Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Sign Zavier Simpson To Hardship Deal

April 5th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to signing Georgios Kalaitzakis to a 10-day hardship contract, the Thunder have also added guard Zavier Simpson to their roster using a hardship exception, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.

As we noted when we discussed Kalaitzakis’ signing earlier today, Oklahoma City has a full 15-man roster, but is eligible to sign additional players to short-term contracts because the team qualifies for multiple hardship exceptions due to all its injured players. The Thunder now have 20 players under contract, including two-ways.

Simpson, who went undrafted out of Michigan in 2020, has spent his first two professional seasons playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. In 35 regular season NBAGL games in 2022, he has averaged 14.5 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.5 SPG with a .487/.353/.686 shooting line in 32.3 MPG.

It looked earlier this season like Simpson would get a call-up on a COVID-related 10-day hardship contract, but he entered the health and safety protocols himself before the deal was officially finalized. Three months later, he’ll get a chance to play in the Thunder’s final four games of the season.

Thunder Sign Georgios Kalaitzakis To Hardship Deal

April 5th, 2022 at 7:38am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have signed Greek forward Georgios Kalaitzakis to a 10-day contract using the hardship exception, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. The deal was completed on Monday.

There are only six days left in the regular season, so referring to Kalaitzakis’ agreement as a “10-day” is a bit of a misnomer — it’s essentially a rest-of-season hardship deal that won’t give Oklahoma City any form of Bird rights on the rookie this offseason.

Kalaitzakis, 23, was the 60th overall pick in the 2021 draft and joined the Bucks to begin his NBA career. However, his initial contract with Milwaukee was only partially guaranteed and he didn’t see much action with the team, logging just 48 total minutes across nine games. He was waived in December when the club signed Wesley Matthews.

Kalaitzakis subsequently joined the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, and appeared in 31 regular season games for the team, averaging 10.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.1 APG on .422/.241/.750 shooting in 19.7 minutes per contest.

The Thunder are missing about half their roster due to injuries — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Derrick Favors, Ty Jerome, and Mike Muscala have all been ruled out for the season, and it’s possible Kenrich Williams and Tre Mann will join them. As such, Kalaitzakis will likely just be a depth piece to help the team finish out its regular season schedule.

Jaylen Hoard is also on a 10-day hardship deal with the Thunder, who now have 19 players under contract (including two-ways).

Pistons Sign Carsen Edwards, Give Two-Way Contract To Braxton Key

April 3rd, 2022 at 4:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

4:14pm: Detroit has officially signed Key to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release. Smith’s waiving was also made official.

1:52pm: The Pistons have officially signed Edwards, the team announced in a press release.

11:24am: To make room for Key, Detroit has waived Smith, a rookie power forward who recently underwent ACL surgery, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

9:55am: The Pistons will sign G League guard Carsen Edwards to a two-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Edwards, 24, has been playing for Salt Lake City this season and is averaging 26.7 points in 31 games. The 33rd pick in the 2019 draft, Edwards spent two years with the Celtics, but has been out of the NBA since the end of last season.

In addition, Braxton Key will get a two-way contract from Detroit, sources tell JD Shaw of HoopsRumors (Twitter link).

The rookie small forward was productive on a 10-day deal he signed on March 24. He averaged 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in five games and put up 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in Friday’s win over the Thunder.

The 25-year-old also played two games for the Sixers on a 10-day hardship contract in January. He was in training camp with Philadelphia and has spent much of this season with the team’s G League affiliate in Delaware.

The Pistons have a 15-man roster opening with Key’s 10-day contract having expired overnight, but both two-way slots are currently filled, so another move will be necessary before he can be signed. Chris Smith and Jamorko Pickett currently hold those spots.

Blazers Sign Eubanks, Dunn To Rest-Of-Season Hardship Deals

April 3rd, 2022 at 2:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:45pm: The Blazers have officially signed Eubanks and Dunn for the remainder of the season, the team announced.

