Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Officially Sign Four Players, Waive Two

September 4th, 2019 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have finalized a series of roster moves, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. Cleveland released a pair of players on non-guaranteed contracts, then signed four players to training camp deals, filling their 20-man offseason roster. Here’s a breakdown of the moves made by the Cavs:

Signed:

Marques Bolden, C (previous report)
Daniel Hamilton, G/F (previous report)
J.P. Macura, SG (previous report)
Sindarius Thornwell, SG (previous report)

Waived:

Malik Newman, SG
Levi Randolph, SG

Newman and Randolph signed with the Cavs nearly a month ago, but didn’t stick with the team long enough to attend training camp. Both players spent last season with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate, and look like good bets to return to Canton in 2019/20. Their Exhibit 10 deals will entitle them to bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least two months with the Charge this season.

As for Bolden, Hamilton, Macura, and Thornwell, we provided more details on all four players in our previous stories on their deals with the Cavs, as linked above. They’ll fill out the team’s 20-man roster and will get an opportunity to compete in camp for a spot on the 15-man regular season roster or a two-way contract.

Currently, Cleveland is carrying 13 players with guaranteed salaries and one on a two-way deal. The newly-signed quartet will join Alex Robinson and Jarell Martin as non-guaranteed camp invitees who will look to make a positive impression in the preseason.

Timberwolves Sign Lindell Wigginton

September 4th, 2019 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have signed rookie free agent Lindell Wigginton to a contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log. RealGM classifies it as a one-year deal, so it figures to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 pact.

Wigginton, who was a sophomore at Iowa State in 2018/19, declared for the draft as an early entrant this spring after averaging 15.3 PPG with a .397 3PT% in two college seasons. After going undrafted, the 6’2″ Canadian guard caught on with the Raptors for Summer League play, averaging 7.4 PPG on 33.3% shooting in five games (15.0 MPG) in Las Vegas.

Having officially signed Wigginton, the Timberwolves now have 19 players under contract, including 15 players with guaranteed salaries and two more on two-way deals. Tyrone Wallace is the other player without a guaranteed contract.

A post-draft report in June indicated that the Wolves would also sign undrafted rookie Tyus Battle to an Exhibit 10 deal, so he could ultimately fill out the team’s 20-man offseason roster.

Wigginton likely won’t make Minnesota’s regular season roster, but he’d be a good fit for the Wolves’ G League affiliate, which is based on Iowa.

Pacers Finalize Deal With Amida Brimah

September 3rd, 2019 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After reaching an agreement in July to sign him to a one-year contract, the Pacers finalized their deal with free agent center Amida Brimah today, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. With the signing, which Indiana confirmed in a press release, the team now has a full 20-man offseason roster.

Brimah, 25, went undrafted out of UConn in 2017 and appeared in 95 games for the G League’s Austin Spurs over the last two seasons. In 47 games in 2018/19, Brimah averaged 8.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 2.9 BPG in 23.3 minutes per contest for San Antonio’s NBAGL affiliate. He earned G League All-Defensive honors for a second consecutive season.

More recently, Brimah appeared in six Summer League games for the Nets in Las Vegas in July, showing off his rim-protecting abilities by averaging 2.2 BPG in just 12.5 minutes per contest.

Because the Pacers already have 15 players with guaranteed salaries under contract, Brimah is unlikely to make the team’s regular season roster. Indiana’s own G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, recently acquired the big man’s NBAGL rights from Austin, per Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). That’s a signal that Brimah will likely end up as an affiliate player for the Pacers and figures to start the 2019/20 regular season in Fort Wayne.

Cavaliers Agree To Deal With Daniel Hamilton

August 31st, 2019 at 9:03am CST by marksuleymanov

The Cavaliers have bolstered their training camp competition after agreeing to a one-year deal with swingman Daniel Hamilton, according to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. Hamilton’s pact is an Exhibit 10 contract,

Hamilton, 24, was a second-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and has seen action in the past two seasons. In 19 games with the Hawks last season, Hamilton averaged 3.0 PPG on 38.3% shooting from the field. He was waived in early February.

On a two-way pact with the Thunder during the 2017/18 season, the UConn product saw action in six NBA contests while spending the rest of his time in the G League.

Cleveland intends to invite 20 players to training camp and the agreement with Hamilton makes him the 19th, per Fedor. Hamilton is poised to compete for one of the Cavs’ final roster spots with recent signees Sindarius Thornwell, Jarell Martin, Marques Bolden and J.P. Macura.

Bolden and Macura will also be on Exhibit 10 pacts, therefore Cleveland can deploy them to the G League if they do not crack the NBA roster out of training camp.

Thunder, Eric Moreland Agree To Training Camp Deal

August 30th, 2019 at 4:28pm CST by Austin Kent

The Thunder have agreed to a training camp deal with center Eric Moreland, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. The 27-year-old will seek to crack the regular season roster of a retooling franchise that will feature plenty of new faces.

