Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sign Wayne Selden To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2017 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

3:35pm: The Grizzlies have officially announced Selden’s new deal in a press release. Since it’s already official, we know it’ll be a minimum salary contract, since those deals can be finalized during the moratorium.

7:23am: The Grizzlies have agreed to re-sign Wayne Selden to a two-year deal, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Terms of the agreement aren’t yet known, but given Selden’s limited role in Memphis, I’d anticipate a minimum salary pact that isn’t necessarily fully guaranteed.

Selden, 22, made his NBA debut in March for the Pelicans. However, New Orleans didn’t re-sign him after his 10-day contract with the club expired, opening the door for him to sign a deal with the Grizzlies. In 14 total games between Memphis and New Orleans, the former Kansas Jayhawk averaged 5.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG in 16.9 minutes per contest.

Selden’s previous contract with the Grizzlies featured a team option for the 2017/18 season, but Memphis didn’t exercise that option, apparently having elected instead to bring back the 6’5″ shooting guard on a brand new deal.

Lakers Waive Tarik Black

July 1st, 2017 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived Tarik Black, the team announced today in a press release. Black will become an unrestricted free agent, assuming he clears waivers.

Black, 25, has spent the majority of his NBA career with the Lakers, having been claimed off the waivers from the Rockets back in December 2014. After signing a new deal with L.A. last summer, the 6’9″ center appeared in 67 games (16 starts) in 2016/17, averaging 5.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG and playing solid defense.

The timing of Black’s release allows the Lakers to avoid being on the hook for his 2017/18 salary, which would have been worth $6,655,325. It would have become fully guaranteed if Black had remained under contract through July 4.

Pistons Sign Langston Galloway

July 1st, 2017 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6, 2:09pm: The deal is official, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

JULY 1, 1:08pm: There will be no options on Galloway’s three-year deal with the Pistons, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

12:38pm: The Pistons are expected to sign Langston Galloway to a three-year contract worth about $21MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are finalizing an agreement.

A former Knick, Galloway signed a two-year pact with the Pelicans as a free agent last summer, and averaged 8.6 PPG on .374/.377/.769 shooting in 55 games for the team. However, when New Orleans and Sacramento agreed to a blockbuster February trade involving DeMarcus Cousins, Galloway was part of the package sent by the Pelicans to the Kings. In 19 games for Sacramento, Galloway finished the season by averaging 6.0 PPG and shooting .404/.475/.917.

The second year of Galloway’s previous contract was a player option worth $5.434MM, which he turned down in June. While he had a lesser role last season than he’d had in New York, Galloway’s age (25) and his three-point shot (39.0% in 2016/17) make him an appealing pickup for a team in need of backcourt help.

The Pistons fit that bill, having been in the market for a guard in free agency this summer. Galloway figures to provide the team with some depth at both backcourt spots. His deal will likely be completed using Detroit’s mid-level exception.

By using more than $5.192MM of that mid-level exception, the Pistons will have a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year, which could create problems if another team gives Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a maximum salary offer sheet. Having entered the offseason with about $95MM in guaranteed salaries for ’17/18, Detroit may have to move another contract in order to sign Galloway and match a big offer for KCP.

Hawks Sign John Collins To Rookie Contract

July 1st, 2017 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have signed 2017 first-round pick John Collins to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.

The 19th overall pick in last Thursday’s draft, Collins will be in line for a deal worth more than $11MM over the next four years. His salary in his rookie season will be $1,936,920, as our breakdown of rookie scale salaries shows.

Collins is one of several first-rounders to sign his new NBA contract on the first day he was eligible to do so. Because the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement no longer provides any additional cap flexibility to teams that keep their first-rounders unsigned, several teams are taking care of business with their draftees immediately.

Celtics Sign Jayson Tatum, Ante Zizic

July 1st, 2017 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have formally signed 2017 first-round pick Jayson Tatum and 2016 first-rounder Ante Zizic to their respective rookie deals, the team announced today in a press release. Both players are now under contract with the club through 2020/21.

As our breakdown of this year’s rookie scale salaries shows, Tatum will be in for a nice payday as this year’s third overall pick. He’ll earn $5,645,400 in his rookie season, and more than $30MM over the life of his four-year contract, assuming his third and fourth team options are exercised.

As for Zizic, the Croatian big man will join the Celtics after spending the 2016/17 season stashed overseas. Zizic’s contract will be worth the same amount as that of OG Anunoby, the 23rd overall pick in this year’s draft. He’ll make $1,645,200 in his first year, and about $9.75MM over four years.

With Zizic now officially a Celtic, it remains to be seen if Guerschon Yabusele, the team’s other draft-and-stash prospect from the 2016 first round, will join him in Boston.

