Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks, Cavaliers Complete Minor Trade

November 23rd, 2020 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and Bucks have officially completed a minor trade, the Cavs announced today in a press release.

The Cavaliers acquired the Bucks’ 2025 second-round pick in the deal in exchange for the rights to former second-round pick Ilkan Karaman. Additionally, the protections on the Bucks’ 2022 first-round pick – sent to Cleveland in a deal two years ago – have been removed.

Although it’s technically a separate transaction, this deal is related to the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday mega–deal. Milwaukee is sending the Pelicans two future first-round picks in that swap. That wouldn’t have been possible as long as the conditions on the traded 2022 pick (which was protected through 2024) remained in place.

Teams aren’t permitted to leave themselves without first-round picks in back-to-back future drafts or trade picks more than seven years in advance. By removing the protections on the 2022 pick to Cleveland, the Bucks freed up their first-rounders to be dealt starting in 2024 — they’ll send the 2025 and 2027 selections to New Orleans.

As a sweetener for accommodating the Bucks, the Cavaliers will pick up that 2025 second-rounder in exchange for the NBA rights of a player drafted in 2012 who will almost certainly never play in the NBA.

Rockets Sign DeMarcus Cousins To One-Year Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 1: The Rockets have officially signed Cousins, the team announced today in a press release. Houston now has a full 20-man roster.

NOVEMBER 23: The Rockets and free agent center DeMarcus Cousins have agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary contract, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal and says it will be non-guaranteed.

Cousins, 30, has only played in 78 games over the last three seasons – and didn’t play at all in 2019/20 – due to a series of major leg injuries, including a torn Achilles and, most recently, a torn ACL.

He reportedly received contract offers prior to the NBA’s summer restart, but turned them down in order to focus on his rehab. He’s aiming to get back to 100% before returning to action, so it’s not clear yet whether he’ll be ready to go for the start of the season.

A fully-healthy Cousins would be a tantalizing weapon for the Rockets this season. The four-time All-Star has career averages of 21.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 565 games, and while he’s certainly unlikely to match those numbers, he’d be a bargain for Houston if he’s able to recapture his old form at all.

Houston’s agreement with Cousins is the latest signal that the team will be pivoting away from its micro-ball approach for 2020/21. The team also agreed to a three-year, $41MM deal with big man Christian Wood.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Celtics Re-Sign Tremont Waters To Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: Waters’ deal is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: The Celtics are bringing back guard Tremont Waters on a two-way contract, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.

Waters also played on a two-way contract last season. With center Tacko Fall also coming back on a two-way deal, Boston has reached agreements to fill both its slots.

A 2019 second-round pick out of LSU, Waters appeared in 11 regular-season games last season and averaged 3.6 PPG and 1.5 APG in 10.8 MPG. He also made a cameo appearance in the postseason.

Waters spent most of his rookie campaign with the Maine Red Claws and was named to the All-NBAGL Second Team. Waters averaged 18.0 PPG, 7.3 APG and 2.0 SPG in 33.8 MPG while starting 36 games for the Red Claws.

Lakers Trade McGee, Future Second-Rounder To Cavs

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 23: The deal is official, according to a press release from the Cavs. Cleveland acquires McGee and the Lakers’ second-round pick in exchange for McKinnie and Bell, as expected.

NOVEMBER 22: The Lakers are set to send center JaVale McGee and a future second-round draft pick to the Cavaliers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). This will create flexibility below the hard cap to allow the Lakers to sign veteran center Marc Gasol.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the second-round pick will be from the 2026 NBA draft. Fedor reports in a separate tweet that small forward Alfonzo McKinnie and big man Jordan Bell will be headed to Los Angeles in the deal.

McGee has a $4.2MM cap charge for 2020/21, which the Cavaliers have no way to absorb without sending out some salary themselves. McKinnie ($1.76MM) and Bell ($1.76MM) are currently on non-guaranteed deals, but their salaries will have to be at least partially guaranteed to make the deal work. The Cavs have to send out about $2.34MM and non-guaranteed money doesn’t count for salary-matching purposes.

Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that the likely outcome will see McKinnie being fully guaranteed, while Bell gets about a $600K guarantee. The Lakers could then waive and stretch Bell to create a little extra flexibility.

McGee started at center for most of the Lakers’ 2019/20 championship season, but was supplanted in the starting lineup during the last two rounds of the playoffs by the more mobile Markieff Morris or Dwight Howard most of the time, with Anthony Davis shifting from power forward to center to close out the Heat in Game 6 of the Finals. McGee is a three-time champion thanks to tenures with the Warriors and Lakers.

It doesn’t sound as if the Cavaliers view McGee as a mere salary dump. The team wanted a veteran big man with experience coming off the bench behind Andre Drummond, according to Fedor, so McGee will replace Tristan Thompson on the roster. Cleveland continues to explore possible free agent deals involving the mid-level, with a focus on backup point guard, per Fedor.

Luke Adams contributed to this story. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Sign Solomon Hill To One-Year Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:43pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Hawks have officially signed Hill, per a team press release. The deal is non-guaranteed, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

“Solomon is a player who has been on four playoff teams and has competed on the highest level,” president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “We are fortunate to add his veteran presence to our group.”

NOVEMBER 23: The Hawks and free agent forward Solomon Hill have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowsi (Twitter link).

Hill, 29, was very briefly a member of the Hawks last summer when the team acquired him from New Orleans in a draft-night trade, but Atlanta flipped him to the Grizzlies in a subsequent deal. After appearing in 48 games for Memphis, Hill was once again traded at the 2020 deadline and finished the season with the Heat, appearing in a total of 18 regular season and playoff games for Miami.

