Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Sign Isaiah Todd To Four-Year Deal

August 10th, 2021 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 11: Todd’s deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

AUGUST 10: The Wizards have reached an agreement with No. 31 overall pick Isaiah Todd on a four-year contract, agents Wallace Prather and Steve Haney tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Charania, Todd’s four-year deal will be worth $7MM and will include three guaranteed seasons.

As our chart of multiyear minimum-salary contract values shows, a four-year minimum deal for a rookie would be worth about $6.3MM, so it sounds like Todd’s first-year salary will be higher than the minimum. Washington will complete the signing using a portion of the team’s mid-level exception, which allows the club to offer up to four years.

[RELATED: 2021 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Todd, 19, was one of the prospects who opted to join the G League Ignite for the 2020/21 season rather than playing for a college program or going overseas. While he was overshadowed to some extent by teammates Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, Todd posted solid numbers in his first professional season, averaging 12.3 PPG and 4.9 RPG on .437/.362/.824 shooting in 25 games (24.4 MPG).

The 6’10” forward, who was the first player drafted in the second round, was technically selected by the Bucks on draft night on behalf of the Wizards. Milwaukee traded his rights to the Pacers, who subsequently flipped them to Washington in the five-team Russell Westbrook/Spencer Dinwiddie trade.

Grizzlies Sign Yves Pons

August 10th, 2021 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Grizzlies have officially signed undrafted rookie free agent Yves Pons, the team announced today in a press release.

Pons – the 19th-best available undrafted rookie, according to ESPN’s list – is a 6’6″ wing who earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019/20. After becoming a full-time starter for Tennessee as a junior, Pons averaged 9.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 57 games (31.4 MPG).

Word broke shortly after the July 29 draft ended that Pons had reached a deal to join the Grizzlies. While terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed by the team, it’ll be an Exhibit 10 deal, per Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).

An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted a standard or two-way deal prior to the regular season if the Grizzlies want to keep Pons on their roster. If he’s cut, he’d be a candidate to end up with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League team, as an affiliate player.

Mavericks Sign Luka Doncic To Five-Year, Max-Salary Extension

August 10th, 2021 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 10: The extension is now official, according to the team (Twitter link).

AUGUST 9: The Mavs and Doncic are in formal agreement on their five-year, maximum-salary extension, agent Bill Duffy tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The team sent a contingent to Slovenia this week to officially complete the deal and will hold a news conference on Tuesday morning to announce it.

As we detailed earlier today, Doncic’s extension projects to be worth slightly over $207MM based on the NBA’s $119MM cap projection for 2022/23. The deal will include a fifth-year player option, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

“Today is a dream come true,” Doncic said in a statement, per Woj (Twitter link). “I am humbled and excited to remain in Dallas as part of the Mavericks and appreciate the support of my fans.”

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks are ready to give star guard Luka Doncic a five-year, maximum-salary extension, tweets veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein. The deal projects to be worth $207.06MM.

However, no formal talks will take place until after Doncic is finished with the Olympics this week. His Slovenian team is in the medal round after breezing to three victories in preliminary games.

Doncic, 22, has emerged as one of the NBA’s top players after three seasons in the league. He averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists in 66 games this year, earning first-team All-NBA honors for the second straight season.

Doncic was named Rookie of the Year in 2019 and is a two-time All-Star. He was highly decorated before coming to the NBA, winning MVP and Final Four MVP awards in the EuroLeague in 2018.

Doncic’s extension, which would have a starting salary worth 30% of the cap, would take effect in the 2022/23 season and would keep him under contract through the summer of 2027.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Re-Sign RFA Frank Jackson

August 9th, 2021 at 10:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 10: Jackson has officially re-signed with the Pistons, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. The two-year deal is worth $6.2MM with a second-year team option, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

AUGUST 9: The Pistons will be bringing back restricted free agent point guard Frank Jackson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). Jackson is set to return on a two-year contract, per Wojnarowski. The financial terms of the deal have yet to be reported.

Jackson carved out minutes on Detroit during last year’s lottery-bound season. The reserve point guard, 23, had a career-best NBA season during his first year with Detroit. In 40 games, he averaged 9.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 0.9 APG across 18.5 MPG. Jackson sported a shooting line of .457/.407/.813.

