Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign Reggie Bullock To Reworked Deal

July 16th, 2019 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

11:35am: The Knicks have officially announced their new deal with Bullock.

9:43am: The Knicks and free agent shooting guard Reggie Bullock have finalized a new contract agreement after an earlier deal fell through, agent David Bauman tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bullock confirmed the news himself today, tweeting, “Done deal!”

Bullock and the Knicks initially agreed to a two-year, $21MM contract with a second-year team option near the start of free agency. However, they reworked that deal after “unanticipated health issues” arose, as Charania notes.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), Bullock’s new two-year contract will have a starting salary worth less than the $4.77MM room exception. The new deal will also have a second-year option, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post.

“[The] Knicks were fantastic through this process,” Bauman told Begley.

A first-round pick in the 2013 draft, Bullock began his career with the Clippers and then the Suns, but didn’t hit his stride until a stint with Detroit that began in 2015.

Bullock averaged 11.3 PPG and shot 44.5% on three-pointers for the Pistons in 2017/18. Last season, the veteran split his time between the Pistons and Lakers as a result of a deadline trade, recording 12.1 PPG with a .377 3PT% in 63 total games.

While we don’t know the details of Bullock’s health issues, he has battled plantar fasciitis in the past. As a result of the extra cap room generated when his original deal was nixed, the Knicks were able to bring in Marcus Morris on a one-year, $15MM contract.

Bullock was the last player on our list of 2019’s top 50 free agents who had yet to agree to a new contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Sign Marcus Morris

July 16th, 2019 at 10:19am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 16: Morris has officially signed with the Knicks, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

JULY 11: The Knicks have agreed to a one-year, $15MM deal with Marcus Morris, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Morris had previously come to an agreement with the Spurs but chose not to honor the verbal agreement.

San Antonio was planning on using its mid-level exception to sign Morris and turned its DeMarre Carroll acquisition into a sign-and-trade in order to accommodate Morris on a two-year deal worth approximately $19MM. The Spurs traded away Davis Bertans as part of the Carroll sign-and-trade.

“I had to make this decision based on the best situation for me and my family,” Morris said (via Charania). “This is no knock on the Spurs. I have respect for them.”

New York had the flexibility to add Morris after renegotiating its deal with Reggie Bullock. Bullock agreed to terms with the Knicks on a two-year, $21MM pact, but the franchise nixed that deal over health concerns. Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets that New York plans to amend the agreement with Bullock.

Morris, who earned the No. 22 spot on our list of this offseason’s top 50 free agents, was the most notable name still on the board. The 29-year-old had a solid year in Boston as the Celtics’ primary starting forward in 2018/19, averaging 13.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a .447/.375/.844 shooting line. He’ll join a Knicks frontcourt that also features newly-added veterans like Bobby Portis, Julius Randle, and Taj Gibson in addition to incumbent youngsters Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Knox.

The move to sign Morris exhausts New York’s cap room. The team has the room exception available to sign Bullock or another free agent.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Sign Forward Kyle Alexander

July 15th, 2019 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have signed forward Kyle Alexander, according to a team press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Alexander will participate in training camp and likely be ticketed to the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls.

Alexander played eight summer league games for the Heat in Sacramento and Las Vegas, averaging 4.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 15.9 MPG.

The 6’11” Alexander went undrafted out of Tennessee. He started as a senior, averaging 7.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 1.7 in 23.8 MPG.

The Heat have also signed forward Chris Silva and point guard Jeremiah Martin to similar contracts.

J.J. Redick Signs Two-Year Deal With Pelicans

July 15th, 2019 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 15, 517pm: Redick’s contract signing is official, according to a team press release.

JUNE 30, 5:03pm: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with veteran sharpshooter J.J. Redick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Redick will sign a two-year, $26.5MM deal with the club.

It’s a savvy addition for a Pelicans club that looks more intriguing by the day. While the team has added a boatload of talent so far this offseason – including Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram – the roster was still lacking in floor-spacers. Redick will provide that spacing in spades.

Redick, who is entering his age-35 season, is a career 41.3% shooter from beyond the three-point line. Last season in Philadelphia, he averaged a career-best 18.1 PPG and knocked down a career-high 3.2 threes per game at a 39.7% rate.

While the Sixers will lose Redick, they’ve recovered nicely tonight, agreeing to terms with Al Horford and setting up a sign-and-trade deal involving Jimmy Butler that will send Josh Richardson to Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans still have cap room after committing to Redick, but appear set to use most of the rest of it to acquire Derrick Favors from Utah.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Waive Christian Wood

July 15th, 2019 at 4:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have waived power forward/center Christian Wood, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Wood had a non-guaranteed $1,645,357 salary, of which $822,679 would have become guaranteed if he was on the opening-day roster. The Pelicans now have 13 players with fully guaranteed contracts and two others with non- or partial guarantees.

The Bucks waived Wood in March and the Pelicans claimed him. Wood saw spot duty in 13 games with Milwaukee. He played eight games with New Orleans, including two starts, and averaged 16.9 PPG and 7.9 RPG.

By letting go of Wood, New Orleans opens up a spot for Italian power forward Nicolo Melli, who agreed to a two-year contact in late June.

