Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign Trent Forrest To Two-Way Deal

August 8th, 2022 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have filled their open two-way slot by signing free agent guard Trent Forrest to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Forrest, 24, signed a two-way deal with the Jazz in 2020 after going undrafted out of Florida State. He spent most of the next two seasons on two-way contracts in Utah, eventually earning a promotion to the standard roster on the last day of the 2021/22 campaign in order to make him playoff-eligible.

Forrest has appeared in 90 regular season games at the NBA level in his first two professional seasons, including 60 in 2021/22. He averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.8 APG in ’21/22, making 49.0% of his shots from the floor in 12.8 minutes per contest. He even earned six starts in the backcourt over the course of the season.

The Jazz had the opportunity to give Forrest a qualifying offer in June to make him a restricted free agent, but chose not to, so he hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.

Having officially signed Forrest, Atlanta now has 16 players under contract. Of those 16 players, 13 have fully guaranteed standard contracts, while Tyrese Martin has a partially guaranteed deal and Forrest and Chaundee Brown are on two-way pacts.

Kings Signing Kent Bazemore To One-Year Deal

August 7th, 2022 at 6:04pm CST by JD Shaw

The Kings have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent swingman Kent Bazemore, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether the deal is guaranteed, but Bazemore is set to join Sacramento for the second time in his career.

Bazemore most recently played for the Lakers, appearing in just 39 games last season. He averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per contest, shooting 32% from the floor and 36% from deep.

Before that, the 33-year-old played for the Warriors, Hawks, Blazers and Kings. Along with the Kings, Bazemore holds two separate stints with the Warriors (2012-14 and 2020-21), plus the Lakers (2013-14 and 2021-22). He owns career averages of 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

The Kings currently have just 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so even if Bazemore’s deal isn’t guaranteed, he should have an opportunity to compete for one of the final spots on the team’s 15-man regular season roster.

Sacramento is coming off a 30-52 season, having missed the playoffs for an NBA-record 16th straight year. The team has a core of De’Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis and others that likely won’t finish drastically better than it did last season.

Suns Re-Sign Ish Wainright To Two-Way Deal

August 4th, 2022 at 4:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 4: The Suns’ two-way deal with Wainright is now official, according to a press release from the team.

AUGUST 3: Ish Wainright will return to the Suns on a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal was confirmed by Wainwright’s agents, Jim Tanner and Deirunas Visockas of Tandem.

The 27-year-old power forward made his NBA debut last season after three years of playing overseas. He went to training camp with the Raptors, but was waived before the start of the season. Five days later, Phoenix signed him to a two-way contract, which was converted to a standard deal on the final day of the regular season.

The former Baylor star appeared in 45 games as a rookie and averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per night. He got into seven playoff games, but saw just 3.7 minutes per contest.

The Suns filled their other two-way opening earlier today when they signed Duane Washington Jr.

Thunder Officially Sign Mike Muscala

August 4th, 2022 at 12:01pm CST by JD Shaw

The Thunder have officially signed veteran big man Mike Muscala, the team announced in a press release today. Oklahoma City originally agreed to re-sign the 31-year-old during the initial hours of free agency on June 30 and now has a full 20-man offseason roster.

Muscala, 6’10”, played 43 games with the Thunder last season. He averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds, playing 13.8 minutes per contest. He also shot 45.6% from the floor and 42.9% from deep.

As of now, Muscala is the oldest player on Oklahoma City’s roster. He and Derrick Favors, also 31, can serve as mentors to young players such as Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Aleksej Pokusevski — whether on the court or in the locker room.

Muscala first joined the Thunder as a free agent in 2019. Before that, he was drafted No. 44 overall in 2013 and played for the Hawks, Sixers and Lakers. He’s expected to provide frontcourt depth for a team that finished just 24-58 last season.

Assuming Muscala signed a fully guaranteed contract, he’s the 17th Thunder player with a guaranteed salary for 2022/23. Vit Krejci also has a partial guarantee, so the team will have to trade or release three players before opening night to get down to the 15-man regular season limit.

Trail Blazers Sign Isaiah Miller

August 3rd, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:00pm: Miller has officially signed with Portland, according to the NBA transactions log at RealGM.

4:28pm: Isaiah Miller has a contract agreement with the Trail Blazers, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The free agent guard will be given an opportunity to win a roster spot in training camp, sources tell Haynes.

Miller, 24, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Timberwolves last September after going undrafted out of UNC Greensboro. He spent the season in the G League as an affiliate player with the Iowa Wolves, averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32 games.

