Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Sign GM Mitch Kupchak To Extension

April 9th, 2014 at 8:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have extended their contract with GM Mitch Kupchak, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, confirming a report from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Kupchak’s contract was set to expire after 2014/15, but it’s a multiyear extension, according to Shelburne, which indicates that it will run through at least 2016/17. The terms and the precise length of the extension are unclear, though Shelburne notes that Kupchak has long been one of the highest-paid executives in the NBA (Twitter link).

The timing of the deal is odd, considering the Lakers have clinched their worst record since moving to Los Angeles, and they come off a summer in which Dwight Howard left the Lakers to sign with the Rockets in a rare case of a superstar spurning the purple-and-gold. That the Lakers made the move now shows the regard the Buss family, which owns the Lakers, has for Kupchak, and it’s essentially a vote of confidence in him, Shelburne writes. Kupchak first joined the Lakers front office in 1986 after spending the last five years of his playing career with the team.

Kupchak, one of the NBA’s longest-tenured GMs, has held his current job since the summer of 2000. That was the same offseason that Joe Dumars took over the Pistons front office, and a report Tuesday indicated that Dumars plans to resign soon. The Lakers have won four championships on Kupchak’s watch. Kupchak works in tandem with co-owner and executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss, who has authority over the team’s basketball decisions.

Timberwolves Sign Othyus Jeffers

April 8th, 2014 at 1:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:06pm: The team has formally announced the signing, via Twitter. It covers the rest of this season, according to the team, but there’s no mention of it extending into 2014/15.

11:17am: The signing should take place this afternoon, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

8:45am: The Timberwolves are close to signing Othyus Jeffers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been playing with Minnesota’s shared D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy. The Wolves appear set to bring aboard the shooting guard to fill the roster spot vacated when the team waived A.J. Price last week. Stein refers to the pending arrangement as a 10-day deal, though it would be tantamount to a signing for the rest of the 2013/14, since there are fewer than 10 days remaining in the regular season.

Jeffers was with Minnesota for the preseason before the team cut him prior to opening night. He had a brief stint with the Spurs on a 10-day contract in late January, appearing in four games and scoring seven points in a total of 34 minutes before San Antonio terminated his deal a couple of days early to bring in Shannon Brown. The 6’5″ rebounding ace has spent the lion’s share of his time this season with Iowa of the D-League, scoring 20.9 points and grabbing 9.9 boards in 37.6 minutes per game.

The timing of the Wolves’ move to waive Price was odd, and it was reportedly unrelated to the legal troubles of forward Dante Cunningham. I speculated at the time of the move that the Wolves had their eyes on a young prospect they would sign to a multiyear deal, but given Stein’s assertion that it’ll be just a short-term contract for Jeffers, it seems Minnesota is instead merely plugging gaps on its roster. Chase Budinger and Shabazz Muhammad will likely miss the final six games of the season, perhaps necessitating the addition of another healthy body.

Thunder Sign Grant Jerrett

April 7th, 2014 at 7:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder have signed Grant Jerrett for the remainder of the season, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The club has confirmed the signing via press release.

Jerrett, the 40th overall pick in last year’s draft, has played the entire season in the NBA Development League with OKC’s affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers. In 27 games with the 66ers, Jerrett has averaged 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.3 minutes. The 6-foot-10 power forward has shown some solid range with his shot and has hit 36.4 percent of his 3-pointers this season. The deal means that Jerrett will finish out the regular season with the Thunder and will also be with the club during the playoffs.

Mayberry notes that the Thunder have made similar late-season additions with Robert Vaden, a 2010 second-round pick who was signed in April 2011, and Mustafa Shakur in March 2010. While neither player saw minutes during those deals, the Thunder gave Shakur a 10-day deal earlier this year and gave him a bit of playing time.

Southwest Notes: Roberts, Hamilton, Machado

April 7th, 2014 at 5:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the latest out of the Southwest Division..

Brian Roberts achieved a key milestone Sunday, starting his 41st game for the Pelicans this season. That means he’s met the NBA’s starter criteria for restricted free agents, and the value of his qualifying offer surged from $1,115,243 to $3,450,156, as we detailed. It’ll be interesting to see if that prompts New Orleans to decline to make that qualifying offer for a player who’d likely return to a backup role behind a healthy Jrue Holiday next season. Without the qualifying offer, Roberts would become an unrestricted free agent.
The Nuggets did not pick up the fourth-year option on Jordan Hamilton’s contract before the season, assuring he will be a free agent this summer, but he’s making the most of his situation now with the Rockets. “It’s a contract year, so I’m definitely auditioning for whoever,” Hamilton said, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I just have to come out every day and just play my ‘A’ game every chance I get when I’m out there. This is a great team, a great group of young guys. I’m young (24), as well. I think I would fit right in next year. I need to stay in shape and do all the little things they want me to do. This is a good situation.” Hamilton, who came to Houston in exchange for Aaron Brooks, went on to say complimentary things about coach Kevin McHale and the rest of the staff for helping him grow as a player.
Former Rockets guard Scott Machado has signed in France with ASVEL Basket, according to a tweet from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The team has also confirmed the signing via press release (French link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Sixers Sign Adonis Thomas

April 7th, 2014 at 11:15am CST by Chuck Myron

11:15am: The team has formally announced the deal. The release states that it’s a 10-day contract, so it’ll go down as one officially, even though he’ll be with the club for the balance of the regular season.

7:53am: The Sixers will sign former Magic small forward Adonis Thomas, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey refers to it as a 10-day deal, though it would be tantamount to a contract for the rest of the season, since the final regular season games are April 16th. Philadelphia gained an open roster spot when James Nunnally‘s second 10-day contract expired over the weekend, and the team isn’t planning to bring him back.

Thomas made his NBA debut on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Magic shortly after the trade deadline, but he saw limited action, scoring seven points in 24 total minutes over four games. The Magic signed him at the same time that they inked center Dewayne Dedmon, as our 10-Day Tracker shows, but they chose to keep Dedmon for the season and let Thomas go. The former Memphis Tiger returned to the D-League affiliate of the Nets upon his departure from Orlando. Thomas has displayed a keen stroke from behind the arc in the D-League, nailing 46.6% of his 3.5 three-point attempts per game this year and averaging 16.6 points per contest.

The addition of the Relativity Sports client could bring an end to a maddening carousel of players on the Sixers this season. He’s in line to become the 31st player on Philadelphia’s payroll for 2013/14.

Bulls Sign Ronnie Brewer

April 7th, 2014 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have signed Ronnie Brewer for the rest of the season, the team announced via press release. He and Mike James have been the leading contenders to fill the roster spot vacated when the team waived Erik Murphy last week, though over the weekend it appeared as though the addition of James was somewhat more likely. There’s a decent chance the team signs both, especially now that the Jazz have claimed Murphy off waivers, taking his cap hit off Chicago’s books and making it less likely the team would have to pay the luxury tax if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonuses this year.

Brewer, 29, worked out for the team at its practice facility Thursday, but the Bulls are quite familiar with him, having employed him as a key reserve on a pair of teams that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The swingman left for the Knicks last season and started 34 games in New York, which dealt him to Oklahoma City at the 2013 trade deadline. His minutes declined sharply from that point on, and the Rockets waived his minimum-salary contract shortly after the trade deadline this year.

The Bulls are back up to the NBA-minimum 13 players with the addition of the Creative Artists Agency client. The release simply says the contract covers the remainder of the season, so presumably there isn’t a non-guaranteed year tacked on for 2014/15.

Jazz Claim Erik Murphy, Waive Andris Biedrins

April 5th, 2014 at 4:23pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Jazz have claimed Erik Murphy off of waivers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Murphy was waived by the Bulls on Thursday, presumably to make room for a perimeter player. We had originally heard that the Bucks might be interested in claiming Murphy, but instead it’s the Jazz who have laid claim to the rookie big man out of Florida. Since the Jazz have a league maximum 15 players on their roster, they’ve opted to waive Andris Biedrins to make room, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.

Murphy, the 49th overall pick in last year’s draft, has played only 62 minutes in 24 contests for Chicago this season. His $490K salary will be wiped from the Bulls’ books and added on to the Jazz’s cap total. By getting Murphy’s contract off their books, the Bulls are now going to be able to remain under the luxury tax, even if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah reach their earn bonuses. Waiver claims are a rare occurrence in the NBA, but the Jazz must be intrigued enough by Murphy’s size and skillset to take on the extra cap hit. He’ll be on a non-guaranteed, minimum salary deal next season.

To make the move work, the Jazz have waived Biedrins and his $9MM salary. Biedrins was acquired when the Jazz acted as a third-party in the trade that sent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors, but the veteran big man has faced injury problems and played sparingly during his tenure with the team. Utah will continue to be on the hook for his entire salary, providing he clears waivers, which is a near-certainty.

The Bulls catch a break with Utah’s claim of Murphy, whose cap hit will now come off Chicago’s books. This should give them enough room to sign multiple players to prorated minimum-salary contracts and remain beneath the luxury tax threshold even if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonus clauses in their contracts.

Bucks Sign Chris Wright To 10-Day Contract

April 5th, 2014 at 11:32am CST by Cray Allred

11:32am: The Bucks PR account officially announced the signing, which is indeed for a 10-day contract (Twitter link).

11:24am: The Bucks will sign Chris Wright, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). Wright was considered a candidate to return to the Bucks following the team’s decision not to re-sign D.J. Stephens, whose 10-day contract just expired.

It hasn’t been reported what kind of contract is involved. Milwaukee could sign Wright for the remainder of the season or beyond, but it seems more likely this would be another 10-day deal. Milwaukee has the flexibility to give him another short-term audition, since they declined to ink him to a second 10-day agreement when his first expired two weeks ago.

Wright has spent most of this season with the Maine Red Claws in the D-League. The small forward played 24 games for the Warriors in the 2011/12 season, but didn’t see any NBA action last year. He has career averages of 3.2 points in 8.4 minutes played per game on 51.9% shooting.

Sixers Re-Sign Casper Ware To 10-Day Contract

April 4th, 2014 at 7:57am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 7:57am: The Sixers have officially announced the deal, via press release.

WEDNESDAY, 4:51pm: Ware hasn’t received confirmation from the team about whether he’ll receive another 10-day deal, as he told reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link).

8:09am: The Sixers will sign point guard Casper Ware to a second 10-day contract, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. His first deal with the team is set to expire after Philadelphia’s game against the Bobcats tonight.

Philadelphia’s decision to bring aboard the 5’10” Ware was a surprise, since he was by no means a dominant figure for Virtus Bologna of Italy, where he had been playing. The Sixers have nonetheless plugged him into their rotation, as he’s averaged 16.0 minutes per game over four NBA contests. He’s notched 3.8 points, 1.3 assists and 0.8 turnovers, and he’s made just five of his 23 attempts from the floor.

The 24-year-old Rize Management client will get at least a few more games to try to find his stroke. He and fellow 10-day signee James Nunnally occupy the final two spots on the Sixers roster.

Bulls Waive Erik Murphy, Target James, Brewer

April 3rd, 2014 at 3:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have waived rookie Erik Murphy, the team announced via press release. The move drops Chicago’s roster to 12 players, which means the team has to add someone before the playoffs. That’s the plan, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, who says the team has had conversations with Mike James and Ronnie Brewer recently (Twitter links). Brewer worked out for the team at its practice facility today, tweets Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.

Murphy, 23, joined the Bulls after they drafted him 49th overall this past summer and signed him to a partially guaranteed deal for the minimum salary. The contract became fully guaranteed when the team elected not to waive him by January 7th, so he’ll receive his full salary of $490,180. He, like A.J. Price, whom the Wolves waived today, is ineligible to play for another team in the postseason.

The Bulls called on the former University of Florida big man sparingly this season, as he totaled just 62 minutes in 24 games. It seems Chicago wants a veteran who can make a larger impact for the playoffs, and James and Brewer have track records of postseason success. The 38-year-old James was with the Bulls to begin the season, and they brought him back on a 10-day contract in January after waiving him in December. He nonetheless averaged just 7.0 MPG in 11 appearances. Brewer played a much larger role for the Bulls in 2010/11 and 2011/12, and he became a free agent after the Rockets waived him in February.