Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Convert Kilpatrick’s Deal, Waive Bolomboy

January 7th, 2018 at 9:18pm CST by Austin Kent

9:18pm: Both moves are official, the team announced in a press release.

4:32pm: The Bucks will convert guard Sean Kilpatrick‘s two-way contract into a regular season deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The shooting guard signed on with the club on December 18 and has seen action in five games since.

To free up a regular roster slot, the club will waive Joel Bolomboy whose own two-way deal had been converted into a regular season contract earlier today.

With Bolomboy out of the picture, Kilpatrick will slide into the vacancy that was initially created earlier this morning when the team waived DeAndre Liggins ahead of the deadline for his deal to become guaranteed.

All in all, both Liggins and Bolomboy are out of the picture, Kilpatrick will be Milwaukee’s 15th regular season contract, Munford was added on a two-way deal and the other two-way slot remains vacant.

Suns To Guarantee Isaiah Canaan’s Contract

January 7th, 2018 at 4:37pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Suns have guaranteed point guard Isaiah Canaan‘s contract for the rest of the season, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports.

Canaan, 26, is dealing with a left adductor strain that sidelined him for Phoenix’s last game. In 10 games for the Suns this season, the former second-round has averaged 10.0 PPG and 4.9 APG in 23.2 minutes per night.

Canaan was originally signed using the Suns’ hardship exception due to four players being out with injuries Last month, the Suns elected to keep Canaan over Mike James, who the team waived in favor the fifth-year guard. He was signed to a minimum deal after James’ release but did not see his contract guaranteed until today.

Pacers To Waive Damien Wilkins

January 7th, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:45pm: The Pacers have officially requested release waivers on Wilkins, thus ending his stint with the team, the organization announced in a press release.

12:57pm: The Pacers have decided to waive Damien Wilkins, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The 37-year-old forward had a $2,116,995 guarantee that would have kicked in if he were kept on the roster past today.

Wilkins had been out of the league for four seasons before earning a roster spot with Indiana in the preseason. He was first signed by the SuperSonics in 2004 and played for six NBA teams throughout his career.

Wilkins averaged 1.7 points and 8.0 minutes of playing time in 19 games with the Pacers and made his only start of the season last night.

Bucks Waive DeAndre Liggins

January 7th, 2018 at 10:46am CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 7, 10:46am: Milwaukee has officially requested waivers on Liggins, the team announced on its website.

JANUARY 6, 8:30pm: The Bucks plan to waive guard DeAndre Liggins before Sunday’s deadline to guarantee his salary for the season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Liggins played 31 games for Milwaukee and had his greatest impact on defense, Wojnarowski notes. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per night.

The move not only opens a roster spot, it will put the Bucks $5.1MM below the luxury tax, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Liggins’ contract will carry a $757,427 cap hit once the waiver becomes official. Milwaukee also has trade exceptions valued at $5MM and $3.4MM.

The Bucks acquired Liggins in October when they claimed him off waivers from the Heat. Since last April, the 29-year-old has spent time with the Cavaliers, Mavericks, Rockets, Clippers, Hawks, Heat and Bucks.

A two-time G League Defensive Player of the Year, Liggins had his best NBA season last year in Cleveland, averaging 2.4 points in 61 games.

Bulls To Guarantee David Nwaba’s Contract

January 7th, 2018 at 10:35am CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls guard David Nwaba will receive a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Nwaba, who was claimed off waivers from the Lakers in July, has shown improvement in his second NBA season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 28 games. He is making $1,312,611 this season and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Nwaba is so secure in his spot in Chicago’s rotation that he didn’t realize that 4pm today is the deadline to waive players before their contracts become fully guaranteed, relays K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.

“I’m not really concerned about that. I actually didn’t even know it was Sunday,” Nwaba said. “I just work hard, compete and see what I can do to help teams win games.”

Knicks’ Willy Hernangomez Attracting Trade Interest

January 7th, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Several teams have contacted the Knicks about backup center Willy Hernangomez, according to Ian Begley on ESPN Now.

Playing time has been an issue all season for Hernangomez as Enes Kanter took over as the starting center after being acquired from Oklahoma City, leaving Kyle O’Quinn, Joakim Noah and Hernangomez to compete for the remaining minutes.

Hernangomez has only played in three of the Knicks’ last 16 games and has appeared in just 17 all season. He is averaging 9.7 minutes per night, roughly half of his playing time as a rookie last year. The teams reaching out to the Knicks believe Hernangomez still has potential based on his performance last season, when he averaged 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

The Knicks don’t want to part with Hernangomez unless they receive a “prime talent” in return, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. He adds that no concrete offers have been received, but the teams making inquiries have a history of pursuing European players. New York would prefer to deal O’Quinn, who is expected to opt out this summer, but has only received “mild interest” from contenders about him.

A deal has been considered likely for some time as New York tries to solve its overabundance of centers. Hernangomez has the easiest contract to absorb, making $1,544,951 this season with a non-guaranteed $1,676,735 for 2018/19. O’Quinn is earning a little more than $4MM this year with a $4,256,250 player option for next season, while Noah is virtually untradable with two years and nearly $38MM left on his deal.

Jarrett Jack To Have Contract Guaranteed

January 7th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks point guard Jarrett Jack will have his contract guaranteed for the remainder of the season, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

Signed shortly before the beginning of training camp, Jack has taken over as New York’s starting point guard and is averaging 7.2 points and 5.9 assists in 37 games. He has also been a mentor to first-round pick Frank Ntilikina.

The Knicks are the eighth team for the 34-year-old, who is in his 13th NBA season. He has bounced back from a torn ACL he suffered with the Nets in 2015/16.

Nets To Guarantee Spencer Dinwiddie’s Contract

January 7th, 2018 at 8:33am CST by Arthur Hill

Point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, in the midst of a breakout season with the Nets, will have his contract guaranteed for the rest of the year, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

Dinwiddie has been a bargain on his $1,524,305 salary, taking over the starting point guard role and nearly doubling his numbers from last season with 13.0 points and 6.4 assists per game.

The 24-year-old also has a non-guaranteed deal for next season worth $1,656,092. Today marks the deadline for teams to waive players before their salaries become fully guaranteed on Wednesday.

Bucks To Sign Xavier Munford To Two-Way Deal

January 6th, 2018 at 11:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks will sign guard Xavier Munford to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. Munford is currently playing for the organization’s G League affiliate, where he is averaging 24 points per game.

Milwaukee already has both of its two-way slots filled with Joel Bolomboy and Sean Kilpatrick, so at least one more move will have to be made before Munford can be added. Either player could be released or have his contract converted to a standard NBA deal as the Bucks plan to open a roster spot by waiving guard DeAndre Liggins on Sunday.

Munford signed with the Bucks in early October, but was waived a week later. He has extensive experience in the G League since going undrafted in 2014, but his only time in the NBA was 14 games with the Grizzlies during the 2015/16 season.

Eric Moreland’s Contract To Be Guaranteed

January 6th, 2018 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons will guarantee the contract of Eric Moreland for the rest of the season, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.

The third-year power forward signed a three-year deal with Detroit in July, but none of the seasons is fully guaranteed. He has a $1,739,333 salary for this season with a $750K guarantee that kicked in opening night and a $1MM guarantee through Wednesday, which is when all NBA contracts become fully guaranteed for the rest of the season.

The 26-year-old played 11 combined games during his first two seasons with the Kings, spending most of his time in the G League. He was waived by the Cavaliers before the start of last season and spent the year with Cleveland’s G League affiliate.

Moreland has appeared in 33 games for the Pistons and is averaging 1.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.3 minutes of action. He made his first career start tonight.