Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sign Markel Crawford

August 13th, 2018 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed Markel Crawford to a training camp contract, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log. While specific terms of the deal aren’t known, there’s a good chance it will be an Exhibit 10 contract.

Crawford, a 6’4″ guard, finished his college career at Ole Miss in 2017/18, averaging 9.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 2.1 APG in his senior year. However, he’s a Memphis native and spent his first three college seasons with the Memphis Tigers. Crawford told Jessica Benson of WATN in Memphis (video link) that it was a dream come true to be joining his hometown NBA team.

“I just label myself a real Memphis guy,” Crawford said. “A real gritty guy. For me to be playing with a grit and grind type team, just means the world.”

Crawford first played for the Grizzlies in Utah and Las Vegas Summer League action last month. He was particularly effective in seven Vegas contests, averaging 9.6 PPG on 53.1% shooting.

The Grizzlies already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts and have filled both of their two-way contract slots, so Crawford is a long shot to make the team’s regular season roster. He may ultimately end up with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.

Raptors Sign Greg Monroe

August 13th, 2018 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 13: While the Raptors haven’t yet issued a press release confirming the move, Monroe has officially signed with the club, per the NBA’s transactions log.

AUGUST 6: Free agent center Greg Monroe has agreed to a contract with the Raptors, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Monroe will get a one-year, $2.2MM deal, Charania adds (Twitter link) and will move from one Eastern Conference contender to another after finishing last season with the Celtics. Monroe will fill the backup center slot, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link), who reported Toronto’s interest in Monroe last week.

The Raptors had their $5.3MM mid-level exception available, but are concerned about adding to their luxury tax bill. Toronto already had more than $137MM committed for next season before adding Monroe. He will become the 14th player on the roster with a fully or partially guaranteed contract.

An eight-year veteran, Monroe averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds last season while splitting time between the Bucks, Suns and Celtics. He was sent from Milwaukee to Phoenix in November as part of the Eric Bledsoe deal, then signed with the Celtics in February after agreeing to a buyout.

The addition of Monroe may signal the end of the Raptors’ relationship with Lucas Nogueira, who has been with the organization for the past four seasons. The free agent center got into 49 games last year and scored 2.5 points per night.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets Sign Carmelo Anthony

August 13th, 2018 at 12:21pm CST by clarkcrum

AUGUST 13, 12:21pm: Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has published a tweet welcoming Anthony to Houston, signaling that the signing is now official.

AUGUST 13, 8:21am: Anthony has traveled to Houston and is completing his physical on Monday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that the veteran forward should finally make his deal with the Rockets official today.

AUGUST 7, 4:17pm: Carmelo Anthony has verbally agreed to sign with the Rockets, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Anthony already made his plans known a few weeks back, but he still needed to be officially traded and waived before he could make a final decision.

Anthony reportedly drew interest from the Heat in addition to the Rockets, but Houston has always been seen as the frontrunner ever since it became public knowledge that the working relationship between Anthony and the Thunder was beyond repair.

The 34-year-old forward, who has long made it known that he sees himself as a starter in the NBA, will presumably get the chance to show he’s right after Houston lost both Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency.

Anthony will reportedly sign a one-year, veteran’s minimum salary, leaving the Rockets with the remainder of their mid-level exception to use elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Sign Zach Lofton To Training Camp Deal

August 11th, 2018 at 4:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 11: The deal is official, Lofton announced on Instagram.

AUGUST 8: Former New Mexico State guard Zach Lofton will sign a G League contract and participate in training camp with the Pistons, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.

After going undrafted in June, Lofton joined the Detroit’s summer league entry and impressed team officials with his performance in Las Vegas. As a senior with the Aggies, he averaged 20.1 points per game and was a first-team All-WAC selection.

Lofton will be the 18th player headed to camp with the Pistons, two short of the league maximum.

Former NBA Forward Jason Thompson Headed To China

August 11th, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA forward Jason Thompson will play next season in China, according to a Sportando report.

Thompson has signed a deal with Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association. He spent last season with Fenerbahce D Istanbul, winning the Turkish League (BSL) and reaching the EuroLeague final. In 36 games with Fenerbahce, Thompson averaged 5.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 16.0 MPG.

Thompson, 32, also played in China during the 2016/17 season. He spent seven seasons with the Kings and made 405 starts. He played a combined 47 games, including seven starts, with the Warriors and Raptors in 2015/16.

Thompson averaged 8.9 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 588 career NBA games.

Andrew Nicholson, Russ Smith Sign With Chinese Team

August 11th, 2018 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

A pair of former NBA players, Andrew Nicholson and Russ Smith, have both signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association, per a report from Sportando. We relayed yesterday that Nicholson was expected to sign with Fujian.

Nicholson teamed with former NBA veteran Yi Jianlian and Donald Sloan last year for Guangdong Tigers. He posted 22.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 46 CBA games. The Tigers went to the CBA semifinals before being eliminated by the Liaoning Flying Leopards.

A former Magic first-round pick (19th overall), Nicholson appeared in 285 total NBA regular season games from 2012 to 2017 with Orlando, Washington, and Brooklyn before heading to China last September.

As for Smith, the former second-round pick (47th overall) by the Pelicans spent last season with the Sturgeons. Smith is arguably best known for his 81-point game last July in the Chinese National Basketball League. Smith appeared in 27 NBA games with the Pelicans and Grizzlies from 2014-16, averaging 2.0 PPG.

Rockets Sign Rookie Guard Rob Gray

August 10th, 2018 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have signed undrafted rookie guard Rob Gray, according to a team press release.

