Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign D’Angelo Russell To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2023 at 6:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

July 7: Russell’s new contract is now official, the Lakers announced (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).

July 1: The Lakers and point guard D’Angelo Russell have reached an agreement on a two-year contract that will be worth $37MM, his agents at CAA Basketball tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Russell will hold a player option for 2024/25 as part of the deal.

Los Angeles acquired the 6’4″ vet, whom the Lakers initially drafted with the second pick in 2015, from the Timberwolves this past February. The Russell acquisition headlined a flurry of tactical moves designed to improve the club’s positional balance and add more shooting around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The 27-year-old performed exceptionally well as a supplemental scorer and passer upon being installed as L.A.’s starting point guard. Across his 17 healthy regular season contests with Los Angeles, he averaged 17.4 PPG on .484/.414/.735 shooting splits, plus 6.1 APG and 2.9 RPG.

The playoffs were a different story. His jump shooting took a major dive, and opposing teams often targeted him on defense. Russell averaged 13.3 PPG on a .426/.310/.769 slash line, 4.6 APG, 2.9 RPG and 0.7 SPG in the playoffs.

Yesterday’s announced signing of ex-Heat point guard Gabe Vincent, a better defender who enjoyed a much better postseason, made Russell’s future in Los Angeles seem a bit more tenuous. Though Russell’s contract makes it seem like he will at least begin the season as the team’s starter, one wonders if that will be the case at the end of the season.

Rockets To Trade Kenyon Martin Jr. To Clippers

July 1st, 2023 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have agreed to trade for Rockets forward Kenyon Martin Jr., according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that Houston will receive two second-round picks in the deal.

The two second-rounders will be the Clippers’ own 2026 pick and the Grizzlies’ 2027 pick, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

The Clippers have a $2,134,843 trade exception they can use to absorb Martin’s salary.

Martin spent three years in Houston after being acquired from the Kings, who selected him with the 52nd pick in the 2020 draft. He served as a valuable bench player for most of his time with the rebuilding Rockets, but became a full-time starter by the end of last season. He posted career highs with 12.7 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 56.9% from the field.

Martin is also an electrifying leaper who frequently posted highlight-worthy slams. He participated in this year’s Slam Dunk Contest, but didn’t get past the preliminary round.

The 22-year-old forward will get his first experience on a contender in L.A. He’ll provide additional depth behind Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who both have a long history of battling injuries.

On Thursday, the Rockets picked up Martin’s $1.93MM option for 2023/24, so he’s set to be unrestricted free agent next summer. He will become eligible to sign a four-year extension worth up to $75MM six months after the trade is finalized.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk points out that Clippers president Lawrence Frank has a connection to Martin after being his father’s coach with the Nets (Twitter link).

Raptors Sign Jalen McDaniels To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2023 at 6:00pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The Raptors have officially signed McDaniels, per a team press release.

“Jalen is a hard-working, defensive-minded player who we believe has tremendous potential for growth,” team president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “He brings versatility to both ends of the floor, and we’re excited to see him develop as a member of the Raptors.”

JULY 1: The Raptors have reached an agreement on a deal with free agent forward Jalen McDaniels, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania, McDaniels will sign a two-year, $9.3MM contract with Toronto. Those figures suggest the team will complete the signing using its bi-annual exception, which starts at about $4.5MM.

A former second-round pick, McDaniels spent his first three-and-a-half seasons in the NBA with the Hornets before being traded to the Sixers at the February deadline. The 6’9″ forward is a 34.5% career three-point shooter and has the length and athleticism to guard multiple positions, so he should fit right in with the Raptors and their collection of rangy wings.

The No. 34 free agent on our top-50 list, McDaniels averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 steal in 23.9 minutes per game (80 appearances) for Charlotte and Philadelphia in 2022/23.

The Raptors suffered a major loss on the first day of free agency when Fred VanVleet opted to leave Toronto for Houston. That generated some spending flexibility below the luxury tax line for the Raps, who committed their full mid-level exception to point guard Dennis Schröder.

With their bi-annual exception ticketed for McDaniels, the Raptors will be limited to minimum-salary signings and/or trades for the rest of the offseason.

Russell Westbrook Re-Signs With Clippers

July 1st, 2023 at 5:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: Westbrook’s new deal with the Clippers is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 1: Russell Westbrook will re-sign with the Clippers for nearly $8MM over two years, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Westbrook will receive a player option for the second season, Wojnarowski adds.

