Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Waive Ben McLemore

April 4th, 2021 at 8:05am CST by marksuleymanov

APRIL 4: The move is official, according to a tweet from the team.

APRIL 3: The Rockets are planning to waive sharpshooting swingman Ben McLemore, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Several contending teams are expected to have interest in McLemore, Charania adds.

McLemore, 28, was one of many Rockets players available at the trade deadline but no deal materialized. In 32 games (four starts) with Houston this season, McLemore averaged 7.4 PPG and 2.1 PPG. Those numbers are down from his first year with the Rockets in 2019/20, when he posted 10.1 PPG across 72 contests.

In his eighth NBA season, McLemore will look to join his fourth team after previously having suited up for the Kings, Grizzlies and Rockets.

McLemore becomes the latest casualty of a difficult season in Houston, both on and off the court. The team played through a historic losing streak while dismantling its roster and McLemore is now the latest player set to depart.

Pelicans Sign Isaiah Thomas To 10-Day Contract

April 3rd, 2021 at 1:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

APRIL 3: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

APRIL 2: The Pelicans will give Isaiah Thomas the NBA opportunity he has been waiting for, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charania that the veteran guard will sign a 10-day contract with New Orleans.

Thomas, 32, was a starter for the first half of last season with the Wizards before being traded at the 2020 deadline to the Clippers, who waived him three days later. Thomas averaged 12.2 points and 3.7 assists in 40 games for Washington, but defensive issues limited his effectiveness.

He was last seen in action in February as part of Team USA in the FIBA AmeriCup qualifying tournament, where scored 28 total points in victories over the Bahamas and Mexico.

The Pelicans have two roster spots open, so they won’t have to make a move before signing Thomas. They faced a Saturday deadline to add a player to get back to the 14-man roster limit.

Thomas has been undergoing COVID-19 testing in New Orleans and is expected to be available for Sunday’s game with the Rockets, sources tell Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). The Pelicans were looking into signing him before a recent rash of injuries to Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Josh Hart.

Kings Waive DaQuan Jeffries

April 3rd, 2021 at 12:32pm CST by marksuleymanov

12:32pm: Jeffries has officially been waived, the team tweets.

10:43am: The Kings will waive DaQuan Jeffries, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Sacramento will reportedly use the roster spot freed up by waiving Jeffries, though it remains to be seen whom the team might sign, Ham adds.

Jeffries was in his second NBA season with the Kings but struggled to stay on the floor. He missed time to begin the season due to an ankle injury and despite cracking the starting lineup, was not able to remain in the rotation.

All told, Jeffries averaged 3.1 PPG and 1.6 RPG across 17 games for the Kings this season. As Ham notes, the 23-year-old has shown potential as a three-and-D weapon but may need more time in the G League to develop his game.

Knicks Sign Norvel Pelle To 10-Day Deal

April 2nd, 2021 at 9:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:44pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets.

10:52am: Free agent center Norvel Pelle will sign a 10-day contract with the Knicks this weekend, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Pelle has been mentioned as a possibility since Mitchell Robinson was lost for the rest of the season with a fracture in his right foot. Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson handled the center position while Robinson was sidelined with an earlier injury, but New York needed an extra big man.

Pelle, 28, will be joining his third team this season. He signed with the Nets in late January, but was waived in mid-February after seeing limited action in three games. Following a brief G League stint, Pelle inked a 10-day contract with the Kings while Hassan Whiteside was in health and safety protocols. He appeared in just one game for Sacramento and didn’t receive a second 10-day deal.

Pelle underwent COVID-19 testing this week so he could be available for Saturday’s game, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Knicks also considered veteran big man John Henson, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Pacers Sign Oshae Brissett On 10-Day Contract

April 1st, 2021 at 2:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

APRIL 1: A week after his deal was first reported, Brissett has officially signed a 10-day contract with the Pacers, the club announced today in a press release. It’ll be worth approximately $99K and will run through April 10.

MARCH 25: With small forward T.J. Warren now officially out for the entire 2020/21 season, the Pacers will audition second-year small forward Oshae Brissett on a 10-day deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

As Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets, Brissett had a stellar season for the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, earning All-G League Second Team honors for his play in the NBAGL Orlando “bubble.”

In 12 games (including 10 starts), the 22-year-old averaged 18.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.7 BPG. He also connected on a respectable 33.3% of his 6.5 three-point looks per game.

After going undrafted out of Syracuse in 2019, the 6’7″ Brissett played out his rookie year for the Raptors during the 2019/20 season, where current Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren was an assistant, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He appeared in 19 games for Toronto, averaging 7.1 MPG.

The Pacers waived Jalen Lecque earlier today to open a spot on the 15-man roster, which Brissett will fill.

Bucks Sign Jeff Teague

April 1st, 2021 at 1:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 1: The Bucks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Teague.

MARCH 29: Free agent point guard Jeff Teague will sign with the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Teague was waived by the Magic over the weekend after they acquired him as a salary throw-in to complete the Evan Fournier trade with the Celtics.

Teague, 32, signed a one-year deal with Boston during the offseason. He appeared in 34 games, including five starts, and averaged 6.9 PPG and 2.1 APG in 18.1 MPG while shooting 41.5% from the field.

For his career, Teague has averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.6 APG and 2.3 RPG in 805 games for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves and Celtics.

