Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nemanja Bjelica Signs Three-Year Deal With Kings

July 21st, 2018 at 1:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 21, 1:57pm: The deal is official, per a media release from the Kings.

JULY 20, 9:08pm: The Kings have reached a three-year, $20.5MM agreement with free agent forward Nemanja Bjelica, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The third year will not be guaranteed, Charania adds.

This completes Bjelica’s unusual odyssey in free agency. The former Timberwolves reserve originally agreed to a one-year, $4.45MM deal with the Sixers early in free agency, then backed out of that agreement on Tuesday. He stated publicly he would likely head back to Europe, explaining that he wanted to create “some kind of stability” for his family.

Kings general manager Vlade Divac and other teams then reached out to Bjelica, trying to convince him to remain in the NBA. Sacramento’s offer won him over.

“The organization’s belief in and commitment to me overwhelmed me and my family,” he told Charania. “I am ready to do everything I can to help the Kings and be a part of the Sacramento community.”

It helped the Kings’ cause that EuroLeague powerhouses like Fenerbahce and CSKA Moscow reportedly were not interested in him at this time.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor noted in a conversation last week with Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 that Bjelica entered the offseason seeking a multiyear NBA contract. The stretch four has been a rotation player with Minnesota the past three seasons. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 67 games last season, including 21 starts.

Where Bjelica fits in with the Kings is a mystery. Sacramento already has No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III, Zach Randolph and Harry Giles at the power forward spot. His path to playing time may be at small forward.

Hawks Waive Antonius Cleveland

July 21st, 2018 at 11:52am CST by clarkcrum

The Hawks have waived Antonius Cleveland, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Cleveland, 24, saw action in four games with the Hawks last season, averaging 3.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He was signed to a multi-year contract in March after signing consecutive 10-day contracts earlier in the season.

As Vivlamore noted previously, the Hawks essentially had to waive Cleveland in order to open up the cap room necessary to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Thunder and Justin Anderson from the Sixers.

Adding both Anthony and Anderson to the Hawks’ will increase the team’s total salary to approximately $102.8MM, about $1MM over the cap. Per CBA rules, this is not permitted, as the Hawks are using cap space to complete the trade. Waiving Cleveland lowers Atlanta’s total salary – with Anthony and Anderson – to $101.4MM, safely within the 2018/19 salary cap of $101.869MM.

Cleveland’s 2018/19 salary was fully non-guaranteed, so the Hawks will not be on the hook for any of his salary.

Celtics Trade Abdel Nader To Thunder

July 21st, 2018 at 11:00am CST by clarkcrum

JULY 23: The Celtics have traded Nader to the Thunder rather than waiving him. Our full story on the deal is here.

JULY 21: The Celtics are waiving swingman Abdel Nader, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. 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.

The Celtics will not be on the hook for Nader’s full 2018/19 salary, as his contract did not become fully guaranteed until August 1. He reportedly had a partial guarantee worth $450K.

The move will leave the Celtics with 14 fully-guaranteed contracts and a team salary of $125.85MM, about $2.07MM north of the tax line. Because the Celtics are in tax territory, they may be looking to enter the 2018/19 season with only 14 players on their roster, a la the Warriors. However, the C’s still have their full $5.3MM taxpayer mid-level exception to spend on a 15th player should they so choose.

Nader, 24, averaged 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 48 contests (one start) with the Celtics in 2017/18, his lone NBA season.

Sixers Trade Richaun Holmes To Suns

July 20th, 2018 at 7:09pm CST by Luke Adams

7:09pm: It’s official, according to a Sixers press release.

11:29am: The Suns are sending $1MM to Philadelphia in the trade, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

10:55am: The Sixers have agreed to a trade with the Suns that will send Richaun Holmes to Phoenix, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Philadelphia will receive cash considerations in return for Holmes, Charania adds (via Twitter).

Holmes, a second-round pick in the 2015 draft, has been a rotation player for the Sixers for the last three seasons. However, after averaging 20.9 minutes per contest and starting 17 games in 2016/17, the 24-year-old had his role cut back last season, as he played 15.5 MPG and started just two of his 48 games.

With Joel Embiid, Amir Johnson, and Mike Muscala in the mix at center for the Sixers in 2018/19, Holmes was unlikely to play a major role for the team. Instead, he’ll join a prospect-heavy Suns frontcourt that features Deandre Ayton, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, and veteran Tyson Chandler.

While the Suns’ acquisition of Holmes isn’t exactly a blockbuster, it has some interesting – albeit minor – cap ramifications. Phoenix wouldn’t have had the cap room to acquire Holmes without sending out any salary if not for the Jared Dudley/Darrell Arthur swap the club agreed to earlier today. Now, Holmes can slot into the team’s remaining cap space and its 15th roster spot.

As for the 76ers, there were reports in the wake of their three-team trade agreement on Thursday that the deal wouldn’t be completed right away because Philadelphia was working on another move. A Kyle Korver/Jerryd Bayless trade rumor hinted that the Sixers were looking to open up a little extra cap room themselves — they’ll do just that by moving Holmes’ $1.6MM salary, and now have the space to sign draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden to a four-year contract using cap room.

Without cap space, the Sixers wouldn’t have been able to offer Bolden – who will replace Holmes in the frontcourt – more than two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Thunder, Magic Swap Johnson, Purvis

July 20th, 2018 at 6:41pm CST by Luke Adams

6:41pm: It’s official, according to a Thunder press release.

