Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Exercise Edmond Sumner’s 2021/22 Option

July 30th, 2021 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

8:48pm: It’s official, according to a team press release.

1:00pm: The Pacers will pick up their team option on Edmond Sumner‘s contract for 2021/22, according to president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard (Twitter link via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).

The option will pay Sumner a $2.32MM salary before he becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2022.

Sumner, 25, had a career year for the Pacers in 2020/21, playing a career-high 16.2 minutes per game and earning 24 starts in 53 contests. The 6’4″ guard averaged 7.5 PPG and 1.8 RPG with an impressive shooting line of .525/.398/.819.

While there might be some extra minutes on the wing available in Indiana in 2021/22 if Doug McDermott departs in free agency, Sumner will face competition from newly-drafted swingman Chris Duarte. A number of Pacers veterans have also been mentioned in trade rumors in recent weeks, so it’s possible the team will shake up its roster a little during the free agency, but when the dust settles, Sumner should be in the mix for a regular rotation role.

Matthew Hurt Signs Two-Way Contract With Rockets

July 30th, 2021 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 13: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 30: Undrafted Duke forward Matthew Hurt has agreed to a two-way deal with the Rockets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Hurt was the conference’s leading scorer last season, averaging 18.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG for the Blue Devils in 24 games as a sophomore. The 6’9” Hurt shot 44.4% from 3-point range, making him an attractive free agent after the draft.

The Timberwolves were among the teams also interested in signing Hurt, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Hurt worked out for a number of clubs during the draft process, including the Rockets.

Bulls Extend Qualifying Offer To Markkanen

July 30th, 2021 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have extended a qualifying offer to forward Lauri Markkanen, making him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The QO is worth just over $9MM but Markkanen is expected to receive a deal exceeding that amount on the open market. Markannen is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2020/21 campaign in which he averaged a career-low 13.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG. His playing time diminished after Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis were acquired at the trade deadline.

Markannen said in May he intended to explore his free agent options. He was the seventh overall pick of the 2017 draft.

“My thing is I think I’ve always been a team-first guy. And I think now it’s time to look at the business side of the game,” Markkanen said. “I feel like I’m only 23 years old and I have a lot of basketball ahead of me. It’s a good opportunity to look what’s out there for me. I can be a focal point. I think I have a lot more to offer.”

Heat Extend QOs To Robinson, Nunn, Vincent, Strus

July 30th, 2021 at 6:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have extended qualifying offers to Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, making the quartet restricted free agents, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.

The QOs for Robinson and Nunn are worth $4.736MM apiece, while Vincent’s QO is $1.67MM and Strus’ would be another two-way deal. Vincent’s offer includes an $84K guarantee as a two-way player over the last two seasons, while Strus’ guarantee would be $50K, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes.

Robinson will be one of the hottest restricted free agents on the market, and Nunn will also likely attract interest from multiple suitors. Miami will have to right to match offer sheets on both of those wing players.

The Heat still need to decide whether to exercise their options on the contracts of Goran Dragic ($19.4MM), Andre Iguodala ($15MM) and Omer Yurtseven ($1.5MM) by 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Timberwolves To Sign Isaiah Miller To Exhibit 10 Contract

July 30th, 2021 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

After going undrafted on Thursday night, UNC Greensboro guard Isaiah Miller tweeted that he would be joining the Timberwolves, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News confirms (via Twitter) that Miller is signing an Exhibit 10 contract with Minnesota.

Miller put together an impressive résumé during his four-year college career, winning the Southern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award three consecutive times from 2019-21 and earning Player of the Year honors in 2020 and 2021.

As a senior in 2020/21, Miller recorded 19.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 2.6 SPG in 29 games (30.8 MPG). While he’s a strong defender who fills up the box score, Miller will have to work on improving his shot — he made just 24.1% of his three-point attempts and 57.7% of his free throws in four college seasons.

The Wolves also reportedly agreed to a two-way contract with undrafted rookie McKinley Wright IV, as we relayed late last night. Both signings can become official once the NBA’s new league year begins next week.

Heat To Sign Marcus Garrett To Exhibit 10 Contract

July 30th, 2021 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat will sign undrafted Kansas guard Marcus Garrett to an Exhibit 10 contract, agent Adie Von Gontard tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Garrett played 129 games with the Jayhawks over four seasons, establishing career highs as a senior in 2020/21 in PPG (11.0), FG% (.459) and 3PT% (.348), among other categories.

As Givony notes, Garrett established a reputation as one of the best defenders in college basketball, winning the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020 and making the Big 12 All-Defensive team three teams from 2019-21.

