Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Hawks Sign Brandon Goodwin To Two-Way Deal

August 6th, 2019 at 12:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

AUGUST 6: The Hawks have officially signed Goodwin to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 23: The Hawks will bring in Brandon Goodwin on a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Each team is awarded a pair of two-way deals and Atlanta has already used one on Charlie Brown Jr., as our two-way contract tracker shows.

Goodwin was not selected in the 2018 NBA Draft. He went to camp with the Grizzlies last fall on an Exhibit 10 deal and latched on with the Nuggets later in the season, ultimately occupying one of their two-way deals.

The point guard played in 16 games for Denver last season, scoring a total of 23 points and dished out 14 assists over 57 minutes of action. In 27 G League games for the Memphis Hustle and Iowa Wolves, he averaged 21.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 5.1 APG.

Goodwin most recently played for the Nuggets’ Summer League team.

Draymond Green Signs Four-Year Extension With Warriors

August 3rd, 2019 at 8:55pm CST by marksuleymanov

8:55pm: The deal is official, according to a tweet from the Warriors.

10:14am: The Warriors and Draymond Green have agreed to a four-year, maximum extension worth nearly $100MM, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Green, who was set to hit free agency next summer, will remain with Golden State.

Green’s new deal, which starts during the 2020/21 season, brings his total contract to $118M over five years. The three-time All-Star will make $22.2MM, $24MM, $25.8MM and $27.6MM over the course of the extension, Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link).

It’s a bit surprising for Green to agree to these terms since he would have been eligible for a five-year, $204MM deal next summer from the Warriors — or four years and $151MM from other teams. He could have qualified for an even more lucrative deal with Golden State if he had earned All-NBA honors or won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020.

However, the defensive specialist elected for the long-term security, especially after seeing former and current teammates Thompson and Kevin Durant sustain career-altering injuries just before hitting free agency. Green’s new deal starts at 120% of this year’s $18,539,130 salary.

After signing Klay Thompson to a five-year maximum deal earlier this summer and Stephen Curry also on a long-term pact, the Warriors have kept the core of their recent championship teams intact.

Green, 29, had a down year by his standards in 2018/19, averaging 7.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 6.9 APG for the Warriors in 66 games. Green’s 7.4 PPG was his lowest total since his sophomore campaign in 2013/14.

However, the former Defensive Player of the Year remained an effective player for Golden State, helping the organization reach its fifth NBA Finals in as many seasons. He continued his trademark strong postseason play, averaging 13.3 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 8.5 APG in 22 contests.

When Thompson returns from a torn ACL, the Warriors’ core figures to contend for a fourth championship in six seasons. Golden State offset the loss of Durant by acquiring D’Angelo Russell from the Nets in a sign-and-trade.

With Green off the board for 2020, an already weak free agency class has taken a hit. Barring extensions, Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan figure to headline next summer’s free agency class.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sindarius Thornwell To Sign With Cavaliers

August 3rd, 2019 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:52pm: Thornwell’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

6:09pm: The Cavaliers will sign Sindarius Thornwell to a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The agreement was confirmed by Thornwell’s agent, Andy Shiffman of Priority Sports.

The 24-year-old shooting guard spent his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers after being taken with the 48th pick in the 2017 draft. Thornwell played 15.8 minutes in 73 games as a rookie, but those numbers dropped to 4.9 minutes in 64 games last season. He averaged 2.5 PPG during his time in L.A.

He became a free agent when the Clippers waived him last month before his $1,618,520 salary for next season would have become fully guaranteed on July 20.

The signing will bring Cleveland to 14 players officially under contract, along with one two-way player, plus the expected additions of Marques Bolden and J.P. Macura. Teams can bring 20 players into training camp.

Warriors Sign Devyn Marble To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 3rd, 2019 at 2:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors have signed swingman Devyn Marble to an Exhibit 10 contract, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

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.

The Warriors had 16 players on the roster prior to the signing, so they’ll bring in a few more players before camp begins.

Raptors Waive Two-Way Guard Jordan Loyd

August 2nd, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:01pm: Loyd has reached an agreement to play overseas with Valencia Basket, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

4:48pm: The Raptors have waived guard Jordan Loyd, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link) and other media members.

Loyd was one of the team’s two-way players. He appeared in 12 games last season, averaging 2.4 PPG in 4.6 MPG. Loyd, 26, excelled at the G League level last season, making the NBAGL First Team.

Loyd, who went undrafted in 2016 out of Furman, averaged 22.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.8 SPG in 41 games for Raptors 905.

Toronto reduced its roster count to 19 players with the move and both of its two-way slots are now open. Murphy speculates that Loyd received a big overseas offer and the franchise didn’t want to hold him back (Twitter link). The parting was a mutual decision, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.