Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Pick Up 2021/22 Options On Four Players

December 23rd, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have picked up the fourth-year option on Collin Sexton, along with the third-year options for Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., and Dylan Windler, the team announced today in a press release.

Sexton, 21, showed improvement in his second NBA season, raising his scoring average from 16.7 to 20.8 PPG and improving his field goal percentage from 43.0% to 47.2%. Sexton’s $6,349,671 salary for the 2021/22 season is now locked in and he will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason. If he doesn’t come to an agreement, he will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022.

The 20-year-old Garland was the fifth pick in the 2019 draft. He struggled during his rookie season, shooting just 40.1% from the field, but got better as the year went on. He will make $7,040,880 next season.

Porter, 20, was the 30th pick in 2019 and was acquired in a draft night trade. He averaged 10.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG as a rookie and will earn $1,782,621 in 2021/22.

The 24-year-old Windler missed his entire rookie season due to a stress fracture in his left leg after being taken with the 26th pick in 2019. His 2021/22 salary will be $2,239,200.

We’re watching all the 2021/22 rookie scale team option decisions here.

Hornets Exercise Options On P.J. Washington, Miles Bridges

December 23rd, 2020 at 11:14am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets have picked up the third-year option for P.J. Washington and the fourth-year option for Miles Bridges, tweets Eric Woodyard of ESPN. The moves lock in Washington’s $4,215,120 salary and Bridges’ $5,421,493 salary for the 2021/22 season.

Washington, 22, was an impact player during his first season in Charlotte, averaging 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 58 games. He was the 12th selection in the 2019 draft and became a starter right away.

The 22-year-old Bridges became a full-time starter in his second NBA season, averaging 13.0 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 65 games. He will be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason.

All rookie scale decisions on 2021/22 team options must be made by December 29. You can follow the full list right here.

Pacers Exercise 2021/22 Options On Holiday, Bitadze

December 22nd, 2020 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have picked up a pair of rookie scale contract options for the 2021/22 season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve exercised Aaron Holiday‘s fourth-year option and Goga Bitadze‘s third-year option.

Holiday, 24, saw an increased role in Indiana’s backcourt last season, averaging 9.5 PPG and 3.4 APG to go along with a .414/.394/.851 shooting line in 66 games (24.5 MPG).

After earning $2.35MM this season, Holiday will make $3.98MM in 2021/22 as a result of his newly-exercised option. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2021. If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d be on track for restricted free agency in ’22.

Bitadze, the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft, appeared in 54 games as a rookie for the Pacers, averaging 3.2 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 8.7 minutes per contest. After dealing with visa issues and knee problems during his first year as a Pacer, the big man is currently battling an ankle sprain and will miss the start of the season.

Bitadze’s 2021/22 option – which is now fully guaranteed – is worth $3.1MM. The Pacers will have to decide next year whether to pick up his $5.79MM option for ’22/23.

Warriors Re-Sign Juan Toscano-Anderson To Two-Way Deal

December 22nd, 2020 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

10:12am: Toscano-Anderson’s two-way contract is now official, the Warriors announced in a press release.

9:04am: After releasing him from their standard roster on Saturday, the Warriors will bring back wing Juan Toscano-Anderson on a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Toscano-Anderson cleared waivers on Monday.

A former Marquette standout, Toscano-Anderson went undrafted in 2015 and spent the first few years of his professional career playing in Mexico and Venezuela. The 27-year-old joined the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz for the 2019/20 season and was eventually promoted to Golden State’s NBA roster. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .460/.348/.600 shooting in 13 games (20.9 MPG) down the stretch.

Toscano-Anderson’s contract with the Warriors included a non-guaranteed salary for 2020/21, so the team hung onto him through training camp and the preseason. Mychal Mulder beat him out for the 15th roster spot, but because Toscano-Anderson didn’t have a partial guarantee exceeding $50K, he remained eligible to sign a two-way deal with the club once he cleared waivers.

The Warriors, whose other two-way player is Nico Mannion, had been one of five teams with an empty two-way contract slot. As our tracker shows, the Pistons, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Kings still have open spots.

Nets Re-Sign Chiozza To Two-Way Contract, Waive Martin

December 22nd, 2020 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have made a change to one of their two-way contract slots, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived Jeremiah Martin and re-signed Chris Chiozza to a two-way deal to replace him.

Chiozza, 25, signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn in January and emerged as a reliable rotation player for the team, averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.1 APG on .425/.357/1.000 shooting in 18 games (15.4 MPG).

The Nets issued Chiozza a qualifying offer in November, making him a restricted free agent. He ended up signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Brooklyn, but it was non-guaranteed, which made him expendable on Saturday when the club made its roster cuts.

Although he didn’t make the 15-man squad, Chiozza cleared waivers and is now back on another two-way contract, which will allow him to be active in up to 50 of the Nets’ 72 regular season games this season. He’ll earn $449,155 on the deal, alongside fellow two-way player Reggie Perry.

Martin, meanwhile, will become a free agent on Thursday if he goes unclaimed on waivers. The former University of Memphis point guard, who signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Nets in January appeared in nine games as a rookie in 2019/20, averaging 7.1 PPG and 2.0 APG in 11.0 MPG. He also averaged 17.7 PPG and 4.5 APG in 37 G League games (30.4 MPG) for Long Island and Sioux Falls.