Cavaliers Waive J.R. Smith

July 15th, 2019 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

4:03pm: Despite their best efforts to find a favorable trade involving Smith, the Cavaliers came up empty and have waived the veteran shooting guard, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Smith, who will receive his $4.37MM partial guarantee from the Cavs, is on track to clear waivers on Wednesday.

8:46am: Barring a last-minute trade, the Cavaliers are expected to waive J.R. Smith today, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks details (via Twitter), Smith’s $15.68MM salary for 2019/20 is currently guaranteed for $4.37MM. That partial guarantee would increase to $5.12MM if he remains under contract beyond today. His deal would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived by July 31.

By cutting Smith today, the Cavs could slip about $2.85MM below the luxury tax line, assuming they stretch his partial guarantee across three seasons, Marks notes (via Twitter).

Smith, who turns 34 in September, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since last November, having reached an agreement to part ways with the rebuilding Cavaliers. However, Cleveland chose not to release him until now because his contract – signed under the old CBA – had the potential to be used in a trade with a team looking to create cap flexibility.

In an article published in March, we explained the appeal of Smith’s partially guaranteed deal, while also outlining why its value as a trade chip may be limited due to the Cavs’ proximity to the tax threshold for 2019/20.

Smith’s contract was originally scheduled to become fully guaranteed on June 30, but he agreed to push his guarantee deadline back in exchange for a slight increase to his partial guarantee. As we relayed over the weekend, Cleveland still had no luck finding a taker for him on the trade market.

Assuming Smith is officially released today, he’ll clear waivers on Wednesday and will become an unrestricted free agent at that point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wizards Sign Justin Robinson

July 15th, 2019 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Wizards have signed undrafted rookie Justin Robinson to an NBA contract. The signing is listed in NBA.com’s transactions log, confirming that it’s now official. Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported Robinson’s agreement with Washington after the draft, tweeting that it would be a multiyear deal.

While the exact terms of Robinson’s contract aren’t yet known, I’d expect it to be worth the minimum salary. Still, using the mid-level exception, the Wizards could offer up to four years. Charania also noted last month that the deal would feature a “substantial” guarantee.

A 6’2″ guard, Robinson averaged 13.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.2 RPG with a .418 3PT% in 24 games in his senior season at Virginia Tech. He ranked 12th on Jonathan Givony’s list of undrafted prospects at ESPN.com.

If Charania is right that Robinson signed a multiyear deal with a “substantial” guarantee, that suggests the team doesn’t necessarily view him as a prospect who will be released to join the Capital City Go-Go as an affiliate player after attending camp with Washington.

The Wizards currently project to have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, so perhaps Robinson will fill one of the final two roster spots on the 15-man squad when the regular season begins.

Jazz Sign Second-Rounder Miye Oni

July 15th, 2019 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have officially signed No. 58 overall pick Miye Oni to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Terms of Oni’s new contract aren’t yet known. Five of the players selected before the Yale guard in the second round of this year’s draft have signed (or agreed to sign) two-way contracts, but it doesn’t appear that 2019’s Ivy League Player of the Year received a two-way deal. A minimum-salary pact without multiple guaranteed seasons seems likely.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Oni, who turns 22 next month, averaged 17.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 3.6 APG with a .441/.371/.793 shooting line in his junior year at Yale before declaring for the 2019 draft as an early entrant. The Jazz sent $2MM in cash to the Warriors in a draft-night trade in order to acquire his rights.

Oni was one of three players Utah drafted in the back half of the second round. Jarrell Brantley (No. 50) and Justin Wright-Foreman (No. 53) remain unsigned.

Celtics Sign Vincent Poirier

July 15th, 2019 at 11:52am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 15: Poirier has officially signed with the Celtics, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Baskonia also issued a press release confirming that the Spanish team has parted ways with Poirier.

JULY 2: French center Vincent Poirier has agreed to a two-year contract with the Celtics, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He will sign for the veteran’s minimum, according to Brian Robb of The Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link).

Poirier, 25, played for Baskonia in Spain this season and was the EuroLeague’s leading rebounder at 8.3 per game. He told reporters in March that he had received interest from several NBA teams.

Poirier will add some frontcourt depth to the Celtics, who will lose Al Horford in free agency and are trading Aron Baynes to the Suns. Boston reached a deal on Sunday with Enes Kanter, who presumably will be the new starting center.

Pacers Sign Goga Bitadze To Rookie Contract

July 15th, 2019 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have officially signed first-round pick Goga Bitadze to his rookie contract, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. NBA.com’s transactions log confirms that the move has been finalized.

A Georgian-born center, Bitadze was the 18th overall pick in last month’s draft and was the second international player to come off the board, behind Sekou Doumbouya.

Bitadze’s selection raised some eyebrows, since the Pacers already had centers Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis on their roster. However, with Turner and Sabonis expected to start alongside one another in Indiana’s frontcourt, Bitadze is in position to earn rotation minutes as a backup at the five.

Assuming he signed for the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale, Bitadze will earn about $2.82MM in his rookie year, and a total of approximately $13.64MM over the life of his four-year contract.

As our draft pick signing tracker shows, Chuma Okeke of the Magic is now the only first-round pick who has yet to sign his rookie contract.