Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jerrelle Benimon Breaks Off Cavs Deal For China

September 17th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

One-year NBA veteran Jerrelle Benimon has agreed to play for the Foshan Long Lions of China, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, and he’s pulling out of his deal with the Cavaliers to do so, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor confirms (Twitter link). Reichert reported earlier this month that the power forward had agreed to sign a deal with the Cavaliers that would bring him to camp, but it appears that finances persuaded him against Cleveland. The Long Lions will pay him nearly $500K in base salary, and incentive clauses that could give him more will be in his contract, Reichert hears, citing a source (Twitter link). It’s unlikely his Cavs contract would have called for a guarantee of nearly that much.

Benimon’s departure further unsettles Cleveland’s camp roster. The Cavs have 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, though Tristan Thompson‘s continued free agency looms large. D.J. Stephens will be in Cavs camp, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reported, and so will Jared Cunningham, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Conflicting reports exist on whether the Cavs have a camp deal with former Duke point guard Quinn Cook, but he’s apparently expected to agree to terms.

The decision to turn down a chance to go to Cavs camp for the Chinese offer was difficult for Benimon, but the early end to the Chinese season that could put Benimon back in free agency as soon as February helped motivate the former Towson standout to head overseas, a source tells Reichert (Twitter link). Benimon, like most, wants to play in the NBA, Reichert adds, and the timing of the Chinese season would allow him the chance to chase 10-day contracts like the one he signed with the Jazz last season. He spent most of last season with Utah’s D-League affiliate after failing to make the opening night roster with the Nuggets, who waived the partially guaranteed deal he signed a year ago.

Do you think turning down the Cavs for more money overseas was the right move for Benimon? Leave a comment to tell us.

Hawks To Sign DeQuan Jones

September 16th, 2015 at 5:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent small forward DeQuan Jones, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are not known, but Charania referred to it as a training camp deal, meaning that it is likely a minimum salary arrangement that includes little or no guaranteed money, though that is merely my speculation.

The 25-year-old went undrafted out of Miami back in 2012. He then secured a training camp invite from the Magic which he parlayed into a regular season roster spot for the 2012/13 campaign. Jones made 63 appearances for Orlando that season, including 17 starts, and averaged 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists to go along with a slash line of .436/.257/.667. The forward spent the 2014/15 season with Pallacanestro Cantù of the Lega Basket Serie A.

The addition of Jones will give Atlanta a roster count of 18 players, including 13 possessing fully guaranteed pacts. Jones will compete for a regular season roster spot with Terran Petteway, Jason Richardson, and Lamar Patterson, though he certainly will be considered a longshot to make the final cut at the end of the preseason.

Suns Sign Five Players To Camp Deals

September 16th, 2015 at 3:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns have officially signed shooting guard Deonte Burton, small forward Kyle Casey, small forward Cory Jefferson, center Henry Sims and shooting guard Terrico White, the team announced. All five players inked non-guaranteed, minimum salary training camp pacts with the team. Phoenix now has a roster count of 18 players, including 13 possessing full guarantees on their pacts.

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.

Casey, 25, spent the past season playing for Helios Domzale of Slovenia, averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game. That was more playing time than he saw as a senior for Harvard in 2013/14, when he put up 9.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 22.0 MPG. At 6’7″, he averaged 1.2 blocks per game as a college senior but fewer than one block per contest in Slovenia last year, and he shot less than 30% from three-point range in both seasons. Casey played for the Nets summer league team in 2014 but didn’t take part in NBA summer league this year.

Jefferson, 24, was the final pick of the 2014 draft and appeared in 50 games for the Nets this past season, averaging 3.7 points in 10.6 minutes per game. The 6’9″ forward was waived by Brooklyn back in July so the team could avoid his non-guaranteed salary becoming partially guaranteed for $150K.

Sims, 25, made 73 appearances for the Sixers last season, including 32 starts. He averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.2 minutes per contest. His career numbers through three NBA campaigns are 7.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG to go along with a slash line of .475/.174/.760. The big man wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer by Philadelphia this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent.

White, 25, spent this past season with Enisey Krasnoyarsk of Russia, where he averaged 11.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game, with 37.2% three-point shooting. He’s also played in Israel, Serbia and Turkey.

Bucks, Josh Powell Agree To Contract

September 16th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:25pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s for one season at the minimum salary with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

SEPTEMBER 5TH, 11:50am: Josh Powell has agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Bucks, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Powell spent last season as the Rockets’ player development coach.

