Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Chris Boucher Re-Signs With Raptors

November 22nd, 2020 at 7:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 25: The Raptors have officially re-signed Boucher, according to a press release from the team.

NOVEMBER 22: After the top two incumbent Raptors big men opted to head West in separate signings with each of the Los Angeles clubs this weekend, Toronto will retain reserve center/power forward Chris Boucher, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Wojnarowski notes that the agreement is for a two-year, $13.5MM contract.

The second year of Boucher’s deal is non-guaranteed, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). This makes sense given the Raptors’ focus on preserving 2021 cap room. The 2021 free agent class looks to be stacked with high-quality All-Star targets. Along these lines, only the first year of newly-signed center Aron Baynes‘s contract is guaranteed. Scotto also mentions that six NBA clubs were interested in adding Boucher this offseason.

The 6’9″ Boucher, a 27-year-old restricted free agent, will be counted on by Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and head coach Nick Nurse to shore up the middle behind Baynes, the presumed starter.

Boucher enjoyed a career year during 2019/20, finally cementing a steady rotation spot during his third NBA season. He more than doubled his previous-best minutes tally, averaging 13.2 MPG across 62 NBA games as the Raptors’ third option at center. He notched averages of 6.6 PPG (double his prior career high), 4.5 RPG, and 1.0 BPG.

Boucher also flashed some promise from long range during his two seasons in Toronto. His current career mark is 32.1% from deep on 1.7 attempts per game, below-average for the league but solid numbers for a big man.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Sign Aron Baynes To Two-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 6:49pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Raptors have officially signed Baynes, according to the NBA’s transactions log. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca has reported that the second year of the big man’s deal will technically be non-guaranteed rather than a team option.

NOVEMBER 22: Having lost Marc Gasol to the Lakers and Serge Ibaka in a signing with the Clippers, the Raptors have moved quickly to reach an agreement to sign free agent center Aron Baynes to a two-year, $14.3MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The second year of Baynes’s contract will be a team option, allowing the Raptors to preserve their 2021 cap flexibility, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Toronto will use a chunk of its mid-level exception to complete the signing.

Though the 33-year-old Baynes may lack the passing acumen or career accolades of the 35-year-old Gasol or the defense of the 31-year-old Ibaka, Baynes is more mobile than the former and has developed into a solid outside shooting threat in his own right. During his 2019/20 season with the Suns, Baynes connected on 35.1% of his 4.3 three-pointers per game, significant career highs as he took pains to modernize his game.

During his lone season in Phoenix, the 6’10” Baynes also set new career-best benchmarks in points and assistants, averaging 11.5 PPG and 1.6 APG in a career-most 22.2 MPG. He also averaged a solid 5.6 RPG. Baynes began his career with the Spurs, with whom he won a title as a deep bench contributor in 2014. He also had two-year stops with the Pistons and Celtics.

Baynes looks to slot in as the Raptors’ starting center, replacing Gasol. In a separate deal today, Toronto is also set to re-sign center/power forward Chris Boucher, who emerged as a consistent rotation option behind Gasol and Ibaka. Boucher may now become Baynes’s primary backup as he continues to develop.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this report.

Wolves Pull QO For Kelan Martin

November 22nd, 2020 at 5:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have rescinded their two-way qualifying offer for wing Kelan Martin, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move makes him an unrestricted free agent.

Martin emerged as a rotation player in Minnesota last season, averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 31 games (16.0 MPG), though he struggled with his shot (.392 FG%, .260 FT%).

Although the Wolves liked him enough to initially make him a restricted free agent, there likely wouldn’t have been enough minutes to go around for him next season, given the team’s wing depth, tweets Krawczynski.

The Wolves still have a qualifying offer out to their other two-way free agent, Jordan McLaughlin.

Rockets To Sign Jae’Sean Tate To Three-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 5:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Rockets have agreed to sign rookie swingman Jae’Sean Tate to a three-year deal, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

John Hollinger of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the agreement is for a bit more than the league minimum, and that the Rockets used a portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to ink Tate to the deal.

The 6’4″ Tate, a four-year OSU alum, played under new Rockets assistant coach Will Weaver on the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL for the 2019/20 season. He averaged 16.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG, while shooting 37.3% from long range on 1.8 attempts. He also shot a stellar 65.8% from the floor. Tate received first-team All-NBL honors for the season.

