Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Promote Lofton, Waive Chandler, Sign Gilyard

April 8th, 2023 at 1:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

1:48pm: The Grizzlies have officially announced their series of roster moves, including a two-way deal for guard Jacob Gilyard, which was first reported by Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

An undrafted rookie in 2022, Gilyard spent the season with the Memphis Hustle in the G League and led the NBAGL in assists per game (9.7). He’ll occupy the two-way slot previously held by Lofton, while Lofton moves into the 15-man roster spot that had been held by Chandler.

12:39pm: The Grizzlies are promoting rookie two-way forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. to their standard roster, and will sign him to a four-year, $7MM contract, Lofton’s agent Mike George informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Lofton was recently named the 2022/23 G League Rookie of the Year. With the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, he averaged 20.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.2 SPG and 0.6 BPG across 17 games, including 15 starts.

The 6’7″ power forward has appeared in 23 games for the Grizzlies proper, posting modest averages of 3.4 PPG, 1.6 RPG and 0.9 SPG in 5.9 MPG.

Woj notes that Lofton is being inked to Memphis’ standard 15-man roster in part to address the absence of center Steven Adams, who is reportedly likely to miss the entire 2023 postseason due to the lingering effects of his right knee injury. Adams is one of two key big men unavailable for the Grizzlies — reserve power forward Brandon Clarke tore his Achilles in early March.

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets that Lofton, who would have entered restricted agency this summer if not for his new deal, has impressed the Grizzlies with his development thus far this season.

To carve out roster space for Lofton, Memphis is releasing rookie guard Kennedy Chandler, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Chandler, 20, was selected with the No. 38 pick in the 2022 draft out of Tennessee. As Charania notes, Chandler had been on a long-term agreement with the club, and should now garner significant attention on the waiver wire or as a free agent if he manages to clear waivers.

Herrington adds (via Twitter) that Chandler flashed promise with his ball-handling and defense this season, and may be a better fit on a team that will have more patience as he develops. The 51-30 Grizzlies are clearly prioritizing win-now pieces.

Memphis will be on the hook for Chandler’s guaranteed cap hits in 2023/24 ($1.72MM) and ’24/25 ($2.02MM) if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

RaiQuan Gray Signs Two-Way Deal With Nets

April 8th, 2023 at 1:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent power forward RaiQuan Gray has signed a two-way contract with the Nets, the team announced in a press statement.

The Nets previously drafted Gray with the No. 59 pick out of Florida State in 2021. Ever since, the 6’8″ big man has been playing for the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s NBAGL affiliate.

Across 18 regular season games with Long Island this season, all starts, Gray averaged 15.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG and 0.6 BPG. He boasted shooting splits of .578/.382/.629 in those contests.

The Nets had an open two-way roster spot after elevating David Duke to their standard roster on Friday, so no correlating move needs to be executed to accommodate Gray. He will join incumbent two-way player Dru Smith, a 6’3″ shooting guard who has appeared in 14 games with Brooklyn proper this season.

Gray could theoretically be promoted to the playoff-bound Nets’ standard roster until the last day of the 2022/23 regular season, which is tomorrow, but Brooklyn would need to cut a current player to make room for his addition.

Luka Samanic Signs Multiyear Deal With Jazz

April 7th, 2023 at 8:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

APRIL 7: Samanic’s new contract with the Jazz is official, the team announced in a press release.

APRIL 6: Jazz power forward Luka Samanic has agreed to a deal with Utah that will run through the 2023/24 season, Samanic’s agents Mark Bartelstein and George Roussakis inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Samanic is on the final day of a 10-day deal with Utah. According to Wojnarowski, the forward’s new agreement with the team includes some level of guaranteed salary for next season and trigger dates for his money to become fully guaranteed.

Even with Samanic joining the team for the rest of the season and potentially next year, the Jazz still have 14 of their 15 standard roster spots filled. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Utah is one of just five NBA clubs who still possess a roster opening.

Selected with the No. 19 pick by the Spurs during the 2019 draft, Samanic spent two seasons in San Antonio, but failed to make much of an impact. He had been out of the league before inking his 10-day contract with Utah in March.

