Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Sign Pierria Henry, Waive Trhae Mitchell

October 12th, 2022 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have made a pair of minor roster moves, waiving swingman Trhae Mitchell and signing free agent guard Pierria Henry, the team announced today.

Mitchell, who played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers – Houston’s G League team – last season, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Rockets this week and is expected to head back to the Vipers this fall.

It appears a stint with the Vipers may also be in the cards for Henry, a longtime standout in Europe, where he won a Turkish League championship with Fenerbahçe in 2022 and a Spanish League title in 2020 with Baskonia. The 29-year-old is a strong three-and-D player who was a member of the Wizards’ Summer League team in July.

Henry played his college ball at Charlotte from 2011-15 and has exclusively played in Europe since then. Unless the Rockets have bigger plans for him, he may view a stint in the G League as his best shot to make it to the NBA.

Houston still has a full 20-man roster following today’s roster moves.

Pacers Exercise 2023/24 Options On Four Players

October 12th, 2022 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have picked up their team options for the 2023/24 season on four players, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Those four options are as follows:

Tyrese Haliburton (fourth year, $5,808,435)
Aaron Nesmith (fourth year, $5,634,257)
Chris Duarte (third year, $4,124,400)
Isaiah Jackson (third year, $2,696,280)

Haliburton, Nesmith, Duarte, and Jackson were all already under contract for 2022/23. As a result of today’s moves, all four players now have guaranteed salaries for the ’23/24 season too. Haliburton and Nesmith will be eligible for rookies scale extensions during the 2023 offeason, while Duarte and Jackson have fourth-year options for ’24/25.

Haliburton is considered a cornerstone piece of the Pacers’ rebuild, having been acquired earlier this year in the blockbuster trade that sent Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento. The promising young point guard averaged 17.5 points and 9.6 assists per game in 26 appearances (36.1 MPG) for his new team down the stretch last season.

Nesmith also changed teams via trade earlier this year, arriving from Boston in this summer’s Malcolm Brogdon trade. It’s unclear whether he’ll be a key part of the Pacers’ future, but he should get a chance this season to play a rotation role and make his case to stick around long-term.

Duarte and Jackson had promising rookie seasons for the Pacers in 2021/22, though they only appeared in 55 and 36 games, respectively. Assuming they stay healthy, both should have regular roles going forward.

Nets Sign, Waive Noah Kirkwood

October 12th, 2022 at 12:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 12: The Nets have waived Kirkwood, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

OCTOBER 8: The Nets signed rookie swingman Noah Kirkwood, Alex Schiffer of The Athletic tweets.

While terms weren’t disclosed, Kirkwood’s contract is almost assuredly an Exhibit 10 deal and he’ll wind up with the Long Island Nets after getting waived. He’ll be eligible for a $50K bonus if he stays 60 days with the G League club.

The 22-year-old out of Harvard appeared in four summer league games with Brooklyn. He went undrafted this year after giving up his last year of eligibility.

He averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 32.8 minutes per game during his final season with Harvard in 26 starts.

Nuggets Cut Kellan Grady

October 12th, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have waived camp invitee Kellan Grady, according to the NBA.com transaction log.

Grady, who went undrafted out of Kentucky this June, spent his first four college seasons at Davidson and was the team’s primary offensive weapon across those four years, averaging 17.4 PPG with a .366 3PT% in 115 games. He transferred to the Wildcats for his “super-senior” year in 2021/22 and averaged 11.4 PPG with a .415 3PT% in 34 games (32.9 MPG) last season.

The Nuggets signed Grady to an Exhibit 10 contract in July and he suited up for Denver’s Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Now that he has been waived, Grady will likely report to the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate. The terms of his agreement with the team call for him to receive a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with Grand Rapids.

The Nuggets now have 19 players under contract — 15 on guaranteed deals, a pair on two-way contracts, and Chasson Randle and Grant Golden on Exhibit 10 pacts.

Spurs Sign, Waive Chaundee Brown

October 12th, 2022 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 12: The Spurs waived Brown on Tuesday shortly after signing him, per the official transaction log at NBA.com.

OCTOBER 11: Free agent guard Chaundee Brown has signed a contract with the Spurs, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log and the team’s official roster page. While details of the deal haven’t been reported, it’s a safe bet that it’s a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 pact.

