Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Release Theo Maledon

October 11th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Rory Maher

5:00pm: The Rockets have officially waived Maledon, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

3:53pm: The Rockets are releasing guard Theo Maledon, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Like Maurice Harkless, Maledon was acquired by Houston as part of the eight-player swap with the Thunder, and will now be waived as the team eats his $1.9MM salary for 2022/23, which is fully guaranteed.

Once the two transactions are complete, the Rockets will still have 16 players on guaranteed standard deals and Willie Cauley-Stein on a non-guaranteed contract, and they’ll need to reduce the standard roster down to 15 players before the regular season starts.

Maledon, 21, was the 34th overall pick of the 2020 draft. He appeared in 116 regular season games (56 starts, 23.3 MPG) with the Thunder over the past two seasons, averaging a combined 8.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 2.9 APG on .371/.322/.766 shooting.

Evidently neither the Thunder nor the Rockets were high enough on the French point guard to keep him around, despite his above-average size (6’4″) and youth. Since he only has two years of NBA experience, Maledon is eligible to sign a two-way deal if and when he clears waivers on Thursday, and that might be more likely than another guaranteed standard contract at this point considering a couple of rebuilding clubs decided not to retain him.

Rockets Claim Ex-Heat Forward Darius Days

October 11th, 2022 at 4:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets claimed forward Darius Days off waivers and may give him their available two-way contract, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Days was waived by the Heat on Sunday, right after his two-way contract was converted to an Exhibit 10 deal. Miami was hoping Days would clear waivers and that he’d join its G League affiliate in Sioux Falls. However, the Rockets had other plans for him.

Days was given a two-way contract in mid-July after a strong Summer League showing with the Spurs. The strong play of rookie Jamal Cain this season led Miami to give him the two-way slot Days previously held.

Days, a 6’7″, 245-pound forward, played four seasons at LSU and averaged 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Tigers last season.

Rockets Waive Maurice Harkless

October 11th, 2022 at 4:30pm CST by Rory Maher

4:30pm: Harkless has been officially waived by the Rockets, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

3:33pm: The Rockets intend to waive veteran forward Maurice Harkless, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harkless was traded three times during the offseason. The first deal saw him head from Sacramento to Atlanta as part of the Kevin Huerter deal, then he was dealt to the Thunder in a cost-cutting move that put the Hawks under the luxury tax, and finally he was part of the eight-player trade that saw Derrick Favors land in Houston.

The Rockets have 18 players on guaranteed standard contracts, so they were facing a roster crunch, because the regular season limit is 15 players. They decided that having a 29-year-old on the roster when the rebuilding club’s depth chart is already overflowing with forwards didn’t make a lot of sense, so they’re cutting Harkless and eating his $4,564,980 salary for 2022/23, which is fully guaranteed. Harkless will clear waivers on Thursday, assuming the move is made official today.

A 10-year veteran, Harkless has played for the Magic, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat and Kings since being selected with the 15th overall pick in 2012. Known as a solid defender, Harkless hold career averages of 6.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 0.9 SPG on .474/.320/.624 shooting in 621 regular season games (371 starts, 22.6 MPG).

Nuggets Re-Sign Grant Golden

October 11th, 2022 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

After waiving him on Friday, the Nuggets re-signed rookie forward Grant Golden on Monday, per RealGM’s transaction log and the team’s official website.

Golden, who spent his entire college career at Richmond, averaged 13.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.9 APG on .506/.280/.706 shooting in 37 games (27.6 MPG) as a “super senior” in 2021/22.

After going undrafted, the 6’10” forward played for the Hawks’ Summer League team in Las Vegas, logging limited minutes in four appearances, then signed with Denver in September.

It’s unclear why the Nuggets waived and then re-signed Golden, since his initial deal was an Exhibit 10 contract and he’s expected to ultimately report to the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate. For the time being though, he remains on Denver’s 20-man roster, which is once again full after the club also signed Chasson Randle.

Jazz Sign Jeenathan Williams To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 11th, 2022 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 11: Williams’ signing is now official, the Jazz confirmed in a press release. To make room on the roster, Utah has waived guard Darryl Morsell, who signed with the team on Sunday.

JUNE 27: The Jazz and free agent swingman Jeenathan Williams have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal, sources tell Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale (Twitter link).

Williams, who declared for the draft this spring following his fourth college season, earned All-MAC First Team honors in 2022 after making the Second Team in 2021.

The undrafted rookie out of Buffalo averaged 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in 54 contests (31.8 MPG) over his last two seasons. He also shot an impressive 42.5% on three-pointers during that time.

As Chepkevich notes, Williams stands at 6’6″ but has a seven-foot wingspan.

Exhibit 10 deals are non-guaranteed pacts that can be converted into two-way contracts before the regular season begins. They also allow a player to earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived before the season and joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Celtics Waive Luka Samanic, Sign A.J. Reeves

October 11th, 2022 at 11:22am CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 11: Reeves has officially signed his Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics, tweets Weiss.

