Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign Reggie Hearn, Cut David Stockton

October 15th, 2019 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have made a minor change to their roster, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed guard Reggie Hearn and waived guard David Stockton.

Hearn, who appeared in three games for Detroit during the 2017/18 season, has spent much of his professional career in the G League, appearing in 227 total regular season games at that level. Last season, the 28-year-old played 40 games (29 starts) for the Stockton Kings, averaging 11.4 PPG and 4.5 RPG with a .429/.408/.873 shooting line.

The South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, acquired the NBAGL returning rights to both Hearn and Stockton in a trade with the Kings’ G League affiliate last month, so it’s a safe bet that both players will suit up for South Bay this season.

Assuming Hearn and Stockton remain with the Lakers’ G League team for at least 60 days, they’ll be in line for Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K.

Grizzlies Sign Ahmad Caver, Waive Dusty Hannahs

October 15th, 2019 at 12:12pm CST by Luke Adams

A day after signing Dusty Hannahs to an Exhibit 10 contract, the Grizzlies have waived him, replacing him on the roster with free agent guard Ahmad Caver, the club announced today in a press release.

Caver, who went undrafted this spring out of Old Dominion, averaged 16.6 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 4.3 RPG in 35 games (37.6 MPG) during his senior season.

Both Caver and Hannahs appears to be strong candidates to land with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate. The team holds Hannahs’ returning rights and can make Caver an affiliate player after waiving him sometime in the next few days.

Of course, the Grizzlies could theoretically hang onto Caver into the regular season, but that’s extremely unlikely. The club already has a roster crunch, with 15 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Bruno Caboclo and Ivan Rabb with partial guarantees.

Spurs Sign Galen Robinson Jr., Kenny Williams

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

The Spurs have filled the two open spots on their preseason roster by signing Galen Robinson Jr. and Kenny Williams, according to RealGM’s official NBA transactions log. Kris M. Gardner reports (via Twitter) that Robinson’s contract is an Exhibit 10 deal, and it’s a safe bet that Williams’ is too.

Both Robinson and Williams are guards who went undrafted this spring. Robinson played his college ball at Houston, averaging 8.0 PPG and 4.9 APG in 37 games (29.9 MPG) as a senior, while Williams was a Tar Heel, winning a national title in 2017 and recording 8.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 36 games for UNC as a senior in 2018/19.

Robinson and Williams also each suited up for the Spurs in Las Vegas Summer League play in July.

While neither player appears likely to open the regular season in San Antonio, their Exhibit 10 deals make them strong candidates to become affiliate players for the Austin Spurs in the G League. If they spend at least 60 days in Austin, they’ll be eligible for Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K to supplement their NBAGL salaries.

Raptors’ Kyle Lowry Signs One-Year Extension

October 14th, 2019 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 14: The signing is official, per the NBA.com transacations log.

OCTOBER 7: The 2019/20 season won’t be a contract year for Kyle Lowry after all, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who hears from agent Mark Bartelstein that the Raptors and their starting point guard have agreed to a one-year contract extension worth $31MM.

The extension will lock up Lowry through the 2020/21 season, putting him on track for unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2021 and taking another top player off the 2020 market. As a result of the deal, Lowry will no longer be part of the group of Raptors who enter the season on pricey expiring contracts, though Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Fred VanVleet still fit that bill.

Lowry publicly expressed his desire for an extension in early August at Team USA’s pre-World Cup camp, and according to Wojnarowski, the Raptors’ brass – including president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and GM Bobby Webster – has been motivated for months to get a deal done. The new extension should be a win-win for the two sides — Lowry gets one last big payday, while Toronto retains its cap flexibility for the ’21 offseason, when several stars are projected to reach free agency.

“We are so appreciative of how Masai and Bobby handled every aspect of this negotiation,” Bartelstein told Wojnarowski. “Once again, they displayed how they look after their players in a first-class manner, especially someone like Kyle who they recognize has such a legacy with the franchise.”

