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Wizards Re-Sign Jared Butler On Two-Way Deal, Waive Dennis

October 21st, 2024 at 6:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:42pm: Butler has officially signed his two-way deal, according to the NBA transactions log.

6:21pm: The Wizards are bringing back free agent guard Jared Butler on a two-way deal, Marc Stein tweets.

Butler was on a standard contract with Washington entering training camp but was cut on Saturday. He cleared waivers on Monday.

It’s not surprising that Butler was brought back by the Wizards, who reportedly explored ways to keep Butler on the 15-man roster. He was on a non-guaranteed contract and the team was already carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed deals. It’s entirely possible Butler will wind up signing another standard contract at some point this season.

To make room for Butler, the Wizards waived guard RayJ Dennis, according to the NBA transactions log.

The 40th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Butler spent time with Utah and Oklahoma City before playing for the Wizards in 2023/24. He was on a two-way contract for most of the season before being converted to a multiyear standard contract in April.

Butler appeared in a total of 40 NBA games last season, averaging 6.3 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per night, with a .488 FG%. He also had a strong preseason this month, with averages of 6.8 PPG and 4.2 APG on .536/.400/.667 shooting in five games (14.3 MPG).

Dennis was just signed to a two-way contract over the weekend. The undrafted Baylor guard averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game across 35 contests last season (all starts).

The Wizards opted to retain Justin Champagnie and Tristan Vukcevic with their other two-way deals.

Pistons Exercise 2025/26 Options On Four Players

October 21st, 2024 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have exercised their 2025/26 contract options on Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser, the team’s PR department tweets.

For Ivey and Duren, the options cover their fourth NBA seassons. Ivey, the fifth pick in 2022, will now get a guaranteed $10,107,163. Duren, chosen 13th overall that same draft after the Pistons swung a deal to acquire him, will make $6,483,144 next season.

Both players will either start or be regular second-unit players this season. They will be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer.

Thompson and Sasser were first-rounders last season. Thompson, the No. 5 pick in 2023, will make $8,775,162 in 2025/26, while Sasser, the No. 25 pick last year, will receive $2,886,431. The Pistons will have until October 31, 2025 to pick up their fourth-year options for ’26/27.

Notably, the Pistons also have a fifth player who has a rookie scale team option for 2025/26: Wendell Moore, acquired over the summer in a trade with Minnesota, would make $4,574,283 if his option is picked up.

While Detroit still has another 10 days to exercise Moore’s option, teams typically announce all of those decisions at the same time, so his omission from today’s press release is a strong indication that option won’t be picked up. Assuming that’s the case, he’d become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

We’re tracking all of the ’25/26 rookie scale option decisions right here.

Rockets, Alperen Sengun Finalize Five-Year Extension

October 21st, 2024 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

5:35pm: Sengun has officially signed his new contract with the Rockets, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

4:49pm: The Rockets and big man Alperen Sengun have reached an agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension, agents Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz tell Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal is worth $185MM, with a fifth-year player option, according to Marks.

Sengun, 22, is coming off a breakout season that saw him finish third in Most Improved Player voting. He set new career highs in points (21.1), rebounds (9.3), assists (5.0), and steals (1.2) per game while making 53.7% of his field goal attempts in 63 starts (32.5 MPG) before ankle and knee injuries prematurely ended his season.

Despite Sengun’s star turn, there was uncertainty entering the fall about whether or not he and the Rockets would work out a rookie scale extension, since Houston wasn’t expected to offer him a maximum-salary deal at this time and was in position to maximize its 2025 cap room by postponing a new deal for Sengun. If he had entered next offseason as a restricted free agent, Sengun would have had a cap hold of just $16.3MM.

However, Sengun said on media day that he was interested in signing an extension before the 2024/25 season tipped off and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reported at the time that there was a “legitimate chance” the two sides would reach a deal.

Having agreed to terms with both Sengun and Jalen Green, who signed a three-year, $105.3MM extension, the Rockets now appear poised to operate over the cap next summer rather than under it.

They also have two of their cornerstone players locked up for multiple seasons beyond 2024/25. In addition to Sengun and Green, Rockets youngsters Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard are also under contract through at least 2027.

Sengun is one of seven players to complete a rookie scale extension in the past 24 hours, joining Jalen Johnson, Jalen Suggs, Trey Murphy, Corey Kispert, Moses Moody, and his teammate Green.

Hawks Sign Jalen Johnson To Five-Year Extension

October 21st, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Luke Adams

5:34pm: Johnson’s extension, which just narrowly beat the 5:00 pm Central time deadline, is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

5:07pm: The Hawks have agreed to sign forward Jalen Johnson to a five-year rookie scale extension worth $150MM, agent Rich Paul tells NBA reporter Chris Haynes (Twitter link). The deal will be fully guaranteed, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Johnson, who will turn 23 in December, has steadily gained a bigger foothold in the Hawks’ rotation since seeing limited action in 22 games as a rookie in 2021/22. He broke out in a major way in his third NBA season, averaging 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 33.7 minutes per game while posting a shooting line of .511/.355/.728 in 56 outings (52 starts).

