Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Sign Branden Carlson To Second 10-Day Deal

January 22nd, 2025 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

Rookie center Branden Carlson is back under contract with the Thunder, having signed a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Carlson’s initial 10-day deal with Oklahoma City ran through January 19, expiring overnight on Sunday.

Carlson, an undrafted free agent out of Utah, was on a two-way deal with the Raptors for most of the offseason. He was waived in mid-October before the regular season began, but caught on with the Thunder on a non-guaranteed contract in November.

The big man saw little action while he was on that deal, logging just 25 total minutes across seven appearances. However, after being waived ahead of this month’s salary guarantee deadline on January 7, he returned to the Thunder and took on a larger role, appearing in all six games the club played during his previous 10-day contract.

Known for his ability to stretch the floor, Carlson made at least one three-pointer in each of those six outings, averaging 5.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per night, with a .529 3PT% (9-of-17).

With Carlson back in the fold through January 31, the Thunder will have some added depth in their frontcourt for the next four games, with Isaiah Hartenstein (left soleus strain) and Chet Holmgren (right iliac wing fracture) both currently unavailable.

Carlson’s 10-day deal will pay him $66,503, the rookie minimum, with OKC taking on an identical cap hit. It will expire a week ahead of the trade deadline, giving the club some flexibility ahead of February 6 to take on an extra player in a deadline deal.

If the Thunder ultimately determine they want to bring back Carlson after his second 10-day contract expires, they would need to re-sign him for the rest of the season, since a team isn’t permitted to sign a player to a third 10-day deal.

Suns Acquire Three First-Rounders From Jazz For Unprotected 2031 Pick

January 21st, 2025 at 6:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:15pm: The trade is official, according to the Suns and Jazz (Twitter links).

6:26pm: The Suns have been seeking more draft capital and they are making a trade to that end. They are sending their 2031 unprotected first rounder — the last tradable first-rounder in their possession — to the Jazz in exchange for three first-round picks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

The Suns are acquiring the following three picks:

The Cavaliers’ or Timberwolves’ 2025 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
The Jazz’s, Cavaliers’, or Timberwolves’ 2027 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
The Jazz’s, Cavaliers’, or Timberwolves’ 2029 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable).

Phoenix now control first-rounders in each of the next six drafts and will have more flexibility to make trades with the additional picks. The Suns are operating over the second tax apron and have limited options on the trade market this season. They’re not able to aggregate contracts or take back more salary than they send out.

Phoenix’s only other tradable draft asset is the 2025 second-round pick it acquired from Charlotte (while sending out three second-rounders) during the recent trade for center Nick Richards. That will almost certainly be Denver’s second-rounder.

This move could help facilitate a potential Jimmy Butler trade for the Suns. According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), the Heat are seeking multiple picks plus two players for Butler, and any deal would likely include at least four teams. Bradley Beal would almost certainly have to be part of Phoenix’s outgoing trade package, and he’d also need to approve any deal since he has a no-trade clause.

Butler is back in action after serving a team-imposed seven-game suspension but is still looking to be dealt, with the Suns reportedly his preferred destination.

The incentive for the Jazz to make this deal is the lack of protections on the 2031 first-rounder. The 2025 pick they’re giving up will most likely be one of the last two picks in the first round, given the Cavaliers’ record, while the 2027 and 2029 first-rounder will be the least favorable of three selections. The Suns’ ’31 pick has significantly more upside, especially considering that Phoenix’s current roster isn’t necessarily built for sustainable long-term success.

Raptors Sign Orlando Robinson To 10-Day Contract

January 18th, 2025 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed free agent center Orlando Robinson to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.

No corresponding roster move was necessary because Eugene Omoruyi‘s 10-day deal with Toronto expired overnight on Friday, freeing up the 15th spot on the club’s standard roster.

Robinson, 24, spent two seasons with the Heat from 2022-24 before joining the Kings as a free agent last summer to provide depth at center behind Domantas Sabonis and Alex Len. However, the former Fresno State standout appeared in just nine games for Sacramento, averaging 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per contest before being waived ahead of the league-wide salary guarantee deadline earlier this month.

On the same day the Kings waived Robinson, the Raptors cut big man Bruno Fernando, so the newcomer will fill the spot on the depth chart that Fernando previously occupied, providing another frontcourt option for head coach Darko Rajakovic.

