Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Sign Tony Bradley To Rookie Contract

July 5th, 2017 at 6:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after announcing that Donovan Mitchell has signed his rookie contract, the Jazz announced that they’ve also locked up their other 2017 first-round pick. According to a press release from the club, former UNC center Tony Bradley is officially under contract.

Utah clearly had its eye on Bradley on draft night, having traded the 30th and 42nd overall picks to the Lakers in order to move up to two spots and nab the 19-year-old big man with the No. 28 overall selection.

Bradley, who figures to be brought along slowly by the Jazz, will get a four-year deal worth a total of nearly $8.6MM, and will have a modest $1.415MM cap hit in year one. Our chart breaking down this year’s rookie scale has the full details on his annual salaries.

Teams are securing their first-round picks to contracts quickly this year, since cap holds for those first-rounders now count for 120% of the rookie scale instead of 100%, as they did under the old CBA. That leaves little incentive for clubs to wait to sign their first-rounders to 120% contracts.

Eighteen of 30 first-round picks from 2017’s draft have already signed NBA contracts.

Pacers Sign Edmond Sumner

July 5th, 2017 at 6:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pacers have signed Edmond Sumner, according to the team’s website. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports hears (Twitter link) that the deal will be for two seasons and it will be the team’s first ever two-way contract.

Each team is allowed to sign two players to two-way deals, as our Two-Way Contracts Glossary page shows. Players under these contracts will spend most of their time in the G-League since they are only allowed to be with their NBA club for at most 45 days.

The Pelicans selected Sumner with the No. 52 overall selection in the 2017 draft before shipping his rights to Indiana for cash considerations. The Pacers came out of the draft with three prospects, having selected T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu with its two original selections.

Sumner played three seasons for Xavier, scoring 14.3 points per game in his final season with the school. He added 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest during his junior season.

Jazz Sign Donovan Mitchell To Rookie Deal

July 5th, 2017 at 6:05pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz have signed No. 13 overall pick Donovan Mitchell to a rookie scale contract, according to the team’s website. The team did not disclose the terms of the contract, but he’ll take home roughly $14.6MM over the next four seasons assuming he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.

Utah traded Trey Lyles and the No. 24 overall pick, which ultimately became Tyler Lydon, to the Nuggets for the rights to Mitchell on draft night. The Jazz may need Mitchell to step up right away, as they look to fill the void left by Gordon Hayward‘s departure. The team also lost George Hill in free agency but gained Ricky Rubio via a trade with Wolves.

Mitchell, who played two seasons at Louisville, was considered one of the best perimeter defenders in his draft class. He averaged 15.6 points and 2.1 steals per contest during his final season playing for Rick Pitino.

Wizards Sign Mike Young To Two-Way Contract

July 5th, 2017 at 5:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wizards have signed Michael Young to a two-way contract, according to a team announcement. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Washington also announced that Young will play for the organization’s Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Young played at the University of Pittsburgh and was named All-ACC Third Team in each of this final two seasons at the school. The Pennsylvania native scored 19.6 points per game while pulling down 6.8 rebounds during his senior season with the Panthers.

Each team is allowed to sign two players to a two-way contract, which is a feature of the new CBA. Players signed to these deals will spend most of the 2017/18 campaign playing in the NBA G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with their NBA team, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.

The Wizards do not have a G-League team of their own, so Young will have to play for another club via the league’s flex assignment rule. Candace Buckner of The Washington Post notes that the power forward will likely spend most of his time with the Delaware 87ers.

Knicks Sign Frank Ntilikina To Rookie Contract

July 5th, 2017 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks’ new point guard has a new contract, according to the team, which announced today (via Twitter) that Frank Ntilikina has officially inked his four-year rookie deal. As Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets, Ntilikina’s mother was in attendance to witness the event.

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

As the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Ntilikina is in line for a first-year salary of about $3.5MM, with a four-year total of $18.69MM on his new deal. The third and fourth years will be team options.

While Ntilikina projects to be the Knicks’ point guard of the future, it’s not clear whether he’ll get a chance to play major minutes right away. The club has been fairly quiet in free agency, but continues to seek a veteran point guard to act as a mentor for Ntilikina, who will turn 19 later this month.

Pacers Waive Monta Ellis

July 5th, 2017 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

5:03pm: The Pacers have officially waived Ellis, per the NBA’s transactions log. According to David Aldridge of TNT (via Twitter), Indiana will use the stretch provision on Ellis, stretching his cap hit across five years.

That will create nearly $9MM in extra 2017/18 cap room for the Pacers, which they could use to make an offer to Kelly Olynyk or another free agent.

4:16pm: Confirming that Ellis is being waived, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star tweets that there’s no buyout involved in the transaction, meaning Indiana will remain on the hook for Ellis’ 2017/18 salary unless another team claims him, which is extremely unlikely.

4:06pm: The Pacers are waiving veteran guard Monta Ellis, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Charania’s report doesn’t include any additional details yet, but the two sides were said to be discussing a buyout earlier this week, so it seems they’ve reached an agreement.

Ellis entered the 2016/17 season having started 677 of 710 regular season games since his rookie season, but saw his role with the Pacers reduced last season, and started just 33 of 74 games. The 31-year-old averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.2 APG in 27 MPG, which all represented the lowest marks since his rookie season back in 2005/06.

The contract Ellis signed with Indiana back in 2015 called for him to make $11.227MM in 2017/18 and featured a player option worth $11.69MM in 2018/19. Ellis’ player option is currently non-guaranteed, however, so the Pacers will only be on the hook for his ’17/18 salary if no buyout was reached.

