Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Claim Tyler Cook From Nuggets

October 18th, 2019 at 4:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers have claimed rookie forward Tyler Cook off waivers, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.

Cook was on a two-way deal with the Nuggets before Denver cut ties with him on Wednesday. The Cavaliers will now decide by Saturday afternoon whether to retain Cook or training camp invitee Marques Bolden with their second two-way contract, according to Fedor. Power forward Dean Wade has the other two-way contract.

Cook entered the draft this spring after his junior year at Iowa, where he averaged 14.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 33 games (30.8 MPG) last season while shooting 51.9% from the field. After recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered during a pre-draft workout, the 22-year-old joined Denver for Summer League action and then for training camp, playing limited minutes in two preseason games.

Nuggets Waive Zeller, Convert Dozier To Two-Way Deal

October 18th, 2019 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have made roster moves with a pair of players on non-guaranteed contracts, announcing today (via Twitter) that center Tyler Zeller has been waived, while guard PJ Dozier‘s contract has been converted into a two-way deal.

Zeller – a former first-round pick who has spent time with the Cavaliers, Celtics, Nets, Bucks, Hawks, and Grizzlies – provided Denver with an extra body in training camp, but was always a long shot to make the regular season roster. The Nuggets are expected to enter the season with an open spot on the 15-man squad, since their team salary is dangerously close to the luxury-tax line.

As for Dozier, his path to a two-way contract opened up when the Nuggets waived Tyler Cook earlier this week. Nick Kosmider of The Athletic noted at the time that Dozier would likely slide into that newly-opened two-way slot after an impressive training camp.

Denver now has 14 players on guaranteed contracts and two on two-way deals, so the team’s roster is ready for the regular season. As one of two NBA clubs without their own G League affiliate, the Nuggets don’t need to make any additional roster moves to secure players’ NBAGL rights.

Jazz Exercise 2020/21 Options On Mitchell, Bradley

October 18th, 2019 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have officially picked up their 2020/21 rookie scale options on Donovan Mitchell and Tony Bradley, the club announced today in a press release. Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on Thursday that Bradley’s option would be exercised, and Mitchell’s was never in doubt.

Mitchell, who has emerged as one of the NBA’s top young guards since being drafted 13th overall in 2017, will now have his fourth-year cap hit of $5,195,501 locked in for the 2020/21 season. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason and would be a restricted free agent in 2021 if he doesn’t get a new deal next year.

Bradley’s contract situation is similar to Mitchell’s, since he was part of the same draft class, though the former 28th overall pick is obviously not nearly as strong a candidate for an early extension in 2020. For now, his fourth-year cap charge of $3,542,060 for ’20/21 is fully guaranteed.

We’re tracking all of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for the 2020/21 season right here.

Hawks Sign Kenny Gabriel

October 18th, 2019 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving four players earlier today, the Hawks have filled one of the newly-opened spots on their roster by signing free agent forward Kenny Gabriel, the team announced in a press release.

Gabriel, 30, has spent his professional career playing in a handful of international leagues since going undrafted out of Auburn back in 2012. Most recently, he played for Turkish club Turk Telecom in 2018/19, averaging 9.2 PPG and 5.6 RPG with a .430/.339/.784 shooting line in 43 games.

While they do have a spot open on their 15-man regular season roster, the Hawks presumably view Gabriel as a potential affiliate player for the College Park Skyhawks, their G League squad.

Assuming Gabriel received an Exhibit 10 contract from Atlanta, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he signs a G League contract and spends at least 60 days with the Skyhawks.

Trail Blazers Release Three Players

October 18th, 2019 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have waived guards Troy Caupain and London Perrantes, along with forward Keljin Blevins, the team announced today in a press release. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts, so Portland’s cap won’t be impacted.

The Blazers only have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts for 2019/20, leaving the 15th spot on the roster open. However, Portland was always unlikely to fill that opening to start the season, since it would mean increasing the team’s projected luxury-tax bill to carry a 15th man who likely wouldn’t play.

As such, the only chance Caupain, Perrantes, and Blevins really had to stick with the Blazers to start the season was claiming the club’s open two-way contract slot. Moses Brown earned that spot and had his contract converted to a two-way deal, making the rest of the camp invitees expendable.