Tate averaged 11.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG in four seasons with the Buckeyes, from 2014-18. He went undrafted in 2018. We previously relayed news of Houston’s interest in adding Tate earlier this offseason.

Jazz Ship Tony Bradley, Saben Lee To Pistons

November 22nd, 2020 at 4:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 22: The Jazz have officially announced their deal with the Pistons, confirming in a press release that they received cash from the Pistons in exchange for Bradley and the rights to No. 38 pick Saben Lee. Detroit has already agreed to flip Bradley to Philadelphia in a separate deal.

NOVEMBER 18: The Jazz have agreed to trade center Tony Bradley and the No. 38 pick to the Pistons for cash considerations, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

Bradley, 22, appeared in 58 regular-season games last season, averaging 4.9 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 11.4 MPG. Bradley will be entering his fourth season after spending most of his first two seasons in the G League.

Bradley has a $3.54MM guaranteed contract for the upcoming season and could be a restricted free agent if Detroit extends a $5.277MM qualifying offer next offseason.

Utah’s motivation for the trade was to open more cap room and increase roster flexibility, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. The Jazz have made re-signing unrestricted free agent guard Jordan Clarkson a top priority.

[UPDATE: Jazz, Jordan Clarkson agree to four-year deal]

Detroit has been arguably the busiest team this week, with new GM Troy Weaver completely reshaping the roster by acquiring assets and adding young players. The Pistons made three first-round selections, via their own lottery pick and a pair of draft-night trades.

Wolves Sign Juan Hernangomez To Three-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

NOV. 28: The Timberwolves have made the deal official, per a press release on Saturday.

NOV. 22: After striking a deal with Malik Beasley on Friday, the Timberwolves are now finalizing an agreement with their other key restricted free agent, Juan Hernangomez.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Hernangomez will sign a three-year, $21MM contract to remain in Minnesota. The deal will include a third-year team option, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Hernangomez spent the first three-and-a-half years of his career in Denver. Although he was a solid part of the Nuggets’ rotation in 2018/19, the 25-year-old saw his minutes cut back in ’19/20 after the team added Jerami Grant. With not enough minutes to go around for Hernangomez and Beasley, they were sent to the Timberwolves at the deadline.

With an increased role, Hernangomez elevated his game after being traded from Denver to Minnesota, averaging 12.9 PPG with a .420 3PT% in 14 contests as the Timberwolves’ starting power forward. That strong finish helped him earn a nice multiyear commitment from the Wolves in free agency.

It’s been an eventful week so far in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves drafted Anthony Edwards with the No. 1 overall pick on Wednesday, agreed to reacquire Ricky Rubio in a trade with the Thunder, and now have secured commitments from their top two free agents.

While most of the top players on the free agent market are now off the board, the Wolves do still have their exceptions available and could make an additional move or two.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Sign E’Twaun Moore To One-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29: The Suns have officially signed Moore, per RealGM’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 22: Free agent shooting guard E’Twaun Moore has reached an agreement to sign a one-year deal with the Suns, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Stein reports that the deal will be worth $2.4MM, which suggests it’s likely a minimum-salary pact, rounded up. Moore’s minimum salary this year, as a nine-year veteran, will be $2,331,593.

Moore, 31, has spent the last four seasons in New Orleans, bouncing back and forth between roles as a starter and a backup during that time. He has been an effective scorer and shooter for the Pelicans, averaging 10.7 PPG on .474/.404/.736 shooting in his four years with the team.

Moore represents the latest intriguing addition for a Phoenix team that appears to be poised to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference in 2020/21. Having kicked off their offseason by acquiring Chris Paul in a trade with Oklahoma City, the Suns have since reached free agent agreements with Jae Crowder and Moore, as well as their own restricted free agent guard Jevon Carter.

The team also drafted big man Jalen Smith with the No. 10 pick on Wednesday and reportedly wants to re-sign RFA forward Dario Saric.

Pelicans Sign Willy Hernangomez

November 22nd, 2020 at 3:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 24: The Pelicans have officially signed Hernangomez, per the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 22: The Pelicans are set to sign center Willy Hernangomez to a one-year veteran’s minimum contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium tweets. With four years of NBA experience to his credit, Hernangomez should earn $1,737,145 on such a deal.

