Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Sign Emanuel Miller

July 13th, 2024 at 7:08am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Mavericks have signed forward Emanuel Miller, according to a team press release. While the terms of the deal weren’t revealed, the move was announced alongside the signing of Jazian Gortman, who agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal. It stands to reason that Miller is likely also joining the team on an Exhibit 10 contract.

Miller went undrafted in 2024 after playing five collegiate seasons — first at Texas A&M and then at TCU. In his final season of college ball, Miller averaged 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 48.6% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.

According to Mike Curtis of Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Mavericks summer league coach Jared Dudley referred to Miller as one of the most physical players on the team.

Miller ranked as ESPN’s 22nd-best available undrafted free agent. Most of the players on the list ranked ahead of them have signed or agreed to two-way deals. If Miller signed an Exhibit 10 deal, he could have it converted to a two-way contract at a later date. The Mavericks currently have one two-way contract opening, with Alex Fudge and Brandon Williams occupying two of the team’s three spots.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal that doesn’t count against a team’s cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted to a two-way contract before the season begins or the player can earn a bonus of up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.

Jamal Cain Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans

July 13th, 2024 at 7:00am CST by Tristan Tucker

JULY 13: The Pelicans have officially signed Cain, per the transaction log at NBA.com.

JULY 12: Free agent wing Jamal Cain has agreed to a two-way deal with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojanrowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).

Cain, 25, spent the first two seasons of his career with the Heat. He appeared in 44 games with the Heat from 2022-24, averaging 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest.

The 6’6″ guard/forward has impressed in limited stints with Miami, averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 boards in a three-game win streak in 2022/23 as well as recording 18 points and six rebounds in a win over the Warriors in ’23/24.

Cain played the first four seasons of his collegiate career for Marquette before transferring to Oakland. After going undrafted in 2022, he joined the Heat and earned a two-way contract.

While he played sparingly for the Heat in the regular season, he saw much more playing time in Summer League, preseason and the G League in Miami’s system. He averaged 10.9 PPG across nine games in two seasons with Miami in preseason games and then averaged 21.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 1.6 SPG on .540/.372/.815 shooting splits in two years with the Skyforce.

Cain angled for a standard contract last offseason but ultimately didn’t receive one before re-upping with Miami on a two-way deal. Due to the Heat’s roster crunch with their young two-way players, Cain didn’t receive a promotion from his two-way deal over the two seasons he spent in the organization. After the Heat filled out all three of their two-way spots early in free agency and then filled out their regular roster, it was clear Cain wouldn’t be returning.

Now, the Pelicans land a productive wing who spent two years in Miami’s successful development program. As our two-way contract tracker for 2024/25 shows, the Pelicans only have one such spot filled — with Malcolm Hill occupying a spot. For what it’s worth, No. 47 overall pick Antonio Reeves hasn’t signed his rookie contract with the Pelicans, so it’s possible he will fill one of those two open spots alongside Cain.

Kyle Lowry Signs One-Year Deal With Sixers

July 12th, 2024 at 9:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 12: Lowry has officially signed his new contract, according to a team press release.

“Kyle is a floor general, the ultimate competitor, and a proven winner who has experienced success at the highest level. His return is vital to our quest toward bringing a championship back to the City of Philadelphia,” Morey said in a statement.

JULY 11: Free agent point guard Kyle Lowry is signing a new one-year contract to return to his hometown Sixers, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Charania didn’t report the terms of the deal, but Philadelphia can only offer the veteran’s minimum to free agents after using all of its cap space and its room exception.

Lowry shared the news himself in a fresh Instagram video.

The 38-year-old will be playing in his 19th NBA season in 2024/25. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets that conversations between Philadelphia team president Daryl Morey and Lowry’s agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports increased over the last week.

According to Woj, the Villanova alum had been weighing his options and considering several playoff hopefuls as he looks to win his second championship.

After starting out the 2023/24 season with the Heat, Lowry and his expiring $29.7MM contract were traded to the Hornets in exchange for the younger Terry Rozier, currently a more prolific offensive threat. Lowry negotiated a buyout and signed on with his hometown Sixers, where he quickly earned a backcourt starting role alongside All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey with De’Anthony Melton injured.

