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Suns Reportedly Plan To Waive Chris Paul

June 7th, 2023 at 4:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns plan to waive point guard Chris Paul, whose $30.8MM contract for 2023/24 is partially guaranteed at $15.8MM, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT (Twitter link).

In a recent podcast appearance with Zach Lowe, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested the Suns might waive Paul instead of guaranteeing the remainder of his salary. He also predicted Paul would still be on the roster next season (YouTube link).

“Stretch Chris Paul?” asked Lowe (hat tip to RealGM)

“There are other things that can be done,” said Windhorst.

“I might be dumb, but I think Chris Paul is still good,” replied Lowe.

“I think Chris Paul will be a Sun next year, but what if he’s a Sun and they don’t have to pay him $30 million,” said Windhorst.

As Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tweets, the Suns could stretch Paul’s $15.8MM cap hit over five years, which would equal $3.16MM annually. However, if they go that route, they would be ineligible to re-sign Paul over that same time frame.

If they simply release his contract and he clears waivers, Paul will become an unrestricted free agent and able to sign with any team, including Phoenix. In a thin free agent market, he will be one of the best players available, despite his advancing age (he turned 38 last month).

As we noted in our Offseason Preview, if the Suns were to guarantee Paul’s salary, they would have been in danger of exceeding the second tax apron, which is a pseudo-hard cap in the new CBA. Waiving (or waiving and stretching) Paul would make it easier to stay below that threshold and give Phoenix more options to work with, but the team would also risk losing him for nothing.

The 12-time All-Star plans to play “several” more seasons and is enthusiastic about helping a team contend for a title, according to Haynes (Twitter link). Haynes reported last month that the Suns were considered likely to guarantee the remainder of Paul’s contract, but obviously there was a change of plans.

Paul is coming off another disappointing playoff exit that was related to injuries. This time, he suffered a left groin strain in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Nuggets that sidelined him for the rest of the series.

Paul, who has led the league in steals six times and assists five times, is widely considered one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, as well as one of the best players to have never won a championship. In his first season with Phoenix back in ’20/21, he helped the team reach the Finals, ultimately falling to the Bucks in six games.

In 59 regular season games (32.0 minutes) in ’22/23, he averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals on .440/.375/.831 shooting. He holds career averages of 17.9 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals on .472/.369/.870 shooting in 1214 games (34.4 MPG).

Magic Waive Jay Scrubb

June 5th, 2023 at 9:55am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic opened up a two-way slot by waiving Jay Scrubb, the team announced in a press release.

Scrubb signed a two-year contract when he joined the team on March 24, but the deal didn’t include any guaranteed money for the 2023/24 season.

The 22-year-old guard spent most of the season with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland. He ranked sixth in the G League in scoring at 22.3 points per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Scrubb saw action in two games with Orlando late in the season. He was selected by Brooklyn with the 55th pick in the 2020 draft, and his previous NBA experience consisted of 22 games with the Clippers.

Rookie guard Kevon Harris is the Magic’s other two-way player.

Sixers’ Danuel House Picks Up 2023/24 Player Option

June 2nd, 2023 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers wing Danuel House has exercised his player option for 2023/24, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). House, whose $4,310,250 salary for next season becomes guaranteed, is now on track to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 rather than this offseason.

House, who will turn 30 next Wednesday, signed a two-year, $8.4MM contract with Philadelphia last summer using the team’s bi-annual exception.

A career 36.6% three-point shooter entering the season, House was expected to be part of the Sixers’ regular rotation as a three-and-D contributor. However, his minutes were inconsistent during his first year in Philadelphia.

House finished the season having averaged 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in just 14.4 minutes per game across 56 regular season appearances, with his three-point percentage dipping to 33.6%. He didn’t have a role in the postseason, logging only 42 minutes across seven contests.

House’s opt-in brings the Sixers’ total guaranteed salary for 2023/24 to approximately $115MM. That number – which would increase to just over $124MM if De’Anthony Melton‘s salary is fully guaranteed and Montrezl Harrell also exercises his player option – doesn’t include salaries for notable free agents such as Paul Reed, Jalen McDaniels, and, of course, James Harden.

As our tracker shows, House is the second veteran to formally exercise a player option this offseason, joining Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr.

Raptors’ Otto Porter Exercises Player Option

April 25th, 2023 at 3:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors reserve combo forward Otto Porter Jr. has exercised his player option for 2023/24, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

As Charania notes, Porter appeared in a scant eight contests during his inaugural stint with Toronto this year. He underwent a season-ending surgery in January to correct a left foot ailment, described as a dislocated left toe. The Raptors filed for a $3MM disabled player exception following the operation.