Rockets To Sign 2016 Second-Rounder Zhou Qi

July 1st, 2017 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

July 6: The signing is official, according to the team’s website.

July 1: Zhou’s deal with the Rockets will indeed be a four-year pact, his agent tells Feigen (Twitter link). That means Houston will dip into its mid-level exception to get it done. The length of the agreement was first reported by David Pick, as noted below.

12:01pm: The Rockets will bring 2016 second-round pick Zhou Qi stateside for the upcoming season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports that the team will sign the Chinese center to a multiyear contract. The deal has not yet been finalized, with the structure still undergoing some “final touches,” per Wojnarowski.

Zhou, the 43rd overall pick in the 2016 draft, reportedly remained under contract with China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers for another four years, but had an NBA out clause believed to be worth $650K, opening the door for him to join the Rockets. The 21-year-old is a promising prospect capable of protecting the rim and stretching the floor a little.

The details of Zhou’s new deal with the Rockets may ultimately hinge on what else Houston does in free agency. The over-the-cap club currently has the mid-level ($8.4MM) and bi-annual ($3.3MM) exceptions at its disposal, and could always sign players using the minimum salary.

As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle noted earlier this week, the Rockets would like Zhou’s deal to span at least three years, but would have to use a portion of the MLE to make that happen — the bi-annual exception and the minimum salary exception limit deals to two years.

According to international reporter David Pick (via Twitter), Zhou’s new deal is expected to run through the 2020/21 season. That would make it a four-year contract, meaning Houston would have to use some of its MLE to complete the signing.

Magic Sign First Round Pick Jonathan Isaac

July 1st, 2017 at 11:46am CST by marksuleymanov

The Magic announced today that the club has signed first-round pick Jonathan Isaac. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft is set to make $4,186,320 next season, which is 120% rookie-scale contract figure. As our chart of rookie scale salaries shows, Isaac’s rookie deal will be a four-year pact worth $22,324,406.

Isaac’s salary for the first two seasons will be guaranteed and after two team options for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, he’ll be eligible to reach restricted free agency in 2021 barring an extension.

Earlier today, the Heat agreed to terms with first-rounder Bam Adebayo. As we noted in that story, with cap holds on unsigned first-rounders at 120% rather than 100% under the new CBA, teams will likely sign their picks sooner rather than later.

Pacers Name Chad Buchanan New GM

July 1st, 2017 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 1: The Pacers have officially named Buchanan as their new general manager, per a press release from the team. The club also promoted VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie to senior VP of basketball ops.

JUNE 29: Hornets executive Chad Buchanan will be the new GM in Indiana, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. He will report to Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations.

Buchanan came to Charlotte in 2014 and has served as assistant GM under Rich Cho for the past two seasons. Before that, he spent 10 years with the Trail Blazers, where he served as director of college scouting. Buchanan and Pritchard were in the Portland organization together, notes Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

Indiana’s GM position has been open since the beginning of May, when Pritchard was promoted to replace Larry Bird, who resigned as team president. Buchanan joins the organization just in time to help oversee free agency and possibly work out a trade involving star forward Paul George.

Heat Sign Bam Adebayo To Rookie Contract

July 1st, 2017 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially signed former Kentucky big man Bam Adebayo to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release. Adebayo was the 14th overall pick in last week’s draft.

Because the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for cap holds for unsigned first-round picks to count for 120% of their rookie scale amount rather than 100%, there’s now little reason for teams to wait to sign their first-rounders. As such, I expect we’ll see most of them signed earlier this year than they have been in the past. Adebayo is the first to make it official.

As the No. 14 pick, Adebayo will likely receive a contract worth $14,015,772 over four years. He’ll earn about $2.49MM in 2017/18, as our chart of rookie scale salaries shows. Those figures are based on Adebayo receiving the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale amount.

Stephen Curry, Warriors Reach $201MM Deal

June 30th, 2017 at 11:15pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 6, 9:14pm: The Warriors have officially re-signed Curry to his new Designated Veteran Extension, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

JUNE 30, 11:15pm: Now that the free agency period has officially begun, Curry and the Warriors have agreed on the expected $201MM super-max deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

10:31pm: Although it was never really in doubt, the Warriors and Stephen Curry are on pace to to strike a five-year, $201MM super-max deal after midnight EST, Marc Stein of ESPN tweets.

Notoriously underpaid over the course of the past three seasons, two of which he earned the Most Valuable Player award in, Curry is set to get his long-awaited payday.

There has never been any doubt that the Curry was committed to returning to the Bay Area, nor was there doubt that the franchise was ready to foot the bill. Of note, however, is how quickly the two parties worked to strike an agreement.

While the concept of Kevin Durant leaving some money on the table has been floated, that has not happened in this case with Curry.