Though he’s no longer a high-volume scorer, Lowry remains an efficient three-point threat and a surprisingly savvy defender whose solid frame allows him to match up with bigger players despite his 6’0″ height. Across his 23 regular season contests with the Sixers last year (20 starts), the six-time All-Star posted averages of 8.0 points, 4.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per night, with a shooting line of .444/.404/.848.

The Sixers have enjoyed perhaps the most productive offseason of any team this summer. Morey cleared out more than $53MM in cap space and pounced when star Clippers forward Paul George became available, quickly signing him to a four-year, maximum deal worth nearly $212MM.

Philadelphia also signed three-and-D small forward Caleb Martin, brought back rebounder extraordinaire Andre Drummond after his two-year Bulls stint, used their full room exception to re-sign swingman Kelly Oubre, signed sharpshooter Eric Gordon to a minimum contract, and signed restricted free agent Tyrese Maxey to a maximum deal via his Bird rights. The Sixers could still conceivably bring back free agent swingman KJ Martin, too, if the price is right.

All told, with this depth surrounding a new core of George, Maxey and perennial MVP candidate Joel Embiid, Philadelphia now looks like one of the best-equipped clubs in the East to challenge the Celtics for conference supremacy next season.

Pistons Re-Sign Simone Fontecchio To Two-Year Deal

July 12th, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: The Pistons have officially re-signed Fontecchio, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

JULY 6: The Pistons and free agent wing Simone Fontecchio are in agreement on a two-year, $16MM contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Fontecchio, 28, played professionally in Europe from 2012-22 before signing with the Jazz two summers ago. He spent a season-and-a-half in Utah, then was traded to Detroit at this year’s trade deadline.

In 66 total games (43 starts) for the Jazz and Pistons in 2023/24, the Italian wing averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .460/.401/.818.

Because he only has two years of NBA experience under his belt, Fontecchio was eligible for restricted free agency, and the Pistons issued him a $5.2MM qualifying offer to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to sign with another team without Detroit getting a chance to match.

It didn’t come to that, however, as the Pistons and Fontecchio have worked out a new deal directly, less than a week after the free agent period officially opened.

Fontecchio will provide additional shooting on a team that is prioritizing spacing the floor around rising star guard Cade Cunningham. Detroit has also agreed to sign Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris while acquiring Tim Hardaway Jr. in a trade with Dallas.

Fontecchio’s new deal won’t affect the Pistons’ cap room, since his $5.2MM cap hold has already been accounted for in the team’s cap projections. Detroit will be able to go over the cap to officially re-sign him using his Early Bird rights.

Dario Saric Signs With Nuggets

July 12th, 2024 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 12: Saric’s deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

July 6: The Nuggets will add veteran power forward/center Dario Saric on a two-year, $10.6MM deal, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Saric will have a player option on the second season of the contract, Wojnarowski adds.

Denver will use its $5.2MM taxpayer mid-level exception and will become hard capped at the $188.9MM second apron, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). The Nuggets are currently $12.6MM below the apron with 12 players under contract. They will be limited to minimum signings to fill out the roster.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports revealed last week that Denver had ongoing interest in signing Saric. He reportedly also had an opportunity to join Panathinaikos in Greece if he didn’t receive an NBA offer to his liking.

Saric earned $2.7MM last season with the Warriors on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract. He appeared in 64 games, making nine starts, and averaged 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17.2 minutes per night.

He’ll likely fill a similar role with the Nuggets, who have been looking to add some experience to their roster after suffering significant free agent losses since winning the 2023 championship. His signing may also clear the way for a trade of forward/center Zeke Nnaji, who is reportedly being made available. Nnaji saw limited playing time last season, and his four-year, $32MM contract extension will begin with the 2024/25 season.

Saric, 30, was selected with the 12th pick in the 2014 draft. Before coming to Golden State, he spent time with Philadelphia, Minnesota, Phoenix and Oklahoma City.

