Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Sign Stanley Johnson

July 11th, 2019 at 9:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 11: The Raptors have officially signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release. It’s not clear yet whether the team used its mid-level or bi-annual exception to complete the signing.

JULY 6: Small forward Stanley Johnson has agreed to a two-year, $7.5MM contract with the Raptors, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The second year will include a player option, Charania adds.

Johnson won’t make anyone in Toronto forget Kawhi Leonard but he’ll absorb some of the Finals’ MVP’s minutes with Leonard heading to the Clippers. Johnson has been a disappointment since the Pistons selected him in the lottery in 2015.

Johnson’s contract could fit into Toronto’s bi-annual exception of $3.623MM or it could use a portion of the $9.258MM mid-level exception.

He played 3 1/2 years with Detroit before he was dealt to Milwaukee, which quickly shipped him to New Orleans just before last season’s trade deadline. Johnson appeared in 18 games with the Pelicans, averaging 5.3 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.7 MPG. For his career, Johnson has averaged 7.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.5 APG in 21.6 MPG.

His strength is his defensive prowess with the ability to guard four positions. Outside shooting (29.3% on 3-point tries) has been a major issue for Johnson at the offensive end. At 23, Johnson still has time to establish himself as at least a solid rotation player.

Sixers Re-Sign Mike Scott To Two-Year Deal

July 11th, 2019 at 8:30am CST by JD Shaw

JULY 11: Now that the Sixers’ other major signings are complete, the team has formally announced Scott’s new deal, which will utilize the room exception.

“Mike epitomizes what Philadelphia loves – a fierce competitor with a tireless work ethic, who’s driven by the desire to win,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “His toughness, grit and passion are palpable, as the city of Philadelphia has come to know. We are thrilled to have Mike back with the 76ers.”

JUNE 30: The Sixers have agreed to a two-year, $9.8MM deal with free agent Mike Scott, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal features no options, tweets Derek Bodner of The Athletic.

Scott, a key player off the Sixers’ bench last season, will continue to provide production in the frontcourt for the team. He shot a scorching 41 percent from deep in his 27 games with Philadelphia, averaging a steady 7.8 points per contest.

Sixers general manager Elton Brand quickly worked around losing J.J. Redick and Jimmy Butler on the first night of free agency, bringing back promising guard Josh Richardson from Miami and agreeing to a four-year, $109MM contract with star big man Al Horford.

In addition to Scott, Horford and Richardson, Philadelphia also reached a deal with Tobias Harris to keep him in town, committing four years and $180MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Khem Birch Signs With Magic

July 10th, 2019 at 8:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 10: Birch’s deal with the Magic is now official, according to a press release from the team (h/t to Josh Robbins of The Athletic).

JULY 9: Khem Birch will return to the Magic on a two-year, $6MM deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

Adding Birch on a modest deal will allow Orlando to remain under the tax. After applying his $3MM salary, the team is approximately $672K below the luxury tax line.

Prior to free agency, it was reported that Birch would draw substantial interest, though the market may have been slow developing because of his restricted free agency status — with cap room and exceptions drying up around around the NBA, few teams were in position to put together an aggressive offer sheet.

Birch showcased a developed game during his sophomore season in Orlando, seeing a role after 2018 No. 6 overall pick Mohamed Bamba injured his leg and was lost for the season. Birch improved his true shooting to 64.0% and his player efficiency rating to 19.2. He’ll turn 27 before the start of the season.

The Magic have now reached deals with all of their most important free agents — they’ll retain Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, and Michael Carter-Williams in addition to Birch.

Rodney McGruder Signs Three-Year Deal With Clippers

July 10th, 2019 at 8:13pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 10: The contract between McGruder and the Clippers is now official, per a release from the team.

JULY 2: The Clippers have reached an agreement with shooting guard Rodney McGruder on a three-year deal, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. The contract will pay McGruder $15MM over the three years.

Los Angeles picked up McGruder after the Heat waived him at the end of the season to avoid the luxury tax. He was not eligible to play in the postseason for the Clippers, but the team retained his restricted free agency rights by tendering him a qualifying offer.

