Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Sign Isaiah Hartenstein To Three-Year Deal

July 6th, 2024 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: With the July moratorium over, the Thunder have officially signed Hartenstein, the team confirmed in a press release.

JULY 1: Free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein is headed back west, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Hartenstein and the Thunder are in agreement on a three-year contract worth $87MM.

Hartenstein, who began his NBA career in Houston in 2018 and had a breakout year with the Clippers in 2021/22, has spent the past two seasons in New York, primarily serving as Mitchell Robinson‘s backup at the five. However, when Robinson went down with an ankle injury midway through the ’23/24 season, Hartenstein entered the starting lineup and acquitted himself extremely well.

In 75 regular season games (49 starts), Hartenstein averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 25.3 minutes per contest, making 64.4% of his shots from the floor and playing solid defense. He continued to start for the Knicks in the playoffs, where he registered 8.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 29.8 MPG.

Although the Knicks wanted to retain Hartenstein, they were limited to a maximum offer of approximately $72.5MM over four years, since they only held his Early Bird rights, which allowed for a raise of up to 75% on his $9.25MM cap hit from 2023/24.

New York put that offer on the table for the 26-year-old, Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms (via Twitter). The Thunder blew it out of the water by comfortably exceeding the total value of the Knicks’ best offer across just three years instead of four, though Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link) hears that the frontloaded contract won’t be guaranteed in the final season.

Rookie of the Year runner-up Chet Holmgren was the Thunder’s starting center last season and excelled in that role. However, Holmgren lacks the bulk to match up physically with some of the NBA’s bigger centers, and Oklahoma City was among the worst-performing teams on the boards, ranking 28th in rebounding percentage (48.4%).

Hartenstein will help out in both areas while also giving the Thunder another rim protector and a talented frontcourt passer. On top of that, he’ll be a crucial insurance policy at the five in the event of an injury. While Holmgren didn’t miss a game in 2023/24, he sat out his entire rookie season in ’22/23 due to foot surgery.

Their deal with Hartenstein is the latest move in an impressive offseason for the Thunder, who kicked off their summer by trading ill-fitting guard Josh Giddey to Chicago in exchange for three-and-D ace Alex Caruso. OKC will use the rest of its cap room to sign Hartenstein, then will go over the cap to complete reported long-term agreements with Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.

The Knicks, meanwhile, will be in the market for a center. Robinson and Jericho Sims remain under contract in New York, but with Hartenstein gone and Precious Achiuwa in unrestricted free agency, the team will need to add at least one big man.

Magic big man Goga Bitadze has been mentioned as a possible target for the Knicks, but Begley (Twitter video link) hears that Bitadze has an offer on the table from Orlando that New York likely won’t be able to top. The Magic had been mentioned as a possible Hartenstein suitor, so presumably they’re more likely to bring back Bitadze with Hartenstein off the board.

Bucks Sign Tyler Smith To Four-Year Contract

July 6th, 2024 at 8:35am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Smith signed a four-year, $7.9MM contract that will be guaranteed for the first two seasons, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The $7.9MM total indicates that the forward will receive the rookie minimum salary, minimizing the impact on Milwaukee’s projected tax bill.

JULY 5: The Bucks have officially signed second-round pick Tyler Smith to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release.

The Bucks didn’t reveal any additional details, but the league’s transaction log indicates it’s a standard deal rather than a two-way, which is no surprise for a No. 33 overall pick. Milwaukee will have used the second-round pick exception to complete the signing, which means it’ll be either a three-year or four-year contract — either way, there will be a team option on the final season.

Smith, 19, was selected after spending the 2023/24 season with the G League Ignite. The 6’9″ forward averaged 13.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 22.2 minutes per game across 43 total Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Ignite. His shooting line was .474/.360/.732.

Smith spent time in the Overtime Elite program before joining the Ignite.

With Smith and first-rounder AJ Johnson now under contract and Delon Wright and Taurean Prince reportedly joining the team on free agent contracts, the Bucks project to have 14 roster spots filled. Of those 14 players, 12 are on guaranteed contracts, with A.J. Green on a non-guaranteed deal (until Monday) and Andre Jackson holding a partial guarantee.

Timberwolves Re-Sign Luka Garza

July 5th, 2024 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 5: Garza’s new contract with the Wolves is now official, per the NBA’s transaction log.

