Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Re-Sign Miles Bridges To Three-Year Deal

July 14th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 14: Bridges officially signed his deal to return to Charlotte, the Hornets announced (Twitter link).

JULY 6: The Hornets are re-signing free agent forward Miles Bridges, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN (Twitter links), Bridges’ new deal will be worth $75MM over three years and won’t include a team or player option.

After accepting his one-year, $7.9MM qualifying offer as a restricted free agent last summer, Bridges averaged 21.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 69 games for the Hornets last season, posting a shooting line of .462/.349/.825. His contract gave him veto rights on any trade and he told the team in February that he intended to exercise those rights rather than approve a deal elsewhere.

While that stance was partly about not wanting to lose his Bird rights, Bridges also repeatedly expressed a desire to remain in Charlotte, and that interest was reciprocated by the Hornets’ front office, led by new head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson. The two sides have made good on those public comments by agreeing to terms nearly a week into free agency.

Bridges’ scoring ability, size, and versatility are ideal for an NBA forward, but his market in free agency was almost certainly affected by his off-court history, which includes multiple allegations of domestic violence.

Facing three felony charges after being accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children, Bridges entered a plea of no contest — accepting punishment without formally admitting guilt — to one felony count of injuring a child’s parent in November 2022.

The Hornets forward received three years probation and no jail time as part of the plea deal, which led to a 30-game suspension from the NBA (he was permitted to serve just 10 games of that suspension because he spent the entire 2022/23 season out of the league while his case played out). He subsequently faced three additional criminal counts related to a separate incident, but those were dismissed this February due to insufficient evidence.

Charlotte has been keeping Bridges’ $15MM cap hold on its books during the early part of free agency. The club will use up all of its cap room on other deals before going over the cap to re-sign Bridges using his Bird rights.

Ron Harper Jr. Signs Camp Contract with Celtics

July 14th, 2024 at 12:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The reigning champion Celtics are taking a flier on free agent combo forward Ron Harper Jr., having signed the former Raptors two-way player to a non-guaranteed training camp deal, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

After going undrafted out of Rutgers in 2022, the 6’4″ wing signed a two-way deal with Toronto, appearing in nine games during his rookie season. He agreed to a second two-way deal for 2023/24, as well, but was waived last December after appearing in just one contest for the Raptors.

All told, the 24-year-old has played in 10 NBA contests thus far, averaging 2.0 points on 50% field goal shooting, plus 0.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists a night.

He had a far more prolific role with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. Harper averaged 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per night on .501/.366/.776 shooting.

Harper evidently impressed Boston enough with his play on the team’s Summer League roster this month to earn a more extended look.

Hornets Sign Taj Gibson To One-Year Deal

July 13th, 2024 at 8:23pm CST by Rory Maher

8:23pm: Gibson’s signing is official, the Hornets announced in a press release.

9:51am: The Hornets intend to sign veteran big man Taj Gibson to a one-year, $3.3MM contract, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Based on the reported terms, Gibson will receive the veteran’s minimum for a player with 10+ years of experience ($3,303,771), while Charlotte will carry a $2,087,519 cap hit.

The 26th pick of the 2009 draft, Gibson has spent the past 15 seasons in the NBA. He had a long stint with Chicago to open his career before playing for Oklahoma City, Minnesota, New York (twice), Washington and Detroit. He finished the 2023/24 season with the Pistons.

Gibson, 39, is no longer a top-tier reserve or a starter like he was in his prime, but he’s still highly valued for his locker-room presence, professionalism and leadership.

Charlotte has a new front office led by head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson and a new head coach in Charles Lee. The team has repeatedly mentioned work ethic as a point of emphasis this offseason, which is something Gibson is known for.

The 6’9″ forward/center holds career averages of 8.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 965 regular season games, including 450 starts (23.5 MPG).

Bulls Waive RaiQuan Gray

July 13th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have opened up a two-way contract slot by waiving RaiQuan Gray, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

The 25-year-old power forward was acquired from the Spurs in the three-team deal that sent DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento last week. All the teams involved in the trade had to send or receive at least one asset from each other, so Gray was shipped from San Antonio to Chicago to satisfy that requirement.

Gray has seen minimal time in the NBA since being selected by Brooklyn with the 59th pick in the 2021 draft. He appeared in one game after signing a two-way contract with the Nets at the end of the 2022/23 season. He joined the Spurs on an Exhibit 10 contract last fall, but was waived in training camp.

Gray signed a two-way contract covering two seasons with San Antonio in March and appeared in three games. He played 43 G League contests for the Austin Spurs last season, averaging 15.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per night.

