Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls’ Denzel Valentine Signs Qualifying Offer

November 21st, 2020 at 7:17am CST by Luke Adams

Bulls wing Denzel Valentine has signed his qualifying offer from the team, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As a result of the decision, Valentine will be under contract for the 2020/21 season on a one-year, $4.64MM deal. He’ll have a de facto no-trade clause for the season and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 once the contract expires.

The Bulls’ decision to extend a qualifying offer to Valentine was somewhat surprising. After a promising 2017/18, he has only appeared in 36 games over the last two years due to injuries. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 2.1 RPG on .409/.336/.750 in 13.6 minutes per contest for Chicago last season.

New president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas reportedly values Valentine’s shooting ability, which played a big part in the Bulls’ decision to make him a restricted free agent. The 27-year-old knocked down 38.6% of his three-point attempts in his last full season in ’17/18.

Free agent contracts generally can’t be officially completed until after the moratorium at the start of each league year, but signing a qualifying offer is one of the few transactions that is permitted in that window.

Nuggets Sign JaMychal Green To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 12:46am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 30: The Nuggets have officially signed Green, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Nuggets have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward JaMychal Green to a two-year, $15MM contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal will include a second-year player option.

Denver’s depth chart took a hit earlier tonight when power forward Jerami Grant and center Mason Plumlee both agreed to sign with the Pistons. Signing Green will allow the team to replenish some of that lost frontcourt depth.

Green’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but he’s a reliable three-point shooter (39.4% over the last two seasons) and a versatile frontcourt defender who can play the five in smaller lineups. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 63 games (20.7 MPG) for the Clippers last season and was an important role player for the team in the postseason.

Based on the reported figures for Green’s new deal, it appears the Nuggets will use a chunk of their mid-level exception to bring him aboard.

Meanwhile, the Clippers will now be looking to fill some holes in the frontcourt themselves. Although they agreed to re-sign Marcus Morris, they’ve now lost both Green and Montrezl Harrell since free agency opened.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs Re-Sign Jakob Poeltl To Three-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: The Spurs have officially re-signed Poeltl, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 20: The Spurs are finalizing a three-year agreement with big man Jakob Poeltl, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The deal will be worth approximately $27MM, Charania adds.

Poeltl was a restricted free agent, since the Spurs extended a qualifying offer of $4.6MM. That was a signal that San Antonio intended to keep him on a multi-year deal.

Poeltl began his career with Toronto and has spent the last two seasons in San Antonio. Last season, he averaged 5.6 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 17.7 MPG while appearing in 66 games, including 18 starts.

Although he’s not a major offensive weapon, the 25-year-old has shown promising rim-protecting ability (1.4 BPG) and brings effort and energy off the bench. He ranked 21st on our list of 2020’s top free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacers Sign Justin Holiday To Three-Year Contract

November 20th, 2020 at 10:41pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22: The Pacers have issued a press release officially confirming their new deal with Holiday.

“Re-signing Justin was one of our main priorities going into free agency,” president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “His contributions last season were tremendous. He can play multiple positions and is extremely versatile. He also represents this franchise as a true professional, on and off the court.”

NOVEMBER 20: The Pacers are bringing back shooting guard Justin Holiday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to a three-year, $18MM deal. It’ll be fully guaranteed, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Holiday, 31, was a key second-unit player in Indiana in 2019/20, averaging 8.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .428/.405/.791 shooting in 73 games (25.0 MPG). He was the only regular rotation player for the Pacers who was a free agent this week.

After earning $4.77MM last season, Holiday was eligible for a starting salary worth up to 120% of that amount using his Non-Bird rights, and it appears that’s how the Pacers will re-sign him. The total value of his deal should be about $18.02MM, and Indiana will still have its mid-level exception available if needed.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets To Acquire Christian Wood Via Sign-And-Trade

November 20th, 2020 at 10:31pm CST by Luke Adams

10:31pm: In exchange for agreeing to sign-and-trade Wood to Houston as part of the previously agreed-upon Ariza deal, the Pistons will acquire a future second-round pick and will add even more protections to the first-round pick they’re sending to the Rockets, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic.

