Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Sign Elton Brand To One-Year Deal

September 7th, 2016 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

2:48pm: Brand’s one-year deal is non-guaranteed, according to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly (via Twitter).

2:29pm: Former first overall pick Elton Brand isn’t ready to call it a career quite yet. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Brand will return to Philadelphia for the 2016/17 season, having signed a one-year contract with the Sixers. The team has since confirmed the signing in a press release.

Financial terms of the deal aren’t yet known. Philadelphia has no shortage of cap room, so the club could have lured Brand out of potential retirement by offering more than the minimum after he expressed back in April that he didn’t expect to keep playing. Still, a minimum-salary contract appears likely.

Brand, 37, signed with the Sixers last January and appeared in 17 games for the team the rest of the way, averaging 4.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest. When Brand first joined the team, he wrote a piece for The Cauldron suggesting that he believed his “experience and wisdom” could help Jahlil Okafor and other young players on Philadelphia’s roster. Presumably, he’s returning to fill that veteran leadership role once again.

Although the Sixers have a crowded frontcourt, Brand figures to ostensibly take Carl Landry‘s place on the roster. Landry was expected to the veteran presence for a group of frontcourt players that includes Okafor, Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric. However, Landry wanted the opportunity to earn more playing time, so Philadelphia granted him his release. In Brand, the Sixers have an experienced big man who won’t expect or demand significant minutes.

The 76ers, who had been carrying the maximum allowable 20 players, opened up two roster spots when they cut Landry and Tibor Pleiss, but have since filled those openings by signing Brand and Cat Barber. Not counting Barber and Brand, since the exact details of their deals haven’t yet been reported, Philadelphia has 11 guaranteed salaries on its books, plus seven non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contracts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz Sign Quincy Ford

September 7th, 2016 at 10:36am CST by ChrisCrouse

SEPTEMBER 7: Ford’s deal with the Jazz, first reported in June, is now official, the team announced today in a press release. While Utah didn’t confirm the terms of the agreement, the club still has plenty of cap room, which allows Ford to sign a three-year contract.

The Jazz’s roster has undergone some changes since Ford initially agreed to terms. There are 14 players with guaranteed contracts on Utah’s books, with Ford, Chris Johnson, Jeff Withey, and Marcus Paige on non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed deals.

JUNE 24: The Jazz will sign combo forward Quincy Ford to a partially guaranteed, three-year deal, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it will likely be a minimum-salary arrangement.

Ford was solid during his five years at Northeastern, shooting 34.9% from behind the arc and 46.5% overall. He injured his back early in his collegiate career and he underwent surgery on it in 2013. He was able to red-shirt during the 2013/14 season and he continued to improve in many areas once he returned to the floor.

Utah has 15 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. That figure doesn’t include any of the prospects whom were drafted by the team on Thursday, so Ford is going to face stiff competition for a roster spot despite receiving a three-year deal.

DeJuan Blair To Play In China

September 7th, 2016 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming international reports from earlier in the week, DeJuan Blair‘s agent, Happy Walters, confirmed that his client will head to China for the upcoming season. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter), Blair has signed with Jiangsu Tongxi of the Chinese Basketball Association.

A former second-round pick, Blair was a solid backup for the Spurs during his first four NBA seasons, but has seen his production slip along with his playing time in recent years. After spending a year in Dallas, the veteran big man played for the Wizards the past two seasons.

In 2015/16, Blair appeared in 29 games, averaging just 2.1 PPG and 2.0 RPG while shooting a career-low 41.2% from the floor. The 27-year-old was sent to Phoenix in the deadline deal that saw Markieff Morris head to Washington, and the Suns subsequently waived him, ending his season early.

In China, Blair will be joining a team that also signed Jared Cunningham last month. Blair and Cunningham will be tasked with helping to reverse the fortunes of a club that finished with a 12-26 record in CBA play last season.

Cavaliers, Markel Brown Agree To Deal

September 6th, 2016 at 3:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Markel Brown has reached an agreement on a deal with the Cavaliers, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). The newest Cav will have an opportunity to compete for a regular-season roster spot in Cleveland.