The move leaves the Bulls with a two-way roster opening as they consider their options at Summer League. Andrew Funk and Adama Sanogo are Chicago’s current two-way players.

Suns Re-Sign Josh Okogie To Two-Year Contract

July 13th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 13: The Suns have officially re-signed Okogie to his two-year contract, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

JULY 11: Free agent wing Josh Okogie has agreed to a two-year, $16MM contract to stay with the Suns, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter) that the second season of the 6’4″ guard/forward’s deal will be non-guaranteed.

According to Charania and Gerald Bourguet of PHX Sports (Twitter links), Okogie had drawn some interest from several other clubs before ultimately deciding to return to Phoenix. Bourguet notes that the Suns used Okogie’s Early Bird rights to bring him back into the fold.

Cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets that Okogie’s new detail will increase the Suns’ luxury tax penalty by an eye-popping $47MM.

The 25-year-old arrived in Phoenix in the 2022 offseason as a free agent after spending his first four pro seasons with the Timberwolves. Minnesota initially selected him with the No. 20 pick out of Georgia Tech in the 2018 draft.

Okogie has emerged as a valuable role player across two playoff seasons in the competitive Western Conference. In his 60 healthy games last season, Okogie averaged a modest 4.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.8 steals in just 16.0 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .417/.309/.745. He is more valued for his multifaceted defense than his scoring, however, a skill set that may be a bit harder to measure.

Pistons Sign Bobi Klintman To Four-Year Deal

July 13th, 2024 at 12:52pm CST by Rory Maher

12:52pm: Klintman’s deal is official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

11:39am: The Pistons are signing Bobi Klintman to a four-year contract worth just under $8MM, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). The first two seasons are fully guaranteed, Charania adds.

Detroit selected Klintman, 21, with the 37th overall pick in last month’s draft. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first reported that the Pistons were hoping to sign the Swedish forward to a multiyear standard contract.

Scotto confirms Klintman’s salary will be worth more than the minimum in 2023/24 (Twitter link) — a four-year, minimum-salary deal for a rookie would work out to $7,895,796, so it sounds like Klintman will earn an extra $100K or so next season. The Pistons will almost certainly use the second-round exception to sign the 6’9″ combo forward.

After spending his freshman season at Wake Forest in 2022/23, Klintman decided to play in Australia last season as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program. He appeared in 23 games for the Cairns Taipans in ’23/24, averaging 9.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 0.8 SPG on .443/.357/.793 shooting (21.3 MPG).

Mavericks Sign Emanuel Miller

July 13th, 2024 at 7:08am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Mavericks have signed forward Emanuel Miller, according to a team press release. While the terms of the deal weren’t revealed, the move was announced alongside the signing of Jazian Gortman, who agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal. It stands to reason that Miller is likely also joining the team on an Exhibit 10 contract.

Miller went undrafted in 2024 after playing five collegiate seasons — first at Texas A&M and then at TCU. In his final season of college ball, Miller averaged 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 48.6% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.

According to Mike Curtis of Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Mavericks summer league coach Jared Dudley referred to Miller as one of the most physical players on the team.

Miller ranked as ESPN’s 22nd-best available undrafted free agent. Most of the players on the list ranked ahead of them have signed or agreed to two-way deals. If Miller signed an Exhibit 10 deal, he could have it converted to a two-way contract at a later date. The Mavericks currently have one two-way contract opening, with Alex Fudge and Brandon Williams occupying two of the team’s three spots.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal that doesn’t count against a team’s cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted to a two-way contract before the season begins or the player can earn a bonus of up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.

Jamal Cain Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans

July 13th, 2024 at 7:00am CST by Tristan Tucker

JULY 13: The Pelicans have officially signed Cain, per the transaction log at NBA.com.

JULY 12: Free agent wing Jamal Cain has agreed to a two-way deal with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojanrowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).

Cain, 25, spent the first two seasons of his career with the Heat. He appeared in 44 games with the Heat from 2022-24, averaging 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest.

The 6’6″ guard/forward has impressed in limited stints with Miami, averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 boards in a three-game win streak in 2022/23 as well as recording 18 points and six rebounds in a win over the Warriors in ’23/24.

Cain played the first four seasons of his collegiate career for Marquette before transferring to Oakland. After going undrafted in 2022, he joined the Heat and earned a two-way contract.

While he played sparingly for the Heat in the regular season, he saw much more playing time in Summer League, preseason and the G League in Miami’s system. He averaged 10.9 PPG across nine games in two seasons with Miami in preseason games and then averaged 21.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 1.6 SPG on .540/.372/.815 shooting splits in two years with the Skyforce.