Jalen Brunson Signs Four-Year Extension With Knicks

July 12th, 2024 at 4:55pm CST by Tristan Tucker

4:55pm: Brunson’s extension with the Knicks is now official, according to a team press release (Twitter link).

“Jalen signing his extension to remain with the Knicks for the long-term shows the dedication and passion he has for the organization, the fans and this city,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Jalen has often called the Knicks his family and we are beyond proud to have him wear and represent our orange and blue for years to come. Jalen has embraced every challenge since he’s come to New York and has been committed since day one to the vision and plan we set forth for the future of this team.

“Since Jalen joined us two years ago, he has consistently led by example and continues to show a willingness to sacrifice for this organization, his teammates and everyone in the Knicks family.”

4:10pm: Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $156.5MM contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski observes, the deal is a massive financial concession for a contender, since Brunson could have been eligible for a five-year, $269MM deal next offseason. By signing an extension now, Brunson is allowing the Knicks to maintain some spending power to retain a contending core — highlighted by Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and more — for at least the next few seasons.

Because Brunson can’t receive more than a 40% raise on his 2024/25 salary of $24,960,001 in the first year of an extension, his new deal will start at $34,944,001 in ’25/26, replacing the player option on his current contract.

It’s an unprecedented move for the All-Star guard who finished fifth in MVP voting last season. The deal does cost Brunson $37.1MM over the next three years, but there’s a way for the Villanova product to recoup the value he’s sacrificing in the short term down the line. Brunson’s deal includes a fourth-year player option. He could sign a four-year, $323MM extension in 2028 or a new, five-year, $418MM deal in 2029.

The Knicks signaled their belief in this being a championship core when they traded multiple first-round picks to acquire Bridges earlier this summer. Bridges is only under contract for two more seasons at a modest AAV of $24.1MM over those two seasons. With Brunson taking this short-term paycut, the Knicks have more flexibility to re-up Bridges for the long term. Bridges is eligible for a four-year, $156MM deal next offseason — if he were to sign that deal, it would represent another below-market rate to help keep this Knicks team together.

This move by Brunson also allows New York to duck the second apron in the first year of the extension, thereby allowing them to dodge the restrictive penalties that would have followed.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, Brunson will receive a 50% advance on his salary at the start of each season of the extension (Twitter link).

A solid rotation player in Dallas during the first four years of his career, Brunson has become a star over the past two seasons with New York, averaging 26.5 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 48.4% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc during that time. Those two seasons have been among the most successful in recent Knicks history. The team’s .610 win percentage last season has only been topped once since 2000 (in 2012/13).

Hawks Sign Vit Krejci To Four-Year Contract

July 12th, 2024 at 1:16pm CST by Rory Maher

July 12: Krejci’s four-year deal is official, the Hawks announced in a press release.

July 10: The Hawks are re-signing Vit Krejci on a four-year, $10MM contract, agents Alex Saratsis and Phillip Parun tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Atlanta issued Krejci a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent. The 24-year-old, who hails from Czechia, was the 37th overall pick of the 2020 draft.

There was speculation late last season that Atlanta might promote Krejci from his two-way contract to a standard deal in order to make him eligible for the postseason. That did not occur, but Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time that the Hawks hoped to re-sign Krejci on a four-year deal, which is now about to come to fruition.

A 6’8″ combo guard, Krejci spent his first post-draft season rehabbing a torn ACL. He signed a multiyear contract with the Thunder prior to the 2021/22 season, playing 30 games for the club as a rookie.

Oklahoma City traded Krejci to Atlanta in a September 2022 move that was mostly about finances for the Hawks. He appeared in 29 games for Atlanta in ’22/23, averaging a modest 5.3 MPG.

The Hawks waived Krejci last August when he was on a non-guaranteed deal and the team was facing a roster crunch. He later signed an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with Minnesota, but was cut before the ’23/24 season began.

Krejci returned to the Hawks on a two-way contract in December. In part due to injuries, he became a rotation regular down the stretch last season, averaging 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists on .490/.412/.833 shooting in 22 games, including 14 starts (24.6 minutes per contest).

