Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Sign, Waive Four Players

October 17th, 2025 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

October 17: After spending training camp and preseason with Detroit, Bediako, Garcia and Williams have been waived as well, per the league’s transaction log.

September 18, 9:46 pm: The Pistons have waived Ukomadu, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

September 18, 1:14 pm: The Pistons have signed center Charles Bediako, forwards Dawson Garcia and John Ukomadu, and wing Brice Williams to non-guaranteed training camp contracts, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

Bediako, who went undrafted out of Alabama in 2023, has played in the G League for the past two seasons, first for the Austin Spurs and then for the Grand Rapids Gold. The seven-footer appeared in 50 games for the Gold last season, averaging 9.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per contest, then had his returning rights traded to the Motor City Cruise (Detroit’s affiliate) earlier this week.

Garcia is an undrafted rookie who agreed to a deal with the Pistons in June after a five-year college career that included a three-year stint with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The 6’11” forward put up 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 35.3 minutes per game in 32 outings as a super-senior in 2024/25, with a shooting line of .474/.373/.783.

Ukomadu played for Motor City last season after going undrafted out of Eastern Kentucky in 2024. The 6’7″ forward made 53.0% of shots from the floor, including 45.9% of his three-point tries, but played a relatively modest role for the Pistons’ NBAGL affiliate, averaging 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game.

Williams, like Dawson, went undrafted this June, then suited up for Detroit’s Summer League team in Las Vegas. In his final college season at Nebraska in 2024/25, he scored 20.4 points per game on .471/.370/.883 shooting in 35 appearances (all starts). he also contributed 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per contest.

All four players likely signed Exhibit 10 contracts, which are non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals that can be converted into two-way contracts before the start of the NBA regular season.

Since all three of the Pistons’ two-way slots are occupied, the more likely outcome for Bediako, Garcia, Ukomadu, and Williams is that they’re waived and then report to the Motor City Cruise — Bediako and Ukomadu would be returning-rights players, while Garcia and Williams could be designated as affiliate players. They’d be eligible to earn bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with the Cruise.

Detroit now has a full 21-man offseason roster.

Bulls Sign, Waive Mac McClung

October 17th, 2025 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

4:24 pm: McClung has officially been signed and waived by the Bulls, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

1:59 pm: The Bulls have agreed to a deal with free agent guard Mac McClung, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

McClung, 26, has become a household name among NBA fans by winning the league’s past three slam dunk contests. However, he has still seen limited game action at the NBA level, appearing in just six total regular season contests for four teams from 2021-25. He was on a two-way contract with the Magic for all of last season, but logged just 10 total minutes in two outings for Orlando.

McClung has starred in the G League in recent years, earning a spot on the All-NBAGL first team in 2024/25 after being named MVP in ’23/24. In a total of 44 appearances for the Osceola Magic last season, he averaged 23.0 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .481/.344/.828.

With 15 players on guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals, the Bulls may not have a spot available on their regular season roster for McClung. If the plan is to have him play for their G League affiliate, then the Windy City Bulls would need to acquire his returning rights from Osceola.

Assuming McClung signs an Exhibit 10 contract, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Windy City.

Bucks Sign, Waive Johnny Davis, Jeremiah Tilmon

October 17th, 2025 at 4:23pm CST by Rory Maher

October 17, 4:23 pm: As expected, Davis and Tilmon have been waived, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

October 17, 7:38 am: In addition to finalizing their deal with Davis, the Bucks also signed center Jeremiah Tilmon, according to the NBA transaction log at RealGM.

Tilmon has bounced around the G League and a handful of non-NBA leagues around the world since going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021, most recently playing for the Shenzhen Leopards in China during the 2024/25 season. Like Davis, he almost certainly signed an Exhibit 10 contract and is likely on track to join the Wisconsin Herd.

October 16: Former lottery pick Johnny Davis has agreed to a contract with the Bucks, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Davis will almost certainly sign an Exhibit 10 deal and be waived by Saturday. In that scenario, he would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Davis, who grew up in La Crosse and played his college ball at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Davis, 23, was the 10th overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft after a pair of college seasons with the Badgers. The 6’5″ shooting guard never lived up to that lofty draft status in parts of three seasons with the Wizards, who traded him to Memphis in February. He was released by the Grizzlies a couple weeks later after he didn’t appear in a game with the team.

Davis finished last season in the NBAGL with New York’s affiliate team in Westchester. He went unsigned throughout the offseason prior to this agreement with the Bucks.

