Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Sign Simisola Shittu To Camp Deal

October 4th, 2019 at 4:36pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 4: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Bulls have reached an agreement with undrafted free agent forward Simisola Shittu, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), who reports that Shittu is signing a training camp deal with the club.

A McDonald’s All-American and one of the highest-rated prospects in the 2018 recruiting class, Shittu spent his lone college season at Vanderbilt in 2018/19 before declaring for the draft as an early entrant. The 6’10” Canadian had an up-and-down freshman season, averaging 10.9 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 32 games (26.7 MPG) for the Commodores.

Shittu joined the Grizzlies for Las Vegas Summer League play, but only saw six minutes of action in a single game for Memphis. Now it appears he’ll get a chance to attend training camp with Chicago, though he’s more likely to ultimately end up in the G League playing for the Windy City Bulls.

Once they officially sign Shittu and completed their reported agreement with Milton Doyle, the Bulls will have a full 20-man roster.

Lakers Sign David Stockton, Cut Jordan Caroline

October 4th, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have made a change to their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed guard David Stockton, waiving forward Jordan Caroline in a corresponding move.

Stockton, the son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, appeared in three games with the Kings during the 2014/15 season and three more with the Jazz in 2017/18. However, most of his professional career has been spent in the G League or in international leagues.

The South Bay Lakers – L.A.’s G League affiliate – acquired the 28-year-old’s NBAGL returning rights last month, so it looks like he’ll end up playing for South Bay this season. Assuming his new deal with the Lakers contains an Exhibit 10 clause, Stockton will be in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least two months with the G League club.

Caroline is also a strong candidate to head to South Bay. The Lakers will have the ability to make the undrafted Nevada wing an affiliate player for their G League squad, assuming he doesn’t sign with another NBA team before the season begins.

Raptors Pick Up 2020/21 Option On OG Anunoby

October 4th, 2019 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have exercised OG Anunoby‘s fourth-year rookie scale option well ahead of the October 31 deadline, according to Blake Murphy and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move locks in Anunoby’s $3,872,215 cap charge for the 2020/21 season.

Viewed as a potential breakout candidate entering the 2018/19 season, Anunoby instead took a step backward, enduring a rough sophomore year that saw him battle health issues and cope with the passing of his father.

After averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 67 regular season games (20.2 MPG), the young forward didn’t play at all during the Raptors’ championship run, having undergone an emergency appendectomy just before the postseason got underway.

The Raptors still have high hopes for the 22-year-old, however, and he’ll get a chance to potentially reclaim a spot in the starting lineup this year in the wake of Kawhi Leonard‘s and Danny Green‘s offseason departures. Even if he comes off the bench, Anunoby is expected to have a significant rotation role.

With several sizeable expiring contracts on their books, the Raptors project to have more cap space than virtually any other NBA team during the 2020 offseason, so guaranteeing Anunoby’s salary will have little impact on the team’s flexibility. Toronto still has less than $20MM in guaranteed money on its cap for 2020/21, though that figure doesn’t include Stanley Johnson‘s $3.8MM player option or a potential extension for Pascal Siakam.

Nuggets To Sign Elijah Millsap To Camp Deal

October 4th, 2019 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets will fill their 20-man offseason roster by keeping it in the family, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is signing veteran shooting guard Elijah Millsap to a training camp deal. His brother Paul Millsap is already a Nugget.

Elijah, who went undrafted out of UAB in 2010, has spent much of his career in the G League or overseas, but has some NBA experience too. He appeared in a total of 69 regular season games between 2014-17 for the Jazz and Suns, averaging 4.2 PPG and 2.8 RPG in limited action (16.2 MPG).

The younger Millsap has no clear path to a regular season roster spot in Denver, since the team is carrying 14 players with guaranteed salaries and two on two-way contracts. The Nuggets could technically retain a 15th player on a standard contract, but that’s probably unlikely, given the club’s close proximity to the luxury tax threshold.

Denver will have a full 20-man roster once Millsap is officially signed, with PJ Dozier, Tyler Zeller, and Jorge Gutierrez also attending camp on non-guaranteed deals. The Nuggets have no G League team of their own, so those players won’t get the chance to become NBAGL affiliate players for Denver once the season begins.

Spurs Exercise 2020/21 Options On White, Walker

October 2nd, 2019 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have picked up their 2020/21 rookie scale team options on guards Derrick White and Lonnie Walker, according to RealGM’s transactions log. The moves ensure that White’s $3,516,284 cap hit and Walker’s $2,892,000 cap hit are officially guaranteed for the ’20/21 season.

White, 25, enjoyed a modest breakout season for the Spurs in 2018/19, averaging 9.9 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.7 RPG in 67 games (55 starts) for the club. He parlayed that regular season performance into a couple impressive playoff showings and a spot on Team USA’s 2019 World Cup roster.

White is entering the third year of his rookie contract, so the option picked up by the Spurs is for his fourth season. He’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason, and if he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d be on track for restricted free agency in 2021.

As for Walker, the 20-year-old is entering just his second NBA season, so San Antonio exercised his third-year option. The team will be faced with a decision on his fourth-year option for 2021/22 next October.

