Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Sign D’Angelo Russell To Two-Year Contract

June 30th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Rory Maher

July 6: Russell’s deal is official, according to the Mavericks (Twitter link).

June 30: The Mavericks are signing free agent guard D’Angelo Russell to a two-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The second year will be a player option, Charania notes (via Twitter).

While Charania states that Russell’s deal is worth $13MM, veteran reporter Marc Stein hears (via Twitter) it’s just shy of $12MM.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks confirms (Twitter links) that Russell will be signed using the taxpayer mid-level exception, which will hard-cap the Mavs at the second tax apron. Dallas is about $1.6MM below the second apron, Marks adds.

Stein reported multiple times leading up to free agency that Dallas was the frontrunner to sign Russell to a two-year deal using the taxpayer version of the MLE. Assuming he received the full amount, he will earn $11,654,250 over the next two years.

Russell is a one-time All-Star who is taking a steep pay cut, having earned $18.7MM in 2024/25.

The second overall pick of the 2015 draft, Russell is coming off a down season in which he averaged 12.6 points, 5.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 58 combined appearances with the Lakers and Nets (25.5 minutes per game). 12.6 PPG and 25.5 MPG represented career lows for Russell, who also posted career-worst percentages from the field (39.0%) and from three-point range (31.4%).

While he is a talented scorer and play-maker who is capable of carrying an offense for stretches, Russell tends to be quite streaky and is a subpar defender. The 29-year-old will likely be the starting point guard for the Mavs until Kyrie Irving is able to return from the torn ACL he sustained in early March.

Nuggets Trade Michael Porter, First-Round Pick To Nets For Cam Johnson

June 30th, 2025 at 6:09pm CST by Luke Adams

July 8: The trade is official, the Nets announced in a press release.

June 30: The Nuggets and Nets have agreed to a trade that will send Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Nets in exchange for Cameron Johnson, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The move will create significant cap flexibility for Denver. Porter is owed a little over $79MM across the next two seasons, while Johnson’s contract has a base value of $44MM over those same two years (he also has some unlikely incentives that count toward the tax aprons).

It also looks like a potential on-court upgrade for the Nuggets. While Porter is an extremely talented scorer and shooter who averaged 18.2 points per game on a .504/.395/.768 shooting line in 77 games for Denver in 2024/25, Johnson is considred a strong defender and is a pretty good scorer and shooter in his own right.

Johnson scored a career-high 18.8 points per game on .475/.390/.893 shooting in 57 outings for the Nets this past season. He also set a new career high with 3.4 assists per contest.

The trade will move the Nuggets’ team salary more than $13MM below the first apron, potentially opening up the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use in free agency, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). That could be a valuable tool for a Denver team looking to add quality depth to support a strong starting lineup.

The Nets, meanwhile, will use a chunk of their cap room to accommodate Porter’s incoming salary — if they had been operating over the cap, they wouldn’t be able to swap Johnson straight up for MPJ and his $38.3MM cap hit.

The move will reduce their cap room to about $17MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, though that number is fluid, depending on how the team handles its non-guaranteed contracts and whether either of the reported deals for Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams go into the room exception.

The unprotected 2032 first-round pick is clearly the prize of the deal for Brooklyn. Nikola Jokic will be 37 years old in 2032, and there’s no guarantee he’ll still be a Nugget anyway, so that pick has a good deal of variability and could turn into a very valuable asset.

Still, the Nets don’t view Porter as a mere salary dump. They’re excited about the former lottery pick – who celebrated his 27th birthday on Sunday – and intend to keep him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

Lakers Sign Jake LaRavia To Two-Year Contract

June 30th, 2025 at 5:53pm CST by Luke Adams

July 6: LaRavia has signed with the Lakers, per the official transaction log at NBA.com.

“Jake is a high IQ two-way player with ideal skills for a JJ Redick basketball system,” Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said in a statement within the team’s press release confirming the deal. “He’s a disruptive defender who uses his size and physicality to create turnovers. Offensively, he can score at all three levels and has a knack for creating space for himself and his teammates.

