Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Kyle Alexander To Two-Way Contract

January 15th, 2020 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 15: The Heat have formally finalized Alexander’s two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.

JANUARY 14: With Chris Silva ticketed for a spot on the Heat‘s 15-man roster, the team will fill his two-way contract slot by signing forward Kyle Alexander, sources tell Andre Fernandez of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Alexander, 23, signed a training camp deal with the Heat last July after going undrafted out of Tennessee. Having reported to Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, once he was cut by the NBA club in the fall, he has averaged 10.6 PPG and 9.0 RPG with a .692 FG% in 23 NBAGL games (25.1 MPG).

According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), Alexander will remain with Sioux Falls after signing his two-way deal. However, he’ll be eligible to spend up to 24 days with the NBA team until the G League regular season ends.

Once the Heat’s series of moves is complete, the team will have a full roster for the first time this season. Silva’s three-year contract will make him the 15th man on the standard roster, while Alexander and Gabe Vincent will fill Miami’s two-way slots.

Warriors Officially Sign Damion Lee To Three-Year Deal

January 15th, 2020 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Damion Lee‘s long-awaited promotion to the Warriors‘ 15-man roster is now official, with the team announcing the move today in a press release.

Lee, who was previously on a two-way contract, signed a new three-year deal with a partial guarantee for the 2020/21 season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Next season’s partial guarantee will be worth $600K, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

The promotion had been expected since last Tuesday, when the team released Marquese Chriss in order to make room under its hard cap to sign Lee. For his part, Chriss has returned to the team on a two-way contract, essentially swapping places with Lee.

Lee, who is Stephen Curry‘s brother-in-law, has been a regular rotation player all season long for the injury-plagued Warriors, averaging 12.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG with a solid shooting line of .407/.360/.877 in 26 games (13 starts). The 27-year-old had exhausted the 45-day NBA limit on his two-way deal, but will no longer face those restrictions on his new standard contract.

Golden State has had little financial wiggle room all season long due to its hard cap and will now be approximately $394K below the threshold, according to Marks (Twitter link). Marks notes that the Warriors will be able to sign a 15th man to a rest-of-season contract as of March 4 if no trades or 10-day signings before then affect the club’s cap sheet.

The Warriors were able to sign Lee to a three-year, minimum-salary contract by using their mid-level exception.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Re-Sign Marquese Chriss To Two-Way Deal

January 15th, 2020 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 15: Chriss’ two-way contract is now official, according to the Warriors.

JANUARY 14: Just days after waiving him, the Warriors intend to bring back Marquese Chriss on a two-way contract, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).

Chriss has spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Warriors and played well in a part-time role, averaging 7.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 37 games (17.7 MPG). However, he was released last Tuesday in advance of the league-wide salary guarantee deadline because Golden State wanted to maximize its flexibility under the team’s hard cap. The two sides were said to have mutual interest in a reunion.

The Warriors reportedly plan to promote two-way player Damion Lee to their standard roster to fill the spot that Chriss previously occupied, so the two players will essentially be swapping places. The pair of moves will need to be completed by the end of the day on Wednesday, since January 15 is the deadline for two-way signings.

Lee has already used his full 45-day NBA allotment this season but can be activated again once he signs a standard contract. As a newly-signed two-way player, Chriss will be eligible to spend up to 24 days in the NBA between now and the end of the G League regular season in March. Once the G League season ends, those restrictions will lift and he can spend the rest of the year in the NBA.

Head coach Steve Kerr had previously talked about Chriss potentially having a future in Golden State beyond 2019/20. The big man’s new two-way contract will make him a free agent at the end of the season, but the Warriors will still have options for re-signing him, particularly if he isn’t offered a sizable raise by a rival team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Sign Tariq Owens To Two-Way Contract

January 15th, 2020 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 15: The Suns have officially signed Owens to a two-way contract, the club confirmed today in a press release.

JANUARY 14: The Suns intend to sign Tariq Owens to a two-way contract in advance of Wednesday’s deadline, sources tell Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link). January 15 is the last day that teams can sign players to two-way deals this season.