The 18th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Walker was limited to just 17 games in his rookie season due in part to a knee injury that sidelined him to start the year. The former Miami standout had an impressive Summer League this July, averaging 24.8 PPG on 55.1% shooting in four games as he began to make his case for a regular rotation role in 2019/20.

You can track all of this year’s decisions on 2020/21 rookie scale options right here.

Nuggets Sign Jorge Gutiérrez To Training Camp Deal

October 1st, 2019 at 12:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jorge Gutiérrez has been added to the Nuggets‘ training camp roster, tweets Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports. Gutierrez has prior NBA experience, playing a combined 47 games with the Nets, Bucks and Hornets.

The 30-year-old guard has been overseas since leaving the NBA, spending time in Turkey and Spain. He signed with Brooklyn in 2014 and was later traded to Philadelphia, which immediately waived him. He caught on with Milwaukee at the end of 2014/15 and Charlotte at the end of the following season.

The signing leaves Denver one player below the training camp roster limit of 20. The Nuggets have 14 guaranteed contracts and both two-way slots already filled, so Gutierrez is facing long odds to earn a roster spot.

Marquese Chriss Signs With Warriors

September 30th, 2019 at 9:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

SEPTEMBER 30, 9:35pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

SEPTEMBER 24, 5:40pm: The Warriors and Marquese Chriss have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears that the contract is non-guaranteed.

Chriss is unlikely to make the Warriors’ open day roster, as the team is hard-capped and doesn’t have the room for a 15th contract. However, if Chriss shows promise during camp, the franchise could make a corresponding move to keep Chriss on the squad.

The big man was selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2016 draft, though he never lived up to his lofty draft status. Phoenix traded him to Houston in the Ryan Anderson deal back in 2018 and the Rockets declined to pick up his fourth-year option last fall. Chriss also spent time with the Cavaliers, playing in 27 games for Cleveland last season.

Trail Blazers Sign Keljin Blevins

September 30th, 2019 at 1:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Keljin Blevins has signed a training camp contract with the Trail Blazers, the team announced in a press release.

The 23-year-old forward was part of Portland’s Summer League team, appearing in three games and scoring five points with three rebounds and a steal in 28 total minutes. Blevins went undrafted out of Montana State this year and spent two seasons at Southern Mississippi as well.

The signing brings the Blazers to 19 players ahead of the opening of camp tomorrow. Portland has a two-way spot available, so Blevins is likely competing for that.

Bulls Sign Milton Doyle

September 30th, 2019 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 30: The Bulls have officially signed Doyle, the team announced today. The club’s training camp roster features 19 players – Simisola Shittu, who reportedly agreed to sign with Chicago, isn’t on the list at this point.

SEPTEMBER 23: The Bulls have reached a deal with former Nets guard Milton Doyle, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to a partially guaranteed contract. It’s not clear if Doyle’s partial guarantee will exceed the $50K figure that Exhibit 10 recipients and two-way candidates generally receive.

A Chicago native, Doyle went undrafted out of Loyola in 2017 and spent most of his rookie season on a two-way contract with Brooklyn, appearing in 10 NBA regular season contests for the team. The majority of his minutes came in the G League, as he averaged 20.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 4.4 APG in 45 games with the Long Island Nets.

After his two-way deal with the Nets expired, Doyle signed with Spanish team Murcia for the 2018/19 season. Now, the 25-year-old is back stateside and seeking an NBA roster spot.

While the Bulls are carrying only 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, Shaquille Harrison is the odds-on favorite to claim the 15th and final spot on the club’s regular season roster, given his $175K partial guarantee.

Chicago has an open two-way slot, so if Doyle doesn’t make the 15-man squad, he may be a candidate for that opening. He could also simply end up joining the Windy City Bulls as an affiliate player — Windy City, Chicago’s G League affiliate, acquired his returning rights from Long Island in a trade today.

Celtics Officially Sign Maten, Gates; Camp Roster Set

September 30th, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have made a handful of roster moves to set their roster for training camp, the team announced today in a press release. Boston waived recently-signed players Bryce Brown and John Bohannon, officially signing Yante Maten and Kaiser Gates using the newly-created openings.

Maten, 23, spent most of the 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Heat. He appeared in just two games for Miami but thrived for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. The rookie power forward averaged 23.5 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 30 games for Sioux Falls, earning a spot on the All-NBAGL Second Team. After being waived by Miami this summer, he reached an agreement with Boston.

Gates, who will turn 23 in November, joined the Bulls for training camp last fall after going undrafted out of Xavier. He was waived by Chicago before the season began and reported to the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. In 50 NBAGL games, the forward recorded 12.7 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .408/.375/.786 shooting line. Earlier this month, he agreed to sign with the Celtics.

As for the Celtics’ waived players, Brown is expected to become an affiliate player for the Maine Red Claws, while Bohannon will likely rejoin to Boston’s G League team as a returning rights player.

The Celtics now have a full 20-man roster heading into camp, including 14 players on guaranteed salaries. Assuming Boston plans on carrying a 15th man, Maten and Gates figure to compete with Tacko Fall and Javonte Green for that spot.