Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Harry Giles Joins Clippers On Non-Guaranteed Contract

September 7th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

10:00pm: The deal is official, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

7:04pm: After a stint in the Pacific Northwest, free agent big man Harry Giles will be returning to California for the 2021/22 season, albeit for a new team. Giles will sign a non-guaranteed contract with the Clippers, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Giles was selected with the No. 20 pick out of Duke in 2017 by Portland on behalf of the Kings. He subsequently missed the entire 2017/18 NBA season with knee issues. During his first two healthy NBA seasons, he showed promise in a limited bench role for lottery-bound Sacramento squads.

Last year, Giles signed a one-year minimum deal with his first playoff club, the Trail Blazers, in a more marginal reserve slot than he had with the Kings. In 38 games during the 2021/22 season, Giles averaged 2.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 9.2 MPG.

Giles will join a Clippers club hoping to remain in the playoff picture, despite All-NBA small forward Kawhi Leonard at least missing a significant portion of the season with a partial ACL tear.

Giles will play behind veteran big men Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka at the center position if he makes the regular season roster. The team currently has 14 players on guaranteed contracts.

Bucks Sign Tremont Waters To Training Camp Deal

September 7th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

10:00pm: The Bucks have officially signed Waters, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

6:10pm: The Bucks will sign free agent point guard Tremont Waters to a training camp deal, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Charania notes that Waters will have an opportunity to compete for a role on Milwaukee’s roster in camp. This agreement seems likely to be an Exhibit 10 contract, but details on the contract have yet to be divulged.

The reigning NBA champs have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, meaning they could have two open roster spots, though Georgios Kalaitzakis, Mamadi Diakite, and Elijah Bryant are also in the mix, and the Bucks may not carry a 15th man. The team also has a two-way slot open alongside Sandro Mamukelashvili.

The 5’10” Waters was selected by the Celtics with the No. 51 pick in 2019 out of LSU. The 23-year-old spent two years in college. He was named to the All-SEC First Team and honored as the Defensive Player of the Year during his final collegiate season in 2018/19.

He appeared in 11 games with Boston during his rookie season in 2019/20. He got significantly more run with Boston’s NBA G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. He averaged 18.0 PPG, 7.2 APG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 36 games for the Red Claws, all starts. For his efforts, Waters was rewarded with an All-NBA G League Second Team inclusion, in addition to being named the NBA G League Rookie of the Year.

During his 2020/21 season with Boston, Waters averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.4 APG during 9.2 MPG across 26 games.

Bulls Sign Stanley Johnson To Non-Guaranteed Contract

September 7th, 2021 at 7:50pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 7: Johnson’s deal, which is now official, is non-guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 6: The Bulls have agreed to a deal with free agent forward Stanley Johnson, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Charania’s report doesn’t include contract details, a minimum-salary agreement seems likely.

Johnson, the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, began his NBA career in Detroit before being traded to New Orleans in 2019. He then played for the Raptors for two years from 2019-21, earning a spot in the team’s regular rotation this past season.

Johnson’s 2020/21 numbers (4.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, .382/.328/.800 shooting) in 61 games for Toronto don’t exactly jump off the page, but he proved he can be a useful depth piece at the NBA level by providing energy and defensive versatility off the bench.

A report last week linked Johnson to Brooklyn, noting that the veteran free agent had been working out around some Nets players and staffers. However, Brooklyn faces a roster crunch after reaching deals to sign Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge and acquiring Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor, so it would’ve been hard to find room for Johnson.

Instead, Johnson will join a Chicago team that only features 13 players on standard contracts, plus Devon Dotson on a two-way pact. We’ll have to wait for the terms on the 25-year-old’s deal to get a better idea of how he fits into the Bulls’ plans, but for now he looks like a good bet to claim a spot on the club’s 15-man regular season squad.

Alize Johnson Signs Two-Year Contract With Bulls

September 7th, 2021 at 7:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

SEPTEMBER 7: The Bulls have officially signed Johnson to his two-year deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), who reports that the big man will get a $250K partial guarantee if he’s not waived by opening night. The second year is non-guaranteed until July 2, 2022.

