Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign Mario Hezonja To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2018 at 8:09pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 6: The Knicks have officially signed Hezonja, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

JULY 1: The Knicks have agreed to a one-year, $6.5MM pact with small forward Mario Hezonja, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The 23-year-old comes off of a career-best season in which he averaged 9.6 points in 22.1 minutes per game for the Magic.

Prior to the 2017/18 season, the Magic elected not to pick up the 2015 fifth-overall pick’s fourth-year option and the Croatian swingman responded with a notable increase in production. In 11 February contests, for example, Hezonja averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

As we relayed earlier today, Marc Berman of The New York Post had reported that the Knicks had put an offer on the table for Hezonja worth a portion of the club’s $8.641MM mid-level exception. These reported terms would fall in line with that, leaving enough of the MLE available for New York to ink second-round pick Mitchell Robinson, something the club had been set on doing.

While Hezonja had reportedly been seeking a multiyear deal, the Knicks want to retain as much cap flexibility as possible for the 2019 offseason, and only plan on offering one-year guarantees this summer.

The buy-low addition of Hezonja, a young, recent lottery pick, will add depth to New York’s rotation. Hezonja will compete with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee for minutes on the wing, assuming the latter remains on the roster.

The move will give the Knicks three of the top seven draft picks from 2015. Kristaps Porzingis (No. 4) and Emmanuel Mudiay (No. 7) were also top selections in that draft.

According to a subsequent Wojnarowski tweet, the Blazers, Kings and Grizzlies were also in the mix for Hezonja’s services.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Re-Sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

July 1st, 2018 at 7:43pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 6: The Lakers have officially re-signed Caldwell-Pope, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: The Lakers will re-sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Chris Haynes of ESPN reports. The news comes less than an hour after it was revealed that they’ll be inking LeBron James as well. James and Caldwell-Pope are both represented by agent Rich Paul and the Klutch Sports Group.

In a subsequent tweet, Haynes added that the deal for Caldwell-Pope will be a one-year pact worth $12MM. That’s $6MM less than the one-year contract the two parties agreed on last summer.

Caldwell-Pope, 25, joined the Lakers last summer after spending the first four years of his NBA career in Detroit. The 6’5″ shooting guard enjoyed his best season as a shooter last year, setting new career highs in FG% (.426) and 3PT% (.383). He averaged 13.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.4 SPG in 74 games (all starts).

Caldwell-Pope, who complements his ability to make three-pointers with strong perimeter defense on the other end of the floor, will return to Los Angeles after apparently seeing interest from a number of teams, including the Grizzlies and Clippers.

Adding Caldwell-Pope’s new $12MM deal to James’ max contract significantly reduces the Lakers’ available cap room. With Luol Deng‘s $18MM salary and Julius Randle‘s $12MM+ cap hold on their books, the Lakers are essentially capped out after committing $47MM+ to LeBron and KCP. However, the team could re-open space by renouncing Randle and trading or stretching Deng.

The Lakers could get up to about $23.6MM in cap room by renouncing Randle and stretching Deng. Renouncing Randle and trading Deng for no incoming salary would result in $30MM+ in space. Keeping Randle’s cap hold on the books and stretching Deng would open up about $12MM.

Luke Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Malik Newman Signs Two-Way Deal With Lakers

July 1st, 2018 at 3:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 1: The Lakers have officially signed Newman to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Having not tendered qualifying offers to Caruso or Payton, the Lakers appear poised to have new players in both two-way slots for 2018/19.

JUNE 22: The Lakers will add Kansas guard Malik Newman on a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Newman, 21, spent just one season with the Jayhawks after transferring from Mississippi State. He put up 14.2 points per game this year and shot 42% from 3-point range. He helped the Jayhawks reach the Final Four with a 32-point performance against Duke in the regional finals.

Alex Caruso and Gary Payton II are the Lakers’ current two-way players, with their contracts set to expire at the end of June.

Lakers Sign First-Rounder Moritz Wagner

July 1st, 2018 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have officially signed first-round pick Moritz Wagner to his rookie scale contract, the team announced today in a press release. While most signings can’t be completed during the July moratorium, there’s nothing stopping first-rounders from formally inking their rookie deals during the first week of July.

Wagner, the 25th overall pick in last month’s draft, played his college ball at Michigan and posted 14.6 PPG to go along with 7.1 RPG in 2017/18. The 6’10” forward also flashed stretch-four potential, knocking down 38.5% of his threes in his three-year college career.

Wagner’s salary in 2018/19 figures to be approximately $1.76MM, which is 120% of his rookie scale amount.

The fact that Wagner has formally signed his deal won’t impact the Lakers’ cap room for this summer, since he was already on the team’s books with a cap hold equivalent to his new rookie salary. However, it does mean that he can’t be included in a trade for the next 30 days.

Amar’e Stoudemire To Play In Israel?

July 1st, 2018 at 3:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

3:17pm: In response to Hapoel Jerusalem’s announcement that Stoudemire would play for the team if he doesn’t sign an NBA contract, the veteran NBA big man issued a strong denial, as Dionysis Aravantinos of Eurohoops relays.

