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Sabonis To Kings, Haliburton To Pacers In Six-Player Trade

February 8th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:00pm: The trade is now official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

4:36pm: The second-rounder being sent to Sacramento in the deal is actually a 2023 pick that will be convey if it lands anywhere from 31-55, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter links).

12:37pm: The Pacers have agreed to send Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday to the Kings in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sacramento will also receive a 2027 second-round pick in the trade, according to Wojnarowski. That pick will presumably be the Utah selection the Pacers acquired from Cleveland on Monday, since Indiana has traded away its own 2027 second-rounder.

The deal involves two teams that have been trying to shake up their rosters ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. Both are in the middle of disappointing seasons, with the Pacers 13th in the East at 19-36 and the Kings, who were open about their need to make the playoffs heading into the season, stuck at 13th in the West at 20-35, two games out of the final play-in spot.

Sabonis, who was an All-Star in 2020 and 2021, carries a $19.8MM cap hit this season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. As Marks notes, Sabonis’ cap figure is expected to eventually drop to $18.5MM this season and $19.4MM next year because his All-Star bonus will be considered unlikely going forward.

Sabonis’ production has remained steady at 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists through 47 games, but the Pacers have been looking to break up the combination of Sabonis and Myles Turner.

Lamb has an expiring $10.5MM deal, while Holiday is under contract for $6MM and $6.3MM next season. The Kings will create a $4MM trade exception in the deal, Marks adds.

It’s a fascinating deal for the Kings, since reports in recent weeks repeatedly stated they preferred to build around Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox going forward. They relented on Haliburton in order to land a star center and will now move ahead with rookie Davion Mitchell as Fox’s potential long-term backcourt partner. It’s unclear whether more moves are coming for Sacramento, which still has a frontcourt logjam that includes center Richaun Holmes.

The Pacers, meanwhile, acquire a potential future star in Haliburton, who has emerged as a full-time starter this season and is averaging 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 51 games. He will make $4.2MM and $5.8MM over the next two seasons and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer of 2023.

Indiana also lands Hield, who has a $23.1MM salary this year that will drop to $21.2MM next season and $19.3MM in 2023/24, and Thompson, who has a $9.7MM expiring deal. The Pacers will create a $10.5MM trade exception, according to Marks (Twitter link).

The trade leaves Indiana $615K below the luxury tax line, though Hield has nine bonuses in his contract that could affect that, Marks adds (via Twitter). Two of them are considered likely — fewer than two turnovers per game and finishing in the top 10 in made three-pointers — which would add up to $595,962 and push team salary dangerously close to the threshold. If the Pacers make more deals this week, they’ll likely try to trim a little more salary to create additional breathing room below the tax line.

Indiana was said to be seeking a Nikola Vucevic-esque package of several draft picks and/or young prospects in exchange for Sabonis. However, as we noted when we previewed the trade deadline for Central teams last week, the Pacers have historically preferred to acquire packages headlined by promising NBA-ready players rather than draft picks when they’ve traded away stars. The team first acquired Sabonis along with Victor Oladipo for Paul George in a 2017 blockbuster that was widely panned by experts at the time.

Sabonis and Oladipo both eventually developed into All-Stars in Indiana, and now the Pacers will hope for the same from Haliburton, a potential two-way impact player who is still just 21 years old.

Blazers Trade CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. To Pelicans

February 8th, 2022 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

8:00pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Pelicans and Trail Blazers. Portland waived Cody Zeller to create room on their 15-man roster for the incoming players.

The full deal looks like this:

Pelicans acquire McCollum, Nance, and Snell.
Trail Blazers acquire Hart, Satoransky, Alexander-Walker, Louzada, the Pelicans’ protected 2022 first-round pick, the Pelicans’ 2027 second-round pick, and either the Pelicans’ or Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable; New Orleans had previously acquired Portland’s 2026 second-rounder).

“On behalf of the Trail Blazers organization, I want to thank CJ McCollum for the integral role he has played in the success of the franchise over the last nine seasons and for his countless acts of service to the Portland community,” Blazers GM Joe Cronin said in a statement. “CJ has cemented himself in Trail Blazers history with his elite skill level and memorable moments on the court as well as with the work ethic, professionalism and generosity he displays behind the scenes.”

10:10am: The Pelicans and Blazers have reached an agreement, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell are also headed to New Orleans in the deal, with Didi Louzada going to Portland.

The Blazers will receive a future first-round pick and two future second-rounder, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter). As Woj explains (via Twitter), the Blazers will get New Orleans’ 2022 first-round selection if it lands between No. 5 and No. 14. Otherwise, the Blazers will receive a future first-rounder. That Pelicans pick currently projects to be No. 9.

