Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Sign Jalen Duren To Rookie Contract

July 7th, 2022 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have signed No. 13 overall pick Jalen Duren to his rookie contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). The move comes less than 24 hours after Detroit officially completed its draft-night trade with New York to acquire Duren’s rights.

Duren averaged 12.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in 29 games (25.3 MPG) during his first and only college season at Memphis, earning AAC Freshman of the Year honors and making the All-AAC First Team.

As our rookie salary chart shows, Duren is set to earn $4.12MM as a rookie and would make $19.47MM over the course of his four-year deal, assuming he received the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale, which virtually every first-rounder does.

Twenty-three of this year’s 30 first-round picks have now officially signed their rookie contracts, including Duren and his new Pistons teammate Jaden Ivey.

Jericho Sims Signs Three-Year Deal With Knicks

July 7th, 2022 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9, 9:03pm: The new deal with Sims is official, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).

JULY 7, 11:58am: Sims’ new three-year deal will be worth a little under $6MM, according to Katz (Twitter link). A three-year minimum contract would be worth $5.66MM, so if it’s above the minimum, it’s not by much.

Half the contract is currently guaranteed, Katz adds. There are trigger dates in 2023 and 2024 that would make years two and three fully guaranteed.

JULY 7, 11:39am: The Knicks will promote big man Jericho Sims to their standard roster, having agreed to terms with him on a new three-year contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sims spent the 2021/22 season on a two-way deal.

The 58th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Sims played in 41 Knicks games as a rookie, averaging 2.2 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 13.5 minutes per contest. He moved into the team’s starting lineup for five games down the stretch, registering his first career double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds) during the last week of the season vs. Brooklyn.

While the Knicks are trading away Nerlens Noel, the team fortified its frontcourt by re-signing Mitchell Robinson and agreeing to a deal with Isaiah Hartenstein. Sims will provide additional depth up front.

Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported last month that the Knicks would likely negotiate a standard contract with Sims, clearing a path for second-rounder Trevor Keels to take the newly opened two-way slot. Fred Katz of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that Keels remains on track to get a two-way deal.

The exact terms of Sims’ new deal aren’t known, but it will likely be a minimum-salary contract or something close to it. The third year will be a team option, per Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).

As Katz tweets, the Knicks will complete the signing using either some leftover cap room or part of their mid-level exception, depending on whether or not they end up turning their deal with Jalen Brunson into a sign-and-trade.

Nuggets, Vlatko Cancar Complete Three-Year Deal

July 7th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

10:58am: Cancar’s new deal is now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

9:30am: Free agent forward Vlatko Cancar has reached an agreement with the Nuggets, according to agent Misko Raznatovic, who tweets that his client will sign a three-year contract. The third year of the deal will be a team option, per Raznatovic.

The 49th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Cancar remained overseas for two more years, then signed with the Nuggets in 2019. He has spent the last three seasons with the team, but has only appeared in 70 games during that time, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG on .484/.333/.742 shooting in 7.2 MPG.

Cancar appeared to be in line for a little more playing time in 2021/22 before his season was derailed by a right foot fracture in January. The injury took about three months to heal — the 25-year-old returned to action in the Nuggets’ regular season finale, then saw some brief action in two playoff contests.

Despite Cancar’s limited role during his first three NBA seasons, the Nuggets issued him a qualifying offer last week, making him a restricted free agent, and have now reached a deal that will keep him on the roster. While the team held the Slovenian’s Bird rights, it would be surprising if his new deal is worth more than the minimum, and it’s unclear how much of it will be guaranteed.

Denver has 11 players currently on guaranteed contracts, with Bruce Brown, DeAndre Jordan, and Davon Reed set to join that group once they officially sign their respective contracts. That puts Cancar in line to fill the 15th and final spot on the team’s standard regular season roster, though it’s possible there will be more changes between now and opening night.

Heat Re-Sign Victor Oladipo To Two-Year Deal

July 7th, 2022 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The Heat have officially re-signed Oladipo, the team announced today in a press release. As we relayed earlier today, his new two-year deal is believed to be worth in the neighborhood of $18MM.

“Victor showed his work ethic and determination to come back and help us win games at the end of the regular season and through the playoffs,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “We are delighted to have him back in a HEAT uniform.”

JULY 6: Victor Oladipo remains on track to officially re-sign with the Heat, but he and the team have agreed to adjust the terms of the contract they negotiated last week, according to reports from Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).

Instead of signing a one-year, $11MM contract, Oladipo will receive a two-year deal that includes a second-year player option, per Winderman and Chiang.

