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Spurs Sign Charles Bassey To Two-Way Deal

October 24th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

1:18pm: The Spurs have officially signed Bassey to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release. San Antonio waived Hall to open up a spot for the new addition.

12:26pm: The Spurs have agreed to sign free agent big man Charles Bassey to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 53rd overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Western Kentucky, Bassey appeared in 23 games for the Sixers as a rookie, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per contest. He thrived when assigned to the G League, averaging 18.9 PPG and 10.3 RPG in 17 regular season games (28.6 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats.

Bassey, who played two years of high school basketball in San Antonio, had been under contract in Philadelphia for two more seasons, but his partial guarantee for 2022/23 was only worth about $75K. That made him one of the odd men out when the Sixers had a roster crunch — he was waived at the end of the preseason and become a free agent earlier this month.

In order to sign Bassey to a two-way deal, the Spurs will have to waive one of their current two-way players, Dominick Barlow or Jordan Hall. Both rookies signed with San Antonio this summer after going undrafted in June, with Hall receiving a two-year contract. He’ll likely be the player cut to make room for Bassey, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.

As our two-way contract tracker shows, 59 of the 60 league-wide two-way slots are currently occupied. The Timberwolves are the only team with an opening.

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Charania’s Latest: Lakers, Rozier, J. Richardson, Crowder

October 24th, 2022 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets guard Terry Rozier was on the Lakers‘ radar over the offseason as a potential trade candidate, and Los Angeles still has a “high” level of interest in him, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

As Charania outlines, the Lakers and Hornets explored possible three- and four-team trade scenarios involving Rozier during the summer, but his availability during the season will depend on how Charlotte performs.

As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer noted earlier today, Charlotte was mentioned as a possible landing spot for Lakers guard Russell Westbrook earlier in the year, but that was when the Hornets were interested in moving off some multiyear salary in preparation of a lucrative new deal for Miles Bridges. With Bridges’ basketball future up in the air, that may no longer be a priority.

Still, it’s possible that if the Hornets fall out of playoff contention, a deal structured around Westbrook, Rozier, and perhaps Gordon Hayward (who is owed $31.5MM in 2023/24) could appeal to the team, despite a reduced need to create future financial flexibility.

Here’s more from Charania:

  • The Lakers have had preliminary discussions in recent weeks about a possible trade involving Spurs swingman Josh Richardson, sources tell Charania. San Antonio still has a significant amount of cap room available this season and could take on Westbrook’s contract without having to match salaries. However, the Spurs would need to trade at least one more player in addition to Richardson to be able to absorb Westbrook’s $47MM+ cap hit.
  • Charania reiterates that the Bucks, Heat, and Hawks are potential suitors for veteran forward Jae Crowder, who remains away from the Suns as they seek a trade. According to Charania, Phoenix and Milwaukee have engaged in some recent discussions about a possible deal involving Crowder.
  • As we relayed in a full story earlier this morning, Charania also reported that the Timberwolves have discussed possible extensions with Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell.
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Sixers Notes: Defense, Bench, Embiid, Brown

October 23rd, 2022 at 8:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers thought their offseason moves would make them a title contender, but they haven’t looked the part through the first week of the season, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. After opening with losses to the Celtics and Bucks, Philadelphia dropped to 0-3 on Saturday by falling at home to the rebuilding Spurs.

“I’m happy that we are going through this right now,” said James Harden, who admits that “everything” needs to be addressed. “We don’t have fool’s gold. We got to work through it. We gotta figure it out on both ends. Realistically, it’s a good thing for us.”

The most obvious issues have been on defense, which the Sixers focused on upgrading this summer. Pompey cites a lack of intensity on that end of the court and an inability to stay in front of wing players. Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Doug McDermott all had big games Saturday as the Spurs shot 48.3% from the field, including 42.1% on three-pointers.

