Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Expected To Sign Omer Yurtseven, Josh Hall

November 19th, 2020 at 8:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract for undrafted Georgtown big man Omer Yurtseven, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Yurtseven, 22, began his college career at North Carolina State before transferring to Georgetown. He was the Hoyas’ starting center in 2019/20, averaging 15.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 26 games (27.3 MPG).

Having declared for the draft following his junior season, Yurtseven wasn’t one of the 60 players selected on Wednesday night, but ranked as ESPN’s 31st-best undrafted prospect and didn’t take long to find a home for training camp.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have also reached a deal to sign free agent forward Josh Hall, an undrafted prospect out of Moravian Prep, a source tells Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-way contract, according to Weingarten (Twitter link).

The No. 5 undrafted prospect on ESPN’s list, Hall has “considerable potential” as both a shooter and ball-handler, according to Mike Schmitz’s scouting report. Schmitz adds that Hall isn’t NBA-ready, but could develop into a rotation wing with some G League seasoning.

Bulls To Sign Devon Dotson To Two-Way Contract

November 19th, 2020 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 19: Dotson will receive a two-way contract from the Bulls, president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas confirmed today, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 18: Undrafted Kansas guard Devon Dotson has agreed to sign with the Bulls, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The terms of Dotson’s deal aren’t yet known, but it sounds like he’ll be invited to training camp, perhaps with a shot to earn a regular-season roster spot.

A number of draft analysts – including Sam Vecenie and John Hollinger of The Athletic, as well as Jonathan Givony of ESPN – had Dotson listed as the top prospect who wasn’t selected in Wednesday’s draft.

In 30 games as a sophomore for the Jayhawks last season, Dotson averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.0 APG with 2.1 SPG.

As Wojnarowski notes, Dotson is a Chicago native, so joining the Bulls represents a homecoming for him. Dotson grew up idolizing Derrick Rose, Woj adds.

Lakers Agree To Sign Zavier Simpson

November 19th, 2020 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have agreed to sign free agent guard Zavier Simpson, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simpson went undrafted on Wednesday night.

A four-year college player at Michigan, Simpson had his best year as a senior in 2019/20, averaging 12.9 PPG, 7.9 APG, and 4.5 RPG on .476/.360/.574 shooting in 30 games (33.7 MPG) for the Wolverines.

Charania didn’t offer any specifics on Simpson’s deal, so it doesn’t sound like it’s a two-way pact. A non-guaranteed or lightly guaranteed standard contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 clause, is probably most likely.

The Lakers traded away their draft picks and didn’t make a selection on Wednesday night, so Simpson is the first rookie confirmed to be joining the roster for training camp.

Bucks Sign No. 60 Pick Sam Merrill To Two-Year Deal

November 19th, 2020 at 7:36am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 1: Merrill’s contract is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 19: The last pick in the 2020 draft has become one of the first players to agree to a contract, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks are signing No. 60 selection Sam Merrill to a two-year deal.

Jones says Merrill’s two-year pact will feature about $1.4MM in guaranteed money, including a fully guaranteed first year. It seems safe to assume the former Utah State guard will sign for the minimum, as Milwaukee attempts to keep costs down to fill out the rest of its roster. That’d mean a fully guaranteed $898K salary in year one with a partially guaranteed $1.52MM salary in 2021/22.

Merrill, who spent all four years of his college career at Utah State, averaged 19.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 32 games (35.0 MPG) as a senior, posting an impressive shooting line of .461/.410/.893.

The Bucks are acquiring Merrill’s rights in their Jrue Holiday deal with the Pelicans, which is not yet official. Once the deal is completed and the new league year begins, Merrill will be able to officially sign his first NBA contract.

Hornets To Sign Nate Darling To Two-Way Deal

November 19th, 2020 at 7:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets are signing undrafted free agent guard Nate Darling to a two-way contract, his agents at One Legacy Sports tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Darling, who began his college career at UAB, later transferred to Delaware and had a breakout season in 2019/20. In 32 games (38.3 MPG) in 2019/20, The 22-year-old Canadian averaged 21.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.8 APG with a .446/.399/.854 shooting line.

The Hornets finished the ’19/20 campaign with Kobi Simmons and Ray Spalding occupying their two-way slots. Spalding’s deal runs for another year, so it seems safe to assume that Darling will take Simmons’ spot.

