Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign Kris Dunn To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

NOV. 28: The Hawks have made the signing official, per a press release.

NOV. 21: The Hawks have reached an agreement to sign free agent guard Kris Dunn, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year contract worth $10MM, with a second-year player option, Woj adds.

Based on the terms reported by Wojnarowski, it sounds like Dunn could end up fitting into Atlanta’s room exception ($9.77MM over two years) once the team uses up its cap room. If that’s the plan, the Hawks should still have in the neighborhood of $25MM to spend on other players.

A former fifth overall pick, Dunn hasn’t developed much of an offensive game since entering the league in 2016, having averaged just 7.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 3.4 APG on .444/.259/.741 shooting in 51 games (24.9 MPG) last season for Chicago. The Bulls decided not to make him a restricted free agent, passing on their qualifying offer.

However, Dunn has become one of the NBA’s very best perimeter defenders, leading the league with 2.9 steals per 36 minutes in 2019/20. That makes him an ideal fit in Atlanta’s backcourt, where he could handle tough defensive assignments and allow Trae Young to focus primarily on his offensive game.

Dunn represents the second notable free agent agreement so far for the Hawks, who also struck a three-year deal with Danilo Gallinari. Atlanta is believed to be in the running for Bogdan Bogdanovic and Rajon Rondo too, though it’s not clear if the team’s deal with Dunn will affect either pursuit — there’s definitely some positional overlap with Rondo.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Malik Fitts Joins Clippers On Exhibit 10 Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 9:49am CST by marksuleymanov

NOVEMBER 29: Fitts’ Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers has become official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 21: The Clippers have agreed to sign Saint Mary’s forward Malik Fitts to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Under his Exhibit 10 deal, Fitts will come to Clippers training camp on a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary contract. The deal allows a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

After transferring from South Florida following the 2016/17 campaign, Fitts joined Saint Mary’s and displayed impressive scoring and shooting ability across two seasons. In 68 total games with the Gaels, Fitts averaged 15.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.7% beyond the arc.

“Clipper Nation let’s get it!” Fitts wrote in a tweet about joining the Clippers.

Heat Sign Maurice Harkless To One-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Heat have officially signed Harkless to his new deal, the team confirmed in a press release.

“We have always liked what Moe Harkless brings to a team,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “We like his experience in knowing the role he will play for us real well. Moe can guard multiple positions, play above the rim, great shot blocker for his position and most importantly for our offense, space the floor with his three-point shooting. He is a player with great character and toughness.”

NOVEMBER 21: The Heat have reached an agreement to sign Maurice Harkless to a one-year contract worth $3.6MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), Harkless passed up on more lucrative offers for an opportunity to play a regular role for the defending Eastern champions and intends to re-enter the market in 2021 when more league-wide cap room is available.

Harkless, 27, began the 2019/20 season with the Clippers and was a regular starter during his first 50 games in Los Angeles. He was traded to the Knicks in a deadline deal.

In 62 overall games, Harkless averaged 5.8 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .502/.347/.591 in 23.0 minutes per contest. He’s considered a solid perimeter defender, though his three-point shot comes and goes — he has a career rate of just 32.5% from beyond the arc.

Miami will likely slide Harkless into the rotation role vacated by Derrick Jones, who has agreed to sign with Portland.

The Heat intend to use the bi-annual exception (worth $3.623MM) to sign Harkless, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. That would hard-cap Miami for the season at $138.93MM. The one-year commitment will allow the franchise to retain its cap flexibility for 2021.

Tres Tinkle Agrees To Exhibit 10 Deal With Lakers

November 21st, 2020 at 9:10am CST by marksuleymanov

The Lakers have agreed to terms on an Exhibit 10 contract with Oregon State standout Tres Tinkle, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was first to report (Twitter link).

Tinkle, 24, went undrafted in Wednesday’s virtual NBA Draft after showing his scoring process across five seasons with the Beavers. An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

After returning to Oregon State for his final year in 2019/20, the three-time First-Team All-Pac-12 standout became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points. A broken wrist in his sophomore season limited Tinkle to just six games but met requirements for a medical redshirt and regained a year of eligibility.

In 31 games this past collegiate campaign, the 6’7″ Tinkle averaged 18.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG across 34.5 minutes per game. For his college career, Tinkle averaged 17.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.0 APG while shooting 46.0% from the field.

Thunder Trading Steven Adams To Pelicans

November 21st, 2020 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

9:00am: Wojnarowski has another update on this deal, reporting (via Twitter) that George Hill will indeed end up with the Thunder rather than the Pelicans. New Orleans will also send Oklahoma City Darius Miller‘s $7MM expiring contract, Washington’s 2023 second-round pick, and Charlotte’s 2024 second-round pick, Woj adds.

New Orleans is still acquiring Bledsoe in the multi-team trade, per Woj (Twitter link), so Miller’s contract will likely need to become fully guaranteed for salary-matching purposes and the Pelicans will still probably have to send out a bit more salary. So I expect there are still more parts of this deal to be reported.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter) that Adams may also need to amend his trade kicker to make the money work.

12:41am: The lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick that the Nuggets agreed to send to the Pelicans on draft night in order to land RJ Hampton will be rerouted to Oklahoma City as part of this deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The Thunder will also receive two future second-round picks from New Orleans, per ESPN.

12:00am: Having already traded away guards Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder, the Thunder are now finalizing a trade that will send veteran center Steven Adams to the Pelicans, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The deal is becoming a part of the Jrue Holiday blockbuster that New Orleans and the Bucks previously agreed upon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Holiday trade will expand to include more teams and players. It still has “a lot of moving parts” and will take some work to finish, tweets Wojnarowski.

The Thunder will be receiving a first-round pick and second-round picks as part of the expanded swap, per Woj (Twitter link).

While it’s tricky to evaluate the deal before we know all those moving parts, we can at least break down Adams’ fit in New Orleans. He’ll fill the hole in the frontcourt created by the free agent departures of Derrick Favors and Jahlil Okafor earlier this evening. The Pelicans were said to have interest in Aron Baynes, among other big men, but it looks like Adams will be the team’s new man in the middle.

In 2019/20, Adams averaged 10.9 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG in 63 games (26.7 MPG) as Oklahoma City’s starting center. His contract is somewhat onerous, with a $27.5MM cap hit for 2020/21. However, it’ll be an expiring deal and will come off the Pelicans’ cap next summer.

With the Pelicans now taking on Adams’ salary, it seems likely that at least one of the point guards they were set to receive in the Holiday trade – Eric Bledsoe and George Hill – will be rerouted elsewhere — most likely to OKC.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic To Sign Karim Mane To Two-Way Contract

November 21st, 2020 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie Karim Mane announced (via Twitter) on Friday night that he’ll be joining the Magic as a free agent. According to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (via Twitter), Mane will get a two-way contract from Orlando.

Mane, a Canadian guard who spent the last few seasons playing for Vanier College in Quebec, declared for the draft as an early entrant this year after weighing the possibility of joining a U.S. program.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes, a breakout showing at last year’s FIBA U19 World Championship improved Mane’s NBA stock and he would have participated in this year’s Nike Hoop Summit had the event not been canceled. Givony, who ranks Mane sixth among undrafted prospects, praises the youngster’s physical tools and athleticism.

B.J. Johnson and Vic Law finished the 2019/20 season on two-way contracts with Orlando, but neither player received a qualifying offer this week, so it looks like the Magic will probably turn over both of their two-way slots.

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.