Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Sign, Waive Stephen Zimmerman

October 13th, 2022 at 5:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Spurs have signed and waived center Stephen Zimmerman, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

The seven-footer was selected by the Magic with the No. 41 pick in the 2016 draft out of UNLV, and logged his only NBA minutes to date in 19 games during the subsequent 2016/17 season, averaging 1.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG across 5.7 MPG.

Since his NBA tenure ended, Zimmerman has suited up for G League clubs the South Bay Lakers and Westchester Knicks, plus international clubs in Germany, Poland and Australia.

Joining San Antonio (and getting promptly waived) carves out a path for the 26-year-old big man to latch on with the club’s NBA G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. Should that happen, and should Zimmerman remain in Austin for 60 days or more, he could earn a bonus worth up to $50K for his troubles.

Sixers Waive Charles Bassey, Isaiah Joe

October 13th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

5:37pm: The Sixers have officially announced in a press release that they’ve waived Bassey and Joe.

8:32am: The Sixers are also waiving Joe, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). With Joe’s non-guaranteed $1.78MM salary no longer on the books, the team will have more than $5.5MM in breathing room below its hard cap, tweets Bodner.

Joe appeared in 55 games for the 76ers last season, averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .350/.333/.935 shooting in 11.1 MPG.

The two cuts will give the Sixers the option of opening the season with just 14 players on their standard roster or of adding a 15th man (including perhaps Joe) on a new non-guaranteed contract.

Joe’s previous deal called for his full 2022/23 salary to become guaranteed if he made the opening night roster, so Philadelphia theoretically could re-sign him on a more team-friendly contract if he passes through waivers, though it’s unclear if that’s in the plans. The team also may have interest in bringing him back on a two-way deal, says Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.

8:18am: The Sixers have waived big man Charles Bassey, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

The 53rd overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Western Kentucky, Bassey signed a three-year, minimum-salary contract with Philadelphia last September, then appeared in 23 games as a rookie, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per contest. He played a starring role 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.

Although Bassey’s contract ran through 2024, it wasn’t fully guaranteed beyond his rookie season, making his grip on a roster spot tenuous this fall. Isaiah Joe‘s strong Summer League showing and the Sixers’ decision to sign Montrezl Harrell a month ago to fill out their frontcourt also didn’t work in his favor, making Bassey the odd man out.

Assuming Bassey clears waivers without being claimed, the 76ers will be on the hook for his partial guarantee of $74,742. Because that guarantee exceeds $50K, he’s ineligible to play for the Delaware Blue Coats – Philadelphia’s G League team – as an affiliate player or two-way player.

A team with interest in claiming Bassey off waivers would need a trade exception, disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his $1,563,518 salary. Even though he’s earning the minimum, the fact that Bassey was on a three-year contract means he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception.

With Bassey and Trevelin Queen out of the picture, Philadelphia looks poised to carry a 15-man roster that features 13 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Paul Reed and possibly Joe on non-guaranteed deals. The Sixers’ team salary is now approximately $3.76MM below the hard cap, tweets Derek Bodner of The Daily Six.

Suns Waive Saben Lee

October 13th, 2022 at 5:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Two days after signing to a training camp deal with the Suns, guard Saben Lee has been waived by Phoenix, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

Lee was sent from Detroit to Utah as part of the Bojan Bogdanovic trade. The Jazz waived the 6’2″ point guard this weekend.

Lee was drafted with the No. 38 pick out of Vanderbilt in 2020, and appeared in a total of 85 contests for the Pistons in his first two NBA seasons. He holds career NBA averages of 5.6 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.2 RPG and 0.8 SPG.

The Suns lack an NBAGL affiliate club at present, so Lee won’t report to Phoenix’s G League team. 6’5″ guard Adonis Arms, who was also signed earlier this week along with Lee, remains on the team’s roster as of this writing.

