Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Re-Sign DeAndre Liggins

March 8th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Cray Allred

2:15pm: The signing is official the team has announced via Twitter.

11:33am: The Heat will sign DeAndre Liggins to a second 10-day contract, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN (via Twitter). The 25-year-old wing played just one minute in a single game for the Heat during his first 10-day deal, scoring 2 points and grabbing a rebound against the Bobcats.

Liggins signed with the Heat last Tuesday, after criminal charges that played a hand in his pre-training camp release from the Thunder were reduced. Liggins appeared in 39 games with the Thunder last year, after playing in 17 contests with the Magic in his 2011/12 rookie season. Before joining the Heat, he had averaged 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 40.4 minutes per game for their D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls.

This will be the Creative Arts Agency client‘s final audition for Miami, who must either sign him for the remainder of the season or let him go at the end of this second 10-day agreement.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Kings Sign Johnson To Second 10-Day Contract

March 8th, 2014 at 2:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings signed guard Orlando Johnson to a second 10-day contract, according to Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro (Press Release). After signing a 10-day contract with the team on February 26, Johnson appeared in five games and is averaging 1.8 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.6 APG in 9.0 minutes per game. This comes after rumors that the team might sign him for the remainder of the season. The Kings could still elect to do so after this second 10-day contract runs out.

Johnson averaged 2.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.4 APG and 9.0 minutes per game with the Pacers before being waived hours after the trade deadline. For the season, he is averaging 2.3 PPG , 1.3 RPG, 0.4 APG and 9.0 minutes per game in 43 appearances as a reserve with the Pacers and the Kings.

Originally drafted by the Kings in the second round (36th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft, Johnson’s draft rights were traded to the Pacers for cash considerations that same night.

Wizards Re-Sign Drew Gooden To 10-Day Deal

March 8th, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 11:57am: The Wizards have officially signed Gooden to another 10-day contract per a team release.

FRIDAY, 11:39am: Gooden confirms he’d accept the offer of another 10-day contract, which the Wizards are planning to make, Michael notes (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 3:51pm: Gooden will indeed stick around on another 10-day deal, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.

3:35pm: The Wizards are likely to re-sign Drew Gooden to another 10-day contract, a source tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post. His first deal is set to expire at the end of Friday night. The team brought the Dan Fegan client aboard late last month to offset an injury to Nene that will keep him out for at least the next three weeks.

The 32-year-old went scoreless in his first two appearances but dropped 12 points on six-for-seven shooting in 19 minutes against the Jazz on Wednesday night. Gooden saw significant playing time in both halves, signaling that the Wizards see him as a potential rotation piece, at least for the time being. Washington has 14 players on guaranteed contracts, meaning Gooden occupies the team’s last open spot as it jockeys for playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

The former Kansas Jayhawk spent much of 2013/14 out of the NBA after the Bucks put him on amnesty waivers over the summer. Gooden balked at joining the Wizards when they traded for him in 2010, prompting the team to flip him in another trade four days later, but even with GM Ernie Grunfeld, who swung those deals, still in place, the two sides agreed to a reunion this year.

Magic Re-Sign Dewayne Dedmon To 10-Day Deal

March 7th, 2014 at 8:34am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 8:34am: The signing is official, according to a press release from the team.

TUESDAY, 12:24pm: The team will indeed sign Dedmon to a second 10-day deal, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). His first contract will expire at the end of Thursday.

MONDAY, 7:55am: The Magic are expected to re-sign center Dewayne Dedmon to a second 10-day deal, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports amid his weekly power rankings. The undrafted rookie has played in just one game for a total of three minutes so far for Orlando after inking with the team nearly a week ago, but it appears the Magic are confident they can find more time for him. It’s unclear if the Magic have similar plans with Adonis Thomas, who signed a 10-day contract with the team at the same time Dedmon did.