Based on the reported terms, Krejci almost certainly received a minimum-salary contract. Since he has three years of NBA experience, Kreji’s four-year deal will technically pay him $10,185,213, though we’ll have to wait and see how much of it is guaranteed.

Wizards Sign Saddiq Bey To Three-Year Deal

July 12th, 2024 at 5:55am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: The Wizards have officially signed Bey, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

The three-year deal includes $19MM in guaranteed money, with another $1MM in incentives, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

JULY 10: The Wizards and free agent forward Saddiq Bey have reached an agreement on a three-year, $20MM deal, agents James Dunleavy and Jordan Gertler tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Bey, who began his NBA career with the Pistons, was traded to Atlanta at the 2023 deadline and spent the past season-and-a-half with the Hawks. In 2023/24, he appeared in 63 games for the club, starting 51. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 32.7 minutes per game on .416/.316/.837 shooting before a torn ACL ended his season in March.

That ACL tear complicated Bey’s free agency this summer. Despite his up-and-down season prior to the injury, a healthy version of the 25-year-old would almost certainly have received his $8.49MM qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent.

However, because Bey could spend most – or all – of the 2024/25 season recovering from ACL surgery, it would have been a risk for Atlanta to put that qualifying offer on the table. The 6’7″ forward could have accepted it, earned $8.49MM while recovering for most of the year, then signed elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent next summer. As a result, the team opted not to issue that QO, making him a UFA this offseason.

While the Hawks and Bey reportedly continued talking after they passed on his qualifying offer, the team is facing a bit of a roster crunch, leaving the former Villanova standout as an odd man out.

Washington, Bey’s hometown team, is going through a significant rebuilding process and won’t need contributions from him right away, making it an ideal fit. If Bey is healthy and productive in the second and third years of the contract, it’ll be a worthwhile investment for the Wizards, who project to be among the NBA’s worst teams in 2024/25 with or without him.

According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wizards view the former first-round pick as a “tough, hard-nosed culture guy” who will be a good addition to the locker room next season and will help on the court once he gets healthy. Bey’s contract won’t include a team or player option, Robbins adds (via Twitter).

The Wizards still have their entire mid-level exception available after using a trade exception to add Jonas Valanciunas on a three-year, $30MM+ contract via sign-and-trade, so it looks like they’ll use a portion of that MLE to sign Bey. Once the deal is complete, Washington will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with two more (Eugene Omoruyi and Jared Butler) on non-guaranteed salaries.

Trail Blazers Sign Bryce McGowens To Two-Way Contract

July 11th, 2024 at 6:12pm CST by Rory Maher

6:12pm: McGowens’ two-way deal with the Blazers is official, according to the team (Twitter link).

2:22pm: The Trail Blazers are signing free agent wing Bryce McGowens to a two-way contract, agents Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

McGowens, 21, was the No. 40 overall pick of the 2022 draft after spending one college season at Nebraska. He spent his first two NBA seasons with the Hornets, who waived his non-guaranteed contract on Saturday to create more salary cap flexibility.

In 59 games with Charlotte in 2023/24, McGowens averaged 5.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 0.9 APG with a .439/.333/.776 shooting line in 14.9 MPG.

As our tracker shows, Portland currently only has one player — Justin Minaya — signed to a two-way contract. McGowens will fill the second of three total two-way spots.

If he stays on a two-way deal for the entire ’24/25 season, McGowens will earn a little under $579K. He will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025, assuming he isn’t released before then.

Mavericks Add Jazian Gortman On Exhibit 10 Deal

July 11th, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks have signed free agent Jazian Gortman to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, a league source tells Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The move is official, per RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.

A 6’2″ guard, Gortman went undrafted in 2023 after playing for the YNG Dreamers in the Overtime Elite program. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bucks last summer and was waived before the 2023/24 season began.

The 21-year-old spent last season in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee’s affiliate) and the Rip City Remix (Portland’s affiliate). In 41 combined games between the two clubs, he held fairly modest averages of 9.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 3.6 APG on .408/.308/.719 shooting in 18.4 MPG.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal that doesn’t count against a team’s cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted to a two-way contract before the season begins or can put a player in line to earn a bonus of up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.