Moreland split last season between the Suns and Raptors but never saw consistent playing time. Moreland only played double digit minutes twice in 2018/19, which is considerably less than the previous year when he battled for the primary backup spot to Pistons center Andre Drummond.

Moreland joins a Thunder squad with only 13 guaranteed contracts, meaning it’s possible that he could stay with the team through to the regular season. He’ll presumably be in competition with fellow recent Thunder signee Justin Patton for reps in the team’s frontcourt, with Patton’s multiyear deal and $700K partial guarantee likely giving him a leg up on Moreland.

Mavericks Claim Aric Holman Off Waivers

August 29th, 2019 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have claimed rookie forward Aric Holman off waivers, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Holman was released earlier this week when the Lakers needed to create a spot on their 20-man roster for Dwight Howard.

Holman, 22, went undrafted out of Mississippi State this spring after averaging 9.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 1.6 BPG with a .473/.429/.701 shooting line in his senior year. He quickly caught on with the Lakers, joining the team for Summer League and later signing an Exhibit 10 contract.

Holman averaged 4.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 15.8 MPG in four appearances with the Lakers in Las Vegas in July, but was the odd man out when Howard came aboard. The club chose to keep camp invitees Devontae Cacok, Jordan Caroline, and Demetrius Jackson over Holman.

The Mavericks had 18 players under contract before claiming Holman, giving them flexibility to give the undrafted rookie a look. Barring another transaction, the youngster figures to attend training camp with Dallas this fall. Since the team already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, he’s a long shot to make the Mavs’ regular season roster.

Clippers Sign Donte Grantham To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 29th, 2019 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have filled their 20-man offseason roster by signing free agent forward Donte Grantham. According to RealGM’s transactions log, the deal was finalized on Tuesday. Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract, giving Grantham the opportunity to compete for a roster spot in training camp.

Grantham, 24, went undrafted out of Clemson in 2018 and then spent most of his first professional season on a two-way contract with the Thunder. Although he played just two total minutes in three NBA games for Oklahoma City, the 6’8″ forward was a regular starter for the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG on .404/.372/.804 shooting in 34 contests (26.5 MPG).

Grantham’s two-way deal included a second season, but the Thunder opted to go in a different direction, waiving him last month.

The Clippers are now carrying 14 players on guaranteed contracts, two on two-way deals, and four with non-guaranteed salaries. If the club plans to keep a 15th man on its roster to open the season, Grantham figures to compete with fellow camp invitees Derrick Walton Jr., Terry Larrier, and James Palmer Jr. for that spot.

Hawks Sign Armoni Brooks

August 27th, 2019 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

11:51am: Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms (via Twitter) that Brooks received an Exhibit 10 contract.

11:13am: The Hawks have officially signed undrafted rookie guard Armoni Brooks to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract.

Brooks declared for the draft this spring as an early entrant after a junior season in which he posted 13.4 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 37 games for Houston. Of his 425 field goal attempts, 310 came from beyond the arc.

Word broke shortly after the draft that Brooks was signing with the Wizards as an undrafted free agent, but it appears that agreement was only for the Summer League. The 6’3″ guard struggled in limited minutes in Las Vegas, making just 4-of-24 shots from the floor in three games (12.7 MPG) for Washington.

The Hawks now have 18 players formally under contract, with Brooks joining Marcus Derrickson and Ray Spalding as training camp invitees without guaranteed salaries. Vince Carter has also reached a deal with the team, so Atlanta will have just one open spot left on its 20-man offseason roster once Carter officially signs.

Dwight Howard Signs With Lakers

August 26th, 2019 at 6:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:23pm: The Lakers have issued a press release to announce the signing, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The club also confirmed that Aric Holman has been waived.

4:46pm: After clearing waivers, Dwight Howard is officially signing his contract with the Lakers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

It’s a $2,564,753 veteran’s minimum deal, but Howard’s contract doesn’t have any salary protection, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). He’ll earn $14,490 for every day he’s on the roster, with the clock starting on October 21.

An Exhibit 9 clause will likely be inserted into Howard’s summer contract, in which the team would only be on the hook for $6K if Howard is injured and waived before the regular season, Marks adds (Twitter link).

The Grizzlies waived Howard after reaching a buyout agreement with the veteran center last week. Howard pledged to sign with the Lakers prior to the buyout.

Howard had several meetings with the Lakers, who noted that he had lost weight. Howard also demonstrated that his back was healthy after he only played nine games with the Wizards last season.

The Lakers will have to make a corresponding move, since they already have a full 20-man training camp roster.

Lakers Waive Forward Aric Holman

August 26th, 2019 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers are waiving forward Aric Holman to open up a roster spot for Dwight Howard, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.

The Lakers had a full 20-man training camp roster prior to the addition of Howard and needed to make a corresponding move.

Holman was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal last month. He went undrafted and spent his college days at Mississippi State. The power forward blocked at least two shots in 61 of his 124 collegiate games. He averaged 9.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 1.6 BPG with a .473/.429/.701 shooting line in his senior year.

He averaged 4.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 15.8 MPG in four appearances with the Lakers in the Las Vegas summer league.