Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Decline Option On Henry Ellenson

June 29th, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have declined Henry Ellenson‘s $1,645,357 option for next season, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.

Ellenson played 17 games for New York this year after signing with the team in February. He joined the Knicks on a 10-day contract in February, then inked a multi-year deal in early March. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in nearly 14 minutes per night.

Ellenson, 22, was taken by the Pistons with the 18th pick in 2016. He played 59 total games for Detroit, including two this season, before being waived in February.

In recent days, the Knicks have also declined options on John Jenkins and Billy Garrett as they try to maximize cap space heading into free agency. New York also opted not to extend qualifying offers to Emmanuel Mudiay and Luke Kornet.

Theis Gets QO From Celtics; Rozier’s Expected To Be Withdrawn

June 29th, 2019 at 5:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

5:32pm: Now that the Celtics are on track to sign Walker, the team is expected to withdraw Rozier’s QO and renounce his cap hold, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

2:56pm: The Celtics have extended a qualifying offer to Terry Rozier, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) adds that Boston has also extended a qualifying offer to Daniel Theis.

Rozier’s qualifying offer comes in at roughly $4.29MM and his cap hold will be approximately $9.15MM. Theis’ qualifying offer and cap hold are each approximately $1.82MM. Both players are restricted free agents at the moment.

The team will not need to renounce Theis in order to have max cap room for a player with Kemba Walker‘s experience. Boston will need to renounce Rozier’s rights or make another move if it is going to add Walker or another player in his max tier.

The Celtics will not tender qualifying offers to PJ Dozier, Jonathan Gibson, or R.J. Hunter, according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Boston also won’t tender a qualifying offer to Brad Wanamaker, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Wojnarowski.

Suns Decline 2019/20 Option On Ray Spalding

June 29th, 2019 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have turned down their team option on power forward Ray Spalding for the 2019/20 season, reports Gina Mizell of The Athletic (via Twitter). The option would have paid Spalding a minimum salary of $1,416,852.

A former Louisville standout, Spalding was drafted by the Sixers with the 56th overall selection last June and traded to Dallas on draft night. However, the Mavericks waived him in January to open up a roster spot to complete the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

Spalding subsequently caught on with the Suns, signing a 10-day contract and then a multiyear deal. He appeared in 13 games for Phoenix down the stretch, averaging 4.2 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 11.3 minutes per contest.

Spalding is eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Suns, but there has been no indication that the team has issued a QO. Without that offer, the 22-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent.

Pacers Decline Edmond Sumner’s Option, Issue QO

June 29th, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pacers have declined the $1.6MM team option on Edmond Sumner‘s contract, Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports relays (Twitter link). However, the team has tendered a qualifying offer to the former second-round pick.

Despite having his team option turned down, Sumner was eligible to receive a QO and become a restricted free agent because he has fewer than four years of NBA experience.

Scott Agness of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms Smith’s report and adds that the Pacers and Sumner are working on a new, multiyear deal. The move to bring Sumner back on another contract was expected.

Sumner was selected with the No. 52 overall pick by New Orleans in 2017 before the franchise traded his rights to Indiana. The 6″6″ point guard, who can also play on the wing, appeared in 23 games for the Pacers last season.

Knicks Waive Lance Thomas

June 29th, 2019 at 3:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 29: As expected, the Knicks have waived Thomas, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

JUNE 14: The Knicks plan on waiving forward Lance Thomas, though they have interest in re-signing him, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports.

Thomas has a non-guaranteed contract of $7.58MM for next season and would receive $1MM if he’s on the roster through June 30. Thomas’ salary is the largest on the Knicks’ ledger. Waiving him would give them even more cap space to pursue free agents and blockbuster trades.

However, the club appreciates Thomas for his leadership and willingness to mentor younger players, according to Begley, so it would try to re-sign him at a reduced rate. With the team intend on giving its younger players experience, Thomas appeared in just 46 games this past season. He averaged 4.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 17.0 MPG.

He has been in the Knicks organization since the 2014/15 season after starting his career in New Orleans in 2011. Thomas, 31, also appeared in 22 games with Oklahoma City before joining the Knicks. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $27.5MM contract, which he signed in 2016.

Rockets’ Nene To Opt Out

June 29th, 2019 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran Rockets center Nene has decided to opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Nene’s contract featured a $3,825,360 player option for the 2019/20 season, which he’ll turn down.

Nene, 36, averaged a career-low 13.0 minutes per contest in Houston last season, recording 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 42 games.

Given his age and his increasingly limited role with the Rockets, Nene’s decision to forgo a salary of nearly $4MM isn’t one I anticipated. It will be interesting to see how he does on the open market — perhaps his agent got word that another team is ready to put a more favorable offer on the table, or perhaps he’s doing Houston a favor.

The Rockets are said to be in the running for Jimmy Butler, who would have to be acquired in a sign-and-trade deal. That would put a hard cap on Houston’s spending for the 2019/20 league year.