L.A. will use the Non-Bird exception for Westbrook, who joined the team in February after being traded to the Jazz and negotiating a buyout. The Clippers are limited to a 20% raise for Westbrook over the veteran’s minimum contract he played under last season.

He will receive $3,835,738 for the 2023/24 season and $4,027,525 for the following year if he exercises the option. The deal gives Westbrook a chance to opt out and test the market again next summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Westbrook struggled through the season and a half he spent with the Lakers, but he was able to revive his reputation somewhat with the cross-town Clippers. He became a full-time starter again after the move and averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 21 games while helping the team avoid falling into the play-in tournament.

The Clippers were “eager” to keep Westbrook after his late-season performance, Wojnarowski adds.

The former MVP and nine-time All-Star is considered a shoo-in Hall of Famer, but his standing around the league has fallen in recent years due to his declining shooting percentage, his penchant for turnovers and the number of times he has changed teams. After spending the first 11 seasons of his career in Oklahoma City, the Clippers marked Westbrook’s fifth team in six years.

He also became a scapegoat for an underachieving Lakers team, and trade rumors started circulating shortly after he was acquired in a 2021 deal. The Lakers had to part with a future first-round pick to send him to Utah, but before that happened, he experienced a coaching change and was made a full-time bench player for the first time in his career.

Clippers management was originally cool on the idea of adding Westbrook in February, but they relented after lobbying from Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

L.A. was considered to be among the front-runners to land Chris Paul after the Suns traded him to Washington last month, but the Warriors snagged Paul by agreeing to part with Jordan Poole. The Clippers indicated that they would have considered re-signing Westbrook even if they had traded for Paul.

Pistons Waive Eugene Omoruyi

July 1st, 2023 at 5:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons have waived small forward Eugene Omoruyi, the team announced (via Twitter).

Detroit picked up Omoruyi’s $1.9MM option on Wednesday, but his salary for next season remained non-guaranteed, so the move won’t cost the team any money. Omoruyi will become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers.

The Pistons arranged trades on Friday for Nets swingman Joe Harris and Wizards point guard Monte Morris, so they may have needed to part with Omoruyi’s salary to clear cap room before those deals can be finalized.

Omoruyi appeared in 17 games after signing a pair of 10-day deals in early March. He was able to earn a contract that ran through 2023/24, but it contained no guaranteed money beyond last season.

Rockets Sign Jock Landale

July 1st, 2023 at 5:27pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Landale is officially a Rocket, according to a press release from the team.

JULY 1: The Rockets have agreed to sign free agent center Jock Landale, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Landale was originally tendered a qualifying offer by the Suns, but they withdrew it, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Landale’s new deal will be worth $32MM over four years, according to Charania. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN clarifies (via Twitter) that only the first season will be fully guaranteed. It will be non-guaranteed in years two and three, with a fourth-year team option, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Landale, 27, had a solid season in Phoenix in 2022/23 as a reserve behind starting center Deandre Ayton, averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game across 69 appearances. He also played well in the Suns’ second-round series loss to Denver, including scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the Game 6 loss that ended the team’s season.

Barring a sign-and-trade, it looks like Landale will be signed into the Rockets’ cap room. Although the room exception is worth $7.7MM+ this season, it can only be used to sign contracts up to three years.

Heat Sign Jaquez To Rookie Deal; Smith, Bouyea To Two-Ways

July 1st, 2023 at 5:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have officially inked rookie small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. to his rookie scale contract, the team has announced (Twitter link).

Jaquez, a 6’7″ swingman, was selected with the No. 18 pick out of UCLA in this summer’s draft. During his final season with the team in 2022/23, the 22-year-old averaged 17.8 PPG on .481/.317/.770 shooting splits, 8.2 RPG and 2.4 APG. He was a consensus All-American Second Team honoree during his last collegiate run with the Bruins, and a three-time All-Pac-12 Teamer.

Miami also just officially signed Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea to two-way contracts, according to the league’s official transactions log. Though there is a general NBA moratorium on signings between July 1-6, two-way and rookie signings are still permitted even during this period.

Smith, a 6’3″ shooting guard, initially inked an affiliate deal with the Heat’s NBAGL team, the Sioux Fall Skyforce, in 2021 after going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021. He signed two-way deals with Miami and the Nets last season. Across 22 total games between the Skyforce and Long Island Nets in 2022/23, Smith averaged 15.5 PPG on .482/.379/.682 shooting splits, plus 5.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 2.0 SPG and 0.6 BPG.