The inclusion of Nance, who has been out for the last month with a knee injury, will give the Pelicans another versatile two-way contributor in the frontcourt while clearing even more multiyear money off the Blazers’ books. The Pels will presumably acquire Nance and his $10.7MM cap hit using a portion of their $17MM trade exception. Nance is under contract for $9.7MM in 2022/23.

Because the Blazers have a full roster, they’ll have to trade or waive a player to accommodate the three-for-four swap.

9:24am: The Pelicans and Trail Blazers are finalizing a deal that will send CJ McCollum to New Orleans, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The package for McCollum will include Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and draft compensation, per Charania (Twitter link).

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported that the two sides were engaged in serious talks, an agreement technically hasn’t been finalized yet and there’s still work to be done, but Woj says there’s optimism a deal will be completed (Twitter link).

McCollum, 30, has been a Blazer since entering the NBA in 2013, making up one-half of the team’s star backcourt alongside Damian Lillard. Portland made the postseason in each of McCollum’s first eight NBA seasons and got as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2019, but the team has taken a step back this year and is clearly in retooling mode, having sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers last Friday.

Trading McCollum will create more future financial flexibility for the Blazers, who are reportedly interested in re-signing free-agents-to-be Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic this offseason. Based on the team’s moves so far, it appears Portland views those players, along with Lillard and Nassir Little, as keepers going forward, though there’s still time for things to change in the 48+ hours before Thursday’s trade deadline.

While we’ll have to wait to see what sort of draft compensation is headed from New Orleans to Portland in the trade, the Blazers did well to acquire a solid two-way player like Hart, and they’ll get a chance to take a flier on Alexander-Walker, who has struggled in 2021/22 after a promising sophomore performance last season.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, are on the verge of adding a talented shot creator to their backcourt as they continue their push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. New Orleans currently leads Portland by a half-game for the No. 10 seed in the West.

McCollum has been hampered this season by health issues, including a collapsed lung, and his numbers have dipped a little as a result, but he’s still averaging 20.5 PPG and 4.5 APG on .436/.384/.706 shooting in 36 games (35.2 MPG).

McCollum, Brandon Ingram, and Jonas Valanciunas will be the go-to offensive options in New Orleans for the time being. The Pelicans are also hoping to get Zion Williamson back in their lineup at some point in the second half, though it’s been a while since we’ve gotten an update on Williamson’s recovery from foot surgery.

McCollum is owed $30.9MM this season, $33.3MM in 2022/23, and $35.8MM in ’23/24 before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2024. Hart’s contract is more team-friendly — after earning $12MM this season, he has a $13MM non-guaranteed salary next season, with a $13MM player option (also non-guaranteed) for ’23/24.

Satoransky has an expiring $10MM contract, while Alexander-Walker is earning $3.3MM this season. Alexander-Walker is under contract for $5MM in 2022/23 and will be eligible this offseason for a rookie scale extension. He’ll be a restricted free agent in 2023 if he doesn’t sign a new deal later this year.

The Hawks, Knicks, and Pacers were among the other teams said to have trade interest in McCollum.

Pacers Trade Caris LeVert To Cavaliers

February 7th, 2022 at 10:06am CST by Rory Maher

FEBRUARY 7: The Cavaliers have officially acquired LeVert from the Pacers, the team announced today in a press release. The full terms of the deal are outlined below.

“We are very excited to add a dynamic young player of this caliber and experience,” Altman said in a statement. “Caris LeVert fits uniquely into our culture and his Ohio roots brings an immediate connection to our community. We look forward to seeing what type of impact he can make on this roster. We also want to send our best wishes to Ricky Rubio and his family. Ricky has been the consummate professional and his leadership both on and off the court was invaluable and we respect everything he brought to this franchise.”

FEBRUARY 6: The Cavaliers are acquiring Caris LeVert and Miami’s 2022 second-round pick from the Pacers in exchange for Ricky Rubio, Cleveland’s 2022 lottery-protected first-round pick, Houston’s 2022 second-round pick, and Utah’s 2027 second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links).

LeVert is in Cleveland ahead of Sunday’s game between the Pacers and Cavs and was discussing the trade with Cleveland’s president of basketball operations, Koby Altman, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic (via Twitter). Pacers coach Rick Carlisle confirmed to reporters that the terms of the trade have been agreed to in principle, Vardon tweets.

