Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Re-Sign J.J. Redick

July 6th, 2018 at 5:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6th, 5:18pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 2ND, 11:12 am: Free agent sharpshooter J.J. Redick has agreed to return to the Sixers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Redick will sign a one-year deal in the $12-13MM range.

It will be the second consecutive one-year contract for Redick. In 2017, he received a $23MM deal from the Sixers, who had more cap room than they knew what to do with. This time around, with cap space at a premium around the NBA, the 12-year veteran will accept a more modest salary, albeit one still well above the mid-level.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

In his first season with the Sixers, Redick – who celebrated his 34th birthday last month – provided exactly the sort of reliable outside shooting the team had hoped for, averaging 2.8 three-pointers per game a rate of 42.0%. In 70 games (all starts), he averaged 17.1 PPG, 3.0 APG, and 2.5 RPG.

With the 76ers out of the running for top free agents like LeBron James and Paul George, it made sense to shift their focus to Redick, whose new deal will eat into their available cap space, assuming the Sixers don’t remain an over-the-cap team.

Taking into account Redick’s new contract, the Sixers project to have about $14MM in cap room, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Marks also notes that the shooting guard will have the ability to veto any trades involving him during the 2018/19 league year.

The Sixers could further increase their cap flexibility by trading or stretching Jerryd Bayless, who is on an expiring deal worth just over $8.5MM. We heard on Sunday that the 76ers and Bayless were considering a buyout agreement.

Even after re-signing Redick, the Sixers figure to explore the free agent market in an effort to add more shooting. The team has already lost three-point marksmen Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli since free agency opened on Saturday night.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dwight Howard Finalizes Buyout, Headed To Wizards

July 6th, 2018 at 4:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have finalized their buyout of Dwight Howard‘s contract, paving the way for the veteran center to join the Wizards, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Howard will sign a two-year, $11MM contract that will include a player option for the second year, Wojnarowski adds.

Howard had one year and $23,819,725 remaining on his contract when he was dealt by the Hornets to the Nets, who had no intention of keeping him. The trade was agreed to last month but wasn’t officially announced until Friday.

By adding Howard, the Wizards now have 14 players with guaranteed contracts. Their projected luxury tax bill has increased from $11.5MM to $18.3MM, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Howard will be worth any tax penalties if Washington can advance deeper in the postseason. The Wizards were bounced by the top-seeded Raptors in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this past season.

The Wizards will make Howard their starting center after dealing Marcin Gortat to the Clippers for guard Austin Rivers. Howard averaged 16.6 PPG and 12.5 RPG in his lone season with the Hornets.

The buyout gives the Nets a projected $9-$11MM in cap space, Marks adds.

Mavericks Release Guard Kyle Collinsworth

July 6th, 2018 at 4:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have released guard Kyle Collinsworth, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Collinsworth had two non-guaranteed years remaining on his contract. He was due to make $1,378,242 if he had stayed on the roster through January 10th. The first $100K of the contract would have guaranteed had he remained on the roster through Friday.

Collinsworth, who is on Dallas’ summer league team, appeared in 32 games last season. He averaged 3.2 PPG and 1.8 APG in 15.0 MPG.

The draft-night trade for Luka Doncic made Collinsworth expendable. The Mavs also have Dennis Smith Jr. and J.J. Barea as options at point guard.

Pacers Waive Alex Poythress

July 6th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have waived forward Alex Poythress, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Poythress’ $1.54MM salary for 2018/19 was fully non-guaranteed, so Indiana won’t be on the hook for any of it.

Poythress, 24, signed with the Pacers last December and appeared sparingly in 25 games for the club, logging just 104 total minutes. In 53 G League games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants over the last two seasons, Poythress has averaged 18.7 PPG and 7.3 RPG with a .521 FG%.

Waiving Poythress was part of a series of roster moves completed by the Pacers that cleared the way for the team to sign Tyreke Evans and Doug McDermott. The club also renounced its rights to several free agents, including Trevor Booker and Joe Young.

Poythress will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday if he clears waivers.

Nuggets Trade Wilson Chandler To Sixers

July 6th, 2018 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Nuggets.

“We want to thank Wilson for seven years in Denver,” Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. “As good as a player as he is, he’s an even better person. He will be a great addition in Philly and we will certainly all be rooting for him.”

JULY 3: The Sixers and Nuggets have agreed to a deal that will send Wilson Chandler and draft considerations to Philadelphia, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) first reported that the two teams were close to a deal involving Chandler.

It’s a swap that makes sense for both teams. The Sixers have cap room available to absorb Chandler’s $12.8MM salary for 2018/19, and the deal will net them a solid veteran forward who had a down year in 2017/18 but has averaged 13.3 PPG and 5.6 RPG with a .441/.351/.753 shooting line during his last five seasons in Denver.

Chandler is on an expiring contract, so he won’t impact the 76ers’ cap flexibility for 2019. Meanwhile, the team will also receive draft considerations in the deal. According to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), Philadelphia will acquire the Nuggets’ 2021 second-round selection, as well as the ability to swap second-rounders with Denver in 2022.

As for the Nuggets, the only incoming asset they’ll receive from the Sixers in the trade itself is cash, per Fischer. However, shedding Chandler’s salary and using only a second-round pick to do it represents a big financial win for team ownership — with new deals for Nikola Jokic and Will Barton set to hit the books, Denver’s team salary was projected to be way over the tax line.

