Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Bulls Sign Goran Dragic

August 2nd, 2022 at 3:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 2: Nearly a month after first reaching an agreement with Dragic, the Bulls have officially signed him, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 3: The Bulls are fortifying their backcourt bench depth with a new veteran addition. Chicago will sign former All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic to a one-year contract, per Jordan Schultz of the Pull Up Podcast (Twitter link).

Dragic, most recently with the Nets, will earn $2.9MM, the veteran’s minimum, next season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Dragic, who has an All-Star season and an All-NBA season on his résumé, played a crucial role during the Heat’s NBA Finals run within the Orlando “bubble” campus in 2020. The Slovenian guard’s production fell to earth the next season amid injury troubles, and he was ultimately dealt to the Raptors in the sign-and-trade agreement that landed Kyle Lowry with the Heat in the 2021 offseason.

Last year, Dragic appeared in just five games with Toronto before reaching an agreement to leave the club as it sought out a suitable trade. The 36-year-old was shipped to the Spurs and negotiated a buyout with San Antonio, then latched on with the Nets as a free agent.

Across 16 games with Brooklyn, including six starts, Dragic averaged 7.3 PPG, 4.8 APG and 3.2 RPG, while posting .376/.245/.739 shooting splits. Though his assist and rebounding numbers were in line with his career averages of 4.8 APG and 3.1 RPG, his scoring efficiency across 25.5 MPG for Brooklyn was a far cry from his 14-year career average of 13.7 PPG on .460/.362/.767 shooting.

The addition of Dragic marks Chicago’s fourth free agent agreement this offseason. The team agreed to re-sign All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine to a maximum deal, is bringing back deep-bench reserve forward Derrick Jones Jr., and will add journeyman reserve center Andre Drummond to boost its rebounding.

As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype observes (via Twitter), thanks to Dragic’s minimum-salary deal, the Bulls are now approximately $1.7MM below the luxury tax this season, carrying a projected 15 players on guaranteed contracts. Gozlan adds that Chicago has around $7MM left to use from its non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Any further Bulls roster changes seem more likely to come via trade than free agency. Opening up a roster spot now to add another free agent would require trading or waiving a current Bull with a guaranteed salary. The team also has a $5MM trade exception that will expire after July 7.

If the Bulls do make a deal, it could involve their backcourt depth. The team adds to a group of guards that already includes Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White, though Ball’s health heading into next season remains a question mark.

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports that the team anticipates this current roster will be intact for training camp in the fall, though he acknowledges that the team does appear to have a surplus of guards.

CJ Elleby Signing With Timberwolves

August 2nd, 2022 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:00pm: Elleby will be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Wolves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

12:45pm: The Timberwolves have reached a contract agreement with free agent small forward CJ Elleby, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Elleby will be given an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in camp, sources tell Scotto.

Elleby, 22, was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 46th pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two NBA seasons in Portland. He got a shot at regular playing time last season and averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 58 games, making 28 starts.

The Wolves will have 19 players under contract once they officially finalize all of their reported signings, but only 12 players have fully guaranteed contracts.

Elleby will be competing with Austin Rivers, Jaylen Nowell and Nathan Knight, who all have partial guarantees, as well as Phillip Wheeler, who will be in camp on an Exhibit 10 contract.

Pistons Sign Rodney McGruder, Kevin Knox

August 1st, 2022 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have re-signed swingman Rodney McGruder, per the NBA transactions log. The team has also officially signed free agent forward Kevin Knox.

McGruder received a one-year deal, James Edwards of The Athletic tweets, though the contractual terms are unclear. Detroit already had 15 players with guaranteed contracts on its roster before both signings, along with filling both of its two-way spots.

Knox reportedly received a two-year, $6MM deal. Detroit will have to clear roster space via a trade or eat some guaranteed money to get down to 15 by training camp — the most logical odd man out is Kemba Walker, who is still expected to be bought out by the Pistons, but if McGruder got a guaranteed contract, another move will be required.

McGruder, 31, has been on the Pistons’ roster for the last two seasons. He appeared in 51 games in 2021/22, including two starts, and averaged 5.4 PPG in 14.8 MPG. He’s a career 35.2% 3-point shooter but made 39.7% of his attempts last season.

Knox, the ninth pick of the 2018 draft, is a reclamation project. He had a productive first season with the Knicks but fell out of favor under coach Tom Thibodeau. He appeared in just 13 games with the Knicks last season before being dealt to Atlanta. In 17 games with the Hawks, Knox averaged just 6.5 MPG.

The Hawks did not tender a qualifying offer to Knox this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Celtics Agree To Deal With Noah Vonleh

August 1st, 2022 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent forward Noah Vonleh has agreed to a one-year deal with the Celtics, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

It’s apparently a training camp deal, as Wojnarowski adds that Vonleh will go to camp with the hopes of making the roster.

The 2014 lottery pick has bounced around the league. Vonleh began his career with Charlotte, then moved on to Portland, Chicago, New York, Minnesota and Denver. In his most recent NBA season, he saw action in four games with the Nets in 2020/21.

He has averaged 4.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 16.8 MPG, spanning 339 career games.

Vonleh played in China with the Shanghai Sharks during the 2021/22 season. The 26-year-old averaged 14.3 PPG and 9.1 RPG with Shanghai. The Guangdong Southern Tigers were reportedly interested in signing him, but he’ll take his chances first with Boston.

