Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Sign Thomas Welsh

August 9th, 2019 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed free agent center Thomas Welsh to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it’s likely a non-guaranteed training camp contract.

Welsh, 23, was selected with the No. 58 overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Nuggets. After signing a two-way deal with Denver, the seven-footer played limited minutes in 11 games for the club last season. He saw more extensive action in the G League for the Capital City Go-Go and Iowa Wolves, averaging 10.3 PPG and 8.1 RPG in 20 contests (23.0 MPG).

Welsh’s two-way contract with the Nuggets spanned two years, but the club opted to go another direction with that two-way slot for the 2019/20 season, waiving the former UCLA big man last week.

It’s possible Welsh will get the chance to earn a regular season roster spot in Charlotte. Currently, the Hornets are only carrying 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Caleb Martin, Joe Chealey, and Josh Perkins are believed to have non-guaranteed deals, while Robert Franks is on a two-way contract.

Welsh is the 18th Hornet under contract. Second-round pick Jalen McDaniels also remains unsigned and looks like the leading candidate to get the club’s second two-way deal.

Sixers Sign Isaiah Miles

August 8th, 2019 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have officially signed free agent forward Isaiah Miles to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, it’ll be an Exhibit 10 contract, per Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice (Twitter link).

Miles, who went undrafted out of St. Joe’s in 2016, has played professionally overseas of the last three years. He has spent time with teams in France and Turkey, having played for Limoges CSP in 2018/19. In 50 games (22.9 MPG) for the French club, he averaged 9.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG, knocking down 41.4% of his three-point attempts.

The Sixers have a bit of history with Miles, having added him to their Summer League roster in 2017 and 2018. He played for the Magic’s Summer League team this year, but is now on track to head to camp with Philadelphia.

After signing Miles, the 76ers have just one spot left on their 20-man offseason roster. They have 14 players on guaranteed deals, a pair on two-way contracts, and three on non-guaranteed pacts. As noted above, Miles – the 19th man under contract – will join Trey Burke and Christ Koumadje as players without fully guaranteed salaries.

Mavericks Sign Second-Rounder Isaiah Roby

August 6th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have signed second-round pick Isaiah Roby to a four-year, $6.7MM contract, agent Zach Kurtin of Priority Sports tells ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

As Marks details, the deal will be worth the minimum in years two through four, but it will have a $1.5MM cap hit in Roby’s rookie year. That $1.5MM cap charge represents the highest first-year salary in NBA history for a college player selected in the second round of the draft, according to Marks.

Although that’s a significant investment for the Mavs, they aren’t near the luxury-tax line and still had $1.8MM left on their mid-level exception. As such, it makes sense that they’d be willing to go a little higher in Roby’s first year in order to get him locked up for the next four. His second-year salary will also be guaranteed, while the third year will be non-guaranteed and the final season will be a team option, tweets Marks.

The No. 45 overall pick in June, Roby averaged 11.8 PPG and 6.9 RPG in his final season at Nebraska. The 6’8″ forward declared for the draft as an early entrant after his junior year, and his rights were acquired by the Mavs on draft night in a deal that sent No. 37 pick Deividas Sirvydis to Detroit.

Prior to signing Roby, the Mavericks had 13 players on guaranteed contracts on their books. Roby will be the 14th, while J.J. Barea – who has agreed to a new deal with Dallas but has yet to officially sign it – figures to be No. 15.

Clippers Sign James Palmer To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 6th, 2019 at 3:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6: The Clippers have officially signed Palmer, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 26: The Clippers are expected to sign guard James Palmer Jr. to an Exhibit 10 deal, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 6’6” Palmer went undrafted after his first two college seasons with Miami and the last two at Nebraska. He averaged 19.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 3.0 APG as a senior but made just 31.3% of his 3-point attempts.

He averaged 14.0 PPG in 26.8 MPG over four games with the Suns in summer league play this month. The Clippers signed former Heat guard Derrick Walton Jr. to a similar contract on Friday.

Udonis Haslem Re-Signs With Heat

August 6th, 2019 at 3:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6: Haslem posted a message on Instagram today confirming that he’ll return to the Heat for the 2019/20 season, and the team has issued a press release announcing that the deal is official. The veteran signed a one-year contract with Miami, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

AUGUST 5: Big man Udonis Haslem is expected to return to the Heat for a 17th season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Haslem, 39, has indicated he’s strongly leaning toward playing another year. The likely return of Haslem was a major reason why the team waived forward Yante Maten a week ago rather than having another partial guarantee in his contract kick in. The Heat are hard-capped and needed to create enough room for a veteran’s minimum contract.

Haslem would receive a $2.6MM contract but only $1.6MM would count against Miami’s cap. The Heat would look to add another veteran if Haslem decides to retire, Jackson adds. The team currently has 11 players with guaranteed contracts and a handful of others with partially- or non-guaranteed deals.

Haslem’s veteran leadership is valued, but he hasn’t contributed much on the court in recent years. He’s only appeared in 40 games over the last three seasons, including 10 last season. Haslem made an Instagram post in June to answer critics who urged him not to return.

Cavs Sign Levi Randolph, Malik Newman

August 6th, 2019 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have signed a pair of G League players, Levi Randolph and Malik Newman, to standard contracts, per RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. RealGM classifies them as one-year deals, so they’re likely Exhibit 10 contracts.

