Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Breein Tyree, Paul Eboua

November 23rd, 2020 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Heat have issued a pair of press releases officially announcing their deals with Tyree and Eboua. Both players signed Exhibit 10 contracts, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 23: The Heat are adding a pair of undrafted free agent rookies to their roster, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald details. The team has signed former Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree and has also received a commitment from Cameroonian forward Paul Eboua, per Jackson.

Tyree, who spent all four years of his college career at Mississippi, averaged 19.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.5 APG on .427/.360/.822 shooting in 31 games (34.6 MPG) as a senior.

Eboua, who had been playing for Victoria Libertas in Italy, declared for the draft as an early entrant earlier this year. Agent Rade Filipovich, who referred to Eboua as “the best athlete in the draft,” told Jackson that a number of teams expressed interest in his client. Eboua chose the Heat due in large part to the organization’s player development track record.

Tyree and Eboua both figure to attend the Heat’s training camp on non-guaranteed deals and compete for the Heat’s open two-way slot, Jackson writes. Gabe Vincent currently occupies the club’s other two-way slot.

Jazz Trade Ed Davis To Knicks

November 23rd, 2020 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Jazz have issued a press release officially confirming that they’ve sent Davis and two future second-rounders to New York in exchange for cash considerations.

Now that the move is official, it clears the path for the Knicks to flip Davis to Minnesota in an agreed-upon deal with the Timberwolves.

NOVEMBER 19: The Jazz have reached an agreement to trade veteran big man Ed Davis to the Knicks, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York will also receive a pair of 2023 second-round pick in the deal, per Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter link).

Davis, who signed a two-year, $9.8MM deal with the Jazz a year ago, didn’t end up being relied upon as a regular part of the club’s rotation. He appeared in just 28 contests, logging 10.8 MPG and establishing new career lows in PPG (1.8) and RPG (3.8).

Davis is owed a guaranteed $5MM salary for the 2020/21 season, so this is essentially a salary dump for the Jazz, who are hoping to re-sign Jordan Clarkson and maintain enough cap flexibility to utilize their full $9.3MM mid-level exception. The Knicks will have upwards of $40MM in cap room in free agency, so they’ll have no problem taking on Davis’ contract.

After acquiring the Pistons’ 2023 second-round in last night’s draft, the Knicks will pick up two more second-rounders for that draft in this swap. It seems the team’s focus on ’23 is no accident — Marc Berman of The New York Post suggested earlier today (via Twitter) that the Knicks “really love” the 2023 draft, which they believe will be the first without the one-and-done rule in place, allowing high-schoolers to enter.

Suns Re-Sign Dario Saric To Three-Year Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29: Saric’s agreement with the Suns is now official, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 23: The Suns and restricted free agent Dario Saric have agreed to a new deal, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman tell Wojnarowski that their client will sign a three-year, $27MM contract.

Saric averaged 10.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 66 games (24.7 MPG) for the Suns in 2019/20, with a shooting line of .476/.357/.844. The 26-year-old, who was the 24th-ranked player on our list of this fall’s top free agents, will resume his role as a stretch four in Phoenix for the coming season.

While Frank Kaminsky and Aron Baynes are no longer in the picture for the Suns, the team did reach an agreement to sign Jae Crowder, who figures to see some time at the four as well as the three.

In addition to bringing back Saric and landing Crowder, the Suns also traded for Chris Paul, agreed to re-sign Jevon Carter, struck a deal with E’Twaun Moore, and selected Jalen Smith with the No. 10 pick in the draft. The Suns are looking to build on their 8-0 performance during the NBA’s summer restart and return to the playoffs in 2021.

