Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Waive Anthony Bennett

October 9th, 2019 at 4:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets have parted with former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Bennett’s fate was sealed with the announcement last week that he will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his sore left knee, but today’s move makes it official.

The first player selected in the 2013 draft, Bennett was hoping to revive his career in Houston after four failed stops with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Raptors and Nets. He was coming off a promising G League season and appeared to have a legitimate chance to win a roster spot as a back-up power forward before the knee flared up and the Rockets brought back Ryan Anderson.

Cutting Bennett leaves Houston with 19 players, one below the league limit for the preseason. The Rockets are free to make another addition ahead of the October 21 cutdown date, when all rosters must be trimmed to a maximum of 15 players.

Hawks Sign Jordan Sibert

October 8th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have signed free agent shooting guard Jordan Sibert to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. He’ll fill the roster spot that opened up this morning when Atlanta released Ray Spalding.

Sibert, 27, has spent most of his professional career playing in the G League or international leagues since going undrafted out of Dayton in 2015. He made his NBA debut earlier this year after he signed a 10-day contract with Atlanta in February, but the Hawks opted not to hang onto him beyond those 10 days.

Sibert spent most of the 2018/19 season playing for the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate, averaging 16.1 PPG and 4.4 RPG with a .428/.382/.844 shooting line in 42 games (32.0 MPG). He launched nearly nine three-point attempts per game for Erie.

Based on today’s news, it appears likely that Sibert will return to the Hawks’ G League team – now the College Park Skyhawks – in 2019/20. Assuming he signed an Exhibit 10 contract, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Skyhawks.

Cavaliers Signed, Waived Sir’Dominic Pointer

October 8th, 2019 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers signed and then waived swingman Sir’Dominic Pointer over the weekend, according to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).

This sort of move isn’t uncommon during the preseason as teams look to either secure players’ G League rights or ensure that returning-rights NBAGL players will receive Exhibit 10 bonuses. However, Pointer’s case is a little more complicated.

The 53rd overall pick in the 2015 draft, Pointer was technically a draft-and-stash prospect who had yet to sign with the Cavaliers. He has spent his first four professional seasons playing for teams in Israel, Lebanon, and Hungary, as well as the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate.

In order to retain their draft rights to stashed players, NBA teams must submit a required tender, which is generally a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract. According to Keith Smith of RealGM (Twitter link), Pointer signed that tender. Because the 27-year-old wasn’t in Cleveland’s plans, he was subsequently released and the team no longer holds his NBA rights.

Curiously, the Cavs already had 20 players under contract at the time Pointer signed his tender. Teams aren’t permitted to carry more than 20 players during the offseason and preseason, but no other Cavs roster moves show up in the NBA’s transaction logs. Unless a corresponding move is reported retroactively, it seems safe to assume that Cleveland wasn’t required to clear a spot for Pointer because he signed a tender – rather than as a free agent – and was immediately released.

Hawks Waive Ray Spalding

October 8th, 2019 at 9:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have requested waivers on training camp invitee Ray Spalding, the team announced today in a press release. Assuming he goes unclaimed, Spalding will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday.

Spalding, a 22-year-old power forward, 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, the former Louisville standout 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.

With Spalding no longer on the roster, the Hawks have 19 players under contract, leaving an opening in case they want to sign another player before the season begins.

Of Atlanta’s 19 players, two are on two-way contracts and 14 have fully guaranteed salaries, leaving a potential opening on the regular season roster if the team intends to carry a full 15-man squad. Armoni Brooks, Marcus Derrickson, and Tahjere McCall are the non-guaranteed camp invitees still under contract.

Warriors Sign Kavion Pippen, Waive Devyn Marble

October 7th, 2019 at 5:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors have signed center Kavion Pippen and waived guard Devyn Marble, according to a team press release. It’s likely to be an Exhibit 10 contract for Pippen.

Undrafted in June, Pippen averaged 12.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 1.66 BPG in two seasons at Southern Illinois University. The 6’10” center attended Three Rivers Community College prior to enrolling at SIU. He’s the nephew of longtime Bulls star Scottie Pippen.

Marble, signed by Golden State on September 30, played eight minutes in the Warriors’ 123-101 preseason loss to the Lakers on Saturday night.

Marble, 26, averaged 13.3 PPG in 34 games for Italy’s Aquila Basket Trento last season. He was the 56th overall pick in the 2014 draft and was acquired by the Magic in a draft-night deal with the Nuggets. He appeared in 44 games with Orlando before he was traded during the summer of 2016 to the Clippers, who quickly waived him. Marble played briefly in Greece before joining Trento in January 2017.

Nuggets Exercise 2020/21 Option On Michael Porter Jr.

October 7th, 2019 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets have picked up the their rookie scale option on forward Michael Porter Jr.‘s contract for the 2020-21 season, Sam Amick of The Athletic tweets.

Porter is due to earn $3.55MM next season after making $3.39MM during the upcoming season.

The decision comes as no surprise, given the patience Denver’s front office has exhibited with Porter, who did not play last season. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 draft spent his first pro season recovering and rehabbing from back surgery.

Denver has high hopes that Porter can make a significant contribution this season. However, it remains to be seen how much of an impact he’ll deliver, considering how long it has been since he’s played.

He did not participate in summer league games in July after suffering a left knee sprain. He’s expected to make his preseason debut against Portland on Tuesday.

Nuggets Release Elijah Millsap, Jorge Gutierrez

October 7th, 2019 at 4:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets have trimmed their training camp roster by releasing Elijah Millsap and Jorge Gutierrez, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic tweets. That reduces their roster to 18 players.

Millsap, the younger brother of Paul Millsap, was added to the training camp roster on Friday. The veteran shooting guard went undrafted out of UAB in 2010 and has spent much of his career in the G League or overseas. He did appear in a total of 69 NBA 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).

Gutierrez signed a training camp contract less than a week ago. The 30-year-old guard was last seen in the NBA during the 2015-16 with Charlotte. He’s also played for the Nets and Bucks.

Gutierrez has played in Turkey and Spain since his last NBA stint.

Magic Sign Jon Davis To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 7th, 2019 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

After waiving Hassani Gravett on Sunday, the Magic didn’t keep the 20th spot on their roster open for long. According to a team press release, Orlando has filled out its preseason roster by signing former UNC-Charlotte guard Jon Davis. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel.

Davis, 22, averaged 21.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.7 APG in his senior year at Charlotte before going undrafted this spring. He caught on with the Nets for the Las Vegas Summer League in July but didn’t see much action for Brooklyn, logging just nine total minutes in two Summer League games.

By signing Davis to an Exhibit 10 contract, the Magic can secure his G League rights as a potential “affiliate player.” He’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least two months with the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s NBAGL affiliate.

An NBA team can designate up to four players as affiliate players for their G League squad. For Orlando, Gravett, Davis, DaQuan Jeffries, and Vic Law look like the top candidates.

Magic Waive Hassani Gravett

October 6th, 2019 at 12:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hassani Gravett, who was with the Magic on an Exhibit 10 contract, has been waived, the team announced on Twitter.

An undrafted rookie guard out of South Carolina, Gravett appears headed to the team’s G League affiliate in Lakeland. He can earn a bonus of up to $50K in addition to his NBAGL salary if he spends at least 60 days there.

Orlando was at the 20-player limit for training camp, so the move creates an opening if the Magic decide to sign another player.

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.