Transactions 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.

Hornets Cut Leaky Black

August 1st, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets have waived two-way player Leaky Black, the team announced via Twitter.

Just a few weeks ago, the young forward was expressing a desire to earn a spot on the club’s standard 15-man roster. Now, it looks like he may have to seek out his next NBA opportunity elsewhere.

Across 26 contests with Charlotte (three starts), the 6’9″ UNC alum averaged 2.7 points on a .481/.450/.667 shooting line, along with 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. In seven appearances for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, Black averaged 10.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer notes that Black seemed to have shored up his offense during his Summer League games with the team this offseason, specifically showing off an updated jump shot.

The Hornets now have one open two-way slot. Third-year center Moussa Diabate and rookie point guard KJ Simpson are occupying the other two-way spots on the roster. The Hornets also still have one of their 15 standard roster spots available.

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.

Hornets Sign Moussa Diabate To Two-Way Contract

July 31st, 2024 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 31: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 29: The Hornets and free agent big man Moussa Diabate have agreed to terms on a two-way contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Diabate, 22, was the 43rd overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Michigan. The 6’10” French center has spent his first two professional seasons on two-way contracts with the Clippers, appearing in 33 total NBA games during that time.

Diabate’s contributions at the NBA level have been modest — he has averaged just 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game for Los Angeles. However, he has been a regular starter for the Ontario Clippers in the G League during those two seasons. In 2023/24, he averaged 15.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 1.9 BPG in 19 Showcase Cup and regular season NBAGL games (30.0 MPG).

The Clippers opted not to tender Diabate a qualifying offer in June, so he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, clearing the way for him to sign freely with any NBA team.

Diabate will fill the third two-way slot in Charlotte. The Hornets are currently carrying Leaky Black and 2024 second-round pick KJ Simpson on two-way deals.

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.

Yuki Kawamura Has Exhibit 10 Agreement With Grizzlies

July 30th, 2024 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Yuki Kawamura, a member of Japan’s National Team, has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies.

Kawamura’s agreement was announced in a press release by the Yokohama B-Corsairs, his current team.

Kawamura is scheduled to sign the NBA contract with the Grizzlies in September. He’ll continue to play for the Japanese team until he signs the contract. He averaged 20.9 points and 8.0 assists per game for the Yokohama B-Corsairs last season.

Kawamura, 23, had a stellar game in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, posting 29 points, six rebounds and six assists in Japan’s near-upset of France. The 5’8” Kawamura was whistled for a controversial foul call which led to Matthew Strazel‘s four-point play in the closing seconds of regulation. France won in overtime, 94-90.

Exhibit 10 deals, which are non-guaranteed, can be converted to two-way contracts. They can also ensure a player receives a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with his club’s G League affiliate.

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.

Nuggets Sign Spencer Jones To Two-Way Contract

July 30th, 2024 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 30: The Nuggets have officially signed Jones to a two-way contract, they confirmed today in a press release.

JULY 19: The Nuggets will fill their open two-way contract slot by signing undrafted rookie free agent Spencer Jones to a two-way deal, reports Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

A 6’7″ forward, Jones spent all five of his college seasons at Stanford from 2019-24, starting 139 of his 146 games during that time. As a super-senior last season, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals in 29.1 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .438/.409/.645.

Jones was a 39.7% three-point shooter on 5.4 attempts per contest across his five seasons with the Cardinal, setting a school record with 315 career made three-pointers. Denver likes his combination of size, skill, and shooting, according to Durando.

Jones was on the Trail Blazers’ Summer League roster in Las Vegas. He came off the bench in Portland’s first game last Saturday, but was ruled out for Monday’s contest due to an illness and hasn’t played since.

Denver filled its other two-way slots earlier this month by signing two other undrafted rookies, Trey Alexander and PJ Hall. Once they complete their reported signings of Jones, Russell Westbrook, and DeAndre Jordan, the Nuggets will have 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts and three on two-way deals, so they’ll essentially be set for the regular season.

A player who spends the entire 2024/25 season on a two-way deal will be eligible to appear in up to 50 NBA regular season games and will earn a salary of $578,577.

Hawks Sign Dominick Barlow To Two-Way Deal

July 30th, 2024 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

4:41pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

2:18pm: The Hawks and free agent forward Dominick Barlow have agreed to terms on a two-way contract, agent Todd Ramasar tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Barlow, 21, spent most of the past two seasons on two-way contracts with the Spurs, earning a promotion to San Antonio’s standard roster in early March. The Spurs signed Barlow to a rest-of-season contract that expired this summer and then didn’t issue him a qualifying offer in June, so he became an unrestricted free agent.

Barlow appeared in 61 NBA games with the Spurs across his two seasons with the club, averaging 4.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 13.6 minutes per contest. The former Overtime Elite prospect impressed at the G League level, putting up 23.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a .569 FG% in 19 Showcase Cup and regular season games (33.2 MPG) for the Austin Spurs in 2023/24.

The Hawks previously signed Seth Lundy and Keaton Wallace to two-way deals, so Barlow will fill the lone remaining opening.

While there’s nothing to stop Atlanta from moving players in and out of those two-way slots up until (and beyond) the start of the regular season, for the time being there’s no room for second-round pick Nikola Djurisic, who underwent foot surgery last week.