Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons, Louis King Agree To Two-Way Deal

June 24th, 2019 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have reached a deal with undrafted rookie Louis King, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit will sign the Oregon forward to a two-way contract once the new league year begins.

King, who declared for the draft as an early entrant after his freshman year, 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. Although he wasn’t one of the 60 players selected last Thursday, it didn’t take him long to find a new NBA home with one of the clubs that worked him out during the pre-draft process.

The Pistons are also reportedly signing No. 57 overall pick Jordan Bone to a two-way deal, so King and Bone appear set to occupy the team’s two-way slots to start the 2019/20 season. They’d supplant Isaiah Whitehead and Kalin Lucas, who were Detroit’s two-way players to end the ’18/19 season.

Meanwhile, Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears from a league source that the Pistons have also agreed to a deal with former Michigan State guard Matt McQuaid, another undrafted rookie. Scotto doesn’t offer any more details on the move, so it’s not clear whether McQuaid will sign an Exhibit 10 agreement or another form of contract, but it sounds like the deal will cover more than just the Summer League.

In his senior year with the Spartans, McQuaid averaged 9.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.1 APG and shot 42.2% on three-point attempts. In total, 173 of his 271 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc.

Kawhi Leonard Declines 2019/20 Player Option

June 23rd, 2019 at 6:35pm CST by JD Shaw

Raptors star Kawhi Leonard is declining his $21.3MM player option for the 2019/20 season and will test unrestricted free agency this summer, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Leonard will seriously consider re-signing with the Raptors, Haynes adds, with several rival executives believing Toronto is the front-runner for his services on the open market.

Leonard is coming off an historic playoff stretch with the team that saw him average 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest, with the 27-year-old winning his second NBA championship and Finals MVP. He formed a strong bond with his teammates, coaches and fans this season, a positive sign for a franchise coming off its first NBA title.

Toronto is the only team that can offer Leonard a five-year, $190MM maximum-salary contract. The Clippers are expected to be a major suitor for Leonard, as Haynes notes, with the appeal of returning to southern California likely to be a strong factor in Leonard’s decision. A handful of other teams may also secure a meeting with him.

Free agency opens on June 30 at 6:00pm eastern time this year, with the moratorium period lasting until July 6 at noon. After that, teams can officially sign their respective players to contracts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets, Tyler Cook Agree To Deal

June 23rd, 2019 at 1:55pm CST by clarkcrum

The Nuggets have reached a deal with undrafted Iowa forward Tyler Cook, reports Mike Hlas of The Gazette. Per Hlas, the contract will contain a partial guarantee, but the value of that guarantee is unknown at this time.

Cook, a early entry for the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 14.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in his junior year, while shooting 51.9% from the field. Unfortunately, Cook also posted a disappointing .143 three-point shooting percentage while in college, going 3-for-21 over three seasons in Iowa City.

Cook will not be joining the Nuggets for the 2019 NBA Summer League due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in a workout with the Pistons leading up to the draft, but he presumably expects to be ready for training camp. He worked out for the Nuggets back on May 22.

Wizards To Decline $20MM Option On Jabari Parker

June 22nd, 2019 at 4:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards won’t exercise their $20MM team option on Jabari Parker, but they may try to re-sign him, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The move has been expected, dating back to when Washington traded for Parker in February, Haynes adds. But he cites “mutual interest” between Parker and the team in working out a longer arrangement once he becomes an unrestricted free agent next weekend. The Wizards view him as a player with potential whose development has been slowed by ACL tears in 2014 and 2017.

Parker’s asking price will start at $15MM per year, sources tell Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, and that number could rise or fall depending on the market. He adds that the Wizards will probably need Parker to relax that demand, especially after drafting Rui Hachimura, who has similar talents. Re-signing Thomas Bryant, Tomas Satoransky and possibly Bobby Portis will be higher priorites, according to Hughes.

Parker, 24, had a difficult time in Chicago after signing a two-year, $40MM deal last summer, especially once Jim Boylen replaced Fred Hoiberg as head coach. However, Parker was much better after the trade, averaging 15 points and 7.2 rebounds in 25 games with Washington.

Jalen Adams To Receive Exhibit 10 Deal With Pelicans

June 21st, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Undrafted University of Connecticut point guard Jalen Adams will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pelicans, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

Adams averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.4 APG during his senior year, which was limited to 26 games due to a knee injury. He posted averages of 18.1/4.2/4.7 in the same categories as a junior. The 6’3” Adams started 99 of 124 career games with the Huskies.

