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G League Moves: Kings, Wizards, Cavs, Jazz, Hawks, More

September 12th, 2024 at 5:21pm CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA trade market has been quiet since July, NBA G League teams have been active in recent days, swapping returning player rights and draft picks ahead of the 2024/25 season.

A player’s G League returning rights are only valuable in certain situations. If a player is on a standard or two-way contract with an NBA team, those returning rights mean little, since the player will play for his NBA’s team affiliate when he reports to the G League. Even for players not on NBA rosters, returning rights offer no assurances for G League teams — the player could opt to play in Europe, Australia, Asia, or in another non-NBAGL league.

However, most G League trades made at this point in the year are completed with the knowledge that at least one of the players involved in the deal intends to sign an NBAGL contract and report to the team acquiring him. And in some cases, the trades represent the start of a greater opportunity for a player.

For instance, last summer, Trevelin Queen (Osceola Magic) and Alondes Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce) were among the players who had their returning rights acquired by new teams. Queen and Williams initially signed training camp contracts with the NBA parent clubs (Orlando and Miami), but were eventually promoted to two-way deals and finished the 2023/24 season in the NBA.

Here are some details on the latest trades completed in the G League:

  • The Stockton Kings, Capital City Go-Go (Wizards), and Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) finalized a three-team deal that sent Jules Bernard‘s returning rights to Cleveland, the rights to Dexter Dennis and Justin Powell to Stockton, and NBA veteran Jaylen Nowell to Capital City, per a press release from the Kings. Nowell has reportedly agreed to a camp deal with the Wizards.
  • Stockton followed up that deal by reaching a separate agreement with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz‘s affiliate (press release). The Kings acquired the rights to Jayce Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for the rights to Dane Goodwin.
  • The College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks‘ G League affiliate, sent the returning rights to Miles Norris and Joel Ayayi to the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies) in exchange for Michael Devoe‘s rights and the Indiana Mad Ants’ 2025 first-round pick.
  • The Skyhawks subsequently flipped that 2025 Mad Ants first-rounder to the San Diego Clippers for Joey Hauser‘s rights (Twitter links). Hauser is reportedly joining the Hawks this fall on an Exhibit 10 deal.
  • The Mexico City Capitanes – the G League’s only unaffiliated team – has made a pair of trades. The Capitanes sent Ethan Thompson‘s rights to the Osceola Magic in exchange for the rights to D.J. Wilson and a 2024 first-round pick (Twitter link), then acquired Greg Brown‘s returning rights from the Texas Legends (Mavericks) in exchange for the rights to Phillip Wheeler and a 2025 second-round pick (press release).
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Southwest Notes: Thompson, Jackson, Wembanyama, Thompson

September 12th, 2024 at 9:34am CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka says that second-year swingman Amen Thompson stands out among the players that look stronger heading into training camp, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Thompson is ready to have a much improved season after appearing in 62 games last season and averaging 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 22.4 minutes per night as a rookie.

“I feel a lot different,” Thompson said. “Just getting stronger, getting faster, getting more athletic. Just a lot of growth this summer, and I feel like that’s translated to the court.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Grizzlies forward GG Jackson underwent foot surgery on Sept. 4 and Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal spoke with an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon to get an estimated timeline for when Jackson might get back on the court. The expert believes a three-month recovery period sounds reasonable. “Three months is a pretty safe number,” Dr. Kenneth Jung said. “He’s just got to be able to get into basketball-shape physically and mentally. Whether he’s back to full expectations of what the fans and coaches expect, that may be a different number.”
  • Big things are expected of Victor Wembanyama in his second NBA season. The Spurs big man is the co-betting favorite with the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley to win the Most Improved Player award. Wembanyama is also the heavy favorite to take Defensive Player of the Year honors, according to Grant Afseth of DraftKings Network.
  • On his Substack page, Dallas Sports Journal, Afseth takes an in-depth look at how Klay Thompson can play off of Mavericks star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Afseth anticipates Thompson will significantly bolster the team’s offensive arsenal with his ability to stretch the floor and take quick-trigger shots, among other skills.
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Central Notes: Thompson, Pistons, Bulls, Bucks

September 11th, 2024 at 10:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Tristan Thompson‘s new one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Cavaliers is non-guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That will give Cleveland some flexibility with Thompson’s roster spot — while the veteran center seems likely to open the regular season with the team, he could be waived on or before January 7 if the team wants to avoid locking in his full-season salary.