SEPTEMBER 6: After being waived by the Nets to make room for an un-retiring LaMarcus Aldridge, unrestricted free agent power forward Alize Johnson has agreed to a new two-year contract with the Bulls, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski reports that Johnson will sign a two-year, $3.6MM minimum-salary contract with Chicago. Johnson marks the third Bulls signing of the Labor Day weekend, to go along with 6’6″ forward Stanley Johnson and 6’4″ wing Matt Thomas.

The 6’7″ Alize Johnson was selected by the Pacers with the No. 50 pick in the 2018 draft out of Missouri State. After spending his first two NBA seasons with the Pacers and their NBAGL affiliate the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, he next suited up for the Raptors 905 during the pandemic-truncated 2021 G League Orlando “bubble” season. The 25-year-old averaged 16.6 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 4.2 APG and 1.3 SPG across 15 contests for the Raptors’ G League affiliate.

Johnson then joined the Nets for the remainder of the season, flashing some athletic promise in a deep-bench role. Over 18 games, he averaged 5.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 10.5 MPG for Brooklyn during the 2020/21 season.

Positionally, both Johnsons could help fill the void left by recently-departed reserve power forward Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen, a restricted free agent this summer, was moved to the Cavaliers through a four-year, $67MM sign-and-trade, in a three-team deal with the Blazers that netted Chicago future draft equity, as well as reserve forward Derrick Jones Jr.

Functionally, Jones and the Johnsons are very different players from Markkanen. The new reserve trio should collectively be able to provide versatile defense at either forward position, though none sport the long-range shooting acumen of seven-footer Markkanen.

It’s worth noting that, prior to the Bulls’ trio of deals, the team was carrying 13 players on guaranteed contracts. The details on Chicago’s latest contracts are unclear, but there won’t be room for both Johnsons and Thomas on the regular season roster unless another player is traded or waived.

Bulls Sign Ethan Thompson To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 7th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 7: Over a month after the deal was officially reported, the Bulls have officially signed Thompson to a non-guaranteed camp deal, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

JULY 30: The Bulls have reached an agreement to sign former Oregon State shooting guard Ethan Thompson to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Thompson, who went undrafted on Thursday night, spent his four-year college career with the Beavers, starting all 127 games he played for the team. In 2020/21, he averaged 15.7 PPG to go along with 4.0 RPG and 3.9 APG in 33.6 minutes per contest (33 games). The 22-year-old earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team.

Exhibit 10 contracts give NBA teams a chance to bring players to training camp and get a look at them without guaranteeing them a regular season roster spot or any real salary. If Thompson ends up playing for the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League affiliate, he could earn a $50K bonus due to the Exhibit 10 language in his deal.

Spurs Re-Sign Keita Bates-Diop To Two-Year Deal

September 7th, 2021 at 7:42pm CST by Luke Adams

7:42pm: The Spurs have officially re-signed Bates-Diop, the team announced in a press release.

9:34am: Restricted free agent forward Keita Bates-Diop has agreed to re-sign with the Spurs on a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Bates-Diop spent last season on a two-way deal with San Antonio. At season’s end, the club made him an RFA by tendering a qualifying offer that was equivalent to a one-year, two-way contract with a $50K partial guarantee. Based on Wojnarowski’s report, it sounds as if the 25-year-old was able to work out a new standard deal with the Spurs rather than accepting that QO and playing on a two-way contract again.

The 48th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bates-Diop began his career with Minnesota and has since spent time in Denver and San Antonio. In 2020/21, he averaged 2.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG on .448/.294/.667 shooting in 30 games (8.2 MPG) for the Spurs.

Given Bates-Diop’s underwhelming numbers in his first three NBA seasons, it’s a little surprising that the Spurs were willing to give him a two-year deal, even if it’s almost certainly not fully guaranteed. San Antonio waived Chandler Hutchison over the weekend, but still has 16 other players on guaranteed contracts — adding Bates-Diop to the mix does nothing to clear that roster crunch.

We’ll have to wait for more details on Bates-Diop’s agreement with the Spurs to get a better sense of whether the team envisions him claiming a spot on the 15-man regular season roster. If so, San Antonio will have to trade or release two other players by opening night.

Pacers Sign Nate Hinton To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 7th, 2021 at 7:41pm CST by Luke Adams

7:41pm: The signing is official, according to a press release from the Pacers.

