Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics To Give Max Strus Two-Year Deal

October 13th, 2019 at 11:37am CST by Arthur Hill

Max Strus will receive a two-year contract from the Celtics, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal includes a partial guarantee that’s nearly half of the rookie minimum, league sources tell Charania.

The 23-year-old shooting guard has been on a two-way contract that he agreed to in July after going undrafted out of DePaul. He has seen minimal playing time in Boston’s first two preseason games.

Because Strus is already on the training camp roster, the Celtics don’t have to make an accompanying move. However, they now have a two-way slot to fill. ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes that any move to convert a player on an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, such as Tacko Fall, must be completed by next Monday (Twitter link).

The minimum salary for a rookie this season is $898,310, so Strus’ partial guarantee will come in at less than half of that number.

Mavericks Waive Yudai Baba

October 12th, 2019 at 4:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Mavericks have waived Yudai Baba, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News relays (via Twitter).

Baba played in three preseason games for the Mavericks. The Japanese shooting guard scored 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per contest.

Baba was never expected to make the regular season roster for the Mavericks, though playing for the Texas Legends of the G League remains a possibility. Dallas’ roster now sits at 19 players.

Jazz Sign Kyle Collinsworth, Waive Trevon Bluiett

October 12th, 2019 at 3:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz have signed free agent small forward Kyle Collinsworth, according to a team press release. The team has waived camp invitee Trevon Bluiett to accomodate the signing.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed but it’s likely a non-guaranteed contract. Collinsworth spent last season with the Raptors 905 of the G League.

The Utah native saw NBA action with the Mavs back in the 2017/18 season, appearing in 32 contests. During his stint in Dallas, he also played for the team’s G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

Kings Waive Mika, Pineiro; Sign Hollis Thompson

October 11th, 2019 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

5:08pm: Thompson’s signing is official, according to a team press release.

11:20am: The Kings are making a series of changes to their 20-man roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived camp invitees Eric Mika and Isaiah Pineiro. Sources tell Jason Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link) that Sacramento has agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with Hollis Thompson, who will fill one of those newly-opened roster spots.

Mika, a former BYU center who went undrafted in 2017 and has played overseas in recent years, joined the Kings for Summer League play in July, then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the club in August. He racked up four points and six rebounds in just four minutes of action in his lone preseason appearance for Sacramento

Pineiro, an Auburn, California native, also signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Kings after playing for the team in Summer League. Like Mika, the forward appeared in one preseason game for Sacramento.

Both players look like candidates to ultimately join the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate. They’d be eligible for Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days in Stockton.

As for Thompson, the former Sixers and Pelicans swingman last played in the NBA during the 2016/17 season. The Georgetown alum averaged 7.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .386 3PT% in 265 NBA contests, and has played in Greece, Germany, and the G League since then.

It’s not clear if Thompson will get a chance to compete for the 15th and final spot on the Kings’ regular season roster. Tyler Lydon and Tyler Ulis are currently vying to fill that opening.

Clippers Waive Terry Larrier, James Palmer Jr.

October 11th, 2019 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have removed a pair of players from their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today that Terry Larrier and James Palmer Jr. have been released.

Both Larrier and Palmer signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Clippers in August and participated in the team’s training camp last week. Larrier, a 6’8″ forward out of UConn, appeared in two games for the Clippers during the preseason, while Palmer, an undrafted 6’6″ shooting guard out of Nebraska, played in three preseason contests for the club.

Neither Larrier nor Palmer has played in the G League before, so the Clippers could look to make them affiliate players. If they spend at least 60 days with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario – L.A.’s NBAGL affiliate – they’d be eligible for Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K.

The Clippers now have 18 players under contract, including 14 with guaranteed salaries and two on two-way deals.

Suns Pick Up 2020/21 Options On Ayton, Bridges

October 11th, 2019 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have exercised a pair of third-year rookie scale options, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has locked in the 2020/21 salaries for Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.

Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, projects to have the highest cap hit of any third-year player in 2020/21, at $10,018,200. Bridges, the 10th overall pick in last year’s draft, will have a more modest $4,359,000 cap charge.

While both youngsters are viewed as long-term building blocks in Phoenix, Ayton is the one considered a future franchise player. As Charania notes, he has received rave reviews from coaches and players leading up to the 2019/20 season.

