Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks, Pelicans Finalize De’Andre Hunter Trade

July 7th, 2019 at 12:39am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The Pelicans and Hawks have officially finalized their trade, which was initially agreed upon on draft night. The deal looks like this:

Hawks acquire Solomon Hill, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick), and a conditional 2023 second-round pick.
Pelicans acquire the draft rights to Jaxson Hayes (No. 8 pick), the draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17 pick), the draft rights to Marcos Louzada Silva (No. 35 pick), and the Cavaliers’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
- Note: The Cavaliers’ protected 2020 first-rounder will become two second-round picks (2021 and 2022) if it’s not conveyed in 2020.

JUNE 20: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with the Hawks on a trade that will send the No. 4 overall pick to Atlanta, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) first reported that the two teams were close to a deal.

According to Wojnarowski, New Orleans is receiving the Nos. 8, 17, and 35 picks in tonight’s draft in exchange for Nos. 4 and 57, along with Solomon Hill‘s expiring contract and a future second-round pick. The Pelicans will also acquire Cleveland’s heavily protected 2020 first-rounder from the Hawks, Woj adds (via Twitter).

League sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the Hawks are focused on drafting Virginia forward De’Andre Hunter with the fourth overall pick. A report earlier this week indicated that Atlanta was “very high” on Hunter, who reportedly didn’t work out for any teams besides besides the Hawks.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Hunter and Duke forward Cam Reddish are the two players Atlanta has targeted at No. 4, adding that the team is leaning toward Hunter. According to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), Reddish’s camp has believed that the Hawks would keep No. 10 in a trade-up scenario, potentially to draft the Duke prospect with that selection.

Atlanta will indeed keep No. 10 in this deal with New Orleans. Having initially held six picks in the top 44, the Hawks have now traded away five of those picks (and taken on Hill’s unwanted $12.76MM salary for next season), but still hold Nos. 4, 10, and 57. They’re in position to draft a pair of top-10 prospects, including one they were willing to move up four spots for.

As for the Pelicans, new head of basketball operations David Griffin continues to stockpile assets — the team now holds five of the top 39 selections in this draft, including Nos. 1, 8, and 17. New Orleans also got out from under the final year of Hill’s contract, creating additional cap flexibility for free agency.

Technically, the Pelicans haven’t yet officially acquired the No. 4 pick from the Lakers, since the Anthony Davis blockbuster will have to be finalized in July. The same is true of the No. 17 pick, which the Hawks are acquiring in the not-yet-completed Allen Crabbe deal. Those trades will be officially finalized once the new league year begins, then this deal between New Orleans and Atlanta can be formally completed.

The Cavaliers’ pick headed to New Orleans in this swap is currently top-10 protected for 2020 and will become two second-rounders (in 2021 and 2022) if it doesn’t convey next season. It’s not clear if the Hawks added any additional protections, but given Cleveland’s outlook, it looks like that pick probably won’t end up being a real first-rounder.

Speaking of the Cavaliers, they’re receiving a ton of interest for the No. 5 pick, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com, who points out (via Twitter) that that could be the spot for Darius Garland now. The Vanderbilt point guard was previously considered the favorite to be the No. 4 pick.

Grizzlies Sign Brandon Clarke To Rookie Contract

July 7th, 2019 at 12:34am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly officially finalizing their trade with the Thunder to acquire his draft rights, the Grizzlies have officially signed No. 21 overall pick Brandon Clarke to his rookie scale contract, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

Clarke, 22, was viewed as a potential lottery pick entering the draft after he posted 16.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and a .687 FG% in his junior year at Gonzaga. When Clarke slipped a little, Memphis took advantage of his slide by packaging the No. 23 pick with a future second-rounder to move up to No. 21 to nab him.

As our chart of rookie scale salaries shows, Clarke’s first NBA deal figures to be worth approximately $2.48MM in year one and $12.15MM if he plays out the full four seasons.

Teams haven’t wasted any time in locking up their first-round picks to rookie contracts — Clarke is already the 19th of 30 first-rounders to formally sign, joining teammate Ja Morant in that group.

Jonathon Simmons Released By Wizards

July 7th, 2019 at 12:13am CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards have waived Jonathon Simmons, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. He had just a $1MM guarantee on his $5.7MM salary for next season.

Washington acquired Simmons along with the 42nd pick in a draft-day trade with the Sixers, sending cash considerations in return. The Wizards used that pick to select Admiral Schofield of Tennessee.

Simmons, 29, went undrafted out of Houston in 2012, but was able to earn a spot on the Spurs‘ roster in 2015. He was impressive enough in San Antonio to earn a three-year, $20MM contract from the Magic in 2017. Simmons played a combined 56 games this season between Orlando and Philadelphia, averaging 6.5 points per night.