Thompson also waived his right to veto a trade as part of his deal with the Cavs, Hoops Rumors has learned. Players who re-sign with their previous teams on one-year contracts are typically awarded veto rights for the season, but the player can forfeit that right as part of his agreement with his club. Thompson is the 12th player this season to do so, as our tracker shows.

Here’s more from around the Central:

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Cavaliers Officially Sign Tristan Thompson, JT Thor

September 9th, 2024 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 11: Thompson’s agreement is a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, sources inform Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 9: A pair of previously reported Cavaliers signings are official, according to the transaction log at NBA.com, which lists center Tristan Thompson and forward JT Thor as having completed their respective deals with the team.

Thompson, whose signing was also announced in a press release posted to the Cavaliers’ website, reportedly inked a one-year contract with the club. While the full details have yet to be confirmed, it’s believed to be a minimum-salary deal that’s either partially or fully guaranteed.

The fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Thompson spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Cavaliers before bouncing around the league and spending time with the Celtics, Kings, Pacers, Bulls, and Lakers from 2020-23. He returned to Cleveland last season, signing a one-year contract with the club almost exactly a year ago and appearing in 49 games in 2023/24.

Once a fixture in the Cavs’ starting lineup and one of the NBA’s top rebounders, Thompson played a limited role last season, contributing 3.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in just 11.2 minutes per contest during the regular season.

The 33-year-old, who was suspended for 25 games from January to March for an SPED (steroids and performance enhancing drugs) violation, averaged only 8.7 MPG in 10 postseason appearances off the bench. However, the team is said to value his veteran leadership in the locker room.

Thor has signed a two-way contract with Cleveland, joining Emoni Bates and Luke Travers as the three players filling the club’s two-way slots.

The 37th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Thor spent the first three years of his career in Charlotte. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 165 games (11 starts; 12.2 MPG) with the Hornets from 2021-24, then became an unrestricted free agent this summer when the team turned down its option for 2024/25 and declined to issue him a qualifying offer.

Thor, a former Auburn standout, played for South Sudan’s national team at the Paris Olympics this summer, averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game as the club went 1-2 in pool play, failing to advance to the single-elimination round.

The Cavs now have 16 players under contract, with 13 on standard deals and three on two-way pacts. Isaac Okoro, the NBA’s lone remaining restricted free agent, is the favorite to fill the 14th spot on the standard roster. Cleveland will likely keep the 15th spot open to start the season to maximize flexibility and save some money.

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Poll: How Will Isaac Okoro’s Situation Be Resolved?

September 8th, 2024 at 2:38pm CST by Rory Maher

With training camps set to begin in about three weeks, there haven’t been many updates on the NBA’s lone remaining restricted free agent, former No. 5 overall pick Isaac Okoro.

Okoro provides real value to the Cavaliers — he’s their best on-ball defender and is frequently tasked with guarding the opposing teams’ best perimeter player. Even with a major size disadvantage, Okoro did an admirable job defending Paolo Banchero in Cleveland’s first-round playoff series vs. Orlando.

The issue is on the other end of the court, where Okoro is an inconsistent shooter and scorer whom opposing defenses frequently ignore. After shooting a career-best 39.1% from three-point range in the 2023/24 regular season, he converted just 25.7% of his outside looks in the postseason.

The Cavaliers extended a qualifying offer — essentially just a one-year contract offer — to Okoro in June, granting them the right of first refusal in negotiations. That QO is worth $11,828,974. If the 23-year-old accepts the QO, he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

In late July, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that the Cavs also made Okoro a multiyear offer, roughly in the range of $8-10MM annually. Cleveland certainly seems to be in the driver’s seat in negotiations and hasn’t budged on that stance, according to reports last month from Fedor and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

One of the primary issues for Okoro is the Pistons are the only team in the league that has cap room available, and there has been no indication they’re interested in testing the Cavaliers with a long-term offer that Cleveland could match. There also haven’t been any rumors about teams potentially using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to make Okoro an offer.

For what it’s worth, the Cavs used the stretch provision to spread Ricky Rubio‘s $1,274,015 dead-money cap hit for 2024/25 across three seasons. Rubio will now count against Cleveland’s books for $424,672 annually through ’26/27. That might not sound significant, but it could help the Cavs re-sign Okoro while avoiding the luxury tax — a key consideration for a team whose payroll is set to balloon in ’25/26, when Evan Mobley‘s rookie scale extension kicks in.

Aside from accepting the QO, re-signing with the Cavs on a multiyear deal, or signing with another team (again, the Cavs could choose to match), there’s one other viable outcome. The Cavs reportedly discussed a sign-and-trade with the Nets involving Okoro and Dorian Finney-Smith, but it sounds like those talks didn’t get serious.

