Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Sign Kai Jones To 10-Day Contract

March 15th, 2024 at 3:46pm CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 15: The Sixers have officially signed Jones to a 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release.

MARCH 14: The Sixers plan to sign free agent forward/center Kai Jones to a 10-day contract on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Jones reportedly worked out for Philadelphia last week.

The No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jones averaged just 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game across 67 total appearances in his first two professional seasons. He had a much bigger role at the G League level, averaging 17.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.1 blocks in 38 regular season games with the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — from 2021-23.

Jones made a series of unusual social media posts prior to the 2023/24 season, calling out some of his teammates in a handful of tweets and videos. A report ahead of training camp indicated that the big man wouldn’t be reporting to the Hornets for personal reasons. He subsequently requested a trade and then was waived by the club shortly thereafter. The 23-year-old has been a free agent since then.

Last week, Shams Charania of The Athletic stated that Jones has been working on himself “on and off the court” since the fall in the hopes of earning another NBA opportunity. The young center said back in November that he was meeting with teams, and one report around that time indicated that the Clippers brought him in for “a visit of some capacity.”

Charania also noted that Jones played well for the Bahamas in a pair of AmeriCup qualifying contests last month, averaging 13.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game while making 68.8% of his shots from the floor.

The Sixers, who have been on the lookout for frontcourt help since Joel Embiid went down with a knee injury, have two open roster spots, so they won’t have to waive anyone to add Jones, who will earn $116,075 over the course of his 10 days with Philly.

Raptors Sign Jahmi’us Ramsey To Second 10-Day Deal

March 14th, 2024 at 2:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The Raptors have officially signed Jahmi’us Ramsey to a second 10-day contract, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportnet.ca.

As Murphy observes, Ramsey will be ineligible to sign a third 10-day deal with Toronto, so the team will have to decide if it wants to retain him for the remainder of the season on March 24.

Ramsey made two appearances for the Raptors during his first 10 days with the club, averaging 3.0 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 12.5 MPG. He also played two games for the Raptors 905, their NBA G League affiliate.

A former second-round pick (43rd overall in 2020) who played one season of college basketball at Texas Tech, Ramsey spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings prior to being waived in February 2022. He appeared in 32 games with Sacramento, averaging 3.1 PPG in just 7.1 MPG.

Ramsey has spent the past two seasons playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate. In 30 Showcase Cup and regular season games with the Blue in 2023/24, the 22-year-old shooting guard has averaged 20.6 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.1 SPG on .531/.406/.699 shooting in 29.5 MPG.

When Ramsey’s first 10-day deal expired overnight, the Raptors had an opening on their standard roster, which means they didn’t need to waive anyone to re-sign him. Ramsey will make $116,075 over the next 10 days.

Knicks Sign Diakite To 10-Day Deal, Officially Re-Sign Jeffries

March 14th, 2024 at 10:40am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have signed forward Mamadi Diakite to a 10-day contract, the team’s PR department tweets. New York also officially signed DaQuan Jeffries to a second 10-day deal, the club announced in a separate tweet.

Diakite became a free agent after the Spurs waived him on March 2. San Antonio had signed Diakite to a two-way deal on New Year’s Day.

Diakite is back in the Knicks’ organization after participating in their training camp last fall and playing for their G League team in Westchester earlier this season. He averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 30.3 minutes while playing six games for the G League club.

Diakite, 27, went undrafted in 2020 out of Virginia after winning the national championship with the Cavaliers in 2018/19. This is his fourth NBA season — he has played a total of 52 games with Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Cleveland and San Antonio. He holds career averages of 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per contest.

The Knicks have a roster opening to accommodate Diakite.

New York’s intention to re-sign Jeffries was reported on Wednesday. This is the third separate time Jeffries has been on the Knicks’ roster in 2023/24. He was initially on a standard non-guaranteed contract, but was waived as part of a trade back in late December. Jeffries signed his first 10-day deal with New York this season on February 22.

Knicks To Sign DaQuan Jeffries To Second 10-Day Deal

March 13th, 2024 at 8:04pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks are signing guard/forward DaQuan Jeffries to a second 10-day contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (via Twitter).

Jeffries signed his first 10-day deal with New York this season on February 22 and was eligible for a second 10-day contract at the beginning of March. Instead, he’ll be returning a couple weeks later, according to Scotto.

This is actually the third separate time Jeffries has been on the Knicks’ roster in 2023/24. He was initially on a standard non-guaranteed contract, but was waived as part of a trade back in late December.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, Jeffries will officially sign his new deal on Thursday, when New York faces Portland (Twitter link).

Once his second 10-day deal expires, Jeffries will be ineligible to sign a third. To retain him at that point, the Knicks would have to sign him for the rest of the season.

