Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Waive Georgios Papagiannis

February 8th, 2018 at 8:54pm CST by Luke Adams

8:54pm: Now that the Kings’ three-team trade with the Cavs and Jazz is complete, Papagiannis’ release has been made official as well, the team confirmed in a press release.

4:03pm: After exploring the trade market and not finding a deal, the Kings intend to waive former lottery pick Georgios Papagiannis, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Papagiannis, a 7’1″ center, was selected by the Kings with the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft after the team traded down from No. 8. It was a surprising pick at the time, and Papagiannis’ play in his first season and a half in the NBA didn’t exactly vindicate Sacramento’s choice.

In 38 career contests, Papagiannis has averaged 4.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG. The big man appears to have taken a step back this season, having seen his FG% dip to just .415. Of course, the sample size is small — Papagiannis has averaged just 7.4 minutes per game in 16 contests.

Any team with interest in claiming Papagiannis off waivers would need cap room or an exception to absorb his $2,301,360 salary for this season. He also has a guaranteed $2,400,480 salary for 2018/19, with a $3,430,286 team option for 2019/20.

The Kings already parted with one 2016 first-round pick earlier today, agreeing to send Malachi Richardson to Toronto in a trade with the Raptors. Sacramento acquired Bruno Caboclo in that deal and was reportedly set to waive him to clear the room necessary to take on two players for George Hill in another trade. With Papagiannis now on his way out, it’s not clear if the Kings will still waive Caboclo too. (Update: They don’t plan to.)

Suns Waive Isaiah Canaan

February 8th, 2018 at 8:50pm CST by Luke Adams

8:50pm: The Suns have officially waived Canaan, the team announced today in a press release.

“We still consider Isaiah to be a member of the Phoenix Suns family,” GM Ryan McDonough said in a press release. “In speaking with Isaiah and his agent, we are fully committed to doing everything we can to help him with his rehab and recovery from his injury. This move is being made strictly to create a roster spot with Isaiah being out for the remainder of the season.”

4:27pm: The Suns will waive point guard Isaiah Canaan in order to clear a roster spot for newly-acquired point guard Elfrid Payton, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

Canaan, 26, appeared in 19 games for the Suns, averaging 9.1 PPG and 4.0 APG with a .382/.333/.902 shooting line. However, his season was cut short when he suffered a brutal ankle fracture last week. Canaan immediately underwent surgery to repair the damage, ending his season.

Although the Suns love Canaan as a player and person and wanted to keep him around, they couldn’t justify using one of their 15 roster spots on him for the rest of the season, per Bordow. The veteran guard, who will still receive his full salary for 2017/18 despite being waived, will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so there was little incentive for Phoenix to keep him on the roster.

Canaan’s roster spot has undergone plenty of turnover this season — the Suns waived Mike James in order to create room for Canaan after initially waiving Derrick Jones to open up a spot for James.

Magic Trade Elfrid Payton To Suns

February 8th, 2018 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:41pm: The Magic have officially traded Payton to the Suns, the team announced in a press release. Phoenix waived Isaiah Canaan in order to clear a roster spot for Payton.

2:52pm: Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel clarifies (via Twitter) that the second-round pick the Magic receive in the deal will actually be the second-most favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s 2018 second-rounders. For now, that would be the Charlotte pick.

1:58pm: The Magic and Suns have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the teams will swap point guard Elfrid Payton for a second-round pick. That pick will be the Grizzlies’ 2018 second-rounder, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

The deal signals a new start for Payton, who is headed for restricted free agency this summer. His streaky shooting and problems on defense made him expendable, especially as a new regime took over in Orlando’s front office. Payton was having a fine statistical season, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, but the Magic still aren’t winning and the organization decided to go in a different direction.

He will get a chance to revive his career with the Suns, who have been looking for a new point guard since trading Eric Bledsoe to Milwaukee. Phoenix lost Isaiah Canaan to a broken ankle at the end of January and was down to just one healthy point guard on its roster. The addition of Payton allows Devin Booker to move back to his natural position of shooting guard, adds Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

The Suns reached the salary floor with the move and have $6.9MM in cap space remaining, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. Payton will carry a cap hit of $3.3MM and will be restricted this summer if Phoenix tenders a $4.8MM qualifying offer as expected.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Acquire James Ennis From Grizzlies

February 8th, 2018 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:05pm: The Pistons have officially acquired Ennis, the team announced tonight in a press release.

11:44am: The pick included in the deal is for 2022, according to Chris Herrington of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link), who adds that the Pistons will use their Disabled Player Exception to accommodate Ennis.

11:29am: The Pistons have acquired James Ennis from the Grizzlies in exchange for Brice Johnson and a second-round pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. It’s the same package that Detroit had been rumored to send to New Orleans in exchange for Dante Cunningham.

After a couple of years as a journeyman, Ennis found a home in Memphis over the past two seasons, developing into a regular part of the rotation. The 27-year-old is averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds through 45 games this season. He has an expiring contract worth a little more than $3MM.

