Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Sign Frank Jackson, Kris Dunn To 10-Day Contracts

February 22nd, 2023 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 22: The Jazz have officially signed both Jackson and Dunn to 10-day contracts, the team confirmed today in a press release. The deals will run through next Friday (March 3), covering Utah’s next four games.

FEBRUARY 21: The Jazz have reached an agreement to sign guard Frank Jackson to a 10-day contract, agents Troy Payne and Mike Silverman tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 31st overall pick in the 2017 draft, Jackson missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury, then appeared in 213 regular season games over the next four seasons with the Pelicans and Pistons. In 2021/22, he averaged a career-high 10.6 points per game on .402/.308/.827 shooting in 53 contests (22.0 MPG) for Detroit.

Jackson, a former high school star in Utah, signed non-guaranteed contracts with the Suns and Jazz last fall, but didn’t make a regular season roster and has spent the season playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate.

He averaged 19.5 PPG on .441/.410/.733 shooting in 12 Showcase Cup appearances (31.1 MPG) and has increased his production since the NBAGL regular season began, registering 22.2 PPG with a .487/.438/.837 shooting line in 17 games (33.8 MPG). Jackson’s strong play earned him a spot in the G League’s Next Up Game in Salt Lake City over the weekend.

The Jazz are also signing former lottery pick Kris Dunn to a 10-day deal, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Dunn, 28, was drafted fifth overall in 2016 and has appeared in 245 regular season games since then for the Timberwolves, Bulls, Hawks, and Trail Blazers. Like Jackson though, he hasn’t played in the NBA so far this season, having spent the year in the G League.

Through 20 NBAGL regular season games (29.7 MPG) with the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s affiliate, Dunn is averaging 16.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.3 APG and 2.6 SPG on .522/.412/.755 shooting, to go along with his usual strong defense.

The Jazz had just 12 players on their standard roster after buying out Leandro Bolmaro and Russell Westbrook, so they needed to start refilling those spots soon, as we noted this morning. Even after signing Jackson and Dunn, Utah will still have one opening left on its 15-man squad.

Bucks Sign Meyers Leonard To 10-Day Deal

February 22nd, 2023 at 11:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 22: The Bucks have officially signed Leonard to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through March 3, covering Milwaukee’s next four games.

FEBRUARY 20: Veteran big man Meyers Leonard is signing a 10-day contract with the Bucks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Leonard hasn’t played in the NBA since March 2021. The Bucks had two roster spots open and needed to fill at least one of them to abide by NBA rules.

Leonard said in a recent TV interview that he suffered nerve damage when he underwent ankle surgery in April 2021 and spent much of the last two seasons rehabbing shoulder and ankle injuries. He was also embroiled in controversy two years ago for uttering an antisemitic slur on a video game stream.

Milwaukee might get some use out of Leonard. Bobby Portis has been sidelined by a knee injury, though he’s expected to return soon. Giannis Antetokounmpo took himself out of the All-Star Game during the first minute due to a wrist injury and Jae Crowder has yet to make his team debut.

The Bucks have been monitoring Leonard’s progress for over a year, and conducted a workout with him last month, according to Wojnarowski. They were looking for a big with shooting ability and a playoff history, Woj adds.

Leonard worked out for the Lakers last month but wasn’t signed. His last stint in the league was with the Thunder, who waived him two seasons ago after they acquired him from the Heat.

He was the 11th pick of the 2012 draft by Portland. He played seven seasons with the Trail Blazers, then appeared in 51 regular season games for the Heat in 2019/20. He only saw action in three games in 2020/21.

Bulls Waive Malcolm Hill, Sign Terry Taylor To Two-Way Deal

February 21st, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

10:00pm: The Bulls have officially signed Taylor and waived Hill, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

3:38pm: The Bulls are making a change to one of their two-way contract slots, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that forward Terry Taylor is getting a two-way deal from the team, while Malcolm Hill is being waived to make room for the newcomer.

Taylor, 23, was one of three players waived by the Pacers at this month’s trade deadline to accommodate the team’s new additions and has been a free agent since then.

After going undrafted out of Austin Peay in 2021, Taylor had a solid rookie season once he cracked Indiana’s rotation, averaging 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 61.4% from the field in 33 games (21.6 MPG). However, he didn’t played much in his second season, averaging just 8.8 minutes per night across 26 games in 2022/23.

