Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics, Malcolm Miller Agree To Camp Deal

August 8th, 2015 at 10:23am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 10:23am: The signing has occurred, according to the RealGM transactions log, though there has been no official announcement made by the team.

4:30pm: Miller’s deal will be partially guaranteed for $25k, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

FRIDAY, 2:27pm: The Celtics will bring summer-leaguer and former Holy Cross small forward Malcolm Miller to training camp on a one-year deal for the minimum salary, a league source tells Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation’s CelticsBlog. The arrangement will be non-guaranteed, O’Connor adds. It gives the Celtics contracts or verbal agreements with 21 players in the wake of the news earlier today that Coty Clarke will also sign a camp deal. Teams may only carry as many as 20 signed contracts during the offseason, but Boston reportedly intends to offload Zoran Dragic.

Miller averaged just 4.0 points and 12.1 minutes per game across seven appearances for the summer league Celtics, but he canned five of his six three-point attempts during that span. He was a 39.3% three-point shooter over his last two college seasons, and he put up 14.7 PPG in 31.7 MPG as a senior for the Crusaders this past year. The 22-year-old worked out for the Celtics and Jazz prior to this year’s draft, but he wasn’t selected on draft night.

At 6’7″, Miller carries much the same profile as does Clarke, who spent last season playing in Israel. Still, both face steep climbs to make the opening night roster for Boston, which has 17 fully guaranteed contracts, including Dragic’s. Shooting guards Corey Walden from Eastern Kentucky and Levi Randolph from Alabama are reportedly set to join Miller and Clarke in Celtics camp, with all four of them candidates to end up on Boston’s D-League affiliate. The C’s can protect the D-League rights to as many as four camp cuts. Still, it’s not surprising to see the Celtics, who are heavily loaded with point guards and big men, concentrate on wing players as they build their preseason roster, so that offers a glimmer of hope that one of them can stick for the regular season.

Which camp invitee do you think has the best chance of playing NBA regular season games for the Celtics or another team? Leave a comment to let us know.

Olivier Hanlan Signs Overseas Pact

August 8th, 2015 at 10:18am CST by Eddie Scarito

Olivier Hanlan, the No. 42 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft by the Jazz, has signed a deal with the Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The pact is for two years and includes an option for the second season, though it is unclear if that is a team or player option.

If the Jazz are to retain Hanlan’s NBA rights, the team will need to extend him at least a one-year, non-guaranteed contract offer. Hanlan is not required to sign the agreement for Utah to hold onto the point guard’s rights, and he would become a draft-and-stash player as a result.

The 22-year-old appeared in 32 contests for Boston College last season and averaged 19.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. His slash line was .454/.353/.759.

Spurs To Sign Keifer Sykes

August 7th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have agreed to a deal with undrafted guard Keifer Sykes, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the agreement are not yet known, but it is likely a minimum salary training camp deal, though that is merely my speculation. Sykes played in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Cavaliers, averaging 9.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 51.4% shooting.

San Antonio currently has a roster count of 17 players, including 13 fully guaranteed pacts, making Sykes a longshot to remain on the team’s roster past opening night. The Spurs may have designs on sending Sykes to the D-League next season, as teams can retain the rights for up to four players.

The 21-year-old played his college ball for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, making 33 appearances as a Senior, and notching averages of 18.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. His slash line was .452/.311/.780.

Nuggets Re-Sign Darrell Arthur

August 7th, 2015 at 3:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:27pm: The deal is official, the Nuggets announced.

2:46pm: The Nuggets and Darrell Arthur have reached agreement on a two-year deal that includes a player option on the final season, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Arthur had been expected to re-sign since late last month, as Dempsey wrote more than two weeks ago, but the sides had yet to agree to terms. The Nuggets renounced their Bird rights to the Jerry Hicks client last month, so they’ll have to use cap space or the $2.814MM room exception to give Arthur more than the minimum. Denver doesn’t have enough cap room at present to formally sign Arthur, who made in excess of $3.457MM last season, for more than that room exception amount, so today’s news would appear to be further indication that Kostas Papanikolaou‘s non-guaranteed contract has a tenuous place on the roster, at best.

Arthur and the Clippers reportedly had mutual interest, though L.A. is limited to giving the minimum salary to outside free agents, as I noted earlier today. The Pistons and Wizards were also apparently interested early last month, but Washington is similarly cash-strapped and Detroit only has the room exception to spend.

