Robinson has averaged 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.2 minutes per game during those NBA games. He averaged 14.8 points, 4.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game during 24 regular-season games with Santa Cruz last season.

Nuggets Re-Sign Collin Gillespie On Two-Way Deal

July 17th, 2023 at 5:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets have retained Collin Gillespie on a two-way deal, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

Gillespie suffered a lower left leg fracture last summer but still received a two-way contract and remained on Denver’s roster despite the injury. The Nuggets extended him a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent.

An undrafted guard out of Villanova, Gillespie averaged 15.6 PPG for the Wildcats in his final college season, shooting 41.5% from three-point range. Gillespie averaged 11.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.3 APG and 1.5 SPG in four Summer League contests last year before sustaining the injury.

He saw action in four Summer League games this month, averaging 7.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.4 steals in 29.7 minutes per game.

With Gillespie back in the fold, the Nuggets have filled their three two-way spots. Forward Braxton Key and center Jay Huff will reportedly take the other two spots, though those transactions aren’t yet official.

Thunder Sign Vasilije Micic To Three-Year Deal

July 17th, 2023 at 5:07pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 17: The Thunder have officially signed Micic, according to a team press release.

JULY 1: European star Vasilije Micic has agreed to a three-year, $23.5MM contract with the Thunder, agent Jason Ranne tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Micic traveled to Oklahoma City a few weeks ago to discuss a potential contract with the Thunder. A report last week from Christos Tsaltas of Sportal.gr stated that Micic was “determined” to play in the NBA in 2023/24, and now he’ll be coming stateside on a lucrative multiyear deal.

Micic, 29, was selected by Philadelphia with the 52nd overall pick in the 2014 draft. The Sixers traded his draft rights in 2020 to the Thunder, who have held them for the last three years.

The 6’5″ guard has been playing in Europe since 2010 and has been a member of Anadolu Efes since 2018. He won back-to-back EuroLeague championships with the club in 2021 and 2022 and was named the EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player in 2021. He and Anadolu Efes have also claimed Turkish League titles in 2019, 2021, and 2023, with Micic earning Finals MVP honors this year.

The Thunder already have several young guards on their roster, but they seem quite high on the Serbian veteran. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), several teams trade to acquire Micic’s rights during last month’s NBA draft, including the Jazz, but OKC decided to retain him.

Micic averaged 16.0 points, 5.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 31 EuroLeague contests last season, posting a .435/.357/.870 shooting line in 31 games (31.3 minutes).

The Thunder may have their room exception, which can now be used on signings of up to three years, earmarked for Micic.

Suns Trade Cameron Payne To Spurs

July 17th, 2023 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 17: The trade is official, the Suns PR department tweets. The Spurs have also confirmed the deal, announcing in a press release that the pick they acquired from Phoenix is the Pelicans’ 2025 second-rounder. San Antonio surrendered a protected 2024 second-rounder in the swap.

JULY 16: The Suns have agreed to trade point guard Cameron Payne to the Spurs, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that San Antonio will also acquire a second-round pick and cash in the deal.

Confirming Charania’s report, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) says Phoenix will receive a future second-round pick in the swap. That selection will be protected, sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Payne, whose name had popped up in trade rumors as of late, appeared in 48 games for the Suns last season, averaging 10.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .415/.368/.766.

Following Phoenix’s trade of Chris Paul earlier in the offseason, Payne had his $6.5MM salary for 2023/24 guaranteed and looked like he’d get a chance to vie for the final spot in the team’s starting lineup, alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton.

Instead, the Suns are offloading the veteran guard in order to open up a spot on the roster for Bol Bol, who has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the club. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) suggests that Payne would’ve been behind Jordan Goodwin on the depth chart, so the team was comfortable moving him.

According to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (via Twitter), the move from Payne to Bol will reduce Phoenix’s projected luxury tax penalty by approximately $18MM and will generate a $6.5MM trade exception for the team. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) estimates that the tax savings will be $26.4MM. Still, it’s a little odd to see the Suns essentially dumping Payne’s contract when it had only been partially guaranteed (for $2MM) until June 29.

The Spurs, who will absorb Payne’s $6.5MM salary into their cap room, will still have a little over $5MM in space available once the trade is official, tweets Gozlan.

