Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Reach Deal With E’Twaun Moore

September 18th, 2014 at 12:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 12:17pm: The Bulls officially announced the signing.

TUESDAY, 1:25pm: Moore’s deal is for two years, and his salary is partially guaranteed for 50% of its value for the coming season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The partial guarantee might signal that the team is still leaving the door open to the possibility that free agent target Ray Allen might choose to come to Chicago, but that’s just my speculation.

12:16pm: The Bulls have signed E’Twaun Moore, according to Moore’s Priority Sports agency (Twitter link). Chicago has yet to confirm the signing with an official announcement, but a report from last month indicated that the move was expected. The terms of the deal aren’t immediately clear, but it almost certainly won’t be for any more than the minimum salary, since the Bulls are among the teams limited to that amount.

Moore had a deal to play in Italy earlier this summer, but he hesitated to sign a contract when a pair of NBA teams emerged with interest. The Cavs appeared to be one of them, but the Mark Bartelstein client from suburban Chicago will instead play as close to home as possible. Moore expressed interest this spring in returning to the Magic, but they didn’t appear to reciprocate that desire too strongly and made him an unrestricted free agent after declining to tender a qualifying offer at the start of the offseason.

The 25-year-old combo guard was a part of the rotation during his two seasons in Orlando after he saw sparing minutes as a rookie with the Celtics. Moore averaged 7.1 points and shot 34.6% from three-point territory in 20.7 minutes per game in two years with the Magic.

Moore’s production suggests he’ll warrant a full guarantee, though it’s not clear whether the Bulls committed that to him. Chicago had been carrying 12 players, all of whom have guaranteed pacts. The Bulls appeared to have interest in Denzel Bowles, though the team would likely see him as an addition for camp and nothing more. Chicago hasn’t had more than 13 men on the roster for opening night in any of the past three seasons.

Brady Heslip To Join Wolves For Camp

September 18th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 18th: The Wolves confirmed Heslip’s deal via Twitter.

AUGUST 27th: Undrafted point guard Brady Heslip and the Wolves have agreed on a deal that will bring him to camp, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Wolfson noted last week that the 24-year-old from Baylor had impressed the club during his stint on the summer league Wolves. It’s not immediately clear whether the arrangement involves any sort of partial guarantee, as is common with such contracts at this point in the process, but it’s probably for the minimum salary.

The 6’2″ Heslip wasn’t a highly regarded draft prospect, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him among their rankings. He nonetheless received plenty of exposure in college, where he played in the NCAA tournament during two of his three seasons at Baylor, and he made his mark as a premiere long-range shooter. He nailed 46.5% of his three-pointers on 6.7 such attempts per game last season, and he was a double-figure scorer, averaging 11.7 points in 27.4 minutes per game. Heslip nailed seven of the 10 three-pointers he took in summer league, though that’s a small sample size, of course.

It’d be difficult for Heslip to make it to opening night as the Wolves roster stands now, with 15 players on guaranteed deals. Still, the team reportedly continues to try to unload J.J. Barea, so perhaps coach/executive Flip Saunders can see Heslip taking Barea’s backcourt spot. The Wolves apparently had recent talks with power forward Dante Cunningham, too, so much is unsettled.

Wolves Sign Kyrylo Fesenko

September 18th, 2014 at 11:23am CST by Cray Allred

SEPTEMBER 18th, 11:23am: The Wolves announced (via Twitter) that Fesenko has signed with the club on a “training camp” contract.

SEPTEMBER 2nd: The Wolves have signed Kyrylo Fesenko, according to the RealGM transaction log. There is as of yet no report or team announcement on the details for the deal, but it is likely a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum that won’t ensure Fesenko a roster spot beyond training camp.

Fesenko’s improved physique and solid summer league play had reportedly fueled Minnesota’s interest in the center for training camp. The team already has the maximum of 15 guaranteed contracts on the books for 2014/15, so Fesenko would need more than strong play to earn a role extending into the season. The Wolves would either need to waive or trade away a guaranteed salary to create space for Fesenko or any other training camp invite.

Fesenko has played five seasons in the NBA as a big for the Jazz and Pacers, spending recent years overseas and in the D-League. He has career averages of 2.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG from his time in the league.

Jordan Crawford To Play In China

September 18th, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) has confirmed that Jordan Crawford has agreed to sign with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. The deal was first reported by Chinese language site Hupu (translation courtesy of Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The Hupu report says that Crawford’s one-year deal could be worth as much as $2MM.