Porter inked a two-year, $12.3MM deal with Toronto last summer after serving as a critical bench contributor for the title-winning 2021/22 Warriors. He is now set to earn $6.3MM in the second year of the deal.

When he did play, the 6’8″ wing averaged 5.5 PPG on .500/.353/1.000 shooting across those eight games for a 41-41 Raptors club. He also chipped in 2.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG and 1.0 APG.

Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca tweets that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Toronto explores a potential trade to offload Porter’s salary this summer, given how close the team may be to the league’s punitive luxury tax.

Trail Blazers Sign Skylar Mays, Chance Comanche

April 9th, 2023 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have signed a pair of players ahead of Sunday’s regular season finale, announcing that they’ve brought back guard Skylar Mays (Twitter link) and added center Chance Comanche (press release).

The Blazers have a full roster, but they’re dealing with so many injuries that they’ve been granted three hardship exceptions — those exceptions allow the team to sign players to short-term deals without having to adhere to the usual roster limits.

Portland had been carrying Mays, Shaquille Harrison, and Justin Minaya on 10-day hardship contracts. Mays’ and Harrison’s deals expired overnight on Saturday, while Minaya’s runs through Sunday. The team re-signed Mays, but Harrison has joined the Lakers, so the Blazers used their third hardship exception to promote Comanche from the G League.

Mays, a 2020 second-round pick who spent his first two NBA seasons in Atlanta, averaged 14.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per night during his first five games (all starts) as a Blazer.

Comanche, who will turn 27 on Friday, was a rotation player for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, this season. The former Arizona Wildcat appeared in 32 regular season games and averaging 13.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in just 22.9 MPG.

Since they’re on hardship contracts, Mays, Comanche, and Minaya will all become free agents after today’s game and the Blazers won’t hold any form of Bird rights on them this summer. Portland is now carrying 20 players, with at least nine of them ruled out for Sunday’s game vs. Golden State due to injuries.

Lakers Sign Tristan Thompson, Shaquille Harrison

April 9th, 2023 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

12:45pm: The Lakers have officially signed Thompson and Harrison while waiving Reed, the team confirmed in a press release.

10:43am: The Lakers are making a pair of roster additions to fortify their depth ahead of the postseason, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, who reports (via Twitter) that center Tristan Thompson and guard Shaquille Harrison are joining the team.

Los Angeles had an open spot on its 15-man standard roster, so only one cut will be necessary to make room for the two incoming veterans. Davon Reed will be the odd man out and will be placed on waivers today, per McMenamin.

Thompson, 32, has been out of the NBA for the entire 2022/23 season but worked out for the Lakers last month and played alongside Lakers star LeBron James for several years in Cleveland.

The big man averaged 6.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 57 games (15.7 MPG) for the Kings, Pacers, and Bulls last season and has career averages of 9.0 PPG and 8.4 RPG in 730 games. Thompson also has no shortage of postseason experience, having appeared in 88 career playoff contests for the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Bulls.

Harrison has made 180 regular season appearances for six NBA teams since making his debut in 2018. Like Thompson, the 29-year-old guard hasn’t been in the league for most of this season, though he did play five games while on a 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers. That deal expired overnight on Saturday, freeing him up to join a new team.

Harrison was actually in training camp with the Lakers last fall, but was cut at the end of the preseason and ended up playing for the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate. Known as a stout perimeter defender, he finished third in NBAGL Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Reed, who will turn 28 in June, joined the Lakers along with Mohamed Bamba as part of the four-team February trade that sent Thomas Bryant to Denver. He never cracked L.A.’s regular rotation though, logging just 27 total minutes across eight games with his new team. His minimum salary for 2023/24 is fully non-guaranteed, so the Lakers won’t be on the hook for any money for him beyond this season.

Both Thompson and Harrison will be eligible to play in the postseason for the Lakers because neither one has been waived since March 1.

Pelicans Re-Sign Dereon Seabron To Two-Way Contract

April 9th, 2023 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Just three days after waiving rookie shooting guard Dereon Seabron, the Pelicans have re-signed him to a new two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

The move is an unusual one, since Seabron had already been on a two-way deal. It’s possible his new contract covers the 2023/24 season instead of just the rest of this season like his old one did — we’ll have to wait for confirmation on the details to be sure.

