Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Sign Norense Odiase

September 25th, 2019 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 25: The Suns have officially signed Odiase, according to RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Suns have reached an agreement to sign rookie forward/center Norense Odiase to a training camp contract, a league source tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Odiase, who played his college ball at Texas Tech, went undrafted in the spring after averaging 4.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 0.9 BPG in 37 games (17.4 MPG) as a redshirt senior.

Odiase is on track to become the second member of the Red Raiders team that competed in the 2019 NCAA national championship game to join the Suns for training camp. Phoenix previously signed Tariq Owens to an Exhibit 10 contract.

The Suns currently have 18 players under contract, including 15 with guaranteed salaries. Owens and David Kramer are on non-guaranteed deals, while Jared Harper has a two-way contract. After officially signing Odiase, Phoenix will have one final opening on its 20-man camp roster.

Spurs Waive Jeff Ledbetter

September 25th, 2019 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have opened up a spot on their 20-man offseason roster, waiving recently-signed guard Jeff Ledbetter, sources tell JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link). Ledbetter initially inked an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio on September 12.

Ledbetter, 31, is an Idaho product primarily known for his marksmanship from long range. He has spent the last three seasons with San Antonio’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, but did leave the team early last season to play in Mexico. In 101 career NBAGL games, Ledbetter has posted a respectable stat line of 11.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG with a .395 3PT%.

It appears the Spurs’ deal with Ledbetter was specifically designed to get him a bonus as a reward for his work in Austin, rather than to attend training camp with San Antonio. Players who sign Exhibit 10 deals are eligible for bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend two months with that team’s G League affiliate after being released.

The Spurs now have 19 players under contract.

Clark Crum contributed to this post.

Thunder Sign Markel Brown To Camp Deal

September 24th, 2019 at 9:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

9:20pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

5:31pm: The Thunder will sign Markel Brown to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Brown was the No. 44 overall pick in the 2014 draft, having been selected by Minnesota and subsequently traded to Brooklyn on draft night. He spent two seasons with the Nets before carving out a career internationally.

The Thunder entered the day with four open spots on their training camp roster and 13 guaranteed deals. Training camp in Oklahoma City begins next Monday.

Pelicans Sign Jalen Adams, Javon Bess

September 24th, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have officially completed previously-reported deals with undrafted rookies Jalen Adams and Javon Bess, the club confirmed today. Both players are listed on New Orleans’ 20-man roster for training camp.

Adams, a point guard out of UConn, averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.4 APG during his senior year, which was limited to 26 games due to a knee injury. The 6’3″ Adams, who started 99 of 124 career games with the Huskies, reached a contract agreement with the Pelicans right after the draft in June and appeared in five games for New Orleans’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas.

Bess, a 6’6″ swingman, began his college career at Michigan State before transferring to Saint Louis for his junior and senior years. In 2018/19, he posted 15.3 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 36 games (36.8 MPG). Like Adams, he quickly agreed to terms with New Orleans after the draft and suited up for the Pelicans’ Summer League team, though he averaged just 8.8 minutes per contest in five games in Las Vegas.

After signing Adams and Bess, the Pelicans have a full 20-man roster. The odd man out, based on prior reports, is Aubrey Dawkins — a June report suggested that Dawkins had agreed to terms with the Pelicans on an Exhibit 10 contract. Assuming the report was accurate at the time, the agreement either fell through or will be completed later this fall, after the Pels waive a player.

Kings Sign Tyler Ulis

September 24th, 2019 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have filled their training camp roster by signing free agent guard Tyler Ulis, the club announced today in a press release. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), Ulis’ deal has a partial guarantee and doesn’t contain an Exhibit 10 clause. Sacramento now has 20 players under contract.

Ulis, 23, spent the first two seasons of his NBA career with the Suns after being selected 34th overall in the 2016 draft. averaging 7.6 PPG and 4.1 APG in 132 total games with the team, including 58 as a starter.

After he was released by Phoenix in the summer of 2018, Ulis signed a training camp contract with the Warriors, then was claimed off waivers last October by the Bulls. Chicago converted Ulis to a two-way contract and kept him under contract for about two and a half months before waiving him in late December. He appeared in five games for the Windy City Bulls and just one for Chicago before undergoing hip surgery.

The Kings have 14 players with guaranteed contracts and two on two-way deals, leaving one potential opening on the 15-man regular season roster. Veteran forward Tyler Lydon is probably the frontrunner for that spot, but Ulis may challenge for it. Camp invitees Eric Mika and Isaiah Pineiro could also be in the mix.

Mavs Pick Up 2020/21 Options On Doncic, Jackson

September 24th, 2019 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have exercised the third-year option for Luka Doncic and the fourth-year option for Justin Jackson, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both rookie scale team options apply to the 2020/21 season.

Doncic, who will have a cap hit of $8,049,360 in ’20/21, is the NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year winner and projects to be a cornerstone in Dallas for many years to come. The Mavs will have to exercise his 2021/22 option next year, and he’ll become eligible for his first rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason.

