Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans, Greg Smith Deal Nixed

October 9th, 2015 at 11:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:59pm: The sides had a signed contract, and the Pelicans voided it, according to the RealGM transactions log.

9:30pm: Smith has failed his physical, which means the pending agreement between the two sides has been canceled, John Reid of The Times-Picayune reports.

2:29pm: The Pelicans are bringing aboard four-year NBA veteran Greg Smith, sources tell Scott Kushner for The New Orleans Advocate, who indicates that the big man has already put pen to paper on a non-guaranteed contract. The team has yet to make an official announcement, but the Pelicans yesterday revealed that starting center Omer Asik is set to miss three weeks with a right calf strain, and they’re also without backup center Alexis Ajinca for about four to six weeks as he deals with a strained right hamstring. The move will give New Orleans 19 players, 13 of whom have full guarantees, as our roster count shows.

Smith, 24, didn’t appear to generate much interest in free agency this summer after he saw little playing time for the Mavs, who didn’t re-sign him in spite of their need at center. He failed to impress in a workout last month for China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers, as international journalist David Pick reported. He’s spent most of his time in the NBA with the Rockets, who gave him 15.9 minutes per game in 70 contests, including 10 starts, during the 2012/13 season, but they waived him shortly before the 2014 playoffs. The Bulls snapped him up just days later and signed him to a deal that included a fully guaranteed 2014/15 season, but he never made it into a game for Chicago before a trade sent him to the Mavs.

The Pelicans focused on the backcourt with their camp invitees, as power forward Jeff Adrien had been the only frontcourt player without a full guarantee on the New Orleans roster. Shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones is the sole Pelican with a partial guarantee, as he’s assured of $50K, so Smith would appear to have a decent chance to hang around into the regular season.

Do you think the Pelicans should keep Smith into the regular season even if Asik is back for opening night? Leave a comment to tell us.

Bucks Waive Jon Horford, Charlie Westbrook

October 7th, 2015 at 4:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks have waived camp invitees Jon Horford and Charlie Westbrook, the team announced (Twitter link). Both were on non-guaranteed contracts that they signed last month. The moves leave Milwaukee with 18 players. It’s no surprise to see them hit waivers, since the team has 15 fully guaranteed deals.

Horford, the brother of Hawks star and 2016 free agent Al Horford, didn’t score in six minutes of action Tuesday against the Bulls in Milwaukee’s first preseason game. Westbrook had four points and three rebounds in nine minutes. Both are undrafted, though Horford is fresh out of college, having finished up with Florida last year. Westbrook was in his second NBA training camp since coming out of South Dakota in 2012, as he’d spent time with the Heat in 2013.

Jorge Gutierrez, Marcus Landry and Josh Powell are the Bucks without guaranteed money remaining on the roster. Milwaukee doesn’t have a D-League affiliate, so the team won’t be able to continue its partnership with Horford, Westbrook, or any of the other players it waives.

Pistons Waive Eric Griffin

October 7th, 2015 at 4:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have waived combo forward Eric Griffin, the team announced via press release. Griffin, who signed with the team last month, faced long odds to make it to opening night on his non-guaranteed contract. The move takes the Pistons down to 19 players, 17 of whom have fully guaranteed deals.

Griffin, 25, didn’t see action in Detroit’s preseason opener Tuesday. The Mavs hold his D-League rights from last season, so the D-League affiliate of the Pistons would have to trade for him for Detroit to continue their partnership. He was Third Team All-D-League last season and a D-League All-Defensive Second Team selection, so it would seem he’d carry some level of intrigue for other teams on the NBA level or overseas, though that’s just my speculation.

The move means Jordan Bachynski is the only Pistons player without some guaranteed money on his contract, as our roster count shows. Adonis Thomas has a $60K partial guarantee, but he’s a long shot for the regular season, too.

Grizzlies Sign Alex Stepheson, Cut Michael Holyfield

October 7th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:59pm: The Grizzlies followed up with a press release to formally announce the Stepheson signing.