Selected with the No. 31 pick in the 2017 draft out of Duke, Jackson missed the entire 2017/18 NBA season following two foot surgeries. He spent his first NBA two healthy seasons, 2018/19 and 2019/20, in New Orleans.

After the Pelicans opted not to issue Jackson a qualifying offer in 2020, Jackson became an unrestricted free agent. Following a dalliance with the Thunder, Jackson then joined the Pistons on a two-way contract for the 2020/21 season.

Suns Sign Elfrid Payton To One-Year Deal

August 9th, 2021 at 7:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 10: The Suns have officially signed Payton, the team announced today (via Twitter).

AUGUST 9: Payton and the Suns have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Gambadoro (Twitter link) confirms that the deal is for a veteran’s minimum salary, as he previously reported.

AUGUST 5: The Suns are close to an agreement on a one-year contract with free agent guard Elfrid Payton, Alex Kennedy of Basketball News tweets.

Evan Sidery of Basketball News broke the news on the Suns’ negotiations with Payton (Twitter link), while John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 confirms (via Twitter) that the club has made a one-year, minimum-salary offer.

If the contract is finalized, Payton would be signing up for a second stint with the organization. He played 18 games with Phoenix during the 2017/18 season.

Payton started 63 games with the Knicks this past season but his production declined after the All-Star break and he was benched during the first-round playoff series against Atlanta. Payton averaged 10.1 PPG and 3.2 APG in 23.6 MPG during the regular season.

The Western Conference champions have reached agreements with their top two point guards, Chris Paul and Cameron Payne, so Payton would slot in as a third-stringer behind that duo if the two sides finalize a deal.

Mavs Add Sterling Brown, Re-Sign Boban Marjanović

August 9th, 2021 at 6:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 9: The signings of both Brown and Marjanović are now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Marjanović’s new contract with Dallas is worth $7MM over two years, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks are set to make a pair of bench signings as free agency begins in earnest.

As had been rumored, the Mavericks are opting to bring back center Boban Marjanović this summer. Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that Dallas will be re-signing the reserve big man.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the 7’4″ Marjanović will be signed to a one-year deal with the Mavericks, his third full season with the team. Dallas initially signed the big man to a two-year, $7MM deal in the 2019 offseason. The club will thus have the 32-year-old’s full Bird rights next summer, following three full seasons of service.

Marjanović made a big impact in limited this season, averaging 4.7 PPG and 3.9 RPG in just 8.2 MPG across 33 contests.

Charania also reports (via Twitter) that the Mavericks will also be signing a new addition, free agent guard Sterling Brown. Brown, 26, was most recently a reserve contributor for another Texas club, the Rockets, for the duration of the 2020/21 season.

Brown averaged 8.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 51 games for the rebuilding Rockets, with a solid shooting line of .448/.423/.806.

Brown’s agent Mark Bartelstein has indicated that the 6’5″ vet will sign a two-year, $6.2MM contract with the club, per Marc Stein of Substack (via Twitter). There is no word as to whether both seasons will be guaranteed in the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mavs Sign Tim Hardaway Jr. To Four-Year Deal

August 9th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 9: The Mavericks have officially re-signed Hardaway, the team announced today in a press release. Bartelstein tells Stein (Twitter link) that the total value of THJ’s four-year deal came in at $75MM.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Hardaway’s new contract will decline in value across each of its four seasons. Hardaway will earn $21.3MM during the first year of the agreement, 2021/22, and that number will eventually dip to $16.2MM for Hardaway’s age-32 season, 2024/25.

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks and their top free agent, guard Tim Hardaway Jr., have agreed to a four-year, $72MM contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the actual value is $74MM, so we may have to wait to see the official terms once it’s finalized. Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link) first reported that the Mavs were expected to re-sign the veteran wing.

Hardaway is one of the top unrestricted free agents on the market and Dallas prioritized bringing back one of its primary offensive threats.

Hardaway, 29, averaged 16.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.8 APG last season while shooting 39.1% from the field. He also excelled in the postseason, then said after the season he was hoping he could work out a deal with his current club.

“If you were to talk to anybody in this organization and anybody that’s around me, they will definitely say that I love it here,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway’s four-year, $71MM deal he signed with the Knicks in 2017 expired at the end of the season.

