Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thanasis Antetokounmpo Exercises Player Option

June 18th, 2022 at 9:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has exercised his $1.88MM player option for next season, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Giannis Antetokounmpo‘ brother, who turns 30 this summer, saw action in 48 regular season games last season, including six starts. He averaged 3.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 9.9 MPG. He also saw spot action in eight postseason games after playing in 13 playoff contests during the Bucks’ championship run in 2020/21.

As Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets, if Thanasis had declined the option and signed a new minimum-salary contract, it would’ve saved Milwaukee a small amount of money on next season’s cap and tax bill. However, he was always a good bet to get a contract with the Bucks for next season, one way or another.

Thanasis played two games with the Knicks back in 2015/16 and has been on the Milwaukee roster for three seasons. He signed a two-year deal worth approximately $3.6MM last August.

Prior to the 2019/20 season, the 6’6″ forward had played for a handful of international and G League teams.

Thunder’s Derrick Favors Picks Up 2022/23 Player Option

May 17th, 2022 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

Thunder center Derrick Favors has officially exercised his player option for the 2022/23 season, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move had been expected, with Favors telling reporters after Oklahoma City’s season ended last month that he planned to opt in. The $10.18MM option will pay him more next season than he could realistically expect to earn if he turned it down and sought a new contract as a free agent.

Favors, who was traded from Utah to Oklahoma City last July, didn’t play a ton for his new team in 2021/22, averaging a modest 16.7 minutes per game in 39 appearances. His season came to an early end due to a back issue.

When he did play, Favors averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG. Although he’s still a solid rebounder and can score around the basket, the 30-year-old didn’t have much of a role on a rebuilding Thunder team that was more focused on developing its young players.

Now that he’s on an expiring contract and presumably isn’t in OKC’s long-term plans, Favors should be viewed as a trade candidate this offseason. However, it doesn’t sound like he’d be opposed to returning to the Thunder.

Favors recently said that playing with the young club brought back the “joy of playing basketball and not worrying about the business part,” and told the media during his exit interview that he expected to be back with the Thunder next season.

We’re tracking all of this year’s player option decisions right here.

Clippers Sign Robert Covington To Two-Year Extension

May 8th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MAY 8: The Clippers have confirmed that they will have extended Covington on a two-year deal, per a team announcement (Twitter link). Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

MAY 5: The Clippers and forward Robert Covington have reached a two-year, $24MM contract extension agreement, agent Andrew Morrison of CAA Basketball told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Covington was headed to unrestricted free agency this summer, but has opted to stay put rather than testing the market.

Because he was traded less than six months ago, Covington was ineligible to sign an extension longer than two years or worth more than $27.9MM prior to the start of free agency in July. His new deal fits within both of those limits.

Covington was acquired along with Norman Powell from the Trail Blazers in early February in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, rookie Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick.

The Clippers were without superstar Kawhi Leonard all season and went a good chunk of the season without their other star, Paul George. Covington could play a key defensive role with the high-scoring duo back in the lineup.

In 23 games with the Clippers, Covington averaged 10.4 PPG on 50% shooting, including 45% on 3-point attempts. He had a career-high 43 points on a franchise-record 11 3-pointers against the Bucks on April 1.

Covington stated after L.A.’s play-in tournament loss to New Orleans that he was excited about the possibility of re-signing with the Clippers.

“The way that we played tonight when we went small, imagine PG and Kawhi in that lineup,” he said. “That’s a lot of versatility … Once them guys come back next year, if I’m here, I’m really looking forward to that.”

Clippers executive Lawrence Frank recently expressed interest in retaining Covington: “RoCo was very, very good for us. I’m excited to hear that he likes it here. We look forward and we’d like to be able to keep him here.”

Covington, 31, has played for Houston, Philadelphia and Minnesota as well as Portland and the Clippers.

Derrick Favors Plans To Pick Up Player Option

April 12th, 2022 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

Thunder big man Derrick Favors expects to exercise his player option for 2022/23 and to be back in Oklahoma City next season, he said today (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman).

The three-year deal Favors signed with Utah in 2020 included two guaranteed years and a $10.18MM option for ’22/23. The veteran center was traded from the Jazz to the Thunder during the 2021 offseason and didn’t play a ton for his new team this season, averaging a modest 16.7 minutes per game in 39 appearances. His season came to an early end due to a back issue.

Favors averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in his part-time role for Oklahoma City in 2021/22. Although he’s still a solid rebounder and can score around the basket, the 30-year-old didn’t have much of a role on a rebuilding Thunder team that was more focused on developing its young players.

Once he officially picks up his player option, Favors should be viewed as a trade candidate, since he’ll be on an expiring deal and likely isn’t part of OKC’s long-term plans. However, his $10MM+ salary may be more than some teams are comfortable paying a backup center.

Suns Convert Wainright’s Two-Way Deal Into Standard Contract

April 10th, 2022 at 2:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:23pm: The Suns have officially converted Wainright’s contract from a two-way to a standard deal, the team confirmed (via Twitter).