In 112 career games with Washington, Davis averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .397/.273/.561.

The Bucks have a pair of roster openings and don’t need to waive anyone to add Davis.

Mavericks Release Banton, Robinson-Earl, Smith

October 17th, 2025 at 3:48pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks have requested waivers on Dalano Banton, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Dennis Smith Jr., the team announced today (Twitter link).

All three NBA veterans were on non-guaranteed contracts for training camp. Banton’s deal contained both Exhibit 9 and Exhibit 10 language, meaning he’s now eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he reports to the Texas Legends and spends at least 60 days with Dallas’ G League affiliate.

Robinson-Earl and Smith, meanwhile, were on Exhibit 9 deals, protecting the Mavs in the event of an injury to either player, which thankfully did not occur.

Banton was the 46th overall pick in the 2021 draft and has played in 216 regular season games for Toronto, Boston and Portland over the past four seasons. In ’24/25, he made a career-high 67 appearances, averaging 8.3 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .391/.324/.728.

The Canadian guard looked like a relative long shot to make Dallas’ roster, given that he was signed a week after training camp had gotten underway.

Robinson-Earl, a 6’9″ forward/center, was also selected in the second round of 2021 (32nd overall) and has appeared in 197 regular season contests for Oklahoma City and New Orleans over the past four seasons. In ’24/25, he averaged 6.3 PPG and 4.8 RPG in a career-best 66 games (18.8 MPG) for the Pelicans, posting a shooting slash line of .455/.341/.836.

Robinson-Early had by far the largest role of the three players during preseason, appearing in all four games for the Mavs while averaging 7.3 PPG and 4.0 MPG in 12.2 MPG.

Despite being out of the NBA last season, Smith is undoubtedly the most familiar face for Mavs fans. Dallas selected the 6’2″ guard No. 9 overall back in 2017, but wound up trading him to New York during his second season as part of the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster.

Smith has developed into a strong point-of-attack defender, but has struggled to score efficiently throughout his seven-year career. He drew praise from head coach Jason Kidd multiple times during training camp.

The moves seemingly indicate that the Mavs intend to keep guards Dante Exum and Brandon Williams on their standard roster. Exum’s minimum-salary contract is fully guaranteed, but he has dealt with a right knee injury during training camp and preseason and could miss extended time.

While Williams’ deal is only partially guaranteed for $200K in 2025/26, Dallas has been encouraged by the 25-year-old’s development over the past couple seasons, having promoted him from a two-way deal at the end of ’24/25.

The Mavs now have 18 players under contract.

Rockets Sign, Waive Daishen Nix, Caleb McConnell

October 17th, 2025 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

3:38 pm: Both players have been waived, according to the Rockets (Twitter link via Smith). Houston is now back at 18 players under contract.

3:00 pm: The Rockets have signed a pair of free agent guards, announcing that they’ve added Daishen Nix and Caleb McConnell to their roster (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac). Houston now has 20 players under contract, one below the preseason limit.

Nix, who has appeared in 99 NBA regular season games since entering the league in 2021, spent the first two years of his career in Houston and played for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, for much of last season after opening the year on a two-way deal with Minnesota.

In 24 games for the Vipers in 2024/25, Nix averaged 15.3 points, 7.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 32.2 minutes per contest. However, the 6’4″ guard struggled to score efficiently and take care of the basketball — he made just 26.4% of 5.0 three-point attempts per game and averaged 3.8 turnovers per night.

McConnell, a 6’7″ shooting guard, has played in the G League since going undrafted out of Rutgers in 2023. He made 42 appearances for the Greensboro Swarm last season and registered averages of 6.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 steals in 25.9 minutes per game.

McConnell was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the Scarlet Knights.

The Vipers hold Nix’s returning rights and acquired McConnell’s in a multi-team trade earlier this week, so it’s highly likely that both players will be waived in the next 24 hours or so and then report to Houston’s NBAGL affiliate. Assuming they received Exhibit 10 contracts, which is likely, they’ll each earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with the Vipers.

Bucks Sign A.J. Green To Four-Year Extension

October 17th, 2025 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

October 17: Green’s extension with the Bucks is now official, according to a team press release.

October 16: The Bucks and sharpshooter A.J. Green are in agreement on a four-year, $45MM contract extension, agent Matt Bollero tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). According to Charania, the deal is fully guaranteed.

