Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Sign Brodric Thomas To Two-Way Contract

February 24th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Luke Adams

9:45pm: Cleveland has officially signed Thomas and waived Bolden, Russo tweets.

1:45pm: The Cavaliers are signing G League guard Brodric Thomas to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Thomas had been on a two-way deal with Houston, but was cut earlier in the month to open up a spot for Ray Spalding. Thomas saw very limited minutes in four games for the Rockets, but has been a regular starter for the club’s NBAGL affiliate, averaging 16.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.6 SPG in eight games (33.4 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Cleveland will waive two-way center Marques Bolden in order to make room for Thomas, sources tell Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bolden has played 29 total minutes in six games for the Cavs this season and has also had a limited impact at the G League level, recording 6.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG in three games (17.0 MPG) for the Canton Charge.

After officially completing those two transactions, the Cavs will once again have a 16-man roster, with 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. Dean Wade is the lone player on the standard roster without a fully guaranteed contract, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link) hears the club has no plans to waive Wade before today’s salary guarantee deadline.

Lamar Stevens, the Cavs’ other two-way player, has recently emerged as a regular part of the club’s rotation, and a source tells Fedor that Cleveland will likely consider converting Stevens’ contract to a standard contract at some point. However, the fact that the Cavs are clearing space for Thomas by waiving Bolden rather than promoting Stevens to fill the open spot on the 15-man roster suggests that’s a decision that will be made later in the season.

Pelicans Sign Sindarius Thornwell To 10-Day Deal

February 24th, 2021 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

After waiving guard Sindarius Thornwell on Monday, the Pelicans have brought him back on a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.

Thornwell was released for financial reasons before his contract would have become guaranteed for the rest of 2020/21. Instead of having his $1.62MM cap hit locked in for the season, he’ll make about $111K on his new 10-day deal with New Orleans.

The 26-year-old has appeared in 11 games this season, making one start, and was averaging 1.4 points in 4.8 minutes per night.

Thornwell signed a substitution contract with New Orleans prior to the NBA’s restart last summer and got into two games in Orlando. He re-signed with the team during the offseason.

Kings Release Glenn Robinson III

February 24th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

3:58pm: The Kings have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve waived Robinson.

3:36pm: The Kings intend to waive forward Glenn Robinson III, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The move will open up a spot on Sacramento’s roster, which is currently full.

Robinson, 27, signed a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Kings during the offseason after playing for the Warriors and 76ers in 2019/20. The veteran won the team’s final roster spot in training camp and appeared in 23 games for Sacramento, averaging 5.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG on .424/.364/.913 shooting in 16.0 minutes per contest.

Robinson is currently away from the Kings for personal reasons and was reportedly anticipating his release, since today is the deadline for teams to waive players on non-guaranteed deals and avoid paying their full-season salaries.

As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee noted earlier, Robinson has been dealing with a minor knee issue and the Kings would have to continue to pay him until he’s healthy enough to play, but that injury isn’t believed to be serious.

Assuming Robinson goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Friday, while Sacramento carries a cap hit of at least $930,930 on their books.

Jazz Waive Shaquille Harrison

February 24th, 2021 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have waived veteran guard Shaquille Harrison in advance of today’s salary guarantee deadline, the team announced in a press release. Ben Anderson of KSL Sports first reported (via Twitter) that Utah was cutting Harrison.

A 6’4″ guard who previously played for Phoenix and Chicago and has a reputation as a strong defender, Harrison signed a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Jazz during the offseason. Although he appeared in 17 games for the team, he never established himself as a rotation player — virtually all of his minutes came in garbage time of double-digit wins or losses.

By waiving him today, the Jazz will avoid paying Harrison’s full-season salary. Rather than carrying a $1.62MM cap hit for the guard, they’ll assume a $770,433 dead-money charge, assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed. If another team claims him, Utah could remove his cap hit entirely.

