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DeMarcus Cousins Signs Non-Guaranteed Deal With Bucks

November 30th, 2021 at 11:52am CST by Rory Maher

November 30: The Bucks have officially signed Cousins, the team announced.

November 28: Former All-Star DeMarcus Cousins is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Bucks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Cousins, 31, split time with the Rockets and Clippers last season, averaging a combined 8.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.9 APG in just 17.4 MPG across 41 games (11 starts).

“Boogie” is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA member. He spent his prime seasons with the Kings and Pelicans before suffering a series of devastating leg injuries — first a torn Achilles tendon with the Pelicans, then a torn quad with the Warriors, and finally a torn ACL that sidelined him for the entire 2019/20 season.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that Cousins stayed in shape while awaiting an opportunity, and the Bucks were one of a handful of teams to have an open roster spot.

The Bucks have dealt with a series of injuries to open their title defense. Center Brook Lopez (lower back) has played just one game for the team, while Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis all missed significant time. Donte DiVincenzo has yet to suit up this season after undergoing left ankle surgery in June.

Cousins could see action immediately with the frontcourt depth thin at the moment. He was productive in limited minutes last season and Milwaukee could use his size and toughness off the bench. The Bucks have won six games in a row and sit with a 12-8 record after 20 games.

Lakers Waive Sekou Doumbouya, Add Chaundee Brown

November 17th, 2021 at 2:34am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 17: The Lakers have issued a press release confirming the signing of Brown and the waiving of Doumbouya.

NOVEMBER 16: Two-way Lakers forward Sekou Doumbouya is set to be waived by L.A. as he recovers from a foot ailment, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The banged-up Lakers are replacing the injured Doumbouya with the healthy Chaundee Brown, a 6’5″ wing currently with the team’s NBAGL affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Brown will now occupy Los Angeles’ second two-way roster slot, alongside Jay Huff.

Brown, 22, went undrafted out of Michigan this summer. He was initially inked to an Exhibit 10 contract and logged time on the Lakers’ preseason roster before being waived and subsequently added to the club’s South Bay affiliate. Brown, the 60th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s 2021 predraft big board, averaged 8.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .419 3PT% during his senior season in 2020/21.

The 6’8″ Doumbouya, still just 20, was selected by Detroit with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. After not establishing himself as a cornerstone for a rebuilding Pistons club during his first two NBA seasons, Doumbouya signed a two-way deal with the Lakers this year. He appeared in two contests, averaging 7.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that Doumbouya’s foot injury is fairly minor. Meanwhile, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets that Brown is not traveling with the Lakers, who are set to kick off a five-game road jaunt tomorrow against the Bucks.

Raptors Waive Sam Dekker

November 6th, 2021 at 10:47am CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 6: The team has officially waived Dekker, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Bonga’s $1.67MM contract has been fully guaranteed, Lewenberg adds.

NOVEMBER 5: The Raptors are waiving forward Sam Dekker, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Dekker was on a partially guaranteed deal, so he will still earn $350K, the guaranteed portion of his contract.

Dekker had been in a battle with Isaac Bonga for the 14th spot on the roster. Both players previously agreed to push back their guarantee date to November 6.

Dekker only appeared in one regular season game for the Raptors, logging one minute, though he had some nice performances in the preseason. He last played in the NBA in 2018/19, having spent the past two seasons playing in Europe.

The move allows the Raptors to stay under the luxury tax threshold, as was mentioned in our previous articles.

Assuming he clears waivers, Dekker will become an unrestricted free agent.

As for Bonga, it’s unclear if the Raptors intend to guarantee his minimum salary for 2021/22. It’s possible the two sides could agree to push his guarantee date back. He could even be waived too, though the team would have to get back up to 14 players within two weeks in that scenario. For now, his spot on the roster at least appears safer than Dekker’s.

Rockets Exercise 2022/23 Option On Kevin Porter Jr.

November 1st, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Rockets have picked up the fourth-year option on Kevin Porter Jr.‘s rookie scale contract, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The option covers the 2022/23 NBA season.

The 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Porter spent his rookie year in Cleveland, then was traded to Houston early in the 2020/21 season due to the Cavs’ concerns about his attitude, stemming in part from a locker room incident.

Porter has been a nice fit with the Rockets, averaging 15.8 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 3.9 RPG in 32 games (31.7 MPG) so far with his new team. The franchise envisions Porter and Jalen Green as its backcourt of the future, as well as its present — both players are currently starters in Houston.

Porter’s 2022/23 option will pay him $3,217,631. He’ll now be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension during the 2022 offseason. If he and the Rockets don’t work out a new deal at that time, the next step would be restricted free agency in 2023.

It appears all the decisions on 2022/23 rookie scale options are now in, ahead of today’s deadline. We’ll be publishing a recap later tonight of all those decisions, but you can also view them here.

Celtics Exercising 2022/23 Options On Nesmith, Pritchard

November 1st, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are picking up their team options for 2022/23 on swingman Aaron Nesmith and guard Payton Pritchard, a league source tells Brian Robb of MassLive.com. The moves had been expected. Boston also exercised its ’22/23 options on Grant Williams and Romeo Langford, as we relayed earlier today.

The 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Nesmith averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG with a .370 3PT% in 46 games (14.5 MPG) as a rookie. He’s off to a slow start this season, having missed his first 10 field goal attempts in three games, but the Celtics have seen enough from the 22-year-old to feel comfortable guaranteeing his $3,804,360 salary for ’22/23.

Pritchard, who was selected 12 spots after Nesmith at No. 26 in the 2020 draft, had a bigger role as a rookie, putting up 7.7 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .440/.411/.889 shooting in 66 games (19.2 MPG). He remains a part of Boston’s backcourt rotation and is under contract at a bargain rate — $2,137,440 this season and $2,239,200 in ’22/23.

