Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign Ignas Brazdeikis

July 6th, 2019 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:23pm: Brazdeikis received a three-year deal with the first two seasons guaranteed, tweets Lithuanian basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. The Knicks hold a team option on the third year.

5:02pm: The Knicks have signed second-round pick Ignas Brazdeikis, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

Terms of the agreement were not released, but it looks like New York will use cap room, since it was announced before any of the team’s other moves. That means Brazdeikis is eligible for a deal up to four years, which is what second-round pick Mitchell Robinson received last summer.

New York traded up to No. 47 on draft night to select Brazdeikis, sending cash and the 55th pick to the Kings in return.

A 6’7″ forward out of Michigan, Brazdeikis averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games in his only season with the Wolverines. He was also a 39% 3-point shooter in college.

Spurs, Marcus Morris Agreed To Two-Year Contract

July 6th, 2019 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

[UPDATE: The agreement between Morris and the Spurs has fallen apart, and he has instead opted to sign with the Knicks.]

The Spurs have agreed to terms with free agent forward Marcus Morris, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Morris will sign a two-year, $20MM contract with San Antonio. The deal will feature a second-year player option, Charania adds.

It appeared the Spurs wouldn’t have the flexibility to sign a player like Morris after seemingly committing most of their mid-level exception to DeMarre Carroll. However, San Antonio will acquire Carroll in a sign-and-trade after by sending Davis Bertans to Washington. That frees up the full mid-level, which will be used to sign Morris, as Jabari Young of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter).

Technically, Morris’ new deal will be worth just shy of $19MM over two years, with a first-year salary of $9.26MM. Using the full mid-level and acquiring Carroll via sign-and-trade will hard-cap the Spurs.

Morris, who earned the No. 22 spot on our list of this offseason’s top 50 free agents, was probably the most notable name still on the board after Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins agreed to sign with the Clippers and Lakers, respectively. The 29-year-old had a solid year in Boston as the Celtics’ primary starting forward, averaging 13.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG with a .447/.375/.844 shooting line.

Marcus is the second Morris twin to agree to a new contract this week — his brother Markieff Morris joined the Pistons on a two-year deal of his own.

As for the Spurs, they could still be in the market for one more veteran big man, but they only have the minimum salary exception available and will remain patient, according to Young.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Release Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr.

July 6th, 2019 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have waived Shaquille Harrison and Walt Lemon Jr., according to a press release from the team. Chicago needed the cap space to finalize the signings of free agents Thaddeus Young, which is now official, and Tomas Satoransky, who is still waiting to sign his deal. Harrison and Lemon both had non-guaranteed contracts that would have paid them $1,588,231 next season.

Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games this year, starting 11, after signing with the Bulls last summer. He posted a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in about 20 minutes per night.

Lemon, 26, got into six games after signing with Chicago in late March. He started the season on a two-way contract with the Celtics, but never played for them before being released in November.

Magic Re-Sign Nikola Vucevic To Four-Year Deal

July 6th, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Magic have officially re-signed Vucevic, the team confirmed today in a press release. The club also announced its deals with Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu.

JUNE 29: All-Star center Nikola Vucevic will stay in Orlando on a four-year, $100MM contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The deal will enable the Magic to keep one of the primary cogs of their playoff team in place for what should be the best part of his career. The 28-year-old posted career highs this season with 20.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per night. He also improved as a 3-point shooter, sinking 1.1 per game and hitting them at a .364 clip.

Vucevic was among the biggest bargains in the league this year, putting up All-Star numbers at a salary of $12.25MM. He has blossomed into an elite NBA center since being acquired from the Sixers in a four-team trade in 2012.

The signing is bad news for teams seeking center help in free agency, such as the Kings and Mavericks. The Celtics were also rumored to be interested in Vucevic before committing their cap room to Kemba Walker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs Acquire DeMarre Carroll In Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 3:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 6: The Spurs and Carroll’s agent Mark Bartelstein have reworked the forward’s deal to make it a three-year, $21MM contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Adding the third year was necessary since San Antonio officially acquired Carroll via sign-and-trade rather than signing him outright (sign-and-trade contracts must be for at least three years). That deal is outlined right here.