The Jazz have two other players with non-guaranteed contracts, but there’s no indication that Miye Oni or Juwan Morgan are going anywhere. Assuming they remain on the roster through today, their 2020/21 salaries will become fully guaranteed.

Utah now has two open spots on its 15-man roster and will have to fill at least one of those openings within the next two weeks, perhaps by signing a player to a 10-day contract.

Nets Officially Sign Tyler Cook To 10-Day Deal

February 24th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Nets have signed G League forward Tyler Cook to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. No corresponding move was necessary, as Brooklyn opened up three spots on its 15-man roster on Tuesday night by waiving Iman Shumpert, Noah Vonleh, and Andre Roberson.

Undrafted out of Iowa in 2019, Cook spent time as a rookie 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 has been one of the standouts at the Walt Disney World bubble over the last couple weeks, averaging 20.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG in eight games (33.3 MPG) for the Iowa Wolves.

Cook’s 10-day contract, which will pay him approximately $99K, will run through the rest of the season’s first half. The Nets will have to decide after that point whether to bring him back on a second 10-day deal to start the second half.

Today’s move makes the Nets the first team to formally sign a player to a 10-day contract this season without utilizing a hardship exception to do so. Brooklyn is also expected to re-add Shumpert and Roberson on 10-day deals of their own, assuming both players clear waivers later this week.

Lakers Release Quinn Cook

February 24th, 2021 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 24: The Lakers have officially released Cook, the team announced today in a press release. He’s now on track to clear waivers on Friday, while L.A. will carry a cap hit of about $797K if he goes unclaimed.

FEBRUARY 23: The Lakers are waiving veteran guard Quinn Cook, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move will leave the team with a pair of open spots on its 15-man roster.

Cook, who will turn 28 in a month, averaged 11.5 minutes per game in 44 regular season games for the Lakers last season, but has played even less of a role in 2020/21, logging just 62 total minutes in 16 appearances. He has played double-digit minutes just once.

As Charania explains (via Twitter), the Lakers valued Cook, but wanted to gain some extra roster and cap flexibility for possible upcoming moves, and his non-guaranteed contract made him the obvious roster casualty. Wednesday is the deadline for teams to waive a player on a non-guaranteed deal and avoid paying them his full-season salary.

Assuming Cook is officially released on Tuesday, his cap hit will dip from $1.62MM to about $785K, creating a little extra breathing room below the hard cap for Los Angeles. The Lakers will have up to two weeks to fill at least one of their two open roster spots to get back to the league-mandated minimum of 14 players on standard contracts, but could do so temporarily with a 10-day signing.

With two open roster spots, the Lakers will have some options on the trade market, but may ultimately focus on the post-deadline buyout market, as the defending champs will be a compelling destination for the top players who reach free agency.

Cook, meanwhile, would clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday if he goes unclaimed. According to Charania, the former Duke standout is expected to draw some interest around the league.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Release Damian Jones

February 24th, 2021 at 6:17am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

FEBRUARY 24: The Suns officially waived Jones on Tuesday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

FEBRUARY 23: Center Damian Jones is being cut by the Suns, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jones signed a partially-guaranteed two-year deal with Phoenix during the 2020 offseason. He never cracked the team’s regular frontcourt rotation, averaging just 6.7 MPG 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.

With Jones gone, Phoenix now has an available roster spot to add a new player. As John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix tweets, no specific free agent targets have been rumored yet, but the opening allows Phoenix general manager James Jones to explore a variety of possibilities.

Nets Waive Roberson, Vonleh, Shumpert; Plan To Sign Cook

February 23rd, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Nets have announced via a press release that they have waived swingmen Andre Roberson and Iman Shumpert, as well as power forward/center Noah Vonleh.

Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that Shumpert and Roberson intend to ink 10-day deals with Brooklyn should they clear waivers this Friday. Releasing this triumvirate of players now frees the Nets from having to guarantee their contracts for the whole season. This year, players must be cut by tomorrow, February 24, to beat the February 27 guarantee deadline.

