Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns, Jamil Wilson Reach Deal

September 27th, 2014 at 11:17am CST by Eddie Scarito

SATURDAY, 11:17am: The signing is official, the Suns announced via a press release.

WEDNESDAY, 9:25pm: The Suns have reached agreement with Jamil Wilson, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The exact length and terms of the deal are unknown for the Relativity Sports client who is represented by Steve McCaskill. Odds are this is a minimum salary camp deal, with little-to-no salary guaranteed, but that’s just my speculation.

The 6’7″ Wilson went undrafted this year out of Marquette despite being projected as a possible late second-round pick by some. His college numbers, which include his freshman season at Oregon, are 8.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His college shooting statistics are .447/.336/.708.

This signing brings Phoenix’s preseason roster count to 18 players. Out of those 18, 14 players have fully-guaranteed deals on the books. Wilson is a longhshot to make the team, and will compete with Marcus Morris, T.J. Warren, and P.J. Tucker for minutes.

Celtics Cut, Agree To Re-Sign Christian Watford

September 26th, 2014 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:20pm: The release has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log, but Watford and the team have agreed on a new deal that he would sign Monday, presuming he clears waivers, as Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). It’s an odd turn of events, particularly since the injury to Rajon Rondo would suggest the team would prioritize point guards rather than a big man like Watford. Boston hasn’t publicly acknowledged waiving Watford, just as the team never formally announced that he’d signed, making the situation even more strange. In any case, adding Watford again would force the C’s to cut ties with two other players before they can make their deal with Turner official.

3:39pm: The Celtics are waiving power forward Christian Watford, a source tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link). Forsberg’s tweet indicates the release has already taken place, but there’s been no formal announcement of such a move. Boston never officially announced his signing, either, but reports indicated that he put pen to paper last month. The C’s had to remove one player from their roster following Thursday’s Keith Bogans trade and the releases of Chris Johnson and Chris Babb, which left them with 21 contracts, one over the preseason limit.

Watford didn’t last long enough with Boston to suit up for the team, having spent summer league with the Pistons and Warriors instead. He played summer league with the Pacers and Mavs last year, but that’s been the extent of his NBA experience since he went undrafted out of Indiana University in June 2013. Watford, now 23, spent this past season playing with Hapoel Eilat in Israel, averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game.

The Celtics still must clear one more player before they can turn their agreement with Evan Turner into an official contract. Tim Frazier, John Lucas III, Rodney McGruder and Malcolm Thomas are all on non-guaranteed deals, so it’s most likely that one of them will be cut.

Wizards Sign David Stockton For Camp

September 26th, 2014 at 8:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 9:22am: The deal is official, the team announced.

FRIDAY, 8:00pm: The signing has occurred, as is shown in the RealGM transactions log.

THURSDAY, 3:05pm: David Stockton is planning to sign a deal to join the Wizards for training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Washington is limited to giving out only the minimum salary to the son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, though there’s a chance that his deal will include a nominal partial guarantee.

The Wizards had apparently been set to audition the younger Stockton earlier this week, and he’d also reportedly earned workouts with the Thunder and Jazz. The 5’11” guard went undrafted out of Gonzaga this past June, though he latched on with the Suns for summer league, scoring a total of six points in less than 19 minutes over two games. He put up 7.4 points and 4.2 assists in 27.8 minutes per game as a senior this past season.

Washington had been carrying 19 players, including 13 on fully guaranteed deals and a partially guaranteed pact with Glen Rice Jr. Stockton is set to become the lone player without NBA experience in camp with the Wizards, adding to the challenge of making it to opening night.

Wizards Sign Rasual Butler For Camp

September 26th, 2014 at 7:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is official, the team announced.

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 7:47pm: The signing has occurred, according to the RealGM transactions log.

SEPTEMBER 22ND, 3:42pm: The Wizards and Rasual Butler have struck agreement on a non-guaranteed deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’s almost certainly for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Wizards can give.

The 35-year-old veteran of 11 NBA seasons finds himself in a situation similar to a year ago, when he joined the Pacers on a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary. He stuck with the team for the entire season, so the Joel Bell client surely hopes the narrative continues along that course. Butler didn’t see much playing time with the Pacers, averaging 7.6 minutes in 50 regular season games, but he made it into 11 of Indiana’s 19 playoff games, averaging 6.4 minutes per postseason appearance. Helping him find a place on the floor was his three-point stroke. He shot 41.9% from behind the arc during the regular season and 41.7% during the playoffs.

