Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Adreian Payne, Magic Close To Deal

August 18th, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Magic and Adreian Payne are close to an agreement that will bring the big man to Orlando, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter links). Pick adds that the 26-year-old recently turned down an offer from Guangdong in the Chinese Basketball Association worth $900K.

Payne’s deal with the Magic will be a two-way deal, according to Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Payne was drafted by the Hawks with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Atlanta sent him to Minnesota during the 2014/15 season for a future first round pick. In two-plus seasons with the Wolves, Payne has seen just 13.5 minutes per game. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 40.0% from the field.

Jordan Mickey, Heat Close To Agreement

August 18th, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat and forward Jordan Mickey are close to an agreement on a two-year contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. Mickey would receive the guaranteed minimum of $1.5MM for the upcoming season and the team would hold an option on the second year, Charania adds. Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel confirms that the club is planning to sign Mickey (Twitter link) and that the contract is not a two-way deal.

Mickey was drafted 33rd overall in 2015 by the Celtics. He appeared in 16 games with them as a rookie and saw the court in 25 games, including one start, last season. The 6’8” power forward averaged 1.5 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 5.6 MPG in 2016/17.

The Heat, who are over the cap, have 12 players on guaranteed deals, two with partial guarantees, plus another on a non-guaranteed contract. He projects as the No. 3 power forward behind another former Celtic, Kelly Olynyk, and James Johnson.

The Celtics waived Mickey in mid-July in order to clear cap space and sign Gordon Hayward to a maximum salary contract. Mickey had an non-guaranteed contract with Boston for the upcoming season. He went unclaimed and became an unrestricted free agent but had little success finding a team until the Heat came calling.

When Mickey wasn’t playing in Boston the last two seasons, he was suiting up for the G-League’s Maine Red Claws. He averaged 18.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 3.8 BPG in 35 G League contests.

Brandon Bass To Play In China

August 17th, 2017 at 2:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran forward Brandon Bass has agreed to a $2MM offer to play in China next season, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. Bass will sign with the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association.

The 32-year-old spent last season with the Clippers, appearing in 52 games as a reserve and averaging 5.6 points in about 11 minutes per night. He has also played for the Hornets, Mavericks, Magic, Celtics, and Lakers in a 12-year NBA career.

Bass made a little more than $1.55MM with the Clippers last year, but hasn’t received an attractive offer since entering free agency. Because the Chinese season ends before the NBA season, he will be eligible to return to the league in March or April.

Rakeem Christmas To Play In Turkey

August 17th, 2017 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

Former Pacers forward Rakeem Christmas is heading overseas for the 2017/18 season. Turkish team Galatasaray announced today (Twitter link) that Christmas will be joining the club. It’ll be a one-year deal, according to the team (Turkish press release).

Christmas, 25, made his NBA debut for the Pacers in 2015/16 after earning a spot on the G League All-Star team that season. He played in just one game in ’15/16 for Indiana, but had a strong year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, averaging 13.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in 48 contests.

Christmas stuck with the Pacers for 2016/17, appearing in 29 regular season games for the team. However, the 6’9″ forward saw limited action in those games, averaging 2.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG in just 7.6 minutes per contest. He was waived last month by Indiana before his salary for the coming season became guaranteed.

Austin Daye, Tibor Pleiss, and Joey Dorsey are among the former NBAers who have played for Galatasaray in Turkey in recent years.

Clippers Sign Tyrone Wallace

August 16th, 2017 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have signed free agent guard Tyrone Wallace to a contract, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. It appears to be just a one-year deal, and it likely won’t be fully guaranteed, though exact details aren’t yet known.

Wallace, 23, was the final player selected in the 2016 draft, going to Utah with the 60th overall pick. The Jazz didn’t have room for him on their NBA roster last season, so he signed a G League contract and joined the Salt Lake City Stars – Utah’s G League affiliate – as a draft rights player.

In 38 games for the Stars last season, Wallace averaged 14.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.3 SPG. He struggled somewhat with his scoring efficiency, compiling a modest shooting line of .452/.242/.697. After playing for the Jazz again in the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues last month, Wallace had his rights renounced by the club, freeing him up to sign with any NBA team.

While it’s possible the Clippers will give Wallace a chance to earn a spot on their regular season roster, it’s more likely they view him as a potential affiliate player for their new G League team, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario. However, despite his NBA rights being renounced by the Jazz, Wallace’s G League rights still belong to Salt Lake City — L.A.’s G League team would have to acquire those rights via trade to make him an affiliate player, as Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days confirms to Hoops Rumors.

With Wallace under contract, the Clippers now have a total of 17 players on their offseason roster.

Warriors Sign Antonius Cleveland

August 16th, 2017 at 8:28am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 16: The Warriors recently made their deal with Cleveland official, per RealGM’s transactions log. It’s a one-year contract, though the rookie guard appears likely to end up with the Santa Cruz Warriors as a G League affiliate player.