“We do have to give them credit. They made tough shots,” Tobias Harris said. “But on our part, that’s not the standard of defense that we hold ourselves to.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • The Sixers aren’t getting enough production from their bench, Pompey adds. Their reserves were outscored by San Antonio’s, 40-10, with Georges Niang contributing eight of those points. Montrezl Harrell, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House and Matisse Thybulle shot a combined 1-of-6. Pompey notes that Thybulle gives the team a stronger defensive presence, but he has barely been used so far this season.
  • Joel Embiid dealt with plantar fasciitis this summer that affected his ability to train, tweets Sixers reporter Derek Bodner. Embiid said it began to affect him during team workouts in July, and it reached a point where he couldn’t walk. “Coming into training camp I hadn’t done anything in like two months, so it really slowed me down,” he said. “Still trying to work my way back and hopefully everything goes back to normal.”
  • Former Sixers coach Brett Brown was back in Philadelphia on Saturday for the first time since getting fired in 2020, Pompey adds in a separate story. After being out of the NBA for two years, Brown rejoined the Spurs’ coaching staff in June. “He meant a lot,” Embiid said. “Obviously, he started the whole thing and things didn’t work out the way they should have. But he did a great job and he’s one of the reasons why we’re in this position.”
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Spurs' Affiliate Acquires Johnson's G League Rights

October 20th, 2022 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Spurs waived Alize Johnson late in training camp but they still want him in their organization. The G League’s Austin Spurs acquired his returning player rights from Toronto’s affiliate, Raptors 905, in exchange for Jaylen Morris, Ky Bowman and Jarrod Uthoff, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.
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Several Players Set To Receive Salary Guarantees

October 19th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Most players who are still on non-guaranteed contracts as the NBA’s regular season begins won’t have their salaries for 2022/23 fully guaranteed until January. The league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, and teams must waive players on non-guaranteed contracts on or before January 7 in order to avoid being on the hook for the full-season salaries.

However, a number of players on non-guaranteed deals have language in their contracts that calls for them to receive full or partial guarantees if they’re not waived before their team’s first game of the regular season. Those players are as follows:

Full guarantees:

  • Dalano Banton (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,563,518).
  • Keita Bates-Diop (Spurs): Non-guaranteed salary ($1,878,720) becomes fully guaranteed.
  • Justin Champagnie (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($325,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,637,966).
  • Tre Jones (Spurs): Partial guarantee ($500,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,782,621).

As our full list of early salary guarantee dates shows, Isaiah Joe (Sixers), Josh Jackson (Raptors), and D.J. Wilson (Raptors) also would’ve had their salaries become fully guaranteed if they had remained under contract through their teams’ first regular season games. However, they were all waived within the last week. Joe has since signed with the Thunder on a deal that includes a guaranteed first-year salary.

Partial guarantees:

  • Matthew Dellavedova (Kings): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,628,597) becomes partially guaranteed ($250,000).
  • Haywood Highsmith (Heat): Partial guarantee ($50,000) increases to $400,000.
  • Luke Kornet (Celtics): Partial guarantee ($300,000) increases to $1,066,639.
  • Chima Moneke (Kings): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000.
  • Markieff Morris (Nets): Non-guaranteed salary ($2,905,581) becomes partially guaranteed ($500,000).
  • KZ Okpala (Kings): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000.
  • Edmond Sumner (Nets): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to $500,000.

Guarantee dates are a matter of negotiation between a team and a player, so there’s nothing stopping a club from approaching a player and asking him to agree to push that date back. If a player feels as if he’ll be waived if he says no, he may agree.

This happened last season, for instance, when Isaac Bonga‘s and Sam Dekker‘s contracts with the Raptors called for their salaries to be fully guaranteed as of opening night. Both players assented to moving their guarantee dates back to November 6. When that new deadline arrived, Toronto opted to retain Bonga and guarantee his full salary while waiving Dekker.

In other words, it’s not yet a sure thing that all the players mentioned above will get the guarantees described here, even if they remain under contract through Wednesday (or Tuesday, in Kornet’s case). We may get word in a day or two that a couple of them agreed to postpone their salary guarantee dates.

For the most part though, we should count on this group of players receiving some added security, with a handful of names coming off our list of players who still have non-guaranteed salaries.

