Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Waive Rodney McGruder

August 6th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have waived veteran wing Rodney McGruder, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic.

McGruder’s $5MM contract would have become guaranteed if he had remained on the roster through August 15 (Twitter links). By releasing him before then, Detroit won’t carry any dead money on its cap as a result of the transaction.

The move was expected, as the club needs to trim down its roster to officially add free agents and draft picks. McGruder was acquired in a three-team deal last November but played sparingly in his lone season in Detroit. He saw action in 16 games, including two starts, averaging 5.7 PPG in 12.1 MPG.

McGruder, 30, entered the league in 2016. He played three seasons with Miami and one for the Clippers before the trade last fall. He’ll look to latch on to another team as an unrestricted free agent.

Warriors Sign Stephen Curry To Four-Year, $215MM Extension

August 6th, 2021 at 4:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 6: Curry’s extension is now official, according to an announcement from the Warriors.

“We’re thrilled to have Stephen in the fold for the next five years, with the vision of him playing his entire career with our franchise,” Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers said in a statement. “He epitomizes everything that you’d want in the leader of your basketball team with incredible character, humility, community-minded spirit and a team-oriented approach. On the court, he’s a generational player who has changed the game and won consistently at the highest level. We’re blessed and fortunate to have him on our team, and are thankful to be part of an organization, led by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, that is committed to winning.”

AUGUST 3: The Warriors and Curry are in agreement on the new four-year, $215MM extension that will go into effect beginning in 2022/23, agent Jeff Austin tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The star guard will become the first player in NBA history to sign two separate contracts worth more than $200MM, Woj notes.

AUGUST 2: Stephen Curry is expected to sign a $215MM extension that will keep him with the Warriors for four more seasons beyond 2021/22, according to Marc Stein of Substack.

Curry, 33, has been a cornerstone of the organization since being drafted in 2009. He won two MVP awards and led Golden State to five straight NBA Finals and three championships.

Returning from a hand injury that caused him to miss most of the 2019/20 season, Curry turned in another spectacular campaign, leading the NBA in scoring at 32.0 points per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range. It was the second scoring crown of his career.

Curry’s current deal runs through the end of next season, so the extension will keep him under contract through 2025/26. The Warriors will have their core in place for next few years, with Klay Thompson signed through 2023/24 and Draymond Green with two more years on his contract, plus an option for the 2023/24 season.

Curry will earn $45,780,966 in 2021/22 before his extension takes effect the following year. He’s already making more than the default maximum for a player with his years of experience, but a player’s individual maximum is always at least 5% of his previous salary. As such, he’ll get a 5% raise to $48.07MM for ’22/23, with 8% raises in the following seasons, all the way up to a staggering $59.6MM in ’25/26.

Hawks Re-Sign John Collins To Five-Year Deal

August 6th, 2021 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: Collins has officially re-signed with the Hawks, the team confirmed today in a press release.

“We have a great appreciation for John and all he provides for our team; he is an incredible team player who brings the type of positive energy and passion that is contagious and impacts winning,” president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “John is beloved by his teammates, our coaches and our fans and we are happy that he will continue to grow along with our young core.”

Atlanta has now officially locked up its two franchise cornerstones to long-term deals, having also announced Young’s extension on Friday.

AUGUST 4: The Hawks have reached an agreement on a five-year, $125MM deal with restricted free agent John Collins, agents Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The agreement features a fifth-year player option, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Collins, the No. 2 player on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents, has now secured the largest free agent contract of the offseason so far in terms of overall value. Chris Paul (four years, $120MM) and Jarrett Allen (five years, $100MM) are the only other players to crack the nine-figure mark to date, and Paul’s deal reportedly only includes about $75MM in fully guaranteed money.

As I noted on Tuesday when word broke that the Hawks had offered Collins $125MM over five years, the deal represents an increase in terms of both years and dollars on the extension the team reportedly offered the 23-year-old during the 2020 offseason (four years, $90MM+).

It’s still quite a bit shy of the maximum salary Atlanta could have offered ($163MM over five years), but Collins’ options were limited, given the lack of teams with cap room available. The inclusion of a fifth-year player option may also have helped convince him to accept the deal. That will give him the ability to opt out in 2025 at age 27.

Collins, the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft, averaged 17.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 1.0 BPG on .556/.399/.833 shooting in 63 games (29.3 MPG) for Atlanta in 2020/21. While those numbers were a slight step below the ones he put up in ’19/20, Collins played the role the Hawks asked of him and was a major part of the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Hawks have now made two major commitments this week to lock up a pair of franchise cornerstones. In addition to reaching a deal with Collins, the club also agreed to terms on a five-year, maximum-salary extension for Trae Young, which will go into effect in 2022/23.