9:18pm: The Rockets are now in agreement with Wood, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be a three-year, $41MM deal.

That’s a significant increase on what was reported earlier and it means it’ll have to be a sign-and-trade rather than a move that uses Houston’s mid-level exception. It’ll presumably be folded into the not-yet-official trade sending Trevor Ariza from the Rockets to the Pistons.

Houston will be hard-capped at $138.93MM for the 2020/21 league year as a result of acquiring a player via sign-and-trade.

7:58pm: After Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio reported (via Twitter) that the Rockets were close to finalizing a three-year, $27MM agreement with big man Christian Wood, Shams Charania of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Wood remains engaged with interested teams.

Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle refers to Wood as Houston’s “top free agent target,” but hears from a source close to the player that a deal isn’t close to being finalized at this point.

If the Rockets can complete a deal with Wood, it would be a major get for the organization, as the Pistons big man is one of the most intriguing frontcourt players of this year’s free agent class.

Wood had a breakout year in 2019/20, though his full-season stats (13.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG) don’t tell the full story — after he entered the starting lineup following the Drummond trade, he recorded 22.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 2.0 APG over his final 13 games. He also showed off an improved three-point shot, making 54-of-140 attempts (38.6%) on the season, despite having only attempted 42 threes prior to 2019/20.

Detroit has already reached deals with a pair of centers tonight, agreeing to sign Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor. While that doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t re-sign Wood, it probably reduces the odds that he’ll remain with the Pistons. A sign-and-trade remains a viable possibility though, especially if his contract ends up in the range that Isola’s report suggests.

Whether or not they’re able to secure a commitment from Wood, the fact that they’re in the mix for him is a signal that the Rockets are in the market for big men after their micro-ball experiment in 2019/20. If Wood signs elsewhere, Houston will still have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception available to address the position.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trail Blazers Acquire Enes Kanter From Celtics

November 20th, 2020 at 10:21pm CST by Luke Adams

10:21pm: The trade is now official, according to press release from the Celtics and Grizzlies.

The deal will send Kanter to Portland, Hezonja and the rights to Bane to Memphis, and two future second-round picks to Boston. The Grizzlies will also send cash to Portland in the move.

One of the two second-rounders headed from Memphis to Boston is the Grizzlies’ own 2025 pick. The other will be the more favorable of the following:

Houston’s 2023 second-rounder.
The less favorable of Memphis’ and Dallas’ 2023 second-rounders.

2:46pm: The Trail Blazers are reuniting with veteran center Enes Kanter, having reached a deal to acquire him from the Celtics, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains, the deal will be folded into the draft-night agreement between the Celtics and Grizzlies that saw Memphis land the No. 30 pick and select TCU’s Desmond Bane. The Grizzlies will receive Mario Hezonja from Portland in the swap, while the Celtics will get a future draft consideration from Memphis.

[RELATED: 2020 NBA Offseason Trades]

Kanter, 28, enjoyed a brief, productive stint in Portland to finish the 2018/19 season, averaging 11.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 16 playoff games that year as the team made it to the Western Conference Finals. The two sides were unable to come to an agreement in free agency a year ago, resulting in Kanter signing with the Celtics. A year later, he’s back with the Blazers.

The move will give Portland a veteran backup for starting center Jusuf Nurkic and is probably a strong signal that free agent big man Hassan Whiteside isn’t coming back.

The Celtics, meanwhile, having already traded away Vincent Poirier this week, have created a little extra cap and roster flexibility in advance of free agency, though they’ll need to add a frontcourt player or two to make up for losing a pair of centers.

Hezonja and Kanter both exercised player options for 2020/21 earlier this week, so they’re on expiring contracts. Hezonja will earn $1.98MM, while Kanter will make just over $5MM. The Grizzlies will take on Hezonja using one of their trade exceptions and Portland will do the same for Kanter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers Sign Derrick Jones To Two-Year Deal

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

NOVEMBER 22: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Jones, the team confirmed today in a press release.

