Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Sign Walter Lemon Jr. To 10-Day Contract

February 21st, 2018 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 21, 6:20 pm: The signing is official, the Pelicans confirmed in an email.

FEBRUARY 20, 1:42pm: A busy day of 10-day contract agreements continues, as Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that the Pelicans have agreed to sign G League guard Walter Lemon Jr. to a 10-day deal.

New Orleans currently has 13 players on standard NBA contracts, plus Emeka Okafor on a 10-day contract of his own, leaving one open spot on the 15-man squad. As such, no corresponding move will be required to finalize Lemon’s agreement.

Lemon, a former Bradley point guard who went undrafted in 2014, has made stops in Hungary, Germany, and Greece during his professional career, but is having his most successful season this year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

In 36 games for Indiana’s G League affiliate, Lemon has averaged 22.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG, and a .490 FG%, with Dedrick Hendrix of Ridiculous Upside recently singling out the 6’3″ guard as a rising star in the G League. The 25-year-old will get a chance to make his NBA debut for the Pelicans.

Suns Sign Shaquille Harrison To 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 21: The Suns have officially signed Harrison to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. As expected, Gray has been waived.

FEBRUARY 20: The Suns will make a change to their roster this week, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who tweets that the team is signing guard Shaquille Harrison to a 10-day contract. Phoenix will waive Josh Gray to create a roster spot, per Gambadoro.

Harrison, 24, went undrafted out of Tulsa in 2016 and caught on with the Suns for training camp later that year. He was cut before the regular season began, but landed with Phoenix’s G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns.

Harrison has spent the last two years with Northern Arizona, averaging 11.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.9 SPG in 36 G League games this season.

Gray had been on a 10-day contract of his own with the Suns — actually, it was technically a 12-day contract. Even though he signed that deal on February 12, Gray was on track to remain under contract through Friday, since 10-day pacts must cover at least three NBA games. Assuming he’s waived before his deal expires, Gray will still be paid for the full 12 days.

Pacers Sign Trey McKinney-Jones To 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2018 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 21: The Pacers have officially signed McKinney-Jones, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 20: The Pacers are set to sign G League guard Trey McKinney-Jones to a 10-day contract, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Indiana currently has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for the team’s newest player.

McKinney-Jones, who went undrafted out of Miami in 2013, has bounced around since then, playing for professional teams in France, Israel, and Hungary. The 27-year-old has also had multiple G League stints, appearing in 137 total contests for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s NBAGL affiliate.

After joining the Pacers for training camp this past fall, McKinney-Jones returned to the Mad Ants for the 2017/18 season. He’s averaging a career-low 26.8 MPG and 11.4 PPG in Fort Wayne this season, but has been a more efficient shooter than ever, with a .493 FG% and .380 3PT%.

Once McKinney-Jones’ 10-day contract with the Pacers expires, the team will have the option of signing him to a second 10-day deal. After that, Indiana would have to either let him go or sign him to a rest-of-season contract.

Knicks Sign Troy Williams To 10-Day Contract

February 21st, 2018 at 8:52am CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 21: Williams’ 10-day deal with the Knicks is now official, according to the team (Twitter link). The contract will run through March 2, giving Williams four games with the Knicks.

FEBRUARY 19: Forward Troy Williams will sign a 10-day contract with the Knicks, a source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link). Williams chose New York among several suitors for his services, per Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

ESPN’s Ian Begley reported earlier in the evening that the Knicks were interested in Williams, who was cut loose by the Rockets last week.

New York has an open roster spot, so it can add Williams without cutting another player loose. Houston placed Williams on waivers when it decided to add veteran swingman Joe Johnson. Williams officially became a free agent on Friday.

Williams, 23, began his NBA career with the Grizzlies last season before being waived a little over a year ago. The 6’7” forward finished the 2016/17 campaign with the Rockets, then signed a new three-year contract with Houston but only the first year was fully guaranteed.

In 34 total NBA games, Williams has averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG.

Magic Sign Rashad Vaughn To 10-Day Contract

February 20th, 2018 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

2:31pm: The Magic have officially signed Vaughn to a 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release.

12:33pm: Former first-round pick Rashad Vaughn is set to join his fourth NBA team of the last month. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), Vaughn has agreed to sign a 10-day contract with the Magic.

It has been an eventful few weeks for Vaughn, who was originally traded from Milwaukee to Brooklyn in the deal that sent Tyler Zeller to the Bucks. From there, Vaughn was dealt to New Orleans by the Nets in exchange for Dante Cunningham. The 6’6″ shooting guard never appeared in a game for the Pelicans, having been waived two days after the trade deadline.

Although he was the 17th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Vaughn has failed to develop into a consistent NBA rotation player. The UNLV product has averaged 3.1 PPG with a .337/.312/.692 shooting line in 134 career NBA contests (12.2 MPG). Still, he’s just 21 years old, so the rebuilding Magic will take a low-risk flier. Current Orlando GM John Hammond was the head of basketball operations in Milwaukee when the Bucks drafted Vaughn in ’15.

The Magic have an opening on their 15-man roster, so they won’t need to waive a player to make room for Vaughn.

C.J. Watson Signs In Turkey

February 17th, 2018 at 9:07am CST by marksuleymanov

Decade-long NBA veteran C.J. Watson has signed a deal overseas to join Usak Sportif, a low-seeded team in the Turkish Super League, basketball journalist David Pick tweets.

Watson, 33, last appeared in the NBA with the Magic during the 2016/17 campaign. He averaged 4.5 PPG and 1.8 APG in 62 games for Orlando and was waived in the offseason.

