Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Hawks Sign Tahjere McCall

September 20th, 2019 at 2:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:01pm: The Hawks have officially signed McCall, the team announced today in a press release.

10:47am: Tahjere McCall has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Hawks, tweets Ben Stinar of AmicoHoops. McCall’s agent, Andre Buck of Arete Sports, confirmed the deal, Stinar adds.

The 25-year-old shooting guard’s NBA experience is limited to four minutes in one game with the Nets last season. He has spent most of his time with Long Island in the G League after going undrafted out of Tennessee State in 2017. McCall was among 80 players invited to participate in the G League Elite Camp in May.

The signing brings Atlanta to the league limit of 20 players heading into training camp. The Hawks have just 13 guaranteed contracts, so McCall will have a shot at winning at roster spot.

Vince Carter Re-Signs With Hawks

September 20th, 2019 at 11:07am CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 20: Carter’s signing is official, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.

AUGUST 5: Vince Carter, the oldest player in the NBA, has agreed to return to the Hawks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Carter, 42, will be playing for a record 22nd season. It’s expected to his last, Wojnarowski adds.

Carter will surpass Dirk Nowitzki, Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and Kevin Garnett, who each played 21 seasons. Carter had already established the record for most seasons by a wing player. Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons.

Carter’s return to Atlanta was not a surprise. The team had held a roster spot open for him in anticipation a deal would eventually get done. The Hawks will now have 14 players with guaranteed contracts.

Other than Carter, the Hawks have the league’s youngest roster that includes rookies Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter and Bruno Fernando and last season’s Rookie of the Year finalist, Trae Young.

Carter proved that he was still an effective and durable player last season in Atlanta, appearing in 76 games, including nine starts. He averaged 7.4 PPG and shot 38.9% beyond the arc in 17.5 MPG. The future Hall of Famer began his career in 1998 with Toronto. The Hawks became the eighth team to acquire his services prior to last season.

Carter will add depth at the wing positions while also serving a mentorship role.