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Bucks Officially Sign Elijah Bryant

May 13th, 2021 at 9:33am CST by Luke Adams

After waiving Rodions Kurucs on Wednesday to create an open spot on their 15-man roster, the Bucks have filled that opening by signing guard Elijah Bryant, the team confirmed today in a press release. Bryant’s agreement with Milwaukee was reported last week.

Bryant, who went undrafted out of BYU in 2018, began his professional career with Hapoel Eliat and has remained in Israel since then, spending the last two seasons with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He earned a spot on the All-Israeli League First Team in 2019 and won an Israeli League championship in 2020.

Bryant averaged 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in 34 EuroLeague contests (23.3 MPG) this season, shooting 44.0% from the field and 36.9% from deep. The 26-year-old, who played summer league ball with the Bucks in 2019, increased those averages to to 13.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .554/.420/.829 shooting in 18 Israeli League games (23.2 MPG).

The exact terms of Bryant’s new deal with the Bucks aren’t yet known, but a report last week indicated it would be a two-year contract. I wouldn’t expect next season’s salary to be fully guaranteed.

With the signing, the Bucks once again have a full 17-man roster (including two-way players). The regular season will end on Sunday, so this figures to be the group Milwaukee will take into the postseason.

Bucks Officially Waive Rodions Kurucs

May 12th, 2021 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have formally requested waivers on forward Rodions Kurucs, the team announced today (via Twitter).

The move had been anticipated, since Milwaukee needed to release a player in order to make room on the 15-man roster for Elijah Bryant. The club hasn’t officially announced Bryant’s deal yet, but that figures to happen soon.

Kurucs, who was the 40th overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent two-plus seasons with Brooklyn before being dealt to Houston in the James Harden blockbuster earlier this year. The 23-year-old was later flipped to the Bucks along with P.J. Tucker.

Kurucs showed promise as a rookie in 2018/19, averaging 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 63 games (20.5 MPG) for Brooklyn. However, he saw his role cut back in his second season as he dealt with legal issues stemming from an assault allegation, and he has barely played at all in 2020/21.

Across 21 games for three teams this season, the Latvian forward has put up 1.5 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 6.0 minutes per contest. He resolved his legal situation in March by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.

Assuming he goes unclaimed, Kurucs will officially clear waivers on Friday. He could theoretically be signed by a new NBA team before the regular season ends on Sunday, but he wouldn’t be playoff-eligible.

Magic Sign Ignas Brazdeikis For Rest Of Season

May 12th, 2021 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

Following the expiration of his 10-day contract on Tuesday night, Ignas Brazdeikis has signed a new rest-of-season contract with the Magic. The team announced the deal in a press release.

Brazdeikis, 22, appeared in five games during his first 10 days with the Magic, averaging a solid 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds on .432/.500/.700 shooting in 28.4 minutes per contest.

The second-year wing, who was selected 47th overall in the 2019 draft, previously spent time with the Knicks and Sixers, but only appeared in 14 total games for those two clubs, logging limited playing time at the NBA level. Of Brazdeikis’ 210 career NBA minutes, 142 have come during his brief stint with the Magic.

With Brazdeikis back under contract, Orlando is once again carrying 18 players (including two-ways). Although 17 is the usual limit, the Magic have been granted a hardship exception allowing them to carry an extra player, due to all the injuries the team is dealing with.

Sixers Sign Gary Clark To Two-Way Contract

May 11th, 2021 at 6:55pm CST by Luke Adams

6:55pm: The Sixers have officially signed Clark, the team announced in a press release.

1:34pm: The Sixers are set to sign free agent forward Gary Clark to a two-way contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Philadelphia opened up a two-way slot last week by waiving Mason Jones.

Clark, who began his career with the Rockets in 2018 after going undrafted out of Cincinnati, has since appeared in a total of 130 games for Houston, Orlando, and Denver, averaging 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per contest.

