Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Claim Kostas Antetokounmpo

July 21st, 2019 at 4:15pm CST by JD Shaw

The Lakers have claimed forward Kostas Antetokounmpo off waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Antetokounmpo will head to Los Angeles on a two-way contract.

Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, was waived by the Mavericks last week after appearing in just two games with the team. He spent most of the 2018/19 season with Dallas’ G League affiliate, holding per-game averages of 10.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

Antetokounmpo was selected No. 60 overall by Philadelphia in the 2018 draft, ultimately getting dealt to Dallas later that night. He’ll join undrafted Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell as current Lakers players on two-way deals.

Jordan McLaughlin Signs Two-Way Deal With Timberwolves

July 20th, 2019 at 5:38pm CST by clarkcrum

5:38pm: The deal is official, the team confirmed on Twitter.

12:37pm: Point guard Jordan McLaughlin has signed a two-way contract with the Timberwolves, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

McLaughlin likely earned his opportunity with Minnesota after a successful summer league performance with the T-Wolves, where he averaged a team-leading 26.0 MPG, 5.0 APG, and 1.4 SPG.

The USC product, 23, went undrafted in 2018 before signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Nets and joining the team for training camp. McLaughlin was ultimately waived less than one week before the start of the 2018/19 season, but remained with the organization as an affiliate player for the G League’s Long Island Nets.

Prior to his stellar performance in this year’s summer league, McLaughlin was one of 80 players invited to the NBA’s 2019 G League Elite Camp.

As our 2019/20 Two-Way Contract Tracker shows, the Timberwolves still have a vacant two-way spot after the signing of McLaughlin. That spot had been held by rookie big man Naz Reid, but he has since been promoted to the team’s 15-man roster.

Knicks Signing Kenny Wooten To Exhibit 10 Contract

July 20th, 2019 at 4:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kenny Wooten, a shot-blocking power forward out of Oregon, will join the Knicks for training camp on an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.

Wooten made an impression with New York’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, even though he saw minimal playing time. He averaged just 1.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in four games, but blocked 2.5 shots per night, including five in 16 minutes in a win over Washington in the consolation round.

Wooten will have trouble earning a roster spot in camp because the Knicks already have 15 players with guaranteed contracts. However, the Exhibit 10 deal will guarantee him $50K if he spends 60 days with the organization’s G League affiliate in Westchester. A roster opening could emerge by then, as Berman notes that several of the free agents whom the Knicks signed to de facto one-year contracts could be used as trade bait.

Wooten ranks third in all-time blocks at Oregon, and his agent, Mitchell Butler, claims he is one of the five best athletes coming out of college. The Knicks likely would have drafted Wooten at No. 55, Berman adds, if they hadn’t traded up to get Ignas Brazdeikis.

“The club is positive on Kenny,’’ Butler said. “His Summer League games resonated with the organization. Mitchell Robinson is good on the defensive end and to have Kenny coming in with no drop-off, that’s a big thing. Both of those guys on the floor, they literally shut off the inside and make teams shoot from the perimeter.’’

Butler claims several teams expressed interest in Wooten, but he picked the Knicks because of coach David Fizdale.

“[Fizdale] always appreciated guys who did the little things and comes from organizations like Miami and Memphis that appreciated glue-type guys,’’ Butler said. “I wanted to get him to a coach like that where he‘d have chance at the next level.’’

Jordan Caroline Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Lakers

July 20th, 2019 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20: One month later, the Lakers and Caroline have made it official, per a release from the club.

JUNE 20: The Lakers have reached a deal with undrafted Nevada wing Jordan Caroline, according to Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll, who reports that Caroline will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the club.

Caroline, who began his college career at Southern Illinois before transferring to Nevada, averaged 17.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.9 APG in his senior year. He also showed off an improved three-point shot, converting 1.4 per game at a rate of 36.8%.

Caroline is the third undrafted free agent to have reached a deal with the Lakers since the draft, joining Zach Norvell Jr. (two-way) and Devontae Cacok (Exhibit 10), as we detailed earlier today.

Mississippi State forward Aric Holman may be joining that group, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that Holman has also agreed to join the Lakers. However, it’s not yet clear whether that deal will just cover the Summer League or whether Holman will get a spot on the team’s 20-man offseason roster.

Holman averaged 9.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.6 BPG with a .473/.429/.701 shooting line in his senior year at Mississippi State.

Jazz Sign Emmanuel Mudiay

July 20th, 2019 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20, 8:30am: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

JULY 2, 7:53pm: Free agent point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Jazz, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

While terms of the deal weren’t mentioned, it figures to be a minimum-salary pact. Utah is using its cap room to take on Mike Conley, and has committed its room exception to Ed Davis.

Mudiay, a former seventh overall pick, enjoyed the most productive year of his NBA career in 2018/19 for the Knicks, averaging 14.8 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.3 RPG on .446/.329/.774 shooting in 59 games (27.2 MPG). He was eligible for a qualifying offer, but New York opted not to extend one, making him an unrestricted free agent.