Bouyea, a 6’2″ combo guard, played on separate 10-day contracts with the Heat and Wizards as an undrafted rookie last year, appearing in a total of five games between both clubs.

The two-way qualifying offers that the Heat previously extended to restricted free agents Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson are still on the table, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).

With word breaking that Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard would reportedly prefer to be dealt to Miami specifically, the Jaquez deal is a bit more notable, as it means that he now cannot be included as part of a trade for the next 30 days. That does not necessarily mean he cannot or will not be a part of a hypothetical package for Lillard, only that a move could not be officially finalized until July 31.

Pacers Sign Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard

July 1st, 2023 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers have announced the signings of first-round picks Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard.

As the eighth overall choice, Walker will receive a little more than $6MM, which is 120% of the rookie scale, in the first season of his four-year contract. The 6’8″ power forward averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds during his lone season at Houston and was named Freshman of the Year in the American Athletic Conference.

The Pacers were believed to be targeting Walker at No. 7, but they selected Bilal Coulibaly in a pre-arranged deal with the Wizards and traded him to Washington for the No. 8 pick.

Sheppard made a strong impression during the pre-draft process and was able to work his way up to the 26th choice. He’ll be eligible to receive $2,537,160 in his first season of his four-year deal.

A 6’6″ guard, Sheppard averaged 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a senior at Belmont and was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection.

Trail Blazers Officially Sign Kris Murray To Rookie Contract

July 1st, 2023 at 4:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Trail Blazers have officially inked new power forward Kris Murray to his rookie scale deal, per a team press release.

Terms of the agreement have not been released, but the deal will most likely pay him $2.8MM to start of his four-year deal.

Portland selected the 6’8″ forward with the No. 23 pick out of Iowa in this year’s draft. Though he wasn’t as starry a prospect as his Trail Blazers first round selection, third overall pick Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite, the 22-year-old Murray is still an intriguing, decorated young player. Henderson also officially agreed to terms on his rookie scale deal with Portland recently.

A consensus All-America Third Teamer during his third and final season with the Hawkeyes in 2022/23, Murray averaged 20.2 PPG on .476/.335/.729 shooting splits, along with 7.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.2 BPG and 1.0 SPG. He was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team for his efforts.

As is the case for all first-round draft picks, Portland will have team options on the third and fourth seasons of Murray’s rookie contract. Though most signings and trades cannot be completed during the league’s July moratorium as the 2023/24 season officially gets underway, rookie contracts are an exception to that rule.

Rockets Trading Garuba, Washington, Picks To Hawks

July 1st, 2023 at 3:21pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Rockets are shipping out two young players still on their rookie scale deals, center Usman Garuba and point guard TyTy Washington, plus two future second-round draft picks and $1.1MM in cash considerations, to the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to 2017 No. 60 pick Alpha Kaba, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links).

The picks the Hawks will be receiving are the Timberwolves’ 2025 second-round selection and Houston’s own 2028 second-rounder, per Williams. Atlanta has trade exceptions available to absorb Garuba and Washington without sending out any of the team’s own players.

Garuba, 21, might be able to carve out legitimate rotation minutes for a reconfigured Hawks frontline missing longtime starting power forward John Collins, who is being sent to the Jazz. The 6’8″ big man appeared in 75 games off the bench for a rebuilding Houston team last year, his second NBA season. He logged averages of 3.0 PPG on .486/.407/.617 shooting splits, 4.1 RPG and 0.9 APG in 12.9 MPG.

Upon being drafted out of Kentucky with the No. 29 pick last summer, the 6’3″ Washington played sparingly for Houston as a rookie in 2022/23, averaging 4.7 PPG, 1.5 APG and 1.5 RPG in just 31 contests. He posted much more robust numbers with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, averaging 26.6 PPG, 7.6 APG, 6.6 RPG and 1.6 SPG.

Kaba, a 6’10” power forward/center, is currently playing for Montenegrin club KK Budućnost and seems unlikely to ever play at the NBA level.

For Atlanta, this appears to be an asset-gathering move, as the team adds future draft equity and two intriguing young prospects under cheap team control.

As for the Rockets, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tweets that Houston now has carved out $29MM in available space under the salary cap. The team also opens up a couple extra roster spots and now has 11 players on guaranteed contracts for 2023/24, including Fred VanVleet, whose deal isn’t yet official.