OCTOBER 10: The Celtics have waived big man Luka Samanic, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets. In a corresponding move, they’re adding guard A.J. Reeves on an Exhibit 10 contract, Adam Zagoria tweets.

Boston signed Samanic to a non-guaranteed training camp deal in late September. It’s likely he’ll join the Maine Celtics of the G League once he clears waivers.

Reeves went undrafted after playing four seasons at Providence, where he averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.3 MPG last season in 28 games.

Reeves will likely hit the waiver wire soon and join the Maine club, where he could earn a bonus up to $50K if he sticks there for 60 days.

The No. 19 pick in the 2019 draft, Samanic appeared in 36 games with the Spurs during his first two NBA seasons, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG on .430/.294/.576 shooting in 9.9 minutes per contest. He was waived by San Antonio before his third season and spent most of 2021/22 on a two-way deal with the Knicks before being cut in March.

Samanic was affected by plantar fasciitis last season and didn’t play for the Knicks. He appeared in eight total contests for the Westchester Knicks in the G League and put up big numbers, averaging 27.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 3.4 APG.

Mavs Pick Up 2023/24 Option On Josh Green

October 11th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have exercised Josh Green‘s fourth-year option for the 2023/24 season, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Green, who is set to earn approximately $3.1MM in his third NBA season this year, is now also guaranteed of receiving his $4,765,339 salary for ’23/24.

Green didn’t play much as a rookie in Dallas after being selected 18th overall in the 2020 draft, but saw more regular minutes last season, averaging 4.8 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .508/.359/.689 shooting in 67 appearances (15.5 MPG). He has received rave reviews from coaches and teammates for the work he did this past offseason, suggesting that he may be in line for a larger role in ’22/23.

The Mavs don’t have to make decisions on any other rookie scale team options before this year’s October 31 deadline, since they didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2021 draft.

Sixers Sign-And-Waive Justin Smith, Patrick McCaw

October 11th, 2022 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

10:28am: The Sixers have formally confirmed that they signed and then waived both Smith and McCaw.

8:51am: The Sixers are rotating players in and out of the 20th spot on their preseason roster. After signing and waiving guard Mac McClung, the team also signed and waived forward Justin Smith, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Philadelphia subsequently signed veteran swingman Patrick McCaw to fill that 20th slot, per RealGM and the team’s official website.

Smith spent his rookie season with the Raptors 905 after going undrafted out of Arkansas in 2021. He averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 29 games (21.7 MPG) for Toronto’s G League affiliate.

The Delaware Blue Coats acquired Smith’s NBAGL returning rights in a trade with the 905 last week, per Matt Murphy (Twitter link). He likely signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Philadelphia that will assure he receives a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Blue Coats this season.

As for McCaw, the former Warriors and Raptors guard – a three-time NBA champion – has appeared in 199 total NBA games, but finished last season with the Blue Coats, playing a key rotation role for the team as it made a run to the G League Finals. Like Smith, McCaw appears likely to be waived and then head to Delaware as a returning-rights player.

Hawks Exercise 2023/24 Options On Okongwu, Johnson

October 11th, 2022 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks are picking up their team options on center Onyeka Okongwu and forward Jalen Johnson for the 2023/24 season, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps (Twitter links).

The moves will lock in a fourth-year salary of $8,109,063 for Okongwu, the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft, and a third-year salary of $2,925,360 for Johnson, last year’s 20th overall pick.

Okongwu has had his season debut delayed by injuries in each of his first two years in the NBA, having dealt with a foot issue as a rookie and shoulder surgery last season. However, he has shown intriguing promise when he’s been healthy, averaging 8.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 48 games (20.7 MPG) in 2021/22. He could be in line for a larger role going forward.

Johnson is also expected to see more action in his second NBA season, according to Bontemps. As a rookie, the former Duke standout logged just 120 total minutes in 22 games, averaging 2.4 PPG and 1.2 RPG.

Okongwu will now become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2023 offseason. As for Johnson, he has a $4.51MM team option for 2024/25, which the Hawks will have to make a decision on by October 31, 2023.

Mac McClung Waived By Sixers

October 10th, 2022 at 6:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have waived guard Mac McClung, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

McClung joined the organization last week on an Exhibit 10 contract. It’s anticipated he’ll join the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League team, once he clears waivers. The Blue Coats acquired his G League rights in a trade with the South Bay Lakers.

McClung has already passed through waivers since training camps opened. McClung was previously waived by the Warriors.

McClung was an undrafted rookie in 2021. He signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Bulls in December and January, but only appeared in one NBA game for just three minutes. He also played one game for the Lakers at the end of his rookie season on a two-way deal, but wasn’t extended a qualifying offer.

The 23-year-old guard spent the majority of last season in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate, South Bay, where he was named NBAGL Rookie of the Year.