Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Waive David Nwaba, Will Sign Justin Anderson

January 3rd, 2020 at 1:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 3: The Nets have officially waived Nwaba, the team announced today in a press release.

JANUARY 2: Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports (Twitter link) that the Nets will be waiving swingman David Nwaba, who has been ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that Nwaba has a cap hit of $1.7MM for the 2019/20 season, but his non-guaranteed salary in 2020/21 will not impact Brooklyn’s salary cap next year. The team still has an $839,000 disabled player exception even after waiving Nwaba.

Since going undrafted in 2016, Nwaba has managed to carve out a small niche for himself as an athletic wing defender. Returning to the league after one of the most devastating injuries an NBA player can suffer will be no small feat.

In Nwaba’s stead, Brooklyn will ink G League wing Justin Anderson, currently on the Raptors 905, to a 10-day contract, Charania tweets. Anderson, the No. 21 pick by Dallas in 2015, has a career slash line of 5.3 PPG/2.6 RPG/0.7 APG in 13.2 MPG. He has played for the Mavericks, Sixers and Hawks.

Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts as of this Sunday.

Aldridge’s 2020/21 Salary Guarantee Becomes Official Today

January 1st, 2020 at 10:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

New Year’s Day 2020 has special meaning for Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge. His $24MM contract for next season becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the team’s roster through 5 PM EST, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Aldridge’s salary guarantee was originally scheduled for June 29, 2020 but the two parties agreed to move up the date to January 1 in October.

Aldridge isn’t going to be waived. The club pledged to agent Jeff Schwartz during training camp that they would fully guarantee his client’s 2020/21 salary. However, that guarantee doesn’t become official until Wednesday afternoon.

Aldridge’s salary for next season had previously only been partially guaranteed for $7MM, per Basketball Insiders’ contract data. Aldridge, who is making $26MM this season, remains on track to reach unrestricted free agency in 2021.

The Spurs will remain significantly below the projected cap for 2020/21 even with Aldridge’s salary added but that comes with a major asterisk. They’ll move over the cap in salary guarantees if DeMar DeRozan opts into his $27.7MM contract for next season.

Aldridge, 34, is having another solid season for San Antonio. He’s averaging 19.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.9 BPG in 30 games this season while playing 33.0 MPG. He posted 21.3/9.2/2.4/1.3 in the same categories last season.

Rockets Sign William Howard To Two-Way Deal

December 27th, 2019 at 3:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

3:46pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

1:07pm: The Rockets will sign William Howard to a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The 6’8″ wing had been playing with the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League.

Houston has an open two-way spot after giving Chris Clemons a new deal. Clemons utilized all 45 of his eligible days in the NBA and the team was forced to either offer him a big-league deal or watch him spend the rest of the season in the G League.

Howard, who is originally from France, spent part of training camp with the Jazz before the team waived him and added him to its G League affiliate. In 15 games for the Salt Lake City Stars, Howard has seen 30.4 minutes of action while making 44.3% of his three-pointers.

Rockets Convert Chris Clemons’ Contract To Three-Year Deal

December 27th, 2019 at 11:07am CST by ChrisCrouse

DECEMBER 27: The move is official, the Rockets announced in a press release. As we relayed on Thursday, the minimum-salary deal is guaranteed for 2019/20, with non-guaranteed years to follow.

DECEMBER 26: The Rockets have agreed to convert Chris Clemons‘ two-way contract to a standard deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The new contract will span across three seasons, including 2019/20.

Clemons used all 45 days of his eligibility in the NBA and would have only been permitted to play in G League contests had the Rockets not promoted him to the standard roster.

The shooting guard has appeared in 20 games for Houston this season. He’s scoring 4.8 points per contest and shooting 39.1% from behind the arc.

The Rockets have had an open roster spot on their 15-man squad since releasing Ryan Anderson earlier in the season, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for Clemons, who will be signed using the mid-level exception.

Houston will open up a two-way contract slot as a result of the deal.

Wizards Sign Johnathan Williams

December 26th, 2019 at 12:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier in the week, it was reported that the Wizards were close to signing Johnathan Williams and according to the team, the deal is official.

Washington will use the hardship provision to bring the big man on without a corresponding roster move. This will be the second player added via the hardship provision, as the team signed Gary Payton II earlier in the week.

As we explained in our story on Payton, the NBA can grant a team a hardship exception when that team has at least four players who have missed three or more games due to injury or illness and are expected to miss at least two more weeks. If a team has five players who fit that bill, a second additional roster spot can be granted.

Williams played with the Lakers last season on a two-way contract. Before that, the center split his college time between Missouri and Gonzaga.

As a free agent this past offseason, Williams signed with Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion, where he had averaged 12.2 PPG and 10.4 RPG in nine Israeli League games.

Jazz Waive Jeff Green, Sign Rayjon Tucker

December 25th, 2019 at 8:09am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 25: The Jazz have officially signed Tucker, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, which suggests that the move was finalized on Tuesday. In addition to having a guaranteed contract for 2019/20, Tucker will have a partially guaranteed salary for next season, per Tony Jones of The Athletic.

DECEMBER 24: The Jazz have officially waived Green, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 23: The Jazz have decided to waive forward Jeff Green, Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic report.

Utah needed to open up a roster spot because the team is signing small forward Rayjon Tucker to a multi-year contract, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Tucker, who went undrafted out of Arkansas-Little Rock, made a strong impression at the G League Showcase, having been identified by John Hollinger as the NBAGL player most deserving of a call-up. He had been playing for the Bucks’ affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. His contract will be guaranteed for the remainder of this season, according to Wojnarowski.