Brown, 24, has spent the last two seasons in Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.2 APG in his 109 total contests with the club. He played sparingly during the 2015/16 season until after Lionel Hollins was dismissed as the Nets’ head coach, and saw his minutes – and his production – increase down the stretch. In his final 30 games of the season, Brown averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, and shot .438/.358/.758, a significant improvement on his career marks.

Despite his solid performance in the spring, Brown ultimately wasn’t in the Nets’ plans. After initially tendering him a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, Brooklyn rescinded that QO near the end of the July moratorium.

For a player looking to earn a spot on a 15-man roster, Cleveland isn’t a bad landing spot — the team only has 12 fully guaranteed contracts on its books. J.R. Smith appears likely to join that mix at some point, but that still leaves two openings. DeAndre Liggins, Jordan McRae, and Cory Jefferson are among the other camp invitees who will look to stick with the Cavaliers through training camp and into the regular season.

The Cavs have used nearly their entire room exception to sign Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder, and are well over the cap, so Brown will get a minimum-salary contract, likely with a partial guarantee. It figures to be either a one- or two-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kings Sign Isaiah Cousins

September 6th, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the final few unsigned picks from the 2016 draft has a new contract in place, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). Charania reports that the Kings have signed 59th overall selection Isaiah Cousins to a partially guaranteed, one-year contract.

Cousins (no relation to DeMarcus) is a 6’6″ shooting guard out of Oklahoma who became the second-last player selected in this year’s draft. In his final year with the Sooners, Cousins averaged 12.6 PPG, 4.5 APG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 37 contests. The senior also shot 41.1% on three-point attempts and made nearly two of them per game — his shooting percentage was better on three-pointers than on two-pointers for a second consecutive season.

With 14 guaranteed contracts on their books already, the Kings may not have room on their regular-season roster for Cousins. Unless the team waives another player, the 22-year-old rookie would have to beat out both Ty Lawson and Lamar Patterson – along with any other camp invitees – to grab a spot on the 15-man roster.

If Sacramento ultimately cuts Cousins before the regular season begins, the team would retain its D-League rights to him, and could assign him to the Reno Bighorns. However, if another NBA club wanted to sign Cousins to its 15-man roster, the Kings wouldn’t be able to stop that from happening.

With Cousins locked up, there are only two 2016 draftees – Daniel Hamilton of the Thunder and Tyrone Wallace of the Jazz – whose outlooks for 2016/17 remain uncertain. For a team to retain its NBA rights to a second-round pick, it must tender a one-year, minimum-salary contract offer by September 6, so it’s possible Hamilton and Wallace will have their situations resolved soon as well.

While Cousins’ contract will likely be a minimum-salary pact, the Kings still have their $2.898MM room exception available, so they could have offered more than the minimum.

Nuggets Sign Robbie Hummel

September 4th, 2016 at 1:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nuggets have signed Robbie Hummel to a two-year deal, according to GoldandBlack.com (Twitter link). It will be a partially guaranteed deal, likely for the minimum.

Hummel played in Italy last season for Emporio Armani Milano. He suffered a shoulder injury midseason and he was released by the team. The Wolves selected the former Purdue star with the No. 58 overall selection in the 2012 draft. He spent two season in Minnesota, averaging 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game.

Entering the day, the Nuggets had 19 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Hummel will face stiff competition for a regular season roster spot.

Bucks To Sign Orlando Johnson

September 3rd, 2016 at 7:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks have reached an agreement with Orlando Johnson, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops. The 6’5″ shooting guard will join Milwaukee in time for training camp.

Johnson, 27, has been with four teams in four seasons after being drafted in the second round by the Kings in 2012. He signed two 10-day contracts last season, one with the Suns in February and one with the Pelicans in March. He appeared in two games with Phoenix and five with New Orleans.

Milwaukee, which recently added free agent Jason Terry and re-signed Steve Novak, has 15 players with guaranteed contracts. However, Scotto says the Bucks are still looking for ways to improve their depth at the wing position.