Clippers Waive Nate Darling, Malik Fitts, Xavier Moon

October 13th, 2022 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have removed three players from their preseason roster, announcing today that they’ve waived guard Nate Darling, forward Malik Fitts, and wing Xavier Moon. All three players had been with the team on Exhibit 10 contracts and are candidates to join the Ontario Clippers, L.A.’s G League affiliate.

Darling went undrafted out of Delaware in 2020 and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with Charlotte, appearing in seven games for the Hornets. Last season, the 24-year-old was a fixture in the backcourt for the Clippers’ G League team, averaging 17.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG in 31 NBAGL appearances (32.4 MPG).

Fitts, 25, spent time in 2020/21 with the Clippers and their G League affiliate after going undrafted out of Saint Mary’s. Last season, he appeared in 15 total games for Utah and Boston, but played a very minimal role for both teams, logging just 63 total minutes. After finishing the season with the Celtics, Fitts had a non-guaranteed salary for ’22/23, but was traded to Indiana in the Malcolm Brogdon deal and was subsequently waived by the Pacers before signing with L.A.

Moon, who was on a two-way contract with the Clippers last season, didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the team in June, but eventually signed a new Exhibit 10 deal. The 27-year-old, who has spent most of his career overseas, got into 10 games with L.A. as an NBA rookie.

With the cuts, the Clippers now have 16 players under contract. Fourteen of those players have guaranteed contracts, while Moussa Diabate has a two-way deal and Moses Brown is on an Exhibit 10 pact. Brown could have his contract converted into a two-way pact before opening night, though it’s unclear if that’s the Clips’ plan.

Dru Smith Earns Two-Way Contract With Heat

October 13th, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

OCTOBER 13: The Heat have officially waived Garrett, Mulder, Robinson, and Bouyea, while converting Smith’s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.

OCTOBER 12: The Heat will convert Dru Smith to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Miami plans to waive Marcus Garrett, Mychal Mulder, Orlando Robinson and Jamaree Bouyea, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Mulder, Robinson and Bouyea are expected to join the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls after they clear waivers. Garrett, who suffered a fractured right wrist, will stay in Miami to rehab the injury.

A 24-year-old shooting guard, Smith signed with Miami last year after going undrafted out of Missouri. He spent the season in Sioux Falls and was part of the Heat’s Summer League team.

After signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat this offseason, Smith won the competition for a two-way deal with a strong preseason, including a 15-point performance Monday against the Rockets. In four games, he averaged 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17.3 minute per night.

Miami filled its other two-way slot on Sunday by converting Jamal Cain‘s Exhibit 10 contract. The Heat currently have 13 players on their roster with fully guaranteed contracts, plus Haywood Highsmith, who has a partially guaranteed deal.

Luca Vildoza Waived By Bucks, Signs With Serbian Team

October 13th, 2022 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

1:55pm: The Bucks have requested waivers on Vildoza, the team announced in a press release.

Meanwhile, as Eurohoops relays, Vildoza’s old team in Europe is unhappy with his new deal. Baskonia is threatening legal action, issuing a statement to say they still hold the guard’s rights.

9:14am: KK Crvena zvezda has signed Argentinian guard Luca Vildoza to a two-year contract, the Serbian team announced today in a press release.

Vildoza, 27, has yet to play in an NBA regular season game, but has finished each of the last two seasons on an NBA roster, first with the Knicks in 2021, then with the Bucks in 2022. He played garbage-time minutes in seven playoff games for Milwaukee this past spring.

The Bucks waived Vildoza in July, but re-signed him on a training camp deal a few days later, and he technically remains under contract — for the time being at least, Milwaukee’s official website still lists Vildoza on the roster. Clearly though, his new deal with Crvena zvezda is an indication that his days with the Bucks are numbered. We should expect him to be officially waived in the coming days.

Vildoza’s new deal in Serbia will give him an opportunity to return to the EuroLeague, where he thrived with Spanish team Baskonia from 2017-21. The veteran guard won a Liga ACB title in 2020 and was named the Finals MVP that year.

