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Pelicans Signing Jared Harper, James Banks To Camp Deals

The Pelicans are signing free agent guard Jared Harper and big man James Banks III to training camp deals, agent Kshaun Daley of Verus Basketball tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Harper, who is celebrating his 24th birthday today, was on a two-way contract with the Suns during his rookie season in 2019/20, then spent most of the ’20/21 campaign on a two-way deal with the Knicks. The former Auburn standout saw limited NBA action in those two seasons, logging just 24 total minutes in 11 games, but he played regularly at the G League level.

In 46 total games for the Westchester Knicks and Northern Arizona Suns from 2019-21, Harper averaged 20.5 PPG and 5.9 APG on .429/.370/.802 shooting in 30.0 minutes per contest.

Banks, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2020 after making the ACC All-Defensive Team in both his junior and senior seasons. The 6’10” center spent his first professional season in Israel with Hapoel Be’er Sheva, then suited up for the Cavaliers at the Las Vegas Summer League last month.

The Pelicans currently have 18 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed deals, one on a non-guaranteed contract (Wenyen Gabriel), and two on two-way deals (Jose Alvarado and Daulton Hommes). Signing Harper and Banks will bring New Orleans to the 20-man preseason limit, though the team has also reportedly reached a deal with Malcolm Hill, so more moves are likely on the way before opening night.

Both Harper and Banks will be on Exhibit 10 deals, which will make them candidates to join the Birmingham Squadron – New Orleans’ G League team – if they don’t earn spots on the Pelicans’ 17-man regular season squad. In that scenario, they’d be eligible for bonuses worth up to $50K in addition to their NBAGL salaries.

Derrick Alston Jr. Signs Training Camp Deal With Jazz

5:27pm: The Jazz have confirmed the signing of Alston via a press release.


5:04pm: Former Boise State wing Derrick Alston Jr. is signing a training camp deal with the Jazz, reports Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

The 6’9″ swingman averaged 17.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.2 APG across 32 games, all starts, during his final collegiate season with the Broncos in 2020/21. He also posted shooting splits of .444/.382/.856.

Alston, 23, went undrafted in 2021. He was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team in 2020 and the All-Mountain West First Team in 2021.

Further details of the contract have yet to be released, but it is most likely an Exhibit 10 agreement.  As of this writing, the Jazz have 13 guaranteed contracts ahead of training camp and one of their two-way slots available. There are thus a few avenues through which Alston could latch on with the club.

Thunder Sign Paul Watson To Two-Way Contract

After opening up one of their two-way contract slots by waiving Josh Hall, the Thunder have filled that opening by signing Paul Watson to a two-way deal, reports Kelsea O’Brien of BasketballNews.com (Twitter link).

Watson, 26, made his NBA debut with Atlanta, but spent most of the last two seasons with the Raptors, having signed a two-way contract with Toronto in January of 2020. The former Fresno State standout had that deal converted to a standard contract for the 2020/21 season, then was released last month before his ’21/22 salary became guaranteed.

During his time with Toronto, the 6’6″ swingman appeared in 35 games, averaging 4.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .475/.466/.706 shooting in 10.5 minutes per contest. He spent most of his time in 2019/20 with the Raptors 905 in the G League, putting up an impressive 19.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .495/.423/.648 shooting in 30 NBAGL games (35.3 MPG).

Watson and Aaron Wiggins are now Oklahoma City’s two-way players. The team has 18 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed salaries and three on non-guaranteed deals, leaving a pair of openings on the 20-man training camp roster.

Thunder Waive Josh Hall

The Thunder have waived two-way forward Josh Hall, the team announced in a press release today. Oklahoma City now has 17 players on its roster, including two-way player Aaron Wiggins.

Hall, 20, signed with the Thunder after going unselected in the 2020 NBA Draft. He appeared in 21 games with the team, averaging 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 16 minutes per contest.

Oklahoma City tendered Hall a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent last month. He ultimately signed the offer, returning to the team on a two-way deal that contained a $50K guarantee.

League rules allow teams to carry 20 players entering training camps, meaning the Thunder now have one two-way spot and two camp spots available to use. The team held the second-worst record in the Western Conference last year at 22-50.

Damyean Dotson Waived By Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have waived guard Damyean Dotson, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic tweets.

Dotson had a non-guaranteed $2MM salary. The four-year NBA veteran averaged 6.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 2.0 APG in 19.7 MPG last season for Cleveland. He saw action in 46 games, including seven starts.

Dotson spent his first three seasons with the Knicks. He has averaged 7.5 PPG and made 34.6% of his 3-point shots during his career.

The Cavs are adding guard Kevin Pangos who has been playing overseas since attending Gonzaga, on a contract with a first-year guarantee. That put Dotson’s roster spot in jeopardy.

By trimming Dotson’s salary, Cleveland will give itself more breathing room under the tax line, John Hollinger of The Athletic tweets.

Lakers Trade Marc Gasol, Second-Rounder, Cash To Grizzlies

4:57pm: The trade is official, according to a Grizzlies press release (Twitter link).


1:38pm: The Grizzlies remain active on the trade market, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Memphis has agreed to acquire Marc Gasol, a 2024 second-round pick, and cash from the Lakers in exchange for the draft rights to 2016 second-rounder Wang Zhelin.

The swap will send Gasol back to the team with whom he earned three All-Star berths and a Defensive Player of the Year award, but the reunion will be short-lived. As Wojnarowski explains, the Grizzlies and Gasol have already agreed that he’ll be waived in order to allow him to remain in Spain with his family.

