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Blazers Waive Olivier Sarr, Sign Ibou Badji To Two-Way Deal

November 18th, 2022 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:52pm: The Blazers have officially waived Sarr and signed Badji, the team confirmed today in a press release.

12:47pm: The Trail Blazers are waiving one of their two-way players, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that center Olivier Sarr is being released. In Sarr’s place, Portland will sign big man Ibou Badji to a two-way contract, per Wojnarowski.

Sarr, who was in training camp with the Blazers on an Exhibit 10 contract, had that deal converted to a two-way after impressing the team in the preseason. Around the same time, he was diagnosed with a high-grade partial tear of the scapholunate ligament in his right wrist and was ruled out for six weeks, so he has yet to make his season debut in either the NBA or the G League. It appears he’ll have to seek out a new opportunity once he gets healthy.

As for Badji, he has been playing in the G League for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate. Through seven games for the Herd, the 20-year-old from Senegal has averaged a modest 7.3 points in 35.0 minutes per contest. However, as Wojnarowski observes, Badji – who is 7’1″ with a 7’9″ wingspan – has been one of the G League’s best rim protectors, averaging 2.4 blocked shots per game.

The Blazers don’t have an NBAGL club of their own, so if they opt to keep Badji in the G League for now, he’ll have to either remain in Wisconsin or join another team’s affiliate.

Badij will be eligible to be active for up to 42 NBA games if he officially signs his contract on Friday. A player on a full-season two-way contract can be active for as many as 50 NBA games, but that limit is prorated when the player signs after the regular season has started.

Timberwolves Sign A.J. Lawson To Two-Way Deal

November 16th, 2022 at 10:37am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 16: The Timberwolves have officially signed Lawson to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 14: The Timberwolves are signing forward A.J. Lawson on a two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Lawson has averaged 22.3 points for the G League’s College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ affiliate. He is expected to join Minnesota for Wednesday’s game against Orlando.

Minnesota has an empty two-way slot and won’t have to make a corresponding roster move.

The Timberwolves previously signed Lawson on a two-way deal in July. However, they waived him to add Luka Garza in mid-October. At the time, Eric Paschall occupied the other two-way slot but Minnesota soon waived him as well.

Lawson excelled during the Las Vegas Summer League for the Mavericks, averaging 15.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG in five games.

Lawson, a 6’6” guard, was waived by the Hawks during training camp in 2021. He then averaged 11.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.8 APG in 31.8 MPG for the Skyhawks while appearing in 33 games.

Lawson went undrafted that summer despite putting up 16.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a .351 3PT% in 21 games (31.3 MPG) as a junior for South Carolina.

Heat Waive Dru Smith, Sign Orlando Robinson To Two-Way Deal

November 13th, 2022 at 5:53pm CST by Luke Adams

5:53pm: Both moves are official, according to a team press release.

10:44am: The Heat are making a minor change to their roster, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive two-way player Dru Smith and sign Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract to fill the newly opened spot.

Both Smith and Robinson were in training camp with the Heat this fall. Smith earned a two-way spot at the end of the preseason, while Robinson was waived and eventually became an affiliate player for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League team.

However, with center Omer Yurtseven expected to miss a significant chunk of the 2022/23 season due to ankle surgery, the Heat have a greater need in the frontcourt than on the wing. Robinson is a center; Smith is a shooting guard.

Miami does have an open spot on its 15-man standard roster and could sign a more experienced center to fill that opening, but doing so would put team salary above the luxury tax threshold for the season. Two-way contracts don’t count against the cap or tax.

Robinson, 22, went undrafted out of Fresno State earlier this year. The big man averaged 19.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.9 APG on .484/.352/.716 shooting in 36 games (33.2 MPG) as a junior in 2021/22. He has gotten off to a strong start for the Skyforce this season, putting up 20.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 2.5 APG in four starts (31.3 MPG).

Smith, who went undrafted in 2021 and played for Sioux Falls as a rookie, made his NBA debut last month, logging six minutes of garbage time during a blowout win over Portland on October 26. It was the only game he played in for the Heat.

