Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Waive Jordan Hamilton

August 1st, 2015 at 11:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

11:01pm: The team has indeed placed Hamilton on waivers, according to fellow Times scribe Eric Pincus (Twitter link).

5:23pm: The Clippers are in process of waiving Jordan Hamilton, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tweets. There are no other accompanying moves, Bolch adds.

The 6’7” shooting guard appeared in 14 games last season, averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.7 minutes per game. The 24-year-old played his first two-plus seasons with the Nuggets, then was dealt to the Rockets for Aaron Brooks midway through the 2013/14 season. Hamilton was taken in the first round of the 2011 draft by the Mavericks, who shipped him that night to Denver.

He signed two 10-day contracts with the Clippers last season and then was signed for the remainder of the season in March. He did not appear in any postseason games with the Clippers. He had a non-guaranteed salary of just over $1MM for the upcoming season.

Pelicans Waive Toney Douglas

July 31st, 2015 at 5:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have waived guard Toney Douglas, the team announced. The release of Douglas reduces the Pelicans’ current roster count to 12 players.

The player’s 2015/16 salary of $1,185,784 would have become fully guaranteed if he remained on New Orleans’ roster through Saturday, as is shown by our schedule of guarantee dates. Douglas was originally signed by the Pelicans on February 4th, then was released on February 19th before subsequently re-signing with the team for the remainder of the season back on March 24th.

Douglas, 29, appeared in 12 games for New Orleans during the 2014/15 season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.0 assists in 14.8 minutes per game. His career numbers through six NBA seasons are 7.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 2.2 APG.

Warriors, Sixers Swap Thompson, Wallace

July 31st, 2015 at 4:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

4:36pm: Philadelphia receives the right to swap the lesser of the 2016 first-round picks coming their way from the Heat and the Thunder for Golden State’s 2016 first-round pick, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

4:05pm: The Warriors have acquired Jason Thompson from the Sixers in exchange for Gerald Wallace, both teams announced via press release. Cash and draft considerations are also going to Philadelphia in the move. It’s a money-saving deal for Golden State, which sends Wallace’s $10,105,855 salary into Philadelphia’s cap space, with Thompson’s $6,908,685 salary going back in return, and with the Warriors poised to pay the luxury tax this season, the move saves the Warriors from tax penalties of as much as two and a half times the difference between their salaries. It also creates a trade exception worth $3,197,170 for Golden State.

“We’re very happy to add Jason to our roster,” Warriors GM Bob Myers said. “He has a proven track record in this league and adds considerably to our team’s depth, which was a big key to our success last season and will be moving forward.”

Thompson will ostensibly fill the reserve power forward role that David Lee played last year for the champs, who sent Lee to the Celtics in the deal that brought in Wallace. The 29-year-old Thompson has chiefly been a starter during his seven years in the NBA, all of which came with Sacramento before the trade earlier this month that sent him to Philly, but he probably won’t mind a reduced role on a team with a legitimate shot to win another title. Thompson has never appeared in a playoff game.

It was somewhat surprising when reports emerged following Golden State’s agreement on the Lee trade that the Warriors intended to keep Wallace rather than release him and use the stretch provision to spread his salary and lower their tax bill. Thus, it makes sense to see them make another deal that sends Wallace away and takes a chunk out of their team salary. The Warriors were scheduled to pay Lee $15,493,680 this coming season, so they’ve reduced their obligation by more than 50% with the pair of trades. The estimated tax bill for the Warriors drops from $24MM to $16MM with today’s trade, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). It had been $38.1MM before the Lee trade, Marks adds. Lee signed his deal prior to the adoption of the current collective bargaining agreement, so he’s ineligible for the stretch provision.

Thompson’s contract runs through 2016/17 with $2.6MM partially guaranteed on a salary of $7,010,378 that season, Marks points out (Twitter link). That salary becomes fully guaranteed if he doesn’t hit waivers by June 26th, 2016, as Marks also notes.

The Sixers receive yet more draft assets and draw closer to the $63MM salary floor. They held more than $20MM in cap flexibility prior to the trade, and they still have about $17.5MM they can spend, not counting their non-guaranteed deals, giving them flexibility to absorb other contracts via trade. They could also float a bloated offer sheet to Norris Cole, in whom they reportedly have interest, or to Tristan Thompson. Philadelphia clears salary from its 2016/17 books, since Wallace is on an expiring contract.

Who do you think got the better end of this trade? Leave a comment to weigh in.

Mavs Sign Jeremy Evans

July 31st, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 31ST, 2:13pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

JULY 5TH, 4:06pm: The Mavs have agreed to sign Jeremy Evans to a two-year deal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’ll be for the league minimum.

