Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Sign Henry Ellenson To 10-Day Contract

March 10th, 2021 at 5:18pm CST by Luke Adams

5:18pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

10:11am: The Raptors will fill the open spot on their 15-man roster by signing free agent power forward Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Ellenson, who was in camp with Toronto in December, had been playing for the Raptors 905 in the G League bubble for the last month. Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate was eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday night, and it appears the Raptors are wasting no time in calling up the 24-year-old to the NBA club.

The 18th overall pick in 2016, Ellenson has appeared in a total of 81 NBA regular season contests for the Pistons, Knicks, and Nets, averaging just 4.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 9.2 minutes per game.

He has played a more regular role in the G League across 74 career NBAGL games. This season, he recorded 21.2 PPG and 8.1 RPG on .493/.427/.882 shooting in 15 games (30.6 MPG) as a key contributor for a Raptors 905 squad that earned the No. 1 seed heading into the single-elimination playoffs. The team was knocked out in the semifinals.

Ellenson, who received a $50K partial guarantee on his initial preseason deal with the Raptors, will earn approximately $119K on his new 10-day deal, with Toronto taking on a $111K cap hit, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). He’ll fill the roster spot that was vacated when Donta Hall‘s 10-day deal with the club expired over the weekend.

Jazz Sign Ersan Ilyasova

March 10th, 2021 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 10: The Jazz have officially signed Ilyasova, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

MARCH 9: Free agent power forward Ersan Ilyasova has agreed to a sign a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract with the Jazz, sources tell Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Schultz, Ilyasova is expected to officially sign on Wednesday after completing the COVID-19 protocol.

Ilyasova, who made his NBA debut back in 2006, has appeared in over 800 regular season contests for the Bucks and five other teams. In 2019/20, he averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG with a .466/.365/.828 shooting line in 63 games (15.7 MPG) for Milwaukee.

Last season’s 36.5% mark from three-point range matches Ilyasova’s career rate, and his ability to stretch the floor from the power forward spot has been valuable over the years. While he’s not the most switchable or versatile defender, the 33-year-old has shown an uncanny knack over the years for taking charges on the defensive end.

Utah has had plenty of success this season with a forward rotation that includes Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, and Georges Niang, so it’s unclear if Ilyasova will see action outside of garbage time or if he’ll simply provide some extra frontcourt depth.

The Jazz had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts since waiving Shaquille Harrison on February 24. Since the NBA allows teams to dip below the required 14-player minimum for only two weeks at a time, they needed to add a player before the second half got underway this week, as we detailed on Monday. After signing Ilyasova, Utah will still have an open spot on its 15-man roster, but won’t have to fill it immediately — or at all.

Ilyasova will earn $17,567 per day for the rest of the regular season, with Utah’s cap hit working out to $11,100 per day. The exact rest-of-season figures will depend on when he officially signs — assuming it happens on Wednesday, he’ll earn $1,194,542 with a cap charge of $754,783.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets Add Anthony Lamb, Waive Mason Jones

March 8th, 2021 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:55pm: Both moves are official, according to a team press release.

5:20pm: The Rockets are signing forward Anthony Lamb on a two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Concurrently, Houston is requesting waivers on rookie guard Mason Jones, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets.

Lamb, 23, was playing for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He was with the Pistons this December on a training camp invitation but was waived. He averaged 11.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 2.1 APG in 12 games at the G League bubble in Orlando.

The 6’6” Lamb was a four-year starter at Vermont and the two-time America East Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 16.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.2 BPG as a senior.

Jones, who was on a two-way deal, averaged 5.5 RPG, 2.1 RPG and 1.3 APG in 22 appearances with the Rockets. Jones declared for the draft after his sophomore year with Arkansas but wasn’t selected. He led the SEC in scoring last year with 22.0 PPG.

Nets Sign Blake Griffin

March 8th, 2021 at 10:08am CST by JD Shaw

MARCH 8, 10:08am: The Nets have officially signed Griffin, the team announced today in a press release.

“We’re fortunate to be able to add a player of Blake’s caliber to our roster at this point in the season,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Blake is a versatile frontcourt player with a long track record of success in our league, and we’re excited about the impact he’ll make for us both on and off the court in Brooklyn.”

Griffin’s minimum-salary deal will pay him $1,229,676 for the rest of the season, with Brooklyn taking on a $776,983 cap hit, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

MARCH 7, 6:08pm: Griffin has formally agreed to a deal with the Nets for the rest of the season, his agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It’ll be a veteran’s minimum contract.

Wojnarowski adds that Brooklyn envisions using Griffin as a small-ball center option off the bench.

MARCH 7, 4:16pm: Free agent Blake Griffin has cleared waivers and is expected to sign a contract with the Nets, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). No corresponding roster move will be necessary, since Brooklyn has three open roster spots.

