Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Sign Christian Shumate

September 19th, 2025 at 2:21pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have signed Christian Shumate, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

A 6’6″ forward, Shumate had a brief eight-game stint with Tulsa during the 2020/21 campaign before spending his final four college seasons at McNeese State. He went undrafted in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.

While Shumate was a somewhat erratic offensive player during his college career, only shooting 26.9% on three-pointers and 51.2% on free throws, he was an All-Southland selection in each of his four years at McNeese State and won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award in both 2024 and 2025.

In 35 games as a senior last season, Shumate averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 27.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .623/.309/.423. He helped the Cowboys reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year — they upset Clemson in the first round before falling to Purdue.

Shumate almost certainly signed an Exhibit 10 deal and will likely be waived by New Orleans before the season begins. If he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, he could earn a bonus worth up to $85,300.

The Pelicans’ offseason roster is now full, with 21 players under contract.

Hornets Sign Brandon Slater, Waive Keyontae Johnson

September 19th, 2025 at 1:16pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets have signed Brandon Slater, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter). In a related move, Keyontae Johnson has been waived.

A 6’8″ forward, Slater went undrafted in 2023 after five college seasons at Villanova. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston two years ago, was cut, and spent the 2023/24 season in the G League with the Maine Celtics.

Instead of returning to the NBAGL, Slater signed with GS Lavrio of Greece’s top basketball league. In 24 games (19.5 MPG) with the Greek club, Slater averaged 7.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG on .444/.344/.771 shooting.

Slater most recently suited up for Charlotte at the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, averaging 5.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG in eight appearances (17.7 MPG).

While the 26-year-old will fill the Hornets’ final roster spot for now, he likely signed an Exhibit 10 deal and will be waived in the coming days. If that comes to fruition, Slater will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Greensboro Swarm — the Hornets’ G League affiliate — in ’25/26.

Nets Sign Yuri Collins To Partially Guaranteed Deal

September 19th, 2025 at 11:20am CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have officially signed free agent guard Yuri Collins, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) that Collins received a one-year standard contract with a $85,300 partial guarantee, just like Brooklyn’s recent contract agreements with David Muoka and D’Andre Davis, and is expected to be released soon. Davis was waived in order to make room on the 21-man roster for Collins.

A 6’0″ point guard, Collins went undrafted out of St. Louis in 2023 and has spent the past two seasons in the NBAGL with the Santa Cruz Warriors. After a fairly modest role in 2023/24, the 24-year-old’s usage rate nearly doubled in ’24/25, averaging 13.7 points, 10.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 49 combined games (32.2 minutes per contest). He posted a shooting line of .412/.264/.780.

Collins, who led the G League in assists per game (10.8) last regular season, signed a 10-day deal with Golden State in February and made his NBA debut that month, appearing in two games.

For G League purposes, the deals for Collins, Davis and Muoka will essentially function like Exhibit 10 contracts would have, and it’s safe to assume all three players will end up joining the Long Island Nets. The only real difference is that the $85,300 each player is receiving as a partial guarantee will count against the Nets’ cap.

Clubs generally favor Exhibit 10 deals because they don’t want those cap hits on their books, but those small partial guarantees may help ensure that the Nets’ team salary is above the minimum salary floor by opening night. Brooklyn is the only NBA team still operating below the cap.

According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), Long Island acquired Collins’ returning player rights this offseason, yet another indication that he’ll be headed to the NBAGL in 2025/26.

Timberwolves Sign, Waive Nojel Eastern

September 18th, 2025 at 6:37pm CST by Luke Adams

September 18: The Timberwolves have now waived Eastern, per the NBA’s transaction log.

September 17: The Timberwolves have signed free agent guard Nojel Eastern, the team announced today in a press release. Details of the agreement weren’t revealed, but it’s almost certainly a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract.

Eastern, a former Purdue standout, has spent the past two seasons playing for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate. In 29 games in 2024/25, he averaged 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 30.0 minutes per contest, with a strong shooting line of .514/.419/.744.

Eastern, who earned Big Ten All-Defensive honors in 2019 and 2020, appears likely to continue his career within the Timberwolves’ organization after suiting up for the team at the Las Vegas Summer League team in July.

An Exhibit 10 deal will put him in line to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his base G League salary if he’s waived by Minnesota and then spends at least 60 days with the Iowa Wolves this season.

The Timberwolves now have 19 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed deals, Bones Hyland on a partially guaranteed contract, three players on two-way pacts, and Johnny Juzang and Eastern on non-guaranteed deals.

Hornets Sign Keyontae Johnson

September 18th, 2025 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

After opening up a roster spot earlier today by waiving DaQuan Jeffries, the Hornets have signed forward Keyontae Johnson, the team announced (via Twitter).

Details of the agreement weren’t revealed, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, which will make Johnson eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s waived by Charlotte and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.

The Swarm already hold Johnson’s returning rights since he spent last season with the Hornets’ NBAGL team. In 46 outings for Greensboro, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 49.3% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the three-point arc.

Johnson, 25, was the 50th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with Oklahoma City, making nine NBA regular season appearances in ’23/24.

Having swapped out Jeffries for Johnson, the Hornets once again have a full 21-man roster, though more moves are likely coming as the team prepares for training camp and the preseason.

Hornets Waive DaQuan Jeffries

September 18th, 2025 at 10:12am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets have waived wing DaQuan Jeffries, Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer tweets. The team has confirmed the move (Twitter link).

Jeffries was signed through the 2026/27 season but his three-year contract was non-guaranteed for this season and next. His $2,743,776 salary for 2025/26 would have been fully guaranteed if he had remained on the roster through January 7.

