Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Sign Dee Bost

August 19th, 2013 at 8:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Trail Blazers have signed Dee Bost to a contract, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Freeman hears from a source that the deal is non-guaranteed and that Bost is expected to ultimately land with the Idaho Stampede.

The point guard graduated from Mississippi State last season and averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 assists as a senior. Bost is the school's all-time assist leader with 633 dimes, good for eighth all-time in the Southeastern Conference.

Bost got a training camp invite from the Blazers at the end of July and made a strong impression on the club early. The 23-year-old went undrafted in 2012 and spent last season overseas with Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 turnovers in 21.5 minutes per contest.

International Notes: Wright, Aminu

August 19th, 2013 at 5:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Yesterday, it was reported that Heat big man Jarvis Varnado is nearing agreement with Italian club Sidigas Avellino. Varnado has a non-guaranteed deal with the Heat for 2013/14 and if the club only carries 13 players, he won't have a spot on the roster. Here's today's news from around the globe..

Former NBA player Antoine Wright has been looking to make an NBA comeback, but he'll instead join Israel's Gilboa Galil, a source tells RealGM's Shams Charania (via Twitter). Back in April, the former No. 15 overall pick hooked on with Venezuelan club Gualqueries de Margarita. The 28-year-old also had a stint in the D-League to attract attention from the Association.
Raptors summer league forward Alade Aminu has reached agreement on a one-year deal to return to Pinar Karsiyaka of the Eurocup league, a source told Charania. Aminu, the older brother of Al-Farouq Aminu, played with the Turkish club last season and was also pursued by clubs in Spain, Italy and China. The 25-year-old is not expected to accept summer league invitations next year.

Bobcats Sign Anthony Tolliver

August 19th, 2013 at 12:26pm CST by Zachary Links

AUGUST 19TH, 12:26pm: The Bobcats' signing of Tolliver is now official, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).

AUGUST 10TH, 12:21pm: Tolliver's deal is for the veteran's minimum of $1.027MM, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

10:32am: The Bobcats and Anthony Tolliver have reached agreement on a one-year deal, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The deal is fully-guaranteed and won't be finalized until Friday, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Tolliver is a client of Larry Fox, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Tolliver, 28, reportedly narrowed his free agent choices down to the Bobcats, Bulls, and Jazz on Wednesday. However, the scope of the search expanded once again when the Lakers entered the fray on Thursday and the Magic, Spurs, and Knicks continued their pursuit as late as yesterday.

The 6'8" forward spent the 2012/13 season with the Hawks, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 62 games (15.5 MPG). For his career, Tolliver has averaged 6.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG across five seasons.

Deshaun Thomas To Play In France This Season

August 16th, 2013 at 3:59pm CST by Ryan Raroque

FRIDAY, 3:59pm: French team JSF Nanterre has officially announced the addition of Thomas, as Sportando notes via Twitter.

THURSDAY, 6:15pm: According to Bob Baptist of The Columbus Dispatch, Deshaun Thomas will opt to play in France this season (hat tip to Sportando). The 6'7 forward was selected 58th overall by the Spurs in June and averaged 12.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG while shooting 41.4% overall and 37.5% from long range in five summer league games. Thomas wasn't immediately sure of the name of the team he signed with, but acknowledged that he'll be playing in Paris.

The former Ohio State Buckeye candidly spoke about his decision to play overseas, telling Baptist:

“(The Spurs) didn’t know what they want to do with their 15 (roster) spots . . . and I needed to make a decision…In this business, you have to think about family. I still could have gone to (training camp) and tried to make the (Spurs’) roster, but with my son and a family to provide for, I had to look at that. And developing a year ain’t going to hurt."

Celtics, Grizzlies Swap Fab Melo, Donte Greene

August 15th, 2013 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have acquired Donte Greene from the Grizzlies in exchange for Fab Melo and cash considerations, the C's announced today in a press release. Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal first reported that the two sides were working on a deal involving Greene and Melo.

