Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign Malcolm Hill To 10-Day Deal

December 22nd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 22: Hill has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Hawks, according to the team. It’ll run through December 31.

DECEMBER 21: Former Illinois forward Malcolm Hill has agreed to sign a 10-day contract with the Hawks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta will sign Hill using a hardship exception.

The Hawks entered Tuesday with just one player – Trae Young – in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but two other Atlanta players are set to join Young in those protocols, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Three of the team’s “tier one” staffers are also being placed in the protocols, as the team canceled its Tuesday practice, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

Having already agreed to sign Lance Stephenson, the Hawks have now lined up a deal with Hill, who went undrafted in 2017 and has since played in the Philippines, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Israel. The 6’6″ wing returned stateside this year and has been playing for the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate.

In 14 NBAGL games (31.6 MPG) for the Squadron, Hill has averaged 16.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.6 SPG on .509/.402/.810 shooting.

Raptors To Sign D.J. Wilson Via Hardship Exception

December 21st, 2021 at 7:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent power forward D.J. Wilson will sign a 10-day contract with the Raptors via a hardship exception, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

The 25-year-old was drafted with the No. 17 pick out of Michigan by the Bucks in 2017. He was traded to the Rockets during the 2020/21 season. In 142 games, the 6’10 big man holds career averages of 4.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG, across 12.3 MPG.

Wilson was most recently with the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 13.9 PPG and 9.7 RPG.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN notes (Twitter link) that Wilson will be Toronto’s fifth replacement player added to address the team’s wide array of absences. The team has also reached deals with Brandon Goodwin, Tremont Waters, Juwan Morgan, and Nik Stauskas.

Per our COVID-19 tracker, the Raptors have seven players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols: Precious Achiuwa, Dalano Banton, Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and Fred VanVleet.

Additionally, Khem Birch and David Johnson remain absent with injuries, while Justin Champagnie is dealing with a non-COVID illness. Veteran point guard Goran Dragic is away from the team indefinitely for personal reasons.

Lakers Sign Jemerrio Jones To 10-Day Deal

December 21st, 2021 at 5:47pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 21: The Lakers have signed Jones to a 10-day contract, the team formally announced today (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 20: The Lakers will add free agent forward Jemerrio Jones to their roster on a 10-day contract via the hardship provision, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jones won’t count toward the standard 15-man roster, so no corresponding move is required.

Like many of the players who have joined the Lakers this year, Jones has a previous stint with the team. He signed with the Lakers late in the 2018/19 season and appeared in six games for the club down the stretch, averaging 4.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 23.8 MPG.

Those six games represent Jones’ only NBA experience to date, as he has spent most of his first four professional seasons in the G League, appearing in a total of 112 games for the South Bay Lakers, Delaware Blue Coats, and Wisconsin Herd. The 26-year-old has averaged 6.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.5 SPG in 11 games (25.6 MPG) for Wisconsin this season.

The Lakers have been one of the many NBA teams hit hard by COVID-19 this month. They currently have five players in the health and safety protocols. A sixth player – Malik Monk – reportedly tested out of the protocols, but has yet to return to action.

Lakers Sign Mason Jones To Two-Way Deal

December 21st, 2021 at 5:44pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 21: The Lakers have officially signed Jones to a two-way contract and waived Brown, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 20: The Lakers are calling up guard Mason Jones from their G League affiliate, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Jones will be signing a two-way contract.

The Lakers don’t currently have an open two-way slot on their roster, so assuming Charania’s report is accurate, they would presumably waive either Chaundee Brown or Jay Huff to make room for Jones.

An undrafted free agent out of Arkansas, Jones began his rookie season in 2020/21 on a two-way deal with Houston, was waived in early March, signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets, then inked a two-way deal with the 76ers. He spent several weeks in Philadelphia before being waived in May.

In total, Jones averaged 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in 32 contests (10.4 MPG) in ’20/21, with a respectable shooting line of .423/.364/.625. He joined the South Bay Lakers for the ’21/22 season and has averaged 17.8 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 6.5 RPG in 12 G League games (30.3 MPG) while bumping his shooting rates to .496/.412/.813.

The Lakers aren’t in action on Monday, so they may not officially finalize any roster moves until Tuesday. The club has also reportedly reached a deal to sign Jemerrio Jones to a 10-day contract.

Lakers Release Chaundee Brown

December 21st, 2021 at 5:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

5:45pm: The Lakers have officially announced the news via a team press release.

5:19pm: To accommodate new addition Mason Jones within one of their two-way player slots, the Lakers have opted to release shooting guard Chaundee Brown, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Jones, another shooting guard, will replace Brown, who did not get much run with Los Angeles this year. Brown played in just two games for Los Angeles, averaging 10.5 MPG in those appearances. 7’1″ center Jay Huff will thus continue to occupy the other two-way slot for the Lakers.

The 6’5″ Brown went undrafted out of Michigan this summer and got some preseason run with the Lakers on an Exhibit 10 deal. He was ultimately cut ahead of the 2021/22 regular season and joined L.A.’s South Bay NBAGL affiliate club. The Lakers added him as a two-way player last month, though he failed to make much of an impact at the next level after flashing promise in El Segundo.

