Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Deron Williams Waived, May Sign With Cavaliers

February 23rd, 2017 at 4:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks have waived point guard Deron Williams, according to a press release from the team. Dallas began working on a buyout earlier today after it was unable to complete a deal involving Williams before the deadline.

Williams is hoping to join the Cavaliers, who have been in the market for a veteran backup to Kyrie Irving, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Cleveland has an open roster spot, so another move would not be necessary to sign Williams. He would have to clear waivers before than can happen, but he is expected to do so (Twitter link).

Several teams that also have interest in Williams tell ESPN.com’s Marc Stein that they believe he has already decided to go to Cleveland (Twitter link).

The Cavaliers have expressed interest in adding Williams, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cleveland has a shot to acquire both Williams and center Andrew Bogut, who is reportedly negotiating a buyout with the Sixers, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. He adds that Jordan McRae would be released if that happens.

Williams, 32, played 40 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 13.1 points and 6.9 assists. He has been with Dallas since signing in July of 2015 after agreeing to a buyout with the Nets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Acquire Roy Hibbert From Bucks

February 23rd, 2017 at 4:09pm CST by Milo Taibi

4:09pm: The Nuggets have officially acquired Hibbert in exchange for a protected 2019 second-round pick, the team announced in a press release.

1:49pm: The Nuggets will acquire Roy Hibbert from the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Denver will be sending a heavily protected second round pick to Milwaukee in exchange for Hibbert, Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds (Twitter link). According to Charles Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link), it’s a 2019 second-rounder.

The Nuggets have the cap space to accommodate Hibbert. Denver entered the day $7,147,064 below the salary floor, and Hibbert’s one-year, $5MM contract will help them reach that mark. Hibbert was acquired by Milwaukee on February 2, but never appeared in a game for the Bucks.

Denver was close to acquiring Festus Ezeli of the Trail Blazers, Chris Haynes of ESPN reports, but the team opted to trade for a healthy big man instead. (Twitter link).

Lakers Trade Lou Williams To Rockets

February 23rd, 2017 at 3:40pm CST by Austin Kent

FEBRUARY 23, 3:40pm: The Lakers and Rockets have formally announced the Williams deal – as reported below – in a pair of press releases, making it official.

FEBRUARY 21, 7:03pm: According to David Aldridge of TNT, the first-round pick heading to the Lakers will not be protected. Per Bobby Marks of The Vertical, the pick involved is projected to be 27th overall and worth a cap hit of $1.4MM in 2017/18.

6:41pm: The Rockets are finalizing a trade with the Lakers for guard Lou Williams, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. In exchange, Houston will send Corey Brewer and a first-round pick to Los Angeles. At this time, details about the first-round pick heading to the Lakers have not been made available (although 7:03 update from Marks suggests that it’s Houston’s 2017 first-round pick).

In 58 games for Los Angeles this season, Williams has averaged 18.6 points per game. He’ll join an already potent Houston offense that had been reported to be looking to fortify its bench. The 30-year-old guard is signed through the 2017/18 campaign at $7MM per season.

Brewer, a 30-year-old forward with a similar contract to Williams (he’s owed $15.2MM over two years), averaged 4.2 points per game with Houston but has carved out a role for himself as a savvy, defensive-minded veteran.

According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, James Harden had specifically wanted the Rockets to bring aboard the veteran and he’ll pair with prolific reserve Eric Gordon. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Williams and Gordon are the NBA’s top two scorers off the bench and both frontrunners to win this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award.

Should the first-round pick heading to Los Angeles be Houston’s first-round pick in 2017, it could slot in in the late 20s. Per our reverse standings, the Rockets are currently in line to draft 27th.

The move marks Magic Johnson‘s first transaction since taking on the role of President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Grizzlies Sign Toney Douglas To Two-Year Deal

February 23rd, 2017 at 3:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Grizzlies have signed Toney Douglas to a two-year contract, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal relays (Twitter link). The deal contains a team option for the 2017/18 season.

Douglas’ second 10-day contract expired over All-Star weekend and it was expected that, barring a major trade, he would return to Memphis. Memphis didn’t swing a deal today, so it shifted its focus back on Douglas.

