Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Sign Georges Niang To Two-Way Deal

January 14th, 2018 at 1:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 14, 1:30pm: The two-way deal has been made official, per the Jazz’s public relations department (via Twitter).

JANUARY 10, 9:58pm : The Jazz plan to sign Georges Niang to a two-way contract, tweets Adam Johnson of Two Ways and 10 Days.

Niang is currently playing for the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, where he is averaging 18.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 25 games. Niang was waived by Golden State in the preseason after signing with the organization in August. He appeared in 23 games with the Pacers as a rookie last season.

Utah currently has a full roster with Naz Mitrou-Long and Erik McCree holding the team’s two-way contracts, so a move will have to be made before Niang can be added.

Knicks Sign Trey Burke

January 14th, 2018 at 12:04pm CST by marksuleymanov

JANUARY 14, 12:04pm: The signing is official, the Knicks announced on Twitter.

JANUARY 13, 10:38am: The Knicks are expected to sign point guard Trey Burke from the team’s G League affiliate Westchester Knicks, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. The signing will not be official until tomorrow, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. New York will request waivers on veteran guard Ramon Sessions to make room for the former ninth overall pick from the 2013 NBA Draft.

Burke, 25, has played exceptionally well for Westchester, averaging 26.6 PPG and 5.3 APG while shooting 49% from the field in 37 minutes per game. The former lottery pick, who spent his first three seasons with the Jazz and last season with the Wizards, has not lived up to the hype thus far. In those four seasons, Burke has averaged 10.6 PPG, 3.6 APG, and 2.1 RPG.

It’s unclear how Burke fits in with the current Knicks roster as Jarrett Jack and Frank Ntilikina have soaked up most of the minutes at point guard. The signing reunites Burke with his former Michigan teammate Tim Hardaway Jr., Begley notes.

Pelicans Sign Mike James To Two-Way Deal

January 14th, 2018 at 9:17am CST by clarkcrum

JANUARY 14, 9:17am: The signing is official, according to the Real GM transactions log.

JANUARY 13, 1:34pm: The Pelicans will fill their remaining two-way slot by signing former Suns‘ point guard Mike James, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. James will move into the opening created by the Pelicans earlier this week when they waived two-way player Jalen Jones.

James, the 27-year-old rookie who went undrafted in 2012, and was the first player in league history to have his two-way contract converted into a regular season contract, was waived by the Suns last month to make room on the roster for Isaiah Canaan.

Before being waived, James put up respectable numbers for the Suns, averaging 10.4 points and 3.8 assists in 20.9 minutes per game. He will likely get a shot at showing fans in New Orleans that his stint in Phoenix was not a fluke, as the Pelicans currently have four players sidelined with long-term injuries.

Jazz Waive Naz Mitrou-Long

January 13th, 2018 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 13, 4:46pm: Mitrou-Long has been waived, the Jazz announced on Twitter.

JANUARY 11, 1:03pm: The Jazz will waive two-way player Naz Mitrou-Long in order to create room to sign Georges Niang to a two-way deal, per Cody Taylor of FanBuzz.com (Twitter link). Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune had indicated earlier today that Utah may waive Mitrou-Long from his two-way contract but try to bring him back to the Salt Lake City Stars.

Mitrou-Long, 24, signed a two-way pact with the Jazz in December after the team waived Nate Wolters. The 6’4″ shooting guard made his NBA debut on December 26, but played just 31 seconds in that game and didn’t see the court again for the Jazz. He has spent most of the season in the G League, where he has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 22 games.

The move is somewhat bittersweet for Mitrou-Long. Although he’ll surely be disappointed to see his two-way deal come to an end, the man replacing him was his teammate for several years — Niang and Mitrou-Long were both at Iowa State from 2012 to 2016.

Knicks Waive Ramon Sessions

January 13th, 2018 at 1:04pm CST by marksuleymanov

1:04pm: The move is official, per a team release.

10:00am: The Knicks will request waivers on veteran point guard Ramon Sessions later today, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Sessions, 31, will receive the remainder of the $2.3MM salary for the 2017/18 season, Pompey adds.

Entering the season with rookie Frank Ntilikina, the Knicks added veteran depth with the signings of Jarrett Jack and Sessions. Sessions started the first three games of the regular season but has since fallen out of the rotation. In 13 games for New York, Sessions has averaged 3.7 PPG and 2.1 APG in 12.8 minutes per night.

Waiving Sessions has been rumored in recent days as the Knicks have pondered calling up fellow point guard Trey Burke from the G League affiliate Westchester Knicks. In 26 games for Westchester, Burke, 25, has played exceptionally well, averaging 26.6 PPG and 5.3 APG in 37 minutes per game.

Mavs Sign Kyle Collinsworth To 10-Day Deal

January 13th, 2018 at 12:38pm CST by clarkcrum

Just three days after waiving him from his two-way contract, the Mavericks have signed Kyle Collinsworth to a 10-day deal, according to an official press release from the team.

