Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Re-Sign Kirk Hinrich

July 21st, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 21ST: Hinrich and the Bulls have made the deal official, the team announced.

“Kirk has always been a big part of creating the professional culture we want day in, day out surrounding our club,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in the team’s statement. “He helps our team in so many ways, and Kirk had other opportunities elsewhere, but we are very happy he chose to remain in a Bulls uniform.”

JULY 13TH: 8:14pm: David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter) has the specifics. It’s a two-year, $5.6MM deal using the room exception and it includes a player option on year two.

4:06pm: The Bulls are set to re-sign Kirk Hinrich, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). The deal is more than the veteran’s minimum but less than he was offered elsewhere, according Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (on Twitter). The Hornets and Jazz were among Hinrich’s other suitors.

Earlier today, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) reported that even though the Hornets have been pursuing Hinrich, the belief was that he’d still wind up back in Chicago.

In 73 games (61 starts) last season for the Bulls, Hinrich averaged 9.1 PPG and 3.9 APG in 29 minutes per contest. Hinrich has put up a 10.8 PER over the last two seasons, a far cry from the 17.0 PER he put up in his best season for the Bulls (2006-07).

Spurs Re-Sign Matt Bonner

July 21st, 2014 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 21ST: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

JULY 13TH: 4:40pm: It’s a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

4:17pm: Matt Bonner sent a text to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter) saying, “I’m coming back.” Presumably, this means that Bonner has re-signed with the defending world champions.

There has been mutual interest in a reunion between the Spurs and Bonner and little talk of another team making a run at the forward. The Red Rocket has spent the last eight seasons with the Spurs, averaging 5.9 PPG and 3.2 RPG in silver and black. Last season, Bonner averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 11.3 minutes per contest, the least amount of playing time he’s seen in his NBA career.

Bulls Sign Cameron Bairstow

July 21st, 2014 at 11:37am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have signed Cameron Bairstow, whom they selected with the 49th overall pick in last month’s draft, the team announced via press release. The terms of his contract are unclear, but a report last week indicated that the team had made a three-year offer to the former New Mexico big man.

“We like Cameron’s combination as a player with his size, energy and physicality,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in the team’s statement. “He is a hard worker who will only get better with time.”

The 6’10” Bairstow saw a vastly enhanced role with New Mexico in his senior year this past season, averaging 20.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per game. It was the first time he’d posted a double-digit scoring average in his four years with the Lobos, who fed him nearly twice as many shot attempts during his senior season as they did when he was a junior.

It’ll almost certainly be a minimum-salary contract, since the Bulls have very nearly exhausted their cap room.

Suns Sign Anthony Tolliver

July 21st, 2014 at 11:16am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 21ST: The deal is official, the team announced on its website.

“Anthony is a great fit for our style of play,” GM Ryan McDonough said. “His shooting, professionalism and leadership will help us as we try to continue to build a strong foundation going forward.”

JULY 16TH: 10:03am: Each season is worth $3MM, but only $400K of Tolliver’s salary is guaranteed in the second season, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. In any case, a full $3MM salary for 2014/15 means the club will have to use cap space on him, rather than the room exception.

8:34am: The Suns and forward Anthony Tolliver have agreed on a two-year, $6MM deal, agent Larry Fox confirmed to Shams Charania of RealGM. Phoenix beats the Clippers, Cavs, Pistons, Spurs, Wizards and the incumbent Hornets, all of whom apparently had serious discussions with the 29-year-old who was coming off career-high 41.3% accuracy from three-point range last season.

Tolliver averaged 6.1 points in 20.3 minutes per game for Charlotte in 2013/14, though he wasn’t much of a factor in the team’s four-game ouster in the first-round of the playoffs, totaling just 21 minutes for the entire series. The Hornets renounced his Bird rights last week, but they still had the means to re-sign him using cap space, at least until they came to their deal with Lance Stephenson.

Phoenix is likely using cap space on Tolliver, though it’s possible that the Suns could squeeze him into the $2.732MM room exception, depending on the timing of the official signing, if the precise figures in his contract add up to slighly less than $6MM. In any case, Tolliver, who went undrafted in 2007, is in line for the highest salary of his career, per Basketball-Reference.

Pacers Sign Rodney Stuckey

July 21st, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Cray Allred

JULY 21ST: The Pacers and Stuckey have made the deal official, the team announced via press release.

“Rodney is a very talented player who can create and score in a variety of ways,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in the team’s statement. “We’re very happy to get a player with his experience and who has made it very clear of his desire to win.”

JULY 16TH: 8:49pm: The contract will be for the veteran’s minimum, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.

7:09pm: The Pacers and Rodney Stuckey have reached agreement on a one-year contract, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter). Indiana quickly targeted Stuckey after incumbent shooting guard Lance Stephenson departed for the Hornets earlier today. Terms of the deal aren’t known yet. Indiana cannot offer more than the veteran’s minimum unless a sign-and-trade can be worked out with Detroit.

Stuckey will move on from the Pistons, where he spent the first seven years of his career. His per-game scoring average of 13.9 in 2013/14 is comparable to that of Stephenson, but the latter’s playmaking ability far exceeds Stuckey’s, who racked up considerably fewer assists and rebounds in Detroit. Still, the Creative Artists Agency client will look to carve out a significant role within the Pacers offense, where they have been short on scoring firepower during a dominant defensive run.

