Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets, 76ers Finalize Royce White Trade

July 13th, 2013 at 10:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Rockets and 76ers announced that they have finalized the deal that will send Royce White, the draft rights to Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir, and cash considerations to Philly in exchange for future draft considerations.

White, the 16th pick in the 2012 draft, never appeared in a regular season game for the Rockets because of his battles with the team concerning accomodations for his psychological disorders. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 16 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston's D-League affiliate.

The move clears White's $1,719,480 guaranteed salary from Houston's books, which helped to give Houston a little more breathing room in an offseason headlined by the signing of Dwight Howard.

Kings Acquire Luc Mbah A Moute

July 12th, 2013 at 10:55pm CST by Luke Adams

10:55pm: The Bucks' press release gives additional detail on one of the picks headed to Milwaukee. The Bucks will receive the higher of Sacramento's own 2016 second-rounder, or the Pelicans' 2016 second-rounder, which the Kings had acquired in a previous transaction.

FRIDAY, 9:45pm: The Kings have officially announced the deal, via press release.

"Luc is one of the premier defenders in the game today, with a proven ability to guard a variety of different scoring threats on a nightly basis," GM Pete D’Alessandro said. "His versatility in this respect will go a long way in helping us improve dramatically on the defensive end of the floor. We’re excited to welcome Luc to the Kings family."

TUESDAY, 2:57pm: The Bucks won't get the Kings' 2018 pick outright, but will have the option to swap second-rounders, says Amick (via Twitter).

2:48pm: The Bucks will receive a 2016 second-round pick and a 2018 second-rounder from the Kings, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports confirms (via Twitter).

2:31pm: The Kings have reached an agreement with the Bucks that will send Luc Mbah a Moute to Sacramento in exchange for draft considerations, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), the Kings will give up a lone second-round pick in the deal.

As Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee wrote overnight, the Kings were still in the market for a small forward, and had the cap space available to take on a player without sending out any salary. Mbah a Moute will make close to $9MM over the next two seasons, including about $4.59MM in 2013/14, a figure Sacramento should be able to absorb using its cap room.

Mbah a Moute, 26, has been remarkably consistent over the course of his NBA career so far. In five seasons with the Bucks, the former second-round pick has averaged between 6.2 and 7.7 PPG each year, along with between 4.4 and 5.9 RPG. However, he hasn't played a full season in either of the last two years, due to knee problems.

Pelicans, Sixers Finalize Trade

July 12th, 2013 at 8:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans and Sixers have officially announced their swap involving Jrue Holiday and Nerlens Noel, a trade that was agreed upon on draft night but held up until after the July Moratorium. The Pelicans bring aboard Holiday and Pierre Jackson, the 42nd pick in last month's draft, in exchange for Noel and a 2014 first-round draft choice. The 2014 pick will remain with the Pelicans if it falls in the top five.

The delay in finalizing the trade stemmed from the Pelicans' inability to absorb Holiday's $9,213,484 salary until the NBA's calendar flipped over to 2013/14 this month, and the newlywed Holiday's honeymoon caused a further holdup. The 23-year-old point guard is now finally entrenched in New Orleans, where he'll begin drawing paychecks from the four-year, $41MM extension he signed last October with the Sixers a few months before making his first All-Star appearance.

Noel, who seemed the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 pick last month, heads to Philadelphia after slipping to the No. 6 spot in the draft. The 7'0" center from Kentucky will miss the first part of the season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in his only collegiate season. The 5'10" Jackson, the other 2013 draftee involved in the swap, heads to New Orleans after distinguishing himself as a point guard at Baylor.

That protection attached to the 2014 first-rounder extends in perpetuity, so if the Pelicans wind up with a string of top-five picks over the next few years, they won't have to give them up, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. For additional details about the swap, see our post about the initial agreement.

