Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Sign Josh Hall To Exhibit 10 Contract

October 13th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Luke Adams

9:00pm: The deal is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.

3:50pm: The Raptors are signing former Thunder forward Josh Hall to an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Hall, 21, went undrafted in 2020, but caught on with Oklahoma City and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He appeared in 21 games for the Thunder, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 16.0 minutes per contest. The 6’9″ forward has impressive athleticism, but struggled to score efficiently, posting a shooting line of .303/.108/.500.

The Thunder liked Hall enough to make him a restricted free agent this offseason, and he ended up signing his qualifying offer, briefly occupying one of the team’s two-way slots. However, Oklahoma City opted to go in another direction with that spot and waived Hall last month when Paul Watson was signed to a two-way contract.

The Raptors already have a handful of veterans on partially guaranteed contracts vying for the final spots on their 15-man regular season roster, so Hall appears likely to end up as an affiliate player for Toronto’s G League squad, the Raptors 905.

Sixers Sign, Waive Jared Brownridge, Braxton Key

October 13th, 2021 at 6:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers used the two open spots on their 20-man preseason roster to sign Jared Brownridge and Braxton Key to Exhibit 10 contracts, according to reports from our JD Shaw and Nicola Lupa of Sportando (Twitter links).

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that both players have already been waived, which confirms that the 76ers signed them with the G League in mind. Brownridge and Key should now be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with the Delaware Blue Coats this season.

Heading to Delaware will be nothing new for Brownridge, who has played for Philadelphia’s G League affiliate in each of the last four seasons. In 2020/21, he averaged 12.3 PPG with a .402 3PT% in 15 games (24.9 MPG) for the Blue Coats.

Key, meanwhile, had his first season with Delaware in the 2021 G League bubble. He had a very limited role, recording 4.3 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 12 contests (12.3 MPG).

Wizards Cut Jay Huff, Jordan Schakel

October 13th, 2021 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards removed a pair of players from their preseason roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Jay Huff and Jordan Schakel.

A 7’1″ forward/center, Huff spent his college career at Virginia and was a full-time starter for the first time as a senior in 2020/21. He averaged 13.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 2.6 BPG with a stellar .585/.387/.837 shooting line in 25 games (27.0 MPG). Huff, who won a national title in 2019, made the All-ACC Second Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2021.

The 6’6″ Schakel averaged 14.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG on .473/.461/.908 shooting in his final college season at San Diego State in ’20/21. The 23-year-old was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team and to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.

Both players had signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington as undrafted free agents and now appear on track to join the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League affiliate.

LJ Figueroa Signs With Warriors

October 13th, 2021 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent swingman LJ Figueroa has signed a training camp contract with the Warriors, the team announced (via Twitter). No details of the deal were released, but it’s likely intended as a way to get Figueroa to Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

After two years at St. John’s, the 23-year-old played for Oregon last season, averaging 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 26 games. He went undrafted, then played for the Mavericks during Summer League.

The move brings the Warriors to the preseason roster limit of 20 players.

Pelicans Exercise Options For Williamson, Alexander-Walker, Hayes, Lewis

October 13th, 2021 at 5:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans have picked up rookie-scale options on four players, including Zion Williamson, the top overall pick in 2019, the team announced in a press release. New Orleans exercised the fourth-year option for Williamson, guaranteeing his $13.5MM salary for the 2022/23 season.

It’s a routine move that sets the stage for next summer, when Williamson will be eligible for an extension that could tie him to the franchise for an additional five seasons. Although those offers are nearly always accepted, there have been rumblings that Williamson might consider turning it down because of pressure from family members to play elsewhere and an uneasy relationship with head of basketball operations David Griffin.

The Pelicans also exercised fourth-year options on guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($5MM) and center Jaxson Hayes ($6.8MM). Point guard Kira Lewis had his third-season option picked up, which will pay him $4MM for 2022/23.

Warriors Sign, Waive Quinndary Weatherspoon

October 13th, 2021 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 13: The Warriors have waived Weatherspoon, according to the team.

OCTOBER 11: The Warriors have signed free agent shooting guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, the team announced today in a press release. Weatherspoon claims the 20-man roster spot previously occupied by Langston Galloway, who was cut over the weekend.

Weatherspoon was selected by San Antonio with the 49th overall pick in the 2019 draft and spent his first two professional seasons on a two-way deal with the Spurs. He appeared in just 31 total NBA games during that time, averaging 1.9 PPG in 6.4 MPG.