Washington appeared to be auditioning Jamaal Franklin and Vander Blue, as we passed along earlier, so it looks like the Wizards are actively working toward their final additions for camp. They added Xavier Silas and Damion James last week to a roster than includes 13 fully guaranteed contracts and Glen Rice Jr. on a partially guaranteed deal.

Wizards Sign Vander Blue For Camp

September 26th, 2014 at 7:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 9:22am: The deal is official, the team announced.

FRIDAY, 7:44pm: The signing has occurred, as the RealGM transactions log indicates.

WEDNESDAY, 10:27am: The Wizards have struck a deal to bring shooting guard Vander Blue to training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Washington is limited to giving out only the minimum salary, but it’s unclear if there’s any guaranteed money involved for the Makhtar N’Diaye client.

Blue, 22, reportedly worked out earlier this week along with Jamaal Franklin at the Verizon Center, the home court of the Wizards, in what appeared to be an audition for the team. It seems that Blue showed enough to join an NBA club for camp for the second consecutive fall after he went undrafted out of Marquette last year. He failed to make it to opening night with the Sixers this past season, but he joined the Celtics in January on a 10-day contract and saw brief action in three games. It was an otherwise whirlwind season for the 6’4″ Blue, who played in Israel and with three different D-League teams. He was also part of the Spurs summer league team this year.

It’s been an active last couple of weeks for the Wizards, who’ve come to terms with Xavier Silas, Damion James, Rasual Butler and Daniel Orton, adding to a roster that already included 14 fully guaranteed deals and a partially guaranteed contract for Glen Rice Jr. Silas and James appear to be on the inside track to earn a spot for the regular season, though there’s some doubt that the team will carry a full 15-man roster come opening night. In any case, the addition of Blue means there’s still room for one more camp invitee beneath the preseason roster limit of 20 players, whether it’s Franklin or David Stockton, who’s also reportedly worked out for the team, or someone else.

Pelicans Sign Vernon Macklin For Camp

September 26th, 2014 at 5:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 5:12pm: The signing is official, New Orleans announced courtesy of a press release.

SEPTEMBER 12TH, 10:13am: Macklin signed his deal this week, just as new teammates Dionte Christmas and Kevin Jones did, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the Pelicans haven’t made any formal announcement.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 8:06am: Power forward Vernon Macklin will join the Pelicans for camp on a non-guaranteed contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Macklin has played in the D-League, the Philippines, Turkey and China after a 23-game stint with the Pistons in 2011/12.

The 27-year-old spent summer league with the Magic this year, averaging 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per contest. He saw just 5.9 minutes per game during his regular season time with Detroit, which drafted him 52nd overall in 2011. It appeared as though he drew interest from multiple NBA teams after the Pistons allowed him to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2012, but there’s otherwise been little chatter about him formally rejoining the NBA until now.

New Orleans offers Macklin a decent shot to make the opening-night roster, since the Pelicans only have 12 fully guaranteed contracts. The 6’10” big man would nonetheless have to beat out Luke Babbitt, Darius Miller, Patric Young or some combination of the three, all of whom have partial guarantees.

Pelicans Sign Dionte Christmas

September 26th, 2014 at 5:09pm CST by Alex Lee

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 5:09pm: The deal is official, the Pelicans announced via a press release.

SEPTEMBER 12TH, 10:06am: Christmas has inked his contract, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the Pelicans haven’t made a formal announcement.

SEPTEMBER 11TH, 9:39am: The deal covers one year, as Charania writes in his full story.

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 5:31pm: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with free agent guard Dionte Christmas, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter). The Temple product was waived by the Suns in late July before his minimum salary for 2014/15 became fully guaranteed. Last season was the first in which Christmas saw any regular season NBA action, when he averaged 2.3 points and 6.4 minutes over 31 appearances with Phoenix.