Lowry, who has made the Eastern Conference All-Star team for five consecutive seasons, scored a modest 14.2 PPG in 2018/19, but averaged a career-high 8.7 APG and had some big games during the Raptors’ championship run. In addition to doing the little things on defense (he led all players in the postseason in charges drawn and loose balls recovered), the 33-year-old also memorably opened Game 6 of the NBA Finals by scoring Toronto’s first 11 points.

While Lowry’s cap charge for 2019/20 is about $35MM, he may not actually earn quite that much, since he has $1.7MM in likely bonuses tied to individual and team accomplishments. If the Raptors don’t make the Eastern Conference Finals and Lowry doesn’t earn a spot on the All-Star team, his cap hit would be reduced to approximately $33.3MM at season’s end.

Lowry will still have the opportunity to earn some or all of those incentives in the newly-added year of his contract, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who notes (via Twitter) that the usual six-month trade restriction won’t apply to the veteran. Lowry’s new deal doesn’t exceed the limits of an extend-and-trade, since it’s just for one year and doesn’t feature a raise. Still, unless things really go south in Toronto this season, it seems unlikely the Raptors will consider trading the Villanova alum within the next six months.

As for the effect of Lowry’s new deal on Toronto’s 2020 cap space, the club still has a good amount of flexibility, though a lucrative extension for Pascal Siakam by the October 21 deadline would all but eliminate that flexibility. Guaranteed 2020/21 salaries for Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Patrick McCaw, and Lowry add up to approximately $50MM, with cap holds for Siakam and VanVleet pushing that number up to about $75MM. The NBA’s latest projection calls for a $116MM cap in ’20/21.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Timberwolves Sign Two Players, Waive Two

October 14th, 2019 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The back of the Timberwolves‘ roster has undergone some turnover today, with the team announcing in a press release that it has signed guards Tyus Battle and Barry Brown. The two new Wolves will occupy the roster spots vacated by forward Jordan Murphy and guard Lindell Wigginton, who have been waived.

Battle, who went undrafted out of Syracuse, agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Timberwolves right after the draft ended in June, but the two sides didn’t finalize that agreement until now. That’s a signal that Minnesota views the 6’6″ guard as someone who will join the Iowa Wolves – the team’s G League affiliate – after he’s waived.

Brown, who played his college ball at Kansas State, also went undrafted this spring. He averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 34 games (35.0 MPG) during his final college season, then played for the Wolves’ Summer League team in Las Vegas in July. His contract, like Battle’s, is an Exhibit 10 pact, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North.

According to Wolfson, it appears likely that all four players involved in today’s transactions – including Murphy and Wigginton – will ultimately end up playing for the Iowa Wolves.

Nets Waive Deng Adel, John Egbunu

October 14th, 2019 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have become the latest NBA team to make cuts to their preseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived forward Deng Adel and center John Egbunu.

Adel and Egbunu were two of four players on Brooklyn’s roster with non-guaranteed contracts. Lance Thomas and C.J. Williams remain in the mix, joining the Nets’ 15 players with guaranteed salaries and one (Henry Ellenson) on a two-way contract.

After going undrafted out of Louisville in 2018, Adel spent his rookie season playing for the Cavaliers, the Canton Charge, and the Raptors 905. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Brooklyn in July and the Nets’ G League affiliate – the Long Island Nets – acquired his returning rights in September.

Egbunu, a 6’11” center who went undrafted out of Florida in 2017, has never played in the G League, so Brooklyn could make him an affiliate player after he clears waivers and the NBAGL season begins.

Bucks Release Jaylen Adams, Luke Maye

October 14th, 2019 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have requested waivers on training camp invitees Jaylen Adams and Luke Maye, the team announced today (via Twitter). Both players were on non-guaranteed contracts, so Milwaukee won’t carry any dead money as a result of the cuts.

Adams, a 6’2″ point guard, spent last season with the Hawks, first on a two-way contract and then on a standard deal. He appeared in 34 games for Atlanta but was waived by the team in July and signed with Milwaukee in August. In two preseason games for the Bucks, he averaged 4.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 13.0 minutes per contest.

