Omari Moore Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: G League Trades, Charania, Breakout Candidates, More

October 8th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of teams have acquired the G League rights for players who are in camp with them on Exhibit 10 contracts.

The Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) sent Marquese Chriss‘ rights and a 2025 first-round pick to the Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans) in exchange for Liam Robbins‘ rights (Twitter link), while the Raptors 905 are receiving Jared Rhoden‘s rights from the College Park Skyhawks (Hawks) in exchange for the rights to Omari Moore and a 2025 first-rounder (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet).

Robbins is currently on Milwaukee’s preseason roster, while Rhoden is under contract with Toronto.

In other G League trade news, the Austin Spurs announced (via Twitter) that they’ve sent the returning rights for Yauhen Massalski to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick, while the Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) acquired Elijah Hughes‘ rights from the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) in exchange for the rights to Sam Merrill and a 2025 second-rounder.

Trading away Merrill’s returning rights won’t mean anything for the Cavaliers as long as he remains on Cleveland’s NBA roster, but if he were to be waived down the road, the Bucks’ affiliate would have first dibs on him as a G Leaguer.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Shams Charania, who has spent the past few years with The Athletic, is making the move to ESPN to replace Adrian Wojnarowski as the network’s senior NBA insider, Charania announced on Twitter. Recent reporting suggested that ESPN news-breakers currently covering other sports – including Jeff Passan (MLB) or Adam Schefter (NFL) – were among the candidates being considered to replace Wojnarowski, but Charania was always the more logical choice, given his lengthy history of major NBA scoops.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN, Jeremy Woo identifies 11 players he believes are prime breakout candidates in 2024/25. Woo’s 11 candidates fall into four groups: players who could make the leap to an All-Star level, such as Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley; players who could ascend to borderline All-Stars, like Hawks forward Jalen Johnson; players who will benefit from taking on larger roles, including Bulls guard Josh Giddey; and role players who could make bigger impacts, such as Kings guard Keon Ellis.
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports predicts the 10 players most likely to be traded in 2024/25, ranging from big names like Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine to role players such as Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas. Three of the players in Helin’s top 10 – Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Cameron Johnson – are currently members of the Nets.

Bucks Notes: Lillard, Herro, G League Invites

October 30th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Damian Lillard didn’t get his wish to be traded to Miami this summer and he doesn’t want that to be a distraction as his Bucks prepare to face the Heat tonight, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami was Lillard’s first choice when he asked the Trail Blazers for a trade in July, but despite weeks of rumors, the teams were never able to get close to a deal. Now that he’s in Milwaukee, Lillard wants to move past any connection with the Heat.

“I’m not going into (Monday) like, ‘This is the team I was supposed to be playing for,’” Lillard said. “None of that. I know Jimmy (Butler), I know Bam (Adebayo). We’re cool. But I play for the Bucks and I’m not going into it like that’s my former team or we were tied in or nothing like that. It’s just another game.”

Lillard also addressed reports that Adebayo was encouraging him to push for a deal to Miami. Although they became friends during their time with Team USA during the Olympics in 2021, Lillard said Adebayo wasn’t very involved in the process.

“I think on the outside, people made more of it than what was actually taking place,” Lillard said. “It’s not like I was calling him every day or nothing like that. I said what I needed to say to the team that I was on at that time and I went on about my time. I did my training, I spent time with kids and that was it. I’m telling you the real when I say it’s not that deep. Bam was my boy before I asked for a trade, he still is and that was the extent of it.”

There’s more from Milwaukee:

Heat guard Tyler Herro has “a couple different reasons” to look forward to tonight’s game, Chiang adds in a separate story. Playing in Milwaukee means a homecoming for Herro, but he’s also eager to face Lillard after having his name mentioned in trade rumors all summer. “I’ve never spoken to him,” Herro said. “I probably won’t (talk to him on Monday). We’ll see what happens. I respect his game, for sure. There’s no hate toward him at all. He’s a great player. I’ve been watching him my whole life. So I’m excited to continue to compete against the best.”
The Bucks were sharp on Thursday in Lillard’s first regular season game with Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the results looked much different in Sunday’s loss to the Hawks, observes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Lillard shot just 2-of-12 from the field and committed six turnovers by halftime as the offense appeared out of sorts.
Wenyen Gabriel, Alex Antetokounmpo and Glenn Robinson III are among the players waived before the start of the season who received invitations to join the Wisconsin Herd, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel. Drew Timme and Jazian Gortman are also on the G League team’s 18-man roster, but Omari Moore isn’t, Owczarski adds (Twitter link). Moore signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Toronto after being waived from his two-way contract by Milwaukee, so the Raptors 905 hold his NBAGL rights.

