Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Sign Semi Ojeleye To One-Year Contract

August 2nd, 2021 at 10:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 6: The Bucks have officially signed Ojeleye, the team announced on Friday (via Twitter).

AUGUST 2: The 2021 NBA champion Bucks will be adding forward Semi Ojeleye to shore up their frontcourt depth, agent Sean Kennedy informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Eric Nehm of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Ojeleye is set to join the Bucks on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

Selected with the No. 37 pick in the 2017 NBA draft out of SMU by the Celtics, the 6’6″ forward spent his first four NBA seasons in Boston. Though not much of a scorer (his career-best average thus far is 4.6 PPG in 2020/21), Ojeleye nevertheless found his way into the rotation for the Celtics’ various playoff-bound teams over the years, including two Eastern Conference Finals teams in 2018 and 2020.

A versatile defender, Ojeleye could fill the absence left by veteran tweener forward P.J. Tucker, who is expected to depart for the Heat after agreeing to a new two-year, $15MM deal.

In 2020/21, Ojeleye averaged the aforementioned 4.6 PPG, to go along with 2.6 RPG, in 17.0 minutes per contest. He played in 56 games, starting 15. The 26-year-old Ojeleye proved to be a reliable three-point shooter last year, albeit on a modest volume, connecting on 36.7% of his 2.8 looks from long range.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Re-Sign Max Strus To Two-Year Contract

August 2nd, 2021 at 9:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 6: The Heat and Strus have made it official, per a team release.

“As one of our young developing players, Max proved he can be very productive for us,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He stepped up when needed last season and produced. His shooting and overall game is going to help our team immensely.”

AUGUST 2: The Heat will re-sign third-year free agent swingman Max Strus on a two-year contract worth $3.5MM, his agent Mark Bartelstein informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). This sum is in line with the amount of a veteran’s minimum deal for Strus.

After going undrafted in 2019 out of DePaul, the Hickory Hills, Illinois native joined his home state Bulls on a two-way contract for the 2019/20 season. Strus suited up for 13 games with Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, and had a two-game cameo with Chicago, before suffering a season-ending left ACL tear.

Strus then inked a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 camp deal with the Heat ahead of the 2020/21 season, and later was brought on as a two-way player for the rest of the year. The Heat extended a $50K qualifying offer to the 6’5″ wing this summer, making him a restricted free agent under team control.

During his 39 games with Miami, the 25-year-old Strus averaged 6.1 PPG in 13.0 MPG, while nailing 45.5% of his field goal looks, 33.8% of his three-point tries, and 66.7% of his free throws.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kent Bazemore Signs With Lakers

August 2nd, 2021 at 9:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6: The Lakers have officially signed Bazemore, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 2: Kent Bazemore will remain in the Pacific Division but he isn’t re-signing with the Warriors. Bazemore has agreed to a one-year deal with the Lakers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. It’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

Bazemore had a good run this past season in his second stint with Golden State. He appeared in 67 games, including 18 starts, and averaged 7.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.6 APG in 19.9 MPG. Bazemore’s 40.8% success rate from 3-point range was a career best.

The Warriors were interested in re-signing Bazemore. In fact, they were willing to give him more money, but he took Los Angeles’ offer because he sees the Lakers as a title contender and was told he’d have a major role, Mark Medina of USA Today tweets.

Instead, Bazemore will join several other free agents — Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard — who agreed to contracts with the 2019/20 NBA champions. Bazemore previously played 23 games with the Lakers during the 2013/14 season.

Pelicans To Acquire Devonte’ Graham Via Sign-And-Trade

August 2nd, 2021 at 8:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans are acquiring restricted free agent point guard Devonte’ Graham in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Graham will be signing a four-year, $47MM contract with New Orleans, his agents Ty Sullivan and Austin Brown tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, Charlotte is getting a first-round pick back in the deal. Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be the Pelicans’ own 2022 first-rounder, with top-14 protection.

Having approached free agency hoping to land a top-tier point guard such as Chris Paul or Kyle Lowry, the Pelicans were forced to pivot as those All-Stars committed to other teams. Instead, the team will end up with Tomas Satoransky (via the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade with Chicago) and Graham, who emerged as a reliable start during the last two years in Charlotte.

Graham isn’t an especially efficient scorer, having made just 37.7% of his field goal attempts in 2020/21. However, that’s primarily a result of his struggles scoring inside the arc — his three-point mark was a very respectable 37.5%. In addition to his ability to make threes, Graham is an above-average play-maker (6.5 APG over the last two seasons) and a respectable defender.

Moving on from Graham shouldn’t be a major blow to the Hornets, since they still have a solid backcourt that features LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and lottery pick James Bouknight. Charlotte could also now have an extra pick in the first round of the 2022 draft, and with Graham no longer on the books, the club will create a little extra cap flexibility in both the short- and long-term.

Hawks Sign Gorgui Dieng To One-Year Deal

August 2nd, 2021 at 8:23pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 9: A week after agreeing to sign him, the Hawks have now finalized Dieng’s deal, the team announced today in a press release.

“With the signing of Gorgui, we’ve added more size and depth to our frontcourt rotation. He’s an experienced big with length who can space the floor and defend,” president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement.

It looks like Dieng’s contract will use part of Atlanta’s mid-level exception.

AUGUST 2: The Hawks and free agent big man Gorgui Dieng have agreed to terms on a one-year, $4MM contract, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Dieng, 31, has bounced around the league in recent years, playing for Minnesota, Memphis, and San Antonio since the start of the 2019/20 season. Last season, he averaged 6.8 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 38 games (14.5 MPG) for the Grizzlies and Spurs.

