Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Waive Four Players, Decline Options For Portis, Pinson

November 19th, 2020 at 12:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:40pm: The Knicks have confirmed all the roster moves detailed below and added that they’ve turned down their team option on Theo Pinson, whom they claimed off waivers in June. Pinson’s option had been worth $1.7MM, but he’ll become an unrestricted free agent instead of remaining with New York.

The team projects to enter free agency with upwards of $38-40MM in cap room.

12:06pm: The Knicks will waive Elfrid Payton and Kenny Wooten and have decided not to pick up Bobby Portis‘ option for next season, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. In addition, the team won’t make a qualifying offer to Damyean Dotson, who becomes an unrestricted free agent.

New York will also waive veteran forward Taj Gibson, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), and Wayne Ellington, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post.

The decisions are designed to create cap flexibility, Popper adds (Twitter link). He notes that the team could opt to re-sign some of the players, but at lesser salaries than what they were scheduled to make (Twitter link).

Payton had a $1MM guarantee on his $8MM deal for next season. He started 36 of the 45 games he played last season, but the Knicks have indicated they want to find a new starting point guard. Gibson also had a $1MM guarantee on his $9.45MM contract, while Ellington receives $1MM of his $8MM deal. Wooten was on a two-way contract and didn’t appear in any NBA games.

The Knicks held a $15.75MM option for Portis, who averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 66 games last season, mostly as a reserve. Dotson, who got into 48 games off the bench and averaged 6.7 PPG, would have required a $2,023,150 QO.

Pacers Signing Rayshaun Hammonds To Exhibit 10 Deal

November 19th, 2020 at 12:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Georgia forward Rayshaun Hammonds will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pacers, tweets Scott Agness.

The 6’9″ junior averaged 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 32 games for the Bulldogs last season. He was second on the team in scoring behind overall No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards.

An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.

Thunder Acquire Schofield, Second-Rounder Krejci From Wizards

November 19th, 2020 at 11:48am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 19: The Thunder also acquired Admiral Schofield from Washington in the deal, which is now official, according to a tweet from the Wizards.

NOVEMBER 18: The Wizards selected guard Vit Krejci with the No. 37 but they’re trading him to the Thunder, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Washington will receive the No. 53 pick in this draft plus additional compensation, Ben Standig of The Athletic tweets.

The Wizards used that pick on Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston. Winston led the Spartans to the Final Four as a junior and averaged 18.6 PPG and 5.9 APG as a senior.

The additional competition will be a future second-rounder, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets.

Krejci of the Czech Republic won’t be able to play in the NBA in the near future. While playing for the Spanish team Casademont Zaragoza, the 20-year-old Krejci suffered an ACL injury that required surgery in early October. He’s a member of the Czech Republic national team and projects as a 6’8” combo guard.

Mike Muscala Exercises Player Option

November 19th, 2020 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder center Mike Muscala has exercised his $2,283,034 player option for next season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Oklahoma City signed Muscala last summer to a two-year, $4.31MM deal that included the option for the second season. The 29-year-old appeared in 47 games in his first year with the Thunder, averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in about 12 minutes per night.

Muscala has been in the NBA since signing with the Hawks in 2013. He has also played for the Sixers and Lakers.

Timberwolves Extend Qualifying Offer To Malik Beasley

November 19th, 2020 at 11:26am CST by Arthur Hill

Malik Beasley has received a qualifying offer from the Timberwolves, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The $3,895,424 offer means Beasley will be a restricted free agent and Minnesota can match any offer he receives.

Beasley was extremely effective in 14 games with the Wolves after being acquired from Denver in a four-team trade in February. He moved into the starting lineup and averaged 20.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42.6% from beyond the arc.

While Beasley figures to be in line for a huge payday, some teams may be reluctant to pursue him because of his recent legal troubles. Beasley faces felony charges of fifth-degree drug possession and threats of violence after being arrested in September and recently had his parental rights challenged.

Kelly Olynyk Exercises 2020/21 Player Option

November 19th, 2020 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 19: Olynyk’s move is official, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who adds that the Heat are now roughly $45MM below the tax line and are expected to move forward as an over-the-cap team. That will enable them to exceed the salary cap to bring back free agents Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder and possibly Meyers Leonard and Derrick Jones Jr.

NOVEMBER 18: Heat big man Kelly Olynyk is exercising his player option for 2020/21, as expected, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The move will guarantee Olynyk’s $13.2MM salary for next season and put him in line to reach unrestricted free agency in 2021.

Olynyk, 29, came off the bench for most of last season in Miami, averaging 8.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG with a solid shooting line of .462/.406/.860 in 67 games (19.4 MPG). Assuming Olynyk returns to the Heat for next season, he should once again be a regular part of the rotation, especially if center Meyers Leonard departs in free agency.

It’s also worth noting that once he opts into his contract, Olynyk will also be eligible to be traded, and his expiring contract could make a good salary-matching piece for the Heat as they explore their options this fall and perhaps during the season.

Since Olynyk was expected to opt in, the move doesn’t affect the Heat’s cap outlook. Miami still has he opportunity to open up some room, though the team is considered more likely to stay over the cap, attempting to re-sign players like Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder, and potentially using the mid-level exception.

Grizzlies Sign Jahlil Tripp To Exhibit 10 Contract

November 19th, 2020 at 9:14am CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 28: The Grizzlies have officially announced their deal with Tripp.

NOVEMBER 19: Jahlil Tripp of Pacific will sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The signing was confirmed by Tripp’s agent, Daniel Green.

Tripp, 23, was named Defensive Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference. The 6’5″ forward averaged 16.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game for the Tigers last season.

An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.

Clippers Sign Jordan Ford To Exhibit 10 Deal

November 19th, 2020 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29: Ford’s deal is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 19: The Clippers are signing undrafted free agent guard Jordan Ford to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

A two-time member of the All-WCC team, Ford was the second-leading scorer in the West Coast Conference in 2019/20, averaging 21.9 PPG on .491/.411/.836 shooting in 34 games (38.0 MPG) for Saint Mary’s. ESPN ranked him as the 37th-best undrafted prospect.

An Exhibit 10 deal is essentially a training camp invite that guarantees the player up to $50K if he’s waived and then is assigned to the NBA team’s G League affiliate.

It remains to be seen what form an NBAGL season might take in 2020/21, but presumably if he doesn’t make the Clippers’ regular season roster, Ford will be a candidate to join the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

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.