Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Shelden Williams To Sign In China

October 6th, 2013 at 4:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Free agent Shelden Williams has agreed with Tianjin in China on a deal, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

Williams, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 Draft, has played for seven NBA teams over the course of his career. We heard back in August that the big man was likely going to sign somewhere overseas. Williams turned down offers from Euroleague teams and it would appear that he found a more lucrative deal waiting for him in China.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old spent last season with France's Elan Chalon. Before that, he averaged 4.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG over the course of his career with the Hawks, Kings, Wolves, Celtics, Nuggets, Knicks, and Nets.

Williams didn't pan out the way that the Hawks hoped when they tabbed him with the fifth pick, but he's far from the only bust to come from the 2006 class. Fellow top picks Andrea Bargnani, Adam Morrison, and Tyrus Thomas also failed to live up to expectations while LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Roy were the only All-Stars out of that draft.

Sixers Sign Gani Lawal

October 5th, 2013 at 8:56am CST by Zachary Links

SATURDAY, 8:56am: The Sixers confirmed the signing via press release.

FRIDAY, 2:18pm: The 76ers have agreed to sign Gani Lawal to a deal that is partially guaranteed for this season, a source tells Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Meanwhile, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link) that it's a multi-year pact.

We heard earlier today that Lawal broke off an agreement with Latvia's VEF Riga in order to sign an NBA contract. The forward, who was taken with the 46th overall pick by the Suns in 2010, wasn't able to stick in the NBA coming out of school, but has found success overseas. Lawal spent this past season with Italy's Virtus Roma, averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.4 blocks per game. He worked out for the Pacers, Raptors, and Magic this summer and possibly other clubs, but his reintroduction to the NBA will be in Philadelphia.

To keep up with the whereabouts of the top international talent, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' International Tracker.

Sixers Cut Solomon Alabi

October 4th, 2013 at 5:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers were at the 20-man preseason roster limit when they reached an agreement Gani Lawal today, meaning someone had to go. The unlucky Sixer is Solomon Alabi, whom Philadelphia has waived, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Alabi's tenure with the Sixers lasted less than a week, as the team announced his signing this past Saturday. He was presumed to be on a non-guaranteed camp deal, so Philly won't have to pay his salary now that he's off the roster.

Alabi was attempting a return to the NBA after a two-year stint with the Raptors ended in 2012. He spent last season with Ikaros in Greece, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. The 7'1" center went to Greece after spending camp last fall with the Pelicans (then the Hornets), so perhaps he'll once more head overseas.

Just like the Rockets and Jordan Henriquez, who was also waived today, the Sixers used cap space to sign Alabi to a three-year deal. As I explained this summer, doing so gives a team subtle advantages if it wants to re-sign the player when his contract ends. In this case, Alabi won't be sticking around, but the cap space he occupied goes back on Philly's books, and the Sixers will presumably use it for Lawal's contract.

Rockets Waive Jordan Henriquez

October 4th, 2013 at 5:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have cut center Jordan Henriquez, tweets Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The 6'11" former Kansas State Wildcat signed a three-year deal with the team in July, but it was entirely non-guaranteed, so Houston isn't on the hook for any of his salary. The move drops the team to 17 players, down from the 19 who began October with the team. The Rockets waived B.J. Young on Wednesday.

Henriquez went undrafted this past June, but he worked out with the Knicks prior to the draft, and saw some run with the Rockets summer league team. He showed enough to earn a brief training camp stint, but presuming another NBA team doesn't claim him off waivers or show interest soon, Henriquez appears destined for the D-League or international ball this year. The Rockets have the option of protecting the D-League rights of up to three of their camp cuts, so perhaps they'll do so with Henriquez in an effort to get him to stay stateside, where they can more easily scout him.

Since Henriquez's deal was for three years, rather than one or two, the Rockets couldn't use the minimum-salary exception on him and instead spent some of their cap room. Still, it was a small investment, since he was only set to make the $490K rookie minimum, and because the deal was non-guaranteed, the money goes back toward Houston's cap space.

Patrick Beverley, Ronnie Brewer, Greg Smith and Reggie Williams, all NBA veterans, are the only remaining Rockets without fully guaranteed deals. Houston has 13 players with full guarantees on their contracts, so two of the four vets are in danger of finding themselves without an NBA job on opening night.

Gani Lawal To Sign With NBA Team

October 4th, 2013 at 8:47am CST by Zachary Links

Forward Gani Lawal is signing with an unknown NBA team, a source told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (on Twitter). Lawal just parted ways with VEF Riga shortly after agreeing to a deal.

To date, Lawal has a whopping two minutes of NBA experience to his credit. However, as we learned back in May, the forward caught the attention of several teams with his play overseas. The Pacers, Raptors, and Magic all scheduled Lawal for workouts and four or five other clubs were said to be considering it.

