Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Sign Semi Ojeleye, Waive Demetrius Jackson

July 19th, 2017 at 10:07am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 19: The Celtics have officially signed Ojeleye, according to a press release from the team. Meanwhile, Jackson cleared waivers this week and his partial guarantee has been stretched across seven seasons by the Celtics, as we noted on Tuesday.

JULY 15: The Celtics are planning to sign second-round pick Semi Ojeleye to a four-year deal with the first two years guaranteed, a league source told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, point guard Demetrius Jackson has been waived and his guaranteed $650K will likely have his partially guaranteed salary stretched out if he’s not claimed, Himmelsbach adds in a separate tweet.

The four-year deal for Ojeleye is quite a commitment to the 37th overall pick in the draft. The 6’7” forward played two seasons at Duke before transferring to SMU. In his season with the Mustangs, he averaged 19 PPG and 6.9 RPG. He can play either forward spot but is mostly considered a stretch four. The club lost veteran power forwards Amir Johnson (Sixers) and Jonas Jerebko (Jazz) in free agency.

Jackson’s full salary of $1,384,750 for next season would have become guaranteed today if he had not been waived. The point guard appeared in just five games with Boston during his rookie year.

Raptors Sign Kennedy Meeks

July 18th, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed Meeks, the team announced today in a press release.

JUNE 23: The Raptors have struck a deal with undrafted rookie Kennedy Meeks, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Charania, Meeks will sign a partially guaranteed contract with Toronto. The deal can’t become official until after the 2017/18 league year begins.

Meeks, 22, averaged 12.3 PPG and 9.4 RPG during his senior year at North Carolina. The 6’9″ center was viewed as a top-100 prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who had Meeks at No. 92 on his big board.

Although he wasn’t drafted on Thursday night, Meeks will have a chance to attend training camp with the Raptors, making him the third UNC player to find a new NBA home this week. Meeks’ former Tar Heels teammates Justin Jackson and Tony Bradley were both first-round picks, going to the Kings and Jazz, respectively.

The Raptors came away from Thursday night’s draft with OG Anunoby, who isn’t expected to be fully healthy to start the 2017/18 season.

Raptors Sign C.J. Miles

July 18th, 2017 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have officially signed free agent swingman C.J. Miles, the team announced today in a press release. Miles’ deal with Toronto was originally reported more than a week ago, though when the story first broke, it appeared it would be a sign-and-trade. Instead, the Raptors have signed Miles outright.

“C.J. is an exceptional shooter and adds versatility to our perimeter game,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “We are excited to add a player with experience level to our core group.”

Initial reports on Miles’ three-year, $25MM agreement with the Raptors suggested that Cory Joseph would be headed to Indiana in the swap. However, because Miles’ deal reportedly includes a third-year player option, it wasn’t eligible for a sign-and-trade — contracts in a sign-and-trade must run at least three years without options.

In order to get around that CBA restriction and to clear the salary necessary to bring Miles aboard, the Raptors sent Joseph to Indiana in a separate deal, and will sign Miles using their mid-level exception. Toronto would have faced a hard cap for 2017/18 either way, as we explained earlier today.

Miles, 30, will will help provide depth and outside shooting on a Raptors team that lost P.J. Tucker and DeMarre Carroll this summer. A 12-year veteran, Miles is coming off another productive season — in 76 games for the Pacers, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.0 rebounds, and shot a career-best 41.3% on three-pointers. He will be getting a nice raise from the $4.58MM he earned in 2016/17.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs Sign Joffrey Lauvergne

July 18th, 2017 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18, 1:05pm: The Spurs have officially signed Lauvergne, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JULY 10, 2:00pm: The Spurs have reached a two-year contract agreement with free agent big man Joffrey Lauvergne, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical. The news comes on the heels of the Bulls withdrawing Lauvergne’s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent, which will allow him to sign outright with San Antonio.

Lauvergne, a second-round pick in 2013, made his NBA debut for the Nuggets in 2014 and spent two years with the franchise before being sent to the Thunder in a trade last August. He was flipped again at this year’s trade deadline, heading to Chicago as part of a trade package in a deal that saw Oklahoma City land Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott.

Lauvergne, a 6’11” forward/center, looked like a player on the rise in 2015/16, averaging 7.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG with a .513 FG% in 59 games (17.6 MPG) for the Nuggets. However, he took a step backward last season. For the year, he recorded just 5.4 PPG and 3.6 RPG with a .440 FG% in 70 contests.

Despite his very modest production for the Bulls down the stretch, Lauvergne initially received a qualifying offer worth about $2.14MM from the team, which made him a restricted free agent. However, Chicago apparently decided that the big man wasn’t in the team’s long-term plans, allowing him to reach the open market with no restrictions over the weekend.