The Blazers’ roster now appears set for the regular season. I wouldn’t count on any additional moves from the team this weekend unless something unexpected pops up, since Portland doesn’t have its own G League affiliate and doesn’t have to worry about securing players’ NBAGL rights.

Knicks Waive Zak Irvin

October 18th, 2019 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

A day after signing him to their preseason roster, the Knicks have waived swingman Zak Irvin, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Irvin, who played college ball at Michigan from 2013-17, spent last season with the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate. In 30 games (32.5 MPG), he averaged 11.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 2.9 APG.

It looks like Irvin’s brief stay on New York’s active roster was designed him to get him some bonus money as he prepares to rejoin Westchester as a returning-rights player. By signing an Exhibit 10 deal, he’ll be eligible to earn a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with New York’s G League affiliate.

Pistons Sign Tre’Shawn Thurman, Cut Craig Sword

October 18th, 2019 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have made another minor change to the back of their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed forward Tre’Shawn Thurman and released guard Craig Sword.

After starting his college career at Omaha, Thurman transferred to Nevada for his senior season. He averaged 8.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.1 SPG in 34 games (26.3 MPG) for the Wolf Pack in 2018/19.

While Sword is expected to join the Grand Rapids Drive – Detroit’s G League team – as a returning-rights player, Thurman will likely be designated as an affiliate player after he’s waived.

The Pistons currently have 20 players under contract and will have until Monday to get down to a maximum of 17 (including two-way players) for the regular season.

Grizzlies Sign Bennie Boatwright, Waive Shaq Buchanan

October 18th, 2019 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

For a fourth consecutive day, the Grizzlies have waived a player 24 hours after signing him. Shaq Buchanan, who signed with Memphis on Thursday, is headed to waivers today, according to the club, which announced in a press release that Buchanan has been replaced on the roster by Bennie Boatwright.

Boatwright, a 6’10” forward, spent the last four years at USC before going undrafted this spring. As a senior in 2018/19, he averaged 18.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .474/.429/.702 shooting line in 31 games (33.5 MPG).

On Monday, the Grizzlies signed Dusty Hannahs to replace Matt Mooney. The team subsequently replaced Hannahs with Ahmad Caver on Tuesday, Caver with Jarrod Uthoff on Wednesday, and Uthoff with Buchanan on Thursday.

All six of those players, including Boatwright, appear likely to ultimately end up with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate.

Hawks Waive Four Players

October 18th, 2019 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have waived all four of their players on non-guaranteed contracts, the team announced today in a press release. Armoni Brooks, Marcus Derrickson, Tahjere McCall, and Jordan Sibert have been cut by Atlanta.

Brooks and Derrickson signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Atlanta back in August and are now likely to become affiliate players for the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ newly-relocated G League team.

McCall signed with the Hawks in September, while Sibert joined the team earlier this month — they’re also on track to join the Skyhawks, as returning-rights players.

After today’s roster moves, the Hawks are carrying 14 players with guaranteed salaries and two on two-way contracts. The roster is regular-season-ready, though Atlanta still could make additional moves within the next couple days to line up more affiliate players for the Skyhawks.

Rockets Make Three More Moves

October 18th, 2019 at 8:12am CST by ChrisCrouse

OCTOBER 18: The Rockets have officially announced the signing of Maker.

OCTOBER 17: The Rockets converted Chris Clemons‘ Exhibit 10 deal to a two-way contract earlier today and they are not done making moves. The club is signing Matur Maker to an Exhibit 10 deal, Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).

The team has also waived Jaron Blossomgame and Michael Frazier, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Frazier, who was the G League’s Most Improved Player last season, hurt his right ankle during training camp and hasn’t played since, Feigen notes. The Rockets own the guard’s G League rights, but do not hold Blossomgame’s G League rights. The defensive-minded forward played 13.0 minutes per game for the Rockets this preseason.

Maker, meanwhile, is the brother of Pistons big man Thon Maker. He went undrafted in June after playing for Zlatorog Lasko in Slovenia.