“Being just 23 years old, we think Jake has significant basketball upside, which will be honed nicely in our Lakers basketball development program.”

June 30: The Lakers have agreed to a two-year, $12MM deal with free agent forward Jake LaRavia, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Dan Woike of The Athletic, confirming the news, adds (via Twitter) that LaRavia’s contract will be fully guaranteed and refers to him as the team’s “top wing target” once Dorian Finney-Smith committed to Houston.

The Grizzlies turned down LaRavia’s fourth-year rookie scale option for 2025/26 last October, and he responded by playing some of the best basketball of his career through 47 games for Memphis — he made 44.4% of his three-pointers and the team was better when he was on the court than when he wasn’t.

The forward’s production dipped a little following a trade-deadline deal to Sacramento, but he still give the Kings good rotation minutes off the bench and finished the season with total averages of 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 20.4 minutes per game and a .475/.423/.678 shooting line for the two teams.

LaRavia’s solid season prompted Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman to admit after the season that he probably made a mistake by declining the former first-round pick’s $5.16MM option for ’25/26. Sacramento didn’t have the ability to exceed that $5.16MM figure on a starting salary for LaRavia, but other teams – like the Lakers – were allowed to go higher.

A two-year contract worth the full amount of the taxpayer mid-level exception would be worth $11.7MM, so it’s possible LaRavia’s contract will be signed that way. However, the Lakers – who are in desperate need for a center – have more free agent shopping to do, so I’d except LaRavia’s deal to come out of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Assuming that’s the case, the club would have about $8.3MM left on it, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).

Grizzlies, Cam Spencer Agree To Two-Year Deal

June 30th, 2025 at 5:52pm CST by Rory Maher

The Grizzlies have agreed to a two-year, $4.5MM contract with guard Cam Spencer, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal is fully guaranteed, Charania adds.

Memphis made Spencer a restricted free agent on Sunday by tendering him a qualifying offer. He spent 2024/25 — his rookie season — on a two-way contract with Memphis.

It’s likely that Spencer will sign a minimum-salary contract, which would be worth approximately $4.46MM over the next two seasons.

The 53rd pick of the 2024 draft after winning a national championship with UConn, Spencer appeared in 25 games with the Grizzlies last season, averaging 4.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 10.1 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .415/.365/1.000.

The 25-year-old combo guard had a much bigger role in his eight appearances (32.2 MPG) with the Memphis Hustle in ’24/25, averaging 23.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.2 SPG on .538/.493/.765 shooting.

Spencer will provide depth and outside shooting to the Grizzlies’ backcourt after they traded Desmond Bane to Orlando. They’re also reportedly renegotiating and extending Jaren Jackson Jr. and re-signing Santi Aldama.

Pistons Re-Sign Paul Reed To Two-Year Deal

June 30th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 8: Reed has formally signed his new contract with the Pistons, according to the NBA’s official log of transactions.

June 30: The Pistons are bringing back free agent big man Paul Reed, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the two sides are in agreement on a two-year, $11MM deal.

The second year of Reed’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

Reed is coming off a minimum-salary contract, so he has a minimum-salary cap hold, but Detroit holds Early Bird rights on him, cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (Twitter link). That means if the Pistons operate under the cap, they can use up all their room before going over the cap to finalize Reed’s deal.

Reed had a bizarre year regarding his contract situation. He was waived by the Sixers last season when they were trying to open up as much cap space as possible. The Pistons claimed him and picked up his $7.7MM salary, then waived him in December before it became fully guaranteed. They re-signed him that month on a more team-friendly deal.

Reed spent most of the season as the third-string center behind Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. After playing in every game with the Sixers the previous season, he only saw action in 45 games off the bench this past season. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game.

Reed also played five games off the bench against the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs after Stewart was sidelined with a knee injury.

Reed is expected to return to that role in the coming season. The Pistons will now concentrate on bigger free agents, a process that became more complicated when gambling allegations surfaced against sixth man and unrestricted free agent Malik Beasley.