Warriors Sign JaMychal Green

August 1st, 2022 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly two weeks after word first broke that he had reached a buyout agreement with the Thunder and intended to sign with the Warriors, forward JaMychal Green has officially signed with Golden State, the team announced today in a press release.

The Warriors didn’t disclose the terms of Green’s new deal, but it’s believed to be a one-year, minimum-salary contract. The 32-year-old would earn $2,628,597 (the amount he gave up in his buyout with Oklahoma City) and Golden State would take on a cap hit of $1,836,090.

An eight-year veteran, Green had a down season in 2021/22, averaging 6.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .486/.266/.871 shooting in 67 games (16.2 MPG) for the Nuggets. However, he has proven to be an effective stretch four over the years — entering ’21/22, he had knocked down 38.0% of his three-point attempts in his first seven NBA seasons.

Green, who entered the summer on an expiring $8.2MM contract, was traded from Denver to Oklahoma City in June before being officially waived by the Thunder last month.

Assuming Green’s new contract is fully guaranteed, as expected, he’ll be the 13th Warrior with a guaranteed salary. That leaves at least one spot available on the club’s projected regular season, though Andre Iguodala would presumably be the frontrunner to be the 14th man if he decides to continue his career.

The Warriors could carry up to 15 players in the regular season, but they may open the year with just 14 in order to reduce their projected end-of-season tax bill, unless there’s someone they really like for that 15th spot.

Raptors Waive Armoni Brooks

July 30th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by JD Shaw

4:00pm: The move is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

2:39pm: The Raptors are waiving shooting guard Armoni Brooks, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Brooks was only guaranteed $50K of his $1.75MM salary for next season, but that partial guarantee would’ve increased to $250K if he wasn’t waived on or before August 1.

Murphy expects Brooks to join another NBA team for training camp this fall. Brooks averaged 6.2 points per game in 41 outings with the Rockets last season, then was waived in February. He signed two 10-day deals with Toronto after that, later signing a two-year deal with the organization.

Brooks established himself as a sharpshooter during his first NBA stint in 2020/21, but he only shot 30% from three-point range last season. At 24 years old, he could certainly attract interest as the offseason moves on.

Brooks went undrafted in 2019 after spending four years at the University of Houston. The Raptors now have 16 players on standard contracts, plus two-way players Ron Harper Jr. and Jeff Dowtin. The team also hasn’t yet signed second-round pick Christian Koloko.

Timberwolves Sign Eric Paschall To Two-Way Deal

July 30th, 2022 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 30, 8:16am: Paschall’s two-way contract with the Timberwolves became official on Friday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

JULY 29, 1:49pm: Paschall will be signing a two-way contract with Minnesota, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North (Twitter link). Paschall and A.J. Lawson will occupy the Wolves’ two-way slots.

JULY 29, 11:55am: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with free agent forward Eric Paschall, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The No. 41 pick in the 2019 draft, Paschall began his NBA career with the Warriors and had an impressive rookie season in Golden State in 2019/20, averaging 14.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 60 games (27.6 MPG). His role declined in his second season and he was traded in the 2021 offseason to Utah, where his minutes dipped further.

In 58 appearances last season for the Jazz, the 25-year-old averaged 5.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .485/.370/.767 shooting in 12.7 MPG. He was eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer from Utah and became unrestricted.

Terms of Paschall’s new agreement with the Wolves aren’t known, but it may resemble the deals the club completed with free agents Austin Rivers and Nathan Knight. Both received minimum-salary contracts with partial guarantees for the 2022/23 season.

Prior to reaching a deal with Paschall, Minnesota had been carrying 12 players on guaranteed contracts, two (Rivers and Knight) with partial guarantees, and one (Jaylen Nowell) on a non-guaranteed pact, so a spot on the 15-man regular season roster shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a lock for the newcomer. The terms of Paschall’s contract should help clarify where he stands in the Wolves’ roster hierarchy.

Magic To Sign Zavier Simpson To Exhibit 10 Deal

July 29th, 2022 at 5:27pm CST by Rory Maher

5:27pm: Simpson will indeed be signing an Exhibit 10 deal, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.

5:08pm: The Magic are signing free agent Zavier Simpson, his agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

While the terms of Simpson’s deal were not disclosed, it’s probably going to be a non-guaranteed contract, possibly an Exhibit 10 deal. As shown by our roster count page, Orlando already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts and both two-way slots filled, and once the contracts for Simpson and Drake Jeffries (Exhibit 10) become official, the Magic will have a 20-man roster, which is the maximum an NBA team can carry during the offseason.

Simpson, 25, went undrafted out of Michigan in 2020 and spent his first two pro seasons with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. In 35 regular season games (32.4 MPG) with the Blue in 2022, the 6’0″ point guard averaged 14.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.5 APG and 1.8 SPG on .488/.350/.692 shooting.

The Thunder signed Simpson to a 10-day hardship contract to finish out last season as the team dealt with several injuries. In his first taste of NBA action, he averaged 11 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.3 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .365/.125/1.000 shooting in four games.

Simpson most recently suited up for the Magic during Summer League in Las Vegas, appearing in five games (three starts, 22.6 MPG) while averaging 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.2 APG, 2.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .357/.286/.600 shooting, per RealGM.

Given the Magic’s lack of open regular season roster spots, the most likely outcome for Simpson is that he’s waived before the regular season begins and subsequently joins Orlando’s G League team in Lakeland as an affiliate player. In that scenario, he’d receive a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Lakeland.