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Texas Notes: Langford, Sengun, Doncic, Campazzo

October 18th, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Romeo Langford beat out Joe Wieskamp for the last spot on the Spurs’ roster and Langford is looking to establish a career foothold, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News writes.

“I feel like I have a new start with an organization that believes in me and wants to see me succeed and will do everything they can to help me be better off and on the court,” Langford said.

Langford appeared in just four games for San Antonio last season after being included in the Derrick White deal with Boston. He has a $5,634,257 salary this season and could be a restricted free agent next summer if San Antonio extends a qualifying offer.

We have more on the Texas teams:

  • Rockets second-year center Alperen Sengun might be more effective coming off the bench, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle explains. Sengun could showcase more of his offensive moves if he’s on the second unit, while Bruno Fernando is more suited for the rebounding and pick-and-roll responsibilities with the starting unit. “It’s always important for (Sengun) to touch the ball when he’s on the floor because that’s his strength,” coach Stephen Silas said. “I’m intentional about making sure that he gets the ball when it’s necessary and sometimes when he hasn’t had a touch.”
  • Mavericks coach Jason Kidd believes Luka Doncic could turn another corner during the fifth season of his career, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com writes. “He will understand the league better,” Kidd said. “With his talent, he’s always going to make his teammates better. He’s (one of) if not the best player in the world. It could be where things are a little clearer where he can see things a lot better and understand what teams are trying to do.”
  • Facundo Campazzo was officially added to the Mavericks roster on Tuesday via a one-year contract and the former Nuggets guard is grateful to get another NBA job, as he told Sefko. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity,” he said. “I was training hard, as much as I could in Argentina. I just tried to be ready for any chance in the NBA. The opportunity came now and I love it.”
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Spurs Waive Joe Wieskamp

October 17th, 2022 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

3:05pm: The move is official, the Spurs announced in a press release.

2:57pm: The Spurs will get down to the regular season roster limit by waiving swingman Joe Wieskamp, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Wieskamp, 23, was drafted 41st overall in 2021 by the Spurs and spent most of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He was converted to a rest-of-season standard contract in March, then re-signed with San Antonio in August on a two-year deal that includes a guaranteed $2.175MM salary for 2022/23.

A former Iowa standout, Wieskamp appeared in 29 games for the Spurs in his first pro season, playing a very limited role for the NBA club. He averaged 2.1 PPG and 0.5 RPG in 7.1 MPG.

In 15 G League regular season games for the Austin Spurs, Wieskamp played a more significant role, putting up 17.1 PPG and 3.3 RPG with a .371 3PT% in 33.5 MPG.

The Spurs entered the day with 16 players on guaranteed standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals, so they needed to make one cut to set their roster for opening night. Wieskamp and Romeo Langford were considered to be the players “on the bubble” — it appears Langford will remain on the roster to open the season.

Although San Antonio will have to eat Wieskamp’s $2.175MM salary, assuming he’s not claimed on waivers, taking on that dead money won’t really hurt the team financially. The Spurs remain far below the salary cap and the salary floor for 2022/23.

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Western Notes: Lakers, Nuggets, Rockets, Potter, Liddell, Spurs

October 17th, 2022 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he didn’t play in the Lakers‘ preseason finale on Friday due to lower back soreness, Anthony Davis will have “no restrictions, whatsoever” when the team’s regular season tips off on Tuesday in Golden State, head coach Darvin Ham said (link via Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times).

Russell Westbrook, who sustained a left hamstring injury in Friday’s game, could “definitely” be available for the opener, according to Ham, but reserve point guard Dennis Schröder likely won’t be, as Turner writes.

