Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Trade Dwight Howard To Grizzlies

July 5th, 2019 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The trade is now official, with both teams announcing it in press releases. “C.J. is respected around the league for his defense, three-point shooting and leadership,” Wizards Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Tommy Sheppard said. “All of those qualities appealed to us in making this deal and we look forward to him making a positive impact on our team.”

JULY 5: The Wizards are trading center Dwight Howard to the Grizzlies, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Memphis plans to waive Howard or forward him to another team, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Washington will receive swingman C.J. Miles in the deal, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets.

The Grizzlies will shave $3.13MM off their team salary by dealing Miles, who is due $8.73MM next season. Howard has one year and $5.6MM left on his contract.

Additionally, Memphis has waived shooting guard Avery Bradley, Aldridge reports in another tweet. Bradley had a $12.96MM salary for next season but only $2MM was guaranteed. This gives Memphis even more flexibility to make moves, as Aldridge notes.

Bradley is a former client of current Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, which may impact his decision as a free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).

Howard opted in for the second year of his contract with the Wizards, who had no interest in keeping the former All-Star on the roster.

Howard, who spent his previous three seasons with three different teams in Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte, was a complete washout last season. Having used the full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign him, Washington viewed Howard as its major offseason addition, but he only appeared in nine games. Spinal surgery and a hamstring injury during his rehab resulted in a lost season for the 33-year-old Howard.

Miles’ situation was similar. He opted in to his contract but the Grizzlies had little use for the three-point specialist with a hefty salary on a rebuilding squad.

Miles is recovering from a stress reaction in his left foot. The 14-year veteran, who started last season with the Raptors, was sent to the Grizzlies as part of the package for Marc Gasol in February. In total, Miles appeared in 53 games (16.2 MPG) for Memphis and Toronto, averaging just 6.4 PPG on .360/.330/.828 shooting.

Memphis had until July 8 to fully guarantee Bradley’s salary. He appeared in 63 games last season with the Clippers and Grizzlies, averaging 9,9 PPG and 2.4 APG in 30.2 MPG. Without Bradley on their roster, the Grizzlies are in much better position to match an offer sheet for restricted free agent Delon Wright without going into tax territory.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Timberwolves Sign Naz Reid To Two-Way Deal

July 5th, 2019 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 5: The Timberwolves have officially signed Reid to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.

JUNE 21: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement to sign rookie free agent Naz Reid to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Reid, who declared for the draft after his freshman year at LSU, was considered a strong candidate to be selected on Thursday night, but went undrafted. According to ESPN’s big board, the young forward/center was the eighth-best prospect who was still available at the end of the night.

Reid will enter the NBA after having recorded 13.6 PPG and 7.2 RPG in 34 games (27.2 MPG) during his first and only season with the Tigers. He’ll be able to officially sign his two-way contract after the new NBA league year begins.

Jared Terrell and C.J. Williams occupied the Wolves’ two-way slots during the 2018/19 season, but are both free agents this summer. Reid’s deal indicates that at least one of the two won’t be back.

Wizards Sign Garrison Mathews To Two-Way Contract

July 4th, 2019 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have officially signed undrafted rookie Garrison Mathews to a two-way contract, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). RealGM’s log of NBA transactions confirms that the move has been completed.

Mathews’ agreement with the team was first reported shortly after the draft last month by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

A 6’5″ shooting guard, Mathews has been one of the NCAA’s premier marksmen in the NCAA over the last four years. He averaged 20.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG in his final season at Lipscomb, knocking down 3.2 threes per game at a 40.3% rate, and was named the ASUN Player of the Year.

Washington entered the 2019/20 league year with two open two-way slots. Devin Robinson was the only two-way player under contract with the Wizards to finish the 2018/19 campaign, and the team announced that he wouldn’t return after word broke in April that he had been arrested following a nightclub fight.

Pistons Officially Sign Sekou Doumbouya, Louis King

July 4th, 2019 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have officially signed two rookies to their first NBA contracts, announcing today in a pair of press releases that they’ve locked up first-rounder Sekou Doumbouya and inked undrafted free agent Louis King to a two-way contract.

Neither move comes as a surprise. Doumbouya’s signing was a formality, as his rookie scale amount is essentially locked in. As the No. 15 overall pick, he’ll earn about $3.3MM in his first NBA season and a total of $15.9MM if he plays out his full four-year rookie contract.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Doumbouya, a 6’9″ forward who has drawn comparisons to Pascal Siakam, was the first international player selected in the 2019 draft. The 18-year-old played professionally overseas before declaring for the NBA draft, having averaged 7.8 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 39 games last season for Limoges CSP, a club in France’s top league.

As for King, his two-way contract agreement with the Pistons was reported shortly after the draft. A forward out of Oregon, King averaged 13.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG with a .435/.386/.785 shooting line in 31 games during his first and only season with the Ducks.

The Pistons are expected to sign No. 57 overall pick Jordan Bone to occupy their second two-way contract slot, but the trades necessary to get him to Detroit haven’t yet been officially completed.