While the exact financial terms are unclear, Oladipo’s salary in 2022/23 will be a little lower than $11MM in order to help the Heat remain below the luxury tax line (approximately $150MM) and the tax apron ($157MM).

Miami doesn’t yet have to worry about dealing with a hard cap, since the team hasn’t acquired a player via sign-and-trade, used its bi-annual exception, or used more than the taxpayer portion of its mid-level exception. But if the Heat want to do any of those three things, it would impose a hard cap of about $157MM on team salary, limiting their flexibility. A smaller first-year salary for Oladipo will give Miami more breathing room in that scenario, and may also help team ownership avoid a tax bill.

Oladipo will still have the right to veto a trade during the 2022/23 season. A player who re-signs with his former team on a one-year contract or a two-year deal with a second-year player option is afforded that privilege.

Suns’ Devin Booker Signs Four-Year Super-Max Extension

July 6th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Booker has officially signed his contract extension with the Suns, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Booker confirmed as much, tweeting, “Signed sealed delivered.”

JUNE 30: Devin Booker is set to sign a four-year, super-max extension with the Suns as early as next week, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

The 13th pick of the 2015 draft, Booker has spend his entire seven-year career with Phoenix. He’s been an All-Star each of the past three seasons, but more importantly, at least from a financial perspective, Booker was named to the All-NBA First Team last season, which made him eligible for the super-max, also known as the Designated Veteran Extension.

The 25-year-old is still under contract for a total of $69.83MM through 2023/24, so his extension won’t kick in until ’24/25. The deal will tentatively be worth $214MM from 2024-28, per Charania.

Booker led the Suns to a 64-18 regular season record last season, the best mark in the NBA by a full eight games. However, the team fell to the Mavericks in the second-round of the playoffs, losing in embarrassing fashion at home in Game 7.

Despite the disappointing ending, in many other ways it was a resounding success for both Booker and the Suns, who set a franchise record for wins. Booker averaged 26.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.1 SPG on .466/.383/.868 shooting in 68 regular season games (34.5 MPG) while showing improved defense.

Booker has also been an impressive postseason performer over the past couple seasons, helping lead the team to the Finals in ’20/21. He’s averaged a combined 26.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 4.5 APG on .448/.356/.900 shooting in 32 career playoff games (39.2 MPG).

Heat Re-Sign Caleb Martin To Three-Year Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 9:25pm CST by Rory Maher

9:25pm: The Heat have officially re-signed Martin, the team announced in a press release.

“Caleb is a multi-position player with tremendous energy that had a career year with us,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He works hard and deserves this as much as any young player in the league. We are extremely happy he has decided to come back.”

11:26am: One of the NBA’s top remaining restricted free agents is coming off the board, according to Anthony Chiang, who reports (via Twitter) that the Heat and forward Caleb Martin are in agreement on a three-year contract worth “about” $20.5MM.

The Heat only held Martin’s Non-Bird rights entering this offseason, limiting their ability to offer him much of a raise after he finished the 2021/22 season on a minimum-salary contract. The terms reported by Chiang indicate that Miami will use the taxpayer portion of its mid-level exception to re-sign Martin and ensure that he gets a substantial pay bump.

As our breakdown of this season’s MLE values shows, a three-year deal worth the full taxpayer mid-level exception would top out at about $20.4MM. Martin’s deal will be fully guaranteed, sources tell Chiang (Twitter link).

Martin emerged as an important piece off the bench in Miami this past season, averaging 9.2 PPG and 3.8 RPG on .507/.413/.763 shooting in 60 games (22.9 MPG), which earned him a promotion from his two-way contract. He opted to just have his two-way deal converted into a rest-of-season contract rather than negotiating a multiyear deal, perhaps recognizing that he’d have a better chance of securing a raise in the offseason than he would have in February.

It turned out to be shrewd move by Martin and his representatives, as the $20.4MM in guaranteed money dwarfs his career earnings to this point. With P.J. Tucker‘s departure to Philadelphia, the 26-year-old Martin could be in line for a bigger role with the Heat in 2022/23.

As John Hollinger of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), signing Martin at the taxpayer mid-level exception likely means Miami will fill out the remainder of its roster with minimum-salary players in order to stay below the tax apron and maintain financial flexibility.

Trail Blazers Sign Anfernee Simons To Four-Year Contract

July 6th, 2022 at 9:15pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Simons’ new deal is now official, the Trail Blazers confirmed in a press release.

“Anfernee is already one of the league’s top shooters and this past season he showed elite ability as a shot creator and distributor,” GM Joe Cronin said as part of a larger statement. “We are excited for him to continue the growth he has shown in his first four seasons in Portland.”

The team announced its new deal with center Jusuf Nurkic within the same release.