Mavs Sign Richard Jefferson

July 21st, 2014 at 10:40am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 21ST: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

JULY 13TH: Free agent Richard Jefferson is finalizing a one-year deal with the Mavericks, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). RJ’s deal is for the veteran’s minimum, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (on Twitter).

Jefferson, 34, spent last season with the Jazz and averaged 10.1 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 27 minutes per contest. Jefferson isn’t quite the player that he was during his Nets heyday, but the Mavs are getting a solid veteran piece for next to nothing.

While he won’t be making big bucks this season, RJ has plenty of money already in the bank. According to Basketball-Reference, Jefferson has earned nearly $107MM over the course of his career.

Bucks Claim Kendall Marshall

July 20th, 2014 at 6:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 6:17pm: Marshall to the Bucks is now official, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).

SATURDAY, 6:03pm: The Bucks intend to put in a waiver claim for Kendall Marshall, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twittter link). Milwaukee is looking to add passers and backcourt upgrades, tweets Stein, and Marshall will join newly acquired Jerryd Bayless in filling those needs.

Marshall was waived by the Lakers on Friday as the team attempted to clear cap space. Los Angeles had hoped to re-sign the 22 year-old point guard out of North Carolina, but it appears that Milwaukee will put a damper on those plans if they do in fact place a waiver claim on Marshall during the two-day waiver period.

After being considered a bust by the Suns, Marshall revived his career last season when he averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 8.8 APG while playing 29 minutes per game. His slash line was .396/.372/.540.

Clippers Re-Sign Glen Davis

July 19th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY: The signing is official, the team announced.

THURSDAY: Glen Davis is on his way back to the Clippers, a source tells Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). It’s a minimum-salary deal, Turner adds in a second tweet, which is somewhat surprising, since he turned down that same amount from the Clippers when he declined his player option last month. L.A. already committed its mid-level and biannual exceptions, but they could have given Davis 20% more than the minimum through his Non-Bird rights.

Davis joined the Clippers in February shortly after securing his release from the Magic, but he saw just 13.4 minutes per game, which would have represented a career low if extrapolated over an entire season. He wasn’t particularly efficient in those minutes, either, compiling a 10.3 PER, which also would have been a career-worst mark. He had a more prominent role with the Magic, where he put up 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per contest with a 13.7 PER in the first half of the season.

The 28-year-old John Hamilton client might have looked for a place where he could return to a larger role, and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers might have opted against re-signing a player who fell flat for the team last season. Still, their relationship seems to have proven too much of a draw. Rivers coached Davis to a championship on the Celtics in 2008, serving as coach and mentor for the first four years of Big Baby’s career. The Clippers appeared to be the only team with which Davis had serious talks.

Davis, a seven-year veteran, will receive $1,227,985 in the deal, but only $915,243 will count against the cap. That leaves just $1,149,228 of breathing room against the hard cap created when the Clippers used their mid-level and biannual exceptions on Spencer Hawes and Jordan Farmar, respectively. The only way the Clippers can fit multiple additional signees on the roster is if they’re both making the minimum salary. The crunch helps explain why they didn’t give Davis 20% more than the minimum as his Non-Bird rights would have allowed.

Raptors Release Diante Garrett

July 19th, 2014 at 7:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors have requested waivers on Diante Garrett with intention of releasing him from their roster, the team announced via Twitter. Garrett, the 25 year-old point guard out of Iowa State was acquired by the Raptors in the trade that sent Steve Novak and a second-round pick to the Jazz back on July 10th. Toronto had made the trade with the intent to waive Garrett and his non-guaranteed 2014/15 salary of $915,243 after the moratorium on trades and signings was lifted and the Novak deal became official. Garrett’s deal would have become fully guaranteed if he had remained on the roster past January 7th, 2015.

Toronto had also decided to release Dwight Buycks earlier today rather than have his salary of $816,482 become fully guaranteed for the 2014/15 season, which would have occurred if Buycks was still on the roster come July 22nd.

In 71 games for the Jazz last season, Garrett averaged 3.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG, and 1.7 APG while logging 14.8 minutes per game. His slash line was .381/.375/.833.

Raptors Release Dwight Buycks

July 19th, 2014 at 5:46pm CST by Cray Allred

5:46pm: The Raptors have confirmed that they have placed Buycks on waivers via the team’s Twitter account.

4:01pm: Buycks tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com that he’s Europe bound if he’s eventually waived by Toronto (Twitter link).

10:44am: The Raptors have decided to release Dwight Buycks, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The team will make the move before July 22nd, when his fully non-guaranteed $816,482 salary would have become fully guaranteed for 2014/15. The move has been expected since Toronto signed James Johnson on Thursday.

Toronto has three experienced point guards on the roster ahead of Buycks in Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez, and Lou Williams. Buycks joins Nando De Colo and Diante Garrett as backcourt players to be moving on from Toronto this summer. Several teams are expected to pursue Buycks as a free agent, the RealGM scribe writes.

The point guard appeared in 24 games with the Raptors last season, his only time spent in the NBA. The Relativity Sports client struggled with his shot as a rookie, turning in a slash line of .313/.294/.889 in 10.4 MPG. Buycks has averaged 15.2 PPG and 2.8 APG in parts of two seasons in the D-League.