Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyle Korver Re-Signs With Cavaliers

July 12th, 2017 at 7:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 12, 8:28pm: The signing is official, the Cavaliers announced on their website.

JULY 2, 3:09pm: Kyle Korver has agreed to a new three-year, $22MM contract with the Cavaliers, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The final season is only partially guaranteed, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The 36-year-old came to Cleveland in a January deal and provided a needed outside threat. He averaged 10.7 points in 35 games and shot .485 from 3-point range.

The Cavs acquired Korver’s Bird rights when they brought him over from Atlanta, which is fortunate because they don’t have any available cap room to use to re-sign him. The 14-year veteran will get a nice raise from the little more than $5.2MM he made this season.

Several other teams expressed an interest in Korver, including the Pelicans and Bucks, but he decided to remain with the Eastern Conference champions and take another shot at a ring.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors, Omri Casspi Agree To Deal

July 12th, 2017 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

6:44pm: It’ll be a one-year, minimum salary contract for Casspi, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Casspi’s minimum will be worth about $2.1MM, though it’ll only count against the Warriors’ cap for approximately $1.47MM.

Minimum salary deals can be finalized during the July moratorium, so Golden State doesn’t have to wait until Thursday to make the signing official.

6:23pm: The Warriors have lined up a deal to add another shooter to their roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that free agent forward Omri Casspi has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the team. Sam Amick of USA Today first reported (via Twitter) that Golden State was in talks with Casspi.

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

Casspi, 29, opened the 2016/17 season with the Kings, but quickly saw his role in Sacramento’s rotation reduced by new head coach Dave Joerger. Casspi was included in the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans, and while the Pelicans were excited to get him as part of that deal, his stint with the team was short-lived, as he suffered a broken thumb in his first game as a Pelican. Casspi was subsequently waived by New Orleans and later finished the season with the Timberwolves after getting healthy.

Although the 2016/17 season didn’t really give him a chance to show off his talents, Casspi enjoyed the best season of his career in 2015/16 with the Kings, averaging 11.8 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 69 games (21 starts), making a career-high 40.9% of his three-pointers. If he can regain that form, he should have a very nice year with a Warriors team that will get him plenty of open looks.

Financial terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but the Warriors could only offer a minimum salary contract unless they’re willing to dip into their $5.2MM taxpayer mid-level exception for Casspi. A minimum deal seems likely.

Jodie Meeks Signs Two-Year Deal With Wizards

July 12th, 2017 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

July 12, 4:10pm: The signing is official, according to NBA.com.

JULY 2, 11:38am: The Wizards have added some more outside shooting to their roster, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). League sources tell Charania that Washington has reached an agreement with veteran free agent Jodie Meeks, who will sign a two-year, $7MM contract.

Meeks has seen his last two seasons derailed by injuries, having appeared in just 39 total games for the Pistons and Magic since the start of the 2015/16 campaign. However, he was an effective outside threat for Orlando when he suited up last year, averaging 9.1 PPG on 40.9% three-point shooting.

According to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), the Wizards will sign Meeks using their bi-annual exception. The BAE can be used for deals worth up to $6,744,500 over two years, so that makes sense. However, using that exception would limit the Wizards to a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year.

Washington has about $94MM in guaranteed salaries on its books prior to adding Meeks or re-signing Otto Porter, so if the team intends to match a max offer for Porter, that hard cap could become a problem. If the Wizards instead opt to use a portion of their taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the Meeks signing, the team wouldn’t be subject to a hard cap.

The addition of Meeks probably doesn’t bode well for Bojan Bogdanovic‘s return to the Wizards. Meeks figures to fill a similar role in Washington, and Bogdanovic will likely be able to land a better offer from another club, with the Wizards focusing on Porter.

Since the offseason began, the Wizards have now traded for Tim Frazier and committed to sign Meeks in an effort to bolster one of the NBA’s lowest-scoring benches.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Re-Sign Andre Iguodala

July 12th, 2017 at 4:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 12, 4:07pm: The signing is official, according to NBA.com.

July 1, 10:56pm: Andre Iguodala has decided to return to the Warriors on a three-year, $48MM deal, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. Iguodala himself confirmed the agreement (on Twitter) around the same time Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported that a deal was in place (Twitter link). The contract is fully guaranteed with no options on either side, per Charania (Twitter link).

Iguodala committed to Golden State after meeting with GM Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr tonight in Los Angeles, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Iguodala also received multi-year offers from the Rockets, Spurs and Kings, putting pressure on the Warriors to increase their own offer, which was believed to originally be in the range of $12-14MM per year, with a partial guarantee in year three (Twitter link via Sam Amick of USA Today).

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]

With new deals in place for Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, along with a super-max extension for Stephen Curry and a huge contract coming for Kevin Durant, Myers has ensured that the core of the Warriors’ championship team will remain together. However, it certainly won’t be cheap.

Once the Warriors come to terms with Durant on a new deal that will give him a 20% raise using his Non-Bird rights, they will have an estimated $130MM in guaranteed money on their books, as Bobby Marks of ESPN details. Even if Golden State fills out the rest of its roster with minimum salary players, team salary would exceed $137MM, putting the club way over the $119MM luxury tax line and creating a tax bill in the neighborhood of $40MM.

By exceeding the tax apron, the Warriors will lose their full mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception, but will have access to the taxpayer MLE worth $5.192MM. Of course, given how many commitments the Dubs already have on their books, any player(s) signed using that exception would be exponentially more expensive due to tax penalties.

The Warriors’ future cap situation will also get a lot more interesting due to Iguodala’s new deal, which includes a guaranteed third year. That means Iggy’s contract will run through the 2019/20 season, which is the same year Klay Thompson‘s new deal will begin. If Golden State intends to retain Thompson, the team’s bill on salaries and taxes that year will be massive.

While Warriors ownership will have to worry about those future tax penalties, fans in the Bay Area can rest assured that all the key pieces of last year’s championship team, including veteran big man David West, will be back.

Outside of former MVPs Curry and Durant, Iguodala was viewed as the Warriors’ most crucial free agent. The 33-year-old finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting this year, and while his scoring numbers were very modest, he played a huge role for Golden State as a three-and-D wing. Iguodala ranked 11th on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.

With Iguodala off the board, it will be interesting to see where teams like the Rockets turn. Houston was reportedly having serious talks with the Cavs about Iman Shumpert, so he may be the Rockets’ Plan B.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Pacers Sign Second-Rounder Ike Anigbogu

July 12th, 2017 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have signed rookie big man Ike Anigbogu to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release. Anigbogu first broke the news himself, posting a photo on Instagram that showed him putting pen to paper and confirming that he had “made it official.”

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Anigbogu, 18, entered the draft this spring after just one season at UCLA. Many draft experts are high on the young center’s potential, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him 15th on his big board.

However, Anigbogu didn’t play much during his lone season with the Bruins (4.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 13.0 MPG) and is viewed as a very raw prospect. Health concerns also surround Anigbogu, with questions about his knee likely contributing to his fall on draft night. The Pacers ultimately selected the rookie with the 47th overall pick in the draft.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Indiana has the cap room necessary to sign Anigbogu to a deal longer than two years and worth more than the minimum, if the team so chooses. For comparison’s sake, the Pacers’ second-round pick in 2016 – Georges Niang – received a three-year contract worth slightly more than the minimum — it was fully guaranteed for one year with a small partial guarantee in year two. Niang was the 50th overall pick.

Lakers Waive David Nwaba

July 12th, 2017 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived shooting guard David Nwaba, the team announced today in a press release. The move appears to be a precursor to L.A. finalizing its contract agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Nwaba, 24, made his NBA debut with the Lakers earlier this year after signing a 10-day contract with the team. The 6’4″ shooting guard eventually earned a second 10-day deal and then a rest-of-season contract with an option for ’17/18.

In 20 regular season contests (19.8 MPG), Nwaba averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG for the Lakers. The team was also said to be impressed with his play on defense. Nwaba did enough to get the club to pick up his team option last month, but his salary for 2017/18 remained non-guaranteed, making him a candidate to be waived when the Lakers needed to clear a little extra cap flexibility.

With Nwaba’s minimum salary contract off the books, the Lakers have about $17.7MM in cap room. There’s a good chance the team will sign second-round pick Thomas Bryant to a contract using cap space before finalizing its deal with Caldwell-Pope, since that would allow for a longer-term contract for the rookie without reducing the team’s cap room — Bryant’s $816K minimum salary would replace an $816K charge for an empty roster spot.

After that, the Lakers could make Caldwell-Pope’s deal official and would still have the $4.3MM room exception to add another player. The club could also re-sign Nwaba to a new minimum salary deal at some point. However, he’d have to clear waivers first, and there’s no guarantee another team won’t claim him later this week.

Cavs Sign Jeff Green

July 11th, 2017 at 5:36pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 11: Jeff Green has officially signed with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team announced the signing in a Tuesday evening press release.

JULY 7: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with forward Jeff Green, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the deal in place is a one-year pact worth $2.3MM.

After signing a previous one-year, $15MM deal with the Magic last offseason, Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The considerable pay decrease on the heels of a career worst season comes with a drastically improved chance of playing for a winner and is a low-risk, high-reward move for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

The 30-year-old has bounced around since coming into the league in 2007/08, some of his best years coming early in his career with the Thunder, and as a result it’s been difficult to truly assess what he’s worth. That, perhaps, has never been more evident than when one compares the contrasting deals the forward signed this summer versus last.

Clippers Sign Jawun Evans

July 11th, 2017 at 4:23pm CST by Joshua Fischman

The Clippers have signed rookie guard Jawun Evans, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN (link via Twitter). Although the team hasn’t yet made a formal announcement, the NBA’s transactions log suggests the move is official.

Evans was drafted by the 76ers with the 39th overall pick in the second round and then traded to the Clippers for cash considerations. In his first three games of the Las Vegas Summer League, the Oklahoma State product has averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG on 50% shooting.

Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but with no cap room available, the Clippers will have to either offer a minimum salary or use part of their mid-level exception to lock up Evans. A minimum salary deal would be limited to two years, while the mid-level could be used to offer more years and a little more money. The club used $6MM of its $8.4MM MLE to sign Milos Teodosic.

For comparison’s sake, Diamond Stone – 2016’s 40th overall pick – received a fully guaranteed, two-year minimum salary contract when he signed with the Clippers last year.

Nuggets Waive Mike Miller

July 11th, 2017 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have parted ways with Mike Miller, announcing today that the veteran guard has been waived from the roster (Twitter link). Miller’s salary for 2017/18 would reportedly have become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract beyond Wednesday.

Miller, 37, appeared in just 20 games for the Nuggets last year in his second season with the club. The veteran sharpshooter played a career-low 7.6 minutes per game, averaging just 1.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG. During his very limited playing time, Miller still exhibited an ability to shoot from outside, making 40% of his three-pointers (albeit on just 20 attempts).

Miller’s contract with the Nuggets called for him to earn a $3.5MM salary in 2017/18, but that entire figure was non-guaranteed, according to Basketball Insiders. As such, cutting Miller allows Denver to clear that amount from its cap, opening up a little more room.

Assuming Mason Plumlee‘s cap hold stays on the Nuggets’ books and Paul Millsap‘s deal is finalized soon, the team should have about $5.5MM in cap space, plus its $4.3MM room exception. Those figures can’t be combined to use on a single player.

Grizzlies Sign Rade Zagorac

July 11th, 2017 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

1:31pm: Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders clarifies the details on Zagorac’s contract, tweeting that it’s actually a three-year deal, with a third-year team option. The Grizzlies used part of their mid-level exception to give the Serbian swingman a $950K first-year salary.

12:25pm: Zagorac’s deal is a two-year contract with a team option on the second year, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.

12:23pm: Draft-and-stash prospect Rade Zagorac has signed an NBA contract with the Grizzlies, according to the league’s official transactions page. While exact terms of the agreement aren’t known, RealGM’s transactions log lists Zagorac’s new deal as a multiyear pact.

Zagorac, whose rights were acquired by the Grizzlies in a 2016 draft-night trade that also sent No. 31 pick Deyonta Davis to Memphis, was the 35th overall selection in last year’s draft. He remained overseas for one more year and was the leading scorer for KK Mega Leks in Serbia in 2016/17. In 26 ABA League games, Zagorac has averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG.

The 21-year-old swingman, who has been playing for the Grizzlies’ Summer League team this month, isn’t subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, as a former second-round pick. As such, Memphis would have had to use an exception to sign him — the team still has a portion of its mid-level available after inking Ben McLemore to a deal worth $5.2MM in 2017/18, so it’s possible Zagorac received a chunk of that MLE.

Meanwhile, RealGM’s transactions log notes that the Grizzlies have also signed Jeremy Morgan, another member of the club’s Summer League squad, to an NBA contract.

A 6’5″ guard out of Northern Iowa, Morgan appears to have received just a one-year contract, though we’ll have to wait on the exact terms of his deal. He’s probably more likely to end up on the roster for the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, than on the NBA team.