Waiving players on non-guaranteed deals and subsequently adding them via 10-day contracts is common practice for teams looking to avoid a full-season cap hit.

Beyond hoping to retain Roberson and Shumpert through a string of 10-day contracts going forward, the Nets also intend to sign power forward Tyler Cook to a 10-day deal as a Vonleh replacement, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). Cook is averaging a stellar 20.6 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 4.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, and 0.6 SPG for the Iowa Wolves across seven games on the 2021 NBA G League Orlando “bubble” campus.

Vonleh was signed earlier this month to address the Nets’ shortcomings in their frontcourt. The well-traveled 25-year-old had suited up for the Hornets, Trail Blazers, Bulls, Knicks, Timberwolves and Nuggets across seven seasons before arriving in Brooklyn this year. Vonleh appeared in just four games for the Nets, averaging 2.8 MPG.

Rockets Waive DeMarcus Cousins

February 23rd, 2021 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

2:55pm: The Rockets have officially waived Cousins, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

7:56am: The Rockets have decided to release veteran center DeMarcus Cousins, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Assuming he clears waivers, Cousins will become an unrestricted free agent and will be able to sign with any team.

Houston and Cousins’ representatives reportedly decided over the weekend to end the relationship, with the Rockets said to be going younger and smaller in their frontcourt. The team explored the trade market in an attempt to get something in return for the 30-year-old, but today’s update suggests there were no deals out there worth making.

While he had a few big games for the Rockets, Cousins – who is coming off a series of major leg injuries, including a torn ACL – hasn’t looked like his old All-Star self this season, averaging just 9.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG on 37.6% shooting in 25 games (20.2 MPG). His limited mobility also reduced his effectiveness on the defensive end.

In a show of good will, the Rockets guaranteed Cousins’ full-season salary last week, so any team mulling a waiver claim on the big man would have to be comfortable taking on his full $1.62MM cap hit. If he clears waivers and signs a new minimum-salary contract, that deal would only be worth a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum, while Houston would carry $1.62MM in dead money.

Cousins should generate some interest around the NBA as a backup frontcourt scorer, but it’s unclear which team might emerge as his top suitor. Although the Lakers had him on their roster last season as he recovered from his ACL tear and will have two open roster spots, multiple people with knowledge of the situation said they don’t expect a reunion between L.A. and Cousins, according to Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Cousins reportedly has some interest in the Heat, but it remains to be seen how seriously Miami will reciprocate that interest.

Once Cousins officially hits waivers, the Rockets will have an open spot on their 15-man roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Waive Sindarius Thornwell

February 23rd, 2021 at 5:30am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 23: The Pelicans officially waived Thornwell on Monday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

FEBRUARY 22: The Pelicans intend to release guard Sindarius Thornwell, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Thornwell appeared in 11 games for New Orleans this season, but saw limited action, averaging just 4.8 minutes per contest. In 53 total minutes, he scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, chipping in four steals.

According to Guillory, the Pelicans were happy with Thornwell’s performance, but will make the move for financial reasons. The 26-year-old’s minimum-salary contract isn’t fully guaranteed, so by waiving him prior to Wednesday’s salary guarantee deadline, the club will save some money and create more breathing room below the luxury tax line.

Rather than counting for $1,620,564 against the Pelicans’ cap, Thornwell will have a cap charge of $721,484, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. New Orleans will move approximately $1.4MM below the tax threshold, Marks adds (Twitter link).

Because the Pelicans already have an open spot on their 15-man roster, releasing Thornwell will reduce their total standard contracts to just 13. The league-mandated minimum is 14, but teams can dip below that number for two weeks at a time. New Orleans will have to add a 14th man within two weeks and will likely do so by utilizing a 10-day contract — 10-day deals can be signed starting on Tuesday.