Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign Chimezie Metu To Camp Deal

November 25th, 2020 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 28, 12:55pm: Metu has officially signed with the Kings, according to a team press release.

NOVEMBER 25, 5:08pm: The Kings are signing former Spurs big man Chimezie Metu, according to James Ham of NBC Sports California (Twitter link). Although Metu will get a training camp deal, he’ll have a shot to earn a spot on Sacramento’s regular season roster.

Metu, a 2018 second-round pick, was never able to establish consistent playing time in San Antonio during his two years with the team. He appeared in 47 games over the last two seasons, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 5.3 minutes per contest.

The Spurs released Metu last week and he cleared waivers on Sunday, clearing the path for him to sign outright with the Kings.

In Sacramento, Metu will be competing to earn a depth spot in a frontcourt that currently features the likes of Richaun Holmes, Marvin Bagley, Nemanja Bjelica, and, as of today, veteran center Hassan Whiteside, who is reportedly signing a one-year deal with the Kings.

Hassan Whiteside Signs With Kings

November 25th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 27: The Kings have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Whiteside.

NOVEMBER 25: Center Hassan Whiteside will reunite with his first NBA club. The big man is set to ink a one-year deal with the Kings, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that the agreement is for a veteran’s minimum. Whiteside is coming off a four-year, $98.4MM maximum contract extension he signed with the Heat in 2016.

The Heat traded Whiteside to Portland in the summer of 2019 to clear cap space for incoming free agent Jimmy Butler. He had a productive year for the Trail Blazers, for whom he started during most of the 2019/20 season as center Jusuf Nurkic used most of the season to rehabilitate from compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his left leg. In 30 MPG across 67 games with Portland (including 61 starts), Whiteside averaged 15.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and a league-leading 2.9 BPG, while shooting 62.1% from the field. Wojnarowski also notes that Whiteside’s 25.07 PER was good for the eighth best such stat in the NBA.

The 6’11” big man out of Marshall was initially drafted by Sacramento with the No. 33 pick in 2010. He spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings from 2010-2012. Whiteside logged time in the NBA’s then-D League (now the G League) and overseas before Miami took a flyer on him in 2014, where he quickly developed into an athletic force at the next level.

Whiteside marks new Kings GM Monte McNair‘s first free agent addition to the Sacramento roster. Presumably Whiteside will be expected to add interior depth behind oft-injured starter Marvin Bagley. Earlier this week, the Kings opted not to match the four-year, $72MM offer sheet tendered to restricted free agent shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic by the Hawks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Sign Trent Forrest To Two-Way Deal

November 25th, 2020 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Jazz have officially announced the signing of Forrest to one of their two-way contract slots, in addition to Jarrell Brantley.

NOVEMBER 19: The Jazz are signing undrafted Florida State guard Trent Forrest to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal can be made official after the NBA’s new league year begins this weekend.

Forrest, ranked by ESPN as the 27th-best undrafted prospect, spent four years with the Seminoles, entering the starting lineup in his junior season. As a senior in 2019/20, he averaged 11.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.9 SPG in 31 games (30.9 MPG). However, he’s not much of an outside shooter, making just 24.8% of his attempts (27 of 109) from beyond the arc over the course of his college career.

Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman finished the season occupying Utah’s two-way contract slots, but neither player is under contract for 2020/21. If the Jazz don’t re-sign either player to a new two-way deal, they’ll have room to add a second two-way player in addition to Forrest.

Bucks Sign Bryn Forbes To Two-Year Deal

November 25th, 2020 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Bucks’ deal with Forbes is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log. Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that it’s worth about $4.79MM over two years, having been completed using a portion of Milwaukee’s mid-level exception.

NOVEMBER 22: The Bucks have agreed to sign free agent shooting guard Bryn Forbes to a two-year deal, his agent Mike Lindeman tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Forbes’ contract will feature a second-year player option, Woj adds (via Twitter).

Forbes, 27, has spent the first four years of his NBA career in San Antonio after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2016. Over those four years, he emerged as a reliable rotation player for the Spurs, having started 143 games over the last two seasons.

A career 40.0% three-point shooter, Forbes averaged 11.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 25.1 minutes per contest in 2019/20. He’ll help the Bucks space the floor around reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, joining Jrue Holiday and D.J. Augustin among Milwaukee’s new backcourt players.

As for the Spurs, they may be in the market for some outside shooting help after losing Forbes in free agency. The team ranked just 26th in the NBA last season with 10.7 made threes per game — Forbes contributed 2.3 of those.

Magic Re-Sign James Ennis

November 25th, 2020 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 25: The Magic have officially re-signed Ennis, the team announced today in a press release. Orlando completed the signing using part of its mid-level exception for a salary of $3.3MM, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports.

NOVEMBER 20: The Magic are re-signing small forward James Ennis on a one-year contract, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets.

Orlando acquired Ennis from Philadelphia in a trade deadline deal in February. He started 18 of 20 regular-season games with the Magic, averaging 8.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.1 APG in 24.5 MPG.

Ennis has also played for Miami, New Orleans, Memphis, Houston and Detroit in his journeyman career. In 347 career appearances, he’s averaged 6.5 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 20.1 MPG. He’s a career 35.0% 3-point shooter.

Ennis had a player option worth $2.13MM but he declined it in order to test the free agent market. He wound up right back where he started and could be the team’s starting small forward, depending upon how the remainder of the team’s offseason plays out.

B.J. Johnson To Sign With Suns

November 25th, 2020 at 4:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Small forward B.J. Johnson is set to sign a deal with the Suns, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Johnson, 24, was on a two-way contract with Magic for the 2019/20 season but did not receive a qualifying offer from Orlando. Details of Johnson’s agreement with the Suns are unknown as of this writing, but it’s unlikely to be a fully guaranteed deal.

The 6’7″ wing went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018. After a stop with the Magic’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, at the start of the 2018/19 season, he logged limited time for the Hawks and Kings before landing back in Orlando in the fall of 2019. He appeared in just 10 games for Orlando, averaging 8.3 MPG.

In 28 games (all starts) for the Lakeland Magic during the 2019/20 season, however, Johnson averaged 22.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 2.1 SPG. He had a shooting line of .461/.414/.784. For his efforts, Johnson was rewarded with a 2020 All-NBA G League Second Team inclusion.

Rockets, Kings Finalize Kenyon Martin Jr. Trade

November 25th, 2020 at 2:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 25: The Rockets and Kings have each sent out press releases confirming that the trade is complete. Houston officially acquired the rights to Martin in exchange for the Lakers’ 2021 second-rounder and cash, as detailed below.

NOVEMBER 18: The Rockets have agreed to reacquire their pick at No. 52 and used it to select Kenyon Martin Jr., tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated.

In order to land Martin at No. 52, the Rockets sent $1MM in cash and the Lakers’ 2021 second-round pick to Sacramento, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Martin, the son of the first pick in the 2000 draft, played this year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, after originally committing to Vanderbilt. The 19-year-old was among the players selected for the NBA’s virtual draft combine.

The Rockets originally sent the pick to Sacramento in a three-way trade in 2019 to acquire Iman Shumpert.

Bruno Caboclo Plans To Re-Sign With Rockets

November 25th, 2020 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward Bruno Caboclo says he has a contract offer on the table from the Rockets that he intends to sign, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston relays (video link). According to Caboclo, it’s a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a team option on the second season.

Caboclo, 25, was acquired by the Rockets in a trade-deadline deal in February. He didn’t play a whole lot for Houston down the stretch, appearing in just eight regular season games and two postseason contests, but a report earlier this week said the team was interested in bringing him back.

The 20th overall pick in 2014, Caboclo has changed teams several times since being drafted, averaging 4.3 PPG and 2.6 RPG over a total of 99 games (12.7 MPG) for Toronto, Sacramento, Memphis, and Houston.

He projects to be the 14th man on Houston’s roster.

Clippers Sign Ky Bowman

November 25th, 2020 at 1:30pm CST by JD Shaw

DECEMBER 1: The Clippers have officially signed Bowman, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 25: The Clippers have reached an agreement with guard Ky Bowman, allowing him to compete for a roster spot in training camp next month, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It figures to be a minimum-salary contract, as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times tweets. It also doesn’t sound like it’ll be fully guaranteed.

Bowman spent last season with the Warriors after going undrafted out of Boston College, averaging 7.4 points, 2.9 assists and 22.6 minutes in 45 games, including 12 starts.

Bowman had his two-way contract converted into a multiyear standard deal in February, but only the 2019/20 salary was guaranteed. As a result, Golden State was able to waive him last week without being on the hook for any additional money.

Heat Sign Precious Achiuwa To Rookie Deal

November 25th, 2020 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially signed first-round pick Precious Achiuwa to his rookie contract, tweeting out a photo today that shows the rookie forward putting pen to paper.

The No. 20 overall pick in last Wednesday’s draft, Achiuwa signed for 120% of his rookie scale figure, the maximum possible amount permitted by the league, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). That’ll result in a $2.58MM first-year salary with an overall value of $12.51MM on his four-year contract.

In his first and only college season at Memphis, Achiuwa was one of the nation’s most impressive freshmen, averaging 15.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 1.9 BPG while shooting 49.3% from the floor in 31 games (30.4 MPG). He was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

We’re tracking all of this year’s draft pick signings right here.