Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Mavericks Sign Devin Harris

August 8th, 2018 at 9:34am CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 8: The Mavericks have made their deal with Harris official, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed the veteran guard. Dallas now has a full 20-man roster, so a move will be required at some point to accommodate Donte Ingram‘s reported agreement with the club.

JULY 26: The Mavericks and veteran guard Devin Harris have reached an agreement on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports was the first to report the news.

Harris, who will receive $2.4MM, was the beneficiary of Yogi Ferrell‘s change of heart. Ferrell backed out of an agreement with Dallas to sign with the Kings. That opened up a backcourt spot for the 35-year-old combo guard.

This will mark his third stint with the franchise. The Mavericks acquired him in a draft-night trade with the Wizards in 2004 and kept him until 2008, when they traded him to the Nets. Harris returned to Dallas as a free agent in 2013 and spent five more years with the Mavs before they traded him to the Nuggets in February.

The 35-year-old combo guard appeared in 44 games with Dallas and 27 with Denver last season, averaging 8.4 PPG and 2.1 APG. His addition will give the Mavericks 16 players under contract.

Bucks Sign Jordan Barnett

August 7th, 2018 at 9:07pm CST by clarkcrum

The Bucks have signed Jordan Barnett to a training camp contract, per an official release from the team. Alec Lewis of Yahoo Sports first reported back in June that Barnett would receive a camp invite from Milwaukee.

Barnett, 22, appeared in all five of the Bucks’ summer league games in Las Vegas and averaged 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.6 minutes per game. He went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft upon finishing the final two seasons of his collegiate career at Missouri after transferring from Texas.

As a senior during the 2017-18 season, the 6’7” forward averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 32 games (all starts) with the Tigers while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range.

The Bucks currently have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, so while there’s technically an open roster spot for Barnett, he’s far more likely to end up playing for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

Magic Sign Amile Jefferson To Two-Way Contract

August 7th, 2018 at 4:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 7: The deal between the Magic and Jefferson is now official, per a team release.

JULY 27: The Magic have reached a two-way contract agreement with forward Amile Jefferson, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.

The former Duke power forward was on the Timberwolves’ roster last season. He signed a two-way contract in January, then received a standard contract late in the regular season. However, Jefferson never appeared in any games.

Jefferson, 25, went undrafted last June and joined the Timberwolves for training camp. After being waived by the team prior to the start of the regular season, Jefferson joined the G League’s Iowa Wolves.

In 47 games, Jefferson averaged 17.8 PPG and 12.8 RPG for Iowa, making shots at a 62.4% rate. He set a new NBAGL record by racking up 36 double-doubles.

Orlando now has both of its two-way slots filled. The other one is occupied by point guard Troy Caupain.

Grizzlies Sign Shelvin Mack

August 7th, 2018 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

3:38pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Mack, the team announced today in a press release.

1:58pm: The Grizzlies will sign free agent point guard Shelvin Mack to a one-year contract, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wojnarowski first reported about two and a half weeks ago that the two sides were discussing a one-year deal.

Mack, who inked a two-year contract with Orlando in 2017, appeared in 69 games for the Magic last season, averaging 6.9 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.4 RPG in a backup point guard role. His salary for 2018/19 only included a small partial guarantee though, so the Magic waived him last month before they were on the hook for the full amount.

By signing Mack, the Grizzlies will add some veteran stability to their point guard depth chart behind Mike Conley, who is coming off a major foot injury. Andrew Harrison and Jevon Carter are Memphis’ other point guards, with Kobi Simmons also in the mix on a two-way deal.

Memphis doesn’t have its bi-annual exception available this season and already used its full mid-level exception on Kyle Anderson, so Mack will receive a minimum-salary deal, which will keep the Grizzlies’ team salary just below the tax line.

Assuming Mack’s contract is guaranteed, it’ll be the 15th guaranteed deal on the team’s books, plus Harrison’s non-guaranteed salary. The Grizzlies will have to trade or release at least one player before the regular season begins, with Harrison and Dakari Johnson among those most at risk.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.