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Pelicans Waive Elfrid Payton

December 3rd, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

4:20pm: The Pelicans have officially waived Payton, the team announced in a press release.

4:00pm: The Pelicans are waiving veteran guard Elfrid Payton, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Payton, who had been out of the NBA since the 2021/22 season, caught on with the Pelicans last month on a non-guaranteed contract and was one of the feel-good stories of the fall.

The Louisiana native, who played in Puerto Rico and the G League while trying to make his NBA comeback, immediately jumped into the starting lineup for his hometown team and posted a 14-point, 21-assist, seven-rebound line in his third game back.

However, the Pelicans have been getting healthier, with both Dejounte Murray and CJ McCollum recently returning to the team’s backcourt, which resulted in a reduced role for Payton. He logged just six minutes in Monday’s loss to Atlanta.

New Orleans should be getting a couple more players back this week, with Shams Charania of ESPN reporting on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link) that Brandon Ingram and Herbert Jones appear on track to play Thursday.

The Pelicans are operating slightly over the luxury tax line and have no desire to be a taxpayer this season, so there’s certainly a financial reason involved in the decision to waive Payton. Leaving that 15th roster spot open for the time being would reduce New Orleans’ projected tax bill and make it easier for the team to duck out of tax territory with a trade later in the season.

Payton’s 14 days on the Pelicans’ roster and two days on waivers will result in a cap charge of $274,809 for New Orleans, assuming he clears waivers. As Bobby Marks tweets, the team will be about $1.4MM above the tax line and $3.8MM below the first apron after jettisoning Payton.

Sixers Sign Pete Nance To Two-Way Deal, Waive Quinones

December 3rd, 2024 at 9:19am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 3: The Sixers have officially signed Nance and waived Quinones, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 2: The Sixers have agreed to a two-way contract with Pete Nance, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.

Nance is the younger brother of veteran NBA forward Larry Nance Jr. Pete has played eight games this season in the G League’s Showcase Cup for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate. He’s averaging 18.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest.

The 6’10” Nance also played in the NBAGL for most of last season. He made eight NBA appearances with the Cavs but averaged just 3.4 minutes in those games.

Nance participated in camp with the Cavs this fall, but was waived in October. He signed a two-way contract with Cleveland in February but wasn’t offered another one. He went undrafted in 2023.

With centers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond sidelined by injuries and — in Embiid’s case — personal reasons, the Sixers were seeking another frontcourt option in the short run.

As our two-way contract tracker shows, Philadelphia has three players currently signed to two-ways and will have to drop one of them to make room for Nance. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the odd man out will be guard Lester Quinones.

Quinones, who has appeared in four games with the Sixers this season, signed a two-way contract in September after playing for Golden State last season.

Hornets Sign Isaiah Wong To Two-Way Contract, Waive Jared Rhoden

December 2nd, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 2: Wong has officially signed his two-way contract with the Hornets, the team announced today in a press release. He agreed to a two-year deal that will cover the 2025/26 season as well as the rest of ’24/25, Hoops Rumors has learned.

NOVEMBER 30: Isaiah Wong will join the Hornets on a two-way contract, agent Darrell Comer of Tandem tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Two-way guard Jared Rhoden has been waived to make room on the roster, the team announced in a press release.

Wong, a 23-year-old shooting guard, is currently with the Salt Lake City Stars and ranks seventh in the G League scoring race at 24.1 points per game. He was in training camp with Utah on an Exhibit 10 contract, but was waived before the start of the season.

Wong was selected by Indiana with the 55th pick in the 2023 draft. He only appeared in one NBA game as a rookie, but averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 30 regular season games with the G League’s Indiana Mad Ants.

The Hornets are in need of healthy players after being hampered by injuries since the season began. LaMelo Ball, who will miss at least two weeks with a strained left calf, is the latest addition to an injury list that already includes Miles Bridges, Mark Williams, Grant Williams, Tre Mann and DaQuan Jeffries.

KJ Simpson and Moussa Diabate occupy Charlotte’s other two-way spots.

Kings Sign Jae Crowder

November 27th, 2024 at 3:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 27: The Kings have officially signed Crowder, the team announced today in a press release.

Assuming Crowder signed for one year and the veteran’s minimum, which is highly likely, his deal would pay him $2,620,232 for the full season, with Sacramento taking on a cap hit of $1,655,619.

NOVEMBER 26: The Kings are close to signing veteran forward Jae Crowder, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.

Sacramento worked out Crowder back in September. Crowder spent a season-and-a-half with the Bucks beginning in February 2023 and averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 50 games last season while making 25 starts.

