Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder, Rockets Swap Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul

July 16th, 2019 at 7:37pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 16: The trade is official, according to a Thunder press release.

“We recently had conversations with Russell about the team, his career, and how he sees the future,” GM Sam Presti said. “Through those conversations we came to the understanding that looking at some alternative situations would be something that made sense for him. As a result, and due to his history with the Thunder, we worked together to accommodate this,” said Presti. “Our ability to have these types of conversations and work so closely with Russell and his agent Thad Foucher is only possible because of the depth of the relationship that has been built over the last 11 years.

“Russell Westbrook is the most important player in the brief history of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has left an indelible mark on this team, city and state. None of us could have anticipated the player he has become, and we are all deeply proud of what he has contributed to the success of the franchise and to our community. Russell and his wife Nina, their three children, his brother and his parents will always remain part of the Thunder family. We wish them nothing but happiness and success in the future.”

JULY 11: The Rockets have acquired Russell Westbrook. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Houston will send Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City in exchange for the eight-time All-Star.

The Thunder will receive the Rockets’ first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, according to Wojnarowski. Shams Charania of the Athletic tweets that those selections are each top-four protected.

Oklahoma City will also have the right to swap first-round picks with the Rockets during the 2021 and 2025 drafts, though those have protections as well. The 2021 swap is top-four protected, while the 2025 swap is top-20 protected, per Charania.

GM Sam Presti worked with Westbrook and his agent to send the point guard to Houston, which was his preferred destination, Wojnarowski tweets. Westbrook will reunite with James Harden, whom he previously played with on the Thunder (before the team traded Harden to the Rockets). Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) hears that the push for a reunion came from both sides.

The Paul George trade request opened the door for another superstar to move this summer. The Thunder began an unexpected retooling process in the wake of trading George, leaving Westbrook in a curious position.

Rumors of the Paul-Harden relationship souring popped up this summer, with a report from Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports describing the relationship as “unsalvageable” and suggesting that CP3 wanted a trade. Both Paul and GM Daryl Morey shot down that report, but there was still widespread speculation that the team would try to move Paul.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets that Presti has spoken to Paul’s agent, Leon Rose. Rose, who also represents Carmelo Anthony, worked with the team last summer on an exit strategy for ‘Melo.

The Thunder’s plan as of now is to keep Paul alongside Danilo Gallinari and remain competitive, Sam Amick of The Athletic hears (Twitter link). Still, Amick cautions that at this stage in his career, the point guard isn’t going to be patient.

Paul, whose contract runs through 2021/22, will make $38.5MM in the 2019/20 season, with roughly $86MM due to him over the following two seasons. Westbrook will also make $38.5MM this upcoming season and he’ll take home $132.6MM over the ensuing three seasons. The two deals are essentially identical, with Westbrook’s running for an extra season. Both of the point guards also have a player option on the end of their contracts, though it’s unlikely that either will decide to hit the open market a year early.

Westbrook has a 15% trade bonus in his contract, but because he’s already earning a maximum salary, the bonus will be voided, ESPN’s Bobby Marks adds on Twitter.

Paul, 34, slowed signs of slowing down during the 2018/19 season. Injuries limited him to just 58 games, and his 15.6 PPG and .419 FG% were both the lowest marks of his 14-year career. However, he still chipped in 8.2 APG and 2.0 SPG while helping to lead the Rockets to the Western Semifinals.

As for Westbrook, his scoring average (22.9 PPG) was his lowest in five years and he went through some major shooting slumps en route to a .428/.290/.656 line. The 30-year-old still managed to average a triple-double for the third consecutive year though, contributing 11.1 RPG and a league-leading 10.7 APG to go along with 1.9 SPG.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Sign Jarrell Brantley, Justin Wright-Foreman To Two-Way Deals

July 16th, 2019 at 6:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz have filled both of their two-way contract slots, inking Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman to deals, per the team’s Twitter feed.

Brantley was the No. 50 selection in the 2019 draft and Utah acquired his draft rights in a trade with the Pacers. Brantley spent four years at the College of Charleston before coming to the league, averaging 19.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 33 games as a senior.. The 23-year-old wing recently played for the Jazz’s Summer League squads.

Wright-Foreman was selected with the No. 53 overall pick in this year’s draft. He spent four years in college as well, appearing in 125 games for Hofstra and ranking second in the nation in 2018/19 with 27.1 PPG. The 21-year-old guard also played for Utah’s 2019 Summer League teams.

Utah didn’t have any first-round picks in this year’s draft, but loaded up on selections in the back half of the second round. In addition to selecting Brantley and Wright-Foreman, the club also nabbed Miye Oni at No. 58 — he signed a standard NBA contract earlier this week.

Sixers Sign Ben Simmons To Five-Year Extension

July 16th, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Sixers have officially signed Simmons to his new extension, the team announced today in a press release.

