Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sign Stockton, Waive Caver

October 15th, 2021 at 5:15pm CST by Rory Maher

The Grizzlies announced in a press release that they have signed guard David Stockton and waived guard Ahmad Caver.

The terms of Stockton’s contract weren’t disclosed, but it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 contract. As with Caver, he will likely be waived before the season starts. The move is procedural in nature, as it will allow the Grizzlies to give Stockton a bonus of up to $50K if he sticks with their G League squad, the Memphis Hustle, for at least 60 days.

Stockton is a six-year veteran of the G League and has seen action in six total NBA games since going undrafted in 2014. He has also played for several overseas teams during the course of his career. In 184 G League contests, he holds career averages of 17.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 6.9 APG in 29.9 MPG, with a shooting line of .450/.369/.820. He suited up for the Hustle last season in the G League bubble in Orlando.

Caver spent the past two seasons with the Hustle after going undrafted out of Old Dominion in 2019. He had a productive run for the team last season, putting up 16.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 29.4 MPG off the bench.

The move leaves the team with the preseason maximum of 20 players under contract: 15 with guaranteed deals, Sam Merrill with a partial guarantee of $500K, and both two-way slots filled.

Timberwolves Waive Chris Silva, Three Others

October 15th, 2021 at 4:45pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves announced in a press release today that they waived Chris Silva, Brian Bowen II, Matt Lewis and Isaiah Miller.

All four players had been signed to Exhibit 10 contracts, which means that if they spend at least 60 days with Minnesota’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, they could earn bonuses of up to $50K.

Silva has the most NBA experience of the group, playing in 59 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.

Bowen has 12 NBA games under his belt with the Pacers, but only saw action for 46 total minutes. His stats for the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, were somewhat mixed. He most recently played for the Wolves in both Summer League and briefly in the preseason.

Lewis went undrafted in 2019-20 and was named CAA Player of the Year in his final season for James Madison University.

Miller also went undrafted in 2019-20 and was SoCon Player of the Year and SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in his last season for UNC Greensboro.

All four players figure to see time in the G League.

The Timberwolves’ roster now sits at 16 total players, with 13 under guaranteed contracts, Jaylen Nowell on a non-guaranteed deal, and both two-way slots filled.

Rockets Convert Daishen Nix’s Deal To Two-Way Contract

October 15th, 2021 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

4:01pm: The Rockets have issued a press release confirming that Nix’s deal has been converted to a two-way contract and announcing that they’ve waived Marcus Foster.

1:09pm: The Rockets are converting Daishen Nix‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Houston entered this week with Anthony Lamb and Tyler Bey occupying its two-way slots. However, Bey was waived so that the team could first convert Armoni Brooks to a two-way deal, then negotiate a new multiyear contract with him. Now that Brooks has finalized a new four-year pact and moved back to the standard roster, the Rockets have an open two-way spot, and it looks like Nix will fill it.

Nix was one of a handful of prospects who opted to forgo college ball in favor of a spot on the G League Ignite last season. The 6’5″ guard averaged 8.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.3 APG in 15 games (26.5 MPG) for the Ignite, but made just 38.4% of his shots from the floor, including 17.6% from beyond the arc.

After playing for the Sixers in Summer League, Nix signed a non-guaranteed camp deal with the Rockets. He made a cameo in just one of Houston’s preseason games and recorded more turnovers (2) than points (0) in his limited minutes, but it appears the team wants to see more from the 19-year-old.

Nix figures to split time between the Rockets and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League as long as he remains on a two-way deal with the club.

Kings Exercise Tyrese Haliburton’s 2022/23 Option

October 15th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are picking up the third-year team option on Tyrese Haliburton‘s rookie scale contract for the 2022/23 season, a source tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the transaction in a press release.

The move is a formality, since there was never any chance Sacramento would decline a $4,215,120 option on a promising young player who was in the mix for the Rookie of the Year award last season. Haliburton is now officially locked up through 2022/23, and it’s a safe bet the Kings will pick up his ’23/24 option a year from now.

The No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Haliburton averaged 13.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .472/.409/.857 shooting in 58 games (30.1 MPG) for the Kings in 2020/21. The 21-year-old will team up with De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell this season to form what should be one of the most entertaining young backcourts in the NBA.

Haliburton is the only King with a third- or fourth-year rookie scale option for ’22/23, as our tracker shows.

Lakers Cut Joel Ayayi, Three Others

October 15th, 2021 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have placed four players on waivers, announcing today in a press release that they’ve cut Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Cameron Oliver, and Trevelin Queen.

Brown, Oliver, and Queen were camp invitees who weren’t expected to make the regular season roster, so it comes as no surprise that they were waived. They’ll likely end up joining the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, for the 2021/22 season, tweets Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.

However, Ayayi’s release is more unexpected. The former Gonzaga wing was considered one of this year’s top undrafted free agents and committed to the Lakers shortly after the draft ended in July, but didn’t have a great preseason, making just 1-of-10 shots in five games. He had been on a two-way contract.

The moves leave the Lakers with just 15 players under contract, including 14 on standard deals and one (Sekou Doumbouya) on a two-way pact. The club may not carry a 15th man to start the season, given the tax ramifications, but it’s possible that open two-way slot will be filled sooner rather than later.

Raptors Waive Josh Hall, Alex Antetokounmpo

October 15th, 2021 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have waived recent Exhibit 10 signees Josh Hall and Alex Antetokounmpo, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Toronto now has 18 players under contract.

Hall, 21, went undrafted in 2020, but caught on with Oklahoma City and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He appeared in 21 games for the Thunder, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 16.0 minutes per contest. The 6’9″ forward has impressive athleticism, but struggled to score efficiently, posting a shooting line of .303/.108/.500.

Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, spent last season under contract in Spain with UCAM Murcia. The 6’8″ forward joined the Kings’ Summer League roster in August.

Both Hall and Antetokounmpo are expected to report to Toronto’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.

Thunder Release D.J. Wilson, Scotty Hopson

October 15th, 2021 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have waived forward D.J. Wilson and guard Scotty Hopson, the team announced today. The moves reduce Oklahoma City’s roster count to 18 players, for the time being.

Wilson, the 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft, spent the first three-and-a-half season of his career in Milwaukee before being traded to Houston at last season’s trade deadline. He had fallen out of the Bucks’ rotation, but averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a shooting line of .416/.339/.696 in 23 games (14.3 MPG) during his stint with the Rockets.

Hopson, who appeared in two NBA games in 2014 with Cleveland and one in 2018 with Dallas, has spent most of his career in the G League or playing in international leagues. The 6’7″ wing played for Melbourne United in 2020/21 after appearing in 41 G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue from 2018-20.

Hopson looks like a good bet to rejoin the Blue for the upcoming season, and it’s possible Wilson will join him.

Meanwhile, it appears the Thunder have also officially signed Zavier Simpson, whose Exhibit 10 deal with the team we reported on Thursday. Oklahoma City hasn’t formally announced the signing, but Simpson is listed on the team’s official roster page.

Pelicans Sign, Waive John Petty Jr.

October 15th, 2021 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 15, 1:33pm: As expected, the Pelicans have waived Petty, the team announced today in a press release.

OCTOBER 13, 7:01pm: The signing is official, according to a press release from the Pelicans.

OCTOBER 13, 2:08pm: The Pelicans are signing undrafted rookie John Petty Jr. to an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Petty spent the last four seasons playing his college ball at Alabama and was a two-time All-SEC player. As a senior in 2020/21, he averaged 12.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .420/.370/.734 shooting in 32 games (31.1 MPG) for the Crimson Tide. He went undrafted in July.

New Orleans has three open slots on its preseason roster after cutting Wenyen Gabriel, James Banks, and Malcolm Hill on Tuesday, so Petty figures to slide into one of those spots.

Petty will likely be waived before the regular season begins and looks like a good candidate to end up playing for New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

Hornets Sign, Waive LiAngelo Ball

October 15th, 2021 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 15: The Hornets have officially waived Ball, the team confirmed today in a press release. Barring a change of plans, it looks like his next stop will be Greensboro.

OCTOBER 14: The Hornets are signing LiAngelo Ball to a non-guaranteed contract and will waive him shortly thereafter, a source tells Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The team issued a press release announcing the signing.

A report earlier this week suggested that Ball would sign a general G League contract and would be entered into the NBAGL draft pool, where the Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte’s affiliate) might select him.

However, it sounds like the Hornets – and the Swarm – have decided they want to secure Ball’s G League rights directly. Signing the 6’5″ wing to an Exhibit 10 deal will do that, and will allow the team to give him a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Greensboro.

Ball, the brother of LaMelo Ball and Lonzo Ball, played for Charlotte’s Summer League team in Las Vegas and reportedly impressed members of the organization with his work ethic. He averaged 9.6 PPG on .375/.345/1.000 shooting in five games (17.4 MPG) for the Hornets in Vegas.

Magic Sign B.J. Johnson, Waive Devin Cannady

October 15th, 2021 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have waived guard Devin Cannady and filled the newly-opened roster spot by signing free agent wing B.J. Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.

Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, has appeared in 17 total NBA games with three teams – Atlanta, Sacramento, and Orlando – since going pro, but he has spent most of his career so far in the G League.

Johnson appeared in 67 games for the Lakeland Magic in his first two seasons, averaging an impressive 22.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 2.0 SPG on .458/.417/.786 shooting in 28 NBAGL games (35.9 MPG) in 2019/20. He played for the Long Island Nets in the 2021 G League bubble, then signed with the Brisbane Bullets in April.

Lakeland just acquired Johnson’s G League returning rights from Long Island today in a five-team trade, so it’s a safe bet he’ll be returning to Orlando’s NBAGL affiliate this season. Cannady figures to join him there.