Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Nets Trade Doumbouya To Rockets, Acquire Sumner From Pacers

October 6th, 2021 at 2:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

OCTOBER 6: The Nets have now completed both trades, announcing in a press release that their deal with the Pacers is complete.

As we relayed earlier today, Brooklyn and Houston completed their trade on Wednesday morning, with the Rockets waiving Khyri Thomas in order to finalize the move.

OCTOBER 5: The Nets are making a pair of minor trades, according to reports. Brooklyn will send power forward Sekou Doumbouya (and his $3,613,680 salary) and an unprotected 2024 second-round draft pick to the Rockets in exchange for $110K, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). The Rockets will waive Doumbouya, sources inform MacMahon.

In their other deal, the Nets will receive guard Edmond Sumner and a 2025 Heat second-round draft selection from the Pacers, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). The Nets will subsequently waive Sumner, who is set to miss the entire 2021/22 season due to a torn left Achilles tendon. The Pacers will receive the draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet from Brooklyn in the deal, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Both of these transactions are essentially salary dumps. The Nets and Pacers are each attaching a second-round pick in order to avoid paying a player’s guaranteed salary. Both the Rockets and Nets have trade exceptions that will enable them to take on a new player without sending one out in a deal.

The Sumner deal creates extra breathing room below the tax line for the Pacers, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link). The Pacers will save $2.3MM, dipping them to $2.8MM below the luxury tax line.

Meanwhile, Marks adds (via Twitter) that the Nets will save a total of $8.1MM as a result of the two deals: $6.8MM in projected luxury tax payments and $1.29MM in salary. Marks notes that Brooklyn was able to compensate for the outgoing 2024 second-rounder owed to Houston by adding the 2025 second-rounder in the Pacers transaction. So ultimately, the star-studded Nets saved $8.1MM while not losing cumulative draft equity.

The 6’8″ Doumbouya, 20, was selected with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 draft. Last season, he averaged 5.1 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 56 games with Detroit, including 11 starts.

Marks adds (Twitter link) that Brooklyn now gains a $3.6MM trade exception via the Doumbouya deal, and will probably use the exception to add Sumner. The Pacers have gained a $2.3MM trade exception.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Rockets Waive Khyri Thomas To Complete Trade With Nets

October 6th, 2021 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have officially waived wing Khyri Thomas, the team announced today in a press release.

The move was necessary in order to make room on Houston’s 20-man preseason roster for Sekou Doumbouya, whom the club agreed to acquire from the Nets. Even though the Rockets intend to waive Doumbouya, they needed an open roster spot to complete the trade, which is now official, according to press releases from both the Rockets and Nets.

Thomas, 25, was the 38th overall pick in the 2018 draft. He appeared in 34 games for Detroit in his first two NBA seasons, but saw limited action, averaging just 2.3 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 10.5 MPG.

After being traded to Atlanta and waived during the 2020 offseason, Thomas caught on with the Rockets near the end of the 2020/21 season, playing well in five games with the team (16.4 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.6 RPG in 30.6 MPG). Houston signed him to a multiyear contract, but it wasn’t guaranteed for 2021/22, so the team is able to waive him without taking on dead money.

Thomas will clear waivers on Thursday, assuming he goes unclaimed. Meanwhile, once they waive Doumbouya, the Rockets will have an open spot on their 20-man roster. The Nets will now be able to complete their trade with Indiana, acquiring Edmond Sumner using their newly-created trade exception from the Doumbouya deal.

Magic Exercise Third-Year Contract Options On Anthony, Hampton, Okeke

October 5th, 2021 at 6:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic announced in a press release (via Twitter) that they have opted to pick up their third-year team options on second-year players Cole Anthony, Chuma Okeke and R.J. Hampton. This move will keep them under contract through the 2022/23 season.

The conclusion of October serves as the deadline for rookie scale option decisions for 2022/23. The salaries for all three young Magic players through the ’22/23 season are now guaranteed. That year, Anthony will earn $3.6MM, Okeke will make $3.4MM, and Hampton will pull in $2.4MM.

When healthy, the 6’2″ Anthony, showed plenty of promise at the point. The No. 15 pick in the 2020 draft averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 4.1 APG across 47 games.

Okeke, the No. 16 selection in the 2019 draft out of Auburn, only made his NBA debut during the 2020/21 season. The 6’6″ power forward averaged 7.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 2.2 APG in 45 appearances.

Hampton was drafted with the No. 24 pick and kicked off his NBA career with the Nuggets. After failing to carve out meaningful rotation minutes across 25 games with Denver, Hampton was sent to the Magic. In Orlando, the 6’4″ guard averaged 11.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 2.8 APG over 26 games.

You can track all of the rookie scale team option decisions for 2022/23 right here.

Pistons Exercise 2022/23 Options On Hayes, Stewart, Bey

October 5th, 2021 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have picked up their third-year team options on guard Killian Hayes, center Isaiah Stewart, and forward Saddiq Bey for the 2022/23 season, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Rookie scale option decisions for 2022/23 are due by the end of October, but the Pistons didn’t wait until the deadline to officially exercise the options for three players they selected in the first round of the 2020 draft. All three players’ salaries for ’22/23 are now guaranteed: Hayes at $5.84MM, Stewart at $3.43MM, and Bey at just $2.96MM.