He made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a number of teams. He’ll look to earn a roster spot with New Orleans during camp.

Celtics, Tacko Fall Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

June 21st, 2019 at 3:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics have agreed to sign center Tacko Fall to an Exhibit 10 deal, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express tweets.

The 7’6″ big man went undrafted out of the University of Central Florida. Fall spent four years at the school, posting career averages of 10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game.

Fall is expected to play for the Celtics in Summer League. Boston’s first game is July 8.

Tyler Johnson Picks Up Player Option

June 21st, 2019 at 2:39pm CST by ChrisCrouse

As expected, Tyler Johnson has exercised his player option for the 2019/20 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Johnson will make approximately $19.25MM next year.

Back in 2016, the Nets presented Johnson with a backloaded, four-year, $50MM offer sheet, which was designed to make it difficult for Miami to match. However, the contract didn’t deter the Heat from keeping Johnson.

Johnson continued playing in Miami until February of this past year. The Suns then traded for Johnson as Miami was looking to clear some salary. Johnson suited up for 13 games for Phoenix, starting 12 of them at point guard.

Tyus Battle Agrees To Exhibit 10 Deal With Wolves

June 21st, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves will sign Tyus Battle of Syracuse to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Their mutual interest was first reported by Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’6″ guard posted a 17.2/3.3/2.5 line during his junior season with the Orange. He also has international experience, winning a gold medal with the U.S. team in the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championships.

Battle will likely join the Wolves’ Summer League entry and can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he comes to training camp with Minnesota and spends at least 60 days with its G League affiliate.

Bucks To Sign Rayjon Tucker

June 21st, 2019 at 12:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rayjon Tucker of Arkansas-Little Rock has reached an agreement with the Bucks on a partially guaranteed contract, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.

A graduate transfer, Tucker announced plans to go to the University of Memphis next season, but later decided to keep his name in the draft.

The 6’5″ guard averaged 20.3 points per game this year and shot a sizzling .411 from 3-point range. He was a second-team selection on the All-Sun Belt team.

Hassan Whiteside Opts In For 2019/20

June 21st, 2019 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 21, 11:49am: Whiteside has officially exercised his 2019/20 player option, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

JUNE 21, 12:04am: Heat president Pat Riley confirms that Whiteside will opt in, adding that the center hasn’t requested a trade and he expects Whiteside to be on the team, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

JUNE 18, 4:21pm: There’s a growing belief that if and when Whiteside opts in, he may do so while asking for a trade, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Given his $27MM+ salary, it won’t be easy for the Heat to make a deal.

JUNE 18, 11:24am: Barring an unforeseen development in the coming days, Heat center Hassan Whiteside intends to opt into the final season of his contract, exercising his 2019/20 player option, a league source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Picking up that option will make Whiteside the Heat’s highest-paid player for next season, locking in a salary of $27,093,018, per Basketball Insiders. The veteran big man will subsequently be on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2020.

Whiteside, who turned 30 years old last Thursday, averaged 12.3 PPG and 11.3 RPG with 1.9 BPG in 72 games (53 starts) for the Heat last season. While his numbers were solid, Whiteside’s 23.3 minutes per game represented his lowest mark since he arrived in Miami in 2014.

Whiteside hasn’t been thrilled about his reduced role and inconsistent minutes over the last two seasons. Still, despite expressing a little dissatisfaction with his playing time, he was always considered a virtual lock to exercise his player option to stick with the Heat — he’d have no chance of matching his $27MM salary for ’19/20 on the open market.

With option salaries for both Whiteside and Goran Dragic on their books for next season, the Heat’s guaranteed salary commitments will increase to nearly $130MM for just eight players, plus a $3.64MM cap hold for their first-round pick. The team figures to thoroughly explore ways to cut costs during the offseason to avoid ending up in tax territory with a roster that missed the playoffs this past season.

As our player option decision tracker shows, 10 players have already opted in for the 2019/20 season, with Whiteside and Dwight Powell (Mavericks) both planning to do so as well.

Here are a few more brief Heat notes:

According to Jackson, the Heat and Grizzlies discussed a possible Mike Conley trade, but didn’t see eye to eye on compensation and those talks went nowhere.
Jimmy Butler has told confidants that he’d be happy to meet with the Heat in free agency if the team wants to make a pitch, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Miami doesn’t project to have any cap room available this offseason though, so the idea of Butler joining the team is an extreme long shot.
University of Miami prospect Dewan Hernandez cancelled a workout with the Heat due to scheduling issues and an overcrowded workout calendar, writes Jackson.