Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets, Perry Ellis Agree To Camp Deal

September 23rd, 2016 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 23rd: The signing is official, the team announced.

AUGUST 31st: Former Kansas forward Perry Ellis has received a training camp invite from the Hornets and will join the team for the preseason hoping to earn a spot on the regular-season roster, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Gary Bedore of The Kansas City Star. Ellis will receive a non-guaranteed contract, writes Bedore.

“It’s a really good fit. [The Hornets] like him a lot. They’ve talked about him all summer,” Bartelstein said. “We think it’s got a chance to be a really good opportunity for him. Coaches there are excited to have him. He has to get himself healthy here the next couple weeks. Then he’ll go into camp and compete.”

As Bartelstein alludes to, Ellis is on the mend after undergoing successful sports hernia surgery on Tuesday. Per Bedore, the young forward is expected to miss three or four weeks of individual workouts, but should be ready to go for training camp and the preseason.

Ellis averaged 16.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG to go along with a shooting line of .531/.438/.785 during his final year at Kansas. After going undrafted, the 22-year-old joined the Mavericks for Summer League action in Las Vegas. It’s not clear whether Dallas had interest in bringing him in for training camp, but Bartelstein suggests there were “a number of teams” interested in his client, including a few clubs overseas.

“Obviously you can only pick one,” Bartelstein said. “You’ve got to weigh everything. We looked at the coaching staff and the way they want to play and what they are looking for. We think he’s a really good fit for them.”

Rockets Sign Four Players, Finalize Camp Roster

September 23rd, 2016 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 23: Nearly three months after agreeing to terms with Payton, Taylor, and Wiltjer, the Rockets have officially signed them, announcing the moves today in a press release. The team also confirmed the previously-reported signing of Bobby Brown, formally announcing its 18-man roster for training camp.

While the deals for the three undrafted rookies were initially reported to be three-year agreements, the Rockets have since used up their cap room, limiting the team to two-year, minimum-salary pacts. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reported this week that two-year contracts were likely for all four players.

JUNE 24: The Rockets drafted two players in the second round on Thursday night, and supplemented their rookie class shortly after the draft ended by agreeing to terms with three free agents who went undrafted.

Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com first reported (via Twitter) that Houston had agreed to a three-year deal with former Oregon State guard Gary Payton II, with Shams Charania of The Vertical reporting (via Twitter) that former Texas guard Isaiah Taylor had also agreed to a partially-guaranteed contract with the Rockets.

Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter) confirms those two deals, and adds former Gonzaga forward Kyle Wiltjer to the list of Rockets’ signees. All three players will ink three-year contracts that feature team options, according to Feigen.

Payton, Taylor, Wiltjer were all viewed as top-75 prospects by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, who ranked them 48th, 67th, and 75th, respectively, in his top 100. There’s no guarantee any of them will earn spots on the Houston’s regular-season roster for 2016/17, but whether or not they make the cut, they could end up spending some time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ D-League affiliate.

Exact terms of the three deals aren’t known, and they haven’t been officially finalized yet, but I’d expect minimum-salary pacts, with most – or all – of the guaranteed money coming in the first year.

Thunder Sign Three Players, Finalize Camp Roster

September 23rd, 2016 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have officially finalized their roster for training camp, bringing their roster count to the maximum allowable 20 players. The team announced today in a press release that it has signed guard Alex Caruso, center Kaleb Tarczewski, and forward Chris Wright. Tarczewski’s and Wright’s camp invites had been previously reported.

Caruso, who went undrafted in June, played his college ball at Texas A&M, averaging 8.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.1 SPG in his senior year, while shooting 36.8% from three-point range. The 22-year-old was also named to the SEC’s All-Defensive Team.