Ham said that Schröder’s thumb ligament injury was still being evaluated as of Sunday, and while he’s still considered day-to-day, the ailment may take a little time to heal, tweets Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • Nikola Jokic (wrist) and Jamal Murray (hamstring) are both expected to be available for the Nuggets‘ regular season opener on Wednesday in Utah, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Barring an unexpected setback, it will be the first time Denver’s two stars have shared the court in a regular season game since April 2021.
  • The Rockets will likely have a handful of players on the injury report to start the season, but head coach Stephen Silas said on Sunday that he’s hopeful rookie Jabari Smith (ankle) will be available for the team’s opener, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Silas added that Garrison Mathews (illness) and Daishen Nix (back) are “close” to being ready too. Jae’Sean Tate (ankle) is the least likely of the group to be available for the opener, Feigen writes.
  • The two-way contracts signed in recent days by Jazz center Micah Potter and Pelicans forward E.J. Liddell both cover two years, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. As our tracker shows, those are the fifth and sixth two-way deals signed this offseason that are for two years instead of one.
  • Noting that the Spurs have had “so many guys over the years” develop their games in the G League, head coach Gregg Popovich said two-way players Dominick Barlow and Jordan Hall will likely spend most of their time in Austin this season, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “He’ll spend some time in the G League and play lots of minutes,” Popovich said, specifically addressing Barlow’s situation. “If he was with us right now, he’s not going to get on the court that much, which doesn’t help him develop.”
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Southwest Notes: Mavs, Campazzo, Spurs, Rockets, Pelicans

October 16th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Argentinian point guard Facundo Campazzo has arrived in Dallas, league sources tell veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link). As previous reports indicated and as Stein confirms, Campazzo is on track to sign a one-year contract with the Mavericks after he completes a physical with the team.

The signing will likely become official on Monday or Tuesday, ahead of Dallas’ regular season opener in Phoenix on Wednesday, Stein adds. Because the Mavericks are currently only carrying 14 players on standard contracts, no corresponding roster move will be necessary to sign Campazzo as the team’s 15th man.

Here are a few more notes from around the Southwest:

  • While San Antonio’s current players say they’re not thinking about next year’s draft and will be focused on winning games this season, the Spurs figure to be a key player in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, with head coach Gregg Popovich acknowledging that the team won’t be a contender this season, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “To be a championship program, you have to have a couple superstars on your team,” Popovich said. “That doesn’t exist (here) right now. … It’s just a fact, and to avoid that fact seems kind of senseless to me.”
  • With Dejounte Murray no longer in San Antonio, the Spurs may be the “Keldon Johnson show” this season, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, noting that the team’s options on offense will be limited — especially if veterans Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson are traded before the deadline. Hollinger forecasts a 24-58 finish for the rebuilding Spurs, who currently have five teenagers on their roster.
  • Like San Antonio, Houston doesn’t have championship aspiration this season, but the Rockets want to make things hard on their opponents as they focus on player development and growth, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “There’s a lot of teams around this league that think we’re still in rebuild and we’re still trying to figure things out,” Jae’Sean Tate said. “Our whole mindset is … trying to punch guys in the mouth, try to be the aggressors and I think you … are going to see that this year.”
  • Zion Williamson will likely have plenty of different frontcourt partners this season, with Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance Jr., Jaxson Hayes, and Willy Hernangomez among the bigs he could play alongside. Will Guillory of The Athletic takes a closer look at how the pieces might fit together for the Pelicans.
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Checking In On Roster Situations Around The NBA

October 16th, 2022 at 8:05am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the majority of the NBA teams made their roster cuts on Saturday and didn’t wait until Monday’s deadline to set their regular season rosters.

Making those moves on Saturday will ensure the players on non-guaranteed contracts clear waivers on Monday, before the regular season begins. If a team had waited until Monday to waive a player on a non-guaranteed deal, he wouldn’t clear waivers until Wednesday, and the team would be on the hook for two days’ worth of his salary.

After yesterday’s flurry of roster moves, here’s where things stand around the NBA…

Teams whose rosters are within the regular season limits

Of the NBA’s 30 teams, 26 have rosters that comply with the league’s regular season roster limits, which state that clubs can’t carry more than 15 players on standard contracts or two on two-way contracts.

The following 16 teams are right at the limit, carrying 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-ways:

  • Boston Celtics
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New York Knicks
  • Orlando Magic
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Sacramento Kings
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Utah Jazz
  • Washington Wizards

Just because these rosters look ready for the regular season doesn’t mean they’re fully locked in. In fact, it would be a surprise if at least one or two of these teams don’t make minor tweaks before Monday’s regular season roster deadline. That could be as simple as swapping out one two-way player for another.