Green, 26, joined the Bucks in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Northern Iowa. After playing a modest role in his first two seasons, he emerged as a consistent part of the team’s regular rotation in 2024/25, logging a career-high 22.7 minutes per game in 73 outings and averaging 7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per night.

Green is a 6’4″ three-and-D wing with a career rate of 42.1% from beyond the arc, including 42.7% last season. The Bucks had a +6.4 net rating during his 1,659 minutes of action in ’24/25, compared to a -0.9 mark in the 2,292 minutes he didn’t play.

Because he was an undrafted free agent rather than a former first-round pick, Green was eligible for a veteran contract extension – not a rookie scale extension – as he entered the final year of his current contract with Milwaukee.

His salary of $2.3MM in 2025/26 is well below the NBA’s estimated average salary ($13.87MM). That meant he was eligible to receive a starting salary worth up to 40% of the estimated average salary on an extension, which worked out to a maximum of $87MM over four seasons.

However, as I wrote earlier this week when I identified Green as an under-the-radar extension candidate to watch, the Bucks were never likely to have to go nearly that high to retain him. I pointed to Sam Merrill‘s recent contract with Cleveland (four years, $38MM) as a reference point for Green and noted that he’s three years younger than Merrill and has been a more accurate shooter (albeit on a lower volume), so he had a case for an eight-figure annual salary.

Still, getting four guaranteed years at more than $11MM per season is a big win for Green — as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter), his career earnings to date, including his salary for the coming season, total just $6.3MM.

Green is now just one of two Bucks players who is owed guaranteed money beyond the 2026/27 season, along with Myles Turner. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Ryan Rollins, and Tyler Smith all have player or team options for ’27/28 on their respective deals.

Russell Westbrook Signs With Kings

October 17th, 2025 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

October 17: Westbrook’s deal is non-guaranteed, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

October 16: Westbrook is officially a King, the team announced in a press release.

“Russell embodies the identity we’re striving for in Sacramento,” said Kings general manager Scott Perry. “His resume speaks for itself and I’m excited to work with someone so accomplished, who is fully committed to competing and winning. We expect him to strengthen our point guard position and provide leadership both on and off the court.”

October 15: Free agent point guard Russell Westbrook has agreed to sign with the Kings, agent Jeff Schwartz tells Shams Charania of ESPN.

Westbrook has been linked to Sacramento since the start of free agency. Earlier in the summer, there was a sense that the team would need to trade a guard in order to balance its roster and create an opening in the rotation for Westbrook, but Charania reported last week that there was still “strong mutual interest” between the former MVP and the Kings. Now the two sides are in agreement on a deal.

According to Charania, Westbrook has bonds with Kings veterans Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine, as well as assistant general manager B.J. Armstrong, who used to be a player agent. And while the Kings are relatively deep in the backcourt, with Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and Devin Carter on their bench, they lacked an experienced traditional point guard behind Dennis Schröder.

Westbrook, who will turn 37 next month, has transitioned into a complementary role in recent years after earning nine All-Star nods earlier in his career. Last season, he appeared in 75 games for Denver, making 36 starts and playing 27.9 minutes per night. He registered averages of 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, with a shooting line of .449/.323/.661.

Although Westbrook earned praise from some Nuggets teammates and coaches for his motor and competitiveness, his playing style results in plenty of turnovers (3.2 per game last season) and he’s not a reliable outside shooter, which can create lineup and spacing issues.

Those were presumably among the reasons why he remained unsigned until three-and-a-half months into free agency after declining a $3.47M player option in June. However, new general manager Scott Perry views Westbrook as a good fit for the “high motor, high effort” culture he wants to establish in Sacramento, per Charania.

Westbrook will sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract, per James Ham of the Kings Beat (Twitter link). On that deal, he’ll earn a $3,634,153 salary in 2025/26 while the club carries a cap hit of $2,296,274. Ham is one of several reporters who have stated that the deal is expected to become official on Thursday.

There’s a spot for Westbrook on the Kings’ projected 15-man roster. The team is currently carrying 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Ellis and Terence Davis on non-guaranteed deals. Westbrook and Ellis are presumably on track to fill those last two openings, with Davis the odd man out.

Knicks Sign, Waive Romeo Langford, Adama Bal, Ibrahima Diallo

October 16th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks continue to make changes at the back end of their offseason roster, announcing in a series of press releases that they have signed and waived Romeo Langford, Adama Bal and Ibrahima Diallo (Twitter links for each transaction here).