Hayes was limited to just 26 games in his rookie season due to a hip injury and provided inconsistent production when he played, but he remains a major part of the Pistons’ future, having been the first player drafted by general manager Troy Weaver during his tenure in Detroit.

Stewart and Bey, meanwhile, made strong first impressions as rookies in 2020/21. Stewart averaged 7.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 68 games (21.4 MPG), earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team. Bey made the All-Rookie First Team with averages of 12.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG, plus a .380 3PT%, in 70 games (27.3 MPG).

You can track all of the rookie scale team option decisions for 2022/23 right here.

Spurs Release Nate Renfro, Aric Holman

October 4th, 2021 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs waived a pair of recent roster additions over the weekend, cutting guard Nate Renfro and big man Aric Holman, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

Neither move comes as a surprise. San Antonio signed both players to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts with an eye toward having them eventually join the Austin Spurs in the G League. The Exhibit 10 deals will ensure that both players receive bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with Austin.

Renfro, who went undrafted in 2019 out of San Francisco, spent the 2019/20 season recovering from a torn ACL, then played for the Austin Spurs – San Antonio’s G League affiliate – during the 2021 NBAGL bubble season.

Holman, who also went undrafted in 2019, played for the Texas Legends as a rookie and for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany during his second professional season. The former Mississippi State standout suited up for Boston during the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League.

Following their cuts, the Spurs have 18 players under contract, including 17 on guaranteed standard contracts. They’ll have to trade or waive at least two of those players before the start of the regular season, and may continue shuffling players through their last two roster spots for G League purposes.

Knicks Waive Luca Vildoza

October 3rd, 2021 at 10:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have placed Luca Vildoza on waivers, the team announced (via Twitter).

New York signed the Argentinian guard to a four-year deal in May, but there was no guaranteed money and he never played for the team. Vildoza’s contract for the upcoming season would have been guaranteed for $3.32MM if he was still on the roster at 11:59pm on October 21, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Vildoza reported to camp with “complicated ankle issues” and hasn’t been able to practice, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link). He had a sprained ankle, along with fluid in the back of his foot that was discovered after Summer League (Twitter link).

“Availability is a big part of it and we just feel like the guys who are here, they are the guys fighting it out for that last spot,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But he’s a good player, and we wish him well.” (Twitter link from Fred Katz of The Athletic)

Vildoza, 26, played for Argentina in the Olympics before joining the Knicks in Las Vegas. He made brief appearances in two Summer League games, but averaged just 6.4 minutes and didn’t score any points. In addition to his injury issues, Vildoza’s future in New York appeared uncertain after the team added point guards Miles McBride and Rokas Jokubaitis in the draft.

The move leaves the Knicks with 19 players on their training camp roster, 14 of whom have guaranteed contracts. The team also has a two-way slot open, and Thibodeau has indicated that final decisions won’t be made until after the preseason.

Spurs Sign Aric Holman, Officially Add Nate Renfro

October 2nd, 2021 at 8:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs have signed forward/center Aric Holman, according to the RealGM transactions log. Terms were not reported but it’s safe to assume Holman received a non-guaranteed camp deal.

Holman went undrafted in 2019 out of Mississippi State. He signed with the Lakers that summer and was soon waived. The Mavericks claimed him but also waived him during training camp.

He played in the G League for the Texas Legends that season before signing with a team in Germany last year. He was on the Celtics’ summer league roster. He averaged 5.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 8.5 MPG during a handful of contests in Las Vegas.

San Antonio also officially added guard Nate Renfro, according to the transactions feed. That pending signing was reported on Friday.

The additions bump the Spurs’ training camp roster to the 20-man limit. It’s likely both players will soon wind up with the G League’s Austin Spurs.

Jazz Release Justin James

October 1st, 2021 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have waived swingman Justin James, the team announced today in a press release. James had been occupying one of Utah’s two-way slots.

James spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest. The 24-year-old was waived by the Kings earlier this offseason and signed a two-way deal with Utah last week.

The decision to waive James comes as a bit of a surprise, given how recently he was signed. If the Jazz had been aiming to secure his G League rights, they would’ve inked him to an Exhibit 10 contract, so perhaps the team had a change of heart about how it wants to fill its second two-way slot. Trent Forrest is Utah’s other two-way player.

With James on waivers, the Jazz now have 19 players under contract.

Blazers Exercise 2022/23 Option On Nassir Little

October 1st, 2021 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have picked up the fourth-year option on Nassir Little‘s rookie scale contract, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The move locks in Little’s $4,171,548 salary for the 2022/23 season.

The 25th pick in the 2019 draft, Little has appeared in 48 games in each of his first two NBA seasons, but has played a limited role. In those 96 total NBA regular-season contests (12.6 MPG), the 21-year-old forward has averaged a modest 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .450/.302/.719 shooting.

A report last week indicated that Little has been turning heads this offseason and that team officials are intrigued by his development and his potential to contribute to the Blazers. We’ll have to wait for the games to begin to see whether that positive chatter is warranted, but it sounds as if Little should be given the opportunity to play a bigger role in 2021/22.

NBA clubs must make decisions by the end of October on the 2022/23 team options for players on rookie scale contracts. So far, only a handful of those options have been picked up, as our tracker shows, but most of them will likely be exercised in the coming weeks.