Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Clippers Sign Moses Wright To 10-Day Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have signed forward Moses Wright to a 10-day contract, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. Since it’s a 10-day deal, we know the team completed the signing using a hardship exception.

An undrafted rookie, Wright spent all four years of his college career at Georgia Tech and had a huge season as a senior in 2020/21, averaging 17.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.6 BPG, and 1.5 SPG with a .532/.414/.658 shooting line in 25 games (35.3 MPG). He was named the ACC Player of the Year and made the ACC’s All-Defensive team.

Wright has been playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario this season, averaging 13.5 PPG and 8.5 RPG on .602/.400/.607 shooting in 13 games (29.7 MPG).

The Clippers haven’t been affected too significantly this month by COVID-19 and currently just have one player – Marcus Morris – in the health and safety protocols, but that could change quickly, as we’ve seen in recent weeks.

Raptors To Sign Tremont Waters; VanVleet, Flynn In Protocols

December 21st, 2021 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have placed point guards Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Toronto now has five players in the protocols, including three starters.

In order to address the newly-created hole in their backcourt, the Raptors intend to sign G League guard Tremont Waters to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Toronto also reportedly lined up hardship deals with Brandon Goodwin, Juwan Morgan, and Nik Stauskas on Monday, so Waters will be their fourth 10-day addition. None of those deals are official yet.

Waters, who will turn 24 next month, was selected by the Celtics with the 51st overall pick in the 2019 draft and spent his first two professional seasons as a two-way player in Boston. After the C’s opted not to bring him back for the 2021/22 season, he joined the Wisconsin Herd – Milwaukee’s G League affiliate – and has averaged 17.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.7 SPG on .421/.364/.714 shooting in 13 NBAGL games (31.5 MPG) this season.

Due to the NBA’s new temporary roster rules, Waters’ deal won’t count against Toronto’s team salary for cap or tax purposes.

Knicks Sign Matt Mooney Via Hardship Exception

December 21st, 2021 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 21: The Knicks have officially signed Mooney to a 10-day contract, according to the team (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 20: Free agent shooting guard Matt Mooney is signing a 10-day contract with the Knicks via a hardship exception, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Mooney, who went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2019, began his first professional season with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, before signing a two-way contract with the Cavaliers. He appeared in four NBA games as a rookie, logging just 19 total minutes.

Mooney played for the Raptors’ G League team in 2020/21, then joined the Mexico City Capitanes this season. He has struggled with his three-point shot through 12 G League games in ’21/22, making just 27.6% of his outside attempts, but he’s still averaging 15.2 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 2.2 SPG in 32.8 MPG, and has displayed a more reliable three-pointer in past NBAGL seasons.

The Knicks are signing a series of replacement players to fill out a roster hit hard by injuries and COVID-19. Tyler Hall joined the team on Sunday and Damyean Dotson has reportedly agreed to a 10-day deal as well.

Knicks Sign Damyean Dotson To 10-Day Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 21: Dotson’s 10-day deal is now official, the Knicks announced in a press release. It will run through December 30.

DECEMBER 20: The Knicks will use the hardship exception to sign veteran wing Damyean Dotson to a 10-day contract, agent Chris Gaston tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Dotson is no stranger to the Knicks, having appeared in 165 games for the team from 2017-20 after being selected 44th overall in the 2017 draft. His best NBA season came in 2018/19, when he started 40 of 73 games for the Knicks, averaging 10.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .415/.368/.745 shooting in 27.5 MPG.

The Cavaliers signed Dotson to a two-year contract during the 2020 offseason, but the second year of that deal was non-guaranteed, so Cleveland waived him this fall after he appeared in 46 games for the club in 2020/21. Most recently, Dotson has been playing for San Antonio’s G League affiliate, recording 12.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 12 games (34.9 MPG) for the Austin Spurs this season.

The Knicks, who have six players in the health and safety protocols, added Tyler Hall using a hardship exception on Sunday. At least one more signing could be forthcoming for New York before Tuesday’s game vs. Detroit.

Magic Sign Freddie Gillespie, Tim Frazier To 10-Day Contracts

December 21st, 2021 at 10:16am CST by JD Shaw

DECEMBER 21: The Magic have officially signed Gillespie to his 10-day deal and also announced that veteran guard Tim Frazier has been added on a 10-day contract of his own. Hardship exceptions were used to complete both moves.

Frazier, who has 277 NBA regular season games under his belt, last played for the Grizzlies during the 2020/21 season. The 31-year-old has averaged 5.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 2.3 RPG on .404/.322/.728 shooting in 17.6 minutes per game across his NBA career.

DECEMBER 19: The Magic are planning to sign big man Freddie Gillespie to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Orlando will use a hardship exception to sign him.

Gillespie has been playing with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, averaging 11.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. This is his second straight G League campaign with Memphis.

Gillespie also played 20 games with the Raptors last year, but he was waived this past fall. The 24-year-old went undrafted in 2020 after playing for Carleton and Baylor.

Orlando recently signed B.J. Johnson, Hassani Gravett, Admiral Schofield and Aleem Ford to 10-day contracts. The team is missing several players due to health and safety protocols.