Injuries prevented Johnson from playing a full season in 2023/24, but he’s healthy this fall and appears poised to take another step forward for a retooling Hawks team that traded away one of its primary offensive options (Dejounte Murray) over the summer. Johnson has been one of the betting favorites for the Most Improved Player award ahead of the season.

With Johnson poised to take on a more significant role in year four, it made sense for the Hawks to move now to secure him to a long-term contract, since he could further increase his value with a big season in ’24/25.

Johnson’s $30MM-per-year extension puts him right in line with the five-year, $150.5MM deal that Jalen Suggs completed with the Magic and is the seventh-biggest rookie scale extension signed this offseason, behind Suggs, Alperen Sengun, and the four players who got maximum-salary commitments (Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, and Franz Wagner).

Johnson and No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher project to be long-term cornerstones in Atlanta, while young center Onyeka Okongwu is also under contract for the next four seasons. Atlanta’s performance in 2024/25 may go a long way toward determining whether three-time All-Star Trae Young is also considered a part of that future core beyond his current contract, which has two guaranteed years remaining.

Wizards Sign Corey Kispert To Four-Year Extension

October 21st, 2024 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

5:16pm: Kispert’s extension is official, the Wizards announced in a press release.

“Corey is someone who positively impacts our environment daily. He consistently shows up for the organization as both a player and a teammate, embodying the passion and professionalism we value,” Dawkins said in a statement. “We are excited that he has the opportunity to continue his growth and development in Washington. He’s a relentless worker who has added to his game each season. We look forward to his further evolution in the coming years.”

3:53pm: The Wizards are signing swingman Corey Kispert to a four-year, $54MM rookie scale extension, agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).

The deal will include a team option on the fourth year, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Kispert, 25, has been a regular part of Washington’s rotation since being selected out of Gonzaga with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He averaged a career-high 13.4 points per game last season while also chipping in 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.8 minutes per night across 80 outings (22 starts).

Kispert’s calling card is his ability to knock down outside shots. Over the past two seasons, he has converted 40.2% of 5.6 three-point attempts per contest, making him a valuable floor-spacer.

Since Kispert was drafted by the Wizards’ previous front office, it wasn’t clear leading up to Monday’s extension deadline whether the current decision-makers would value him highly enough to sign him to a long-term deal.

However, president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins showed last fall in extending Deni Avdija that they’re willing to lock up young talent if the price is reasonable, even if that player was a carryover from the previous regime and isn’t necessarily a lock to be in the team’s long-term plans — Avdija was traded this July.

It’s possible Kispert could eventually emerge as a trade candidate too for the rebuilding Wizards, though moving him in 2024/25 would be tricky due to the poison pill provision.

A full four-year mid-level exception contract in 2025 is projected to be worth just over $60MM, so Kispert’s contract will come in a little below that figure.

Pelicans, Trey Murphy Complete Four-Year Extension

October 21st, 2024 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

5:03pm: Murphy has officially signed his contract, the Pelicans announced (via Twitter).

11:05am: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with Trey Murphy on a four-year rookie scale extension worth $112MM, agents Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).

The deal, which will begin in 2025/26 and will keep Murphy out of restricted free agency next summer, won’t include a player option, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. It also doesn’t feature any incentives, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Murphy has emerged as an integral part of the Pelicans’ rotation. In 57 games last season, he set new career highs in points (14.8), rebounds (4.9), and assists (2.2) while knocking down 38.0% of 7.8 three-point attempts per game. The 24-year-old is quickly becoming one of the NBA’s most dangerous outside shooters, with a career rate of 39.2% from beyond the arc.

Murphy’s extension isn’t far off from the five-year, $135MM deal that Devin Vassell signed with the Spurs last October. Vassell’s contract features one extra year and a slightly lower average annual value ($27MM per year, compared to $28MM for Murphy).

Murphy is the sixth player to agree to a rookie scale extension in 2024, joining Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner, and Moses Moody. The deadline for those deals is now just a few hours away.

Signing Murphy to a rookie scale extension ensures that the Pelicans now have four of their core players – Murphy, Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, and Herbert Jones – locked up through at least 2027.

One notable exception is Brandon Ingram, who is entering the final year of a five-year, maximum-salary contract. As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), after accounting for Murphy’s extension, New Orleans projects to be about $31MM below the tax line in 2025/26, so a new deal for Ingram would almost certainly push the club beyond that threshold. That will be an important factor to consider for a Pelicans team that has never been a taxpayer.

Murphy is expected to miss some time at the start of this season, according to Charania. The Pelicans announced 18 days ago that Murphy has a right hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in three weeks.

Hornets Claim Jared Rhoden, Convert Him To Two-Way Deal

October 21st, 2024 at 4:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:29pm: The Hornets confirmed in a press release that they’ve claimed Rhoden and converted his Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal.

