Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets’ Tim Connelly Agrees To Extension

February 15th, 2019 at 5:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has agreed to a contract extension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Connelly’s contract could have expired at the end of this season, but he has been in negotiations for several weeks with Nuggets president Josh Kroenke on a new deal, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.

The team has confirmed the extension in a press release. General manager Arturas Karnisovas and the entire basketball operations staff in Denver have also received extensions, according to the release.

“It gives me immense pride to announce contract extensions for our entire front office, as our journey to this point has been one of hard work, patience and trust in one another,” Kroenke said in a statement. “When Tim joined us in 2013, he understood the vision that we had for the future of the Nuggets, and through his dedication our program is incredibly well positioned to compete at the highest level for years to come. Building a true championship contender in the NBA is a unique process for each franchise, and our path in Denver hasn’t always been clear. But Tim, Arturas and the rest of our staff continued to work through every challenge we faced along the way, and I hope Nuggets fans are as excited as we are about our future. We firmly believe we can bring an NBA championship to Denver, and are thrilled to continue our pursuit together.”

The Nuggets have emerged as one of the Western Conference’s top teams, mainly due to smart selections in the draft. Denver has drafted All-Star center Nikola Jokic and guards Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Malik Beasley during Connelly’s regime.

This isn’t the first time Connelly received an extension. He got one from the Nuggets in 2016 when he held the title of GM. Karnisovas held the title of assistant GM at the time.

Thunder Sign Scotty Hopson To 10-Day Contract

February 14th, 2019 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 14: Hopson’s 10-day deal with the Thunder is now official, according to a press release issued by the club.

FEBRUARY 13: The Thunder plan to sign guard Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contract as they look to get back to the league-mandated roster minimum, reports Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Young, the signing is expected to be finalized before OKC’s game against New Orleans on Thursday.

Hopson, 29, was briefly a member of the Thunder back in October when the team signed – and then waived – him in order to secure his G League rights. He has spent the season with the Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 17.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.8 APG with a .551/.341/.725 shooting line in 25 NBAGL games (29.0 MPG).

This will be the second straight season in which Hopson has signed a 10-day contract. He received one from the Mavericks last February, appearing in a single game with Dallas. His only other NBA action came back in 2013/14, when he played two games for the Cavs.

The Thunder also reportedly intend to sign Richard Solomon to a 10-day contract. Assuming they finalize deals with both Solomon and Hopson on Thursday, they’ll be back to the minimum roster count of 14 players, and will keep the duo under contract for three games over the next 10 days — tomorrow’s contest, plus two after the All-Star break.

Thunder Sign Richard Solomon To 10-Day Deal

February 14th, 2019 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 14: The Thunder have officially signed Solomon to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 12: The Thunder intend to fill one of the open spots on their 15-man roster by signing G League forward Richard Solomon to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Solomon, 26, has never appeared in a regular season NBA game, though he spent training camp with the Thunder in 2014, the Hawks in 2016, and OKC again in 2018. This season, the former Cal standout has played for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, averaging 13.6 PPG and 8.6 RPG on 59.8% shooting in 31 games (26.5 MPG).

Solomon is unlikely to see much action for the Thunder, who are required by NBA rules to add a player to their roster soon. Currently, Oklahoma City is carrying 12 players, two below the league-mandated 14-player minimum.

Most teams that dipped below that minimum at the trade deadline have until after the All-Star break to get their roster count back up to 14, since there’s a two-week grace period. However, the Thunder have been below the minimum since February 1, when they sent Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to Chicago, so they’ll have to make a move this week.

While this is just my speculation, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Thunder wait until Thursday to finalize Solomon’s deal. That would allow the team to avoid keeping him on the roster for longer than 10 days — 10-day contracts must span at least three games, and OKC’s next three games fall on February 14, February 22, and February 23.

Trail Blazers Sign Enes Kanter

February 13th, 2019 at 10:15pm CST by Luke Adams

10:15pm: The Blazers have officially signed Kanter, the club confirmed in a press release.

3:50pm: After being released by the Knicks last week, Enes Kanter has lined up a new NBA home, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Kanter and the Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a deal.

