Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Re-Sign Abdel Nader

August 3rd, 2021 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: Nader’s deal is now official, the Suns announced in a press release.

AUGUST 3: The Suns and Abdel Nader are in agreement on a two-year, $4.2MM deal that will ensure the forward remains in Phoenix, agent Cervando Tejeda tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Nader, the 58th overall pick in the 2016 draft, was sent last offseason from Oklahoma City to Phoenix in the blockbuster Chris Paul deal. While he didn’t exactly make the impact that the Suns’ other acquisition in that trade did, Nader played well in limited rotation minutes, averaging 6.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .491/.419/.757 shooting in 24 games (14.8 MPG).

Nader dealt with some health issues this season and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in late April. He was cleared to return to action late in Phoenix’s postseason run.

A two-year, minimum-salary contract for Nader would be worth about $3.8MM, so it’s possible the Suns were willing to go a little higher than that using the 27-year-old’s Bird rights to make sure he remains on the roster. It’s also possible this is some generous rounding at work and Nader’s deal is actually worth the minimum. We’ll keep an eye out for further confirmation.

Magic Sign Robin Lopez To One-Year Contract

August 3rd, 2021 at 1:29pm CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 6: The Magic have officially signed Lopez, according to an announcement from the team.

AUGUST 3: The Magic are signing veteran free agent center Robin Lopez to a one-year, $5MM deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The 33-year-old is coming off a stint with the Wizards.

Lopez provides Orlando with a locker room presence, joining the likes of Wendell Carter Jr. (22 years old) and Mohamed Bamba (23 years old) at the center position. He was drafted No. 15 overall in 2008 after playing two collegiate seasons at Stanford.

In 71 games with Washington last season, Lopez averaged nine points, 3.8 rebounds and 19.1 minutes per contest. He’s also made stops with Phoenix, New Orleans, Portland, New York, Chicago and Milwaukee throughout his 15-year NBA career.

The Magic also signed lottery picks Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner to their rookie contracts on Tuesday. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Orlando will use part if its $9.5MM midlevel exception to sign Lopez and still owns a $17.2MM trade exception.

Magic Sign Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner To Rookie Contracts

August 3rd, 2021 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have signed lottery picks Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner to their first NBA contracts, the team announced (via Twitter).

Suggs, a freshman guard out of Gonzaga, was expected to be a top four pick, but slid to Orlando at No. 5 on draft night. He will make about $6.59MM in his first season, assuming he receives the maximum 120% of the rookie scale.

Suggs was a standout player for the Zags, who went undefeated until the NCAA championship game, averaging 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 30 games. He figures to make an immediate impact on the Magic’s young backcourt.

Wagner, the eighth overall pick, will make about $5MM as a rookie. He averaged 12.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG as a sophomore at Michigan.

Knicks To Re-Sign Taj Gibson

August 3rd, 2021 at 12:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Taj Gibson will re-sign with the Knicks for another year, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Gibson will be a veteran’s minimum deal worth about $2.64MM.

The 36-year-old center/power forward is a favorite of coach Tom Thibodeau and was with him in Chicago and Minnesota as well.

Gibson played for the Knicks in 2019/20, then returned to the team in early January and was part of the frontcourt rotation for the rest of the season, averaging 5.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 45 games.

Gibson is the Knicks’ fourth free agent to commit to staying with the team, joining Derrick Rose, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel. The club is also adding Evan Fournier on a four-year deal.

Since Gibson’s new deal will be worth the minimum, the Knicks can use up all their cap room before going over the cap to finalize the signing.

James Johnson Signs With Nets

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:27am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 6: The Nets and Johnson have made it official, per a team press release.

AUGUST 3: Free agent forward James Johnson will join the Nets on a one-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Johnson, 34, divided last season between the Mavericks and Pelicans, averaging a combined 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 51 games.

Johnson is known for his toughness, size, and length, which allows him to guard multiple positions and comfortably switch on defense. He will provide another veteran big man off the bench for Brooklyn, which is losing Jeff Green to the Nuggets.

With the Nets already in luxury tax territory, Johnson’s deal is likely for the veteran’s minimum.

Bucks Sign Rodney Hood

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:21am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 6: Hood, who was cut by the Raptors on Tuesday and cleared waivers on Thursday, has officially signed with the Bucks, according to the team (Twitter link).

AUGUST 3: Rodney Hood will sign a one-year deal with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hood is still on the Raptors‘ roster after agreeing last week to delay his salary guarantee date until today. Toronto plans to release Hood, who will sign with Milwaukee after clearing waivers, Woj adds (Twitter link).

The 28-year-old swingman started last season with the Trail Blazers before being shipped to Toronto at the trade deadline. He saw his playing time cut to a career-low 12.7 minutes per game with the Raptors and averaged 3.9 PPG and 1.8 RPG.

In Milwaukee, Hood will help make up for the loss of P.J. Tucker, who is headed to Miami in free agency. Hood’s contract is likely for the veterans minimum, considering the Bucks’ salary situation.

