Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls To Give Valentine Qualifying Offer, Let Dunn Become UFA

November 16th, 2020 at 4:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls will extend a qualifying offer to swingman Denzel Valentine, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic tweets, but won’t do the same for guard Kris Dunn, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson (Twitter link).

Valentine’s qualifying offer is worth $4,642,800 and Chicago’s decision will make him a restricted free agent. Dunn’s QO is $7,091,457 and by making him an unrestricted free agent, the Bulls rid themselves of his $16,044,021 cap hold. Dunn’s QO would have been identical to Valentine’s if he hadn’t narrowly met the “starter criteria.”

Valentine’s career was marred by a serious ankle injury which caused him to miss the entire 2018/19 season. He appeared in 36 games last season, including five starts, and averaged 6.8 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 13.6 MPG.

Chicago’s decision displays confidence that Valentine can regain the form he showed in 2017/18, his second NBA season, when he started 77 games and averaged 10.2 PPG while making 38.6% of his 3-point tries.

Dunn posted averages 7.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 3.4 APG in ’19/20 and was one of the league’s best defenders before a knee injury ended his season early. Dunn’s days in Chicago were numbered once the team drafted Coby White and signed Tomas Satoransky last season.

The fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft by Minnesota, Dunn was traded after his rookie season to the Bulls in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster. He had a disappointing run with the Bulls but he’s expected to have several bidders for his services, including the Clippers, according to Johnson.

Bucks’ Robin Lopez To Decline Option

November 16th, 2020 at 4:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks reserve center Robin Lopez will decline his $5MM player option and become a free agent, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Lopez, 32, joined Milwaukee on a two-year, $9.2MM deal to back up his brother, Brook Lopez. Robin Lopez appeared in 66 regular season games last season, including five starts, and averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 14.7 MPG. His playing time dropped dramatically in the postseason, as he only made three brief appearances.

Given his age and status as a role player, Lopez might be taking a gamble entering the free agent market. It suggests he’s confident he can get that amount or close to it in the open market or that he’s eager to get more playing time. Lopez had been a starter most of his career before his one-year stint with the Bucks.

Lopez’ decision frees up some much-needed cap space for Milwaukee, which is looking to make upgrades and convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay put.

Jerami Grant Opting Out, Will Become Free Agent

November 16th, 2020 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Nuggets forward Jerami Grant is declining his player option for the 2020/21 season and will become an unrestricted free agent, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

A report back in September indicated that Grant was expected to opt out of the final year of his contract with Denver, since he was a candidate to receive offers in the in the range of $14-16MM per year on the open market. His option was worth $9.35MM.

Mike Singer of The Denver Post, who reported in October that Grant is expected to receive interest from the Pistons, Suns, and Hawks, said today (via Twitter) that the Nuggets remain confident about re-signing the veteran forward. Singer thinks that a deal in the range of $13.5-15MM annually might get it done.

Grant averaged 12.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .478/.389/.750 shooting in 71 games (26.6 MPG) for the Nuggets in 2019/20 and became a full-time starter in the postseason as the team made a run to the Western Conference Finals. His outside shooting ability and defensive versatility will make him one of this offseason’s most popular free agents.

For a full breakdown of this fall’s player option decisions, be sure to check out our tracker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Sign 2019 First-Rounder Chuma Okeke

November 16th, 2020 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have officially signed 2019 first-round pick Chuma Okeke to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Orlando drafted Okeke with the 16th overall selection last year, having reached an agreement to essentially redshirt him for his first professional season as he recovered from the ACL injury he suffered during the NCAA tournament while playing for Auburn.

The 22-year-old forward signed a G League contract and spent the year rehabbing with the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s NBAGL affiliate.

Because the NBA’s salary cap didn’t move at all for the 2020/21 season, Okeke will sign the same rookie contract this year that he would’ve received a year ago. Assuming he gets 120% of the standard rookie scale amount, his deal will be worth about $3.12MM in year one and $15.1MM over four years.