The move wasn’t surprising. As we pointed out recently, waiving Jeffries was the most likely scenario to help deal with the team’s roster crunch. He was sent to Charlotte via the Knicks last October as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns multi-team blockbuster.

Jeffries, 28, appeared in a career-high 47 games, including 20 starts, last season. He averaged 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 33.5 percent beyond the arc. He has also had stints with Sacramento, Houston and Memphis. Overall, he has seen action in 111 NBA games.

Charlotte now has 20 players on its training camp roster, leaving one open spot ahead of the preseason. The Hornets still have 16 players on guaranteed deals and another on a non-guaranteed contract, so they still have some work to do to trim the roster to 15 by opening night.

Nets Sign D’Andre Davis To Partially Guaranteed Deal

September 17th, 2025 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have signed undrafted rookie free agent D’Andre Davis, according to the team (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).

Also known as Dre Davis, the 6’6″ guard/forward spent two years at Louisville and two more at Seton Hall before wrapping up his college career with Ole Miss in 2024/25. As a super-senior, he averaged 10.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per game while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 32.5% on three-pointers.

Davis suited up in July for Brooklyn’s Summer League team in Las Vegas, appearing in four games and averaging 4.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 13.3 MPG.

Rather than signing Davis to an Exhibit 10 contract, the Nets gave him a standard contract with a partial guarantee of $85,300, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. According to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link), that’s the same deal the team gave David Muoka, who was signed and waived earlier this week.

For G League purposes, those deals for Davis and Muoka will essentially function like Exhibit 10 contracts would have, and it’s safe to assume both players will end up joining the Long Island Nets. The only real difference is that the $85,300 each player is receiving as a partial guarantee will count against the Nets’ cap.

Clubs generally favor Exhibit 10 deals because they don’t want those cap hits on their books, but those small partial guarantees may help ensure that the Nets’ team salary is above the minimum salary floor by opening night. Brooklyn is the only NBA team still operating below the cap.

Davis was signed as the Nets’ 21st man, taking the roster spot previously held by Keon Johnson until he was waived earlier today. According to Lewis (Twitter link), Johnson is dealing with an injury, which is one reason Brooklyn opted to cut him.

Pelicans Sign, Waive Johnny O’Neil

September 17th, 2025 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have signed and waived undrafted rookie free agent Johnny O’Neil, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

A 6’10” forward/center who spent the past five years playing college basketball, O’Neil played for American University for three seasons before transferring to Santa Clara in 2023. Last season, he averaged 7.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 21.9 minutes per game across 34 outings (19 starts), with a shooting line of .432/.396/.778.

Although O’Neil generated little pre-draft buzz and didn’t suit up for the NBA Summer League in July, the Pelicans are apparently intrigued by his ability to protect the rim and stretch the floor as a big man.

Signing O’Neil to an Exhibit 10 contract and then waiving him should set up New Orleans to designate O’Neil as an affiliate player for the Birmingham Squadron in the G League this fall — and to pay him a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Squadron.

The Pelicans now have 20 players under contract and appear to be using the 21st and final spot on their offseason roster to shuffle players in and out for G League purposes. The team also signed and waived undrafted rookie Jalon Moore this week.

Nets Waive Keon Johnson

September 17th, 2025 at 9:35am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have waived Keon Johnson, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.

Johnson appeared in 79 games with Brooklyn last season, including 56 starts. He averaged a career-best 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 24.4 minutes per contest.

However, Johnson’s playing time was expected to be reduced dramatically with restricted free agent Cam Thomas signing his qualifying offer and an influx of first-round rookies on the roster. Brooklyn also acquired another shooting guard, Kobe Bufkin, from Atlanta this week.

Johnson’s $2,349,578 was only guaranteed for $271,614. That partial guarantee would have increased to $760,520 if he had been on the team’s opening night roster.

As a result of waiving Johnson, the Nets now have 20 players on their camp roster. Ricky Council IV is still expected to sign with the team, having agreed to a deal at the start of August.

Johnson, who began his career with the Clippers and also had a stint with the Trail Blazers, will now become a free agent on Friday unless he’s claimed on waivers. The 6’5” wing was a first-round pick in 2021 out of Tennessee, but has struggled with his shooting during his young career, averaging 37.9% overall and 32.4% on three-point tries in 161 career games.

Pelicans Sign, Waive Jalon Moore

September 17th, 2025 at 7:20am CST by Luke Adams

September 17: Moore has been waived, according to the NBA transactions log. That opens up a training camp roster spot for New Orleans.

September 16: The Pelicans have signed rookie free agent Jalon Moore to a training camp deal, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

A 6’7″ forward, Moore spent two seasons at Georgia Tech from 2021-23 and then two years at Oklahoma from 2023-25 before going undrafted in June. As a senior in 2024/25, he averaged 15.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game across 34 outings (all starts) for the Sooners, posting a solid shooting line of .471/.381/.840.

Moore had been projected as a possible second-round pick before he suffered an Achilles tear during a workout with the Spurs this spring, which prompted his agent Mike Silverman to call for changes to how the pre-draft process works.

“We’re truly heartbroken for Jalon,” Silverman told ESPN at the time. “It’s time to revamp the NBA pre-draft process. Flying around the country to perform intense competitive workouts exposes players to risk of major injuries. No other pro sports league puts their draft prospects in this position.”

While Moore seems likely to miss the entire 2025/26 season, the Pelicans may be planning to sign-and-waive him in order to gain his G League rights, with an eye toward keeping him in their system for ’26/27.

The transaction gives New Orleans a full 21-man offseason roster, including 14 players on guaranteed contracts, four (including Moore) on Exhibit 9/Exhibit 10 deals, and three on two-way pacts.