Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Waive Tommy Kuhse

October 10th, 2022 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have waived guard Tommy Kuhse, the team announced today in a press release.

Kuhse, 24, joined the Spurs on an Exhibit 10 deal in August after going undrafted out of Saint Mary’s and playing for Orlando in the Las Vegas Summer League. He averaged 12.2 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.7 RPG on .494/.450/.808 shooting in 34 games (30.0 MPG) as a “super-senior” in 2021/22.

Kuhse played in two preseason games with the Spurs this month, averaging 6.0 PPG and 1.5 APG in 9.0 MPG. He’ll likely become an affiliate player for the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League team.

The Spurs now have 19 players under contract. They’re still expected to complete a reported Exhibit 10 deal with rookie free agent Jalen Adaway at some point, though it’s unclear if they’ll do so right away using their newly-opened roster spot — they still have seven days to set their regular season roster, so they could make several moves between now and next Monday’s deadline.

Grizzlies Sign Matthew Hurt, Sean McDermott

October 10th, 2022 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have made some changes to the back end of their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today in a press release (via Twitter) that they’ve signed forward Matthew Hurt and swingman Sean McDermott. The team waived camp invitees Jacob Gilyard and Justin Bean to open up roster spots for the new additions.

The transactions are unlikely to have an impact on the Grizzlies’ projected regular season roster. Gilyard and Bean were in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and are safe bets to join the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate. Hurt and McDermott will likely be waived before next Monday’s roster deadline and report to the Hustle as well.

Hurt, who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies a year ago after going undrafted out of Duke, spent his first professional season with the Hustle, but a knee injury prevented him from appearing in any NBAGL regular season games.

McDermott, who went undrafted out of Butler in 2020, has spent the last two seasons in the Grizzlies’ organization. He was on a two-way contract as a rookie, then was an affiliate player with the Hustle in 2021/22. He has appeared in a total of 18 regular season games in the NBA and 17 in the G League.

The Grizzlies once again have a full 20-man preseason roster. They have 16 players on standard contracts (15 fully guaranteed, plus Danny Green with a partial guarantee), Hurt and McDermott presumably on Exhibit 10 deals, and Vince Williams and Kenneth Lofton Jr. on two-way pacts.

Jazz Waive Saben Lee, Sign Darryl Morsell

October 9th, 2022 at 9:09pm CST by Luke Adams

9:09pm: The Jazz have officially waived Lee and have completed their Exhibit 10 deal with Marquette guard Darryl Morsell, the team announced in a press release.

Utah’s agreement with Morsell was reported shortly after he went undrafted in June.

4:40pm: The Jazz are waiving guard Saben Lee, according to Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 38th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Lee spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons, first on a two-way contract and then on a standard deal. He appeared in 85 total games for the team, averaging 5.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .434/.265/.731.

Lee was part of the trade that sent Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit, heading to Utah in the deal along with Kelly Olynyk. He was included for salary-matching purposes, with the Pistons sending the Jazz the exact amount of cash necessary to cover his guaranteed salary for 2022/23 ($1,752,638). That was a sign that he might not be in Utah’s plans for the season, and Jones later stated that Lee would likely need to have a “hell of a camp” to stick with the team.

The move is the first of several the Jazz will have to make to clear their roster logjam before the regular season begins later this month. Once Lee is officially waived, Utah will still have 17 players with fully guaranteed salaries, plus Cody Zeller, who is vying for a regular season roster spot on a non-guaranteed deal.

Cutting Lee will open up a spot on Utah’s 20-man roster for the team to officially sign Micah Potter to a two-way contract, Jones notes (via Twitter). Porter’s agreement with the Jazz was reported last month.

Nuggets Release Adonis Arms, Grant Golden

October 9th, 2022 at 4:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

4:41pm: The Nuggets have officially waived both Arms and Golden, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. That leaves the team with 18 players under contract for the time being.

3:07pm: The Nuggets will waive Exhibit 10 signee Adonis Arms, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link).

The 6’5″ guard will now be able to sign on with Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, according to Wind, who adds that the Nuggets could ink another player to an Exhibit 10 contract by Monday.

Arms went unsigned out of Texas Tech this past summer. During his 2021/22 season with the team, he averaged 8.6 PPG on .448/.308/.744 shooting, along with 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.0 SPG.

Denver is currently fielding a full 15-man roster. Both its two-way player slots are also occupied. Kellan Grady and Grant Golden will be the team’s remaining Exhibit 10 players when Arms’ release becomes official.

Hawks Waive Four Camp Invitees

October 9th, 2022 at 1:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hawks appear to be culling their roster ahead of the official start of the NBA regular season. Atlanta announced today in a press release that it has waived power forward Chris Silva, plus guards Armoni Brooks, Malik Ellison, and Tyson Etienne.

Since going undrafted out of South Carolina in 2019, Silva has bounced around the NBA for the past five seasons, between the Heat, Kings, and Timberwolves. He inked 10-day deals during the 2021/22 season with Miami and Minnesota. In 10 total NBA games last year, the 6’8″ big man averaged 2.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG, across 9.1 MPG. He has also logged time with both the Heat and Timberwolves’ NBAGL clubs, the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Iowa Wolves, over the years. Silva averaged 17.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 0.9 BPG for Iowa over the course of 17 games, including 15 starts.

Brooks, a 6’3″ combo guard, has spent most of his time in the league thus far with the Rockets after going undrafted out of Houston in 2019. The Rockets waived the 24-year-old in February 2022 and he finished last season with Toronto. In 54 games between the Rockets and Raptors last year, Brooks held modest averages of 5.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG.

