Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pau Gasol Clears Waivers, Signs With Bucks

March 3rd, 2019 at 6:10pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 3, 6:10pm: Gasol has officially signed with the Bucks, according to a team press release.

MARCH 3, 4:30pm: Gasol has officially cleared waivers, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. San Antonio will have a $15.92MM cap hit this season and $5.07MM in 2019/20, Marks adds.

MARCH 2, 10:12am: Gasol gave back $2.5MM in salary as part of his buyout with the Spurs, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The move will allow San Antonio to lower their salary cap hit for Gasol for both this season and next.

MARCH 1, 5:32pm: The Spurs and Gasol have officially finalized the big man’s buyout, the team announced in a press release.

“Pau Gasol is an exceptional individual and the ultimate professional,” Popovich said in a statement. “We are grateful for his contributions on the court, in the locker room and in our community.”

MARCH 1, 3:46pm: The Spurs and Pau Gasol have reached an agreement on a contract buyout, which will clear the way for the veteran big man to reach free agency and join a new team, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

March 1 is the last day that a player can be waived by one team and retain his postseason eligibility for another club, so San Antonio figures to finalize the move before the end of the day in order to give Gasol the opportunity to participate in the playoffs for his new team.

That new team will be the Bucks, as Gasol intends to sign with Milwaukee once he clears waivers, Wojnarowski reports. The Bucks had been on the lookout for one more frontcourt player, having been linked to Marcin Gortat earlier today.

Gasol, whom we identified as a potential buyout candidate in February, has appeared in just 27 games and averaged a career-low 12.2 minutes per contest in San Antonio this season. Limited by injury issues early on, the 38-year-old hadn’t been a regular part of the team’s rotation even after getting healthy, as LaMarcus Aldridge, Davis Bertans, and Jakob Poeltl handled the majority of the minutes up front.

While Gasol’s scoring numbers are way down, he has still been effective in other aspects of the game on a per-minute basis in 2018/19 — his 13.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per 36 minutes are both career bests.

Gasol is unlikely to play a major role in Milwaukee, but he could be an important insurance policy off the bench – particularly in the postseason – on a roster that doesn’t feature many traditional bigs. Joining the top-seeded Bucks could also give Gasol the chance to match up with his brother in the postseason — Marc Gasol is, of course, a member of the Raptors, the East’s No. 2 seed.

Although the Bucks currently have a full 15-man roster, one of those players – Isaiah Canaan – is on a 10-day contract, so he’s the likeliest candidate to be the odd man out when Milwaukee officially signs Gasol.

The exact terms of Gasol’s buyout with the Spurs aren’t yet known, but in addition to the prorated amount remaining on his $16.8MM salary for 2018/19, he had also been owed a $6.7MM partial guarantee on next year’s salary. San Antonio figures to slightly reduce that cap charge for 2019/20 as part of the buyout agreement, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).

Marks also observes that, unlike J.R. Smith‘s contract, Gasol’s deal was signed under the current CBA and would have been subject to the new trade rules for non-guaranteed salaries in the offseason. That means the Spurs could only have counted the guaranteed portion of his deal ($6.7MM) rather than the full amount ($16MM) for salary-matching purposes if they had tried to deal him this summer, significantly limiting his appeal as a trade chip. That’s likely one reason why the Spurs didn’t feel the need to hang onto him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ray Spalding Gets Multi-Year Deal From Suns

March 3rd, 2019 at 12:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:26pm: Phoenix has officially signed Spalding for the remainder of the season, announcing the news in a press release. The Suns’ roster still stands at 16 players.

8:44am: The Suns will sign Ray Spalding for the rest of this season, with a partial guarantee for next year, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The new contract comes as a 10-day deal that Spalding had with Phoenix is set to expire. The 21-year-old hasn’t taken the court yet for the Suns, but he did get into one game for the Mavericks before being waived in January.

Dallas selected the ex-Louisville star with the 56th pick in the 2018 draft. He was a starter in the G League, averaging 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game with the Texas Legends. The Mavericks released him to open a roster spot to complete the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

The Suns will still have a roster opening once the Spalding deal is complete, but they will now have 14 guaranteed contracts.

Knicks Re-Sign Henry Ellenson To Two-Year Deal

March 2nd, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 2: The Knicks have officially signed Ellenson for the rest of the season, the team announced today in a press release. As indicated below, the deal will feature a team option for 2019/20.

FEBRUARY 28: Henry Ellenson‘s 10-day contract with the Knicks will expire tomorrow night, but the former first-round pick won’t be going anywhere. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), New York intends to lock up Ellenson to a rest-of-season deal that includes a team option for 2019/20.

