Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Sign Jordan Hill

July 20th, 2016 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 20: The Timberwolves have officially signed Hill, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 13: The Timberwolves and free agent big man Jordan Hill have agreed to terms on a two-year contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Hill’s new deal will be worth $8MM.

Hill, who will turn 29 later this month, appeared in 73 regular-season games for the Pacers last season, starting 11 of those games. In just over 20 minutes per contest, he averaged 8.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG, shooting 50.6% from the floor. A seven-year veteran, Hill previously spent time with the Knicks, Rockets, and Lakers.

For the Wolves, Hill is the second notable veteran big man to agree to terms with the team this month. Minnesota also struck a three-year deal with Cole Aldrich. While Aldrich and Hill aren’t exactly All-Star-caliber players, the team appears to be getting good value out of the duo. Based on the terms reported, Aldrich and Hill will average just over $11MM per season.

By comparison, Timofey Mozgov and Ian Mahinmi will be earning $16MM annually, while Bismack Biyombo will get $18MM per year — and all of those free agents signed longer-term deals than Aldrich or Hill.

Along with Aldrich, Hill will provide the Wolves with solid veteran depth in a frontcourt that also features Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng, Nemanja Bjelica, and reigning Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Donald Sloan Signs With Chinese Team

July 20th, 2016 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

10:58am: Sloan’s one-year deal with Guangdong will be worth $2.7MM, tweets Michael Scotto of The Associated Press.

10:21am: Veteran NBA free agent Donald Sloan will be taking his talents overseas for the coming season, according to his agency (Twitter link). Impact Sports Management announced that Sloan has signed a contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, a team in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Sloan, 28, appeared in a career-high 61 games for the Nets last season, starting 33 of them. In those contests, he averaged 7.0 PPG and 4.4 APG to go along with a respectable shooting line of .440/.384/.750. It’s known whether Sloan – who has also spent time with the Hawks, Cavaliers, Pacers, and Pelicans (when they were the Hornets) – drew any real NBA interest this offseason, but it appears his best offer came from overseas.

Guangdong, one of the top teams in the CBA last season, was led by a handful of former NBA players, including Yi Jianlian, Ike Diogu, and Will Bynum, a trio that combined to average 64.5 points per contest.

Terms of Sloan’s new deal with the club aren’t known.

Mavericks Sign Quincy Acy

July 20th, 2016 at 10:35am CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 20, 10:35am: The Mavericks have officially signed Acy, the team announced today.

JULY 14, 5:20pm: The contract will be for the league minimum and include a team option for the second season, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.

5:16pm: The Mavericks and unrestricted free agent Quincy Acy have come to terms on a contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It will be a two-year deal for the forward, Charania adds, but the scribe makes no mention of the amount of the pact, nor if it includes any guaranteed salary. Acy opted out of his minimum salary contract with Sacramento back in April.

Acy, who’ll turn 26 in October, averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game this past season, his second tenure with the Kings, who had him for most of the 2013/14 season. The Kings moved him in and out of the starting lineup this season, but he still wound up making 29 starts, his most ever.

He spent a year with the Knicks in between his stints with Sacramento, and Acy put up the best numbers of his career in 2014/15 with New York, averaging 5.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 18.9 minutes.

Clippers Sign Brandon Bass

July 19th, 2016 at 7:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 19: The Clippers have officially signed Bass, according to the team’s website.

JULY 16: The Clippers have reached an agreement to sign Brandon Bass, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year deal, presumably for the minimum, which is worth roughly $1.55MM, according to Dan Woike of the OC Register (Twitter link). Charania adds (full-length piece) the the Spurs had strong interest in bringing Bass aboard.

Bass spent last season with the Lakers, accumulating 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds off the bench. He turned down a player option worth $3.135MM last month in order to become a free agent. At the time, Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors speculated that the Clippers could be a possible landing spot.

The Clippers already added Marreese Speights earlier in the month, so they now have plenty of veteran depth in the frontcourt behind DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin.

Nets Sign Joe Harris

July 19th, 2016 at 4:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 19: The Nets have officially signed Harris, the team announced today in a press release. Per NetsDaily (Twitter link), it’s a two-year, minimum-salary pact that’s guaranteed for the first year. The second year becomes guaranteed for $250K if Harris is still under contract beyond October 31, 2017.

JULY 13: The Nets and unrestricted free agent Joe Harris have agreed to a contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It will be a two-year deal, according to Harris’ agency, Priority Sports (via Twitter). The amount of the arrangement is unknown, nor if it includes any guaranteed salary.

Brooklyn had to settle for Harris after missing out on Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe, whom they had signed to offer sheets early in free agency. The players’ respective teams matched the Nets’ offers, dashing GM Sean Marks‘ hope of rebuilding the team’s backcourt this offseason. Harris has failed to impress thus far in the league, but a new start under coach Kenny Atkinson may help to jumpstart his career.

The Magic waived Harris shortly after acquiring him via trade from the Cavaliers in January, with the shooting guard set to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his right foot. Harris is expected to be at full-speed when training camp begins. The 24-year-old only appeared in five contests for the Cavs this past season, averaging 0.6 points in 3 minutes of action per game. His career numbers through 56 regular season appearances are 2.5 points and 0.8 rebounds on 39.5% shooting.