We’re tracking all of the 2022/23 rookie scale option decisions right here.

Celtics Pick Up Options On Grant Williams, Romeo Langford

November 1st, 2021 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have picked up a pair of team options for 2022/23, according to a series of reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic, Jordan Schultz of the Pull Up Podcast, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (all Twitter links).

Boston exercised its fourth-year option on forward Grant Williams, per Charania and Schultz, as well as its fourth-year option on guard Romeo Langford, per Wojnarowski. Williams is now guaranteed his $4,306,281 salary for the 2022/23 season, while Langford will earn $5,634,257.

Williams, the 22nd overall pick in 2019, has taken on a bigger role for Boston in the early part of this season. He has started two of six games for the team so far and is averaging 9.8 PPG in 22.8 MPG, both career highs. His shooting line so far is a scorching .576/.500/.917.

Langford’s time in Boston since he was selected 14th overall in the 2019 draft has been marred by injuries. The 22-year-old has appeared in just 53 career games, including three of six so far this season, but the Celtics remain high on his potential. He has played a rotation role when healthy this season, averaging 6.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 18.7 MPG.

The Celtics also have to officially make decisions on 2022/23 options for Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard by the end of the day. Both are good bets to have their options picked up.

Suns Declining 2022/23 Option On Jalen Smith

November 1st, 2021 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns won’t exercise the 2022/23 option on 2020 lottery pick Jalen Smith, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As a result, Smith will become an unrestricted free agent during the summer of 2022, two years before his rookie contract normally would have expired and two years after being drafted 10th overall. Phoenix – or whichever team finishes the season with Smith on its roster – won’t be able to offer him a starting salary that exceeds $4,670,160, the amount of his declined option.

Smith, 21, appeared in just 27 games as a rookie last season, averaging 2.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 5.8 minutes per contest. The big man flashed some promise in recent months with his play in Summer League (16.3 PPG, 12.5 RPG) and during the preseason (9.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG).

It’s rare for teams to decline options (especially third-year options) on rookie scale contracts, since it’s still so early in the player’s career and the price is typically pretty reasonable. As our tracker shows, Smith is the first player still on a rookie contract whose third-year option is being turned down this year. Jarrett Culver‘s fourth-year option is reportedly being declined by Memphis.

Passing on Smith’s ’22/23 option should allow the Suns, who project to be a taxpayer, to replace him with a minimum-salary player next season.

Reports during the offseason indicated that Smith was a potential trade chip. It’s safe to assume Phoenix will continue shopping him leading up to this year’s trade deadline, though the fact that the team turned down his option signals that he doesn’t have a ton of value.

Suns Exercise Cameron Johnson’s 2022/23 Option

November 1st, 2021 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have picked up their fourth-year team option on Cameron Johnson‘s rookie scale contract, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

The move locks in Johnson’s $5,887,899 salary for the 2022/23 season. The 25-year-old forward will now be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2022 offseason. If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, he’d be eligible for restricted free agency in 2023.

Johnson, the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft, was a regular member of the rotation for the Suns team that made the Western Conference Finals in 2020/21. He averaged 9.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 60 regular season games (24.0 MPG), then put up 8.2 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .446 3PT% in 21 playoff contests (21.1 MPG).

The Suns also have an option decision to make on second-year center Jalen Smith, as we noted earlier today. Phoenix hasn’t yet picked up Smith’s option, according to Fischer, though that doesn’t mean the team won’t do so before today’s deadline.

[UPDATE: Suns Declining Option On Jalen Smith]

Pacers Exercise 2022/23 Option On Goga Bitadze

October 30th, 2021 at 6:20pm CST by JD Shaw

6:20pm: The Pacers have officially exercised Bitadze’s option, the team announced in a press release.

2:22pm: The Pacers are exercising the 2022/23 rookie scale team option in the contract of center Goga Bitadze, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). The move guarantees Bitadze’s $4.76MM salary for next season.

The deadline for teams to exercise third or fourth-year rookie-scale options is this Monday, November 1. Bitadze is Indiana’s only player with one of these options, as detailed in our tracker.

Bitadze, the No. 18 pick in 2019, is in his third season with the franchise. He appeared in 45 games last season, averaging 5.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 12.5 minutes per contest.

The Pacers have opened the 2021/22 season with a 1-5 record, playing without Caris LeVert (back) and T.J. Warren (foot).

Cavaliers Exercise 2022/23 Options For Garland, Windler, Okoro

October 30th, 2021 at 5:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have exercised the fourth-year contract options for Darius Garland and Dylan Windler, along with the third-year option for Isaac Okoro, the team announced in a press release. All the option decisions cover the 2022/23 season.

The moves lock in the salaries of $8,920,795 for Garland and $4,037,278 for Windler, who will both be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer. Okoro will receive $7,040,880 in 2022/23 and will be extension-eligible during the 2023 offseason, assuming Cleveland picks up his fourth-year option as well.

Garland, the fifth pick in the 2019 draft, showed considerable improvement during his second NBA season and is considered to be a cornerstone for the team’s future. He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists last year while shooting 39.5% from three-point range and earned three votes in the Most Improved Player balloting.

Windler has been hampered by injuries at the start of his NBA career as he missed his entire first season and played just 31 games last year. He will need a strong performance this season to show that he’s worthy of a long-term investment.

Okoro, the No. 5 pick in 2020, was a member of the All-Rookie Second Team last season. He led all rookies in minutes per game and ranked in the top 10 in steals, points and assists.