In 66 games (45 starts) last season for Miami, McGruder averaged 7.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a shooting line of .403/.351/.722 in 23.5 minutes per contest.

McGruder’s deal does not significantly impact the Clippers’ ability to sign a max free agent (Kawhi Leonard), as Bobby Marks of ESPN.com tweets. McGruder’s modest $3MM cap hold has been factored into the equation for Los Angeles’ projected cap room all along.

Magic Re-Sign Michael Carter-Williams

July 10th, 2019 at 7:40pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 10: Carter-Williams’ new deal with the Magic is official, per a press release from the team (Twitter link). Terms were not disclosed, but it figures to be a minimum-salary arrangement with Orlando up against the tax line.

JULY 1: The Magic have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent point guard Michael Carter-Williams, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Carter-Williams, who turns 28 in October, joined Orlando on two 10-day contracts in March and impressed the team with his play. He signed for the remainder of the season on April 4 and was a key cog off the bench entering the playoffs.

Carter-Williams joins D.J. Augustin and Markelle Fultz as current point guards in the Magic’s projected rotation, with the club also reaching free-agent agreements with Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu during the first day of free agency.

Named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2014, Carter-Williams has played for the Sixers, Bucks, Bulls, Hornets, Rockets and Magic across his six year-career. He was selected 11th in the 2013 draft by Philadelphia.

Kings Sign Second-Rounder Justin James

July 10th, 2019 at 6:05pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10, 6:05pm: According to James Ham of NBC Sports California, James’ new contract with the Kings is a three-year, minimum-salary deal with the first two seasons guaranteed. The total value of James’s contract is $4,198,912.

JULY 10, 1:30pm: The Kings have officially signed another one of their second-round picks, announcing today in a press release that No. 40 overall selection Justin James is now under contract.

Terms of James’ first NBA deal aren’t yet known, but players selected in that range often sign contracts at or near the minimum that include at least a couple guaranteed seasons. Sacramento still had a little cap room left over after signing a handful of veteran free agents, so the team could go up to three or four years for James.

A 22-year-old guard out of Wyoming, James filled up the stat sheet during his senior season with the Cowboys, averaging 22.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 4.4 APG in 32 games. However, he struggled with his efficiency, making just 40.9% of his attempts from the floor, including 29.6% from beyond the three-point line.

The Kings didn’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft, but selected three players in the second round. The team has signed No. 55 pick Kyle Guy to a two-way contract and appears likely to stash No. 60 pick Vanja Marinkovic overseas.

Clippers Sign Ivica Zubac To Four-Year Deal

July 10th, 2019 at 5:56pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10: Zubac has signed his contract, per an official release from the Clippers.

JULY 6: The Clippers aren’t done making moves after agreeing to late-night deals to land Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Los Angeles has also struck a deal with restricted free agent Ivica Zubac, agreeing to re-sign the young center to a four-year, $28MM contract.

Zubac, 22, was dealt from the Lakers to the Clippers along with Michael Beasley in exchange for Mike Muscala in a midseason trade that was viewed as a coup for the Clips.

Appearing in 26 games the rest of the way for his new team, Zubac established himself as the Clippers’ starting center, averaging 9.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 20.2 minutes per contest.

Because he came into the league as a second-round pick and was on a minimum-salary contract last season, Zubac had a cap hold of less than $2MM as a restricted free agent. That allowed the Clippers to keep him under team control without having to renounce his rights to create the cap room necessary to sign Leonard.

Zubac will officially sign his new deal once L.A. has exhausted its cap space, since the team will be able to exceed the cap to lock him up.

Zubac will rejoin Montrezl Harrell in the frontcourt in 2019/20, as the two young big men appear set to play most of the minutes at center for the Clippers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Klay Thompson Signs Five-Year Max Deal With Warriors

July 10th, 2019 at 5:48pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10: Thompson’s five-year, maximum-salary contract is now official, the Warriors announced in a press release.