Tarczewski, meanwhile, also wasn’t selected in this year’s draft, following a senior year at Arizona in which he averaged 9.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG. Like Caruso, the seven-foot center is a strong defender, having been named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

Wright, who turns 28 next Friday, previously appeared in a total of 32 NBA games for the Warriors and Bucks, but has spent most of his time during the past few years overseas. Most recently, Wright appeared in 34 Israeli League games last season for Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion, averaging 12.2 PPG and 5.1 RPG while shooting 61.5% from the floor and playing solid defense.

The Thunder are currently carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Joffrey Lauvergne on a partially-guaranteed pact and Semaj Christon on a non-guaranteed deal. Caruso, Tarczewski, and Wright likely won’t get more than small guarantees, if they get any guaranteed money at all, which means they’re long shots to make the team’s 15-man roster. An assignment to the D-League’s Oklahoma City Blue is possible for all three players.

Tomislav Zubcic Signed, Waived By Thunder

September 23rd, 2016 at 9:30am CST by Will Joseph

SEPTEMBER 23: Zubcic was technically waived by the Thunder after signing the second-round tender he received from the team, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The end result is the same: Zubcic becomes an unrestricted free agent, whose NBA rights are now up for grabs. However, it suggests that perhaps the player forced the issue, rather than the team simply letting him go.

SEPTEMBER 18: The Thunder have renounced the rights to Tomislav Zubcic on Sunday, making the 6’10” power forward a free agent, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman reports.

Zubcic, 26, played 36 games for Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate last season, averaging 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.8 minutes per game. Zubcic was fourth on the Blue in 3-pointers made (44), shooting 35.2%.

Zubcic was unlikely to ever join the Thunder, Horne writes, so the move isn’t at all surprising and Zubcic can play with the Blue if he does not sign with another team. The 56th overall pick by the Raptors in 2012 was acquired by the Thunder in June 2015 in a deal that had helped the Thunder create roster space for Cameron Payne.

Bulls Sign Thomas Walkup

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls continue to fill out their training camp roster, signing former Stephen F. Austin wing Thomas Walkup to a deal. Walkup himself broke news of the agreement, publishing a photo on Instagram that showed him signing his first NBA contract (hat tip to HoopsHype).

“Signed my first NBA contract today,” Walkup wrote on Instagram. “So many people that helped me get to this point. Chicago Bulls training camp starting Monday!”

Walkup, 23, averaged 18.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG during his senior year at Stephen F. Austin, earning Southland Conference player of the year honors for a second consecutive season. He went undrafted in June.

Details of Walkup’s agreement with the Bulls aren’t known, but a non-guaranteed summer contract seems likely. Chicago currently has 13 players on its roster with guaranteed salaries, and five with non-guaranteed deals. Walkup figures to become the sixth, joining Spencer Dinwiddie, Cristiano Felicio, Vince Hunter, J.J. Avila, and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera as camp invitees competing for a 15-man roster spot.

Southeast Notes: Millsap, Heat, Wall, Hornets

September 22nd, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks power forward Paul Millsap recently underwent a procedure to reduce mild swelling in his right knee, RealGM.com relays via a team press release. The procedure was not surgical and all indications are that he will be ready to play at the start of the season, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links). Millsap, who has averaged 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds last season, has earned a reputation of being an iron man since joining the league during the 2006/07 season. He appeared in 81 regular-season games and 10 playoff games last season and has never missed more than nine games in any season.

In other news around the Southeast Division:

