Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Sign Jalen Crutcher, Cameron McGriff

October 8th, 2021 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving two players earlier in the day, the Hornets have wasted no time filling those newly-opened roster spots. According to a press release from the team, Charlotte has signed guard Jalen Crutcher and forward Cameron McGriff.

Crutcher, a 6’1″ point guard, spent his last four years at Dayton, where he averaged 17.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .463/.372/.763 shooting in 24 games (38.1 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He suited up for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas after going undrafted.

McGriff, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2020 after four seasons with Oklahoma State. He averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his senior year, then played for Belgium’s Okapi Aalstar last season, putting up 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. The Hornets’ agreement with McGriff, who was on the club’s Summer League roster, was reported in September.

Neither Crutcher nor McGriff is likely to make the Hornets’ regular season roster, as the team currently has 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts. However, they’re strong candidates to play for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate. Assuming they signed Exhibit 10 contracts, Crutcher and McGriff will be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K if they spent at least 60 days with the Swarm.

The Hornets now once again have a full 20-man preseason roster.

Nuggets Exercise 2022/23 Option On Zeke Nnaji

October 8th, 2021 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have exercised their third-year team option on Zeke Nnaji‘s rookie scale contract, a league source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The move guarantees Nnaji’s $2,617,800 salary for the 2022/23 season.

Nnaij was the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 draft, joining the Nuggets after playing his college ball at Arizona. The 20-year-old wasn’t a major part of the team’s rotation as a rookie, but did get into 42 games, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 9.5 minutes per contest.

With Nnaji locked in for his third NBA season, the Nuggets will have to make their next major decision on the young forward a year from now, when they’ll have to either pick up or turn down his $4.3MM fourth-year option for the ’23/24 campaign. If that option is exercised, Nnaji would become extension-eligible during the 2023 offseason.

Our tracker of 2022/23 rookie scale option decisions can be found right here.

Grizzlies Sign Romeo Weems, Waive Shaq Buchanan

October 8th, 2021 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have made a minor change to their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed forward Romeo Weems and waived guard Shaq Buchanan.

Weems averaged 7.3 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 18 games (28.6 MPG) for DePaul as a sophomore in 2020/21, knocking down 36.6% of this three-point attempts. He agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies shortly after going undrafted in July and has now finalized that deal over two months later.

Buchanan, who has signed Exhibit 10 deals with Memphis in three consecutive years, has spent the last two seasons with the Memphis Hustle in the G League, averaging 11.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.5 APG on .426/.349/.657 shooting in 48 games (24.8 MPG). He’s a good bet to return to the Hustle this season, and Weems appears likely to join him.

Following their moves, the Grizzlies still have a full 20-man roster, with 16 players on guaranteed contracts, two on Exhibit 10 pacts, and a pair on two-way deals.

Hornets Waive D.J. Carton, Xavier Sneed

October 8th, 2021 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have cut a pair of training camp invitees, announcing today in a press release that D.J. Carton and Xavier Sneed have been placed on waivers.

Carton, a 6’2″ guard, played for one year at Ohio State before transferring to Marquette last season. He averaged 13 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a junior, then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Charlotte in August after going undrafted in July.

Sneed, who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, signed a training camp contract with Charlotte last offseason and then was waived at the end of the preseason. The 6’5″ wing played in 13 games (23.3 MPG) for the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate, averaging 8.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG with a .360/.279/.875 shooting line.

Both Carton and Sneed seem likely to end up playing for the Swarm this season.

Charlotte now has 16 players on guaranteed contracts and a pair of players on two-way deals. The club will need to trade or release at least one player on a guaranteed contract before the regular season begins. The Hornets may also continue to move players in and out of their two open roster spots in order to secure their G League rights and/or ensure they receive an Exhibit 10 bonus.

Spurs Sign Jaylen Morris To Non-Guaranteed Contract

October 8th, 2021 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs signed free agent guard Jaylen Morris to a contract on Thursday, according to the official transactions log at RealGM. It’s a non-guaranteed training camp contract, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Morris, 26, has played in the NBA, the G League, and multiple international leagues since going undrafted out of Molloy in 2017. He appeared in a total of 10 games for Atlanta and Milwaukee in 2018 and has played 78 games at the G League level, averaging 13.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 2.5 APG on .527/.325/.732 shooting in 32.3 minutes per contest for four NBAGL clubs.

Morris also played in Greece in 2019/20 and in Israel in 2020, and suited up for San Antonio’s Summer League team this August.

The Spurs are carrying 17 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there’s no path to a 15-man roster spot for Morris. Since he last played for the Austin Spurs, the 6’5″ shooting guard will likely return to San Antonio’s G League affiliate this season. Assuming his deal contains Exhibit 10 language, he’ll earn a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Austin.

Rockets Waive Sekou Doumbouya

October 7th, 2021 at 5:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have waived third-year forward Sekou Doumbouya, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

The move was expected, as Houston had no plans to retain Doumbouya after it acquired him from the Nets earlier this week. The Rockets obtained an unprotected 2024 second-round pick from Brooklyn in the salary dump. Doumbouya had a guaranteed $3,613,680 salary.

Detroit had high hopes for Doumbouya after picking him in the middle of the first round in 2019. However, he fell out of favor last season after Troy Weaver took over as GM, struggling to get playing time on the rebuilding team. In 2020/21, he averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 56 games, including 11 starts.

Doumbouya was dealt to Brooklyn in another salary dump transaction by the Nets (DeAndre Jordan) that netted the Pistons four second-round picks and some cash.

Doumbouya, who is on track to clear waivers this weekend if he goes unclaimed, will now try to find another opportunity in the league.

Magic Sign Jeremiah Tilmon, Waive Jon Teske

October 7th, 2021 at 4:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic have signed undrafted rookie center Jeremiah Tilmon and waived center Jon Teske, the team’s PR department tweets.

The 6’10” Tilmon played in 24 games last season as a senior at Missouri, averaging 12.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 1.42 BPG in 27.6 MPG. He appeared in one summer league game at Las Vegas for Orlando.

Teske, who went undrafted in 2020 out of Michigan, played in two preseason games. He was signed by the Magic on September 8 to a camp deal.

Tilmon won’t be on Orlando’s opening-day roster. Both players are expected to wind up on the Magic’s G League team in Lakeland, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Teske started 12 of 15 games for Lakeland at the Orlando bubble last season, recording 6.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 19.8 minutes per contest.

Denzel Mahoney Signs Camp Deal With Spurs

October 7th, 2021 at 4:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 7: The deal is now official, per RealGM’s transactions log.

OCTOBER 6: The Spurs have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with undrafted rookie guard Denzel Mahoney, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Mahoney spent the last two seasons at Creighton after a two-year stint with Southeast Missouri. He averaged 12.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.7 APG for the Bluejays last season.

Mahoney participated in the mini-combine in Minneapolis prior to the draft and was on the Hornets’ summer league team in Las Vegas. He appeared in three games there, posting modest numbers.

Given the terms of his deal, Mahoney will likely wind up with the G League’s Austin Spurs. The Exhibit 10 language in his contract would put him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with San Antonio’s G League squad.

The Spurs are below the 20-man limit in training camp, so Mahoney can be added without immediately shedding another player.

Hawks Sign DaQuan Jeffries, Waive A.J. Lawson

October 7th, 2021 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

12:00pm: In order to make room on the roster for Jeffries, the Hawks have waived guard A.J. Lawson, who had been on an Exhibit 10 contract, per a team press release confirming both transactions. Lawson could end up playing for the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate.

10:57am: The Hawks have agreed to sign free agent wing DaQuan Jeffries, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Jeffries will get a partially guaranteed contract.

Jeffries, 24, made his NBA debut with the Kings during the 2019/20 season and saw limited minutes for the team across two seasons before being released this past April. He was claimed off waivers by the Rockets and ended up averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 31 games (15.9 MPG) for Sacramento and Houston in 2020/21.

The Rockets cut Jeffries during the final week of the regular season and he was once again claimed off waivers, this time by the Spurs. However, he didn’t appear in a regular season game with San Antonio and the club opted not to pick up his option for the 2021/22 season, making him a free agent.

The Hawks have a full 20-man roster and will have to trade or waive a player in order to officially add Jeffries. As for whether he has a chance to make the regular season squad, that remains to be seen — the size of his partial guarantee could provide a hint, once it’s reported.

Atlanta has 14 players on fully guaranteed salaries, so the 15th spot appears up for grabs. A player who spent training camp with the team might have a leg up for that spot, but camp invitees Jahlil Okafor and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot haven’t been particularly effective in the preseason so far. Of course, the Hawks may also elect not to carry a 15th man to start the season.

Pacers Sign Brad Wanamaker To Training Camp Contract

October 6th, 2021 at 2:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

OCTOBER 6: Having completed their trade sending Sumner to Brooklyn, the Pacers have officially signed Wanamaker to his camp contract, the team announced in a press release.

OCTOBER 5: The Pacers will sign free agent point guard Brad Wanamaker to a training camp contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, but it will most likely be an Exhibit 10 agreement.

As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, because the Pacers had a full 20-man roster, the club is likely trading away injured guard Edmond Sumner to open up a roster slot for Wanamaker. Agness suggests that Wanamaker could serve as a third point guard in Indiana’s rotation, behind starter Malcolm Brogdon and chief backup T.J. McConnell, assuming he makes the regular season roster.

Wanamaker, 32, is a journeyman reserve who started the 2020/21 season with the Warriors before being dealt to the Hornets. He averaged 5.5 PPG, 2.9 APG and 1.7 RPG across 61 games for both clubs during the year.

The 6’3″ point guard went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2011. He played in Europe for a variety of clubs and had stateside cameos for the then-Austin Toros in 2012 and a few Summer League rosters. Wanamaker joined the Celtics as a free agent ahead of the 2018/19 season, and stayed in Boston for two seasons before signing up with Golden State.