By moving Chandler, the Nuggets’ projected tax bill will drop by approximately $37MM, and the team will also avoid paying Chandler’s $12.8MM salary, creating nearly $50MM in total savings, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Nuggets still could end up over the tax threshold, but has a much easier path to get below it now, if they so choose. Kenneth Faried ($13.76MM) and Darrell Arthur ($7.46MM) are still candidates to be traded or stretched.

The Nuggets will also create a trade exception worth Chandler’s salary ($12,800,562) in the deal. They’ll have a year to use it.

Although the move will eat up most of the Sixers’ remaining cap room and likely take them out of the market for major free agents, the team still has plenty of trade options. As Marks notes, Chandler could even theoretically be included in a trade package right away, since CBA rules don’t restrict a team immediately flipping a player if he was acquired using cap space. However, the 76ers like Chandler’s two-way ability and are planning to hang onto him, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Re-Sign Ian Clark

July 6th, 2018 at 2:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 9: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Clark, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

JULY 6: Ian Clark will re-sign with the Pelicans for one year at the veteran’s minimum, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports.

As our chart of 2018/19 minimum salaries shows, Clark will earn $1,757,429 for the season and the team will have a $1,512,601 cap hit.

Clark, 27, was a valuable reserve in his first season in New Orleans, posting a career-best 7.4 points per night in 74 games (19.7 MPG) and shooting 31.8% from 3-point range. He improved those numbers to 7.8 PPG and 35.7% in the playoffs.

The Pelicans are the fourth NBA stop for Clark, who signed as a free agent last summer after winning a championship with the Warriors. He also spent time with the Jazz and Nuggets.

Hornets Sign Devonte’ Graham

July 6th, 2018 at 1:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets have signed second-round pick Devonte’ Graham, the team announced on its website. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Charlotte acquired the rights to Graham, who was selected at No. 34, from the Hawks in a draft night trade, giving up a pair of second-rounders.

Graham was a first-team All-American at Kansas and was named Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game and helped the Jayhawks reach the Final Four.

Lakers Sign Rajon Rondo To One-Year Deal

July 6th, 2018 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The Lakers have officially signed Rondo, the team announced today in a press release.

“We are thrilled to have Rajon bring his off-the-charts basketball IQ to the Lakers,” Pelinka said in a statement. “He has a proven ability to play at an elite level during playoff and championship runs, and that is a highly valued skill. Rajon is also respected around the NBA as an extremely hard worker and relentless competitor and that mentality is key to how we want build our roster.”

JULY 2: The Lakers continue to make noise on the free agent market, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Rajon Rondo has agreed to a deal to join the club. Rondo will sign a one-year, $9MM deal with the Lakers, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Playing last season on a one-year, $3.3MM deal in New Orleans, Rondo was an important part of the Pelicans’ lineup, averaging 8.3 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 4.0 RPG and serving as one of the club’s veteran leaders. He increased those rates to 10.3 PPG, 12.2 APG, and 7.6 RPG during an impressive playoff run.

Rondo will join a Lakers roster that’s set to look much different in 2018/19 than it did last season. The team is surrounding LeBron James with a fascinating collection of veterans that includes Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that communication between James and the Lakers is “strong,” so it’s safe to assume that he’s on board with all the moves the team is making.

Shelburne adds (via Twitter) that LeBron told the Lakers he likes Lonzo Ball‘s game and is excited to play with him, but assuming Ball isn’t traded, he figures to compete for playing time with Rondo. A source tells Shelburne (Twitter link) that the best man will win the point guard job for the Lakers, who are in win-now mode.

Having renounced Julius Randle, the Lakers had a projected $13.83MM in cap room to accommodate the Rondo deal, which will take up $9MM in space. That will leave the Lakers with about $5.67MM for now. The team could get up to $16.29MM in cap room by waiving and stretching Luol Deng, so we’ll see if Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have another big move up their sleeves.

As for the Pelicans, they had wanted to bring back Rondo even after reaching an agreement to sign point guard Elfrid Payton. According to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), New Orleans made Rondo an offer, but the Lakers’ proposal was “significantly better.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Sign Melvin Frazier

July 6th, 2018 at 1:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have signed second-round pick Melvin Frazier, the team announced in a press release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

A 6’6″ guard out of Tulane, Frazier was the 35th player selected in this year’s draft.

He spent three years with the Green Wave and was named AAC Most Improved Player this season while earning second team all-conference honors. He averaged 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and shot .385 from 3-point range.

Hornets Trade Hamidou Diallo To Thunder

July 6th, 2018 at 1:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Diallo trade is now official, per a press release from the Thunder. As first reported by Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, the Hornets receive Oklahoma City’s 2019 second-round pick and cash in the deal.

JUNE 21: The Hornets will send 45th pick Hamidou Diallo to the Thunder, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The teams can’t finalize the deal until July 6 because it involves a pick that Charlotte will receive from the Nets in the Dwight Howard trade, which also can’t be completed until that date.

Diallo, 19, was a top recruit coming out of college in 2016, but made a late commitment to Kentucky and redshirted during his first season there. He declared for the draft last year, but elected to return to college, where he averaged 10.0 points in 37 games.

There’s no word yet on what the Hornets will get in return for Diallo.