Maye, a 6’8″ forward who went undrafted out of North Carolina, joined the Bucks’ Summer League roster in July, then signed a contract with the club shortly thereafter. He appeared in three preseason games, recording 2.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG in just 5.8 MPG.

It’s possible – but not a lock – that both Adams and Maye will end up playing for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate. As for the Bucks, they now have 18 players under contract and will have to make at least one more cut before opening night to get down to the regular season limit.

Nets Exercise 2020/21 Options On Allen, Musa

October 14th, 2019 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have exercised their fourth-year option on center Jarrett Allen and their third-year option on swingman Dzanan Musa, the team announced today in a press release. Allen and Musa already had guaranteed salaries for the 2019/20 season, but today’s moves lock them in for 2020/21 as well.

Allen, the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, emerged as the Nets’ starting center last season, averaging 10.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 80 games (26.2 MPG). The 21-year-old will face competition this season after Brooklyn signed veteran big man DeAndre Jordan to a lucrative four-year deal in July. However, the Nets still view Allen as a building block for their future.

Allen’s option for 2020/21 will only add $3,909,902 to the Nets’ team salary. By picking up that option, Brooklyn puts the big man on track to become extension-eligible during the 2020 offseason. If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d become eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.

As for Musa, the 20-year-old wing only played nine NBA games during his rookie season in 2018/19, spending much of the year with the Long Island Nets in the G League. He recorded 19.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 3.6 APG on .439/.357/.792 shooting in 36 games (31.6 MPG) for Brooklyn’s NBAGL affiliate.

Musa’s third-year option comes in at $2,002,800. Now that it’s exercised, the Nets’ next decision on Musa will be his fourth-year option for 2021/22. The team will have until October 31, 2020 to pick up or decline that option, worth $3,615,054.

Brooklyn was already projected to be an over-the-cap team for the 2020/21 season, but guaranteeing Allen’s and Musa’s salaries push the club’s commitments further above that threshold. The Nets now have over $120MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for next season. That total doesn’t include Garrett Temple‘s $5MM team option or cap holds for free-agents-to-be like Joe Harris and Taurean Prince.

Grizzlies Sign Dusty Hannahs, Waive Matt Mooney

October 14th, 2019 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed Dusty Hannahs, waiving Matt Mooney in a corresponding move to create an opening on their roster, the team announced today in a press release. The moves were first reported by Jon Roser of Grind City Media, who tweets that Hannahs’ deal is an Exhibit 10 contract.

Hannahs, 26, made his NBA debut for the Grizzlies late last season when he signed a 10-day contract with the club. The 6’3″ shooting guard appeared in just two games for the Grizzlies, having spent most of his season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.

The former Arkansas standout averaged 14.5 PPG on .477/.413/.926 shooting in 49 games (25.6 MPG) in the NBAGL last season. He also played for the Grizzlies’ Summer League teams in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in July, averaging 12.0 PPG in nine games.

According to Roser, both Hannahs and Mooney are expected to return to the G League and play for the Hustle in 2019/20. Mooney figures to be an affiliate player, while the Grizzlies hold Hannahs’ returning rights. Each player will be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Hustle.

Spurs Waive Dedric Lawson

October 14th, 2019 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have made another cut to their preseason roster, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News, who tweets that the team waived undrafted rookie Dedric Lawson.

A 6’9″ forward out of Kansas, Lawson elected to go pro this spring following his junior season. In 36 games for the Jayhawks in 2018/19, he averaged a double-double, filling the stat sheet with 19.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.1 BPG. He also made 39.3% of his three-pointers on 2.5 attempts per game.

After playing for the Warriors in Summer League, Lawson caught on with the Spurs for training camp. He appeared in three preseason games but logged limited minutes (12.3 MPG), averaging just 1.7 PPG and 2.7 RPG. He’s now a candidate to join the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate.

San Antonio now has 18 players under contract, so the team could set its regular season roster with just one more transaction — Daulton Hommes appears likely to be the odd man out. Still, with a week left before those rosters must be set, it’s possible the Spurs will make additional signings and cuts in order to secure players’ G League rights.