Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

No. 26 Pick To Thunder, No. 29 To Warriors

June 28th, 2013 at 9:52pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 9:52pm: The Thunder confirmed their end of the trade via press release. Oklahoma City acquired the rights to Roberson (No. 26) in exchange for Archie Goodwin (No. 29) and cash (presumably the $1MM that Kawakami reported).

THURSDAY, 11:22pm: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has the details on the Warriors' trades via Twitter. According to Kawakami, Golden State gave up $1.6MM and a 2014 second-rounder for the Wolves' 26th overall pick and Malcolm Lee. The Warriors then got $1MM from the Thunder to move back to No. 29. Finally, Golden State sent Lee and the 29th pick to the Suns for No. 30. The key takeaway here is that Lee's guaranteed 2013/14 salary is now on Phoenix's books.

9:42pm: According to Katz (via Twitter), the Warriors also sent a future second-round pick to the Wolves in order to initially grab the 26th pick.

9:17pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports now reports (via Twitter) that the Thunder have moved up to No. 26, while the Warriors will acquire OKC's No. 29 pick. According to ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman (via Twitter), Golden State bought the 26th pick from Minnesota, then sent it to the Thunder for the 29th pick and cash. The Thunder will take Andre Roberson with the 26th pick, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

9:13pm: The Timberwolves have agreed to send the No. 26 overall pick to the Warriors, according to ESPN.com's Andy Katz (via Twitter). The Wolves had previously picked up an extra first-rounder by sending their 9th overall pick to the Jazz for the 14th and 21st picks. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune first reported (via Twitter) that the Wolves appeared likely to move the 26th pick.

Kwame Brown Exercises Player Option

June 28th, 2013 at 6:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kwame Brown has exercised his $2.95MM player option to remain with the Sixers for next season, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The move was a no-brainer for the former No. 1 overall pick who saw limited action over 22 games in 2012/13. His averages of 1.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 12.2 minutes per contest were all career lows.

Philadelphia signed Brown to a two-year, $5.765MM contract last season, but he was unable to settle into the role of backup center as the team might have hoped. Half of his appearances were starts as the Sixers suffered from injuries to others on their front line, Andrew Bynum in particular.

The move cuts slightly into the cap room the team opened during last night's Jrue Holiday-for-Nerlens Noel trade. The Sixers don't figure to be a top destination for free agents this summer, with Holiday on his way out and Bynum not expected to return.

Bobcats To Extend QO To Henderson, Not Mullens

June 28th, 2013 at 5:46pm CST by Luke Adams

5:46pm: The Bobcats have confirmed via press release that they're tendering a qualifying offer to Henderson.

12:31pm: The Bobcats will extend a qualifying offer to Gerald Henderson, making him a restricted free agent, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). However, according to Bonnell, Byron Mullens won't receive a QO of his own from the Bobcats.

Both Henderson and Mullens met the starter criteria in Charlotte, meaning that their qualifying offers would have been worth $4,531,459 each. For Henderson, that's a modest increase on what would have been a $4,267,426 offer, but it represents a significant increase for Mullens, who otherwise would've been in line for a $3,293,976 QO. Perhaps that played a part in the Bobcats' decision, though Mullens' unproductive second half (7.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG in 20 games after the All-Star break) likely didn't help his case either.

When free agency opens next week, both Henderson and Mullens will be free to negotiate with any team, but only Mullens will be able to sign outright with a rival club. If Henderson signs a rival offer sheet, the Bobcats will have three days to match it.

Ray Allen Exercises Player Option

June 28th, 2013 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Ray Allen has exercised his 2013/14 player option and will return to the Heat, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter). Earlier this afternoon, we heard that Allen was expected to remain in Miami one way or another. Rather than opting out and negotiating a new deal, the 37-year-old sharpshooter will simply play out the final year of the contract he signed last summer.

Now that Allen has opted in, all four Heat players with options are set to return to the team for '13/14. James Jones and Rashard Lewis also picked up their respective player options, while the Heat exercised Mario Chalmers' team option.

Allen's player option is worth approximately $3.23MM, adding another guaranteed contract to Miami's books for next season. The team's projected salary now sits at over $85MM, a figure that doesn't include Jarvis Varnado's non-guaranteed contract or Chris Andersen's cap hold.

Ben Gordon To Exercise Player Option

June 28th, 2013 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

To no one's surprise, Ben Gordon has decided to exercise his player option for 2013/14, keeping him under contract for one more season, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).

Gordon's decision will ensure his $13.2MM salary becomes guaranteed for next year, significantly cutting into the Bobcats' available cap space. Charlotte acquired the veteran guard last summer for Corey Maggette, who would have hit free agency this offseason. In exchange for picking up the extra salary, the Bobcats should land a pretty attractive draft pick, especially if the Pistons continue to miss the postseason. The first-rounder Charlotte received in the Gordon/Maggette swap is top-eight protected in 2014 and top-one protected in 2015.

We heard last night that rival executives are skeptical the Celtics will keep Kris Humphries after acquiring him from the Nets, and Chris Mannix of SI.com said to keep an eye out for the Bobcats. Gordon and Humphries have been connected in trade rumors before, so it's possible, perhaps even likely, that Gordon won't spend the entire '13/14 season with the Bobcats.