With Milwaukee, he’ll add some depth at the point behind Jrue Holiday and will reunite with former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.

The Bucks have an open roster spot for Teague. They were seeking to fortify their guard depth after trading reserve point guard D.J. Augustin to Houston in the deal that brought veteran forward P.J. Tucker to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee will have one more opening on its 15-man roster after signing Teague, so the move doesn’t rule out the possible addition of Austin Rivers.

Nets Sign Alize Johnson To Second 10-Day Contract

April 1st, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 1: The Nets have officially re-signed Johnson to a second 10-day deal, the team confirmed today in a press release. It’ll run through April 10, at which point Brooklyn will either have to let Johnson go or sign him to a rest-of-season contract.

MARCH 30: The Nets plan to sign forward Alize Johnson to a second 10-day contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Johnson made quite a splash in his Brooklyn debut, supplying 23 points, 15 rebounds and three assists in a loss to Utah on Wednesday. That was also his season debut.

His first 10-day deal is due to expire on Wednesday.

Johnson, 24, spent two seasons with the Pacers after being drafted 50th overall in 2018, but appeared in just 31 total games and played limited minutes, seeing more action with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League.

Johnson suited up for the Raptors 905 in the G League bubble this season, averaging 16.6 PPG and 13.5 RPG (second in the league) in 15 games (32.1 MPG).

With the Nets retaining Johnson, at least in the short team, they’ll remain at the league limit of 15 players (not counting two-ways). For the latest on roster openings, check out our update here.

Spurs Sign Gorgui Dieng, Waive Marquese Chriss

March 29th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 29: The Spurs have made it official with Dieng, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed him to a new contract.

MARCH 28: Free agent center Gorgui Dieng will sign with the Spurs once he clears waivers, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The Knicks, Suns, Clippers, Sixers, Raptors, Heat and Nets also reached out to Dieng, sources tell Stein (Twitter link).

San Antonio doesn’t have an open roster spot, so Marquese Chriss will be waived to make room for Dieng, as Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter). Chriss, who is out for the year with a broken right fibula, was acquired from the Warriors on Thursday. His $1.8MM contract expires at the end of the season.

The Spurs have officially released Chriss, Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets.

The Grizzlies waived Dieng on Friday after failing to find a taker for him by the trade deadline. His $17.3MM contract limited the options for Memphis on the trade market.

Dieng has played in just 22 games this season and was averaging 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per night. He had fallen behind Xavier Tillman in the rotation and didn’t appear to have a future with the Grizzlies.

Dieng will officially clear waivers at 5pm today. The 31-year-old will provide another veteran front court option for San Antonio, which reached a buyout agreement with LaMarcus Aldridge on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Sign Tyler Cook To Second 10-Day Deal

March 28th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MARCH 28: The Pistons signed Cook to his second 10-day contract on Sunday, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.

MARCH 26: The Pistons plan to sign big man Tyler Cook to a second 10-day contract, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press tweets.

Cook was officially signed to his first 10-day with the club on March 18 — that deal is set to expire on Saturday night. He’s already appeared in four games with Detroit, accumulating nine points and 13 rebounds.

Cook reached the open market on March 6 when his 10-day deal with Brooklyn expired.

Undrafted out of Iowa in 2019, Cook spent time as a rookie last season on a two-way contract and a pair of 10-day deals with Cleveland before joining Denver for the NBA restart as a substitute player. He only appeared in 13 total NBA games, but played more for the Canton Charge and OKC Blue in the G League, averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 29 games (21.3 MPG).

Cook returned to the G League for the 2020/21 season and was one of the early standouts at the Walt Disney World bubble, averaging 20.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG in eight games (33.3 MPG) for the Iowa Wolves.

Lakers Sign Andre Drummond

March 28th, 2021 at 8:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

8:17pm: The Lakers have officially signed Andre Drummond, the team announced on social media.

12:54pm: Coveted free agent center Andre Drummond plans to sign with the reigning champion Lakers after he clears waivers today at 4 pm CT, his agent Jeff Schwartz has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As we relayed yesterday, Woj previously reported that the Lakers were a “strong frontrunner” to ink the veteran big man. Drummond also met with the Celtics, a club in the market for a Daniel Theis replacement after moving their starting center in a cost-cutting deal.

The 6’10” Drummond, a two-time All-Star during his tenure with the Pistons, should immediately get the starting nod ahead of erratic current starter Marc Gasol and undersized reserve center Montrezl Harrell, Woj noted in a since-updated story previewing Drummond’s interest in the Lakers yesterday.

After spending portions of two seasons in Cleveland, Drummond reached a buyout agreement on Friday with the Cavaliers, who are prioritizing young new center Jarrett Allen. Across 25 games with the Cavs this season, Drummond averaged 17.5 PPG and 13.5 RPG.

Given the Lakers’ salary situation, the deal can only be at the veteran’s minimum this year. But a starting nod and robust rebounding numbers on a club expected to contend for a repeat title could be a terrific opportunity for the 27-year-old Drummond to prove his mettle and make a case for a longer-term contract this summer.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report observes (via Twitter) that there is “not a real obvious path” to an ample future long-term agreement with the Lakers. The team will have Drummond’s Non-Bird rights at season’s end, but the ability to offer a raise using those rights will be extremely limited.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.