Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Re-Sign Alex Caruso

July 6th, 2019 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 7: Caruso’s new deal with the Lakers has been finalized, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log.

JULY 6: Free agent guard Alex Caruso will return to the Lakers on a two-year, $5.5MM contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The second-year guard became a restricted free agent when L.A. extended a qualifying offer last week. However, his rights may cause complications in the Anthony Davis trade, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), who speculates that the Lakers may be using their room exception or cap space in the new deal with Caruso.

The 25-year-old first came to L.A. as a two-way player in 2017. He has played a combined 62 games in two seasons and contributed 9.2 PPG in 25 contests this year.

Pincus believes the Lakers may have exhausted all of their cap room with the signings of Caruso, Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DeMarcus Cousins, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley and JaVale McGee, with just the $4.8MM room exception available. If they’re using that exception to add McGee and have included unlikely incentives in some of their new contracts, they could have up to $7.7MM remaining.

Nets Officially Sign Kyrie Irving

July 6th, 2019 at 6:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have signed Kyrie Irving to his new four-year contract with the team, according to the NBA’s transactions log, which lists the deal as official. Brooklyn hasn’t formally announced Irving’s signing yet, but the club has a complex series of transactions that must be completed, so it may be waiting to announce Irving at the same time as Kevin Durant.

Irving is moving from one Atlantic playoff team to another after earning All-NBA Second Team honors with the Celtics this past season. He averaged 23.8 PPG and a career-high 6.9 APG and 5.0 RPG with impressive efficiency numbers (.487/.401/.873 shooting).

However, locker-room and chemistry issues, as well as a disappointing second-round exit in the postseason, soured his second and final year in Boston. The C’s will replace him with another All-NBA point guard, Kemba Walker.

While Irving was initially expected to sign a four-year maximum-salary contract worth just shy of $141MM, a report indicated that he (and Durant) would accept a little less than the max in order to accommodate a four-year, $40MM deal for DeAndre Jordan. We’ll have to wait to find out the final terms of Irving’s new contract.

For more on Irving’s new deal, check out our original story from last weekend on his agreement with the Nets.

Pacers, Bucks Complete Malcolm Brogdon Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 5:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Malcolm Brogdon is now a Pacer after the sign-and-trade agreement with the Bucks became official today, both teams announced in press releases. Milwaukee receives a future first-round pick and two second-rounders in return.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year, Brogdon had three promising seasons with the Bucks, although injuries limited him to 48 and 64 games the past two years. He averaged a career-best 15.6 PPG this season before suffering a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March. He was a member of the 50-40-90 club, shooting .505 from the field, .426 from 3-point range and .928 from the foul line.

“We feel like Malcolm embodies the values that we’re about here at the Pacers, and he’s the perfect fit for our team,” president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said. “Having started on the team with the best record in the NBA last year, we value the leadership he’ll bring to our team, as well as his great ability to play multiple positions.”

Brogdon’s new contract with the Pacers is reportedly worth $85MM over four years, while the first-round pick they sent to the Bucks is lottery-protected in 2020.

Spurs Trade Davis Bertans To Wizards In Three-Team Deal

July 6th, 2019 at 5:32pm CST by Luke Adams

5:32pm: The three-team trade is now official, the Nets announced in a press release. Bertans goes to Washington, Carroll to San Antonio, and White’s draft rights to Brooklyn. The Nets also acquired the draft rights for 2014 second-rounder Nemanja Dangubic from the Spurs.

4:33pm: The Spurs are finalizing a trade that will send sharpshooting forward Davis Bertans to the Wizards, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

As Wojnarowski explains, trading Bertans will allow San Antonio to acquire DeMarre Carroll and his new three-year deal via sign-and-trade. According to David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter), the Nets will receive the rights to draft-and-stash player Aaron White from the Wizards in the three-team deal, which will send Carroll from Brooklyn to the Spurs.

Bertans, 26, is one of the most talented outside shooters among the NBA’s big men, having knocked down 42.9% of his three-pointers last season. In 76 total games (21.5 MPG), he averaged 8.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG for San Antonio. He’ll have an opportunity to earn a frontcourt role for a Wizards team that lost Bobby Portis and Trevor Ariza and also appears unlikely to bring back Jabari Parker or Sam Dekker.

The Wizards, who will absorb Bertans using the $8.6MM trade exception they created when they dealt Markieff Morris in February, will be right at the luxury-tax line after acquiring the Spurs’ forward. However, they could create some breathing room by waiving Jonathon Simmons before his 2019/20 salary becomes fully guaranteed, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

As for the Spurs, they had sought more versatility on the wing and at the forward spots, tweets Jabari Young of The Athletic. Swapping Bertans for Carroll will point them in that direction. Additionally, by folding Carroll’s agreement into this deal as a sign-and-trade, the Spurs retained their mid-level exception, which they’ll use to sign Marcus Morris, another versatile forward.

San Antonio initially reached a two-year contract agreement with Carroll, but amended it today to add an extra season, since sign-and-trade contracts must span at least three years. It’s not clear if that third year will be guaranteed.

As for the Nets, it’s unclear if their involvement in this deal extends beyond acquiring White and doing a favor to Carroll. The 49th overall pick in the 2015 draft, White has spent the last four seasons playing overseas for teams in Germany, Russia, and Lithuania.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Grizzlies Release Avery Bradley

July 6th, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies have waived guard Avery Bradley, according to the NBA’s Transactions Log. Bradley had just a $2MM guarantee on his $12.96MM salary for next season if was was let go before July 8, according to Basketball Insiders. The guarantee date was originally July 3, but Bradley agreed to move it last week.

