Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Claim Jawun Evans Off Waivers

March 25th, 2019 at 8:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:05pm: The transaction is official, according to a team press release.

4:39pm: The Thunder have claimed point guard Jawun Evans off waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

This comes as a surprising development, as the Rockets were expected to claim Evans after the two-way player was waived by the Suns on Saturday. Oklahoma City, which has tumbled to sixth in the Western Conference standings, made a preemptive strike to prevent Evans from going to Houston. The Rockets are currently third in the West.

It’s a kind of homecoming for the 22-year-old Evans, who starred at Oklahoma State. He made seven brief appearances with Phoenix this season.

Oklahoma City had a two-way opening after converting Deonte Burton‘s two-way deal to a standard contract earlier this month. Two-way players are not eligible for the playoffs.

It’s unlikely Evans will get any significant playing time with Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder and Raymond Felton at point guard.

Houston was looking to fill a two-way slot after promoting Danuel House to its 15-man roster.

Evans spent a good portion of this season with Northern Arizona in the G League, posting a 15.1/3.8/5.8 line in 32 games.

The Clippers waived him in October just before the start of the regular season, although he had a guaranteed $1.378MM deal.

Magic Sign Michael Carter-Williams To Second 10-Day Deal

March 25th, 2019 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

Michael Carter-Williams‘ 10-day contract with the Magic expired overnight on Sunday, but the veteran point guard isn’t going anywhere. According to a press release from the team, Carter-Williams has officially signed a second 10-day deal with Orlando.

A former Rookie of the Year, Carter-Williams began the 2018/19 season with the Rockets, but failed to lock down a rotation role in Houston. He was traded to the Bulls in January and was released before his salary became fully guaranteed.

Since catching on with the Magic earlier this month, the 27-year-old has served as D.J. Augustin‘s backup, displacing Jerian Grant in the rotation and filling in for injured rookie Isaiah Briscoe. MCW’s numbers on his first 10-day deal were modest (3.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, and a .222 FG% in 16.3 MPG), but he has played well on the defensive end and the Magic won all three games he played, keeping their postseason hopes alive.

The Magic’s press release announcing Carter-Williams’ new 10-day deal doesn’t indicate that anyone has been released, so it appears the team’s hardship exception has been extended. That exception – which can be granted to teams with at least four injured players – allows Orlando to temporarily carry a 16th man. However, if the Magic do make the playoffs and want MCW available, they’ll have to waive another player to make room for him, since the hardship exception wouldn’t extend to the postseason.

Carter-Williams’ new 10-day contract, like his previous deal, will count against the cap for $85,458, though he’ll earn a slightly higher salary ($99,290).

Greg Monroe Signs 10-Day Deal With Celtics

March 24th, 2019 at 3:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

March 24: The Celtics have officially signed Monroe to his 10-day deal, the team announced on social media. There was some uncertainty over whether Monroe would ultimately be signed, but the team went forward with the agreement on Sunday.

March 22: Veteran center Greg Monroe has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Celtics, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Boston has an open roster spot, so the team won’t have to clear a space for the new addition.

Monroe provides some depth in the middle with the team’s top two big men, Al Horford and Aron Baynes, nursing injuries. Horford is dealing with left knee soreness, while Baynes is battling an ankle sprain. Neither will play against Charlotte on Saturday.

Appearing in 38 games with the Raptors this season, including two starts, Monroe averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 11.1 MPG. Toronto traded him to the Nets just before the February deadline and Brooklyn immediately waived him. He has been shopping for another opportunity since that point.

Monroe, 28, will be entering his second stint in a Boston uniform. He played 26 regular-season and 11 postseason games with the Celtics last year.

The Celtics could eventually sign former NBA forward Thomas Robinson as their 15th man, but they want him to play out the G League season with their affiliate, Keith Smith of RealGM tweets. Robinson was claimed by the Maine Red Claws team last week. Boston also had an imminent need at center, which made Monroe a logical choice.