The club followed up on Stoudemire’s denial by apologizing to him for the timing of the announcement, but indicating that they still believe he’ll join the squad if he doesn’t get an NBA deal.

“During the last week Amare informed the club’s ownership unambiguously that should he not sign with an NBA team he will play join Hapoel Jerusalem,” the team’s statement read, per Aravantinos. “As a result, the club made an official announcement.”

8:39am: Amar’e Stoudemire will play another season in Israel if he doesn’t receive an NBA offer, tweets international writer David Pick.

Stoudemire, 35, has agreed to re-sign with Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he co-owns in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Stoudemire announced his retirement in September, but has decided his playing days aren’t over.

He is part of the BIG 3 league this summer and recently said he would like another shot at the NBA. A five-time all-league selection, Stoudemire’s last NBA appearance was with the Heat in 2015/16.

Kings Sign Marvin Bagley III To Rookie Deal

July 1st, 2018 at 2:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings have signed Marvin Bagley III to a rookie scale contract, according to a team press release. At 120% of the scale, his first-year salary will come in at approximately $7.31MM.

Sacramento selected Bagley with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. During his lone season at Duke, the big man was just one of four freshmen in the nation to average a double-double with points and rebounds. He averaged 21.0 points, 11.1 boards, and 1.5 assists in 33.9 minutes per night at the collegiate level.

Bagley will help lead an inexperienced Kings’ roster this upcoming season. Including his deal, Sacramento has nine players under contract who are on their rookie contracts, a figure that leads the league. That total does not include Bogdan Bogdanovic, who’s on his first contract in the league, but not bound to a rookie scale.

Pacers Sign First-Rounder Aaron Holiday

July 1st, 2018 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have signed first-round pick Aaron Holiday to his rookie scale contract, according to a press release issued by the team.

Holiday, the younger brother of NBA players Jrue Holiday and Justin Holiday, enjoyed a major breakout season at UCLA in 2017/18, increasing his scoring average by eight points per game to 20.3 PPG. That mark tied him with Arizona’s Deandre Ayton for the Pac-12 scoring lead. Holiday also chipped in 5.8 APG and 3.7 RPG, shooting 42.9% on three-point attempts.

The Pacers selected Holiday with the 23rd overall pick in the 2018 draft, which will put him in line for a first-year salary of approximately $1.91MM. That figure represents the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale amount for the No. 23 pick in 2018/19.

Like all other first-rounders who sign rookie scale contracts, Holiday will get two guaranteed years, with team options in years three and four.

Pistons Sign Glenn Robinson III

July 1st, 2018 at 1:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 7: The signing is official, the Pistons announced on Twitter.

JULY 1: The Pistons are finalizing a deal to bring Glenn Robinson III to Detroit, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The pact will be for $8.3MM over two seasons with only the first year guaranteed.

Detroit will be using part of its mid-level exception to accommodate the deal. The franchise is over the cap, committing approximately $115.7MM in salary for the 2018/19 season before factoring in Robinson’s deal.

The University of Michigan product showed some promise during his time with the Pacers over the past three seasons, though injuries robbed him of consistency. He played in just 23 games during the 2017/18 campaign.

The 24-year-old is a career 38.1% marksman from behind the arc. That figure that includes shooting 41.2% on 34 attempts last season. He should be able to compete for a spot in Detroit’s wing rotation, an area that proved to have its issues after the team traded away much of its depth in the Blake Griffin deal.

Heat Sign Derrick Jones Jr.

July 1st, 2018 at 12:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat have signed Derrick Jones Jr. to a two-year deal, according to a team press release. The pact will be a minimum salary arrangement with Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reporting (Twitter link) that the second year is non-guaranteed.

Jones Jr. played with Miami on a two-way deal last season, seeing action in 13 games for the team’s G League affiliate and in 14 with the NBA club. During his time with the Heat, he averaged 3.7 points in 15.2 minutes per game.

Most signings cannot be made official during the league’s moratorium. However, minimum salary deals are an exception to that rule, as we outline in our Glossary section. Other transactions that are allowed include signing first-rounders to their rookie scale contract and a restricted free agent signing his qualifying offer or a max deal with his current team.

Marreese Speights Set To Play In China

July 1st, 2018 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Unrestricted NBA free agent Marreese Speights has reached an agreement to join China’s Guangzhou Long Lions and will continue his playing career overseas, per international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link).

It’s a six-month, $2MM deal for Speights, according to Pick, who first reported two weeks ago that the big man was close to reaching a deal with the Chinese club.

[RELATED: 2018 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Speights, who will turn 31 next month, has bounced around among several NBA teams over the course of his 10-year career, spending time with the Sixers, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Warriors, Clippers, and Magic. In Orlando in 2017/18, he averaged 7.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG. The veteran has also improved his three-point shooting in recent years, making 1.7 threes per game at a 36.9% clip last season.

Since the Chinese season ends before the NBA season does, Speights could have the opportunity to collect $2MM and then return stateside to catch on with an NBA contender down the stretch in 2018/19.