Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Sign Robert Vaden, Fuquan Edwin

October 24th, 2014 at 7:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have signed Robert Vaden and Fuquan Edwin, the team has announced. The length and terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re likely minimum-salary arrangements with perhaps small partial guarantees. These moves bring San Antonio’s preseason roster count up to 18 players, leaving the team three over the regular season maximum. Both players were likely signed with an eye on sending them to the D-League, as teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players.

The 6’5″ Vaden technically has one year of NBA experience, even though he’s never appeared in a regular season or playoff game. The Thunder signed him to a multiyear deal in the final days of the 2010/11 season and traded him the following preseason to the Timberwolves, who cut him before opening night. He was most recently with Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium where he appeared in 10 games, logging 9.0 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 27 minutes per night. Vaden was originally drafted with the No. 54 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Hornets (then known as the Bobcats). In four college seasons split between Indiana and UAB, Vaden averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG. He also spent two seasons in the NBA D-League for the Tulsa 66ers, averaging 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

Edwin went undrafted this year after spending four seasons at Seton Hall. In 127 career games for the Pirates, he averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.4 APG while playing 30.3 minutes a night. Edwin played for the Thunder in the summer league, appearing in three games, and notching 1.3 PPG in 7.5 minutes per night.

Pelicans Opt In With Davis, To Decline Rivers

October 24th, 2014 at 5:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have exercised their fourth year team option for Anthony Davis, the team has announced. However, the team will not exercise its third-year option for guard Austin Rivers, Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune reports (Twitter links). According to Smith, the team likes Rivers as a player, but the Pelicans are declining the option because of potential salary cap implications down the line.

Davis’ salary for 2015/16 is set to be $7,070,730, and that increases New Orleans’ salary commitments to $36.9MM for that season, though that figure doesn’t include Eric Gordon‘s $15.5MM player option. Rivers’ salary would have added another $3,110,796 to the team’s cap figure. Since the team has declined his option, Rivers will now become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The 6’10” Davis was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and has quickly grown into one of the league’s top big men. It looks like he’s not content to stop there, and after a stellar showing in the FIBA World Cup this summer, he’s poised to take the next step towards becoming a superstar. Davis’ career numbers are 17.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.3 BPG. His career slash line is .518/.133/.777.

Rivers came into the league after one season at Duke, where he didn’t quite measure up to the recruiting-trail hype. The 6’4″ guard hasn’t lived up to having been 2012’s 10th overall selection during his two seasons in the league. His career numbers are 7.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG, and his career shooting numbers are .390/.346/.601.

Rockets Claim Earl Clark Off Waivers

October 24th, 2014 at 5:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:13pm: The transaction is official, the team announced via press release.

4:59pm: The Rockets have claimed Earl Clark off waivers from the Grizzlies, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Clark had been on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary with Memphis, so Houston will assume control of it. The Rockets opened a spot on their 20-man preseason roster when they waived Josh Powell on Thursday.

Clark’s free agent stock plummeted after he performed poorly when the Cavs gave him a two-year, $8.5MM contract last season and the starting small forward job on opening night. The second year of the deal was non-guaranteed, helping Cleveland ship him to the Sixers at the deadline, after which Philadelphia promptly waived him. He signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Knicks, but they didn’t retain him for the rest of the season, and he was out of the league from that point until the Grizzlies brought him to camp. Still, there evidently remains at least some level of NBA interest in the 14th overall pick from 2009, as witnessed by Houston’s move today as well as his workout with the Spurs a couple of months ago.

Houston’s opening-night roster is still shrouded in mystery, since the team is carrying 15 fully guaranteed deals plus a non-guaranteed contract for starting point guard Patrick Beverley. The Rockets are also among the teams linked to trade candidate Chase Budinger.

Rockets Waive Josh Powell

October 24th, 2014 at 5:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 5:11pm: The Rockets have followed with a formal announcement of Thursday’s move, via press release.

THURSDAY, 8:55pm: The team has waived Powell, as is indicated by the RealGM transactions log. The Rockets have made no formal announcement as yet.

10:54am: The Rockets are waiving Josh Powell, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Charania indicates the move has already taken place, though the team has yet to make an announcement. The eight-year veteran was on a non-guaranteed deal that he signed with the team shortly before the end of the 2013/14 season.