Johnson, 23, was acquired from the Clippers last week in the deal that brought Blake Griffin to Detroit. A first-round pick in 2016, Johnson had yet to suit up for the Pistons and played just nine games in L.A. this season. He is still on his rookie contract and is making a little more than $1.33MM.

Because of the salary discrepancy, the Pistons will have to use either the Disabled Player Exception of $5.2MM they were awarded earlier this week or a $7MM trade exception to take on Ennis’s contract.

Jeremy Lin Opts In For 2018/19 Season

February 8th, 2018 at 8:03pm CST by marksuleymanov

Oft-injured Nets point guard Jeremy Lin has opted into his $12.5MM option for next season, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe. Lin went down with a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon on opening night and has been rehabbing since.

The 29-year-old has only appeared in a combined 37 games with the Nets in his first two seasons. A series of hamstring injuries and setbacks limited Lin to just 36 games in 2016/17. It was widely expected that Lin would opt-in to the final year of his contract as he would likely not receive a comparable salary as a free agent this summer due to his injuries.

Lin spoke to reporters for the first time since he went down with the injury last week. He said his recovery is going smoothly and that he expects to be ready for training camp next season, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

“Shoot, if I am not [ready by training camp], there’s issues,” Lin said.

There has been speculation Lin may tone down his game when he returns to avoid another major injury. However, the Harvard product put that speculation to rest during his chat with reporters as he plans on playing the same way once he returns to full strength.

“I am not going to change the bread and butter of who I am, which is downhill, attacking, dynamic playmaking. I will always be that player,” Lin said. “Maybe the type of risks … I don’t know, I never really saw them as risks, but what we will see is probably a similar style but in a safer way.”

With Lin on board for next season, Brooklyn will enter 2018/19 with a surplus of point guards as D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie are under contract.

Cavs Acquire Rodney Hood, George Hill In Three-Team Trade

February 8th, 2018 at 7:57pm CST by Luke Adams

7:57pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from the Jazz and Cavaliers. The terms of the deal are as follows:

Cavaliers acquire George Hill (from Kings), Rodney Hood (from Jazz), and the draft rights to Arturas Gudaitis (from Kings).
Jazz acquire Jae Crowder (from Cavs), Derrick Rose (from Cavs), and the right to swap 2024 second-round picks with the Cavs.
Kings acquire Iman Shumpert (from Cavs), Joe Johnson (from Jazz), the Heat’s 2020 second-round pick (from Cavs), cash ($2.1MM from Cavs; $1.1MM from Jazz), and the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis (from Cavs).

1:41pm: ESPN’s Brian Windhorst adds more details on this complex three-team deal, tweeting that the Kings will receive $2.1MM from the Cavs and $1.1MM from the Jazz. Utah will have the option of swapping second-round picks in 2024 with the Cavs. Cleveland also acquired the draft rights to Arturas Gudaitis from the Kings and surrendered the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis.

12:03pm: A busy day in Cleveland continues, as the Cavaliers have agreed to acquire Rodney Hood from the Jazz in a three-team trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The Cavs will also receive George Hill from Sacramento in the deal, with the Jazz acquiring Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose.

The Kings will get Joe Johnson and Iman Shumpert, per Woj (Twitter link). TNT’s David Aldridge tweets that Sacramento will also acquire a future draft pick and cash considerations, with Sam Amick of USA Today providing some details (via Twitter), reporting that the pick will be Miami’s 2020 second-rounder from Cleveland. The Kings will also get a little over $3MM in cash, Amick adds.

The move, which comes on the heels of the Cavs reaching a deal with the Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., further reshapes a Cleveland roster that will look a whole lot different by the end of the day than it did at the start of it.

By surrendering Crowder, Rose, and Shumpert in exchange for Hood and Hill, the Cavaliers will take on about $4MM in extra salary, and far more than that in projected tax payments. However, the cost of the deal may be worth it for the on-court impact, as Crowder, Rose, and Shumpert have all underperformed and/or battled injuries this season.

Hood will give the Cavs a young, perimeter scorer who has fought through some injuries of his own, but has enjoyed a career year when he’s been on the court. In 39 games, the 25-year-old has averaged 16.8 PPG on .424/.389/.876 shooting. As for Hill, the veteran point guard has struggled mightily in Sacramento this season, but has historically been a good shooter (.454/.384/.800 career shooting line) and a solid defender. His ability to play off the ball should make him a good fit to play alongside LeBron James.

Hood will be a restricted free agent this summer, while Hill remains under contract for two more years beyond this one. He’ll earn $19MM in 2018/19, and has a $18MM salary in 2019/20 that only features a very small partial guarantee.

From Utah’s perspective, the trade will allow them to get out from under Johnson’s $10.5MM salary — the veteran forward was viewed as a buyout candidate if he had remained on the roster through the deadline, and will likely remain a buyout candidate in Sacramento. The Jazz had to give up Hood as part of the deal, but he had been mentioned frequently in trade rumors in recent weeks and no longer appeared to be part of the club’s long-term plans.