2:38pm: Holyfield’s release is official, the team announced, though the Grizzlies made no mention of Stepheson.

12:24pm: The Grizzlies are switching out big men on their camp roster, waiving center Michael Holyfield to make room for the signing of power forward Alex Stepheson, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Tillery indicates the transactions have already taken place, though the team has not made an announcement. Stepheson, who went undrafted out of USC in 2011, was with the Mavericks in summer league this year, but this will be his first NBA contract. It’ll be for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Grizzlies can hand out after using their mid-level exception on Brandan Wright, though the level of guarantee on Stepheson’s deal isn’t immediately clear. Holyfield, who signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Grizzlies in August, went scoreless in eight minutes in Tuesday’s preseason opener for Memphis. The Grizzlies roster will remain at the preseason limit of 20.

Stepheson, 28, scored a total of five points in about 18 minutes of playing time spread across three games with the summer league Mavs in July. He also appeared in summer league with the Kings in 2014, but most of his pro career has played out overseas. Stepheson averaged 12.3 points and 9.2 boards in 26.8 minutes per game across 29 appearances with Turkey’s Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi last season, showing his skill as a high-volume rebounder. He began his college career at North Carolina before transferring to USC, where he pulled down 9.2 RPG in 32.9 MPG as a senior in 2010/11.

Holyfield was with the Grizzlies summer league team this year before formally joining the Memphis roster. He went undrafted out of Sam Houston State in June. The Grizzlies can retain his D-League rights if they wish, just as they can with as many as four of the players they waive. Fellow Memphis camp invitee Dan Nwaelele, whom the Grizzlies waived earlier this week, appears set to become one of those four, as international journalist David Pick reported that he’s on his way to the D-League affiliate of the Grizzlies.

Memphis has 14 full guarantees plus a partial guarantee for JaMychal Green, as our roster count shows. Thus, Stepheson doesn’t appear to have much of a chance to stick with the Grizzlies for long, so he, too, is a candidate to end up with their D-League team.

Pacers Sign Kadeem Jack To Camp Deal

October 7th, 2015 at 12:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 12:17pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 2:39pm: Jack has put pen to paper with the Pacers, Bass shows via Instagram.

FRIDAY, 9:50am: The Pacers will sign power forward Kadeem Jack and add him to their training camp roster, a league source tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). Agent Brian J. Bass confirms the move via Twitter. Jack, who turns 23 later this month, went undrafted out of Rutgers this year. He’ll become the 18th player on the Pacers, who were tied with the Clippers and Trail Blazers for the most open spots beneath the 20-man preseason roster limit.

Jack was a largely unheralded draft prospect, though his numbers at Rutgers weren’t shabby, as he put up 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game as a senior this past season. Those were nonetheless declines in his production from his junior year, when he’d done more in fewer minutes, with 14.3 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 29.3 MPG. He altered his shot selection, taking 48 total three-pointers and connecting on 15 of them in 2014/15 after attempting just a trio of three-pointers as a junior.

Indiana already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster count shows, plus a partial guarantee for Toney Douglas and a non-guaranteed pact with C.J. Fair. The level of guarantee Jack is receiving isn’t clear, but it doesn’t appear as though he has much chance to stick for opening night. The Pacers can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players they waive, so the odds would seem better that Jack ends up with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who became Indiana’s one-to-one D-League affiliate this year.

Suns Waive Deonte Burton

October 6th, 2015 at 6:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns have waived point guard Deonte Burton, the team announced. Burton, who was not present at training camp, is still expected to join the team’s D-League affiliate in Bakersfield, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter link). His one-year, minimum salary deal was non-guaranteed, so the Suns won’t be on the hook for any money as a result of this move.

Burton, 24, went undrafted out of Nevada in 2014 after averaging 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists against 2.0 turnovers in 38.6 MPG as a Senior. His career NCAA numbers were 16.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 4.0 APG to accompany a shooting line of .439/.337/.751.

Phoenix’s preseason roster count now stands at 17 players, including 13 possessing fully guaranteed deals.

