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Rockets Add N’Faly Dante Via Two-Way Deal

July 9th, 2024 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 9: Dante has officially signed the two-way contract, the team tweets.

JUNE 27: The Rockets are signing undrafted Oregon center N’Faly Dante to a two-way deal, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The 6’11” big man was a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree and was also named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team in 2024. A five-year senior in 2023/24, he enjoyed his most productive season yet as a super-senior, averaging 17 points per game on 69.5% shooting from the field and 61.3% shooting from the charity stripe. Dante also logged averages of 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.7 steals and 1.6 assists per contest.

Houston only wound up with one pick in the 2024 draft, the third selection, which the Rockets used on sharpshooting Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard. The club traded out from the No. 44 pick in the second round to obtain reserve small forward AJ Griffin from the Hawks as part of a three-team deal.

Hawks Re-Sign Seth Lundy On Two-Way Deal

July 9th, 2024 at 4:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks have signed wing Seth Lundy to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.

The 46^th overall pick in the 2023 draft after a four-year college career at Penn State, Lundy spent last season on a two-way contract with the Hawks. He appeared in nine games with Atlanta and 25 contests with the College Park Skyhawks.

Atlanta extended a qualifying offer to Lundy in late June, the equivalent of another two-way deal. He may have simply accepted that offer rather than negotiating a new two-way deal.

Lundy averaged just 5.8 minutes in his nine NBA appearances. In those 25 G League games (23 starts), the 6’4″ guard/forward averaged 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 32.6 minutes. He shot 46.2% from the field and 40% on 3-point attempts.

The 24-year-old underwent ankle surgery in mid-May. The left ankle procedure removed a medial ankle bone spur.

Lundy won’t play in the Summer League but the expectation is that he’ll make a full recovery in time for the start of next season.

Timberwolves Sign Jesse Edwards To Two-Way Contract

July 9th, 2024 at 4:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves have signed center Jesse Edwards to a two-way contract, according to the NBA transactions log. The team has confirmed the signing in a press release.

Edwards participated in both the G League Elite Camp and the NBA’s combine but went undrafted last month. The 24-year-old spent four seasons at Syracuse, then finished up his college career at West Virginia. He played 23 games for the Mountaineers and averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 28.3 minutes per game.

In his last season with the Orange, the seven-f00t Edwards averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 32.6 minutes while making 32 starts.

The Amsterdam native suited up for the Netherlands Senior National Team during the 2023 World Cup qualifying tournament and the 2022 EuroBasket tournament.

The Timberwolves also have 2023 draft pick Jaylen Clark on a two-way deal but still have another slot available.

Pistons Claim Paul Reed Off Waivers

July 9th, 2024 at 4:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons are claiming former Sixers big man Paul Reed off waivers, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets. The Pistons have confirmed the move in a press release (Twitter link).

Reed was placed on waivers on Saturday when Philadelphia chose to sign free agent forward Caleb Martin. He had been due to clear waivers and become a free agent at 4:00 pm CT if he had gone unclaimed.

The Pistons will use some of their available cap room to claim Reed, who signed a three-year, $23,555,150 contract last summer with Philadelphia. Only the first year was guaranteed — his $7.7MM salary for next season remains non-guaranteed until early January, and his $8.1MM salary for 2025/26 will stay non-guaranteed as long as his team doesn’t advance to the second round of the playoffs.

The Pistons could retain Reed to compete with or back up incumbent center Jalen Duren, use Reed as a trade chip, or waive him again if they need to clear cap room to make another move.

Reed has evolved into a serviceable backup in the frontcourt over the past few seasons. In 2023/24, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks, appearing in all 82 of Philadelphia’s regular season games.

Raptors Sign Ulrich Chomche To Two-Way Deal

July 9th, 2024 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have officially signed No. 57 overall pick Ulrich Chomche to a two-way contract, per the NBA’s transaction log.