In exchange, Utah will acquire Crowder, who has a reputation as a solid three-and-D wing on a team-friendly contract despite his struggles this season, and Rose, who may not be in the team’s plans. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets that the Jazz will likely release Rose.

As for the Kings, they’ll get out from under Hill’s expensive multiyear deal, acquiring Johnson’s expiring contract as well as Shumpert, who has a $10.3MM+ player option for next season. The deal creates nearly $9MM in 2018/19 cap flexibility for the Kings, and also nets them that aforementioned 2020 pick and some cash. Sacramento had committed to playing its young players over its veterans down the stretch this season, so Hill’s playing time had been sporadic.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Acquire Emmanuel Mudiay In Three-Team Trade

February 8th, 2018 at 7:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:51pm: The three-way trade is now official, according to press releases issued by the Knicks and Nuggets.

1:09pm: Denver, New York and Dallas have reached agreement on a three-team trade that will send Emmanuel Mudiay to the Knicks, Devin Harris to the Nuggets and Doug McDermott to the Mavericks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The deal also includes a swap of second-round picks, Woj adds, with Denver receiving the Clippers’ 2018 second-rounder from the Knicks. The Mavericks will be getting the Trail Blazers’ 2018 second-round pick from the Nuggets.

The Knicks are adding to their options at point guard by taking on Mudiay, who was the seventh player selected in the 2015 draft. He was given the starting spot as a rookie, but has drifted into a reserve role as shooting problems have slowed his progress. He joins 2017 first-rounder Frank Ntilikina in New York’s backcourt, along with veteran Jarrett Jack and Trey Burke. Mudiay is owed nearly $4.3MM for next season and is eligible for a rookie contract extension in the summer of 2019.

Harris, who will turn 35 later this month, brings a veteran presence to Denver’s backcourt for the rest of the season. He is averaging 8.5 points in 44 games and has an expiring contract worth a little more than $4.4MM.

McDermott, part of the package the Knicks received in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, averaged 7.2 points and shot .387 from 3-point range in 55 games for New York. This is the third trade in the past 12 months for McDermott, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Waive Sheldon Mac

February 8th, 2018 at 5:29pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Hawks have waived injured guard Sheldon Mac after acquiring him from the Wizards in a trade earlier today. Atlanta announced in a press release that it has requested waivers on Mac.

As we detailed in our earlier story on the Mac deal, the 25-year-old was on a non-guaranteed salary with the Wizards this season, but suffered a torn Achilles in the fall, which essentially guaranteed that he’d receive his full-year salary. Washington reduced its projected luxury-tax bill and opened up a roster spot in the deal that sent him to Atlanta.

Mac is the second player today that the Hawks have acquired and subsequently waived. The team also traded for Okaro White in a deal with the Heat and then released him. After today’s moves, Atlanta will have one open roster spot.

Trail Blazers Trade Noah Vonleh To Bulls

February 8th, 2018 at 5:13pm CST by Luke Adams

5:13pm: The trade is now official, the Blazers announced in a press release.

1:26pm: The Trail Blazers have agreed to trade Noah Vonleh and cash to the Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Milovan Rakovic, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). While the deal will hardly be the biggest blockbuster of the day, it’s an important one for Portland — the team will get under the luxury tax as a result of the move.

Vonleh, 22, was the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft, but hasn’t developed into the sort of impact player that the Hornets – and then the Blazers – hoped for. In 2017/18, he has appeared in 33 games for Portland, starting 12. In 14.4 minutes per contest, Vonleh averaged 3.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG.

While the Blazers sneak below the tax line as a result of dumping Vonleh’s $3.5MM salary, the Bulls will move closer to the salary floor by taking on the rest of that contract. If Chicago likes what it sees from Vonleh down the stretch, the club will have the option of making him a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer this offseason.

Portland also created a trade exception worth $3,505,233 (Vonleh’s salary) in the transaction.

Knicks Waive Johnny O’Bryant

February 8th, 2018 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 8: The Knicks have officially waived O’Bryant, the team announced today (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 7: The Knicks don’t intend to keep the player they acquired from the Hornets in the Willy Hernangomez trade, according to GM Scott Perry, who told reporters today that forward Johnny O’Bryant will be waived (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv).

O’Bryant, 24, appeared in 36 games for Charlotte this season, averaging 4.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 10.5 minutes per contest. Before joining the Hornets as a free agent last March, the former LSU standout had also spent time with the Bucks and Nuggets over the course of his four-year NBA career.

Although Hernangomez has a modest $1.4MM cap hit, he’s earning more than the minimum, so the Hornets couldn’t have used the minimum salary exception to acquire him. With no cap space or trade exceptions available, Charlotte had to send out O’Bryant for salary-matching purposes. The Hornets will be ineligible to re-sign the young forward if and when he clears waivers.

As for the Knicks, the decision to cut O’Bryant signals that the Hernangomez was all about landing those two future second-round picks. New York will keep O’Bryant’s $1.52MM cap hit on the books, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, and will open up a spot on their 15-man roster once the transaction becomes official.