Brown, 23, went undrafted in 2021 out of Michigan. As a rookie, he appeared in five total NBA games for the Lakers and Hawks, spending time on two-way deals with both clubs. His two-way contract with Atlanta included a second year covering the 2022/23 season, but the team waived him last month.

Brown played in 30 regular season G League games for the South Bay Lakers last season, averaging 15.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .447/.328/.833 shooting in 30.4 MPG.

The Austin Spurs – San Antonio’s NBAGL affiliate – acquired Brown’s returning rights from South Bay in September, so he’ll likely be waived by the NBA team soon and head to Austin to start the season. He’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Spurs’ G League team.

The Spurs had an open spot on their 20-man preseason roster after waiving Tommy Kuhse on Monday, so no corresponding move was required to make room for Brown.

Celtics Waive A.J. Reeves

October 12th, 2022 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have waived guard A.J. Reeves, shortly after signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract, per the official transaction log at NBA.com.

Reeves went undrafted in June after playing four college seasons at Providence, where he averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 28 games (25.3 MPG) last season. He was one of the Friars’ best shooters, knocking down 2.1 three-pointers per game at a 37.3% clip.

After playing for Boston’s Summer League team in Las Vegas, Reeves now appears likely to join the Maine Celtics in the G League as an affiliate player. His Exhibit 10 contract will ensure he receives a bonus of $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Maine.

The Celtics now have one spot available on their 20-man preseason roster.

Bulls Sign, Waive Henri Drell

October 12th, 2022 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls signed and then waived Estonian swingman Henri Drell, according to the official transaction logs at RealGM.com and NBA.com.

Drell, 22, went undrafted this year after joining the Windy City Bulls during the 2021/22 season. He appeared in 29 games for Windy City, averaging 5.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.0 BPG with a shooting line of .372/.308/.500 in 17.9 minutes per contest.

Despite Drell’s underwhelming numbers last season, the Bulls seem to like what they’ve seen from him. He suited up for Chicago’s Summer League team and now appears likely to head back to Windy City to begin the 2022/23 season.

Drell presumably signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which will allow him to earn a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Windy City Bulls this season.

After signing and waiving Drell, Chicago is still carrying 19 players on its preseason roster.

Trevelin Queen Signs Two-Way Deal With Pacers

October 11th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:00pm: Queen’s two-way contract with the Pacers is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

4:43pm: Guard Trevelin Queen is signing a two-way contract with the Pacers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

It’s a quick turnaround for Queen, who was just waived by the Sixers over the weekend.

The 25-year-old shooting guard had a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season. He was named G League MVP with Rio Grande Valley last season and appeared in 10 games with the Rockets after signing a two-way contract in December.

The Pacers have an open two-way slot, so they won’t have to make a corresponding move. Kendall Brown holds the other two-way contract.

Suns Sign Adonis Arms, Saben Lee

October 11th, 2022 at 8:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns have signed guards Adonis Arms and Saben Lee, according to a team press release relayed by Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link).

Arms went undrafted this year out of Texas Tech, then played for the Nuggets’ summer league team. He was also on Denver’s training camp roster but was waived on Sunday. In his last college season, he averaged 8.6 PPG on .448/.308/.744 shooting, along with 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.0 SPG.

Lee played the past two seasons with the Pistons. He was included in the Bojan Bogdanovic trade with the Jazz, who waived the former second-round pick on Sunday. Lee appeared in 85 total games for Detroit, averaging 5.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .434/.265/.731.

The Suns no longer have a G League team, so the club has no need to sign-and-waive players to secure their NBAGL rights. We’ll see what Phoenix’s plans are for Arms and Lee, who are both eligible to sign two-way contracts.

Rockets Sign Trhae Mitchell

October 11th, 2022 at 7:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have signed Trhae Mitchell, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

While Feigen didn’t specify, it’s likely an Exhibit 10 deal.

The 6’6” Mitchell, 25, played for Houston’s G League team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, last season and averaged 10 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28 games, including 23 starts. He also appeared in five games for the Rockets’ Summer League team.

It’s likely Mitchell will soon be placed on waivers, then return to the Rio Grande team. If he has an Exhibit 10 deal, he could earn a bonus up to $50K.