Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Sign Jahlil Okafor

July 7th, 2015 at 6:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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The Sixers have signed center Jahlil Okafor to a rookie scale contract, the team announced. Okafor was the No. 3 overall selection in this year’s NBA draft. The big man departed Duke after a freshman campaign that saw the Blue Devils capture the NCAA Championship and him being named a first-team All-American and snagging Freshman of the Year honors along the way.

The center out of Duke will earn more than $4.582MM 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. Okafor will likely take home $4,788,840 in 2016/17, $4,995,120 in 2017/18, and $6,313,832 in the contract’s final season.

Okafor appeared in 38 games for the Blue Devils last season, averaging 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks in 30.1 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .664/.000/.510.

Bulls Sign Bobby Portis

July 7th, 2015 at 4:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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The Bulls have signed Bobby Portis to a rookie scale contract, the team announced in a press release (h/t to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders). Portis was the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

The forward out of Arkansas will earn more than $1.391MM this coming season in the first year of a four-year deal, presuming he receives the standard 120% of the rookie scale. The arrangement will likely will call for him to receive $1,453,680 in 2016/17, $1,516,320 the following year, and $2,494,346 in the final season.

Portis appeared in 36 games for the Razorbacks last season, averaging 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks, with a slash line of .536/.467/.737. His career averages are 15.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 1.5 BPG.

Jazz, Tibor Pleiss In Contract Talks

July 7th, 2015 at 3:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 7TH, 3:50pm: The discussion appears to be moving in a positive direction, according to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune, who’d be surprised if the sides don’t reach a deal (Twitter link).

JULY 1ST, 12:37am: The Jazz are engaged in contract talks with German draft-and-stash center Tibor Pleiss, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News reports (Twitter link). The two sides are discussing contract structure, and Utah’s intent is for the big man to play in the NBA during the 2015/16 campaign. Utah acquired the rights to the 25-year-old from the Thunder in the trade for Enes Kanter.

Pleiss wasn’t satisfied with his role for Barcelona this past season, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com relayed, and his discontent there appeared to be a factor when Pleiss and the Jazz were reportedly in talks about a deal this past season. Utah is in need of frontcourt depth behind Rudy Gobert, and Pleiss could fit the bill on that front.

The 7’2″ center appeared in 58 contests split between the Euroleague and Liga ACB this past season. Pleiss notched averages of 5.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game. His career stats are 7.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 0.8 BPG, with a slash line of .574/.381/.811.

Rockets Sign Sam Dekker

July 7th, 2015 at 12:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have signed Sam Dekker, this year’s No. 18 overall pick, the Priority Sports agency tweets (hat tip to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle). Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston says agent Mark Bartelstein told him the sides have a verbal agreement in place (Twitter link), and the team has yet to make any official announcement. Regardless of whether Dekker has actually put pen to paper, the signing is likely a mere formality, as the rookie scale usually removes any substantive negotiation between teams and their first-round picks. Dekker will make more than $1.646MM this year in the first year of a four-year deal, presuming he receives the standard 120% of the rookie scale.

Dekker’s stock surged amid Wisconsin’s run to the national championship game in the NCAA Tournament. The small forward is dynamic, with high basketball IQ and toughness, though he’s not a standout in any particular area, and his outside shooting could use some work, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors wrote in his prospect profile.

Houston took Dekker largely within his projected range. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him as the 16th-best prospect, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked him 21st. Our Eddie Scarito predicted he’d go 17th in the final Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.

The Rockets will likely remain over the cap after missing out on star targets LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love, so the Dekker signing, which will lift his cap hold by roughly $300K, is unlikely to affect the team’s flexibility.

Timberwolves Sign Karl-Anthony Towns

July 7th, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Chuck Myron

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The Timberwolves have officially signed No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, the team announced (Twitter link). He’ll almost certainly make close to $5.704MM this season, the first of his four-year rookie scale contract, on the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our table of likely salaries for first-round picks shows. The formal signing represents one of the few types of transactions that can take place before Thursday, when the July Moratorium will be over.

Towns emerged as the top contender to become the No. 1 pick during the NCAA Tournament, even though his star-studded Kentucky team fell short of the national title that Jahlil Okafor, previously the leading prospect, came away with as a part of Duke’s team. Timberwolves coach/president of basketball operations Flip Saunders seemed like a late convert, but he ultimately came on board. Towns’ superior all-court game sets him apart, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors examined in his prospect profile.

The timing of the move, coming along with the team’s signing of No. 24 overall pick Tyus Jones and shortly after reports of agreements with Kevin Garnett and Nemanja Bjelica, likely signals an end to the major business of the summer for Minnesota, outside of trades. The team will almost certainly operate above the cap, though it will have a roughly $1.7MM portion of its mid-level left to make additions after likely having committed part of it to Bjelica.

Wolves Sign Tyus Jones

July 7th, 2015 at 9:04am CST by Will Joseph

TUESDAY, 9:04am: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 11:17pm: The Wolves signed No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made any formal announcement, but Jones put pen to paper days ago, according to Wolfson.

Judging from the standard 120% of the rookie scale, Jones can expect to earn $1,282,080 the first year, $1,339,680 in year two, $1,397,400 the third year, and $2,444,053 during the final season.

The Wolves acquired Jones, a Minnesota native, from the Cavaliers. Jones, who has solid floor vision and leadership skills, was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four this year at Duke. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors profiled Jones and described him as “quite possibly the best pure point guard in this year’s draft.”