Jeffries, 26, went undrafted out of Tulsa in 2019. He has played in 60 NBA games for the Kings, Rockets, Grizzlies and Knicks over the past five seasons, including 13 brief cameos (34 total minutes) with New York in ’23/24.

Jeffries didn’t play in any games in 2022/23 with New York, but he was under contract the whole campaign — initially on a two-way deal, and then a pair of 10-day contracts, before finally signing a multiyear deal.

While he hasn’t played much for the NBA club, Jeffries has been a standout for the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester the past two seasons, averaging 22.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.1 BPG on .484/.385/.758 shooting in 13 regular season games in ’23/24.

As our tracker shows, New York only has 13 players on standard contracts at the moment, and was required to fill the 14th spot within two weeks of Jeffries’ last 10-day deal. The Knicks are currently 38-27, the No. 4 seed in the East, though only 2.5 games separate them from the No. 8 Heat.

Draft-And-Stash Prospect Tristan Vukcevic Signs With Wizards

March 13th, 2024 at 7:50pm CST by Luke Adams

7:50pm: Vukcevic’s contract with the Wizards is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

9:00am: Vukcevic is on track to sign a multiyear contract with the Wizards, confirms Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year deal, adds Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

7:55am: Seven-foot center Tristan Vukcevic has agreed to a buyout with KK Partizan, his team in Serbia, according to an announcement from team president Ostoja Mijailovic (Twitter link).

The buyout, which will be split between Partizan and Vukcevic’s former team Real Madrid as a result of a prior arrangement, is reportedly worth in the seven figures and will free up the big man to make the move to the NBA.

Vukcevic, who turned 21 on Monday, was the 42nd overall pick in the 2023 draft. He was selected by the Wizards, with general manager Will Dawkins expressing excitement about the youngster’s upside and lauding his shooting and passing abilities.

Although Vukcevic conveyed a desire last summer to join the team right away, Washington opted to have him spend another season overseas, where he played a very limited role for Partizan in 12 EuroLeague games. However, he impressed in 14 ABA League appearances, averaging 10.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .544/.440/.805.

It’s unclear whether Vukcevic has an NBA deal lined up with the Wizards or whether he’ll take a route similar to the one fellow draft-and-stash prospect Karlo Matkovic took last month with the Pelicans and finish the season with the Capital City Go-Go in the G League. Given the price of Vukcevic’s buyout, signing with the Wizards seems more likely.

Washington has only used a small portion of its mid-level exception so far in 2023/24, so the club could utilize it to sign Vukcevic to a deal that covers up to four years (including the rest of this season). The Wizards opened up a spot on their 15-man roster when R.J. Hampton‘s 10-day contract expired on Tuesday night.

Darius Bazley Signs With Jazz

March 12th, 2024 at 4:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 12: Bazley has officially signed with the Jazz and they’ve terminated the 10-day contract of guard Kinsey, according to a team press release.

As we relayed in a separate story, Lofton officially signed his contract with Utah on Monday when the team waived Porter.

MARCH 11: The Jazz will sign Darius Bazley to a three-year, non-guaranteed contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Utah will also add Kenneth Lofton Jr. under the same terms, Wojnarowski tweets.

Bazley, a 23-year-old center/power forward, made a brief NBA appearance last month when he signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers. He saw limited playing time in three games and didn’t receive a second 10-day deal.

Bazley returned to the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, where’s he’s averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in 22 regular season games.

The Jazz will be third team this season for Lofton, a 21-year-old power forward. He began the season in Memphis, where he played on a two-way contract in 2022/23, but he was waived in mid-December after appearing in 15 games.

The Sixers signed him to a two-way contract five days later, but released him at the beginning of March. He’s averaging 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 17 total games this season.

Utah currently has a full roster, but that includes Taevion Kinsey, whose 10-day contract began on Saturday. Kinsey may be released early from that deal, or the Jazz could wait a few days to make the Bazley or Lofton signings official.

Veteran forward Otto Porter, who hasn’t played since being acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, seems likely to be waived to open another roster spot.

Jazz Waive Otto Porter, Sign Kenneth Lofton

March 11th, 2024 at 3:20pm CST by Rory Maher

3:20pm: Porter has officially been waived and Lofton has been signed, the Jazz announced in a press release.

12:41pm: The Jazz intend to waive veteran forward Otto Porter Jr., sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Porter will not eligible to participate in the playoffs with the new team, since he was waived after March 1, which is the deadline for players to be released while maintaining postseason eligibility.

A report earlier today said Utah plans to sign young big men Darius Bazley and Kenneth Lofton Jr. to three-year contracts that are mostly non-guaranteed. Since the Jazz have 14 players on standard contracts and a 15th — Taevion Kinsey — on a 10-day deal, they needed to cut someone to create roster space. Porter will be that roster casualty, while Kinsey’s 10-day contract is also likely to be cut short.

Porter, 30, was traded from Toronto to Utah at the deadline in the deal that saw Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji moved to the Raptors. He never actually played in a game for the Jazz, who have been prioritizing young players for the second consecutive season after being in the hunt for the play-in tournament prior to the deadline.

A former No. 3 overall pick, Porter developed into a quality three-and-D player with the Wizards early in his career, which has unfortunately been derailed by injuries over the past six seasons. After helping the Warriors win a title as a key reserve in 2021/22, he signed a two-year, $12.3MM contract with Toronto, but only appeared in 23 combined games for the Raptors the past two seasons.

Assuming Porter clears waivers, which is a virtual certainty, the Jazz will carry a $6.3MM dead-money cap hit.

Grizzlies Sign DeJon Jarreau To 10-Day Deal

March 10th, 2024 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 10: The Grizzlies have officially signed Jarreau to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

The deal will run through March 19, covering Memphis’ next five games, and will be worth $103,550.

MARCH 9: The Grizzlies are promoting guard DeJon Jarreau from their G League affiliate and will sign him to a 10-day contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jarreau, who won the AAC Defensive Player of the Year award in his final college season at Houston in 2021, had brief stints with the Pacers and Rockets as a rookie, but has spent most of his professional career in the G League. He has played for four separate NBAGL clubs since 2021, including the Memphis Hustle in 2023/24.

In 36 total Showcase Cup and regular season games this season for the Hustle, Jarreau has averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .468/.313/.777. As Wojnarowski notes, he has played some of his best basketball as of late, putting up 21.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 8.6 APG in his past 10 games.

The Grizzlies have a full 15-man roster, with Wenyen Gabriel also under contract via the hardship exception. A team qualifies for a hardship exception – granting an extra roster spot temporarily – if it has four players who have missed three or more consecutive games due to injury or illness and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks.

Memphis appears to have six players who fit that bill: Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose, and Ziaire Williams. Unless the Grizzlies expect one of those players back within the next couple weeks, they could qualify for up to three hardship additions — Jarreau will be the club’s second hardship addition, Wojnarowski confirms, so no corresponding cut will be necessary to make room for him.

As our 10-day contract tracker shows, Jarreau will be the eighth player to sign a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies this season.

Jazz Sign Taevion Kinsey To 10-Day Deal

March 9th, 2024 at 11:40am CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 9: The Jazz have officially signed Kinsey to a 10-day deal, according to a release from the team.

MARCH 8: The Jazz are signing free agent guard Taevion Kinsey to a 10-day contract, agent Scott Nichols tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Kinsey, 23, went undrafted in June after playing five college seasons at Marshall. As a “super senior” for the Thundering Herd in 2022/23, he averaged 22.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .542/.404/.744 shooting in 32 games (37.8 MPG), earning Sun Belt Player of the Year for his efforts.

A 6’5″ wing, Kinsey signed a training camp deal with Utah last summer and was waived before the ’23/24 season began. He’s been playing for the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.9 APG on .558/.468/.840 shooting in 25 regular season games (28.7 MPG).

As our tracker shows, the Jazz have an opening on their standard roster, so they won’t have to release anyone to sign Kinsey, who will earn $64,343 on the 10-day contract in addition to his NBAGL salary.

Grizzlies Sign Wenyen Gabriel To 10-Day Contract

March 8th, 2024 at 9:57am CST by Tristan Tucker

MARCH 8: The Grizzlies have officially signed Gabriel to a 10-day contract, the team confirmed today in a press release (Twitter link). The deal will run through March 17, covering Memphis’ next five games.

MARCH 7: The Grizzlies have agreed to a 10-day contract with Wenyen Gabriel, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). Gabriel is a four-year NBA veteran who most recently played with the Lakers in 2022/23.

Gabriel has played for six teams across four years after making his NBA debut in the ’19/20 season with the Kings. The 26-year-old has also spent time with the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Nets, Clippers and Lakers. He saw his most extensive playing time with the Lakers last year, averaging 5.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 68 games (two starts).

Gabriel played two collegiate seasons at Kentucky from 2016-18, where he averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds before going undrafted. He has appeared in 40 games in the G League this season with the Wisconsin Herd, with whom he’s averaging 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest.

This is almost assuredly a hardship signing from the Grizzlies, who have a full 15-man roster. The team is still dealing with long-term injuries to Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, and Brandon Clarke, among others.

Matthew Hurt was signed to a 10-day hardship contract that expired overnight, so Gabriel is likely taking his place. Hurt’s 10-day deal with Memphis was his second of the season, so the Grizzlies are exploring other options instead of signing him for the remainder of the season.