It’s a somewhat surprising outcome for the CAA client who started the season strong with the Celtics, averaging 13.7 PPG and 5.7 APG in 30.7 minutes per contest. The C’s later sent Crawford to the Warriors in a three-team deal that will likely net them a trio of second round selections. Things didn’t work out as planned in Golden State and the Warriors wound up acquiring Steve Blake to fill the role Crawford was ticketed for. They tried to dangle Crawford at the deadline but there were no takers as he was putting up just 6.6 PPG and 2.2 APG in 16.5 minutes per contest for his new team.

The 25-year-old Xavier product reportedly had interest from the Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets. Ultimately, most of those teams wound up finding backcourt help elsewhere and it’s possible that Crawford was holding out for more than the minimum salary.

Meanwhile, the Flying Tigers have found another ex-NBA guard to replace the production of Lester Hudson. Hudson is a free agent and has been connected to the rival Liaoning Hunters.

Knicks Sign Orlando Sanchez

September 17th, 2014 at 4:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:42pm: Sanchez has officially signed with the team, the Knicks announced.

2:01pm: The deal is partially guaranteed, as Zagoria reports.

1:36pm: The Knicks have a deal with undrafted St. John’s power forward Orlando Sanchez, agent Brian J. Bass tweets. Bass indicates that Sanchez has a signed contract with the team, though the Knicks have yet to make any formal announcement. The terms aren’t immediately clear, but it’ll have to be a minimum-salary contract, since that’s all the Knicks can offer, and perhaps there’s a partial guarantee attached. It’s a one-year deal, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

Sanchez, 26, played just one season of college ball, having put up 7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 22.3 minutes per game. He didn’t stand much chance of hearing his name called on draft night, but he had predraft workouts with the Kings, Pacers and Sixers. The 6’8″ Sanchez averaged 2.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG in nearly 11 minutes per game with the Dominican Republic team in the recent FIBA World Cup.

The Knicks had been carrying 14 fully guaranteed deals and three more with partial guarantees. Samuel Dalembert has one of those partial guarantees, so there will be little opportunity for Sanchez to make the opening-night roster.

Rockets Acquire Jason Terry

September 17th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 17TH: The deal is official, the teams announced in separate releases. It’s Terry and a pair of second-round picks to the Rockets, and Gee and Hopson to the Kings. The Rockets get Sacramento’s 2015 second-round pick if it falls anywhere from the 31st through 49th selections, according to Houston’s statement, not the 31st through 50th, as the previous report indicated. The Knicks 2016 second-rounder that’s headed to Houston via Sacramento is indeed unprotected.

SEPTEMBER 8TH: The trade will include Gee and Hopson, but not Powell, Feigen tweets.

AUGUST 31ST: 5:01pm: The picks that the Rockets are receiving come with some unlikely protections, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Houston would get Sacramento’s 2015 second-round pick as long as it falls between the 31st and 50th selections. There is no protection for the Knicks’ 2016 pick, writes Feigen. The deal will take several weeks to complete, notes Feigen, and will include other non-guaranteed contracts, likely either Scotty Hopson, Josh Powell, or both.

4:25pm: The Kings will send Houston two second-round picks in deal, including the 2016 second-rounder that was acquired from the Knicks, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

4:10pm: The Kings are finalizing a deal that would send Jason Terry and a future second-rounder to the Rockets for a package of non-guaranteed contracts, including Alonzo Gee, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

Terry had been acquired by the Kings at the trade deadline along with Reggie Evans, in exchange for shooting guard Marcus Thornton. Terry never played a game for the Kings, instead opting to rehab his surgically repaired knee in preparation for the 2014/15 season. Prior to the trade, Terry appeared in 35 games for the Nets, averaging 4.5 PPG and 1.6 APG.

Terry is on an expiring $5.85MM contract for next season, and he figures to see some minutes with the Rockets backing up both guard positions. Terry will likely be more motivated playing for a Houston squad that hopes to secure a high seed heading into next season’s playoffs, than a still-rebuilding team in Sacramento.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tyshawn Taylor To Play In Russia

September 17th, 2014 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 1:17pm: Taylor has signed his contract with the team, according to his representatives at the Interperformances agency (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

MONDAY, 11:33am: Former Nets point guard Tyshawn Taylor is putting the finishing touches on a deal with Dynamo Moscow, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). It’s not clear whether it will include any sort of out clause that would allow the 24-year-old to return stateside if NBA interest perks up, but considering the sparse activity on his rumors page, it seems likely Taylor will begin the season overseas.

Taylor has been out of the NBA since the Pelicans cut him loose two days after acquiring him from Brooklyn. Prior to the trade, he more than doubled his minutes per game in his sophomore campaign for the Nets, who’d put him on the floor for just 5.8 minutes per contest in his rookie season. The 41st pick from 2012 averaged 3.9 points, 1.6 assists and 1.3 turnovers in 11.7 minutes per contest over 23 NBA games last year before finishing up the season in the D-League and with Puerto Rico’s Atleticos de San German.