Manu Ginobili To Return This Season

July 6th, 2015 at 1:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Manu Ginobili will play this season, he revealed on Twitter (hat tip to Scott Agness of VigilantSports). Ginobili said in the tweet’s hashtag that Tim Duncan, who also revealed his intentions to play again this coming season, would have missed him if he hadn’t followed suit and decided to play another season. Presumably, both will re-sign with the Spurs, though Ginobili and San Antonio are still working on the details of a new contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

The odds of Ginobili, who’ll turn 38 this month, didn’t seem as high as they were with Duncan’s return. Still, San Antonio’s sixth man is back in spite of having averaged fewer points and minutes per game this past season than in any year since he was a rookie.

It’s likely that the Herb Rudoy client will play for less than the $7MM he made with the Spurs this past season so that San Antonio can accommodate a max contract for LaMarcus Aldridge, who’s committed to join the team, as well as the new deals for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The money that Duncan will make, as well as the final terms of the agreed-upon Tiago Splitter trade, will likely dictate just how much San Antonio will have left for Ginobili.

Nets Sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

July 6th, 2015 at 9:36am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have formally signed No. 23 overall pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the team announced via press release. First-round pick signings are among the few that can become official during the July Moratorium. The small forward from Arizona will make $1,335,480 this coming season and a total of $6,657,157 over the course of his four-year rookie scale contract, presuming he signs for the standard 120% of scale, as our table of likely first-round salaries shows.

Brooklyn traded with Portland for the rights to Hollis-Jefferson shortly after the draft, along with Steve Blake, for Mason Plumlee and the rights to No. 41 overall pick Pat Connaughton. Hollis-Jefferson stands to have a better chance at playing time this coming season if the Nets trade Joe Johnson, as they’re reportedly in talks to do.

The best-case scenario for Hollis-Jefferson’s NBA career is likely that he’ll end up similar to former Net Gerald Wallace, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors posited in his prospect profile of the defensive-minded new addition to Brooklyn’s roster. Hollis-Jefferson is a client of Mike George, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who ranked him as the 13th-best prospect in this year’s draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him 20th.

Mavs To Re-Sign Richard Jefferson

July 3rd, 2015 at 4:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Veteran forward Richard Jefferson is set to sign with the Mavericks on a deal that would bring him back to Dallas for the 2015/16 campaign, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). It will be a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum, Spears relays.

Jefferson joins point guard J.J. Barea, who is nearing an agreement of his own with the Mavs, in returning to a revamped Dallas squad. Athletic big man DeAndre Jordan is also set to join the team, having reached a deal with the Mavs on a four-year, $80MM contract earlier today. Dallas nabbed swingman Wesley Matthews on Thursday, in what has been a hectic few days for the team since the free agent signing period commenced.

The 35-year-old appeared in 74 games for the Mavs last season, including 18 starts. Jefferson notched averages of 5.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 16.8 minutes per night. His career numbers through 14 NBA seasons are 13.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 2.2 APG, with a slash line of .465/.380/.771.

DeAndre Jordan To Sign With Mavs

July 3rd, 2015 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:33pm: The deal includes a player option after year three, tweets Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

3:20pm: The Clippers have been told of Jordan’s decision to sign with Dallas, too, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns

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2:55pm: DeAndre Jordan has told the Mavericks he’s signing with them, sources tell Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The sought-after center plans to announce the news tonight, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who adds that it’ll be a four-year, $80MM deal (Twitter links). Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) reported minutes earlier that the Dan Fegan client was on the verge of accepting an offer from the Mavericks, pegging it at that same four-year, $80MM mark, which appears to represent the max. Dallas has been extremely optimistic, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweeted shortly after Stein’s report. It would be a profound disappointment for the Clippers and represent a miss for the Lakers, too. Jordan’s representatives have already told the Knicks they’re out of the running, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The options for the Clippers are limited, since they couldn’t generate a trade exception for the full value of Jordan’s starting salary even if they could convince the Mavs to work a sign-and-trade, because he’s getting a raise of better than 20%, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). It’s a vestige of the base-year compensation rules that would cap the value of the exception at Jordan’s previous salary of slightly more than $11.44MM. That wouldn’t be enough for the Clippers to trade for David Lee, Roy Hibbert or Nene without matching salaries. The Clippers don’t have enough cap flexibility to sign a comparable replacement.

MacMahon first reported Jordan’s extreme interest in signing with Dallas back in April. That was in spite of Jordan’s clear affection for Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers. Still, Jordan made it clear even in the spring that the Clippers weren’t necessarily the favorites as he approached unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. Jordan was concerned about how the Clippers roster would age over time, and Blake Griffin‘s ability to reach free agency himself in two years, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported overnight. The center also reportedly didn’t see eye-to-eye with Chris Paul, though there were conflicting reports on just how much of a factor that was. Jordan was also apparently tired of playing third wheel behind Griffin and Paul.

The Clippers nonetheless seemed to impress in their meeting with him Thursday, but so did the Mavs, and owner Mark Cuban and recruiter extraordinaire Chandler Parsons met with Jordan again this morning, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPN.com. Dallas, once the deal becomes official following the July Moratorium, will land the sort of star free agent target it’s missed out on ever since it won the title in 2011. The Mavs will take him into cap space, barring any sign-and-trade developments. Jordan’s deal, put together with the roughly $13MM that Wesley Matthews will reportedly see this coming season on his contract with Dallas, likely closes off the team’s cap flexibility, limiting it to the $2.814MM room exception for outside free agents who want more than the minimum.