Gasol told reporters following Spain’s elimination from the Olympics last month that he intended to continue his NBA career and play out the last year of his contract with Los Angeles. However, there had been increasing chatter in recent weeks that suggested the veteran center had played his last game as a Laker. As Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group tweets, the “writing was on the wall” for Gasol following L.A.’s signing of DeAndre Jordan on Thursday.

It’s unclear if Gasol is set to retire as a player or if he simply won’t seek a new team right away after being released by the Grizzlies. Either way, the move will open up a roster spot for the Lakers and save them some money, even after accounting for the cash they send to Memphis in the deal.

Taking into account Gasol’s $2.69MM salary and the accompanying luxury-tax penalty, Wojnarowski estimates that L.A. will recoup about $10MM. The Lakers will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts once the deal is finalized, leaving two spots open on the 15-man roster, though the club may only fill one of them for the start of the regular season.

Los Angeles also gets the rights to Wang, the 57th pick in the 2016 draft. However, it looks like he was just included to make the deal legal — he seems unlikely to sign an NBA contract anytime soon.

As for the Grizzlies, this will be their seventh trade of the summer, including the Juan Hernangomez deal with Boston that’s not yet official. Like many of Memphis’ other trades, this one won’t move the needle much, but allows the team to acquire a minor asset in the form of a 2024 second-rounder. That pick will be the Lakers’ own and is unprotected, per Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).

Until that Hernangomez deal is done, the Grizzlies have an open spot on their 20-man offseason roster, so they’ll likely look to complete the acquisition of Gasol and then release him before finalizing their deal with Boston, in order to avoid having to cut anyone.

The Grizzlies can acquire Gasol without matching salaries because he was signed using the minimum salary exception last offseason and can be acquired using the same exception. The Lakers will create a small trade exception worth Gasol’s outgoing salary ($2.69MM).

Heat Add Potter, Smart, Smith To Camp Roster

The Heat have added forward Micah Potter and guards Javonte Smart and Dru Smith to their training camp roster, according to a team press release.

Potter appeared in six Summer League games with Miami and averaged 7.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG. He went undrafted out of Wisconsin.

Smart averaged 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 2.2 APG with Miami’s summer league squad. Smart played three seasons at LSU, becoming just the seventh player in school history to record at least 1,200 points, 300 assists and 111 steals.

Smith, who attended Missouri, also appeared in six Summer League games with the Heat and averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.5 APG and 1.17 SPG.

All three were signed to Exhibit 10 deals, bringing Miami’s camp roster to 19, one below the limit, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.

Exhibit 10 contracts give NBA teams a chance to bring players to training camp and get a look at them without guaranteeing them a regular season roster spot or any real salary. All three could potentially earn a $50K bonus if they remain on the Sioux Falls Skyforce roster for at least 60 days. The Skyforce are the Heat’s G League affiliate.

The trio could also be competing for Miami’s open two-way slot.

Nets Officially Sign Paul Millsap

Over a week after agreeing to terms with him on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, the Nets have officially signed free agent big man Paul Millsap, as our JD Shaw tweets. The team has issued a press release confirming the signing.

A four-time All-Star, Millsap has seen his role reduced in recent years during his second decade in the NBA. He spent the last four seasons in Denver, averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .476/.343/.724 shooting in 56 games (20.8 MPG) in 2020/21. Most of those per-game averages were his lowest marks since 2007/08.

Still, Millsap remains a solid, reliable frontcourt option who can help stabilize a defense. The Nets likely won’t lean on him to play a major role, since they’ll have a few other options up front, including veterans Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, and up-and-coming center Nicolas Claxton.

As we noted last week when Millsap first agreed to sign with Brooklyn, the 36-year-old received interest from a handful of other clubs, including the Warriors, Bulls, and Clippers, but ultimately decided that the Nets gave him his best chance to compete for a title.

The Nets now have 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus DeAndre’ Bembry on a partial guarantee. David Duke (Exhibit 10) and Kessler Edwards (two-way) are also under contract, leaving two open spots on the club’s 20-man offseason roster. It’s possible that unsigned second-round picks Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray could fill those openings, but Brooklyn’s plans for those rookies remains unclear.

Blazers Sign Patrick Patterson To Camp Deal

9:15pm: The deal is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.


4:11pm: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a training camp deal for free agent forward Patrick Patterson, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Patterson, 32, spent the last two seasons with the Clippers, appearing in a total of 97 regular season games for the club. The veteran stretch four averaged 5.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG on .420/.377/.800 shooting in 14.0 minutes per contest for the team over those two years.

A report on Wednesday from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype suggested that Patterson was among the veteran forwards receiving interest from the Blazers. The team was also linked to Michael Beasley, James Ennis, and Isaiah Hartenstein — it’s unclear if the deal with Patterson rules out the possibility of those players being added to the roster, or if Portland is open to further opening up its training camp competition for a roster spot.

The Blazers currently have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Dennis Smith Jr., Marquese Chriss, and now Patterson set to attend camp on non-guaranteed deals. Portland must carry at least 14 players during the regular season, so at least one roster spot is very much available. However, that may be the only spot up for grabs — the Blazers could opt to keep the 15th roster spot open to start the season in order to reduce their projected luxury tax bill.

Cam McGriff Agrees To Camp Deal With Hornets

Forward Cameron McGriff has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Hornets, Adam Zagoria of Forbes tweets.

McGriff played four seasons with Oklahoma State and went undrafted in 2020. He averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his senior year.

McGriff played for Belgium’s Okapi Aalstar last season, averaging 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. He was on the Hornets’ summer league roster.

Exhibit 10 contracts give NBA teams a chance to bring players to training camp and get a look at them without guaranteeing them a regular season roster spot or any real salary. If he ends up playing for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, McGriff could earn a $50K bonus due to the Exhibit 10 language in his deal.