Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Waive Alfonzo McKinnie

July 17th, 2018 at 9:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 17: The Raptors have officially waived McKinnie, the team announced today (via Twitter).

JULY 16: The Raptors plan to waive forward Alfonzo McKinnie before his contract for next season becomes guaranteed on Wednesday, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. He was due to make $1,378,242 next season.

McKinnie, a 6’8” forward, made 14 brief appearances for the Raptors last season, averaging 3.8 MPG. McKinnie, 25, spent most of last season with the G League’ Raptors 905. He posted averages of 14.0 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 35 starts for the G League club.

McKinnie, who went undrafted out of Wisconsin Green Bay, was signed to a two-year minimum contract last July.

Toronto rescinded its qualifying offer to another forward, Malcolm Miller, on Friday and made him an unrestricted free agent.

Pistons Sign Keenan Evans To Two-Way Contract

July 17th, 2018 at 7:57am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 17: Evans’ two-way contract with the Pistons is now official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log. Evans and Reggie Hearn now occupy Detroit’s two-way contract slots.

JUNE 27: Texas Tech guard Keenan Evans has agreed to a two-way contract with the Pistons, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

The 6’3” Evans played four seasons with the Red Raiders and posted averages of 17.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 3.2 APG in his senior year. He struggled from long range, making 32% of his 3-point attempts after connecting on 43.2% during his junior year.

Evans played the last month of his college career, including the NCAA Tournament, with a broken toe.

The Pistons decided not to extend a qualifying offer to one of their two-way players last season, point guard Kay Felder, according to Tony Paul of The Detroit News.

Felder, a Detroit native, joined the Pistons in January after he was waived by the Bulls in December. He spent most of his time in the G League, playing two games with the Pistons, after seeing action in 14 games with the Bulls. Felder was a second-round draft pick in 2016 and played 42 games for the Cavaliers before he was traded last offseason to the Hawks, who waived him.

Sixers Re-Sign Amir Johnson

July 16th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16, 7:30pm: The signing is official, per team press release.

JULY 4, 2:50pm: Johnson’s new one-year deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link).

2:29pm: The Sixers are finalizing a contract agreement with free agent big man Amir Johnson that will keep him in Philadelphia, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Johnson is expected to sign a one-year deal.

Johnson, 31, initially joined the 76ers in the summer of 2017 when he inked a one-year, $11MM deal with the club. Like J.J. Redick, whose salary will go from $23MM last year to about $12-13MM in 2018/19, Johnson figures to return at a lesser rate.

The Sixers have committed just about all their projected cap room to Redick and trade acquisition Wilson Chandler, but could offer Johnson the $4.45MM room exception or a minimum-salary contract if they don’t intend to clear additional space with another roster move.

In 74 games for Philadelphia in 2017/18, Johnson provided veteran stability in the frontcourt, primarily serving as Joel Embiid‘s backup at the five. He averaged 4.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 15.8 minutes per contest.

The 76ers entered the offseason with 11 players under contract, and have since drafted and signed Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet, agreed to re-sign Redick, struck a deal to acquire Chandler, and now agreed to terms with Johnson as well.

That brings Philadelphia’s projected roster count to 16, without accounting for the possibility that the team could bring over draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden this offseason. As such, a trade or cut figures to be coming at some point, with Jerryd Bayless and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot among the players whose roster spots look least secure.

Their agreement with Johnson also seems likely to take the Sixers out of the running for veteran center Kyle O’Quinn, who was reportedly drawing “heavy interest” from Philadelphia on the first day of free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bucks Sign Forward Ersan Ilyasova

July 16th, 2018 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 16, 7:25pm: The signing is official, per team press release.

JUNE 30, 11:04pm: Veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova has reached agreement on a three-year, $21MM contract with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The third year is non-guaranteed, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

The move represents a homecoming for the 31-year-old, who began his career in Milwaukee in 2006. Apart from two seasons in Spain, Ilyasova remained with the Bucks until they traded him to Detroit in 2015.

He started the 2017/18 season in Atlanta before agreeing to a buyout in late February and signing with the Sixers to provide shooting help in the playoffs. He averaged 9.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in 10 postseason games for Philadelphia.

Milwaukee will probably use its mid-level exception to add Ilyasova, unless it can arrange a sign-and-trade with Philadelphia or swing some other deals to clear cap room. Assuming Ilyasova’s first-year salary exceeds the taxpayer’s mid-level exception ($5.337MM) and he’s acquired via the MLE or a sign-and-trade, the Bucks would be hard-capped for the 2018/19 league year.

That hard cap could be a factor if another team makes an aggressive offer for restricted free agent Jabari Parker, as cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavericks Sign Second-Rounder Jalen Brunson

July 16th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have officially signed second-round pick Jalen Brunson, the team announced today in a press release. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported today (via Twitter) that Brunson and the Mavs had agreed to a four-year contract with three years guaranteed.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Brunson, the 33rd overall pick in the draft, is coming off a huge year at Villanova. While three teammates – Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, and Omari Spellman – were drafted before him, it was Brunson who was named college basketball’s Player of the Year for the champion Wildcats. In his junior year, Brunson averaged 18.9 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 3.1 RPG with a shooting line of .521/.408/.802.

As a Maverick, Brunson will join a depth chart loaded with talented young point guards. Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic lead the way, with restricted free agent Yogi Ferrell also expected to sign a new deal soon to return to Dallas.