JULY 1: Wojnarowski provides another update on Thompson’s new contract, tweeting that it includes a 15% trade bonus. Trade bonuses can’t push a player’s salary beyond his max, so Klay wouldn’t receive it in the unlikely event he’s traded this season. That could change down the road.

JUNE 30: The Warriors and Thompson have a “done deal” in place, three sources confirm to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). A source tells Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) that it’s a standard five-year deal with no options and no no-trade clause.

JUNE 29: The Warriors and Thompson plan to reach an agreement on a five-year max deal shortly after free agency begins on Sunday, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

JUNE 28: The Warriors are planning to offer All-Star guard Klay Thompson a five-year, maximum-salary contract when free agency opens on Sunday, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, that offer will likely accelerate Thompson’s free agency, as the two sides aren’t expected to take long to reach an agreement.

Reports this week have indicated that Thompson had considered meeting with the Lakers and Clippers if the Warriors didn’t put that five-year offer (worth a projected $189.66MM) on the table right away. However, there has been no indication – even after Thompson tore his ACL – that Golden State was wavering on making that commitment.

According to Wojnarowski, several teams that had Thompson on their wish lists have given up hope on that possibility in recent days, becoming convinced that the sharpshooter will remain in the Bay Area.

An ESPN report this morning suggested that Thompson’s camp might have been using those Los Angeles teams to create leverage to ask the Warriors for a fifth-year player option or a no-trade clause. Stephen Curry didn’t get either of those perks in his own five-year, maximum-salary deal, so Golden State may be reluctant to give them to Thompson. At this point, it’s not clear whether or not Klay’s camp intends to push for either one.

If the Warriors can lock up Thompson, they’ll be halfway to keeping their core intact for the 2019/20 season. The team also reportedly plans to offer a five-year maximum-salary (worth a projected $221MM+) to Kevin Durant.

[UPDATE: Durant has committed to the Nets]

Both Thompson and Durant – who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles – are expected to miss most or all of next season, but would be ready to go for 2020/21.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heat Sign Tyler Herro To Rookie Contract

July 10th, 2019 at 5:41pm CST by clarkcrum

The Heat have signed rookie shooting guard Tyler Herro to his rookie contract, the team announced in an official release. Herro, 19, was the No. 13 overall selection in last month’s 2019 NBA Draft.

Because Herro signed for the typical 120% of the rookie-scale (h/t to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel), he will earn $3,640,200 during his first year in the league and $17,188,836 over the life of the contract. If he ends up being a factor in a potential trade for Russell Westbrook, he can’t be traded for 30 days.

In his lone season at Kentucky, Herro started all 37 games he appeared in while averaging 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 32.6 minutes per game. He was named SEC Newcomer of the Year for his efforts.

As NBA cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (Twitter link), the Heat now have 14 players under contract after Herro’s signing. With a combined salary of $135.8MM, they’re $987K below the hard cap, which is not enough to add another free agent.

This is because while the rookie minimum salary is only $898K, the two-year minimum salary ($1.621MM) is used in place of the salary of a non-drafted rookie when determining a team’s salary in relation to the hard cap.

Celtics Waive Guerschon Yabusele

July 10th, 2019 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

4:02pm: The Celtics have officially waived Yabusele, the team announced this afternoon (via Twitter).

11:08am: The Celtics will release former first-round pick Guerschon Yabusele, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Yabusele has a $3,117,240 cap hit for the 2019/20 season, per Basketball Insiders, so a team with enough cap room or a trade exception big enough to absorb that number could claim him. Otherwise, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and the Celtics will be on the hook for that dead money. Boston wouldn’t owe him his $4,781,846 salary for 2020/21, since that’s a team option that has not yet been exercised.

Yabusele, the 16th overall pick in the 2016 draft, remained overseas for a year before joining the Celtics in 2017. The 6’8″ power forward didn’t make much of an impact for the club in his two seasons in Boston, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.4 RPG in just 6.6 minutes per contest (74 games).

As Keith Smith of RealGM notes (via Twitter), waiving Yabusele will create some extra roster flexibility for the Celtics, who had been projected to have 15 players on guaranteed contracts. The club now has an open regular-season roster spot available for a 15th man.