Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Sign Noah Vonleh To One-Year Deal

November 26th, 2020 at 9:29am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 28: Vonleh is officially a Bull, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 26: The Bulls are in agreement with free agent forward Noah Vonleh on a one-year deal, agent Jim Tanner tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It will be Vonleh’s second stint with the franchise, as he finished the 2017/18 season in Chicago.

The ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Vonleh began his career in Charlotte before moving on to Portland, Chicago, and New York. In 2019/20, he began the season in Minnesota before being traded to Denver as part of the four-team mega-deal involving Clint Capela and Robert Covington.

In total, Vonleh averaged just 3.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 36 games (10.5 MPG) for the Timberwolves and Nuggets last season. He was more productive in 2018/19 for the Knicks, recording 8.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 68 games (25.3 MPG).

Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls’ new president of basketball operations, worked in the Nuggets’ front office last season, so he got a first-hand look at Vonleh for about a month before the hiatus.

It has been a relatively quiet free agent period for the Bulls, whose only other newcomers via free agency or trade are veteran guard Garrett Temple and undrafted rookie Devon Dotson, who signed a two-way deal.

If Vonleh is retained for the regular season, he, Temple, Dotson, figure to provide some additional depth on a Chicago squad that will otherwise return many of its players from last year’s roster. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes (via Twitter) that the team already has 15 guaranteed contracts, so for Vonleh to make the team, someone else would have to be traded or released.

Trail Blazers Sign Keljin Blevins To Two-Way Contract

November 26th, 2020 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have filled one of their open two-way contract slots, having signed free agent wing Keljin Blevins to a two-way deal, per the NBA’s official transactions log. Blevins, the cousin of Blazers star Damian Lillard, previously announced the deal on Instagram.

Blevins, who went undrafted in 2019, played two seasons of college ball at Southern Miss before transferring to Montana State for his final two seasons. He signed a training camp contract with Portland last fall but didn’t make the team’s regular season roster and landed with the Northern Arizona Suns in the G League.

In 35 NBAGL games last season, Blevins’ contributions were limited. The 25-year-old averaged 4.3 PPG and 2.9 RPG on .397/.267/.882 shooting in 16.1 minutes per contest.

With the fate of the G League season up in the air, Blevins may end up spending much of the 2020/21 season in the NBA with the Blazers — especially since Portland doesn’t have an NBAGL affiliate of its own. However, I wouldn’t expect him to see any action beyond garbage-time minutes.

Jake Toolson Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Jazz

November 25th, 2020 at 7:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Jazz have inked ex-BYU/Utah Valley rookie guard Jake Toolson to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to an official team press release. The news was first reported by Ben Anderson of KSL Sports.

Toolson will have an opportunity to join Utah for the club’s training camp. Should he make the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, Toolson could earn a bonus between $5K-$50K .

Toolson started out at BYU from 2014-16, transferred to Utah Valley, finally reunited with BYU for his 2019/20 senior season.

As a fifth-year senior, Toolson averaged 15.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 3.9 APG for the Cougars. The 6’5″ guard also shot 47.2% from the floor and converted and 47.0% of his 5.7 long range attempts during his senior year season. Toolson was named a 2019/20 All-WCC First Team selection.

Thunder Trade Lecque To Pacers For Leaf, Second-Round Pick

November 25th, 2020 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The deal between the Pacers and the Thunder is now official, with the Thunder acquiring Leaf and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for Lecque, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 22: The Thunder are acquiring yet another draft pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Oklahoma City will receive a future second-round pick and forward T.J. Leaf from the Pacers in a deal that sends guard Jalen Lecque to Indiana.

Lecque, a former Sun, was one of the players sent to the Thunder in this week’s Chris Paul trade. He signed a four-year contract with Phoenix as an undrafted free agent a year ago, but only saw action in five NBA games as a rookie. The 20-year-old has a guaranteed $1.52MM salary this season with no guarantees beyond for 2020/21.

It’s not clear whether the Pacers are intent on keeping and developing Lecque, since the move appears to be financially motivated too. As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, moving Leaf’s $4.33MM salary for ’20/21 will allow Indiana to slip back below the luxury tax line.

The Thunder will acquire yet another future draft pick as a sweetener for taking on that extra salary, adding another second-rounder to the long list of draft assets GM Sam Presti has picked up during the last couple offseasons.