Mavs Scrap Deal With Devin Harris

July 12th, 2013 at 7:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:46pm: The injury to Harris prompted the Mavs to sign Ellis, Stein writes. That makes sense, since GM Donnie Nelson said two days ago that the team likely wouldn't be in the mix for Ellis, comments that seemed misleading when word broke of the Mavs' agreement with Ellis earlier today. The money that was to go to Harris is now set to go to a big man, according to Stein, so perhaps the club won't be signing another point guard. The Mavs envisioned Harris starting at shooting guard, as he often did with the Hawks, Stein says, so that lends further credence to the Ellis-for-Harris substitution.

6:51pm: A toe injury has prompted the Mavericks to nix their agreement to sign Devin Harris to a three-year, $9MM deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The decision was mutual, Stein notes. Dallas remains interested in signing him, but the surgery required is expected to keep Harris out until the start of the regular season, according to Stein (Twitter link). First-round pick and fellow point guard Shane Larkin suffered a broken ankle in summer league practice, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports notes via Twitter, so it's possible the pair of injuries prompted the Mavs to call off their plans with Harris.

"All indications" are the Mavs will sign Monta Ellis using cap room instead of a sign-and-trade with the Bucks, Stein tweets. So, the decision not to sign Harris gives the club the flexibility to sign a big man as well, with Samuel Dalembert still the primary target, according to Stein (Twitter link).

The Mavs have signed point guards Jose Calderon and Gal Mekel to deals this summer, as our Free Agent Tracker shows, and they have Josh Akognon on a non-guaranteed contract, so they're not entirely devoid of help at the position. Still, Calderon is the only point guard with more than eight games of NBA experience on the roster now, so perhaps the team will look elsewhere. Aaron Brooks, D.J. Augustin and Beno Udrih are among veteran point guards still available on the free agent market, though none have been linked to Dallas this summer.

Harris, an Excel Sports Management client, remains an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks had been in touch with his representatives prior to his decision to head to Dallas, and the former No. 5 overall pick out of Wisconsin said this spring that he'd be open to listening to offers from the Bucks. Milwaukee has hired former Hawks coach Larry Drew, inked Zaza Pachulia and has a signed offer sheet from Jeff Teague, all of whom played with Harris in Atlanta this past season.

Nets Sign Andrei Kirilenko

July 12th, 2013 at 3:50pm CST by Alex Lee

FRIDAY, 3:50pm: The Nets have officially signed Kirilenko, the team announced today in a press release.

THURSDAY, 6:22pm: According to multiple reports, Andrei Kirilenko has agreed to sign with the Nets for their taxpayer's mini mid-level exception, which is worth about $3.1MM. The move was first reported by longtime NBA writer Peter Vecsey (Twitter link) and then confirmed by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), who later tweeted that the deal is a two-year contract with a player option for the second year. The 6-foot-9 forward is the latest big splash for the Nets in an offseason full of them. He will join a talented and determined group of veterans in a ring-or-bust environment in Brooklyn.

Kirilenko, 32, averaged 12.4 PPG and 5.7 RPG last year for the Timberwolves after spending the entire lockout-shortened season of 2011/12 playing back in his native Russia. He spent the 10 years prior in a Jazz uniform. While he wasn't the All-Star he was in his Utah days last year, Kirilenko was still an efficient player for Minnesota, tallying a PER of 17.67 in 64 games. He will presumably come off the bench in Brooklyn.

This moves promises to raise some eyebrows, as Kirilenko turned down a player option from the Wolves worth more than $10MM and has now chosen to sign with the Nets and fellow Russian Mikhail Prokhorov for considerably less. Prior to his NBA career, Kirilenko played for CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001, then owned by Prohkorov. We had heard Kirilenko's name primarily connected with the Spurs and Cavs of late, so this news definitely comes as a surprise. Just yesterday, Bondy reported that there was "nothing happening" between Kirilenko and the Nets.

Kirilenko is represented by Marc Fleisher at Entersport, as shown in our agency database.

Lakers Sign Chris Kaman

July 12th, 2013 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 3:49pm: The Lakers have formally announced the Kaman signing, making it official.

MONDAY, 3:40pm: Kaman will get the Lakers' mini mid-level exception, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter). Assuming Kaman receives the full amount of the exception, he'll earn a one-year salary of $3,182,700.