Melo, the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft, only appeared in six NBA games for the Celtics in 2012/13. The Syracuse product spent most of the season with Boston's D-League affiliate, averaging 9.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 33 contests for the Maine Red Claws. While he's considered a young big man with raw potential, he's also viewed as a long-term project, and given his lack of significant progress in his rookie season, it seems the Celtics didn't want to wait on him.

By moving Melo's guaranteed rookie-scale contract in exchange for Greene's non-guaranteed minimum salary deal, the Celtics immediately reduce team salary by about $300K, and could shave another $1MM or so off by releasing Greene. Considering Boston was above the tax line by about $780K before the deal, those savings could be crucial.

The Grizzlies should create a trade exception worth Greene's salary ($1,027,424) in the transaction by absorbing Melo using the rest of their Marreese Speights TPE. For Boston, Greene can't be absorbed using the minimum salary exception since he's on a three-year deal, so the C's create a small TPE worth the difference between Melo's salary and Greene's ($283,816).

Both the Grizzlies and Celtics now have 14 guaranteed contracts on their respective rosters. The Grizz will likely add a 15th when they officially announce the signing of Nick Calathes.

Lakers Sign Elias Harris

August 14th, 2013 at 4:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 14TH: The Lakers have officially signed Harris, the team announced today.

JULY 26TH: The Lakers and power forward Elias Harris have agreed to a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Agent Brad Ames tells Wojnarowski that the agreement includes a "significant" guarantee for this coming season.

The 24-year-old Harris was a member of the Lakers summer league squad this month in Las Vegas, and he averaged 10.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per contest. He went undrafted last month out of Gonzaga, where he shared the front line with 13th overall pick Kelly Olynyk, now with the Celtics.

Harris' contract will have to be for the minimum, though it's not clear just how "significant" his guarantee is. The word "substantial" was used to describe the guarantee for Robert Covington's deal with the Rockets earlier this summer, and it appears $150K of Covington's $490,180 salary this year is guaranteed.

Mark Madsen, one of the coaches on the Lakers summer league team, was particularly struck by Harris' defensive versatility, as he told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.

Sixers Hire Brett Brown As Head Coach

August 14th, 2013 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 2:34pm: The Sixers introduced Brown at a press conference this afternoon, and have officially sent out a press release announcing that the former Spurs assistant is Philadelphia's new head coach. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer has a few details and quotes from today's presser.

MONDAY, 9:21am: The NBA's longest head coaching search of the year has finally come to an end, nearly four months after the team parted ways with Doug Collins. The Sixers have reached an agreement with Spurs assistant Brett Brown that will make him Philadelphia's new head coach, reports Ian Thomsen of SI.com. According to Thomsen (via Twitter), the two sides agreed on a four-year deal that will be fully guaranteed.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported last week that the 76ers had offered their head coaching job to Brown, but it wasn't immediately clear whether or not he'd accept. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, people close to Brown were advising him to pass on the position, since the Sixers are in full-fledged rebuilding mode and don't figure to contend for the next couple seasons. With a guaranteed four-year deal in hand though, Brown has some long-term security, and shouldn't be in danger of being replaced before he sees the rebuilding process through.

Brown was one of about 10 different candidates linked to the Sixers' coaching opening since Collins left in April. As Alex Lee of Hoops Rumors wrote last week in his primer on the team's coaching search, Brown has long been considered one of the frontrunners for the position, with a report back on draft night indicating that he was Philadelphia's choice.

The Spurs have now lost two assistant coaches to the head coaching ranks this summer. After Mike Budenholzer was hired by the Hawks, Brown was positioned to be Gregg Popovich's lead assistant if he had returned to San Antonio.