Darling will be eligible to be active for up to 50 games with Charlotte this season.

Grizzlies, Kings Swap Second-Round Picks

November 19th, 2020 at 6:37am CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 19: The Kings officially announced their trade with the Grizzlies, acquiring the rights to Woodard (No. 40) and a 2022 second-round pick in exchange for the rights to Tillman (No. 35).

NOVEMBER 18: The Grizzlies are trading the 40th pick in tonight’s draft and a future second-rounder to the Kings for the 35th selection, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. The future second will be the lesser of the Pistons’ or Bulls’ picks in 2022 (Twitter link).

Memphis used that pick to draft Michigan State center Xavier Tillman. The 6’8″ junior averaged 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in 31 games for the Spartans last season.

With the 40th pick, Sacramento selected Mississippi State forward Robert Woodard. The 6’7″ sophonmore averaged 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds in 31 games.

Nuggets Sign Markus Howard To Two-Way Contract

November 19th, 2020 at 1:40am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 30: Howard’s two-way contract with Denver is now official, the team announced today (via Twitter).

NOVEMBER 19: The Nuggets will sign former Marquette guard Markus Howard to a two-way contract, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link).

Howard was a candidate to be drafted on Wednesday night, but ultimately wasn’t one of the 60 players selected. He ranked seventh on ESPN’s list of this year’s undrafted prospects.

Howard, who spent four years playing college ball, averaged a career-best 27.8 PPG in his senior season in 2019/20. The 5’11” scorer is an impressive volume shooter, having knocked down 46.3% of 7.9 three-pointers per game over the course of 128 NCAA games.

Pelicans Trade No. 39 To Jazz, No. 42 To Hornets

November 19th, 2020 at 1:14am CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 19, 1:14am: The Pelicans have issued press releases confirming that their deals with the Jazz and Hornets are both now official.

NOVEMBER 18, 10:47pm: The Jazz will acquire Elijah Hughes, the 39th pick in tonight’s draft, from the Pelicans, tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. New Orleans is also trading the 42nd pick, Nick Richards, to the Hornets, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

In exchange for Hughes’ rights at No. 39, the Pelicans will receive a 2022 second-round pick from the Jazz, reports Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Hornets will send a 2024 second-round pick to New Orleans for the rights to Richards, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

Hughes, a 6’6″ junior forward, averaged 19.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season at Syracuse. Richards, a 6’11” junior forward, averaged 14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game at Kentucky.

Mavericks Sign Nate Hinton, Freddie Gillespie

November 19th, 2020 at 1:07am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have officially signed Hinton to his two-way contract, the club confirmed today (via Twitter). Gillespie’s deal is also official, per the Mavs (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 19: The Mavericks have agreed to sign undrafted Houston shooting guard Nate Hinton to a two-way contract, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link).

Dallas has also reached a contract agreement with undrafted Baylor big man Freddie Gillespie, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Terms of Gillespie’s deal weren’t specified — he’ll either get the Mavs’ other two-way deal or come to a camp on a standard contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 clause.

Hinton and Gillespie both rank among ESPN’s top 20 prospects who didn’t get drafted on Wednesday night — Hinton at No. 4 and Gillespie at No. 19.

Hinton declared for the draft after averaging 10.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG with a .387 3PT% as a sophomore in 2019/20. Gillespie, meanwhile, averaged 9.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in his senior season at Baylor, earning Big 12 All-Defense honors.

It was an eventful draft night for the Mavs, who also nabbed Josh Green, Tyrell Terry, and Tyler Bey, and sent Seth Curry to Philadelphia in a deal for Josh Richardson.

Rockets To Sign Mason Jones To Two-Way Deal

November 19th, 2020 at 12:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have agreed to sign undrafted free agent Mason Jones to a two-way contract, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Jones will fill one of Houston’s two-way slots for the coming season.

Jones, who declared for the draft after his sophomore year, led the SEC in scoring with 22.0 PPG. He added 5.5 RPG and 3.4 APG to go along with a shooting line of .453/.351/.826 in 31 games (33.9 MPG).

The Razorbacks shooting guard ranked ninth on Givony’s list of prospects who went undrafted.

The rules for two-way players are a little different during the NBA’s shortened 2020/21 campaign. They’ll earn salaries of $449,155 and won’t face a limit on how many days they can spend in the NBA. However, they won’t be able to be active for more than 50 games.