Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Sign Aaron Brooks

July 14th, 2015 at 5:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 14TH, 5:26pm: The deal is official, the Bulls announced in a press release.

JULY 9TH, 10:47am: The deal won’t be for the minimum, but instead for slightly more than $2MM, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Chicago will use a portion of its $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, Johnson adds.

JULY 7TH, 1:08pm: The Bulls will re-sign Aaron Brooks for one year at the minimum salary, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Brooks could have signed for 20% more than the minimum via Non-Bird rights, but Chicago gets a break as its poised to pay the tax thanks in large measure to its deals with Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy.

The 30-year-old Brooks served as Chicago’s primary backup point guard this past season, even starting 21 games, but little chatter surrounded his free agency, surprisingly, as his sparse rumors page shows. The Bulls thus keep their primary backcourt contributors in house, with Derrick Rose and Tony Snell under contract, Butler having agreed to re-sign and Kirk Hinrich having opted in.

Butler, a seven-year veteran, will nonetheless see a slight raise, from $1,145,685 to $1,270,964. The Bulls need only pay $947,276, the equivalent of the two-year veteran’s minimum, with the league picking up the rest. The disadvantage of the one-year deal is that Chicago can’t trade him without his consent, as he’d lose his Early Bird rights if he were traded, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

Bulls Re-Sign Mike Dunleavy

July 14th, 2015 at 5:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 14TH, 5:21pm: The deal is official, the Bulls announced via a press release.

9:08am: The sides have reached agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). It’ll be $14.4MM over the course of the three years with a partial guarantee on the final season, Wojnarowski also tweets.

JULY 1ST, 8:16am: The Bulls and Mike Dunleavy are close to a three-year, $15MM deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Chicago has remained the favorite even as other teams were poised to give chase. LeBron James apparently prompted the Cavaliers to pursue the client of outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem, while the Wizards and Clippers also reportedly had interest.

Chicago has Early Bird rights on Dunleavy, and it would seem they’re putting them to use here. The Cavs were likely limited to no more than the taxpayer’s mid-level of $3.376MM, and while the Wizards could have spent their $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level, the Bulls appear to have come up with a comparable figure. That’s even though Chicago is poised to pay the tax, too.

Jazz Sign Tibor Pleiss

July 14th, 2015 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 14TH, 5:15pm: The Jazz have officially signed Pleiss to a multiyear deal, the team announced.

JULY 11TH, 8:27pm: Utah is close to reaching a deal with center Tibor Pleiss, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The three-year deal worth nearly $10MM is expected to be finalized next week after his buyout with Barcelona of the Spanish ACB League is completed. The terms of the buyout have been agreed upon, and only paperwork stands in the way.

The Jazz acquired Pleiss’ NBA rights as part of the Enes Kanter trade at last year’s deadline. He was the 31st pick of the 2010 NBA draft and his rights have been traded three times.

The 25-year-old is considered one of the ACB League’s top centers and has become one of the world’s best passers at that position. The Thunder tried to lure him to the NBA last summer, but the buyout was considered too high.

Rockets Re-Sign Corey Brewer

July 14th, 2015 at 4:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 14TH, 4:35pm: The Rockets have officially announced the deal.

JULY 9TH, 11:59pm: The Rockets have yet to make an official announcement, but the signing has indeed taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.

JULY 3RD, 5:11pm: Free agent swingman Corey Brewer has reached an agreement with the Rockets on a multiyear deal to return to the team, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The deal is for three years and $24MM, Wojnarowski notes. The deal contains no options, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com relays (via Twitter).

The Lakers, Pistons and the Knicks were reportedly interested in the Happy Walters client. New York sat down with Brewer today, though no contract offer was said to be made. Brewer, who once played for George Karl, had piqued the interest of some members of the Kings brass, and the Celtics also reportedly spoke with him. However, the 29-year-old out of Florida’s preference was to remain in Houston. Brewer had waived his player option upon the completion of the trade that sent him to Houston this past season with the thought that the Rockets would use Early Bird rights to re-sign him, noted Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Brewer made 56 appearances for Houston after being acquired from the Timberwolves, averaging 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists with a slash line of .429/.284/.764. His career numbers are 10.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.7 APG. His shooting numbers are .428/.290/.708.

