Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pau Gasol Signs With Trail Blazers

July 25th, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 25: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Gasol, the team announced today in a press release.

“Pau is a future Hall of Famer that brings invaluable championship experience and an elite skill set and basketball IQ to our roster,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement.

JULY 24: Pau Gasol has agreed to a one-year contract with the Trail Blazers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. He’ll receive the veteran’s minimum of $2.6MM, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

The veteran big man finished last season with the Bucks, who let him go as an unrestricted free agent. Gasol underwent surgery in May to repair a navicular stress fracture in his left foot. He’s expected to make a full recovery in advance of training camp.

After being bought out and waived by the Spurs and arriving in Milwaukee in early March, the six-time All-Star appeared in just three games, averaging 1.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 10.0 minutes per contest. Gasol turned 39 this month but was determined to continue his career for at least another season.

Gasol provides insurance with Jusuf Nurkic recovering from a serious leg injury suffered in late March. Hassan Whiteside was acquired from the Heat this offseason to start in his place. Zach Collins can also swing over to the “five” spot.

Portland now has 14 players with guaranteed contracts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Johnathan Motley Signs Two-Way Deal With Clippers

July 24th, 2019 at 8:46pm CST by clarkcrum

After declining to issue him a qualifying offer last month, the Clippers have decided to bring back big man Johnathan Motley on another two-way contract, reports Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Motley spent the entirety of last season on a two-way contract with the Clippers after being acquired in an offseason trade from Dallas, but spent most of his time with the team’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, where he was named All-NBAGL Second Team.

In 22 games with the Clippers, Motley averaged a respectable 4.6 PPG and 2.3 RPG while playing 7.1 minutes per contest. As a rookie, he actually started the last four games of the season for the Mavs, averaging 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in those four starts.

The 24-year-old Baylor product will join rookie Amir Coffey as the Clippers’ two-way players for the 2019/20 season, meaning last season’s G League Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado appears to be the odd man out barring a promotion to a standard contract on the 15-man roster.

Cameron Payne Signs With Raptors

July 24th, 2019 at 6:13pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 24: Payne’s deal with Toronto is now official, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors.

JULY 17: The Raptors have reached an agreement with Cameron Payne, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the free agent point guard is signing a two-year contract with Toronto.

Payne’s new deal won’t be fully guaranteed. According to Charania (via Twitter), the former lottery pick will get a partial guarantee in year one and will have an opportunity to compete for a reserve point guard spot with the Raptors.

Payne, who turns 25 next month, was the 14th overall pick in the 2015 draft. However, he has bounced around the league since then, having spent time with the Thunder, Bulls, and Cavaliers in his first four NBA seasons.

In 153 total regular season games, the former Murray State standout has averaged 6.0 PPG and 2.5 APG with a .397/.331/.775 shooting line. He did have a strong Summer League showing in Las Vegas this month though, recording 20.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 2.7 SPG while shooting 51.4% from the floor in three games for Dallas.

Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet figure to handle point guard duties for the Raptors in 2019/20, but after trading Delon Wright at last season’s deadline and not re-signing Jeremy Lin in free agency, the team doesn’t have a ton of depth at the position. That lack of depth – and a partially guaranteed contract – should give Payne the upper hand in earning one of Toronto’s last few roster spots.

Nuggets Sign Jamal Murray To Five-Year Extension

July 24th, 2019 at 6:05pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 24: The extension is official, per a release (via e-mail and Twitter) from the team.

JUNE 30: The Nuggets have agreed to terms with guard Jamal Murray on a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension, agent Mike George tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The extension will take effect to start the 2020/21 league year.

While the exact value of that extension is not yet known, it would be worth $169.65MM based on the NBA’s current cap projection of $117MM for ’20/21, starting at $29.25MM in year one and increasing all the way up to $38.61MM by year five.

Murray, 22, has emerged as a foundational piece for the Nuggets since being selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 draft. In 2018/19, he established new career highs in PPG (18.2), APG (4.8), and RPG (4.2) over the course of 75 games (32.6 MPG). He and fellow franchise cornerstone Nikola Jokic helped lead Denver to a No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and came within one game of appearing in the conference finals.

While Denver clearly wanted to lock up a budding young star early, extending Murray now rather than waiting until the 2020 restricted free agent period will limit the team’s financial flexibility next season. Murray would have had a cap hold of approximately $13.3MM as a restricted free agent. Now that he has been extended, his new cap hit (projected to be $29MM+) will hit the books right away, eating into the Nuggets’ potential cap room.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Zylan Cheatham Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans

July 24th, 2019 at 3:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 24, 3:24pm: The Cheatham signing is official, according to a team press release.

JUNE 21, 12:59am: The Pelicans are signing Arizona State forward Zylan Cheatham to a two-way contract, tweets Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype, and will pick up a couple more undrafted free agents as well.