Robinson will earn $119,972 over the course of his 10 days with the Raptors, who will take on a cap hit worth the same amount. The deal will run through January 27, allowing Robinson to be active for up to four games.

When the contract expires, Toronto will have the option of re-signing Robinson to a second 10-day deal before having to make a decision on whether to sign him for the rest of the season or let him walk.

Lakers Sign Trey Jemison To Two-Way Deal

January 15th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

10:00 pm: Jemison’s two-way deal is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

5:15 pm: Hot off the heels of waiving former two-way point guard Quincy Olivari, the Lakers intend to sign free agent center Trey Jemison to their newly available two-way slot, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and Marc Stein (Twitter link).

The 6’11” big man out of UAB had most recently been on a two-way deal with the Pelicans. New Orleans waived him last week.

Across 16 bouts with the injury-plagued Pelicans at the NBA level this year, Jemison averaged 2.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 10.4 minutes per game.

Jemison went undrafted in 2023 and joined New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, as an affiliate player at the start of the 2023/24 season. He subsequently signed 10-day contracts with the Wizards and Grizzlies, and was later picked up by Memphis on a two-way deal to close out the season. Jemison was cut by the Grizzlies this past summer, before being picked up by the Pelicans.

Playing for Birmingham last season, Jemison averaged 10.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 31.6 minutes per contest across 25 total outings.

Jemison is now the second center inked to a two-way deal for Los Angeles, joining Christian Koloko. The Lakers have been dealing with long-term injuries to several of their reserve big men this season. It makes sense that the team’s front office is seeking out immediate, short-term help at the five spot to spell All-NBA center Anthony Davis.

Forward Armel Traore is the Lakers’ third rostered two-way player.

Shams Charania of ESPN tweets that Jemison helps bolster the club’s frontcourt as a physical post presence. As a two-way player, he’ll likely split his time between L.A.’s G League club, the South Bay Lakers, and the NBA squad.

Reserve Lakers center Christian Wood and forward Jarred Vanderbilt have been sidelined all season while recuperating from offseason surgeries. Backup Los Angeles center Jaxson Hayes has been in and out of the lineup for much of the year with his own ailments. Koloko has had to log significant time as occasionally the team’s only legitimate healthy center behind Davis. Meanwhile Davis, who has his own history of injuries, has been the Lakers’ steadiest rotational big man.

Hornets Trade Nick Richards To Suns

January 15th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

6:43 pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Suns and Hornets.

3:47 pm: The Suns and Hornets have agreed to a trade that will send center Nick Richards and a second-round draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Suns only have three tradable second-rounders on hand: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 selections, and Phoenix’s own 2031 pick. Those are the three picks headed to Charlotte in the deal.

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the pick being sent from the Hornets to the Suns is a 2025 selection. It will be the least favorable of Denver’s and Philadelphia’s picks, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Charania (Twitter link). Barring an unexpected development in the second half of this season, that figures to be the Nuggets’ second-rounder.

Richards, 27, has seen regular rotation minutes in Charlotte since the start of the 2022/23 campaign and served as the team’s primary starting center in ’23/24 with Mark Williams sidelined. So far this season, he has appeared in 21 games, averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 21.0 minutes per night.

Richards is on a team-friendly contract that pays him $5MM this season, with a $5MM non-guaranteed salary for next season. Okogie’s deal is also guaranteed in 2024/25 and non-guaranteed in ’25/26, but he’s earning $8.25MM this season, so the swap will reduce Phoenix’s projected end-of-season luxury tax bill by approximately $20MM, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), while giving the team an athletic option in the frontcourt.

Richards is expected to take over as the Suns’ starting center once he gets acclimated, tweets Gambadoro.

Reporting over the weekend indicated that the Suns and Hornets were in talks about a potential Richards trade that would send second-round draft capital to Charlotte.

Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic was believed to be part of those discussions, but the Hornets were likely unwilling to take on Nurkic’s contract, which has a significantly higher cap hit ($18.13MM) than Okogie’s and is also fully guaranteed for next season ($19.38MM). An Okogie/Richards swap is simpler from a cap perspective and doesn’t require Charlotte to include a second player.

Because they’re operating over the second tax apron, the Suns have limited options on the trade market this season. They’re not able to aggregate contracts or take back more salary than they send out. This deal meets those requirements while taking advantage of an Okogie contract that had been viewed as a probable trade chip since it was first signed in July. Not coincidentally, Okogie became trade-eligible on Wednesday.