Heat Re-Sign Dewayne Dedmon

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

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

“We love Dewayne and his aggressive attitude at the center position,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He’s a great screener, rebounder and can stretch the floor. He came in after missing most of the season and had a tremendous impact for us. His veteran presence and physicality are going to help anchor our defense and with a whole year under his belt, he will be even better.”

AUGUST 3: Dedmon’s new deal will be worth the minimum, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

AUGUST 2: The Heat have agreed to terms with free agent center Dewayne Dedmon, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be a one-year contract.

Dedmon, who will turn 32 this month, joined the Heat for the home stretch of the 2020/21 season and played well, averaging 7.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG with a .708 FG% in 16 games (13.1 MPG).

Miami reportedly had interest in re-signing him but wasn’t sure about its chances, since the team only held Non-Bird rights and Dedmon had been on a minimum-salary contract, limiting his ability to get a raise. While the details of the deal haven’t yet been reported, it seems likely it’ll be either another minimum deal or something close to it.

It has been a busy first day of free agency for the Heat, who have now secured commitments from Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, P.J. Tucker, and Dedmon. The team is also lining up a maximum-salary extension for Jimmy Butler.

Bruce Brown Accepts Qualifying Offer From Nets

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:03am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 8: Brown is officially back under contract with the Nets, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 3: Bruce Brown will remain with the Nets after opting to accept a $4.7MM qualifying offer, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The news was confirmed by Brown’s agent, Ty Sullivan of CAA.

The one-year offer made Brown a restricted free agent, which would have limited his options on the open market. He will be unrestricted next summer as a result of accepting his qualifying offer.

Brooklyn holds Bird rights on the third-year combo guard and can work out a long-term deal. If the team were to trade Brown during the 2021/22 league year, he’d lose those Bird rights, so he’ll have the power to veto any trade involving him until he becomes a free agent in 2022.

Brown, 24, became a part-time starter in his first season with the Nets after being acquired from the Pistons in an offseason trade. He started 37 of the 65 games he played, averaging 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per night while playing tough, versatile defense for Brooklyn.

Brown is one of two Nets free agents who has agreed to return to the team so far, joining Blake Griffin.

Warriors Sign Nemanja Bjelica

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 6: The Warriors have officially announced their deal with Bjelica, confirming the move in a press release.

Despite reportedly receiving interest from several other teams willing to offer more than the minimum, Bjelica said his decision to sign with Golden State took “less than a minute,” per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

AUGUST 3: Free agent forward Nemanja Bjelica has reached agreement on a one-year contract with the Warriors, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Heat acquired Bjelica from the Kings at the trade deadline in March, but he played in just 11 games for Miami, averaging 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per night. He had been relegated to a bench role in Sacramento after being a starter for the past two seasons.

The 33-year-old gives Golden State another veteran shooting option as they try to move back into title contention. He had the best year of his NBA career in 2019/20 with the Kings, putting up 11.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .481/.419/.821 shooting in 72 games (27.9 MPG).

The Warriors still have their taxpayer mid-level exception to make further moves, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who reports that Bjelica’s deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum (Twitter link).

Nets Re-Sign Blake Griffin

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:45am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 9: The Nets have officially announced the re-signing of Griffin in a press release. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but as noted below, it’s reportedly worth the minimum. Nabbing Griffin at that price is a serious discount for a player who proved to be a solid starter on one of the best teams in the league.

AUGUST 3: Griffin’s one-year deal with the Nets will be worth the veteran’s minimum, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

AUGUST 2: The Nets have agreed to terms with Blake Griffin on a one-year contract that will keep the veteran forward in Brooklyn, agent Sam Goldfeder tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Terms of the contract have yet to be disclosed.

After surrendering $13.3MM to the Pistons in a buyout agreement, Griffin signed on with the Nets for the rest of the year on a single-season veteran’s minimum contract.

A six-time All-Star with Detroit and the Clippers, Griffin’s tenure as an NBA first option was abbreviated due to a series of injuries.

The 32-year-old veteran thoroughly reinvented himself while with Brooklyn, maximizing some of his still-potent athleticism on a star-studded Nets team to become a valuable two-way big man, equally adept as a power forward and small ball center, and surprisingly agile as a defender.

Griffin boasts career averages of 20.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.3 APG and 0.9 SPG. In his new reality as a valuable role player, the 6’9″ Griffin had a significantly more modest output with Brooklyn.

In just 21.5 MPG across 26 regular season contests with the Nets, Griffin averaged 10.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.7 SPG and 0.5 BPG. He also posted a solid slash line of .492/.383/.782. After becoming Brooklyn’s full-time starting center in the playoffs, Griffin averaged 9.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.5 BPG, with shooting stats of .532/.389/.714.

Retaining Griffin is a boon for Brooklyn, a team that boasts three expensive All-NBA talents (when healthy) in forward Kevin Durant and guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving, plus pricey sharpshooting wing Joe Harris. With Irving and Harden limited by injuries, the Nets lost a hotly-contested seven-game second round Eastern Conference playoff series to the eventual champion Bucks. If the team is healthy by the 2022 playoffs, it’s shaping up to once again be one of the most formidable clubs in the league.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.