Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Sign Dante Exum, Waive Tyler Bey

September 18th, 2021 at 8:39am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have officially re-signed guard Dante Exum and waived Tyler Bey to create a roster space for him, according to the NBA’s transactions log. Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw was the first to report the Bey transaction (Twitter link).

The deal is expected to be for three years and could be worth up to $15MM, but it will be non-guaranteed and will be heavy on incentives, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). We’ll have to wait for more details on the agreement to get a sense of how much Exum will realistically earn if he makes the regular season roster.

With John Wall not expected to play for the team this season as it seeks to trade him, the Rockets were in the market for another point guard. The Rockets’ interest in Exum surfaced on Tuesday.

Exum’s career has been marred by major injuries since he was selected with the No. 5 overall pick by the Jazz in 2014. He was dealt to Cleveland in December 2019.

Exum ended up with the Rockets this past winter as part of the four-team James Harden trade, though injuries kept him on the bench for the entirety of his 2020/21 Houston tenure. He appeared in just six games for Cleveland last season.

Exum played a prominent role on Australia’s bronze medal-winning squad at the Tokyo Olympics, averaging 9.0 PPG and 2.8 APG.

Bey, a 6’7” forward, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Houston on Aug. 25.

He was a high second-round selection in 2020 out of Colorado, taken with the 36th pick by the Sixers. He was included in the deal that sent Josh Richardson to the Mavericks for Seth Curry. Bey only played 18 games with the Mavs, and averaged just 3.9 minutes a game in those 18 contests, though he recorded 15.1 PPG and 9.2 RPG in the G League.

Nuggets Sign Petr Cornelie To Two-Way Deal

September 17th, 2021 at 4:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets have signed forward Petr Cornelie to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.

The 6’11” Cornelie appeared in 34 games for Elan Bearnais of the French LNB Pro A league last season, averaging 14.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 1.5 APG while shooting 54.0% from the field and 44.2% from 3-point range in 28.9 MPG. The 26-year-old also helped France’s national team earn a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Cornelie, who has played professionally overseas since 2013, was a draft-and-stash selection by Denver as the 53rd pick in the 2016 draft. He has appeared in 14 games for three Nuggets summer league teams from 2016-18, averaging 5.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.0 APG in 16.8 MPG.

With guard Markus Howard holding the other spot, the Nuggets now have both two-way slots filled.

Kevin Pangos Signs Two-Year Deal With Cavs

September 17th, 2021 at 1:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 17: Pangos’ deal with the Cavaliers is now official, the team announced in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 8: Former Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos, who has spent the last several seasons playing in Europe, has agreed to a two-year, $3.5MM contract with the Cavaliers, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

The first-year salary of $1.67M is fully guaranteed, Marks adds. Cleveland’s interest in Pangos was reported last month and he chose to make the move to the NBA despite reportedly drawing major offers to remain in Europe.

Pangos, 28, emerged as one of the top point guards in Europe in recent seasons. He has spent time in Spain, Lithuania, and Russia since going undrafted in 2015.

In 2020/21, he averaged 13.5 PPG and 6.6 APG on .449/.390/.845 shooting in 39 EuroLeague contests (28.9 MPG) for Zenit Saint Petersburg, earning a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team.

Cleveland had been looking to add point guard depth even though it acquired Ricky Rubio earlier this offseason. With only 10 other players on guaranteed contracts, the Cavs had the flexibility to add Pangos.

Mavericks Sign Frank Ntilikina

September 16th, 2021 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ex-Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina has signed with the Mavericks, the team’s PR department tweets.

A report surfaced on Tuesday that Dallas was expected to ink the point guard and now it’s official. The Mavs have a full 20-man training camp roster.

It’s believed to be a minimum contract, according to Marc Stein of Substack. The Mavericks already have 14 other players on guaranteed deals, plus Moses Brown on a partially guaranteed contract.

During the 2020/21 season, Ntilikina earned $6.2MM in the fourth year of his rookie deal.

The 6’4″ guard, still just 23, suited up for 33 games with the Knicks last year under head coach Tom Thibodeau. He averaged just 2.7 PPG and 0.9 RPG across 9.8 MPG.

The defensive specialist, who is shooting 36.6% from the field for his career, averaged 6.3 PPG and 3.0 APG in 20.8 MPG during the 2019/20 season.

Dallas already has Jalen Brunson and Trey Burke as rotation options behind Luka Doncic, so Ntilikina doesn’t project to play much even if he’s on the 15-man roster this season.

Jazz Waive Forward Jarrell Brantley

September 16th, 2021 at 4:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have waived forward Jarrell Brantley, according to a team press release.

The 6’7” Brantley appeared in 37 games over two seasons with Utah, averaging 2.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 6.3 MPG. He also saw action in four postseason games.

The No. 50 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Charleston had a big year with the Salt Lake City Stars in 2019/20, posting averages of 18.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 33 games (32.4 MPG) to earn All-NBAGL First Team honors.

Brantley, a two-way player in 2020/21, had accepted a qualifying offer of $1.66MM from the team in early August. The Jazz will only incur a cap hit of $84,414 by waiving Brantley, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Utah now has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus Miye Oni, Derrick Alston, and MaCio Teague on non-guaranteed deals. The team also has a two-way slot open, with guard Trent Forrest occupying the other spot.