Bucks Waive Trevon Duval

March 24th, 2019 at 12:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks have waived rookie guard Trevon Duval, who spent the season on a two-way contract, the team announced on Twitter.

Duval played most of the year in the G League, averaging 12.5 points, 3.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 38 games with the Wisconsin Herd. He got into three games for Milwaukee, playing six total minutes and averaging 1.7 PPG.

Duval went undrafted last summer after one season at Duke. He played for the Rockets’ summer league team before catching on with the Bucks.

Because he was a two-way player, the move won’t affect Milwaukee’s roster. All 15 slots are filled by players with guaranteed contracts.

Suns Waive Jawun Evans; Rockets Expected To Make Claim

March 23rd, 2019 at 4:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

4:57pm: Phoenix has waived Evans, tweets Gina Mizell of The Athletic.

4:17pm: The Suns will waive two-way player Jawun Evans, who already has interest from the Rockets, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.

Evans signed a two-way deal with the Suns in December, but has only appeared in seven games for Phoenix, playing about nine minutes per night and averaging less than a point per game. He was much more productive with Northern Arizona, posting a 15.1/3.8/5.8 line in 32 games.

The second-year point guard had a promising rookie season with the Clippers, but couldn’t earn a spot on this year’s roster. He was waived in October just before the start of the regular season, although he had a guaranteed $1.378MM deal.

The Suns won’t be able to replace Evans because the deadline for signing two-way players has already passed. The G League season ends this weekend, and Northern Arizona won’t be in the playoffs.

Houston has a two-way slot open after promoting Danuel House to the 15-man roster. No move would be necessary before adding Evans, but the Rockets’ record puts them toward the back of the line for waiver claims, so it’s possible another organization could seize Evans. Teams will have 48 hours to submit claims once Evans is officially waived.

Spurs Nearing Deal With Donatas Motiejunas

March 23rd, 2019 at 1:28pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Spurs are nearing a deal with big man Donatas Motiejunas, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). After spending five seasons in the NBA, Motiejunas has played in China for the last two years.

San Antonio has an open roster spot since the buyout of fellow European Pau Gasol, thus no additional move needs to be made to accommodate the addition of Motiejunas.

Motiejunas, 28, signed a four-year deal with the Rockets in July 2012 and spent his first four NBA seasons in Houston. After being a reliable scoring option off the bench his first two seasons, Motiejunas broke out in 2014/15, averaging a career-high 12.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 71 games (62 starts).

The Lithuanian entered the 2016 offseason a restricted free agent and after a lengthy contractual dispute, the Rockets ultimately rescinded their offer sheet and made him a free agent. Following a 34-game stint with the Pelicans, Motiejunas signed with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association.

In 37 games this season, Motiejunas averaged an impressive 27.3 PPG and 14.0 RPG with the Golden Stars. The signing of Motiejunas would mark the second noteworthy CBA transaction this week as Jimmer Fredette signed a two-year deal with the Suns.

Clippers Sign Justin Bibbs To Second 10-Day Deal

March 23rd, 2019 at 1:04pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Clippers have inked guard Justin Bibbs to a second 10-day contract, the team announced on Saturday (Twitter link). Los Angeles assigned Bibbs to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

Bibbs, 23, joined the Clippers on his first 10-day deal on March 13. Since then, he has appeared in four games with the team’s G League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG. In 48 total NBAGL games, Bibbs has averaged 11.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG for the Maine Red Claws and Clippers.

The Dayton, Ohio native went undrafted out of Virginia Tech last year and was in training camp with the Celtics before being waived prior to the start of the season.

Rockets Re-Sign Chris Chiozza

March 23rd, 2019 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 23: The signing of Chiozza is official, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

MARCH 22: After signing a 10-day contract with the Rockets last month, Chris Chiozza will soon return to the team, according to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (via Twitter). League sources tell Johnson that the Rockets intend to sign Chiozza to a rest-of-season contract.

