Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Sign Justin Hamilton

March 14th, 2014 at 1:30pm CST by Zachary Links

1:30pm: It’s a two-year deal containing guarantee dates for next season, league sources tell RealGM’s Shams Charania (on Twitter).

1:25pm: Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears Hamilton has been signed for the remainder of the season and not a 10-day deal.

12:18pm: The Heat have signed former second-round pick Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reported yesterday that Miami had their eye on the big man.

Hamilton, a 7’0″ LSU product, just wrapped up a 10-day deal with the Bobcats and saw a grand total of four minutes on the court. Before that, he was with the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the D-League and averaged 19.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 2 BPG in 35.2 MPG over 37 games.

The soon-to-be 24-year-old was drafted in the second-round in 2012 by the Sixers and subsequently traded to the Heat for the rights to Arnett Moultrie. The Heat then waived Hamilton back in October of 2013, but today’s move brings him full circle, at least for a week and change.

Heat Release DeAndre Liggins

March 14th, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Heat have released DeAndre Liggins, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The move will make space for Justin Hamilton, whom the Heat just signed to a 10-day pact.

Liggins signed consecutive 10-day contracts with the Heat and his second deal was set to expire on March 18th. The wing appeared in 39 games with the Thunder last year, after playing in 17 contests with the Magic in his 2011/12 rookie season. However, the Thunder cut ties with him after some legal troubles came up. The Heat decided to pick him up earlier this month after those charges were reduced.

Sixers Sign Darius Johnson-Odom

March 14th, 2014 at 11:20am CST by Zachary Links

The Sixers announced that they have signed Darius Johnson-Odom to a 10-day deal. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) first reported that the two sides were nearing agreement. He has been playing with the Springfield Armor of the D-League.

Johnson-Odom, 24, auditioned for the Sixers on Tuesday. The shooting guard saw four games of NBA action with the Lakers last season, making him a more familiar name to fans than Scott Suggs, who also worked out for coach Brett Brown & Co. James Nunnally and Kevin Murphy tried out for the team, too.

Johnson joined the Lakers again for camp in the fall and split the season between China and the Nets D-League affiliate. Jorge Gutierrez recently edged out Johnson-Odom for a 10-day contract with Brooklyn, but it sounds like he’s found a (temporary) home elsewhere in the Atlantic Division.

The Sixers have 15 guaranteed contracts on their roster, so they cut Lorenzo Brown loose in order to make room. It initially appeared as though Philadelphia was looking to replace Jarvis Varnado, who had been on a 10-day contract, but he re-signed Wednesday for the rest of the season.

Sixers Release Lorenzo Brown

March 14th, 2014 at 11:19am CST by Zachary Links

11:19am: The Sixers officially announced the move, via press release.

8:54am: The Sixers will release Lorenzo Brown in order to make room for Darius Johnson-Odom, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Sixers agreed to sign Johnson-Odom to a 10-day deal yesterday.

Philadelphia already had 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster before signing Johnson-Odom, meaning that someone had to go. It looked like Jarvis Varnado would be the man on the block, but he re-signed with the team for the rest of the season on Wednesday.

Brown has been shuttled between the Sixers and the club’s D-League affiliate in Delaware multiple times this season. In 26 games for Philly this season, Brown has averaged 2.5 PPG and 1.6 APG in 8.6 minutes per contest. In 12 D-League games, the guard put up 17.8 PPG and 6.4 APG in just under 33 minutes per night.

Bucks Sign Chris Wright

March 14th, 2014 at 9:45am CST by Zachary Links

The Bucks have signed forward Chris Wright to a 10-day contract, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter). Milwaukee made room for Wright by not renewing Tony Mitchell after his 10-day contract expired.

Wright, a Dayton product, played for the Maine Red Claws this season. The 25-year-old was in training camp with the Raptors over the summer and was in a heated three-way battle for the final spot on the roster, but he and Carlos Morais ultimately lost out to Julyan Stone. Wright spent 24 games with the Warriors during the 2011/12 season and averaged 2.9 PPG and 1.9 RPG across 7.8 minutes per game.

Manny Harris To Play In Turkey

March 13th, 2014 at 8:03am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Lakers and Cavs shooting guard Manny Harris is leaving the Lakers D-League affiliate to play in Turkey with Turk Telekom Ankara, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The deal likely means the 24-year-old who scored 19 points in his final game with the Lakers last month will spend the rest of the season overseas.

Harris was with the Lakers on a pair of 10-day contracts this year, and he spent parts of 2010/11 and 2011/12 with Cleveland. The former Michigan Wolverine has averaged 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 17.6 assists per contest over his NBA career, which spans 89 games.

It’s the second straight year the Henry Thomas client will spend time in international ball, having played in Ukraine last season. The Turkish team is no doubt giving him a raise on his salary in the D-League, where he had a strong performance this year, pouring in 31.6 PPG and grabbing 7.9 RPG for the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

Sixers Sign Jarvis Varnado To Multiyear Deal

March 12th, 2014 at 5:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:05pm: Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) reports that it’s a three-year deal. The rest of this season is guaranteed, but the next two seasons are not.

