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Blazers Add Knox, Reath, Smith, Davis, Minaya

October 2nd, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Trail Blazers officially signed Kevin Knox, Duop Reath, Malachi Smith, Antoine Davis and Justin Minaya, according to a team press release announcing the training camp roster.

Knox agreed to a one-year deal in early September. The 24-year-old forward became an unrestricted free agent after Portland declined to pick up his $3MM option for the upcoming season.

Knox began last season with the Pistons, but was sent to Portland in a four-team deal at the trade deadline. He appeared in 21 games with the Blazers, averaging 8.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per night.

Reath also agreed to a one-year contract in September. He played for Portland’s Summer League team, averaging 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games, and started for Australia during the World Cup. He has played overseas since going undrafted out of LSU in 2018, spending time in Serbia, Australia and China.

Smith and Davis agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts after going undrafted in June. Smith, a shooting guard, was named WCC Sixth Man of the Year this season after averaging 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 37 games with Gonzaga. He played one season for the Zags after transferring from Chattanooga.

Davis, a guard, finished his career at Detroit Mercy as the second all-time leading scorer in Division I history. He capped off his college career by averaging 28.2 PPG last season.

The addition of Minaya was not previously reported. A 6’7” forward, he finished last season with Portland on a hardship 10-day contract. Minaya went undrafted out of Providence in 2022 and spent most of his first professional season playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League. In 27 NBAGL regular season appearances (35.1 MPG), he averaged 12.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.1 steals with a shooting line of .487/.339/.472.

Portland now has a full 21-man squad.

Raptors Sign Makur Maker To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 2nd, 2023 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed free agent center Makur Maker to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). The deal became official on Saturday.

A cousin of former NBA big man and lottery pick Thon Maker, Makur Maker played for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League in 2021/22, then went undrafted in 2022. He spent last season with the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League affiliate.

Maker, who will turn 23 in November, averaged 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 44 regular season and Showcase Cup games last year with the Go-Go. He had his returning rights traded to the Raptors 905 last month.

As Murphy notes, Toronto certainly signed Maker with an eye toward having him suit up for the club’s G League affiliate. Assuming he’s waived by the Raptors and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905, Maker’s Exhibit 10 agreement means he’ll receive a bonus worth up to $75K.

Toronto now has a full 21-man roster for training camp.

Bryson Williams Joins Clippers On Exhibit 10 Deal

October 2nd, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:00pm: The signing is official, per RealGM’s transaction log.

7:56am: Bryson Williams is signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers and join the team for training camp, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

The 25-year-old power forward played for L.A.’s G League affiliate in Ontario last season after being signed and waived by the Clippers last October. He averaged 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23 games while shooting 48% from the field and 36% from three-point range. Williams also spent time with JL Bourg in France after signing with the team in May.

Williams’ college career consisted of two years at two years at Fresno State, two years at UTEP and one year at Fresno State. He went undrafted in 2022.

The Exhibit 10 deal means Williams can earn a bonus of up to $75K if he joins the Ontario team again and stays there for at least 60 days.

Kings Sign Jaylen Nowell, Jeremy Lamb

October 2nd, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 2: Lamb’s deal is now official as well, according to RealGM.

SEPTEMBER 30: The signing of Nowell is now official, per RealGM’s transaction log. Sacramento’s deal with Lamb hasn’t yet been formally completed.

SEPTEMBER 29: The Kings are expected to add free agent wings Jaylen Nowell and Jeremy Lamb to their roster for training camp, a source tells James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).

Nowell, 24, spent his first four NBA seasons with the Timberwolves after being selected with the No. 43 overall pick out of Washington in 2019. He set a new career high with 10.8 points per game in 65 games (19.3 MPG) last season, though his three-point percentage dipped to 28.9% in 2022/23 after he made 34.5% of his outside attempts in his first three seasons.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported on Thursday that Sacramento recently brought Nowell in for a workout.

Lamb, 31, is a former lottery pick who has appeared in 573 career regular season games since 2012 for four teams, including – most recently – the Kings. However, the veteran swingman wasn’t in the league last season following a down year in 2021/22. He averaged 7.3 PPG on .383/.324/.840 shooting in 56 games (16.7 MPG) for Indiana and Sacramento in ’21/22.

The Kings currently have two open spots on their 21-man preseason roster, so they wouldn’t have to waive anyone to make room for Nowell and Lamb.

Of Sacramento’s 19 current players, 14 have fully guaranteed standard contracts. The Kings’ 15th and final regular season spot appears to be up for grabs after Nerlens Noel and Neemias Queta were waived earlier this month. Nowell and Lamb could end up competing for that spot, though the team also isn’t obligated to carry more than 14 players on standard deals to open the season.

Bucks Sign Cameron Payne To One-Year Contract

October 2nd, 2023 at 9:39am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

OCTOBER 2: The signing is official, the Bucks announced in a press release.

OCTOBER 1: Damian Lillard appears to have a new backup.

Sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the Bucks have agreed to sign free agent point guard Cameron Payne to a new one-year contract.

The 6’1″ vet out of Murray State is joining a revamped Milwaukee squad after salvaging his career with a four-year stint on the Suns.

The No. 14 pick in the 2015 lottery, Payne struggled to develop through runs with the Thunder, Bulls and Cavaliers. He really found his footing after signing on with Phoenix in 2019. Across his four seasons with the Suns as Chris Paul‘s backup, Payne posted regular season averages of 9.8 PPG on .434/.384/.833 shooting splits. He also contributed 4.2 APG, 2.6 RPG and 0.7 SPG.

In July, the Suns traded Payne, a 2025 second-rounder and cash to the Spurs for a 2024 protected second-round draft pick. He was waived by San Antonio in September, becoming an unrestricted free agent. Payne had been owed a guaranteed salary of $6.5MM.

