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Knicks Sign, Waive Louis King

December 17th, 2020 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

10:59am: The Knicks, as expected, have waived King, the team announced (via Twitter).

8:14am: One day after clearing waivers, free agent forward Louis King has caught on with a new team, having signed a contract with the Knicks, according to a press release.

While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, it figures to be an Exhibit 10 contract. King is unlikely to make New York’s regular season roster, but could end up playing for the Westchester Knicks in the G League as an affiliate player.

King, 21, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Pistons after going undrafted out of Oregon in 2019. He played just 62 minutes in 10 games at the NBA level, but was a regular for the Grand Rapids Drive, averaging 15.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 31 NBAGL games (28.5 MPG).

King signed a new two-way contract with Detroit for the 2020/21 season, but was waived on Monday by the club.

The Knicks now have a full 20-man training camp roster for the time being. King and at least two other players will have to be cut by Monday’s regular season roster deadline.

Nets Cut Kaiser Gates

December 17th, 2020 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

A day after signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Nets, forward Kaiser Gates has been waived by the team, according to a press release.

Gates, who went undrafted out of Xavier in 2018, has spent most of the last two seasons in the G League, first with the Windy City Bulls, then last season with the Maine Red Claws. He recorded 12.2 PPG and 7.2 RPG on .403/.331/.694 shooting in 36 games (32.6 MPG) for Boston’s NBAGL squad in 2019/20.

Signing a player and then almost immediately waiving him is a common move during the preseason for NBA teams looking to either secure a player’s G League rights or to ensure he gets a $50K Exhibit 10 bonus if he plays for their NBAGL affiliate. Since Maine controls Gates’ returning rights, the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn’s affiliate) would need to acquire those rights in a trade.

The Nets how have 19 players on their preseason roster, with at least a couple more cuts still to come.

Kings Sign Vince Edwards To Camp Deal

December 17th, 2020 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 17: The Kings officially signed Edwards on Wednesday, per RealGM’s transactions log. While Edwards was initially expected to compete for a regular season roster spot, I’m not sure he still has a chance to make the 15-man squad, given the delay in signing him.

NOVEMBER 27: The Kings are signing small forward Vince Edwards to a one-year, minimum-salary deal, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (via Twitter). Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract, while Jason Jones of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Edwards will have the chance to compete for a regular season roster spot.

Edwards, who was the 52nd overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Rockets, but appeared in just two NBA games during his stint with Houston. He has spent the majority of his first two professional seasons playing in the G League.

In 69 total NBAGL games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Canton Charge, and Oklahoma City Blue, Edwards has averaged 9.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG on .417/.347/.654 shooting in 26.5 minutes per contest.

New Kings general manager Monte McNair previously worked in Houston’s front office, so he got a first-hand look at Edwards when he was a Rocket in ’18/19.

Bucks Waive EJ Montgomery, Justin Patton

December 16th, 2020 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

EJ Montgomery and Justin Patton, who both signed with the Bucks earlier this month, have been waived, the team announced (via Twitter). Neither player saw any action in Milwaukee’s two preseason games.

Montgomery, 21, went undrafted last month out of Kentucky. He averaged 4.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in two seasons with the Wildcats.

Patton, 23, was the 16th pick in the 2017 draft, but injuries have limited him to nine total NBA games with three teams. He was also waived by the Clippers last month, shortly after being acquired from the Pistons.

The Bucks now have 18 players on their roster and have until Monday to make at least one more cut.

Grizzlies Exercise Options On Four Players

December 16th, 2020 at 7:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies have exercised contract options for the 2021/22 season on Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter).

Morant, the second pick in the 2019 draft, had an outstanding first season, capturing Rookie of the Year honors and helping the Grizzlies reach the playoffs. He averaged 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 67 games. Morant is part of the foundation for the future in Memphis, along with Jackson, the fourth overall pick in 2018, who averaged 17.4 points and 1.6 blocks per game last season.

Clarke set a rookie record in 2019/20 by shooting 61.8% from the floor. He posted a 12.1/5.9/1.4 line in 58 games, earning a spot on the All-Rookie team and finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting. Allen, who was acquired from the Jazz last summer, averaged 8.7 PPG in 38 games in his first season with the Grizzlies.

Morant’s third-year option for ’21/22 will be worth $9.6MM, while Clarke’s has a value of $2.7MM. The fourth-year options for Jackson and Allen will pay them $9.2MM and $4.1MM, respectively.

Knicks Waive James Young

December 16th, 2020 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have waived guard James Young two days after signing him, the team announced (via Twitter). Young’s next stop could be the organization’s G League affiliate in Westchester.

The 25-year-old shooting guard spent three years with the Celtics and had a brief stay with the Sixers after being taken with the 17th pick in the 2014 draft. Young played in Israel last season.

The move brings the Knicks’ roster to 19, including two players on two-way deals. They have until Monday to trim it down to 17.

