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Thunder Exercise 2024/25 Team Options On Five Players

October 21st, 2023 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have exercised their rookie scale team options for the 2024/25 season on five players, the team announced today in a press release. Those options are as follows:

Chet Holmgren (third year, $10,880,640)
Josh Giddey (fourth year, $8,352,367)
Ousmane Dieng (third year, $5,027,040)
Tre Mann (fourth year, $4,908,373)
Jalen Williams (third year, $4,775,760)

Most of these decisions were no-brainers. Holmgren, Giddey, and Williams project as long-term building blocks for the franchise. Dieng didn’t have a major role as a rookie but is only a year removed from being selected 11th overall in the 2022 draft.

The most noteworthy option pick-up of the bunch is Mann’s. The 22-year-old guard had a promising rookie season in 2021/22, averaging 10.4 points per game with a .360 3PT%, but saw his scoring average (7.7 PPG) and 3PT% (.315) dip last season as his playing time was cut back, from 22.8 minutes per game to 17.7 MPG.

Given the Thunder’s roster crunch this offseason, Mann looked like a candidate to be one of the odd men out, but today’s decision signals that the club has no plans to waive him. That leaves Jack White, whose 2023/24 salary is only partially guaranteed for $600K, as perhaps the most likely release candidate on the roster, though the club could go in another direction. Oklahoma City previously traded Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to get down from 18 players on standard contracts to 16.

Giddey and Mann will now become eligible for rookie scale extensions next July, while the Thunder will have to decide by next October 31 whether to exercise their fourth-year options on Holmgren, Dieng, and Williams.

Sixers Sign, Waive Jared Brownridge

October 21st, 2023 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have signed and subsequently waived guard Jared Brownridge, according to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).

We can safely assume that Brownridge, who has been playing for the Delaware Blue Coats since the 2017/18 season, received an Exhibit 10 contract that will ensure he receives a bonus (worth up to $75K) as long as he spends at least 60 days with Philadelphia’s G League team again in 2023/24.

After averaging double-digit points per game for four straight NBAGL seasons, Brownridge had his role cut back last season and finished the year with 6.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .363/.374/.700 shooting in 28 games (18.8 MPG). He saw limited action (7.0 MPG) in four postseason games during the Blue Coats’ championship run.

Brownridge was previously signed-and-waived by the 76ers to get him an Exhibit 10 bonus in 2019 and 2021.

Northwest Notes: NAW, Reid, Brogdon, Agbaji, Nuggets

October 21st, 2023 at 2:17pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first foray in free agency, former first-round pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker decided to re-sign with the Timberwolves on a two-year, $9MM deal. Alexander-Walker had bounced around the league in his first four seasons, playing for New Orleans and Utah before being traded to Minnesota in February (he was technically on Portland for one day in ’21/22 as well).

The 25-year-old wing had a strong summer, helping Canada win a bronze medal at the World Cup, and he’s ready to show he’s more than just a defensive specialist, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (subscriber link).

“My mentality, now more than ever, has been right,” Alexander-Walker said. “… I’m doing the right things, and I know that these guys are behind me and I’m in a position that I have support and trust and opportunity.”

As Hine writes, Alexander-Walker has been a fill-in starter during preseason with Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels missing time due to injuries. That’s an indication that he’ll be a rotation regular once the 2023/24 season begins, and a “less is more” approach on offense could be the key to staying on the court.