Across four games with the Jazz so far, Samanic is averaging career highs of 7.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 0.8 SPG, plus 1.8 APG, in 17.5 MPG.

Celtics Sign Justin Champagnie

April 7th, 2023 at 10:04am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

APRIL 7: The signing is official, the Celtics announced (via Twitter).

APRIL 3: Free agent small forward Justin Champagnie, currently with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBAGL, is set to sign a deal with the Celtics, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Celtics have both their two-way player slots occupied, but do still possess an opening on their standard 15-man roster. It seems likely they will add Champagnie to their standard roster for the 2022/23 season’s final week and possibly give him a non-guaranteed salary for ’23/24.

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 this season, he was cut in December. He has been with Sioux Falls ever since.

Champagnie holds career NBA averages of 2.2 PPG and 1.9 RPG across 39 pro games, while playing sparingly. In 23 games with the Skyforce this season, the 21-year-old has averaged 18.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 SPG, and 0.7 BPG.

Hornets Convert Kobi Simmons’ Contract, Sign Xavier Sneed To Two-Way Deal

April 7th, 2023 at 9:42am CST by Arthur Hill

The two-way contract that Kobi Simmons signed with the Hornets last week has been converted to a standard deal, the team announced in a press release, adding that Xavier Sneed will fill the newly created two-way opening.

Simmons, a 25-year-old point guard, has appeared in three games so far with Charlotte, averaging 1.7 PPG in 5.7 minutes per night. It marked the first NBA action for the long-time G-Leaguer since he played one game for the Cavaliers during the 2018/19 season.

Simmons received a multi-year contract, according to the press release, but terms weren’t revealed so it’s uncertain whether he has any guaranteed money beyond this season. He has spent the past three years with Charlotte’s G League affiliate and is the club’s career leader in scoring.

Sneed averaged 5.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in three games with Charlotte on a 10-day contract that expired Thursday. The 25-year-old small forward also had brief stays with the Grizzlies and Jazz last season.

David Duke Jr. Gets Standard Contract From Nets

April 7th, 2023 at 9:06am CST by Arthur Hill

9:25am: The move is official, the Nets announced (via Twitter).

9:06am: The Nets will convert David Duke Jr.‘s two-way contract to a standard deal, sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post. An official announcement is expected to be made later today.

The 23-year-old combo guard has appeared in 21 games in his second season with Brooklyn, averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per night. He emerged as a star in the G League, Lewis notes, finishing third in this year’s MVP voting.

Duke earned a two-way contract in 2021 after going undrafted out of Providence and got into 22 games last season. He had hoped to get a standard offer after a strong Summer League showing, according to Lewis, but he had to settle for another year on a two-way contract.

The Nets have a roster spot open after Moses Brown‘s second 10-day contract expired on Thursday. Brown played just six total minutes in two appearances with Brooklyn and wouldn’t have been eligible for the playoffs because the Knicks waived him past the March 1 cutoff point.

Dereon Seabron Waived By Pelicans

April 6th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Pelicans have waived two-way guard Dereon Seabron, the team has announced in a press statement.

Seabron spent most of his New Orleans tenure with the club’s G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. He played in 28 contests for Birmingham, including 25 starts, with averages of 17.8 PPG, 5.1 APG and 4.8 RPG across 33.3 MPG. The 6’7″ reserve shooting guard made cameos in five games with the Pelicans proper this year, averaging 2.4 MPG.

Seabron had been considered one of the best undrafted rookies in his class when he linked up with New Orleans on a two-way deal in the summer of 2022, after having spent his college career at North Carolina State.

Injured power forward E.J. Liddell occupies the Pelicans’ other two-way roster slot. The 41-39 club is currently the eighth seed in a knotted-up Western Conference play-in tournament bracket. All 15 of its standard roster spots are filled at present.

Blazers Sign Justin Minaya For Rest Of Season

April 4th, 2023 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have called up forward Justin Minaya from the G League to finish the season with the team, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).

The son of veteran baseball executive Omar Minaya, Justin Minaya went undrafted out of Providence in 2022 and spent most of his first professional season playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League. In 27 NBAGL regular season appearances (35.1 MPG), he averaged 12.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.1 steals with a shooting line of .487/.339/.472.

