Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Re-Sign Joe Harris

July 24th, 2018 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 24: The Nets have officially re-signed Harris, going over the cap using his Early Bird rights to sign him.

JUNE 30: The Nets have reached an agreement with free agent sharpshooter Joe Harris, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Harris will re-sign with Brooklyn on a two-year, $16MM deal.

It will be a straight two-year contract with no options on either side, adds Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Nets will retain Harris’ $1.5MM cap hold, use all their available space and then use his Early Bird rights to go over the cap and finalize the signing, according to salary cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link). They can still produce up to $8.1MM in cap space, plus whatever they might save in a buyout of Dwight Howard.

Harris, 26, struggled to find a spot in the NBA before coming to Brooklyn two seasons ago. He emerged as a valuable reserve for the Nets, averaging 8.2 points per game in 2016/17 and improving that to 10.8 this season while hitting 42% from 3-point range.

The new deal represents a significant salary jump for Harris, who earned $1.5MM this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Sign Guard Yogi Ferrell

July 23rd, 2018 at 11:02pm CST by Luke Adams

11:02pm: The signing is official, per team press release.

JULY 23, 7:11pm: The second year of the contract is not guaranteed, Tim McMahon of ESPN tweets.

JULY 20, 3:04pm: The Kings and free agent guard Yogi Ferrell have reached an agreement on a deal, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Ferrell had initially agreed to a two-year contract with the Mavericks, but backed out of that agreement earlier today.

“We felt uncomfortable and will weigh our options,” Ferrell’s agent Cervando Tejeda told Charania at the time.

Sacramento’s deal with Ferrell will be worth $6.2MM over two years, according to Charania (Twitter link). His initial two-year pact with Dallas was said to be worth $5.3MM, with only the first season guaranteed.

While it’s not clear whether Ferrell’s new deal with the Kings will be fully guaranteed, it passes an important threshold — the 25-year-old received a $2.9MM qualifying offer last month, which made him a restricted free agent until the Mavericks withdrew it. His contract with the Kings will allow him to exceed that figure in 2018/19, whereas his initial deal with Dallas wouldn’t have.

Ferrell, a former Indiana standout, appeared in all 82 games for the Mavs last season, averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .426/.373/.796 shooting line. In Sacramento, he figures to slot into a backcourt that features De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Frank Mason, and Ben McLemore. Bogdan Bogdanovic may also see time at the two.

Nemanja Bjelica, the only other free agent to back out a verbal agreement this offseason, as far as we know, was also said to be discussing a possible deal with the Kings. It’s probably no coincidence that both Ferrell and Bjelica gravitated to Sacramento as they sought larger paydays — as we outlined earlier this afternoon, the Kings have much more cap flexibility for 2018/19 than any other team. Ferrell’s new deal will only use up a small amount of their $20.5MM in cap space.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Grizzlies Trade Jarell Martin To Magic

July 23rd, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by Luke Adams

9:00pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from the Magic and Grizzlies.

3:31pm: The Grizzlies have agreed to a trade that will send Jarell Martin and cash to the Magic, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Memphis will acquire Dakari Johnson in the deal. Joshua Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel adds (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies will also receive the draft rights to 2015 second-rounder Tyler Harvey.

It’s the second time in the last week that Johnson has been traded. On Friday, Orlando acquired Johnson and cash from the Thunder in a deal that sent Rodney Purvis and his non-guaranteed contract to Oklahoma City. The move was a purely financial one for the Thunder, who figure to replace Johnson on their roster with a slightly cheaper rookie, reducing their projected tax bill.

Because Johnson wasn’t in the Magic’s plans, they’ll flip him to Memphis in another deal that has cap implications. The Grizzlies are right up against the luxury-tax line, so exchanging Martin and his $2,416,222 salary for Johnson ($1,378,242) will create a little extra breathing room for the club. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Grizz waive Johnson after acquiring him.

Martin, who was in danger of being cut by the Grizzlies last fall, had a strong camp and earned a spot in Memphis’ rotation for the 2017/18 season. In 73 games (36 starts), the 6’10” forward averaged 7.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG with a .446/.347/.767 shooting line.

