Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Waive Jon Leuer

July 9th, 2019 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Bucks have released veteran big man Jon Leuer, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He’ll clear waivers and become an unrestricted on Thursday.

Leuer, 30, averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 41 games (9.8 MPG) last season for the Pistons. Detroit sent his expiring contract to Milwaukee last month in exchange for Tony Snell and the No. 30 overall pick in the draft.

Because Leuer is earning less than Snell and only has one year left on his contract instead of two, waiving and stretching his expiring salary ($9,508,043) will be more manageable for the Bucks. That move was necessary in order to create the cap room to re-sign George Hill.

While stretching Leuer’s contract generates additional flexibility this year, the Bucks will have to be wary of the cap charges it creates in future seasons ($3,169,348 annually through 2021/22). Milwaukee’s roster only figures to get more expensive down the road, especially if Giannis Antetokounmpo signs a super-max extension that goes into effect in ’20/21, so Leuer’s dead money could eventually help push team salary into the tax.

Bucks Re-Sign George Hill

July 9th, 2019 at 3:33pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 9: Hill has officially re-signed with the Bucks, the team announced today in a press release.

“George is a consummate pro and an important part of our team,” GM Jon Horst said in a statement. “His veteran leadership and steady guard play were instrumental to our success last season, both during the regular season and the playoffs. We are thrilled to have him back with the Bucks.”

JULY 2: The Bucks officially waived Hill on Monday, according to the NBA’s transactions log. He’ll clear waivers this week, and then Milwaukee will be able to officially re-sign him once the moratorium ends on Saturday.

JUNE 30: The Bucks are set to re-sign veteran guard George Hill on a three-year, $29MM deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The deal has a partial guarantee in year three, tweets Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Milwaukee plans to waive Hill, who was originally set to make $18MM next season, and formally sign him to his new contract once the moratorium period ends on July 6.

Hill was a key cog for the Bucks during the postseason, scoring 11.5 points per game on 53% shooting from the floor and 42% shooting from 3-point range. Milwaukee values his experience, leadership and mentality on the hardwood and in the locker room.

The Bucks lost guard Malcolm Brogdon to Indiana on Sunday, but the team also worked to secure multi-year commitments from Hill, Khris Middleton, and two Lopezes — Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez.

Milwaukee will need to make at least one more roster move to fit Hill’s new contract in under the cap, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). While the deal is worth the same amount as the mid-level exception, the Bucks won’t have that exception available because they’ll need to use cap room to re-sign Brook Lopez.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hornets Sign Robert Franks To Two-Way Contract

July 9th, 2019 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have officially signed undrafted rookie Robert Franks to a two-way contract, the team confirmed today in a press release. Franks’ agreement with Charlotte was first reported shortly after the conclusion of last month’s draft.

A 6’9″ forward out of Washington State, Franks had a strong senior season for the Cougars, averaging 21.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG while shooting 39.9% on three-pointers (7.0 attempts per game).. He earned First Team All-Pac 12 honors.

Charlotte carried J.P. Macura and Joe Chealey on two-way deals last season, but both players saw their contracts expire and became free agents at the end of June. As such, the Hornets will still have a two-way slot open after formally adding Franks.

Warriors Sign Second-Rounder Alen Smailagic

July 9th, 2019 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have signed one of their second-round picks, forward/center Alen Smailagic, to his first NBA contract, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. The team also locked up its other second-rounder, Eric Paschall, as we detailed on Monday night.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Smailagic’s name began to surface prior to the draft as a probable second-rounder target for the Warriors. The 18-year-old Serbian played in the G League for Santa Cruz – Golden State’s affiliate – in 2018/19 but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and was “hidden” in Serbia from the rest of the NBA.

Despite trading for the No. 41 pick prior to the draft, the Warriors ultimately decided they’d have to move even higher to secure Smailagic. The club sent two second-round picks and $1MM in cash to the Pelicans in order to nab the No. 39 selection and draft him.

Details of Smailagic’s first NBA contract aren’t yet known, but he and Paschall will both likely earn the rookie minimum ($898K) in 2019/20 in order to help keep the Warriors below their $138.9MM hard cap. Smailagic’s deal could go beyond two years if Golden State used its mid-level exception.

Knicks Officially Sign Randle, Portis, Gibson, Ellington, Payton

July 9th, 2019 at 12:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks officially finalized five of their free agent signings on Monday night, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, which lists the deals for Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, and Elfrid Payton as having been completed.

Those deals are structured as follows:

Randle: Three years, $63MM. First two years guaranteed. (Story)
Portis: Two years, $31MM. First year guaranteed. (Story)
Gibson: Two years, $20MM. First year guaranteed. (Story)
Ellington: Two years, $16MM. First year guaranteed. (Story)
Payton: Two years, $16MM. First year guaranteed. (Story)

While those five signings will use up most of the club’s cap room, there’s still one notable signing to be finalized, as Reggie Bullock‘s two-year, $21MM deal is not yet official.

Warriors Sign Eric Paschall

July 8th, 2019 at 11:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have officially signed second-round pick Eric Paschall to his first NBA contract, as the rookie forward himself announced today (via Twitter). NBA.com’s transactions log confirms the signing is complete.

Golden State used the 41st overall pick in the draft to select Paschall after acquiring the selection from the Hawks in exchange for cash a future second-round pick. The 22-year-old, who won a title with Villanova in 2018, followed it up with a solid senior year in which he averaged 16.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 36 games.

Terms of Paschall’s contract weren’t released, but he’ll almost certainly receive the rookie minimum of $898K, given the Warriors’ cap constraints. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), the Warriors will only be about $219K below their hard cap once they complete a series of moves that includes waiving and stretching Shaun Livingston‘s contract, as well as Paschall’s signing.