Knicks Sign First-Rounder Quentin Grimes

August 6th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have signed first-round pick Quentin Grimes, the team’s PR department tweets.

Grimes, the 25th pick, was acquired in a draft-night trade with the Clippers. The 6’5” guard out of the University of Houston averaged 17.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 2.0 APG last season.

Assuming the usual 120% above rookie scale offers made to first-round picks, Grimes will make $2.17MM. Over the next four seasons with raises, he’ll max out at $11.13MM.

Hawks Officially Announce Trae Young’s Five-Year Extension

August 6th, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have officially signed Trae Young to a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. While the club didn’t disclose the terms of the deal, we know based on previous reports that it’s a five-year, maximum-salary contract that begins in 2022/23. The two sides agreed to terms earlier in the week.

Young’s deal includes Rose Rule language and will start at 30% of the ’22/23 cap and will be worth a projected $207MM if he earns an All-NBA spot next season. If he doesn’t make the All-NBA team, the extension will start at 25% of the cap and will be worth nearly $173MM.

“This is a great day for the Hawks franchise and the city of Atlanta,” Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “Trae is a special player and person who from Day One, embraced being a leader on the court and in our community. We are excited to have him as the cornerstone of our program long-term as we work toward our goal of bringing a championship to Atlanta.”

The move had been widely expected this offseason, as Young has emerged as the cornerstone of a Hawks team that made a surprising Eastern Conference Finals run this season.

He averaged 25.3 PPG, 9.4 APG, and 3.9 RPG in 63 regular season games (33.7 MPG) in 2020/21, then helped lead Atlanta past the Knicks and Sixers in the first two rounds of the playoffs before suffering a foot injury in the Eastern Finals vs. Milwaukee.

Young remains under his rookie contract for one more season and will earn $8.33MM in 2021/22 before his extension begins.

Young’s extension will include an early termination option after the fourth year, according to RealGM (Twitter link). An ETO is similar to a player option, so Young will have the ability to opt out and sign a new deal in 2026.

Cavs Re-Sign Jarrett Allen To Five-Year Contract

August 6th, 2021 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Cavaliers have issued a press release formally announcing Allen’s new deal with the club.

“We spent the last few years maintaining our financial and roster flexibility to put ourselves in a position to acquire and now re-sign a player of Jarrett’s caliber,” general manager Koby Altman said in a statement. “Since his arrival, Jarrett has fit seamlessly into our culture and almost instantly, he earned the respect of his coaches and teammates. We took another positive step forward in our pursuit of sustainable success with this signing, as we see Jarrett as an integral piece of our future moving forward.”

AUGUST 2: The Cavaliers and restricted free agent center Jarrett Allen are in agreement on a five-year, $100MM contract, his agents tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

A report earlier today had stated that Cleveland was preparing a $100MM offer for Allen. All five years on the new deal will be guaranteed, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Cleveland traded a first-round pick for Allen in the four-team James Harden blockbuster this past season with the intent of retaining him for years to come. Even after drafting USC big man Evan Mobley with the No. 3 overall pick last Thursday, the Cavs prioritized a new deal for Allen, since the team believes he and Mobley are capable of playing alongside one another.

The Raptors were considered the Cavaliers’ top threat for Allen, but Cleveland wasted no time in negotiating directly with the 23-year-old rather than letting him go out and get an offer sheet.

Allen averaged 13.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 1.4 BPG across 51 contests after the Cavs acquired him. He had been the No. 4 free agent on our top-50 list.

Kings, Richaun Holmes Finalize Four-Year Deal

August 6th, 2021 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Kings have officially re-signed Holmes, the team announced today in a press release.

“This is a great day for Richaun and the entire Kings organization,” GM Monte McNair said in a statement. “Richaun brings toughness, skill and versatility to the court. His energy is the perfect fit for our style of play and he represents the values of this organization. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and this tremendously talented team we’re building.”

AUGUST 2: The Kings and center Richaun Holmes are in agreement on a four-year contract that could be worth up to $55MM, his agency tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania, the deal includes a fourth-year player option and a trade kicker.

Holmes, 27, is coming off two impressive seasons in Sacramento, including perhaps the best year of his career in 2020/21. He averaged 14.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.6 BPG on 63.7% shooting in 61 games (29.2 MPG) this past season, putting himself in position for a significant payday this summer.

