Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Waive Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

February 8th, 2020 at 1:15pm CST by marksuleymanov

1:15pm: The Hornets have officially waived Kidd-Gilchrist, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

Charlotte now has two open roster spots and $5.2MM of its mid-level exception for the 2019/20 season left to spend, which the team could use to add G-League prospects, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).

11:50pm: The Hornets are finalizing a buyout with forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). The Mavericks have emerged as a favorite to sign Kidd-Gilchrist once he clears waivers, Wojnarowski adds.

We relayed earlier this week with the trade deadline looming that Dallas had “kicked the tires” on Kidd-Gilchrist, among others. The veteran forward was once a reliable starter for the Hornets, with whom he has spent his entire career after being the second overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

This season, however, the 26-year-old has appeared in just 12 games and is averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.9 PPG. Kidd-Gilchrist opted in to his $13MM option over the summer and entered camp this past fall without a defined role.

As he heads for free agency this summer, Kidd-Gilchrist could set himself up for a decent payday by playing well with a contending team down the stretch.

Magic Sign Gary Clark For Remainder Of Season

February 8th, 2020 at 10:50am CST by marksuleymanov

10:50am: The Magic have officially signed Clark to his new deal, according to a press release issued by the team.

8:41am: The Magic will sign forward Gary Clark for the remainder of the season, sources tell Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Clark inked a pair of 10-day deals with the Magic in recent weeks after being waived by the Rockets.

Clark, 25, has appeared in nine games for Orlando over the course of his two 10-day pacts. He has averaged 2.9 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 13.4 minutes per contest for the Magic.

After emerging as a solid rotation piece for the Rockets last season, Clark saw his minutes decrease in Houston before he was waived. Clark was one of three players on Houston’s roster without a guaranteed contract and was the most expendable at the salary guarantee deadline last month.

Nuggets Waive Gerald Green

February 7th, 2020 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Nuggets have waived Gerald Green, the team announced today in a press release. Green was part of the massive 12-player trade completed this week by Denver and three other teams. He was sent to the Nuggets by the Rockets, having waived his ability to veto his inclusion.

Green re-signed with Houston during the 2019 offseason after averaging 9.2 PPG on .400/.354/.838 shooting in 73 games (20.2 MPG) in 2018/19. He was expected to be a rotation player for the team again, but a foot injury derailed his season. The veteran swingman underwent surgery a week in October and was ruled out for six months.

Green said last month that he hadn’t given up hope on the idea of returning for the playoffs. That could still be a possibility if he makes good progress in his recovery. By waiving him before March 1, Denver has assured that Green could sign with a team anytime between now and the end of the season and still be playoff-eligible. He’d be ineligible to rejoin the Rockets, however.

Denver will be on the hook for Green’s $1,620,564 cap hit. The club now has an open spot on its 15-man roster.

Warriors Sign Ky Bowman To Multiyear Deal

February 7th, 2020 at 2:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

FEBRUARY 7: The Warriors have officially promoted Bowman to the 15-man roster and signed him to his new contract, the team announced in a press release.

FEBRUARY 6: The Warriors have agreed to a multiyear deal with Ky Bowman, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Bowman had been on a two-way deal with the team.

Players on two-way contracts are subjected to at most 45 days with the NBA club, which includes non-game days. Bowman had used up his full 45 days with the Warriors, so once the new deal is official, he’ll be able to return to the NBA.

Bowman has appeared in 37 games for the Warriors this year. The point guard, who went undrafted last June, is averaging 7.3 points with a career-high of 24, which came in a late November contest against Oklahoma City. With D’Angelo Russell out of the picture, Bowman should get plenty of opportunity, though Andrew Wiggins looms as a competitor for shots.

The Warriors’ deadline deals left them with just nine players on their standard roster, so more signings will be coming, including the possible promotion of Marquese Chriss. Golden State won’t be able to sign two-way replacements for Bowman and/or Chriss, since the deadline for two-way signings passed on January 15.

Warriors Sign Marquese Chriss To Two-Year Deal

February 7th, 2020 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

2:49pm: Chriss’ new deal with the Warriors is now official, according to a press release from the club.

11:25am: The Warriors have reached an agreement to sign Marquese Chriss to a two-year deal, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).

A promotion to the 15-man roster for Chriss, who had been on a two-way contract, had been widely expected after Golden State traded more than a third of its roster at the deadline. The Warriors’ deadline deals left them with just nine players on their standard roster. The team has since reached agreements with Ky Bowman (promotion from two-way deal), Juan Toscano-Anderson (standard contract), Zach Norvell (10-day contract), and now Chriss.