Jamal Cain occupies Miami’s other two-way slot and should be unaffected by the Heat’s roster moves.

Spurs Sign Jordan Hall To Non-Guaranteed Contract

November 2nd, 2022 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs are bringing back rookie guard/forward Jordan Hall, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed him to a new contract.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter) it’s a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. While Charania doesn’t specify Hall’s salary, the deal is almost certainly be worth the prorated rookie minimum.

Hall reached an agreement with San Antonio shortly after going undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in June and signed a two-way contract with the club in August. Although he spent Summer League and the preseason with the organization and began the regular season occupying one of those two-way slots, he became the odd man out when the Spurs brought in Charles Bassey on a two-way deal and was waived last Monday.

The Spurs opened up a spot on their 15-man roster on Friday when they released Joshua Primo. Hall will fill that spot for now, though his non-guaranteed salary means the team will have the flexibility to make a change before his contract becomes guaranteed for the season in early January.

Considered a point forward, Hall averaged 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in 30 appearances (34.9 MPG) during his sophomore year at Saint Joseph’s in 2021/22. He declared for the draft and went pro after just two college seasons.

Hall will earn $5,849 per day for as long as he remains on San Antonio’s roster.

Warriors Exercise 2023/24 Options On Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody

October 31st, 2022 at 2:50pm CST by Rory Maher

2:50pm: The options have been officially picked up, the Warriors announced (via Twitter).

12:29pm: The Warriors are exercising their 2023/24 rookie scale options on center James Wiseman, forward Jonathan Kuminga and wing Moses Moody, sources tell ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (Twitter link).

All three players will have their contracts for next season fully guaranteed. Wiseman will earn $12,119,440 in year four, while Kuminga and Moody are set to make $6,012,840 and $3,918,480, respectively, in year three.

Wiseman, the second pick of the 2020 draft, has been limited to 46 career games due to a series of knee injuries and setbacks, but he’s back and healthy again to start the ’22/23 season, averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds through seven games (14.6 minutes per contest). The 21-year-old will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer after having his fourth-year option picked up.

Following a promising rookie year that saw him average 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 70 games (16.9 minutes), Kuminga has struggled to gain traction early in his second season, averaging just 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in six games (10.8 minutes). Still, the seventh pick of last year’s draft just turned 20 years old earlier this month, so he has a lot of time to improve.

Moody played less as a rookie compared to Kuminga last season, appearing in 52 regular season games (11.7 minutes), but he’s playing more in year two, averaging 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 36% from deep through seven games (17.0 minutes). Moody was the 14th pick in 2021.

Today is the deadline for teams to exercise ’23/24 rookie scale team options. As our tracker shows, the defending champions were the last team with decisions to make.

Sixers Pick Up Options On Maxey, Springer

October 30th, 2022 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have exercised the fourth-year contract option for starting guard Tyrese Maxey for the 2023/24 season, according to a team press release. They’ve done the same on the the third-year option for Jaden Springer.

Maxey, one of the league’s top young point men, will make $4,343,920 next season. He was the 21st pick of the 2020 draft.

Maxey is one of the league’s biggest bargains right now. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.

Springer, the No. 28 selection of the 2021 draft, has only appeared in four NBA games, including two this season. He played 19 games for the G League Delaware Blue Coats last season. The 20-year-old guard will take in $2,226,240 next season.

Rockets Exercise Options On Green, Sengun, Garuba, Christopher

October 30th, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:55pm: The Rockets have officially picked up their options on all four players, according to a press release from the team.

6:20pm: The Rockets plan to pick up the 2023/24 contract options of all four players they drafted last season — lottery pick Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher — Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It was a mere formality that the options of Green and Sengun would be picked up. They are two key building blocks for one of the youngest teams in the league. The option on Green’s contract is $9,891,480, while Sengun will take in $3,536,280.

The other option decisions weren’t quite as obvious. Garuba only appeared in 24 games last season due to injuries and he’s averaging just over 12 minutes in four appearances this season. However, the front office was encouraged by his performances for Spain in the Eurobasket tournament and by what he displayed in training camp and preseason workouts, according to Feigen.

