Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign, Waive Javan Johnson, Dwight Murray Jr.

September 4th, 2025 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

September 4: One day after being signed, both Johnson and Murray have been waived by the Hawks, per a team press release.

As we noted below, the procedural move will make each player eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the College Park Skyhawks to open 2025/26.

September 3: The Hawks have officially signed forward Javan Johnson and guard Dwight Murray Jr. to their offseason roster, the team announced today in a press release.

Johnson, who went undrafted in 2023 after playing college ball at Troy, Iowa State, and DePaul, has spent most of his first two professional seasons in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors. He also had a brief stint in 2024 with the Gladiadores de Anzoátegui in Puerto Rico.

In 49 total appearances last season for Santa Cruz, Johnson averaged 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 26.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .417/.374/.912. The College Park Skyhawks – Atlanta’s G League affiliate – acquired the 26-year-old’s returning rights last month in a three-team trade that also involved the Salt Lake City Stars.

Murray, who went undrafted in 2023 too, played in Montenegro for KK Mornar in 2023/24, then spent last season with the Skyhawks, starting 29 of 43 games for Atlanta’s NBAGL team. A native of Austell, Georgia, the 6’0″ guard put up averages of 9.0 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per contest and a shooting line of .391/.315/.762.

While the Hawks didn’t provide any details on the contracts signed by Johnson and Murray, it’s safe to assume both deals include Exhibit 10 language, which will line them up to earn bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re waived by Atlanta and then spend at least 60 days with College Park. Both Johnson and Murray would qualify as returning-rights players for the Skyhawks.

The Hawks now officially have 20 players under contract, one shy of the offseason limit.

Nets Sign Liddell To Two-Way Contract, Finalize Sharpe Deal

September 3rd, 2025 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have officially announced a pair of signings, adding free agent forward E.J. Liddell on a two-way contract and finalizing their previously reported deal with free agent big man Day’Ron Sharpe (Twitter links).

Liddell, 24, was the 41st overall pick in the 2022 draft but tore his ACL in the Summer League just a few weeks later, wiping out his rookie season. The 24-year-old has since appeared in just 20 total NBA games for the Pelicans and Bulls and has seen extremely limited playing time. In 76 total NBA minutes across the past two seasons, he has scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

However, Liddell has been more productive in the NBA G League, including in 27 outings last season for the Windy City Bulls. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 32.3 minutes per game for Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate, posting a shooting line of .472/.361/.661.

Despite technically having been in the NBA for three seasons, Liddell still has two years of two-way eligibility left, since he missed one of those three seasons in its entirety due to an injury. He and Tyson Etienne are Brooklyn’s current two-way players, leaving one slot still open.

Meanwhile, Sharpe’s two-year, $12MM agreement with the Nets was reported was back on June 30, before the free agent period officially opened. The club has been putting off completing that deal – and Ziaire Williams‘ similar two-year, $12MM pact – in order to keep its options open with its cap room.

Still, all indications were that at least one of those two contracts would have to be signed using cap space, since the Nets renounced both players and wouldn’t be able to fit both Sharpe and Williams into their $8.8MM room exception. With that in mind, officially re-signing Sharpe doesn’t significantly impact Brooklyn’s flexibility — the team should still have roughly $16MM in room available.

Pelicans Sign Jalen McDaniels

September 3rd, 2025 at 10:17am CST by Arthur Hill

September 3: The signing of McDaniels is official, according to a team press release.

August 18: Jalen McDaniels has agreed to a contract with the Pelicans, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old small forward saw limited time in four games last season after signing a 10-day deal with the Wizards in February. He spent most of the season with Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, where he averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 38 total games.

McDaniels played his first three and a half NBA seasons in Charlotte after being selected with the 52nd pick in the 2019 draft, but he has bounced around the league since then. He was sent to Philadelphia in a four-team deal at the 2023 trade deadline, then signed with Toronto that summer. He was traded twice last year, being shipped to Sacramento in June and San Antonio in October. The Spurs waived him a day later, and he remained in the G League until he joined the Wizards.

In total, McDaniels has appeared in 252 NBA games with career averages of 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.1 minutes per night.

Charania doesn’t release any details of McDaniels’ new contract, but it could be an Exhibit 10 deal with an invitation to training camp. With 14 standard contracts, the Pelicans have one roster opening and are roughly $4.2MM below the luxury tax line, so they could carry a 15th man into the regular season without going into the tax.

McDaniels is ineligible for a two-way contract because he has already played six NBA seasons.

Pelicans Sign Garrison Brooks

September 3rd, 2025 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

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

September 2: The Pelicans have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Garrison Brooks, agent Darrell Comer tells NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

While Haynes doesn’t specify the terms of the deal, it’s almost certain to be an Exhibit 10 contract. The Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G League affiliate, recently acquired Brooks’ returning rights, so if the Pelicans sign him to an Exhibit 10 deal and then waive him prior to the start of the season, he’ll be in line to earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Squadron (on top of his base NBAGL salary).