For the 2019/20 season, Hill averaged 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.8 APG in a total of 59 games (18.4 MPG) for the Grizzlies and Heat. While he’s not much of a scorer, the former first-round pick has the size to match up with most wings on defense.

The Hawks have made it a priority this offseason to add some solid defenders to their roster, having already struck deals with Kris Dunn and Rajon Rondo. The team is also signing Danilo Gallinari and is waiting to see if Sacramento will match its offer sheet for Bogdan Bogdanovic.

With Hill coming aboard, the Hawks project to have at least 15 players on guaranteed contracts if the Kings decline to match on Bogdanovic, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, who notes (via Twitter) that second-round pick Skylar Mays could end up on a two-way deal if there’s no room on the standard roster for him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Sign Wenyen Gabriel, Sindarius Thornwell

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 30: Both signings are now official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: The Pelicans are filling two of their roster spots with forward Wenyen Gabriel and guard Sindarius Thornwell, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez tweets.

Both will play on veteran minimum deals. Gabriel is receiving a two-year contract with a team option for the 2021/22 season.

New Orleans plans to go with a 14-player roster, including restricted free agent Brandon Ingram, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Ingram has yet to sign but he’s expected to get a max contract.

The Pelicans also plan to fill both two-way slots, Guillory adds.

Gabriel began last season with the Kings and was traded in midseason to the Trail Blazers. The undrafted Gabriel appeared in a combined 30 regular-season games as a rookie and also saw action in four postseason games.

Thornwell was part of the Clippers’ rotation for two seasons but appeared in just two games with the Pelicans last season after signing as a substitute player during the restart. Otherwise, he spent the 2019/20 season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League.

Tacko Fall Returns To Celtics On Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 24: The deal is official, per the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: Second-year center Tacko Fall, a fan favorite in Boston, is returning to the Celtics on a second two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

An undrafted free agent out of UCF, the 7’5″ big man spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way deal with the Celtics, appearing in seven NBA games for the club. He racked up 23 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks in just 33 minutes in those seven contests.

Fall was a rotation mainstay for the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ G League affiliate, averaging 12.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 3.1 BPG in 29 games (23.3 MPG) for the club.

The Celtics’ issued a qualifying offer to Fall last week, making him a restricted free agent. Now it appears he’ll be back with the team for the 2020/21 season, filling one of the two-way slots. Tremont Waters, the club’s other two-way player last season, also received a QO from the club, but it’s not clear yet whether or not he’ll return.

Pistons To Sign Former Vermont Star Anthony Lamb

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Undrafted free agent swingman Anthony Lamb has reached an agreement with the Pistons, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.

It’s uncertain whether he’s receiving a training camp deal or if he’s signing a two-way contract. Detroit has a two-way slot available.

The 6’6” Lamb was a four-year starter at Vermont and the two-time America East Conference Player of the Year. Lamb averaged 16.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.2 BPG as a senior. During his college career, Lamb made 33.6% of his 3-point attempts.

He withdrew his name from the 2019 draft after working out for several teams.

Warriors To Sign Dwayne Sutton

November 23rd, 2020 at 3:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Louisville wing Dwayne Sutton, who went undrafted last week, has agreed to a contract with the Warriors, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Brett Siegel of Hoop Analysis Network (via Twitter) reports that the three-and-D swingman will get an Exhibit 10 contract and has a good chance to have it converted to a two-way deal for the season. The 6’5″ 23-year-old was an All-ACC Honorable Mention with the Cardinals this past season.

Sutton spent his first college season with the University of North Carolina at Asheville, then redshirted his sophomore season to transfer to his hometown squad in Louisville. During his redshirt senior year in 2019/20, Sutton averaged 9.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 0.8 BPG, and 0.7 SPG. He also connected on 35.4% of his 2.6 looks from long range per game.

He certainly could help provide depth at a position of need for Golden State, after All-Star wing Klay Thompson went down for the season with an Achilles tear last week.

Raptors Sign Alex Len To One-Year Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 3:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 26: Len has officially signed with the Raptors, per the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: The Raptors will add veteran big man Alex Len to their center rotation, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). Len will presumably compete with Chris Boucher for backup minutes behind Aron Baynes, another new addition.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter) reports that Len will sign a one-year contract.

After using most of their mid-level exception on the two-year, $14.3MM Baynes signing, the Raptors will use the leftover portion of their MLE to sign Len, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). As a result, he’ll earn about $2.32MM instead of a minimum salary of $2.17MM.

Drafted with the fifth pick by Phoenix in 2013, the oft-traveled Len signed with the Hawks during his first crack at free agency in 2018, for a two-year, $8.5MM contract. Atlanta dealt Len to the Kings in a package for Dewayne Dedmon and two future second-rounders at the 2019/20 trade deadline.

The 27-year-old seven-footer holds efficient career averages of 8.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 19.6 MPG across his seven NBA seasons.

Toronto saw its top two centers, veterans Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, walk in free agency. The Raptors have moved quickly to piece together a respectable rotation of big men to replace them — including incumbent RFA Boucher.

The 33-year-old Baynes is a competent defender who has recently developed into a perimeter shooting threat, while the lankier Boucher became an intriguingly athletic rotation piece last season. Len provides a big body in the post to threaten players at the rim. Though they lack the two-way versatility or passing of their predecessors, this triumvirate may be able to replace a decent amount of their output.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.