JULY 27: Antonius Cleveland has agreed to sign with the Warriors, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN. Details of the agreement aren’t known, but it’s unlikely to be a fully guaranteed deal.

The 6’6″ guard went undrafted out of Southeast Missouri State after averaging 16.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a senior. He was ranked 85th on the DraftExpress list of 2017’s top 100 prospects.

Cleveland played for the Trail Blazers’ team in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 5.8 points in six games and shooting 41% from the field.

Warriors Sign Georges Niang

August 16th, 2017 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have added another player to their training camp roster, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that former Pacer Georges Niang has inked a partially guaranteed deal with the defending champs. It’s a one-year pact.

Golden State already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so barring something unexpected happening in camp, Niang won’t make the club’s regular season roster. As Wojnarowski notes, the 24-year-old power forward will likely end up playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G League affiliate.

Niang, the 50th overall pick in the 2016 draft, spent his rookie season with the Pacers last season, playing sparingly in 23 NBA games for the club. The Iowa State alum saw a bigger role during his G League stints at Fort Wayne, though he played in just six games for the Mad Ants, averaging 19.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 3.3 APG.

With Niang and Antonius Cleveland on camp deals and Chris Boucher on a two-way contract, the Warriors now have 18 total players on their offseason roster, leaving two open slots.

Raptors Sign Kyle Wiltjer

August 15th, 2017 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

2:37pm: The Raptors have officially signed Wiltjer, the team announced today. His deal will include a partial guarantee, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link).

9:10am: A month after being waived by the Clippers, Kyle Wiltjer has landed with a new team, according to Oliver Maroney and Robby Kalland of Dime, who report that the free agent forward has agreed to a one-year contract with the Raptors. It’ll be a non-guaranteed training camp deal.

“I’m just really excited to be back in Toronto and Canada,” Wiltjer said, per Maroney and Kalland. “I’ve been working really hard all summer long to get better in all facets of my game and I’m just happy that I’ll be in my home nation.”

Wiltjer, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, spent his rookie season with the Rockets in 2016/17, though he appeared in just 14 games for the club, playing very limited minutes. The 6’10” forward saw more action in the G League, averaging 20.5 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .377 3PT% in 22 contests for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Because his contract with Houston included a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, Wiltjer was one of the pieces included in the Rockets’ Chris Paul deal for salary-matching purposes. The Clippers subsequently waived Wiltjer last month before his contract became guaranteed.

As our breakdown of offseason roster counts shows, the Raptors only have 13 guaranteed contracts on their roster at this point, so Wiltjer should have a chance to compete for one of those last two regular-season roster slots. He’ll battle the likes of Kennedy Meeks and Alfonzo McKinnie as he looks to earn a spot on Toronto’s 15-man squad.

Pacers Sign Damien Wilkins

August 15th, 2017 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 15: The Pacers have officially signed Wilkins, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 20: Veteran swingman Damien Wilkins is making an NBA comeback, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, who reports (via Twitter) that Wilkins and the Pacers have agreed to a one-year deal. It will be a veteran’s minimum contract, per Scotto.

Wilkins, 37, has 563 career regular season games on his NBA résumé, but hasn’t played in the league since he spent the 2012/13 campaign with the Sixers. Since then, Wilkins has bounced around various international and G League clubs, most recently spending the 2016/17 campaign with the Greensboro Swarm.

In 48 games last season for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, Wilkins averaged 14.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.8 APG, with a shooting line of .486/.358/.844.

While I wouldn’t expect Wilkins to have a substantial role for the Pacers in 2017/18, he’ll provide some veteran stability on a roster that has undergone significant changes this offseason, assuming he earns a spot on the 15-man regular season roster. However, Wilkins’ deal will be non-guaranteed, tweets Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star — that suggests the 37-year-old won’t be assured of a regular season roster spot.

Having lost Paul George, Jeff Teague, and C.J. Miles, Indiana has added Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo, Cory Joseph, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Domantas Sabonis this summer.

Pacers Sign Ben Moore To Camp Deal

August 15th, 2017 at 12:12pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 15: Nearly two full months after Moore’s agreement with the Pacers was initially reported, the team has announced the deal, making it official. According to the Pacers, Moore isn’t expected to break camp with the club — he’ll be an affiliate player for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.

JUNE 23: The Pacers have reached an agreement on a free agent deal with former SMU power forward Ben Moore, according to Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). Woo reports that Moore’s contract with Indiana will feature a partial guarantee.

International basketball journalist David Pick had initially reported that Moore would be joining the Grizzlies on a partially guaranteed deal, but later tweeted an update, confirming that the 22-year-old had opted for Indiana over Memphis.

Moore, ranked as 2017’s No. 38 senior prospect by DraftExpress, averaged 11.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG during his final year at SMU. When he finalizes his partially guaranteed deal with the Pacers, he figures to be part of the team’s 20-man roster in training camp, and could have a chance to compete for a regular season roster spot.

Moore is the third SMU prospect to find a new NBA home this week, joining teammates Semi Ojeleye and Sterling Brown, who were both second-round picks on Thursday.