JUNE 30: DeMarre Carroll has agreed to join the Spurs on a two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The contract will pay him $13MM over the two seasons.

Carroll spent the last two seasons in Brooklyn after the Nets acquired him via trade from the Raptors during the 2017 offseason. With Brooklyn landing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the team was limited in what it could offer free agents, so Carroll departing isn’t major news.

For the Spurs, it’s their second deal of the day with the team re-signing Rudy Gay. The Spurs forward rotation appears stable.

Barring some sort of sign-and-trade arrangement, the Spurs figure to sign Carroll using their mid-level exception.

Heat Acquire Jimmy Butler In Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 3:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have officially acquired Jimmy Butler from the Sixers in a sign-and-trade deal that also includes the Trail Blazers and the Clippers, according to press releases from Miami and Philadelphia.

The Heat also acquired big man Meyers Leonard from the Trail Blazers and cash considerations from the Clippers. Miami sent shooting guard Josh Richardson to Philadelphia, center Hassan Whiteside to the Blazers and a conditional first-round pick to the Clippers. The Clippers also received forward Maurice Harkless from Portland and the draft rights to 2017 second-round pick Mathias Lessort from the Sixers.

The Clippers and Blazers have also confirmed the swap.

The 2023 first-rounder that the Heat forwarded to the Clippers, which is lottery-protected through 2025 and unprotected in 2026, was subsequently moved to the Thunder as part of the agreed-upon Paul George blockbuster.

Butler inked a four-year, $141MM contract with the Heat. Miami waived forward Ryan Anderson and stretched his contract in order to stay below the hard cap and complete the sign-and-trade.

“Jimmy’s leadership, tenacity, professionalism, defensive disposition and his ability to create his own shot will improve our roster immediately,” Miami president Pat Riley said in the press release. “Any time you can add a four-time All-Star to your roster, you make that move. Meyers is a versatile big, a great shooter, can play inside and block shots. The addition of both men puts us in a great position to win.”

The disgruntled Butler was dealt by Minnesota to Philadelphia last season. The Sixers wanted to retain Butler but couldn’t convince him to stay and got something for him via the sign-and-trade mechanism. In 65 total games for the Wolves and Sixers last season, Butler averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.9 SPG with a .462/.347/.855 shooting line. Richardson averaged a career-high 16.6 PPG and 4.1 APG last season.

Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey called the acquisition of Whiteside an “impact move for our roster.” The Blazers were looking for a starting center with Jusuf Nurkic on the mend from a serious leg injury.

Lakers To Sign DeMarcus Cousins

July 6th, 2019 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

2:53pm: Wojnarowski passes along an update on Cousins’ salary figure, tweeting that the deal will actually be worth $3.5MM rather than the minimum. So the Lakers will need to use cap space or the room exception for the signing.

2:22pm: Schwartz tells ESPN that Cousins’ deal will be worth just $2.3MM. That sounds like a veteran’s minimum contract, as the big man’s minimum salary this year will be $2,331,593.

1:38pm: The Lakers have reached a deal with perhaps the most notable free agent left on the market, as agent Jeff Schwartz tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that DeMarcus Cousins will sign a one-year contract with the Lakers.

Cousins, a two-time All-NBA Second Team center, had to deal with a limited market this summer after a season in which he spent the first half recovering from an Achilles tear, then missed most of the postseason due to a torn quad.

Appearing in 30 regular season games for the Warriors, Cousins still put up impressive per-minute numbers, averaging 16.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 BPG, and 1.3 SPG in 25.7 minutes per contest. However, he struggled on defense and didn’t have his old explosiveness.

Still, the Lakers won’t have to pay huge money to roll the dice on Cousins for one year. While we don’t yet know what the 28-year-old’s new contract will be worth, the club is believed to have used up more than two-thirds of its projected $32MM in cap room on reported deals for Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Quinn Cook.

In Los Angeles, Cousins will team up once again with his old Pelicans teammate Anthony Davis. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Heat were among the teams with interest in Cousins, but a handful of Lakers players – including AD – helped sell him on joining the Lakers.