Collinsworth, 26, appeared in only four games for Dallas while on his two-way contract, averaging 1.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game. Nevertheless, the deal was somewhat expected, as head coach Rick Carlisle said that Collinsworth could potentially be back on a 10-day contract after he was waived earlier this week.

The signing of Collinsworth will give Dallas a full 17-man roster, with Johnathan Motley and Collinsworth’s replacement, Jalen Jones, holding the team’s two-way spots.

Dallas, who is currently below the cap floor, will incur a modest cap hit of $46,080 for Collinsworth’s deal.

Lakers Waive Vander Blue

January 12th, 2018 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived two-way player Vander Blue, the team announced today in a press release. Assuming he goes unclaimed, Blue will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday.

Blue, who was in camp with the Lakers in the fall, was cut at the end of the preseason, but rejoined the team on a two-way contract. Over the course of the 2017/18 campaign, the 6’4″ guard has appeared in 15 games for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 19.0 PPG and 5.3 APG. However, he has struggled with his shot, posting a .390 FG% and .333 3PT% in the G League. Blue also played in five NBA games for L.A.

With Blue no longer occupying one of the Lakers’ two-way slots, the team has an opening and will have until Monday to fill it. January 15 represents the last day this season that NBA clubs can sign players to two-way deals.

The Lakers also have an open spot on their 15-man NBA roster, created when they waived Andrew Bogut last weekend.

Pacers Sign Ben Moore To Two-Way Contract

January 12th, 2018 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

12:57pm: The Pacers have officially signed Moore to a two-way contract, the club announced today in a press release.

9:02am: The Pacers will fill their open two-way slot by signing former SMU forward Ben Moore, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Moore will slide into the two-way opening created last month when Indiana signed two-way player Alex Poythress to a standard NBA contract.

Moore, 22, initially joined the Pacers as an undrafted rookie last summer, participating in training camp with the club before being waived at the end of the preseason. Moore joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League team, as an affiliate player, and has appeared in 24 games for the club this season, averaging 11.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG.

On his new two-way deal, Moore figures to continue to spend most of his time with the Mad Ants, but the agreement will also make him eligible to see some action with the NBA team in Indiana. Moore will be a limited to a prorated portion of the standard 45-day NBA limit, which should work out to 23 days.

The Pacers were one of seven teams with an open slot for a two-way player. Those other six clubs will have until January 15 to fill their openings.

Pistons Convert Dwight Buycks To NBA Contract

January 12th, 2018 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons are converting the contract of guard Dwight Buycks from a two-way pact to a standard NBA deal, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The team had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to create room for Buycks.

Buycks, 28, had been on a two-way deal with the Pistons all season but only saw his first NBA action recently, with Reggie Jackson sidelined. Buycks has served as Ish Smith‘s primary backup at the point over the last couple weeks. In his last six games, the veteran guard has posted 11.7 PPG, 3.2 APG, and a .509/.462/.833 shooting line in 19.5 MPG for Detroit.

Assuming the Pistons simply convert Buycks’ two-way deal, rather than signing him to an all-new contract, he’ll remain on track to reach unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018. Ian Begley of ESPN.com wrote yesterday that Buycks’ play has impressed rival executives, adding that several execs view him as a player who will draw major interest this offseason from teams lacking significant cap flexibility.

With Buycks no longer on a two-way deal, the Pistons will open up one of their two-way slots. They’ll have until Monday to sign a new player to fill that opening.

Mavs Claim Jalen Jones, Waive Kyle Collinsworth

January 10th, 2018 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have claimed two-way player Jalen Jones, waiving two-way player Kyle Collinsworth in a corresponding move, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Jones transaction earns a place in NBA history as the first time that a player on a two-way contract has been claimed off waivers.

Jones, 24, had been on a two-way contract with the Pelicans before being cut on Monday. Since New Orleans doesn’t have a G League affiliate of its own, the young forward split time between the Greensboro Swarm and Texas Legends this season, giving Dallas’ brass a first-hand look at him. Jones, who also briefly appeared in four NBA games for the Pelicans, averaged 19.1 PPG in 17 G League games, but saw his three-point percentage slip to just 27.5%.

As for Collinsworth, his two-way stint with the Mavericks lasted less than a month after he signed his deal on December 19. The 26-year-old swingman had been playing for the Legends prior to earning that two-way contract, and may very well return to the Mavs’ affiliate if and when he clears waivers. He could also be back in Dallas on a 10-day contract at some point, head coach Rick Carlisle said today (Twitter link via Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com).

Because Jones was claimed off waivers, the Mavs will assume the terms of his two-way deal with the Pelicans, as they would for a standard NBA waiver claim. That means that Jones’ days of NBA service won’t reset, and his contract – a two-year pact – will continue to run through 2018/19, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.