Suns Pick Up 2021/22 Options On Ayton, Bridges, Johnson

December 22nd, 2020 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have exercised their fourth-year team options on the rookie scale contracts of Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges, along with the third-year option on Cameron Johnson‘s rookie deal, per RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

All three options apply to the 2021/22 season, guaranteeing each player’s salary for that year. Ayton’s option is worth $12.63MM, Bridges’ is for $5.56MM, and Johnson’s has a value of $4.44MM.

None of the decisions came as a surprise, as all three players have established themselves as promising young contributors in Phoenix.

Ayton, the former No. 1 overall pick, averaged 18.2 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 38 games (32.5 MPG) in 2019/20 after serving a 25-game suspension to start the season for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2021.

Bridges, who will also be extension-eligible next year, recorded 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a solid .510/.361/.844 shooting line in 73 games (28.0 MPG) last season. He moved into Phoenix’s starting lineup later in the season, including for the team’s 8-0 run during the summer restart.

Johnson, the 11th pick in the 2019 draft, averaged 8.8 PPG and knocked down 39.0% of his three-point tries in 57 games (22.0 MPG) as a rookie. The Suns will have to decide next year whether to exercise his $5.89MM fourth-year option for 2022/23.

Suns Claim Frank Kaminsky Off Waivers

December 21st, 2020 at 10:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have reunited with veteran forward/center Frank Kaminsky, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Phoenix claimed Kaminsky off waivers.

Kaminsky, 27, averaged 9.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG on .450/.331/.678 shooting in 39 games (19.9 MPG) for Phoenix in 2019/20. A patella stress fracture shortened his season, however, and he played a very limited role during the Suns’ 8-0 run in the bubble at Walt Disney World. The team declined his $5MM option for 2020/21 last month.

After being let go by the Suns, Kaminsky signed a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Kings, but was beaten out by Glenn Robinson III for the 15th spot on Sacramento’s roster and was cut on Saturday.

As a result of tonight’s waiver claim, Kaminsky is back in Phoenix on a much more team-friendly deal than the $5MM option the Suns turned down in November. Because the club had an open roster spot, no corresponding roster move was required to claim Kaminsky.

Spurs Exercise Options On Walker, Johnson, Samanic

December 21st, 2020 at 9:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs have exercised their fourth-year team option on guard Lonnie Walker IV, as well as the third-year options on forwards Keldon Johnson and Luka Samanic, for the 2021/22 season, according to a team press release.

Walker will receive $4,447,896 during the 2021/22 campaign. Johnson will make $2.145MM and Samanic will get $2.96MM.

Walker, the 18th pick of the 2018 draft, appeared in 61 games last season and averaged 6.4 PPG and 1.1 APG in 16.2 MPG.

Johnson appeared in 17 games last season and averaged 9.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 17.7 MPG. He averaged 14.1 PPG in eight games during the Orlando restart. Johnson, a late first-round pick last year, also played 31 games for the G League Austin Spurs and averaged 20.3 PPG and 5.8 RPG.

Samanic, the 19th pick of the 2019 draft, appeared in three NBA games as a rookie. He also appeared in 33 games with the Austin Spurs, averaging 15.2 PPG and 7.8 RPG.

Thunder Waive Frank Jackson

December 21st, 2020 at 9:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:32pm: The Thunder have officially waived Jackson, the team announced in a press release.

9:11pm: The Thunder are waiving guard Frank Jackson, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Oklahoma City was the last team to get down to the 15-player opening-night limit, not including two-way players.

Jackson was vulnerable because OKC already had 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and he had a partially guaranteed deal. He signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract earlier this month but only $250K was guaranteed.

Jackson, the 31st overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Duke, missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury, but appeared in 120 games for the Pelicans over the last two years, averaging 7.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.1 APG on .422/.319/.743 shooting during that time.

The 22-year-old was eligible for restricted free agency this fall, but the Pelicans opted not to tender him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Spurs Sign Derrick White To Four-Year Extension

December 21st, 2020 at 7:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:12pm: It’s official, according to a team press release.

5:08pm: The Spurs have reached an agreement on a four-year extension for guard Derrick White, agent Mike Lindeman tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). It’ll be worth $73MM, per Wojnarowski.

San Antonio’s strong commitment to White comes after a season in which he was just a part-time starter. White averaged 11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 3.5 APG in 24.7 MPG in his third year in the league. He started 20 of 68 games after starting 55 of 67 games in his second season.

However, the Spurs recently signaled their intentions of retaining the combo guard long term when coach Gregg Popovich remarked, “He’s somebody we plan on for the future.”

White was the 29th pick of the 2017 draft. The Spurs backcourt is now set for years to come as they signed Dejounte Murray to a four-year extension worth up to $70MM last year.

With several veteran players coming off the books after this season, San Antonio will still have plenty of cap flexibility next summer. Factoring in White’s cap hold, the Spurs only sacrificed $6MM in space for the 2021 offseason. San Antonio could still have $50MM in cap room even with White’s extension factored in, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

White is currently sidelined after undergoing left toe surgery this fall.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.