Aubrey Dawkins of Central Florida has agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), and Javon Bess of St. Louis will sign with New Orleans as well, relays Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Cheatham averaged 12.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in his first season with the Sun Devils after two years at San Diego State. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony lists him as the fifth-best available player after the draft.

Dawkins is best known for his outstanding performance against Duke and his new teammate, Zion Williamson, in the NCAA Tournament. Dawkins poured in 32 points as the Knights lost at the buzzer in the second round.

Bess is an older prospect at 23, but he is coming off a strong senior season with the Billikens, averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Pelicans Sign Josh Gray To Two-Way Deal

July 24th, 2019 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 24, 3:22pm: It’s official, according to a team press release.

JULY 19, 12:57pm: Free agent point guard Josh Gray has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Pelicans, agent EJ Kusnyer tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A former LSU standout, Gray went undrafted in 2016 and spent his first two professional seasons with the Northern Arizona Suns in the G League, averaging 16.2 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 95 total contests (29.3 MPG).

His play in the G League earned Gray a brief audition at the NBA level, as Phoenix signed him to a pair of 10-day contracts during the 2017/18 season. However, he appeared in just five games during that stretch, and then spent the 2018/19 campaign playing in South Korea.

Gray returned stateside to play for the Nets’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this month, averaging 9.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.2 APG in six games (22.7 MPG) for the club.

Gray will occupy one of New Orleans’ two-way contract slots to start the season, with Arizona State forward Zylan Cheatham claiming the other. The Pelicans reportedly reached an agreement after the draft to ink Cheatham to a two-way deal, though it’s not yet official.

Mavericks Sign Boban Marjanovic

July 23rd, 2019 at 7:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 23: The Mavericks have officially signed Marjanovic, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

JULY 3: The Mavericks will sign Boban Marjanovic, sources tell Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that the deal will be for two years and $7MM.

Marjanovic, who is entering his age-31 season, averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 58 games (11.7 MPG) last season, with his 7’3″ frame allowing him to dominate certain matchups while struggling in others.

Marjanovic was traded to the Sixers in the Tobias Harris deal at this past season’s trade deadline. Philadelphia owned his Bird rights but needed to renounce his cap hold ($13.3MM) in order to accommodate the Al Horford signing.

Dallas has been active thus far in free agency, reaching a four-year deal with Seth Curry and re-signing many of their own guys. Dallas is also rumored to be in the mix for veteran Danny Green.

The Mavs’ projected cap room (upwards of $23MM) may not be impacted by their deal with Marjanovic, since he could theoretically fit within their room exception, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).

Warriors Sign Ky Bowman To Two-Way Deal

July 23rd, 2019 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 23: The Warriors have signed Bowman to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle had previously reported that Bowman would get a two-way deal.

JUNE 21: Undrafted Boston College point guard Ky Bowman will sign a one-year contract with the Warriors, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets.

It’s uncertain if the contract will be an Exhibit 10 deal, though that’s what many undrafted players receive.

Bowman, who exited college after his junior year, didn’t get picked despite averaging 19.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.4 SPG for the Eagles last season. Bowman had some big scoring outputs last season, including outings in which he poured in 44, 38 and 37 points.

He could be a developmental player for Golden State, which will be seeking guard depth. Second-unit stalwart Shaun Livingston has talked of retirement.

The Clippers were the other finalist for Bowman, who could have been drafted if he had been willing to commit to a two-way deal, according to Schultz. Bowman also tested the draft waters after his sophomore season.

Magic Sign Josh Magette To Two-Way Deal

July 23rd, 2019 at 1:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 23: The signing is official, the Magic announced.

JULY 17: Guard Josh Magette has agreed to a new contract with the Magic, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Magette will join the team on a two-way contract, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 29-year-old guard had his only NBA experience as a two-way player with the Hawks during the 2017/18 season. He appeared in 18 games and averaged 2.6 points and 3.2 assists in 12 minutes per night.

Magette spent time this season with Cedevita Zagreb in Croatia and CB Gran Canaria in Spain. He was part of the Spurs‘ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Sagaba Konate Signs With Raptors

July 23rd, 2019 at 11:15am CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have signed West Virginia center Sagaba Konate, the team announced in an email. Terms of the deal were not released, but it is believed to be an Exhibit 10 contract. The release also confirms the signings of forwards Devin Robinson and Oshae Brissett.

Knee injuries limited Konate to eight games as a junior with the Mountaineers, but he was able to average 13.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in about 24 minutes per night. He was on Toronto’s Summer League team, but didn’t see any game action.

Konate is a defensive standout who holds the school record for blocked shots in a career. He earned third team All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore along with a spot on the conference’s All-Defensive Team.