Powell couldn’t pass up the chance to play again, he told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Sports (Twitter link). “I’m just blessed to have any opportunity,” Powell said. “I’m excited to get back on the court.”

The 6’9” power forward turned down multiple offers to play overseas last fall to join the Rockets’ coaching staff. He appeared in a single game for Houston during the 2013/14 season after failing to secure an NBA contract during the previous two seasons.

Powell went into coaching after the Rockets waived him during training camp. At that point, he opted to retire but has apparently put that off while he pursues the opportunity with the Bucks. Powell will face a daunting task to make Milwaukee’s final roster, considering the Bucks already have 15 players with guaranteed contracts and three others with non-guaranteed deals.

The 32-year-old Powell is a veteran of seven NBA seasons, counting his one-game stint with Houston, with career averages of 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game. He has spent time with the Mavs, Pacers, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Hawks and Rockets since his debut in 2005/06.

Bucks Sign Jon Horford To Camp Deal

September 16th, 2015 at 2:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:24pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s for one season at the minimum salary and is non-guaranteed with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

SEPTEMBER 11TH, 8:56am: The Bucks are expected to sign power forward Jon Horford to a deal for training camp, reports Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). The 23-year-old who went undrafted out of Florida this year is the younger brother of Al Horford, Scotto notes. He’ll ostensibly round out Milwaukee’s camp roster, since his deal would be the team’s 20th.

Jon Horford spent the bulk of his college career at Michigan before transferring for his senior season to Florida, where his brother had won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. The Gators gave the younger Horford his first crack at being a full-time starter, though he saw only 20.0 minutes per game and averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. He played with the Hawks, his brother’s current team, during summer league, but he went scoreless in a single five-minute appearance.

Al Horford is a free agent after this coming season, so it’s possible the Bucks are bringing in his brother with that thought in mind, though the presence of Greg Monroe would make the addition of the older Horford cumbersome. In any case, the Bucks already appear to have their opening night roster in order, with 15 fully guaranteed contracts. Jorge Gutierrez, Marcus Landry, Charlie Westbrook and Josh Powell will join Horford in trying to unseat one of those 15. Milwaukee has no D-League affiliate, so the team is without means to maintain a link to any of the players it cuts.

Can Jon Horford make a contribution in the NBA, or is he destined to play out his pro career elsewhere? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Bucks Sign Charlie Westbrook For Camp

September 16th, 2015 at 2:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:23pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s for one season at the minimum salary and is non-guaranteed with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

AUGUST 31ST, 2:29pm: The Bucks have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent guard Charlie Westbrook, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pact are not yet known, but it is likely a minimum salary training camp deal with little or no guaranteed money included, though that is merely my speculation.

Westbrook, 26, went undrafted back in 2012 out of South Dakota where he averaged 18.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists as a Senior. His slash line was .464/.389/.766. Westbrook was signed to a training camp deal by the Heat back in 2013, but was waived prior to the commencement of the regular season. He has since played overseas for both the Italian club Tezenis Verona and Hyères-Toulon of France, as well as stateside in the NBA D-League.

The addition of Westbrook will give the Bucks a roster count of 18, including 15 players possessing fully guaranteed deals. It’s highly unlikely that the 6’4″ shooting guard makes Milwaukee’s regular season roster given the team’s current depth chart, and the Bucks don’t have a one to one D-League affiliation currently, so stashing Westbrook there for a season isn’t an option.

Pacers Sign C.J. Fair For Camp

September 16th, 2015 at 2:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:18pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s non-guaranteed with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 5:56pm: The Pacers have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent small forward C.J. Fair, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). It is a one year, minimum salary arrangement notes Charania.

Fair, 23, went undrafted out of Syracuse in 2014, after averaging 16.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 37.8 minutes per contest as a Senior. His career collegiate numbers were 11.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 0.8 assists to accompany a slash line of .462/.343/.723. The forward attended training camp with Indiana last season, though he was unable to secure a spot on the team’s regular season roster. Fair spent the remainder of the 2014/15 season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League.

The forward is a longshot to make the team’s opening night roster, with the Pacers currently having 15 players possessing fully guaranteed deals. He will compete with Glenn Robinson III, Solomon Hill, Chase Budinger, and C.J. Miles, who are all in the mix at small forward behind Paul George, who is also expected to see minutes at the four this season.

Suns Sign Terrico White To Camp Deal

September 16th, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:15pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s for one year at the minimum salary and non-guaranteed with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, making it an Exhibit 9 contract.

AUGUST 20TH, 1:51pm: The Suns and shooting guard Terrico White have agreed to a deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Agent Daniel Hazan has confirmed the pact, Charania adds. Detroit made White the 36th overall pick in 2010 and he was under contract with the Pistons for more than a year, but he never made a regular season appearance, thanks to the broken right foot he suffered in his first NBA preseason game. White, now 25 years old, has played primarily overseas since, but he’s looking to return to the NBA on what appears to be a training camp deal.

New Orleans signed White shortly after the Pistons let him go in the 2011 preseason, but the former Ole Miss standout didn’t make the regular season roster. He saw NBA summer league action in 2012, 2013 and 2014, but he didn’t sign an NBA deal in any of those years. Ironically, he’s landing this deal with Phoenix despite not having played summer league ball this year. The former Ole Miss standout spent this past season with Enisey Krasnoyarsk of Russia, where he averaged 11.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game, with 37.2% three-point shooting. He’s also played in Israel, Serbia and Turkey.

Phoenix has been carrying 13 contracts, all of them with fully guaranteed salaries this season, as our roster counts show. White would appear to have a decent chance to stick for the regular season, though the trade demand of Markieff Morris makes it hard to predict exactly what the Suns roster will look like at the start of the season.

Do you think White belongs on an NBA regular season roster? Leave a comment to let us know.

Nuggets Sign Matt Janning For Camp

September 16th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:11pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s a one-year, minimum salary arrangement with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 8:43am: The Nuggets and one-year NBA veteran Matt Janning have a non-guaranteed deal for training camp, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter links). The 27-year-old shooting guard, who was on the Suns roster briefly during the 2010/11 season after he went undrafted out of Northeastern in 2010, picked Denver over a chance to join the Hawks as well as offers from overseas teams, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).

Janning played with Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes this past season, averaging 9.2 points in 24.4 minutes per game with 37.9% three-point shooting combined between Turkish league and Euroleague play. He didn’t make it in a game during his 2010 stint with the Suns, who waived him a few weeks after opening night that year. He’s chiefly played overseas since, though he’s made multiple appearances in NBA summer league, the last coming in 2014 with the Timberwolves.

Denver has 14 full guarantees, plus Erick Green, who has a partial guarantee of $100K, and Kostas Papanikolaou, whose contract is non-guaranteed. Conflicting reports exist on whether the Nuggets are poised to waive Papanikolaou. The Nuggets could use some shooting, Wolfson tweets, pointing to that as one reason for Janning to choose them over Atlanta. The Hawks have only 13 full guarantees, though they have partial guarantees out to Mike Muscala, Lamar Patterson and Terran Petteway plus a non-guaranteed deal with Jason Richardson.

Who do you think deserves the final roster spot for the Nuggets? Leave a comment to tell us.

Nuggets Sign Oleksiy Pecherov, Devin Sweetney

September 16th, 2015 at 2:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:10pm: The signings have taken place, though the team hasn’t announced them, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). They’re for one year at the minimum salary and non-guaranteed with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, making them Exhibit 9 contracts.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 10:43pm: The Nuggets have agreed to deals with unrestricted free agents Oleksiy Pecherov and Devin Sweetney, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pacts are unknown, but Dempsey classified them as training camp deals, which means both players have likely agreed to minimum salary pacts with little or no guaranteed salary, though that is merely my speculation. The additions of Pecherov and Sweetney will bring Denver’s roster count up to 19 players, which is one below the preseason maximum.

Pecherov, 29, has been out of the NBA since the 2009/10 campaign when he appeared in 44 games for the Timberwolves. The center has career NBA averages of 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.2 blocks to go along with a slash line of .386/.290/.793. The seven-footer, who spent last season with the Estonian club BC Kalev/Cramo, has reportedly been eyeing an NBA comeback for the coming season, and he had originally worked out for Denver at the end of June.

The 27-year-old Sweetney went undrafted out of Saint Francis back in 2010. In four seasons with the Red Flash, the swingman averaged 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, and he had a shooting line of .423/.268/.785. Sweetney spent the 2014/15 season playing for a pair of teams in Switzerland, where he notched averages of 20.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG in 19 total contests, before finishing up with Huracanes of the Dominican Republic on a four-game stint in which he put up 9.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.0 APG in 27.3 MPG.