Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder To Sign Zavier Simpson Using Hardship Exemption

December 27th, 2021 at 6:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder are planning to sign guard Zavier Simpson to a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

The former University of Michigan point guard was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract by Oklahoma City this fall. He’s been playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, the team’s G League affiliate.

Simpson has averaged 7.6 PPG and 4.4 in 12 games, including three starts, with the Blue this season. He also started 15 games for the Blue in the G League bubble last season after going undrafted.

Oklahoma City has four players in the league’s health and safety protocols.

Magic Re-Sign Hassani Gravett, Admiral Schofield

December 27th, 2021 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Four Magic players on 10-day contracts had those deals expire overnight on Sunday. Two of those players – guard Hassani Gravett and big man Admiral Schofield – signed new 10-day pacts on Monday using hardship exceptions, the team announced in a press release. The other two – Aleem Ford and B.J. Johnson – are now free agents.

Gravett and Schofield were both thrust into rotation roles immediately for a Magic team hit hard by injuries and COVID-related absences.

In his first 10 days with the club, Gravett started two of five games, averaging 7.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 24.8 minutes per game. The 6’2″ guard posted an impressive .450 3PT% during that time. Schofield, meanwhile, averaged 17.2 MPG in his five contests, putting up 5.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG.

Orlando still has six players in the health and safety protocols, so the team is eligible to carry several hardship additions. Freddie Gillespie and Tim Frazier are also currently on 10-day deals with the Magic.

Suns Sign Emanuel Terry; Monty Williams In Protocols

December 27th, 2021 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

2:25pm: The Suns have officially signed Terry, the team announced in a press release. His 10-day contract will run through January 5.

12:14pm: The Suns are set to sign forward Emanuel Terry to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Terry, 25, has played for a handful of international and G League teams since going undrafted out of Lincoln Memorial in 2018. He also got into three NBA games as a rookie back in 2018/19 — two for Phoenix and one for Miami.

This season, Terry has been playing in the G League for the Stockton Kings, averaging 11.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 10 games (25.5 MPG) for Sacramento’s G League affiliate. He also represented Team USA last month in the first two qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup.

For most of the month, Phoenix had avoided the league-wide COVID-19 outbreak that left a number of teams around the NBA shorthanded. However, the Suns placed Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in the health and safety protocols on Sunday, making them eligible to sign up to two replacement players via hardship exceptions.

The Suns have also temporarily lost their head coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Monty Williams has entered the protocols. Williams will miss Monday’s game vs. Memphis and figures to be sidelined into the new year if he has registered a confirmed positive test. Assistant coach Kevin Young will likely take over as acting head coach in Williams’ absence, tweets Wojnarowski.

Timberwolves Sign Greg Monroe To 10-Day Deal

December 27th, 2021 at 1:40pm CST by JD Shaw

DECEMBER 27: The Timberwolves have completed Monroe’s deal, formally announcing it in a press release. It’ll run through January 5, covering Minnesota’s next six games.

DECEMBER 26: The Timberwolves are planning to sign veteran big man Greg Monroe to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The transaction would be completed using a hardship exemption.

Monroe, 31, owns nine years of NBA experience, making past stops with the Pistons, Bucks, Suns, Celtics, Raptors and Sixers. He’s averaged 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game for his career, appearing in 632 total contests. He last played in the league during the 2018/19 season.

Monroe has been playing in the G League with the Wizards’ affiliate. In 12 games this season, he’s averaged 10.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing. The Timberwolves currently have eight players in the league’s health and safety protocols, as shown by our tracker.

Minnesota has back-to-back home games scheduled against Boston on Monday and New York on Tuesday. Monroe will arrive Monday morning, complete a physical, and sign his contract if everything goes well, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets.

Wizards Sign Jordan Goodwin Via Hardship Exception

December 27th, 2021 at 11:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 27: The Wizards have officially signed Goodwin to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.

DECEMBER 26: The Wizards are planning to sign Jordan Goodwin from their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, on a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Goodwin is averaging 15.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 3.6 APG in 14 games with the Go-Go, including 10 starts. He went undrafted earlier this year following a four-year college career with Saint Louis.

The 6’3” guard will fortify a backcourt that has two prominent players, Bradley Beal and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, in the league’s health and safety protocols.

Pacers Waive Brad Wanamaker, Sign Keifer Sykes

December 27th, 2021 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

11:06am: The Pacers have officially signed Sykes and waived Wanamaker, according to a press release from the team.

10:51am: The Pacers intend to waive guard Brad Wanamaker and sign another guard, Keifer Sykes, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Most of the deals being completed around the NBA right now are 10-day hardship contracts, but it doesn’t appear that’ll be the case here, since the Pacers don’t have any players in the health and safety protocols and will be waiving a player from their 15-man roster in order to sign Sykes.