“When he first came into the league … he wanted to always play with the dribble, go somewhere and try to do things, and he got himself in trouble doing that at times,” head coach Chris Finch said. “But now he uses his shooting. He’s a high-level shooter. Has a great high release so he can always get it off on people. Now, he’s using that to set up the rest of his game, which is really smart.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

The Timberwolves need to find the best way to optimize big man Naz Reid after signing him to a three-year, $42MM extension before he hit free agency. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details, Minnesota plans to use Reid primarily at power forward in ’23/24, which is a change — he has mostly played center to this point in his career. However, the early returns have been promising, per Krawczynski. “Right before Naz got hurt (he broke his left wrist at the end of the ’22/23 regular season), I thought he found his groove at the 4, really found out what that looked like,” Finch said. “Now, defensively, he’s got to get better and better there, and we’re going to have to help him with some schemes and stuff like that. I think this is all about trying to get your best players on the floor, and he’s clearly in our top eight players.”
Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was dealt to Portland from Boston in the Jrue Holiday trade, says he has no issues coming off the bench again in ’23/24, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “I think it’s honestly important for Scoot (Henderson) to get this experience, starting,” Brogdon said. “He’s going to be the franchise player going forward, so he has to be invested in and given that opportunity.” Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year last season with the Celtics.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy wants Ochai Agbaji to focus on improving defensively in ’23/24, particularly on the ball, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I would like to see him take another step forward in terms of his isolation defense,” Hardy said of the second-year wing. “Guarding the ball in a pick-and-roll and navigating those screens is a skill and it takes a certain type of athleticism.” The Jazz have until October 31 to exercise their third-year option on Agbaji’s rookie scale contract.
Bennett Durando of The Denver Post lists five reasons why the Nuggets will repeat as NBA champions this season — and five reasons why they won’t.

Wizards Sign, Waive Hamidou Diallo, Gabe Kalscheur

October 21st, 2023 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

2:10pm: Diallo and Kalscheur have been waived, the Wizards announced (via Twitter).

11:12am: The Wizards have signed free agent wing Hamidou Diallo and guard Gabe Kalscheur to Exhibit 10 contracts, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Diallo, 25, was the 45th overall pick in the 2018 draft. Over the last five years, he has appeared in 263 regular season games for the Thunder and Pistons, averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per night. Last season, he made a career-high 57.3% of shots from the field in 56 games (17.8 MPG) for Detroit, putting up 9.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG.

I gave Diallo a spot near the bottom of my list of this year’s top 50 free agents, writing that his athleticism, rebounding ability, and defensive acumen helped make up for his lack of outside shot. However, it seems NBA teams weren’t as high on the veteran wing, who remained on the market for over three-and-a-half months before finally catching on today with the Wizards.

The terms of Diallo’s deal – along with Washington’s roster crunch – indicates that the plan is for him to be waived and join the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League affiliate. That’s presumably the next step for Kalscheur too. Both players would earn Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Go-Go.

An undrafted rookie out of Iowa State, Kalscheur averaged 12.9 PPG on .400/.354/.726 shooting in 33 games (33.6 MPG) as a super-senior in 2022/23.

Hornets Cut R.J. Hunter, Nathan Mensah, Terrell Brown Jr.

October 21st, 2023 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets are placing three players on waivers, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer, who reports (via Twitter) that wing R.J. Hunter, center Nathan Mensah, and guard Terrell Brown Jr. have been cut.

Hunter, Mensah, and Brown were all on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts and now look like good bets to join the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, after they clear waivers.

The Swarm recently acquired Brown’s returning rights from the Memphis Hustle and Mensah can be made an affiliate player, since he’s a rookie whose NBAGL rights weren’t previously held by another team. Hunter should also be eligible to be an affiliate player, since he hasn’t played in the G League since 2019/20, meaning his returning rights have expired.

After releasing the trio, the Hornets will have 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. No additional moves would be required to set their roster for the regular season, though that doesn’t necessarily mean Charlotte won’t make any more changes before Monday’s cut-down deadline.

Mavs Convert Dexter Dennis, Greg Brown To Two-Way Deals

October 21st, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks have converted the Exhibit 10 contracts of Dexter Dennis and Greg Brown into two-way deals, the team announced (via Twitter). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that Dennis was being converted (Twitter link).

Dallas had a pair of two-way openings, so no corresponding moves are necessary to promote Dennis and Brown. A.J. Lawson occupies the team’s third two-way spot.