A former lottery pick, Chriss earned the Warriors’ final roster spot in the preseason and has averaged 7.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 47 contests (18.6 MPG) so far this season.

He briefly reached free agency last month when Golden State waived him before his 2019/20 salary could become fully guaranteed. He returned to the club on a two-way contract within a week and now will be moved back to the standard roster. Details of his new contract aren’t yet known, but it figures to be a minimum-salary deal and probably won’t be fully guaranteed for next season.

Even after completing all their reported signings, the Warriors will still have just 13 players under contract, so another move will be required to reach the NBA-mandated minimum of 14.

With Golden State moving both Bowman and Chriss to the standard roster, the team won’t have any two-way players for the rest of the season, since the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts was January 15.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Sign Juan Toscano-Anderson

February 7th, 2020 at 2:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

FEBRUARY 7: The Warriors have officially announced their deal with Toscano-Anderson.

FEBRUARY 6: The Warriors have had a busy 24 hours. The team dealt away a pair of veterans to the Sixers late last night and followed that up today by trading D’Angelo Russell to the Wolves. The franchise inked Ky Bowman to a multi-year deal and now, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic tweets that they are signing Juan Toscano-Anderson to a contract for the remainder of the season.

Toscano, who is from the Bay Area, has been playing with for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He’s been with Golden State’s G League affiliate since the 2018/19 season, joining the NBA team last fall for training camp and the preseason.

This season, Toscano-Anderson has averaged 12.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 31 games (29.0 MPG) in the G League. The 6’6″ forward played all four years of his college ball at Marquette University. He was not selected in the 2015 draft.

The Warriors, who dipped all the way to nine players after their trades earlier today, still have a handful of open roster spots.

Sixers Waive Jonah Bolden, Promote Norvel Pelle

February 7th, 2020 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

10:30am: The Sixers have officially waived Bolden and signed Pelle to his new contract, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

10:23am: The Sixers are making a change to the back of their roster, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive Jonah Bolden in order to sign two-way player Norvel Pelle to a standard contract.

Bodner adds (via Twitter) that Pelle’s new contract will be a multiyear deal. This season will be fully guaranteed, and next year’s salary will become guaranteed if he remains on the roster through July 6, a source tells Bodner.

Pelle, who turned 27 on Monday, has averaged 2.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 14 appearances (11.1 MPG) for the 76ers this season. The big man, a member of the NBAGL All-Defensive Team in 2019, has put up flashier numbers for the Delaware Blue Coats, recording 14.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in seven G League games (22.6 MPG) this season. He had reached his 45-day NBA limit and will now be permitted to rejoin the Sixers once his new deal is official.

As for Bolden, the 36th overall pick in the 2017 draft fell out of Philadelphia’s rotation entirely this season, logging just 14 minutes in four games for the club. He was under contract through 2022, but his salaries for the next two years are non-guaranteed, so the Sixers won’t be on the hook for any dead money beyond this season. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers on Sunday.

The 76ers won’t be able to sign a two-way player to replace Pelle, since the deadline to do so was January 15.

Nets Sign Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot To Multiyear Deal

February 7th, 2020 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

10:19am: The Nets have officially signed Luwawu-Cabarrot, according to a press release from the team.

9:33am: The Nets are signing wing Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to a multiyear contract, according to his agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link). Brooklyn had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to complete the deal.

Luwawu-Cabarrot, who inked a two-way contract with Brooklyn in October, was waived last month so the Nets could sign a new two-way player (Jeremiah Martin) who would have a fresh allotment of allowable NBA days. However, the club immediately brought back TLC on a pair of 10-day deals. The second of those contracts expired earlier this week, and now that the trade deadline has come and gone without the Nets needing to use that open roster spot, they’ll bring Luwawu-Cabarrot back into the fold.

A first-round pick in 2016, Luwawu-Cabarrot has bounced around the league in his four NBA seasons, playing for the Sixers, Thunder, and Bulls before arriving in Brooklyn. In 25 games (15.3 MPG) for the Nets this season, he has averaged 5.2 PPG and 2.1 RPG with a solid .448/.431/.767 shooting line.

While Raznatovic didn’t specify the terms on Luwawu-Cabarrot’s new contract, it figures to be a two-year, minimum-salary deal, given Brooklyn’s cap limitations. Next season is unlikely to be fully guaranteed.

