Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Waive Anthony Bennett, Peter Jok

October 11th, 2017 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have requested waivers on veteran forward Anthony Bennett and rookie swingman Peter Jok, the team announced today in a press release.

Bennett and Jok joined the Suns for training camp and the preseason, but neither player appeared in any of the club’s preseason contests. They’ll become unrestricted free agents if and when they clear waivers on Friday.

Jok appears to be a good candidate to join Phoenix’s G League team, the Northern Arizona Suns, as an affiliate player, though it’s not clear what the next move will be for Bennett. The former first overall pick has spent time with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Raptors, and Nets since entering the league in 2013, but seems unlikely to begin the 2017/18 season on an NBA roster.

Phoenix now has 18 players under contract, including 14 on guaranteed deals and two on two-way contracts.

Timberwolves Sign Andrew Wiggins To Extension

October 11th, 2017 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have officially signed fourth-year wing Andrew Wiggins to a rookie scale extension, the team confirmed today in a press release. Although the club’s announcement didn’t mention the terms of the agreement, previous reports have indicated that Wiggins will get a five-year, maximum salary contract with no player option. The deal projects to be worth about $146.5MM, based on the latest cap estimates for 2018/19.

“We’re very excited that Andrew has decided to commit his future to the Timberwolves,” head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau said in a statement. “We feel strongly that he is just scratching the surface of the player he will become. Andrew is among the elite young talents in our league and the sky is the limit for him.”

Today’s announcement ends a saga that had unexpectedly dragged out for the last couple months. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor publicly stated during the summer that he was willing to put a five-year, maximum salary offer on the table for Wiggins if he could meet with the former No. 1 overall pick face to face first. Taylor wanted a verbal commitment from Wiggins that he was committed to both the Wolves and to improving his game.

Although Taylor and Wiggins had that meeting, an agreement was delayed further when the 22-year-old filed paperwork to part ways with agent Bill Duffy, who had negotiated the deal. Having put the extension together, Duffy will still receive a cut of Wiggins’ new contract, but the timing of the change was unusual. It postponed the completion of the deal while Wiggins secured new representation, and ultimately the Wolves forward didn’t finalize the agreement until five days before the October 16 deadline.

Now that it’s official, Wiggins will be locked up through the 2022/23 season, with his new five-year pact going into effect next July. Currently, the NBA is projecting a $101MM salary cap for 2018/19, which would result in a starting salary of $25.25MM for Wiggins. His deal would increase by 8% annually from there.

For the Timberwolves, it’s a significant investment in Wiggins, who has developed into one of the NBA’s most dangerous scorers, but struggled on the defensive side of the ball last season, and doesn’t contribute much in other statistical categories. Wiggins increased his three-point percentage to 35.6% in 2016/17, which was easily a career high, but averaged a modest 4.0 RPG and 2.3 APG. He’ll be counted on to continue to develop further under the tutelage of offseason addition Jimmy Butler.

Taking into account Wiggins’ projected salary and Karl-Anthony Towns‘ team option, the Timberwolves now have nearly $108MM in guaranteed salary on their books for 2018/19. That figure doesn’t include various player or team options for Jamal Crawford, Shabazz Muhammad, and Tyus Jones.

Wiggins is the fourth player eligible for a rookie scale extension to agree to terms on a new deal. Joel Embiid (Sixers), Gary Harris (Nuggets), and T.J. Warren (Suns) also reached agreements with their respective teams.

Remaining extension candidates such as Rodney Hood, Marcus Smart, Jusuf Nurkic, Clint Capela, and Jabari Parker will have until the end of the day on Monday to sign deals of their own — otherwise they’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavaliers Sign Isaac Hamilton

October 11th, 2017 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after opening up a spot on their roster by waiving Edy Tavares, the Cavaliers have filled that spot again, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed undrafted rookie guard Isaac Hamilton. Cleveland’s roster is now back up to 20 players.

Hamilton, 23, played his college ball at UCLA, averaging 14.1 PPG with a shooting line of .453/.366/.825 during his final year with the Bruins. He was one of the squad’s top threats from outside, making 2.1 three-pointers per game.

Hamilton figures to get a non-guaranteed deal from the Cavs, and won’t be on the club’s regular season roster. By signing him to an NBA contract now, Cleveland will have the opportunity to have him join the Canton Charge in the G League as an affiliate player.

Thunder Waive Alford, Brown, Thomas

October 11th, 2017 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have waived three players from their preseason roster, announcing today in a press release that guard Bryce Alford, guard Markel Brown, and forward Rashawn Thomas are no longer part of the squad.

Alford, Brown, and Thomas all received training camp invitations from the Thunder, but didn’t appear in a game during the preseason. There’s a good chance that the trio will end up playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. Alford and Thomas are particularly well positioned to head to the Blue, since they’re rookies whose G League rights haven’t been claimed by another team.

Following today’s roster moves, the Thunder still have 17 players under contract, with one of those 17 on a two-way deal. The club will have to make at least one more cut to its NBA roster before the regular season begins, and that decision figures to come down to Isaiah Canaan or Semaj Christon.

Cavaliers Waive Edy Tavares

October 11th, 2017 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have begun making roster cuts in advance of the regular season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived center Edy Tavares.