Clippers Sign Jason Preston To Multiyear Deal

August 9th, 2021 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have signed second-round pick Jason Preston, the team announced today in a press release. While the team didn’t disclose the terms of the contract, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) hears from a source that the deal includes two guaranteed seasons with a team option on year three.

It sounds like it’ll be the same as – or very similar to – Brandon Boston Jr.‘s new deal with the Clippers, which was also confirmed today by the team. Both signings were completed using a leftover portion of the club’s taxpayer mid-level exception in order to add the third year.

The Clippers sent a future second-round pick and cash to Orlando on draft night in order to secure the No. 33 pick and select Preston. The 6’4″ guard (and former basketball blogger) played his college ball at Ohio, filling up the box score with 15.7 PPG, 7.3 APG, 7.3 RPG, and 1.5 SPG on .514/.390/.596 shooting in 20 games (34.6 MPG) as a junior in 2020/21.

Interestingly, the Clippers now project to have 16 players on fully guaranteed salaries once Kawhi Leonard, Reggie Jackson, and Nicolas Batum officially sign their new deals. Since 15 is the regular season limit, a player with a guaranteed contract will have to be traded or cut before the regular season begins. It also doesn’t look like there will be room for Yogi Ferrell, who is on a non-guaranteed deal.

Kings Sign Neemias Queta To Two-Way Contract

August 8th, 2021 at 11:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Neemias Queta, the 39th overall pick in July’s NBA draft, has officially signed a two-way contract with the Kings, the club announced today in a press release.

Queta, 22, played his college ball at Utah State. As a junior in 2020/21, the young center averaged a double-double (14.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG) with an impressive 3.3 blocks per game in 29 contests (30.0 MPG).

The Kings carried over Louis King as a two-way player from last season, so King and Queta will occupy the team’s two-way contract slots.

Sacramento is currently carrying 12 players on guaranteed contracts, three players on non-guaranteed deals, and two on two-way pacts, for a total of 17. That number will increase to 20 (the offseason limit) if and when the Kings complete their previously-reported deals with Alex Len, Matt Coleman, and DJ Steward.

Bulls Acquire Lonzo Ball Via Sign-And-Trade

August 8th, 2021 at 11:07pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 8: The Bulls have officially acquired Ball, the team announced late on Sunday night in a press release. As expected, the Pelicans acquired Satoransky, Temple, and a future second-round pick in the deal. The future second-rounder is Chicago’s 2024 selection, and New Orleans also received cash considerations.

This transaction continues to be investigated by the NBA due to possible “gun-jumping,” since it’s a complicated sign-and-trade deal that was reported as being done the minute that free agency opened on Monday.

The Pelicans and especially the Bulls may face discipline from the league based on that investigation’s findings. However, the fact that the trade was processed while the probe is ongoing is another sign the NBA isn’t going to disallow it.

Due to base year compensation rules affecting Ball’s new contract, neither the Bulls nor the Pelicans will create a trade exception in the deal.

AUGUST 2: The Bulls and point guard Lonzo Ball have agreed to a four-year, $85MM deal, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The contract will include a fourth-year player option, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Ball is a restricted free agent, but the Bulls and Pelicans will work out a sign-and-trade to get him to Chicago, Paul tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The Pelicans will receive Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a second-round pick from the Bulls in the sign-and-trade agreement, according to Charania (Twitter link).

Temple is a free agent, so he’ll be signed-and-traded as well. He’s getting a three-year contract with the first two years guaranteed, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic, who adds that the deal is expected to be worth about $5MM per year (Twitter links).

It’s a major coup for the Bulls, who have been linked to Ball for the last several months. The team reportedly discussed a trade with the Pelicans at the deadline, but couldn’t reach a deal to land Ball at the time. Now, Chicago is in position to add the former No. 2 overall pick to a starting lineup led by Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.

Ball, 23, had arguably the best season of his career in 2020/21, averaging 14.6 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 4.8 RPG in 55 games (31.8 MPG) and improving his shooting numbers to .414/.378/.781.

His deal is right in line with the four-year deals signed by fellow point guards Fred VanVleet and Malcolm Brogdon in recent free agencies.

While Pelicans stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram expressed a desire to continue playing with Ball, the team’s front office never seemed sold on the idea of making him a long-term cornerstone. Adding Satoransky will give New Orleans some depth at the point, though the team will likely remain in the hunt for another point guard in free agency.