Randolph, 26, is a 6’6″ guard who spent the 2018/19 season playing for the Canton Charge. He averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .478/.451/.765 shooting line in 50 games (31.4 MPG). Assuming Randolph returns to Canton for the coming season, he’ll likely be in line for a bonus worth $50K, assuming his deal is in fact an Exhibit 10 contract.

Meanwhile, the Cavs probably also view Newman as a returning-rights player for the Charge. After going undrafted out of Kansas in 2018, the 6’3″ guard briefly signed a two-way contract with the Lakers, then caught on with the Heat for training camp. He eventually made his way to the G League, appearing in 17 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce before Miami’s affiliate traded him to Canton for the rest of the season.

In 25 games off the bench for the Charge, Newman averaged 12.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.5 minutes per contest. He also suited up for Cleveland’s Summer League squad last month in Las Vegas.

The Cavs now have 16 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed standard deals and one on a two-way pact. Marques Bolden, J.P. Macura, and Sindarius Thornwell are also expected to sign non-guaranteed contracts with the club.

Timberwolves Sign Second-Rounder Jaylen Nowell

August 6th, 2019 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

2:34pm: The Timberwolves have officially signed Nowell, the team confirmed today in a press release.

9:43am: The Timberwolves have agreed to sign second-round pick Jaylen Nowell to his first NBA contract, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter links). Nowell is expected to formally sign the deal later today.

While exact terms of the agreement aren’t yet known, Wolfson suggests that it will feature a guaranteed $1.4MM salary in year one, and will span four years in total. He also notes that it will be similar to Naz Reid‘s contract, which is non-guaranteed in years two and three and has a fourth-year team option.

Because the deal will run longer than two years, the Wolves will use their mid-level exception. They’ve used that MLE to sign Reid and Noah Vonleh so far, but both players received modest salaries, so the team still has plenty of it available. Nowell also projects to be Minnesota’s 15th guaranteed contract for 2019/20, so the regular season roster looks pretty set, barring an unexpected move or two.

Nowell, the 43rd overall pick in the draft, is a 6’4″ guard who played his college ball at Washington. He declared for the draft this spring after averaging 16.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .502/.440/.779 shooting as a sophomore, earning Pac-12 Player of the Year honors.

Now that Nowell has a deal in place, only six players from this year’s draft class remain unsigned, as our tracker shows.

Pelicans Sign Kavell Bigby-Williams

August 6th, 2019 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have signed forward/center Kavell Bigby-Williams to an NBA contract, per RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. Andrew Lopez first reported last month that New Orleans was adding Bigby-Williams to its roster on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Bigby-Williams, who bounced around from school to school during his college career, played his senior season at LSU in 2018/19, recording 7.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.9 BPG in 35 games (21.2 MPG). He previously spent time at Oregon and Gillette College.

After going undrafted in June, Bigby-Williams played for the Pelicans in last month’s Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 7.7 PPG and an impressive 7.8 RPG in just 16.5 minutes per contest (six games). Now, he’s on track to attend training camp with an up-and-coming New Orleans squad.

The Pelicans now have 18 players officially under contract, including a pair on two-way deals.

Hornets Sign Josh Perkins

August 6th, 2019 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed undrafted Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins, the team announced today in a press release.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link) first reported shortly after the June draft that Perkins would sign an Exhibit 10 deal with Charlotte, so today’s announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. The club also confirmed its new deal with Joe Chealey.

A fifth-year senior in 2018/19, Perkins averaged 11.0 PPG, 6.3 APG, and 2.7 RPG in 37 games for the Zags. Over the course of his college career, he knocked down 38.6% of 651 total three-point attempts.

While Perkins will likely end up playing for the Greensboro Swarm in his rookie year, it’s possible he’ll have a shot to earn a roster spot for the Hornets. The team is up to 17 players under contract after today’s signings, but only 13 have fully guaranteed salaries for 2019/20 (a 14th is on a two-way contract).

Hornets Re-Sign Joe Chealey

August 6th, 2019 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Hornets’ new deal with Chealey is now official, the team announced today in a press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

AUGUST 1: After spending the entire 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Hornets, former Charleston guard Joe Chealey is expected to rejoin the team as a free agent.

Edge Sports, Chealey’s agency, published a tweet this week congratulating him on his new deal with the Hornets. However, the announcement doesn’t specify what kind of contract he’ll sign, and the team has yet to issue an official update. An Exhibit 10 pact is probably the most likely outcome, but Charlotte does still have a two-way slot open too.

Chealey, 23, signed with the Hornets as an undrafted free agent in July 2018 and had his contract converted to a two-way deal in October. He only appeared in one game with the NBA club in his rookie season, but was a regular starter for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.

In 43 NBAGL games (31.3 MPG), the young point guard averaged 16.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.7 RPG with a .436/.340/.773 shooting line. His season ended in March when he suffered a torn left meniscus.

Chealey and fellow two-way player J.P. Macura became unrestricted free agents this summer, with the Hornets signing Robert Franks to fill one of the newly-opened two-way contract slots. Second-round pick Jalen McDaniels looks like the best candidate for the second slot, but the team has yet to tip its hand.