Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Sign Tarik Phillip, Jordan McRae

April 9th, 2019 at 2:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wizards have signed Tarik Phillip, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz (Twitter link). Hoops Rumors’ own JD Shaw (Twitter link) has confirmed the report.

The team also promoted and extended two-way player Jordan McRae, as Candace Buckner of The Washington Post tweets. His new standard NBA contract is non-guaranteed for next season.

McRae excelled in the G League this season, splitting time between the Capital City Go-Go and the Wizards and earning first-team All-NBAGL honors. Phillip also shined in the G League this season, playing for the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate.

Washington’s final game is tonight against the Celtics, meaning today is the last day the team can sign a player. The franchise entered the day with 13 traditional players under contract in addition to its pair of two-way deals. Those figures are now 15 and one, respectively.

Raptors Sign Eric Moreland

April 9th, 2019 at 12:33pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Raptors have signed Eric Moreland, according to a team press release.

Toronto will play its final game of the regular season tonight, meaning today was the final day for the team to sign a player. The Raptors entered the day with 14 players under traditional contracts and two players under two-way deals, so the team will not need to make a corresponding move in order to accommodate Moreland’s signing.

Moreland inked a 10-day deal with Toronto earlier this season, playing three games with the club. The franchise opted to not offer him an additional 10-day contract when his deal expired.

Moreland will be eligible to play in the postseason, since he has not been released by an NBA team since March 1. However, he’s unlikely to see any real action in the playoffs unless one of Toronto’s two centers – Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka – goes down with an injury.

Celtics Sign Jonathan Gibson

April 9th, 2019 at 10:42am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics have signed Jonathan Gibson, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Gibson played in China earlier this season, averaging 33.1 points per game.

Several members of the Celtics have been ruled out vs. the Wizards tonight and the team needed available players for the contest. Kyrie Irving, Aron Baynes, Gordon Hayward, and Jayson Tatum are among those will be sidelined.

Gibson was on the Celtics’ roster at the end of last season via the Hardship Exception, as Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports tweets. Gibson has played in a total of 21 NBA games with Boston and Dallas.

Hawks Sign Deyonta Davis To Multiyear Deal

April 8th, 2019 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

2:32pm: The Hawks have officially signed Davis to a multiyear deal, the team confirmed today in a press release.

1:28pm: Deyonta Davis‘ second 10-day contract with the Hawks expired overnight on Sunday, but the young big man won’t be leaving the team. According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter), Atlanta has reached an agreement with Davis on a multiyear deal.

The 31st overall pick in the 2016 draft, Davis spent his first two NBA seasons with the Grizzlies before playing primarily for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League in 2018/19.

A solid showing for Golden State’s NBAGL affiliate earned Davis a late-season call-up, and he has appeared in eight games since joining the Hawks, averaging 4.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 14.4 minutes per contest.

While terms of Davis’ new deal aren’t known, it figures to be a minimum-salary contract that covers the final days of this season and all of 2019/20. Next year’s salary will almost certainly be non-guaranteed, perhaps with some offseason trigger dates.

Once Davis officially re-signs, Atlanta will have a full 15-man roster. The Hawks’ deal with Davis appears likely be their final transaction of the regular season.

Heat Waive Rodney McGruder

April 7th, 2019 at 4:16pm CST by clarkcrum

The Heat have waived swingman Rodney McGruder, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, in a financially motivated attempt to skirt the luxury tax.

The Heat lost to the Raptors earlier today, putting a large hit on the club’s playoff chances. Wins by the Pistons and the Nets, both playing now, would officially eliminate Miami. Therefore, the Heat were left with a decision — keep McGruder, hope to make the playoffs against long odds, and try to re-sign him this summer, or waive him for potential financial gain. The team chose the latter.

As noted by Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Heat will avoid the luxury tax if McGruder’s $1.54MM minimum-salary contract is claimed by another team. However, any team interested in picking up McGruder would not have the 27-year-old available for the playoffs, so the only incentive to claim him would be to obtain his Early Bird rights and the right to match any offers for him in free agency. McGruder will be a restricted free agent this summer with a qualifying offer of a little more than $3.6MM.

As such, it will be interesting to see whether another franchise claims McGruder and helps out Miami. On the one hand, McGruder is still relatively young and on a cheap contract. Moreover, he will be a restricted free agent this summer, which is always a tantalizing asset for any club. But, he can’t help now, in the playoffs, which is currently the primary focus of many teams. For what it’s worth, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Heat believe McGruder will be claimed.

McGruder started 45 games for the Heat this season, averaging 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He appeared in 161 games for the Heat over three seasons and led the Heat’s G-League affiliate to a championship back in 2016.

Clippers Waive Luc Mbah a Moute

April 7th, 2019 at 2:46pm CST by JD Shaw

The Clippers have waived veteran forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who’s currently rehabbing from left knee surgery, the team announced today in a press release.