The 250-pound 6’11” journeyman center, 26, started his NBA career with the Knicks, who drafted him with the 35th pick in 2015. Hernangomez finally joined New York for the 2016/17 season, and was eventually flipped to the Hornets in 2018. He will now back up starting Pelicans center Steven Adams, sent to New Orleans in a recent trade by the Thunder.

Hernangomez will essentially replace reserve center Jahlil Okafor in the New Orleans rotation. Okafor left the Pelicans for the Pistons in free agency. Hernangomez holds career averages of 6.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in just 14.4 MPG.

Rockets To Sign Sterling Brown

November 22nd, 2020 at 2:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Shooting guard Sterling Brown has agreed to a one-year deal with the Rockets, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Because Brown never received a qualifying offer from the Bucks, he was able to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.

The 6’5″ swingman was drafted by the Bucks with the 46th pick in 2017 out of SMU. The 25-year-old has a career slash line average of 5.2 PPG/3.1 RPG/1.0 APG across his three seasons in the league. He also has connected on an average of 77.4% of his free throw attempts, 41.7% of his shots from the floor, and 34.5% of his 2.6 three-point looks per contest.

His shooting should be a solid attribute to a changing Rockets club that still prioritizes surrounding stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook with switchable perimeter scorers, though how long those All-Star guards will stay with the franchise remains up in the air now.

Thunder Complete Trade Sending Kelly Oubre To Warriors

November 22nd, 2020 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22, 2:43pm: Erik Horne of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the Warriors’ first-round pick headed to Oklahoma City will be top-20 protected. If it doesn’t convey, per Horne, the Thunder will instead receive Minnesota’s 2021 second-round pick (along with the Nuggets’ 2021 second-rounder, which they’ll get either way).

NOVEMBER 22, 2:27pm: The trade is now official, the Thunder announced in a press release. Oubre is headed to Golden State in exchange for the Warriors’ protected 2021 first-round pick and Denver’s 2021 second-round pick, per the team.

NOVEMBER 19, 8:10pm: The Thunder and Warriors are finalizing a swap that will send Oubre to Golden State in exchange for the Warriors’ protected 2021 first-round pick, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that it has top-20 protection.

The Thunder will create a trade exception worth Oubre’s $14.4MM salary, assuming they intend to remain over the cap as they complete their offseason moves.

NOVEMBER 19, 3:55pm: The Thunder are engaged in serious talks about a trade that would send Kelly Oubre to the Warriors, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The two sides are nearing an agreement, adds Adrian Wojnarowsi of ESPN (Twitter link).

It remains to be seen what the Thunder would acquire in a deal involving Oubre, but it’s a safe bet that GM Sam Presti would be looking to add at least one more future draft pick to his constantly-growing collection of them.

A deal sending Oubre to Golden State would almost certainly see the Warriors absorb his $14.4MM salary using the team’s $17.2MM trade exception. That exception allows the Dubs to acquire up to $17.2MM in salary without sending out any salary themselves.

Although a trade along these lines has long been the subject of speculation, it’s still a little surprising that the Warriors are willing to take on the increased tax bill that adding Oubre’s salary would create. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains (via Twitter), based on current projections, Oubre would increase Golden State’s projected tax payment by about $68MM, resulting in a total increase of over $82MM after taking into account his actual salary.

The Warriors would likely get a bit of a break on that, since the NBA has said tax penalties will be reduced by the same amount that the league falls short of its revenue projection in 2020/21, but it’s still a massive commitment by the franchise.

However, Warriors ownership has exhibited a willingness to spend, and Oubre – who turns 25 next month – is a logical addition for a team that needed help on the wing even before word broke that Klay Thompson had suffered a torn Achilles.

In 2019/20, Oubre averaged a career-high 18.7 PPG in 56 games (34.5 MPG) for the Suns, chipping in 6.4 RPG and 1.3 SPG with a .453/.352/.780 shooting line. Phoenix, recognizing he wasn’t part of the team’s long-term plans, sent him to Oklahoma City in the Chris Paul blockbuster earlier this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.