If they used their mid-level exception to complete the deal, the Warriors could go up to four years for Paschall.

Warriors Trade Graham, Napier To Timberwolves

July 8th, 2019 at 11:12pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The trade is official, with the Warriors receiving the draft rights to Lior Eliyahu in the swap, according to a press release from the team.

Because they had to be used for salary-matching purposes in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade, Graham and Napier both received significant partial guarantees. Graham had about 90% of his $1.65MM salary guaranteed, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North.

JULY 1: Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier, two of the three players the Warriors are acquiring from the Nets in their sign-and-trade deal for D’Angelo Russell, will be re-routed to the Timberwolves, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Minnesota will also receive cash in the deal, Woj notes.

As part of the agreement, Napier and Graham – who are both on non-guaranteed contracts – will receive partial guarantees, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Both players will have their minimum salaries for 2019/20 becomes guaranteed if they’re not waived by July 10, Marks adds (via Twitter).

It’s a cap-conscious move for the Warriors, for whom every dollar will count, since they face a hard cap of $138.9MM for this season. According to Marks (via Twitter), flipping Graham and Napier will save the team about $250K.

There’s a chance that one or both of Napier and Graham could stick in Minnesota for the season, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, that’s far from a certainty.

Lakers Sign Avery Bradley

July 8th, 2019 at 11:09pm CST by Luke Adams

11:09pm: The Lakers have officially signed Bradley, the team announced tonight (via Twitter).

12:00pm: Once he clears waivers later today after being released by the Grizzlies, veteran guard Avery Bradley intends to sign a two-year, $9.7MM contract with the Lakers, agent Bill Duffy tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Los Angeles still has its full $4.8MM room exception available, so Bradley will slot into that exception now that the club has used all of its cap room. The second year of his new deal will be a player option, Wojnarowski notes.

Bradley, 28, has bounced around the league since spending the first seven seasons of his NBA career in Boston. The Celtics traded him to the Pistons during the 2017 offseason, but he was subsequently flipped to the Clippers and then the Grizzlies.

Despite the constant movement, Bradley finished strong in 2018/19, averaging 16.1 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.1 RPG with a .463/.384/.920 shooting line in 14 games (31.6 MPG) for Memphis. The combo guard is also considered a strong perimeter defender.

However, his $12.96MM salary for 2019/20 was only partially guaranteed for $2MM, and the rebuilding Grizzlies decided to create some extra cap flexibility by releasing him on Saturday and avoiding that guarantee. As cap guru Albert Nahmad observes (via Twitter), Memphis will also get to set off $1.66MM of that $2MM as a result of Bradley’s new deal with Los Angeles.

Bradley will slot into a Lakers backcourt that features Rajon Rondo and Quinn Cook at the point, with Danny Green, Troy Daniels, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope among those who could see time at the two. Alex Caruso will also be in the mix.

By my count, the Lakers now have 13 players lined up for their regular-season roster, plus unsigned second-rounder Talen Horton-Tucker, who figures to occupy one of the final two roster spots. If the club adds a 15th man via free agency, he’ll have to sign a minimum-salary contract. Zach Norvell Jr. and a second two-way player will also factor into the equation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Sign Willie Cauley-Stein

July 8th, 2019 at 10:12pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8, 10:12pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets.

JULY 2, 4:31pm: Free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein has decided to join the Warriors, according to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter) that the two sides are in agreement on a deal.

Although Cauley-Stein opened the free agent period as a restricted free agent, he didn’t stay restricted for long — the Kings rescinded his qualifying offer in order to create the necessary cap room to sign their other targets, including Cory Joseph. As a result, Cauley-Stein is free to sign outright with any team.

The sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Cauley-Stein spent the first four years of his NBA career in Sacramento, though it became increasingly clear as the Kings were linked to free agent centers in recent weeks that he probably wasn’t part of the club’s plan going forward. The Kings ultimately struck deals with Dewayne Dedmon and Richaun Holmes to address the five spot.

Cauley-Stein will head to another Pacific team in the Warriors, which is a little surprising, given the lack of cap flexibility for Golden State. The team is expected to fill out its roster with mostly minimum-salary players after hard-capping itself at the tax apron by acquiring D’Angelo Russell via sign-and-trade. However, Cauley-Stein will get a salary slightly above the minimum, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

In 81 games (27.3 MPG) for the Kings in 2018/19, Cauley-Stein averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG. He’ll join a new-look Warriors roster that will no longer feature Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala in 2019/20. In the wake of the team’s agreement with Cauley-Stein, it also seems increasingly unlikely that DeMarcus Cousins will return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wilson Chandler Signs One-Year Deal With Nets

July 8th, 2019 at 10:02pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8, 10:02pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets.

JULY 2, 8:05pm: The Nets have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Wilson Chandler, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who reports that the veteran will sign a one-year contract with the team.

Chandler will receive a minimum-salary deal, since Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan will take up Brooklyn’s cap space and Garrett Temple will be signed using the team’s room exception. Michael Scotto of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the one-year contract will be worth $2,564,753, Chandler’s minimum salary for 2019/20.

Chandler, 32, had a down year for the Sixers and Clippers in 2018/19, averaging a career-worst 6.0 PPG with 4.2 RPG in 51 games (23.1 MPG). However, he still knocked down 37.3% of his three-point attempts and should be a solid addition to Brooklyn’s bench.

The Nets’ frontcourt has lost DeMarre Carroll and Jared Dudley so far this summer, so Chandler figures to take on some of the minutes that those two veterans played.