Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Grizzlies Sign Desmond Bane To Rookie Contract

November 25th, 2020 at 9:29am CST by Luke Adams

The final pick in the first round of the 2020 draft has signed his rookie scale contract, as the Grizzlies issued a press release today confirming they’ve locked up No. 30 selection Desmond Bane.

Bane, who tested the draft waters as a junior in 2019, returned to TCU for his senior year and had a strong season. He averaged 16.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 3.9 APG on .452/.442/.789 shooting in 32 games (36.0 MPG) for the Horned Frogs.

The Grizzlies acquired Bane’s rights from the Celtics in a three-team trade that saw them surrender a pair of future second-round picks and cash while taking on Mario Hezonja‘s contract.

Assuming he receives his maximum allowable contract (120% of the rookie scale), Bane will have a first-year salary of $1.94MM and projects to earn nearly $10MM over the life of his four-year rookie deal.

Ten of 30 first-round picks have now officially signed their first NBA deals, as our tracker shows.

Jazz Sign Draft Picks Azubuike, Hughes

November 25th, 2020 at 7:36am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 25: Hughes signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal that will be fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 24: The Jazz have signed first-round pick Udoka Azubuike and second-rounder Elijah Hughes, according to a team press release.

Selected 27th overall, the 7-foot Azubuike was a four-year collegiate player at Kansas. He posted averages of 13.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 2.6 BPG in 31 games as a senior en route to being named Big 12 Player of the Year.

Assuming Azubuike received 120% of the rookie scale amount, he’ll make $1.977MM in his first season and a total of $10.15MM over four seasons. Hughes will likely get the $898,310 minimum salary for a first-year player.

Hughes, a small forward who played for Syracuse, was drafted with the 39th overall pick that Utah acquired on draft night. He led the ACC in scoring last season at 19.0 PPG to go along with 4.9 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.2 SPG.

Kings Decline To Match Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic Offer Sheet

November 24th, 2020 at 11:26pm CST by Luke Adams

11:26pm: The Hawks have issued a press release officially announcing the addition of Bogdanovic.

“Bogdan has a great feel for the game, and we expect him to be a great fit for us with his high-level offensive skill set, experience and toughness,” team president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “It’s no secret that one of our biggest areas of focus in free agency was adding shooting and quality depth. With Bogdan as part of our incoming group, we feel those are now areas of strength.”

8:03pm: The Kings have elected not to match Atlanta’s four-year, $72MM offer sheet for restricted free agent swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic, clearing the way for him to join the Hawks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Bogdanovic enjoyed arguably the best season of his three-year NBA career in 2019/20, averaging 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.4 APG on .440/.372/.741 shooting in 61 contests (29.0 MPG). He earned a promotion to the starting lineup in January, displacing Buddy Hield, and helped lead the Kings to a 16-12 record during his 28 games as a starter.

While the Kings’ roster moves at last season’s trade deadline – which included dumping some 2020/21 salary – indicated they were prepared to retain Bogdanovic in restricted free agency, the team underwent a front office overhaul after the season, with Monte McNair replacing Vlade Divac as Sacramento’s general manager.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the new front office, led by McNair, “labored” over whether or not to match Bogdanovic’s four-year offer from the Hawks, which includes a fourth-year option and a 15% trade kicker. Ultimately, Woj says, the Kings prioritized retaining roster flexibility and felt that bringing back Bogdanovic would hinder their ability to continue building around cornerstones De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley, and Hield.

Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that the Tyrese Haliburton pick in last week’s draft was a factor in Sacramento’s decision too, since the No. 12 pick gives the franchise another long-term building block in the backcourt.

The Kings also had the Hield/Bogdanovic dynamic to consider. Hield, who is just starting a lucrative four-year extension himself, didn’t appear thrilled to be moved to the bench last season, and Bogdanovic was believed to be seeking a change of scenery, having reportedly felt that he had been “de-prioritized” in recent months by the Kings. Bringing back both players may not have been great for team chemistry.

Still, it’s somewhat surprising that the Kings are letting a talented young player walk for nothing. They had hoped to salvage some value in a sign-and-trade, having initially reached an agreement with the Bucks last week that would have sent Bogdanovic and Justin James to Milwaukee for Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson, and Ersan Ilyasova. However, a couple days after it was first reported, that deal fell apart amid rumors that Bogdanovic himself hadn’t agree to sign with Milwaukee.

Since word of the agreement broke several days before free agency opened, there was speculation that the NBA may have intervened due to perceived tampering and/or circumvention. That hasn’t been confirmed at all, though the league did open an investigation into the situation. In any case, the Kings moved onto other sign-and-trade possibilities when free agency opened on Friday, but the Hawks had the cap room necessary to sign Bogdanovic without requiring Sacramento’s cooperation.

The Kings’ loss will be the Hawks’ gain, as an eventful week in Atlanta continues with the addition of the 28-year-old Serbian. We heard last month that the Hawks – who entered the offseason with the most cap space in the NBA – intended to be aggressive this fall, since they badly want to make it back to the playoffs next season. They’ve delivered on that promise.

