Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Former King Jack Cooley To Play In Italy

July 27th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA big man Jack Cooley is headed overseas for the 2018/19 season, with Italian club Dinamo Sassari officially announcing a deal with Cooley. It’s a one-year contract, per Sportando.

The move represents a return to Europe for Cooley, who has previously played for teams in Turkey, Germany, and Spain. The former Notre Dame standout also has NBA stints with Utah and Sacramento, having spent the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Kings. Cooley appeared in just seven games for the Kings, but was a key contributor for the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, averaging 17.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 39 games.

The Kings opted not to tender a qualifying offer to Cooley last month, making him an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old appeared in five Summer League games in Las Vegas for the Suns, but will continue his playing career overseas rather than in the NBA.

Sacramento currently has both of its two-way contract slots open after filling them with Cooley and JaKarr Sampson last season.

Pelicans Sign Troy Williams

July 27th, 2018 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 27: The Pelicans have officially signed Williams, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 25: Troy Williams has reached an agreement to sign with the Pelicans, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Williams will get a two-year deal with a team option for the second season, according to Will Guillory of The Times-Picayune (Twitter link). He will have a small guarantee but no promise of a roster spot, adds Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter link). It will be a minimum-salary contract, as New Orleans has used all its cap room and available exceptions.

New Orleans will be the fourth franchise for the third-year forward, who divided last season between the Rockets and Knicks. He showed promise in 17 games for New York, averaging 7.5 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17 minutes per night, but the Knicks opted not to re-sign him.

Williams went undrafted out of Indiana in 2016 before signing with the Grizzlies. He was a part-time starter in Memphis, but was waived after 24 games. He spent brief parts of two seasons with the Rockets before landing in New York.

The addition of Williams, along with this week’s signings of Kenrich Williams and Garlon Green, brings New Orleans’ roster to 18 players, with 12 guaranteed NBA contracts.

Hornets Sign Joe Chealey

July 27th, 2018 at 9:36am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 27: The Hornets have officially signed Chealey, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 26: The Hornets have agreed to a deal with undrafted guard Joe Chealey, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.

The terms of Chealey’s deal weren’t specified, but it figures to be a training camp contract with little to no guaranteed money. The Hornets have an open spot on their 15-man roster but both of their two-way contract slots are filled. Center Mangok Mathiang, and shooting guard J.P. Macura hold the two-way slots.

Chealey played for the Hornets’ Summer League team.

The 6’4” Chealey, 22, played all four college seasons at the College of Charleston. He averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.6 APG as a senior and led them to the NCAA Tournament. He scored 32 points in an overtime win in the Colonial Athletic Association championship against Northeastern but was held to two points by Auburn in the NCAAs.

Former Hawk Josh Magette To Play In Croatia

July 27th, 2018 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

After spending the 2017/18 season under contract with the Hawks, free agent point guard Josh Magette will head overseas for the 2018/19 campaign. According to agent Chris Patrick (Twitter link), Magette has signed a deal with Croatian team KK Cedevita.

Since going undrafted out of Alabama-Huntsville in 2012, Magette has spent time with teams in the Netherlands and Greece, and is a veteran of the G League, having appeared in 181 total NBAGL games. He caught on with the Hawks during the 2017 offseason, signing a two-way contract and spending the entire season with the club.

Magette played sparingly in 18 games for Atlanta, seeing much more action in 36 contests with the Erie BayHawks. While the 28-year-old struggled with his shot in G League action (.374 FG%, .300 3PT%), he averaged a double-double on the season, racking up 15.1 PPG and 10.1 APG.

The Hawks opted to go in a different direction with their two-way contract slots for 2018/19, declining to tender qualifying offers to Magette or Andrew White. Jaylen Adams currently occupies one of Atlanta’s two-way slots, while Alex Poythress is poised to take the other.

Jordan Mickey To Play In Russia

July 27th, 2018 at 8:18am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 27: Mickey’s one-year deal with Khimki is official, the team announced today in a press release.

“Jordan has ambitions and big desire to play at the highest level,” head coach Georgios Bartzokas said in a statement. “I’m sure, we will help him also as well as he will help Khimki to achieve our goals. I wanted to sign him even last year but didn’t have a chance.”

JULY 25: Heat free agent Jordan Mickey appears headed to Russia, according to Nikos Varlas of EuroHoops. Mickey is reportedly close to a deal with Khimki Moscow Region.

The 24-year-old forward appeared in 23 games after signing with Miami prior to the start of last season, averaging 4.0 PPG in about 12 minutes per night. He was a second-round pick by the Celtics in 2015 and spent two seasons in Boston before being waived.

If Mickey finalizes a deal with Khimki, he will likely replace Thomas Robinson, who played five NBA seasons before heading overseas in 2017.

Jaylen Morris Signs Two-Way Deal With Bucks

July 27th, 2018 at 8:14am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 27: Morris has officially signed a two-way contract with the Bucks, per RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 26: Less than a week after he finalized a deal with Italian team Fiat Torino, former Hawk Jaylen Morris may have decided against playing overseas. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link), Morris is opting out of his contract with Fiat Torino and will sign a two-way deal with the Bucks.

Morris, who was waived a week ago by Atlanta in order to help the team clear cap room to complete its acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, quickly caught on with Larry Brown‘s team in Italy. However, reports at the time indicated that Morris’ new deal had an opt-out clause in case he received an NBA offer.

Assuming he makes things official with the Bucks, Morris would fill the team’s second two-way contract slot. Former Duke point guard Trevon Duval signed a two-way deal with the club earlier this week. Milwaukee also still has a two-way qualifying offer out to Xavier Munford, but deals with both Duval and Morris would seemingly eliminate Munford’s chances of returning to the Bucks on a two-way contract of his own.

