Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jeremy Lin Finalizes Buyout With Hawks, Plans To Sign With Raptors

February 11th, 2019 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

4:19pm: The Hawks have officially waived Lin, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.

12:41pm: Veteran point guard Jeremy Lin is in the process of finalizing a buyout with the Hawks, agents Jim Tanner and Roger Montgomery tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, Lin intends to sign with the Raptors once he reaches free agency.

Lin, 30, has played well off the bench for the Hawks this season after missing most of the last two years in Brooklyn with injuries. In 51 games (19.7 MPG) for Atlanta, he has averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.5 APG, and 2.3 RPG with a shooting line of .466/.333/.845.

Although Lin was mentioned in a number of trade rumors leading up to last Thursday’s deadline, the Hawks ultimately didn’t find a taker, with his $13.77MM cap hit likely acting as an obstacle in negotiations. Once Lin remained on Atlanta’s roster through the deadline, reports indicated that the team was unlikely to buy him out, but it seems that stance changed within the last few days.

By agreeing to a buyout with the Hawks, Lin will give back a little of his remaining salary with the Hawks, which he should make up when he signs with the Raptors. However, he’ll also forfeit the chance to earn possible incentives that were written into his previous contract, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes.

When Lin was traded from Brooklyn to Atlanta last summer, a 10% trade kicker in his deal ensured that he received a $1.25MM bonus for this season, so perhaps that extra money helped convince him that it was worth surrendering some money in a buyout and giving up his opportunity to earn those incentives.

The Raptors gave up five players in three deadline-week trades and only received one (Marc Gasol) in return, so adding Lin will help the club replenish some of its lost backcourt depth. While it’s not clear exactly what sort of role Lin will assume in Toronto, the Raps found playing time for three point guards before trading Delon Wright to Memphis, and both Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet have battled health issues throughout the season. There should be plenty of minutes available for Lin.

After dipping to 10 players following their deadline deals, the Raptors have since signed Malcolm Miller and Chris Boucher, and are now poised to add Lin and Ben McLemore (10-day contract) to get back to the league-mandated minimum of 14 players.

As for the Hawks, they’ll drop to 12 players once they officially part ways with Lin, so they’ll need to add at least two players to their roster soon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Sign John Jenkins To 10-Day Deal

February 11th, 2019 at 10:55am CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 11: The Knicks have officially signed Jenkins, the team announced today in a press release. Jenkins’ new contract will expire next Wednesday.

FEBRUARY 9: Shooting guard John Jenkins, whose 10-day contract with the Wizards is set to expire, will join the Knicks on a 10-day deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Jenkins appeared in four games with Washington, averaging 1.8 points in 3.3 minutes per night. Before his NBA call-up, he was a prolific scorer with the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester, averaging 24.7 PPG and shooting 42.9% from 3-point range.

A first-round pick by the Hawks in 2012, Jenkins spent three years in Atlanta before brief stints with the Mavericks and Suns.

The move leaves the Knicks with two open roster spots. At least one will have to be filled by February 21, which is two weeks after they waived Enes Kanter and Wesley Matthews. Washington will fall back to 14 players and can keep one spot open for the rest of the season.

Cavaliers Re-Sign Nik Stauskas

February 11th, 2019 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

10:00am: Stauskas has officially signed with the Cavs, the team confirmed today in a press release.

9:14am: Free agent shooting guard Nik Stauskas has reached a rest-of-season deal with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. While the Cavs have yet to officially announce the signing of Stauskas, he’ll fill the club’s open roster spot, according to Fedor.

It has been an eventful week for Stauskas, who was initially traded from the Trail Blazers to the Cavaliers last Monday. The former eighth overall pick was rerouted to Houston in a three-team trade on deadline day, then was sent from the Rockets to the Pacers in a separate Thursday deal. Indiana subsequently waived Stauskas, putting him on track to reach unrestricted free agency.

The rules of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibit a team from trading a player, then re-signing him once he’s waived by his new team. However, since the Rockets traded Stauskas again to the Pacers before he was released, Houston was the only team ineligible to re-sign him — Portland and Cleveland faced no such restrictions.

