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Trail Blazers Promote Trendon Watford, Waive Dennis Smith Jr.

February 21st, 2022 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

1:40pm: Watford’s promotion and Smith’s release are now official, according to an announcement from the Trail Blazers. Portland now has an open two-way slot.

11:40am: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a deal with rookie forward Trendon Watford that will promote him from his two-way contract to the 15-man roster and give him a new four-year contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

According to Wojnarowski, Portland will waive guard Dennis Smith Jr. in order to create an opening on the 15-man roster for Watford. Smith is currently sidelined due to an elbow injury.

Watford’s new four-year contract will be worth $5.8MM, says Wojnarowski. The Blazers will dip into their mid-level exception in order to go up to four years and to give the 21-year-old a salary worth a little more than the prorated minimum for the rest of 2021/22 — the remaining three years will be worth the minimum. Additionally, the final two seasons of the deal will be non-guaranteed, according to Woj.

Watford, who went undrafted out of LSU in 2021, quickly caught on with the Trail Blazers on a two-way deal and was one of the very first players to officially sign a contract once the ’21/22 league year started in August.

Watford began the season out of the rotation and didn’t play double-digit minutes in a game until January 3, but he has appeared in every one of Portland’s games since then. In 24 games since the calendar flipped to 2022, he’s averaging 5.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG on 60.4% shooting in 15.5 minutes per contest. We identified him last week as one of the players on two-way contracts who was a candidate for a promotion.

Smith, 24, signed a non-guaranteed contract with Portland in the 2021 offseason and won a roster spot in training camp. He appeared in 37 games for the team, averaging 5.6 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 17.2 minutes per contest. Before he injured his elbow, the former lottery pick had become a more regular part of the rotation due to Damian Lillard‘s absence.

The fact that Portland is opting to waive Smith rather than injured forward Joe Ingles, who was acquired for salary-matching purposes at this month’s trade deadline, suggests that the team may still see value in Ingles’ Bird rights. However, with Ingles out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, he remains a candidate to be cut in the coming weeks if the Blazers want to make another signing.

Bulls Waive Alfonzo McKinnie

February 19th, 2022 at 10:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:33pm: The move is official, the Bulls confirmed in a press release.

4:36pm: To open a roster spot for the addition of Tristan Thompson, the Bulls will waive forward Alfonzo McKinnie, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

McKinnie earned a standard contract with Chicago after signing a pair of 10-day hardship deals with the team in December. He appeared in 17 games, made three starts and averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per night.

Because his release will come before March 1, McKinnie will be eligible for the playoffs if he signs with another team. The 29-year-old has played for five teams in his five-year NBA career, starting with the Raptors in 2017/18 and spending time with the Warriors, Cavaliers and Lakers as well.

Thompson is expected to officially join the Bulls soon after completing a buyout with the Pacers earlier this week.

Bulls Sign Tristan Thompson

February 19th, 2022 at 10:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent center Tristan Thompson has signed with the Bulls for the rest of the season, the team announced in a press release. Chicago also confirmed that Alfonzo McKinnie has been waived to create room on the roster.

Thompson’s signing has been expected since he reached a buyout agreement with the Pacers on Thursday. He played four games for Indiana after being acquired from the Kings shortly before the trade deadline.

The 30-year-old will provide an experienced back-up for a Bulls team that’s low on big men behind Nikola Vucevic. He has extensive playoff experience, including four trips to the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers.

Thompson has played in 34 combined games this season, averaging 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night. He has been a reliable shooter around the rim throughout his career and is connecting at 50.3% from the field this year.

Cavaliers Waive Kevin Pangos

February 19th, 2022 at 4:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have waived guard Kevin Pangos, according to the NBA.com transactions log.

Pangos, 29, played six seasons in Europe before earning a roster spot with Cleveland in training camp. He signed a two-year, $3.5MM contract in September, but only the first season was guaranteed at $1.67MM. Pangos saw spot duty in 24 games for the Cavs, averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 assists in 6.9 minutes per night.

A report earlier this month indicated that Pangos has an offer waiting from CSKA Moscow (hat tip to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando). The rumored contract would be worth $6MM and would run through the end of the 2023/24 season.

Cleveland had a full roster before unloading Pangos and may need the open spot to be active on the buyout market.

Pacers Waive Tristan Thompson, Who Plans To Join Bulls

February 17th, 2022 at 4:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 17: The Pacers have officially waived Thompson, according to a team press release.

FEBRUARY 16: The Pacers will waive veteran center Tristan Thompson, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Thompson intends to sign with the Bulls once he clears waivers, Charania adds.

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle confirmed the upcoming move, which will be made on Thursday, in a session with the media after tonight’s game (video link from Alex Golden).

“We thanked him for what he has brought over the last six or seven days,” Carlisle said. “He brought a high level of professionalism and he’s done a really good job.”

The 30-year-old Thompson was acquired last week in a six-player trade with the Kings. He appeared in four games for the Pacers, including tonight when he posted 17 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.

Thompson is making $9.72MM this season and the Pacers will keep that cap hit on their books once he clears waivers — if a buyout is involved, that charge will be lowered slightly.

The Bulls have a full roster, so another move will be necessary before Thompson can be added. Indiana’s roster is also full, so one opening will be available once he is released.

Chicago was among the teams mentioned as a potential landing spot for Thompson amid speculation over a possible buyout during the past week. The Lakers were also rumored to be interested.

Kings Waive Louis King

February 17th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings have waived two-way player Louis King, per Sean Cunningham of ABC10 (KXTV) Sacramento (Twitter link).

