Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

LaMarcus Aldridge Signs With Nets

March 28th, 2021 at 8:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 28: The Nets have officially signed Aldridge, the team announced today in a press release.

Brooklyn will have a cap hit of around $555K and Aldridge will earn $878K, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

MARCH 27: The Nets will be the next stop for free agent big man LaMarcus Aldridge, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Aldridge’s agent, Jeff Schwartz confirmed the deal, Woj adds (Twitter link). It will be a veteran’s minimum deal for the rest of the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Aldridge just cleared waivers after agreeing to a buyout with the Spurs on Thursday. He reportedly gave up $5.8MM in that arrangement, which is more than he will get paid in Brooklyn. However, he will have the chance to compete for a title with a franchise that can surround him with star teammates.

Brooklyn has a roster spot open, so no move will be necessary before Aldridge can sign. The Nets are already huge winners on the buyout market, having also added Blake Griffin earlier this month.

Aldridge is likely to see most of his minutes at center, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Brooklyn has been searching for help in the middle ever since parting with Jarrett Allen in the January deal to acquire James Harden.

Aldridge’s decision comes as somewhat of a surprise, especially in Miami, where the Heat were thought to be the front-runners to sign him. Miami had received indications that it had a good chance to land Aldridge, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. An associate of Aldridge told Jackson that the veteran big man chose the Nets because he believes they’re in position to contend for a title. The Heat’s current six-game losing streak likely affected his decision (Twitter link).

Aldridge, 35, saw his playing time reduced this year as San Antonio opted for a younger lineup. He hasn’t played since March 1 while the Spurs tried to make a trade, but no suitable offers were received before Thursday’s deadline. Aldridge averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 21 games before being shut down.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Thunder Sign Moses Brown To Multi-Year Contract

March 28th, 2021 at 5:29pm CST by JD Shaw

The Thunder have signed center Moses Brown to a multi-year contract, converting his deal from a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.

Brown, 21, most recently tallied 21 points and 23 rebounds in the team’s loss to Boston on Saturday, displaying serious flashes of potential. The 7’2″ big man went undrafted in 2019 and has spent most of the 2020/21 season in the G League.

Brown, who received All-NBA G League First Team honors, averaged 18.5 points, 13.9 rebounds and 26.4 minutes in 14 games with the OKC Blue. He’s appeared in 16 games with the Thunder this season and has emerged as a valuable young prospect for the club as it shifts its attention toward the future.

In addition to Brown, Oklahoma City owns an abundance of draft assets and contains a young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort and others.

Knicks Waive Terrance Ferguson, Vincent Poirier

March 28th, 2021 at 4:26pm CST by JD Shaw

The Knicks have waived Terrance Ferguson and Vincent Poirier after acquiring both players on trade deadline day, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) that Poirier would be waived.

New York brought in the duo in a three-team trade last week, also acquiring the Sixers’ 2021 second-round pick, the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and the draft rights to Emir Preldzic.

Poirier, 27, played 10 games with the Sixers this season before being moved. He spent the previous season with the Celtics and played 130 minutes in 22 games.

Ferguson, the No. 21 pick in 2017, spent the first three seasons of his career with the Thunder. Oklahoma City then traded him to Philadelphia in December of 2020. The 22-year-old swingman appeared in just 13 games for the Sixers this year.

Both players will clear waivers on Tuesday, assuming they go unclaimed.

Austin Rivers Waived By Thunder, Eyeing Bucks

March 28th, 2021 at 1:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

1:01pm: Rivers has officially been waived, the Thunder have announced in a team press release.

12:22pm: After being dealt from the Knicks to the Thunder as part of the three-team trade that sent point guard George Hill to the Sixers, combo guard Austin Rivers has been waived by Oklahoma City, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). With the move, the Thunder will now have an available roster spot.

Charania, Eric Nehm and Seth Partnow of The Athletic write that the Bucks appear to be the frontrunners in the quest to add Rivers, should he clear waivers in free agency. Milwaukee is seeking to fortify its point guard depth after sending reserve point guard D.J. Augustin in a deal for veteran forward P.J. Tucker.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe first identified Milwaukee as a potential landing spot for Rivers last Monday, while Eric Nehm of The Athletic highlighted the possibility of Rivers being a target for the Bucks following the trade deadline.

Rivers joined the Knicks in the offseason on a three-year, partially guaranteed $10MM contract in a sign-and-trade. He appeared in 21 games for New York, averaging 7.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.6 SPG in just 21.0 MPG.

The 6’4″ veteran guard lost his rotation spot to Derrick Rose once the Knicks added the former MVP in a trade with the Pistons. Rivers has not suited up since February 13.