Chiozza, 23, went undrafted out of Florida in 2018 before joining the Wizards in the fall for training camp. After being waived by Washington, he has spent most of his rookie season in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go, averaging 13.2 PPG, 7.7 APG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.9 SPG with a .438/.407/.760 shooting line in 47 NBAGL games (33.5 MPG). Despite joining the Rockets for 10 days after the All-Star break, Chiozza has yet to make his regular-season NBA debut.

The Rockets are currently carrying 13 players on their roster, so adding Chiozza will get them back to the league-mandated 14-player minimum. Teams that dip below 14 players are given a two-week window to reach that minimum. Since Terrence Jones‘ 10-day contract expired overnight on March 13, Houston still has several days before that window expires, so it’s not clear if Chiozza will be re-signed right away.

If the Rockets wait a few more days to sign Chiozza, it could help ensure that the team stays out of tax territory. Still, as cap expert Albert Nahmad detailed last week (via Twitter), Houston should remain safely under the tax line for 2018/19 as long as Clint Capela doesn’t earn either of his $500K bonuses for a 65% free-throw rate or a 30% defensive rebound rate. Currently, the big man is not on track to meet either benchmark.

Kings Sign Cody Demps To 10-Day Contract

March 22nd, 2019 at 10:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have signed free agent guard Cody Demps to a 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release. Sacramento had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to create room.

Demps is a local product who played his college ball at Sacramento State and has spent the past two years with the Kings’ G League affiliate. In 49 games (41 starts) for the Stockton Kings this season, he has averaged 11.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG on .446/.308/.802 shooting.

Sacramento’s roster looks fairly healthy at this point, so it’s not clear whether Demps will see much playing time in the next 10 days. If he impresses the Kings during that stretch, perhaps he’ll earn a rest-of-season contract, though his 10-day stint in Sacramento could end up being more of a reward for the work he has put in for the club’s NBAGL squad.

As a rookie, Demps will earn $47,371 over the course of his 10-day deal.

Suns Sign Jimmer Fredette

March 22nd, 2019 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 22: The Suns have made it official, announcing Fredette’s new deal today in a press release.

MARCH 21: The Suns have reached an agreement to sign former lottery pick Jimmer Fredette to a rest-of-season contract which will include a team option for 2019/20, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. Because Phoenix has an open spot on its 15-man roster, no corresponding move will be required to create an opening.

The move is not yet official, as Fredette still requires clearance after spending the 2018/19 season in the Chinese Basketball Association, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. That should happen soon.

Once Fredette officially finalizes his new deal with the Suns, he’ll be back in the NBA for the first time since the 2015/16 season, when he appeared in just six games for the Pelicans and Knicks. Since then, the 30-year-old guard has made a name for himself in China, where he has put up huge scoring numbers for the Shanghai Sharks. In 43 games this season, Fredette averaged a league-leading 36.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, and 2.6 SPG.

Although he never developed into a reliable rotation player in 235 games for the Kings, Bulls, Pelicans, and Knicks, the former BYU star has said that he feels as if he’d succeed if given another opportunity in the NBA. Given how often teams are launching three-point shots these days, Fredette’s outside touch should be an asset — he made 38.1% of his three-point attempts in his previous five NBA seasons.

“I definitely get that itch when I watch NBA games, I know that I can be out there,” Fredette told Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype in November. “They’re shooting so many three-pointers and so much of it has to do with space, movement and transition. During half-court sets, they’re looking to space and drive and shoot and that plays into my skill set so well. It’s absolutely my style. I see their offensive systems and everyone can use another shooter, another scorer.”

The Suns will now have a full 15-man roster, with all 15 players on guaranteed contracts. The exact terms of Fredette’s deal aren’t yet known, but if he signed for the minimum, his non-guaranteed 2019/20 option would be worth just shy of $2MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.