We want to know what you think. How will Okoro’s situation be resolved? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts.

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Five Teams Who May Pursue Cost-Cutting Trades

September 7th, 2024 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Most of the 29 trades completed so far this offseason by NBA teams have been made with financial considerations in mind. In some cases, those considerations were obvious -- when the Timberwolves sent Wendell Moore to Detroit, the Nuggets dealt Reggie Jackson to Charlotte, or the Grizzlies traded Ziaire Williams to Brooklyn, saving money was the primary motivating factor.

For other trades, cap savings were just one part of the equation. For example, Portland's July deal with the Wizards was primarily about acquiring Deni Avdija, but by including Malcolm Brogdon in their package for Avdija, the Trail Blazers were able to duck out of luxury tax territory. The same is true of the Hawks in the Dejounte Murray trade, which reduced their team salary for 2024/25 and helped them sneak below the tax line.

While some teams have already made their cost-cutting moves for '24/25, there are others who are worth keeping an eye on this fall and winter. Based on their proximity to the luxury tax line or the tax aprons, they look like potential candidates to pursue deals that would shed some salary.

Let's take a closer look at some of those teams...

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Cavaliers, Tristan Thompson Agree To One-Year Deal

September 6th, 2024 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center Tristan Thompson has reached an agreement on a one-year deal to return to the Cavaliers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

The fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Thompson spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Cavaliers before bouncing around the league and spending time with the Celtics, Kings, Pacers, Bulls, and Lakers from 2020-23. He returned to Cleveland last season, signing a one-year contract with the club almost exactly a year ago and appearing in 49 games in 2023/24.

Once a fixture in the Cavs’ starting lineup and one of the NBA’s top rebounders, Thompson played a limited role last season, contributing 3.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in just 11.2 minutes per contest during the regular season.

The 33-year-old, who was suspended for 25 games from January to March for an SPED (steroids and performance enhancing drugs) violation, averaged 8.7 MPG in 10 postseason appearances off the bench.

Although Thompson is no longer a major contributor on the court, the Cavaliers value his leadership, Wojnarowski notes.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com suggested last month that the team remained on the lookout for a “cost-effective, playable, end-of-bench veteran” who could be a locker room leader like Thompson was last season. It now appears the Cavs may simply have Thompson fill that role again, though it’s unclear whether his new contract will be fully guaranteed. It at least seems safe to assume that it’s minimum-salary deal.

Prior to officially signing Thompson, Cleveland is carrying 12 players on standard contracts, with Isaac Okoro still a restricted free agent.

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Cavaliers Officially Announce 2024/25 Coaching Staff

September 6th, 2024 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers issued a press release on Thursday formally announcing their coaching staff under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, who was hired in June to replace J.B. Bickerstaff.

There are no real surprises within the Cavaliers’ release, as the majority of their hires were reported at some point this summer following the addition of Atkinson. However, those hires are now official.

Here are Cleveland’s assistant coaches:

  • Johnnie Bryant, who spent the past four seasons as the Knicks’ associate head coach and six seasons before that as a Jazz assistant. He worked closely with Donovan Mitchell in Utah and has been named the Cavaliers’ associate head coach.
  • Jordan Ott, a former assistant for the Lakers (2022-24) and Nets (2016-22). He worked under Atkinson in Brooklyn for three-and-a-half seasons.
  • DeMarre Carroll, a forward in the NBA for 11 seasons, including two in Brooklyn playing for Atkinson. Having transitioned to coaching following his retirement, he spent the 2022/23 season with Milwaukee and the ’23/24 campaign with the Lakers.
  • Mike Gerrity, who has coached the Cleveland Charge (the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate) for the past two seasons.
  • Trevor Hendry, who was with the Nets from 2014-24 in a variety of roles, including assistant coach (2022-24) and head video coordinator (2018-22). He worked under Atkinson from 2016-20.
  • Omar Cook, a longtime professional player who was hired as an assistant coach for the Charge in 2022 and promoted to an assistant/player development role with the Cavaliers in 2023.
  • Bryan Tibaldi, who has been a player development/video assistant for the Cavs since 2021.
  • Nate Reinking, a returning assistant coach who was the Charge’s head coach from 2016-21.

The Cavaliers announced a few more hires within their press release, including Alex Sarama as their director of player development and Patrick Licursi as an advance scout.

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Cavaliers Stretched Rubio’s 2024/25 Cap Hit

September 3rd, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers used the stretch provision to spread Ricky Rubio‘s $1,274,015 dead-money cap hit for 2024/25 across three seasons, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Rubio will now count against Cleveland’s books for $424,672 annually through ’26/27.

