Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Sign, Waive Nate Darling

October 16th, 2021 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have signed and waived former Hornets guard Nate Darling, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Once he clears waivers, Darling appears headed to L.A’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

Darling, 23, spent last season as a two-way player in Charlotte. He only got into seven NBA games, but he averaged 8.9 points and 2.2 assists in 13 games in the G League bubble in Orlando.

Darling signed with the Hornets after going undrafted out of Delaware last year. He played four seasons for the Fightin’ Blue Hens and earned Colonial Athletic Association first-team honors as a senior.

Rockets Sign, Waive Christian Vital

October 16th, 2021 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets have signed and waived former Connecticut point guard Christian Vital, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. He will likely wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley after clearing waivers.

Vital, 24, signed to play in Germany last year after going undrafted. However, his contract was later terminated and he wound up in the G League bubble with the Memphis Hustle. He was briefly in training camp with the Grizzlies last December, also on a sign-and-waive arrangement.

Vital received first-team honors in the American Athletic Conference as a senior in 2020, averaging 16.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Raptors Waive Ishmail Wainright

October 16th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have placed Ishmail Wainright on waivers, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter links). That could clear the way for Sam Dekker and Isaac Bonga to make the team’s 15-man roster, though the final roster deadline isn’t until Monday.

Wainwright, 27, had been playing overseas since going undrafted out of Baylor in 2017. Murphy expects other teams to have interest in Wainwright because of his versatility on defense.

Dekker, a 2015 first-round pick, has been out of the league since the end of the 2018/19 season. He spent time in Russia and Turkey before getting an opportunity with Toronto.

Bonga signed with the Raptors as an unrestricted free agent this summer after the Wizards opted not to give him a qualifying offer. The 2018 second-round pick started 49 of 66 games in 2019/20, averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 18.9 MPG. His playing time dropped dramatically this past season, as he played in 40 games (eight starts) and posted modest stats (2.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG in 10.8 MPG).

Toronto will take on some dead money for Wainright if he goes unclaimed on waivers, since he had some partial guarantees on his minimum-salary contract. He’s owed $250K this season and $125K in 2022/23.

Dekker and Bonga have partial guarantees too, but their salaries for 2021/22 will reportedly become fully guaranteed if they make the opening-night roster. If the Raptors want to avoid locking in both of those cap hits, they could still decide to cut one of them before Monday’s deadline.

Bucks Waive Four Players

October 16th, 2021 at 5:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks have trimmed their roster by waiving four players, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

Jalen Lecque, Tremont Waters and Javin DeLaurier were all let go, along with Wenyen Gabriel, who was signed and waived today. All four are candidates to join Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, after clearing waivers.

Lecque played four games with the Pacers last season after getting into five the previous year as a rookie with the Suns. He signed a training camp deal with the Bucks on Friday.

Waters was a second-round pick by the Celtics in 2019 and spent the past two years in Boston. DeLaurier played for the Hornets’ affiliate in the G League last season and was with the Hawks during Summer League. Gabriel has appeared in 51 combined games with the Kings, Trail Blazers and Pelicans.

Knicks Sign Luka Samanic To Two-Way Contract

October 16th, 2021 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 16: The two-way contract is official, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).

OCTOBER 15: The Knicks are filling the open two-way contract slot on their roster by signing former first-round pick Luka Samanic to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Samanic, the 19th overall pick in the 2019 draft, had been under contract with the Spurs up until this week, but San Antonio was facing a roster crunch, with 17 players on guaranteed salaries and only 15 roster spots for the regular season. The 6’10” power forward, a victim of that crunch, was waived on Monday.

Samanic appeared in 36 total games in two years as a Spur, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG on .430/.294/.576 shooting in 9.9 MPG. Despite his modest numbers in San Antonio, the Knicks apparently see some untapped potential in the 21-year-old Croatian.

A two-way contract will allow Samanic to play in up to 50 regular season NBA games, so he’ll likely spend some time with the Westchester Knicks in the G League. Jericho Sims is New York’s other two-way player.

