Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Waive Anthony Tolliver

February 29th, 2020 at 4:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings have placed veteran forward Anthony Tolliver on waivers, the team announced in a press release.

Tolliver got into nine games with Sacramento after being acquired from the Trail Blazers in a January 21 trade. He averaged 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. The 34-year-old was on his second tour of duty with the Kings and has played for nine teams in his 12-year NBA career.

Tolliver will be playoff eligible if he signs with another team before the end of the season. Tomorrow is the deadline for players to be released without having their eligibility for the postseason affected.

Sacramento had a full 15-man roster before the move, so the team now one open spot.

Rockets Sign Jeff Green For Remainder Of Season

February 28th, 2020 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have signed forward Jeff Green for the remainder of the season, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

The move was anticipated with Green’s 10-day contract about to expire.

Green, who was released by the Jazz in December, was a free agent for nearly two months before agreeing to sign with the Rockets last week. He and the team initially reached a 10-day deal so he could evaluate the situation before making a rest-of-season commitment.

In four games with Houston, Green has averaged 9.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 19.3 MPG. The 33-year-old power forward has looked comfortable as the reserve center in the Rockets’ small-ball lineups.

With Green’s signing, Houston has a full 15-man roster. Terms were not disclosed but if it’s a minimum-salary deal, he’ll earn $695,526 the rest of the way, with a $439,475 cap hit.

Grizzlies Sign Jarrod Uthoff To 10-Day Contract

February 27th, 2020 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

4:04pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Uthoff to his 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. As expected, Hannahs’ 10-day deal has been ended early in order to create a roster spot for Uthoff.

11:39am: The Grizzlies are signing G League forward Jarrod Uthoff to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Uthoff, 26, has spent the season with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, averaging a double-double (19.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG) in 34 contests (34.9 MPG). Uthoff has also filled up the box score by averaging 3.1 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.1 BPG with a shooting line of .491/.367/.790.

An undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2016, Uthoff appeared in nine games with the Mavericks during his rookie season, but hasn’t played in a regular-season NBA game in nearly three years.

Memphis doesn’t currently have an open spot on its 15-man roster and doesn’t qualify for a hardship exception, so a corresponding move will need to be made to bring Uthoff aboard. The obvious move would be to terminate Dusty Hannahs‘ 10-day contract a little early.

Hannahs signed his deal, which is set to expire on Sunday night, before Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke went down with injuries. Now that the Grizzlies are in need of frontcourt depth, it makes sense to replace Hannahs, a guard, with a forward like Uthoff.

Warriors Sign Mychal Mulder To 10-Day Deal

February 27th, 2020 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 27: Mulder has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Warriors, the team confirmed today in a press release. It will run through March 7.

FEBRUARY 26: The Warriors will use one of the open spots on their 15-man roster to sign G League guard Mychal Mulder to a 10-day contract, league sources tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Mulder, 25, has been a G League mainstay since going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2017, appearing in a total of 134 games for the Windy City Bulls and Sioux Falls Skyforce over the last three seasons. In 39 games (33.2 MPG) with the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate in 2019/20, the Canadian has averaged a career-best 17.0 PPG with 4.5 RPG on .451/.399/.700 shooting.

Mulder sign an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami last fall and spent training camp and the preseason with the club, but has never been on an NBA roster during the regular season.

Since clearing several roster spots in trades before the deadline, the Warriors have been auditioning a variety of players on 10-day deals. After signing Jeremy Pargo and Zach Norvell earlier in the month, Golden State will now have Dragan Bender and Mulder on 10-day contracts.

The Warriors, who are being careful to stay below the tax line, currently have two openings on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for Mulder. As our breakdown of 10-day salaries shows, he’ll earn nearly $51K on his new deal. If he signs it on Thursday, rather than today, it will cover Golden State’s next six games instead of just five.

Rockets Expected To Sign Jeff Green For Rest Of Season

February 25th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract with the Rockets doesn’t expire for a couple more days, but it sounds like the two sides will extend their relationship beyond Thursday. According to Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link), Green intends to sign with Houston for the rest of the season.

Green, who was released by the Jazz in December, was a free agent for nearly two months before agreeing to sign with the Rockets last week. He and the team initially reached a 10-day deal so he could evaluate the situation before making a rest-of-season commitment. Both Green and the Rockets are “really happy with the fit,” per Schultz.

In three games so far with Houston, Green has averaged 9.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG on .833/.714/.750 shooting. It’s a safe bet that those shooting marks will decline going forward, but the 33-year-old has looked comfortable as a de facto big man in the Rockets’ small-ball lineups.

When Green’s rest-of-season contract becomes official, Houston will have a full 15-man roster. The team had a pair of open roster spots following the All-Star break, filling them with Green and DeMarre Carroll, who was bought out by San Antonio.

The exact value of Green’s new contract will depend on when it’s made official. If he signs a minimum-salary deal on Friday, the day after his 10-day contract expires, he’d earn $695,526 the rest of the way, with a $439,475 cap hit.

Lakers Sign Markieff Morris

February 23rd, 2020 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 23, 6:45pm: The Lakers have officially signed Morris, the team announced in a press release. As expected, Cousins has been waived to open up a roster spot.