Stauskas, 25, hasn’t developed into the sort of reliable sharpshooter that many league observers expected when he selected in the 2014 draft. However, he has shown enough promise during stints in Sacramento, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Portland to earn a spot on the Cavs’ roster for the rest of the season.

In 44 games (15.3 MPG) for the Blazers this season, Stauskas averaged 6.1 PPG on .419/.344/.889 shooting.

Pacers Sign Edmond Sumner To Two-Year Contract

February 11th, 2019 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Pacers guard Edmond Sumner, who has spent the last two seasons on a two-way contract with the team, is receiving a promotion to the 15-man roster, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania, Sumner has agreed to a standard contract with Indiana that will cover the rest of 2018/19, with a team option for 2019/20. The Pacers have confirmed the signing in a press release.

Sumner, a Xavier alum, hasn’t played a whole lot for the Pacers since being selected with the 52nd pick in the 2017 draft. Appearing in 18 NBA games, he has averaged 2.4 PPG in just 9.4 minutes per contest.

However, the 6’6″ guard enjoyed a breakout year this season for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League, averaging 23.9 PPG on .500/.400/.744 shooting in 17 NBAGL games. That performance has earned him a spot in the Pacers’ rotation over the last couple weeks — Sumner has played in Indiana’s last eight games since Victor Oladipo went down, averaging 16.6 minutes per game.

The Pacers, who entered trade deadline week with one open roster spot, shuffled things around by waiving Ike Anigbogu, acquiring and waiving Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin, then signing Wesley Matthews. That series of moves still left Indiana with an opening on its 15-man roster, so Sumner will fill that opening, leaving Davon Reed as the Pacers’ lone two-way player.

As for Sumner’s contract, it will certainly be a minimum salary deal. It’s not clear whether his second year will be an actual team option or simply a non-guaranteed salary — if it’s an option, the Pacers will have to make a decision on it by the end of June, but if it’s a non-guaranteed salary, the club may not need to make a call on Sumner until later in the offseason, or even during the 2019/20 season.

Timberwolves Sign Isaiah Canaan To Second 10-Day Deal

February 11th, 2019 at 8:30am CST by marksuleymanov

FEBRUARY 11: The Timberwolves issued a statement on Sunday announcing that Canaan’s second 10-day deal is official.

Ten-day contracts must span at least three games, so Canaan’s new deal will actually span three extra days, through February 22, since it covers the All-Star break.

FEBRUARY 9: The Timberwolves will sign guard Isaiah Canaan to a second 10-day contract, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.

In five games (one starts), Canaan averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.6 APG for Minnesota. The Timberwolves inked Canaan to his first 10-day pact at the end of January amid a series of injuries to Tyus Jones, Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose. The Timberwolves will have to decide on whether or not to sign Canaan for the remainder of the season once his second 10-day deal ends.

Before he joined Minnesota, Canaan spent time with the Suns in each of the past two seasons, playing 19 games during the 2017/18 season before he was waived. Canaan appeared in 19 games once again with Phoenix before he was waived earlier this season.

The 27-year-old has appeared in 229 total NBA games in six seasons, averaging 8.3 PPG and 2.0 APG.

Raptors Sign Malcolm Miller To Multi-Year Contract

February 10th, 2019 at 7:14pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

As the Raptors continue to shape up their roster after the trade deadline, Blake Murphy of The Athletic is reporting (via Twitter) that the team is signing Malcolm Miller to a multi-year contract. Miller was originally expected to ink a 10-day contract, but CBA rules required Toronto to sign standard contracts to get to 12 players.

Murphy reports that the deal is expected to be for two seasons, with the 2019/20 season being non-guaranteed. The team has confirmed the signing in a press release.

Miller, 25, spent the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Raptors, appearing in 15 games for the NBA squad and averaging 12.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 34 contests for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. He was a candidate to stick with the team for 2018/19, but suffered a dislocated shoulder during Summer League play.

