Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign Andre Ingram To 10-Day Deal

March 11th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

4:01pm: The Lakers have officially signed Ingram, the team announced today in a press release. His new 10-day contract will run through March 20.

12:50pm: Veteran G League sharpshooter Andre Ingram is set to get another shot in the NBA, according to reports from Lauren A. Jones of The Los Angeles Sentinel and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links). Jones first reported that Ingram will be rejoining the Lakers, while Charania adds that the 33-year-old is signing a 10-day contract with the club.

The G League’s all-time leader in three-pointers, Ingram had appeared in 384 NBAGL games over 10 seasons before finally getting a call-up at the end of 2017/18. The veteran shooting guard made a memorable debut for the Lakers last spring, racking up 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting (including 4-of-5 on threes) in an April contest vs. Houston.

Although he hoped that brief audition would earn him a chance to compete for an NBA roster spot last fall, Ingram ultimately returned to the South Bay Lakers, where he has averaged 8.6 PPG on .393/.355/.830 shooting in a part-time role over 35 games this season. It has been a down year for Ingram, who still holds a .451 3PT% for his NBAGL career.

The Lakers have an open roster spot, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move to clear space for Ingram. While that spot was originally considered likely to be used on a win-now veteran, the club has fallen out of playoff contention within the last couple weeks. Given the negative energy surrounding the Lakers during their recent slide, it makes sense that the team would instead opt to fill its roster by revisiting a feel-good story like Ingram’s.

Ingram will earn $76,236 over the course of his new 10-day deal. Once it expires, the Lakers can either sign him to a second 10-day deal, give him a rest-of-season contract, or let him return to free agency.

Thunder Sign Deonte Burton To Multiyear Deal

March 10th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by JD Shaw

3:27pm: Oklahoma City has officially signed Burton to a full NBA contract, announcing the news in a press release.

2:42pm: The Thunder have agreed to a new multi-year deal with guard Deonte Burton, converting him from a two-way contract to a standard NBA contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter).

Burton, 25, originally signed a two-way deal with the team last July. He went undrafted in 2017 after spending seasons at Marquette and Iowa State, later attending training camp with the Timberwolves before heading overseas to play in South Korea.

Burton has appeared in 23 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 3.1 points, one rebound and 8.7 minutes per contest off the bench. He’s holding shooting averages of 44 percent from the floor and 33 percent from deep.

The Thunder had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts, so promoting Burton to the 15-man roster helps the team get back to the NBA-mandated 14-player minimum.

Wolves Sign Cam Reynolds To Second 10-Day Deal

March 9th, 2019 at 11:25am CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 9: The Timberwolves made the move official, signing Reynolds to a second 10-day contract, the team announced (Twitter link).

MARCH 8: The Timberwolves plan to give swingman Cameron Reynolds a second 10-day contract, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Reynolds’ first deal, which he signed on February 27, is due to expire at the end of the day.

Reynolds has seen minimal playing time since coming to Minnesota, logging a combined seven minutes in two games and averaging 2.0 PPG. The 24-year-old was averaging 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per night with the G League’s Stockton Kings before coming to the NBA.

The Wolves will keep a full roster by re-signing Reynolds, with 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts. To retain his rights beyond the next 10 days, Minnesota would have to sign Reynolds for the rest of the season.

Tyler Zeller Signs 10-Day Deal With Hawks

March 8th, 2019 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 8: The signing is official, the Hawks announced in an email.

MARCH 7: The Hawks have reached an agreement with Tyler Zeller and will sign the free agent center to a 10-day contract, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, the deal is expected to be finalized on Friday.

Zeller, 29, spent six seasons in the NBA after being drafted 17th overall in 2012, but was waived by the Bucks in October and had yet to catch on with a new team. In 66 total games last season for Brooklyn and Milwaukee, the veteran seven-footer recorded 6.7 PPG and 4.6 RPG with a career-high .560 FG% in 16.8 minutes per contest.

Zeller will provide the Hawks with some added frontcourt depth at a time when the team is dealing with a handful of injuries to its big men. Omari Spellman has been ruled out for most or all of March with an ankle injury, Miles Plumlee hasn’t played since December due to a knee issue, and Dewayne Dedmon (knee) and Alex Poythress (ankle) are also dealing with nagging health problems.

The Hawks have been using their last two roster spots recently to audition players on 10-day deals. Jordan Sibert was signed to a single 10-day contract and hasn’t been brought back, while B.J. Johnson is currently on a 10-day pact of his own that runs through Sunday. With Zeller and Johnson under contract, Atlanta will have a full roster, but the team could open up two spots when those deals expire.

Zeller’s 10-day contract will carry a cap hit of approximately $85K for the Hawks.

Warriors Sign Andrew Bogut

March 6th, 2019 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

1:33pm: The Warriors have officially signed Bogut, the team announced today in a press release.

11:18am: Andrew Bogut, who spent the 2018/19 season in Australia’s National Basketball League, has obtained the letter of clearance required to make the move from the NBL to the NBA, agent David Bauman tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). We had heard on Monday that Bogut intended to sign with the Warriors once he received clearance.