JULY 1: Luka Garza will return to the Timberwolves on a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’ll be a minimum-salary deal, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

The 25-year-old center saw limited playing time in 25 games last season, averaging 4.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.9 minutes per night. He’s stuck behind Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid in Minnesota’s frontcourt.

Garza was one of the top players in college basketball at Iowa in 2021, but he wasn’t drafted until the 52nd pick because of concerns about how his game might translate to the NBA.

He spent his first season with Detroit, then joined the Wolves in 2022 on a two-way contract that was converted to a standard deal in April.

While Garza hasn’t seen a ton of playing time at the NBA level, he has excelled in the G League, averaging 31.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game with a .618/.442/.778 shooting line for the Iowa Wolves in 18 NBAGL outings over the past two seasons.

The agreement with Garza leaves Minnesota with five remaining free agents: Kyle Anderson, Monte Morris, T.J. Warren, Jordan McLaughlin and Daishen Nix.

Magic Re-Sign Trevelin Queen On Two-Way Deal

July 5th, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 5: Queen’s deal is done, according to the NBA’s official transaction log.

JULY 4: The Magic will bring back free agent guard Trevelin Queen on a two-way contract, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Queen, 27, has spent much of his time in the G League since going undrafted out of New Mexico State in 2020, though he has also had stints with Houston, Indiana, and Orlando at the NBA level. He appeared in 14 NBA games while on a two-way deal with the Magic in 2023/24, averaging 2.9 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 11.8 minutes per night.

Although he’s been buried on NBA depth charts, Queen has been a star in the G League in recent years. He won both the regular season and Finals MVP awards in 2022 and made the All-NBAGL Second Team in 2024 in addition to earning MVP honors in this year’s G League Next Up Game at All-Star weekend. In 35 total games for the Osceola Magic this past season, he put up 23.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 2.4 SPG with a .493/.313/.816 shooting line.

Queen received a two-way qualifying offer from the Magic last week to make him a restricted free agent, so in all likelihood, he’ll simply accept that offer.

Orlando will still have a pair of two-way open slots after officially signing Queen. Admiral Schofield and Kevon Harris were their other two-way players last season, but Schofield signed a deal with a French team and Harris is an unrestricted free agent.

Clippers Sign Cam Christie To Four-Year Deal

July 5th, 2024 at 4:08pm CST by Rory Maher

4:08pm: Christie has officially signed with the Clippers, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

10:34am: The Clippers plan to sign second-rounder Cam Christie to a four-year, $7.9MM contract, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The 46th overall pick of June’s draft, Christie was one of the youngest players selected, as he won’t turn 19 until later this month. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 39.1% from three-point range in his lone college season at Minnesota (33 games, 30.1 minutes per contest).

The Clips will be using the second-round pick exception to sign the 6’5″ guard, with the fourth year being a team option. Based on the reported terms, Christie will almost certainly receive a rookie minimum — a four-year, minimum-salary deal for a rookie would work out to $7,895,796.

Christie is the younger brother of guard Max Christie, who agreed to a four-year, $32MM deal to return to the Lakers.

Bucks Sign AJ Johnson To Rookie Contract

July 5th, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: Johnson’s contract with the Bucks will pay him approximately 114% of the standard rookie scale amount in the first season of the deal, a notch below the 120% max allowed, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). He’ll make $2,795,294 instead of $2,943,120, netting the Bucks nearly $150K in savings.

JULY 5: Bucks rookie AJ Johnson has officially signed his first NBA contract, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

A 6’5″ guard, Johnson was born and raised in California but opted against playing college basketball stateside. He spent the 2023/24 season in Australia’s National Basketball League, playing for the Illawarra Hawks as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program.

Johnson’s playing time was limited as a Hawk — he logged just 7.9 minutes per game across 25 contests, with averages of 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds and a shooting line of .355/.286/.538. However, he had a strong showing at the draft combine, intriguing teams within his athleticism, and is viewed as a player with plenty of upside. He won’t turn 19 until December, making him one of the NBA’s youngest players heading into next season.

As the No. 23 pick in the draft, Johnson will have a first-year salary of about $2.94MM and a four-year total of approximately $14.76MM if he signed for the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale. While that has yet to be confirmed, it’s rare for a player to sign for less than 120%.

