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Killian Tillie, Sean McDermott Sign Two-Way Deals With Grizzlies

November 19th, 2020 at 12:28am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: The Grizzlies have officially announced their two-way deals with Tillie and McDermott.

NOVEMBER 19: Undrafted Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie has agreed to a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Memphis will sign Butler swingman Sean McDermott with its other two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The French-born Tillie played four seasons for the Bulldogs. As a senior, the 6’10” Tillie averaged 13.6 PPG and 5.0 RPG. His calling card is his ability to stretch the floor. He shot 44.4% on his 3-point tries during his college career.

Another four-year college player, McDermott started for Butler in his last two seasons. He averaged 11.7 PPG and 6.3 RPG as a senior. He’s also a prolific 3-point shooter, knocking down 40.3% of his attempts during his college career.

Two-way players can be active for 50 games this season, up from the usual 45-day limit.

Cavaliers Sign Lamar Stevens To Two-Way Contract

November 19th, 2020 at 12:13am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 28, 2:42pm: Stevens has officially inked his two-way deal, according to a team press release.

NOVEMBER 19, 12:13 am: Undrafted Penn State forward Lamar Stevens has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Stevens was a four-year starter for the Nittany Lions. In 135 career games, Stevens averaged 16.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

Last season, the 6’8” Stevens posted averages of 17.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 2.2 APG. His perimeter shot needs work — he made just 27.6% of his 3-point attempts during his college career.

Stevens can be active for up to 50 games in his rookie season.

Sixers Trade Josh Richardson, Tyler Bey To Mavs For Seth Curry

November 18th, 2020 at 11:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

11:57pm: The deal is official, according to the Mavericks, who confirmed that they acquired Richardson and the rights to Tyler Bey (the No. 36 pick) from the Sixers in exchange for Curry.

10:11pm: The Sixers are finalizing a trade to send Josh Richardson to the Mavericks, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Dallas will also get the 36th pick in tonight’s draft and will send Seth Curry to Philadelphia, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Richardson, 27, was also traded last offseason, being sent from the Heat to the Sixers in the four-way deal that brought Jimmy Butler to Miami. He averaged 13.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 55 games during his lone season in Philadelphia. He’s the second rotational player to be dealt by the Sixers today, following the agreement to send Al Horford to Oklahoma City.

Curry, 30, will bring some outside shooting to a team that struggled to make three-pointers last season. He shot a career-best 45.2% from beyond the arc last year and averaged 12.4 PPG, mostly in a reserve role. Curry is the son-in-law of new Sixers coach Doc Rivers.

Richardson will earn $10.8MM during the upcoming season and has an $11.6MM player option for 2021/22. Curry’s salary will be $7.8MM and he is signed through 2022/23.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers, Thunder Finalize Dennis Schröder, Danny Green Trade

November 18th, 2020 at 11:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 18, 11:46pm: The deal is now official, the Lakers confirmed in a press release. The Lakers received Schröder in exchange for Green and the draft rights to No. 28 pick Jaden McDaniels, who will be flipped to Minnesota in a separate trade. Green will also be moved in another deal.

NOVEMBER 15, 10:56am: The teams have an agreement in principle on a deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

NOVEMBER 15, 10:02am: The Lakers are expected to acquire guard Dennis Schröder from the Thunder when the trade moratorium lifts on Monday, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Oklahoma City will receive the 28th pick in Wednesday’s draft and guard Danny Green in return.

Woj adds that the trade is “well on course to be completed” and that other teams that were pursuing Schröder have moved on to different players.

L.A. owes a protected first-rounder in 2021 to the Pelicans, so the deal can’t be finalized until the Lakers make their draft pick Wednesday night, points out Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Schröder, 27, will make $15.5MM this season in the final year of his contract. He has spent two years in Oklahoma City and averaged 18.9 points and 4.0 assists off the bench last season. In Los Angeles, he’ll become a primary play-maker for the Lakers and could be the team’s third scoring option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Green, 33, will make $15.4MM in 2020/21, so the salaries match up for a deal. He signed with the Lakers last summer and averaged 8.0 PPG in 68 games. He has played for the last two NBA champions and will be a free agent again in 2021.

Schröder may be just the first of several veterans moved by Oklahoma City this fall — Chris Paul and Steven Adams are also considered trade candidates. Theoretically, the team could also immediately flip Green to a new team as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pistons To Sign Saben Lee To Two-Way Contract

November 18th, 2020 at 11:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons will sign second-round pick Saben Lee to a two-way contract, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.

Detroit acquired the No. 38 overall pick in a draft-night trade and selected Lee, a junior guard out of Vanderbilt who averaged 18.6 PPG. 3.5 RPG and 4.2 APG last season. The Pistons’ front office had graded Lee as a first-round prospect, according to Edwards.

The Pistons didn’t have a second-rounder entering the draft but acquired the 38th pick, along with center Tony Bradley, from the Jazz for future considerations and cash.

Teams frequently make bargains with agents of second-round prospects to take their clients if they’ll agree to a two-way deal. However, Lee could compete for minutes on a rebuilding team.

Nets, Clippers Flip Late Second-Rounders

November 18th, 2020 at 11:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets and the Clippers swapped a couple of late-round picks, with Brooklyn choosing guard Jay Scrubb of John A. Logan College at No. 55 and shipping him to the Clippers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The Nets received the No. 57 pick — Mississippi State big man Reggie Perry. Presumably, the Clippers added some sort of sweetener to move up two spots, though the details haven’t yet been reported. It’s also possible this pick swap will be part of the other trade the Nets and Clippers agreed to tonight, involving Luke Kennard and Landry Shamet.

Scrubb, 20, played two seasons for John A. Logan, which is in the National Junior College Athletic Association. He averaged 21.9 PPG as a sophomore. Scrubb committed to Louisville before deciding to enter his name in the draft.

Perry, 20, averaged 17.4 PPG and 10.1 RPG as a sophomore for the Bulldogs. He was named co-SEC Player of the Year.

Grizzlies To Acquire No. 30 Pick, Draft Desmond Bane

November 18th, 2020 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

UPDATE: This trade was folded into a larger three-team deal and is now official.

The Grizzlies have agreed to acquire the No. 30 pick from the Celtics, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Memphis will use the selection to draft TCU shooting guard Desmond Bane, Woj adds.

In exchange for that No. 30 pick, Boston will receive two future second-round picks from the Grizzlies, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

The Celtics had three first-round selections but didn’t want to add that many rookies to a team with championship aspirations. They will apparently retain their first two picks — Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith (No. 14) and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard (No. 26).

Bane, 22, is viewed as one of the draft’s best shooters and could compete for a rotation spot as a rookie. He improved his draft stock with strong workouts and interviews, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

A four-year college player, Bane averaged 16.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 3.9 APG as a senior.

Nuggets To Acquire RJ Hampton

November 18th, 2020 at 9:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans will trade 24th pick RJ Hampton to the Nuggets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. New Orleans will receive a 2023 lottery-protected first-rounder in return, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (Twitter link).

Denver was among a handful of teams that worked out Hampton during the pre-draft process. The Nuggets also own the 22nd pick, which they used to select forward Zeke Nnaji of Arizona.

Hampton spent last season with the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s National Basketball League. He appeared in 15 games before leaving in early February and returning to the United States to prepare for the draft.

Kennard To Clippers, Shamet To Nets In Three-Team Trade

November 18th, 2020 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers, Nets, and Pistons have agreed to a trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Wojnarowski and Charania report that Brooklyn will acquire Landry Shamet in the three-team trade, with Luke Kennard going to the Clippers and the Pistons acquiring Rodney McGruder and the No. 19 overall pick in tonight’s draft (Twitter link). Detroit selected Villanova forward Saddiq Bey using that selection.

The Clippers are betting that Kennard, who averaged 15.8 PPG on .442/.399/.893 shooting in 28 games for Detroit last season, will be an upgrade on Shamet, who recorded 9.3 PPG on .404/.375/.855 shooting in 53 games.

The Clippers also discussed a bigger trade with the Celtics which included Shamet, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo tweets.

Kennard has a slightly less favorable contract than Shamet — he’s extension-eligible this fall and will be a restricted free agent in 2021 if he doesn’t sign a new deal. He’ll earn $5.3MM in 2020/21. Shamet, meanwhile, will earn $2MM in ’20/21 and $3.8MM in ’21/22 before potentially reaching restricted free agency in 2022.

Kennard is coming off an injury-marred season in which he played just 28 games due to tendinitis in both knees. However, he looked completely healthy during the team’s workouts in September.

Shamet provides another rotation guard for the Nets at a reasonable salary.

Bey is the third first-round pick by Detroit. It earlier selected Euro guard Killian Hayes at No. 7 and Washington center Isaiah Stewart at No. 16.

Suns Pick Up Option On Cameron Payne

November 18th, 2020 at 6:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns have picked up their $1.98MM option on guard Cameron Payne, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Payne’s contract for the upcoming season only carries a $25K guarantee. He is expected to be the primary backup to Chris Paul, according to Hollinger, unless Phoenix drafts another point guard tonight.

Payne signed with the Suns at the end of June and appeared in all eight games at the Disney World complex, averaging 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a reserve role. A first-round pick by the Thunder in 2015, Payne also played for the Bulls and Cavaliers. He was in Toronto’s training camp last fall, but was released before the start of the season and didn’t get another NBA opportunity until joining the Suns.