The Sixers are one team to watch, since Michael Foster Jr. – who is on an Exhibit 10 contract – remains on the roster. It’s possible Philadelphia intends to convert him to a two-way deal on Sunday or Monday, which would mean the club would have to waive one of its current two-way players (Charlie Brown Jr. or Julian Champagnie).

The following seven teams are carrying 14 players on standard contracts and two on two-ways:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Miami Heat
  • Phoenix Suns

The majority of these teams have luxury tax concerns and will open the season with an open roster spot to keep their projected tax bill in check, though that’s not the case for all of them.

The Hornets are well clear of the tax, for instance, and could comfortably make a roster addition if they want to. They may also be leaving a spot open for Miles Bridges, though his NBA future is up in the air due to his legal situation.The Mavericks, meanwhile, are in the tax but are still expected to sign veteran guard Facundo Campazzo before the regular season begins.

We’ve covered 23 teams so far. That leaves three more who are in within the regular season limits. Those teams are as follows:

  • Cleveland Cavaliers: 14 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal.
  • New Orleans Pelicans: 15 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal.
  • Portland Trail Blazers: 14 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal.

The Trail Blazers are right up against the tax line and will likely keep their 15th spot open to start the season, but the Cavaliers could add a 15th man if they so choose. All three teams could be keeping an eye on players who were waived in recent days as they mull how to fill their open two-way slots.

It’s worth mentioning that the Pelicans still haven’t signed second-round pick E.J. Liddell, who suffered a torn ACL during Summer League play. I suspect New Orleans wants Liddell to sign a G League contract and rehab with the Birmingham Squadron this season so that the team can use its second two-way slot on someone who can actually contribute on the court, but it remains possible that Liddell could fill that two-way opening.

Teams that still have moves to make before Monday’s deadline

The following teams haven’t yet made their necessary cuts to get within the regular season roster limits:

Detroit Pistons: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

The final cut will be pretty simple for the Pistons. They still haven’t officially waived Kemba Walker, but they’re expected to do so before the start of the season. Because Walker’s salary is fully guaranteed, Detroit can afford to wait until Monday instead of waiving him on Saturday, since there will be no additional financial penalty.

Houston Rockets: 17 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal.

The Rockets‘ final moves also looks pretty straightforward. Derrick Favors, who has a guaranteed salary, and Darius Days, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract, remain on the team’s roster for now. Favors will reportedly be waived on or before Monday. The deadline to convert players from Exhibit 10 deals to two-way contracts is Monday, so if Houston converts Days to a two-way today or tomorrow, the club will be set for the season.

Oklahoma City Thunder: 17 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

The Thunder will actually have to waive three players, not just two, because they’re also reportedly signing Isaiah Joe to their 15-man roster. David Nwaba is reportedly one of the players being cut, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the other two are also players the Thunder acquired from Houston last month: Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss.

San Antonio Spurs: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

The Spurs will have to waive one player to get to the 15-man limit. Keita Bates-Diop and Tre Jones don’t have fully guaranteed salaries, but the fact that San Antonio didn’t finalize its cuts on Saturday suggests that a player with a guaranteed contract will be the odd man out. Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News reported on Saturday that Joe Wieskamp and Romeo Langford are “on the bubble.”

Reported Exhibit 10 signings that never materialized

There are a handful of free agent contract agreements that were reported at some point during the offseason and, as far as we can tell, never actually materialized. Those agreements are as follows:

These players and teams could still technically finalize these deals on Sunday or Monday, but it’s also very possible they simply fell through for one reason or another. For instance, reporting in September indicated that Montero’s buyout from his Spanish team might be an issue.

We’re no longer assuming that these signings going to happen.

Hoops Rumors’ roster resources

We consistently maintain and update a number of lists and trackers that are designed to help you keep tabs on NBA rosters. They’re all up to date following Saturday’s cuts. Those resources, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site or on the “Features” page within our mobile menu, include the following:

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