Raptors Sign Masai Ujiri To Extension

September 2nd, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have locked up their team president and their primary basketball decision-maker for a few more years, the team announced today in a press release. Masai Ujiri, who had two years remaining on his previous contract, has signed a multiyear extension with Toronto, according to the announcement.

In addition to Ujiri’s extension, the Raptors also confirmed a couple other pieces of front-office news, announcing that Jeff Weltman has been promoted to general manager, while Bobby Webster will get a new title of assistant GM/VP basketball strategy.

“I am grateful to the Board and Mr. [Larry] Tanenbaum for the opportunity to continue our progress to build the Raptors into one of the top franchises in the NBA,” Ujiri said in a statement. “I’m also excited that Jeff and Bobby are being rewarded for their hard work and valuable contributions to our program. My family thanks the NBA, Raptors players and coaches, staff, Raptors fans, the city of Toronto and Canada for this opportunity. Toronto is home for us.”

Ujiri, who was named the Raptors’ president and general manager back on May 31, 2013, has helped lead the franchise to three consecutive playoff berths, and has overseen the best stretch in franchise history. After failing to top 47 wins in their first 18 years of existence, the Raptors have established a new high in wins in a season for three straight years — the team won 48 games in 2013/14, 49 in 2014/15, and 56 last season. Toronto also earned a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals this past season, after having never previously won a seven-game playoff series.

Under Ujiri’s watch, the Raptors have turned into a contender in the East while also continuing to develop young talent. Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira, Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, and Pascal Siakam are all currently on rookie contracts. Toronto has also retained draftees such as DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, and Terrence Ross with long-term deals, while adding players like DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph in free agency.

An ESPN report last month first indicated that the Raptors and Ujiri were discussing an extension.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Guarantee Contract Of Alan Williams

September 1st, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns kept power forward/center Alan Williams on their roster Thursday, guaranteeing his salary for the upcoming season, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Williams will receive a salary of $874,636.

GM Ryan McDonough called it an “easy decision” to retain the 6’8” Williams, who is the 14th player with a guaranteed contract on Phoenix’s roster.

“He’s played well at two summer leagues,” McDonough told Coro. “He’s really improved from the end of last season. He’s transformed his body. He’s developing his touch outside the paint and added a push shot.”

Williams appeared in 10 games with the Suns last season, averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 6.8 minutes. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Suns’ season finale. The former Cal-Santa Barbara star played in China before joining Phoenix in March.

Williams continued to impress the Suns brass by averaging 11.8 points and 11.2 rebounds in six Summer League games. Williams’ likely role will be the No. 3 center behind Tyson Chandler and Alex Len, though Len could also start at power forward. Lottery picks Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss, as well as veteran acquisition Jared Dudley, are the other big men on the roster.

You can find the upcoming deadlines for other players with non-guaranteed salaries here.

Lakers Sign Julian Jacobs, Travis Wear

September 1st, 2016 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers issued a press release today announcing that they’ve officially added two more players to their offseason roster. In addition to confirming their previously-reported deal with Travis Wear, the Lakers also revealed that they’ve inked undrafted free agent guard Julian Jacobs to a contract.

Jacobs, a point guard who played his college ball at USC, left the Trojans after his junior year to declare for his NBA draft. In his final year at USC, he averaged 11.6 PPG and 5.4 APG in 31 contests, shooting 47.1% from the field.

Wear, a small forward, was out of the NBA last season after playing 61 games for the Knicks in 2014/15. The 25-year-old has a total of 51 NBA contests under his belt, all with New York, and has career averages of 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 13.2 minutes per night. His career NBA shooting line is .402/.367/.769.

Neither Jacobs nor Wear seems like a great bet to earn a regular-season roster spot for the Lakers, who now have 18 players under contract. The team has 14 fully guaranteed contracts on its books, plus Yi Jianlian‘s partially-guaranteed deal. If Nick Young is traded or released, a 15-man spot would open up, but Zach Auguste, who got a $60K guarantee from L.A., per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), would be vying for that opening as well.