Besides its newly acquired 2025 second-round pick, Phoenix’s only remaining tradable draft asset is its 2031 first-rounder. The front office figures to make that first-round selection available as the club continues to weigh its options on the market ahead of the February 6 deadline.

As Marks tweets, Phoenix will generate a $3.25MM trade exception as a result of this transaction. The Suns would be able to use that exception during the season, but not in the 2025 offseason as long as they continue to operate over the second apron.

As for the Hornets, after taking advantage of their significant breathing room below the luxury tax line to take on contracts and acquire three second-round picks from the Knicks in the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster in the fall, they’re taking a similar path here, absorbing some extra salary in a deal for their backup center and netting multiple future second-rounders in the process.

Charlotte will still be operating $7MM+ below the tax line once this move is official, leaving the team with some flexibility to potentially facilitate another deal or two with a cap-strapped trade partner by Feb. 6.

While the Hornets are making this trade for the draft assets rather than for Okogie, the veteran swingman has been solid in limited minutes this season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game across 25 outings, with career-high shooting percentages of 49.1% from the floor and 38.1% on three-pointers. He’s considered a versatile and above-average wing defender.

If Okogie isn’t part of Charlotte’s plans going forward, the club could look to flip him in the coming weeks, though he’ll be ineligible to have his salary aggregated with another player’s.

Lakers Release Two-Way Player Quincy Olivari

January 15th, 2025 at 4:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers have cut two-way guard Quincy Olivari, sources inform Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The move has been confirmed in the NBA’s official transaction log.

As Scotto notes, Olivari has put up solid numbers this season while mostly playing for L.A.’s NBAGL affiliate squad in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers.

Across 13 combined Tip-Off Tournament and G League regular season games, Olivari averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 dimes, and 4.4 boards per night. He also notched a .421/.406/.711 shooting line, taking 7.8 three-point tries per game to reach that 40.6% mark.

The 23-year-old rookie guard cameoed in just two contests for the Lakers at the NBA level, logging 10 total minutes of mop-up time.

Scotto reports that Olivari is anticipated to have a market as a free agent.

The 6’3″ guard spent his first four collegiate seasons as an All-Conference USA talent at Rice, before finishing out his NCAA tenure at Xavier in 2023/24. He went undrafted over the summer, but impressed the Lakers enough in the 2024 preseason to earn a two-way slot.

The Lakers are reportedly expected to fill their newly opened two-way slot by signing big man Trey Jemison. Forward Armel Traore and center Christian Koloko are the club’s other two-way players.

Pete Nance Returns To Sixers On Two-Way Contract

January 14th, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

After waiving Pete Nance last week, the Sixers announced (via Twitter) that they have re-signed him to a two-way contract.

The 24-year-old power forward originally joined the team on a two-way deal on December 3. Philadelphia saved a little bit of money by parting with Nance for a week, but his new contract – which doesn’t count against the cap – will be guaranteed for the rest of the season.

Nance appeared in one game with the Sixers, playing three minutes December 30 at Portland. He also saw action in 14 G League contests with the Cleveland Charge and Delaware Blue Coats, averaging 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocked shots while shooting 50% from the field.

Nance, the younger brother of Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr., appeared in eight games last year on a two-way contract with Cleveland. He was waived in October just before the season started and got the opportunity with Philadelphia a few weeks later.

The Sixers have all three of their two-way slots filled again, with Justin Edwards and Jeff Dowtin holding the other two. Golden State and Orlando are the only remaining teams with openings, as our two-way contract tracker shows.

Grizzlies Sign Zyon Pullin, Waive Colin Castleton

January 10th, 2025 at 1:50pm CST by Rory Maher

1:50pm: The moves are now official, the Grizzlies confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

1:25pm: The Grizzlies are signing free agent guard Zyon Pullin to a two-way deal covering two seasons, reports Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian (Twitter links).

According to Hill, Memphis will waive center Colin Castleton in order to add Pullin to the roster.

A 6’4″ guard out of Florida, Pullin played for UC Riverside from 2019-23 before transferring to the Gators for his super-senior year. He was an All-SEC honoree in 2023/24 after averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest in 33 games (27 starts), with a shooting line of .444/.449/.847.