Raptors’ Stanley Johnson Opts In For 2020/21

November 16th, 2020 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward Stanley Johnson has picked up his option for the 2020/21 season, the team announced today (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic).

Johnson, who signed a two-year deal with Toronto last summer using the bi-annual exception, earned $3.623MM in 2019/20 and will make $3.804MM in his option year.

After spending the first four years of his career in Detroit and New Orleans, Johnson had an extremely limited role in Toronto last season, averaging 2.4 PPG and 1.5 RPG in just 25 games (6.0 MPG). While Johnson dealt with some injury issues, he also didn’t show enough to secure a regular rotation spot when healthy and played mostly garbage-time minutes for the Raptors.

If the Raptors believe there’s still more potential to unlock in Johnson, they could bring him back as a member of their regular-season roster in 2020/21. If they want to free up his roster spot, he’ll be a candidate to be traded or released within the next week or two.

Assuming he plays out the season on his current deal, Johnson will be an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

DeMar DeRozan To Exercise 2020/21 Player Option

November 16th, 2020 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs wing DeMar DeRozan will exercise his player option for 2020/21, putting off free agency for another year, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The move will guarantee DeRozan’s $27,739,975 salary.

DeRozan, 31, had a strong season for San Antonio in 2019/20, averaging 22.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 5.5 RPG with an impressive .531 FG% in 68 games (34.1 MPG).

Back in March, before the season went on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, one report suggested that DeRozan would likely opt out if he didn’t receive an extension from the Spurs, while a separate report indicated the veteran scorer wasn’t thrilled with his situation in San Antonio.

The financial impact of the pandemic made DeRozan’s decision to opt in a fairly simple one, however. Only two or three teams will have the cap room necessary to have matched his option salary, and those teams finished in the lottery and may not have made DeRozan a top priority. He’ll be better off trying his luck on the open market in 2021, when more clubs will have cap flexibility.

Of course, just because DeRozan is under contract for one more year, that doesn’t mean he’ll spend the entire season with the Spurs. San Antonio is believed to be shopping some of its veterans, including DeRozan, who reportedly drew interest from the Lakers before they agreed to acquire Dennis Schröder. We’ll see if any other suitors pop up in the coming days for the former Raptor.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers’ Mario Hezonja Opting In For 2020/21

November 16th, 2020 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers swingman Mario Hezonja will pick up his player option, opting in for the 2020/21 season, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). As a result, Hezonja will forgo free agency until 2021 and will lock in a $1,977,011 guaranteed salary with Portland for the upcoming season.

Hezonja, 25, averaged a career-worst 4.8 PPG in a part-time role for the Blazers in 2019/20. In 53 games (16.4 MPG), he chipped in 3.5 RPG and shot just 42.2% from the field, including 30.8% on three-pointers.

Although he was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Hezonja has failed to develop into a reliable rotation player in Orlando, New York, or Portland since entering the league. It’s not even a certainty he would have received minimum-salary offers if he had opted for free agency this fall, so his decision to exercise his option comes as no surprise — we’ll see if he sticks with the Blazers or gets included in a trade before the 2021 deadline.

Accounting for Hezonja’s modest salary doesn’t impact the Blazers’ cap outlook in any real way. Portland projects to be an over-the-cap team this offseason.

Rodney Hood, who is coming off an Achilles tear, is the other Blazer who holds a player option for 2020/21. The expectation is that he’ll pick up his $6MM option.

Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Opting Out

November 16th, 2020 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Lakers veterans Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Rajon Rondo are officially opting out of their contracts in order to reach free agency, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Shams Charania of The Athletic, and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (all Twitter links).

Those decisions had been considered formalities at this point, as reports a month ago indicated that Davis, Caldwell-Pope, and Rondo all planned to turn down their player options for 2020/21. Those plans have now been confirmed.