Blazers Acquire Maurice Harkless From Magic

July 14th, 2015 at 3:58pm CST by Will Joseph

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

3:58pm: The Blazers have followed with a press release of their own, identifying the pick going to Orlando as a 2020 second-rounder. That pick is top-55 protected, according to Casey Holdahl of Trailblazers.com. It’s Portland’s own pick, and if it doesn’t convey to Orlando that year, the Blazers don’t have to give the Magic anything, as RealGM notes.

TUESDAY, 3:46pm: The deal is official, the Magic announced via press release. Orlando refers to its acquisition as a conditional second-round pick, suggesting that the protection on it is such that it may never convey to the Magic.

SUNDAY, 5:27pm: The Magic are trading forward Maurice Harkless to the Blazers for a future second-round pick, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter).

The move does not come across as a complete shock because Orlando was reportedly willing to deal Harkless at the deadline. However, at that time, the team was seeking a first-round pick or talented young player in return. The 22-year-old former first-rounder out of St. John’s is set to earn $2,894,059 during the 2015/16 campaign. Despite being a high draft pick, Harkless has not met his full potential. In his third year, Harkless averaged only 3.5 points per game and only received 15 minutes of playing time per game.

Both Orlando and Portland are below the cap, so it’s a move that essentially transfers a measure of cap flexibility from one team to the other. It’s another move in a busy offseason for the Blazers. With LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews gone, Portland has done a decent job of retooling with athletic young players. Portland signed Al-Farouq Aminu and signed Ed Davis.

Kings Sign Luc Mbah a Moute

July 14th, 2015 at 3:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings have signed Luc Mbah a Moute, the team announced (on Twitter). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported overnight that they were close to a one-year deal, a day after Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the sides were making progress. It’s unclear just how much the Darren Matsubara client is getting, though Sacramento is in line for a $2.814MM room exception after clearing cap room this summer for a handful of other deals.

Mbah a Moute returns to Sacramento, where he played nine games at the start of the 2013/14 season before the Kings traded him to the Timberwolves for Derrick Williams, who left this month in free agency to sign with the Knicks. Thus, today’s move is something of an about-face on that deal, which came during the tenure of former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro.

New Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac brings Mbah a Moute from the Sixers, and the seven-year veteran forward had expressed interest in returning to Philadelphia. The Sixers under GM Sam Hinkie have nonetheless rarely signed veterans such as Mbah a Moute, who arrived in Philadelphia as part of the Kevin Love trade. Mbah a Moute made 61 starts this past season, but he also served as a mentor for Joel Embiid, who’s now likely to miss all of 2015/16 as he continues to recover from a broken foot.

Magic Re-Sign Tobias Harris

July 14th, 2015 at 2:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 14TH, 2:45pm: The deal is official, the Magic announced via press release.

“This is an exciting and important day for our organization. Re-signing Tobias was a top priority this summer and we’re thrilled to have him back,” GM Rob Hennigan said in the team’s statement. “We value Tobias’ contributions greatly, both on the floor and in the community, and we’re excited that he’ll remain an important member of our team for many seasons to come.”

JULY 3RD, 9:48pm: The Magic have reached an agreement with restricted free agent Tobias Harris on a new contract, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter links). The deal is a four-year, $64MM arrangement, Charania notes.That would appear to be the maximum salary, though the precise value of the max won’t be known until the July Moratorium ends next week.

Orlando would have had the right to match any offer sheet that Harris signed since it extended him a qualifying offer. The Magic were reportedly not willing to match a maximum salary offer sheet, but Harris apparently didn’t secure such an offer since the free agent signing period officially commenced. The Hawks, Knicks, Pistons, and Celtics reportedly had interest in the forward.

Harris logged 68 appearances for the Magic last season, averaging 17.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 34.8 minutes per game, with a slash line of .466/.364/.788. His career numbers since being the No. 19 overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft are 12.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.3 APG, with a shooting line of .463/.321/.790.

Celtics Acquire Perry Jones III

July 14th, 2015 at 2:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2:42pm: The deal is official, the Thunder and Celtics announced. The second-rounder headed to the Thunder is a protected 2018 selection, according to Oklahoma City. Boston’s announcement calls it a conditional 2018 pick, so the protection is probably such that it may not ever end up conveying to the Thunder.

To recap, the Thunder get that pick, while the Celtics get Jones, Detroit’s 2019 second-round pick and cash.

2:03pm: The pick going to the Celtics is Detroit’s 2019 second-rounder, which Oklahoma City picked up in the Reggie Jackson trade, Mayberry reports (on Twitter).