The 27-year-old veteran of seven NBA seasons has been steady over his two years in Denver as a rotation-caliber reserve, averaging 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 17.1 minutes. His greatest contributions come on defense, as he’s been perhaps the team’s best on that end of the court, and in the locker room, Dempsey writes in a full story. He’ll again face a tough challenge for minutes on a roster that also features Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson at his position.

Papanikolaou plays power forward, too, but his $4.798MM non-guaranteed contract, which Denver acquired in the Ty Lawson trade, has value as a trade chip or as a gateway to cap space if the Nuggets waive him. Denver has 14 guaranteed contracts plus Papanikolaou and a partially guaranteed deal with Erick Green, so not everyone will make Denver’s regular season roster.

Do you think the deal with Arthur makes sense for the Nuggets? How about for Arthur? Leave a comment to let us know.

Nuggets Re-Sign Will Barton

August 7th, 2015 at 3:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

AUGUST 7TH, 3:26pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

JULY 25TH, 4:50pm: Denver still has yet to make an official announcement, but the signing took place Thursday, according to the RealGM transactions log.

JULY 11TH, 10:59am: The Nuggets are finalizing a deal to re-sign Will Barton, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. The agreement will be for three years and worth approximately $10MM, Haynes notes.

After being selected in the second round of the 2012 draft, Barton saw limited playing time in two and a half seasons with the Blazers. He flourished after being traded to Denver at the deadline, averaging 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 28 games after the deal.

Denver and the Brian Elfus client had reportedly shared interest in a new deal, so today’s news is no surprise. Last month, the Nuggets tendered a qualifying offer to Barton worth more than $1.18MM to make him a restricted free agent.

Nuggets Re-Sign Jameer Nelson

August 7th, 2015 at 3:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AUGUST 7TH, 3:24pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 14TH, 8:37am: Denver hasn’t made any formal announcement, but the signing has taken place, as the RealGM transactions log shows.

11:15am: It’s worth $13.5MM over the three years, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Grantland’s Zach Lowe suggests that a partial guarantee is on the final season (Twitter link). Stein also indicates that Nelson has already put pen to paper, though the team has made no official announcement . That, combined with Nikola Jokic‘s pact, would leave less room for the starting salary in Wilson Chandler‘s new deal. We discussed some of the numbers involved for Chandler right here.

JULY 13TH, 10:39am: The Nuggets and Jameer Nelson have an agreement in principle on a new three-year deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The point guard last month turned down a player option worth nearly $2.855MM that would have kept him under contract with the Nuggets through this coming season, but his new arrangement appears to tie him to Denver for a longer period of time. Several contenders also expressed interest in the 33-year-old, but new coach Michael Malone said Sunday that a deal would get done, Charania writes.

The general expectation was that Denver would re-sign the Steve Mountain client, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported when free agency began. Earlier, Dempsey had identified the Nuggets’ choice of coaches as one of the determining factors Nelson would use to decide whether to return, and while Nelson was fond of interim coach Melvin Hunt, as many Nuggets were, the team’s hiring of Malone apparently wasn’t a turn-off.

Keeping Nelson around long-term provides a measure of insurance for the Nuggets in case they deal trade candidate Ty Lawson, whose contract runs through 2016/17. It provides a degree of stability for Nelson, who twice found himself in trades after signing with the Mavericks last summer. Dallas sent him to the Celtics in the Rajon Rondo swap, and Boston flipped him to Denver in exchange for Nate Robinson. Denver could still trade Nelson as soon as December 15th, but the team appears committed to him.

Knicks Sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo

August 7th, 2015 at 1:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

FRIDAY, 1:34pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 2:58pm: The Knicks and 2014 No. 51 pick Thanasis Antetokounmpo are putting the finishing touches on what will be a two-season deal with partial guarantees, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Marc Berman of the New York Post reported last week that the Knicks were expected to sign the draft-and-stash prospect before training camp. It appears he’ll see the minimum salary, since the Knicks look like they’re using their $2.814MM room exception on Kevin Seraphin.

Antetokounmpo appeared in 47 contests last season for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA’s D-League. The 23-year-old averaged 13.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists to go along with a shooting line of .459/.232/.618.

The addition of Antetokounmpo will give the Knicks a roster count of 17 players, including 13 players with fully guaranteed pacts. The forward will have his work cut out for him in his attempt to make the opening night roster with New York’s current depth at the three spot.

Knicks Sign Sasha Vujacic

August 7th, 2015 at 1:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 7TH, 1:31pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link).