Raptors Sign, Waive Omari Moore

October 22nd, 2023 at 7:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:58pm: The Raptors officially signed and waived Moore, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

11:17am: Omari Moore will be signed and waived by the Raptors as the last Exhibit 10 player for their G League affiliate, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.

Because the move will occur today rather than Saturday, Moore will receive one day of salary while being on waivers for the first day of the regular season, Murphy adds. That will push the team about $12K closer to the luxury tax, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 23-year-old shooting guard was waived by Milwaukee on Wednesday. He signed a two-way contract with the Bucks in July after going undrafted out of San Jose State.

The Exhibit 10 contract gives Moore an opportunity to earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with Raptors 905.

Bucks Waive Omari Moore, Two Others

October 18th, 2023 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have trimmed their preseason roster from 21 players to 18, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived guards Omari Moore and Jazian Gortman, as well as forward Drew Timme.

Although teams are permitted to carrying 18 players into the regular season (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way deals), Milwaukee’s roster isn’t ready for opening night. Gortman and Timme were on training camp contracts, but Moore was a two-way player, so the Bucks are now carrying 15 players on guaranteed deals, one (Marques Bolden) on a camp contract, and a pair on two-way pacts.

The decision to waive Moore comes as a bit of a surprise, even though he hadn’t made much of an impact on the court in Summer League or the preseason. The undrafted rookie out of San Jose State signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Bucks in early July — that level of team control is rare, since most two-way deals only cover a single season.

Gortman and Timme also joined the Bucks as undrafted free agents this summer after playing for Overtime Elite and Gonzaga, respectively. Both players were on Exhibit 10 contracts and now appear on track to become affiliate players for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League team. If Gortman and Timme spend at least 60 days with the Herd, they’ll each earn a bonus worth $75K.

It remains to be seen whether the Bucks will set their regular season roster by simply converting Bolden to a two-way contract or whether they have more moves on tap in the coming days.

Eastern Notes: Giles, Nets, Harden, Bucks Prospects

September 8th, 2023 at 7:07pm CST by Rory Maher

Harry Giles‘ one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Nets includes an Exhibit 9 clause, but not an Exhibit 10, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Giles likely won’t be a candidate to join the Long Island Nets in the G League if he’s waived by Brooklyn before the season, since he wouldn’t be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus (worth up to $75K). He also can’t have the deal converted into a two-way.

A former first-round pick (20th overall in 2017), Giles was once one of the highest-rated prospects in his class, but sustained a couple of serious knee injuries. The 25-year-old has been out of the league the past two seasons.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Trade talks involving Sixers guard James Harden are reportedly on ice. The team failed to gain traction in negotiations with the Clippers — Harden’s preferred landing spot — and then took him off the market. Still, given his comments about president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, it seems inevitable that Harden will eventually be moved. Which teams might be motivated to pursue Harden if things go awry during the season? Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype cites the Bulls, Rockets, Mavericks and Lakers as possible destinations that could make some sense.
Instead of prioritizing veterans like they have the past handful of seasons, the Bucks instead have filled out the back end of their roster with young players. Over at The Athletic, Eric Nehm spoke to draft expert Sam Vecenie to see how MarJon Beauchamp, Andre Jackson and Chris Livingston might fit with Milwaukee in 2023/24. Vecenie likes the defensive potential of second-year wing Beauchamp and 2023 second-rounder Jackson, but writes that both players will have to improve their jump shots to have a shot at regular minutes alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. As for Livingston, who was the final pick of 2023, Vecenie believes the former Kentucky wing is a long-term developmental project who is unlikely to make much of an impact in the NBA, particularly early on.
In part two of their conversation about the Bucks‘ youngsters, Vecenie says he’s high on TyTy Washington‘s offensive upside and believes the 21-year-old guard has a legitimate shot at being converted to a standard contract. A first-round pick last year, Washington was released by Oklahoma City in August after spending his rookie season with the Rockets, later signing a two-way deal with Milwaukee. Nehm and Vecenie also discuss the potential of second-year sharpshooter A.J. Green, who is on a standard deal, and rookie Omari Moore, who is on a two-way contract.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Contract Details: Noel, Dowtin, White, Jordan, Matthews, More

July 26th, 2023 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The one-year, minimum-salary contract that Nerlens Noel signed with the Kings is currently only partially guaranteed for $300K, Hoops Rumors has learned. Noel would see his partial guarantee increase to $600K if he hasn’t been waived by the first game of the regular season this fall. In order to receive his full salary, he’d need to remain under contract through at least January 7.