1:51pm: The second-rounder headed Boston’s way isn’t one of OKC’s own picks, a source Himmelsbach (Twitter link).

1:47pm: A protected second-round pick is going to Oklahoma City in the move, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (on Twitter). That’ll allow the Thunder to create a trade exception equivalent to Jones’ salary, Mayberry notes. The Celtics will absorb Jones into cap space, tweets former Nets executive Bobby Marks.

1:30pm: The Thunder will trade Perry Jones III to the Celtics, along with a second-round pick and cash, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). It’s not entirely clear what’s going back to Oklahoma City, but it doesn’t amount to much, Bulpett says, indicating that it’s a move the Thunder are making with luxury tax savings in mind. Indeed, the deal stands to save the Thunder some $7MM in combined salary and tax payments, tweets Royce Young of ESPN.com.

Oklahoma City had been carrying a payroll of about $98MM, well above the $84.74MM tax threshold, and moving off of Jones’ salary, worth more than $2.038MM, has reportedly been a priority. Chris Mannix of SI.com reported before the draft that the Thunder were shopping the former 28th overall pick, among others, adding after the draft that Oklahoma City was holding out for a first-round pick. That sort of return for Jones wasn’t to be, but it appears as though the Thunder have at least unloaded his rookie scale contract, which is entering its final season.

It’s unclear if the Celtics envision Jones as part of their long-term plan, and indeed much is in flux for the Celtics, as a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe that the team is active on many fronts (Twitter link). Jones, who turns 24 in September, is eligible for a rookie scale extension, though that seems unlikely. The forward is coming off a career year for the Thunder, who thrust him into more minutes than before amid injuries to much of their usual rotation players, but he still put up only 4.3 points in 14.7 minutes per game.

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Kings Re-Sign Omri Casspi

July 14th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Will Joseph

JULY 14TH, 2:33pm: The Kings haven’t made a formal announcement of a signing, but they acknowledged as much on Twitter.

JULY, 5TH, 9:24pm: he Kings are close to re-signing unrestricted free agent Omri Casspi to a two-year, $6MM deal, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports (Twitter link).

In 67 games this past season, including 19 as a starter, the swingman averaged 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. Casspi indicated well before the summer that he would be very interested in remaining in Sacramento. Casspi, who is represented by agent Dan Fegan, expressed a desire back in March to play in coach George Karl‘s up-tempo offensive system. The offense now will also include Rajon Rondo, who agreed to a deal with the Kings on Friday.

“I want to come back here so badly. I love the community and I feel like the team is finally moving in the right direction,” Casspi said then. “George Karl’s system is great, and I’m not just saying that because I play for him, but because I really do believe this is the right way to play basketball. Spacing the floor. Moving, making extra passes, sharing the ball. Getting our hands on balls, deflections, then getting out and running. Unfortunately, coach Karl has not had a lot of time to teach us everything, but these last two games, you can see what we can become.”

In addition to Rondo, the Kings have also added Marco Belinelli and Kosta Koufos in free agency and drafted center Willie Cauley-Stein, which supports executive Vlade Divac‘s win-now mantra, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. Re-signing Casspi is another move that signals the Kings are serious about contending.

Pacers Ink Jordan Hill

July 14th, 2015 at 1:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

1:25pm: It’s a one-year, $5MM deal, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.

JULY 14TH, 1:06pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

“We’re happy to have Jordan as part of our team,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “He brings size and energy to our front court and we look forward to see how he plays an up-tempo game. We know he can rebound and score points for us and we look forward to having him.”

JULY 9TH, 6:49pm: The Pacers and unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill have committed to signing a contract, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports (Twitter links). The length and amount of the deal is not yet known, as the details are still being worked out, Deveney adds.

This soon-to-be signing likely comes as a blow to the Mavericks, who were reportedly interested in Hill, as well as have a void at the pivot, which the 27-year-old could have helped fill. The Lakers had expressed interest in re-signing Hill, though the acquisition of Roy Hibbert likely ended any chance of Hill returning to Los Angeles next season. The Lakers had declined their $9MM team option on Hill for 2015/16.

Hill, a BDA Sports Management client, is coming off a career year for production. The five-year veteran averaged 12.0 points per game this past season, the first in which he’s put up a double-digit scoring average. His 7.9 rebounds and 26.8 minutes per game, as well as his 57 starts, were also career highs.