Having already signed him to two 10-day deals, the team needed to sign him through at least the remainder of the season. The point guard saw regular minutes in Memphis over the last few weeks. He averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 assists in 16.8 minutes per games during 13 contests with the Grizz this season.

Assuming the deal is a minimum salary arrangement, Douglas will make slightly under $350K for the remainder of the season. He’ll make approximately $1.36MM next season should the team pick up his option.

Nets Waive Marcus Thornton

February 23rd, 2017 at 2:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Thursday, 2:49 PM: Brooklyn has officially waived Thornton, according to a team press release.

Wednesday, 8:04 PM: The Nets will waive Marcus Thornton, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reports (Twitter link). Thornton came to Brooklyn in the Bojan Bogdanovic deal earlier today.

Thornton is on a one-year, $1.3MM deal, which is fully guaranteed. He was seeing regular minutes for the Wizards before rookie Sheldon McClellan took his role off the bench and the 29-year-old shooting guard didn’t play in Washington’s last 21 games.

In the 33 appearances this season, Thornton averaged 6.6 points and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 35% from the field. He’s also sported a 10.5 player efficiency rating.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 2/22/17

February 22nd, 2017 at 10:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls:

The Grizzlies have assigned Wade Baldwin and Jarell Martin to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, according to a team’s website.
The Mavericks have recalled A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, according to a team press release.
The Jazz have assigned Joel Bolomboy to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website.
The Suns have assigned Derrick Jones to their D-League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, per the team’s Twitter feed.
The Spurs have assigned Bryn Forbes to the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website.
Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee have been assigned to the Westchester Knicks, per New York’s Twitter feed.

Hawks Acquire Ersan Ilyasova From Sixers

February 22nd, 2017 at 10:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

10:25 PM: The trade is official, according to a Sixers’ press release.

“I want to thank Ersan Ilyasova for his positive contributions to this organization both on and off the basketball court,” team president Bryan Colangelo said. “Ersan is a true professional whose daily examples of hard work, focus and consistency have helped facilitate the ongoing growth of our program and culture.”

6:33 PM: The Sixers will send Ersan Ilyasova to the Hawks for Tiago Splitter, a second-round pick, and the ability to swap another second-rounder, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Philadelphia will receive a 2017 second-rounder which was originally Miami’s. The second element of the trade will be a pick swap between the two teams. Both players are in the last year of their respective contracts and both will hit free agency in July.

Splitter, who hasn’t played this season because of a calf injury, is a buyout candidate, but the team hasn’t yet decided whether or not it will try to negotiate an agreement with the big man, freelance journalist Derek Bodner reports (Twitter link). Both players are in the last year of their respective contracts and both will hit free agency in July.

Atlanta will be Ilyasova’s fourth team in the last calendar year and his fifth team since playing for the Bucks during the 2014/15 season. That offseason he was shipped to Detriot, but the Pistons sent him to Orlando at the ensuing trade deadline. He was then traded to the Thunder in their Serge Ibaka deal over the summer where he was later traded to the Sixers for Jerami Grant.

Ilyasova played well for the Sixers this season, but Philadelphia was wary of committing to him in free agency, according to Bodner (Twitter link). The move opens up playing time for rookie Dario Saric.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nets Trade Bojan Bogdanovic To Wizards

February 22nd, 2017 at 7:53pm CST by Luke Adams

7:53 PM: The trade is official, according to a Nets’ press release.

3:01 PM: The Nets and Wizards have agreed to a deal that will send Bojan Bogdanovic to Washington, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski had previously identified the Wizards and Kings as teams with interest in the Brooklyn sharpshooter.

In exchange for Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough, who will also head to Washington in the deal, the Nets will receive Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton, and the Wizards’ 2017 first-round pick, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The pick will be lottery protected, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

Bogdanovic, who will turn 28 in April, was the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft and eventually arrived stateside to join the Nets in 2014. The 6’8″ forward is is enjoying a career year this season, with 14.2 PPG and a .357 3PT% in 55 games so far.

Although Bogdanovic is on an expiring deal, he’ll be eligible for restricted – rather than unrestricted – free agency this summer. His matching rights will now be held by the Wizards, rather than by Brooklyn, and that has some value. The Nets know first-hand that it can be difficult to steal an RFA away from another team — the club had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched in 2016.