Kings Waive Frank Mason III

July 4th, 2019 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have parted ways with a 2017 second-round pick, announcing today in a press release that guard Frank Mason III has been released. Mason will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Mason, 24, was selected by the Kings with the 34th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He had a promising rookie season, averaging 7.9 PPG and 2.8 APG with a .360 3PT% in 52 games (18.9 MPG), but lost his place in the regular rotation last season.

As Jason Jones of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), Mason was supposed to play for the Kings in the California Summer League this week, but was held out of action due to a sore right hip. His $1.62MM salary isn’t scheduled to become fully guaranteed for 2019/20 until October 15, per Basketball Insiders, so Sacramento won’t be on the hook for that cap hit.

With De’Aaron Fox starting at the point in Sacramento and Cory Joseph being brought aboard to provide depth at the position, Mason became expendable for the Kings. However, the team plans to retain point guard Yogi Ferrell, according to Jones (Twitter link). Ferrell’s $3.15MM salary for 2019/20 will become fully guaranteed if he remains under contract through today, which appears to be a lock.

Cavaliers Sign Kevin Porter Jr.

July 3rd, 2019 at 7:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers now have all three of their first-round picks under contract with today’s signing of Kevin Porter Jr. following yesterday’s deals for Darius Garland and Dylan Windler. The team formerly announced all three moves in a press release.

Porter, the final player selected in the first round, had a roundabout journey to Cleveland, being taken by the Bucks and dealt to the Pistons on draft night. Detroit moved his draft rights to the Cavs in a June 26 deal. No terms were released for Porter’s contract, but he is eligible to earn $1,936,440, $2,033,160 and $2,130,240 in his first three NBA seasons.

Porter spent one season at USC, averaging 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game. He ranked sixth in the Pac 12 in 3-point shooting percentage at .412%.

Hornets Sign PJ Washington

July 3rd, 2019 at 5:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

First-round pick PJ Washington has signed with the Hornets, according to a press release from the team. The 6’8″ forward out of Kentucky was the 12th player selected in last month’s draft.

Under the NBA’s rookie scale, Washington can make $3,831,840 in his first season, $4,023,600 in his second and $4,215,120 in his third. The actual terms of his deal were not released.

Washington spent two years with the Wildcats and led the team with 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He earned first team All-SEC and third team All-America honors this season.

Sixers Sign Matisse Thybulle

July 3rd, 2019 at 4:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Matisse Thybulle has signed his rookie contract with the Sixers, the team announced today. The senior swingman out of Washington was selected with the 20th pick in last month’s draft.

Terms of the deal weren’t released, but under the rookie salary structure, Thybulle is eligible to make $2,582,160 in his first season, $2,711,280 in his second and $2,840,160 in his third.

“Matisse was the best defensive wing in the draft and his tenacious and gritty play fit our culture perfectly,” Philadelphia GM Elton Brand said. “A talented shooter and a great person off the court, we’re very excited to welcome Matisse to the 76ers family.”

Thybulle won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award this season and was honored as the Pac 12’s top defender for the second straight year. His scoring average was modest at 9.1 PPG, but he collected 3.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per night.

Pistons Sign Markieff Morris

July 3rd, 2019 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The Pistons have officially signed Morris, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 3: The Pistons have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Markieff Morris, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year deal, a league source tells Jordan Schultz of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The Pistons will use their bi-annual exception to sign Morris, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. He’ll get the full $3.6MM, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press adds (via Twitter), so it’ll have a total two-year value of about $7.4MM.

Morris, 29, started the 2018/19 season with the Wizards before being sent to the Pelicans in a deadline deal. New Orleans waived him, paving the way for him to sign with the Thunder to finish the season.

It was a down year for Morris, who battled back and neck issues. In 58 total games (21.9 MPG) for the Wizards and Thunder, he averaged 9.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG, his lowest marks since his first two seasons in the league. He’ll be looking to bounce back with the Pistons.

Markieff will become the second Morris twin to play for the Pistons — his brother Marcus Morris was on the roster for two seasons from 2015-17 before being dealt to Boston.

Rockets Sign Ponds, Clemons, McDowell-White To Exhibit 10 Deals

July 3rd, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have signed undrafted free agents Shamorie Ponds, Chris Clemons, and William McDowell-White to Exhibit 10 contracts, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The three agreements were reported shortly after last month’s draft.

A 6’1″ guard out of St. John’s, Ponds averaged 19.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.1 RPG, and an impressive 2.6 SPG in 33 games during his junior year before declaring for the draft as an early entrant.

Clemons, a 5’9″ Campbell guard, was the nation’s leading scorer in 2018/19, averaging 30.0 PPG on .448/.357/.869 shooting.

McDowell-White was also draft-eligible this season after spending the last several years playing for teams in Australia and Germany. Having began his career with the Sydney Kings, the Australian combo guard spent a season and a half with German club Brose Bamberg, leaving the team earlier this year to prepare for the 2019 draft.

All three players are on Houston’s Summer League roster and appear on track to join the team for training camp in the fall. Assuming they don’t make the Rockets’ regular season roster, they could end up playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate.