Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Sign Jonas Jerebko

July 17th, 2017 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 17th, 6:25pm: Jerebko has officially signed per team release.

JULY 12th, 9:25pm: Free agent forward Jonas Jerebko will sign a two-year, $8.2MM deal with the Jazz, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

The 30-year-old has spent the past two-and-a-half years in Boston. He was part of the Celtics’ rotation throughout last season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 78 games.

Jerebko is the second free agent signing of the day for Utah, which reached an agreement with Thabo Sefolosha this morning. The addition of Jerebko is a clear sign that the Jazz intend to part ways with Boris Diaw, whose $7.5MM contract for the upcoming season won’t be guaranteed if he is waived by Saturday.

Utah has multiple options for signing Jerebko, depending whether it chooses to operate over or under the cap. The Jazz are able to fit Sefolosha and Jerebko under the cap and keep their $4.3MM room mid-level exception, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.com.

The 6’10” Jerebko, a native of Sweden, made $5MM with the Celtics last season, but seemed destined to go elsewhere as Boston concentrated on freeing up cap space to sign Gordon Hayward. The 39th pick in the 2009 draft, Jerebko spent his first four-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Pistons.

Tarik Black Signs With Rockets

July 17th, 2017 at 4:27pm CST by marksuleymanov

JULY 17th, 4:27pm: The signing is official, the team announced on its website.

JULY 14th, 4:46pm: The Rockets have agreed to a deal with free agent forward Tarik Black, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Houston will use its biannual exception ($3.2MM) to sign Black, per Zach Lowe of ESPN (via Twitter).

Black was waived by the Lakers earlier this month before his deal for 2017/18 became guaranteed and hit unrestricted free agency after clearing waivers. Black becomes the second Laker from the 2016/17 team to find a new home today as David Nwaba was claimed off waivers by the Bulls.

Black, 25, is familiar with the Rockets’ organization as he was signed by the team after going undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft. After appearing in 25 games for Houston during the 2014/15 season, he was waived and eventually claimed by the Lakers. In parts of three seasons since joining the Lakers, Black posted totals of 5.4 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 144 games.

The 6’9″ center has been lauded for his defensive abilities and rebounding since entering the NBA. With an aging Nene and Clint Capela as the Rockets’ primary big men, Black should find more opportunities to play than in his first go-around with the team.

Celtics Sign Abdel Nader To Four-Year Deal

July 15th, 2017 at 9:02pm CST by Luke Adams

July 15: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

July 14: The Celtics and 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader have agreed to a four-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). According to Charania, the deal will be worth $6MM, which figures to put it at – or very close to – the minimum.

The 58th overall pick in last year’s draft, Nader didn’t sign an NBA contract right away, instead agreeing to a G League deal to play for the Maine Red Claws. Nader had an excellent rookie season for Boston’s G League affiliate, averaging 21.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 40 games. The 23-year-old forward was named the league’s 2016/17 Rookie of the Year.

After waiving Jordan Mickey, the Celtics have enough cap room to finalize their maximum salary contract with Gordon Hayward and to squeeze in a long-term deal for Nader. If the club had used all its cap room, it would only have the ability to offer Nader a two-year contract using the minimum salary exception, which explains the timing of the move.

Although he now has an NBA contract, Nader is still a good bet to spend a portion of the 2017/18 season in the G League with the Red Claws.

Pistons Waive Swingman Michael Gbinije

July 15th, 2017 at 7:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:23 PM: Detroit has officially waived Gbinije, according to a team press release.

12:35 PM: The Pistons will waive swingman Michael Gbinije on Saturday before his $1.3MM salary for next season becomes guaranteed, a source with firsthand knowledge told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

A second-round pick in 2016, Gbinije spent most of his time with the G League’s Grand Rapids Drive last season. The 6’7” Gbinije, who played college ball at Syracuse before he was selected with the 49th overall pick, appeared in just nine games with Detroit during his rookie season. He battled some injuries that affected his chances of seeing more time with the Pistons.

Gbinije started 16 games for the Drive, averaging 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.9 SPG.

The move was expected, given the recent roster decisions made by Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy. He acquired Avery Bradley from the Celtics, signed Langston Galloway as a free agent and drafted Luke Kennard, giving the Pistons three shooting guards. Detroit also re-signed Reggie Bullock this week as the No. 3 option at small forward behind holdovers Tobias Harris and Stanley Johnson. The Bullock signing made Gbinije expendable.

Clippers Waive Kyle Wiltjer

July 15th, 2017 at 5:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers have waived Kyle Wiltjer, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The power forward was traded to Los Angeles in the deal that sent Chris Paul to Houston.

The 24-year-old spent most of his 2016/17 campaign playing for the Rockets’ G-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He was able to see some NBA action last year. He played in 14 games for Houston where he scored a total of 13 points.

Wiltjer played four seasons in the collegiate ranks, spending two seasons at Kentucky before transferring to Gonzaga. He entered the 2016 draft but was not selected.

Sergio Rodriguez Heading Back Overseas

July 15th, 2017 at 1:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Unrestricted free agent point guard Sergio Rodriguez has agreed to a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow, international journalist David Pick tweets.

Rodriguez, who played for the Sixers last season, reportedly preferred to stay in the NBA but CSKA Moscow made a strong push for him after losing its starting point guard, Milos Teodosic, to the Clippers this summer.

