Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Waive Chinanu Onuaku

August 6th, 2018 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Mavs have officially waived Onuaku, according to a team press release.

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks will waive newly-acquired center Chinanu Onuaku, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). After completing the move, Dallas will be able to move forward with other signings, such as the club’s new deal with free agent guard Devin Harris.

Onuaku, 21, appeared in just six NBA regular season games in two NBA seasons with the Rockets. 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 and averaging 12.3 PPG and 10.0 RPG to go along with 2.5 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.1 SPG. He also has a .617 FG% in the NBAGL.

While the Mavs’ acquisition of Onuaku may look pointless now that he’s being released, it essentially represented a no-cost opportunity to move up a few spots in the second round of the 2020 draft. The Rockets are reportedly covering Onuaku’s salary with cash as part of the trade, with the Mavs giving up the rights to a player who will likely never play in the NBA. Dallas will get the chance to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick for Houston’s second-rounder.

As we noted earlier today, the Mavs had already committed to free agent deals with 21 players this offseason, so it’s not a surprise that they’re cutting Onuaku to help make room for those signings. They’ll need to release or trade one more player to finalize all their reported deals.

As for Onuaku, once he’s officially waived, he’ll spent two days on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, eligible to sign with any team except the Rockets.

Nets Sign Theo Pinson

August 6th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 6: The Nets have announced Pinson’s signing in a press release.

AUGUST 1: The Nets’ deal with Pinson is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

JUNE 22: North Carolina’s Theo Pinson will sign a contract with the Nets that includes an Exhibit 10 attachment, tweets Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

Under NBA rules, an Exhibit 10 clause gives the team an option to convert the deal into a two-way contract at a later date. To qualify, the contract must be a minimum-salary arrangement for one year with no bonuses (except for an optional Exhibit 10 bonus) and no compensation protection.

Pinson, 22, can receive anywhere from $5K to $50K if he is waived by the Nets and spends at least 60 days with their G-League affiliate.

A 6’6″ shooting guard, Pinson was part of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 2017. He became a full-time starter as a senior this season, posting a 10.3/6.5/5.1 line in 37 games. He will join the Nets’ summer leage team in Las Vegas.

Mavericks Sign Ryan Broekhoff

August 6th, 2018 at 12:25pm CST by Austin Kent

AUGUST 6: The signing is official, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

JULY 5: The Mavericks have agreed to a two-year deal with swingman Ryan Broekhoff, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The first year of the deal is guaranteed.

According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, the two-year pact will be worth $2.4MM.

While Broekhoff played four seasons at Valparaiso, he’s spent the past five campaigns plying his trade abroad. The 27-year-old Austrailian most recently played 16 EuroCup games with Lokomotiv Kuban of Russia’s VTB United League, averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the process.

The 50.6% three-point shooter will give the Mavs extra depth on the perimeter as they gear up for a season of competitive basketball after bolstering their lineup this offseason. Team owner Mark Cuban calls him “the best shooter in Europe” (Twitter link via Dwain Price of Mavs.com).

Cavaliers Waive Okaro White

August 5th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have waived Okaro White to avoid guaranteeing half of his 2018/19 salary, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

White, who signed a multiyear contract with the Cavs during the final week of the 2017/18 season, had a non-guaranteed salary for the coming year. However, $772,476 of that $1,544,951 salary would have become guaranteed if he had remained under contract through August 5. That essentially made today decision day for the Cavs — according to Vardon, the team asked White if he’d considering pushing his guarantee date back to the start of the regular season, but he declined.

Formerly a member of the Heat, White has appeared in 41 NBA games over the last two seasons for Miami, averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.4 minutes per contest.

The Florida State alum, who missed a good chunk of the 2017/18 campaign with a broken foot, talked earlier this month about how he’s still working to mentally get over that injury. If another team is confident that he’s fully healthy, White could get another shot on a training camp invite or a two-way deal.

The Cavaliers have already lined up a replacement for White on their roster, as they’re in the process of finalizing a deal to acquire Sam Dekker from the Clippers.

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.