The Mavericks will be using some of their remaining cap room to sign Brunson to his new contract. None of the other exceptions available to the club – the room exception or the minimum salary – would have allowed for a four-year deal.

Pacers Sign Elijah Stewart

July 16th, 2018 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie Elijah Stewart has signed with the Pacers, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Charania, Stewart will get a one-year, Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana.

Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed, one-year deals that essentially serve as training camp contracts with modest optional bonuses.

While Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, the most common path for a player on an Exhibit 10 deal is to be waived before the regular season begins, then to join his club’s G League affiliate. In other words, Stewart may end up becoming a member of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this fall.

Stewart, a 6’5″ shooting guard out of USC, averaged 11.7 PPG on .453/.391/.844 shooting in his senior year. In each of his four seasons with the Trojans, Stewart attempted more shots from beyond the three-point arc than from inside it.

Pacers Sign Second-Rounder Alize Johnson

July 16th, 2018 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

3:32pm: Johnson will have a fully guaranteed salary in 2018/19, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.

2:54pm: The Pacers have now locked up both of their 2018 draft picks, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed second-round selection Alize Johnson. First-rounder Aaron Holiday inked his rookie deal at the start of the month.

Johnson, the 50th overall pick in the draft, finished his college career at Missouri State after spending two years at Frank Phillips College. The young forward averaged a double-double in both of his years at Missouri State, posting 14.9 PPG and 11.1 RPG in 66 overall games with the program.

Johnson also looked solid for the Pacers in Summer League action, averaging 12.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 23.0 minutes per contest.

While terms of Johnson’s contract aren’t known, a two-year, minimum-salary deal seems likely. The Pacers used up all their cap space, then signed using Kyle O’Quinn with their room exception, so they don’t have the means to offer a more lucrative or longer-term contract.

Indiana now has 14 players on NBA contracts for 2018/19.

Nets Sign Rodions Kurucs To Multiyear Deal

July 16th, 2018 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Nets have officially signed Kurucs, the team announced today in a press release. According to reports from Sportando and The New York Post, his deal is expected to be worth about $7MM over four years.

JUNE 22: The Nets and second-round pick Rodions Kurucs have reached an agreement on an NBA contract, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that it will be a four-year deal.

Kurucs, who was selected using the 40th overall pick that initially belonged to the Lakers, had one year left on his contract with Barcelona. However, the Nets and Kurucs’ Spanish club were able to negotiate the terms of a buyout, says Pick.

[RELATED: Full 2018 NBA Draft Results]

While Kurucs’ buyout was believed to be worth upwards of $4MM at one point, his camp was reportedly able to get that figure lowered substantially, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (as relayed by NetsDaily).

Because Kurucs wasn’t a first-round pick, he won’t be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, but it sounds like he’ll still sign a four-year contract. The Nets will have the flexibility to offer that many years because they’ll start the 2018/19 league year as an under-the-cap team. It’s not yet clear how much Kurucs’ contract will be worth, or how many years will be guaranteed, but the two sides will be able to finalize the agreement in July.

Kurucs was one of two international prospects the Nets selected in the 2018 draft, along with No. 29 pick Dzanan Musa. General manager Sean Marks indicated last night that club also expects to bring over Musa immediately, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). The Bosnia forward reportedly has a buyout worth about $1MM.

Nuggets Sign Isaiah Thomas

July 16th, 2018 at 1:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 16: The Nuggets have officially signed Thomas, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 12: The Nuggets will sign free agent guard Isaiah Thomas to a one-year contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He will accept a veteran’s minimum deal (Twitter link) and will join forces with head coach Michael Malone, who previously coached Thomas in Sacramento.

Thomas will have a $2,029,463 salary for the upcoming season, while Denver will absorb a $1,512,601 cap hit.

Thomas will try to rediscover the form that made him an MVP candidate in Boston after a brutal season that saw him traded to the Cavaliers and Lakers. He sat out the first half of the season while recovering from a lingering hip injury, then played just 15 games for Cleveland before being moved. The veteran guard was a controversial figure with the Cavs, facing frequent complaints over his attitude and poor defense.

Thomas’ performance was a little better with the Lakers, but he appeared in just 17 games before undergoing minor hip surgery in March. He has since declared himself fully healed from that procedure.

An opportunity may be waiting in Denver, which could use another scorer after trading Wilson Chandler to the Sixers last week. The Nuggets also didn’t have a ton of backcourt depth behind starting point guard Jamal Murray, so Thomas could be a key contributor and offensive play-maker for the club.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Waive Troy Williams

July 16th, 2018 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have released small forward Troy Williams, the team announced today (via Twitter). The move reduces New York’s roster count to 15 players on NBA contracts, plus a pair on two-way contracts.

Williams, who previously played for the Grizzlies and Rockets, signed two 10-day contracts with the Knicks following last season’s All-Star break and made a good impression, earning a rest-of-year deal. The 23-year-old’s contract agreement included a non-guaranteed salary for 2018/19 — the Knicks won’t be on the hook for any of that $1,544,951 figure.

In 17 games for the Knicks last season, Williams averaged 7.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, with a .490/.333/.704 shooting line. His non-guaranteed salary and the offseason additions of Mario Hezonja and Kevin Knox made Williams expendable.

Williams will clear waivers and become a free agent on Wednesday, assuming he goes unclaimed. It’s possible some team will place a claim, since no cap room or trade exception is required to absorb Williams’ minimum-salary contract.