Owens, a 6’10” forward, played college ball at Tennessee and St. John’s before joining Texas Tech for the 2018/19 season. He helped lead the team to the national title game by averaging 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 38 games (25.4 MPG), then signed a training camp deal with the Suns last summer.

Although he didn’t make the team’s regular season roster, Owens has spent the year with Phoenix’s G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns. He has recorded 9.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 23 NBAGL contests (24.3 MPG).

No corresponding roster move will be necessary to bring aboard Owens, since Jared Harper has been the Suns’ only two-way player all season long. Owens will be eligible to spend up to 24 days in the NBA before the end of the G League regular season in March, though I imagine he’ll continue to spend the majority of his time with Northern Arizona.

Heat Sign Chris Silva To Three-Year Deal

January 15th, 2020 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 15: It happened one day later than initially expected, but Silva has officially signed his new NBA contract with the Heat, the team announced today (Twitter link). Miami can now move forward with its two-way deal for Kyle Alexander.

JANUARY 13: The Heat intend to promote Chris Silva to their 15-man roster on Tuesday, ending his two-way contract and finalizing a new three-year deal, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

The move has long been expected, as Silva has outplayed his two-way deal this season and Miami has an open roster spot on its 15-man squad. Jackson reported over the weekend that the move was coming, while cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link) predicted a three-year contract would be finalized by Wednesday.

Because they’re only $855K away from their hard cap, the Heat have thus far been unable to promote Silva, but they’ll be able to do so on Tuesday — at that time, a prorated minimum-salary contract for him will only count for about $851K for tax purposes.

Miami will use a portion of its mid-level exception to complete a three-year deal, which will give the team Bird rights on Silva in 2022 if he plays out the full contract. It’s unclear how much – if any – money will be guaranteed beyond 2019/20.

Silva, 23, has already appeared in 30 games for Miami this season despite being on a two-way contract, as the club has maximized his 45-day NBA limit. The forward is averaging 3.5 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .691 FG% in 8.3 minutes per contest.

By converting Silva’s contract before January 15, the Heat will have the opportunity to add a second two-way player to their roster in advance of Wednesday’s deadline. Currently, Gabe Vincent occupies the team’s other two-way contract slot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Waive Paul Watson

January 14th, 2020 at 10:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Hawks have released Paul Watson, the team announces. Watson signed a 10-day contract with Atlanta on January 6.

The shooting guard appeared in two games during his short stint with the Hawks. He saw just 17 minutes of court time and went 0-for-7 from the field.

Prior to joining Atlanta, Watson spent this season with Raptors 905, where he is averaging 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 13 games while shooting 46.7% from 3-point range. Undrafted out of Fresno State in 2017, Watson had a brief stop in Germany before joining the G League later that year.

Atlanta now has 14 players under contract.

Knicks Waive Ivan Rabb, Add Kenny Wooten

January 14th, 2020 at 3:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JANUARY 14, 3:03pm: The Knicks have officially signed Wooten to a two-way contract, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JANUARY 13, 5:07pm: Rabb has officially been waived, according the team’s PR department (Twitter link).

JANUARY 13, 4:09pm: The Knicks will waive forward Ivan Rabb and add forward Kenny Wooten on a two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Wooten has been playing for the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester.

The move didn’t come as a surprise. Wednesday is the final day that two-way contracts can be offered this season, and several teams had been watching Wooten, who is among the G League leaders in blocks per game. Rabb and guard Kadeem Allen were on two-way deals with the Knicks and one of them had to go to make room for Wooten.

Rabb was signed to his two-way contract in late October. Rabb, 22, was the 35th overall pick in the 2017 draft and spent his first two professional seasons in Memphis, but didn’t develop into a reliable, consistent rotation player. In 2018/19, he averaged 5.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 49 games (14.7 MPG). He was released by the Grizzlies during training camp.

Rabb was averaging a double-double with Westchester in 18 games — 13.1 PPG and 11.0 RPG. Wooten, 21, has appeared in 24 games with Westchester. He’s averaging 7.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 3.3 BPG in 24.0 MPG.