With the primary roadblock out of the way, Bogut will now work to officially finalize a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Golden State, Charania adds (via Twitter). The former No. 1 overall pick is expected to join the Warriors sometime during their four-game road trip next week, sources tell Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. That trip begins in Houston next Wednesday (March 13) and concludes on March 19 in Minnesota.

According to Medina, Bogut also still has to work out logistical details related to his U.S. work visa. He’s mulling whether to have the visa shipped to the U.S. consulate in Sydney or to fly to America on a tourist visa before acquiring his work visa in Vancouver, Medina notes.

Once Bogut sorts out those details, he’ll fill the final open spot on the Warriors’ 15-man roster. As we detailed on Monday, it’s not clear whether that will be Golden State’s final roster move this season. The team had reportedly been considering the idea of adding a wing – perhaps Damion Lee – with that open roster spot, and will have until the last day of the regular season to make any further changes.

Bogut, 34, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game in more than a year, having played his last game for the Lakers on January 1, 2018. However, he was named the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year in Australia’s NBL this season, making a case for an NBA roster spot by leading the league with 11.7 RPG and 2.7 BPG.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bucks Sign Eric Bledsoe To Four-Year Extension

March 4th, 2019 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 4: The Bucks have officially signed Bledsoe to his new extension, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

MARCH 1: Ahead of an important summer in Milwaukee, the Bucks have gotten a head start on free agency, reaching an agreement with point guard Eric Bledsoe on a four-year, $70MM contract extension, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Bledsoe, 29, is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career in Milwaukee. In 60 games (all starts), he has recorded 15.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 4.6 RPG with a career-best .492 FG%, emerging as a key contributor for the Bucks, who hold the best record in the NBA at 47-14.

While Giannis Antetokounmpo is locked up through 2021, many of the Bucks’ other most important players – including Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and Brook Lopez – are in contract years. As Wojnarowski tweets, Bledsoe could have tested the market in unrestricted free agency this July, but was “determined” to stay in Milwaukee and was in position to get something done early.

Middleton and Brogdon are also technically eligible for in-season veteran extensions, but are unlikely to sign them, given their respective contract situations. In Bledsoe’s case, he was eligible to receive up to a 120% raise on his 2018/19 salary of $15MM for the first year of his new deal.

Although his starting salary could have maxed out at $18MM, it sounds – based on the reported terms – like Bledsoe will get a little less than that in 2019/20, which will help allow the Bucks to maximize their cap flexibility. Meanwhile, Milwaukee remains in good position to secure Middleton and Brogdon in the offseason, with Middleton viewed as the team’s top priority.

The Bledsoe extension is the second noteworthy Bucks move that has been reported today. The club is also set to sign Pau Gasol, who has finalized a buyout with the Spurs.

For teams eyeing the point guard market this summer, one top option is now off the board. Bledsoe probably ranked behind Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, and D’Angelo Russell among FA-to-be point guards, but would have been at the top of the next tier. Clubs that miss out on those top three options now figure to focus on the likes of Terry Rozier, Ricky Rubio, Derrick Rose, and Darren Collison.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets Sign Terrence Jones To Second 10-Day Deal

March 4th, 2019 at 1:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MARCH 4: The Rockets have officially re-signed Jones, the team announced today in a press release. His second 10-day deal will run through next Wednesday (March 13).

MARCH 3: The Rockets will sign forward Terrence Jones to a second 10-day contract on Monday, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Jones was signed to a 10-day contract on February 22 to help the Rockets reach the requirement of having 14 players on the roster. Jones has made just one brief appearance with the Rockets.

Prior to receiving the first 10-day contract, Jones hadn’t played in the league since he spent time with the Bucks and Pelicans during the 2016/17 season. He was with the Rockets during his first four professional seasons after being drafted in 2012 with the 18th overall pick.

He has averaged 23.5 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 5.8 APG in 24 G League appearances this season.

Bucks End Isaiah Canaan’s 10-Day Deal Early

March 4th, 2019 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

Having officially signed Pau Gasol on Sunday, the Bucks had to make a corresponding roster move to open up a spot for their new big man. As the only player without a full-season contract, Isaiah Canaan was the odd man out. The Bucks announced (via Twitter) that his 10-day contract has been terminated, a few days before it was set to expire.

Canaan, 27, signed with the Bucks last Monday and managed to get into four games with the team, though his minutes were very limited. The well-traveled point guard has appeared in a total of 30 contests in 2018/19, spending time in Phoenix and Minnesota in addition to Milwaukee. He has averaged 6.0 PPG and 2.8 APG with a .390/.354/.792 shooting line on the season.

Although Canaan was under contract through March 1 and has now been released, he’d retain his playoff eligibility if he joins a new team down the stretch, since he doesn’t have to go through waivers.

As for the Bucks, they’ll continue to carry Canaan’s full 10-day cap hit (approximately $85K) despite only keeping him on their roster for seven days. Having signed Gasol, Milwaukee now has a full 15-man roster, with all 15 players on full-season contracts.

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.