Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Kaun, Varejao, Hornets, Barnes

July 25th, 2016 at 10:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Center Sasha Kaun has retired after playing one season with the Cavaliers, according to Gary Bedore of KUSports.com. The 31-year-old Kaun played sparingly with Cleveland, appearing in 25 games. He was traded to the Sixers earlier this month, then waived. He played seven seasons with CSKA Moscow after completing his college career at Kansas. “I was very blessed and fortunate to play as long as I have,” he told the Journal-World from Colorado.

In other news around the league:

Warriors reserve center Anderson Varejao has returned to the U.S. from Brazil to undergo tests on his back, according to Brazil’s Olympic website. The report, which was later posted by the San Jose Mercury News, puts Varejao’s Olympic participation in doubt and clouds his availability for training camp. Varejao just re-signed with the Warriors last week after playing spot minutes the second half of last season and during the playoffs.
Noel Gillespie has been named head coach of the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ new D-League affiliate, the team announced on its website. Gillespie spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Nuggets. Before that, he was on the Suns’ staff for 10 seasons.
The Mavericks probably overpaid to obtain Harrison Barnes as a restricted free agent, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko. Dallas hopes that Barnes blossoms now that he’ll be a bigger part of its offense than he was with the Warriors, but he’s been a middle-of-the-road player and there’s no guarantee he’ll get much better, Sefko adds. Barnes was lured away with a four-year, $94MM offer sheet that Golden State couldn’t match.
Yogi Ferrell’s minimum contract with the Nets has a $100K guarantee, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The former Indiana University point guard agreed to a one-year deal with Brooklyn last week after going undrafted.

Blazers Agree To Deal With Tim Quarterman

July 25th, 2016 at 3:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers have signed guard Tim Quarterman to a partially guaranteed two-year deal, according to the team’s website. The story was first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).

The 6’6” Quarterman went undrafted after he declared following his junior season at LSU. He posted averages of 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.97 steals in 33 games last season with the Tigers. Quarterman shot 31% on 3-point attempts and 66% from the free throw line during his three seasons at LSU, so he’ll have to improve his shooting to stick.

The opportunity is there for Quarterman to earn a roster spot. Portland has Damian Lillard and Shabazz Napier at point guard and C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe at shooting guard. Swingman Evan Turner could also see backcourt minutes.

Quarterman made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a host of teams. Quarterman had trouble blending with No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons in his final season at LSU, as his points and assists dipped while he bounced in and out of the lineup. He did improve his 3-point shooting to 34.3%.

Hornets Sign Mike Tobey

July 25th, 2016 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have added an undrafted free agent to their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed center Mike Tobey to an NBA contract. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though a minimum-salary deal seems likely.

Tobey, a 7’1″ center out of Virginia, averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 15.7 minutes per contest during his senior year. The 21-year-old joined the Hornets for Summer League action in Orlando, and recorded 10.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in his five appearances with the squad.

The Hornets entered the day with only 14 players on their offseason roster, so the team figures to add a few more bodies before training camp begins in the fall. Depending on the terms of his new contract, Tobey could have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot, though Charlotte already has some depth at the center position, with Cody Zeller, Roy Hibbert, and Spencer Hawes under contract.

Sixers Sign Brandon Paul

July 25th, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 25: The Sixers have issued a press release formally announcing the signing of Paul.

JULY 18: The Sixers and Brandon Paul have reached an agreement on a partially guaranteed deal, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The 6’4″ shooting guard played for Philadelphia’s Summer League team this offseason, where he averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 steals in 19.6 minutes per game.

The 25-year-old didn’t shoot the ball well during four years at the University of Illinois, making slightly less than 32.5% of his shots from behind the arc. However, he played for Liga ACB last season and made improvements in that area, making 35.3% of his attempts.

The Sixers had 19 players on the roster entering the day, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Paul will face stiff competition for roster spot and once the season begins, it’s more likely he will be suiting up for the 87ers, Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate.

Clippers Sign Raymond Felton

July 25th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 25: The Clippers have made it official with Felton, announcing today (via Twitter) that the veteran point guard has signed his contract with the team. It’s believed to be a one-year, minimum-salary pact.

JULY 14: The Clippers and unrestricted free agent Raymond Felton have agreed to terms on a contract, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media group reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the arrangement are not yet known.

Interest had picked up in the veteran in recent days, as Haynes noted on Wednesday, with five teams expressing interest in signing Felton. The Clippers land themselves a solid backup to starter Chris Paul, and Felton now becomes the only other true point guard on the team’s roster.

The 32-year-old made 80 appearances for Dallas in 2015/16, averaging 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27.4 minutes per outing.

Jordan Hamilton Signs With Turkish Team

July 25th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

After finishing the 2015/16 regular season with the Pelicans, free agent swingman Jordan Hamilton will head overseas for the 2016/17 campaign. As relayed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Hamilton has signed a contract with Turkey’s Tofas Bursa, the team formally announced.