By parting ways with Simmons, Washington will gain a little breathing room below the luxury-tax line. Having acquired Davis Bertans from the Spurs earlier today, the Wizards projected to be a possible taxpayer, but removing Simmons’ $4.7MM partial guarantee from their books alleviates that concern for now.

Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Simmons will become an unrestricted free agent early next week.

Mavericks Preparing Offer Sheet For Delon Wright

July 6th, 2019 at 10:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks are targeting Grizzlies restricted free agent Delon Wright and could have his signature on an offer sheet by the end of the night, a league source tells Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Memphis will have 48 hours to decide whether to match the offer once it’s submitted to the league office.

The 27-year-old point guard took advantage of increased playing time after he was shipped from the Raptors to the Grizzlies in February as part of the Marc Gasol trade. In 26 games with Memphis, Wright posted career highs with 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Earlier in the night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Townsend that the team was virtually done in free agency outside of an “opportunistic” situation, which turned out to be Wright (Twitter link). ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweeted that the Mavs are waiting to finalize their deals from the past week while they search the trade market for ways to utilize their cap space, which goes away when all the transactions become official. That doesn’t include the Seth Curry signing, which is being done with cap room, and the extension for Dwight Powell, which doesn’t take effect until next season.

The Grizzlies have been making an effort to clear salary to better position themselves to keep Wright without going into tax territory. Their latest move came earlier today when they waived Avery Bradley.

Lakers Officially Acquire Anthony Davis In Three-Team Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, Pelicans, and Wizards have officially completed the three-team trade that makes Anthony Davis a Laker. All three teams issued press releases tonight to announce the deal. The structure of the trade is as follows:

Lakers acquire Anthony Davis.
Pelicans acquire Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the Lakers’ 2021 first-round pick (9-30 protected; unprotected in 2022), the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick (unprotected), the right to swap 2023 first-round picks with the Lakers, and cash ($1.1MM; from Wizards).
- Note: The Pelicans will also have the option to defer the 2024 first-round pick to 2025.
Wizards acquire Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, and the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick.

The long-awaited deal was held up slightly today as the Lakers officially finalized a series of signings using their cap room. In order to maximize its cap space, the club had to sign free agents first before acquiring Davis. Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Quinn Cook, and JaVale McGee all signed their contracts with the Lakers since the July moratorium ended this afternoon.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, will now flip the rights to Hunter to the Hawks in a separate deal, putting the No. 4 pick on track to join his new team for Summer League action. Once the deal is done, Atlanta will also be able to complete its trade with the Sixers involving Bruno Fernando and Jordan Bone, then Philadelphia will be able to flip Bone to the Pistons.

For more details on one of the summer’s biggest trades, be sure to check out our previous stories on the Lakers/Pelicans aspect of the deal, as well as the Lakers/Wizards part of the swap.

Suns Sign Cameron Johnson, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque

July 6th, 2019 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

First-round pick Cameron Johnson has signed his rookie scale contract with Phoenix, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

The Suns selected the sharpshooting forward out of North Carolina with the No. 11 pick after trading down from No. 6 in a deal with the Timberwolves. The move represented the biggest surprise in the lottery.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Terms of Johnson’s contract weren’t announced, but under the rookie scale he is eligible to earn $4,033,440, $4,235,160, $4,437,000 and $5,887,899 in his first four seasons.

Phoenix also signed the 24th pick, Ty Jerome, who was acquired in a trade with the Celtics, and Jalen Lecque, who agreed to sign with the Suns shortly after he went undrafted (Twitter link). Like Johnson, Jerome will get a standard rookie scale contract, but terms of Lecque’s deal aren’t known.

Hornets Acquire Terry Rozier Via Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 8:58pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The trade is official, the Hornets announced in a press release. In addition to swapping Walker for Rozier, Charlotte has received a protected 2020 second-round pick and sent a 2020 second-rounder to Boston. The pick going to the Celtics is coming from the Knicks or Nets through the Magic, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “We’re excited to be able to acquire Terry in this sign-and-trade deal,” Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak said. “He is an up-and-coming player who has shown continued improvement in his four NBA seasons, and we believe he can take that next step as a starting point guard in this league.”

JUNE 30: The Hornets are on track to acquire Celtics RFA point guard Terry Rozier via a sign-and-trade deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Charania, Rozier will get a three-year, $58MM deal, and it will be fully guaranteed (Twitter link).

Rozier will replace longtime Hornets point guard Kemba Walker in Charlotte’s backcourt, with Walker reportedly set to join the Celtics. The Hornets entered the offseason projected to be an over-the-cap team with no room available to make a bid for Rozier, so working out a sign-and-trade with Boston involving Kemba will allow them to add a quality replacement at the point.