Rubio was bought out by the Cavaliers last January with two years left on his contract, announcing at that time that his NBA career was over. He gave up $5.4MM in that agreement, leaving Cleveland with cap charges of $3,722,327 for 2023/24 and $1,274,015 for ’24/25.

The Cavaliers didn’t use the stretch provision on Rubio’s post-termination salary at the time of his release, but as Marks explains, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement allowed them to stretch the second-year salary across three seasons as long as they did so prior to the Saturday (August 31) deadline. Under the previous CBA, using the stretch provision was only permitted at the time of the waiver request.

The move generates an extra $849,343 in cap flexibility for Cleveland this season. That may not seem like much, but it gives the club a little extra breathing room below the luxury tax line as the front office negotiates a deal with Isaac Okoro. If the goal is to re-sign Okoro to a multiyear contract, sign a 14th man to a minimum-salary deal, and remain out of tax territory, that extra $849K could come in handy.

The Cavaliers are now approximately $10.6MM below the luxury tax line, meaning they could offer Okoro a first-year salary of roughly $8.5MM and avoid becoming a taxpayer. That would allow them to go up to about $27.5MM for three years or $38.1MM over four years for the last unsigned restricted free agent on the market.

Even if they end up going slightly into tax territory to fill out the opening night roster, reducing Rubio’s 2024/25 cap hit will make it easier for the Cavs to duck the tax with a trade later in the season.

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G League Notes: Simpson, Boeheim, McGowens, More

September 2nd, 2024 at 3:15pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hornets‘, Pistons‘, Spurs‘ and Thunder‘s G League affiliates completed a four-team trade, according to a release (Twitter link) and the G League transactions log.

In the trade, the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets) obtained the returning player rights to both Zavier Simpson and Caleb McConnell. The Motor City Cruise (Pistons) acquired RaiQuan Gray‘s rights, along with OKC’s 2025 second-round pick. The Austin Spurs got the rights to Nathan Mensah while the Oklahoma City Blue obtained Buddy Boeheim‘s.

Acquiring a player’s returning G League rights doesn’t necessarily mean that player will suit up for his new team. These trades ensure that if a player signs an NBAGL contract, he will play for the club that acquired his rights. When deals occur at this point in the offseason, they’re often precursors to players signing Exhibit 10 contracts with the parent club, lining them up to receive a bonus worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived and then spent at least 60 days in the G League.

This deal appears to be for exactly those purposes, at least in part. Mensah and Boeheim reportedly agreed to training camp deals with the Spurs and Thunder, respectively, so these trades indicate those agreements will be completed soon. Mensah played in 25 games for the Hornets last season, averaging 1.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest. Boeheim played two seasons with the Pistons, appearing in 20 games and averaging 2.5 PPG.

The other names in the trade are interesting. Simpson played in Summer League with the Hornets but previous reporting from HoopsHype indicated he was set to head overseas this season. He may very well still be doing that, but Charlotte clearly likes him. Gray, meanwhile, was traded while on a two-way contract to the Bulls before being waived.

Simpson has 11 games of NBA experience, averaging 7.8 points and 5.0 assists. McConnell, a former Rutgers player, also played for Charlotte in Summer League. While he hasn’t yet appeared in an NBA game, he suited up for 47 G League contests and averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds last season. Gray played parts of two seasons with the Nets and then Spurs, averaging 9.8 points in his four games.

We have more from the G League:

  • The Cruise and Spurs participated in another multi-team trade, with Motor City acquiring the rights to Javante McCoy and Reggie Kissoonlal along with unspecified draft capital, according to the log and a team release (Twitter link). Austin obtained the rights to Isaiah Miller and Jaylen Johnson, while the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) got a 2025 first round pick and Jayce Johnson. None of those players have yet agreed to sign Exhibit 10 deals, but as teams start fielding their training camp rosters, they’ll be names to monitor. All players involved have previously participated in training camps with NBA teams.
  • The Long Island Nets and Cleveland Charge completed their own trade, with the rights to Trey McGowens heading to Cleveland in exchange for Tray Maddox‘s rights (Twitter link). McGowens signed an Exhibit 10 with Brooklyn last season and averaged 10.1 points in 16 G League games last season. Maddox, a Western Michigan product who went undrafted in 2023, averaged 6.1 PPG last season for the Charge.
  • In case you missed it, Lonnie Walker IV signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics and may end up playing for their G League affiliate this season, at least to begin the year.
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