Brooks, 26, went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2022. He spent his rookie season in the G League with the Westchester Knicks, played in Korea for a few months in 2023, and then spent most of the past two seasons with BC Wolves in Lithuania.

In 18 EuroCup outings for the Wolves last season, Brooks averaged 7.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game. During his previous NBAGL stint, in 2022/23, he put up 13.6 PPG and 11.6 RPG in 37 games (30.5 MPG) for Westchester.

Spencer Davies of RG.org reported in July that Brooks was among the players who took part in a Las Vegas pro day for the agency CSE and was drawing interest at the time as a potential NBA training camp option.

Stanley Umude Joins Spurs On Camp Deal

September 3rd, 2025 at 9:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs have signed Stanley Umude to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Paul Garcia of The Spot Up Shot (Twitter link). Umude’s addition bumps San Antonio’s roster count to 20, one below the maximum with training camps looming later this month.

Umude played last season with the Bucks on a two-way contract. He made 22 cameo appearances for Milwaukee, never scoring more than three points. In 13 games with the Wisconsin Herd of the G League, Umude averaged 17.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest.

Umude, who also played for Milwaukee’s Summer League team this July, was in the Pistons organization the previous two seasons, playing on a two-way deal in 2023/24. The 26-year-old went undrafted in 2022 after playing at Arkansas.

If Umude is waived ahead of the season and spends at least 60 days with the club’s NBAGL affiliate, the Austin Spurs, he’ll be eligible to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his G League salary.

Magic Sign Four Players To Exhibit 10 Contracts

September 2nd, 2025 at 4:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic have announced four new signings ahead of training camp (Twitter link). Orlando has added free agent guard Reece Beekman, wings Justin Minaya and Lester Quinones, and center Colin Castleton.

Although the team didn’t divulge terms of the agreements, Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel reports that all four deals are Exhibit 10 contracts.

Castleton’s signing was previously confirmed in the NBA’s transaction log, while Quinones’ deal with the Magic was reported last month. The additions of Beekman and Minaya are new. Beekman is especially notable since he had reportedly reached a tentative agreement to join the Nuggets in June. That deal was never officially finalized, however.

Castleton has spent the previous two seasons with the Lakers, Grizzlies, Sixers and Raptors. He began his pro career out of Florida on two-way contracts with Los Angeles and Memphis, but graduated to 10-day deals with Toronto and Philadelphia. He was brought back by the Raptors on a two-year standard deal at the end of 2024/25, but they ultimately waived him earlier this summer.

A 6’4″ guard out of Memphis, Quinones most recently split the 2024/25 season with two-way deals for the Sixers and Pelicans. He has appeared in 54 total NBA regular season games in three years since going undrafted out of Memphis in 2022. His best season came in 2023/24, when he averaged 4.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per night with a .364 3PT% in 37 outings for Golden State.

Beekman signed a two-way deal with Golden State last July after going undrafted out of Virginia. He made just two brief appearances for the Warriors before being sent to the Nets in mid-December as part of the Dennis Schröder trade. Beekman got a larger NBA opportunity after arriving in Brooklyn, appearing in 34 games and averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 13.7 minutes per night.

Minaya, a 6’5″ small forward, has been a two-way player for the Blazers since 2022. He has made 57 total appearances but played a very limited role, averaging 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per contest.

All four players are eligible to have their Exhibit 10 deals converted into two-way contracts before the start of the regular season. The Magic currently have one open two-way slot alongside Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson.

If any of the four new Magic players are cut by Orlando ahead of the season and spent at least 60 days with the club’s NBAGL affiliate, the Osceola Magic, they’ll be eligible to earn bonuses worth up to $85,300.

Mavericks Re-Sign Dante Exum

September 1st, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Luke Adams

September 1: Nearly two months after his deal was first reported, Exum has re-signed with Dallas, per NBA.com’s official transactions log. As we detailed in a separate story, the Mavs opened up room under the hard cap and a roster spot by waiving and stretching Prosper.

July 2: The Mavericks and Dante Exum have reached an agreement on a one-year deal that will extend the veteran guard’s stay in Dallas, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Exum, who will turn 30 later this month, spent the first seven years of his professional career in the NBA, playing for Utah and Cleveland after being selected fifth overall in the 2014 draft. However, he struggled to establish himself as a reliable rotation player, due in part to his lack of offensive production.

Exum played in Europe for two seasons from 2021-23, developing a reliable three-point shot during his time with Barcelona and Partizan Belgrade, then returned stateside during the 2023 offseason and has played in Dallas since then.

Injuries, which hampered Exum’s development earlier in his career, have continued to be an issue during his second NBA stint, limiting him to 75 total appearances across the past two seasons, including just 20 last season due to right wrist surgery and a broken left hand.