WEDNESDAY, 9:17am: The Sixers have formally announced their new deal with Varnado, via press release. The team doesn’t specify the terms of the agreement, as is usually the case, but the release doesn’t refer to the agreement as a 10-day deal, so it appears that it covers at least the rest of the season.

TUESDAY, 11:19am: The Sixers will re-sign Jarvis Varnado to a multiyear contract with guaranteed money for 2014/15, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The team had workouts lined up for today with at least four players who were presumably vying for Varnado’s roster spot, but the team has apparently decided the incumbent is the best choice. Varnado had been with the club on a 10-day deal that expired Monday night. Wojnarowski’s tweet indicates that Varnado has already signed his new contract, but the team has yet to make a formal announcement.

Sixers coach Brett Brown said Monday that he’s “thrilled” with Varnado, who nonetheless saw short minutes on his 10-day contract. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game over five appearances. Varnado’s strengths are rebounding and shot-blocking, and his per-36 minute numbers with the team suggest fairly strong production, albeit over a minuscule sample size. He’s notched 9.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes for Philadelphia.

The 6’9″ 26-year-old has played in just 19 career NBA games, but he’s been well-traveled, splitting them among four teams. He signed a 10-day contract earlier this season with the Bulls and spent parts of last season with the Heat and Celtics. The Impact Sports Basketball client is probably receiving a minimum-salary arrangement, though Philadelphia has the cap room necessary to give him more. There’s a decent chance it calls for non-guaranteed seasons in 2015/16 and 2016/17, as Sixers GM Sam Hinkie has locked up several players on four-year contracts with little guaranteed money. Wojnarowski says that next year is a team option, but that would preclude the guaranteed money he refers to, and team options are rare in free agent contracts. I wouldn’t be surprised if the “option” Wojnarowski is referring to is actually a partial guarantee.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Cavs Sign Shane Edwards, Release Onuaku

March 12th, 2014 at 2:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have signed D-League forward Shane Edwards to a 10-day contract, the team announced. To make room, Cleveland terminated its 10-day pact with Arinze Onuaku before it was set to expire at the end of Thursday. Onuaku immediately becomes a free agent, since players on 10-day contracts don’t have to go through the waiver process if their teams decide to let them go early. The Cavs remain at the 15-player maximum.

The 6’7″ Edwards went undrafted out of Arkansas-Little Rock in 2009, but he joined the Nuggets for preseason a year later. He didn’t make Denver’s opening-night roster, and he hadn’t signed another NBA deal since, until today. The 26-year-old is averaging 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game across 40 appearances this season for the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s D-League affiliate.

Onuaku signed a pair of 10-day deals with the Cavs, but he saw a total of just five minutes over two games. He seemed mostly an insurance policy for Anderson Varejao, who returned to action early this week against the Knicks. Cleveland twice sent him on D-League assignment.

Celtics Sign Chris Babb To Second 10-Day

March 11th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 10:30am: The Celtics have formally announced the deal, via press release.

SUNDAY, 8:02pm: Chris Babb confirmed to reporters, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter), that he has received a second 10-day deal from the Celtics. Babb had averages of 3.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG while playing 13.3 MPG heading into today’s contest against the Pistons.

Coach Brad Stevens recently offered up high praise for Babb, who initially joined the C’s on February 28th. “He’s a perfect fit for what we need as far as, he’s not going to play 38 minutes a game — he’s going to come in, get open shots, hopefully knock those open shots down, play off of other people, and then be a feisty defender for us. He really is an outstanding defender for a young guy,” Stevens said.

Babb went undrafted in 2013 but played in the summer league for the Suns afterwards. Babb played in 32 games for the Red Claws this season, and averaged 11.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG, while logging 37.5 MPG.

Knicks Sign Shannon Brown To Second 10-Day

March 10th, 2014 at 3:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:48pm: The Knicks officially announced the signing, via Twitter.

8:05am: The Knicks will sign Shannon Brown to another 10-day contract today, as Marc Berman of the New York Post notes. Berman reported earlier that Earl Clark will also be getting a second 10-day deal. Both were signed late last month to replace Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih, with whom New York agreed to buyouts.

Brown averaged 2.0 points in 8.2 minutes per game in his first 10-day stint with the Knicks, which ended Saturday. He saw similarly limited playing time on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Spurs earlier this year. It’s his only NBA action in 2013/14, since he spent most of the season as a free agent after Washington released him shortly before the start of the season following his arrival via trade from Phoenix.

The Mark Bartelstein client had a contract guaranteed for $3.5MM this year when the Wizards placed him on waivers, so he continues to receive that salary. Washington recoups a tiny portion of that with each 10-day deal Brown signs this season via set-off rights, with a slightly larger chunk taken off the Wizards’ bill if the Knicks sign Brown for the balance of the season when his latest 10-day pact expires.