Unloading Bradley’s contract provides more flexibility for Memphis to match a potential offer sheet for restricted free agent guard Delon Wright. The Grizzlies have about $123MM on their books, including Wright’s $7.6MM cap hold, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Once considered one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders as well as a potent scorer, Bradley’s game has slipped since the Celtics traded him to the Pistons in 2017. However, he looked like his old self during his brief stay in Memphis, averaging 16.1 PPG in 14 games. Still only 28, Bradley should garner interest from several contending teams on the open market.

Clippers Waive Tyrone Wallace, Sindarius Thornwell

July 6th, 2019 at 5:04pm CST by Luke Adams

5:04pm: The Clippers have officially waived both Wallace and guard Sindarius Thornwell, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. The 48th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Thornwell had a promising rookie season but struggled last year in a reduced role, averaging 1.0 PPG and 0.7 RPG in 64 games (4.9 MPG).

Thornwell’s $1,618,520 salary was due to become guaranteed on July 20, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, so the Clippers won’t be on the hook for it.

3:54am: The Clippers will waive guard Tyrone Wallace, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Per Basketball Insiders, Wallace was on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract which would have become partially guaranteed for $300K in September, then fully guaranteed in January.

The news of Wallace’s release will be significantly overshadowed by other Clippers-related moves tonight, as the team reached an agreement to sign Kawhi Leonard and struck a deal to acquire Paul George during perhaps the most dramatic half-hour in franchise history.

Still, Wallace saw a decent amount of action as a role player for the Clips in 2018/19, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 62 games (10.1 MPG). His performance represented a step down from his 2017/18 showing, when he posted 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 30 games (19 starts) while playing on a two-way contract.

Those rookie-year numbers helped earn Wallace an offer sheet from the Pelicans as a restricted free agent last summer, which the Clippers matched. Because of that offer sheet, New Orleans will be the only team not eligible to claim Wallace off waivers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The former Cal standout will become an unrestricted free agent if he goes unclaimed.

Knicks Sign Ignas Brazdeikis

July 6th, 2019 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:23pm: Brazdeikis received a three-year deal with the first two seasons guaranteed, tweets Lithuanian basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. The Knicks hold a team option on the third year.

5:02pm: The Knicks have signed second-round pick Ignas Brazdeikis, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

Terms of the agreement were not released, but it looks like New York will use cap room, since it was announced before any of the team’s other moves. That means Brazdeikis is eligible for a deal up to four years, which is what second-round pick Mitchell Robinson received last summer.

New York traded up to No. 47 on draft night to select Brazdeikis, sending cash and the 55th pick to the Kings in return.

A 6’7″ forward out of Michigan, Brazdeikis averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games in his only season with the Wolverines. He was also a 39% 3-point shooter in college.

Spurs, Marcus Morris Agreed To Two-Year Contract

July 6th, 2019 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

[UPDATE: The agreement between Morris and the Spurs has fallen apart, and he has instead opted to sign with the Knicks.]

The Spurs have agreed to terms with free agent forward Marcus Morris, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Morris will sign a two-year, $20MM contract with San Antonio. The deal will feature a second-year player option, Charania adds.

It appeared the Spurs wouldn’t have the flexibility to sign a player like Morris after seemingly committing most of their mid-level exception to DeMarre Carroll. However, San Antonio will acquire Carroll in a sign-and-trade after by sending Davis Bertans to Washington. That frees up the full mid-level, which will be used to sign Morris, as Jabari Young of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter).

Technically, Morris’ new deal will be worth just shy of $19MM over two years, with a first-year salary of $9.26MM. Using the full mid-level and acquiring Carroll via sign-and-trade will hard-cap the Spurs.

Morris, who earned the No. 22 spot on our list of this offseason’s top 50 free agents, was probably the most notable name still on the board after Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins agreed to sign with the Clippers and Lakers, respectively. The 29-year-old had a solid year in Boston as the Celtics’ primary starting forward, averaging 13.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a .447/.375/.844 shooting line.

Marcus is the second Morris twin to agree to a new contract this week — his brother Markieff Morris joined the Pistons on a two-year deal of his own.

As for the Spurs, they could still be in the market for one more veteran big man, but they only have the minimum salary exception available and will remain patient, according to Young.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Release Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr.

July 6th, 2019 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have waived Shaquille Harrison and Walt Lemon Jr., according to a press release from the team. Chicago needed the cap space to finalize the signings of free agents Thaddeus Young, which is now official, and Tomas Satoransky, who is still waiting to sign his deal. Harrison and Lemon both had non-guaranteed contracts that would have paid them $1,588,231 next season.

Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games this year, starting 11, after signing with the Bulls last summer. He posted a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in about 20 minutes per night.

Lemon, 26, got into six games after signing with Chicago in late March. He started the season on a two-way contract with the Celtics, but never played for them before being released in November.

Magic Re-Sign Nikola Vucevic To Four-Year Deal

July 6th, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Magic have officially re-signed Vucevic, the team confirmed today in a press release. The club also announced its deals with Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu.

JUNE 29: All-Star center Nikola Vucevic will stay in Orlando on a four-year, $100MM contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The deal will enable the Magic to keep one of the primary cogs of their playoff team in place for what should be the best part of his career. The 28-year-old posted career highs this season with 20.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per night. He also improved as a 3-point shooter, sinking 1.1 per game and hitting them at a .364 clip.

Vucevic was among the biggest bargains in the league this year, putting up All-Star numbers at a salary of $12.25MM. He has blossomed into an elite NBA center since being acquired from the Sixers in a four-team trade in 2012.

The signing is bad news for teams seeking center help in free agency, such as the Kings and Mavericks. The Celtics were also rumored to be interested in Vucevic before committing their cap room to Kemba Walker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.