Crowder has appeared in over 800 regular season games since making his NBA debut in 2012. The 34-year-old has averaged 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest across 12 seasons, posting a shooting line of .419/.348/.777. In his prime years, he played a key three-and-D role on contending teams in Boston, Cleveland, Utah, Miami, and Phoenix.

The Kings have an open roster spot and are $3.7MM below the luxury tax line, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter).

The news regarding Crowder coincides with an injury update from the club. Trey Lyles has a Grade 1 right calf strain after undergoing an MRI, James Ham of The Kings Beat relays (Twitter link). He’ll be reevaluated in three-to-four weeks.

Lyles has appeared in 18 games this season, including two starts. He’s averaging 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game.

Sacramento has lost its last four games, dropping to 8-10 on the season.

Jazz Sign David Jones To Two-Way Contract

November 22nd, 2024 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22: Jones’ two-way deal with the Jazz is now official, the team announced today in a press release. As previously reported, the team waived Preston to open up a two-way slot for Jones.

NOVEMBER 20: The Jazz and free agent wing David Jones have agreed to a two-way contract, agents Deirunas Visockas and Guillermo Bermejo tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jones had a highly productive junior campaign for Memphis in 2023/24, averaging 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game on .459/.380/.797 shooting in 32 contests (32.3 MPG). A native of the Dominican Republic, Jones had previous collegiate stops at DePaul and St. John’s before transferring to the Tigers.

Shortly after going undrafted in June, Jones agreed to an two-way deal with the Sixers and played for Philadelphia’s Summer League teams in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, averaging 9.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.6 SPG in seven games (18.2 MPG). However, he was waived by the 76ers in September, just ahead of training camp, when the team needed to open up a two-way slot for Lester Quinones.

Jones began his first professional season playing for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League this fall. He averaged 21.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG on .475/.316/.789 shooting in his first four NBAGL outings.

Utah doesn’t currently have a two-way slot available, so the club will have to waive one of its current two-way players (Jason Preston, Micah Potter, or Oscar Tshiebwe) in order to make room for Jones.

Jazz To Waive Jason Preston

November 20th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Jazz will waive two-way player Jason Preston, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Utah had to make a move to open up a two-way roster spot after it was reported earlier today that the team would ink free agent rookie swingman David Jones to a two-way deal. Scotto notes that Preston has been sidelined due to a calf strain.

A 6’4″ point guard, Preston was initially selected with the No. 33 pick in 2021 out of Ohio University and began his NBA career with the Clippers. He missed his entire rookie season with a right foot injury and was cut ahead of the 2023/24 season after appearing in 14 NBA games in ’22/23.

Preston began last season with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League squad, then caught on with the Jazz in January on a two-way deal. He spent the rest of the season shuttling between the NBA roster and the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBAGL affiliate.

Across 21 career NBA contests with the Clippers and Jazz, Preston has averaged 2.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game.

In 52 G League regular season games with the Ontario Clippers, Hustle and Stars, Preston holds averages of 16.5 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.2 SPG on .490/.406/.862 shooting. He recorded 10 triple-doubles with the Hustle and Stars last year, Scotto notes.

According to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link), it is anticipated that Preston will remain in Salt Lake City during his rehab from the calf strain. Utah is said to like Preston and has interest in potentially bringing him back in some capacity when he recuperates.

Pelicans Sign Elfrid Payton, Waive Jaylen Nowell

November 20th, 2024 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

12:34pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Payton and waived Nowell, the team confirmed in a press release. As expected, Payton’s deal is non-guaranteed, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

7:19am: The Pelicans and free agent guard Elfrid Payton have agreed to a deal, agent Darrell Comer tells Shams Charania of ESPN.

As Charania notes, the agreement will reunite Payton and Pelicans head coach Willie Green, who were teammates on the Magic during the 2014/15 season, Green’s last as a player — and Payton’s first.

The 10th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Payton has 500 regular season appearances under his belt across eight NBA seasons with the Magic, Suns, Pelicans, and Knicks. However, he hasn’t been on a regular season roster since suiting up for Phoenix during the 2021/22 season. The 30-year-old played in Puerto Rico in 2023 and then spent last season with the Indiana Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate.

A Louisiana native who played college ball for the Ragin’ Cajuns in Lafayette, Payton has never been a great shooter, with career averages of 44.7% from the floor and 28.7% from beyond the arc. However, he’s a talented ball-handler and play-maker who averaged 10.1 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game over the course of his NBA career.

Payton was briefly in camp with the Pelicans last month and joined their G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, to start the season.