Dennis, 24, went undrafted in June. He spent his first four college seasons at Wichita State before joining Texas A&M for the 2022/23 season. As a “super-senior” taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility afforded to college players due to COVID-19, he averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game across 34 appearances.

Dennis never averaged double-digit points per game in any of his five college seasons and made just 37.5% of his shots from the field over the last two years, including 30.4% of his three-pointers. However, he’s a talented defender who earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022 for the Shockers.

The 43rd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Brown spent his first season-and-a-half as a pro in Portland, appearing in 64 games for the Trail Blazers during that time. He didn’t establish himself as a regular rotation player, averaging just 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per night with a shooting line of .422/.294/.636.

Because the Blazers didn’t have a G League affiliate of their own during Brown’s time with the team, they couldn’t send him to their own NBAGL program for developmental purposes. The 21-year-old ended up being waived in February to accommodate Portland’s trade deadline moves, then finished the season with the Ontario Clippers in the G League.

The Mavs still have 18 players on their roster, with 14 players on guaranteed standard deals and Markieff Morris on a partially guaranteed contract.

Magic Converting Trevelin Queen To Two-Way Deal

October 21st, 2023 at 1:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Magic wing Trevelin Queen is receiving a promotion, as his Exhibit 10 contract is being converted into a two-way deal, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

In Orlando’s preseason finale on Friday against Brazilian club Flamengo, Queen poured in 24 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) in just 24 minutes. He also had four steals in the game.

Queen went undrafted in 2020 out of New Mexico State. He has spent the majority of his three pro seasons playing in the NBA G League, winning the NBAGL’s MVP award in 2021/22.

The 26-year-old signed with the Sixers last summer, but was waived during the preseason and caught on with the Pacers on a two-way deal a few days later. He spent most of ’22/23 with Indiana, but was waived at the end of March.

Queen has appeared in a total of 17 NBA games while on two-way contracts with the Rockets and Pacers over the past two seasons. He holds modest career averages of 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per contest.

Queen once again put up big numbers at the G League level in ’22/23, including averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game in 11 Showcase Cup contests (35.7 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 24 NBAGL regular season games, he put up 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG. He was named to the Next Up Game at All-Star weekend.

The Magic had one open two-way spot, so they won’t have to waive anyone to convert Queen’s contract. They still have 21 players on their roster, which is the preseason limit.

Frank Ntilikina Out At Least Four Weeks With Fractured Tibia

October 21st, 2023 at 12:22pm CST by Rory Maher

Hornets guard Frank Ntilikina has sustained a non-displaced fracture of his left tibia and will be out at least four weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, the team announced (Twitter link via Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer).

Ntilikina suffered the injury during Thursday’s preseason finale against Boston. He was originally diagnosed with a hyperextended knee, but further testing revealed the fracture.

A former lottery pick (No. 8 overall in 2017) who is still just 25 years old, Ntilikina spent his first four NBA seasons with the Knicks and the past two seasons with the Mavs. In August, he signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Charlotte as a free agent, but his deal is only partially guaranteed for $200K.

It’s unclear if the injury might cause the Hornets to release Ntilikina. Being out at least four weeks with the regular season about to begin in a handful of days certainly isn’t ideal for either party, to put it mildly.

After Charlotte waived Kai Jones, Ntilikina’s path to a spot on the opening night roster appeared secure. His leg injury makes it a bit more of a question mark.

While he has never been great on offense, posting a subpar career shooting slash line of .371/.323/.760 over 316 regular season games (17.1 MPG), the French guard is a talented defensive player and the Hornets don’t have many strong defenders on their roster.

Ntilikina was likely competing for backup point guard minutes alongside first-rounder Nick Smith, Edmond Sumner and Theo Maledon, who is on a two-way deal. Ntilikina’s injury seemingly makes Sumner even more likely to make the team — he’s on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract.