It doesn’t seem safe to assume this offseason that any newly-acquired player will remain in Oklahoma City for long, but if the Thunder hang onto Leaf, they’ll be getting a player who hasn’t carved out a regular rotation role since being drafted 18th overall in 2017. He averaged just 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 28 games (7.9 MPG) for the Pacers in 2019/20.

Celtics Sign Jayson Tatum To Five-Year Max Extension

November 25th, 2020 at 7:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 25: Tatum’s maximum-salary contract extension with Boston is now official, the Celtics have announced on their official site.

NOVEMBER 22: The Celtics have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension with forward Jayson Tatum, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The deal will go into effect for the 2021/22 season, once Tatum’s rookie contract expires. Ryan McDonough of Radio.com tweets that the deal includes a fifth-year player option for the 2025/26 season.

Tatum, 22, blossomed into an All-Star during his third season in Boston. He posted career-high averages of 23.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 0.9 BPG across 66 games for the Celtics during the regular season. Tatum also logged impressive shooting splits of .45/.403/.812.

Along with his fellow 2020 Boston All-Star, point guard Kemba Walker, and ascendant young forward Jaylen Brown, Tatum led the Celtics to their second Eastern Conference Finals appearance of his young tenure during the 2019/20 season.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN details (Twitter link), Tatum’s starting salary will be worth at least 25% of the 2021/22 salary cap. If he makes an All-NBA team again in 2021, his deal will start at 30% of next year’s cap. Based on a 3% cap increase, Tatum’s first-year salary will range from about $28.1MM to $33.7MM.

Marks notes in a separate tweet that, if Tatum and/or his fellow recently-extended young All-Star Donovan Mitchell, qualifies for the full 30% extension by making any of the three All-NBA teams next season, either player would earn the biggest rookie extension in NBA history. Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons holds the current record at $177.2MM.

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox could also earn the 30% max on his new deal, though he’ll have to earn All-NBA First Team honors to do so, per the terms of his own extension. Among this year’s players eligible for rookie contract extensions, Tatum, Mitchell and Fox are the only three who have agreed to terms so far.

With Brown’s own extension (for $103MM in guaranteed money plus an additional $12MM in possible incentives) locked in through the 2023/24 season, getting off the contract of oft-injured veteran forward Gordon Hayward a year early has helped streamline Boston’s books for the immediate future, while securing their young core. Hayward opted out of the final year of his deal with Boston to sign a four-year, $120MM contract with the Hornets yesterday.

In terms of the team’s immediate roster-building, Boston will be able avoid the luxury tax this season thanks to Hayward’s departure. The club can still upgrade its roster using its $3.6MM biannual exception, along with trade exceptions acquired through the moves of Vincent Poirier and Enes Kanter.

Brown, Walker, and Tatum will all be under contract together for the next two seasons. Walker has a $37.7MM player option for 2022/23, his age-33 season. Defensive stalwart Marcus Smart has the team’s next-biggest contract, and is owed $27.8MM through the 2021/22 season.

Yesterday, the Celtics added center Tristan Thompson, signed into the club’s full mid-level exception. He will earn $19MM through 2021/22. Boston also fully guaranteed the contracts of incumbent starting center Daniel Theis and reserve forward Semi Ojeleye. Theis may be in line for a raise when he enters unrestricted free agency in 2021.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors To Add Kaleb Wesson

November 25th, 2020 at 6:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Warriors will sign undrafted free agent OSU power forward/center Kaleb Wesson to a training camp deal, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

The 6’9″, 270-pound rookie big man spent three seasons with the Buckeyes. The 21-year-old was awarded Second-Team All-Big Ten honors during his junior season with the club.

Through his three seasons with Ohio State, Wesson averaged 12.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 BPG and 0.8 SPG and started in 92 of 96 contests. In a Warriors-friendly stat, Wesson averaged 38.5% on his 2.0 three-point attempts per game during his OSU tenure. His three-point output got more frequent and accurate each season. By his seniors year, he was converting 42.5% of his 3.4 attempts a night.

John Hollinger of The Athletic had Wesson listed as his No. 62 favorite rookie prospect in an epic pre-draft rankings piece.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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.