Suns Sign Leandro Barbosa

July 19th, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 19, 2:01pm: The Suns have officially signed Barbosa, the team announced today (via Twitter).

JULY 6, 11:00pm: The deal includes a team option on the second year, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets.

10:54pm: The Suns have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Leandro Barbosa, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The pact is worth $8MM over two-years, Wojnarowski adds. It’s unknown if the deal includes any options, be it player or team.

The 33-year-old makes his return to Phoenix, where he spent the first seven years of his career after being selected No. 28 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. The veteran also made a brief 20-game pit stop with the franchise during the 2013/14 campaign.

Barbosa was a member of the Western Conference champion Warriors this past season, appearing in 68 games and averaging 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 15.9 minutes per contest. He shot .462/.355/.839 from the field on the year.

Pistons Sign First-Rounder Henry Ellenson

July 19th, 2016 at 8:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have officially locked up their first-round pick from last month’s draft, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed big man Henry Ellenson. While terms of the deal weren’t announced, we can safely assume that Ellenson got a contract worth the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale.

In Ellenson’s case, as the 18th overall pick, that will work out to a first-year salary of $1,704,120, with subsequent raises. Overall, Ellenson’s four-year deal with Detroit will be worth just shy of $8.2MM, as our breakdown of salaries for 2016 first-rounders shows.

Ellenson, 19, spent just one season at Marquette, nearly averaging a double-double in his 33 games with the team. For the season, Ellenson recorded 17.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. Although he shot just 28.8% on three-point attempts, he averaged more than three long-range attempts per contest, and will likely focus on improving that aspect of his game in the NBA.

Ranked as the 13th-best prospect in this year’s draft class by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, Ellenson was a candidate to be selected as high as No. 9, but was ultimately still available at No. 18, where the Pistons were happy to snatch him up.

Thunder Rescind Dion Waiters’ Qualifying Offer

July 18th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Thunder have rescinded Dion Waiters‘ qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Without the threat of Oklahoma City matching an offer sheet, the appeal of signing the 24-year-old becomes greater, especially for the Sixers and Nets, Wojnarowski adds on Twitter. Both teams have previously shown interest in the Philadelphia native.

Oklahoma City still holds Waiters’ Bird Rights and it’s possible that the team could still re-sign the shooting guard. Wojnarowski added (Twitter link) that the team wanted the cap-space flexibility, possibly to renegotiate a deal with Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder reportedly reached an agreement to bring Alex Abrines stateside earlier today. That, coupled with the draft night trade for Victor Oladipo, could signal the end of Waiters’ time in Oklahoma City since there may not be enough minutes in the backcourt to go around.

Waiters played 27.6 minutes per game last season, accumulating 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. He shot a respectable 35.8% from behind the arc and while his shot selection wasn’t exemplary, it was better than in any of his previous seasons.

Raptors Sign Fred VanVleet

July 18th, 2016 at 1:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed VanVleet to a multiyear contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).

JULY 12: The Raptors have reached a contract agreement with free agent Fred VanVleet, Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic reports. The pact will be a multiyear arrangement, according to Murphy, and barring a last minute alteration, will include a partial guarantee.

VanVleet went undrafted out of Wichita State this year and he has been playing on Toronto’s squad at the Las Vegas Summer League, Murphy notes. The scribe notes that the guard has impressed the franchise with his composure running the offense and an improved 3-point stroke. Through three summer league contests, VanVleet has scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and added five assists.

The 22-year-old made 31 appearances for the Shockers this past season and averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 29.0 minutes per outing. His slash line on the year was .390/.381/.817. He’s a longshot to make the regular season roster, but would be a wise addition to the Raptors’ D-League affiliate where he can be developed as a player during the 2016/17 campaign.

Hawks’ Isaia Cordinier To Remain Overseas

July 18th, 2016 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Second-round pick Isaia Cordinier will remain overseas rather than joining the Hawks immediately, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Vivlamore reports that Cordinier, who played for Denain-Voltaire last season, will return to France and join Antibes for the coming season.

[RELATED: 2016 Draft Pick Signings]

Cordinier, the 44th overall pick in this year’s draft, is still just 19 years old, so it’s no surprise that the Hawks want him to get a little more seasoning overseas. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com had reported in the wake of the draft that Cordinier may be joining Antibes, his hometown team, for the 2016/17 campaign, with an eye toward signing with Atlanta a year from now.

According to Givony, Cordinier had received a promise from a team drafting in the late-30s or early-40s, but that team reneged on the promise at the last minute. Givony referred to it as an “ugly story,” noting that Cordinier’s camp had even told other teams not to draft him, since he was guaranteed to be brought to the NBA immediately. Fortunately for the French shooting guard, he didn’t slip too far, and may just spend one more season playing international ball before joining the Hawks.

This past season, Cordinier appeared in 32 French League games for Denain-Voltaire, averaging 10.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.0 APG, with a shooting line of .503/.404/.779. His new team, Antibes, plays Pro A ball, as opposed to Pro B ball like Denain-Voltaire, so it will be a step up for Cordinier, who was a member of the Hawks’ Summer League squad this month.