Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To 10-Day Contract

February 24th, 2015 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:08am: The signing is official, the Jazz announced.

MONDAY, 1:19pm: The Jazz are poised to sign point guard Bryce Cotton to a 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cotton has been playing with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate since the Spurs dropped him from their NBA roster at the end of training camp. The Jazz are reportedly discussing a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss as well, but Utah has two open roster spots, so Cotton’s deal won’t necessarily interfere with that.

Cotton reportedly turned down several offers to play in Europe that came his way earlier this season in hopes of landing the NBA deal that he now appears to have. The 22-year-old who went undrafted out of Providence this past June has put up 22.6 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the D-League Austin Spurs. He’s also corralled an impressive 4.8 rebounds considering his 6’1″ height.

The Spurs gave Cotton a $50K partial guarantee on the deal that brought him to San Antonio’s training camp, so he’s already made more in NBA salary than the $29,843 that a standard 10-day contract would give him. The Jazz have familiarity with him, since he worked out for the team prior to the draft, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune notes (on Twitter). He’s set to become the fourth player the Jazz have signed to a 10-day deal this season, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows.

And-Ones: Embiid, Johnson, Spurs, Thomas

February 24th, 2015 at 12:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Sixers were willing to trade rookie center Joel Embiid for a high draft pick, according to Mark Heisler of Forbes.com. Philadelphia drafted Embiid third overall last June, but he had offseason surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot and has yet to take the court for the Sixers. Philadelphia was unable to work out a deal for Embiid, but did send reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to the Bucks in a three-team deal that brought back the Lakers‘ top-five protected first round pick for this year.

There’s more news from around the league:

The Rockets announced that they have recalled Nick Johnson from the D-League, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (via Twitter). Johnson’s assignment was his fourth trip down this season, as our assignments/recalls log shows. The 22-year-old guard has seen time in 18 games for the Rockets this season, averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 10.3 minutes per contest.
Some people, like Charles Barkley, aren’t so wild about analytics. However, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express News writes that the Spurs are undeniable proof that analytics can help to build a tremendous roster.
New Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas did his best to squash rumors that he was unhappy with his role while with the Suns, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets. “The guy that complained, you seen it in the media. I didn’t say anything,” Thomas said.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Sixers Claim Ish Smith, Waive Malcolm Thomas

February 23rd, 2015 at 9:34am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 9:34am: Philadelphia acquired Smith via waiver claim, doing so Saturday instead of Sunday, according to the RealGM transactions log.

SUNDAY, 4:56pm: The Sixers confirmed both moves via press release, referring to Smith’s acquisition as a signing. That makes sense given the timing, since Smith would have cleared waivers Saturday.

4:40pm: To make room for Smith, the Sixers have waived Malcolm Thomas, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).

Thomas signed a four-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary with Philly back in December. The deal was similar to the one he had just signed in October with the club, though that pact gave him a $474K partial guarantee.

Thomas, 26, appeared in 17 games for the Sixers this season, averaging 2.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 11.4 minutes per contest. Over parts of four seasons in the NBA, Thomas has appeared in a grand total of 40 games with averages of 1.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG.

4:24pm: The Sixers have claimed guard Ish Smith off waivers, a league source told Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (via Twitter). The guard was waived by the Pelicans late last week.

Of course, Smith’s stay in New Orleans was incredibly short-lived. The Pelicans acquired Smith from the Thunder in one of the less-heralded deadline day trades. In the swap, New Orleans received Smith, the rights to Latavious Williams, cash considerations, and a 2016 protected second round choice. OKC made the deal to get their roster count to the league maximum of 15 players.

Smith appeared in 30 games this season for the Thunder, averaging 1.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Since going undrafted out of Wake Forest back in 2010, Smith has appeared in 221 career games for the Suns, Magic, Rockets, Bucks and Grizzlies, averaging 2.7 points, 1.9 assists and 1.4 rebounds. His career slash line is .388/.216/.581.

Nuggets Waive Victor Claver

February 22nd, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 3:40pm: The Nuggets announced that they have waived Claver.

FRIDAY, 8:37pm: The Nuggets intend to waive forward Victor Claver, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Claver was acquired from the Trail Blazers on Thursday along with Will Barton and Thomas Robinson in exchange for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

The 26-year-old from Spain is earning $1.37MM this season, and was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the campaign. Denver currently has the league maximum 15 players on its roster, so releasing Claver would allow the team some roster flexibility moving forward.

Claver has appeared in 10 games this season, all with Portland, and he is averaging 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game. His career numbers through 80 contests are 3.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG. Claver’s career slash line is .398/.293/.585.

Pelicans Waive Shawne Williams

February 22nd, 2015 at 10:07am CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 10:07am: The Pelicans have officially waived Williams, according to the team’s website. New Orleans’ roster now stands at 14 players.