AUGUST 1ST, 4:31pm: Agent Herb Rudoy told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that the contract is fully guaranteed (Twitter link).

JULY 31ST, 3:39pm: The contract will be guaranteed, Charania indicates on Twitter, running counter to previous reports (below).

2:41pm: It’s mostly non-guaranteed, according to Marc Berman and Jonathan Lehman of the New York Post.

2:34pm: It’ll be for the minimum salary, Charania writes in a full story. So, he’d make the $1,356,146 eight-year veteran’s minimum if he remains under contract through the season, but since it’s a one-year deal, the Knicks would only have to pay the two-year veteran’s minimum of $947,276, with the league footing the rest of the bill.

1:55pm: The arrangement is believed to be a training camp deal, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, which suggests that it is no more than partially guaranteed.

1:11pm: The Knicks and Sasha Vujacic have agreed to a one-year deal, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). David Pick of Eurobasket.com reported Thursday that the sides had engaged in talks. The 31-year-old has appeared in only two NBA games since the 2011 lockout, but it appears his connection with Knicks team president Phil Jackson, Vujacic’s coach when they were with the Lakers, has drawn him back to the Association.

New York is also reportedly expected to sign draft-and-stash prospect Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and adding him and Vujacic would give the Knicks deals with 16 players. New York, at present, has only 11 fully guaranteed contracts, presuming that’s the case for the newly re-signed Lou Amundson, and Wesley Saunders and Darion Atkins seem like longshots to make the regular season roster, so Vujacic seems to stand a decent chance of sticking around for opening night.

Vujacic played parts of seven seasons with the Lakers, mostly with Jackson as his coach, picking up a pair of championship rings in a reserve role. He was a much more prominent figure for the Nets after a trade sent him to New Jersey early in the 2010/11 season, averaging 11.4 points in 28.5 minutes per game, but just as his NBA career seemed to be heating up, he headed overseas. The native of Slovenia has played in Turkey, Italy and Spain since his last full NBA season, stopping back in the NBA only for a single 10-day contract with the Clippers in 2013/14.

Mavs Re-Sign Charlie Villanueva

August 6th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 6TH, 3:35pm: The signing is official, the Mavs announced via a press release.

AUGUST 4TH, 10:04pm: Villanueva announced via his personal Twitter account that the signing was completed, though no official announcement has been made by the Mavericks as of yet.

JULY 7TH, 1:04pm: The Mavs and Charlie Villanueva have agreed to a deal for the minimum salary, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year arrangement, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com adds (on Twitter). It’s fully guaranteed, according to MacMahon (Twitter link).

MacMahon had anticipated the deal. Villanueva made the opening night roster for the Mavs on a non-guaranteed deal last year, and he stuck all season as he helped preserve an NBA career that had been flagging during his time with the Pistons. Dallas had apparently wanted to keep him around at the minimum, and Villanueva expressed his wish to keep playing for coach Rick Carlisle.

The Jeff Schwartz client will make $1,499,187 as a 10-year veteran, a raise on the $1,316,809 he saw on last season’s minimum. Still, Dallas will pay only $947,276, which is the two-year veteran’s minimum, and the league will cover the rest, since he’s on a one-year minimum deal. The Mavs can’t trade him without his consent since he re-signed for only one year, and thus would lose his Early Bird rights if Dallas were to trade him, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out (Twitter link).

Mavs Sign Samuel Dalembert

August 6th, 2015 at 1:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6TH, 1:27pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

JULY 25TH, 1:19pm: The Mavericks have reached a one-year agreement with veteran center Samuel Dalembert, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets. According to ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon, Dalembert will receive the veteran’s minimum (Twitter link).

This comes as no surprise, as ESPN’s Marc Stein reported nearly two weeks ago that the parties had mutual interest. Stein tweeted on Saturday that the Mavs are still looking at other center options, as they are in advanced talks with Tunisian center Salah Mejri and have not ruled out JaVale McGee if he’s healthy.

Dalembert was the Mavs’ No. 1 center as recently as 2013-14, when he started 68 games for them. He was then included in the Tyson Chandler swap with the Knicks. The 34-year-old only played 32 games for New York, including 21 starts, and averaged 4.0 points and 5.3 rebounds.

He gives the club additional depth behind Zaza Pachulia, who wound up with Dallas in a trade with the Bucks after top free agent target DeAndre Jordan decommitted and re-signed with the Clippers.