An undrafted rookie out of Oregon, Wooten was waived from the Knicks’ training camp roster after signing an Exhibit 10 contract during the summer. On his new two-way deal, he’ll be eligible to spend up to 24 days in the NBA before the end of the G League regular season.

Magic Sign Gary Clark To 10-Day Deal, Cut Josh Magette

January 14th, 2020 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have made a change at the back of their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed forward Gary Clark to a 10-day contract, waiving guard Josh Magette to create room on their 15-man squad.

The timing of the move is interesting, as Magette signed a 10-day deal of his own on Saturday and had seven days left on it. He’ll still get his full 10-day salary ($81,678) despite his stint in Orlando being cut short.

While it’s unclear why the Magic moved on early from Magette, who had spent most of the season on a two-way deal, the team may have felt it had to move quickly to lock up Clark. Perhaps he had a two-way contract offer on the table from another team and had to make a decision on it by Wednesday’s two-way signing deadline.

Clark became a free agent last week when he was waived by the Rockets before his 2019/20 salary became guaranteed. After emerging as a rotation player as a rookie in Houston last season, the 25-year-old saw his minutes reduced down the stretch in 2018/19 and didn’t have a major role in ’19/20 either. In total, he appeared in 69 games for the Rockets over two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 2.3 RPG with a .348/.312/.929 shooting line in 12.4 minutes per contest.

Clark’s new 10-day contract will run through January 23, giving him a chance to be active for up to five games with the Magic. He’ll help provide frontcourt depth with Jonathan Isaac and Al-Farouq Aminu on the shelf.

Cavaliers Waive Levi Randolph

January 12th, 2020 at 5:27pm CST by JD Shaw

The Cavaliers have waived swingman Levi Randolph, according to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Randolph was on a two-way contract with the organization.

Cleveland originally signed Randolph, a veteran of the team’s G League affiliate in Canton, earlier in the month. He didn’t appear in any games with the franchise and could head back to Canton in the coming days.

Randolph, an intriguing 6-foot-6 guard, has averaged 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and three assists per game in 22 G League contests this season.

The Cavaliers now have an open two-way contract to use, with guard Dean Wade currently occupying the other two-way slot. Cleveland also waived Tyler Cook and Alfonzo McKinnie last week before re-signing both players to 10-day deals.

Wizards Waive C.J. Miles, Promote Anzejs Pasecniks

January 12th, 2020 at 11:55am CST by Arthur Hill

11:54am: The move is official, the Wizards announced in a press release.

“We appreciate CJ’s contributions to our team this season and wish him and his family the best as he continues his career,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. “He is a consummate professional who provided a great example for our younger players despite having his season cut short by an unfortunate injury.”

The team also confirmed that Pasecniks has been signed to a multi-year contract and Williams received a two-way deal.

8:12am: The Wizards will waive injured swingman C.J. Miles, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. His roster spot will be used to convert Anzejs Pasecniks‘ two-way contract to a standard deal, and Johnathan Williams will be re-signed to fill the two-way slot.

Miles, who is making $8.73MM in the final year of his contract, was acquired from the Grizzlies in a trade last summer. He played just 10 games for Washington before suffering a wrist injury in November that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

The 32-year-old has been a positive presence in the locker room, Buckner adds, but the Wizards have been dealing with a string of injuries and need more healthy players (Twitter link).

The team will keep the $4.4MM Disabled Player Exception it received in the wake of Miles’ injury, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The DPE is not affected by the decision to part with Miles.

Pasecniks, a rookie center, has played 13 games for the Wizards, averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in about 22 minutes per night. Washington waived him before training camp, then signed him to the two-way deal in December. Buckner reported last week that the team hoped to promote him to the 15-man roster.

Williams recently had a brief stint with the Wizards as a hardship player, and impressed team officials enough that they wanted to give him another chance. He averaged 5.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG in six games, starting five of them, but was waived last week when the hardship exception expired. He’ll rejoin the roster in advance of the January 15 deadline for two-way signings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.