11:08am: Drew Eubanks and Kris Dunn will sign hardship contracts with the Trail Blazers that cover the rest of the regular season, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Eubanks has taken over as Portland’s starting center after signing with the team in February. He has inked four 10-day contracts, the last of which expired Saturday night. In 18 games, he’s averaging 14.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 64.9% from the field. Eubanks became available when the Spurs traded him at the deadline to the Raptors, who immediately waived him.

Dunn hadn’t played at all this season before signing a 10-day deal with the Blazers on March 14. He was given a second 10-day contract on March 24 that expired last night. Dunn has appeared in 11 games, averaging 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 23.5 minutes per night.

Portland has a full 15-man roster, but qualifies for several injury-related hardship exceptions due to all the players who are out for the rest of the season. Reggie Perry is also under contract on a 10-day hardship deal.

Thunder Sign Jaylen Hoard To 10-Day Deal

April 1st, 2022 at 4:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder have signed forward Jaylen Hoard to a 10-day contract via a hardship exception, the team announced. Hoard previously signed a 10-day contract with Oklahoma City back in December using a hardship exception.

Most of this year’s 10-day hardship contracts, including Hoard’s in December, have been completed using the COVID-related hardship exception, but his current 10-day deal is using an injury-related hardship exception. A team qualifies for an injury-related hardship exception if it has at least four players who have missed three or more consecutive games, as long as those players project to remain sidelined for at least the next couple weeks — or in this case, the season’s remaining 10 days.

Oklahoma City has at least seven such players — Luguentz Dort, Ty Jerome, Mike Muscala, Josh Giddey, Darius Bazley, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Derrick Favors are all out for the season — and an eighth, Kenrich Williams, is doubtful to play again over the final 10 days. That’s why the club is eligible for the hardship exception.

Hoard, who just turned 23 on March 30, is a native of Le Havre, France. He went undrafted in 2019 after a single season with Wake Forest, and spent his rookie season with Portland on a two-way contract.

In his second year as a pro in 2020/21, he played for the Thunder’s G League affiliate, then signed a two-way deal with the NBA club last April. He rejoined the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL team, this season. In 39 games (25 starts) with the Blue in ’21/22, Hoard holds averages of 10.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 2.2 APG in 23.9 MPG.

In 33 NBA games over the past three seasons, including one brief appearance in December, Hoard has averaged 4.7 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 12.9 MPG.

Devin Cannady Signs 10-Day Deal With Magic

March 31st, 2022 at 10:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:38pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

9:25pm: Guard Devin Cannady is signing a 10-day contract with the Magic, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Cannady has been playing for Orlando’s G League team, the Lakeland Magic.

Jeff Dowtin‘s 10-day deal will expire at the end of the day on Thursday, so it’s logical to assume Cannady will replace him on the 15-man roster.

Cannady was waived by the Magic during training camp. Undrafted in 2019, Cannady has spent most of his three professional seasons in the G League.

He had a 10-day deal and two-way contract with Orlando last season and appeared in eight games. However, his season came to an early end in April when he suffered a significant ankle injury and underwent surgery.

In 16 G League games this season, he’s averaging 15.8 PPG and 1.9 APG in 26.5 MPG while making 47% of his 3-point attempts.

Dowtin appeared in four games since signing his 10-day.

Cavaliers Promote RJ Nembhard To Standard Deal, Sign Moses Brown To Two-Way Contract

March 31st, 2022 at 11:18am CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 31: The Cavs have officially promoted Nembhard to a standard deal and signed Brown to a two-way contract, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).

MARCH 30: The Cavaliers will convert guard RJ Nembhard to a standard contract and give his two-way spot to Moses Brown, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Nembhard, 23, signed with Cleveland last summer after going undrafted out of TCU and was given a two-way deal before the start of the season. He has played in just 12 NBA games, averaging 4.8 minutes per night, and spent much of his time in the G League, where he put up 22.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 13 games.

Brown, 22, was on the last night of his second 10-day contract with the Cavs, so the team had to make a roster move to keep him. He made his first start for Cleveland tonight, posting 12 points and nine rebounds in a loss to Dallas.

Brown, who was traded twice last summer, started the season with the Mavericks and averaged 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 26 games before being waived at the trade deadline in February. He has also spent time with the Trail Blazers and Thunder.

The Cavaliers will have a roster opening with Brown’s 10-day contract expiring, so no other moves will be necessary to complete the signings.

Trail Blazers Sign Reggie Perry To 10-Day Deal

March 30th, 2022 at 12:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MARCH 30: Perry’s 10-day contract is now official, the Blazers announced in a press release. It’ll run through April 8, covering six of Portland’s final seven games.

MARCH 28: The Trail Blazers are signing forward Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract under the injury hardship exception, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. He’ll be the third Blazer on a 10-day hardship deal, joining Drew Eubanks and Kris Dunn.

Perry played two games with Portland earlier this season under the 10-day hardship exception during the league’s COVID outbreak. He had a similar stint with the Pacers in February under the same provision.

The 57th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Perry spent his rookie year in ’20/21 on a two-way contract with the Nets, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 26 games (8.1 MPG) at the NBA level and putting up 18.1 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 15 games (28.8 MPG) for the Long Island Nets in the G League.

Perry signed with the Raptors for training camp this fall, then joined Toronto’s G League affiliate after failing to secure a spot on the regular season roster. He has averaged 20.3 PPG and 11.5 RPG in 22 games with the Raptors’ G League team this season.

Portland has been wracked by injuries. The Trail Blazers confirmed today in a press release that center Jusuf Nurkic and guards Anfernee Simons and Eric Bledsoe won’t return this season.

Brandon Knight Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Mavericks

March 29th, 2022 at 6:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent combo guard Brandon Knight has signed his second 10-day contract with the Mavericks, the team has announced in a press release (via Twitter). The Mavs, who have a full 15-man roster, completed the signing via the COVID-related hardship exception.

The 6’2″ veteran first inked a 10-day hardship exception deal with the Mavericks in December. In three appearances for Dallas, Knight averaged 10.0 PPG, 2.7 APG and 2.3 RPG across 18.2 MPG.

Across eight NBA seasons, the 30-year-old has averaged 14.0 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.1 RPG in 449 contests. Knight was first selected by the Pistons out of Kentucky in 2011. The well-traveled Knight has also suited up for the Bucks, Suns, Cavaliers and Rockets.

In the short term, Knight could pick up some minutes with reserve guards Sterling Brown and Trey Burke both currently in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Dallas is in the midst of a concerted push up the Western Conference standings. The team has gone 6-4 across its last ten games and is currently the No. 4 seed in the West with a 46-29 record, just 1.5 games behind the Warriors, who could be without All-Star point guard Stephen Curry for several more games. Knight will add veteran leadership and scoring off the bench without Brown and Burke.

Since his first 10-day deal with Dallas expired, Knight has been suiting up for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBAGL, averaging 15.1 PPG, 4.4 APG and 3.5 RPG in 14 games.

Pelicans Sign Jared Harper To Two-Way Deal

March 29th, 2022 at 9:54am CST by Arthur Hill

10:12am: The signing is official, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

9:54am: Free agent point guard Jared Harper will sign a two-way contract with the Pelicans, league sources tell JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old played briefly for New Orleans on a two-way deal earlier this season, getting into two games and logging 10 total minutes before being waived January 9. Since then, he has been with the Pelicans’ G League affiliate in Birmingham, averaging 21.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 20 games.

Undrafted out of Auburn in 2019, Harper signed a two-way contract with the Suns and appeared in three games as a rookie. He also played eight games for the Knicks last season.

New Orleans has a two-way opening after converting Jose Alvarado‘s contract on Monday. Once Harper’s signing becomes official, the Pelicans will have a full roster with both two-way slots filled.