Lawal spent this past season with Italy's Virtus Roma, averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.4 blocks per game. The 24-year-old has reportedly lost weight and added strength since he was drafted by the Suns with the 46th overall pick out of Georgia Tech in 2010.

Lawal was in training camp with the Spurs in 2011, but San Antonio cut him before the start of the regular season.

Kings Sign Brandon Heath

October 3rd, 2013 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 2:50pm: The Kings have officially signed Heath to the camp roster, the team announced today in a press release.

TUESDAY, 4:09pm: Although the Kings previously announced that they had finalized their training camp roster with the additions of DeQuan Jones and Hamady N'Diaye, it appears the team will bring at least one more player to camp. Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype confirms (Twitter link) that the Kings will sign Brandon Heath, a move first reported by Maria Mitzova of EuroBasket.com.

Since Heath went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2007, he hasn't appeared in a regular-season NBA game, though he participated in Summer League play with the SuperSonics, Clippers, and Nets over the years. The 6'4" guard also spent one season with the D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders, and most recently played for Lukoil Academic in Bulgaria, averaging 12.0 PPG and 4.7 APG in 39 contests in 2012/13.

After adding Heath, the Kings will be carrying 18 players on their training camp roster, including 14 guys on fully guaranteed contracts.

Rockets Release B.J. Young

October 2nd, 2013 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have reduced their training camp roster to 18 players, announcing today that B.J. Young has been released, according to Jason Friedman of Rockets.com (Twitter link). The team will have to cut at least three more players before opening night to get down to 15 players, the regular season limit.

Young, 20, went undrafted out of Arkansas in June after deciding to forgo his remaining two years of NCAA eligibility. The Rockets inked him to a deal in July, guaranteeing him $40K in his rookie year, but the team ultimately opened camp with more than 15 players on fully or partially guaranteed deals, so at least one of those players needed to be cut. Young represents the first camp casualty for Houston, though perhaps he'll end up with the club's D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

With Young no longer in the mix, the Rockets figure to land on a 15-man roster that includes some combination of their 13 guaranteed players, their two partially guaranteed players (Ronnie Brewer, Reggie Williams), and their three non-guaranteed players (Patrick Beverley, Jordan Henriquez, Greg Smith).

Bulls Waive Patrick Christopher, Kalin Lucas

October 2nd, 2013 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have trimmed their preseason roster to 16 players, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Sam tweets that coach Tom Thibodeau confirmed the club has released two camp invitees, Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas.

Christopher and Lucas, who both played in Turkey last season, signed non-guaranteed camp deals with the Bulls last month. Assuming they clear waivers, they'll likely be headed back overseas, or to the D-League.

With 12 players on fully or partially guaranteed contracts, the Bulls figure to have between one and three roster spots still available for the regular season. Camp invitees Mike James, Dahntay Jones, Dexter Pittman, and D.J. White remain in the mix.

Shavlik Randolph To Play In China

October 2nd, 2013 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

1:51pm: Randolph's one-year deal with Foshan will be worth at least $1.5MM, according to Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge.

10:07am: Prior to signing with the Celtics in the second half of the 2012/13 season, Shavlik Randolph played in China for the CBA's Foshan Lions. Having been waived this summer by Boston, Randolph is now headed back to China, according to Sportando contributor David Pick, who tweets that the big man will return to Foshan.

Randolph, 29, inked a pair of 10-day deals with the Celtics in 2012/13 before signing with the team for the remainder of the season. The former Duke Blue Devil only recorded 4.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 16 contests for Boston, but was significantly more productive overseas. Randolph appeared in 28 games for Foshan, averaging 32.0 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 36.5 minutes per contest while shooting 53.1% from the floor.

Because the CBA regular season ends in February, Randolph should have a chance to return stateside and catch on with an NBA team once he plays out the season in China.

Knicks Sign Chris Douglas-Roberts, Cut Brownlee

October 2nd, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

After officially announcing the signing of Justin Brownlee on Monday, the Knicks have already waived their 20th man, according to the team (Twitter link). In Brownlee's place, New York has signed Chris Douglas-Roberts to fill out the preseason roster.

Douglas-Roberts, 26, participated in camp with the Lakers and Mavs a year ago, and eventually appeared in a handful of regular season contests for Dallas. However, the 6'7" wing hasn't seen significant NBA minutes since he played for the Bucks in the 2010/11 season. As Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (via Twitter), Douglas-Roberts becomes the latest in a long line of CAA clients to join the Knicks.

The Knicks' motives for cutting Brownlee so early in camp aren't entirely clear, though Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) is hearing the St. John's product may have sustained an injury. In that case, it makes sense that the club would want to bring in a healthy body.