Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Signed, Waived Ronshad Shabazz

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

4:24pm: Agent Cam Brennick of RBA Sports confirms to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that Shabazz will enter the G League draft, since the Rockets won’t hold his affiliate rights.

While Houston can’t designate Shabazz as an affiliate player, it’s probably safe to assume the Rio Grande Valley Vipers will target him in the NBAGL draft.

3:30pm: The Rockets were one of many NBA teams that signed and immediately waived a player before the regular season, doing so with undrafted rookie guard Ronshad Shabazz, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

In his senior season in 2018/19, Shabazz averaged 18.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG with a shooting line of .496/.376/.815 in 32 games (32.2 MPG).

These sign-and-waive transactions are always G League-related. They’re designed to either make a player eligible to be designated as a G League “affiliate player” or to ensure that a returning-rights G League player receives an Exhibit 10 bonus.

However, the Rockets’ deal with Shabazz was a little different than every other sign-and-waive maneuver completed this fall. Rather than signing the former Appalachian State standout to an Exhibit 10 contract, Houston inked him a two-way contract before releasing him. The moves occurred on Monday, before the club officially converted Chris Clemons‘ contract to a two-way deal.

On the surface, it looks as if the Rockets were trying to secure Shabazz’s G League rights without adding any dead money to their cap. If Shabazz had signed an Exhibit 10 contract on Monday and been cut right away, he wouldn’t have cleared waivers until the second day of the regular season, meaning the tax-conscious Rockets would have been on the hook for about $10K in dead money ($18K for tax purposes) — two days’ worth of his salary.

According to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & Days, however, NBA teams don’t retain affiliate rights for waived two-way players. That would seem to make Shabazz ineligible to be designated as an affiliate player.

General manager Daryl Morey and the Rockets are pretty savvy with their roster moves, so it’s possible they’ve found a loophole here, or perhaps there’s another motivation for the signing. The official list of 2019 affiliate players should be released next week when G League training camps open, so we’ll see at that point whether or not Shabazz shows up on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ roster.

Hawks Claim Tyrone Wallace Off Waivers

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks submitted a successful waiver claim for former Timberwolves point guard Tyrone Wallace, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wallace was Minnesota’s final cut on Monday as the Wolves trimmed their roster to the league limit.

Atlanta will inherit his $1.6MM non-guaranteed contract, which comes with a daily cap hit of $8,973, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The Hawks are now up to 15 players and will have $3.7MM in remaining cap room as long as Wallace stays on their roster. His contract will become fully guaranteed on January 7, which is the league-wide guarantee date.

Wallace, 25, spent the past two seasons with the Clippers, averaging a 5.5 PPG in 92 combined games. He had a promising rookie season, but fell out of the rotation last year and saw his playing time cut to 10.1 minutes per night. The Wolves claimed him in July after he was waived by L.A.

Nets Sign Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot To Two-Way Deal

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have officially signed former first-round pick Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Brooklyn had an open two-way slot alongside Henry Ellenson, so a corresponding move wasn’t necessary.

The 24th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Luwawu-Cabarrot spent his first two seasons in Philadelphia before being traded to the Thunder in the Dennis Schroder three-team trade in July 2018. After suiting up for Oklahoma City for the first half of 2018/19, the 24-year-old forward was traded again to Chicago in February. He became a free agent this summer and signed with the Cavs, but was waived in advance of the regular season over the weekend.

In 171 total games for three NBA teams, TLC has averaged 5.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG with a .387/.320/.820 shooting line. He’ll now get a chance to continue developing for the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate. His two-way deal will also make him eligible to spend up to 45 days with the NBA squad.

After Toronto, New York, and Brooklyn signed players to two-way deals today, the Suns are now the only team in the NBA with an open two-way slot on their roster.

Raptors Sign Shamorie Ponds To Two-Way Deal

October 23rd, 2019 at 2:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 23: The Raptors have officially signed Ponds to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

OCTOBER 21: The Raptors are signing rookie guard Shamorie Ponds to a two-way contract, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets.

Ponds was waived by the Rockets over the weekend.

Ponds, a 6’1″ guard out of St. John’s, averaged 19.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.1 RPG and 2.6 SPG in 33 games during his junior year in 2018/19 but went undrafted. He appeared in three preseason games with Houston, averaging 2.3 PPG in 6.7 MPG.

Toronto filled its other two-way spot earlier in the day by inking forward Oshae Brissett to a similar contract. Ponds and Brissett will be eligible to spend up to 45 days in the NBA on their two-way contracts, but will likely play primarily for the Raptors 905.

Knicks Sign Ivan Rabb To Two-Way Deal

October 23rd, 2019 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

1:53pm: The Knicks have officially signed Rabb to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

10:15am: The Knicks, one of a small handful of teams with a two-way contract slot available, will fill that opening by signing Ivan Rabb, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Charania that New York is finalizing a two-way contract with the former Grizzlies forward, who will reunite with his former head coach David Fizdale.

Rabb, 22, was the 35th overall pick in the 2017 draft and spent his first two professional seasons in Memphis, but didn’t really 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). The former Cal standout was released by the Grizzlies in advance of this season’s roster cutdown deadline, and cleared waivers on Monday.

While Rabb’s new two-way deal will make him eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Knicks, the team infamously stocked up on power forwards during the summer, so there may not be minutes available in a rotation that already includes Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, and Marcus Morris. Rabb figures to see far more action with the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate.

Once the signing is official, the Knicks will have a full 17-man roster, with two-way players Rabb and Kadeem Allen joining the 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts.

