Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Waive Antonio Reeves

July 3rd, 2025 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

One year after drafting him with the 47th overall pick, the Pelicans have waived guard Antonio Reeves, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Reeves, 24, appeared in 44 games as a rookie in New Orleans, averaging 6.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game, with a solid shooting line of .456/.395/.800. He also excelled at the G League level, putting up 24.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG on .470/.416/.800 shooting in 11 appearances for the Birmingham Squadron.

However, the Pelicans’ front office has undergone several changes since Reeves was drafted in 2024, so the new group of decision-makers – led by executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars – have decided not to retain the former Kentucky standout.

Reeves’ $1.96MM salary for the 2025/26 season was non-guaranteed until July 23, so the Pelicans will create some minor cap savings as a result of the transaction.

Thunder Sign Thomas Sorber, Brooks Barnhinzer

July 3rd, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have signed first-round pick Thomas Sorber to his rookie scale contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Sorber, who stands 6’9″ with an impressive 7’6″ wingspan, was selected 15th overall last Wednesday by Oklahoma City a strong freshman year for Georgetown in 2024/25. He served as the team’s starting center and filled up the stat sheet with 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game in 24 outings (31.3 MPG) before his season ended early due to a toe injury.

As this year’s No. 15 pick, Sorber is expected to earn $4.66MM in the first year of his contract and a four-year total of $22.51MM. His deal will be guaranteed for the first two seasons, with team options on years three and four.

The Thunder also issued a separate press release confirming that they’ve signed Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer to a two-way contract. That had been the anticipated move, since Oklahoma City doesn’t have room on its standard 15-man roster for the No. 44 overall pick.

Barnhizer became automatically draft-eligible this spring after spending his full four-year college career playing for the Wildcats. He put up his best numbers as a senior in 2024/25, averaging 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 36.9 minutes per contest across 17 starts. However, he didn’t play after January 29 as a result of a foot injury.

Jase Richardson Signs Rookie Scale Contract With Magic

July 3rd, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Michigan State guard Jase Richardson has officially signed his rookie scale contract with the Magic, the team announced on Thursday.

Richardson had a strong freshman year for the Spartans, coming off the bench in his first 21 games before claiming a spot in the starting lineup starting in early February. In 36 total contests, he averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 25.3 minutes per game, with an excellent .493/.412/.836 shooting line.

If the 19-year-old signs for 120% of the rookie scale amount, which almost all first-rounders do, he will earn approximately $2.98MM next season and a total of $15.31MM over the course of his four-year deal.

Richardson was selected 25th overall in the 2025 draft.

Nets Sign Demin, Saraf, Wolf To Rookie Scale Contracts

July 3rd, 2025 at 3:53pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have officially signed No. 8 overall pick Egor Demin, No. 26 pick Ben Saraf, and No. 27 pick Danny Wolf, the team announced in a press release.

Assuming each player signs for 120% of the rookie scale amount, which virtually every first-rounder does, former BYU guard Demin will earn $6.89MM in 2025/26 and a total of $31.34MM over the course of his four-year contract; Israeli guard Saraf will make about $2.89MM next season and $14.81MM across his four-year deal; and ex-Michigan big man Wolf’s salary for next season will be $2.8MM ($14.34 over four years).

The Nets actually controlled five first-round picks in the 2025 draft, with Drake Powell (No. 22) and Nolan Traore (No. 19) being the others. Typically, an NBA team announces all its first-round signings at once, but Powell won’t officially become a Net for a few more days, when the trade sending him to Brooklyn becomes official.

As for Traore, Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter links) confirms that his signing is being delayed for clearance-related issues following his exit from Saint-Quentin in France. The Nets paid the maximum buyout ($875K) to the French team in order to free him from his contract — once FIBA formally approves the move, the 19-year-old will be able to complete his deal with Brooklyn.

Spurs’ Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant Sign Rookie Contracts

July 3rd, 2025 at 2:43pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs have officially signed lottery picks Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant, the team announced today in a pair of press releases.

Former Rutgers star Harper was the No. 2 overall pick of last month’s draft. Assuming he signs for the maximum allowable 120% of his rookie scale amount, which nearly every first-rounder does, the 19-year-old will earn $12.37MM in his first NBA season and a total of $56.14MM over the course of his four-year contract.

Harper averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 29 games (32.6 minutes per contest) last season for the Scarlet Knights. He is widely considered the second-best prospect in this year’s class.

Bryant, also 19, spent his first and only college season at Arizona. San Antonio selected him 14th overall in the 2025 draft, and assuming he gets 120% of his rookie scale amount, he’ll earn $4.9MM in 2025/26 and $23.42MM in total over his four-year deal.

A 6’7″ combo forward, Bryant averaged 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 37 appearances for the Wildcats in ’24/25 (19.3 minutes per game). He didn’t play a starring role as a freshman, but Bryant was a reliable outside shooter (.371 3PT%) and showed off intriguing defensive versatility.

Rockets Waiving Jock Landale

July 3rd, 2025 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will waive center Jock Landale before his $8MM salary for the 2025/26 season becomes guaranteed, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Charania adds that Landale will sign with his “preferred destination” after clearing waivers, while Kelly Iko of The Athletic says (via Twitter) a number of teams have expressed interest in him.