1:28pm: The Suns are converting the two-way contract of rookie forward Ishmail Wainright into a standard deal, making Wainright eligible for the playoffs, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Wainright has seen action in 44 Suns games this season, averaging 2.1 PGG and 1.2 RPG in 7.4 MPG. The 27-year-old signed his two-way contract in October after being waived by Toronto during training camp.

It’s unlikely that Wainright will see much action in the playoffs, but he might be employed as a defensive specialist in certain situations.

Wainright, who went undrafted out of Baylor in 2017, played for a number of international leagues prior to this season.

Jazz Convert Trent Forrest’s Two-Way Contract To Standard Deal

April 10th, 2022 at 1:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

1:24pm: The transaction is official, according to a team press release.

10:25am: Two-way player Trent Forrest will receive a standard contract from the Jazz, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The move will make him eligible to participate in the playoffs, which two-way players cannot do.

The 23-year-old point guard is in his second season as a two-way player with Utah. He has appeared in 60 games so far in 2021/22, making six starts, and is averaging 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.8 minutes per night.

Undrafted out of Florida State in 2020, Forrest reached a two-way agreement with the Jazz in November of that year and appeared in 30 games as a rookie. He signed another two-way deal before the start of this season’s training camp.

Once the move is official, Utah will have a full 15-man roster heading into the postseason. The Jazz are currently tied for fifth in the West at 48-33 and hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Nuggets.

Cavaliers Bring Back RJ Nembhard On Two-Way Deal

April 10th, 2022 at 11:49am CST by Arthur Hill

Shooting guard RJ Nembhard has returned to the Cavaliers on a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.

Nembhard originally signed a two-way deal with Cleveland in October and was converted to a standard contract on March 31. He was waived Thursday to give the Cavs a roster opening to convert Moses Brown‘s contract, a move that was confirmed in today’s press release.

A rookie out of TCU, the 23-year-old Nembhard appeared in 13 games this season, playing just 4.6 minutes per night. He had a much bigger role with the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, averaging 24.5 points, 8.1 rebounds an 5.5 assists in 23 games.

It’s unclear if Nembhard’s new contract is for one or two years. If it’s a one-year deal, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. A two-year deal would give Cleveland the option of keeping Nembhard in one of the team’s two-way slots next season.

Devin Cannady Signs With Magic

April 10th, 2022 at 11:23am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have used their open roster spot to sign guard Devin Cannady, the team announced in a press release.

Cannady, 25, just completed a 10-day contract with Orlando that he signed in late March. He appeared in four games during that deal, averaging 8.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.8 minutes per night. He spent much of the season with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland, putting up 15.8 PPG in 16 games.

Cannady also played eight games for Orlando last season after signing a 10-day contract and then a two-way deal in April. He was in training camp with the team before the start of this season.

Nets Waive James Johnson, Promote Kessler Edwards

April 10th, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Rory Maher

APRIL 10: Edwards’ new contract is now official, the Nets announced (via Twitter). It includes a team option for next season, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

APRIL 7: The Nets have waived forward James Johnson, our JD Shaw tweets, and plan to promote rookie Kessler Edwards to a standard deal so he’s eligible for the postseason, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Johnson, 35, is a 13-year NBA veteran who’s appeared in a total of 747 regular season games. In 62 games (10 starts) with the Nets this season, he averaged 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists on .469/.271/.527 shooting in 19.2 minutes per night.

Edwards, 21, was the 44th overall pick of the 2021 draft after three seasons with Pepperdine. He’s been on a two-way contract this season, and clearly the Nets like what they’ve seen from the young forward, because they want him to keep contributing for a potential playoff run.

Through 46 games (22 starts) this season, Edwards is averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds on .412/.359/.824 shooting in 20.1 minutes. He took advantage of his opportunity over the winter months when the team was ravaged by players in the health and safety protocols, as he’d rarely seen action to that point.

Edwards is known as a strong, versatile defender and is a better spot-up shooter than Johnson, as evidenced by their respective three-point percentages. Because Johnson was waived so late in the season, he will not be eligible to play in the postseason with another team.

Cavaliers Convert Moses Brown To Standard Contract

April 10th, 2022 at 8:29am CST by Arthur Hill

Moses Brown, who signed a two-way contract with the Cavaliers in late March, now has a standard deal with the team, according to the NBA.com transactions log. Cleveland had an open roster spot available, so the club was able to convert Brown without any other move.

Although no details were provided, it’s likely a minimum-salary arrangement that covers the final day of the regular season. Brown will now be eligible for the play-in tournament and playoffs, which two-way players cannot participate in.

The 22-year-old center joined the Cavs in March on a pair of 10-day contracts to provide center depth with Jarrett Allen injured and signed a two-way deal at the end of the month. He has appeared in 13 games, starting five, and has averaged 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per night while shooting 62.3% from the floor.

Brown also played 23 games for the Mavericks this season before being waived on February 10 when Dallas needed to open a roster spot to complete a trade with Washington.