While details of the Spurs’ agreement with Lauvergne aren’t yet known, the club already used its full mid-level exception on Rudy Gay, leaving the $3.29MM bi-annual exception and the minimum salary exception for other free agents. San Antonio had been in need of some frontcourt depth, with Dewayne Dedmon, David Lee, and Pau Gasol all on the free agent market, though Gasol is expected to re-sign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavaliers Sign Cedi Osman

July 18th, 2017 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The Cavaliers have officially announced their new deal with Osman, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.

JULY 12: The Cavaliers have agreed to sign draft-and-stash prospect Cedi Osman to a three-year contract worth $8.3MM, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter link). Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today adds (via Twitter) that there are no options in the deal.

Osman’s contract, which was first reported by Turkish outlet beIN Sports, will be finalized using a portion of the Cavaliers’ mid-level exception. With no cap room available, Cleveland had the ability to sign Osman using either the MLE or the minimum salary exception. The mid-level will allow the club to give him more than two years and more than the minimum salary.

A 22-year-old wing, Osman was the 31st overall pick in the 2015 draft but has remained overseas since then, playing for Anadolu Efes in Istanbul. In 2016/17, Osman was the club’s leading scorer in Turkish League play, averaging 13.4 PPG and shooting 38.7% on three-pointers in 34 games.

While it remains to be seen whether Osman will be able to contribute immediately in Cleveland, his arrival provides a much-needed injection of youth to an aging Cavaliers roster. With only the $5.192MM taxpayer mid-level exception available to add free agents, few valuable trade chips in hand, and no 2017 draft picks, the Cavs’ ability to add young talent this offseason was very limited.

Of course, while Osman’s new deal looks modest on the surface, the Cavs’ tax position makes it exponentially more expensive. As a repeater taxpaying team that’s already way over the tax threshold, the Cavs would pay more than $4.25 per dollar in tax penalties on Osman’s 2017/18 salary, as things stand.

Current projections have the Cavs on the hook for a $70MM+ tax bill and more than $210MM+ in total salary and taxes, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. The club could reduce its projected tax bill by dumping salary at some point, but that won’t be easy.

It’s also worth noting that the Cavs will contribute about $700K to Osman’s international buyout, according to Windhorst. Teams are permitted to pay up to $675K to a player’s international buyout this season without it counting against the cap (or having to pay tax on that contribution), so Cleveland likely chipped in that amount.

Jazz Sign Thabo Sefolosha To Two-Year Deal

July 18th, 2017 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18: The Jazz have officially signed Sefolosha, the team announced today in a press release. Based on Utah’s other roster moves, it appears the team completed the deal using cap room.

JULY 12: The Jazz have reached an agreement with free agent wing Thabo Sefolosha, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that Sefolosha will sign a two-year, $10.5MM contract with Utah.

Sefolosha, 33, has played for the Bulls, Thunder, and Hawks over the course of his 11-year NBA career. In 2016/17, he appeared in 62 games (42 starts) for Atlanta, averaging 7.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG to go along with a .441/.342/.733 shooting line and solid perimeter defense.

In Utah, Sefolosha will help to fill the gap left on the wing when Gordon Hayward departed for Boston. While he won’t come close to matching Hayward’s scoring, the former lottery pick should help stabilize the defense while players like Rodney Hood, Joe Johnson, and perhaps Alec Burks and Donovan Mitchell take on more of the scoring load.

We’ll have to wait to see how Utah handles its cap situation this year to know how the team is signing Sefolosha. The team’s new deal with Joe Ingles isn’t yet official, and it remains to be seen whether Boris Diaw‘s $7.5MM salary will be kept on the books. Depending on how the Jazz manage their cap, Sefolosha could either be signed using cap room or by using a portion of the club’s mid-level exception.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs, Manu Ginobili Finalizing Agreement

July 18th, 2017 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs are finalizing the details on a new agreement with longtime guard Manu Ginobili, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Ginobili had considered the possibility of retirement, but appears poised to return for at least one more season. It will be his 16th in the NBA.

Ginobili, who will turn 40 later this month, has been a Spur since the 2002/03 season, and continued to play a key role for the team last year. Although he set new career lows in several categories, including PPG (7.5), FG% (.390), and MPG (18.7), the Argentinian made 39.2% of his three-point attempts, and the Spurs had slightly better offensive and defensive numbers when he was on the court.

The Spurs hold Ginobili’s Bird rights, so the team won’t be limited in its ability to offer him a fair salary. While the former second-round pick won’t necessarily be in line for a big payday at this stage in his career based on his 2016/17 production, San Antonio has less than $100MM in team salary on its books for 2017/18, and has already used its full mid-level exception.

As such, the Spurs may be willing to overpay Ginobili a little to reward him for his performance with the franchise over the years, since doing so wouldn’t really limit the team’s spending flexibility. However, the club will also have to account for a new contract for Pau Gasol, who is expected to re-sign at some point.

Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks) and Tony Parker (Spurs) are the only players who have been on the same team’s NBA roster longer than Ginobili. Nowitzki has been a Maverick since 1998, while Parker joined the Spurs in 2001. Ginobili was technically drafted in 1999, but didn’t sign with the Spurs until 2002.

Ginobili is currently the second-oldest player in the NBA behind Vince Carter, who turned 40 earlier this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Renounce Jeff Withey, Tyrone Wallace

July 18th, 2017 at 9:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have renounced their rights to free agent center Jeff Withey and former second-round pick Tyrone Wallace, according to RealGM’s transactions log. The moves coincided with the club starting to make its recent signings official, having formally locked up Jonas Jerebko on Monday.

Withey, who appeared in 51 games for the Jazz last season, doesn’t appear to be in the team’s plans for the 2017/18 campaign. Utah selected rookie center Tony Bradley in last month’s draft and has added Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh in free agency, fortifying the club’s depth behind Rudy Gobert. The Jazz could still re-sign Withey if they want to, but they can no longer use his Early Bird rights to do so.

As for Wallace, he was “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2016 draft, selected with the 60th overall pick a year ago. The 23-year-old point guard spent last season with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate, while the Jazz maintained his NBA rights. Now, however, he’ll be free to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.

Removing Withey and Wallace from their books appear to be minor bookkeeping moves for the Jazz. While they won’t have much of an impact on the team’s roster, those moves further signal that Utah is creating as much cap room as possible in order to compete its signings of Jerebko, Udoh, Thabo Sefolosha, and Royce O’Neale. They also signal that the roster is just about full, with no room for players like Wallace to vie for a 15-man spot.

Blake Griffin Signs Five-Year Deal With Clippers

July 18th, 2017 at 9:06am CST by Austin Kent

JULY 18: With the Clippers having taken care of most of their other offseason business, Griffin has finally made his new deal official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

JUNE 30: Forward Blake Griffin will remain with the Clippers, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. After cancelling meetings with the Suns and Nuggets, Griffin has come to agreement with the Clippers on a five-year deal worth the maximum salary, putting the overall value of the deal in the neighborhood of $173MM.

The two parties apparently finalized a five-year max deal during their meeting and Griffin didn’t feel the need to entertain offers from any other ball clubs. As Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports explains, such a deal was likely so long as the Clippers were willing to fully commit to the 28-year-old power forward.

Per Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the Clippers pulled out all the stops in their meeting with Griffin and the forward was impressed. The meeting included what Turner describes as a “museum of Blake,” a recap of all the different parts of life that Griffin has experienced with the franchise, essentially.

With Chris Paul now out of the picture, this will mark the first time since his rookie year that Griffin is the focal point of Los Angeles’ offense. This, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman implies, could have increased the likelihood of a deal.

Despite the trade of Paul and the probable departure of J.J. Redick, the Clippers don’t appear to be ready to enter rebuilding mode. The club’s haul in its deal with the Rockets included multiple solid veteran players – Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams – and a pair of youngsters who could play rotation roles in Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell. If the club adds another veteran piece or two in free agency, it looks like a roster capable of contending for a playoff spot.

As we’ve laid out in our max salary projection chart, so long as the NBA’s most recent $99MM cap projection holds up, Griffin will make $29.7MM in 2017/18, gradually increasing up to $39.2MM in 2021/22. That’s a huge investment in a player who has battled injury issues for much of his career, but the former first overall pick is one of the game’s most talented bigs when he’s on the court, and the Clippers will keep him through the rest of his prime years.

According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the deal will not include a no-trade clause.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

International Notes: Huertas, Hamilton, Langford

July 18th, 2017 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Marcelo Huertas, who appeared in 76 games for the Lakers over the last two seasons, appears to be headed back overseas. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Huertas is joining Spanish team Unicaja Malaga, this year’s EuroCup winners.

Huertas averaged 16.4 MPG in 53 contests during his first year in L.A., but saw his role reduced in 2016/17, playing in just 23 games before he was traded to Houston. The Rockets immediately waived Huertas, giving him the opportunity to return to Europe.

Here are a few more updates on international transactions with NBA connections:

Having been traded by the Nets and waived by the Raptors already this month, center Justin Hamilton appears poised to land in China. Eurohoops passes along a report from Sport 24 that suggests Hamilton is on the verge of signing a lucrative contract with the Beijing Ducks.
Another notable player is making the move to China, according to David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that Euroleague scoring leader Keith Langford has agreed to a $2.1MM deal with the Shenzhen Leopards. Langford, 33, has had a long and successful career overseas, appearing only briefly in the NBA with the Spurs in 2007/08.
Veteran forward Cory Jefferson has signed in Italy with EA7 Milano, a source tells David Pick (Twitter link). It’ll be the first stint in Europe for Jefferson, who played for the Nets and Suns between 2014 and 2016 and was in camp with the Cavaliers last year.