Dorian Finney-Smith Signs Four-Year Contract With Rockets

June 30th, 2025 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

July 7: The Rockets have officially signed Finney-Smith, the team confirmed in a press release.

The deal is fully guaranteed for two seasons, with a non-guaranteed third year and a non-guaranteed fourth-year player option, per Scotto (Twitter link).

June 30: Free agent forward Dorian Finney-Smith is leaving the Lakers in order to sign a four-year, $53MM contract with the Rockets, sources tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The agreement includes a trade kicker and a mutual option (ie. a non-guaranteed player option) in year four, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Finney-Smith will likely be signed using Houston’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception. A full mid-level deal, starting at the maximum $14.1MM, would be worth $60.6MM, so the Rockets should still have a small portion of the exception left over after signing Finney-Smith, assuming the contract has a standard ascending structure.

Finney-Smith, who was traded from Brooklyn to Los Angeles last December, appeared in 43 games for the Lakers in 2024/25, making 20 starts. He averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 28.8 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .442/.398/.714.

While his box-score numbers certainly don’t jump off the page, Finney-Smith’s midseason arrival helped fuel a defensive turnaround in L.A. and his reliable three-point shooting helped space the floor on offense.

His impact was reflected by his on/off-court numbers — no Lakers rotation player had a better regular season net rating than Finney–Smith’s +11.1 mark in 1,239 minutes. The club had a -3.5 mark in the 1,214 minutes he didn’t play after the trade.

In Houston, he’ll serve as the type of three-and-D wing the Rockets lost when they agreed to trade Dillon Brooks to Phoenix in the Kevin Durant blockbuster.

It’s a major loss for the Lakers, given the role Finney-Smith both on and off the court for the franchise. As Dan Woike of The Athletic tweets, the 32-year-old was a popular presence in the locker room and was well-liked by Luka Doncic. However, a four-year deal for Finney-Smith didn’t fit into L.A.’s long-term plans.

Jazz Guarantee Svi Mykhailiuk’s Salary For Next Season

June 30th, 2025 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have guaranteed the $3.68MM salary of Svi Mykhailiuk for next season, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Utah had until today to decide whether to guarantee Mykhailiuk’s season or waive him. His contract, which he signed in August, runs through the 2027/28 season but the final two years are also non-guaranteed.

Utah has made several cost-cutting moves this week, including reaching a buyout agreement with Jordan Clarkson on Monday. However, the Jazz obviously believe Mykhailiuk’s low-cost contract is worth holding onto.

He appeared in 38 games this past season, including 13 starts. Mykhailiuk averaged 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three-point distance.

The Ukrainian wing has bounced around the league, as the Jazz are the 28-year-old’s eighth club in seven NBA seasons.

Jazz, Jordan Clarkson Agree To Contract Buyout

June 30th, 2025 at 1:52pm CST by Rory Maher

6:30 pm: Clarkson has officially been bought out and waived, according to a press release from the Jazz.

1:52 pm: Veteran guard Jordan Clarkson is finalizing a buyout agreement with the Jazz, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, Clarkson plans to prioritize contenders when he becomes a free agent, which will occur two days after he’s officially released by Utah. “Multiple playoff teams” are expected to be interested in the 33-year-old, Charania adds.

Clarkson was on an expiring contract that will pay him approximately $14.3MM in 2025/26. It remains to be seen how much of that he’ll be giving back, but the Jazz could have about $30MM in breathing room beneath the luxury tax line to make further moves, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (via Twitter).

The Knicks are a team to monitor for Clarkson, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link), who says New York has expressed a level of interest in the former Sixth Man of the Year winner in prior trade talks.

Multiple recent reports indicated that Utah was looking to find a trade partner to take on Clarkson’s contract, but the team was unable to find a deal to its liking.

A former second-round pick (46th overall in 2014), Clarkson has spent the past five-and-a-half years with the Jazz after previous stops with the Lakers and Cavaliers. He’s known for providing instant offense off the bench, but appeared in a career-low 37 games last season due to a left foot injury (Utah was also trying to improve its lottery standing).