While it appears that New Orleans could qualify for a hardship exception as a result of injuries to Dejounte Murray (hand), Herbert Jones (shoulder), Zion Williamson (hamstring), CJ McCollum (thigh), Jose Alvarado (hamstring), and Jordan Hawkins (back), Charania reports that the team is waiving Jaylen Nowell in order to create a spot on the 15-man roster for Payton.

That suggests that the Pelicans either expect some of their injured players to return within the next couple weeks or want to avoid pushing their payroll into luxury tax territory.

Nowell averaged 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 21.0 minutes per game during eight outings with the Pelicans, posting a shooting line of just .356/.296/.636. He had been on a non-guaranteed contract, so the Pelicans will take on a modest cap hit for the time he spent on the roster. If he’s officially waived on Wednesday, Nowell’s cap charge will work out to $278,782.

The details of Payton’s deal have yet to be reported, but it will likely be a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract like Nowell’s.

Pacers Sign Center Moses Brown

November 20th, 2024 at 9:43am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 20: The Pacers have officially signed Brown, per NBA.com’s transaction log. The expectation is that he’ll be active in Houston vs. the Rockets on Wednesday, tweets Dopirak.

NOVEMBER 18: The Pacers are filling their roster opening by signing center Moses Brown, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.

Indiana has essentially been going with a 12-man roster, not including two-way players, after centers James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson suffered season-ending Achilles tears. Brown will provide much-needed depth in that area. Starting center Myles Turner is currently dealing with calf soreness.

Brown is expected to join Indiana on Wednesday, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star tweets. The big man’s contract will be non-guaranteed, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, meaning he’ll make $13,939 every day he’s on the roster.

Brown had been on the roster of the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate. Brown was signed and waived by the Knicks in October on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Brown hasn’t stuck with an NBA team for more than a single season since making his debut in 2019, but he has racked up 150 regular season appearances in stints with the Trail Blazers (twice), Thunder, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Clippers, and Nets. He holds career averages of 5.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.

Brown spent the 2023/24 campaign under contract with the Trail Blazers, appearing in 22 games and posting averages of 3.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 9.1 MPG.

Thunder Sign Branden Carlson

November 16th, 2024 at 9:34am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Thunder signed Branden Carlson, according to a release from the team (Twitter link via NBA insider Marc Stein). The deal is a one-year standard contract, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link).

Carlson was suiting up for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League, to begin the season. The former Utah big man spent most of the offseason on a two-way contract with Toronto after going undrafted in 2024. However, he was waived in training camp to open up a two-way slot for Jamison Battle and wound up as a G League affiliate player. He averaged 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 51.5% from the field in his first three outings with the Raptors 905.

This signing comes off the heels of Malevy Leons being waived on Friday. The Thunder are using their 15th roster spot to cycle through big men while dealing with injuries in their frontcourt to Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Alex Reese opened the season on a standard deal before being waived in a favor of Leons. Now, the Thunder have swapped out Leons for Carlson.

It’s important to note that players and teams can’t agree to 10-day deals until January. So these signings are not official 10-day contracts, even if they’re being deployed in a similar fashion to them. Carlson’s deal is almost certainly structured like Reese’s and Leons’ were, making it a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary agreement. The Thunder had Reese on the roster from Oct. 22-29 and incurred a $79,804 cap hit for having him on the roster. Leons’ dead-money cap hit will come in a little above that.

Of course, the Thunder could opt to keep Carlson on the roster until or even after the league-wide salary guarantee date in January after he posted more than solid numbers in the G League. The 7’0″ center provides size and plenty of college experience as a five-year player at Utah, where he averaged 17.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on a .501/.379/.714 shooting line in his final collegiate season.

Thunder Waive Malevy Leons

November 15th, 2024 at 10:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder have waived forward/center Malevy Leons, the team announced.

Leons, who went undrafted in June out of Bradley, initially signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City in September. He was waived on Oct. 19, but was re-signed on Oct. 31, when the Thunder cut Alex Reese.

Leons’ contract was a non-guaranteed one-year deal worth the prorated rookie minimum. OKC will carry a relatively small dead-money cap hit for waiving the 25-year-old, who was born in the Netherlands.

Leons appeared in five games for the Thunder, playing a total of 17 garbage-time minutes. He recorded two points, two rebounds and one assist in those contests.

It’s unclear why exactly the Thunder decided to sign and waive both Reese and Leons so early in the season, but from a big-picture perspective, it doesn’t change much about their cap outlook. They’re still $10MM+ below this season’s luxury tax line, which is set at $170,814,000.

The Thunder now have 14 players on standard contracts, with all three two-way spots filled.