Half of this year’s 30 first-round picks have now formally signed their rookie scale contracts, as our tracker shows.

Pacers Sign James Wiseman To Two-Year Contract

July 5th, 2024 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 5: The Pacers have officially signed Wiseman, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

The fact that the deal is official during the July moratorium is confirmation that it’s a minimum-salary contract. It’s partially guaranteed in year one, with a second-year team option, tweets Tony East of SI.com.

JULY 2: Former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman is headed to Indiana, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers and the free agent center have reached an agreement on a two-year deal.

Wiseman, 23, was selected by the Warriors one pick after Anthony Edwards and one pick before LaMelo Ball in the 2020 draft. However, he struggled to find his fit on Golden State’s veteran roster, then missed his entire 2021/22 second season due to a knee injury, which slowed his development.

The big man was traded to Detroit midway through his third season in 2023 and has spent the last season-and-a-half with the Pistons. In 2023/24, he appeared in 63 games (six starts), averaging 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 17.3 minutes per night.

When Wiseman failed to meet the “starter criteria” entering his free agency, the value of his qualifying offer dropped from $15.8MM to about $7.7MM, but the Pistons still opted against tendering him a QO. That gave him the ability to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.

Wiseman will join a Pacers team coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. He figures to slot in behind starting center Myles Turner and backup Isaiah Jackson on the depth chart this fall, vying with Jackson for rotation minutes and giving Indiana some additional depth at the five following the departure of Jalen Smith to Chicago.

While Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t provide any details on Wiseman’s salary, a minimum deal seems likely, given the Pacers’ proximity to the luxury tax. Indiana technically has the mid-level and bi-annual exception available, but using the full BAE or a chunk of the MLE would push team salary over the tax line and could create a hard cap at the first apron.

Jazz Sign Taevion Kinsey To Two-Way Contract

July 5th, 2024 at 3:22pm CST by Rory Maher

3:22pm: Kinsey has officially signed his two-way contract, according to the NBA’s transaction log. It’s a two-year deal, Hoops Rumors has learned.

8:08am: Free agent guard Taevion Kinsey has agreed to a two-way contract with the Jazz, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

Kinsey, 24, went undrafted in 2023 after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived in October before the ’23/24 season began. He wound up signing a 10-day contract with the Jazz in March, but he didn’t appear in a game.

Kinsey spent the grand majority of his first pro season playing for the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Stars (29.6 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while posting a strong shooting line of .555/.427/.780.

Raptors Re-Sign Garrett Temple

July 5th, 2024 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

July 5: Temple’s minimum-salary contract is official, according to the transactions log at NBA.com.

July 1: Veteran swingman Garrett Temple is returning to the Raptors for the 2024/25 season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be a one-year deal for Temple.

While Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t provide any additional details on the agreement, it would be surprising if Temple signs for a salary higher than the veteran’s minimum.

Temple, 38, played for 11 teams across 13 NBA seasons before joining Toronto as a free agent last summer. He played sparingly for the Raptors, averaging 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 10.7 minutes per game across 27 appearances.

While Temple’s on-court contributions were modest, he was an “important voice in the locker room” for the young Raptors, says Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links). With the club seemingly prepared to get even younger after drafting four prospects last week, Temple’s role behind the scenes will be “essential,” Lewenberg adds.

Over the course of his 14-year NBA career, Temple has averaged 6.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 743 regular season games. He serves as a vice president on the National Basketball Players Association.

Pacers, Keisei Tominaga Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

July 5th, 2024 at 6:56am CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted Japanese guard Keisei Tominaga has agreed to join the Pacers on an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Tominaga, who initially declared for the draft in 2023 before returning to Nebraska for his “super-senior” season, averaged 15.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 26.1 minutes per game across 32 outings (all starts) for the Cornhuskers in 2023/24. A strong outside shooter, he made 37.6% of 6.3 three-point attempts per contest after knocking down 40.0% of his threes a year earlier.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal that doesn’t count against a team’s cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted to a two-way contract before the season begins or can put a player in line to earn a bonus of up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.

Tominaga is the second undrafted rookie to reach an agreement on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers — they’re also bringing aboard Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James.