The terms were not announced but Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that it’s a training camp deal.

The 6’1” Gray averaged 18.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.0 APG and 1.2 SPG in his three college seasons with the University of Houston. He’s the American Athletic Conference’s all-time leading scorer with 1,710 points.

Gray, who saw brief action with the team’s summer league squad in Las Vegas, scored a combined 62 points in two NCAA Tournament games in March, including 23-point, 10-rebound effort against national runner-up Michigan. Gray averaged 19.3 PPG, 4.4 APG and 3.7 RPG in his senior year.

Gray hinted right after the draft that he’d get a training-camp invite from the Rockets.

“I will be playing summer league/training camp with them trying to earn a roster spot for the upcoming season,” Gray said.

Mavs Re-Sign Jalen Jones, Waive Terry Larrier

August 10th, 2018 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 10, 12:20pm: The Mavericks have formally re-signed Jones, according to a press release issued by the club. Both moves are now official, increasing the team’s roster count back up to 20 players.

AUGUST 9, 6:00pm: The Mavs have formally waived Larrier, the team announced in a press release.

1:13pm: The Mavericks‘ offseason roster continues to undergo charges, with Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reporting that the club will waive camp invitee Terry Larrier and bring back Jalen Jones, who was released by the club last month.

Larrier, who signed with the Mavs at the end of July, will have his stint with the club cut short due to a major knee injury. According to Sefko, the former UConn forward suffered a torn ACL in a workout and will miss the entire 2018/19 season.

Because Larrier had only been on a “make-good” summer contract, he won’t receive his full-season salary. However, the Mavericks will pay him for training camp and will monitor his rehab — he’ll undergo ACL surgery in Dallas and will rehab with the Mavs and their G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

As for Jones, he opened the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Pelicans before being cut in January. The Mavericks claimed him off waivers and he finished the year with Dallas. Jones’ two-way deal was for two years, but the Mavs opted to go in another direction with their two-way slots this summer, waiving him in July. Jones, a 6’7″ forward, appeared in 16 overall NBA games last season, including 12 with Dallas.

By swapping in Jones for Larrier, the Mavs will keep their offseason roster at 20 players, the maximum allowed. Dallas reportedly reached a contract agreement with Donte Ingram as well, but it’s not clear when the club intends to finalize that deal.

Pelicans Sign Jahlil Okafor

August 9th, 2018 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 9: The Pelicans have officially signed Okafor, according to the NBA’s official transactions log.

AUGUST 8: The Pelicans have agreed to sign free agent center Jahlil Okafor, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). A source tells Wojnarowski that Okafor will sign a two-year contract with a partial guarantee in the first year and a team option for year two.

Scott Kushner of The Advocate first reported on Tuesday that the Pelicans and Okafor were engaged in discussions about a possible deal. As we noted at the time, the 22-year-old could be a good fit on a Pelicans roster that is short on traditional centers. Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic, and Julius Randle are expected to see the majority of the frontcourt minutes for the club, but none of those players is a natural five.

While Emeka Okafor, Alexis Ajinca, and Cheick Diallo are also options at center for the Pelicans, Okafor’s salary is still non-guaranteed, Ajinca missed the entire 2017/18 season with a knee injury, and Diallo has played primarily at the four since arriving in New Orleans.

The Pelicans currently have 12 players on fully guaranteed salaries for 2018/19, with Emeka Okafor, DeAndre Liggins, Troy Williams, and now Jahlil Okafor among the players with non-guaranteed deals or partial guarantees. That should open the door for the former Sixer to potentially earn a spot on New Orleans’ 15-man regular season roster.

Okafor, drafted by the 76ers with the third overall pick in 2015, averaged 17.5 PPG and 7.0 RPG during his rookie year, but has seen his playing time and production decline since then. After being traded to Brooklyn this past season, he posted 6.4 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 26 contests (12.6 MPG) with the Nets.

Because Okafor isn’t a strong rim protector or outside shooter, he has had trouble carving out a consistent role over the course of his NBA career. However, there shouldn’t be much pressure on him to make an impact in New Orleans — the team has already used its mid-level exception on Randle and its bi-annual exception on Elfrid Payton, meaning Okafor’s new partially guaranteed contract will only be worth the minimum.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Timberwolves Sign James Nunnally

August 8th, 2018 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 8, 10:05am: The Timberwolves have officially signed Nunnally, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 7, 3:26pm: Nunnally’s two-year deal with the Timberwolves will be worth the veteran’s minimum and will include partial guarantees, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

AUGUST 7, 12:57pm: Former Sixers wing James Nunnally is set to return to the NBA, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that the Timberwolves have agreed to sign Nunnally to a two-year contract.

Nunnally, who played his college ball at UC Santa Barbara, went undrafted in 2012 and has played in a handful of leagues since then. Besides appearing in 13 total games for the Hawks and 76ers back in 2013/14, the 28-year-old also played in 84 G League contests and has spent time with teams in Greece, Puerto Rico, Spain, Israel, Italy, and Turkey.

Most recently, Nunnally played for Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce, serving as a key rotation player on a club that also featured Brad Wanamaker, Jan Vesely, Luigi Datome, and Jason Thompson. In 29 EuroLeague contests last season, Nunnally averaged 9.3 PPG and made an eye-popping 55.4% of his three-point attempts.

Nunnally, who was also linked to the Trail Blazers and Rockets this offseason, will bring his shooting ability to a Timberwolves roster that was in need of another long-distance marksmen. While a minimum-salary deal seems likely, Minnesota did have the ability to offer its bi-annual exception ($3.382MM) or the rest of its mid-level exception ($2.05MM) if necessary.