The 24-year-old former USC Trojan is already on his third NBA team after stints with the Warriors and Sixers earlier this season. A second 10-day contract would be Dedmon’s fourth overall this year, as our 10-Day Tracker shows. He’s averaged 2.6 points in 9.9 minutes over 16 NBA appearances in 2013/14. The 7-footer has been impressive so far on the boards, notching 11.5 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Dedmon, a client of Michael Silverman, has also spent 15 games in the D-League this year, posting averages of 15.2 PPG and 13.6 RPG in 33.7 MPG. The Magic have just 12 guaranteed contracts, affording them plenty of flexibility to keep him for the season if they choose to do so once Dedmon’s second 10-day pact runs out.

Magic Re-Sign Adonis Thomas To 10-Day Pact

March 7th, 2014 at 8:32am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 8:32am: The team has officially announced the deal, via press release.

TUESDAY, 12:26pm: The Magic will re-sign Adonis Thomas to a second 10-day contract, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter). The first 10-day pact Thomas signed with the team expires at the end of Thursday. The team brought Thomas and Dewayne Dedmon aboard shortly after waiving Glen Davis.

The 20-year-old small forward has played a total of just 13 minutes over two games in his stint with the Magic so far, but it appears he did enough in the D-League this season to convince Orlando to hold on to him for a while longer. The former Memphis Tiger took 3.1 three-pointers per game and made 46.9% of them in 26 contests with the Springfield Armor, the affiliate of the Nets. Brooklyn retained his D-League rights after he spent a brief time with the big club in the preseason, but Thomas was free to sign with any NBA team after the Nets cut him from their NBA roster before opening night.

Dedmon is set to receive a second 10-day pact, too. Orlando is only carrying 12 guaranteed contracts, so unless the team wants to continue cycling through players on 10-day deals, either Dedmon or Thomas, and maybe both, are in line to receive contracts for the rest of the season once their second 10 days are up.

Kings Sign Royce White To 10-Day Contract

March 6th, 2014 at 12:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 12:10pm: Sacramento has made the deal official, the team announced. The statement also notes that the team has assigned White to the D-League, as expected.

WEDNESDAY, 8:21pm: The Kings are expected to sign Royce White to a 10-day contract on Thursday, according to Marc. J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The team is giving him an NBA opportunity through their D-League affiliate, a source told Yahoo! Sports. The reported plan is to assign him to the Reno Big Horns, where he will be evaluated over four games. The former Iowa State star has battled an anxiety disorder and has a fear of flying. If White’s D-League stint goes well, the Kings will likely sign him to a second 10-day contract and add him to their active roster. The team has one open spot after waiving Jimmer Fredette.

White was taken 16th overall by the Rockets in the 2012 NBA draft. He had difficulties right off the bat because of his anxiety about flying. He missed the entire training camp and thought the Rockets weren’t treating his mental health issues effectively, according to the article. He was eventually suspended by the team for “refusal to provide services” stipulated by his contract.

White never ended up playing for the Rockets and was traded to the Sixers along with the rights to Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir and cash in July 2013, for a conditional second -round draft pick. White played for the Sixers this preseason, but was waived before the season’s start. The Sixers are on the hook for White’s $1,719,480 salary this season.

Thunder Sign Reggie Williams To 10-Day Deal

March 6th, 2014 at 12:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:03pm: The Thunder has officially announced the signing, via press release.

7:58am: Four-year NBA veteran Reggie Williams is headed to the Thunder on a 10-day contract, reports Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The 27-year-old swingman has been with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate since December following NBA interest from the Bulls and Grizzlies. The official announcement of the signing should take place this morning, according to Mayberry.

Williams spent the past four seasons in the NBA with the Warriors and Bobcats. His sophomore campaign, in which he shot 42.3% from three-point range, helped him earn a two-year, $5.1MM deal with Charlotte after the lockout in 2011. He nonetheless shot just 30.7% from behind the arc over the duration of that contract, and wound up on just a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal this past summer with the Rockets, who cut him prior to opening night.

The 27-year-old rediscovered his stroke in the D-League, knocking down 38.2% of his three-pointers as he averaged 20.6 points per game over 20 appearances. The Interperformances client will fill Oklahoma City’s lone remaining open roster spot.