Kanter confirmed the news himself, tweeting that he’s signing with Portland for the rest of the season. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the Trail Blazers beat out multiple suitors, including the Lakers, for the big man’s services.

Things have gone full circle now between Kanter and the Blazers, who originally signed him to a four-year, $70MM offer sheet during 2015’s free agent period. The Thunder matched that offer and retained Kanter, then later traded him to the Knicks. The veteran center was in the final year of that four-year contract this season before New York waived him, allowing him to return to the free agent market.

The Blazers roster that Kanter is joining now looks much different than it did in 2015, and the role he’ll play probably won’t be the same as the one the team envisioned four years ago. However, he’s expected to see a “good share of minutes” in Portland, according to Wojnarowski. The 26-year-old figures to slot in as Jusuf Nurkic‘s backup at the five, perhaps cutting into Meyers Leonard‘s and/or Zach Collins‘ playing time.

While he was ultimately removed the Knicks’ rotation in recent weeks as the team prioritized developing its youth, Kanter was as productive as ever in his 44 games this season, posting a double-double (14.0 PPG and 10.5 RPG) in just 25.6 minutes per contest.

The Blazers won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to officially sign Kanter, since they had an open roster spot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Sign Jeremy Lin

February 13th, 2019 at 4:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two days after agreeing to a buyout with the Hawks, Jeremy Lin has officially signed with the Raptors, the team announced on Twitter. Toronto has been the expected destination for the 30-year-old guard once he cleared waivers.

Lin will make approximately $697K for the rest of the season, which matches the amount he gave back to the Hawks in his buyout, and will carry a $487K cap hit, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. The Raptors’ moves this month have saved them $13.5MM in luxury taxes and they have trimmed their projected tax bill to $21.2MM.

Lin played in 51 games for Atlanta, nearly all as a reserve, and posted a 10.7/2.3/3.5 line in 19.7 minutes per night. He also proved that he can stay healthy after missing significant time with injuries in each of the past two seasons.

Although he is far removed from his “Lin-sanity” days in New York, Lin still has the ability to help a contender. He arrives at a good time for the Raptors, who will be without reserve guard Fred VanVleet for around five weeks after he undergoes thumb surgery.

Toronto coach Nick Nurse had planned to use Lin as a combo guard, but he will inherit the role of backup point guard until VanVleet returns, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Lin will make his Raptors debut tonight.

“He’s a good player,” Nurse said of Lin. “We want to get good players on the floor.”

Grizzlies Sign Bruno Caboclo To Multiyear Deal

February 13th, 2019 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

9:09am: Caboclo’s new deal with the Grizzlies is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

7:56am: Bruno Caboclo‘s second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies expired overnight, but the team won’t be letting him get away, per reports from Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian and Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter links). According to Herrington and Wallace, Memphis is signing Caboclo to a rest-of-season contract that will also include a salary for 2019/20.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo never developed into a rotation piece for Toronto and didn’t play much for Sacramento last season after the Raptors traded him to the Kings in a deadline deal. However, he has earned regular playing time during his 20-day, 10-game stint with the Grizzlies so far, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 21.1 minutes per contest.

While Caboclo has continued to struggled with his shot (.333 FG%, .250 3PT%) in Memphis, the club’s coaching staff has been intrigued by his “size, length, defensive instincts, and offensive potential,” tweets Wallace. The Grizzlies view him as an asset and want to continue working on developing his game.

The exact details of Caboclo’s new contract aren’t known, but the Grizzlies don’t have their mid-level or bi-annual exceptions available, so it’ll be a minimum salary deal, and the second year seems unlikely to be fully guaranteed. The prorated cap charge for this season will be approximately $487K, assuming the deal is officially finalized today.

Caboclo will continue to fill the 15th and final spot on Memphis’ roster, meaning the Grizzlies would have to release someone with a guaranteed contract if they want to add any other new players down the stretch.

As our 10-day tracker shows, Caboclo will become the first player this season to parlay a pair of 10-day deal into a rest-of-season contract with that same team.

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.