JUNE 30: The Trail Blazers and restricted free agent guard Anfernee Simons have agreed to a four-year contract worth $100MM, agent Bill Duffy tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Reports leading up to free agency suggested Simons would likely be in line for a deal worth $80MM over four years, so it appears he did better than anticipated. It’s also possible that $100MM is the max Simons could earn on the new contract after incentives and the base value is lower.

Simons, who turned 23 earlier this month, had a breakout fourth season with Portland, posting career-highs in points (17.3), rebounds (2.6) and assists (3.9) in 57 games (30 starts, 29.5 minutes per night). He also had a very respectable .443/.405/.888 shooting line, good for a 58.3 true shooting percentage.

While Simons certainly earned a significant raise on the $3.9MM he made last season, there are some questions about how he might fit next to another ball dominant player like fellow guard Damian Lillard. Simons’ emergence came on the heels of injuries to Lillard and CJ McCollum, who was later traded to New Orleans.

For example, Simons averaged 12.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists on .426/.385/.935 shooting (55.1% true) in 27 games (24.1 minutes) as a reserve in 2021/22, versus 22 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists on .452/.415/.871 shooting (60% true) in 30 games (34.3 minutes) as a starter. He functioned as the primary ball-handler while starting and thrived in the role.

Simons is an excellent athlete, but he’s not very strong and has been a poor defender to this point in his career. Still, he’s young and could improve with time.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. Signs With Warriors

July 6th, 2022 at 8:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have signed first-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr., the team announced on Twitter.

Assuming Baldwin receives 120% of the rookie scale, which is standard, his salary will be $2.2MM for his first season and $11.4MM over the four-year contract.

Baldwin was a highly touted high school player whose draft stock tumbled after a disappointing season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he played for his father. An ankle injury limited him to 11 games and he averaged 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per night while shooting 34.4% from the field and 26.6% from three-point range.

Golden State felt Baldwin was worth the gamble with the 28th overall pick, and the Warriors can afford to give the 19-year-old forward time to develop.

Knicks, Pistons Complete Jalen Duren, Kemba Walker Trade

July 6th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Pistons have officially completed their part of the draft-night trade involving Kemba Walker and No. 13 overall pick Jalen Duren, according to a press release from the Knicks.

Although the deal was initially reported as a three-team trade involving New York, Detroit, and Charlotte, the Hornets and Knicks finalized their half of the swap on draft night — the Hornets acquired a protected 2023 first-round pick and four future second-rounders in exchange for the rights to Duren.

The trade finalized today sends Walker and the rights to Duren to the Pistons in exchange for the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected), which Detroit officially acquired earlier today from Portland in its Jerami Grant deal.

The move is the first step toward ensuring that the Knicks have the cap room necessary to completed their signings of Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein. Detroit and New York also agreed to a separate trade that will send Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel to the Pistons, creating additional space for the Knicks.

While Walker is on the Pistons’ roster for the time being, he’s expected to hit the waiver wire sometime soon. A report last Thursday indicated that the two sides were finalizing a buyout agreement.

Luguentz Dort Re-Signs With Thunder On Five-Year Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 7:15pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Dort’s new deal with the Thunder is now official, the team announced in a press release.

JUNE 30: The Thunder are re-signing restricted free agent Luguentz Dort to a five-year, $87.5MM contract, Dort’s agent Thad Foucher tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The barrel-chested Dort, who turned 23 in April, has showed continuous improvement after going undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG on .394/.297/.792 shooting in 36 games (22.8 MPG) as a rookie, with those averages increasing to 14 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .387/.343/.744 shooting in 2020/21 (52 games, 29.7 MPG).

Dort averaged 17.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .404/.332/.843 shooting in 51 games (32.6 MPG) last season. His shooting numbers seem fairly mediocre, but the majority of Dort’s shots come from three or at the rim, and he gets to the line a good amount, so his 54.1% true shooting percentage is actually decent.

Dort’s hallmark comes on the defensive end of the court, where his strength, toughness and versatility really shine. He’s an excellent athlete with a strong frame (6’3″, 215 pounds) and is capable of switching across multiple positions.

A report last week indicated that Oklahoma City would pick up Dort’s team option for ’22/23, which would have made him an unrestricted free agent in 2023, but clearly they had a change of heart after examining the amount of salary cap space rival teams will have next summer. Instead the Thunder chose to decline the option, making him a restricted free agent.

The modern NBA is dominated by wings capable of playing both sides of the ball, so his contract aligns with the value teams place on players of his mold. Considering his trajectory and the fact that he’s only entering his fourth season, there’s a good chance that it will be a very reasonable deal for both sides for years to come.