Watson’s NBA career includes stints with the Warriors, Bulls, Nets, Pacers, and Magic. He was the backup to Derrick Rose and filled in for the former MVP after he suffered a torn ACL in the 2012 playoffs.

In 600 career NBA games, the point guard sports averages of 7.2 PPG and 2.5 APG.

Rockets Sign Joe Johnson

February 14th, 2018 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have officially signed veteran forward Joe Johnson, the team announced today in a press release. In a corresponding transaction, the club waived Troy Williams, a move that appeared to be the subject of some debate in Houston’s front office.

There were reports prior to the trade deadline that Johnson, who was in the final season of a two-year contract, wanted out of Utah, and the Jazz accommodated that desire, sending him to the Kings in a deadline-day deal. Shortly after he landed with Sacramento, Johnson negotiated a buyout, reportedly agreeing to surrender $1MM of his $10.5MM salary.

The veteran will earn a little less than that in Houston, signing a minimum salary deal that will pay him about $750K, with the Rockets taking on a $474K cap hit. However, Johnson’s new team should give him a legit chance to contend for a title.

Johnson struggled this year in Utah, averaging a career-worst 7.3 PPG to go along with 3.3 RPG and a shooting line of .420/.274/.833. Still, his career résumé and his extensive postseason experience made him an intriguing low-cost target for playoff teams.

Johnson is expected to be active on Wednesday night against the Kings, technically his previous team. Johnson seems unlikely to be a difference-maker in that game, so Houston could have waited until after the All-Star break to finalize his deal, but that would have cost him over $100K in salary. Considering the Warriors, Celtics, and Thunder were also believed to be in the running for Johnson, the Rockets were likely happy to guarantee the 36-year-old that extra money by getting their deal done right away.

Rockets Waive Troy Williams

February 14th, 2018 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

4:03pm: The Rockets have officially placed Williams on waivers, Charania confirms (via Twitter).

3:34pm: With Joe Johnson‘s signing imminent, the Rockets need to waive a player to open up a roster spot. According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, that means the club’s on-again, off-again plans to release Troy Williams are once again back on.

Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday morning that the Rockets intended to waive Williams to create the roster spot necessary to sign Johnson. Several hours later, however, Charania indicated that Houston’s plans had changed, and the team was keeping Williams as it continued to work through that roster decision.

Having debated that decision, the Rockets have now apparently returned to their original conclusion. Feigen reports that the team will finalize Johnson’s signing today, making him available for tonight’s game against the Kings. That means that Williams will have to be cut today as well, so his apparent second life in Houston lasted just 24 hours.

Williams, 23, began his NBA career with the Grizzlies last season before being waived a little over a year ago. The former Hoosier finished the 2016/17 campaign with the Rockets, then signed a new three-year contract with Houston during the offseason. However, only the first year of that deal was fully guaranteed, which made him a candidate to be cut this week when the team needed to open up a spot on its roster.

In 34 total NBA games, Williams has averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG. He’s expected to receive interest as a free agent, according to Charania. If Williams goes unclaimed on waivers, Houston would still owe him the rest of his minimum salary for this season, along with about $614K in guaranteed money for 2018/19, according to Basketball Insiders’ data. The Rockets would have the option of spreading that ’18/19 cap charge across three seasons.

Assuming the Rockets finalize Williams’ release, it should mean that the roster spots for players like Chinanu Onuaku, Gerald Green, and Tarik Black are safe.

Pelicans Sign Emeka Okafor To Second 10-Day Deal

February 14th, 2018 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 14: The Pelicans have officially signed Okafor to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Due to the All-Star break, it will run through February 25, technically making it a 12-day deal.

FEBRUARY 13: After earning his first NBA start since 2013 on Monday night, veteran center Emeka Okafor saw his 10-day contract with the Pelicans expire. However, the team won’t let him get away. According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), New Orleans will re-sign Okafor to a second 10-day deal.

The second overall pick in the 2004 draft, Okafor hadn’t played an NBA regular season game since the 2012/13 season before he signed with the Pelicans earlier this month. In three contests, including last night’s start, the 35-year-old has held his own, averaging 5.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 14.3 MPG.

The timing for Okafor’s second 10-day contract remains unclear. New Orleans plays one more game before the All-Star break, facing the Lakers on Wednesday. If Okafor finalizes his new deal today or tomorrow, it would run through February 25, since 10-day contracts require a player to be with the team for at least three games. As such, the All-Star break could turn Okafor’s new deal into a 12- or 13-day contract, assuming the Pelicans don’t wait until after the break to finalize it.

Having created two open roster spots when they sent three players to the Bulls in exchange for Nikola Mirotic, the Pelicans signed DeAndre Liggins and Okafor to fill out their squad. However, the club created another opening by waiving Rashad Vaughn after the deadline. After re-signing Okafor, the Pels will be carrying 14 players on their 15-man NBA roster.

When Okafor’s new 10-day contract expires, the Pelicans will have to decide whether to part ways with him or lock him up for the rest of the season.

Rockets Sign Brandan Wright

February 12th, 2018 at 8:07pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Rockets have officially signed 11-year veteran Brandan Wright, the team announced on its website. Wright committed to signing with the Rockets once he was waived by the Grizzlies and cleared waivers on Monday.

Wright, 30, has appeared in 27 games with the Grizzlies this season, averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 13.6 minutes per contest. Injuries have slowed Wright considerably in recent seasons, but he will provide solid bench depth for the Rockets. Houston remains a half-game behind the Warriors for first place in the Western Conference.

Houston opened up a roster spot for Wright by waiving veteran Bobby Brown on Saturday.

In addition to Wright, the Rockets will add seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson, who was waived by the Kings and committed to Houston. Johnson is expected to clear waivers on Tuesday.