Removing Nene’s $3.8MM cap hit from their books would give the Rockets some much-needed flexibility in that scenario and the veteran big man could still theoretically return on a minimum salary deal. He’d earn a projected $2.56MM on a one-year minimum contract, but would only have a cap hit of about $1.62MM.

Of course, it’s possible Nene won’t seek a new contract at all. According to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (via Twitter), retirement is a viable possibility for the former seventh overall pick.

Nene’s player option decision was the last one to be reported for the 2019/20 season. The full list can be found here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Extend Qualifying Offer To Trey Lyles

June 29th, 2019 at 12:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nuggets remain busy ahead of free agency. Denver exercised the $30.35MM team option on Paul Millsap earlier today and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the team will extend a qualifying offer to Trey Lyles.

Lyles’ qualifying offer comes in at approximately $4.46MM. After exercising Millsap’s option, the team won’t sniff any available cap space, though they still have to be wary about staying below the tax line.

Lyles came to the Nuggets during the 2017 draft as part of a trade that allowed the Jazz to move up to No. 13 overall. Utah selected Donovan Mitchell with the pick and Denver came away with Tyler Lydon at No. 24.

During his two years in Denver, Lyles played 137 games, starting four contests. His showcased solid three-point shooting to begin his career, though he hasn’t matched or surpassed his career-high 38.3% from behind the arc since his rookie season.

Nuggets Exercise Paul Millsap’s Team Option

June 29th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

12:48pm: The Nuggets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve picked up Millsap’s option.

11:54am: The Nuggets are picking up their team option for 2019/20 on big man Paul Millsap, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The option will pay Millsap $30.35MM for next season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Millsap, 34, played a slightly reduced role for Denver in 2018/19. His 12.6 PPG and 27.1 MPG were his lowest marks since the 2009/10 campaign. However, his interior presence helped stabilize the Nuggets’ defense, and he also chipped in as a rebounder (7.2 RPG) and outside threat (.365 3PT%).

There was some uncertainty over whether the Nuggets would exercise Millsap’s option, given its cost. The team was believed to be exploring whether turning down that option and bringing back Millsap on a more favorable multiyear contract was possible. However, as Marks points out (via Twitter), a deal along those lines would have cut into Denver’s projected cap space for 2020, which may represent the club’s best chance to spend.

If Denver had decided to move on from Millsap altogether, the team could have opened up about $17MM in cap room to pursue an outside free agent. Instead, as Wojnarowski tweets, the Nuggets are in position to potentially use their full mid-level exception ($9.25MM) and still sneak under the projected tax line.

Millsap, meanwhile, is now on track to reach the unrestricted free agent market in 2020 at age 35.

Today represents the last day for clubs to exercise team options or for veterans to pick up player options, so the Nuggets took their decision on Millsap down to the wire.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Issue Qualifying Offer To Quinn Cook

June 29th, 2019 at 10:05am CST by marksuleymanov

The Warriors have issued a qualifying offer to point guard Quinn Cook, thus making him a restricted free agent, tweets Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Golden State wields Cook’s Early Bird rights with his cap hold being $1,931,189. Cook becomes the second Warriors player in as many days to enter restricted free agency as Golden State also issued a qualifying offer to Jordan Bell.

Cook, 26, appeared in a career-high 74 games (10 starts) for the Warriors during the 2018-19 season. As the primary backup to Stephen Curry, Cook averaged 6.9 PPG and 1.6 APG in 14.3 minutes per contest. Cook’s perimeter shooting is his signature, evidenced by his 40.5% mark from beyond the arc last season.

Cook figures to draw significant interest, as teams may try to put pressure on a Warriors team focused on its other free agents.

Kings Issue Qualifying Offer To Willie Cauley-Stein

June 28th, 2019 at 11:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have tendered a qualifying offer to Willie Cauley-Stein, making the big man a restricted free agent, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic (via Twitter).

While the news was expected, it won’t thrill Cauley-Stein’s agent, Roger Montgomery, who said last weekend that his client needs a “fresh start” and would be better off with another team. Montgomery hoped that Sacramento would choose not to issue a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein, allowing him to reach the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

The Kings have been linked to bigger-name free agent centers in recent weeks, and there’s a good chance they’ll let Cauley-Stein walk if they can land a player like Al Horford, Nikola Vucevic, or Brook Lopez. However, it wouldn’t have made sense for Sacramento not to give Cauley-Stein a qualifying offer — retaining the right of first refusal on WCS will give the Kings a solid fallback option if they strike out on other targets.

Cauley-Stein’s qualifying offer is worth $6,265,631, and he’ll have a cap hold of $14,090,625, per Basketball Insiders. That cap hold will cut into the Kings’ cap flexibility, but the team has the ability to renounce it and clear it from the books if it decides Cauley-Stein won’t be back.

In 81 games (27.3 MPG) for the Kings in 2018/19, Cauley-Stein – the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft – averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG.