Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Sign P.J. Hairston

August 22nd, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hornets have signed 26th overall pick P.J. Hairston, the team announced via press release. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reported the signing minutes before the team’s announcement (Twitter link). Hairston was one of two remaining unsigned first-round picks Thursday when I looked at the 2014 draftees who’d yet to strike a deal with their respective NBA teams. He’s likely to receive close to $1.15MM this season, as our chart of salaries for 2014 first-round picks shows.

Hairston had intially chosen an agent who wasn’t union-certified, and that appeared to be at the root of the delay as he went unsigned for almost two months following the draft. Charlotte acquired his rights on draft night in the trade with the Heat that also gave the Hornets the rights to 55th overall pick Semaj Christon, who’s yet to come to terms with the club. No. 9 pick Noah Vonleh, the other 2014 draftee whose rights belong to Charlotte, signed with the team last month. The signing gives Charlotte 14 guaranteed deals plus a pact with the undrafted Justin Cobbs that’s presumably non-guaranteed.

It’s quite possible that Hairston will go down as a steal, since he seemed destined to end up as a lottery pick had the University of North Carolina not decided to part ways with the shooting guard over NCAA-eligibility concerns. Hairston spent much of last season in the D-League with the Texas Legends, and he became the first former D-League player selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked Hairston as the 18th-best draft prospect in spite of his D-League detour, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him 20th, furthering the notion that the Hornets have a chance to make out well with the 26th pick. Our Alex Lee was also high on the 6’5″ 21-year-old, projecting him as the 16th pick in the final version of his Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.

Tim Frazier To Join Celtics For Camp

August 20th, 2014 at 8:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 8:46pm: Although the team has yet to announce it, Frazier signed a contract with Boston today according to the RealGM transaction log. Frazier signed along with Rodney McGruder and Christian Watford, who reportedly accepted one-year contracts that are also likely to be of the non-guaranteed variety.

TUESDAY, 8:36am: Undrafted point guard Tim Frazier has a deal with the Celtics for training camp, according to the official Twitter account of Penn State basketball (hat tip to ESPNBoston.com). The precise terms aren’t immediately clear, but it’s likely a non-guaranteed summer contract that will give the former Nittany Lion at least an outside shot of making the opening-night roster.

Frazier was a lightly regarded prospect heading into the draft, as neither Chad Ford of ESPN.com nor Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him within their top 100 prospects. Still, he worked out for the Celtics and Wolves, and he showed a flair for rebounding that belied his 6’1″ height last month during summer league, when he averaged 4.0 boards in 18.0 minutes per game for the Sixers.

It’ll be tough for Frazier to make the Celtics out of training camp even if he plays well, since Boston is already carrying 18 other players, as our roster counts show. That includes 14 guys on guaranteed deals as well as Evan Turner, whose contract is also likely to be fully guaranteed. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Celtics envision hanging on to Frazier’s D-League rights, giving him the chance to spend his first season in pro ball with Boston’s affiliate.

Celtics Sign McGruder, Watford

August 20th, 2014 at 11:13am CST by Cray Allred

SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deals are official, the team announced via press release.

AUGUST 20TH: The Celtics have signed Rodney McGruder and Christian Watford to one-year deals, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The team hasn’t announced the signings, but they are reflected on RealGM’s transaction log. The two players were added along with Tim Frazier, who is a training camp invite. It’s very likely that both McGruder and Watford are joining Boston on non-guaranteed summer contracts to compete for a roster spot.

Both McGruder and Watford went undrafted in 2013, and both spent last year playing overseas. McGruder spent time with the Thunder for training camp last summer, but was cut from the roster prior to the season. Boston has 14 guaranteed contracts on the books for 2014/15, and this will bring their total roster count, including non-guaranteed deals, up to the summer maximum of 20. However, the team also has a deal with Evan Turner that’s yet to become official, meaning they will have to waive or trade one of the 20 players under contract before formally signing him.

McGruder is a shooting guard who averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.8 RPG at Kansas State. Watford, a power forward, averaged 12.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG in four years at Indiana. Deeks places their odds of making the team as “not remotely likely” in a separate tweet.

Jazz Sign Jack Cooley

August 19th, 2014 at 6:24pm CST by Cray Allred

The Jazz have signed Jack Cooley, according to a team release. While terms of the deal weren’t announced, Jody Genessy of Deseret News reports that Cooley is a camp addition, adding that it’s very likely the deal is non-guaranteed (on Twitter).

The Jazz only have 12 players on guaranteed contracts for the 2014/15 season, so Cooley will have a better shot than many at this time of year of making an NBA team. Last year, Cooley chose to play in Turkey rather than accept one of several camp invitations. Cooley reportedly had mini-camp workouts with the Spurs, Nets, Cavaliers, and Jazz this summer.

The 6’9″ power forward went undrafted following his senior year at Notre Dame in 2013, but immediately performed well in summer league action. During his time overseas, the big man averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game.

Toney Douglas Agrees To Play In China

August 19th, 2014 at 8:06am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:06am: Douglas is set to ink with the Jiangsu Dragons for $1MM, according to Nick Bedard of Basketballbuddha.com. Presumably, the arrangement is for this season only.

MONDAY, 10:06am: Free agent guard Toney Douglas will play in China this season, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The move is somewhat surprising, since the five-year NBA veteran and 2009 first-round pick was a contributor down the stretch for the Heat this past season, and he drew NBA interest this summer. The terms aren’t clear, and neither is the identity of the Chinese team that has the deal with Douglas, but most NBA veterans who go to China do so on one-year deals that allow them to return stateside well before the end of the NBA season, thanks to the Chinese Basketball Association’s abbreviated schedule.

The Bulls reportedly pursued the 28-year-old last month before coming to terms with Aaron Brooks. Douglas started 17 games for the Heat last season after a midseason trade brought him from Golden State, though he averaged just 4.2 points and 1.8 assists against 0.7 turnovers in 15.2 minutes per game for Miami. The Heat largely buried him on the bench during the postseason, putting him on the floor for a total of only 29 minutes in 10 playoff contests.

Still, the David Falk client was a regular part of the rotation for the Knicks, Rockets and Kings during the first four years of his career, averaging 20.3 MPG over that span. He’s set to join Al Harrington, Byron Mullens, Metta World Peace and top-notch 2015 draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay among the noteworthy players who’ll play in China this year.

Jarnell Stokes Signs With Grizzlies

August 18th, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

6:27pm: Stokes can become a restricted free agent at the end of the deal, reports Tillery in a separate article, since the third year of the deal is a team option.

5:49pm: Jarnell Stokes has signed his rookie contract with the Grizzlies, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter links). The team has confirmed the deal via a press release. The agreement is for three years, and approximately $2.5MM, notes Tillery. Stokes had reportedly been waiting to finalize his contract to give Memphis more flexibility in pursing free agents this summer.

The 6’9″ power forward was selected by the Jazz with the No. 35 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, then was traded to the Grizzlies for a 2016 second-rounder that same night. Stokes was seen as a possible late first round selection leading up to the draft, and the Grizzlies may have gotten a steal by picking him up for a future second round pick. The 2016 pick that Memphis is sending to Utah is the more favorable of the second-round picks that the Raptors and Celtics sent to the Grizzlies in previous trades.

Stokes averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the Volunteers this past season. His career numbers were 13.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. His career slash line was .530/.000/.628. Stokes had talked with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors for our Prospect Profile Series prior to the draft about his career goals and skills.

Pistons Sign Cartier Martin

August 18th, 2014 at 2:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 18TH: The Pistons have finally followed up with an official announcement.

AUGUST 6TH: The team has yet to announce the deal, but the signing has occurred, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

JULY 14TH: It’ll be a minimum-salary contract, according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).

JULY 2ND: The deal includes a second season that’s a player option, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

JULY 1ST: The Pistons have struck a one-year deal with Cartier Martin, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 29-year-old swingman spent most of last season with the Hawks, save for a pair of 10-day contracts with Chicago. It’s unclear just how much Martin will receive, but it seems likely to be a minimum-salary arrangement.

The addition of Martin, along with Jodie Meeks, seems like an attempt by new Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy to upgrade the team’s outside shooting. Martin is an above average three-point shooter, knocking down 39.1% of his treys last season and 38.3% for his career.

Martin, like Meeks, is a client of Andrew Vye, so it appears as though negotiations happened simultaneous. There weren’t reports of other suitors for the six-year veteran, who saw 15.5 minutes per game for Atlanta last season.

Pistons Sign Aaron Gray

August 18th, 2014 at 2:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 18TH: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 14TH: It’s a minimum-salary arrangement, as Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News tweets.

JULY 7TH: The Pistons and Aaron Gray have reached agreement on a multiyear deal, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The terms aren’t immediately clear, but it’s presumably a minimum-salary deal for the backup center.

Gray finished last season with the Kings after coming over from Toronto in the Rudy Gay trade, averaging 1.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game. He started 40 games for the Raptors in the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season, but he’s spent the majority of his career as a backup.

The 7-foot client of ASM Sports will add bulk to the Pistons reserve unit, perhaps serving as an insurance policy for a spot in the rotation should the team be unable to bring back restricted free agent Greg Monroe. The agreement is an ominous sign for incumbent reserve big man Josh Harrellson, whose non-guaranteed contract becomes fully guaranteed if the Pistons don’t waive him by the end of July 20th. It’s a “safe bet” that the team will move on from Harrellson, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Raptors Sign Jordan Hamilton

August 18th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 1:54pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

FRIDAY, 11:50am: Hamilton’s deal is partially guaranteed, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). He adds that the odds of Hamilton making the team are long.

THURSDAY, 10:46am: The Raptors have reached agreement on a one-year deal with free agent Jordan Hamilton, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).

The Rockets acquired Hamilton from the Nuggets at the trade deadline in exchange for Aaron Brooks. The 23-year-old (24 in October) made eleven starts for the banged up Denver squad and also saw significant playing time with the Rockets. In total, Hamilton averaged 6.7 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 17 minutes per contest last season.

Hamilton drew a surprising amount of trade interest last season as the Knicks were also hot on his heels. The proposed trade would have sent Beno Udrih to Denver but the Nuggets wound up entertaining multiple offers for the youngster and chose to go with the Rockets’ pitch.

Hamilton auditioned for teams roughly one month ago and the Timberwolves were among those in attendance. However, he’ll be heading north of the border to join up with last year’s Atlantic Division champions.

Tony Mitchell To Play In Italy

August 18th, 2014 at 9:52am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Bucks small forward Tony Mitchell has signed with Italy’s Aquila Basket Trento, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The terms aren’t immediately clear, but it appears as though the 25-year-old is electing to head overseas rather than try to make an NBA opening-night roster through training camp.

Mitchell’s NBA experience is brief, having appeared for a total of just 10 minutes over three games in March on a 10-day contract with Milwaukee. The Bucks didn’t re-sign him, though it seemed as though the team had at least some degree of interest in doing so. The former University of Alabama mainstay also saw time in the D-League and China this past season, and he was a prolific scorer with the D-League Select Team in summer league last month, averaging 19.0 points in 30.4 minutes per game across five contests.

The Todd Ramasar client joins more than a dozen others who played in the NBA last season and have agreed to ply their trade overseas for the coming year, as our Free Agent Tracker shows. Mitchell is not to be confused with the Tony Mitchell who has a fully guaranteed contract with the Pistons for this season.