Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Sign Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot

July 3rd, 2016 at 11:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers made three picks in the first round of last month’s draft, and the team has already locked up two of those rookies, signing them to their rookie deals. The team issued a press release earlier today confirming the signing of No. 1 pick Ben Simmons and announcing that Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is now under contract as well.

The No. 24 pick of this year’s draft, Luwawu-Cabarrot was the second of Philadelphia’s three first-rounders, joining Simmons and 26th overall pick Furkan Korkmaz. Luwawu-Cabarrot and Simmons have become the first two draftees from this year’s class to formally put pen to paper on their deals, though second-rounder Patrick McCaw reportedly reached an agreement with the Warriors as well.

Luwawu-Cabarrot, a French forward, spent last season playing for Mega Leks in the Adriatic Basketball Association. In 28 games, he averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.7 SPG, while shooting 37.2% on three-point attempts. Assuming he signs for the maximum 120% of the rookie scale, Luwawu-Cabarrot will earn $1,326,960 in his rookie season, with a four-year rookie contract worth $6,689,604, as I outlined here.

Both Simmons and Luwawu-Cabarrot will participate in Summer League action for the Sixers.

Kings To Sign Matt Barnes

July 3rd, 2016 at 7:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Troy Taormina / USA TODAY Sports

Free agent forward Matt Barnes will sign with the Kings, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The deal is for $12MM over two seasons, with a player option on the second year, according to James Ham of CSNCalifornia (Twitter link). Sacramento rescinded its qualifying offer to Seth Curry earlier in the day to create room for Barnes.

Barnes, who spent one year in Sacramento during the 2004/05 season, played for the Grizzlies last year, averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 76 games. He earned $3,542,500 during his lone season in Memphis.

It’s uncertain how the signing will affect the Kings’ plan for Rudy Gay, who is rumored to be the subject of trade talks with the Pacers. Sacramento gave up another wing player on draft night when it traded Marco Belinelli to the Hornets.

Kings To Rescind QO For Seth Curry

July 3rd, 2016 at 7:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:12pm: The Kings rescinded Curry’s offer so they could sign another veteran player, tweets James Ham of CSNCalifornia.

5:28pm: The Kings plan to rescind their qualifying offer for Seth Curry, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Curry would have made 1,215,696 under the offer

Curry developed into a rotational player for Sacramento this season, appearing in 44 games and starting nine. He averaged 6.8 points per night and shot 45% from 3-point range. He made $947,276 during 2015/16.

The Kings considered Curry expendable after they agreed to terms with free agent point guard Garrett Temple earlier today.

Bret Brielmaier To Join Nets’ Staff

July 3rd, 2016 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cavaliers assistant Bret Brielmaier will join the Nets’ coaching staff, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. His hiring will complete the staff of new Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson, who was hired in April.

Brielmaier has been an assistant in Cleveland for the past three seasons. He worked under Mike Brown, David Blatt and Tyrone Lue.

Brielmaier started his NBA career with the Spurs in 2009/10 as a player development assistant and was later promoted to video coordinator.

Kings To Sign Garrett Temple

July 3rd, 2016 at 3:06pm CST by Will Joseph

The Kings and shooting guard Garrett Temple have agreed on a three-year deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Sam Amick of USA Today Sports tweets that the deal is worth $24MM in total. The third year is a player option, Amick adds.

It became clear after the Wizards acquired Trey Burke that Washington had no plans to re-sign Temple, who is 30. Temple, however, did provide the Wizards with solid production. He averaged a career best 7.3 points per game in a career-high 43 starts. The move could end up being a shrewd one for the Kings. Temple is a solid reserve player with versatility, as James Ham of CSNBayArea.com tweets.

Temple earned the veteran minimum for the last two seasons. He is now obviously cashing in big, comparatively speaking. The Celtics, Nuggets, Kings, Pelicans and Hawks all reached out to Temple, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com.

Ben Simmons Signs Rookie Deal With Sixers

July 2nd, 2016 at 11:18pm CST by Luke Adams

While free agent contracts can’t be signed during the July moratorium, first-round rookies are free to sign their deals, and No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons has done just that. Simmons tweeted out a photo on Saturday that showed him putting pen to paper and making his first NBA contract with the Sixers official.

The cap hold for Simmons had been equal to the rookie scale amount for the first overall pick, which is $4,919,300 for 2016/17. However, as I outlined last month, first-round picks nearly always sign for 120% of that rookie-scale figure, which is the maximum amount allowed. That means Simmons’ cap hit will increase to $5,903,160 now that he’s under contract.

Although some teams will wait to finalize their deals with their first-round rookies in order to maximize their cap flexibility, that shouldn’t be an issue from the Sixers, who are well below the cap and almost certainly won’t need to make use of that extra $1MM or so this summer.