Wolves, Nikola Pekovic Agree To Five-Year Deal

August 14th, 2013 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves and Nikola Pekovic have reached an agreement on a new contract, according to team president Flip Saunders (via Twitter). While Saunders didn't reveal the terms of the deal, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that it will be a five-year pact worth $60MM. According to Stein (Twitter link), Pekovic will also have the opportunity to earn about $8MM more in incentive-related bonuses.

Pekovic had been the last major free agent on the market, and had long been expected to eventually reach an agreement with the T-Wolves. The team reportedly offered him a four-year, $48MM deal several weeks ago, so it looks like Pekovic and agent Jeff Schwartz convinced Minnesota to agree to an additional year at the same annual salary. As Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets, it's a compromise both sides can live with, since Pekovic wanted a fifth year, while the Wolves didn't want to exceed $12MM per season.

Pekovic, 27, had a breakout year for the Wolves in 2012/13, averaging 16.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and a 20.2 PER while playing a career-high 31.6 minutes per game. Teams like the Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, and others were expected to show interest in him this offseason, but it doesn't appear that any rival suitor made a legit run at the big man — any teams with interest likely expected the Wolves to match any reasonable offer.

Depending on the salary in the first year of Pekovic's deal, the Wolves figure to head into 2013/14 with somewhere in the neighborhood of $65MM+ on their books, well below the tax line. The club will also still have its designated player tag available for Ricky Rubio, since that rule only applies to five-year contracts for players coming off rookie-scale contracts. Pekovic wasn't a first-round draft pick, and therefore wasn't subject to the NBA's rookie scale.

According to Wolfson (via Twitter), all five years of Pekovic's contract will be guaranteed. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that Pekovic will fly to Minnesota tomorrow, with a press conference to officially announce the new deal scheduled for Friday.

International Notes: Brown, Honeycutt, Arroyo

August 14th, 2013 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

Today's round of international notes includes the latest news and rumors on a Knicks target, a 2011 second-rounder, and a longtime NBA veteran. Let's dive in….

Bobby Brown, who was linked to the Knicks several times this summer, reached a tentative agreement with China's Dongguan Leopards two weeks ago, but had an out if he found an NBA deal he liked before August 15th. After New York landed Beno Udrih, the team didn't really have a spot for Brown, so it looks like he'll head to China after all. He posted a photo today on Instagram that shows him officially signing his contract with the Leopards.
Former King Tyler Honeycutt has agreed to sign with Israel's Ironi Nes-Ziona, according to Sportando contributor David Pick. After being selected 35th overall by Sacramento in the 2011 draft, Honeycutt appeared in 24 NBA games over two seasons, then was dealt to Houston in Ferbruary along with Thomas Robinson and Francisco Garcia. The Rockets waived Honeycutt shortly thereafter.
Veteran guard Carlos Arroyo tells Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (Twitter link) that he has received NBA offers, but loves playing in Turkey, in part because he has a larger role there than he would an NBA team.

Wizards Sign Al Harrington

August 14th, 2013 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have officially signed Al Harrington to a contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Marc Stein was the first to report earlier this week that the two sides were nearing an agreement, not long after Harrington was released by Orlando.

Harrington, 33, missed nearly all of the 2012/13 season due to a staph infection, but has worked hard to get back into playing shape for the coming year, as he told Sam Amick of USA Today last month. Harrington is just one year removed from a productive season in Denver, in which he averaged 14.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 64 contests.

After having used their full mid-level exception on Martell Webster and their full bi-annual exception on Eric Maynor, the Wizards could only offer Harrington a minimum-salary contract, which is what he'll receive. Michael Lee of the Washington Post noted yesterday that it would be a one-year deal, so Harrington will earn about $1.4MM, though Washington will only be on the hook for about $884K of that amount. The 15-year veteran is also still owed $7MM+ from the Magic for the next two seasons.

The Wizards had 14 players on guaranteed contracts prior to adding Harrington, so it looks like the team's 15-man roster is set, though a few players could receive non-guaranteed camp invites.