Since then, Miller has remained in the organization, rehabbing his injury with the G League squad and recently making his return to the court. In six games with the Raptors 905, Miller averaged only a modest 8.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG, but Toronto apparently saw enough to give him a promotion.

The Raptors still have multiple roster spots to fill as the regular season reaches the stretch run.

Raptors Sign Chris Boucher To Two-Year Deal

February 10th, 2019 at 5:15pm CST by JD Shaw

5:15pm: The Raptors have officially signed Boucher, the team confirmed in a press release.

3:51pm: The Raptors have agreed to a new multi-year contract with Chris Boucher, promoting him from his current two-way deal with the team, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The agreement is a two-year deal that contains a partial guarantee for the 2019/20 season, according to The Athletic’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link).

Boucher, 26, has held per-game averages of 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and one block in 16 contests with the Raptors this season, shooting 46% from the field and 39% from behind-the-arc. He spent time with the Warriors during their championship 2017/18 season to start his career, but appeared in just one professional game.

Toronto also plans to sign Ben McLemore and Malcolm Miller on 10-day deals, but the team must sign another player to a standard contract before inking the pair due to CBA rules (hat tip to Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights). The Raptors have 11 players under contract, with the CBA requiring that they have 12 players on standard deals before signing players to 10-day contracts.

Boucher originally signed with the team last July and saw his contract converted to a two-way deal in October. He has impressed in his short time with the organization as he aims to develop into a valuable rotation player behind the likes of Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam.

Hornets Claim Shelvin Mack Off Waivers

February 10th, 2019 at 4:16pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

While the Hornets didn’t make a move at the trade deadline, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium is reporting (via Twitter) that they will be adding more depth by claiming Shelvin Mack off of waivers after the veteran point guard was released by the Hawks.

Before being traded by the Grizzlies and subsequently released by Atlanta, Mack was averaging 7.9 points and 3.4 assists per game in a prominent role for Memphis. Mack appeared in 53 games and played 22.7 minutes per game, the second-highest average of his career.

The Hornets have received quality play at point guard with Tony Parker backing up All-Star Kemba Walker, so it will be interesting to see how much playing time Mack receives down the stretch of the regular season.

Because the Hornets have claimed Mack off of waivers, the Hawks are no longer responsible for the remainder of Mack’s contract, which is now off of their salary cap. Because the veteran point guard was on a minimum salary deal, Charlotte was able to claim him using the minimum salary exception.

Mavericks Bring Back Salah Mejri

February 10th, 2019 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Salah Mejri has re-signed with the Mavericks, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Mejri was waived Thursday to open a roster spot so the team could complete a deal that sent Harrison Barnes to the Kings. He cleared waivers Saturday.

Zach Randolph, who was acquired from Sacramento along with Justin Jackson, was waived Friday, creating an opening to bring back Mejri. Randolph hasn’t taken the court yet this season.

Mejri is in his fourth season with Dallas, but hasn’t seen much action this year. He has appeared in just 16 games, averaging 3.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per night.

The 32-year-old center played briefly with Luka Doncic in Real Madrid during the 2015/16 season and is friends with the rookie standout, notes Selby Lopez of The Dallas Morning News. Doncic posted a farewell message to Mejri on Instagram and another objecting to the flurry of trades the team made in the week leading up to the deadline, so Lopez suggests that Mejri was re-signed in part to help keep Doncic happy.

Pacers Sign Wesley Matthews

February 10th, 2019 at 11:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Wesley Matthews, who agreed to a buyout with the Knicks earlier this week, has signed with the Pacers, the team announced on Twitter.

New York acquired Matthews in the January 31 trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. He played just two games for the Knicks before parting ways with the team. The 32-year-old appeared in 44 games with the Mavericks before the trade, averaging 13.1 points per night and shooting 38% from 3-point territory.

The Pacers have a pair of roster openings, so no move was needed to add Matthews. Indiana has been looking for backcourt help since star guard Victor Oladipo suffered a season-ending injury last month.