Now that he’s officially under contract, Simmons is set to participate in Summer League option with the 76ers this month.

Clippers To Re-Sign Wesley Johnson

July 2nd, 2016 at 10:33pm CST by Will Joseph

The Clippers plan to re-sign Wesley Johnson to a three-year, $18MM deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Johnson wisely elected for free agency last month.

Johnson would have earned $1,227,286 next season had he chose to opt in, but with the salary cap’s rise, he was able to cash in for much more. The move comes as no surprise, since team president and coach Doc Rivers has said that he wants to re-sign as many of the Clippers’ free agents as possible, and Johnson noted that he would prefer to remain in Los Angeles.

The Clippers also agreed to re-sign Austin Rivers on Saturday. Johnson, 28, appeared in 80 games for the Clippers in 2015/16, averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 20.8 minutes per outing with a shooting line of .404/.333/.652.

Rockets, Eric Gordon Agree To Deal

July 2nd, 2016 at 7:47pm CST by Will Joseph

The Rockets and Eric Gordon have reached an agreement, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. The deal, which can be finalized next week, is worth $53MM over four years, Wojnarowski adds.

Gordon, 27, is a talented scorer when he’s healthy, having averaged 16.6 PPG with a .383 3PT% over the course of his eight-year NBA career. However, in those eight seasons, he has played just 417 total games, or about 52 per year. During his five seasons in New Orleans, Gordon never played more than 64 games in a season, having dealt with multiple injuries. Gordon averaged 15.2 points in 45 games for the Pelicans last season.

It’s quite clear that the Rockets are building around James Harden as an offensive-minded team under new coach Mike D’Antoni. Houston agreed to a deal with stretch four Ryan Anderson earlier on Saturday. Gordon and Anderson had been teammates with the Pelicans.

The lack of state income tax in Texas may have been an added incentive for Gordon, who also received interest from the Knicks and Grizzlies. New York ultimately reached a deal with Courtney Lee to fill the club’s opening at the two.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wizards, Ian Mahinmi Agree To Deal

July 2nd, 2016 at 7:16pm CST by Will Joseph

The Wizards and Ian Mahinmi have agreed to four-year pact worth $64MM, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The Pacers tried to re-sign Mahinmi, but were not going to offer that kind of money, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays.

This is the second major move for the Wizards this offseason, following their agreement to re-sign shooting guard Bradley Beal to a five-year max, maximum-salary contract. The team was also linked to Al Horford, Luol Deng, and Jared Dudley, before those players reached deals with other teams.

A 6-foot-11 center, Mahinmi enjoyed the best season of his career last year at the age of 29. He averaged 7.1 rebounds per game and 9.3 points on 58.9% shooting. Mahinmi had served as a backup for seven previous seasons, so it remains to be seen whether or not his success is sustainable.

Mahinmi joins a Washington front court that already features Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat. He’ll be expected to help improve a defense that ranked No. 14 in efficiency, and also looks to be the replacement for Nene, who is an unrestricted free agent after having spent four seasons with the Wizards.

The Spurs, Timberwolves, Hornets, Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic were also mentioned as potential suitors for Mahinmi.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Sign Courtney Lee

July 2nd, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Will Joseph

JULY 8: The Knicks have made it official with Lee, announcing that his deal has been signed (Twitter link).

JULY 2: The Knicks and Courtney Lee have agreed to a four-year deal, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The deal is worth $48MM and it’s fully guaranteed with no options, Michael Scotto of The Associated Press reports.

New York has been looking for a shooting guard to add to a starting rotation that is set to feature Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah. The Knicks were reportedly in the mix for Eric Gordon, with potentially disgruntled Heat star Dwyane Wade lurking as a fallback option, but landing Lee appears to be a more prudent pickup, given his consistent health.

“Excited to be a part of the Knicks and play in the Garden. The fans and city are amazing, and the team is ready,” Lee said, per Kennedy.

After agreeing to a deal with center Joakim Noah, the Knicks were projected to have approximately $12MM in cap space remaining, so Lee may be the team’s latest notable free agent addition. An unselfish two-way player with good shooting ability, the 30-year-old looks like a solid addition for New York.

Lee finished the 2015/16 season with the Hornets, appearing in 28 games after being acquired from Memphis and averaging 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists during his time in Charlotte. He shot .445/.392/.885 from the field for the Hornets.

The Wolves, Kings, Nets and Hawks were all reported to be interested in Lee before he agreed to terms with the Knicks, though Atlanta and Sacramento have landed alternate targets in Kent Bazemore and Arron Afflalo, respectively.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.