In his rookie year, Ayton averaged a double-double, recording 16.3 PPG and 10.3 RPG in 71 games (30.7 MPG). The Suns will have to pick up his 2021/22 option by October 31, 2020, then he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension in the 2021 offseason.

As for Bridges, he appeared in all 82 games for Phoenix as a rookie, averaging a modest 8.3 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 29.5 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old has the potential to develop into a standout three-and-D contributor, having averaged 1.6 SPG and made 33.5% of his three-pointers in his first professional season. Like Ayton, he’ll become extension-eligible in 2021 if the Suns pick up his fourth-year rookie scale option.

All the league-wide decisions on rookie scale options for 2020/21 can be found right here as the October 31 deadline approaches.

Rockets Claim Ray Spalding Off Waivers

October 10th, 2019 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Two days after being released by the Hawks, power forward Ray Spalding has been claimed off waivers by the Rockets, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Houston had opened up a roster spot on Wednesday by cutting injured forward Anthony Bennett.

Spalding, 22, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Atlanta in July after having his 2019/20 team option turned down by the Suns in June. The No. 56 overall pick in the 2018 draft, he appeared in 14 total NBA games for the Mavericks and Suns in his rookie season, averaging 3.9 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 10.6 minutes per contest.

The Rockets are currently carrying just 11 players with fully guaranteed salaries and both of their two-way contract slots are open, so there’s a potential path for Spalding to stick with the team into the regular season.

Currently, Isaiah Hartenstein, Gary Clark, Ryan Anderson, and Ben McLemore, all of whom have partial guarantees, are the favorites to fill out the 15-man roster. Shamorie Ponds, Chris Clemons, and Jaron Blossomgame are among those vying for the two-way slots.

Hornets Sign Jalen McDaniels

October 10th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have officially signed second-round pick to Jalen McDaniels to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Charlotte waived Thomas Welsh earlier this afternoon, opening up a spot on the 20-man roster.

McDaniels, who declared for the draft this spring after spending two seasons at San Diego State, averaging 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 34 games (31.0 MPG) in 2018/19. The 6’10” forward was selected with the 52nd overall pick in the 2019 draft.

The Hornets faced some criticism in some circles for selecting McDaniels, who has been sued by two former female high school classmates who claim that he recorded them without their consent while they were performing sexual acts.

McDaniels had been the last 2019 draft pick whose status remained up in the air. As our tracker shows, 54 of this year’s draftees had previously signed NBA contracts, while three will spend the 2019/20 season overseas and two are signing G League deals.

The terms of McDaniels’ first NBA contract aren’t clear, but the Hornets are only carrying 13 players with fully guaranteed salaries, so there’s room on the roster for him to become one of the 14 or 15 players that starts the regular season with the club.

Hornets Release Thomas Welsh

October 10th, 2019 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have waived big man Thomas Welsh, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). The club’s preseason roster now stands at 19 players.

Welsh, the 58th overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Nuggets, but was waived by Denver in July. After catching on with the Hornets in August, the 23-year-old saw very little action in the team’s first two preseason games, logging just six total minutes.

As Bonnell notes, Welsh always looked more likely to end up with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, than the Hornets themselves. That remains a possibility if he doesn’t land with another team in the NBA or overseas.

Welsh will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Pacers Pick Up 2020/21 Options On Leaf, Holiday

October 10th, 2019 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

2:01pm: The Pacers have picked up Leaf’s fourth-year option and Holiday’s third-year option, J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star confirms (via Twitter). In total, the two moves add about $6.67MM in guaranteed money to Indiana’s 2020/21 cap.

1:14pm: The Pacers are exercising the fourth-year rookie scale option for forward T.J. Leaf, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The move will lock in Leaf’s $4,326,825 cap hit for the 2020/21 season.

The 18th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Leaf hasn’t played a major rotation role for Indiana in his first two NBA seasons. The 22-year-old has appeared in a total of 111 regular season games, but has averaged just 3.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 8.8 MPG in those contests.

With Thaddeus Young no longer in the power forward mix for the Pacers, Leaf may see an increased role this season, though the team is committed to playing Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis together in the frontcourt. Newly-added forward T.J. Warren could also see some time at the four in smaller lineups.

Leaf will now become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason. If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d be on track for restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.

The Pacers also face an October 31 deadline on Aaron Holiday‘s third-year option for 2020/21. That option, which will only count against the cap for $2,345,640, is a lock to be exercised, so Indiana will likely announce both moves at the same time.