Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Sign Darrun Hilliard

July 20th, 2015 at 10:45am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 10:45am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

THURSDAY, 1:37pm: The Pistons and No. 38 pick Darrun Hilliard have reached agreement on a three-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski indicates that the 6’6″ swingman from Villanova has already put pen to paper, though the team hasn’t made any formal announcement, and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears the deal will be formalized Monday (Twitter link). The first year of his contract will be fully guaranteed, the second year will carry a partial guarantee, and the third year will be a team option, Ellis adds (on Twitter).

Detroit will dedicate cap space to him rather than use an exception, since the length of the arrangement is greater than two years, though a three-year deal gives the Pistons greater flexibility going forward, as I examined in the past. The 22-year-old was a surprise selection, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him ranked only 62nd among the best prospects in this year’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him even lower, at No. 77.

Ford pointed to his lack of top-flight athleticism or standout skill in any one particular area as weaknesses, adding that he’s nonetheless strong on both sides of the floor. Hilliard averaged 14.3 points in 28.8 minutes per game with 38.7% three-point shooting this past season as a senior.

It’s unclear exactly how much he’s getting in the deal, but it’s likely for around the minimum salary, perhaps with a few extra thousand dollars tacked on in year one, since such deals are standard for second-rounders, and the Pistons are running out of cap room. Detroit’s other 2015 draft pick, No. 8 overall selection Stanley Johnson, is on track to sign next week, agent Nima Namakian tells Ellis (Twitter link).

Suns Waive Jerel McNeal

July 18th, 2015 at 12:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns have waived guard Jerel McNeal, the team announced. McNeal’s minimum salary arrangement with Phoenix for the 2015/16 campaign would have become fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster past July 21st, as is shown by our schedule of guarantee dates. This move reduces the Suns’ roster count to 13 players.

McNeal initially signed with the Suns via a 10-day contract back on April 1st after Phoenix opted not to re-sign guard A.J. Price when Price’s 10-day deal expired. The shooting guard, who was not drafted when he was eligible in 2009, had been playing for the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns’ D-League affiliate, prior to joining Phoenix. In 27 games for the Jam, McNeal had averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 32.6 minutes per contest. He has previously had NBA training camp stints with the Clippers, Raptors and Rockets.

The Pelicans and Jazz have briefly carried McNeal on regular season rosters in the past, but he didn’t see action with either team during those stints. In just six total NBA regular season appearances, all with Phoenix last season, McNeal has notched averages of 1.5 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 6.0 minutes per contest. His shooting line is .273/.500/1.000.

Raptors Sign Bismack Biyombo

July 17th, 2015 at 9:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 17TH, 9:09pm: The signing is official, the Raptors announced in a press release.

JULY 4TH, 12:39pm: The Raptors have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent Bismack Biyombo, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The deal is for two years, and $6MM, Wojnarowski adds. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer had pegged Toronto as the likely landing spot for Biyombo earlier this week.

Toronto GM Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey went into the offseason wanting to upgrade the team’s defense, notes Wojnarowski. The 6’9″ Biyombo, along with the team’s other free agent prize, DeMarre Carroll, who agreed to a four-year, $60MM deal with Toronto on Wednesday, can certainly help that desire become a reality.

Biyombo, a former seventh overall pick, did not receive a qualifying offer from the Hornets after making 64 appearances for the team last season. The 22-year-old averaged 4.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 19.4 minutes per contest, and owned a slash line of .543/.000/.583. Through 284 career games, his numbers are 4.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.6 BPG.

Suns Re-Sign Brandon Knight

July 17th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Will Joseph

JULY 17TH, 7:32pm: The signing is official, the Suns announced. “We are delighted to have reached a multi-year agreement with Brandon,” said president of basketball operations Lon Babby. “He will be an integral member of our team on the court and will enhance our culture with his leadership and professionalism.”

1:57pm: The Suns won’t be trading Bledsoe even though they’ve secured a deal with Knight, as a source strongly emphasized to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).

1:48pm: The Suns and Knight have reached agreement on those five-year, $70MM terms, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports confirms (Twitter link).

10:52pm: If the Suns re-sign Knight, they would seriously consider trading Bledsoe, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 1ST, 5:46pm: Brandon Knight, who will become a restricted free agent on July 1st, will sign a five-year, $70MM contract with the Suns, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, who cites a league source. Of course, it is illegal for sides to have discussed a dollar amount and length of a potential deal before July 1st, but that doesn’t mean negotiations didn’t happen.

Knight, 23, was traded to the Suns in February in a multiple-team deal. He has expressed interest in re-signing with the Suns and mentioned that he was looking for that to happen swiftly. The Suns, reportedly, want to bring him back, and Knight told them that he has no issues sharing duties with Eric Bledsoe in the backcourt. Interestingly, Knight’s reported deal worth $13MM annually for five years are the exact terms the Suns gave Bledsoe last September.

Knight was averaging 17.8 points per game and 5.4 assists per game before the Bucks dealt him to the Suns. He then played 11 games for the Suns, averaging 13.4 points per game and 4.5 assists per game. After suffering an ankle injury March 9, Knight missed 16 of the Suns’ final 17 games. He underwent minor arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle in April.

Spurs Sign Boban Marjanovic

July 17th, 2015 at 7:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 7:08pm: The Spurs have issued a press release announcing the deal is official.

TUESDAY, 8:28am: The Spurs haven’t made an official announcement, but the signing has taken place, as the RealGM transactions log shows.

1:38pm: It’s a one-year deal, agent Misko Raznatovic tells Pick (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 1:09pm: The Spurs and All-Euroleague First Team center Boban Marjanovic have a deal, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The Serbian who turns 27 in August has blossomed overseas since going undrafted in 2010.

Marjanovic spent the past season with KK Crvena Zvezda in his home country, averaging 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game. His size is an asset, as he’s variously listed at either 7’3″ or 7’4″. Still, he posted only 0.9 blocks per contest this year, though that might be because few dare to challenge him at the rim.

Financial terms are unclear for the BeoBasket client, though San Antonio appears to have exhausted its cap room, and the room exception seems ticketed for Manu Ginobili. That would leave only the rookie minimum salary of $525,093 for Marjanovic unless the Spurs can make more cap-clearing moves.

Bucks Sign First-Rounder Rashad Vaughn

July 17th, 2015 at 4:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Bucks have officially signed Rashad Vaughn to a rookie scale contract, the team has announced. The guard out of UNLV was the No. 17 overall selection in this year’s NBA Draft. Vaughn was the Mountain West Conference’s Freshman of the Year for the 2014/15 season.

Vaughn will earn more than $1.733MM this coming season in the first year of a four-year deal, presuming he receives the standard 120% of the rookie scale, which is most likely the case. The player can expect to take home $1,811,040 in 2016/17, $1,889,040 in 2017/18, and $2,901,565 in the contract’s final year.

The 18-year-old spent one season with the Runnin’ Rebels, appearing in 23 games and averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. His shooting numbers were .439/.383/.694. He was the No. 38 overall ranked player in this year’s draft according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com rated Vaughn as a first round pick, slotting him at No. 22 overall.

Suns Ink Mirza Teletovic

July 17th, 2015 at 4:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 17TH, 4:21pm: The Suns have officially announced the signing. “We have followed Mirza Teletovic’s career for a long time and we are excited to have him wear a Suns uniform,” said GM Ryan McDonough. “Mirza is one of the best shooting big men in the world and we think his skill set will be a great fit for our style of play.”

JULY 9TH, 5:42pm: The Suns will sign Mirza Teletovic to a one-year deal for $5.5MM, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (Twitter link). The move comes shortly after the Nets pulled their qualifying offer to the forward earlier today, making him an unrestricted free agent. Phoenix is likely using cap space to accommodate the transaction.

The client of Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman ends up with a deal that’s about $1.3MM more lucrative than he’d have had if he’d simply signed the more than $4.21MM qualifyer while it was on the table. The agreement with Phoenix comes as somewhat of a surprise, as aside from a vague link to the Spurs, it didn’t seem as though any NBA team other than the Nets had much interest. Nets GM Billy King said this morning that the Nets and Teletovic were in talks and that he was hopeful of re-signing the three-year veteran, but Brooklyn never made Teletovic a priority this offseason, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Teletovic, who turns 30 in September, was to have missed the rest of the season when doctors diagnosed him with blood clots in his lungs after a game in January, but he came back for the playoffs and appeared in three games during Brooklyn’s first-round series loss to the Hawks. He was a significant part of Brooklyn’s rotation prior to the ailment, averaging 22.3 minutes per game this past season.