Miller attended a free agent mini-camp with the Jazz in early June and earned a spot on Utah’s Summer League roster. He appeared in two games and averaged 5.0 PPG.

Portland currently has 15 players with guaranteed contracts, but only one of the team’s two-way slots is filled.

Trail Blazers Sign Norvel Pelle

August 3rd, 2022 at 7:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:48pm: The signing is now official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log. Pelle will compete for a two-way roster spot, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

7:04pm: Norvel Pelle will sign a training camp contract with the Trail Blazers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The 29-year-old center had two brief NBA appearances last season when he signed 10-day contracts with the Celtics and Jazz under the hardship exception. He didn’t play during his time in Boston, but appeared in three games with Utah, averaging 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per night.

After going undrafted in 2013, Pelle played in the G League and spent time overseas before getting an opportunity with the Sixers during the 2019/20 season. He also had short stays with the Nets, Kings and Knicks.

In case you missed it, free agent guard Isaiah Miller is also expected to complete a deal with Portland.

Suns Sign Duane Washington To Two-Way Deal

August 3rd, 2022 at 3:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 3: The Suns have issued a press release officially announcing the signing of Washington.

AUGUST 2: Free agent guard Duane Washington Jr. has agreed to a two-way contract with the Suns, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Washington, 22, averaged 9.9 PPG and 1.8 APG in 20.2 MPG for the Pacers as a rookie last season while appearing in 48 games, including seven starts. Washington went undrafted out of Ohio State.

Phoenix has both of its two-way slots open, so the team will able to sign another two-way player in addition to Washington, who adds depth at the point behind Chris Paul and Cameron Payne.

Washington was waived last month as Indiana cleared cap space to give restricted free agent Deandre Ayton an offer sheet that Phoenix matched. Washington played most of last season on a two-way deal, then received a standard multiyear contract. However, his salary for next season was not guaranteed and he was waived just before it became guaranteed.

Blazers Sign Jared Rhoden To Camp Deal

August 3rd, 2022 at 2:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 3: Rhoden’s deal is now official. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, so it could be converted into a two-way deal before the regular season begins.

AUGUST 2: The Trail Blazers are signing rookie shooting guard Jared Rhoden to a training camp deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Rhoden went undrafted out of Seton Hall this summer. He played four seasons for the Pirates, including 31 games last season in which he averaged 15.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 1.2 APG in 33.1 MPG. He shot 31.2% on 3-point attempts during his college career.

The 22-year-old shooting guard appeared in eight Summer League games with the Kings at Las Vegas and San Francisco, averaging 10.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 1.5 APG in 23.2 MPG.

Portland has 15 players on guaranteed deals but does have a two-way slot open, which Rhoden could presumably claim with a strong showing in camp.

Raptors Sign Gabe Brown To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 3rd, 2022 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed rookie free agent forward Gabe Brown, the team announced today in a press release. According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Brown received an Exhibit 10 contract.

Brown, who declared for the draft this spring after spending four years at Michigan State, became a full-time starter for the Spartans as a senior in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .382 3PT% in 36 games (28.9 MPG). His performance earned him a spot on the All-Big 10 Third Team.

Brown suited up for the Thunder’s Summer League team last month, recording 11.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .421/.370/1.000 shooting in four Las Vegas contests (21.8 MPG).

Oddly, previous reports indicated that Brown had reached contract agreements first with Oklahoma City and then with Denver. Either one or both of those reports were erroneous, or Brown has had one or two changes of heart this offseason as he weighed where to begin his professional career.

The Raptors now have 19 players under contract, with second-round pick Christian Koloko still unsigned. Given the team’s roster crunch, Brown doesn’t have a clear path to a spot on the regular season roster, but his Exhibit 10 deal would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.

Rayjon Tucker Waived By Bucks, Will Play In Australia

August 2nd, 2022 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:53pm: Tucker is signing with Melbourne United of Australia’s NBL, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.

9:02pm: The Bucks have waived shooting guard Rayjon Tucker, according to the NBA transactions log.

Milwaukee re-signed Tucker last month to a one-year, minimum-salary contract but the money was non-guaranteed.

The Bucks had 19 players under contract, so this move will give them a pair of openings on their 20-man offseason roster. One of those spots could be reserved for restricted free agent Jordan Nwora.

Tucker has appeared in a total of 39 NBA games across three seasons for Utah, Philadelphia, Denver and Milwaukee, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG in just 7.7 minutes per contest. He has been much more active in the G League during that span, having played for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Wisconsin Herd, and the Delaware Blue Coats.

In 27 regular season games last season for the Herd (the Bucks’ G League affiliate), Tucker averaged 21.1 PPG on 53% shooting.