While he wasn’t exactly a bargain on his previous four-year, $63MM contract, Dieng should be a much better value at $4MM. He’ll be a nice fit in the Hawks’ frontcourt behind starting center Clint Capela and should see regular minutes while Onyeka Okongwu recovers from shoulder surgery, if not beyond that.

Given the reported terms on Dieng’s deal, the Hawks could either be using a portion of the mid-level exception or the bi-annual exception to complete the signing. The BAE is worth about $3.7MM this season.

Thunder Re-Sign Mike Muscala To Two-Year Deal

August 2nd, 2021 at 8:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 12: The Thunder have officially re-signed Muscala, per a team press release.

AUGUST 2: The Thunder will re-sign free agent big man Mike Muscala to a two-year, $7MM contract, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link) that Muscala had Earl Bird rights with the Thunder, so Oklahoma City won’t need to use a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing.

He was drafted out of Bucknell with the No. 44 pick in 2013, and logged time with the Hawks, Sixers, and Lakers. Muscala, 30, then joined the Thunder for the first time as a free agent in the summer of 2019.

A 6’10” power forward/center with long-range abilities, he enjoyed his best statistical season during 2020/21 while playing for the rebuilding Thunder. Last year, Muscala averaged a career-best 9.7 PPG in 18.4 MPG, to go along with 3.8 RPG. He posted a solid shooting line of .446/.370/.917.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trey Lyles Signs Two-Year Deal With Pistons

August 2nd, 2021 at 8:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6: Lyles’ deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

AUGUST 2: Free agent forward Trey Lyles has reached a two-year agreement with the Pistons worth approximately $5MM, agent Rich Paul told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

A two-year, minimum-salary deal for Lyles would work out to about $4.44MM, so it sounds like he may get something a little higher than the minimum.

Lyles has spent the last two seasons with the Spurs. He also had two-year stints in Utah and Denver. Lyles saw his playing time diminish last season, as he appeared in just 23 games. His representatives were eager to find a new home for their client, who was looking for a fresh start. He started 53 of 63 games in his first year with San Antonio.

Lyles has averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 15.6 MPG through 374 career games. He’s a 34.1% 3-point shooter.

He’ll provide insurance at the power forward spot behind Jerami Grant and Sekou Doumbouya.

Kings Ink Alex Len To Two-Year Contract

August 2nd, 2021 at 7:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 13: The Kings have announced the signing in a press release.

“It is great to welcome Alex back to the Kings,” GM Monte McNair said. “Alex will add toughness, competitiveness and experience while securing our front line depth.”

AUGUST 2: The Kings are set to sign journeyman free agent center Alex Len to a two-season contract, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The two-year deal will be worth $7.65MM, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

This will be Len’s second stint with Sacramento. He previously played on the Kings for a portion of the 2019/20 NBA season.

The fifth overall selection out of Maryland in 2013 by the Suns, Len also logged time with the Hawks. Atlanta eventually traded Len for his first tour of duty with the Kings.

Len, 28, most recently suited up for the Wizards for the majority of the 2020/21 season. After initially inking a one-year, $2.32MM deal with the Raptors in the 2020 offseason, Len fell out of the Toronto rotation quickly. The Raptors eventually waived Len. After clearing waivers, he then signed on with the Wizards for the rest of the season.

The seven-footer was able to carve out more rotation minutes at his next NBA stop, operating as a solid contributor to a playoff-bound club with Washington. For the balance of the 2020/21 season, Len averaged 6.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.0 BPG across 15.3 MPG in 64 games, including 42 starts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Re-Sign Cory Joseph

August 2nd, 2021 at 7:47pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 10: The Pistons have officially re-signed Joseph, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

AUGUST 2: Just days after placing him on waivers, the Pistons have agreed to terms with point guard Cory Joseph on a new contract, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells Haynes that Joseph’s new deal with Detroit will be worth $10MM over two years. The deal includes a second-year player option, Haynes adds (via Twitter).

Joseph, who will turn 30 later this month, began last season with Sacramento and was sent to Detroit at the March trade deadline. He played very well with the Pistons down the stretch, averaging 12.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 3.2 RPG on .506/.368/.878 shooting in 19 games (26.4 MPG).

Joseph was under contract for 2021/22, but his $12.6MM salary was only partially guaranteed for $2.4MM. By waiving him and re-signing him to a new deal, the Pistons avoided guaranteeing that full $12.6MM and will get him back at a more affordable rate. He’ll serve as a veteran mentor for first overall pick Cade Cunningham.

The Pistons, who project to be a cap-space team this offseason, may end up signing Joseph with the room exception, since it will be worth right around $10MM over two years.

Nicolas Batum Re-Signs With Clippers

August 2nd, 2021 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 13: The Clippers have officially re-signed Batum, the team announced today in a press release.

“Nico is a terrific player, a selfless teammate and a consummate professional, who lifts us in a lot of different ways,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “He fit in perfectly from the beginning, and we’re grateful he’s chosen to return.”

AUGUST 2: Forward Nicolas Batum has agreed to re-sign with the Clippers on a two-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The contract includes a player option in the second year, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.

Los Angeles held Non-Bird rights on Batum, allowing the team to re-sign him for $120% of his minimum salary. By utilizing those rights, per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), the Clippers still have the $5.9MM taxpayer exception at their disposal.

It’s a coup for the Clippers, who were expected to face plenty of competition for Batum’s services, including from Portland, Golden State, Miami, and Indiana

After getting buried on Charlotte’s bench the previous season, Batum enjoyed a career revival with the Clippers. He averaged 8.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.2 APG in 67 regular-season games, including 38 starts. He also averaged 8.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 2.1 APG in 16 postseason games.

Batum began his career in 2008 with Portland.