Having played primarily at power forward last season, Martin likely would’ve seen his role reduced in Memphis this year — JaMychal Green, Kyle Anderson, Chandler Parsons, Omri Casspi, and Jaren Jackson Jr. could all see action at the four. It’s not clear whether the 24-year-old will get more opportunities in Orlando, with Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac expected to earn most of the power forward minutes.

Johnson, 22, was selected by the Thunder with the 48th overall pick of the 2015 draft but didn’t sign his first standard NBA contract until 2017. The seven-footer appeared in 31 games last season for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.8 PPG and 1.1 RPG in just 5.2 minutes per contest.

Thunder Acquire Abdel Nader From Celtics

July 23rd, 2018 at 8:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

8:53pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from the Thunder and Celtics.

8:11pm: The Thunder will acquire swingman Abdel Nader from the Celtics, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Nader, who was on a partially guaranteed contract, was expected to be waived before Oklahoma City came calling, Charania adds. The Thunder will also receive cash considerations, Charania adds in another tweet.

Recently acquired guard Rodney Purvis will go to Boston and be waived, according to Keith Smith of RealGM (Twitter link). Purvis has a non-guaranteed contract. Purvis was traded from the Magic to the Thunder last week.

The 6’7” Nader is due to make $1,378,242 next season, which included a $450,000K guarantee. He’s signed for two additional years, though the second year is non-guaranteed and the third year is a team option.

Nader was chosen by Boston with the 58th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft and spent a season with the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ G League affiliate, before signing an NBA contract with the Celtics last summer.

Nader, 24, averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 48 contests last season. He’ll likely play the small forward spot and fight for playing time behind starting forwards Paul George and Jerami Grant.

Mavs Sign Chinese Star Ding Yanyuhang

July 23rd, 2018 at 8:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have signed Chinese swingman Ding Yanyuhang to a contract, according to a team press release.

It’s not immediately clear whether Yanyuhang received a two-way contract, though Dallas opened up one of those slots by trading forward Johnathan Motley to the Clippers on Monday. Dallas also has roster space to give Yanyuhang a standard contract and is currently thin at the wing positions.

The 6’6” Ding has spent the last seven seasons playing professionally for China’s Shandong Golden Stars. In 45 games for Shandong last season, he averaged 26.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.2 APG and 1.6 SPG and earned his second consecutive Chinese Basketball Association Domestic MVP award.

Ding played on the Mavericks’ summer-league team last year. He was a candidate for a two-way contract with Dallas last summer.

Clippers Acquire Johnathan Motley From Mavs

July 23rd, 2018 at 7:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have acquired forward Johnathan Motley in a deal with the Mavericks, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Both Los Angeles and Dallas have confirmed the transaction via press releases.

The Clippers also received the rights to Renaldas Seibutis in exchange for the draft rights to Maarty Leunen, plus $50K. Motley is on a two-way contract. It’s the first-ever trade involving a two-way contract, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

Dallas opened up a two-way contract slot via the transaction.

Motley, 23, averaged 8.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 11 games with Dallas last season. The 6’10” power forward went undrafted out of Baylor.

Seibutis was a second-round pick by Dallas all the way back in 2007. Siebutis, 33, is a 6’5” guard who currently plays in Lithuania and is also a member of that country’s national team.

Leunen was drafted in the second round by the Clippers in 2008. The 6’9” Leunen, 32, attended the University of Oregon and is currently playing in Italy.

Travis Trice Signs Camp Deal With Bucks

July 23rd, 2018 at 5:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Point guard Travis Trice has signed a training-camp deal with the Bucks, Keith Smith of RealGM.com tweets.

Trice has played for Milwaukee’s summer-league squad the last two years. He averaged 8.8 PPG and 4.0 APG in five games this summer in Las Vegas. The 6’2” Trice was on the Knicks’ G League team last season and has also played overseas in Lebanon and Australia. He appeared in nine games for the Westchester Knicks and averaged 21.1 PPG and 6.4 APG in nine games while making over half of his 3-point atttempts.

Trice, 25, was undrafted in 2015 out of Michigan State.

The Bucks have Eric Bledsoe, Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Jennings on their point guard depth chart, though Jennings’ salary for next season has not yet been guaranteed.

Nets Sign Forward Ed Davis

July 23rd, 2018 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 23, 4:56pm: The team has made the signing official, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link).

JUNE 30, 11:45pm: The Nets and Ed Davis have agreed to terms on a one-year, $4.4MM contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Davis had been an unrestricted free agent.

Jusuf Nurkic‘s primary backup at the five during the 2017/18 season, Davis appeared in 78 games for the Trail Blazers, averaging 5.3 PPG on 58.2% shooting. The 29-year-old was also a force on the glass, racking up 7.4 RPG in just 18.9 minutes per contest.

Davis reportedly had interest in remaining in Portland, so it’s somewhat surprising that the two sides couldn’t work something out, given the modest price of his agreement with Brooklyn. However, the Blazers have been particularly cost-conscious so far this summer, having declined to tender qualifying offers to rotation players Shabazz Napier and Pat Connaughton.

Davis figures to step into a regular role for the Nets behind young center Jarrett Allen. Brooklyn is acquiring Dwight Howard in a trade with Charlotte, but the club is expected to negotiate a buyout with the former No. 1 pick, clearing the way for Davis to become Allen’s primary backup.

While the Nets should have some cap room available after buying out Howard, it’s possible that the team will wait to finalize its reported agreement with Davis. The room exception is worth $4,449,000 in 2018/19, so Davis’ deal would fit nicely.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Antonius Cleveland Claimed By Bulls

July 23rd, 2018 at 4:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have claimed guard Antonius Cleveland, who was placed on waivers by the Hawks, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The move is official, according to the Bulls’ website.

Cleveland was let go by the Hawks in order to facilitate the three-team Carmelo Anthony trade with the Thunder and Sixers. Atlanta also received swingman Justin Anderson in that deal.

Cleveland, 24, saw action in four games with the Hawks last season, averaging 3.3 PPG in 10.4 MPG. He also appeared in 13 games with the Mavericks and seven G League contests.

Cleveland was signed to a multi-year contract in March after signing consecutive 10-day contracts earlier in the season. He had a non-guaranteed salary of $1.38MM for next season before he was placed on waivers. Chicago now picks up that contract.

Chicago had an open slot on its roster but the 6’6” Cleveland joins a crowd at the shooting guard spot that includes Zach LaVine, Justin Holiday, Chandler Hutchison and Antonio Blakeney.

Lakers Sign Michael Beasley

July 23rd, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 23: Beasley’s contract with the Lakers is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

“Michael adds another component of versatility to our deep roster,” GM Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “His length and ability to guard multiple positions, stretch the floor, play-make and create his own shot are all essential characteristics for us. Coming off one of the finest years of his career, we think Michael is poised to have a very exciting and strong season for us.”

JULY 20: Free agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to a contract with the Lakers, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a one-year, $3.5MM contract, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN (Twitter link).

Los Angeles used a big chunk of its $4,449,000 room exception to get Beasley in the fold.

Exactly what kind of role Beasley will carve out is a big question mark. He’ll join a forward rotation of LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lance Stephenson. Luol Deng is still on the roster as well, though Los Angeles is trying to find a way to dump his contract.

Beasley fits in with a locker room already full of volatile personalities. Along with Stephenson, the Lakers have also signed two other players this summer who are no strangers to controversy, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee.

Beasley, still just 29, has bounced around the league since the Heat made him the second pick in the 2008 draft. He’s also played for the Timberwolves, Suns, Rockets and Bucks before a productive stint with the Knicks last season. He averaged 13.2 PPG, his highest total since posting a career-best 19.2 PPG with Minnesota in 2010/11. He also averaged 5.6 RPG and 1.7 APG while appearing in 74 contests, including 30 starts.

The Knicks lost interest in bringing back Beasley after signing former Magic forward Mario Hezonja.