King, 22, went undrafted in 2019 after spending one season with Oregon. He caught on with the Pistons during his rookie year, signing a two-way contract and appearing in 10 games with Detroit, holding modest averages of 2.0 PPG and 1.0 in 6.2 MPG.

King signed a two-way contract with Sacramento at the end of last season, but he hasn’t made a significant impact at the NBA level. In 16 career games with Sacramento, including 10 this year, King averaged 5.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 11.8 MPG. He holds a career shooting line of .392/.327/.684 in 251 total minutes.

King has received much more playing time in the G League, appearing in 58 games (45 starts, 29.1 MPG) while averaging 14.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.4 SPG on .438/.349/.692 shooting. In 12 games with Stockton this season, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, he’s averaging 12.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.2 SPG on .410/.269/.692 shooting.

The Kings now have one two-way spot available, but their 15-man roster is currently full.

Jazz Sign Xavier Sneed To Two-Way Contract

February 16th, 2022 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

3:37pm: Sneed’s two-way deal is now official, the Jazz announced in a press release.

1:47pm: The Jazz are signing small forward Xavier Sneed to a two-way contract, agent Gary Durrant tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Utah has had an open two-way contract slot since waiving Malik Fitts last month, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to complete the signing. Once the move is official, the Jazz won’t have any available two-way slots, but will still have one opening left on their 15-man roster.

Sneed, a 6’5″ wing who went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2020, played in 13 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season and returned to the Hornets’ G League affiliate for a second go-round this year. In 31 career G League games, he has averaged 10.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in 25.6 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old has improved his scoring efficiency significantly in his second NBAGL season. After making 36.0% of his field goal tries – including 27.9% of his threes – in 2020/21, he has knocked down 50.0% of his shots and 39.8% of his threes in ’21/22.

Sneed had a brief NBA cameo with the Grizzlies earlier this season, logging eight total minutes in two games during a hardship 10-day contract.

DeAndre’ Bembry Signs With Bucks

February 16th, 2022 at 1:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 16: The Bucks have officially signed Bembry, the team announced today in a press release. Bembry will earn just shy of $602K on his rest-of-season contract, while Milwaukee takes on a cap hit of about $518K. Since the Bucks are over the luxury tax line, their projected tax bill will also increase as a result of the move.

FEBRUARY 15: The Bucks are close to completing a deal with free agent swingman DeAndre’ Bembry, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Bembry, who was waived by the Nets last Thursday to open a roster spot in the James Harden deal, will sign with Milwaukee for the rest of the season, according to Wojnarowski.

The deal will give Milwaukee some extra depth on the wing following last week’s trades of Donte DiVincenzo and Rodney Hood, as well as Pat Connaughton‘s subsequent hand injury.

Bembry, 27, was in his first season with Brooklyn after agreeing to a partially guaranteed contract heading into training camp. He eventually earned a fully guaranteed deal and appeared in 48 games with the Nets, starting 20. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per night.

Once the signing becomes official, the Bucks will be up to 13 players on their roster, plus a pair of two-way deals. They will need to add at least one more player to reach the league minimum and have been rumored as a possible location for Goran Dragic, who reached a buyout with the Spurs earlier today.

Patrick Beverley Signs One-Year Extension With Timberwolves

February 16th, 2022 at 6:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 16: Beverley officially signed his extension with the Timberwolves on Tuesday, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

FEBRUARY 14: Veteran guard Patrick Beverley has agreed to a one-year, $13MM contract extension with the Timberwolves, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Minnesota already had a projected $107MM in salary commitments next season, not including the cap hold for its first-round pick, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. The Timberwolves could still use their mid-level exception and remain below the projected $147MM luxury tax line.

Beverley is in the final season of a three-year $40MM contract he signed with the Clippers in 2019. The 33-year-old has made his mark in the league as a pesky defender but he has also posted some solid stats for Minnesota.

He is averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.9 APG and 4.4 RPG in 26.1 MPG in 38 games, including 34 starts. He’s shooting 34% from deep, which is below his 37.9% career average.

This leaves Taurean Prince ($13MM this season) as the only prominent member of Minnesota’s rotation heading into free agency this summer.

Beverley will be the 27th player to sign a contract extension during the 2021/22 NBA league year, including the 16th to finalize a veteran extension. Our extension tracker features the details on this season’s other 26 deals.

Javonte Smart Signs Two-Way Deal With Heat

February 15th, 2022 at 9:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have signed free agent rookie guard Javonte Smart to fill their open two-way player slot, per a team press release.

Third-year combo guard Kyle Guy is Miami’s other two-way player. Former two-way player Caleb Martin was just elevated to the Heat’s main 15-man roster earlier today in order to make him playoff-eligible.

The Smart announcement marks the club’s second new player signing this week. Miami also added wing Haywood Highsmith via a 10-day contract.

After going undrafted out of LSU last summer, Smart played for the Heat during the 2021 NBA Summer League, and subsequently kicked off the 2021/22 preseason with a training camp contract on the Heat. He was ultimately released prior to the start of the year.

Smart later linked up with the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate club, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Across 12 regular season contests with the Skyforce (including tonight), Smart is averaging 23.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 3.7 APG. He is connecting on 43.4% of his field goal looks, including 34.7% of his long-range attempts. Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes that Smart scored 40 points while shooting 11-of-18 from the floor tonight in a victory against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

The 6’4″ 22-year-old had a brief stint this season with the Bucks as a two-way player, suiting up for 13 contests with the reigning champs before being waived last month. In 12.3 MPG, Smart averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.5 RPG for Milwaukee.