Across six contests with the South Bay Lakers, Brown averaged 17.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.8 BPG in 33.3 MPG. He boasted a shooting line of .446/.333/.800.

Pelicans Sign Jared Harper To Two-Way Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

4:07pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Harper to a two-way contract and waived Hommes, the team announced in a press release.

10:43am: The Pelicans are expected to release Hommes to make room for Harper, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link).

8:38am: The Pelicans are signing free agent guard Jared Harper to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harper had been playing for New Orleans’ G League affiliate in Birmingham.

Currently, Daulton Hommes and Jose Alvarado occupy the two-way contract slots on the Pelicans’ roster, so one of them would have to be either waived or moved to the standard roster in order to make room for Harper.

A 5’10” point guard, Harper spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way contract with the Suns, then played for the Knicks last season. He logged just 24 total minutes across 11 NBA games for Phoenix and New York, but has been a G League standout for the Northern Arizona Suns, Westchester Knicks, and Birmingham Squadron.

Across three NBAGL seasons, Harper has averaged 20.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 2.8 RPG with a shooting line of .430/.380/.800 in 60 games (30.7 MPG). This season, he has knocked down 41.0% of his three-pointers and is launching 7.5 attempts per game for the Squadron.

Harper won’t face any games-played limits at the NBA level on his two-way contract, but won’t be eligible for play-in or postseason contests unless he’s eventually promoted to the 15-man roster. Of course, at 10-21, the Pelicans are out of the play-in picture at this point.

Mavericks Sign Marquese Chriss Via Hardship Exception

December 21st, 2021 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 21: The Mavericks have officially signed Chriss to his 10-day deal, according to the team (Twitter link). It will run through December 30.

DECEMBER 20: The Mavericks, having agreed to a deal with Theo Pinson, will also sign free agent forward/center Marquese Chriss to a contract via a hardship exception, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Chriss, 24, was selected eighth overall in the 2016 draft by the Suns, but was traded from Phoenix to Houston after just two seasons. He played for the Rockets and Cavaliers in the 2018/19 season, then found a home in Golden State for the ’19/20 campaign, averaging 9.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 59 games (20.3 MPG) for the Warriors.

Chriss projected to be a rotation player for the Dubs again last season, but broke his right fibula just two games into the season, ending his year. He was subsequently traded to San Antonio and waived.

The Trail Blazers signed Chriss to a non-guaranteed contract this fall, but he was beaten out by Dennis Smith Jr. for the last spot on the team’s regular season roster and was cut again.

The Mavs have two players in the health and safety protocols and a few other players dealing with injuries or non-COVID illnesses, so adding Pinson or Chriss will help them fill out the back of their active roster in the short term. Neither deal will count against the team’s cap.

Nets Sign Wenyen Gabriel To 10-Day Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 3:36pm CST by JD Shaw

DECEMBER 21: Gabriel has officially signed his 10-day contract, the Nets announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 18: The Nets are planning to sign big man Wenyen Gabriel to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooklyn will be using a hardship exception to sign him.

The Nets have already signed Langston Galloway, James Ennis and Shaquille Harrison to 10-day contracts using hardship exceptions this week. The team currently has nine players in the league’s health and safety protocols, including Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Gabriel, 24, went undrafted in 2018 after spending three seasons at Kentucky. He holds past NBA experience with the Kings, Blazers and Pelicans. In 12 games with the Wisconsin Herd this season, he’s averaged 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 25.6 minutes per game.

Despite being shorthanded, Brooklyn most recently won a 114-105 contest over the Sixers, led by Durant’s 34 points and 11 rebounds. The team will host the Magic (5-25) on Saturday night.

Timberwolves Sign Chris Silva To 10-Day Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 2:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 21: Silva’s 10-day contract with the Wolves is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. It’ll run through December 30.

DECEMBER 20: The Timberwolves are re-signing power forward Chris Silva using the hardship exemption, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Silva was waived by the club during training camp. Silva has played in 59 NBA games with career averages of 2.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG (7.4 MPG) over the past two seasons with the Heat and Kings.

He has averaged 15.1 PPG and 9,8 RPG in 12 starts this season with Minnesota’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt are all currently in the league’s health and safety protocols and won’t play in Minnesota’s game against Dallas on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

The team is likely to sign one more replacement player soon, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.

Timberwolves Sign Rayjon Tucker To 10-Day Deal

December 21st, 2021 at 2:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 21: The Timberwolves have officially signed Tucker to a 10-day deal in advance of their game on Tuesday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

DECEMBER 20: The Timberwolves are signing swingman Rayjon Tucker via the hardship exemption, according to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Tucker was signed and waived by the Bucks this offseason on an Exhibit 10 contract.

Tucker spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021. He has appeared in a total of 34 regular season games in his first two NBA seasons, averaging a modest 2.8 PPG and 0.9 RPG in 6.7 minutes per contest.

He has averaged 17.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.1 APG in 32.2 MPG while appearing in 13 games this season for the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate.

Minnesota has five players — Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt — currently in the league’s health and safety protocols. The Timberwolves are also reportedly signing forward Chris Silva under the hardship exemption.