Pistons Trade Andre Drummond To Cavaliers

February 6th, 2020 at 9:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:21pm: It’s a done deal, with the Cavaliers and Pistons both issuing press releases to confirm the trade. Detroit announced in a separate release that, as expected, Frazier has been waived to make room on the roster for the incoming players.

1:19pm: The Cavaliers are finalizing a trade with the Pistons that will see them acquire center Andre Drummond, a league source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (via Twitter), Detroit will receive Brandon Knight and John Henson, both of whom are on expiring contracts. Cleveland will also send the Pistons a second-round pick, per O’Connor.

The pick will be the lesser of Cleveland’s 2023 own pick or the 2023 second-rounder Golden State owes the Cavaliers, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.

Drummond, the league’s premier rebounder, holds a $28.75MM option on his contract for next season and he’s expected to opt out and test a weak free agent market. The Pistons reportedly were prepared to retain Drummond after talks with the Hawks and Knicks fell through but ultimately decided to move on and go into rebuild mode. Detroit was looking for a first-round pick for Drummond but settled on the second-rounder, along with those expiring contracts.

The modest haul for Drummond was surprising but Detroit’s front office wanted to avoid the possibility of Drummond opting in, O’Connor adds in another tweet. It also gives Cleveland the opportunity to see how Drummond meshes with the young backcourt of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.

The Pistons will now have approximately $35MM in cap space this summer, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Cleveland will be close to the cap if Drummond opts in or re-signs with the starting salary in the $29-$30MM range, Marks adds.

Knight is making approximately $15.64MM and Henson has a $9.73MM contract, so the Pistons will shave some money off this year’s cap. They were perilously close to the luxury tax line prior to the proposed deal. Detroit was less than $4,000 under the tax line but moves to $1.7MM under the threshold via this trade, according to Marks (Twitter link).

Drummond has a $857K trade bonus that will be applied to his $27.1MM cap hit for this season, Marks relays in another tweet. Drummond, who has spent his whole career with Pistons since being chosen in the 2012 lottery, is averaging 17.8 PPG and an NBA-best 15.8 RPG this season.

The Pistons will have to open up a roster spot before making the trade official since it is at the 15-man limit. It’s likely that Tim Frazier, who has served as the No. 3 point guard behind Derrick Rose and Reggie Jackson, will be waived unless Detroit makes another trade, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Trade Dewayne Dedmon To Hawks

February 6th, 2020 at 8:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 6: Nearly 24 hours after it was agreed upon, the Kings and Hawks have officially announced their trade sending Dedmon and a pair of second-round picks to Atlanta in exchange for Parker and Len. Sacramento also confirmed that the team has released Eric Mika, as we relayed in a separate story.

FEBRUARY 5: Dewayne Dedmon will return to Atlanta, as the Kings have reached a deal to send their unhappy center to the Hawks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sacramento will receive Jabari Parker and Alex Len in return, while Atlanta will get a pair of second-round picks.

The two second-round selections aren’t Sacramento’s own picks, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the Hawks will receive Houston’s 2020 second-rounder and Miami’s 2021 second-rounder. The Kings had been owed seven extra second-round selections through the 2025 draft, so they’ll still have a surplus of picks going forward.

Because the Kings have a full roster, they’ll have to open a spot before the deal can be completed. One possibility is an early release for Eric Mika, who signed a 10-day contract on February 1.

Dedmon was the Hawks’ starting center for the past two seasons before joining the Kings in free agency last summer on a three-year, $41MM contract. Things quickly went south in Sacramento as he lost his starting job to Richaun Holmes. He became outspoken about his lack of playing time and was fined $50K in early January for making a public trade request. Dedmon averaged 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 34 games with the Kings.

Sacramento adds Parker, who holds a $6.5MM player option for next season, along with Len, who has a $4.16MM expiring contract. Both are former top-five draft picks who are trying to revive their careers after disappointing starts.

Parker averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 32 games after signing with the Hawks as a free agent last summer. He was also traded at last year’s deadline, making the Kings his fourth team in the past two seasons. Len was averaging 8.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG through 40 games in his second season with Atlanta.

The deal didn’t catch Len by surprise, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. (Twitter link). When asked before tonight’s game about the trade that will bring Clint Capela to Atlanta, Len responded, “We have what like 24 hours left (until the trade deadline)? It’s going to be really interesting because we have four bigs. Something is probably going to happen now.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.