Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kemba Walker Agrees To Buyout With Thunder, Will Join Knicks

August 4th, 2021 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

12:55pm: Walker’s deal with the Knicks will be a two-year contract worth about $8-9MM annually, league sources tell Ryan McDonough of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).

9:03am: Veteran point guard Kemba Walker has agreed to a contract buyout with the Thunder, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who reports that Walker will sign with the Knicks once he clears waivers.

The Thunder acquired Walker from Boston back in June in Brad Stevens‘ first major roster move as the Celtics’ president of basketball operations. Although that deal was considered a salary-dump, with Oklahoma City receiving a first-round pick for taking on Walker, a report last week stated the Thunder believed they might be able to flip him to another team for an asset. It appears those efforts were unsuccessful.

While Walker clearly wasn’t in Oklahoma City’s long-term plans, the fact that the team agreed to buy him out already is a little surprising, since the 31-year-old still had two years and nearly $74MM left on his contract. We’ll have to wait for details on how much of that money he’s giving up as part of the agreement with the Thunder.

The move will open up more playing time for the Thunder’s young ball-handlers besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, including Theo Maledon and Josh Giddey, notes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

The Knicks, meanwhile, are on track to add Walker using their leftover cap room. Based on the terms of their reported contract agreements to date, the Knicks project to have about $8-9MM in space available, and it sounds like the team won’t be making any additional cost-cutting moves to clear extra room to accommodate Walker, per Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report confirms (via Twitter) that Walker’s deal with New York will be worth about $8MM annually, though it’s unclear how many years it will cover.

Walker, was limited to 43 games in 2020/21 due to knee issues, but put up strong numbers in the games he played, averaging 19.3 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.0 RPG on .420/.360/.899 shooting in 31.8 minutes per contest.

The four-time All-Star will join a Knicks backcourt that also features Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, and second-round pick Miles McBride. The team is also signing veteran swingman Evan Fournier in free agency to add some more scoring punch to its lineup.

The move represents a homecoming for Walker, who has been linked to the Knicks multiple times in the past. He was born and raised in the Bronx.

Warriors Waive Alen Smailagic

August 4th, 2021 at 12:46pm CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 4: The Warriors have officially waived Smailagic, the team announced today in a press release. He’ll clear waivers on Friday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

AUGUST 1: The Warriors plan to waive big man Alen Smailagic ahead of his August 6 guarantee date, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Smailagic had two more non-guaranteed seasons left on his deal.

As Slater notes, waiving Smailagic frees up an extra roster spot for the Warriors ahead of free agency. Golden State is expected to target veterans on the open market, with former NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala mentioned today as a possibility.

Smailagic, 20, was the No. 39 pick in 2019. He appeared in 29 games for the team, averaging three points, 1.5 rebounds and 7.7 minutes per contest.

Teams and players can begin negotiating free-agent deals starting Monday at 6:00pm ET.

Sixers Sign Jaden Springer To Rookie Contract

August 4th, 2021 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have signed first-round pick Jaden Springer to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Springer, who will turn 19 in September, played a single season at Tennessee before declaring for the draft as an early entrant. The 6’4″ guard averaged 12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.9 APG on .467/.435/.810 shooting in 25 games (25.5 MPG) as a freshman.

There was a belief leading up to the draft that Philadelphia might trade the No. 28 overall pick, but the team ended up hanging onto it and using it to select Springer.

Assuming he signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, as nearly every first-round pick does, Springer will earn approximately $2.02MM as a rookie and could make up to $10.39MM over the life of his four-year deal.

Celtics Sign Enes Kanter To One-Year Deal

August 4th, 2021 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 13: Kanter has officially signed his contract, according to a team press release.

“Enes has a unique ability to both score and rebound. Beyond his on-court contributions, he is a great teammate. We are thrilled he chose to return to Boston,” Celtics president Brad Stevens said in a statement.

AUGUST 4, 11:21am: Kanter’s one-year deal will be worth $2.7MM, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

The veteran’s minimum for a player with Kanter’s 10+ years of experience is about $2.64MM, so it sounds this will be a minimum-salary contract.

However, Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link) says there’s still a chance the C’s could bump up that number and use part of the mid-level exception to complete the signing, depending on how the rest of the week plays out. Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) hears that the club has “three or four balls still in the air,” albeit nothing too major.

10:58am: The Celtics have reached an agreement to bring back veteran center Enes Kanter on a one-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Kanter has bounced back and forth between Boston and Portland during the last few seasons. He finished the 2018/19 campaign with the Trail Blazers, spent ’19/20 with the Celtics, rejoined the Blazers for ’20/21, and is now headed back to the C’s for the coming season.

Kanter is a reliable scorer and rebounder, who played in all 72 games for Portland in 2020/21 and averaged a double-double (11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG) while logging just 24.4 minutes per game. He’s not a strong defender, but he’ll fill a hole in the Celtics’ frontcourt following the departure of veteran center Tristan Thompson, who is being traded to Sacramento.

It’s an interesting signing from an optics standpoint for the Celtics, who essentially salary-dumped Kanter a year ago when they sent his contract to Memphis along with the No. 30 pick in the draft (Desmond Bane) in exchange for two future second-rounders. A year later, new president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is signing up for a reunion with the 29-year-old.

Bulls Sign Tony Bradley

August 4th, 2021 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 12: The Bulls have officially signed Bradley, per RealGM’s transactions log.

