Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Withdraw QO For Amile Jefferson

July 18th, 2019 at 9:10pm CST by clarkcrum

According to RealGM’s transactions log, the Magic have withdrawn their qualifying offer to two-way player Amile Jefferson. As a result of the move, Jefferson becomes an unrestricted free agent, free to sign outright with any team.

The Magic’s decision on Jefferson isn’t altogether surprising given the unlikelihood of him grabbing a spot on the 15-man roster, but the team does still have one of its two-way slots open after signing Josh Magette yesterday.

Jefferson, 26, was a two-way contract recipient last season, appearing in just 12 games with Orlando. He spent much of his time in the G League for the Lakeland Magic, where he was named Third-Team All NBAGL.

Tyson Chandler Signs One-Year Deal With Rockets

July 18th, 2019 at 8:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The deal between Chandler and Houston is now official, per a release from the team.

JULY 12: The Rockets and veteran center Tyson Chandler have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, agent Jeff Schwartz tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Specific financial terms on the deal aren’t yet known. Houston is using part of its mid-level exception to bring back Danuel House, but could offer some of it to Chandler as well. A minimum-salary arrangement is also a possibility — because he has 10 years of NBA experience, Chandler would earn $2,564,753 on a minimum deal.

Chandler, who agreed to a buyout with the Suns early in the 2018/19 season, signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Lakers and helped shore up the team’s front line, averaging 3.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 48 games (16.4 MPG) for Los Angeles. He indicated at season’s end that he planned on playing just one more year in the NBA, though he took some extra time this offseason to consider whether to return, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Houston’s interest in Chandler, which was previously reported, stems in part from head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s familiarity with the big man. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), D’Antoni strongly advocated bringing Chandler to Houston. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the Rockets had recruited the 18-year veteran for weeks, noting that the acquisition of Russell Westbrook may have played a part in Chandler’s commitment.

Although Clint Capela‘s name was mentioned frequently in trade rumors this summer, the Rockets view Chandler as a replacement for Nene rather than Capela. The 36-year-old will slot in as Capela’s backup at the five.

According to MacMahon, the Rockets believe Chandler still has enough left in the tank to be a lob threat on offense and to provide the team’s second unit with reliable defense and rebounding.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

JaMychal Green Signs Two-Year Deal With Clippers

July 18th, 2019 at 6:11pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The deal is official, per a release from the team.

JULY 8: The Clippers are finalizing an agreement with free agent forward JaMychal Green that will bring him back on a two-year, $10MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania (via Twitter), Green turned down more lucrative offers from other teams to return to Los Angeles to pursue a championship with the team.

Green’s new deal – which sounds like it’ll fit into the Clippers’ room exception – has a second-year player option, according to Charania. The structure of the contract will give the 29-year-old a de facto no-trade clause for the 2019/20 league year, so the team would need his approval to move him.

Green, 29, has become one of the more underrated stretch fours in the NBA in recent years during his time in Memphis and Los Angeles. Over the last three seasons, he has averaged 9.5 PPG and 7.2 RPG with a .377 3PT% in 197 total contests (25.5 MPG).

In 24 games with the Clippers at the end of last season, Green knocked down 1.4 threes per game at a 41.3% rate — both marks would have been career highs.

With Green back in the fold, the Clippers – who are considered the 2020 title favorites by oddsmakers – could run out a versatile 10-man rotation that features Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Landry Shamet, and Rodney McGruder in the backcourt, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Maurice Harkless, and Green as forwards, and Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell at the five.

Youngsters Jerome Robinson and Mfiondu Kabengele are also in the picture, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Clippers add another veteran or two using the minimum salary exception.

With Green off the board, Kelly Oubre and Jabari Parker are the only two free agents from our top-50 list who have yet to agree to deals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bucks Sign Cam Reynolds To Two-Way Contract

July 18th, 2019 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 26: The Bucks have officially signed Reynolds to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release. Milwaukee also confirmed that it has signed Frank Mason to fill its other two-way slot after waiving Colson earlier in the week.

JULY 18: The Bucks and free agent shooting guard Cameron Reynolds have reached an agreement on a two-way deal, agent James Dunleavy tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Reynolds, 24, appeared in 19 games with the Timberwolves last season, having signed a pair of 10-day contracts and then a multiyear deal with the team. He showed some promise as a rotation player by averaging 5.0 PPG with a .412 3PT% in 13.6 minutes per contest, but his 2019/20 salary was non-guaranteed and Minnesota released him just before the start of free agency.

Bonzie Colson, who signed a two-way pact with the Bucks last January, remains under contract with the team on the second year of his contract, though it’s not clear if the club plans to retain him through the start of the 2019/20 season. For now at least, it looks like he and Reynolds will fill Milwaukee’s two-way contract slots.

Suns Sign Tariq Owens

July 18th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have signed undrafted rookie Tariq Owens to a one-year contract, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

Owens, a 6’10” forward, played college ball at Tennessee and St. John’s before joining Texas Tech for the 2018/19 season. He helped lead the team to the national title game by averaging 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 38 games (25.4 MPG).