Here are more details on a few recently signed NBA contracts:

Jeff Dowtin‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Raptors is fully non-guaranteed for the time being. However, the guard would receive a partial guarantee worth $900K if he’s not waived on or before October 21, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
The Thunder signed Jack White to a two-year, minimum-salary contract that includes a $600K partial guarantee in year one and a team option for 2024/25, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The one-year, minimum-salary deals signed by DeAndre Jordan (Nuggets) and Wesley Matthews (Hawks) are fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The two-way contracts signed by Omari Moore (Bucks) and Leaky Black (Hornets) cover two years rather than just one, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Sixers center Montrezl Harrell and Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson waived their right to veto trades during their 2023/24 season, Hoops Rumors has learned. As we detailed earlier today, players who re-sign with their previous teams on one-year deals (or two-year deals with a second-year option) get trade veto rights by default, but can choose to give up those rights.

Bucks Notes: Beasley, Point Guards, Jackson, Green

July 11th, 2023 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

In an extensive interview with Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Bucks general manager Jon Horst explained the thinking behind many of the team’s offseason moves, including contract agreements with Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Jae Crowder.

Some of Horst’s most interesting comments were about signings that will certainly be less impactful than the new deals for starters like Middleton and Lopez. For instance, in discussing the team’s minimum-salary deal with Malik Beasley, the Bucks’ GM indicated that he believes that Milwaukee’s system and personnel can put the 26-year-old swingman in position to thrive.

“I think that he could benefit from playing with a guy like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and Khris and Jrue (Holiday) and our system,” Horst said. “You’ve seen in the past. We’ve had players who are good shooters and really become kind of elite shooters in our system. I think he’s one of those guys that is capable of doing that because, again, he has a willingness and a desire to let it go and he’s proven that he can make it efficiently.”

The fact that the Bucks were able to get Beasley to sign for the veteran’s minimum could pay off in a big way, according to Horst: “He’s really ready to prove to the league that he’s better than where his market was this year, and I think it’ll be a great fit.”

Here’s more on the Bucks:

Asked about the lack of a backup point guard on the roster, Horst told Nehm that Milwaukee is “at peace with where we’re at right now,” pointing out that the team has “a lot of secondary ball-handlers,” along with guards Lindell Wigginton and Omari Moore on two-way contracts. However, he didn’t close the door on a possible addition at that spot. “I think (head coach Adrian Griffin)’s excited for that challenge to figure out how we utilize it and we’ve ultimately made a talent bet on where we wanted to put our money and our minutes and felt like we could cover that position with the roster we have,” Horst said. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll figure it out.”
The contract that No. 36 overall pick Andre Jackson signed with the Bucks is a four-year, minimum-salary deal using the NBA’s new second-round pick exception. Only the first year is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. The second year is 50% guaranteed (approximately $946K) while the third season is non-guaranteed and the fourth is a team option.
A.J. Green‘s new three-year contract with the Bucks also has just one guaranteed season, Hoops Rumors has learned. Green will earn a guaranteed $1.9MM salary in 2023/24, with non-guaranteed minimum salaries in each of the following two years.

Bucks Add Omari Moore On Two-Way Contact

June 23rd, 2023 at 12:20am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 5: Moore’s two-way deal with the Bucks is official, the team announced (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).

JUNE 23: The Bucks will ink a two-way deal with San Jose State combo guard Omari Moore, Moore’s agent Derek Malloy informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Across 35 games in 2022/23, the 6’6″ four-year Spartan averaged 17.4 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.7 RPG, 0.7 SPG and 0.7 BPG. The scoring and passing numbers represent his most-ever in college. He was named both to the All-Mountain West First Team and the Mountain West Player of the Year for his efforts.