Nuggets Waive Nik Stauskas

October 16th, 2021 at 5:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets have waived Nik Stauskas, who signed with the team earlier today, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Stauskas is expect to land with Denver’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, once he clears waivers.

The well-traveled shooting guard began his career in 2014 when the Kings selected him with the eighth pick in the draft. After one year in Sacramento, Stauskas spent time with the Sixers, Nets, Blazers and Cavaliers. He appeared in 335 games with career averages of 6.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 38.9% from the field and 35.3% from three-point range.

Stauskas has been out of the NBA since the end of the 2018/19 season, although he was with the Bucks in training camp last year. He spent part of the 2019/20 season in Spain and played for Raptors 905 in the G League last season.

Jazz Convert Malik Fitts’ Contract To Two-Way, Waive Nino Johnson

October 16th, 2021 at 4:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Malik Fitts, who came to camp on an Exhibit 10 contract, has earned a two-way deal with the Jazz, the team announced in a press release.

The 24-year-old power forward, who played three games for the Clippers last season, signed with Utah in late September, just before the start of training camp. He appeared in four preseason games, averaging 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 11.8 minutes per night.

Fitts, who also spent time in the G League last season, impressed Jazz officials with his play during camp and the preseason, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.

The Jazz waived Nino Johnson, who signed with the team on Thursday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Johnson is likely headed to Utah’s G League affiliate in Salt Lake City.

Knicks Cut Brandon Knight, Aamir Simms, M.J. Walker

October 16th, 2021 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have made their end-of-preseason roster cuts, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team placed Brandon Knight, Aamir Simms, and M.J. Walker on waivers. All three players are candidates to join the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate.

Having released Knight, Simmons, and Walker, the Knicks are now carrying 16 players, including 15 on standard contracts. Luka Samanic is expected to be signed to a two-way contract to fill out the 17-man regular season roster.

Of those 15 players on standard deals, only Wayne Selden has a non-guaranteed salary. The Knicks will essentially be paying Selden by the day to start the regular season, so they could move on from him at any time, if they so choose. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau has mentioned a couple times this fall that he’s been impressed with the veteran wing behind the scenes, according to Katz (Twitter link).

Grizzlies Exercise 2022/23 Options For Morant, Clarke, Bane

October 16th, 2021 at 4:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies have picked up the fourth-year options for Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke and the third-year option on Desmond Bane, the team announced (via Twitter). The moves were expected as all three players deliver a level of production that exceeds their salaries for the 2022/23 season.

Morant, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, was named Rookie of the Year in 2020 and helped Memphis reach the playoffs last season. He will make $12.1MM next season and will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension in July.

Clarke, who was selected 21st in 2019, has been a consistent bench player and part-time starter during both of his years with the Grizzlies. He will earn $4.3MM in 2022/23 and will also be eligible for an extension next summer.

Bane, the 30th pick in 2020, was acquired in a draft-night trade and had a productive rookie year, starting 17 of the 68 games he played. He will make $2.13MM during the 2022/23 season.

Memphis elected not to pick up the $8.1MM fourth-year option for Jarrett Culver, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. Culver, who was acquired from the Timberwolves in an August trade, will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

Rockets Waive Dante Exum

October 16th, 2021 at 4:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have placed guard Dante Exum on waivers in order to set their roster for the regular season, the team announced today in a press release.

Exum signed a three-year deal with the Rockets last month that had a base value of $8.1MM and included another $8MM+ in likely and unlikely incentives. There were conflicting reports on Exum’s salary details, but Hoops Rumors can confirm that his $2.5MM base salary for the 2021/22 salary was non-guaranteed, so Houston won’t be on the hook for any dead money.

The fact that Exum’s deal was fully non-guaranteed made it a fairly straightforward decision to release him in advance of the regular season, since the Rockets have 15 other players with guaranteed salaries. The team also has both its two-way contract slots filled.

Exum, the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft, finished last season with Houston after coming over in the four-team James Harden trade, but he didn’t play at all during his time with the Rockets. The former Jazz and Cavs guard will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Monday.