Nets Sign Jorge Gutierrez To 10-Day Deal

March 6th, 2014 at 11:02am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have signed Jorge Gutierrez to a 10-day contract, the team announced via Twitter. The move had appeared likely last night after Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that the Nets preferred Gutierrez to Darius Johnson-Odom as they sought a 15th player. Brooklyn had been keeping an open roster spot, with 13 guaranteed contracts and Jason Collins on his second 10-day deal.

Gutierrez, who’s set to become the fourth Mexican-born player to take part in an official NBA game, was with the Nets during the preseason. Though he saw limited action in exhibition games, his performance during camp was key in the team’s decision to bring him back. The 25-year-old has spent time the past two seasons with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs, and he’s averaged 13.9 points and 6.9 assists in 32.7 minutes per game so far this year.

The 6’3″ Gutierrez went undrafted in 2012 out of Cal, where he received Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He’s seen short minutes in summer league with the Nuggets and Kings the past two offseasons.

Nets Re-Sign Jason Collins To 10-Day Contract

March 5th, 2014 at 9:12am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 9:12am: The Nets have officially signed Collins to a second 10-day deal, the team announced.

MARCH 3RD: The Nets will sign Collins to a second 10-day contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The signing will take place Wednesday, the day after his first deal ends.

FEBRUARY 27TH: Jason Collins is only four days and a pair of games into his first 10-day contract with the Nets, but it appears the team is ready to make a fuller commitment to the 35-year-old center. Brooklyn is “all but certain” to re-sign Collins for the rest of the season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. It’s not clear whether a contract for the balance of 2013/14 would come at the expiration of his current 10-day deal, or after the team issues him a second 10-day contract.

Collins made history shortly after signing Sunday when he entered Brooklyn’s game against the Lakers, becoming the first openly gay athlete to play in one of the four major North American professional sports. He’s had much less of an impact in box scores, having yet to tally a single point while grabbing just two rebounds in 18 total minutes. Still, Collins has long been known mostly for his inside presence and screen-setting, and has yet to reach 100 total points in any season since 2007/08.

The Nets still have an open roster spot even after the addition of Collins, so keeping him for the season won’t do much to hamper the team’s flexibility. Brooklyn is more than $30MM over the tax line, meaning the team is in line to pay $4.75 in tax for each dollar it spends. That didn’t stop the Nets from pursuing Jordan Hill and his $3.5MM salary before the trade deadline, so they probably won’t blink at what would likely be a minimum-salary arrangement for Collins that covers the rest of the season.

Knicks D-League Affiliate Waives Chris Smith

March 4th, 2014 at 1:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:48pm: Smith was upset over his playing time and left the team several days ago, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

1:22pm: Smith had several run-ins with Erie’s coaches, precipitating the decision to let him go, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

1:00pm: The BayHawks have officially waived Smith, the team announced.

8:42am: The D-League affiliate of the Knicks has decided to waive former Knicks guard Chris Smith, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. The Erie BayHawks have yet to make an official announcement, but it appears one of the most controversial additions to an NBA roster this season is about to find himself without a home in the D-League, much less the NBA.

The Knicks signed Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, in the offseason to a minimum-salary contract that became fully guaranteed if he made the team out of camp, and he did so, sticking with New York for the first two months of the season. This was despite the reported belief of some Knicks coaches who thought Chris Smith wasn’t even qualified to play in the the D-League. The Knicks waived him in December, irking his brother, and Chris Smith wound up heading to play in the D-League, where the BayHawks grabbed his rights.

Chris Smith averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20.8 minutes per game for Erie, though some of his 23 appearances came on assignment while still under contract with the Knicks. The 26-year-old hasn’t played since a five-minute cameo on February 22nd. The Knicks are still on the hook for the Leon Rose client‘s full NBA salary for this season, which is compounded because of luxury tax penalties.

Both Smith brothers signed new contracts with the Knicks this summer, though it appeared that the one the team gave to Chris was in deference to J.R., who won the Sixth Man of the Year award last season. Rose, the agent for both Smiths, is with the Creative Artists Agency, which has close ties to Knicks management. Rose also represents Carmelo Anthony, who plans to opt out of his deal with New York and become a free agent this summer.