Ellison was passed over in the 2020 draft out of Hartford. For his initial pro hoops deal, the 6’6″ shooting guard joined Czech club BC Kolin for a brief stint in 2021, then linked up with the Hawks’ NBAGL affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, near the start of the 2021/22 season. The 26-year-old did sign a 10-day hardship exception deal with Atlanta, but never left the bench for the team, and eventually returned to the Skyhawks once his deal was up. He is thus still technically an NBA rookie. In 26 games with the Skyhawks last year, Ellison mostly came off the bench, averaging 6.8 PPG and 4.7 RPG on .443/.316/.833 shooting splits.

Etienne, 23, signed his training camp deal with the Hawks after going undrafted out of Wichita State, where he was honored as the 2021 AAC Co-Player Of The Year, this past summer. In his final season at Wichita State, Etienne averaged 14.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.1 SPG.

The now-ex-Hawks were all training camp invitees, signed to Exhibit 10 contracts. Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that all four players are likely to join the College Park Skyhawks. Should that happen, they’ll be eligible for bonuses worth as much as $50K.

The Hawks now have 14 players signed to their standard 15-man roster heading into their regular season opener next week, including the partially guaranteed contracts of Tyrese Martin and Vit Krejci. Trent Forrest and Jarrett Culver are their two-way contract signees.

Jamal Cain Gets Two-Way Contract With Heat

October 9th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

1:15pm: The Heat have issued a press release confirming that their series of moves – converting Cain to a two-way deal, waiving Days, and signing Mulder – are now official.

10:33am: The Heat will convert Jamal Cain‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

The team will waive Darius Days from his two-way contract to accommodate the move, and his roster spot will be given to Mychal Mulder.

Cain, a 23-year-old small forward, signed the Exhibit 10 deal in July after going undrafted out of Oakland. He played for the Heat’s Summer League team and has been impressive during the preseason, causing Miami officials to fear that he might not clear waivers if he was let go.

The Heat still have plans for Days, assuming he clears waivers, Chiang writes in a full story. His two-way contract was converted to an Exhibit 10 deal on Saturday, and he appears headed to Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls if he’s not claimed by another team.

Days was given a two-way contract in mid-July after a strong Summer League showing with the Spurs. He appeared in two preseason games, but saw limited action.

Mychal Mulder Joins Heat On Exhibit 10 Deal

October 9th, 2022 at 1:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

1:13pm: Mulder has officially signed with the Heat, according to the team. As we relayed in another story, two-way player Darius Days has been waived to create an opening on the 20-man preseason roster for Mulder.

9:26am: The Heat will sign Mychal Mulder to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

The 28-year-old guard finished last season in Miami after signing a two-way deal in late March. He appeared in just two games, but was also part of the Heat’s Summer League team. Mulder started last season on a two-way contract with the Magic and averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 rebounds in 15 games before being released in January.

Miami currently has a full 20-man roster, so someone will have to be waived before Mulder can officially be signed. Orlando Robinson, Jamaree Bouyea, Jamal Cain and Dru Smith are all in camp on Exhibit 10 deals.

Mulder is expected to wind up with Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls once the preseason ends, Chiang adds (via Twitter).

Rockets Sign Willie Cauley-Stein

October 9th, 2022 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 9: The deal with Cauley-Stein is official, the Rockets announced in a press release.

AUGUST 12: The Rockets and free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein have agreed to a one-year contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but Charania suggests that Cauley-Stein will compete in training camp for a spot on the regular season roster. That means it’s almost certainly a minimum-salary deal and likely won’t be fully guaranteed.

Cauley-Stein, who will turn 29 next Thursday, appeared in a total of 20 games last season for the Mavericks and Sixers, playing a limited role. In 2020/21, the big man averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 53 contests (17.1 MPG) for Dallas. He has also spent time with Sacramento and Golden State since entering the league as the sixth overall pick in 2015.

The Rockets currently have 20 players under contract, so they’ll have to waive or trade someone in order to make Cauley-Stein’s signing official.

Sixers Waive Trevelin Queen

October 9th, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Arthur Hill

10:19am: Queen has officially been waived, the Sixers announced in a press release.

9:59am: The Sixers are waiving Trevelin Queen, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The 25-year-old shooting guard had a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season. He was named G League MVP with Rio Grande Valley last season and appeared in 10 games with the Rockets after signing a two-way contract in December.

By waiving Queen before the season begins, Philadelphia was able to avoid a $198K tax variance charge, according to Sixers reporter Derek Bodner (Twitter link).

Queen’s departure leaves the team with 19 players and it means the battle for the final roster spot will likely be between shooting guard Isaiah Joe and center Charles Bassey, Bodner adds (via Twitter). Joe has a $1.78MM non-guaranteed contract that will become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on opening night, while Bassey has a $75K guarantee on his $1.563MM deal.

Magic Sign Morales, Scrubb; Waive Ford, Simpson

October 8th, 2022 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have added guards Alex Morales and Jay Scrubb, the team announced (via Twitter). Training camp invitees Aleem Ford and Zavier Simpson were waived to create room on the roster.

The Morales deal becomes official after first being reported in mid-August. The 24-year-old was voted NEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year last season with Wagner and took part in Summer League with the Warriors. Morales has an Exhibit 10 clause in his contract and could wind up with Orlando’s G League affiliate in Lakeland.

Scrubb spent the past two years with the Clippers after being selected with the 55th pick in the 2020 draft. He got into 18 games last season and averaged 2.7 PPG in limited minutes.

Ford and Simpson both had Exhibit 10 deals, so they may also be headed to Lakeland. They signed with Orlando in late September, shortly before the start of training camp. Both players saw action in the preseason, with Ford appearing in three games and Simpson getting into two.