Seabron signed with the Pelicans last summer after going undrafted out of North Carolina State. He appeared briefly in just five games at the NBA level, but was a regular for the Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G League affiliate.

Seabron played in 17 Showcase Cup games in the fall, averaging 14.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists with a .484/.227/.729 shooting line in 32.3 minutes per night. He bumped his scoring average to 18.4 PPG on .503/.375/.778 shooting in 27 G League regular season appearances, adding 5.5 APG and 5.0 RPG in 34.5 MPG.

The Pelicans, one of two teams that entered Sunday with an open two-way slot, now have a full 17-man roster as they prepare for a crucial regular season finale.

Rockets Sign Willie Cauley-Stein

April 9th, 2023 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have officially signed free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Houston’s announcement doesn’t include any details on Cauley-Stein’s contract, so it’s unclear if it extends beyond this season at all or if it’s essentially just a one-day deal.

Cauley-Stein and the Rockets agreed to a one-year contract last offseason, but the big man’s salary was non-guaranteed and he was waived at the end of the preseason. He later rejoined the team on a 10-day deal near the end of February but has been an NBA free agent since that contract expired.

Cauley-Stein spent much of the season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. In 13 NBAGL regular season games, he averaged 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 27.0 minutes per night. He also contributed 6.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.0 BPG in 16 Showcase Cup contests (24.2 MPG).

The sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Cauley-Stein has appeared in 422 total regular season games for the Kings, Mavericks, Warriors, and Sixers, but is a borderline NBA player at this point, as his game isn’t an ideal fit for the league’s current style.

The Rockets were one of three NBA teams that entered Sunday with an open 15-man roster spot, so no one needed to be waived in order to make room for Cauley-Stein.

Knicks Sign Isaiah Roby To Multiyear Deal

April 9th, 2023 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

11:05am: The Knicks have officially signed Roby, the team confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

9:32am: Roby is getting $400K for the last day of the 2022/23 season, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). If he had received a minimum-salary deal, Roby would have been paid just $10,932 for the day, but New York was able to give him significantly more than that using a leftover portion of the team’s room exception.

Roby’s minimum salary for next season will be non-guaranteed, Katz adds.

8:40am: The Knicks have agreed to sign forward/center Isaiah Roby to a contract that covers the rest of the season and runs through 2023/24, agents Zach Kurtin and Mark Bartelstein tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski reports that the deal includes “significant” guaranteed money. It’s unclear whether that money will apply to this season’s cap hit (using the remainder of New York’s room exception) or if a portion of Roby’s ’23/24 salary will be guaranteed.

Roby, 25, spent most of the season with the Spurs after being claimed off waivers from the Thunder last summer. He was released just over a month ago when San Antonio needed a roster spot to accommodate its addition of Sandro Mamukelashvili.

In 42 games (11.3 MPG) this season as a Spur, Roby averaged 4.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per night, with a shooting line of .432/.300/.488. He was more effective in 2021/22 in Oklahoma City, averaging 10.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG on .514/.444/.672 shooting in 45 appearances (21.1 MPG) for the Thunder.

As we noted earlier today, the Knicks entered Sunday as one of three teams with a 15-man roster spot open, so no corresponding move will be necessary to make room for Roby. The Lakers and Rockets are the other two teams that still have openings on their standard rosters.

Because Roby was waived on March 3, he won’t be eligible to participate in the playoffs this spring.

Jazz Sign Vernon Carey Jr. To Multiyear Deal

April 8th, 2023 at 9:07pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

9:07pm: The signing is official, the Jazz announced in a press release.

1:01pm: Free agent center Vernon Carey Jr. has agreed to a new deal with the Jazz, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the agreement will run through the 2023/24 season.

It’s unclear at this time how much – if any – of next season’s money is guaranteed. Woj notes that Carey will also get in reps with Utah’s Summer League team this July.

The 6’9″ big man most recently played for the Wizards, though he failed to crack the club’s rotation before being waived last month. He appeared in just 11 games this season for the Wizards and 14 overall after joining the team at the 2022 trade deadline in the Montrezl Harrell deal with Charlotte.

The former Duke standout, who was drafted 32nd overall by the Hornets in 2020, played in 37 total games for Charlotte and Washington, with career averages of 1.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 5.1 MPG.

Carey enjoyed a far more expansive role with Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. He averaged 20.7 PPG on 61.9% field goal shooting, along with 8.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG. Utah will be hoping that some of that promise translates to the NBA level.

The Jazz had an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Carey.