Wanamaker, 32, has appeared in 22 games for Indiana this season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 2.2 APG with a .361/.235/.909 shooting line in 13.3 minutes per contest. His minimum-salary contract isn’t fully guaranteed for 2021/22, so by releasing him before next month’s league-wide guarantee date, the Pacers would only have to pay him $715,538, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

An undrafted free agent out of Green Bay in 2015, Sykes has spent most of the last several years playing in international leagues. He has played for teams in Korea, Turkey, Italy, China, and Greece, and is coming off a one-year stint with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia’s National Basketball League.

Sykes, who hit the game-winning three-point shot for Boeheim’s Army in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana and then joined the Pacers’ G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He has averaged 16.5 PPG and 7.5 APG on .409/.351/.741 shooting in 13 G League games (34.3 MPG) this season.

It’s unclear whether or not Sykes will get a rest-of-season guarantee. If he doesn’t, the Pacers would have until January 7 to decide whether or not to lock in his full-season salary.

Nets Sign Langston Galloway To Second 10-Day Contract

December 27th, 2021 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 27: The Nets have officially signed Galloway to a second 10-day deal, the team confirmed today in a press release.

DECEMBER 26: Hardship addition Langston Galloway will receive a second 10-day contract from the Nets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 30-year-old guard appeared in three games during his first-10-day deal, which expired Saturday night. He logged 15.0 minutes per night for a short-handed Brooklyn team, averaging 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

The Nets still have six players in health and safety protocols, so Galloway may continue to see a significant role until some of them return.

Grizzlies Sign Xavier Sneed To 10-Day Contract

December 27th, 2021 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have completed another hardship signing, adding forward Xavier Sneed on a 10-day contract, the team announced today (Twitter link).

Memphis has now signed three players to 10-day deals in the last two days, having officially finalized agreements with Tyrell Terry and Shaq Buchanan on Sunday. The club currently has five players in the health and safety protocols.

Sneed, a 6’5″ wing who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, played in 13 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season and returned to the Hornets’ G League affiliate for a second go-round this year. In 27 total G League games, he has averaged 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 24.9 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old has improved his scoring efficiency significantly in his second NBAGL season. After making 36.0% of his field goal tries, including 27.9% of his threes, in 2020/21, he has knocked down 50.5% of his shots and 39.0% of his threes in ’21/22.

Sneed’s new deal will run through January 5, covering Memphis’ next five games. He’ll earn $53,176 in his 10 days with the team.

Chaundee Brown Signs 10-Day Deal With Hawks

December 27th, 2021 at 9:19am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 27: Brown has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Hawks, according to a press release from the club. The deal will run through January 5, covering Atlanta’s next five games.

DECEMBER 26: The Hawks will sign swingman Chaundee Brown to a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal is expected to be completed Monday to maximize the number of games he can play.

Brown, 23, appeared in two games as a two-way player for the Lakers earlier this season. He was signed in mid-November when Sekou Doumbouya was waived, then was released on Tuesday when L.A. added Mason Jones. Brown was in training camp with the Lakers, signing an Exhibit 10 contract going undrafted out of Michigan this summer.

He’s the latest in a series of reinforcements for the Hawks, who have been hit especially hard by COVID-19. Atlanta currently has 10 players in the league’s health and safety protocols with today’s additions of John Collins and Jalen Johnson. The team has already signed five other players to 10-day deals using hardship exceptions.

Blazers Sign Jarron Cumberland, Brandon Williams To 10-Day Contracts

December 26th, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 26: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Cumberland and Williams to 10-day deals, the team announced today in a press release. Those contracts will run through January 4.

DECEMBER 25: The Trail Blazers, having already agreed to terms with Cameron McGriff, will sign two more players using hardship exceptions, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), who reports that guards Jarron Cumberland and Brandon Williams are signing 10-day contracts with the club.

Cumberland, 24, went undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2020 after earning AAC Player of the Year honors in 2019. The 6’5″ shooting guard played for the Raptors 905 and Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League as a rookie and joined the Delaware Blue Coats for the 2021/22 season. In 13 NBAGL games (21.1 MPG) this season, he has averaged 9.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .432/.341/.857 shooting.

A former Arizona Wildcat, Williams had been playing for the Westchester Knicks this season. While his averages of 17.7 PPG, 4.5 APG, and 1.9 SPG through 10 games (30.1 MPG) are impressive, he has struggled with his efficiency, making just 36.4% of his field goal attempts, including 28.3% of his threes.

Portland didn’t have any players in the health and safety protocols entering the day on Friday, but has since placed five players in the protocols and lined up three deals with replacement players.

The Blazers’ next game is on Monday, so the team has a couple days to get its roster in order and finalize its signings. Hopefully no more Portland players have to be placed in the protocols before then.