Nevada Smith has been named head coach of the Heat’s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald reports. Smith previously coached the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers for two seasons. Former Heat point guard Anthony Carter will join Smith’s staff. Former Skyforce Dan Craig has joined Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s staff along with Octavio De La Grana, who served as a Skyforce assistant coach last year.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks is uncertain about point guard John Wall’s status for the start of training camp, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. Brooks is unsure when Wall, who underwent two knee operations during the offseason, will be cleared for five-on-five contact. “He’s improving,” Brooks told Buckner. “His body looks great [but] his conditioning is going to be behind. Once you step into an NBA practice, the level goes way up. Especially in a training camp situation where you have guys trying to make it, guys trying to fight for minutes, trying to fight for starting jobs, but we have to make sure [about Wall] because that’s when things can go sideways.”
The Heat’s decision on whether Chris Bosh will be cleared to play is not a function of the salary cap, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun-Sentinel writes. Bosh, who has been diagnosed with blood clots in his leg the past two seasons, must be cleared by medical personnel and the rules of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement have to be followed, Winderman continues. Neither the team nor the players’ union will draw a line in the sand over one player, especially when either could opt out of the CBA as early as mid-December, Winderman adds.
The return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from injury and the addition of free agent center Roy Hibbert raises the defensive ceiling for a team that already ranked in the league’s top 10 last season, according to Basketball Insiders’ season preview of the Hornets. Basketball Insiders takes an optimistic view of the Hornets, with its reporters predicting anywhere from a first to third-place finish for the club this season.

Clippers Sign Xavier Munford

September 22nd, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 22: The Clippers have signed Munford to a non-guaranteed $874,636 summer contract, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

SEPTEMBER 21: The Clippers have begun adding extra bodies to their training camp roster, reaching an agreement on a deal with free agent guard Xavier Munford, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter).

Munford, 22, made his NBA debut in March with the Grizzlies, joining the injury-ravaged Memphis roster for the stretch run. In his 14 contests with the team, Munford averaged 5.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG, while connecting on 39.1% of his three-point attempts. Prior to getting called up by the Grizzlies, Munford scored an impressive 20.4 PPG to go along with 6.4 APG and a .412 3PT% for the 2015/16 Bakersfield Jam in the D-League.

The Clippers still had five openings on their 20-man offseason roster entering the day, but it’s not clear whether there will be any regular-season spots open, since the club’s 15 players all have guaranteed salaries. Munford will likely face an uphill battle to make the team, and could end up back in the D-League to start the 2016/17 campaign.

Dahntay Jones To Rejoin Cavs At Training Camp

September 22nd, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran shooting guard Dahntay Jones has agreed to join the defending champion Cavaliers for training camp on a non-guaranteed contract, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

The 35-year-old Jones was signed by Cleveland just before the end of the regular season this spring. He appeared in one regular-season game, then saw spot duty in 15 postseason games. He scored five key points late in the first half of Game 6 during the NBA Finals.

Jones was released in late July, just before his $1.55MM contract for this season would have been guaranteed.

Jones attended LeBron James‘ mini-camp in Santa Barbara, California earlier this week, according to Vardon.

The Cavaliers have just 12 players with guaranteed contracts and two others with non-guaranteed deals. However, that does not include starting shooting guard J.R. Smith, who is expected to eventually re-sign with the team. The Cavaliers already have plenty of other veterans along with James at the wing positions, including Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, Mike Dunleavy and James Jones, which means Dahntay Jones could have difficulty making the opening night roster.

The journeyman guard’s career dates back to 2003/04, when he played for the Grizzlies. He’s also played for the Kings, Nuggets, Pacers, Hawks, Mavericks and Clippers.

Rockets Rumors: Harden, Motiejunas, Contracts

September 22nd, 2016 at 5:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Franchise player James Harden believes the Rockets have already shown better chemistry as they head into training camp on Saturday, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Harden admits that many of the team’s problems last season could be blamed on a lack of harmony but that has changed, Feigen continues. “We’re doing something I haven’t (experienced) since I’ve been here in Houston,” Harden told Feigen. “Just trying to shake things up, just trying to make sure we really know each other in and out on and off the court. I think that will translate to a better team.” That improved camraderie was evident in mini-camps and workouts that Harden organized, Feigen adds. Along with team bonding, Harden has been focused on avoiding a repeat of last season, when the Rockets went .500 and were knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs after reaching the Western Conference Finals the previous season. “I’ve been training all summer,” Harden said. “Last season wasn’t great at all. It was very disappointing. I don’t want to let that happen two years in a row. I’ve been in the gym working out to get my mind, body and soul right.”