According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link), Chomche’s deal will cover two years instead of just one, putting him on track to reach restricted free agency in 2026. Chomche was the youngest player in this year’s draft class (he won’t turn 19 until December 30), so his camp and the Raptors agreed to approach his development with a longer-term view, Murphy explains.

Chomche, who was born in Cameroon, was part of the NBA Academy Africa before playing in the Basketball Africa League in 2022 and 2023. The 6’11” center became the first player in league history to be selected in an NBA draft after playing in the BAL.

The Raptors reportedly sent the Timberwolves $1MM in cash to acquire the No. 57 pick in last month’s draft in order to nab Chomche. That deal ended up being expanded to include four teams.

Toronto has now filled all three of its two-way slots, with Chomche joining D.J. Carton and Branden Carlson. The club also has 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts. It’s unclear if the Raptors plan on making any more roster changes in the coming days, weeks, or months, or if this is essentially the group they’ll take into training camp (with camp invitees to fill out the 21-man squad).

Nuggets Sign DaRon Holmes To Rookie Contract

July 9th, 2024 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets first-round pick DaRon Holmes has officially signed his rookie scale contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Holmes built an extensive résumé in his three college seasons at Dayton, earning All-Atlantic 10 honors in all three years, including a First Team spot in 2023 and 2024. He was named the Atlantic 10 co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 after averaging 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game across 33 starts in 2023/24. He also posted a shooting line of .544/.386/.713.

The Nuggets were linked to Holmes for much of the pre-draft process, and while there were conflicting reports on whether or not the team had made him a promise, it certainly appeared that Denver was targeting the 6’10” forward on draft night — the club traded three second-round picks in order to move up from No. 28 to No. 22 to nab him.

Assuming Holmes receives the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale amount, his four-year deal will be worth about $15.2MM, including a first-year salary of $3.07MM.

Holmes was the last 2024 first-round pick to sign his contract, so all 30 first-rounders are now officially on NBA rosters.

Kings Sign First-Rounder Devin Carter

July 9th, 2024 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially signed lottery pick Devin Carter to his first NBA contract, the team confirmed today in a press release (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee).

Carter had a big junior year in 2023/24 at Providence, averaging 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals in 35.3 minutes per game across 33 outings (all starts). He made 47.3% of his shot attempts from the floor, including 37.7% of 6.8 three-pointers per contest and claimed Big East Player of the Year honors.

The 6’3″ guard was selected 13th overall by the Kings, but was ruled out of the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues due to a left shoulder issue (which the team was aware of prior to drafting him). A report on Sunday indicated that Carter will undergo surgery on that shoulder, potentially jeopardizing his availability for the start of the season this fall.

Assuming he signed for the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale, Carter will earn $4.69MM as a rookie, while his four-year deal will be worth $22.14MM in total. Rookie scale contracts include two guaranteed seasons, with team options on the third and fourth years.

Now that Carter has officially signed, there’s just one 2024 first-rounder – Nuggets forward DaRon Holmes – who still needs to finalize his rookie contract, as our tracker shows.

Nets’ Trendon Watford Signs Qualifying Offer

July 9th, 2024 at 11:08am CST by Luke Adams

Nets restricted free agent forward Trendon Watford has accepted his one-year qualifying offer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The move will lock in Watford’s $2,726,603 salary for the 2024/25 season, putting him on track to reach unrestricted free agency a year from now.

Watford, 23, spent his first two NBA season in Portland from 2021-23, but was waived by the Trail Blazers last summer before his 2023/24 salary could become guaranteed. He caught on with Brooklyn and appeared in a career-high 63 regular season games, averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 13.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .527/.397/.794.

Because he only had three years of NBA experience under his belt, Watford remained eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, and the Nets took advantage by issuing him a qualifying offer ahead of the June 29 deadline. Signing that QO means that the former LSU standout will have the ability to veto any trade involving him during the 2024/25 league year.