“Derrick’s elite athleticism, defensive versatility and ability to rebound on both ends of the floor enable him to make an immediate impact in multiple areas of need,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement.

NOVEMBER 20: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement with free agent wing Derrick Jones, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Charania reports that Jones will sign a two-year deal worth $19MM, which suggests Portland will use its mid-level exception to complete the deal.

The second year includes a player option, according to The Athletic’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). Jones is expected to back up Robert Covington, who is headed to Portland in a trade with Houston.

The Heat, who had a number of free agent decisions to make, opted not to offer mid-level money to Jones, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Jones was interested in returning to Miami, Jackson adds.

Jones, 23, averaged 8.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 1.1 APG in 23.3 MPG during 59 regular-season appearances last season. He battled through a bout with COVID-19 prior to the restart. Jones appeared in 15 postseason games but had a diminished role.

Knicks Sign Alec Burks To One-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 9:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 22: The Knicks have officially signed Burks, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 20: The Knicks have made their first free agent deal of 2020/21, having agreed to sign guard Alec Burks to a one-year, $6MM contract, agent Alex Saratsis tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

New York has approximately $37MM to spend in free agency if chooses to do so and Burks is the first reported agreement.

Signing Burks on a one-year contract helps to preserve New York’s cap room for next offseason. He played a combined 66 games last season for the Warriors and 76ers, averaging 15.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 2.9 APG in those contests. Burks is a career 36.4% 3-point shooter and should emerge as a rotation piece for the Knicks next season.

Burks has a history with Knicks assistant GM Walt Perrin, Ian Begley of SNY TV notes (Twitter link). Perrin was in Utah’s front office when the Jazz drafted Burks in 2011.

Bulls Sign Garrett Temple

November 20th, 2020 at 9:09pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 28: The Bulls have officially signed Temple, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 20: Free agent Garrett Temple has agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with the Bulls, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Temple played 62 games with the Nets this past season, choosing to leave Brooklyn after just one campaign on the team.

Temple, 34, will join a Bulls team in need of veteran leadership. Chicago finished with a 22-43 record last season, but the team dealt with several injuries and carries a talented, young roster entering the 2020-21 season.

Temple averaged a career-high 10.3 points per game last year, though he shot just 38% from the field and 33% from downtown. He’s made past stops with Houston, Sacramento, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Washington, Memphis and Los Angeles.

For Chicago, the team still has most of its players from last year under contract for next season. The club opted not to issue a qualifying offer to guard Kris Dunn, however, who started 32 of 51 games last season and remains an unrestricted free agent.

Nets Re-Sign Joe Harris To Four-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 9:04pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 23: The Nets have officially re-signed Harris, the team announced today in a press release.

“From the moment he arrived in Brooklyn, Joe has epitomized what it means to be a Net,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “On the court, Joe has improved every season, and he’s worked diligently over the past four years to become a core member of our team. He is an excellent teammate, and his approach to the game, along with his character, have had a positive impact on all facets of the organization. Off the court, Joe is an outstanding person, and he and his family have become integral parts of our Nets family.”

NOVEMBER 20: The Nets are re-signing free agent Joe Harris to a four-year, $75MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The news of Harris returning to Brooklyn was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harris, one of the league’s top three-point shooters, will help spread the floor alongside the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant next season. He averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 30.8 minutes per game last year, shooting 49% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.

In addition to Harris, Irving and Durant, Brooklyn also has Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan on its roster entering the 2020/21 season. The team is widely expected to be at the forefront of contention in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets lost swingman Garrett Temple in free agency, who agreed to a one-year contract with Chicago. Plagued by injuries, Brooklyn finished with just a 35-37 record last season, the seventh-best in the East.

Harris’ deal will have luxury-tax implications for the Nets, who project to be well over the tax threshold in 2020/21 and figure to face significant penalties. While those penalties will be reduced if the NBA falls short of its revenue projections, Brooklyn’s current projected tax bill is $47.5MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.