Cousins’ and Davis’ relationship in New Orleans was solid, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic, who tweets that AD’s pitch to Cousins was short and to the point: “Let’s win it all.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Waive, Stretch Ryan Anderson’s Contract

July 6th, 2019 at 2:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:05pm: The Heat have formally waived Anderson, the team confirmed in a press release.

12:26pm: The Heat will waive Ryan Anderson and use the stretch provision on the remaining year of the forward’s contract in order to complete the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade with the Sixers, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Anderson had a $21,264,635 salary for next season but approximately $15,64MM was guaranteed. By stretching out the guaranteed portion of the contract, the Heat will take cap hits of approximately $5.2MM for the next three seasons. Miami needed to get below the hard cap of $138.9MM that applies to teams that acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Stretching out Anderson’s deal was its simplest means of achieving that goal, as the Heat will drop $1.88MM below that hard cap threshold, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes.

Anderson was one of the hottest free agents on the market in 2016 and signed a four-year, $80MM with the Rockets. That contract became an albatross after Anderson lost playing time in Houston and he was traded to both the Suns and Heat last season, appearing in just 25 games.

The Heat will apparently hold onto Goran Dragic for the time being, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Dragic, who is due $19.2MM for next season, has been the subject of trade rumors.

Damian Lillard Signs Super-Max Extension With Blazers

July 6th, 2019 at 2:02pm CST by clarkcrum

JULY 6: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Lillard to his super-max extension, the team announced today in a press release.

“Since the day we drafted Damian he has exemplified every quality an organization could hope for in a franchise player,” Olshey said in a statement. “His perpetual leadership, willingness to embrace responsibility for outcome on the floor and ability to set a cultural standard illustrates what it means to be a Portland Trail Blazer and makes us ecstatic he has chosen to extend his contract at the first opportunity.”

JUNE 30: The Trail Blazers and franchise point guard Damian Lillard are working toward an agreement on a four-year, $196MM super-max contract extension, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Brian Windhorst of ESPN is reporting that the two sides have agreed on a deal, with Lillard also set to receive a player option for the 2024/25 season.

The extension will begin during the 2021/22 season. As we relayed yesterday, the projected cap figure for that season is $125MM, meaning that Lillard would earn an estimated $43.75MM in 2021/22, $47.25MM in 2022/23, $50.75MM in 2023/24, and a whopping $54.25MM in 2024/25.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports first indicated back in May that Portland and it’s star guard were working toward an extension. As we wrote then, Lillard’s four-year extension would cover his age 31-to-34 seasons, with the 29-year-old All-Star poised to make nearly $55MM at age 34.

Today, Haynes adds (link) that Lillard, his representatives, and Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey are meeting in Oakland tonight to finalize the maximum-contract extension.

Lillard, coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, averaged 25.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and a career-high 6.9 APG in 80 games for Portland on his way to being named All-NBA Second Team for the 2018/19 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Re-Sign Rajon Rondo

July 6th, 2019 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The Lakers have officially re-signed Rondo, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 6: After agreeing to terms on new deals for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee, the Lakers have struck an agreement to bring back another one of their veteran free agents.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne (via Twitter), Los Angeles will re-sign point guard Rajon Rondo to a two-year deal. Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times reports (via Twitter) that Rondo will earn the veteran’s minimum on his new contract.

Rondo, 33, is now on track to play for the same team for a second consecutive year for the first time since his days as a Celtic. Since being traded from Boston to Dallas during the 2014/15 season, Rondo has played for the Mavericks, Kings, Bulls, Pelicans, and Lakers.

In his first season as a Laker in 2018/19, the four-time All-Star’s impact was limited by an early-season suspension and then injury issues. He averaged 9.2 PPG, 8.0 APG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.2 SPG with a .405/.359/.639 shooting line in 46 games (29.8 MPG).

In sticking with the Lakers, Rondo will not only rejoin teammates from last season, such as LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma — he’ll also reunite with former Pelicans teammates Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. All three players spent the 2017/18 season in New Orleans playing together.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.