3:51pm: The Thunder and Magic have agreed to a trade that will send Dakari Johnson to Orlando and Rodney Purvis to Oklahoma City, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). The Magic are also expected to receive cash considerations in the swap, Charania adds (via Twitter).

Both Johnson and Purvis are on the books for identical $1,378,242 salaries in 2018/19. However, Johnson’s contract was guaranteed, while Purvis’ is non-guaranteed, creating a little more flexibility for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder will still have to fill that roster spot if they waive Purvis, so the trade isn’t a major cost-cutting move. However, releasing Purvis and signing a 2018 second-rounder like Hamidou Diallo, Devon Hall, or Kevin Hervey in his place would allow OKC to replace Johnson on the roster with a slightly cheaper – and potentially more useful – player.

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.

Purvis, 24, joined the Magic down the stretch last season, parlaying a pair of 10-day contracts into a rest-of-season deal. The 6’4″ shooting guard posted 6.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 16 games (18.1 MPG).

Grizzlies Sign Yuta Watanabe To Two-Way Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have signed rookie forward Yuta Watanabe to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.

The signing has international significance. Watanabe will likely become just the second player born in Japan to appear in an NBA game. Yuta Tabuse appeared in four games for the Suns during the 2004/05 season.

The Grizzlies opened up a two-way contract slot by waiving swingman Myke Henry earlier on Friday.

The 6’9” Watanabe played for the Nets’ summer league team after going undrafted and averaged 9.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.6 BPG in 24.0 MPG over five games.

Watanabe played four years of college ball at George Washington University. Watanabe, 23, was named the 2017/18 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 16.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.6 blocks in 36.6 MPG.

Spurs Re-Sign Bryn Forbes

July 20th, 2018 at 5:25pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20, 5:25pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 10, 12:48pm: The Spurs are finalizing a deal to bring back restricted free agent guard Bryn Forbes for next season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). According to Charania, Forbes will sign a new two-year contract with San Antonio.

Forbes, who will turn 25 later this month, has spent the last two seasons with the Spurs, becoming a regular part of the team’s rotation in 2017/18. In 80 games (19.0 MPG) last season, he posted 6.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG with a .390 3PT%.

Because Forbes has two years of NBA experience, he’ll be on track for unrestricted free agency in 2020 if he plays out his new two-year deal with the Spurs. At that point, the team will have full Bird rights on him. San Antonio figures to re-sign him this time around using his Early Bird rights.

The Spurs issued qualifying offers to three players eligible for restricted free agency this summer, and both Forbes and Davis Bertans appear set to return on new multiyear deals. San Antonio’s third restricted free agent, Kyle Anderson, signed a four-year, $37MM+ offer sheet with the Grizzlies which the Spurs elected not to match.

Grizzlies Waive Swingman Myke Henry

July 20th, 2018 at 5:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have waived swingman Myke Henry, according to a team press release.

Henry was signed to a two-way contract in January. The DePaul product appeared in 20 games with Memphis last season, averaging 5.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.1 APG in 18.9 MPG. Henry, 25, also played in 38 G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue and Memphis Hustle last season, averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 2.1 APG.

By cutting Henry loose, Memphis frees up a two-way slot. Point guard Kobi Simmons is the other player on a two-way deal.

Spurs Sign Marco Belinelli

July 20th, 2018 at 3:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 20: The Spurs have officially signed Belinelli, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: Former Spur Marco Belinelli will return to San Antonio on a two-year, $12MM contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Spurs still have their mid-level exception available and may use that to ink Belinelli.

The 32-year old sharpshooter spent two seasons with the Spurs from 2013 to 2015. He started last season with the Hawks, then joined the Sixers after agreeing to a buyout in February. He averaged 12.9 points in 10 playoffs games with Philadelphia.

While Belinelli isn’t the sort of dynamic player who can impact games in a variety of different ways, his outside shooting makes him a valuable rotation piece. He attempted a career-high 5.3 threes per game in 28 regular season contests with Philadelphia last season, converting them at a 38.5% rate.

We ranked Belinelli as the 30th-best player available this offseason in our list of 2018’s top 50 free agents.

Belinelli is the second agreement of the night for San Antonio, which also reached a deal to re-sign veteran forward Rudy Gay.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Sign Lorenzo Brown To One-Year Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 2:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 20: The Raptors have officially signed Brown, the club announced today in a press release. The one-year deal is partially guaranteed, per Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic (Twitter link).

JULY 17: The Raptors are finalizing a one-year contract with guard Lorenzo Brown, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Brown played on a two-way contract with the club last season and earned G League MVP honors for Raptors 905.

The 6’5” Brown appeared in 14 games with the Raptors last season, averaging 2.3 PPG in 9.9 MPG. Brown, 27, has bounced around the league since he was drafted in the second round by the Timberwolves in 2013. He has played for the Sixers, T-Wolves and Suns, logging a total of 77 career NBA appearances. He’s a career 37.5% shooter overall and just 15.4% from long range.

Brown dominated in 32 G League starts last season, averaging 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 8.8 APG and 1.8 SPG.

The Raptors have opened up some roster spots over the past week by waiving forward Alfonzo McKinnie and rescinded their qualifying offer to another forward, Malcolm Miller.