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Cavs Convert Bolden To Two-Way Deal, Add Pelle

December 19th, 2020 at 1:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers have converted Marques Bolden‘s contract into a two-way deal and signed forward/center Norvel Pelle, according to a team press release.

The 6’11” Bolden appeared in all four Cavaliers preseason games. He played in one game for the Cavs last season after signing a 10-day contract in January. He was also a member of the Cavaliers’ 2019 training camp roster and played in 38 games last season with the Canton Charge, averaging 9.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.5 BPG in 18.9 MPG.

A two-way slot opened up when Cleveland waived guard Matt Mooney on Saturday.

The 6’10” Pelle appeared in 24 games with the 76ers last season, averaging 2.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 9.7 MPG. Philadelphia waived him last month before his $1.52MM contract became guaranteed. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavs, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).

Cleveland remains one player over the opening-night limit with the addition of Pelle. However, it sounds like the plan is for him to eventually join the Canton Charge in the G League — Fedor reports that he’ll be waived later today. No further cuts should be required for the Cavs.

Timberwolves To Release Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

December 19th, 2020 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will be among the players waived by the Timberwolves in advance of the regular season, sources tell Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While most of today’s roster cuts are moves that had been anticipated, Hollis-Jefferson’s release comes as a surprise. He had played fairly well in three preseason games – including a 17-point outburst on 6-of-6 shooting on Monday – and the Wolves aren’t exactly loaded with depth at the power forward spot.

According to Krawczynski (Twitter link), the decision to part ways with Hollis-Jefferson is a “flexibility play” for the Wolves, who will enter the season with an open roster spot. Krawczynski hears that there’s a possibility Minnesota will bring back RHJ at a later date, but for now the club wants to keep that 15th spot open in case an injury replacement is required or an opportunity for a two-for-one trade arises.

Hollis-Jefferson, who will turn 26 next month, played for the Raptors last season, providing energy and defense off the bench. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 60 games (18.7 MPG) for Toronto.

Since Hollis-Jefferson was on a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract, a team with interest would be able to claim him off waivers on Monday using the minimum salary exception. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll return to the free agent market.

The Timberwolves will have to cut a few more players – likely Tyler Cook, Zylan Cheatham, and Charlie Brown Jr. – to set their regular season roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavs Release Guard Courtney Lee

December 19th, 2020 at 1:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran guard Courtney Lee has been waived by the Mavericks, head coach Rick Carlisle told Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).

The move trims the Mavs’ roster to the 15-player opening-day limit, plus two others on two-way contracts. While Dallas will monitor roster cuts by other teams, it’s unlikely the team will make another move, Caplan adds.

Lee was signed on a training camp deal on December 11 but was a longshot to make the final roster. He played for the Mavericks last season but was not a consistent rotation presence. Lee appeared in just 24 games, averaging 4.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG, and 0.8 SPG in 14.4 MPG.

He didn’t participate in the restart due to a calf injury.

The 35-year-old out of Western Kentucky was an effective three-and-D perimeter player in his prime. Prior to Dallas, he played for the Magic, Nets, Rockets, Celtics, Grizzlies, Hornets, and Knicks across a 12-year NBA career.

Cavs Place Randolph, Matthews, Mooney On Waivers

December 19th, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers have waived guards Levi Randolph, Charles Matthews and Matt Mooney, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.

The most significant cut is Mooney, since he was on a two-way deal. That opens up a two-way slot, with the other occupied by Lamar Stevens.

The moves leave Cleveland with 16 players on the official roster, one over the limit. Big men Marques Bolden and Dean Wade are candidates for the two-way contract, though Wade would have to go through waivers before he could sign that deal.

Randolph was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal last month. He’ll likely wind up with their G League team, the Canton Charge.

Randolph, 28, has been trying to break into the NBA since graduating from Alabama in 2015. He has been part of Cleveland’s training camp the past two seasons and signed a two-way contract in January, but was waived six days later. Randolph led the Charge in scoring last year at 16.9 PPG.

Matthews was also on an Exhibit 10 contract. He spent one season at Kentucky in 2015/16 before transferring to Michigan, where he played for two seasons. Matthews declared early for the draft in 2019, but tore his ACL during a team workout.

Mooney signed a two-way contract with the Cavs last January after going undrafted in 2019. He made four brief appearances with Cleveland last season and saw action in 42 G League games, averaging 13.1 PPG and 5.1 APG in 31.2 MPG.

Sixers Waive Justin Anderson, Frank Mason

December 19th, 2020 at 12:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have waived swingman Justin Anderson, according to 973 ESPN Sixers Insider Paul Hudrick (Twitter link). They’ve also waived guard Frank Mason III, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.

Philadelphia has now trimmed down to a 15-man opening-day roster, along with a pair of two-way players.

Anderson signed a minimum salary two-year contract in late November but only $125K was guaranteed. He signed with the Nets as a substitute player prior to last season’s restart and saw action in seven seeding games and three postseason contests.

Anderson also signed a 10-day contract with the Nets in January before being released by the organization. A first-round pick by the Mavericks in 2015, Anderson had brief stops with the Sixers and Hawks as well.

Mason was just added this weekend on an Exhibit 10 contract. Unless he’s claimed, he’ll likely resurface with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League squad. He initially became an unrestricted free agent when the Bucks pulled their qualifying offer to him last month.

The 5’11” point guard out of Kansas spent his first two seasons in the league with the Kings, appearing in a total of 90 games. He then signed a two-way contract with the Bucks in 2019/20.