Ellenson, the 18th overall pick in the 2016 draft, spent the first two and a half seasons of his professional career with the Pistons, but was never able to crack the team’s regular rotation and become a dependable contributor. He appeared in just 59 games for Detroit before being waived after this month’s deadline to accommodate Wayne Ellington.

Ellenson inked a 10-day contract with the Knicks last Wednesday, and while he didn’t see the court much in his first two games with the club, he played 36 minutes in Tuesday’s win over Orlando, racking up 13 points, nine boards, five assists, and a pair of steals. That performance presumably contributed in large part to New York’s decision to keep him around for at least the rest of the season.

Coming off a 10-day deal of his own, John Jenkins signed a two-year contract with the Knicks last week, so Ellenson will be the second New York player to parlay a 10-day pact into a longer-term agreement.

Ellenson’s new deal figures to closely resemble Jenkins’ deal, which is worth the minimum salary and doesn’t feature any guaranteed money for next season. The 2018/19 cap charge for Ellenson’s contract will be approximately $342K, assuming it’s finalized on Saturday.

With Ellenson sticking around, the Knicks’ roster count will remain at 14 players. That gives the team an open spot to add someone else, but there’s no obligation to fill it right away — or at all.

Pelicans Waive Tim Frazier, Sign Dairis Bertans

March 1st, 2019 at 7:58pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 1: Both Frazier’s release and Bertans’ signing are now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

FEBRUARY 28: The Pelicans are making a change to their roster, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that the team has waived guard Tim Frazier and is working to sign EuroLeague guard Dairis Bertans.

Although neither move has been officially announced yet, Wojnarowski suggests Frazier was released on Wednesday night, while Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that Bertans has agreed to a two-year deal with a team option for 2019/20. Will Guillory of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that Bertans will require FIBA clearance, but the hope is that he can join the Pelicans later this week.

Bertans, 29, is the older brother of Spurs sharpshooter Davis Bertans. Like his brother, Dairis is most dangerous from beyond the arc — while Davis ranks second in the NBA with a .469 3PT%, Dairis leads the EuroLeague with a .536 3PT% in 22 games this season for Italian team Olimpia Milano.

Once the elder Bertans exercises the out clause in his deal with Olimpia Milano and officially joins the Pelicans, he’ll be able to sign for a deal worth up to about $274K in 2018/19, ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter). However, that figure is only possible if New Orleans uses the remainder of its bi-annual exception, having given most of it to Elfrid Payton last summer. The Pelicans used their full mid-level exception on Julius Randle.

If New Orleans opts for a minimum salary contract instead, it’ll be worth approximately $199K for this season. Both that figure and the bi-annual number are based on Bertans signing today, so they’d dip a little each day if the move is delayed. Either contract will include a minimum salary (about $1.42MM) for 2019/20. Even if the Pelicans had wanted to go beyond two years for the Latvian guard, they wouldn’t have been able to due to their limited available exceptions.

Meanwhile, Frazier will retain his playoff eligibility for a new team, since he’s being waived before the end of March 1. It’s not clear whether he’ll catch on somewhere else right away, but he could provide some depth at the point for a contender. In 47 games (19.3 MPG) this season, he has averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.4 APG with a .451/.351/.780 shooting line.

These two moves will represent the first two transactions for new Pelicans interim GM Danny Ferry.

Hawks Sign B.J. Johnson To 10-Day Contract

March 1st, 2019 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 1: The signing is official, the Hawks announced in an email.

FEBRUARY 26: The Hawks will fill the final opening on their 15-man roster by signing G League shooting guard B.J. Johnson to a 10-day contract, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to Vivlamore, the club will make the move official later in the week.

Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, joined the Magic for training camp and the preseason last fall, and then was waived by Orlando before the regular season began. He subsequently headed to the G League and has spent the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate.

In 37 games (30 starts) for Lakeland, Johnson has recorded 14.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .464/.426/.837.

Although the Hawks are carrying 14 players for now, Jordan Sibert‘s 10-day contract will expire this Friday night, so the club could open up a roster spot even after signing Johnson. Re-signing Sibert and officially adding Johnson would keep the 15-man squad full for the time being.

Kings Sign Corey Brewer For Rest Of Season

February 28th, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

3:58pm: Brewer’s new deal with the Kings will be worth $2MM, per Shams Charania of The Athletic, who notes that the club had competition to keep the veteran today (Twitter links). That means that Sacramento is using its room exception to lock up Brewer, rather than just doing a minimum salary deal.

2:16pm: The Kings have made it official, announcing Brewer’s new rest-of-season deal in a press release.