LeVert, a native of Columbus, is excited to return home to Ohio and join the rising Cavaliers, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). LeVert will be eligible for an extension this summer. He’s making $17.5MM this season and $18.8MM in 2022/23.

Rubio, who unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in his left knee at the end of December and is out for the season, was involved for salary-matching purposes. He’s on an expiring $17.8MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The disabled player exception the Cavaliers received after Rubio’s injury, which is worth $8.9MM, will be voided upon completion of the trade, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Cleveland has been scouring the trade market for guard help after season-ending injuries to Rubio and Collin Sexton, who suffered a torn MCL in November which required surgery. The Cavs were later granted a disabled player exception for Sexton, which they still hold. It’s worth $3.17MM, half of Sexton’s salary this season. They previously made a minor trade to acquire Rajon Rondo from the Lakers, but were still in pursuit of a younger player who could play a bigger role.

The Cavs had been rumored to be interested in LeVert for weeks, but one recent report said they were resistant to Indiana’s high asking price. Obviously the Cavs value LeVert highly to give up their protected 2022 first-round pick and Houston’s second-rounder, which figures to be in the early 30s.

LeVert, 27, is averaging 18.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .447/.323/.760 shooting through 39 games this season (31.1 MPG). His last outing in a Pacers uniform was a stellar one, putting up 42 points, five rebounds, and eight assists on 19-26 shooting in Indiana’s 122-115 loss to Chicago Friday.

For the Pacers, it’s a significant haul for a player with one additional year remaining on his contract. Although LeVert is a talented shot creator and scorer, he has his share of weaknesses. He’s more of a shoot-first, pass-second type of player and isn’t a great shooter. He’s also a subpar defender. Apparently the Cavaliers think they will be able to cover some of LeVert’s defensive limitations with their third-ranked defense, anchored by Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

It will be interesting to see if the Pacers continue to make deals ahead of the February 10 trade deadline. They are reportedly willing to listen to offers for several players, including Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb.

The Cavs currently hold a 32-21 record, fourth in the East, while the Pacers are 19-35, 13th in the East.

Greg Monroe Signs 10-Day Contract With Bucks

February 5th, 2022 at 12:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

12:27pm: Milwaukee has officially signed Monroe to a 10-day deal, the team announced in a press release.

8:10am: The Bucks have agreed to a 10-day contract with veteran center Greg Monroe, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Milwaukee has an open roster and don’t have anyone in protocols, so it appears it’ll be a standard 10-day deal.

According to Scotto, Monroe had multiple 10-day offers before choosing the defending champions. Monroe signed 10-day contracts with the Timberwolves and Wizards under the hardship exception earlier this season and appeared in five games. He averaged 5.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 2.4 APG in 16.2 MPG.

Prior to this season, Monroe hadn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2018/19 campaign. In 637 career games, Monroe has averaged 13.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 2.1 APG. Monroe began his career with Detroit after being drafted in the 2010 lottery.

This is his second stint with Milwaukee. He appeared in 165 games with the Bucks from 2015-17.

Brook Lopez hasn’t played since the season opener and underwent back surgery in early December. Bobby Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo have played out of position in his absence.

Trail Blazers Trade Powell, Covington To Clippers

February 4th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

5:37pm: The trade is now official, Portland announced in a press release.

1:29pm: The Trail Blazers and Clippers have agreed to a trade that will send swingman Norman Powell and forward Robert Covington to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and Detroit’s 2025 second-round pick, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

It’s a fascinating move for a Clippers team that is currently missing Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and Paul George (elbow). As we relayed this morning, there’s a belief that Leonard probably won’t return this season, while George’s recovery timeline remains up in the air.

However, there’s little reason for the Clippers to throw in the towel on this season. Despite its modest 27-27 record, the club is firmly in the play-in picture, holding the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Additionally, Los Angeles doesn’t control its own 2022 first-round pick, having sent it to Oklahoma City in the George trade, so there’s no incentive to finish in the lottery.

Powell is a talented scorer and shooter who is averaging a career-high 18.7 PPG in 40 games (33.3 MPG) this season, along with a .406 3PT%. His three-point rate has been at 39.9% or higher in each of the last four seasons. Covington, meanwhile, is more limited on offense and has been inconsistent as a shooter this season (.381 FG%, .343 3PT%), but is a versatile defender with plenty of postseason experience.

Powell, a Southern California native who will reunite with former Toronto teammates Leonard and Serge Ibaka, signed a five-year, $90MM contract with Portland in August, so the Clippers will control him for the long term. Covington will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but L.A. will have his Bird rights, allowing the team to go over the cap to re-sign him.