Griffin recently agreed to a buyout with the Pistons, allowing the six-time All-Star to reach free agency after he gave up more than $13MM on his previous contract. The 31-year-old quickly registered interest from multiple teams, including Brooklyn, Golden State, Miami and Portland, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

By signing a deal with the Nets, Griffin will reunite with former teammate DeAndre Jordan in the frontcourt. Griffin has averaged just 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 31.3 minutes per game this season, shooting 36.5% from the field in 20 contests.

Brooklyn currently holds the second-best record in the East at 24-13. The team has won nine of its last 10 games and must decide whether to start Griffin or bring him off the bench, which would likely allow sharpshooter Joe Harris to remain as a starter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons, Blake Griffin Finalize Buyout

March 5th, 2021 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

4:04pm: The buyout agreement has been completed and Griffin has been placed on waivers, according to a team press release. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday evening.

“As we stated from the beginning of our discussions with Blake and his representatives, our goal has been to facilitate a resolution for the future that maximizes the interests of both Blake and our team,” GM Troy Weaver said in a statement. “We appreciate all of Blake’s efforts on and off the court in Detroit, have great respect for him as a player and a person and we wish him all the best in the future.”

“I thank the Pistons organization for working together on an outcome that benefits all involved and I wish the franchise success in the future,” Griffin said.

11:04am: The Pistons and power forward Blake Griffin have agreed to a contract buyout that will pave the way for him to become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Shams Charania of The Athletic had reported on Thursday that Detroit and Griffin were working toward a buyout.

According to Wojnarowski, most of the NBA’s contending teams have interest in Griffin, who figures to make a decision on where he’ll sign in the near future after he speaks to his top suitors.

Griffin has been out of the Pistons’ lineup since February 15, when he and the team agreed to work toward a solution that would expedite his exit from Detroit. The Pistons were focused on developing their younger players, while the 31-year-old’s preference was to join a contending team, so both sides were on board with pursuing a trade or buyout.

Although Griffin has made six All-Star teams and five All-NBA squads over the course of his impressive career, health issues have significantly limited his impact this season, as he has averaged a career-worst 12.3 PPG on 36.5% shooting in 20 games (31.3 MPG).

The former first overall pick also has one of the league’s most onerous contracts, including a $36.8MM cap hit in 2020/21, followed by a $38.96MM player option for ’21/22. That deal presumably made it impossible for the Pistons to find a reasonable trade, which is why the team and his reps shifted their focus to a buyout.

It will be fascinating to see how much salary Griffin agreed to give up as part of the agreement — most players who are bought out by their teams are on expiring contracts, but it seems safe to assume Griffin didn’t simply decline his player option as part of the deal. The Pistons will likely be on the hook for a significant amount of 2021/22 salary, though they’ll have the option of stretching next season’s cap hit across three seasons.

[UPDATE: Griffin Gave Up $13.3MM In Buyout]

Griffin will spend two days on waivers before he’s officially free to sign with a new team, but as long as the Pistons finalize his release soon, he should have plenty of time to find a new home by the start of the season’s second half next Wednesday.

Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) specifically names the Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Heat, and Warriors as teams that have expressed interest in Griffin, while Woj adds the Trail Blazers to the veteran’s list of viable options (Twitter link).

[UPDATE: Nets Considered Frontrunners To Sign Griffin]

Most of those clubs make sense, though a reunion with the Clippers would be a surprise, given how Griffin’s initial time with the organization came to an end. The Clippers re-signed Griffin to a five-year, $171MM contract in the summer of 2017 after pitching him on being a long-term centerpiece in L.A., then turned around and traded him to Detroit six months later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bucks Waive Jaylen Adams

March 5th, 2021 at 6:27am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

MARCH 5: The Bucks officially waived Adams on Thursday, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

MARCH 3: The Bucks are set to waive point guard Jaylen Adams, a source tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). This news comes in the wake of Milwaukee planning to ink Myles Powell to a two-way contract.

Adams and Mamadi Diakite occupied the club’s two available two-way contract slots on the current roster, so a move like this was inevitable for the Bucks to accommodate the addition of Powell.

A six-footer out of St. Bonaventure, the 24-year-old Adams was recently involved in an argument with an Uber driver, during which local police were called. Details of the conflict remain fairly murky as the situation is ongoing, and it’s unclear whether that incident was a major factor in the Bucks’ decision to cut him.

Last season, while playing for Milwaukee’s G League affiliate the Wisconsin Herd, Adams averaged 20.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 4.9 RPG across 34 games. He also posted a shooting line of .487/.401/.788. Adams has logged time across just seven games with the Bucks this year.