Evans, 27, didn’t see a ton of burn last season with Utah, averaging 7.0 minutes per contest. In 2014/15, Evans put up 2.4 PPG with 1.9 RPG. For his career, the entirety of which has been spent with the Jazz, Evans has put up 3.7 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 10.8 minutes per night. Evans made it known that he wanted to return to Utah this summer, but a reunion just wasn’t in the cards.

“I feel like they have the confidence in me and I trust them that they’re going to make the right decision. That’s what they’re here for,” Evans said about Utah’s front office. “If I’m here, I’m gonna be so happy; I feel like this is my home. If not, I know it’s still going to be a bright future and I wish everybody the best.”

Evans is represented by Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports & Entertainment, as the Hoops Rumors Agency Database shows. His greatest claim to fame in the NBA might be having won the slam dunk contest at the 2012 All-Star Game.

Sixers Sign Richaun Holmes

July 31st, 2015 at 12:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:02pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

6:03pm: The total value of the deal is about $4.2MM, as Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops hears (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 5:54pm: The contract will run four years, with a team option on the final season, Fischer tweets. The first two seasons are guaranteed for a total of $2.1MM, according to Fischer.

WEDNESDAY, 1:44pm: The Sixers have agreed to a deal with 37th overall pick Richaun Holmes, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The power forward from Bowling Green will see a “significant” amount of guaranteed money over the next two seasons, a league source tells Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link). It’s unclear just how much he’s getting, but the deal will probably be similar to the four-year contract for more than $4MM that No. 36 pick Rakeem Christmas recently signed with the Pacers.

The 21-year-old, who’ll turn 22 in October, was a late bloomer who caught the eye of scouts out of the Mid-American Conference. He didn’t put up particularly eye-popping numbers this past season, averaging 14.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game, aside from his 41.9% three-point shooting, an especially valuable asset given his 6’10” height. Holmes spoke about the development of his shot and more in an April interview with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors. At that point, the Keith Kreiter client seemed like a late second-rounder, but he climbed into the top end of the round and ultimately didn’t seem like a reach, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him the 34th-best prospect in his final listings for this season while Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegged him 44th.

Holmes is one of three 2015 draftees to which the Sixers hold the rights, including No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor and J.P. Tokoto, the 58th selection. Philadelphia avoids the scenario it was in with K.J. McDaniels, last year’s No. 32 overall pick, who remained unsigned right up until the end of training camp as he balked at a long-term deal. McDaniels instead penned a one-year, non-guaranteed tender for the minimum-salary, helping hasten his way off the Sixers at this year’s trade deadline and into a three-year, $10MM deal with the Rockets this summer.

What do you think of the chances that Holmes turns into a rotation-caliber player in the NBA? Leave a comment to give us your thoughts.

Knicks Expected To Sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo

July 31st, 2015 at 8:34am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks are expected to sign 2014 No. 51 pick Thanasis Antetokounmpo, sources tell Marc Berman of the New York Post. Thursday’s release of Ricky Ledo opened the door for the move, according to Berman. The team told Antetokoumpo’s camp this spring that it would likely sign him to the NBA roster after he spent this past season playing for New York’s D-League affiliate, but agent Tim Lotsos later raised the specter of the small forward playing overseas this year if the Knicks didn’t follow through.

Antetokounmpo, now 23, had an up-and-down performance for the Knicks summer league squad, but his final game, in which he went 7 for 7 and scored 17 points, sent him out on a high note, as Berman details. The brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 33.0 minutes per game in the D-League this past season.

The Knicks have also reportedly spoken with former Phil Jackson pupil Sasha Vujacic. New York has 11 fully guaranteed contracts, presuming that the team’s deal with Louis Amundson is one of them, and three partially guaranteed arrangements. That leaves room for Antetokoumpo, Vujacic, and a big man like Kevin Seraphin and Carlos Boozer, whom the Knicks are reportedly targeting. Teams can carry as many as 20 players during the offseason before cutting down to the 15-man regular season limit.

Thunder Sign Josh Huestis

July 30th, 2015 at 5:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:33pm: The signing is official, the Thunder announce via press release.

“We are excited to add Josh to our roster as he allows us to continue to increase our depth through his athleticism and versatility,” GM Sam Presti said. “Josh knows our culture and our organization as a result of his time with the Blue [Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate] and we look forward to his continued development with the Thunder.”

JULY 30TH, 5:00pm: Huestis has signed his rookie scale contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link), though the Thunder have yet to make an official announcement. The addition of Huestis gives Oklahoma City 15 fully guaranteed contracts.

JULY 14TH, 2:12pm: The Thunder are expected to fill the roster spot that their agreement to trade Perry Jones III will open up with Josh Huestis, last year’s No. 29 overall pick, reports Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). Huestis spent the past year in the D-League as part of unique arrangement in which he promised to play for Oklahoma City’s affiliate in exchange for having been drafted in the first round.