One of Taylor’s best games as a rookie came against the Bulls — he racked up 21 points, 14 boards, and five assists against Chicago on February 4, 2022.

Hill finished last season on a two-way contract with the Bulls and re-signed with the team in September on a new two-way deal, but he hasn’t made an impact at the NBA level in 2022/23. The 6’6″ wing has logged nine minutes across five games this season, recording five points and three rebounds in his extremely limited action. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers.

Bulls Waive Tony Bradley

February 21st, 2023 at 9:51pm CST by Luke Adams

9:51pm: The Bulls have officially waived Bradley, according to the NBA transactions log.

9:22am: The Bulls are expected to waive center Tony Bradley on Tuesday in order to open up a spot on their 15-man roster to sign Patrick Beverley, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Bradley signed a two-year contract with Chicago during the 2021 offseason and appeared in 55 games with the team last season, but hasn’t had a role for the Bulls in 2022/23. The big man has logged just 33 total minutes across 12 appearances, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 minutes during that time.

Assuming Bradley goes unclaimed on waivers, which seems like a safe bet, the Bulls will remain on the hook for the rest of his $2,036,318 salary — he’s still owed approximately $562K of that amount, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

There had been some speculation that the Bulls might release Goran Dragic in order to add Beverley, but it seems Dragic will stick around. The decision will result in a crowded point guard depth chart for the Bulls. Even with Lonzo Ball not expected to return this season, Chicago will still have Beverley, Dragic, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White in the mix at that spot (though some of them can play the two as well).

As for Bradley, Woj notes (via Twitter) that there are still some teams in the market for a backup center, so it’s possible the 25-year-old will find a new NBA home in the coming days or weeks. He’ll be playoff-eligible for a new team, since he’s being released prior to March 1.

Patrick Beverley Signs With Bulls

February 21st, 2023 at 9:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 21: Beverley has officially signed a rest-of-season contract with the Bulls, according to the NBA transactions log.

The Bulls waived Tony Bradley to open up a roster spot for Beverley.

FEBRAURY 20: Point guard Patrick Beverley is expected to sign with the Bulls, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter).

The Bulls will have to open up a spot on their 15-man before adding Beverley.

Beverley was waived by the Magic on Feb. 12 after he was acquired in a trade with the Lakers. He had an expiring $13MM contract before working out a buyout arrangement with Orlando.

In 45 games for the Lakers, all starts, the 34-year-old posted averages of 6.4 PPG on .402/.348/.780, plus 3.1 RPG, 2.6 APG and 0.9 SPG.

Chicago has been seeking point guard help and had been in touch with Beverley’s representatives. Lonzo Ball hasn’t played in 2022/23 and will likely not return until next season. Ayo Dosunmu, Goran Dragic, Coby White and Alex Caruso have taken turns at the point guard but none have taken a stronghold on the starting job.

The Bulls entered the All-Star break with a disappointing 26-33 record. However, they’re still just two games behind the Raptors for the final play-in spot.

It’ll be a homecoming for Beverley, who grew up in Chicago.

Clippers Sign Keaton Wallace To Two-Way Contract

February 21st, 2023 at 7:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:16pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department announced.

6:33pm: The Clippers are signing Keaton Wallace to a two-way contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Wallace, a guard, has been playing for the Clippers’ G League team in Ontario. Los Angeles cleared a roster spot by waiving Nate Darling, who was signed to a two-way contract on Friday.

In 18 starts with Ontario, Wallace is averaging 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 32.0 minutes per game.

Wallace, 23, played college ball with Texas-San Antonio and averaged 16.6 points in 125 career games with the Roadrunners. He went undrafted in 2021 and also played for the Clippers’ G League franchise last season.

He was signed by the Clippers to an Exhibit 10 contract in September and waived in the same month.

Clippers Waive Nate Darling

February 21st, 2023 at 4:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have waived Nate Darling, the team’s PR department tweets.

It’s a surprise move, considering Los Angeles signed Darling to a two-way deal on Friday and the team hasn’t practiced since the All-Star break. Either the Clippers had a change of heart about how to use their two-way slot or signing and waiving Darling was always the plan in order to get him some extra money on top of his G League salary.

The 6’6″ shooting guard has spent the past couple seasons with the Clippers’ NBAGL affiliate in Ontario, California.