A former first-round pick, Hamilton spent his first few NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but has bounced around since 2014, spending time with the Rockets, Clippers, and Pelicans. The 25-year-old has also played for multiple D-League clubs, and spent parts of last season playing in Russia and Venezuela.

In his 11 games with New Orleans last season, Hamilton averaged 11.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.3 APG, shooting 42.2% from the floor. The Pelicans made several roster moves this offseason to replenish their bench, and it seems Hamilton was never in their plans — the team renounced its rights to him when creating cap room for those new incoming players.

Grizzlies Sign Troy Williams

July 24th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Indiana small forward Troy Williams has signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Grizzlies, tweets international journalist David Pick.

The 21-year-old Williams averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 assists for the Hoosiers as a junior last season. He wasn’t taken in last month’s draft.

Williams joined the Suns’ summer league team and averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in Las Vegas.

Thunder Sign Swingman Alex Abrines

July 23rd, 2016 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 23rd, 2:19pm: Abrines has signed a multi-year contract, according to the team’s website.

JULY 18th, 9:37am: Since losing Kevin Durant to the Warriors, the Thunder have been fairly quiet, opting not to make a splash in free agency. According to multiple reports, however, it appears Oklahoma City will use some of the spending flexibility created by Durant’s departure to bring over draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines.

According to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops, Abrines and the Thunder have agreed to a deal that will pay the Spanish forward nearly $18MM over three years. Chema de Lucas (via Twitter) pegs the value at $17MM over three years. The Thunder will be able to pay up to $650K of Abrines’ buyout from Barcelona, which is believed to be in the range of $2.2MM — he’ll have to cover the rest of that buyout himself.

Abrines, who turns 23 next month, was drafted 32nd overall in 2013 using one of the picks the Thunder acquired from Houston in the James Harden trade. He averaged 9.3 PPG and shot 41.7% from three-point range in 25 Euroleague games this past season.

As Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman details, a source had told him earlier this summer that Abrines was unlikely to make the jump to the NBA for the 2016/17 campaign, but with Durant gone and Dion Waiters‘ restricted free agency still up in the air, it makes some sense for Oklahoma City to bring him over now.

Although the Thunder only have about $72MM committed to player salaries for next season prior to Abrines’ deal, Waiters’ cap hold is worth nearly $13MM, and there are other cap holds on the books for first-rounder Domantas Sabonis and some former OKC players. Throw in a trade exception and the team’s mid-level exception and the total increases to more than $94MM, so there’s a chance the Thunder could remain an over-the-cap team this year rather than using cap room.

As such, it makes sense that Abrines’ three-year deal is reported to be worth nearly $18MM — if Oklahoma City signs him using its full mid-level exception, he would earn $17,643,780 over three years. If the Thunder end up losing Waiters or going under the cap for another reason, they could sign Abrines to a similar deal using cap room.

Cavs Sign Chris Andersen

July 22nd, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 22: The Cavaliers have officially signed Andersen, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 15: After finalizing a trade to send Sasha Kaun to the Sixers, the Cavaliers have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Andersen, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). It’s a minimum-salary pact, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

JULY 8: The Cavaliers are nearing an agreement with veteran NBA big man and all-around entertaining locker room presence, Chris Andersen, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays (on Twitter). Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue noted during an appearance on NBA TV that the team was in the process of signing Andersen.

If Andersen does indeed join the defending NBA champs, he’ll reunite with former Heat teammate LeBron James. The big man will likely be signing with the team for the veteran’s minimum, though that is merely my speculation. Andersen should provide additional depth, energy and defense off the bench for the Cavs.

Andersen was dealt to the Grizzlies during the season and appeared in 20 games for Memphis after his arrival. He averaged 4.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 18.3 minutes per outing while shooting .548/.222/.688 from the field.

Spurs Sign Forward Livio Jean-Charles

July 22nd, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs have signed power forward Livio Jean-Charles, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News reports. The signing was confirmed in a team press release. Jean-Charles’ contract is believed to be a standard rookie-scale deal for four years and approximately $4.5MM, according to McDonald.

Jean-Charles was a draft-and-stash prospect, taken No. 28 overall during the 2013 draft. The 6’9”, 22-year-old Charles played the last four seasons for the French League club ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, which is co-owned by San Antonio point guard Tony Parker. Last season he appeared in 25 games, averaging 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.2 minutes.

He was also a member of the Spurs’ summer-league teams the past two seasons. Jean-Charles isn’t considered much of an offensive threat but he’ll be a factor on the defensive end.

“He’s had a lot of growth since last year,” Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon told McDonald. “He’s an athletic ‘four.’ We expect him to play great defense and grab a lot of boards.”

San Antonio doesn’t have a true power forward outside of LaMarcus Aldridge on the current roster, so Jean-Charles could carve out a rotation role with a strong training camp. He’ll compete with Kyle Anderson and Davis Bertans for minutes.