It remains to be seen whether San Antonio envisions Payne opening the 2023/24 season with the team — once Tre Jones and Sandro Mamukelashvili officially sign their agreed-upon deals and the Spurs acquire Payne, they’ll have 18 players on standard contracts. They’ll have to reduce that number to 15 ahead of opening night in October.

Jazz Sign Former Heat Center Omer Yurtseven

July 17th, 2023 at 4:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have signed former Heat center Omer Yurtseven, according to a team press release.

It’s a two-year contract with a starting salary of $2.8MM, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, Utah had $2,841,448 cap space remaining and apparently used it to sign the Turkish big man (Twitter link).

The seven-foot Yurtseven is entering his third NBA season. He has averaged 5.2 points on 53.3% shooting and 4.9 rebounds in 65 career games (12 starts). He has also appeared in 17 postseason contests the past two seasons.

Yurtseven became an unrestricted free agent when Miami declined to extend him a qualifying offer. Yurtseven’s QO was only worth a projected $2.22MM but the Heat, burdened by luxury tax issues, chose to let him test the market.

Yurtseven projects as the third center behind Walker Kessler and Kelly Olynyk. Utah had been in the market to improve its frontcourt depth. The club made an offer sheet to restricted free agent Paul Reed but the Sixers matched it.

Raptors Waive Joe Wieskamp Before Contract Guarantee

July 17th, 2023 at 4:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors have waived Joe Wieskamp, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.

Toronto now has one open roster spot and is $3.96MM below the luxury tax threshold.

The 23-year-old swingman, who signed with Toronto in February, agreed to move the guarantee date for his $1.927MM salary for next season from June 29 to July 18. The Raptors ultimately decided on roster flexibility rather than guaranteeing Wieskamp’s contract.

He only appeared in nine games with Toronto last season and averaged just 5.6 minutes in those appearances. During previous season, he saw action in 29 games off the bench for San Antonio, which drafted him with the No. 41 pick in 2021 out of Iowa.

Wieskamp appeared in four Summer League contests this month and averaged 13.5 points in 23.9 minutes per game. The team’s decision was anticipated, given that the Raptors drafted another wing, Gradey Dick, in the lottery.

Spurs Waive Lamar Stevens

July 17th, 2023 at 2:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs have waived forward Lamar Stevens, the team announced in a press release.

Stevens’ contract for 2023/24 was partially guaranteed at $400K. San Antonio is waiving him before his full $1.93MM salary becomes guaranteed today.

Stevens, who turned 26 last week, was sent to the Spurs by Cleveland as part of the Max Strus sign-and-trade. His contract for next season was previously non-guaranteed, but he received $400K as part of the deal to adhere to the NBA’s salary-matching rules.

The combo forward went undrafted in 2020 after four college seasons at Penn State, later signing a two-way deal with the Cavaliers. He was promoted to a multiyear standard contract in April 2021, the end of his rookie season.

Overall, Stevens averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .467/.281/.710 shooting in three seasons with the Cavs (165 games, 16.0 MPG). He’s an energetic, athletic and physical player who is known as a tenacious defender, though he struggles with scoring efficiency.

The Spurs have a roster crunch, and evidently Stevens wasn’t part of their long-term plans, so they decided to release him. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent in a couple days if he clears waivers, but won’t be eligible to sign with Cleveland for a year after the team traded him.

Moussa Diabate Signs Two-Way Deal With Clippers

July 17th, 2023 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

Moussa Diabate is signing a two-way deal with the Clippers, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The move is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

A French big man who spent his lone college season at Michigan, Diabate spent his rookie season on a two-way deal with the Clippers after being selected 43rd overall in the 2022 draft. He received a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent.

As a rookie in 2022/23, Diabate appeared in 22 games with L.A., holding most averages of 2.7 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 8.9 MPG. He received much more playing time for the team’s G League affiliate, the Ontario Clippers, averaging 15.9 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 1.8 SPG and 1.1 BPG in 18 regular season games (32.6 MPG), earning a spot on the NBAGL All-Rookie Team for his efforts.

As our roster counts show, once Diabate’s signing is official, he will fill the first of the team’s three two-way slots. Jordan Miller, a second-round pick last month who remains unsigned, is a candidate for another.

The Clippers currently have 16 players on standard deals, with 15 of those contracts guaranteed. Jason Preston‘s non-guaranteed deal is set to be fully guaranteed tomorrow if he isn’t waived.