“Ben Simmons is an important piece of our core and he is one of the NBA’s most dynamic and talented young players,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “It was a priority for our organization that we finalize a contract extension with Ben this summer. He was Rookie of the Year in his first season, an All-Star in his second and we expect him to continue grow and succeed for seasons to come. Ben positively impacts the game in so many ways and we look forward to continuing our championship pursuits with him as one of our leaders.”

JULY 15: The Sixers and Ben Simmons have reached a deal on a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension, agent Rich Paul tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The agreement had been anticipated after Philadelphia put a max extension offer on the table for Simmons near the start of free agency.

Based on the NBA’s current cap projections for 2020/21, which is when Simmons’ new deal will begin, a five-year, maximum-salary contract will pay him $169.65MM.

The Sixers and Simmons could agree to language that would push that figure as high as $203.58MM in the event that he earns an All-NBA spot next season, but there’s no indication yet that those Rose Rule conditions will be included in the agreement. For what it’s worth, Charania pegs the value of the contract at $170MM.

Simmons, who will turn 23 on Saturday, has established himself as one of the NBA’s most dynamic young play-makers since being selected first overall in the 2016 draft. After missing his rookie season for health reasons, he has averaged 16.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.9 APG, and 1.6 SPG in 160 regular season contests for Philadelphia over the last two years.

While Simmons is one of the league’s most dangerous creators in transition and can go off for a triple-double on any given night, the Sixers will be looking for him to expand his half-court game and to add a more consistent jump shot to his repertoire going forward.

With a lucrative new deal for Simmons hitting their books in 2020/21, the Sixers will have to take their long-term luxury tax outlook into account when making roster moves. Having made major financial commitments to Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford too, Philadelphia already projects to be $6MM+ over the tax line for ’20/21 with only 11 players under contract so far, tweets Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights.

Siegel also observes (via Twitter) that Simmons and Embiid are both now “designated rookies” for the Sixers, having signed five-year extensions before their rookie contracts expired.

An NBA team is permitted to have up to two designated rookies on its roster at a time (including no more than one via trade), so the Sixers wouldn’t be able to add a third until Embiid’s contract expires in 2023, unless they trade away Simmons or Embiid. It’s the same rule that prevented the Celtics from acquiring Anthony Davis last season while they were carrying Kyrie Irving.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Sign Richaun Holmes To Two-Year Deal

July 16th, 2019 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Kings have officially signed Holmes, the club announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: The Kings and big man Richaun Holmes have reached an agreement on a two-year deal worth $10MM, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Based on the reported terms of Holmes’ new deal and the other agreements the Kings have finalized during free agency, it appears likely that he’ll receive the team’s $4.8MM room exception.

Holmes, 25, spent his first three NBA seasons in Philadelphia before being sent from the Sixers to Suns a year ago. He averaged 8.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 70 games (16.9 MPG) as a regular part of Phoenix’s frontcourt rotation.

The Kings have now reached agreements with four outside veteran free agents in addition to bringing back their own free agent forward Harrison Barnes on a four-year deal.

As our free agent tracker shows, Cory Joseph, Trevor Ariza, and Dewayne Dedmon will also be joining the club once they can officially sign contracts this weekend.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Re-Sign Kelly Oubre To Two-Year Deal

July 16th, 2019 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Suns have officially re-signed Oubre, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 11: The Suns have reached an agreement with restricted free agent forward Kelly Oubre, agent Nima Namakian of BDA Sports tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Oubre, who had been the last unsigned RFA on the market, will sign a two-year, $30MM contract, per Wojnarowski. According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link), it’s a fully guaranteed deal with no options. It also has a descending structure, with a $15.7MM first-year salary, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

Oubre, 23, was selected 15th overall in the 2015 draft and spent the first three and a half years of his NBA career in Washington. The Wizards, who didn’t appear committed to paying him in free agency this summer, attempted to trade Oubre to Memphis in a three-team trade for Trevor Ariza last December, then pivoted when that deal fell through and sent him directly to Phoenix in a package for Ariza a few days later.

In 40 games (12 starts) with the Suns, Oubre posted some of the best numbers of his career, averaging 16.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a .453 FG% in 29.5 minutes per contest. All of those marks would have been career highs.

As they completed their offseason roster moves, the Suns made it a priority to keep Oubre’s cap hold on their books in order to retain his Bird Rights and go over the cap to re-sign him, sending Josh Jackson, De’Anthony Melton, and a pair of second-round picks to Memphis in a trade to shed salary and avoid losing the former Wizard.

While Oubre may have been hoping for a longer-term commitment, his new two-year contract will give the young forward some financial security and allow him to return to the open market as an unrestricted free agent when he’s just 25 years old, Wojnarowski observes (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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.