In other developments regarding the Rockets:

Harden says that signing restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas is “very important,” Feigen relays in a tweet. There’s not much going regarding the impasse between the Rockets and Motiejunas, a source told Feigen (Twitter link). The power forward has not received a serious offer from the club, according to his agent, B.J. Armstrong. Motiejunas does not want to sign the $3.4MM qualifying offer the Rockets have made. The Pistons rescinded a deal with the Rockets at the trade deadline in February when Motiejunas failed a physical because of lingering back problems.
The team plans to sign point guards Gary Payton II, Isaiah Taylor and Bobby Brown and power forward Kyle Wiltjer on Thursday or Friday, Feigen added in the same tweet regarding the lack of progress with Motiejunas’ contract talks. Those contracts are likely to to be two-year deals, according to Feigen. Payton II, Taylor and Wiltjer are undrafted rookies who agreed to deals shortly after the draft. Brown, who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2010, agreed in July to attend the Rockets’ camp.

Bucks, Rockets Swap Tyler Ennis, Michael Beasley

September 22nd, 2016 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

3:40pm: The Bucks have announced the deal in a press release, confirming that they’ve sent Ennis to the Rockets in exchange for Beasley.

“We’re excited to add a player with Michael’s skill set to our team,” said general manager John Hammond in a statement. “He’s someone that we’ve kept our eye on the last few seasons and we’re looking forward to watching him compete throughout training camp and the season.”

3:21pm: With Khris Middleton expected to be sidelined for the next six months due to a torn hamstring, the Bucks have found a stop-gap depth piece at forward. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), Milwaukee has shipped Tyler Ennis to the Rockets in exchange for Michael Beasley.

According to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links), the swap isn’t a “reactionary” move for the Bucks, who were said to be discussing a deal with the Rockets before Middleton went down with his hamstring injury on Tuesday. Nonetheless, it’s not hard to think Milwaukee was further motivated to get something done after Middleton went down. A report last night indicated that the team was exploring the trade market for help on the wing.

Still, the Bucks are dealing from a position of strength in the trade. Newly-extended Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to see plenty of time at the point, along with Michael Carter-Williams and free agent addition Matthew Dellavedova. Barring injuries, that wouldn’t leave much playing time for Ennis.

The 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Ennis was sent from Phoenix to Milwaukee at the 2015 trade deadline, and has played in 71 games for the Bucks since then, averaging just 4.1 PPG and 2.1 APG in 13.5 minutes per contest. The 22-year-old will provide point guard depth for a Rockets team that currently features Patrick Beverley and Pablo Prigioni at the position.

From the Rockets’ perspective, the move could indicate that they have confidence in bringing back Donatas Motiejunas, and are willing to give up some of their depth at forward, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Motiejunas is the last restricted free agent on the market, and his agent suggested last week that he’s still waiting for a “serious” contract offer from Houston.

As for the Bucks, they certainly won’t expect Beasley to replicate Middleton’s production, but the former second overall pick is coming off a decent stint in Houston. The sample size wasn’t significant – Beasley played just 20 regular-season games for the Rockets – but the 27-year-old’s numbers (12.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, .522 FG%) were promising. Prior to signing with the Rockets, Beasley had a huge year in China, recording 31.9 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 2.0 APG for the Shandong Golden Stars, earning the CBA’s foreign MVP award.

From a financial perspective, the trade certainly isn’t a blockbuster for either team — Ennis is owed a salary of $1,733,880, while Beasley will make $1,403,611, so the Rockets will take on a little extra money. The Bucks should also be able to create a trade exception worth Ennis’ salary, since they’ll be able to acquire Beasley using the minimum salary exception.

Beasley’s contract will expire at season’s end, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2017. The Rockets will be able to control Ennis through the 2017/18 season, assuming they decide to exercise their team option on him. The decision on that option, which would be worth $2,666,707 and would make Ennis a potential 2018 RFA, is due by October 31.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.