He had a strong showing during the fall Showcase Cup, averaging 20.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 2.5 APG on .469/.440/.828 shooting in 19 games (31.1 MPG). That has carried over to the 2022/23 regular season with Ontario, as he’s averaging 21.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.0 SPG on .464/.389/.868 shooting in 20 games (31.7 MPG).

The Clippers opened up a two-way spot by waiving Moses Brown last week, which was reportedly a mutual decision after he had reached his two-way games played limit.

Wizards, Will Barton Complete Buyout

February 21st, 2023 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

3:39pm: Barton has officially been placed on waivers, per a press release from the Wizards. As we relayed in a separate story, the plan is for Goodwin to fill the newly opened roster spot.

12:49pm: Wizards guard Will Barton has completed a buyout agreement with the team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski first reported just after the trade deadline passed that Washington and Barton were working out a buyout.

While there has been no official announcement from the Wizards yet, it sounds like Barton will be placed on waivers today and would be on track to reach free agency on Thursday. He had been earning $14.375MM in the final year of his contract.

After being packaged with Monte Morris in the offseason trade that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to Denver, Barton has had a disappointing season for his hometown team in D.C., averaging just 7.7 points per game on 38.7% shooting in 40 appearances (19.6 MPG).

Barton’s three-point shooting remained solid (38.0%) this season and he had several good years with the Nuggets before last summer’s trade, so the 32-year-old should garner some interest from playoff contenders as a low-cost free agent addition.

If and when Barton becomes a free agent, Denver would be the only team besides Washington ineligible to sign him — NBA rules prohibit a team from re-signing a player it traded during the offseason if he’s waived by his new team during the subsequent season.

The Wizards, meanwhile, will have an open roster spot after waiving Barton and are widely believed to be planning a promotion for two-way player Jordan Goodwin. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Washington still has an unused portion of its mid-level exception left and is about $2.1MM below the luxury tax line, so Goodwin could be signed to a multiyear deal without team salary going into the tax.

Magic Waive R.J. Hampton

February 21st, 2023 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

2:12pm: The Magic have officially waived Hampton, the team confirmed in a press release.

1:55pm: The Magic are waiving former first-round pick R.J. Hampton, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

The No. 24 pick in the 2020 draft, Hampton was part of Orlando’s return in the 2021 trade that sent Aaron Gordon to Denver. He had a rotation role in his first season-and-a-half with the Magic, but has seen his playing time decline precipitously in 2022/23 after the team declined the ’23/24 team option on his rookie scale contract.

Hampton, who turned 22 earlier this month, appeared in just 26 contests for the Magic this season, averaging 5.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on .439/.340/.838 shooting in 13.9 minutes per game. He wasn’t a regular contributor in a crowded backcourt that features Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, and Gary Harris.

Considered a trade candidate for much of this season, Hampton remained in Orlando through the February 9 deadline. A report surfaced shortly after the deadline suggesting that his days with the Magic were numbered.

Hampton has a $2,412,840 cap hit for 2022/23, so a team with cap room or a trade exception big enough to absorb that amount could place a waiver claim. The more likely scenario is that he’ll go unclaimed and seek out a new home as an unrestricted free agent.

The Magic are also promoting two-way player Admiral Schofield to a standard contract, so once officially they complete both transactions, they’ll have two spots available on their 17-man roster — one standard and one two-way.

Magic Promote Admiral Schofield To Standard Roster

February 21st, 2023 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

2:11pm: The move is official, the Magic announced in a press release.

1:22pm: The Magic are signing forward Admiral Schofield to a new two-year standard contract, agents Mark Bartelstein and George Roussakis tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Schofield had been on a two-way deal since re-signing with Orlando last July. The new agreement will promote him to the 15-man roster with no corresponding move necessary, since the Magic are currently carrying only 14 players on standard contracts.

A second-round pick in 2019 out of Tennessee, Schofield began his professional career with the Wizards but has spent most of the last two seasons with the Magic, providing depth in Orlando’s frontcourt. In 2022/23, he has averaged 4.6 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 27 appearances (13.0 MPG), while posting career-best shooting marks (.478/.333/.895).

The exact terms of Schofield’s new deal aren’t known, but it’s unlikely to include much – if any – guaranteed money beyond this season. A minimum-salary contract seems probable, but the Magic do have an unused portion of their mid-level exception available if they want to give the 25-year-old more than the minimum.