Garrett is the fifth undrafted free agent reported to be signing with the Heat, who didn’t have a pick in Thursday’s draft. Houston’s DeJon Jarreau also tweeted that’s joining the Heat, though there has been no confirmation yet that he’s getting a camp invite, as opposed to just playing on Miami’s Summer League team.

Jazz Trade Derrick Favors To Thunder

July 30th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

11:58am: The Thunder have officially confirmed the trade, announcing in a press release that they received Favors and a future first-round pick in exchange for a 2027 second-rounder and cash.

Oklahoma City likely took on Favors’ contract using the $10.1MM trade exception it had available from last year’s Danilo Gallinari trade. The Jazz will create a new $9.26MM trade exception in the swap.

7:10am: The Thunder and Jazz are in agreement on a trade that will send Favors and a future first-round pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for a future second-rounder, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Utah is sending its 2022 first-round pick (top-six protected) to Memphis in another deal, so the first-rounder going to Oklahoma City figures to be in 2024 or later due to the Stepien rule.

6:40am: The Thunder and Jazz are engaged in serious talks on a potential trade that would send center Derrick Favors from Utah to Oklahoma City, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Favors, 30, signed a three-year contract with Utah last fall and posted modest numbers in his first season back with the team after a year in New Orleans. Favors averaged a career-low 5.4 PPG to go along with 5.5 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 68 games (15.3 MPG). It was his first NBA season in which he didn’t start a single game.

Favors’ contract isn’t especially onerous — he has a $9.7MM guaranteed salary for 2021/22, followed by a $10.2MM player option for 2022/23. However, it’ll likely be considered a negative asset given his dip in production last season and the fact that the Jazz are facing a serious cap crunch. If Utah re-signs Mike Conley and doesn’t dump any salary, the team will face a substantial tax bill next season.

As a point of comparison, when the Pistons agreed to send Mason Plumlee to the Hornets on Thursday, Detroit moved down 20 spots in the draft to do so (from No. 37 to 57). Plumlee was more productive in 2020/21 than Favors and is owed less guaranteed money going forward.

The Thunder are no strangers to accommodating salary dumps, having used that approach multiple times to add to their stockpile of future draft picks within the last couple years. They could take on Favors without sending any money back to the Jazz by using one of their trade exceptions or by opening up cap room once the new league year begins.

It’s unclear what sort of asset the Jazz might attach to Favors to get a deal done. There were rumors earlier in the week that they were discussing possible trades involving the big man and the No. 30 pick, but a 2021 selection is less likely to be involved now that all of those picks have been made. As such, Utah and Oklahoma City may be discussing a future draft asset.

Jaquori McLaughlin To Sign Training Camp Deal With Warriors

July 30th, 2021 at 10:09am CST by Arthur Hill

Undrafted rookie Jaquori McLaughlin has reached an agreement with the Warriors, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He doesn’t specify the type of contract that McLaughlin will receive, but it may be an Exhibit 10 deal, which is commonly given to camp invitees.

The 6’4″ point guard played two years at Oregon State before transferring to UC Santa Barbara for the last three seasons. He was named Big West Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 40.8% from three-point range.

McLaughlin’s contract with Golden State can become official when the 2021/22 league year starts next week.

Lakers Sign Chaundee Brown, Mac McClung To Exhibit 10 Deals

July 30th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 10: The Lakers have officially signed Brown and McClung to Exhibit 10 contracts, per RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 30: The Lakers have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract with undrafted rookie Chaundee Brown, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

The 6’5″ wing averaged 8.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for Michigan this season. He spent three years at Wake Forest before opting to play his senior season with the Wolverines. Brown was ranked 60th on ESPN’s big board.

The Lakers have also agreed to sign Texas Tech guard Mac McClung to a training camp deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McClung played two seasons for Georgetown before joining the Red Raiders as a junior. He averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season.

L.A. also reached agreements to fill both two-way slots after Thursday night’s draft, signing Joel Ayayi of Gonzaga and Austin Reaves of Oklahoma.

D.J. Carton Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Hornets

July 30th, 2021 at 9:15am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 7: The signing is official, the Hornets announced in a press release.

JULY 30: The Hornets will sign undrafted rookie D.J. Carton to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 6’2″ guard played for one year at Ohio State before transferring to Marquette last season. He averaged 13 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a junior.

The Hornets were among the teams Carton visited for a workout before the draft.

The Exhibit 10 deal will give Carton an opportunity to attend training camp with Charlotte and possibly land a two-way contract or become an affiliate player with the Greensboro Swarm.