FEBRUARY 23, 3:55pm: The Lakers will sign Morris using their $1.75MM disabled player exception once he clears waivers at 4 p.m. CST this afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

FEBRUARY 21, 5:04pm: Power forward Markieff Morris plans to sign with the Lakers once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Morris reached a buyout agreement with the Pistons on Friday afternoon and was placed on waivers. It’s possible another team could swoop in and claim Morris, who was making $3.2MM this season. However, Morris had a $3.36MM player option on the second year of his contract with Detroit. He let the Pistons off the hook with the buyout but that option would be restored if he were claimed.

A team would have to have a traded player exception big enough to accommodate Morris’ $3.2MM cap hit in order to claim him. Most contenders that fit the bill have tax or hard-cap concerns, making a claim unlikely.

The Lakers will have to make a roster move to add Morris. They’ll reportedly release injured center DeMarcus Cousins rather than a little-used rotation player like Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook, or Jared Dudley, despite head coach Frank Vogel recently suggesting that Cousins could get healthy for the playoffs.

Morris’ addition to the Lakers provides even more intrigue between the Los Angeles teams. He could wind up guarding his brother, Marcus Morris, if the Lakers and Clippers meet in the playoffs. Marcus Morris was traded to the Clippers in a deadline deal.

Markieff Morris, 30, has appeared in 44 games for the Pistons this season, averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .450/.397/.772 shooting line in 22.5 minutes per contest.

Warriors Sign Dragan Bender To 10-Day Contract

February 23rd, 2020 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 23: The signing is official, the Warriors announced on Twitter.

FEBRUARY 20: The Warriors intend to sign free agent big man Dragan Bender to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to be completed on Sunday. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported that Golden State was considering bringing in Bender on a 10-day pact.

Bender, the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft, spent three seasons in Phoenix before joining the Bucks for the 2019/20 season. The 22-year-old was on Milwaukee’s roster until earlier this month despite appearing in just seven NBA games, but was waived when the team needed to make room for Marvin Williams.

With career averages of 5.2 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 178 NBA contests (20.0 MPG), Bender hasn’t delivered on the potential that made him a top-five pick in 2016. However, the Warriors had some success developing the Suns’ other ’16 lottery pick – Marquese Chriss – this season, so perhaps the team can also make positive strides with Bender.

The Warriors currently have three open roster spots after Jeremy Pargo‘s and Zach Norvell‘s 10-day contracts expired earlier this week. Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) suggested the team plans to roll with 12 players for tonight’s game, at least, since not immediately filling those open roster spots will help the club remain comfortably below the tax.

Bender will make $94,851 on his 10-day contract, with Golden State taking on a $91,557 cap hit.

Donta Hall Signs 10-Day Deal With Pistons

February 22nd, 2020 at 3:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

3:59pm: The Pistons have officially announced their new 10-day deal with Hall, issuing a press release to confirm the signing. The contract will run through March 2.

2:00pm: Grand Rapids Drive forward Donta Hall has inked a 10-day contract with that G League club’s NBA affiliate, the Pistons, according to Hoops Rumors reporter JD Shaw (Twitter link).

The Pistons recently freed up roster space when they bought out forward Markieff Morris, who reportedly plans to join the Lakers, and point guard Reggie Jackson, who signed on with the Clippers for the rest of the 2019/20 season.

Hall, a 6’9″, 230-pound 22-year-old undrafted rookie out of Alabama, has averaged 16.4 points per game and 10.5 boards across 36 games for the Drive, according to Austin Kent of SLAM. Hall is connecting on 66.2% of his looks from the floor.

Detroit now has a full roster — 13 players on standard contracts, two on 10-day deals (Hall and Derrick Walton), and two on two-way pacts.

Grizzlies Sign Dusty Hannahs To 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2020 at 4:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

FEBRUARY 21: The Grizzlies have officially signed Hannahs to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through March 1.

FEBRUARY 20: The Grizzlies are bringing back Dusty Hannahs. The guard will ink a 10-day deal with the club, Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

Hannahs has played for the Memphis Hustle of the G League in each of the past three seasons. He was called up on a 10-day deal with the Grizzlies late last season.

The Arkansas native was averaging 21.2 points per game in his 33 G League contests this season. Hannahs is expected to join the Grizzlies during the team’s current four-game road trip.

No corresponding roster move will be necessary, since Memphis has had an opening on its 15-man squad since releasing Dion Waiters earlier this month.

Pistons Buy Out Markieff Morris

February 21st, 2020 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

2:49pm: The Pistons have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve bought out Morris. He’s on track to clear waivers on Sunday.

2:32pm: Just three days after buying out point guard Reggie Jackson, the Pistons have reached a buyout agreement with another veteran contributor, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the club is buying out forward Markieff Morris.

Morris, 30, has appeared in 44 games for the Pistons this season, averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .450/.397/.772 shooting line in 22.5 minutes per contest.

Morris’ two-year contract with Detroit paid him $3.2MM this season and included a $3.36MM player option for next season. Presumably, if he had finished the season with the Pistons, he would have opted out and tested the free agent market, so it’ll be interesting to see how much money he gives up as part of the buyout agreement.

According to Charania (via Twitter), the Lakers have emerged as a frontrunner for Morris. That would add a new layer of intrigue to a potential Los Angeles showdown in the Western Conference playoffs, since the Clippers added Morris’ twin Marcus Morris in a deadline deal earlier this month.

The Raptors have also expressed interest in Markieff, Charania adds.