After going undrafted out of Molloy in 2017, Morris appeared in 39 games for the Erie BayHawks in 2017/18, averaging 12.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.4 APG for Atlanta’s G League affiliate. The Hawks called up Morris late in the season, inking him to a pair of 10-day deals, then a rest-of-season contract. The 6’5″ shooting guard played just six games for the NBA club.

Al Jefferson Set To Play In China

July 26th, 2018 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

2:24pm: Aldridge has confirmed that Jefferson will join the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China (Twitter link).

12:00pm: Veteran NBA big man Al Jefferson is opting to play in China for the upcoming season, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). According to Aldridge, Jefferson had an opportunity to rejoin the Pacers after being waived by the team earlier this month, but was offered a “nice payday” overseas.

Shortly after releasing him, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard revealed that Jefferson was mulling the possibility of playing international ball in 2018/19. While Aldridge’s report doesn’t specify which team Jefferson has lined up a deal with, a report earlier in July indicated that the big man was expected to sign with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Jefferson, 33, has averaged 15.7 PPG and 8.4 RPG over the course of a productive 14-year NBA career, but played a career-low 13.4 minutes per contest for Indiana last season, appearing in just 36 games. Although the veteran’s per-minute production was still strong, he wasn’t a major part of the Pacers’ plans going forward, and his $10MM salary for 2018/19 was only guaranteed for $4MM, making it an easy decision to cut him.

Assuming Jefferson finalizes a deal with a Chinese club and spends the 2018/19 campaign overseas, he could return stateside in the spring, since the CBA season ends before the NBA’s does. This past April, for instance, Ty Lawson returned from a stint with the Shandong Golden Stars and immediately signed with the Wizards, claiming a regular rotation role with Washington during the team’s brief playoff run.

Celtics Sign Jabari Bird To Two-Year Contract

July 26th, 2018 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

1:20pm: The Celtics have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve re-signed Bird to a new contract.

10:23am: The Celtics are in the process of finalizing a multiyear contract for two-way restricted free agent Jabari Bird, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). ESPN’s Chris Haynes tweets that it’ll be a two-year deal, while Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link) hears that it’ll be worth the minimum, with a guaranteed first year.

Bird, who was on a two-way contract with the Celtics last season after being selected with the 56th overall pick, didn’t play much for the NBA club, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 13 contests (8.8 MPG). However, the Cal product had an impressive season with the Maine Red Claws in the G League, recording 19.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 20 games.

Bird’s promising rookie showing earned him a qualifying offer from Boston last month, and he further made his case for a regular-season roster spot with in Las Vegas. In four Summer League games, Bird was the Celtics’ leading scorer, averaging 16.8 PPG to go along with 6.0 RPG and 3.0 APG.

The Celtics, who traded Abdel Nader several days ago, now have 15 players on guaranteed contracts for 2018/19. Bird’s new deal will increase the team’s projected tax bill, but the impact won’t be significant, since his first-year salary is modest ($1,349,383).

With 15 players on guaranteed contracts, along with Rodney Purvis (non-guaranteed) and Walt Lemon Jr. (two-way), the Celtics’ roster count is up to 17. Purvis may not be in Boston’s plans, and the club might not fill its second two-way slot right away, so there should still be room for three or four training camp invitees.

Sixers Sign Shake Milton To Two-Way Deal

July 26th, 2018 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

1:19pm: The Sixers have sent out a press release confirming their two-way contract with Milton.

12:56pm: The Sixers have agreed to terms with second-round pick Shake Milton, reports Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). According to Fischer, Milton will sign a two-year, two-way contract with Philadelphia.

Milton, 21, played his college ball at SMU and declared for the draft after a productive junior year in which he averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.4 APG. A 6’6″ guard, Milton was also an excellent three-point shooter throughout his college career, knocking down 42.7% of his shots from beyond the arc over his three years at SMU.

The 76ers currently project to have a full 15-man roster for the 2018/19 season, with 14 players on guaranteed contracts and T.J. McConnell on a non-guaranteed deal. As such, it makes sense for the club to use one of its two-way slots on Milton — especially since players drafted in the 50s have frequently received two-way contracts during the last two summers.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Milton’s draft rights were acquired by the 76ers in a draft-night trade that saw Philadelphia receive the No. 54 selection from Dallas in exchange for the 56th and 60th overall picks.

Hornets Sign Three Players To Camp Deals

July 26th, 2018 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed undrafted rookies Jaylen Barford and Zach Smith to their training camp roster, the team announced today in a press release. The club also confirmed the previously-reported signing of another undrafted free agent, Isaiah Wilkins.

Barford, a 6’3″ guard out of Arkansas, was the No. 95 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s 2018 big board at ESPN.com. In his final college season, Barford averaged 17.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .470/.431/.721 shooting line for the Razorbacks, earning First Team All-SEC honors.

A 6’8″ forward, Smith played his college ball at Texas Tech, averaging 12.1 PPG and 7.2 RPG in his junior year before being slowed by injuries in his senior season. He played in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Hawks, averaging 5.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG in four games.

Wilkins, meanwhile, had modest averages of 6.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG during his senior year at Virginia. However, the 6’8″ forward filled up the stat sheet with 1.4 BPG and 1.2 SPG, and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Wilkins is the stepson of NBA legend Dominique Wilkins.

While terms of the three deals aren’t known, I’d anticipate minimum salary contracts with little to no guaranteed money. It’s possible that the contracts include an Exhibit 10 clause, in which case Barford, Smith, and Wilkins would be candidates to eventually end up with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate.