Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Juwan Morgan Signs Multi-Year Deal With Celtics

April 10th, 2022 at 8:06am CST by Arthur Hill

APRIL 10: Morgan’s signing is official, according to the NBA.com transactions log.

APRIL 9: The Celtics will fill their open roster spot before the playoffs by signing Juwan Morgan to a multi-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The deal is expected to be for two years, with a non-guaranteed salary for 2022/23, a source tells Keith Smith of CelticsBlog (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old forward recently completed a 10-day contract with Boston, getting into one game and playing four minutes without scoring. He also appeared in a single game with the Raptors on a 10-day deal in December.

Morgan spent most of this season with the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine, where he averaged 12.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 29 games. He was in training camp with Boston, but was waived before the start of the regular season.

Morgan began his NBA career with the Jazz after going undrafted out of Indiana in 2019. He spent his first two seasons in Utah, playing a combined 50 games.

No corresponding roster move will be necessary to complete the signing, since Boston’s 15th roster spot had previously been occupied by Morgan on his 10-day contract.

Blazers Sign Reggie Perry To Hardship Deal For Final Game

April 9th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by JD Shaw

The Trail Blazers have signed forward Reggie Perry to a hardship contract, allowing him to play in the team’s final game of the season on Sunday, the club announced today in a press release. Portland will host Utah as the team looks to avoid its 11th straight loss.

Perry signed a 10-day deal with the Blazers in December and a hardship 10-day on March 30. He has appeared in eight games for Portland this season, averaging 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 18.0 minutes. He also signed a 10-day contract with the Pacers in early February and played in a single game with Indiana.

Perry played just over 16 minutes in the Blazers’ 50-point loss to the Mavericks on Friday, finishing with nine points and two rebounds off the bench. His biggest impact this season came in the G League. In 34 games with the Raptors’ affiliate, he averaged 19.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

The Blazers currently have nine players injured, making them eligible for a handful of hardship exceptions — Drew Eubanks and Kris Dunn are also signed to hardship deals. Perry’s contract will expire when the regular season ends, so the club won’t have any form of Bird rights on him this summer.

Lakers Sign Mac McClung To Two-Way Deal

April 9th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Rory Maher

APRIL 9: McClung has officially signed his two-way contract with the Lakers, the team announced on social media (Twitter link).

APRIL 8: The Lakers intend to sign G League guard Mac McClung to their open two-way spot, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (via Twitter).

Los Angeles recently created a two-way opening by promoting Wenyen Gabriel to a standard contract on Friday after waiving Trevor Ariza on Thursday.

McClung, 23, went undrafted in 2021 after three college seasons. He started his collegiate career with Georgetown, but transferred to Texas Tech following his sophomore year. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers last summer, but was waived in October before the season began.

McClung signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Bulls in December and January, but only appeared in one NBA game for just three minutes. He has spent the majority of the season in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate, South Bay, where he was named NBAGL Rookie of the Year.

In 35 NBAGL appearances, including 33 with South Bay, McClung stuffed the stat sheet with averages of 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.4 steals on .459/.365/.857 shooting. Once the signing becomes official, the Lakers will have a full 15-man roster and both two-way spots filled.

Chaundee Brown Signs Two-Way Deal With Hawks

April 9th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Rory Maher

10:50am: Atlanta has officially signed Brown to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.

8:28am: The Hawks intend to sign swingman Chaundee Brown to their open two-way spot, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’5″ Brown went undrafted out of Michigan in 2021 and got some preseason run with the Lakers on an Exhibit 10 deal. He was cut ahead of the regular season and joined L.A.’s G League affiliate, South Bay.

The Lakers promoted Brown to a two-way contract in November, but was waived in December in order to sign Mason Jones. He appeared in two games with the Lakers for an average of 10.5 MPG, struggling to find a foothold and averaging just 1.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG.

At the end of December, Brown signed a 10-day hardship deal with Atlanta and received significant playing time (27.7 MPG) across three games with the club as it dealt with a major COVID outbreak, averaging 9.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG in the process.

The 23-year-old has spent the majority of the season in the G League with South Bay, appearing 38 games (31.3 MPG) while averaging 16.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 1.7 APG on .459/.322/.875 shooting. The Hawks had an open two-way slot after promoting Skylar Mays to a standard deal, but have a full 15-man roster and both two-way spots will be filled once Brown’s contract becomes official.

Lakers Promote Wenyen Gabriel To Standard Contract

April 8th, 2022 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

3:23pm: Gabriel’s new deal is a two-year contract with a team option for 2022/23, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

2:44pm: The Lakers have filled the open spot on their 15-man roster by promoting Wenyen Gabriel from his two-way contract to a standard deal, the team announced today (via Twitter). That roster opening was created on Thursday when Trevor Ariza was waived.

Gabriel signed a series of 10-day contracts earlier in the season with the Nets, Clippers, and Pelicans before eventually getting a two-way deal from the Lakers on March 1. The 25-year-old has appeared in 24 total NBA games this season, including 17 for his current club. In those 17 games with the Lakers, he has averaged 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds on .481/.238/.621 shooting in 14.6 minutes per contest.

Gabriel figures to see plenty of action in the club’s final two games of the season this weekend, with a number of regulars sidelined. LeBron James has been ruled out for the season, while Anthony Davis (foot), Russell Westbrook (shoulder), and Carmelo Anthony (non-COVID illness) will all miss at least Friday’s game vs. Oklahoma City.

The exact details of Gabriel’s new contract are unclear. If the Lakers simply converted his two-way deal to a standard contract, it will only cover the rest of the season, but teams and players are free to negotiate new terms in this situation.

Non-playoff clubs that promote two-way players to their 15-man rosters near the end of the season typically want to tack on at least one extra non-guaranteed year to those new contracts — we’ll have to wait for further clarification to see if the Lakers did that with Gabriel.

Los Angeles now has a full 15-man roster, with one open two-way slot.

Bucks Sign Rayjon Tucker To Three-Year Deal

April 8th, 2022 at 11:08am CST by Luke Adams

11:08am: The Bucks have officially signed Tucker, the team confirmed today in a press release.

8:51am: The Bucks are in agreement on a multiyear contract with swingman Rayjon Tucker, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Tucker is signing a three-year deal with Milwaukee.

Tucker, who went undrafted out of Little Rock in 2019, spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021 and got a 10-day deal from the Nuggets in December 2021. He has appeared in a total of 37 NBA games across three seasons, averaging 2.8 PPG and 0.9 RPG in just 7.0 minutes per contest.

Tucker has spent more time on the court in the G League during those three seasons, having played for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Wisconsin Herd, and the Delaware Blue Coats. In 27 regular season games this season for the Herd (the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate), the wing averaged an impressive 21.1 PPG on 53.4% shooting. He also chipped in 7.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.1 SPG.

Although Tucker’s new deal will cover three seasons – the rest of 2021/22 and two more beyond that – it’s unlikely to include much, if any, guaranteed money in the next two years. That will give the Bucks the flexibility to move on from him this summer or this fall if they need the roster spot. On the other hand, if he impresses and sticks around, Milwaukee will have him locked up at a team-friendly rate through 2024.

It appears that Tucker will be the final member of the Bucks’ 15-man playoff roster this spring. The team opened up the 15th spot on its roster on Thursday by waiving injured veteran DeAndre’ Bembry.