Pullin quickly agreed to terms with the Heat after going undrafted in June, officially signing a two-way contract with the team on the first day of the new league year on July 1. However, he didn’t see much playing time for Miami’s Summer League squad and was waived on July 25 when the club needed to open up a roster spot to sign Summer League standout Josh Christopher to a two-way deal.

Pullin re-signed with the Heat on an Exhibit 10 deal in August, then was released shortly before the ’24/25 season began. He has spent his first pro season playing for Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

The 23-year-old had a relatively modest role with the Skyforce during the Tip-Off Tournament this past fall, averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 0.8 SPG on .476/.318/.765 shooting in 17 games (22.4 MPG). However, he has received more playing time (38.3 MPG) in his first six regular season games with Sioux Falls, and he has excelled in those outings, averaging 24.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 7.7 APG, and 1.2 SPG on .535/.424/.731 shooting.

Castleton, who spent ’23/24 with the Lakers on a two-way deal, hasn’t played much for the Grizzlies during his second season, logging just 46 NBA minutes in 10 games. The 24-year-old big man put up 17.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.3 BPG in 10 outings with the Memphis Hustle (31.8 MPG), though he struggled with turnovers (3.8 per game) and scoring efficiency (.438/.261/.756 shooting line).

Castleton recently had his full-season salary guaranteed by the Grizzlies, but two-way contracts don’t count against the salary cap, so Memphis won’t face any tangible financial ramifications for making the roster swap.

Thunder Sign Branden Carlson To 10-Day Contract

January 10th, 2025 at 9:29am CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder have signed rookie center Branden Carlson to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.

It’s a reunion for the two sides, as Oklahoma City waived Carlson a few days ago before his full-season salary became guaranteed.

A 25-year-old from Utah, Carlson played five college seasons for the Utes prior to going undrafted in 2024. Known for his ability to stretch the floor, Carlson initially signed a two-way deal with Toronto in July, but was cut in mid-October, a few days before the 2024/25 season began.

Carlson, who opened the season with the Raptors 905 in the G League, signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Thunder in mid-November. He only saw garbage-time action with Oklahoma City at the NBA level, logging 25 total minutes across seven outings.

However, he has been pretty productive at the NBAGL level, averaging 14.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks in eight appearances with the 905 and Oklahoma City Blue (27.9 minutes per contest). He posted a shooting line of .490/.367/.500 in those outings.

The move will ensure that Carlson remains in the Thunder’s system, at least temporarily. His G League rights are controlled by the 905, but NBA deals take precedence.

Pelicans Waive Trey Jemison, Sign Keion Brooks

January 9th, 2025 at 6:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

6:40 pm: The Pelicans have used their open two-way slot to sign Keion Brooks Jr., the team announced (Twitter link via William Guillory of The Athletic).

Brooks, who went undrafted in 2024 out of Washington, is averaging 17.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.4 blocks in 20 games with New Orleans’ G League affiliate in Birmingham. After signing the 6’7″ forward, the Pelicans will have all three two-way slots filled with 14 players on standard contracts.

5:01 pm: The Pelicans are waiving two-way center Trey Jemison, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). The Pelicans originally claimed Jemison on waivers from the Grizzlies last July.

Jemison, 25, has experience with the Wizards, Grizzlies and Pels. He made 16 appearances with New Orleans this season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per night. He didn’t play much with the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, this season, but did average 10.9 PPG, 11.8 RPG and 1.6 BPG with the Squadron last season.

The 6’11” center originally went undrafted in 2023 after playing collegiately with Clemson and then UAB. The Pelicans signed him to an Exhibit 10 deal last September, but he was cut and played with Birmingham in the G League as an affiliate player.

The Wizards signed him to a 10-day deal last January before he caught on with the Grizzlies on a 10-day contract after his Washington contract expired. Jemison impressed for a Grizzlies team needing bodies last year, earning a two-year, two-way deal and averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 23 games (14 starts).

Because he’s being waived two days after the league-wide salary guarantee deadline, Jemison will be assured of earning his full-season two-way salary.

By waiving Jemison, the Pelicans will open up a two-way roster spot, with Brandon Boston Jr. and Jamal Cain occupying the two others. New Orleans also has an open standard roster slot. Boston is likely to earn a promotion to a standard deal at some point this year after becoming a rotation mainstay.