There was a sense leading up to free agency that the Kings might have a hard time retaining Holmes, since the team only had his Early Bird rights, limiting the starting salary it could offer him without opening up cap space. Charlotte, Toronto, and Dallas were among the teams expected to have interest in prying him away from Sacramento.

However, Holmes’ agreement with the Kings suggests that those other presumed suitors didn’t make an aggressive play for the big man, opening the door for Sacramento to bring him back.

For what it’s worth, $55MM over four years is quite a bit more than the Kings could offer Holmes using his Early Bird rights, and there’s no indication that the team is clearing cap room to complete the deal, so that figure coming from the agent may be a generous one — I’d expect the base value of the contract to come in lower than that. The four-year Early Bird amount is a little shy of $47MM.

The Kings have now addressed the center position by lining up deals with Holmes and Alex Len, and reportedly have a deal in place to acquire Tristan Thompson from Boston as well.

Rookie JT Thor Signs With Hornets

August 6th, 2021 at 1:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets have signed second-round draft pick JT Thor, according to a team press release.

Thor, a 6’9” forward, was officially acquired from the Pistons along with center Mason Plumlee on Friday in exchange for the draft rights of Balsa Koprivica.

[RELATED: 2021 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Terms of the contract are undisclosed, but the club is under the cap and has the ability to give him a starting salary worth more than the rookie minimum and/or a contract that covers more than two years.

Thor, the 37th overall pick, averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 1.4 BPG in his lone season with the Tigers. Thor projects to spend most of his rookie season in the G League.

Heat Officially Re-Sign Duncan Robinson

August 6th, 2021 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially re-signed sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, the team announced today in a press release. The five-year, $90MM deal, which reportedly includes an early termination option after the fourth year, was one of the first agreements reached during the free agent period on Monday.

“Duncan is the epitome of everybody who’s ever had a dream about being a great NBA player,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “I have never been around a player who worked as hard, fastidiously working on what he needed to do in order to improve his game. Not just his shooting, but his overall game. Having Duncan back was very critical for us.”

Robinson, 27, has been a full-time starter for the Heat over the last two seasons, averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.6 APG with an impressive .454/.427/.878 shooting line in 145 games (30.5 MPG) during that time. Miami made him a restricted free agent prior to the start of free agency by extending him a $4.7MM qualifying offer.

If the Heat had used cap room this summer, it would have made sense for them to keep Robinson’s small cap hold on their books while they used up all their space, then go over the cap to finalize his deal. However, the club will operate over the cap instead, having agreed to acquire Kyle Lowry via sign-and-trade rather than signing him with cap room. As such, there was no reason not to complete Robinson’s contract right away when the moratorium lifted today.

That Lowry deal is not yet official, as the Heat and the Raptors have spent much of the week negotiating the terms of the sign-and-trade, but it should just be a matter of time before the two teams figure it out and make an announcement.

Pistons Trade Mason Plumlee To Hornets

August 6th, 2021 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The trade is now official, according to press releases from both the Hornets and Pistons. Charlotte received Plumlee and the rights to No. 37 pick JT Thor in exchange for the rights to No. 57 pick Balsa Koprivica.

JULY 29: The Pistons and Hornets are finalizing a trade that would see Mason Plumlee sent to Charlotte along with the No. 37 pick in tonight’s draft in exchange for the No. 57 pick, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

The Hornets had been expected to be one of the NBA’s most aggressive teams in pursuit of a center this offseason and will get an early start on addressing that position by acquiring Plumlee, who averaged 10.4 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 3.6 APG in 56 games (26.8 MPG) during his first and only season as a Piston.

Plumlee had been set to earn $8.1MM in 2021/22 and will receive a 10% trade bonus as a result of the deal, bumping up that cap hit by $830K, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Even at close to $9MM, Plumlee’s deal isn’t particularly onerous, especially since it’s only partially guaranteed in 2022/23. So it’s somewhat surprising that the Pistons were willing to drop down 20 spots in the draft to move off of it, especially since GM Troy Weaver just signed Plumlee to that deal last offseason.

Still, Detroit will gain cap flexibility as a result of the trade and could open up about $20MM in space rather than operating over the cap this summer, tweets Nate Duncan. The move will also create additional playing time for promising young big man Isaiah Stewart.

The deal will have to be completed once the new league year begins, when the Hornets can take Plumlee into their cap space. They’ll still have about $13MM in projected cap room, according to Marks, so they could pursue another center in free agency.