Christopher saw action in 74 games as a rookie, though his playing time has dropped in the early going this year. Garuba’s contract will be guaranteed at $2,588,400, while Christopher will earn $2,485,200.

Pistons Sign Bojan Bogdanovic To Two-Year Extension

October 30th, 2022 at 3:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

6:00pm: The deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

3:45pm: Veteran Pistons power forward Bojan Bogdanovic is signing a two-year, $39.1MM contract extension to remain in Detroit, his agency Wasserman informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

As Wojnarowski notes, Bogdanovic is earning $19.5MM in 2022/23, the last year of his current deal. This new agreement, which has virtually the same annual average value, will keep him under team control through 2024/25.

According to Wojnarowski, when Pistons GM Troy Weaver traded for Bogdanovic, he had his sights set on extending the sharpshooting ace long-term.

The 6’7″ power forward, a nine-year NBA veteran, has started all of his first six games with Detroit since being traded from the Jazz during the offseason. He is averaging 23.0 PPG on .517/.511/.923 shooting, while chipping in 3.5 RPG and 2.0 APG.

Though the Nets traded for his draft rights as the No. 31 pick in the 2011 draft, Bogdanovic did not make his NBA debut until the 2014/15 season. Prior to Utah and Detroit, the 33-year-old has enjoyed stints on solid playoff clubs in Brooklyn, Washington, and Indiana.

Bogdanovic has thus far served as a helpful stretch-four veteran presence for the rebuilding Pistons. Though Detroit is just 1-5, the team’s longer-term outlook is fairly rosy, given the development of exciting young lottery additions Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren.

With the advent of this new agreement, Bogdanovic, a knockdown long-range shooter (he has made 39.4% of 5.4 three-pointers per game for his career), could remain in Detroit well into the team’s return to the postseason.

Because Bogdanovic’s extension doesn’t lock him up for more than three total seasons and his first-year raise won’t exceed 5%, he’ll remain trade-eligible going forward.

Jazz To Decline Rookie Scale Options For Azubuike, Bolmaro

October 30th, 2022 at 8:37am CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz won’t pick up the fourth-year option for Udoka Azubuike or the third-year option for Leandro Bolmaro, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Both players will become unrestricted free agents next July.

Azuibuike would have earned $3,923,484 during the 2023/24 season and Bolmaro would have received $2,588,400. The deadline for rookie scale option decisions is Monday, and those are the only two that Utah faces.

Azubuike, a 23-year-old center, was selected by the Jazz with the 27th pick in the 2020 draft. He has dealt with injuries during his brief NBA career and has played a total of 33 games, including one this season. The former Kansas standout is averaging 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game.

Bolmaro, a 22-year-old swingman, was acquired from the Timberwolves this summer in the Rudy Gobert trade. He appeared in 35 games for Minnesota last season and two so far with Utah, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per night. He was the 23rd pick in 2020, but didn’t come to the NBA until 2021.

Celtics Exercise 2023/24 Option On Payton Pritchard

October 29th, 2022 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have picked up their team option on guard Payton Pritchard for the 2023/24 season, a league source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). The move guarantees Pritchard’s fourth-year salary of $4,037,278.

A part of the Celtics’ regular rotation in 2021/22, Pritchard averaged 6.2 PPG and 2.0 APG on .429/.412/1.000 shooting in 71 games (14.1 MPG) during the regular season and appeared in all 24 of the team’s postseason contests.

However, his role has been reduced early on in 2022/23 following the arrival of Malcolm Brogdon. With Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Brogdon all playing significant backcourt roles, Pritchard has appeared in just two games so far, logging nine total minutes.

Still, it’s likely just a matter of time before Pritchard starts seeing more regular playing time — Boston’s decision to pick up his fourth-year option signals that the team remains confident in his ability to provide value throughout the rest of his rookie scale contract. He’ll now be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2023 and would be a restricted free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.

As our rookie scale option decision tracker shows, Pritchard’s option was the only one the Celtics had to make a call on before Monday’s deadline.