Grizzlies Sign Onu, Weems; Waive McDermott, Hurt

October 13th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed forward/center E.J. Onu and forward Romeo Weems, the team announced today in a press release. Swingman Sean McDermott and forward Matthew Hurt were waived to create the necessary spots on the team’s 20-man preseason roster.

Onu and Weems both played for the Memphis Hustle – the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate – last season and appear likely to return to the Hustle this fall. Their new deals probably include Exhibit 10 language designed to get them bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with Memphis’ G League team.

That’s presumably also the plan for McDermott and Hurt, who had only been on the Grizzlies’ roster since Monday. The team is rotating players in and out of the last two spots on its preseason roster as it prepares for the NBA and G League seasons.

The Grizzlies have until Monday to set their roster for the start of the regular season.

Blazers Convert Olivier Sarr To Two-Way Deal

October 13th, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

12:55pm: The move is official, the Blazers confirmed in a press release.

12:37pm: The Trail Blazers are converting Olivier Sarr‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Sarr, 23, spent a portion of his rookie season in 2021/22 with the Thunder, signing a pair of 10-day contracts with Oklahoma City and then receiving a two-way deal. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 22 NBA games (19.1 MPG), with a solid shooting line of .574/.448/.828.

The former Kentucky Wildcat played for Phoenix’s Summer League team in Las Vegas, then signed with the Blazers. He has appeared in four preseason games for Portland and seems to have made an impression on the team, sticking around while fellow camp invitees Jared Rhoden and Isaiah Miller were waived on Wednesday.

Once Sarr’s contract is officially converted into a two-way, the Blazers will have 14 players on standard deals and one on a two-way pact. I wouldn’t expect the tax-conscious club to add a 15th man before opening night, but it’s possible Portland will sign a second two-way player.

Warriors Waive Quinndary Weatherspoon, Lester Quinones

October 13th, 2022 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have opened up both of their two-way contract slots, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived guards Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lester Quinones. Both players had been on two-way deals.

With Weatherspoon and Quinones on waivers, the four players who are on Exhibit 10 contracts with the Warriors have become prime candidates to fill those newly opened two-way spots. Ty Jerome, Jerome Robinson, Pat Spencer, and Anthony Lamb are all eligible to have their Exhibit 10 deals converted into two-ways.

The 49th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Weatherspoon signed a two-way contract with the Warriors in January after spending his first two years in the NBA with San Antonio. The 26-year-old appeared in 11 games for Golden State, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 6.6 MPG.

Quinones, meanwhile, agreed to a two-way deal with the Warriors after going undrafted out of Memphis in June. Quinones averaged 10.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 1.2 SPG during his junior season in 2021/22, shooting 44.9% from the field and making 39.0% of his three-point attempts.

Golden State has until Monday to set its roster for the regular season.

Kings Waive Kent Bazemore, Quinn Cook

October 13th, 2022 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have trimmed their 20-man preseason roster to 18 players, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has waived swingman Kent Bazemore and guard Quinn Cook.

Both Bazemore and Cook were in camp with the Kings on non-guaranteed deals attempting to earn regular season roster spots. However, it appears both players missed the cut.

Bazemore, 33, is coming off a disappointing 2021/22 season with the Lakers. He averaged just 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 39 appearances (14.0 MPG), though he still shot 36.3% on three-point attempts.

Cook, meanwhile, was out of the NBA last season after appearing in 188 games across the previous five seasons. He spent a chunk of the 2021/22 campaign with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, where he averaged 23.7 PPG, 5.8 APG, and 5.0 RPG with an impressive .524/.446/.885 shooting line in 11 games (35.3 MPG).

Cook was on an Exhibit 10 contract with Sacramento this fall, so he would earn a $50K bonus if he returns to Stockton and spends at least 60 days with the team. Bazemore’s deal didn’t include an Exhibit 10 clause.

The Kings now have 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with KZ Okpala, Matthew Dellavedova, Chima Moneke, and Sam Merrill on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals. The club will have to waive or trade one more player before next Monday’s roster deadline to get down to 15 players for opening night.