Boris Diaw Exercises Player Option

June 28th, 2013 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 1:31pm: Diaw's agent, Doug Neustadt, confirms that his client is opting in, telling Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that the letter has been sent to the team.

THURSDAY, 8:25pm: Boris Diaw expects to opt in for the final year of his contract with the Spurs, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Diaw's 2013/14 player option would pay him a guaranteed $4,702,500 if he exercises it.

Given Diaw's production in 2012/13 (5.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 11.9 PER), he'd be very unlikely to land a deal with a higher annual salary than the $4.7MM he'll receive from San Antonio, so it'd be pretty surprising if he decided to opt out. Assuming he makes the decision official, he'll become the second Spur to pick up his player option this week, as Patty Mills exercised his on Monday.

Bucks Make Qualifying Offer To Brandon Jennings

June 28th, 2013 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have formally extended a qualifying offer to Brandon Jennings, GM John Hammond confirmed today (Twitter link via Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Because Jennings met the starter criteria this past season, his QO will be worth $4,531,459, a slight bump up from what it would have been otherwise.

There have been a few rumblings lately suggesting the Bucks wouldn't mind signing-and-trading Jennings, or keeping Monta Ellis over him. However, Hammond indicated today that the team intends for Jennings to remain a Buck, according to Gardner (via Twitter). Hammond went on to say that the club hopes to negotiate with its young guard, and if a deal can't be reached with Jennings directly, the plan would be to match a rival offer sheet (Twitter links via Gardner).

It's unclear at this point whether Jennings prefers to stay in Milwaukee long-term or play elsewhere. While the Bucks have the majority of the control over his current situation, Jennings could accept his one-year qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. Jennings suggested back in March that he'd consider that possibility.

Wolves Exercise Option On Dante Cunningham

June 28th, 2013 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have exercised their team option to retain Dante Cunningham for the 2013/14 season, the team announced today (Twitter link). The decision will ensure that Cunningham is guaranteed his $2.18MM salary for next year.

Cunningham, 26, was one of the few Wolves to stay healthy last season, appearing in 80 games for the club and recording averages of 8.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG. While Cunningham's production wasn't spectacular enough, it was solid enough to make him a good value at $2.18MM.

The Wolves will also face a couple more decisions on current players in July. Greg Stiemsma's $2.69MM salary for next year will be guaranteed if he's not waived on or before July 17th, while Mickael Gelabale's minimum-salary deal will be guaranteed if he's not released on or before July 22nd.

Jerryd Bayless To Exercise Player Option

June 28th, 2013 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Jerryd Bayless has decided to exercise his player option for 2013/14, keeping him under contract with the Grizzlies for another season, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The option will guarantee Bayless a $3.135MM salary for next year.

As Stein tweets, the decision comes as a bit of a surprise, since Bayless would have had a good chance to at least match that $3.135MM amount in free agency, if not exceed it. Instead, he'll be off the market, and will return to a Grizzlies backcourt that is facing the possibility of losing unrestricted free agent Tony Allen.

Bayless' now-guaranteed contract increases the Grizzlies' total team salary to about $61MM for 2013/14, which means that re-signing Allen at a fair rate will limit the Grizzlies' flexibility to make many additional moves. As we saw this past season, Memphis' new ownership group seems reluctant to go into the tax, and the tax line is expected to be at about $71.6MM for next year.

Ricky Ledo To Mavs, Nate Wolters To Bucks

June 28th, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

11:27am: The Mavs' press release announcing the trade indicates that Ledo's rights were acquired by Dallas from the Sixers, so perhaps Atlanta wasn't involved as a middle-man after all. In exchange for Ledo, the Mavs sent Philadelphia the Nets' 2014 second-rounder that Dallas had originally acquired from Boston earlier in the evening.

FRIDAY, 10:56am: The Bucks have officially announced the acquisition of Wolters (Twitter link). According to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter), Milwaukee sent a future second-round pick and Ledo to the Sixers in order to snag Wolters. From there, tweets Gardner, Ledo's rights went from Philadelphia to Atlanta to Dallas.

THURSDAY, 11:14pm: We'll have to wait for official confirmation from the various teams involved in these deals to determine where everyone ended up, but by my estimation, it looks like the Bucks landed Wolters, the Mavs acquired Ledo, and the Hawks ended up with Muscala.

10:54pm: As confusion abounds, the Mavs have confirmed they acquired Ledo from the Sixers, tweets Katz.

10:50pm: ESPN.com's Andy Katz breaks it down (via Twitter): The Sixers selected Nate Wolters at No. 38 as part of the Glen Rice Jr. trade, then traded Wolters to the Bucks for Ledo. Philadelphia then sent Ledo to the Hawks, and according to Katz, Ledo could be on the move yet again (Twitter link).

10:46pm: Various reports are now suggesting that Ledo will end up landing in Philadephia or Atlanta, so we may have to wait this one out to get total clarity.

10:32pm: The Mavericks have agreed to acquire the 43rd overall pick from the Bucks and will use it to select Ricky Ledo, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Goodman (via Twitter), the Mavs will send pick No. 44 to Milwaukee, and the Bucks will select Mike Muscala.

It had been previously reported that the 44th overall pick was ticketed for Atlanta in an earlier deal, though that trade was said to be"still evolving," so maybe the Mavs were able to keep the pick out of the swap.