Rozier, 25, had a down year in 2018/19 as he struggled with an inconsistent role coming off the bench behind Irving. However, he flashed serious upside down the stretch in 2017/18, averaging 16.5 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 5.3 RPG in 19 playoff games that spring. The Hornets will be counting on him to recapture that form in Charlotte.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad details (via Twitter), the Hornets, Celtics, and Nets may complete a three-way deal involving a handful of signed-and-traded players, with Kyrie Irving headed to Brooklyn. While such a deal could theoretically work financially, the Nets would need to be incentivized to cooperate and help out two conference rivals.

The Hornets will become hard-capped as a result of acquiring Rozier via a sign-and-trade, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Celtics would also face a hard cap if they land Walker via sign-and-trade. Both teams would be prohibited from spending beyond the $138,928,000 tax apron during the 2019/20 league year.

If they can acquire Walker without using cap room and remain an over-the-cap team, the Celtics could retain Al Horford‘s Bird rights and could technically bring him back. Chris Mannix of SI.com and Keith Smith of RealGM suggest (via Twitter) that Boston is aggressively exploring avenues to make that work, but Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) hears from a source close to Horford that he’s still unlikely to return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Announce Multiple Signings

July 6th, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

After a flurry of moves today, the Lakers have made five of them official, tweets Bill Oram of The Athletic.

The team announced the re-signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee, along with the free agent additions of DeMarcus Cousins, Quinn Cook and Danny Green.

Still to come are the signings of Rajon Rondo, Troy Daniels, Jared Dudley and Alex Caruso, along with confirmation of the mega-deal that will bring Anthony Davis from the Pelicans.

Kemba Walker Signs Four-Year Deal With Celtics

July 6th, 2019 at 8:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Walker’s new deal with the Celtics is official, according to a tweet from the team. Walker was among the first free agents to commit to his new team when free agency began last Sunday.

JUNE 30, 5:24pm: Walker and the Celtics are formally in agreement on a four-year max deal, tweets Wojnarowski. As we detailed in our story of the Hornets’ agreement with Rozier, Boston is working on adding Kemba via sign-and-trade.

JUNE 30, 2:14pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that while talks remain exploratory in nature, the Celtics have shown interest in a three-team sign-and-trade with Irving, Walker, and Rozier (to the Hornets). Per Woj, the Celtics are interested in having the MLE at their disposal as opposed to the room exception. Woj also adds that the Nets would likely command a first-round pick from Boston for agreeing to a S&T.

JUNE 29, 3:39pm: Free agent point guard Kemba Walker has conveyed to the Hornets that he intends to sign with the Celtics when the NBA’s new league year begins, multiple sources tell Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Boston has been viewed as Walker’s likely landing spot in recent days, having emerged as the frontrunner for the All-NBA point guard earlier in the week.

Kemba intends to sign a four-year, maximum-salary contract (worth a projected $141MM), tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He’ll be in Boston on Sunday night to finalize an agreement with the C’s, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

A three-time All-Star, Walker had perhaps the best year of his NBA carer in 2018/19, establishing a new career-high in PPG (25.6) while also contributing 5.9 APG and 4.4 RPG with a shooting line of .434/.356/.844.

Despite receiving little offensive help in Charlotte, Walker managed to keep the team in the playoff hunt for most of the season, though the Hornets ultimately fell short and finished in the lottery. If Walker had returned to Charlotte, the team would have been up against the luxury tax and would have had a hard time improving its roster around him, so the former UConn star will move on to a potential contender despite the fact that the Hornets could have offered him more money over more years.

Walker will join a Celtics roster that is set to feature Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart, so it will be fascinating to see what he can do in Boston without receiving quite as much attention from opposing defenses. The opportunity to play alongside those Celtics veterans and potentially go deep in the playoffs was a key factor in Walker’s decision, a source tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).

The C’s are expecting to lose Al Horford and, of course, Kyrie Irving, who has been rumored to be focused on Brooklyn. With Walker heading to Boston to replace Irving, the Hornets are scouring the free agent market for possible point guard targets of their own, according to Wojnarowski, who tweets that Elfrid Payton, T.J. McConnell, Ish Smith, and Emmanuel Mudiay are among the options being considered by Charlotte.

Terry Rozier‘s name has also been linked to the Hornets, though it’s unlikely that he’d be a viable option unless Charlotte and Boston can work out some sort of sign-and-trade arrangement, which is a long shot. By withdrawing Rozier’s qualifying offer and renouncing his cap hold, the Celtics will have enough room to sign Walker outright to a max deal, even with Daniel Theis‘ QO still on their books.

In addition to Boston and Charlotte, the Mavericks and Knicks had also been considered potential contenders for Walker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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.