Suns Sign Ronnie Price

July 17th, 2015 at 4:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 17TH, 4:17pm: The deal is official, Phoenix announced. “The Suns are pleased to welcome Ronnie Price and his family back to Phoenix,” said president of basketball operations Lon Babby. “As we know, Ronnie is the consummate professional and a great teammate.”

JULY 8TH, 4:24pm: The Suns have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent Ronnie Price, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). The deal is a one-year, minimum salary arrangement, Coro notes. Price is in line to make $1,499,187 as 10-year vet, with the Suns responsible only for the $947,276 two-year veteran’s minimum and the league picking up the rest, since it’s a one-year deal. The veteran point guard spent the 2011/12 season with Phoenix.

Price spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Lakers, appearing in 43 contests, including 20 as a starter. His numbers were 5.1 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, with a slash line of .345/.284/.800. Through 468 career games the point guard is averaging 3.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG, and 1.7 APG, while shooting .374/.291/.735.

The 32-year-old had expressed a desire to return to the Lakers back in April, even if it was as a third-string guard. “I enjoyed being a voice in the locker room. I enjoyed being able to help younger guys. I helped great veterans that can help me. I’d be selfish not to extend that knowledge to players that are younger than me,” Price told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “Of course you want to play. That’s why we do what we do. You want to play. You never know what’s ahead. Whatever role is my role, I’ll embrace it whether it’s being here or the third guard.” Price should certainly see more playing time in Phoenix, who is in need of depth in its backcourt.

Suns Sign Sonny Weems

July 17th, 2015 at 4:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 17TH, 4:13pm: The signing is official, the Suns announced. “Sonny Weems has been one of the best players outside of the NBA over the past few years,” said GM Neil McDonough. “We’ve seen him dominate high-level competition at both ends of the floor and we think his versatility and experience help solidify our wing rotation.”

4:16pm: The second year of the deal is a team option, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link).

JULY 8TH, 2:50pm: The Suns have agreed to a two-year, $5.8MM deal with Sonny Weems, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The former Nuggets and Raptors swingman who turns 29 today hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2010/11 season with Toronto. The Suns still have cap room to sign him, but this deal would appear to fit within the room exception.

Weems’ career NBA numbers through 140 contests are 7.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 20.3 minutes per game. His NBA shooting line is .474/.241/.717.

The swingman has spent the last three seasons with the Russian club CSKA Moscow. Weems appeared in 166 games split between the Euroleague and the VTB United League, averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for CSKA.

Spurs Sign David West

July 17th, 2015 at 12:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 17TH, 12:34pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

10:08pm: It’s a one-year deal, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears (Twitter link).

JULY 6TH, 3:27pm: The Spurs scored another free agent coup, agreeing to terms with David West, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). It’ll be for just the minimum salary, Aldridge adds (on Twitter). That’s a remarkable financial sacrifice for the sought-after veteran who turned down a $12.6MM player option with the Pacers last month.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Cavaliers appeared to have the edge over San Antonio as of this weekend, but the Spurs beat Cleveland and a wider field of suitors that reportedly included the Wizards, Heat and Warriors. The Lance Young client denied a report that came out on draft night that he was likely to sign with the Knicks, making it clear that he instead wanted a team much closer to title contention.

West didn’t seem to have much interest in re-signing with the Pacers, having been turned off by the team’s open criticism of Roy Hibbert, and West believed that Indiana wasn’t close enough to title contention for his liking. The Pacers went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014, but fell out of the playoffs this past season thanks chiefly to Paul George‘s injury and Lance Stephenson‘s departure.

San Antonio should give West no such reservations about his chances at a title. The agreement with West is just the latest coup for the Spurs, who’ve already agreed to sign LaMarcus Aldridge and to re-sign Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili have also said they’re playing again this season instead of retiring.