With Watford back under contract, Brooklyn will be carrying 12 players on guaranteed deals, plus Mamadi Diakite and Jalen Wilson on partially guaranteed salaries.

With Watford off the board, Isaac Okoro is the only remaining restricted free agent who didn’t finish last season on a two-way contract.

Grizzlies Sign Second-Round Pick Cam Spencer To Two-Way Deal

July 8th, 2024 at 7:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have signed second-round pick Cam Spencer to a two-way contract, the team’s PR department tweets.

Memphis acquired Spencer’s draft rights in a four-team swap that featured the Pistons, Timberwolves and Raptors.

Spencer played a major role in UConn’s second consecutive national championship after transferring from Rutgers.

The No. 53 pick in the draft, Spencer started all 40 games for UConn last season and averaged 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 32.8 minutes. The 24-year-old, who was selected First Team All-Big East, shot 48.4% from the field, 44.0% from 3-point range and 91.1% from the free throw line.

Spencer fills the Grizzlies’ final open two-way slot. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Trey Jemison occupy the other two-way spots.

Kings Officially Acquire DeRozan, Spurs Get Barnes In Three-Team Swap

July 8th, 2024 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The blockbuster three-team deal involving DeMar DeRozan and Harrison Barnes is official, according to a Spurs press release, Kings press release, and Bulls press release.

The Spurs acquired Barnes from the Kings. In addition, San Antonio received the right to swap first-round picks with the Kings in 2031 while sending two-way player RaiQuan Gray to Chicago.

Additionally, the Spurs are waiving Charles Bassey to complete the trade, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. However, San Antonio is exploring ways to bring Bassey back in the fold.

Sacramento acquired DeRozan from the Bulls while sending Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash considerations to Chicago, along with Barnes and the 2031 pick swap to San Antonio.

The Bulls will waive Gray, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.

The deal is a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, who ranked sixth on our list of the top 50 free agents for this summer. His new contract is worth approximately $76MM over three years, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link), who adds that the first two seasons are fully guaranteed with a partial guarantee for the final year.

The contract includes $49MM in guaranteed money over the first two seasons, per Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). It also features bonuses for being named an All-Star, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The trade leaves the Kings hard-capped at the $178.1MM first apron, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Sacramento will also create a $5.9MM trade exception in the deal, Gozlan adds.

The 34-year-old DeRozan was extremely productive during his three seasons in Chicago, averaging 25.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game and finishing near the top in the Clutch Player of the Year balloting the past two seasons.

The six-time All-Star will now team with De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray on what should be one of the league’s most exciting offenses. The Kings will be counting on that group to lead them back to the playoffs after being eliminated in the play-in tournament last season.

Parting with DeRozan is the latest step in an offseason roster shakeup in Chicago, which has already traded Alex Caruso and lost Andre Drummond in free agency. The Bulls are shifting to a younger and less expensive roster in hopes of eventually rebuilding into a more competitive team.

Duarte, a 27-year-old swingman with three years of NBA experience, is the latest addition, but it’s uncertain how large his role will be. He appeared in 59 games with Sacramento last season, but averaged just 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per night.

Duarte is under contract for one more season at $5.9MM and is eligible for an extension through October 21. Chicago will create a significant trade exception in the deal $17.6MM trade exception in the deal, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Barnes joins Chris Paul as veteran offseason additions in San Antonio. The 32-year-old is extremely durable, playing in all 82 games the past two seasons. He can handle either forward spot and he figures to get plenty of open looks alongside Paul and Victor Wembanyama. Barnes averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season with .474/.387/.801 shooting stats.

The Spurs will use their cap space to absorb Barnes’ $18MM salary for the upcoming season, Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps write in a full story on the trade. Barnes will make $19MM in 2025/26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Barnes’ contract includes a $3.7MM trade kicker that Sacramento will be responsible for, Marks adds (Twitter link), broken up into $1.85MM for each of the next two seasons. That number could be negotiated down, but only with Barnes’ consent.