The 26-year-old signed a two-year, $4.1MM contract with the Magic last fall, but was traded to the Nuggets along with Aaron Gordon in March. Because his 2021/22 salary of $2.1MM was non-guaranteed and he was essentially a throw-in in that trade, Clark became expendable and was waived last month, clearing the way for Denver to sign Austin Rivers.

Barring an unexpected development, Clark won’t be part of the Sixers’ rotation in the playoffs, but he could see some action in the team’s final few regular season games, depending on when his two-way deal is finalized. He’ll also provide a little extra depth on the wing in case the team has to deal with injuries in the playoffs.

The Sixers will have a full 17-man roster once Clark’s deal is official.

Rockets Sign Cameron Oliver Via Hardship Exception

May 10th, 2021 at 12:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

MAY 10: The Rockets have officially signed Oliver via a hardship exception, the team announced today in a press release. While Houston classifies it as a 10-day contract, there are only seven days left in the regular season, so it won’t technically cover 10 full days.

MAY 9: Center Cameron Oliver has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Rockets that will cover the remainder of the regular season, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

Oliver, 24, recently completed his second season with the Cairns Taipans in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 17.3 points, 10 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He is still under contract with the Taipans for the 2021/22 season, so his NBA stay figures to be brief.

Oliver is one of the top centers in Australia, according to Uluc, with elite athleticism and a shooting range stretching beyond the three-point line. He will join former Sydney Kings player Jae’Sean Tate and coach Will Weaver in Houston.

Oliver has a history with the Rockets, points out Ben DuBose of USA Today’s Rockets Wire. After going undrafted out of Nevada in 2017, Oliver signed with Houston and participated in training camp that year. He played two seasons in the G League before going to Australia.

The Rockets have a full roster, DuBose adds, but could add Oliver without another move if they get a second hardship exception from the league. With a roster severely depleted by injuries, Houston recently used its first hardship exception to add Khyri Thomas.

Magic Sign Donta Hall For Remainder Of Season

May 9th, 2021 at 3:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

MAY 9: The Magic have officially signed Hall for the rest of the season via a hardship exception, the team announced today in a press release. The deal, which covers eight days, will be worth $79,216.

MAY 8: The Magic will sign forward Donta Hall to a rest-of-season contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Orlando signed Hall to a pair of 10-day contracts, the second of which was set to expire on Sunday. Before that deal ran its full course, the club inked Ignas Brazdeikis to a 10-day contract and released Hall.

The 23-year-old Hall has played eight games for the Magic, averaging 3.1 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 11.5 MPG. Hall also played in a total of nine games for Detroit and Brooklyn last season.

Orlando turned back to Hall after an apparent agreement with Admiral Schofield failed to materialize. It’s believed the injury-riddled Magic will sign Hall using the hardship exception.

Bucks To Sign Elijah Bryant, Waive Rodions Kurucs

May 8th, 2021 at 11:52am CST by JD Shaw

MAY 8: Bryant is leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv and will sign a two-year contract with the Bucks, a source tells Sportando. According to Carchia and Cohen, the Israeli team will receive a buyout worth $500K.

As Carchia reports and as Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter), Kurucs is expected to be waived to make room on the roster for Bryant.

MAY 5: The Bucks are expected to sign guard Elijah Bryant once he leaves his current team in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando and Roi Cohen of Sport5 (Twitter links).

Bryant, however, doesn’t have a buyout clause in his contract, which could complicate any agreement between the sides. As Stefan Djordjevic of EuroHoops relays, Maccabi Tel Aviv views Bryant as an important piece to its team and could request up to $750K for a buyout to be formally processed.

Should the agreement go through, Milwaukee could part ways with forward Rodions Kurucs to make room for Bryant, Carchia adds (Twitter link). Kurucs has only appeared in five contests since being acquired in a trade with Houston in March.

Bryant averaged 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in 34 EuroLeague contests (23.3 MPG) this season, shooting 44.0% from the field and 36.9% from deep. The 26-year-old went undrafted in 2018 after spending collegiate seasons at Elon and BYU. He also played summer league ball with the Bucks in 2019.