1:10pm: The Kings plan on signing veteran swingman Corey Brewer to a rest-of-season contract, reports James Ham of NBC Sports California (Twitter link). Brewer’s second 10-day deal with Sacramento expired overnight, so he’s technically a free agent until he inks a new deal with the Kings.

Brewer, who appeared in seven games on a pair of 10-day contracts for the Sixers earlier this year, didn’t play during his first 10 days with Sacramento. However, he has emerged as a rotation piece during the Kings’ last few contests, averaging 16.3 MPG in three games, including 20 minutes during Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee. Brewer averaged 8.3 PPG on .444/.364/.714 shooting in those games.

As a strong defender and high-energy player, Brewer has fit in nicely for the Kings, who traded away a pair of small forwards at the deadline, in Iman Shumpert and Justin Jackson. Harrison Barnes has assumed most of those newly-opened minutes, but the club has found playing time for Brewer recently too.

No corresponding roster move will be required to re-add Brewer, whose signing will give the Kings 14 players on NBA contracts. That leaves one open roster spot if the team wants to add any reinforcements during its playoff push.

If he signs today, Brewer’s new contract would carry a cap hit of about $359K, assuming it’s worth the minimum.

Timberwolves Sign Cam Reynolds To 10-Day Deal

February 27th, 2019 at 12:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 27: The Timberwolves have officially signed Reynolds to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Friday (March 8).

FEBRUARY 25: The Timberwolves are signing swingman Cameron Reynolds of the G League’s Stockton Kings to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Reynolds provides depth with Robert Covington currently sidelined by a knee injury.

Reynolds, 24, was undrafted last year out of Tulane. He’s averaging 16.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 1.2 APG in 28.0 MPG over 33 G League games. He’s shooting 41.9% from 3-point range.

Reynolds was also named this month to the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team.

In 135 college games with Tulane, Reynolds averaging 10.1 PPG and 4.5 RPG. He was waived in October after getting invited to the Kings’ training camp and also played for their summer league team.

Nets Sign Tahjere McCall To 10-Day Deal

February 26th, 2019 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

1:14pm: The Nets have officially signed McCall to a 10-day contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.

11:46am: The Nets are poised to sign G League guard Tahjere McCall to a 10-day contract, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter). Brooklyn has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to accommodate McCall.

A former Tennessee State standout, McCall has spent his first two professional seasons with the Long Island Nets since going undrafted in 2017.

McCall’s numbers in the G League have been relatively modest – 9.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 60 games (27.1 MPG) – but he’s a strong perimeter defender and will now get an opportunity to stick with Brooklyn for at least 10 days.

The Nets are already carrying 14 players on standard NBA contracts and a pair on two-way deals, so adding McCall will give them a full 17-man squad.

Bucks Sign Isaiah Canaan To 10-Day Deal

February 25th, 2019 at 6:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks have signed guard Isaiah Canaan to a 10-day contract, according to a team press release.

Canaan, has played in a combined 26 games with the Suns and Timberwolves this season, averaging 6.7 PPG and 3.1 APG in 23.0 MPG. Minnesota inked to a pair of 10-day deals to combat backcourt injuries but decided not to offer him a standard contract once those guards got healthy.

The Suns waived him in late November even though he had started 15 games. Canaan was working with a non-guaranteed contract after re-signing with them during the offseason.

Milwaukee was in the market for veteran help with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sterling Brown, Donte DiVincenzo and George Hill dealing with short-term injuries.

Rockets Sign Terrence Jones, Chris Chiozza On 10-Day Deals

February 22nd, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by JD Shaw

FEBRUARY 22nd, 9:15pm: The signings are official, per team release.

FEBRUARY 21st, 8:27pm: The Rockets are signing G League forward Terrence Jones to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). In addition to Jones, Houston will also sign rookie guard Chris Chiozza to a separate 10-day deal, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Both Jones and Chiozza will start their 10-day contracts with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers — G League affiliate of the Rockets — for evaluation purposes, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Jones, who holds five years of NBA experience, last played in the league with the Bucks and Pelicans during the 2016/17 season. He spent time with the Rockets during his first four professional seasons, quickly becoming a valuable rotation player for the team. Jones holds career-averages of 10.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 24 minutes per contest.

Chiozza, a University of Florida product, went undrafted in 2018 and joined the Wizards last fall for training camp. He’s played in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go throughout the 2018/19 season, averaging 13.1 points per game on 42% shooting from 3-point range as a point guard.

The Rockets had to sign two players within the next day to bring their roster count to 14 players, doing so in accordance with NBA rules. Houston (33-24) also got center Clint Capela back from injury for its game against the Lakers on Thursday night, prepping for the start of a final push ahead of the postseason.