With Saric off the board, Brandon Ingram and Bogdan Bogdanovic are the only non-two-way restricted free agents whose contract situations have yet to be resolved. Ingram is expected to re-sign with the Pelicans, while Bogdanovic is waiting to see if the Kings will match the offer sheet he signed with Atlanta.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Adam Mokoka Returns To Bulls On Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

After spending his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Bulls, second-year wing Adam Mokoka has officially accepted another two-way deal from the team, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

Mokoka only logged a total of 112 minutes in 11 games at the NBA level in 2019/20, but was a regular for Chicago’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. He averaged 10.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 3.3 APG in 31 games (32.2 MPG) in the NBAGL, though he only shot 37.1% from the field (32.7% on threes).

Mokoka was named the MVP of a summer tournament in France that also featured NBA players Frank Ntilikina and Sekou Doumbouya. He received a two-way qualifying offer from the Bulls last week that made him a restricted free agent.

Chicago has already signed undrafted rookie guard Devon Dotson to a two-way deal, so both of their two-way slots are now full, as our tracker shows.

Spurs Sign Keita Bates-Diop To Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29, 1:20pm: The Spurs have officially announced the signing of Bates-Diop to a two-way contract.

NOVEMBER 23, 8:20am: The Nuggets officially waived Bates-Diop on Sunday, per the NBA’s transactions log. Assuming he clears waivers on Tuesday, he’ll be free to sign with San Antonio at that point.

NOVEMBER 22, 9:54pm: The Spurs and forward Keita Bates-Diop have agreed to a two-way deal, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Bates-Diop is technically still a member of the Nuggets. However, Mike Singer of The Denver Post has reported that the club intends to waive the 24-year-old before his salary for 2020/21 becomes fully guaranteed this week in order to clear a spot on the 15-man roster for Bol Bol.

Denver likely gave Bates-Diop and his reps a chance to seek out a new opportunity before that move becomes official. He’ll still have to clear waivers, but I don’t expect any team will make a surprise claim.

The 48th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bates-Diop began his career with the Timberwolves before being tradd to Denver at last season’s deadline. In 74 career games as a pro, he has averaged 5.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .426/.303/.699 shooting.

Quinndary Weatherspoon is expected to fill San Antonio’s other two-way contract slot.

Hornets Re-Sign Bismack Biyombo

November 23rd, 2020 at 7:10am CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 30: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

NOVEMBER 22: The Hornets have reached an agreement with center Bismack Biyombo, bringing him back for a third straight season, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes tweets. Biyombo’s deal will be for one year, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer

Biyombo holds nine years of NBA experience, making past stops with Charlotte, Toronto and Orlando. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Hornets before signing with the Raptors, where he averaged 6.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game during the 2016 NBA playoffs.

This past season, the 28-year-old held per-game averages of 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 19.4 minutes in Charlotte. At 6-foot-9 and 255 pounds, Biyombo was the No. 7 pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Charlotte has made several notable moves in free agency, including drafting LaMelo Ball at No. 3 and reaching a four-year, $120MM deal with Gordon Hayward. The team finished with the tenth-best record in the East at 23-42 last season.

Clippers Re-Sign Marcus Morris To Four-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 10:02pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 25: The Clippers have officially announced the re-signing of Morris, via a team press release.

NOVEMBER 22: The Clippers and Marcus Morris have reached an agreement on a new contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran forward will sign a four-year, $64MM contract with the club.

Morris was one of Los Angeles’ top priorities this offseason, averaging 16.7 points and five rebounds per game last season with the Knicks and Clippers. He fit seamlessly alongside Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and others, adding three-point shooting and toughness on the defensive end.

Morris, who turned 31 in September, will likely remain in the team’s starting lineup next season. Prior to joining the Clippers, he held stints in Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, Boston and New York.

The Clippers had a disappointing playoff exit last season, blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. The team has since fired Doc Rivers, overhauled its coaching staff under Tyronn Lue, and lost Montrezl Harrell to the rival Lakers in free agency.

In addition to reaching a deal with Morris, the Clippers also agreed to a new contract with veteran forward Patrick Patterson in free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wizards Re-Sign Davis Bertans To Five-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 22, 9:45pm: Bertans’ fifth year will only be partially guaranteed for $5MM for now, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who tweets that it will become fully guaranteed if Bertans plays 75% of his team’s games in year four of the deal.