4:42pm: The Hornets have claimed Jared Rhoden off waivers, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets. He is expected to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal, Scotto adds.

The Raptors placed Rhoden on waivers over the weekend. He had signed his camp deal in August and lost a battle to gain a two-way spot on Toronto’s roster.

Rhoden, 24, played the past two years on two-way contracts with the Pistons, appearing in 31 total games. Last season he averaged 4.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 17 games while shooting 50% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range.

Charlotte has a two-way opening to fit Rhoden onto that portion of its roster. KJ Simpson and Moussa Diabate currently hold the other two two-way slots.

Pelicans Claim Brandon Boston, Give Him Two-Way Deal

October 21st, 2024 at 4:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have claimed swingman Brandon Boston Jr. off waivers, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Boston spent the past three seasons with the Clippers and averaged 6.2 points in 12.9 minutes per game. He appeared in 32 contests last season, averaging 5.2 PPG in 10.8 MPG in a reserve role.

Boston became a free agent in late June when the Clippers didn’t extend a qualifying offer. He was waived by the Spurs over the weekend.

Boston had an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio and New Orleans is converting that contract to a two-way deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. That transaction is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

The Pelicans have an open two-way slot, having made their corresponding roster move earlier in the day by waiving Malcolm Hill. Forward Jamal Cain and center Trey Jemison hold New Orleans’ other two-way deals.

The Pelicans will enter the regular season with 14 players on standard contracts and all three of their two-way spots filled.

Magic Sign Jalen Suggs To Five-Year Extension

October 21st, 2024 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

4:08pm: Suggs’ extension with the Magic is official, according to a press release issued by the team (Twitter link).

The $150.5MM deal is fully guaranteed, with no options, according to NBA reporter Jake Fischer and The Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede (Twitter links).

3:37pm: The Magic have agreed to sign guard Jalen Suggs to a five-year rookie scale extension worth $150.5MM, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

According to Charania (via Twitter), Suggs’ agent Darren Matsubara and team officials held a series of meetings in Orlando leading up to Monday’s extension deadline in order to finalize the terms of the deal.

Suggs’ NBA career got off to a bit of a slow start after he was selected fifth overall in the 2021 draft, as he battled injuries and struggled with his shot during his first two seasons. However, he enjoyed an impressive breakout year in 2023/24, averaging a career-high 12.6 points per game with a .471/.397/.756 shooting line and earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team. He also showed up on Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year ballots.

With Markelle Fultz no longer in the point guard picture in Orlando, Suggs will likely be given more offensive responsibilities in his fourth NBA season and is poised to improve upon his career averages of 11.5 PPG and 3.2 APG while continuing to play lock-down defense on the other side of the ball.

As we wrote multiple times earlier in the offseason, Suggs’ camp likely viewed the five-year, $131MM extension Jaden McDaniels signed last fall as a point of reference for the Magic guard’s new deal. Like Suggs, McDaniels was considered one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders and showed off an improved three-point shot in his third season before signing his second contract.

However, Suggs has a bigger offensive role than the Timberwolves forward and was able to secure an annual salary exceeding $30MM on his extension (assuming that $150.5MM total isn’t being inflated by incentives) compared to $26.2MM per year for McDaniels.

Suggs is the second core Magic player to sign a lucrative rookie scale extension this offseason, joining teammate Franz Wagner, who got a five-year, maximum-salary contract. Paolo Banchero is the next man up — he’ll become eligible for his own rookie scale extension in 2025.

Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. also signed long-term veteran extensions with Orlando this offseason and are each under contract through at least 2028.

Warriors’ Moses Moody Signs Three-Year Extension

October 21st, 2024 at 4:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 21: Moody’s extension is official, the Warriors confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 20: The Warriors and guard Moses Moody have agreed to a three-year, $39MM rookie scale contract extension, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

A Friday report by Charania suggested that a Moody extension was more likely than one for teammate Jonathan Kuminga, who is seeking a more lucrative contract. The deadline for rookie scale extensions is Monday at 6 p.m. ET.

Moody hasn’t been able to crack the starting lineup during his three seasons, except as a fill-in, but he’s established himself as a reliable reserve. He has appeared in 181 regular season games (23 starts), averaging 5.9 points in 14.3 minutes.

Last season, he appeared in 66 games (nine starts), posting averages of 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 17.5 minutes per night. He shot 46.2% from the field and 36% on 3-point attempts.

The No. 14 pick of the 2021 draft, Moody is still just 22 years old and continues to develop his overall game. How Moody slots into the Warrriors’ rotation this season remains to be seen. He’ll be battling Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton for backcourt minutes, with Stephen Curry the only surefire starter.

Moody will make $5.8MM this season before the extension kicks in. He’ll be the fifth 2021 first-rounder to agree to an extension, joining Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner, as our tracker shows.

The contract will be fully guaranteed, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater tweets. He’ll still be trade-eligible this season but his outgoing salary would count as $5.8MM (this season’s salary) while his incoming number for a new team would be $11.2MM, due to the poison pill provision.