3:13pm: The Lakers and free agent big man Chris Kaman have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).

Because they're an over-the-cap team, the Lakers can only sign free agents using the mini $3.18MM mid-level exception or the minimum-salary exception. Coming off a one-year, $8MM deal with the Mavericks, Kaman will presumably sign for more than the veteran's minimum, but the terms of the deal have yet to be reported.

It goes without saying that Kaman wasn't the Lakers' top target among free agent centers this summer, but the 31-year-old remains relatively productive. In 66 contests for the Mavericks last season, he averaged 10.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG in just 20.7 MPG. The Landmark Sports client also shot 50.7% from the floor and recorded a 16.3 PER.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday that there was mutual interest between the Lakers and Kaman.

Warriors Sign Speights To Three-Year Deal

July 12th, 2013 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 3:38pm: The Warriors have officially signed Speights, the team announced today in a press release.

WEDNESDAY, 7:32pm: The deal will be for three years and $11MM, with a team option for the final season, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.

MONDAY, 6:32pm: The Warriors have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with big man Marreese Speights, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). The final year of the deal is a club option, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) first reported that a deal was close.

The soon-to-be 26-year-old spent last season with the Grizzlies and Cavs, averaging 8.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG. The Grizzlies dealt him, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and a future first-round pick to the Cavs for Jon Leuer in January, a deal that helped Memphis ease some of their payroll burden and get beneath the tax line.

Speights will help to fill the void left in Golden State when Carl Landry declined his paltry $4MM player option and wound up signing a four-year, $26MM deal with the Kings. Landry had said that he hoped to remain with Golden State, but a significant raise was enough to lure him away.

Speights had a $4.52MM player option for next season with the Cavs but opted out and Cleveland reportedly didn't pursue re-signing him. The Cavs didn't see him as a tremendous fit anyway, but with a frontcourt group that includes Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, and Tyler Zeller, there wasn't much room for him.

The big man is represented by ASM Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Thunder Sign Steven Adams

July 12th, 2013 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have officially signed 12th overall pick Steven Adams, the team announced today in a press release. As our chart of salaries for first-round picks shows, Adams figures to receive a salary of about $2.09MM in his rookie season.

Adams, who played just one season at the University of Pittsburgh, is the first player from New Zealand to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. He was drafted using one of the picks the Thunder acquired from Houston in last October's James Harden trade.

The Thunder also officially announced the signing of Andre Roberson, which we passed along on Wednesday.

Timberwolves Sign Shabazz Muhammad

July 12th, 2013 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have officially signed 14th overall pick Shabazz Muhammad, team president Flip Saunders told reporters, including Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Muhammad was the first of two players selected by the T-Wolves in the first round last month.

Muhammad, a UCLA product, will be in line for a first-year salary worth about $1.89MM, as our chart of rookie salaries shows. There's no word yet on an agreement with Gorgui Dieng, who the Wolves selected 21st overall.

Timberwolves Sign Corey Brewer

July 12th, 2013 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 2:05pm: The Wolves have officially signed Brewer, GM Flip Saunders told reporters today (Twitter link).

I surmised earlier this afternoon that Minnesota would likely use most or all of its mid-level exception to sign Brewer.

WEDNESDAY, 3:48pm: A deal has been struck that will see Corey Brewer join the Timberwolves, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's not 100% certain whether Brewer will sign outright with the T-Wolves or be acquired via sign-and-trade, but the most recent update we heard had Minnesota sending Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee to clear the necessary cap space for Brewer. An earlier report suggested Brewer would receive a three-year, $15MM deal from the Wolves.

Brewer, 27, appeared in all 82 contests with the Nuggets last season, averaging 12.1 PPG, his best rate since his last stint in Minnesota, when he averaged 13.0 PPG in 2009/10. The Happy Walters client also established a new career-high in PER in Denver last season, with a 14.7 mark.

The Nuggets had interest in bringing Brewer back, but the salary he was seeking appeared to be out of the team's price range.