Mbah a Moute appeared in just four games during his second stint with the team, undergoing the season-ending knee surgery in March. He’s expected to return to basketball activities in time for free agency this July, where he’ll be able to sign with a team of his choice.

The release of Mbah a Moute, 32, leaves the Clippers with no players left on the roster who played for the team two seasons ago. The franchise has completed a full overhaul under the guidance of team president Lawrence Frank and general manager Michael Winger, with Doc Rivers remaining at the helm as coach.

Mbah a Moute holds career-averages of 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 steals across his 11 NBA seasons. He made stops with Milwaukee, Sacramento, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Houston before signing a one-year deal with the Clippers last summer.

Los Angeles is working to secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference with two games left on the season. The team has a road game scheduled against the Warriors on Sunday, along with a home game against the Jazz to finish their campaign on Tuesday.

NBA rosters are officially set for the playoffs on Friday, April 12 at 3:00 pm EST. The Clippers will have until their last game of the regular season to sign a player for the postseason if they wish.

Michael Frazier Signs With Rockets

April 7th, 2019 at 10:39am CST by Arthur Hill

APRIL 7: The deal is official, the Rockets tweeted.

APRIL 6: The Rockets will sign G League guard Michael Frazier for the rest of the season, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Frazier was honored as the league’s Most Improved Player after posting 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 45 games for Houston’s Rio Grande Valley affiliate. He has bounced around the G League since leaving Florida in 2015, but hasn’t played any games at the NBA level. Frazier also played for Team USA in this year’s World Cup qualifiers, alongside Chris Chiozza, who will be his teammate in Houston.

The Rockets only have 14 players under contract, so no move will be necessary before adding Frazier.

Heat Sign Yante Maten To Multi-Year Deal

April 7th, 2019 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

9:27am: The deal is official, the Heat confirmed on Twitter.

9:04am: Yante Maten, who has been a two-way player with the Heat all season, has agreed to a multi-year contract with the team, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Miami used part of its mid-level exception for the signing (Twitter link).

The deal is partially guaranteed and Maten will have a chance to earn $3.1MM over the next two seasons, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). He will be eligible for the playoffs is Miami can qualify.

Maten signed a two-way deal in July after going undrafted out of Georgia. The 22-year-old forward spent the entire season in the G League, averaging 23.5 points and 9.6 rebounds in 30 games.

Today marked the deadline for the Heat to add a player to reach the 14-man roster minimum. They still have one opening they can fill by Wednesday.

Wizards Waive Wesley Johnson

April 5th, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards are waiving forward Wesley Johnson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The team has issued a press release confirming the move is official.

Washington acquired him at the trade deadline from the Pelicans for Markieff Morris. Johnson was acquired by New Orleans in October from the Clippers.

Washington beat the Sunday deadline to waive a player with an expiring contract, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link). Johnson’s cap hold for this offseason would have been $9.2MM.

Johnson, 31, appeared in just 12 games with the Wizards, averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 13.1 MPG. He made 13 starts with the Pelicans.

Grizzlies Sign Tyler Zeller

April 5th, 2019 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

9:53am: The Grizzlies have made it official, announcing Zeller’s signing in a press release.

8:44am: The Grizzlies are signing veteran center Tyler Zeller for the rest of the season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The release of shooting guard Dusty Hannahs created the roster spot necessary to add Zeller.

Zeller, 29, has logged 408 career NBA games over the course of seven seasons, but has spent most of the 2018/19 campaign as a free agent. After being waived by the Bucks in the preseason, the big man’s only NBA action this season came in March when he signed a 10-day contract with Atlanta and appeared briefly in two games for the Hawks.

The Grizzlies had signed Hannahs via a hardship exception and continue to qualify for that exception because they have four players who have missed at least three consecutive games and remain sidelined. As such, Zeller will become Memphis’ 16th man. And, as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian observes (via Twitter), once Zeller plays, the Grizzlies will tie an NBA record by using their 28th player this season.

While the decision to replace a young developmental player with a veteran for the final few days of the season may appear odd for a lottery-bound team, both of the Grizzlies’ centers are currently on the shelf — Jonas Valanciunas is out for the season with an ankle injury, while Joakim Noah continues to be listed as day-to-day with a knee injury.

Plus, despite their place in the standings, the Grizzlies are still very focused on winning games to finish the season. The team would like to make sure its top-eight protected 2018 first-round pick conveys to Boston this year so it doesn’t carry over to the 2020 draft. Currently, the Grizzlies are tied for sixth in the reverse standings at 31-47, but the Mavericks (31-47), Wizards (32-47), and Pelicans (32-47) are bunched up with them, creating a path out of the lottery’s top eight if they can finish strong.

Assuming it’s finalized today, Zeller’s rest-of-season contract will carry a modest cap hit of $51,725, keeping Memphis out of tax territory.