Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Waive Guard R.J. Hunter

August 18th, 2018 at 10:08am CST by Dana Gauruder

AUG. 18: The Rockets officially announced that Hunter has been waived.

AUG. 17: The Rockets have waived guard R.J. Hunter, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

That opens up a two-way contract slot for Houston, since Hunter was signed in January under one of those agreements. The 6’5” Hunter appeared in five games with the Rockets, including a start, averaging 3.8 PPG in 9.0 MPG.

Hunter played for Houston’s summer league team in July, the fourth consecutive offseason that he appeared in summer league games. He averaged 11.2 PPG in five Las Vegas appearances.

Hunter was chosen 28th overall by the Celtics in the 2015 draft. He played 36 games during his rookie season for Boston, then was waived during training camp the following season. He was claimed by the Bulls and saw action in three games before they waived him in December 2016.

Josh Gray To Play In South Korea

August 18th, 2018 at 9:26am CST by marksuleymanov

Former Suns guard Josh Gray has agreed to a deal with the LG Sakers of the Korean Basketball League, a source confirmed to Sportando.

Gray, 24, enjoyed a solid campaign in the G League with Phoenix’s affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns. In 28 games, the LSU product averaged 19.4 PPG, 6.4 APG and 4.8 RPG. Gray’s strong performance led to a pair of 10-day contracts with the NBA squad.

In five games with Phoenix, Gray posted 6.4 PPG, 2.4 APG and 2.0 RPG while playing just over 17 minutes per game. The Suns waived Gray in favor of Shaquille Harrison in late February.

Gray suited up for the Timberwolves in the NBA Summer League last month.

Tarik Black Signs Overseas

August 17th, 2018 at 4:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tarik Black has agreed to a one-year contract with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (Twitter link). The financial terms of the agreement have not yet been reported.

The big man played for the Rockets last season, scoring 3.5 points in 10.5 minutes per game. Black has played a total of 220 games over four seasons, making a stop in Los Angeles between Houston stints.

Cavaliers Sign Isaiah Taylor

August 17th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Austin Kent

AUGUST 17: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

AUGUST 9: The Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year deal with former Hawks point guard Isaiah Taylor, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Taylor saw action in 67 games during his lone season in Atlanta.

The Cavs, Charania adds, had been targeting an additional point guard for the past week and will welcome aboard a 24-year-old who averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 assists over the course of nine starts in 2017/18.

Taylor recorded 6.6 PPG and 3.1 APG overall in his 67 contests last season for the Hawks after initially debuting for the Rockets during the 2016/17 campaign. He appeared in just four games at the end of the season for Houston.

If he earns a spot on the Cavs’ regular season roster, Taylor will look to push veteran George Hill and 2018 lottery pick Collin Sexton for minutes at the point for Cleveland.

Jazz Sign Isaac Haas

August 16th, 2018 at 6:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz have signed center Isaac Haas, according to the team’s website. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it will likely be a minimum salary arrangement.

Haas played for the Jazz in Summer League this past July. During his four Las Vegas games, he had a total of 15 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks.

The rookie spent four years at Purdue where he earned All-Big Ten Third team honors during his senior season. In 139 collegiate games, Haas scored a total of 1,555 points and grabbed 643 rebounds.

After signing Haas, the Jazz have 19 players under contract, leaving one opening on their 20-man offseason roster.

Hornets Waive Mangok Mathiang

August 15th, 2018 at 6:20pm CST by clarkcrum

The Hornets have waived big man Mangok Mathiang, per an official release from the team and announcement from President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mathiang, 25, signed a two-way contract with the Hornets a little over one year ago today. He played in four games during the 2017/18 season, averaging 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per contest.

The 6’10” center also appeared in 43 games (36 starts) for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, where he averaged 10.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists in 25.3 minutes per game.

After waiving Mathiang, the Hornets now have an open two-way spot on their roster, with rookie guard J.P. Macura holding down the other two-way contract for Charlotte.

Heat Sign Forward Marcus Lee

August 15th, 2018 at 11:08am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have signed undrafted forward Marcus Lee, according to a team press release.

The terms of the contract were not released but it’s likely to be an Exhibit 10 deal, which would allow Miami to designate Lee as an affiliate player in order to retain his G League rights if he’s waived during training camp.

The 6’9′ Lee played one season at Cal, averaging 11.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.6 BPG and 1.3 APG in 27.8 MPG while shooting 56.3% from the field as a senior. He began his college career at Kentucky.

Lee was a member of the Cavaliers’ summer league squad, averaging 6.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 1.6 blocks in 15.9 MPG while appearing in seven games.

Nets Guarantee Spencer Dinwiddie’s Contract

August 14th, 2018 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have guaranteed the contract of point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Dinwiddie will make $1,656,092 during the upcoming season.

Brooklyn didn’t have to fully guarantee Dinwiddie’s deal until January 10, so if nothing else this gives Dinwiddie some peace of mind when he heads to training camp.

The Nets have a muddled point guard situation with D’Angelo Russell and Shabazz Napier, a rotation player with the Trail Blazers last season, also in the mix.

The Nets could also sign Dinwiddie to an extension during the season, though not until December 8, the two-year anniversary of inking his current deal, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Dinwiddie had a breakout season in his second year with the franchise, averaging 12.6 PPG and 6.6 APG in 28.8 MPG while appearing in 80 games. The 6’6” Dinwiddie also played two seasons with the Pistons.

Jazz Waive Guard David Stockton

August 14th, 2018 at 4:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have waived guard David Stockton, the son of their Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

This comes as no surprise since the younger Stockton had already signed to play in Germany with Medi Bayreuth. Stockton had a non-guaranteed contract with the Jazz for the upcoming season.

Stockton joined Utah on a pair of 10-day contracts, then signed for the rest of the season in early April. He appeared in three games and played nine total minutes. He also made a couple of playoff cameos.

With Stockton off the books, the Jazz now have a roster total of 18, with 14 guaranteed contracts, two non-guaranteed contracts and a pair of two-way deals. Stockton had no path to playing time on the Jazz with Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto ahead of him on the point guard depth chart.

Stockton has previous overseas experience in Croatia and New Zealand. He also played three games for the Kings in 2015.

Bulls Sign Derrick Walton Jr.

August 14th, 2018 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 14: The Bulls have made it official, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Walton.

AUGUST 10: Former Heat two-way player Derrick Walton Jr. intends to sign a new contract with the Bulls, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Walton, 23, inked a two-way contract with the Heat last July after going undrafted out of Michigan. The 6’1″ point guard stuck with the franchise all season, appearing in 16 games for the NBA squad and 27 for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League.

Although his role for the Heat was very limited, Walton averaged 16.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .442/.377/.902 shooting line in the NBAGL.

When Walton’s two-way agreement with the Heat expired at season’s end, the club tendered him a qualifying offer, retaining the right of first refusal. However, Miami withdrew that QO during the second week of July, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

While details of Walton’s deal with Chicago aren’t yet known, the club has a little flexibility. The Bulls currently have 17 players under contract — 14 on fully guaranteed deals, two on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals, and one on a two-way pact. As such, the team could give Walton a camp deal and allow him to compete for the last spot on the 15-man regular season roster, or it could ink him to a two-way contract.