Bulls Notes: White, Williams, Grades, Phillips, Preseason

October 21st, 2023 at 12:21pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Bulls guard Coby White and forward Patrick Williams are going to be a part of Chicago’s starting lineup barring something unforeseen, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

White, in particular, impressed in the preseason and during training camp, averaging 13.2 points and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 54.3% from the field. He beat out Ayo Dosunmu and Jevon Carter for the starting job.

“I haven’t done nothing yet,” White said. “If I am the starting point guard, I have to keep growing obviously. I want to be a leader of this team. Being vocal, controlling the team, getting teammates in spots where they like the ball and picking my times to be aggressive and get to the paint and force kick outs and just continue to create. I feel like the main thing for me coming into training camp was expanding on my leadership role.”

Williams averaged 11.0 points in five preseason games and while he didn’t shoot well (38.5% from the floor), he finished the preseason on a strong note by playing aggressively, Johnson notes.

“I think Patrick continues to evolve. He has played well,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “I think you also look at a fact of bringing Jevon, Alex [Caruso] and Torrey [Craig], there’s a good defensive mentality and energy there.”

We have more Bulls-related notes:

White is among the biggest winners of the preseason, earning a ‘B’ grade from The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry, who says the 23-year-old looked comfortable in the lead guard role and could be a breakout player this season. Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, Dosunmu, Torrey Craig and Carter joined White in earning ‘B’ grades while Williams and Dalen Terry both earned a ‘D,’ the lowest grade Mayberry gave out. Mayberry explains that Williams needs to become more consistent and Terry may need more time in the G League.
Every NBA team develops its own version of small-ball lineups built on defense that can take advantage of slower teams, and rookie Julian Phillips may be able to find a role in such a lineup, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Phillips is is incredibly bouncy and could take over the small-ball five role left vacated by the departure of Derrick Jones Jr., Cowley adds. “That’s definitely something we harp on a lot – defense,” Phillips said. “You get that shot … you have to have that mentality that all five guys are going to stay connected. You get that opportunity, you need to be ready to defend at that level, lock down somebody.“
Even though the Bulls figured out their regular season starting lineup early in the preseason, they left plenty of boxes on their camp to-do list unchecked, Cowley opines in another piece. Those unchecked boxes include utilizing Vucevic as a passing hub, which the big man says is “still a work in progress,” their play on the defensive end of the ball, and what the rotation will look like. K.C. Johnson agreed the Bulls have a long way to go on defense and will need to improve in that area.

Sixers Convert Javonte Smart To Two-Way Contract

October 21st, 2023 at 12:18pm CST by Tristan Tucker

12:18pm: The move is official, the Sixers confirmed in a press release.

10:16am: The Sixers are converting guard Javonte Smart to a two-way contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Smart was on an Exhibit 10 deal but, after impressing in the preseason, is having his contract converted.

Smart, 24, played with both the Bucks and the Heat on two-way contracts after going undrafted out of LSU in 2021. In 17 career games (one start), he has averaged 3.0 points. Smart has seen much more playing time in the G League over the past two seasons, putting up 16.9 points and 3.6 assists per night while shooting 33.9% from downtown (7.4 attempts) in 57 career regular season G League outings.

In four games with Philadelphia in the preseason, Smart averaged 4.5 points and 1.5 assists in 8.3 minutes, hitting 66.7% of his three-point shots.

The 76ers opened up a two-way contract spot on Friday when they waived Ricky Council IV, clearing the way for Smart’s conversion. No other roster moves are necessary to convert Smart, who joins Terquavion Smith and Azuolas Tubelis as the team’s two-way players.

The Sixers still have more work to be done with their roster, with 16 players signed to standard contracts. Filip Petrusev and Danny Green don’t have fully guaranteed salaries, but Montrezl Harrell could also be cut, considering he’s likely to be out for the season.