4:36pm: New Orleans intends to waive Williams, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com confirms (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 3:32pm: The Pelicans plan to work out a buyout arrangement with newly acquired Shawne Williams, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Williams came to New Orleans as a part of the multi-team deal that sent Goran Dragic to Miami earlier today. The agreement is expected to be reached on Friday, Wojnarowski notes.

The 29-year-old forward is earning $1,227,985 this season, though it’s unclear just how much Williams will be willing to leave on the table in a buyout arrangement. Williams is under contract for next season, though the $1,356,146 he is scheduled to earn is non-guaranteed, which means that the Pelicans won’t be on the hook to Williams for any funds beyond this season.

Williams has appeared in 44 games for the Heat this season, and is averaging 6.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 21.0 minutes per game. His career numbers over seven seasons are 5.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG. His career shooting percentages are .407/.345/.848.

Sixers Waive Andrei Kirilenko

February 21st, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

10:30pm: Kirilenko may play in Europe if he clears waivers, which is expected, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.

4:16pm:The Sixers have waived forward Andrei Kirilenko, the team has announced (Twitter link). It’s unclear if a buyout arrangement was reached or if the team simply waived the Russian outright. The veteran hasn’t played since November 13th and had been suspended by Philadelphia after he failed to report to the team after it had acquired him in a trade with the Nets on December 11th. Kirilenko had been away from the team tending to a medical issue involving his wife’s pregnancy, which was resolved last week when she gave birth to a baby boy.

Philadelphia’s GM Sam Hinkie had informed Kirilenko at the time of the trade that the team didn’t intend to waive him. Rumors before the trade had indicated that the Sixers were poised to release Kirilenko shortly after they obtained him, but instead Philadelphia held onto Kirilenko with the hope that he could be used as a trade chip, though no deal ever materialized. Releasing Kirilenko frees up a roster spot for the Sixers, who are now carrying 14 players.

In 12 NBA seasons, Kirilenko has averaged 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. His career slash line is .474/.310/.754. He appeared in just seven games for Brooklyn this season, logging just 0.4 points in 5.1 minutes per contest.

Bucks Waive Larry Sanders In Buyout Deal

February 21st, 2015 at 9:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:38pm: Sanders was cleared to play by the NBA and is in full compliance with the league’s anti-drug policy, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).

6:47pm: The Bucks have waived Sanders, the team announced (Twitter link). “We believe this decision is in the best interest of our team,” GM John Hammond said. “We wish Larry well and remain excited about the future of the Bucks organization.” Not surprisingly, the team didn’t release any details about the terms of the buyout, but presumably Sanders is indeed giving up a significant chunk of salary in the arrangement.

SATURDAY, 6:33pm: The buyout deal is done, Wojnarowski reports, adding that the center is giving up approximately half of the original value of his $44MM deal (Twitter links). It’ll be a while before he plays again as he continues to deal with personal issues, Wojnarowski adds.

WEDNESDAY, 5:13pm: Sanders has no plans to pursue a deal with another team to play in the NBA this season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.

12:12pm: The buyout deal still isn’t final, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter links).

10:58am: Sanders will be getting $14.5MM of the $33MM originally owed him after this season, a source tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, who reiterates that the Bucks will spread that amount via the stretch provision (Twitter link)

10:51am: The Bucks still haven’t received signed paperwork on the buyout from Sanders, as USA Today’s Sam Amick cautions (on Twitter).

10:38am: Sanders didn’t want to report to the Bucks following the end of his suspension, thus giving the Bucks leverage to extract as much as they did in the buyout, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). It’s unlikely Sanders will sign with another team this season, Kennedy’s source adds and as Kyler also tweets, which makes sense, given that it appears he won’t return to the court in 2014/15.

10:32am: Sanders will receive $15MM more from the Bucks on top of the team’s nearly $8MM payout to him so far this season, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders hears (Twitter links). Milwaukee will use the stretch provision to spread that $15MM over seven years instead of the three remaining on Sanders’ contract, Kyler also hears.

10:05am: The Bucks and Larry Sanders already have a deal on a buyout, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, who says the agreement has been in place for days. He’ll only receive $13MM of the money left on his four-year, $44MM contract, Charania adds. Sanders is in the first year of that pact. Charania seconds a report minutes earlier from Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Sanders will hit waivers no later than March 1st, so he’ll be eligible to play in the postseason for another team. However, it’s unlikely that he returns to the court this season as he continues to deal with personal issues, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher wrote overnight.

A drug-related suspension already cost Sanders $1.2MM of his $11MM salary for this season. That suspension ended for the final game before the All-Star break, but he didn’t appear in that contest, and he hasn’t played for the Bucks since December 23rd, long before the NBA handed down the ban. The 26-year-old denied a report amid his absence that he was contemplating retirement, but at this point it seems his career has taken a serious downturn following a breakout season in 2012/13.