Milwaukee currently holds the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at 41-24 and officially clinched a playoff berth by defeating the Nets on Tuesday.

Magic No Longer Signing Admiral Schofield

May 8th, 2021 at 10:38am CST by marksuleymanov

Although a report several days ago stated that the Magic intended to sign forward Admiral Schofield via the hardship exception, Orlando’s plans have hit a glitch and the signing will no longer happen, tweets The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.

It’s unclear what exactly changed in the Magic’s plans, as the team has experienced a series of injuries and appeared to be on the verge of a deal with Schofield. Teams can use the hardship exception if at least four players miss three or more games and are expected to miss at least another two weeks.

Orlando currently has five players that could miss the remainder of the regular season, in addition to Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz, so the team would seemingly qualify for a hardship exception. We’ll have to wait to see if the Magic end up signing a different player or just stick with their current roster.

Schofield, 24, was the first player selected in January’s NBAGL draft but produced modest results. He averaged just 10.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 14 games for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. He also shot below 40% from the field and a paltry 22.7% from beyond the arc.

The UK native was selected 42nd overall in the 2019 NBA Draft but has appeared in just 33 games during the 2019/20 campaign with the Wizards.

Rockets Sign Khyri Thomas Via Hardship Exception

May 7th, 2021 at 4:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

MAY 7: The Rockets have officially signed Thomas, the team announced today in a press release. Since Houston was granted a hardship exception as a result of all their injuries, no corresponding roster move was required.

Houston announced the deal as a 10-day contract — there are only 10 days left in the regular season, so it’ll cover the team’s remaining games.

MAY 5: Free agent shooting guard Khyri Thomas is set to ink a new deal with the Rockets, according to Kelly Iko and Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (Twitter link). Terms of the agreement have yet to be disclosed, but Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle suggests it could be a 10-day contract.

Selected with the No. 38 pick in the 2018 draft, Thomas spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons. The 6’3″ wing logged time across 34 games during his two seasons with Detroit, averaging 7.5 MPG.

Thomas and swingman Tony Snell were sent by the Pistons to the Hawks in exchange for Dewayne Dedmon during the 2020 offseason, and Thomas was quickly released by Atlanta. The 24-year-old Creighton alum was mostly recently signed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Spurs, but San Antonio waived him before he could play a regular season game with the club.

Given that they are already eliminated from playoff contention with a 16-49 record, it makes sense for the tanking Rockets to take a flyer on a young player with some upside during the waning days of the 2020/21 regular season. Houston has seven games remaining in its schedule.

The Rockets will need to waive someone in order to make room for Thomas unless they’re granted a hardship exception that allows them to add an extra player. That’s a possibility, given all the injuries the team is dealing with.

Pelicans Sign Naji Marshall To Four-Year Contract

May 7th, 2021 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

MAY 7: The Pelicans have made it official, issuing a press release to formally announce Marshall’s new contract.

MAY 6: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with rookie forward Naji Marshall on a new deal that will promote his from his two-way contract to a spot on the 15-man roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sources tell Charania (Twitter link) that the deal will cover four years — the rest of this season, plus the next three. It will be fully guaranteed through 2022/23, with a non-guaranteed fourth year, Charania adds. The Pelicans will use a portion of their mid-level exception to complete the signing.

Charania pegs the value of the deal at $5.3MM, which indicates it’s a minimum-salary contract. That comes as no surprise, since today is the first day that the Pelicans were able to add a 15th man to their roster on a rest-of-season minimum deal without surpassing the luxury tax line.

Marshall, who signed a two-way contract with New Orleans in December after going undrafted out of Xavier, has emerged since the start of April as a regular rotation player for the club. For the season, he has averaged 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in 26 contests (19.8 MPG). He has knocked down 37.3% of his three-point attempts.

The 23-year-old also participated in the G League bubble at Walt Disney World, recording 15.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .490/.349/.696 shooting in 12 games (26.9 MPG) for the Erie BayHawks.

Once the move is official, the Pelicans will have an open two-way contract slot, which they could fill before their season ends on May 16, if they so choose.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.