Nets Sign Elie Okobo, Kaiser Gates To Exhibit 10 Deals

December 16th, 2020 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have filled the two open spots on their 20-man training camp roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent guard Elie Okobo and forward Kaiser Gates. Both players received Exhibit 10 deals, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Okobo’s agreement with Brooklyn was previously reported. The 31st overall pick in the 2018 draft, he spent two years in Phoenix, appearing in a total of 108 games. He averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.2 APG in 15.5 minutes per contest during those two seasons, but became expendable this offseason. The Suns released him last month before his 2020/21 salary became guaranteed.

Gates, meanwhile, has spent most of the last two seasons in the G League, first with the Windy City Bulls, then last season with the Maine Red Claws. He recorded 12.2 PPG and 7.2 RPG on .403/.331/.694 shooting in 36 games (32.6 MPG) for Boston’s NBAGL affiliate in 2019/20. If the Nets want him to play for their G League team this season, Long Island will need to acquire his rights.

Brooklyn’s 20-man roster now consists of 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus two-way player Jeremiah Martin and five players without guarantees (Okobo, Gates, Chris Chiozza, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Reggie Perry). Okobo and Gates will likely be among the players cut when the Nets set their roster for the regular season in the coming days.

Magic Exercise 2021/22 Option On Mohamed Bamba

December 16th, 2020 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have exercised their fourth-year team option on center Mohamed Bamba‘s rookie scale contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Bamba’s $5.97MM salary for the coming season had already been fully guaranteed. Today’s move will ensure that his $7.57MM salary for the 2021/22 campaign is guaranteed as well. He’s now on track to become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason — if he doesn’t sign a new deal then, he’d head to restricted free agency in ’22.

Bamba, 22, missed time in each of his two NBA seasons due to health issues. Most recently, he was sidelined for the summer restart after contracting COVID-19.

Although he says he’s no longer dealing with any coronavirus symptoms or after-effects, he’s still working on getting his conditioning back to 100%. He was cleared today to participate in full-contact work, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.

In his 109 NBA regular season games so far, Bamba has averaged 5.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 15.1 minutes per contest.

Our tracker for 2021/22 rookie scale option decisions can be found right here.

Grizzlies Sign Shaq Buchanan, Waive Two Players

December 16th, 2020 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

2:38pm: The Grizzlies have now officially signed Buchanan and cut Vital, according to a second press release from the team. Buchanan currently occupies the 20th spot on Memphis’ roster, while Vital and Smith are both on waivers.

1:48pm: The Grizzlies continue to shuffle players in and out of the spots at the back of their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent guard Christian Vital, waiving guard Zhaire Smith to create room on the 20-man squad.

Vital, who spent his college career at UConn, averaging 16.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.5 SPG in 31 games (32.2 MPG) as a senior in 2019/20. He went undrafted last month, and now looks like a strong candidate to end up with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate. The same is true of Smith, who had just signed with the Grizzlies on Tuesday.

It’s not uncommon to see players being released a day or two after they’re signed at this time of year. Signing a player to an Exhibit 10 contract and then cutting him allows an NBA team to secure the player’s G League affiliate rights if they don’t already belong to another NBAGL club, or to line up a $50K bonus for returning-rights players.

It appears that 6’3″ guard Shaq Buchanan will be one of the Hustle’s returning-rights players. After spending his rookie season with Memphis’ G League team last season, averaging 11.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 33 games (22.4 MPG), Buchanan has signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies again this year, agent Josh Goodwin tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

After swapping out Smith for Vital, the Grizzlies have a full 20-man roster, so they’ll need to waive another player in order to officially announce the Buchanan signing. Ahmad Caver and Bennie Boatwright are the most obvious candidates to be cut, but we’ll await official word from the club.

Rockets Cut Jerian Grant, Kenny Wooten, Trevelin Queen

December 16th, 2020 at 2:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have released three players, announcing today that guard Jerian Grant, forward Kenny Wooten, and forward Trevelin Queen have been placed on waivers (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).

Houston had a full 20-man roster and had to make cuts in advance of the regular season, but a couple of these moves are still noteworthy.

Grant, for instance, looked like a candidate to make the regular season roster following Chris Clemons‘ season-ending Achilles tear. With Clemons injured and Grant no longer on the roster, the Rockets lack an obvious backup for starting point guard John Wall. Houston will carry a $50K cap hit after waiving Grant, since he had a small partial guarantee.

Wooten, meanwhile, was on a two-way contract, so waiving him will open up one of the Rockets’ two-way slots, alongside rookie Mason Jones. My guess is that Houston intends to sign a point guard using that newly-created two-way opening, but we’ll have to wait to see what the team has in mind.

Queen, meanwhile, was a training camp invitee whose release was anticipated. He’ll be a candidate to join Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, if the team participates in the revamped 2020/21 NBAGL season.

The Rockets are now carrying 17 players, including one on a two-way contract. The team has very little wiggle room below the hard cap and will likely start the season with 14 players on standard contracts along with a pair of two-way players, so additional roster moves are around the corner.