Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Nate Pierre-Louis Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Lakers

October 11th, 2022 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Nate Pierre-Louis has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers, Adam Zagoria of NJ.com tweets.

Pierre-Louis was a member of Los Angeles’ Summer League squad and appeared in seven games. He averaged 4.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 16.1 minutes in those contests.

He played for the Lakers’ G League team, the South Bay Lakers, last season and started 28 of 32 games. He averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 32 appearances.

He’ll likely be waived soon, then return to the South Bay club with the possibility of earning a bonus up to $50K if he sticks with that team for at least 60 days.

Pierre-Louis played three seasons at Temple and went undrafted in 2020.

The Lakers waived Bryce Hamilton to create an opening on the 20-man roster for Pierre-Louis, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. Hamilton’s next step is probably South Bay as well.

Frank Jackson Waived By Suns

October 11th, 2022 at 5:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns have waived guard Frank Jackson, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Jackson signed a non-guaranteed contract with Phoenix last month. He appeared in two preseason games.

Jackson, 24, has five years of NBA experience, though he missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury. He was an early second-round pick in 2017 and spent his first three NBA seasons with the Pelicans. He played the last two seasons with the Pistons.

Jackson averaged 9.8 PPG in 40 games during his first season in Detroit and made 40.7% of his 3-point tries. He averaged a career-best 10.6 PPG in 53 games last season but his 3-point shooting cratered to 30.8%.

Jackson became a free agent in late June when Detroit declined its $3.15MM option on his contract. He’ll return to the open market later this week, assuming he clears waivers.

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.