Cain angled for a standard contract last offseason but ultimately didn’t receive one before re-upping with Miami on a two-way deal. Due to the Heat’s roster crunch with their young two-way players, Cain didn’t receive a promotion from his two-way deal over the two seasons he spent in the organization. After the Heat filled out all three of their two-way spots early in free agency and then filled out their regular roster, it was clear Cain wouldn’t be returning.

Now, the Pelicans land a productive wing who spent two years in Miami’s successful development program. As our two-way contract tracker for 2024/25 shows, the Pelicans only have one such spot filled — with Malcolm Hill occupying a spot. For what it’s worth, No. 47 overall pick Antonio Reeves hasn’t signed his rookie contract with the Pelicans, so it’s possible he will fill one of those two open spots alongside Cain.

Kyle Lowry Signs One-Year Deal With Sixers

July 12th, 2024 at 9:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 12: Lowry has officially signed his new contract, according to a team press release.

“Kyle is a floor general, the ultimate competitor, and a proven winner who has experienced success at the highest level. His return is vital to our quest toward bringing a championship back to the City of Philadelphia,” Morey said in a statement.

JULY 11: Free agent point guard Kyle Lowry is signing a new one-year contract to return to his hometown Sixers, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Charania didn’t report the terms of the deal, but Philadelphia can only offer the veteran’s minimum to free agents after using all of its cap space and its room exception.

Lowry shared the news himself in a fresh Instagram video.

The 38-year-old will be playing in his 19th NBA season in 2024/25. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets that conversations between Philadelphia team president Daryl Morey and Lowry’s agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports increased over the last week.

According to Woj, the Villanova alum had been weighing his options and considering several playoff hopefuls as he looks to win his second championship.

After starting out the 2023/24 season with the Heat, Lowry and his expiring $29.7MM contract were traded to the Hornets in exchange for the younger Terry Rozier, currently a more prolific offensive threat. Lowry negotiated a buyout and signed on with his hometown Sixers, where he quickly earned a backcourt starting role alongside All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey with De’Anthony Melton injured.

Though he’s no longer a high-volume scorer, Lowry remains an efficient three-point threat and a surprisingly savvy defender whose solid frame allows him to match up with bigger players despite his 6’0″ height. Across his 23 regular season contests with the Sixers last year (20 starts), the six-time All-Star posted averages of 8.0 points, 4.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per night, with a shooting line of .444/.404/.848.

The Sixers have enjoyed perhaps the most productive offseason of any team this summer. Morey cleared out more than $53MM in cap space and pounced when star Clippers forward Paul George became available, quickly signing him to a four-year, maximum deal worth nearly $212MM.

Philadelphia also signed three-and-D small forward Caleb Martin, brought back rebounder extraordinaire Andre Drummond after his two-year Bulls stint, used their full room exception to re-sign swingman Kelly Oubre, signed sharpshooter Eric Gordon to a minimum contract, and signed restricted free agent Tyrese Maxey to a maximum deal via his Bird rights. The Sixers could still conceivably bring back free agent swingman KJ Martin, too, if the price is right.

All told, with this depth surrounding a new core of George, Maxey and perennial MVP candidate Joel Embiid, Philadelphia now looks like one of the best-equipped clubs in the East to challenge the Celtics for conference supremacy next season.

Pistons Re-Sign Simone Fontecchio To Two-Year Deal

July 12th, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: The Pistons have officially re-signed Fontecchio, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

JULY 6: The Pistons and free agent wing Simone Fontecchio are in agreement on a two-year, $16MM contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Fontecchio, 28, played professionally in Europe from 2012-22 before signing with the Jazz two summers ago. He spent a season-and-a-half in Utah, then was traded to Detroit at this year’s trade deadline.

In 66 total games (43 starts) for the Jazz and Pistons in 2023/24, the Italian wing averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .460/.401/.818.

Because he only has two years of NBA experience under his belt, Fontecchio was eligible for restricted free agency, and the Pistons issued him a $5.2MM qualifying offer to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to sign with another team without Detroit getting a chance to match.

It didn’t come to that, however, as the Pistons and Fontecchio have worked out a new deal directly, less than a week after the free agent period officially opened.

Fontecchio will provide additional shooting on a team that is prioritizing spacing the floor around rising star guard Cade Cunningham. Detroit has also agreed to sign Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris while acquiring Tim Hardaway Jr. in a trade with Dallas.

Fontecchio’s new deal won’t affect the Pistons’ cap room, since his $5.2MM cap hold has already been accounted for in the team’s cap projections. Detroit will be able to go over the cap to officially re-sign him using his Early Bird rights.