NOVEMBER 22, 1:06pm: It’s official, according to Bertans, who tweeted a photo that shows him signing his lucrative new deal with the Wizards.

NOVEMBER 20, 8:55pm: The Wizards and Davis Bertans have agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal, agent Arturs Kalnitis tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Bertans’ new contract will include an early termination option for year five, per Wojnarowski.

Re-signing the talented stretch four was Washington’s top priority this offseason and the team accomplished that goal at a premium price.

Bertans, who turns 28 this Thursday, opted out of the NBA’s restart due to his history of ACL injuries and a desire to preserve his value as an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Bertans was the subject of numerous trade rumors prior to February’s deadline but the Wizards chose to keep him with the intent of locking him up long-term. By retaining him, they held his Bird rights, giving Washington the ability to exceed the cap to re-sign him.

He had a career year in 2019/20 during his first season as a Wizard, averaging 15.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 54 games (29.3 MPG).

His calling card is his ability to stretch defenses. Bertans made 42.4% of 8.7 three-point attempts per game.

He was in the Spurs organization for three seasons and played regularly off the bench. He wound up in Washington last offseason as part of a three-way deal that also involved the Nets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Sign DeAndre’ Bembry

November 22nd, 2020 at 9:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 26: The Raptors’ deal with Bembry is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 22: The Raptors have reached an agreement with free agent swingman DeAndre’ Bembry, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.

It’s for the veteran’s minimum and the second year isn’t guaranteed, The Athletic’s Blake Murphy tweets. He’ll receive $1,737,145 next season with $1,977,011 for the non-guaranteed second year.

Bembry became an unrestricted free agent with the Hawks decided to not extend him a qualifying offer. He’ll provide a little more depth on the wing for the Raptors.

Bembry was the No. 21 pick in 2016 and has spent the last four seasons in Atlanta, but didn’t have a notable season in 2019/20, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .456/.231/.542 shooting in 43 games (21.3 MPG).

Toronto reached an agreement on Sunday with one of its free agents, Chris Boucher. They’re also signing former Suns center Aron Baynes.

Pistons Acquire Jerami Grant In Sign-And-Trade With Nuggets

November 22nd, 2020 at 8:13pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22: The Pistons have officially announced the acquisition of Grant. Interestingly, the team’s press release states that it’s a sign-and-trade, with Grant and the draft rights to Nikola Radicevic being sent to Detroit, while Denver receives cash considerations.

The move will allow the Nuggets to create a traded player exception worth about $9.5MM.

NOVEMBER 20: The Pistons are signing veteran free agent Jerami Grant to a three-year contract worth $60MM, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move will reunite Grant with new Pistons GM Troy Weaver, who worked in Oklahoma City’s front office during the forward’s stint with the team.

Grant, 26, was acquired by the Nuggets during the 2019 offseason from the Thunder in exchange for a first-round pick. He came off the bench for most of the season in Denver, averaging 12.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG with a shooting line of .478/.389/.750 in 71 games (26.6 MPG). He entered the team’s starting lineup in the playoffs due to Will Barton‘s absence and played a key role in Denver’s run to the Western Finals.

Grant’s size, defensive versatility, and ability to knock down outside shots made him a popular free agent this fall, though it’s still a bit surprising that the rebuilding Pistons were the team to land him. Detroit entered this week with cap room but have made a series of moves eating into that cap room and will have re-open some of it to complete the Grant signing.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, will be on the lookout for frontcourt players after two of their key free agents – Grant and Mason Plumlee – agreed to deals with Detroit tonight. According to Denver-area reporter T.J. McBride (Twitter link), the Nuggets offered to match Grant’s three-year, $60MM offer from the Pistons, but he chose Detroit because he wants a bigger role.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.