Bulls Sign Max Strus To Two-Way Contract

October 22nd, 2019 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

After being released by the Celtics on Saturday, undrafted rookie shooting guard Max Strus has signed a new two-way contract with the Bulls, the club announced today in a press release. Chicago had an open two-way slot alongside Adam Mokoka, so no corresponding roster move was required.

It’s a homecoming for Strus, an Illinois native who finished his college career at DePaul. In 35 games in 2018/19, Strus averaged 20.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG with a shooting line of .429/.363/.842.

Strus’ strong senior season helped earn him a two-way contract with the Celtics, but he was moved to Boston’s standard roster and later waived when the team decided to retain Javonte Green and Tacko Fall to start the regular season.

Having reportedly received a partial guarantee worth in excess of $400K from the Celtics, Strus was ineligible to play for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G League affiliate, for the rest of the league year. But he’ll get a chance to play for the Windy City Bulls on his new two-way contract with Chicago. The deal will also permit him to spend up to 45 days with the NBA team after G League training camps get underway next week.

Spurs Sign Dejounte Murray To Four-Year Extension

October 21st, 2019 at 9:00pm CST by Luke Adams

9:00pm: Murray’s new contract includes $6MM in incentives and could max out at $70MM, tweets Charania.

4:08pm: The Spurs have officially signed Murray to an extension, the team confirmed in a press release.

3:38pm: Despite not appearing in a regular season game since the 2017/18 season, Dejounte Murray has agreed to a new long-term extension with the Spurs. Agent Rich Paul tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that Murray is signing a four-year contract worth a fully guaranteed $64MM. It’ll go into effect for the 2020/21 season.

Murray, the 29th overall pick in the 2016 draft, averaged 8.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 81 games (21.5 MPG) during the ’17/18 season, his second with the Spurs. He appeared to be primed for a breakout season last fall, but a torn ACL sidelined him for the entire ’18/19 campaign.

Once again healthy, Murray is looking to pick up where he left off before that injury. Although there are some questions about his jump shot – he converted just 18-of-57 three-pointers in his first two seasons – he’s a force on the defensive end, having become the youngest player ever to be named to the NBA’s All-Defense team in 2018. The Spurs view him as one of their cornerstone pieces for the years ahead.

Prior to Murray’s extension, the Spurs had approximately $54MM in salary on their books for the 2020/21 season. While we don’t yet know the structure of Murray’s deal, it’s safe to say it will push the team’s commitments up near $70MM.

It’s possible San Antonio will still have some cap flexibility next summer, but that team salary estimate doesn’t include DeMar DeRozan‘s player option ($27.7MM) or $17MM of LaMarcus Aldridge‘s partially guaranteed salary, so if the Spurs intend to bring one or both of those players back, they likely won’t be a real player in free agency.

Murray is the eighth player to reach a deal on a rookie scale extension this year and the 15th player in total to get an extension since July, as our tracker shows.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Add Wenyen Gabriel To 15-Man Roster

October 21st, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:29pm: The roster moves are official, according to a team press release.

6:56pm: Wenyen Gabriel will have his two-way contract converted to a standard contract as part of the Kings’ roster tinkering, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.

An opening on the 15-man roster will be created by waiving forward Tyler Lydon. As previously reported, Sacramento has claimed undrafted swingman DaQuan Jeffries from the Magic.

Jeffries will take Gabriel’s previous spot on a two-way deal, according to Ham. Rookie guard Kyle Guy has the other two-way contract.

Gabriel, 21, averaged 6.8 PPG and 5.4 RPG as a sophomore in 2017/18 at Kentucky but was not drafted. He signed a two-way contract with Sacramento last July, but has yet to make his NBA debut, spending his rookie season with the Stockton Kings. He averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 12.9 MPG during four preseason games this fall.

Clippers Sign Derrick Walton Jr. To One-Year Contract

October 21st, 2019 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have signed point guard Derrick Walton Jr. to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract to fill their last roster spot, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.

The Clippers waived forward Donte Grantham on Saturday, paving the way for Walton to make the opening-night roster. Walton’s $1.45MM deal won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10.

Walton signed a training camp deal with the Clippers in July. Walton spent a season with the Heat on a two-way contract in 2017/18 after going undrafted out of Michigan. He joined the Bulls for training camp last fall, but was waived before the regular season began and ended up playing overseas in 2018/19 for teams in Lithuania and Germany.

Walton averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.0 APG while playing in all five Clippers preseason games. He’ll back up Patrick Beverley and Terance Mann, though Lou Williams will also run the offense at times.

Joe Ingles Signs One-Year Extension With Jazz

October 21st, 2019 at 6:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:29pm: It’s official, according to the Jazz’s Twitter feed.

6:19pm: Forward Joe Ingles has agreed to a one-year, $14MM extension with the Jazz, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

The extension applies to the 2021/22 season. Ingles is making nearly $12MM this season but that number drops to $10.83MM next season, as the four-year, $52MM contract he signed in 2017 was frontloaded.

Monday was the deadline to extend a player with two years left on his deal, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in a tweet. The extension will include likely and unlikely bonuses, Marks adds.

The 6’8” Australian, who turned 32 earlier this month, emerged as a fixture in the starting lineup the last two seasons and his playmaking skills became a key component to Utah’s offensive scheme. He averaged 12.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 5.7 APG in 31.3 MPG last season. He’s averaged 9.7/4.2/3.6 in those categories in 27 career playoff games.

He might be used in a sixth-man role this season due to his versatility.