The former Euroleague MVP had not played in the NBA since the 2009/10 season before he signed with the Sixers. He appeared in 68 games last season, including 30 starts, and averaged 7.8 PPG and 5.1 APG in 22.3 MPG. Philadelphia filled its point guard spot by moving up to draft Markelle Fultz No. 1 overall.

There didn’t appear to be a whole lot of interest in Rodriguez, 31, in the free agent market as it was flooded with point guards. He played for Real Madrid from 2010-16.

Magic, Jonathon Simmons Agree To Three-Year Deal

July 15th, 2017 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 15, 12:34pm: The breakdown for Simmons’ deal is $6.3MM the first year, declining to $6MM and $5.7MM in the last two years of the contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The final year is partially guaranteed at $1MM, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

JULY 14th, 3:25pm: Simmons’ three-year deal is worth $20MM, according to Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). That should leave a little cap room for the Magic after they complete the signing.

2:42pm: The Magic have reached an agreement with Jonathon Simmons and will sign the free agent swingman to a three-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical. The deal will be fully guaranteed, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Because the Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer for Simmons on Thursday, Orlando can sign him outright as an unrestricted free agent.

A former undrafted free agent out of Houston, Simmons played a career-high 78 games for the Spurs last season, averaging 6.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG in part-time minutes for the club. Simmons also took on a larger role in the postseason, averaging 15.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in the Warriors’ four-game sweep of the Spurs and entering the starting lineup after Kawhi Leonard went down.

Simmons began the month as a restricted free agent, having received a modest qualifying offer from the Spurs. San Antonio was said to be preparing an offer in the range of $9MM annually for Simmons, but it’s not clear if that offer ever materialized. The Kings, Clippers, Knicks, and Timberwolves were among the teams that expressed interest in Simmons during his restricted free agency, but by the time the Spurs renounced his rights on Thursday, most of those clubs had used up all their cap room.

San Antonio’s decision to pull its qualifying offer before Thursday’s deadline was a bit of a surprise, but it reportedly came after a request from Simmons’ camp. Prior to renouncing Simmons, the Spurs were said to have explored a sign-and-trade scenario that would have sent him to Phoenix for Tyson Chandler, but San Antonio balked at taking on Chandler’s contract.

As for the Magic, they have been fairly quiet so far in free agency — outside of Shelvin Mack, no veteran free agents have signed with the team. Orlando’s new top decision-makers, Jeff Weltman and John Hammond, are known for their willingness to roll the dice on upside, however, and even though Simmons will turn 28 in September, he’s considered a player who has the potential to improve and play a larger role for a team. The Magic have about $8MM in cap room and could open up a little more by waiving non-guaranteed contracts, so it appears they’ll use most or all of that space to lock up Simmons.

Simmons’ path to the NBA was an unusual one. As detailed by Michael C. Wright in an excellent ESPN feature, the 6’6″ guard paid $150 back in 2013 to participate in an open D-League tryout. Less than four years later, he’s on the verge of finalizing his first huge NBA payday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Sign Antonio Blakeney To Two-Way Deal

July 15th, 2017 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 15: Blakeney’s contract is a two-year pact, per Sean Highkin of The Athletic (via Twitter). Two-way contracts can be for either one or two years.

JULY 14: The Bulls have finalized their first two-way contract, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Antonio Blakeney to one of their two-way spots. Chicago has one more opening to add another two-way player.

Two-way contracts, which were introduced Collective Bargaining Agreement, allow NBA teams to keep two extra players under club control without counting them as part of the typical 15-man roster. Those players will essentially be on G League contracts, but they’ll be paid more than the average G League player, and rival NBA teams won’t be able to sign them away from their current team. We go into more details on two-way contracts in our glossary entry on the subject.

Blakeney, who declared for the draft after his sophomore season at LSU, was considered a top-100 prospect by DraftExpress, but went undrafted last month. The 6’4″ guard caught on with the Bulls for Summer League and has made a strong impression in Las Vegas, averaging 16.8 PPG and 5.0 RPG in four Summer League games.

In his final year at LSU, Blakeney averaged 17.2 PPG and 4.8 RPG with a .511/.358/.724 shooting line for the season.

Kings Sign Second-Rounder Frank Mason

July 15th, 2017 at 9:16am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 15: Mason signed a three-year deal with the Kings, according to Keith Smith of RealGM (via Twitter). Mason’s deal is believed to be fully guaranteed for 2017/18 and he will likely hit restricted free agency in 2020.

JULY 13: The Kings have signed Frank Mason, according to the team’s website. Sacramento has remaining cap room, so Mason may receive more than just a two-year deal, and it’s possible that it will be worth more than the minimum salary.

Mason spent four seasons at Kansas where he played in 145 games and averaged 13.0 points per contest. He was named the AP National Player of the Year during his senior season after leading his team to a 31-5 record while averaging 20.9 points and 5.2 assists per contest.

Sacramento selected the point guard with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2017 draft. He is one of four prospects drafted by the team.

Raptors Waive Justin Hamilton

July 14th, 2017 at 5:37pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 14: The Raptors have officially waived Hamilton, per the NBA’s official transactions log.

JULY 9: The Raptors will waive newly acquired center Justin Hamilton and stretch the remainder of his contract, Brian Windhorst of ESPN tweets.

Hamilton and his $3MM 2017/18 deal were acquired from the Nets in the trade that sent DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn.

Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, the cap hit will be stretched into $1MM over each of the next three seasons. This, he adds, puts the Raptors $2.5MM below the luxury tax line.