Depending on whether the Wizards want to commit to Bogdanovic beyond the 2016/17 season, they may have to worry about re-signing two key RFAs in the summer, as Otto Porter is also on track for restricted free agency.

From the Nets’ perspective, the club gets another first-round pick in what’s expected to be a deep and talented draft. That probably makes the deal a win for GM Sean Marks, even though the Wizards’ pick currently projects to fall just 24th overall, as our reverse standings show. The Nets, of course, don’t have their own first-rounder, but they’ll also get Boston’s pick, setting them up for two selections in the 20s.

As for the financial details of the trade, the Nets had been well below the salary floor, but they’ll inch about $2.3MM closer to that mark by taking on Nicholson and Thornton, who combine to earn more than $7MM. Meanwhile, the Wizards will cut costs a little by taking on Bogdanovic ($3.57MM) and McCullough ($1.19MM). Washington should also be able to create a traded player exception in the deal worth about $2.5MM.

While Bogdanovic and Thornton are free agents at season’s end, Nicholson and McCullough are controllable through the 2018/19 season. McCullough will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of ’19, while Nicholson has a player option for the ’19/20 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavs Sign Derrick Williams To Second 10-Day Deal

February 22nd, 2017 at 12:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

FEBRUARY 22: Williams’ new 10-day contract with the Cavaliers is now official, the team announced today in a press release. When the deal expires, Cleveland will have to make a rest-of-season decision on Williams, and for now he looks like a good bet to stick with the team.

FEBRUARY 21: The Cavaliers will sign Derrick Williams to a second 10-day contract on Wednesday, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reports. Williams’ first 10-day deal with the team expired during All-Star weekend.

Vardon notes that it’s likely the combo forward remains with the team for the remainder of the season. It was previously reported that Williams had done enough to secure another deal with the team and LeBron James has said he wants to see him in Cleveland long-term.

“We hope that this is a long-term thing,” James said. “He’s 25-years old. It doesn’t seem like it because we’ve been hearing his name for so long. But he’s 25, he hasn’t even gotten to his potential, to his prime yet. So hopefully this group, this locker room, myself, my leadership — just want to see him grow every day, and it’s a good place for him.”

Vardon notes that if the Cavs need a roster spot to complete a trade, they could terminate the contract and then re-sign him later for the entire season. After Williams officially signs the new 10-day deal, the team will have 14 players under contract.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 2/21/17

February 21st, 2017 at 9:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA second half won’t get underway until Thursday, but with NBA and D-League teams returning from their respective All-Star breaks, assignments and recalls have gotten underway again. Here are Tuesday’s moves:

The Jazz have recalled Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars following his participation in the weekend’s D-League All-Star game, per a team release. The rookie forward averaged 15.8 PPG and 13.2 RPG in 18 first-half NBADL games.
Briante Weber has been recalled to the Warriors from Santa Cruz after playing in the D-League All-Star game, Golden State announced in a press release. Weber is still on his second 10-day contract with the Dubs, though the team could waive him at the trade deadline if it needs to open up that 15th roster spot.
One other D-League All-Star is back with his NBA team, as the Heat confirmed that they’ve recalled Okaro White. White has been with the Heat since mid-January, but his early-season play with the Sioux Falls Skyforce earned him a spot in the D-League All-Star Game.
The Nuggets have sent 2016 first-rounder Malik Beasley back to the D-League, the team announced in a press release. It’s the third assignment this season for Beasley, who will head to Sioux Falls and join Miami’s affiliate, since Denver doesn’t yet have a D-League team of its own.
The Raptors have sent Bruno Caboclo, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet to the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Caboclo and VanVleet have gone back and forth between the NBA and NBADL all year, but it’s Siakam’s first assignment.
Rookies Chinanu Onuaku and Kyle Wiltjer have been re-assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets announced today (via Twitter).
The Trail Blazers have assigned rookie guard Tim Quarterman to the D-League, according to a press release from the team. Quarterman joined the Windy City Bulls in his previous two NBADL stints via the flexible assignment rule, but will head to the Long Island Nets this time around.