The NBA’s transaction log confirms that the Blazers have officially signed Minaya to a 10-day contract. There are fewer than 10 days left in the regular season, but 10-day deals can still be signed if a team is granted a hardship provision due to an excessive number of injuries.

Portland has already added two extra players to its roster on 10-day contracts via the hardship provision, but qualified to sign a third. Damian Lillard, Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and Cam Reddish have all missed the last three or more games for the team due to injuries. A team can become eligible for a hardship signing when it has just four players who fit that bill, then can qualify for an extra replacement for each additional injured player.

Minaya’s hardship 10-day deal will expire when the regular season ends. He’ll immediately become a free agent at that time and Portland won’t hold any form of Bird rights on him this summer. The Blazers are now carrying 20 players, including two-ways.

Blazers Sign Jeenathan Williams, Waive Ryan Arcidiacono

April 1st, 2023 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

3:42pm: The Trail Blazers have confirmed both moves in a press release.

12:00pm: The Trail Blazers are making a change to their standard roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive veteran guard Ryan Arcidiacono and use the open roster spot to sign guard Jeenathan Williams to a two-year contract.

Williams, who went undrafted out of Buffalo in 2022, has spent his first professional season with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate. In 32 regular season appearances for Salt Lake City, Williams 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.

While the terms of Williams’ new deal aren’t yet known, it’s unlikely to include much, if any, guaranteed money beyond this season, essentially giving the Blazers a free look at the 24-year-old this summer before they decide whether they want to hang onto him for next season.

Arcidiacono began this season with the Knicks and was traded to Portland in the four-team trade deadline deal that sent Josh Hart to New York. The 29-year-old guard has actually played more in Portland than he did for the Knicks, averaging 2.6 PPG and 2.3 APG in nine games (16.2 MPG), though he’s currently sidelined due to lumbar soreness. He logged just 26 minutes in 11 contests for New York.

Arcidiacono won’t be playoff-eligible if he signs with a new team before the end of the regular season.

Due to a plethora of injuries, the Blazers have qualified for multiple hardship exceptions and signed Skylar Mays and Shaquille Harrison to fortify their standard roster. However, hardship signings can only be 10-day deals, so the team couldn’t give Williams a two-year contract without waiving someone on a rest-of-season deal.

Shaquille Harrison Signs 10-Day Deal With Trail Blazers

March 30th, 2023 at 9:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

9:03pm: The Blazers have officially signed Harrison, the team announced in a press release.

No corresponding roster move was announced, so Portland completed the signing using a hardship exception, which grants teams with several injured players extra roster spots on a temporary basis. The banged-up club is now carrying 19 players (15 on standard contracts, two on 10-days, and a pair on two-way deals).

8:37pm: Free agent guard Shaquille Harrison has agreed to a 10-day deal with the Trail Blazers, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Woj notes that Harrison has been playing with the Lakers’ NBAGL affiliate club, the South Bay Lakers, for the duration of the 2022/23 season.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a solid couple years in the G League. In 2021/22, while playing for the Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, he posted averages of 12.7 PPG, 6.4 APG, 4.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG and 0.8 BPG in 27 games. For his efforts, Harrison was named to the G League All-Defensive Team and was the league’s 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.

This season with South Bay, he’s averaged 13.6 PPG on .493/.246/.707 shooting splits. He’s also dishing out 8.3 APG, pulling down 6.2 RPG, swiping 2.1 SPG and posting 0.9 BPG a night.

Most recently at the NBA level, Harrison appeared in just two games with the Nets on a 10-day deal in 2021/22. Since going undrafted out of Tulsa in 2016, he has appeared in 175 total NBA games, averaging 5.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 1.5 APG with the Nets, Suns, Bulls, Jazz, and Nuggets.

Harrison is the second new addition to Portland’s roster today. The Trail Blazers previously inked another 6’4″ guard, Skylar Mays, to a 10-day deal.

Portland recently shut down All-Star point guard Damian Lillard for the rest of the regular season, and is clearly focused on the future. The club appears doomed to miss its second consecutive postseason. With a 32-44 record, the Trail Blazers are presently 5.5 games behind the 10th-seeded Thunder, with just six contests remaining on their schedule.