Grizzlies Sign Sampson Carter

October 6th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have signed former UMass combo forward Sampson Carter, the team announced via press release. Carter, 25, went undrafted in 2014 and split last season between teams in Slovakia, Portugal and the Dominican Republic. He replaces shooting guard Dan Nwaelele, whom Memphis waived Monday. Today’s move gives the Grizzlies a full 20-man preseason roster again.

Carter put up 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game with 35.0% three-point shooting for the Minutemen as a senior in 2013/14. He initially signed with BC Prievidza in Slovakia before moving on to CAB Madeira in Portugal and finally to Club Virgilio Castillo, also known as Chola, of the Dominican Republic.

He’s a long shot to make the Grizzlies, who have 14 fully guaranteed contracts plus a partial guarantee for JaMychal Green, as our roster count shows. Still, he seems like a candidate to end up on the D-League affiliate of the Grizzlies. Memphis can retain the D-League rights to as many as four of the players it waives, and fellow Grizzlies camp invitees Ryan Hollins and Yakhouba Diawara are veterans unlikely to end up in the D-League.

Grizzlies Waive Daniel Nwaelele

October 5th, 2015 at 7:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies waived shooting guard Daniel Nwaelele on Monday, bringing their roster down to 19 players, the team announced via press release. The 6’5” Nwaelele was signed as a free agent late last month but had little chance to stick, since Memphis has 14 players with guaranteed contracts.

Nwaelele is headed to the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, international journalist David Pick reports.

Nwaelele has yet to appear on an NBA regular season roster, but he was with the Spurs for camp in 2013. He made the Warriors’ D-League team at an open tryout in 2012. He returned to the Warriors D-League team after his preseason stint with the Spurs, and in 2013/14, he averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game. Prior to his D-League stints, Nwaelele played professionally in Israel.

The 31-year-old went undrafted out of the Air Force Academy in 2007 and then spent several years fulfilling his military commitment.

Clippers Waive Nikoloz Tskitishvili

October 3rd, 2015 at 3:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

3:24pm: The Clippers have officially announced the move.

2:08pm: The Clippers have waived center Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The 32-year-old did not make an appearance in Los Angeles’ first exhibition game of the preseason on Friday night, a 103-96 win over Denver.

Tskitishvili’s one-year, minimum salary deal was non-guaranteed, so the Clippers won’t be on the hook for any funds as a result of releasing the big man. This move reduces the team’s preseason roster count to 16 players, including 14 with full guarantees on their contracts.

This release likely ends the attempted NBA return of Tskitishvili, who had been out of the league since 2006. The 7-footer averaged just 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per game during his four-year NBA career, spent mostly with the Nuggets, though he did have brief stints with the Warriors, Timberwolves, Suns, and Trail Blazers before his NBA career came to halt after a camp deal with the Knicks in the fall of 2006 that didn’t result in a regular season roster spot.

Kings Pick Up 2016/17 Option On Ben McLemore

October 3rd, 2015 at 2:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:45pm: The Kings have released an official announcement confirming that they have picked up McLemore’s 2016/17 option.

2:30pm: The Kings have exercised their $4,008,882 team option on Ben McLemore‘s rookie scale deal for 2016/17, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). This will keep the 2013 No. 7 overall pick under contract through next season, which is the final one on his rookie scale pact. The team has yet to make an official announcement, but it appears that Sacramento has made the decision in advance of the November 2nd deadline. The addition of McLemore’s option will give Sacramento more than $61MM in guaranteed salary for 2016/17, which is approximately $28MM below the projected $89MM cap.

It’s not a surprise that the Kings would elect to retain the 22-year-old, who showed marked improvement during the 2014/15 season, his second in the NBA. With the trade of 2014 first-rounder Nik Stauskas to the Sixers this offfseason, and now having his option picked up, it’s apparent that the franchise views him as its shooting guard of the present, and likely the future.

McLemore made 82 appearances during the 2014/15 season for the Kings, all as a starter, averaging 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. His career numbers through two NBA campaigns are 10.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.4 APG to go along with a slash line of .409/.342/.809.