The Clips already project to be way over the luxury tax line next season, so the club may be reluctant to commit to Covington beyond 2021/22 without moving off another contract, such as Marcus Morris‘. That decision won’t have to be made for at least a few months though. In the meantime, this deal will increase L.A.’s projected tax bill this season by about $19MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The move will also open up a spot on the Clippers’ 15-man roster, potentially allowing them to promote Amir Coffey from his two-way contract. That had been a goal for the team as it approached the deadline, tweets Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

It looks at first glance like a modest return for the Blazers, but they’ll get a chance to take a flier on a young prospect in Johnson and will benefit financially from the move. According to Marks, the deal takes Portland out of tax territory for this season.

Moving off Powell’s long-term money and taking back Bledsoe’s pseudo-expiring contract (only $3.9MM of his $19.4MM salary next season is guaranteed) will give the Blazers more financial flexibility going forward and will create more room in the backcourt for emerging guard Anfernee Simons, who is in the midst of a breakout year and will be a restricted free agent in the offseason.

I wouldn’t expect Bledsoe to be part of the Blazers’ long-term plans, but Winslow could stick around beyond this season. He’s under contract for about $4.1MM in 2022/23. Johnson’s rookie contract runs through 2024/25.

Having parted ways with one of their leading scorers and one of their top defensive players, the Blazers will see their playoff odds for this season dip a little. The team currently holds a play-in spot, but only has a 1.5-game cushion on the 11th-place Pelicans and has an underwhelming record of 21-31.

Portland would send its 2022 first-rounder to Chicago if the pick lands outside of the lottery. Taking a longer-term view, the front office – led by interim general manager Joe Cronin – may actually prefer to miss the playoffs, since it would allow the team to keep that first-rounder and would give Damian Lillard more time to recover from his abdominal surgery — it’s a safe bet Lillard won’t rush back from that injury to join a lottery-bound squad for the home stretch.

It’s unclear what this deal will mean for CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, two of Portland’s other top trade candidates. The club still has six more days to continue making trades, but it wouldn’t be shocking if one or both of those longtime Blazers stays put through the February 10 deadline. McCollum is under contract for two more seasons beyond this one, while Nurkic will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Portland will create a $6.5MM trade exception in the deal, tweets Marks.

Pelicans Sign Zylan Cheatham, Miye Oni To 10-Day Deals

February 4th, 2022 at 4:09pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have signed Zylan Cheatham and Miye Oni to 10-day contracts via a hardship exception, the team announced in a press release.

The Pelicans currently have three players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per our tracker, making the signings possible. New Orleans subsequently announced (via Twitter) that Cheatham has been assigned to the Birmingham Squadron, the team’s G League affiliate.

Cheatham, who went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Pelicans. However, he appeared in just four NBA games for the club and was sent to Oklahoma City in a sign-and-trade for salary-matching purposes during the 2020 offseason.

He spent most of this season in the G League, splitting time with the Salt Lake City Stars and the Birmingham Squadron. Through 12 GL games (31.1 MPG), he averaged 15.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 SPG and 1.2 BPG on .571/.364/.733 shooting.

That performance earned Cheatham a 10-day contract with Miami just before Christmas, but he didn’t play at all for the Heat and entered the COVID-19 protocols before his deal expired. He has since cleared the protocols. A couple weeks later, he signed a 10-day hardship deal with Utah, appearing in one game for five minutes. His contract with Utah expired January 21.

Oni, 24, appeared in 80 games for the Jazz across three seasons, but never developed into a consistent, reliable rotation player. He averaged just 1.8 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 8.4 minutes per contest in those three years.

Utah sent Oni to Oklahoma City last month in order to reduce their projected end-of-season luxury tax payment. The Thunder were incentivized to make the deal because they got a future second-round pick out of it, but Oni wasn’t part of their on-court plans, so they ended up waiving him. After he cleared waivers, he became an unrestricted free agent.

Due to the deals coming via a hardship exception, they won’t count towards the Pelicans’ team salary for salary cap or luxury tax purposes.

Pacers Sign Reggie Perry To 10-Day Hardship Deal

February 4th, 2022 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have signed big man Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through February 13, covering Indiana’s next five games.

According to the Pacers, Perry has been signed using a COVID-related hardship exception. Domantas Sabonis is currently listed in the health and safety protocols, though he’s expected to exit soon, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

As long as Sabonis or another Pacer is in the protocols, Perry can be active. If Sabonis exits the protocols and no other players enter, Perry can finish his 10-day contract with the team, but would no longer be eligible to play.