Ellis will be suspended for the first five games of next season for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, but that shouldn’t have a substantial impact on his market as he seeks his next team. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after he officially clears waivers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Sign Lauri Markkanen To Rookie Contract

July 5th, 2017 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have made it official with first-round pick Lauri Markkanen, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed the former Arizona big man to his rookie contract.

Markkanen, this year’s seventh overall pick, was acquired by the Bulls from the Timberwolves in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster, heading to Chicago along with Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine in exchange for Butler and the 16th overall pick (Justin Patton).

Markkanen’s new deal, which will feature two guaranteed years followed by two team options, figures to pay him $3.822MM in year one, and about $20.39MM over the full four years, as our rookie scale chart shows. Those figures assume he signed for 120% of the rookie scale amount, which virtually every first-rounder does.

Assuming he plays out his full deal, Markkanen will be eligible for an extension in the 2020 offseason, and could become a restricted free agent in 2021 if he doesn’t re-up the year before.

Mavs Sign Dennis Smith Jr. To Rookie Contract

July 5th, 2017 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have signed this year’s lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release. Smith is one of several first-round picks who has officially signed with his new club this week.

Smith, 19, was the fifth point guard selected in the 2017 draft, and the ninth player off the board overall. As the No. 9 pick, he’ll be in line for a $3.218MM salary in his rookie season, and his four-year rookie contract will be worth more than $17MM overall, assuming his third- and fourth-year options are exercised. His year-by-year salaries are outlined in our chart of this year’s rookie scale.

Smith, who played his first and only season of college ball at North Carolina State, averaged an impressive 18.1 PPG and 6.2 APG for the Wolfpack, shooting 50.9% from the field and chipping in 1.9 SPG.

Despite being linked to several free agent point guards this offseason, the Mavericks have stayed out of the fray so far this week. The team seems likely to pick up a veteran at some point, but the fact that the Mavs didn’t pursue any top-tier options suggests that they’re confident in Smith’s ability to take on a substantial role sooner rather than later.

Blazers Sign Collins, Swanigan To Rookie Contracts

July 4th, 2017 at 11:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have officially signed rookie big men Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan to their first NBA contracts, according to a pair of press releases issued by the team.

Portland entered last month’s draft with three first-round picks, but packaged the 15th and 20th overall selections to acquire the No. 10 overall pick, which the team used to snag Collins. The Blazers held onto their other first-rounder, No. 26 overall, and selected Swanigan with that pick.

As our chart of rookie scale salaries for 2017/18 shows, Collins will be in line for a first-year salary of $3.06MM and a four-year total of $16.33MM, while Swanigan will earn a more modest $1.47MM salary this season and $8.9MM over four years.

While their investments in Collins and Swanigan are fairly modest compared to most other players on their roster, every dollar will count this year for the Blazers, who already had nearly $133MM in guaranteed salaries on their books before locking up their first-rounders. If Portland is unable to move contracts in a trade, Collins’ and Swanigan’s deals will increase the team’s projected tax penalties for 2017/18.

Nets, Otto Porter Agree To Max Deal; Wizards Plan To Match

July 4th, 2017 at 9:05pm CST by Luke Adams

9:05pm: The Wizards had hoped to work out a more cap-friendly deal with Porter, but they still intend to match the Nets’ offer, reports Chris Mannix of The Vertical (via Twitter).

8:42pm: The Nets and Otto Porter have reached an agreement on a four-year, maximum salary deal, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Because Porter is a restricted free agent, Brooklyn will have to sign Porter to an offer sheet, and the Wizards will have the opportunity to match it.

Porter, who can receive up to $106,524,975 on a four-year deal, reportedly received such an offer from the Kings over the weekend as well. However, Porter didn’t accept that offer right away, opting to meet with other teams instead, and Sacramento used its cap room to reach deals with George Hill and Zach Randolph. In the wake of Gordon Hayward‘s departure from Utah, Porter had reportedly lined up a meeting with the Jazz, but Brooklyn swooped in with a max offer and struck a deal with the RFA forward.

Based on the wording of Charania’s report, it sounds like Porter hasn’t formally signed an offer sheet from Brooklyn quite yet. However, he is eligible to do so during the moratorium. If he makes it official with the Nets, the clock for the Wizards to make their decision would begin on July 6 when the moratorium ends. Washington would have until the end of the day on July 8 to match the offer.

Long considered a probable suitor for Porter, the Nets had an excess of cap room and showed in 2016 that they’re willing to dive into the RFA market in search of long-term assets. Last year, Brooklyn had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched by the Trail Blazers, Heat, and Rockets, respectively. The club will be hoping for better luck this time around, though the RFA market has been slow to develop, so if the Wizards match on Porter, the Nets could go shopping for another target or two.

As for the Wizards, they’ve been widely expected to match any offer for Porter, but the Nets will put them to the test with this offer. Washington entered the free agent period with approximately $94MM in guaranteed money on the cap for 2017/18 and has since struck deals with Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott that figure to add nearly $5MM more to the books. As such, Porter’s deal, with its first-year cap hit of $24.77MM, will take the Wizards over the tax line if they match.

Washington reportedly intended to use the bi-annual exception to complete Meeks’ deal, but may instead choose to use a portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception to avoid becoming hard-capped at $125.266MM for the ’17/18 league year.

Porter, who has steadily improved his production in each of his four NBA seasons, had his best year as a pro in 2016/17, averaging career bests in PPG (13.4), RPG (6.4), and SPG (1.5), while posting an incredibly efficient .516/.434/.832 shooting line. I ranked him eighth overall in Hoops Rumors’ list of this year’s top 50 free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.