Payne now looks likely to become the primary reserve behind newly acquired All-Star point guard Lillard on a starry East contender that seems poised to once again contend for a top seed in the conference.

Though terms of the deal have yet to be divulged, the Bucks cannot offer Payne anything above the veteran’s minimum due to their proximity to the tax aprons.

Spurs Waive Millner, Gray Ahead Of Camp

October 1st, 2023 at 8:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs have waived forward Setric Millner and forward/center RaiQuan Gray, according to the NBA transactions log.

Milner was on a two-way contract, which he signed on Sept. 18. Waiving him will open a two-way slot entering training camp.

Millner, who began his college career with Cleveland State in 2018/19, spent his sophomore year with Northwest Florida State College, then transferred to Toledo, where he played his junior, senior, and “super-senior” seasons.

In 35 games (32.7 MPG) in 2022/23, Millner averaged 16.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG with a shooting line of .496/.420/.784, earning a spot on the All-MAC Second Team. He joined the Spurs for Summer League after going undrafted and appeared in five total games for the club in Las Vegas and Sacramento this July.

Gray was signed to a training camp deal on Sept. 28. Gray was waived by Brooklyn this summer after he signed a two-way deal during the final week of the 2022/23 season in April. For the Long Island Nets, Gray averaged 15.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .578/.382/.629 shooting line in 18 games (30.6 MPG).

The Austin Spurs – San Antonio’s G League affiliate – recently acquired Gray’s returning rights from Long Island in an NBAGL trade. Assuming Gray’s new deal includes Exhibit 10 language, he’ll be in line to earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Spurs’ G League team.

San Antonio now has 19 players on its camp, which means more moves may be forthcoming.

Trail Blazers Sign, Waive Ashton Hagans

October 1st, 2023 at 8:05pm CST by Rory Maher

OCTOBER 1: The Blazers officially signed and then waived Hagans, according to the NBA transactions log.

He was on an Exhibit 10 deal, meaning if he joins the G League’s Rip City Remix and remains with that team for 60 days, he could earn a bonus up to $75K.

AUGUST 18: The Trail Blazers are signing free agent guard Ashton Hagans to a one-year deal, according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Hagans, who played college ball at Kentucky prior to going undrafted in 2020, spent part of 2020/21 — his rookie season — on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves. However, he only appeared in two games with Minnesota for a total of four minutes prior to being waived in February 2021.

The Raptors signed Hagans to an Exhibit 10 contract in October 2021, waiving him almost immediately. He spent ’21/22 playing for their NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.

Last season, the 24-year-old played for the Hornets’ NBAGL affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, holding modest averages of 6.8 points, 4.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 30 regular season games (21.1 minutes).

Haynes didn’t reveal the terms of Hagans’ contract, but it’s highly likely to be a training camp deal featuring an Exhibit 10 clause. If Hagans is waived before the ’23/24 starts, he could receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with Portland’s new G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.

The Blazers currently only have 14 players under contract — 12 on guaranteed standard deals, and a pair on two-way contracts.

Trail Blazers Sign Skylar Mays To Two-Way Deal

October 1st, 2023 at 5:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

7:49pm: The move is official, the Blazers announced in a press release.

3:45pm: The Trail Blazers are bringing back free agent combo guard Skylar Mays on a two-way deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets that Mays has been working out at Portland’s practice facility throughout the offseason.

The 6’4″ vet appeared in just six contests with the Trail Blazers in 2022/23 after inking a 10-day deal. He put up big numbers in those games, averaging 15.3 PPG on excellent .500/.462/.923 shooting splits, while also chipping in 8.3 APG, 3.2 RPG and 1.0 SPG.

Mays was drafted with the No. 50 pick by the Hawks in 2020 out of LSU, but failed to carve out a major rotation role during his two seasons in Atlanta. He split most of the 2022/23 season between the Sixers’ NBAGL affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, and the Capitanes de Ciudad de México, before latching on in Portland.

Wizards Sign Jules Bernard, Waive Dejan Vasiljevic

October 1st, 2023 at 5:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards have signed Jules Bernard to an Exhibit 10 contract and placed Dejan Vasiljevic on waivers, the team tweets.

Bernard went undrafted in 2022 out of UCLA. He spent most of last season with the Wizards’ NBA G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32 G League games.

The 6’6” swingman appeared in four games for Washington’s Summer League team in July. He had a brief stint with the Pistons last year before getting waived during training camp.

Vasiljevic agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract two weeks ago. The former Miami Hurricanes guard has played for the Sydney Kings of Australia’s NBL since 2020 after going undrafted by NBA clubs.

In 36 games last season, Vasiljevic averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The 26-year-old opted out of his contract with the Australian club following the season.

If he clears waivers and joins the Wizards’ G League team for 60 days, he’ll be eligible for a bonus up to $75K.

Spurs Sign Charles Bediako

October 1st, 2023 at 4:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Spurs have officially signed free agent rookie center Charles Bediako, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

Bediako’s agreement with San Antonio was initially reported soon after the draft. Terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed, though an Exhibit 10 training camp deal seems likely.

The seven-footer enjoyed a decorated NCAA run at Alabama. He was a 2023 SEC All-Defense and All-SEC Tourney honoree as a sophomore. During his two years with the program, Bediako posted averages of 6.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 0.7 APG and 0.6 SPG in 19.3 MPG.

Assuming Bediako has signed an Exhibit 10 deal, he could see that agreement converted to a two-way contract or, more likely, be waived by the club ahead of the regular season. He would then become eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K should he log 60 days or more with the Spurs’ NBAGL affiliate, the Austin Spurs.