Landale was signed by Houston in 2023 to a four-year, $32MM contract that included just one fully guaranteed season. However, the Rockets – who were operating well below the luxury tax line, hung onto him for the second year of the deal in 2024/25, even though he played a limited role for the team behind Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams in the frontcourt.

The 29-year-old averaged 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game across 42 outings (three starts) this past season.

With Sengun and Adams returning and Clint Capela joining the frontcourt mix, there was no place in the rotation going forward for Landale, and his $8MM annual salary is no longer palatable for the Rockets to carry with the roster getting more expensive. His release had been expected, even after he and the team reached an agreement over the weekend to push his salary guarantee date back to July 7.

Kings’ Nique Clifford Signs Rookie Contract

July 3rd, 2025 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Colorado State guard Nique Clifford, the No. 24 pick in this year’s draft, has signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings, per the official transaction log at NBA.com.

Assuming he gets the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale, which is typical, Clifford will earn a salary of $3.11MM as a rookie and will make $15.77MM across his first four NBA seasons as long as his third- and fourth-year team options are eventually exercised.

The Kings didn’t enter draft day with a first-round pick, but made a deal last Wednesday night to acquire the 24th overall selection from Oklahoma City, sending a protected 2027 Spurs first-rounder to the Thunder in the trade. They used it to draft Clifford, one of the most NBA-ready players in the first round.

While he didn’t post big numbers earlier in his five-year college career, Clifford came on strong over the past couple seasons. In 2024/25, he nearly averaged a double-double, with 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 35.4 minutes per game across 36 starts, with a .496/.377/.777 shooting line.

The 6’5″ swingman had one of the best rebounding seasons for a wing in NCAA history for the Rams, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, and has earned comparisons to Knicks forward Josh Hart due to his versatility.

Hawks Sign Asa Newell To Rookie Scale Contract

July 3rd, 2025 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have officially signed first-round pick Asa Newell to his rookie scale contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

Atlanta selected Newell at No. 23 after reaching a trade agreement with New Orleans to trade down from No. 13. Reporting on draft night indicated that the Hawks considered the Atlanta native with that 13th overall pick, so they were thrilled when he was still on the board 10 spots later.

Newell, meanwhile, was excited to land with his hometown team, telling reporters after the draft that he “knew deep in my heart that I really wanted to go to the Hawks.”

A 6’10” forward/center, Newell played his first and only college season at Georgia, averaging 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block in 29.0 minutes per game while making 54.3% of his field goal attempts.

Assuming he signs for the maximum allowable 120% of his rookie scale amount, which nearly every first-rounder does, Newell will earn $3.24MM in his first NBA season and a total of $16.24MM across the course of his four-year deal.

Nets Re-Sign Tyson Etienne To Two-Way Deal

July 2nd, 2025 at 8:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

July 3: Etienne’s new two-way contract is official, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

July 2: The Nets are re-signing free agent guard Tyson Etienne to a two-way contract, according to SNY.tv’s Ian Begley (Twitter link).

After spending most of last season in the G League with the Long Island Nets, Etienne earned a promotion to a two-way contract in March. The 6’2″ pro suited up for seven games with Brooklyn down the stretch, averaging 7.9 points, 1.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game in seven contests.

Etienne, 25, enjoyed a more prominent role and put up bigger numbers for Long Island. The Wichita State alum showed out in 32 NBAGL regular season games, averaging 19.6 points, 3.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per night, with an impressive shooting line of .495/.460/.800.

Etienne’s strong 2024/25 season earned him a two-way qualifying offer from the Nets over the weekend, so he’ll likely just accept that QO, which is equivalent to another one-year, two-way contract with a small partial guarantee ($85,300).

Brooklyn only has one other player, forward Tosan Evbuomwan, occupying a two-way slot so far. The Nets do have a contender for the third and final slot in former Alabama forward Grant Nelson, who reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the team after going undrafted.

The Nets made NBA history earlier this offseason by selecting a record five first-round draft picks, led by former BYU swingman Egor Demin with the No. 8 selection. The club is focused on building for the future, and has exhibited a clear willingness to develop young talent.

Trendon Watford Joins Sixers On Two-Year Deal

July 2nd, 2025 at 7:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 2: Watford’s two-year, minimum-salary deal is official, per a press release from the Sixers.

“Trendon is a young, dynamic player with a unique skill set who fits nicely with what we’re trying to accomplish on both sides of the ball,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “His size and versatility allow him to guard multiple positions, while his handle and passing showcase his play-making ability. He is a valued addition to our roster and I’m excited to welcome him to Philadelphia.”

Watford’s new contract includes a team option on year two, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

June 30: Trendon Watford is leaving the Nets and joining another Atlantic Division team, the Sixers, on a two-year deal worth $5.3MM, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

That figures to be a minimum-salary contract for Watford — a two-year, veteran’s minimum deal for a player with his four years of experience will come in at $5.26MM.

Watford played two seasons in Portland, then joined the Nets after the Trail Blazers waived him prior to the 2023/24 season. He has appeared in a combined 107 games with Brooklyn over the past two years.

This past season, Watford averaged a career-high best 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 20.8 minutes per game. He missed six weeks action due to a hamstring injury.

Watford could see rotation minutes at power forward with the Sixers, depending on how their roster shakes out this offseason. If he can carve out a role, Watford’s contract could rank as a big bargain.