Mason played nine games for Milwaukee and 23 for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. He averaged a league-best 26.4 PPG for the Herd, along with 5.0 APG and 3.4 RPG, earning G League MVP honors.

Pelicans Waive Four Players

December 19th, 2020 at 11:52am CST by marksuleymanov

The Pelicans announced on Saturday that they’ve waived guards Rawle Alkins and Tony Carr, forward Jarrod Uthoff, and center Ike Anigbogu.

Given all four of those players were on non-guaranteed deals, the Pelicans’ roster is likely set for the regular season with 12 guaranteed contracts, two partially guaranteed deals (Willy Hernangomez and Sindarius Thornwell), and a pair of two-way pacts.

Anigbogu is the most prominent name among the bunch as the big man was a second-round draft pick (47th overall) of the Pacers in 2017. However, Anigbogu has seen action in just 14 games from 2017-19. The 6’10” center has also seen time in the G League, suiting up for 47 games over the past three seasons.

Uthoff and Alkins have also seen NBA action; Uthoff appeared in three games for the Wizards last season while Alkins played in 10 games for the Bulls in 2017/18.

Carr, 23, was a second-round pick of the Pelicans in 2018 and saw time for the team’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, in 2019/20.

New Orleans also signed and waived Justin Wright-Foreman, per RealGM’s transactions log, presumably for G League purposes.

Bucks Request Waivers On Treveon Graham, Nik Stauskas

December 19th, 2020 at 11:23am CST by marksuleymanov

The Bucks requested waivers on Treveon Graham and Nik Stauskas, the team announced in a press release on Saturday.

Both players saw their only preseason action for Milwaukee on Friday night in a 127-113 loss to the Pelicans. Stauskas grabbed two boards in four minutes of action while Graham did not record any stats in three minutes of play.

Graham, a veteran swingman with 180 games of NBA experience to his credit, joined the Bucks on a training camp contract in late November. His most extensive action came as a reserve with the Hornets in 2017/18 when he averaged 4.3 PPG in 63 games. Graham, 25, split his time between the Timberwolves and Hawks last season and has also seen time with Brooklyn.

Stauskas, 27, is another well-traveled NBA veteran who has seen time with the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers and Cavaliers. The Canadian, who joined the Bucks in early December, averaged almost 10 PPG for the Sixers in 2016/17 but has since seen time as a reserve for several teams. The eighth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has struggled to develop into a solid rotation piece.

However, Stauskas has hit 35.3% of his career three-point attempts and played fairly well in Spain last season, making 42.2% of his threes in 22 EuroLeague contests.

With these moves, the Bucks’ roster is likely set for the regular season, as the team has 14 guaranteed contracts along with two two-way players. Milwaukee’s hard cap prevents the team from carrying a 15th man for now, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Heat Convert Max Strus To Two-Way Deal, Waive B.J. Johnson

December 19th, 2020 at 11:14am CST by marksuleymanov

11:14am: As expected, the Heat have waived Johnson, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

10:50am: The Heat have converted guard/forward Max Strus‘ Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release on Saturday. Miami had an open two-way slot alongside point guard Gabe Vincent.

Strus appeared in two preseason contests with the Heat, averaging a team-best 16.5 PPG along with 5.0 RPG and 2.5 APG while shooting 50% from the field. In Miami’s 117-105 win last night over the Raptors, Strus came off the bench to add 22 points while shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range.

Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry two extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. Those deals will likely be more important than ever this season, since two-way players will be permitted to appear in up to 50 regular season games at the NBA level. With the G League season expected to take place in a bubble, two-way players figure to spend most or all of the season with their respective NBA clubs.

Strus’ converted deal means that he beat out swingman B.J. Johnson, who was signed by the Heat in early December. Johnson appeared in just two preseason games with the Heat, averaging 1.5 PPG. It is a near-lock that he’ll be waived, given his non-guaranteed deal, along with the fact that Miami is carrying 15 players with guaranteed contracts.

Bulls Release Zach Norvell, Simi Shittu

December 19th, 2020 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have waived shooting guard Zach Norvell and power forward Simisola Shittu, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Norvell and Shittu were training camp invitees for the Bulls and saw limited action in the club’s four preseason contests. Norvell had 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 40 total minutes, while Shittu put up 17 points and grabbed 10 boards in just 24 total minutes.

Neither player had a full or partial guarantee on his contract, so the Bulls won’t be on the hook for any dead money. Typically, both Norvell and Shittu would be candidates to play for the Windy City Bulls in the G League. However, Ridiculous Upside and Sportando have both reported that Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate isn’t expected to take part in the league’s proposed bubble.

The Bulls are now carrying 15 players on standard contracts (all guaranteed) and a pair on two-way deals, so their roster may be set for the regular season.

Spurs Sign London Perrantes

December 19th, 2020 at 10:20am CST by marksuleymanov

The Spurs have signed point guard London Perrantes, according to RealGM’s official transactions log.

It’s likely that Perrantes’ deal is an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

The Virginia product has not appeared in the NBA since a cup of coffee with the Cavaliers during the 2017/18 season when he suited up for 14 games as one of Cleveland’s two-way players.

After a series of Summer League stops, Perrantes was picked up by the Wizards’ G League affiliate Capital City Go-Go in January this year. The Go-Go hold Perrantes’ G League rights so the Austin Spurs (Spurs’ NBAGL affiliate) would have to acquire them.