But he has been a very effective role player for the Mavs when healthy, averaging 8.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .516/.472/.768.

Once Irving’s new deal is done and Russell officially signs, the Mavs won’t have enough room below a hard cap at the second tax apron to re-sign Exum on a minimum-salary deal, so they’ll need to make a corresponding roster move at some point to finalize all those moves, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter).

Waiving Brandon Williams, whose salary is mostly non-guaranteed, would be the easiest path to creating that space below the second apron, but he was productive in a rotation role during the second half of last season. Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a 2023 first-round pick, has been considered a trade candidate.

Giannis To Start Season With Bucks After Team Re-Signs Brother Thanasis

August 31st, 2025 at 1:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In a move to solidify Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s desire to stay with the Bucks, the franchise is re-signing his brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, on a guaranteed one-year, $2.9MM (minimum-salary) contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

The signing is official, according to a team press release relayed by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link).

According to Charania, after a summer of exploring options, Giannis Antetokounmpo — who is currently playing for Greece in the EuroBasket tournament — is staying in Milwaukee to start the season. This will quell speculation that the superstar might request a trade this offseason.

Naturally, if things don’t go well for the Bucks as the season progresses, that could always change. But having his brother back in the fold gives Giannis some added incentive to stay put.

Thanasis is also playing for Greece in the tournament. He was medically cleared to play again this spring after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.

The 32-year-old underwent surgery in early May of 2024 after tearing his Achilles. He was a free agent this past season after signing mainly minimum contracts to play with his brother in Milwaukee.

Thanasis, who made two appearances with the Knicks in 2015/16, saw action in 196 Bucks games from 2019-24. He played 34 games during the 2023/24 season and has posted averages of 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest over the course of his NBA career.

The Bucks will now have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. This could put Andre Jackson Jr.‘s roster status in jeopardy — the former UConn guard has an $800K guarantee on his $2,221,677 contract. It becomes fully guaranteed if he makes the opening night roster.

Mavericks Waive, Stretch Olivier-Maxence Prosper

August 29th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Rory Maher

9:00 pm: Prosper has been officially waived, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

3:50 pm: The Mavericks are waiving former first-round pick Olivier-Maxence Prosper and using the stretch provision on his $3MM cap hit, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the 6’8″ forward is expected to draw interest as an unrestricted free agent when he hits the open market in a couple days.

Dallas was reportedly trying to trade Prosper ahead of the 4:00 pm CT deadline to use the stretch provision. However, the Mavs were said to be reluctant to part with one of their two remaining second-rounders to shed Prosper’s salary, and instead will stretch it over three years, with annual cap hits of about $1MM through 2027/28.

The Mavericks will automatically decline their $5.3MM team option on Prosper for ’26/27 by releasing him.

Dallas needed to open up room under the second tax apron — at which the team is hard-capped — to re-sign Dante Exum, whose minimum-salary contract can now be finalized after being agreed to on July 2. Exum will essentially replace Prosper as the 15th standard contract on the team’s roster.

The 24th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Prosper has played a very limited role during his first two years in Dallas, averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game across 92 regular season outings, with a .396/.260/.658 shooting line.

Prosper, who is from Montreal, also played 25 G League games with the Texas Legends as a rookie in 2023/24. The 23-year-old averaged 18.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .498/.418/.762 shooting.

Nets Waive Tosan Evbuomwan

August 29th, 2025 at 2:18pm CST by Rory Maher

8:00 pm: The move is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

2:18 pm: The Nets are waiving Tosan Evbuomwan, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The former Princeton star had been on a two-way contract with Brooklyn.

A 6’8″ combo forward from England, Evbuomwan went undrafted in 2023 following a standout college career with the Tigers. He signed a two-year two-way deal with the Nets on January 1.

In 28 games with Brooklyn last season, the 24-year-old averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.9 steals in 23.8 minutes per contest. Evbuomwan’s shooting slash line was .427/.312/.753.

Brian Lewis of The New York Post believes waiving Evbuomwan may be a precursor to a potential trade for the Nets (Twitter link). Two-way deals are non-guaranteed and don’t impact a team’s salary cap, plus the Nets already have a two-way opening, but Lewis is certainly a plugged-in reporter.

Evbuomwan started 2023/24 — his rookie season — in the NBA G League with the Pistons’ affiliate, later inking a 10-day deal with Memphis and 10-day and two-way contracts with Detroit. He appeared in 17 NBA games with the two clubs (21.6 MPG), averaging 5.9 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .507/.375/.680 shooting.

After being cut from his two-way deal by the Pistons last October, Evbuomwan signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Clippers to secure a G League bonus, which he achieved by spending 60-plus days with the San Diego Clippers. He landed with the Nets a couple months later.

In 31 NBAGL games (33.1 MPG) with the San Diego Clippers and Long Island Nets in ’24/25, Evbuomwan averaged 19.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2.6 APG on .501/.354/.766 shooting.