Huestis wasn’t a likely first-round prospect coming into the draft, but it appears he’s headed for a rookie scale contract. Such deals are given out only to first-rounders, and they include two seasons of guaranteed salary. His contract, should indeed he sign this year, would be based off the 2015 rookie scale, so he’d get a salary worth more than $1.140MM for this season, with another guaranteed year of more than $1.191MM coming his way if he signs for the standard 120% of the rookie scale. Assuming such, the full amount of his rookie scale contract would be nearly $5.818MM, as our table of first-round salaries shows.

The Toby Bailey client nonetheless seemed willing as of this spring to play another year in the D-League. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him make frequent appearances with OKC’s D-League team again this year, though if he’s on an NBA contract, he’d continue to draw his NBA salary while doing so. The small forward’s stats weren’t eye-popping this past season for the Thunder affiliate, as he averaged 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 33.1 minutes per game.

Trail Blazers Waive Brendan Haywood

July 30th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Trail Blazers have waived Brendan Haywood just days after acquiring him from the Cavaliers, the team announced (Twitter link). The move is no great shock, since Haywood’s non-guaranteed salary of $10,522,500 for this coming season would have been fully guaranteed if Portland kept him through Saturday. Thus ends the odyssey of one of the most unusual contracts the league has seen in quite some time.

Haywood averaged only 1.6 points in 5.4 minutes per game last season across 22 appearances, but his contract made him a valuable trade chip. The Mavs signed him to a six-year deal worth more than $52MM in 2010, but two years later, they amnestied him, with Charlotte claiming him off waivers shortly thereafter. The then-Bobcats submitted a partial bid, so they were only on the hook for a fraction of the Haywood contract, with Dallas paying the rest. However, the final season of his original Mavs deal was non-guaranteed. Thus, the cap figure for that year, unlike the years in which Charlotte and Dallas split the cost, remained as it was when Haywood signed the contract.

The center, who’s now 35, has seen his game decline over the past few seasons, but the final year of his contract was motivation for his team to keep him on an NBA roster, since this summer, the deal served as a de facto trade exception. A team could use his contract to acquire a player who makes as much as $15,522,500 without giving up any guaranteed salary in return.

Curiously, the Cavs acquired him cheaply last summer, giving up only Scotty Hopson and cash to Charlotte in a trade. Cleveland’s payroll has ventured into tax territory this summer, so the maximum amount of salary the Cavs could have brought back in a Haywood trade was $13,253,125. Still, Cleveland never found a deal to its liking, and simply rolled over the benefit into an actual trade exception in the deal with Portland. That exception is slightly less valuable, since the Cavs could only use it to bring in $10,622,500.

The utility of Haywood’s contract for Portland wasn’t that great, since the Blazers already possess cap space. They had this week to see if they could flip Haywood to an over-the-cap team that might then trade the contract again to reap its benefit, but no such series of deals materialized. Haywood faces a challenge to hook on with another team at this point, though he apparently doesn’t intend to retire.

Are you surprised that more a market didn’t develop for the Haywood contract when the Cavs had it? Leave a comment to let us know.

Mavs Sign Salah Mejri

July 30th, 2015 at 4:14pm CST by Zachary Links

4:14pm: It’s a partially guaranteed three-year deal, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, so the Mavs are using cap space.

3:51pm: The Mavericks announced that they have signed center Salah Mejri. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press release, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com recently reported that the Mavs made a three-year offer to the big man.

Mejri played in 34 games with Real Madrid last season and averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.6 minutes on the way to helping his team win the Spanish League title. In championship play, he increased those averages to 5.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 10.3 minutes across eight games. While Mejri didn’t play much last year, Dallas is intrigued by his energy, mobility, and length, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com noted recently (Twitter link).

A native of Tunisia, Mejri was a member of the Tunisian National Team that competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The team secured its bid to the London Olympics by winning the 2011 FIBA African Championships where Mejri was named MVP.

Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi first reported the interest from Dallas. The Cavs were reportedly interested earlier this year.

Knicks Waive Ricky Ledo

July 30th, 2015 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks announced (on Twitter) that they have waived Ricky Ledo. The guard would have had $100K of his salary guaranteed had he remained on the roster beyond Saturday.

Ledo was set to earn the minimum salary for 2015/16 and he had two key dates in his contract – one being August 1st and the other being opening night of the season. On each of those dates, Ledo would have secured separate $100K guarantees. Now that the Knicks have shed Ledo in July, they’re not on the hook for anything.

The Knicks signed Ledo to a pair of 10-day contracts last season before signing him to a deal that covered the remainder of the year. In 12 appearances for the Knicks, Ledo averaged 7.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game. Ledo was waived by the Mavs around the trade deadline last year to make room for Amar’e Stoudemire. Prior to that, he spent the bulk of the year with the Texas Legends, the club’s D-League affiliate