AUGUST 4: The Bulls have reached an agreement to sign free agent center Tony Bradley, according to multiple reports.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who first reported the agreement, says it’s a two-year deal, with a player option on year two. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), it’ll be a minimum-salary contract.

Bradley, 23, was the 28th pick in the 2017 draft and spent his first three NBA seasons as a reserve big man in Utah, playing limited minutes. After being traded multiple times, he spent the 2020/21 season with Philadelphia and Oklahoma City, averaging 7.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 42 games (16.3 MPG) for the Sixers and Thunder.

The Thunder had the option of making Bradley a restricted free agent by extending him a qualifying offer, but chose not to do so. Given that the former UNC standout has agreed to a minimum-salary deal as an unrestricted free agent, it appears Oklahoma City made the right call — his qualifying offer would have been worth about $5.3MM.

While he’s not as flashy as the Bulls’ other free agent additions, including Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso, Bradley will provide the club with some depth at center behind starter Nikola Vucevic.

Sixers Re-Sign Rayjon Tucker To Two-Way Deal

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Rayjon Tucker is back under contract with the Sixers on a new two-way deal, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log.

After going undrafted out of Little Rock in 2019, Tucker spent much of his rookie season with the Jazz, but was dealt to Cleveland in the 2020 offseason and was subsequently waived. He spent training camp last December with the Clippers, then signed a two-way deal with the Sixers in January.

The 6’3″ guard appeared in just 14 games for Philadelphia, averaging 2.4 PPG and 0.8 RPG in 4.9 minutes per contest. He was a full-time starter for the Delaware Blue Coats during the abridged G League season, however, recording 19.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.1 APG in 15 games (33.0 MPG).

The Sixers finished the 2020/21 season with Tucker and Gary Clark on two-way deals, then tendered a qualifying offer to Tucker to make him a restricted free agent. Tucker may have simply accepted that QO, which is the equivalent of another two-way deal.

For now, Tucker occupies one of Philadelphia’s two-way slots and undrafted rookie Aaron Henry is reportedly poised to fill the other. However, two-way contracts don’t count against the cap and aren’t burdensome to move on from, so there’s no guarantee the 76ers won’t make changes to those two-way slots at some point this season.

Mavs Re-Sign Nate Hinton To Two-Way Contract

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have re-signed shooting guard Nate Hinton to a new two-way contract, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log.

Hinton, who finished the 2020/21 season on a two-way deal with the Mavs, received a qualifying offer equivalent to another one-year, two-way contract, so he may have simply accepted that offer.

Undrafted out of Houston in 2020, Hinton caught on with the Mavs and appeared in 21 games for the team as a rookie, though he saw very limited minutes. He averaged 2.0 PPG in 4.4 minutes per contest at the NBA level, but 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).

While Hinton got a qualifying offer from Dallas, the club didn’t extend one to its other two-way player, Tyler Bey, so one of its two-way slots for 2021/22 is open.

Pacers, Keifer Sykes Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Keifer Sykes has agreed to sign with the Pacers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link) that it’ll be an Exhibit 10 deal for Sykes, who will play for Indiana in Summer League.

An undrafted free agent out of Green Bay in 2015, Sykes has spent most of the last several years playing in international leagues. He has spent time in Korea, Turkey, Italy, China, and Greece, and is coming off a one-year stint with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia’s National Basketball League.

Sykes also participated in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament and hit the game-winning three-point shot on Tuesday night to clinch the title and the $1MM prize for Boeheim’s Army (video link).

Sykes and undrafted rookie Terry Taylor will reportedly be among the Pacers’ training camp invitees this fall.

Bucks Sign Sandro Mamukelashvili To Two-Way Deal

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have signed rookie big man Sandro Mamukelashvili to a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s official transactions log. According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link), the deal will cover two seasons.

Mamukelashvili, who spent four seasons at Seton Hall, averaged 17.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 27 games (35.6 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21, earning Big East Player of the Year honors.

The Pacers technically made the 6’11” forward/center the No. 54 pick in the draft last Thursday, but they were making the pick on behalf of the Bucks, having agreed to a trade involving the No. 31 selection. That trade was finalized on draft night.

The Bucks finished the season with Justin Jackson and Axel Toupane on two-way deals, but didn’t make either player a qualifying offer, signaling their intent to turn over those two slots. Mamukelashvili will fill one, while the other remains open for now.

Jazz Sign Hassan Whiteside

August 3rd, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

AUGUST 6: The Jazz have made it official with Whiteside, announcing his deal in a press release.

“Hassan is one of the more physically gifted players in the game today and has a vast amount of valuable professional basketball experience,” Jazz GM Justin Zanik said in a statement. “We’re excited to add someone with his skillset and feel he’s a great fit with our current roster.”

AUGUST 3: The Jazz have agreed to a deal with free agent center Hassan Whiteside, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Whiteside is coming off his least productive season in seven years, having averaged 8.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 36 games (15.2 MPG) for Sacramento, but he remains a solid shot-blocker and rebounder, especially as a backup center.

The 32-year-old seven-footer signed a one-year deal with the Kings last year but could never get fully on track with his new team. The Jazz will be hoping that in Quin Snyder‘s system, backing up All-NBA center Rudy Gobert, Whiteside will be able to turn things around.

The Jazz recently traded reserve center Derrick Favors to the Thunder in a cost-cutting move, and Whiteside gives them some level of schematic continuity coming off the bench.

The Jazz are believed to be limited to minimum-salary deals after committing their taxpayer mid-level exception to Rudy Gay, so Whiteside’s deal figures to be worth the veteran’s minimum.