After drafting USC center Onyeka Okongwu with the No. 6 pick in last Wednesday’s draft, the Hawks reached free agent agreements with Danilo Gallinari, Kris Dunn, Rajon Rondo, and Solomon Hill. Now they’ll add Bogdanovic to that group.

[RELATED: 2020 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Atlanta’s new additions will join a core headed by Trae Young and John Collins, along with promising youngsters Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, and Kevin Huerter. Clint Capela will also be joining the mix — the former Rockets center was acquired at last season’s deadline but has yet to appear in a game for the Hawks due to a foot injury.

With Bogdanovic now officially off the board, there are only four restricted free agents who have yet to secure new deals, and all four are two-way players. There are also only three players on our list of top 50 free agents who have yet to strike deals — and one of those three, Anthony Davis, is a lock to return to his current team. The other two are Hassan Whiteside (No. 17), who has reportedly received interest from the Kings, and Reggie Jackson (No. 50).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Sign Lottery Pick Jalen Smith

November 24th, 2020 at 9:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns have signed lottery pick Jalen Smith, according to a team press release.

Assuming Smith received the usual 120% above the rookie scale, he’ll make $4,245,720 in his first season and a total of $19,328,334 over the next four seasons.

He’ll look to get some minutes at the power forward and center spots on a team with playoff aspirations. He played two seasons at Maryland.

The 6’10” Smith averaged 15.5 PPG on 53.8% shooting from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range, plus 10.5 RPG and 2.4 BPG as a sophomore. He finished third in the nation with 21 double-doubles last season.

Clippers Waive Center Justin Patton

November 24th, 2020 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have waived center Justin Patton, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

Patton was part of a three-team swap among the Clippers, Nets and Pistons that became official on Thursday. Los Angeles also acquired Luke Kennard, the draft rights to Jay Scrubb and four second-round picks in the deal.

Patton was signed by the Pistons to a non-guaranteed contract early in the summer but didn’t make a notable impression during workouts. By waiving him, the Clippers will avoid being on the hook for his $1.82MM salary in 2020/21, creating some extra wiggle room below their hard cap.

Patton, the 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft, was plagued by injuries during his first two NBA seasons with the Timberwolves and Sixers, breaking bones in both feet and appearing in just four total games. He signed with Oklahoma City last summer, playing in five games for the Thunder before being traded to Dallas and subsequently waived.

Lakers Waive Jordan Bell

November 24th, 2020 at 7:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers have waived recently-acquired big man Jordan Bell, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets.

Bell was thrown into the deal that sent veteran center JaVale McGee to the Cavaliers for salary-matching purposes. The Lakers made the move to open up extra space under the hard cap for Marc Gasol.

Bell had a non-guaranteed salary of $1,762,796 and the Lakers needed to only guarantee a portion of that figure to make the trade number work. John Hollinger of The Athletic suggests (via Twitter) that Bell’s guarantee was about $580K, which will likely now be stretched across three seasons.

After spending his first two seasons with Golden State, Bell played in a total of 29 games with Minnesota and Memphis last season. He never played a game in Cleveland, as he signed with the Cavaliers in June.

Brantley Signs Two-Way Deal With Jazz

November 24th, 2020 at 6:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jarrell Brantley has signed a two-way contract with the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.

The small forward played under a similar deal last season and became a restricted free agent when Utah extended a qualifying offer last week.

A second-round pick in 2019, Brantley excelled at the G League level last season, as he was named to the All-NBAGL First Team. The former College of Charleston star averaged 18.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 3.7 APG in 33 starts with the Salt Lake City Stars. He played nine NBA games in his rookie season.

The Jazz have reportedly filled their other two-way slot with guard Trent Forrest.

Gallinari Acquired By Hawks In Sign-And-Trade

November 24th, 2020 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks have officially acquired forward Danilo Gallinari as part of a sign-and-trade with the Thunder, according to a team press release.

The Hawks also received cash considerations from the Thunder. Oklahoma City received a conditional 2025 second-round pick and create a large traded player exception through the transaction. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, it’s a $19.5MM exception (Twitter link).

The Thunder also created a $27.5MM exception by officially trading Steven Adams to New Orleans earlier in the day, though they’ll have to use it to take on Al Horford from Philadelphia (creating a new $15.4MM TPE for sending out Danny Green).

Gallinari signed a three-year contract reportedly worth $61.5MM. He reached an agreement with Atlanta on Friday, the first day of free agency.

“Danilo checks a lot of boxes for what we have prioritized,” Hawks GM Travis Schlenk said in the release. “We wanted to add productive veterans and high-level shooting to our group and he provides both. At his size, he is one of the league’s most versatile and efficient scorers and he has proven to be the type of veteran you want in your locker room.”

Gallinari, 32, had a strong season in Oklahoma City in 2019/20, averaging 18.7 PPG and 5.2 RPG on .438/.405/.893 shooting in 62 games (29.6 MPG). He’ll slot in at small forward, though he could also see extensive action the “four” in smaller lineups.