The 25-year-old saw more action at the G League level, recording 14.9 PPG and 5.1 APG on .455/.333/.795 shooting in 37 games (29.1 MPG) for the Austin Spurs. However, San Antonio opted not to give him a qualifying offer this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Terms of Weatherspoon’s contract with the Warriors aren’t known, but it’s safe to assume it’s a non-guaranteed camp deal, likely with Exhibit 10 language. Weatherspoon almost certainly won’t make the 15-man regular season roster, but if he’s willing to play for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBAGL, Golden State could make Weatherspoon an affiliate player and give him a bonus worth up to $50K.

Cavaliers Sign Ed Davis, Justin James

October 13th, 2021 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have announced a pair of signings, stating in a press release that they’ve added big man Ed Davis and guard Justin James to their roster. Cleveland now has a full 20-man squad.

Davis, 32, spent the 2020/21 season with the Timberwolves, playing a limited role in the team’s frontcourt. The center averaged 2.1 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 23 games (13.0 MPG).

Davis, an 11-year veteran who has 691 career regular season games under his belt, isn’t the kind of player who typically gets signed and quickly waived this week for G League purposes, so it will be interesting to see what the Cavs’ plan for him is. The team only has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there’s room for Davis to make the 15-man regular season roster.

As for James, he spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest.

The 24-year-old was waived by the Kings earlier this offseason, signed a two-way deal with Utah, and then was released by the Jazz as well. The Cavs may view him as a potential affiliate player for the Cleveland Charge.

Lakers Waive Mac McClung

October 13th, 2021 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived former Texas Tech guard Mac McClung, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McClung signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Los Angeles as an undrafted rookie this offseason and played for the team at the Las Vegas Summer League and in the preseason. However, he struggled with his shot, making just 6-of-31 attempts (19.4%) in Vegas and 1-of-7 (14.3%) in three preseason contests.

McClung played two seasons for Georgetown before joining the Red Raiders as a junior. He averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2020/21.

There was a sense that McClung could be a candidate for a two-way contract if he impressed the Lakers this fall, but the club signed Sekou Doumbouya on Tuesday to fill its open two-way slot. McClung’s next step will be with the South Bay Lakers, as he’s expected to be an affiliate player for L.A.’s G League team.

Raptors Waive Freddie Gillespie, Reggie Perry

October 13th, 2021 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have made a pair of roster cuts, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived big men Freddie Gillespie and Reggie Perry.

Gillespie, who went undrafted out of Baylor in 2020, averaged a double-double (10.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG) with 2.3 BPG in 15 games (27.8 MPG) for the Memphis Hustle in the G League’s Orlando bubble. That performance earned him a pair of 10-day contracts, then a multiyear deal, with the Raptors. He appeared in 20 games for Toronto down the stretch, recording 5.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 19.6 MPG.

Because Gillespie’s contract wasn’t fully guaranteed beyond the 2020/21 season, the Raptors will only be on the hook for his modest partial guarantee ($50K).

Perry, who was on a non-guaranteed deal, was added to Toronto’s camp roster last month after being let go by Brooklyn earlier in the offseason. Perry spent his rookie year in 2020/21 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 initially received a qualifying offer, but didn’t accept it, and Brooklyn ultimately took it off the table in mid-August, making the forward/center an unrestricted free agent.

The Raptors will still need to make at least one more cut before opening night next week, since four players – Yuta Watanabe, Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Ishmail Wainright – remain in the mix for three spots on the 15-man roster. Watanabe is considered a good bet to make the team, so the other players three may be competing for two spots, assuming Toronto carries a full 15-man squad into the regular season.

Melvin Frazier Joins Thunder On Training Camp Deal

October 12th, 2021 at 9:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent swingman Melvin Frazier has joined the Thunder on an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (via Twitter).

After being selected with the No. 35 pick in the 2018 NBA draft out of Tulane by the Magic, Frazier appeared sparingly for Orlando, logging time in just 10 games with the Magic during his rookie season in 2018/19. The 6’5″ 25-year-old played in 19 contests for Orlando during the 2019/20 season.

Frazier had a better showing with Orlando’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic. He averaged 12.2 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 18 games during the 2018/19 season and 18.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG across 23 games in 2019/20.

After failing to develop in Orlando, Frazier next appeared in 12 games for the Oklahoma City Blue during the Orlando “bubble” NBAGL season in 2021, averaging 6.8 PPG and 3.4 RPG. His new deal with the Thunder suggests the plan is for him to return to the Blue in 2021/22.