Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Waive Brandon Jennings

August 4th, 2018 at 8:04am CST by clarkcrum

AUGUST 4: Jennings has cleared waivers and is now a free agent, according to the RealGM transactions log.

AUGUST 1: The Bucks have waived reserve point guard Brandon Jennings, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. As noted previously, Jennings’ $2.22MM salary would have become guaranteed had he remained on the Bucks’ roster past today.

Jennings, 28, signed a two-year contract with the Bucks back in April after completing a couple of ten-day stints. His 2018/19 salary was initially set to become guaranteed if he remained under contract through July 1, but the Bucks pushed his guarantee date back one month to further assess their roster outlook before having to decide whether or not to retain Jennings’ services for the upcoming season.

Because the Bucks signed Jennings to a two-year deal last season, his cap hit to the Bucks for the 2018/19 season was set to be his actual salary of $2.22MM. But, when a player has been in the NBA for three or more seasons and is playing under a one-year, 10-day, or rest-of-season contract at the minimum salary, the team is only charged for the minimum salary of a player with two years of NBA experience.

Accordingly, Milwaukee very well may still decide to bring Jennings back on a new, one-year, minimum-salary contract at some point this offseason, which would end up saving the team about $710K in team salary and cap charges.

The No. 10 overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, Jennings has had a relatively successful NBA career so far, averaging 14.1 points and 5.7 assists per game in 555 career contests. However, he saw those numbers slip to 5.2 PPG and 3.1 APG during his 14 games with the Bucks last season.

Suns Re-Sign Point Guard Isaiah Canaan

August 3rd, 2018 at 4:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns have re-signed point guard Isaiah Canaan, the team announced in a press release.

It’s unspecified whether Canaan received any guarantees in his contract, though point guard is considered a weak spot for the Suns. They also have Brandon Knight, second-round pick Elie Okobo and Shaquille Harrison at that position but Canaan’s experience will make him a contender for a roster spot.

Canaan played in 19 games with the Suns after joining them in mid-December last season, averaging 9.1 PPG and 4.0 APG in 22.0 MPG. They signed him through the hardship exception when multiple injuries struck, then guaranteed his contract for the remainder of the season in early January.

He suffered a fractured left ankle against the Mavericks in late January and underwent season-ending surgery on February 1st.

The Suns waived him a week later but fully committed to helping him with his rehab and recovery.

The 6-foot Canaan has posted career averages of 8.4 PPG and 1.8 assists in 20.3 MPG over 205 games. The journeyman has also played for the Rockets, Sixers and Bulls.

Hawks Sign Alex Len

August 3rd, 2018 at 3:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 3: The Hawks have officially signed Len, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 21: The Hawks are finalizing a deal with former Suns center Alex Len, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

The new contract will pay Len $8.5MM over two years, sources tell Charania (Twitter link). Both seasons will be fully guaranteed, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who adds that the official announcement probably won’t come until a three-way trade with the Thunder and Sixers is finalized (Twitter link).

The Hawks are over the cap after a recent flurry of moves, but still have their $4.5MM room exception available. Several teams expressed interest in Len before he decided on Atlanta, Charania relays.

Len, 25, spent five seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, but never made the impact the Suns were hoping for. He accepted the team’s qualifying offer last summer after finding little interest as a restricted free agent. Phoenix renounced its rights to Len on July 2, shortly after the start of free agency.

Len averaged 8.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG last season as part of a crowded center rotation in Phoenix. He will enter the same type of situation in Atlanta, where he will compete for minutes with Dewayne Dedmon, John Collins, Miles Plumlee and Omari Spellman. The Hawks will have 13 players, all with guaranteed contracts, once the latest moves become official.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavericks Re-Sign Salah Mejri

August 3rd, 2018 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 3: Having used up all their cap room, the Mavericks have finally gone ahead and finalized their new one-year, minimum-salary contract with Mejri, according to a press release.

Mejri will have the ability to veto trades during the 2018/19 league year.

JULY 1: The Mavericks have reached an agreement to re-sign Salah Mejri, with the big man’s agency breaking word of his new deal (Twitter link). League sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) that it’ll be a one-year, minimum-salary contract for Mejri.

Mejri posted 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 61 games (12.0 MPG) for the Mavericks in 2017/18. The 7’1″ center is 32 years old, but made his NBA debut late and only has three years of NBA experience under his belt.

Mejri was eligible for restricted free agency this summer and initially received a qualifying offer from the Mavericks, but the team quickly withdrew that offer in order to maximize its cap flexibility.

Now that he has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Mavs, Mejri is unlikely to finalize his agreement until after the team uses all its cap room. At that point, Dallas can use the minimum salary exception to lock up Mejri, with no cap space required. He’d be in line for a $1,567,007 salary.

Sixers Sign Norvel Pelle

August 3rd, 2018 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have made an addition to their offseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent center Norvel Pelle to a contract. Terms of the deal aren’t known, but it figures to be a camp deal that features little to no guaranteed money.

Pelle, who went undrafted in 2014, has played for teams in Taiwan, Lebanon, and Italy since beginning his professional career. He also spent time with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League team, allowing the Sixers to get a first-hand look at him.

The 76ers got a closer look at Pelle again last month when he appeared in five Las Vegas Summer League games for the club. Although he averaged just 13.8 MPG, the 25-year-old big man was effective, posting 7.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG.

Philadelphia has made a number of signings this offseason, bringing back NBA free agents J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, locking up draftees Zhaire Smith, Landry Shamet, and Jonah Bolden, and signing Shake Milton and Demetrius Jackson to two-way deals. However, today’s agreement with Pelle looks like the first training camp deal of the club’s offseason.

Pacers Sign C.J. Wilcox To Two-Way Contract

August 3rd, 2018 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have filled their second two-way contract slot, officially announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent shooting guard C.J. Wilcox to a two-way contract.

Wilcox, a first-round pick in the 2014 draft, spent his first two seasons with the Clippers before being traded to the Magic during the 2016 offseason. The 6’5″ guard was waived by the Magic in April 2017 and inked a two-way deal with the Trail Blazers last summer. He spent the entire 2017/18 campaign on that two-way contract with Portland, recovering from a right knee injury for the first part of the season.

Players with more than three years of NBA experience aren’t eligible to sign two-way contracts, so it appears last season didn’t count as a year of service for Wilcox, who had appeared in games with the Clippers and Magic during the previous three seasons. A player must spend at least one day on his club’s NBA roster to log a year of service, and Wilcox didn’t play at all for the Blazers in 2017/18. The 27-year-old averaged 10.4 PPG on .451/.381/.889 in 11 G League games for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

With Wilcox locked up, the Pacers have now filled both of their two-way contract slots. Edmond Sumner, who signed a two-year, two-way deal with Indiana last year, holds the other spot.

Rockets Trade Chinanu Onuaku To Mavericks

August 2nd, 2018 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks have officially announced the trade in a press release. Dallas receives Onuaku, cash, and the ability to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick with the Rockets’ pick. In exchange, Houston receives the draft rights to 2008 second-rounder Maarty Leunen.

AUGUST 1: The Rockets are trading center Chinanu Onuaku to the Mavericks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Dallas will receive Onuaku and cash from Houston in exchange for the ability to swap 2020 second-round picks.

Onuaku, 21, was selected by the Rockets in the second round of the 2016 draft with the 37th overall pick. Although he has spent the last two seasons with Houston, he has appeared in just six NBA regular season games for the club.

The former Louisville big man has spent most of his two professional seasons in the G League, playing in 83 total games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In his NBAGL career, Onuaku has averaged a double-double (12.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG) to go along with 2.5 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.1 SPG. He also has a .617 FG%.

Having apparently felt that Onuaku wouldn’t have a role on this year’s team, Houston will move him and his guaranteed $1,544,951 salary to Dallas, creating a trade exception worth that same amount. The in-the-tax Rockets may end up replacing Onuaku on their roster, but will perhaps do so with a slightly less expensive player who has a better chance to contribute to the 2018/19 squad.

As for the Mavericks, they’ll absorb Onuaku’s contract using their leftover cap room. Once the move is official, Dallas figures to move forward with completing minimum salary deals for Salah Mejri and Devin Harris.

Donte Ingram To Get Training Camp Deal With Mavericks

August 2nd, 2018 at 12:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks will sign Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

A four-year player with the Ramblers, Ingram gained national prominence in March during their unlikely run to the Final Four. He averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.4 RPG as a senior. After going undrafted, he joined the Bulls’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, posting a 6.0/4.8/1.4 line in five games.

The addition of Ingram will give Dallas 18 players in camp, two below the limit.

Jordan McLaughlin Has Exhibit 10 Deal With Nets

August 2nd, 2018 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Former USC guard Jordan McLaughlin has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Nets and will join the team for training camp, according to a story on NetsDaily. McLaughlin, who played for Brooklyn’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, announced the agreement Wednesday in an Instagram post.

The 22-year-old was a four-year player with the Trojans with a reputation as a playmaker and outside shooter. He averaged 7.8 assists per game as a senior and shot .397 from 3-point range.

The addition of McLaughlin brings the Nets up to 19 players who are either signed or have agreements. Brooklyn has 15 guaranteed contracts and one more opening than can be filled before camp starts late next month.

Jazz Sign Tyler Cavanaugh To Two-Way Contract

August 1st, 2018 at 6:04pm CST by clarkcrum

The Jazz have signed forward Tyler Cavanaugh to a two-way contract, per an official release from the team.

Cavanaugh, 24, played for the Hawks last season as a rookie after going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. He appeared in 39 games (one start) during the 2017/18 season, posting respectable averages of 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.

Cavanaugh also saw action in the G League with Atlanta’s affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, where he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 boards in 23.6 minutes per contest. He was waived by the Hawks back in May, likely in response to an ankle injury, coaching change, and imminent salary guarantee date.

Having already signed Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way deal, the Jazz have now filled up both of their two-way slots in anticipation of the 2018/19 season. Both players will be eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Jazz during the G League season.