Cavaliers Waive Tre Scott

September 15th, 2021 at 5:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tre Scott, who signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Cavaliers last week, has been waived by the team, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

The 24-year-old forward signed with the Jazz in 2020 after going undrafted out of Cincinnati and played for the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League, averaging 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15 games. He also played five games for Cleveland last month in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Scott was one of six players who signed non-guaranteed contracts with the Cavs this summer. His departure leaves the team with 17 players under contract – including 10 fully guaranteed and one two-way – plus reported agreements with Denzel Valentine and Kevin Pangos.

Cavs’ Brodric Thomas Accepts Two-Way Qualifying Offer

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

Cavaliers shooting guard Brodric Thomas has accepted his qualifying offer and will return to Cleveland, a league source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Because he spent last season on a two-way contract, Thomas’ qualifying offer was the equivalent of another two-way deal with a $50K partial guarantee.

Thomas, 24, began his rookie season with the Rockets after going undrafted out of Truman in 2020. He had his Exhibit 10 contract with Houston converted to a two-way pact at the end of the preseason, then appeared in four games with the Rockets before being waived in February. Thomas caught on with Cleveland on a new two-way deal less than two weeks later and finished the season with the Cavs.

In 32 total games for his two teams, Thomas averaged 3.9 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .361/.271/.674 shooting in 12.5 minutes per contest. He put up better numbers in the G League, with 18.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG on .447/.413/.571 shooting in 14 games (33.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Canton Charge.

By extending Thomas a qualifying offer this summer, the Cavs made him a restricted free agent and essentially earmarked one of their two-way slots for him — at least for now. With Tacko Fall, Tre Scott, RJ Nembhard, and Mitch Ballock expected to be in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, the Cavs’ other two-way slot figures to be up for grabs, and if multiple camp invitees make a strong impression, it’s possible Thomas could face competition for his spot as well.

Thomas had been one of two restricted free agents left on the market. Clippers two-way RFA Amir Coffey is now the only one.

Justin Robinson Signs Two-Way Deal With Bucks

September 15th, 2021 at 2:07pm CST by JD Shaw

SEPTEMBER 15: The Bucks have officially signed Robinson to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 12: The Bucks have agreed to a two-way contract with guard Justin Robinson, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Milwaukee now has both of its two-way roster spots filled.

Robinson, 23, spent most of last season in the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats. He averaged 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, shooting 40.5% from three-point range.

Robinson also signed two 10-day contracts with the Thunder toward the end of the season. He saw action in nine games, averaging 2.3 points and 9.8 minutes.

Milwaukee still has one open roster spot to use for training camp later this month. The franchise is coming off its first championship since 1971, bringing back much of the same core for the coming season.

Timberwolves Re-Sign Jarred Vanderbilt, Jordan McLaughlin

September 15th, 2021 at 12:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 15: The Timberwolves have officially announced their new deals with both Vanderbilt and McLaughlin, confirming the signings in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 10: Restricted free agent forward Jarred Vanderbilt has agreed to stay with the Timberwolves on a three-year, $13.8MM contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Vanderbilt’s contract starts at $4MM and include some likely and unlikely bonuses, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. It’s fully guaranteed for the first two years and partially guaranteed in the final year of the deal, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets.

Vanderbilt played 64 games, including 30 starts, last season. He averaged 5.4 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 17.8 MPG. He was limited to 28 games combined in his first two seasons, including a stint with the Nuggets.

The Timberwolves are also re-signing another restricted free agent, Jordan McLaughlin. He’ll receive a three-year, $6.5MM contract, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The first two years are guaranteed.

McLaughlin, who is entering his third season, appeared in 51 games last season, including two starts. He averaged 5.0 PPG and 3.8 APG in 18.4 MPG and adds depth at the point guard spot.

Grizzlies Officially Waive Marc Gasol

September 15th, 2021 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

After acquiring him from the Lakers last Friday, the Grizzlies have officially waived center Marc Gasol, as expected, per a press release from the team.

The trade that sent Gasol from Los Angeles to Memphis was a salary-dump deal that saw the Grizzlies acquire a future second-round pick and cash. Despite Gasol’s history with the franchise, the plan was never for the Grizzlies to keep him — Memphis has too many players on guaranteed contracts, and the 36-year-old big man wanted to remain in Spain with his family rather than playing in the NBA this season.

A report over the weekend indicated that Gasol intends to sign with Girona, the Spanish team he owns. His NBA release today frees him up to officially complete that move.

A three-time All-Star and the NBA’s 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol spent the 2020/21 season with the Lakers, but his relationship with the team soured after L.A. signed Andre Drummond as its new starting center in the second half. The Lakers didn’t re-sign Drummond this offseason, but added centers Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan, paving the way for Gasol’s exit.

The Grizzlies’ release of Gasol briefly reduced their roster count to 19 players, allowing the team to complete its one-for-two trade with the Celtics. After that deal, Memphis is back to the 20-man offseason roster limit.