The Suns carried Owens on their roster this month for Summer League play, though he didn’t see any action.

The undrafted free agent likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he looks like a candidate to end up with the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate.

Suns Sign Jared Harper To Two-Way Deal

July 18th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The Suns have officially signed Harper to a two-way contract, per RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.

JULY 17: The Suns have reached an agreement to sign undrafted rookie Jared Harper to a two-way contract, reports Gina Mizell of The Athletic (via Twitter).

A 5’11” point guard, Harper declared for the 2019 draft as an early entrant after helping lead Auburn to the Final Four as a junior. In 40 games for the Tigers, he averaged 15.3 PPG and 5.8 APG with a .399/.370/.828 shooting line.

Although Harper wasn’t selected on draft night, he caught on with Phoenix for Summer League play, averaging 10.5 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.5 RPG in four games in Las Vegas (21.8 MPG). The Suns liked what they saw from Harper enough to commit one of their two-way contract slots to him.

Phoenix’s other two-way contract slot remains open for now, as our tracker shows.

Celtics, Javonte Green Agree To Deal

July 18th, 2019 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics will sign Summer League standout Javonte Green to a partially guaranteed contract, reports Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Bontemps, Green will get an opportunity to earn Boston’s final regular season roster spot.

Since going undrafted out of Radford in 2015, Green has bounced around among a few international leagues, playing for teams in Spain, Italy, and Germany. In five Summer League games for the Celtics in Las Vegas this month, the swingman averaged 10.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in just 22.6 minutes per contest.

On the heels of that performance, Green was said to be drawing significant overseas interest, according to a report earlier this week. The expectation was that the Celtics wouldn’t be able to bring him to camp and then make him an affiliate player for the Maine Red Claws — by giving him a partial guarantee and a chance to vie for a roster spot, Boston will ensure he doesn’t get away.

The Celtics currently have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with Max Strus and Tremont Waters expected to sign two-way deals. The team could bring in a few more players to compete with Green for the 15th spot on the roster.

Pacers To Sign Amida Brimah

July 18th, 2019 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have reached an agreement to sign free agent center Amida Brimah, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Agent Daniel Hazan tells Haynes that Brimah will sign a one-year deal with Indiana. It’s not clear if it will be an Exhibit 10 contract, but that seems probable, since I doubt Brimah will get a significant guarantee.

Brimah, 25, went undrafted out of UConn in 2017 and has signed a pair of contracts with the Spurs since then. Those training-camp deals were designated to secure the big man’s G League rights, and as a result, he has appeared in 95 games for the Austin Spurs over the last two seasons.

In 47 games last year, 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 also 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 earlier this month, showing off his rim-protecting abilities by averaging 2.2 BPG in just 12.5 minutes per game.

Bulls Re-Sign Shaquille Harrison

July 18th, 2019 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

1:00pm: The Bulls have officially re-signed Harrison, the team announced today in a press release. The club also confirmed that its deal with Luke Kornet has been completed.

8:11am: Free agent guard Shaquille Harrison will re-sign with the team that waived him earlier this month, having agreed to a one-year deal with the Bulls, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games for Chicago last season, averaging 6.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.9 APG with strong defense in 19.6 minutes per contest. Despite having a regular rotation role, he became a cap casualty when the club needed to clear enough space to finalize its deals with Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky.

The Bulls drafted Coby White, acquired Satoransky via sign-and-trade, and re-signed Ryan Arcidiacono this offseason, so Harrison will join a crowded backcourt that also features Kris Dunn and Antonio Blakeney. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets that the club has discussed waiving Blakeney and is open to trading Dunn, so it’s possible there will be a 15-man roster spot available for Harrison, but for now it looks like an uphill battle.

One factor working in Harrison’s favor is the Bulls’ head coach. According to Johnson (via Twitter), the former Tulsa standout is a Jim Boylen favorite.

Financial terms of Harrison’s new contract aren’t yet known. Although a minimum-salary deal seems likely, Chicago does have some of its room exception available.

Wolves Promote Naz Reid To Standard Contract

July 18th, 2019 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

After signing Naz Reid to a two-way contract earlier this month, the Timberwolves have negotiated a new deal with the undrafted rookie, per president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas. According to Rosas, Minnesota has inked Reid to a new standard multiyear contract (Twitter link via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic).

Per Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Reid signed a four-year, minimum-salary deal with a guaranteed first year. The Timberwolves used a portion of their mid-level exception to complete the signing.

Reid, who declared for the draft after his freshman year at LSU, wasn’t selected on draft night in June, but quickly reached an agreement to join the Wolves on a two-way deal. That contract would have limited him to 45 days on Minnesota’s regular season roster, with the rest of his time spent in the G League. By signing a standard contract, Reid can be assigned to – and recalled from – the Iowa Wolves at any time, with no restrictions.

Reid’s strong showing at this month’s Las Vegas Summer League contributed to the Wolves’ decision to move him out of his two-way slot and onto their projected regular-season roster. The youngster averaged 11.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.0 APG in seven games (18.6 MPG) in Vegas.

Minnesota now once again has two open two-way contract slots.