Milwaukee rewarded him the following summer with the $44MM deal, which came in the form of a rookie scale extension. He broke his hand in a nightclub fight early last season, which touched off his woes, and he missed time again later in the 2013/14 campaign because of a fractured orbital bone. The league hit him with his first drug-related suspension in April. His production fell off amid the injuries, and trade rumors surfaced. There appeared to be serious interest from other teams as of draft time, but later in the summer, assistant GM David Morway affirmed that Sanders was a part of the club’s future. However, the level of his performance failed to bounce back this season, and it appears the relationship between the club and Sanders has soured.

Jazz, Kendrick Perkins Agree To Buyout Deal

February 21st, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:53pm: Perkins has officially been waived, the Jazz announced.

3:27pm: A buyout arrangement has been reached, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Perkins intends to sign with the Cavaliers if he clears waivers, which he is expected to do, Wojnarowski adds.

1:48pm: Perkins has narrowed his choices to the Cavs and the Clippers, and the big man is expected to make his decision on Sunday, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports (Twitter link).

10:51am: The Clippers are not out of the running for Perkins, but are considered long shots to sign him, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter link).

SATURDAY, 10:28am: The Cavaliers have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Perkins if he is indeed waived by Utah, Wojnarowski reports. The Bulls, Rockets, and Hawks are also in the mix for the big man, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal tweets.

FRIDAY, 9:24am: Perkins is interested in playing for the Mavs, Wojnarowski writes, but the team doesn’t share that interest, as Cuban said (below). Conflict in the past with Joakim Noah wouldn’t keep Perkins from joining the Bulls, a source tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

11:25pm: Mark Cuban said that Dallas is set in its frontcourt, and that the Mavs would not be interested in Perkins if he is waived, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets.

10:18pm: The Bulls and the Cavs are the frontrunners to sign Perkins when and if he clears waivers, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).

6:08pm: The Mavericks have also expressed interest in Perkins, should he be waived, Wojnarowski tweets.

THURSDAY, 3:55pm: The Jazz and Kendrick Perkins are headed for a buyout, reports Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Utah agreed to take on his expiring contract, worth more than $9.654MM, as part of a three-way deal with the Pistons and Thunder. The Cavs and Clippers are teams to watch should Perkins indeed hit free agency in the coming days, Young says, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports calls those teams strong contenders to sign him (on Twitter). The Bulls will be very much in the mix for Perkins, too, Wojnarowski also tweets.

The 30-year-old Perkins is making $9.654MM this season on an expiring contract, and it’s not immediately clear how much he would give up in a buyout. He was much-maligned throughout his tenure in Oklahoma City after having been hailed as key to the Celtics’ 2008 championship and subsequent run to the Finals in 2010. He had a PER of 15.0 in 2009/10, but he never had a double-digit PER for the Thunder after a trade sent him there in the middle of the 2010/11 season.

His name was part of a proposal that would have sent him to the Nets for Brook Lopez, but that trade didn’t pan out. In any case, he’s an odd fit for Utah, a team focused on the future, so a quick parting of ways makes sense. The Jazz will have to waive him no later than March 1st for him to be eligible to play for another team in the postseason.

Heat Sign Henry Walker To 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2015 at 3:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 3:37pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced.

FRIDAY, 7:54am: The Heat will sign swingman Henry Walker to a 10-day contract, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Walker is a four-year NBA veteran who went by the name Bill Walker when he played for the Celtics and Knicks between 2008/09 and 2011/12. He’s been with the Heat’s affiliate in the D-League this season.

Walker was part of the rotation for the Knicks in 2011/12, when he saw his last NBA action, averaging 5.8 points in 19.4 minutes per game across 32 appearances that year. He was an 11.9 PPG scorer in 27.4 MPG in 27 contests for the Knicks in the second half of the 2009/10 season. The now 27-year-old has spent part of each of the last three seasons in the D-League, with a short stint in Venezuela thrown in. He’s been on a shooting tear of late, nailing 44.8% of his three-point attempts in 17 D-League contests this season, as Pick points out.

Miami has a pair of open roster spots after Thursday’s three-way trade with the Suns and Pelicans that brought the Dragic brothers to town. The Heat signed Tyler Johnson to a two-year deal after inking him to a pair of 10-day contracts earlier this season, so surely Walker, a Mike Naiditch client, will hope for the same.

Suns Sign Earl Barron To 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 2:02pm: The deal is official, the Suns announced.

FRIDAY, 3:35pm: The Suns will sign eight-year veteran center Earl Barron to a 10-day contract, as league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM and as agent Andre Buck confirms to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). Barron, who was on the Suns roster during the preseason, had just returned to Phoenix’s D-League affiliate after a brief stint playing in China, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes (on Twitter).

Barron, 33, last saw regular season NBA action in 2012/13, when he split a dozen games between the Wizards and Knicks. He spent most of this season with the Suns’ D-League team, racking up 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per game. He’s averaged 4.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 14.8 MPG over his NBA career.

Phoenix has only 13 players after Thursday’s trio of trades, and only 10 of them are available for tonight’s game, Coro notes (on Twitter). It’s unclear how quickly Barron will be able to suit up. Both Charania and Spears indicate that he’s already put pen to paper, though there’s been no official announcement from the team.