Powell appeared in just one regular season game with Houston and put up four points in more than 19 minutes of work, but he didn’t make it into any of the Rockets’ playoff games. Houston didn’t give the 31-year-old any run in the preseason, either, so it appeared he was around chiefly so his contract could serve as ballast for a potential trade, though that’s just my speculation. He hadn’t appeared in an NBA regular season game since 2010/11 before the Rockets picked him up.

The move will drop the Rockets to 19 players, leaving much work to do before opening night. Patrick Beverley‘s contract is the only one that’s known to be without any guaranteed money remaining on Houston’s books. The Rockets added Geron Johnson and cut Akil Mitchell earlier today.

Thunder Cut Jenkins, Solomon, Zanna

October 24th, 2014 at 4:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have waived camp invitees Michael Jenkins, Richard Solomon and Talib Zanna, the team announced via press release. All three were on non-guaranteed contracts. The moves leave Oklahoma City with 15 players, including a non-guaranteed pact with Lance Thomas. A report earlier this week indicated the team planned to keep only 14 players for opening night, but it appears the Thunder have changed plans, as they’ll keep Thomas into the regular season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. That’s perhaps because Anthony Morrow has a sprained left MCL, an injury that typically takes four to six weeks to heal, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

Jenkins joined the Thunder in late September after agent Daniel Moldovan had said earlier in the summer that the shooting guard would instead be in Nets camp. The 28-year-old who was on his first NBA contract after going undrafted out of Winthrop in 2008 put up 6.0 points in 17.5 minutes per game in seven preseason appearances with Oklahoma City.

Solomon, a power forward, put up 4.7 PPG in 11.9 MPG in three preseason appearances this month after going undrafted out of Cal in June. Zanna, another power forward, showed his strength on the boards, posting 4.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 17.4 MPG across seven exhibitions. He was an undrafted free agent who came out of Pittsburgh this year and played with the Sixers in summer league.

Pelicans Waive Kevin Jones, D.J. Stephens

October 24th, 2014 at 4:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have officially waived Kevin Jones and D.J. Stephens, the team announced. Both players were in camp on non-guaranteed deals so New Orleans won’t be on the hook for any cash if and when Jones and Stephens clear waivers. These moves reduce the Pelicans’ preseason roster count to 15, so the team wouldn’t be required to make any other moves prior to tomorrow’s deadline. New Orleans still has 12 fully guaranteed and three partially guaranteed deals on the books.

The 25-year-old Jones used a strong summer showing to earn an invite to the Pelicans training camp. He averaged 10.0 RPG for the Pacers summer squad, which was tops in the Orlando summer league. He saw fewer minutes with the D-League Select Team in the Las Vegas summer league, and his rebounding production was cut in half, to 5.0 RPG. Jones averaged 3.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 10.4 minutes per game across 32 appearances for the Cavs in 2012/13, and he split this past season between Cleveland’s D-League affiliate and playing in the Philippines.

Stephens appeared in three contests for the Bucks while on a 10-day contract last spring, logging totals of seven points and five rebounds in 15 minutes of action. He saw more playing time overseas last season, averaging 8.4 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 23.8 minutes a night over 25 combined games with Ilisiakos BC of Greece and Anadolu Efes of Turkey.

Nets, Sixers Swap Marquis Teague, Casper Ware

October 24th, 2014 at 3:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:24pm: The Sixers have followed with a formal announcement of their own. The press release notes that Philly will receive the more favorable of Milwaukee’s and Sacramento’s second-round picks in 2019.

2:47pm: The Sixers have acquired Marquis Teague and a protected 2019 second-round pick from the Nets in exchange for Casper Ware, as Brooklyn announced via press release. The pick headed Philadelphia’s way originally comes from Milwaukee as compensation for the Bucks hiring of coach Jason Kidd. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported the clubs were in trade talks about Teague, and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News wrote that the clubs were close to finalizing a deal.

Teague is entering the third year of his rookie scale contract, set to pay him more than $1.12MM this season, which is fully guaranteed. A decision is due by a week from today on his fourth-year team option worth in excess of $2.023MM, but a report during the offseason indicated that Brooklyn was unlikely to pick that up. It’s unclear if Philadelphia is similarly willing to pass on the option, though the Sixers have tens of millions more in terms of cap flexibility than the Nets do to keep the point guard on the books.