Bucks To Sign Myles Powell To Two-Way Contract

March 3rd, 2021 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks intend to sign former Seton Hall guard Myles Powell to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Powell, who went undrafted in 2020, joined the Westchester Knicks for the G League season and has played well at the Walt Disney World bubble, averaging 17.8 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG with a .448/.446/.818 shooting line in 13 games (28.1 MPG).

The NBA is expected to loosen the rules for players on two-way contracts this season, removing the restrictions that limit them to 50 regular season games and make them ineligible for the playoffs. So once Powell officially signs with Milwaukee, he should be eligible to play in the rest of the team’s regular season and postseason games.

The Bucks currently don’t have a two-way slot open, so they’ll have to waive either Mamadi Diakite or Jaylen Adams to make room for Powell.

Adams has logged just 18 minutes for Milwaukee this season and Diakite has yet to make his NBA debut, but both players have impressed at the G League level — Adams put up 20.9 PPG and 5.2 APG with a .401 3PT% in 34 games for the Wisconsin Herd last season, while Diakite averaged a double-double (18.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG) with 2.1 BPG and a .580/.500/.750 shooting line in 12 games for the Lakeland Magic before being recalled today.

Nets Re-Sign Shumpert, Roberson To 10-Day Contracts

February 26th, 2021 at 8:28pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Nets have brought back guard Iman Shumpert and forward Andre Roberson shortly after waiving them, announcing today in a press release that they’ve officially signed the two veterans to 10-day contracts.

Brooklyn signed Shumpert and Roberson to non-guaranteed contracts in recent weeks, then cut both players on Tuesday night in advance of this year’s salary guarantee deadline. By releasing the two vets and bringing them back on 10-day deals, the Nets will retain some roster and salary cap flexibility with the trade deadline just a few weeks away. Both players cleared waivers today.

Shumpert and Roberson were initially signed to bring their defensive abilities to an offensive-minded Brooklyn roster, but neither player has seen much action for the team so far. Shumpert has appeared in a single game, logging six minutes, while Roberson played 22 total minutes in two appearances.

The two 10-day deals will cover the rest of the Nets’ three remaining first-half games, then the club will have to make a decision on whether to re-sign the players to start the second half of the season. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Shumpert will earn about $160K on his 10-day contract, while Roberson will make $149K. Both players will have cap hits of $111K.

The Nets now have a full 15-man roster, including three players – Shumpert, Roberson, and Tyler Cook – on 10-day contracts.

Lakers Sign Damian Jones To 10-Day Contract

February 26th, 2021 at 12:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers have signed center Damian Jones to a 10-day contract, ESPN’s Marc Spears relays via a team press release. The team had two open roster spots after waiving Quinn Cook on Wednesday.

Jones was waived by the Suns on Wednesday. He signed a partially-guaranteed two-year deal with Phoenix during the 2020 offseason but played just 6.7 minutes per game in 14 contests.

The 6’11” big man was selected with the No. 30 pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Warriors out of Vanderbilt. He won two titles with Golden State in 2017 and 2018 as a little-used backup, then played significant minutes as a reserve with the Hawks during the 2019/20 season, averaging 16.1 MPG across 55 games (including 27 starts). Jones holds career NBA averages of 4.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 0.7 BPG in 13.3 MPG across parts of five NBA seasons.

Jones provides a little more depth up front with Anthony Davis sidelined by a calf injury. His 10-day deal will cover the rest of the season’s first half, paying him approximately $119K.

Raptors Add Donta Hall Via 10-Day Contract

February 26th, 2021 at 9:00am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

FEBRUARY 26: The Raptors have officially signed Hall, according to a team press release. He’ll be assigned to the G League, where the Raptors 905 have six days during his 10-day deal, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.

FEBRUARY 25: Power forward/center Donta Hall, most recently with the G League Ignite, has agreed to sign a 10-day deal with the Raptors, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

After Hall went undrafted out of Alabama in 2019, he split limited time in his rookie NBA season with the Pistons and Nets. Across nine NBA contests, he averaged 4.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 0.7 BPG in 14.8 MPG.

Hall spent the majority of his rookie season with the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 38 games (37 starts), while shooting 66.9% from the floor.

Across nine games with the Ignite in the NBAGL’s Orlando “bubble” this season, while averaging five fewer minutes than he did with the Grand Rapids Drive, Hall posted solid tallies of 8.9 PPG (on 61.4% shooting from the floor), 9.0 RPG, and 1.8 BPG.

Hall could prove valuable to his new club as an athletic, hyper-efficient center with legitimate bulk. Toronto could theoretically use the size of the Hall to help supplement forward Chris Boucher‘s minutes at the five in speedy lineups. Hall, 23, is listed at 232 pounds to Boucher’s 200.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.