The 57th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Perry spent his rookie year in ’20/21 on a two-way contract with the Nets, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 26 games (8.1 MPG) at the NBA level and putting up 18.1 PPG and 8.9 RPG in 15 games (28.8 MPG) for the Long Island Nets in the G League.

Perry signed with the Raptors for training camp this fall, then joined Toronto’s G League affiliate after failing to secure a spot on the regular season roster. He has averaged a double-double (18.7 PPG, 10.8 RPG) in 24 games (29.9 MPG) for the Raptors 905 this season.

Perry previously signed a 10-day hardship contract with Portland in late December and appeared in two games for the Trail Blazers. He was paid $85,578 for that deal and will get the same amount for the 10 days he spends with the Pacers. That money won’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes.

The Pacers are dealing with a frontcourt shortage, missing both Myles Turner and Isaiah Jackson due to injuries while Sabonis remains in the protocols. As a result, Perry could see minutes immediately for Indiana.

Lance Stephenson Signs With Pacers For Rest Of Season

February 3rd, 2022 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 3: Stephenson has signed with the Pacers for the rest of the season, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files and Stephenson’s agency, Priority Sports (Twitter links). Agness confirms (via Twitter) that the deal won’t cover multiple seasons, so the veteran swingman will be a free agent this summer.

FEBRUARY 2: The Pacers will sign Lance Stephenson for the remainder of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Stephenson’s latest 10-day contract expired on Wednesday night.

Stephenson came to Indiana at the beginning of January on a pair of 10-day hardship deals while the team dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak. When those expired, he signed two standard 10-day contracts. In total, he has appeared in 17 games, averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 assists per night.

Stephenson isn’t eligible to sign another standard 10-day deal with the team this season. Marc Stein of Substack notes that he could have inked another hardship contract as long as Domantas Sabonis remains in the league’s health and safety protocols (Twitter link). However, if Sabonis were to exit before the 10 days are up, Stephenson would be ineligible to play.

The Pacers have known for some time that they were going to sign Stephenson for the rest of the season, Stein tweets. There has been discussion about keeping a roster spot open for added flexibility heading into next Thursday’s trade deadline, so we’ll have to wait to see when Stephenson’s contract becomes official.

Justin Jackson Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Suns

February 1st, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Suns have signed forward Justin Jackson to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Last month, Phoenix signed Jackson to a 10-day deal via a hardship exemption, as the team had several players in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols at the time.

The Suns don’t currently have any players in the protocols, but they also have a full 15-man roster. It seems likely that Phoenix was granted a more traditional (non-COVID) hardship exception due to its injury situation. Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky, Abdel Nader, and Cameron Payne are all currently sidelined with longer-term ailments.

Jackson, 26, was selected with the No. 15 pick in the 2017 draft out of North Carolina in 2017 and spent his first season with the Kings. He next suited up for the Mavericks, Thunder, and Bucks.

Earlier this season, Jackson signed a 10-day hardship exception deal with the Celtics, appearing in one game for Boston. He then joined the reigning Western Conference champs in Phoenix in January. Across three games with the Suns, Jackson is averaging 4.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 7.7 MPG, shooting 71.4% from the field and 60% on 1.7 looks from the three-point line per game.

In 252 total NBA games, the 6’8″ tweener forward holds career averages of 6.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.1 APG, with shooting splits of .428/.323/.799.

Thunder Re-Sign Mamadi Diakite To 10-Day Deal

January 31st, 2022 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have brought back forward Mamadi Diakite on another 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Diakite’s previous 10-day deal expired on Sunday night.

Diakite, 25, has averaged 3.0 PPG and 3.3 RPG in eight games (11.6 MPG) with the Thunder over the course of a pair of 10-day contracts. This will be Diakite’s third 10-day pact with Oklahoma City — the first was a hardship deal and the second was a standard agreement.

The Thunder don’t currently have any players in the health and safety protocols, so this new deal will be a standard contract too. Assuming they aren’t eligible for a hardship exception when Diakite’s 10-day deal expires, the Thunder will have to either sign him to a rest-of-season contract or let him go at that point.

Diakite was in training camp with Oklahoma City in the fall, but fractured his hip and was waived at the end of the preseason. He spent his rookie year in 2020/21 with the Bucks after going undrafted out of Virginia, appearing in 14 regular season games and seven postseason contests for the NBA champions.

The 6’9″ forward will earn another $85,578 over the course of his 10 days with Oklahoma City. That figure will count against team salary for cap and tax purposes, which won’t be a problem for a Thunder club that remains significantly below the league’s minimum salary floor.

Diakite’s contract will run through February 9, covering OKC’s next six games.

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