With Moore, Milwaukee adds a big lead guard that it will be able to develop with its NBA G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The Bucks finished with the best record in the NBA last season, 58-24, before being booted during the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-seeded Heat. In response, Milwaukee management fired head coach Mike Budenholzer and brought in former Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin. The team’s offseason now turns to tackling the free agencies of starters Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, as well as some less-essential veteran role players.

Western Notes: Zion, Lakers, Dunleavy, Livingston, Towns, Reid

June 20th, 2023 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s unlikely that Zion Williamson will be dealt by the Pelicans before the draft, according to The Athletic’s William Guillory. While the Pelicans are enamored with G League guard Scoot Henderson, they have not included Williamson in any formal offer to the teams holding the second and third picks (Hornets, Trail Blazers).

However, there is a disconnect between Williamson and the Pelicans organization. Some of that tension, according to Guillory, is due to a frayed relationship between Williamson’s camp and Aaron Nelson, who has been in charge of the medical/training staff. Nelson won’t be leading the medical staff next season.

The Pelicans have recently tried to smooth things over with Williamson. He met with top exec David Griffin and team governor Gayle Benson last week at team headquarters and it apparently went well, Guillory writes.

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Lakers hosted a pre-draft workout for six prospects on Tuesday, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. That group included Ben Sheppard (Belmont), Landers Nolley II (Cincinnati), Patrick Gardner (Marist), Omari Moore (San Jose State), Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite) and K.J. Williams (LSU).
Mike Dunleavy Jr. was one of the most unpopular players in Warriors’ history, so there’s naturally skepticism from fans about him becoming the top decision-maker in the organization, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes.
Shaun Livingston has left the Warriors’ organization, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Livingston spent the last three seasons in the front office as director of players affairs and engagement. He wants to spend more time with his family.
While Karl-Anthony Towns has been one of the prominent names on the rumor mill, the Timberwolves brass believes improved health from Towns and Rudy Gobert will solve some of the team’s offensive problems, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. Owners Glen Taylor, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are on board with that approach. The owners are also hoping to re-sign backup big man Naz Reid, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Reid has been hanging around the team’s practice facility since the season ended, a positive sign that he’d like to stay with the club.

Draft Notes: Nuggets, Appleby, Wembanyama, Tshiebwe, Dick, Clippers

June 19th, 2023 at 10:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets agreed to a draft-pick trade with the Thunder during the Finals, acquiring this year’s No. 37 selection, the least favorable of the Thunder’s 2024 first-round picks, and a 2024 second-rounder in exchange for a 2029 first-round pick. They are continuing to look to add a first-round pick in this year’s draft, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets, using the 2024 first-round pick they received from Oklahoma City as bait.

With salary-cap concerns, Denver is trying to add low-cost options to round out its bench as it pursues a repeat. In another draft-related development, the Nuggets will work out Wake Forest point guard Tyree Appleby on Tuesday, Singer reports in another tweet.

We have more updates with the draft approaching on Thursday:

Victor Wembanyama, a mortal lock to be the first player off the board, has arrived in the United States from France, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports. He flew into Newark (N.J.) Airport on Monday. Wembanyama has a scheduled pre-draft media session on Wednesday before the Spurs officially secure his services on Thursday night.
Kentucky star forward Oscar Tshiebwe has been one of the busiest prospects over the past month. He’s finishing up his workout schedule by visiting the Cavaliers and Celtics, Adam Zagoria tweets. Tshiebwe’s visit with Boston’s brass will be his second there. He has worked out for approximately half the teams in the league.
Kansas wing Gradey Dick, who is projected to go in the second half in the lottery, told The Athletic’s Shams Charania that he will be a team player wherever he winds up (Twitter link). “I’m going to go into any organization, any city, and really just buy into the team. I’m the type of player where I honestly don’t care what my role is,” Dick said.
The Clippers’ staff had a busy Monday, evaluating 10 prospects in two separate workouts, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The visitors included Tyger Campbell (UCLA), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State) Seth Lundy (Penn State), Nathan Mensah (San Diego State), Mike Miles (TCU), Omari Moore, (San Jose State), Julian Phillips (Tennessee), Ben Sheppard (Belmont), Grant Sherfield (Oklahoma) and Jordan Walsh (Arkansas).