All three received Exhibit 10 deals, making each player eligible for a bonus (worth up to $85,300) on top of his G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with the Westchester Knicks.

Langford, a 6’5″ wing who turns 26 years old next week, holds four years of NBA experience, having been selected 14th overall in the 2019 draft. However, he has been out of the league for the past two seasons, last suiting up for the Spurs during the 2022/23 campaign.

Langford spent the 2023/24 season in the NBAGL with the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.7 APG on .462/.371/.697 shooting in 30 games (26.9 MPG). He had a brief stint last fall with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, but mutually agreed to part ways with the French club in late November and hasn’t been on a team since then.

French guard Bal played a minor role for Arizona for two years prior to transferring to Santa Clara ahead of the ’23/24 campaign. He was a full-time starter for the Broncos over the past two seasons, averaging 13.7 PPG, 3.1 APG and 2.9 RPG on .426/.366/.808 shooting in 60 games over that span (3o.7 MPG).

Bal went undrafted in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Diallo, who is from Senegal, played five college seasons with three different schools, the last of which was UCF in ’23/24. He wasn’t selected in last year’s NBA draft but was picked 13th overall by the Austin Spurs in the G League draft last fall. The 25-year-old big man appeared in 32 regular season games with Austin, averaging 5.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 2.1 BPG in 19.4 MPG.

Knicks Sign, Waive Donovan Williams, Isaiah Roby

October 16th, 2025 at 7:56pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks signed Donovan Williams to an Exhibit 10 contract on Thursday evening and subsequently waived him a little over an hour later (all Twitter links from the team).

Williams, who is now eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Westchester Knicks, spent part of 2022/23 on a two-way contract with the Hawks, but has otherwise spent the past three seasons playing in the G League, Canada and China.

A 6’6″ wing, Williams appeared in 35 total games (30.3 minutes per contest) for Westchester last season, averaging 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists on .465/.382/.744 shooting. The 24-year-old, whose agreement with the Knicks was first reported at the beginning of October, also had recent stints with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

To make room on their offseason roster for Williams, the Knicks waived veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon, who surprisingly announced his retirement on Wednesday despite reportedly being on track to make New York’s regular season roster. The former Rookie of the Year (2017) and Sixth Man of the Year (2023) winner was on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal for training camp.

The Knicks have also signed and waived former second-round pick Isaiah Roby, per the team (Twitter links). As with Williams, Roby is likely headed back to Westchester after spending last season in Germany with Ratiopharm Ulm.

A 6’8″ power forward who has also been used as a small-ball center, Roby averaged 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks on .457/.375/.633 shooting in 26 games with Weschester during the ’23/24 campaign.

Roby, 27, has made 151 career NBA appearances over four total seasons with the Thunder and Spurs (18.9 MPG), averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .485/.351/.675 shooting. He signed with the Knicks at the end of the ’22/23 season, but didn’t appear in any games for New York.

Celtics Cut Jalen Bridges, Kendall Brown, Wendell Moore

October 16th, 2025 at 5:45pm CST by Rory Maher

The Celtics have waived a trio of players on non-guaranteed training camp contracts, according to NBA.com’s log of official league transactions. Jalen Bridges, Kendall Brown and Wendell Moore Jr. were the three players cut loose, as first reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Bridges, Brown and Moore were all vying for a two-way contract with the Celtics, who created a two-way opening last night by waiving rookie wing RJ Luis. That two-way spot wound up going to Ron Harper Jr., who was promoted earlier today.

After going undrafted out of Baylor last year, Bridges signed a two-way deal with Phoenix. He spent most of his rookie campaign in the G League, and the Suns decided not to give Bridges a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent until his Exhibit 10 agreement with Boston was finalized prior to training camp.

Both Brown (48th overall) and Moore (26th overall) were selected in the 2022 draft. Brown has spent time with Indiana and Brooklyn on two-way deals but spent most of last season in the G League with the Long Island Nets. He made 21 garbage-time appearances over two seasons with the Pacers.

As for Moore, he spent two years in Minnesota before splitting last season with the Pistons and Hornets. He has averaged 8.1 minutes per game across 90 NBA appearances with those three clubs.

Bridges, Brown and Moore are all candidates to join the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine. Each player is now eligible for a bonus worth $85,300 on top of his normal G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with the Maine Celtics.