Davis will technically be the No. 1 free agent on the open market this fall, but he’s not expected to consider any pitches from rival teams. The plan is to re-sign with the Lakers for the maximum salary ($32.74MM), which is higher than his option salary ($28.75MM) would have been.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers intend to present several different contract options to Davis and agent Rich Paul and will work with him on the deal that makes him feel most comfortable. A five-year contract is considered unlikely — the two sides are more likely to agree to a two- or three-year deal that features a player option in its final season.

Rondo and Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, are expected to receive plenty of interest from rival suitors. Turner cites the Clippers and Hawks as two clubs expected to pursue Rondo, whom the Lakers are reportedly bracing to lose.

As for Caldwell-Pope, teams are under the impression that he’s open to offers, and he’s expected to have several suitors, according to Charania, who previously identified Atlanta as one team likely to “emerge with interest.” The Lakers and KCP are believed to have strong mutual interest — after having agreed to trade Danny Green, the Lakers will likely make it a priority to re-sign their free agent three-and-D wing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Trading Bruce Brown To Nets For Dzanan Musa, Second-Rounder

November 16th, 2020 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons and Nets have reached an agreement on a minor trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit is sending guard Bruce Brown to Brooklyn in exchange for forward Dzanan Musa and a 2021 second-round pick. The Pistons will also receive cash in the swap, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

Brown, the 42th overall pick in the 2018 draft, has started 99 games in his first two professional seasons, appearing in 132 in total. Last season, he averaged 8.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG with a .443/.344/.739 shooting line in 28.2 minutes per contest.

Musa was the 29th overall pick in the same draft, but has less of a professional track record than Brown, having only logged minutes in 49 total games so far. He recorded just 4.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG on .372/.244/.750 shooting in 40 games (12.2 MPG) in 2019/20.

The 2021 second-round pick being sent to Detroit in the deal won’t be the Nets’ own pick, which Brooklyn traded away in a previous move. It’ll be Toronto’s ’21 second-rounder, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Brown has a non-guaranteed minimum salary ($1.66MM) for 2020/21 which will have to be guaranteed to make the trade work. He’ll be a restricted free agent in a year. As for Musa, he’ll earn a guaranteed $2MM salary next season, and Detroit will have until December 29 to decide whether or not to pick up his $3.62MM fourth-year option for 2021/22.

It’s easy to see why the deal makes sense for the Nets, who will save a little money and pick up a more reliable role player. They’re high on Brown’s defensive ability, Wojnarowski notes. Plus, as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer observes (via Twitter), Brown gives the club added depth in the event of a possible Spencer Dinwiddie trade.

The Pistons’ motivation is a little less clear, but it’s worth noting that a new general manager – Troy Weaver – is making personnel decisions in Detroit now, so he wouldn’t have had any real attachment to Brown. Woj suggests (via Twitter) that Weaver’s first trade as the Pistons’ GM is the start of the process of “gathering future picks and assets.”

The NBA’s trade moratorium will end at noon eastern time today, so the Pistons and Nets can officially finalize their deal anytime after that point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Otto Porter Jr. To Exercise 2020/21 Option

November 15th, 2020 at 8:53pm CST by JD Shaw

Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr. plans to pick up his $28.4MM player option and return to Chicago for the 2020/21 season, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes tweets.

Porter, a seven-year NBA veteran, holds career averages of 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He was acquired by the Bulls in February of 2019 in exchange for Jabari Parker, Bobby Portis and a 2023 second-round pick.

Viewed as the Bulls’ answer at small forward, Porter was limited to just 14 games in 2019/20 due to a foot injury. Now, his future in Chicago is up in the air — if he remains on the roster through next season, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Chicago could have multiple players enter restricted free agency later this week, including Kris Dunn ($7MM qualifying offer), Denzel Valentine ($4.69MM) and Shaquille Harrison ($2MM).

The team finished with a 22-43 record last season, good for fifth-worst in the Eastern Conference.