While Mudiay hasn’t lived up to his pre-draft hype during his four NBA seasons, he’s still just 23 years. The Jazz want to help him develop, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links), who adds that Utah’s strong developmental program also appealed to Mudiay’s camp.

With Raul Neto hitting waivers as a cap casualty, Mudiay projects to come off the bench along with Dante Exum as Conley’s backups at the point.

Jazz Sign Jeff Green To One-Year Deal

July 20th, 2019 at 8:09am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 20, 8:09am: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

JULY 2, 6:10pm: The Jazz will sign Jeff Green to a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Green will make $2.5MM, the minimum for a player of his experience level.

Green played last season for the Wizards. He had said he would “love to come back” to Washington but the franchise added wings/forwards in the draft, which complicated matters. The 32-year-old was speculated to be a target of the Lakers, given his previous success playing alongside LeBron James.

Utah needed replacements for both Derrick Favors (sent to the Pelicans) and Jae Crowder (dealt to the Grizzlies). Green will help replenish the team’s depth. Utah came to agreements with Bojan Bogdanovic and Ed Davis to help stabilize the frontcourt.

Ed Davis Signs Two-Year Deal With Jazz

July 20th, 2019 at 8:03am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 20, 8:03am: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

JUNE 30, 9:20pm: The Jazz have agreed to sign big man Ed Davis to a two-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com passes along via Twitter. Davis will make $10MM over the next two seasons.

Utah will use the room exception to sign Davis, which is the same type of deal the big man inked last summer in Brooklyn. Davis was our Room Exception MVP, as I broke down in our contract awards.

Davis had previously stated that the financials would likely dictate his destination in free agency. “First is the money…Then, two is fit,” Davis said last month.

The Jazz agreed to a contract with Bojan Bogdanovic earlier in the day, reaching a four-year, $73MM deal with the wing. The team is expected to either trade or waive Derrick Favors in order to accommodate the signing. Davis will help Utah fortify its big man rotation.

Sixers Sign Christ Koumadje To Exhibit 10 Deal

July 19th, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:01pm: It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Rich Hofmann of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal is now official, per RealGM’s transactions log.

4:46pm: The Sixers have agreed to a one-year, partially-guaranteed deal with center Christ Koumadje, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.

The news that Koumadje would sign a contract with Philadelphia was first reported by Mark Deeks of SkySport, though that was prior to Summer League competition and it was unclear if the deal would extend into training camp.

The 7’4” Florida State alum played for Philadelphia’s summer league team after going undrafted. He played four seasons with the Seminoles and started all 37 games as a senior. He averaged 6.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 16.0 MPG in his final year.

In five Summer League appearances, he averaged 6.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 13.6 MPG.

The addition of Koumadje gives Philadelphia 14 players on the roster, along with a pair on two-way deals. There’s a crowd at center —Joel Embiid, Kyle O’Quinn and Norvel Pelle (who is on a two-way contract) are already on the depth chart and Al Horford can swing over to that spot.

Koumadje is a developmental project who will likely spend most of next season in the G League.

Kings Waive Swingman B.J. Johnson

July 19th, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have waived swingman B.J. Johnson, according to a team press release.

Johnson had a non-guaranteed salary of $1,416,852 for 2019/20.

Johnson played on the Kings’ summer league team, averaging 7.3 PPG in 16.9 MPG. The 6’7” Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle, appeared in seven NBA games with Atlanta and Sacramento last season, averaging 3.3 PPG in 7.0 MPG. Johnson played with the Hawks on a pair of 10-day contracts before the Kings added him late in the season.

He spent most of his first professional season playing for the Lakeland Magic in the G League. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .476/.444/.841 in 39 NBAGL games.

Sacramento now has 13 players with guaranteed contracts and two with non- or partially-guaranteed deals, along with a pair of two-way players. The Kings reached an agreement with former University of San Diego forward Isaiah Pineiro earlier in the day.

Mavs Waive Kostas Antetokounmpo

July 19th, 2019 at 4:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have waived forward Kostas Antetokounmpo, according to a team press release.

The brother of league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo had a two-way contract with the Mavs.

Daryl Macon holds the other two-way deal with Dallas. With Antetokounmpo out of the picture, Penn State alum and shooting guard Josh Reaves may have his contract converted a two-way deal. He agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 deal earlier this summer.

The 6’10” Antetokounmpo was chosen by the 76ers late in the second round of the 2018 draft. Dallas acquired him in a draft-night deal. He saw action in two games last season, making his NBA debut on March 20 in Portland.

“We are excited for Kostas to pursue other professional opportunities,” Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said in a statement. “Kostas worked very hard to improve his game and we are proud to have been a step in his development.”

Antetokounmpo played in five summer league games in Las Vegas this month, averaging 5.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 13.5 MPG.

The brothers are expected to play for Greece in the FIBA World Cup.