Overall, Clarkson averaged 16.2 points, 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds in his 37 appearances (26.0 minutes per contest). His shooting slash line was .408/.362/.797.

The Jazz clearly plan to give major backcourt minutes to their recent draft picks for the upcoming season, having traded Collin Sexton to Charlotte for Jusuf Nurkic. They’re also waiving Johnny Juzang and, once the buyout is complete, Clarkson.

Jesse Edwards, Emanuel Miller Sign Two-Way Qualifying Offers

June 30th, 2025 at 1:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves big man Jesse Edwards has accepted his two-qualifying offer and so has Bulls forward Emanuel Miller, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links). The signings are official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

Both players were restricted free agents after their respective teams issued them qualifying offers. By accepting the QOs, Edwards and Miller will each receive a small partial guarantee of $85K, but their two-way contracts are otherwise non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, so they could still be released at any point in the coming weeks or months.

Edwards, 25, only appeared in two NBA games for Minnesota, having spent the majority of his rookie campaign with the team’s G League affiliate in Iowa. The Dutch center went undrafted last year out of West Virginia after spending his first four college seasons with Syracuse.

Miller, 25, inked a two-way deal with Chicago in December after going undrafted out of TCU. He played in six games for the Bulls but was a mainstay in the NBAGL, first with the Dallas Legends and then the Windy City Bulls.

Hornets Trade Mark Williams To Suns For McNeeley, 2029 First-Rounder

June 30th, 2025 at 1:26pm CST by Rory Maher

June 30: The trade is official, according to press releases issued by both the Suns and Hornets.

Williams is headed to Phoenix, while Micic, this year’s No. 29 pick (Liam McNeeley), and a 2029 first-round pick (least favorable of Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota) are going to Charlotte.

Rather than the swap of second-rounders (outlined below), the Hornets sent the Suns their own 2029 second-round pick in order to complete the trade.

June 25: Right around the same time they drafted Khaman Maluach, the Suns agreed to acquire another Duke center, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets are sending Mark Williams to Phoenix in exchange for 2025’s No. 29 overall pick and a 2029 first-rounder.

Sources tell Charania that the 2029 first-round pick will be the least favorable of the selections controlled by Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota (Twitter link). The Wolves’ pick is top-five protected, so it would have to fall outside of that range to be in play.

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), Vasilije Micic is also involved in the trade, as he’ll be sent back to Charlotte, which just traded him to Phoenix in February. Micic’s $8.1MM team option for next season will have to be exercised for that to occur.

The full trade is as follows, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Hornets receive:

Micic.
2025 No. 29 pick.
2029 first-round pick with the least favorable language listed above.
2026 second-rounder (least favorable of Golden State and Denver).

Suns receive:

Williams.
2026 second-round pick (most favorable of Golden State and Denver).

Williams, 23, was nearly traded to the Lakers at the February deadline, but Los Angeles wound up rescinding that deal due to concerns about his physical.

A 7’0″ big man with an enormous 7’7″ wingspan, Williams was productive when healthy this past season for Charlotte, averaging 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in 44 appearances (26.6 minutes per game). He shot 60.4% from the field and a career-best 80.4% from the foul line.

However, health has been a huge issue for Williams through three NBA seasons, having played a total of just 106 games. He also has been a negative defender, particularly when trying to switch onto smaller players on the perimeter.

It’s telling that Charlotte was so determined to move Williams despite his very real upside as a scorer and rebounder. The Hornets only won 19 games last season, but they were substantially worse when Williams was on the court (-12.7 net rating) compared to when he was off it (-7.7).

Obviously, Phoenix is betting that Williams and Maluach will be long-term answers in the middle. After trading away Deandre Ayton two years ago, the Suns have been lacking reliable play up front.

Interestingly, the Suns sent Josh Okogie and multiple second-round picks to Charlotte in January in order to acquire Nick Richards, whose $5MM salary for 2025/26 is non-guaranteed. Adding Maluach and Williams might signal that Phoenix will opt to waive Richards — yet another center — instead of retaining him.