As for Jackson, the 24-year-old forward had an impressive stretch for the Mavs to finish the 2018/19 season after coming over from Sacramento in the Harrison Barnes deal. In 29 games (18.3 MPG) for Dallas, he averaged 8.2 PPG on .484/.372/.724 shooting. His fourth-year option in ’20/21 will have a cap charge of $5,029,650.

Assuming Tim Hardaway Jr. picks up his $19MM player option for 2020/21 next spring, the Mavs project to have about $108MM+ in guaranteed money on their books, which wouldn’t leave any meaningful cap room. Barring cost-cutting moves, Dallas’ next opportunity to make a splash in free agency will likely come in 2021.

While the Mavs have made decisions on their 2020/21 rookie scale team options well in advance of the October 31 deadline, there are still plenty of option decisions to come. Our tracker can be found right here.

Blazers Exercise 2020/21 Options On Collins, Simons

September 24th, 2019 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have exercised their 2020/21 team options on Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Collins, Portland’s first-round pick in 2017, will have a $5,406,255 cap hit on his fourth-year option in ’20/21. He’ll be extension-eligible next summer and will otherwise be on track for restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.

The big man, who turns 22 in November, projects to have a major role for the Blazers with Jusuf Nurkic still sidelined to start the season. Collins averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 77 games off the bench last season, but will likely be part of the starting lineup this fall and figure to play more than the 17.6 minutes per game he averaged in 2018/19.

As for Simons, his third-year option for ’20/21 will have a very modest cap hit of $2,252,040. The 20-year-old, who was selected 24th overall in the 2018 draft, appeared in just 20 games during his rookie season but has been generating buzz this offseason and should play more minutes going forward. Simons figures to get an opportunity to back up Damian Lillard at the point now that Evan Turner is no longer in the picture.

With Collins and Simons now locked in for 2020/21, the Blazers have approximately $91.4MM in guaranteed money on their cap. That figure doesn’t include player options for Rodney Hood or Mario Hezonja.

Magic Sign Isaac Humphries To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 24th, 2019 at 8:06am CST by clarkcrum

SEPTEMBER 24: The Magic have officially signed Humphries, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log. The club now has 19 players under contract, leaving one opening on its 20-man offseason roster.

JULY 24: The Magic and big man Isaac Humphries have agreed upon an Exhibit 10 deal, reports Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia. Humphries, an Australian native, became an unrestricted free agent this summer when the Hawks opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.

Humphries only played five games for Atlanta last season after being signed in April, but he averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 46 games (21.8 MPG) for the Hawks’ G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, before signing his rest-of-season deal with the Hawks.

Humphries appears to be the first player to receive an Exhibit 10 deal from the Magic so far this summer, but Orlando did recently come to terms with Josh Magette and Amile Jefferson for the club’s open two-way spots.

Accordingly, it’s unlikely that Humphries will make his way onto the Magic roster for the 2019/20 season. Instead, he’ll probably end up playing for the team’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic.

Rockets Sign Thabo Sefolosha

September 23rd, 2019 at 3:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 23: The Rockets have officially signed Sefolosha, per a tweet from GM Daryl Morey.

SEPTEMBER 20: Thabo Sefolosha will sign with the Rockets, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The veteran swingman is participating in a mini-camp with Houston players and other unsigned veterans this week in Las Vegas.

Sefolosha’s contract will be fully guaranteed, tweets Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic, who adds that the 35-year-old had an impressive performance at Houston’s mini-camp.

Sefolosha spent the past two seasons in Utah, where injuries limited him to a combined 88 games. He appeared in 50 games last season, averaging 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in about 12 minutes per night. He has also played for the Bulls, Thunder and Hawks during his 13 years in the NBA.

The defensive specialist has plenty of ties to the Rockets organization, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). He was a former teammate of James Harden and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, and coach Mike D’Antoni was hoping to bring him to Phoenix in the 2006 draft.

Sefolosha will sign for one year at the veteran’s minimum, according to Feigen (Twitter link). With just 10 guaranteed contracts heading into training camp, the Rockets have been looking for veteran help to fill out their roster.

Heat Sign Daryl Macon

September 20th, 2019 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have signed free agent guard Daryl Macon to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. We noted in an earlier story that Macon was the frontrunner to fill the 20th and final spot on Miami’s offseason roster.

As an undrafted rookie out of Arkansas in 2018, Macon signed a two-way contract with the Mavericks and spent the 2018/19 season in the organization before being waived in July. Although he only appeared in eight NBA games for Dallas, he was a key part of the club’s G League affiliate, averaging 19.0 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 3.5 RPG in 41 games (34.4 MPG) for the Texas Legends.

Because the Heat are hard-capped, they couldn’t offer Macon more than an Exhibit 10 contract, making him one of six camp invitees who have now signed that form of one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the team. Since Miami’s 14 regular season roster spots are essentially set, those six players will compete for the Heat’s two two-way contract slots.

Big men Kyle Alexander and Chris Silva, swingman Davon Reed, combo guard Jeremiah Martin and shooting guard Mychal Mulder are also in the running for the team’s two-way openings.