Signed by the Cavs at the very end of the 2016/17 regular season, Tavares’ season came to a premature end when he fractured his hand in May, sidelining him for the rest of the playoffs. Prior to joining Cleveland, Tavares began the season with the Hawks, then spent time with the Raptors’ G League affiliate, which continues to hold his returning rights.

Tavares’ release had been expected, since the Cavaliers still had 19 players on NBA contracts, including 16 on fully guaranteed deals. Tavares was one of three players without full guarantees, along with Kendrick Perkins and Kay Felder. Cleveland will need to remove at least three more players from its NBA roster via release or trade before the regular season begins.

Assuming Tavares clears waivers, he could be a candidate to rejoin the Cavs as a two-way player, since the team still has one two-way slot open.

Raptors Sign Davion Berry

October 11th, 2017 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed former Weber State guard Davion Berry to an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Toronto had already reduced its roster count to 15 players on NBA contracts, but the team will add a 16th in Berry to get through the next week of practices. The team has confirmed the move.

Berry, who went undrafted in 2014, has bounced back and forth between the G League and international leagues since then, playing for teams in Italy, South Korea, Greece, and Germany. Most importantly, the 25-year-old’s last G League experience – in 2015/16 – came for the Raptors 905, so Toronto’s G League affiliate still holds his returning rights.

Berry figures to head to the Raptors 905 once the G League season begins, but as Murphy explains, signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract allows Toronto to give the young shooting guard an extra $50K bonus that won’t count against the Raps’ cap.

The Raptors’ roster count is now back up to 18, including two players on two-way contracts.

Knicks Sign Trey Burke

October 11th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have signed former lottery pick Trey Burke to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. The move increases New York’s roster count to 20 players, the preseason maximum.

Burke, who will turn 25 next month, was the ninth overall pick in the 2013 draft, but has struggled to make an impact during his first four NBA seasons. After three up-and-down seasons in Utah, the former Michigan standout joined the Wizards for the 2016/17 season.

While his shooting numbers in Washington (.455/.443/.759) were the best of his career, Burke was also only playing 12.3 minutes per contest, easily a career low. The Wizards opted not to tender him a qualifying offer at season’s end, which made him an unrestricted free agent. Last month, Burke appeared to have a deal in place with the Thunder, but reportedly backed out of it in search of another opportunity.

The Knicks currently have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, and Burke won’t have much time to make an impression on the franchise before the regular season begins, so it’s not clear if he’ll have an opportunity to earn a regular season roster spot.

Ian Begley of ESPN.com suggests (via Twitter) that Burke may battle Jarrett Jack for a spot on the 15-man squad, and Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that the Knicks will actually be able to carry a 16th player early in the season while Joakim Noah serves his suspension.

Still, Marc Berman of The New York Post – who notes that the Knicks also have interest in John Jenkins – indicates (via Twitter) that the team likely views Burke as a potential G League player.

Kings Sign Reggie Hearn, David Stockton

October 10th, 2017 at 4:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings have signed Reggie Hearn and David Stockton, according to a team press release.

Hearn played for Sacramento’s G League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, over the past three seasons. During the 2016/17 campaign, he averaged 13.5 points while shooting 44.2% from downtown.

Stockton played for the Bighorns during three separate stints since 2014. He supplemented his G-League experiences with contracts in Croatia and New Zealand.

The Kings’ roster now stands at 20 players. Sacramento is likely to waive both players before the season begins and the duo is expected to suit up for the Bighorns as a result.

Clippers Waive LaDontae Henton

October 10th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the Clippers camp invitees is no longer on the roster, with the team confirming that LaDontae Henton has been waived. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent later this week if and when he clears waivers, and there’s a good chance he ultimately ends up with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, L.A.’s G League affiliate.

Henton, 25, went undrafted in 2015 after playing his college ball at Providence. Since then, the 6’6″ small forward has spent time with teams in Spain and the Philippines. He also played for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League last season, averaging 13.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a .402/.383/.735 shooting line in 37 games.

The Clippers ensured in August that they’d secured Henton’s returning G League rights, acquiring him in a trade with Santa Cruz, so he’ll be eligible to join L.A.’s new affiliate.

The Clippers now have 17 players on NBA contracts and one on a two-way deal, so they’ll have to make at least a couple more roster moves before opening night.

Kings Waive Marcus Williams

October 10th, 2017 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have waived veteran guard Marcus Williams, the team announced today in a press release. Williams joined Sacramento last month as a camp invitee, but was viewed as a long shot to make the regular season roster.

Williams, 31, was the 22nd overall pick in the 2006 draft, but the UConn product spent just four years in the league, appearing in 203 total games for the Nets, Warriors, and Grizzlies. He hasn’t appeared in a regular season NBA game since the 2009/10 season, having continued his professional career overseas and spent time with clubs in Russia, China, Spain, Serbia, Montenegro, and France.

Williams played in two preseason games for Sacramento, averaging 6.0 PPG and 3.0 APG in 15.7 minutes per contest.

The Kings now have 16 players under contract, not counting their two-way players. With 15 of those players on guaranteed deals, non-guaranteed camp invitee Matt Jones figures to join Williams on the waiver wire sometime before opening night.