In 16 G League games this season, Tucker was averaging 23.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 2.8 APG in 33.8 MPG. The Jazz only have the prorated minimum exception available to sign Tucker, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Green was averaging 7.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 28 games with Utah. He scored seven points in 18 minutes against Miami on Monday. He was making the veteran’s minimum at $2.56MM.

Green, 33, was playing for eighth NBA team. He started 44 games for Washington last season. His scoring average with the Jazz was the lowest of his career.

It’s unusual for a team to cut a rotation player, particularly right after a game. But the Jazz obviously valued the 6’5” Tucker and had competition for his services.

The Jazz were busy throughout the night. They also agreed to acquire guard Jordan Clarkson from the Cavaliers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavaliers Trade Jordan Clarkson To Jazz

December 24th, 2019 at 10:14am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 24: The trade has been officially completed, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Clarkson and Exum should be ready to suit up for their new teams when they resume play on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

DECEMBER 23: The Cavaliers have agreed to trade shooting guard Jordan Clarkson to the Jazz for point guard Dante Exum and two second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The second-rounders are picks that were owed to Utah, San Antonio’s in 2022 and Golden State’s in 2023, Brian Windhorst of ESPN tweets.

Assuming the deal becomes official, it will be the first NBA trade since mid-July. The Thunder and Rockets finalized their Chris Paul/Russell Westbrook swap on July 16.

Clarkson is essentially a rental for the disappointing Jazz, who are looking to boost their bench scoring. Clarkson has an expiring $13.4MM contract. The Cavaliers will create a $3.83MM trade exception, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Cleveland also drops $5.1MM under the luxury tax line, Marks adds (Twitter link).

Exum, a former lottery pick whose career has been sidetracked by injuries, still has two years and $19.2MM left on his contract.

The Cavaliers are planning to deal veterans on the roster in order to obtain more draft picks and young assets, according to Wojnarowski. That could mean players such as Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson could also be on the move before February’s trade deadline.

Clarkson is off to a strong start, averaging 14.6 PPG. He erupted for a season-high 33 points against Memphis on Friday.

This is the third time in three years the teams have been involved in swap, Wojnarowski notes. The Jazz acquired Kyle Korver for Alec Burks and two-second round picks in November of 2018. They also were involved in a three-way deal with the Kings at the February 2018 trade deadline that included Cleveland trading Jae Crowder for Utah’s Rodney Hood.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wizards Sign Gary Payton II

December 23rd, 2019 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have signed veteran guard Gary Payton II to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. The move had been expected, with a Saturday report indicating that the two sides were closing in on an agreement.

Payton has spent the 2019/20 season so far playing for the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers’ G League affiliate. In 16 games (32.4 MPG) for the club, he averaged 21.4 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 6.8 APG, and a league-leading 3.2 SPG, making his case for a call-up.

The 27-year-old, the son of former SuperSonics star Gary Payton, has appeared in 32 total NBA regular season games, spending time with the Bucks, Lakers, and Wizards since the 2016/17 season.

The Wizards had a full 15-man roster before signing Payton, but didn’t need to make a corresponding move to open up a roster spot, since they qualified for a hardship exception.

The NBA can grant a team a hardship exception when that team has at least four players who have missed three or more games due to injury or illness and are expected to miss at least two more weeks. A hardship exception allows the club to add an extra player to its 15-man roster, increasing its roster limit.

John Wall, C.J. Miles, Thomas Bryant, and Jordan McRae are out with long-term injuries for Washington, with Davis Bertans, Rui Hachimura, and Moritz Wagner all banged up as well.

Wizards Sign Anzejs Pasecniks, Cut Chris Chiozza

December 17th, 2019 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have signed former first-round pick Anzejs Pasecniks to a two-way contract, waiving two-way player Chris Chiozza to make room for Pasecniks, the team announced today in a press release.

Pasecniks, who will turn 24 this Friday, was drafted 25th overall by the Sixers in 2017 but never suited up for Philadelphia, having spent the next two seasons overseas. After the 76ers renounced his rights earlier this year, the 7’1″ center joined the Wizards’ Summer League team, then reported to Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, this fall.

In 12 NBAGL games, Pasecniks has averaged 10.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG with a .604 FG%.

As Fred Katz of The Athletic explains (via Twitter), the Wizards “really like” Chiozza, but felt they had to add another center to the mix with Thomas Bryant and Moritz Wagner both injured. Ian Mahinmi is currently the club’s only healthy player at the five.

Chiozza, who appeared in 10 games for Washington this season, will become a free agent if he clears waivers on Thursday. The point guard is expected to return to the Go-Go if he goes unclaimed, tweets Katz.

Hawks Request Waivers On Tyrone Wallace

December 14th, 2019 at 10:53am CST by marksuleymanov

The Hawks have requested waivers on guard Tyrone Wallace, the team announced in a press release Saturday.

Wallace, 25, was originally claimed off waivers from the Timberwolves by Atlanta on Oct. 23. Since then, the former Clippers guard appeared in 14 games for the Hawks, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 11.5 minutes per contest. In parts of three seasons, the California product has appeared in 106 games, averaging 5.2 PPG.

By waiving Wallace, the Hawks opened up a roster spot. As noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the Hawks have $4.8M in room and could direct some of that money toward filling the now-vacant roster spot.