3:20pm: The Pacers have reached an agreement with free agent guard Nate Hinton on an Exhibit 10 deal, agent Tallen Todorovich tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Hinton, 22, signed a two-way contract with the Mavericks during the 2020 offseason after going undrafted out of Houston. The 6’5″ shooting guard spent his rookie season in Dallas, appearing in 21 games for the club, but only played limited minutes, averaging 2.0 PPG in 4.4 MPG. He saw more action at the G League level for the Santa Cruz Warriors, putting up 10.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG in 10 games (23.0 MPG).

The Mavs issued a qualifying offer to Hinton earlier this summer to make him a restricted free agent and he accepted it, briefly returning to the team on a second two-way deal. However, Dallas waived him in August in order to open up a two-way slot for JaQuori McLaughlin.

The Pacers currently have a total of 19 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed contracts, four on non-guaranteed deals, and a pair on two-way pacts. Hinton, who will join Keifer Sykes and Terry Taylor as the Pacers players with Exhibit 10 deals, will be the team’s 20th man.

Earning a regular season roster spot will be a challenge, but if Hinton ends up joining Indiana’s G League affiliate for at least 60 days, his Exhibit 10 contract would make him eligible to earn a bonus of up to $50K.

Spurs Sign Joe Wieskamp To Two-Way Contract

September 7th, 2021 at 7:10pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 7: The Spurs have officially announced the signing of Wieskamp to a two-way deal, per a team press release.

AUGUST 17: Former Iowa wing Joe Wieskamp will sign a two-way contract with the Spurs, according to Scott Dochterman of The Athletic (Twitter link; hat tip to RealGM).

Wieskamp, who will turn 22 next Monday, averaged 14.8 PPG and 6.6 RPG on .491/.462/.677 shooting in 31 games (29.3 MPG) as a junior in 2020/21. He earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors and was the 41st player to come off the board in the July 29 draft.

The Spurs already have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Drew Eubanks on a partially guaranteed deal and Bryn Forbes and Jock Landale still to sign. As such, there probably wouldn’t have a spot for Wieskamp on the 15-man regular season roster, so it makes sense that San Antonio will start him off on a two-way contract.

Once they sign Wieskamp, the Spurs will still have their second two-way slot open, though Keita Bates-Diop is a candidate to fill it — the team still has a two-way qualifying offer out to him.

Bulls Sign Matt Thomas

September 6th, 2021 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have signed free agent sharpshooter Matt Thomas to a contract, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. The signing occurred on Saturday, per RealGM.

Thomas, who signed a multiyear deal with the Raptors in 2019 following an impressive stint overseas, spent a year-and-a-half with Toronto before being sent to Utah at the 2021 deadline. In total, he appeared in 86 games for the Raptors and Jazz, averaging 4.0 PPG in 8.9 minutes per contest.

Thomas is known for his ability to knock down three-point shots. He made 41.3% of his long-distance attempts during his two NBA seasons after making 48.1% for Valencia Basket during his last year in Europe in 2018/19.

While the specific details of Thomas’ deal aren’t known, RealGM classifies it as a one-year contract. And since it doesn’t show up NBA.com’s transactions log – which doesn’t list non-guaranteed signings – it’s probably safe to assume it’s not guaranteed.

Since Chicago has been carrying 13 players on guaranteed contracts, Thomas could get an opportunity to compete for a regular season roster spot. Stanley Johnson, another former Raptor who reached a deal with the Bulls today, also figures to be in the mix for a roster spot — it’s unclear whether or not Johnson’s salary will be guaranteed.

Clippers Waive Yogi Ferrell

September 5th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have waived guard Yogi Ferrell, the team announced on Sunday night in a press release. The move reduces L.A.’s total roster count to 15 players.

Ferrell, 28, signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers in April, then inked a multiyear deal with the team when his initial agreement expired. He appeared in eight total regular season games for L.A., averaging 4.6 PPG and 2.1 APG in 12.0 MPG, then logged garbage-time minutes in nine postseason contests.

Because Ferrell’s 2021/22 salary was non-guaranteed, the Clippers won’t be on the hook for any of his $1.98MM minimum salary. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent if and when he clears waivers later this week.

The Clippers now have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Jay Scrubb on a two-way deal. The team has also reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 pact with George King and has a two-way qualifying offer out to Amir Coffey.