Dynamo Moscow will compete in Russia’s Super League, a minor league that plays second fiddle to the VTB League, as Pick points out (on Twitter). That’s quite a comedown for Taylor, who averaged 16.6 points per game as a senior at Kansas in 2011/12. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him stay with the club for just a short time if he puts up strong numbers and proves he deserves a shot on a more well-regarded circuit.

Wolves Sign Glenn Robinson III

September 17th, 2014 at 1:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:03pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

WEDNESDAY, 8:28am: The contract will cover just the coming season, Wolfson tweets, adding that no move involving Barea is imminent.

TUESDAY, 11:02pm: Robinson’s deal is partially guaranteed according to Wolfson, who also hears that the Michigan product is no lock to make the roster out of training camp (Twitter link).

2:58pm: The Wolves have agreed to a guaranteed deal with Glenn Robinson III, the 40th overall pick in this year’s draft, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal will be the 16th fully guaranteed pact for Minnesota, but the team has reportedly sought to trade J.J. Barea, and the Wolves are also open to allowing the veteran guard to buy his way out of his fully guaranteed contract, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (Twitter link).

The terms of Robinson’s deal aren’t immediately clear, and the Wolves have $1.555MM left on their mid-level exception to make it worth more than the minimum salary and extend the length of the deal beyond two years. Minnesota had held out hope of creating a roster spot for Robinson as the Kevin Love trade loomed, but that swap left the team with just as many players as it had before. Robinson turned down a partially guaranteed offer a couple of weeks ago, Wolfson tweets.

Robinson averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game as a sophomore for Michigan this past season. The small forward is listed at the same 6’7″ height as his father, former No. 1 overall pick and NBA All-Star Glenn Robinson.

The 20-year-old Robinson will join Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine as 2014 draftees on the Wolves roster, which also features training camp deals with Kyrylo Fesenko and Brady Heslip. Whatever Robinson receives on his deal, that amount plus LaVine’s approximately $2MM salary wouldn’t add up to the more than $4.5MM that Barea is set to make in the final season of his deal this year.

James Nunnally To Play In Spain

September 17th, 2014 at 9:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Hawks and Sixers small forward James Nunnally has signed with Estudiantes of Spain, the Spanish ACB league announced (on Twitter; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The terms are unclear, but that presumably takes him out of the running to join an NBA team for training camp. The 24-year-old was reportedly one of a handful of players to work out for the Lakers last week.

Nunnally signed a pair of 10-day contracts with both Atlanta and Philadelphia last year, as our 10-Day Tracker shows, but neither team followed with a contract that covered the rest of 2013/14. He averaged 3.4 points in 12.7 minutes per game in the 13 NBA contests in which he appeared last season, but he saw more extensive action in the D-League, just as he did in 2012/13, his first season as a pro after he went undrafted out of UC Santa Barbara in 2012. Still, he’s consistently remained on the NBA radar, having worked out earlier in the offseason for the Warriors and Jazz and having spent time with the Pacers, Heat and Mavs during summer league this year. He was a widely sought-after camp invitee last fall before he finally chose to spend the preseason with the Suns.

Heading to Spain will make it more difficult for NBA scouts and executives to keep tabs on his game, but he certainly won’t vanish from their sights, given the strength of the ACB league. Nunnally joins Ryan Gomes, Orlando Johnson, Tornike Shengelia and Dwight Buycks among the players who found deals in the ACB league after appearing in the NBA last season.

Grizzlies Sign Earl Clark To Camp Deal

September 16th, 2014 at 9:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced.

SEPTEMBER 16TH: The signing has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team has yet to make an official announcement.

SEPTEMBER 14TH: Earl Clark has agreed to a training camp deal with the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). This brings Memphis’ roster count up to 17, with 14 of those deals being guaranteed. The combo forward will compete for a roster spot with Jon Leuer, Jarnell Stokes, and Quincy Pondexter. The Spurs had also shown interest in the 6’10”, 26 year-old forward out of Louisville, and had him in for a workout almost two weeks ago.

Clark appeared in 45 games for the Cavs last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 2.8 RPG. He was traded back in February to the Sixers in the the Spencer Hawes deal, and was promptly waived by Philadelphia. Clark was then picked up by the Knicks, but wasn’t re-signed after his back-to-back 10-day deals expired. In nine games for New York, Clark averaged 2.6 PPG and 1.8 RPG.

In his free agent stock watch entry for Clark, our own Chuck Myron noted that Clark performs best in an up-tempo attack, and that the player has struggled on the defensive end, as well as when paired with a strong inside presence like Dwight Howard. How he fits into a Memphis team that features Marc Gasol and a slower-paced, half-court brand of basketball that emphasizes defense remains to be seen.