Ware, another point guard, has a much less decorated pedigree than the other player in the trade. He’s on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary, and he seems a long shot, at best, to remain with Brooklyn until opening night. The now 24-year-old was playing in Italy last season before he signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Sixers, who followed up with a low-risk multiyear deal.

The Nets are likely to waive Ware, a source confirms to Andy Vasquez of The Record, who adds that the team is likely to keep the 15 remaining players on its roster for opening night. That’s a boon for Jorge Gutierrez and Cory Jefferson, who have partially guaranteed contracts, and Jerome Jordan, whom coach Lionel Hollins has advocated keeping in spite of the center’s non-guaranteed deal.

Teague heads to a Sixers team with an unsettled roster featuring 20 players just three days in advance of Monday’s deadline for teams to cut down to no more than 15 guys. He becomes just the 10th fully guaranteed contract on Philly’s books. It’s the second trade within the calendar year of 2014 for Teague, whom the Bulls shipped to Brooklyn in January.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons Opt In With Drummond, Caldwell-Pope

October 24th, 2014 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have picked up their 2015/16 team options on Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the club announced via press release. There was never any real doubt that Detroit wouldn’t keep Drummond around for that season at little more than $3.272MM, and the same was largely true of Caldwell-Pope, who’s set to receive nearly $2.892MM in 2015/16, as our Rookie Scale Team Option Tracker shows.

Drummond has shown flashes of potential during his two seasons with the Pistons that suggest he can become an elite NBA center. He finished first in the league in total offensive rebounds and total rebounding percentage last season, but he also topped the NBA with 273 personal fouls. Caldwell-Pope was drafted at No. 8 in 2013, a spot higher than Drummond went in 2012, but he struggled to gain his footing in the NBA as a rookie last year, shooting just 31.9% from three-point territory and averaging 5.9 points in 19.8 minutes per game.

The moves give the Pistons about $38.1MM in commitments for 2015/16. That’s plenty of room beneath a projected $66.5MM cap to either retain Greg Monroe, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, chase other significant free agents, or both.

Dee Bost Signs To Play In Turkey

October 24th, 2014 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 2:33pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

THURSDAY, 8:25am: Former Jazz camp invitee Dee Bost has a one-year deal with Trabzonspor of Turkey, Sportando’s Enea Trapani reports. Utah had reportedly maintained interest in having the point guard play for its D-League affiliate, but it appears he’ll go overseas instead. It’s not clear what Bost will make with Trabzonspor, but it likely involves a greater salary than he would have made in the D-League.

The Jazz waived Bost nearly two weeks ago, and he didn’t appear in any preseason games, suggesting that he was a long way from making Utah’s regular season roster, even though the team guaranteed his salary for $65K. He had more extensive involvement with the Blazers last year, averaging 3.5 points in 10.4 minutes per game across four preseason contests before Portland let him go about a week before opening night.

Bost, now 25, spent much of last season with the Blazers one-to-one affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, which this year serves as the one-to-one affiliate of the Jazz. He also saw action with Trotamundos de Carabobo of Venezuela last year, and he’s no stranger to European competition, having played with Montenegro’s KK Buducnost VOLI in 2012/13.

Celtics Claim Jarell Eddie Off Waivers

October 24th, 2014 at 11:23am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 11:23am: Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has confirmed the move, according to the team’s official Twitter account.

THURSDAY, 9:37pm: Boston has indeed claimed Eddie off of waivers, as is reflected in the RealGM transactions log. No announcement from the Celtics has been made yet.

5:34pm: The Celtics have claimed small forward Jarell Eddie off waivers from the Hawks, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Boston takes over Eddie’s one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary, and the move ups Boston’s roster to 18 players, though that figure includes Tim Frazier, whom the Celtics are poised to release.

Boston has guaranteed contracts with 16 of its players, so it seems that the team will probably turn around and waive Eddie before opening night, though that’s just my speculation. The C’s have the ability to retain his D-League rights, an asset the Hawks lose as a result of the waiver claim, so I’ll also speculate that Boston is making the move with the D-League chiefly in mind.

The 6’7″ Eddie averaged 2.7 points in 13.1 minutes per game across three preseason appearances with Atlanta after going undrafted out of Virginia Tech in June. He posted 13.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 32.6 MPG as a senior with the Hokies last season.