Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Release Kaiser Gates

October 18th, 2019 at 10:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have waived forward Kaiser Gates, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. The move leaves Boston with 19 players under contract.

Gates, who will turn 23 in November, spent most of last season with the Windy City Bulls after going undrafted out of Xavier. In 50 NBAGL games, the forward recorded 12.7 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .408/.375/.786 shooting line.

The Maine Red Claws – Boston’s G League affiliate – acquired Gates’ returning rights from Windy City last month, so after joining the C’s for camp and the preseason, he’s on track to report to Maine and receive an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K if he spends 60 or more days with the club.

Raptors Waive Matt Morgan

October 18th, 2019 at 10:19pm CST by Luke Adams

A day after signing him, the Raptors have released rookie guard Matt Morgan, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.

Morgan, who went undrafted out of Cornell in the spring, played for Toronto’s Summer League team and impressed the organization with his shooting skills, according to Murphy. He averaged 22.2 PPG in 31 games (32.3 MPG) as a senior last year and shot 43.1% from beyond the arc.

As Murphy notes, Morgan’s one-day stint on the Raptors’ roster was designed to get him an Exhibit 10 bonus after he joins the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. That bonus will be worth $50K if he sticks with the NBAGL squad for at least 60 days.

Sixers Waive Miles, Koumadje, Highsmith

October 18th, 2019 at 9:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are waiving Isaiah Miles, Christ Koumadje and Haywood Highsmith, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

That will reduce their roster to 17 players. There are no surprises with these moves, as all three had non-guaranteed contracts. Trey Burke has a partially guaranteed deal, while 14 others have full guarantees to go along with Philadelphia’s two-way players.

The Sixers hold the G League rights to the trio and they’re expected to play for the Delaware Blue Coats.

Miles, who went undrafted out of St. Joe’s in 2016, has played professionally overseas during the last three years. The 6’7” forward has spent time with teams in France and Turkey, having played for Limoges CSP in 2018/19.

The 7’4″ Koumadje, a Florida State alum, played for Philadelphia’s summer league team after going undrafted. He played four seasons with the Seminoles and started all 37 games as a senior.

Highsmith, a small forward who went undrafted out of Wheeling Jesuit in 2018, signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia in January and spent the remainder of his rookie season with the 76ers and the Blue Coats.

Clippers Waive B.J. Taylor

October 18th, 2019 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers are waiving recently-signed point guard B.J. Taylor, who will report to their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops tweets.

The undrafted rookie guard signed an Exhibit 10 contract on Wednesday. He played his college ball at the University of Central Florida, averaging 15.9 PPG, 3.2 APG, and 2.3 RPG with a .384/.372/.779 shooting line in 33 games (34.4 MPG) as a senior in 2018/19. The Orlando native joined the Magic for Summer League play, though he only appeared briefly in one game.

The Clippers will now have 18 players under contract.

Thunder Exercise Options on Gilgeous-Alexander, Ferguson

October 18th, 2019 at 7:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have exercised their 2020/21 options on point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and swingman Terrance Ferguson, according to a team press release.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s option for 2020/21, which will be his third season in the league, is worth approximately $4.14MM. Ferguson’s fourth-year option is worth $3.94MM.

Oklahoma City had until the end of this month to exercise those options.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a strong rookie campaign with the Clippers and was the key component for OKC in the Paul George blockbuster. He averaged 10.8 PPG and 3.3 APG while appearing in every regular-season game.

Ferguson started 74 games last season and averaged 6.9 PPG in 26.1 MPG. The 21-year-old was the team’s first-round pick in 2017.

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.