Christmas, who turns 28 on September 15, played overseas for several seasons after going undrafted in 2009 but latched on with Phoenix after a strong summer league performance last season. The financial terms of this accord have yet to be disclosed, but it’s worth noting that Christmas has received more than the standard non-guaranteed training camp deal in each of the past two seasons, first with the Celtics in 2012 and again with the Suns last year.

The Pelicans have added Jimmer Fredette, Russ Smith, Darius Miller and John Salmons to their mix in the backcourt and on the wing this summer, all of whom Christmas figures to be competing with in training camp. Miller and Smith (and rookie big man Patric Young) are on partially guaranteed deals. New Orleans already has 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts for the 2014/15 season.

Pelicans Sign Kevin Jones For Camp

September 26th, 2014 at 5:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 5:06pm: The deal is official, the team announced in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 12TH, 10:10am: The Pelicans and Jones have signed the deal, as the RealGM transactions log shows. The team hasn’t made an official announcement just yet, however.

9:34am: It’ll indeed be a non-guaranteed contract for Jones, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

SEPTEMBER 8TH,9:27am: Former Cavs power forward Kevin Jones will attend training camp with the Pelicans, as he tells Caleb Wygal of The (Beckley. W.Va.) Register-Herald. The precise terms of the deal are unclear, but it seems likely to be a non-guaranteed arrangement, just like the one the Pelicans reportedly gave Vernon Macklin.

An impressive performance in summer league helped put the 25-year-old back on the NBA map, as he averaged 10.0 rebounds per game for the Pacers squad, more than anyone else in the Orlando summer league. He saw slightly fewer minutes per appearance with the D-League Select Team in the Las Vegas summer league, but his rebounding production was cut in half, to 5.0 per contest. Jones averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds 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 the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippines.

The additions of Jones and Macklin give the Pelicans agreements with 17 players, 12 of whom have fully guaranteed deals and three of whom have partial guarantees. Jones appears to be competing directly against Macklin and Patric Young, whose contract is partially guaranteed for $55K, for one of the final regular season roster spots.

Spurs Sign Josh Davis

September 26th, 2014 at 3:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 26TH: The deal is official, the team announced in a press release that set the training camp roster.

AUGUST 28TH: It’s a two-year deal for the minimum salary that’s partially guaranteed for $20K this season, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

AUGUST 26TH: The Spurs have signed free agent Josh Davis, according to the RealGM.com transactions log. The 6’8″ power forward out of San Diego State wasn’t selected in this June’s NBA Draft, but he was projected to be a possible late second round pick. Though terms of the agreement weren’t released, it is a non-guaranteed, multi-year deal, most likely for the rookie minimum, and similar to the deals that Bryce Cotton and JaMychal Green signed with the team.

Davis’ signing would raise the current Spurs preseason roster count to 17. Davis will most likely be competing for the 15th and final regular season roster spot.

The 23-year-old played for three colleges, beginning with North Carolina State as a freshman, when he put up 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. During his sophomore and junior seasons spent at Tulane, Davis averaged 17.6 PPG and 10.7 RPG. During his senior year with the Aztecs, his numbers slipped to 7.7 PPG and 10.1 RPG. His slash line for this past season was .455/.000/.472.

Heat Sign Chris Johnson For Camp

September 26th, 2014 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 3:02pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

THURSDAY, 12:57pm: The Heat are expected to add former LSU center Chris Johnson to their camp roster, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Johnson is not to be confused with the Celtics swingman by the same name. The Heat are limited to giving out only the minimum salary to the three-year veteran, though since the team has only been carrying 11 fully guaranteed deals, there’s a decent chance that Johnson’s contract will include a small partial guarantee.

Guaranteed money didn’t help Johnson stick with the Timberwolves for opening night last year, as Minnesota waived him and his minimum salary at the end of training camp. He went to China to play with Zhejiang Guangsha instead, and but he nearly made it back to the NBA with the Kings in March before a failed physical scuttled his deal with Sacramento. The 6’11” Johnson also reportedly worked out for Charlotte earlier that month.

The addition of the 29-year-old Johnson will bring the Heat to a full 20-man preseason roster. Four players have partial guarantees in addition to the 11 fully guaranteed members of the Heat, while veterans Shannon Brown and Reggie Williams are among those who’ll be in Miami’s camp without any guaranteed salary, making for tough competition.