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Lakers Waive Troy Daniels

March 1st, 2020 at 5:58pm CST by Luke Adams

5:58pm: The Lakers have officially waived Daniels, the team announced in a press release.

5:35pm: The Lakers are releasing veteran guard Troy Daniels, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, the two sides had been working on an agreement that would give Daniels a chance to find an opportunity with a new team, with the Lakers opening up a spot on their 15-man roster. Head coach Frank Vogel, confirming the move, said that releasing Daniels was a “very, very tough decision” for the Lakers, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

“(Lakers executives) Rob (Pelinka) and Kurt (Rambis) were fantastic in giving Troy optionality based upon all the scenarios that could play out in the coming weeks,” Bartelstein told Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Daniels signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Los Angeles last summer and played a modest role for the club this season, averaging 4.2 PPG and 1.1 RPG on .392/.357/.625 shooting in 41 games (11.1 MPG). The 28-year-old was considered a strong locker-room presence, but wasn’t part of the Lakers’ rotation as of late, having logged just 10 minutes in the team’s last six games, including four DNP-CDs.

March 1 is the last day that a player can be waived and retain his postseason eligibility. Since he’s being released today, Daniels can still participate in the playoffs if he signs with a new team between the time he clears waivers and the end of the regular season.

As for the Lakers, Vogel said today that they don’t have any specific player lined up for their newly-opened roster spot, per Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Having an opening on the 15-man roster will give the team some options going forward though. Our look at the 2020 buyout market includes a few names that may be of interest to the Lakers.

Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter) that L.A. still intends to meet with Dion Waiters this week, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the one replacing Daniels on the roster. Woj suggests Pelinka will be patient, since the Lakers may want to retain their roster flexibility in case an injury occurs down the stretch.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jordan McRae Agrees To Buyout With Nuggets, Expected To Join Suns

March 1st, 2020 at 1:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jordan McRae has reached a buyout agreement with the Nuggets, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds that the Suns are his “likely destination.”

McRae has barely played in Denver since being acquired from the Wizards at the trade deadline. He appeared in four games, averaging 2.3 points and 8.0 minutes of playing time. He put up a career-best 12.8 PPG in 29 games with Washington before the deal.

Mike Singer of The Denver Post speculates (via Twitter) that the Nuggets are releasing McRae more as a favor to him than for any other reason. The team already had an open spot on its roster, so it didn’t need to create another one. McRae simply didn’t have a role in Denver.

Phoenix also has an opening on its roster after waiving Tyler Johnson and electing not to sign Jonah Bolden to a second 10-day contract, notes Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link). If the Suns are planning to sign McRae, they have the option of claiming him off waivers to obtain his Early Bird rights, adds ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

If the Suns do decide to claim McRae, his cap hit would no longer be included on Denver’s books and a buyout agreement wouldn’t be necessary — Phoenix would simply absorb his minimum-salary contract.

Today marks the final day that players can be waived and still be eligible for the postseason with their new team.

Wolves Reach Buyout Deal With Allen Crabbe

February 29th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves placed shooting guard Allen Crabbe on waivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Crabbe agreed to a buyout with the team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Wolves confirmed the move in a press release.

Crabbe spent about six weeks in Minnesota after being acquired from the Hawks in a January 16 deal. He appeared in nine games, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 14.6 minutes per night. Because he was waived before tomorrow’s deadline, he will be eligible for the playoffs if another team picks him up.

Crabbe had been away from the team for several games because of personal reasons, so a buyout wasn’t surprising, notes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move may be enough to get the Wolves under the luxury tax, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Minnesota was $894K above the tax line before parting with Crabbe. He was still owed about $4.6MM on his $18.5MM contract, while the prorated minimum on a replacement would fall at $516K. The amount Crabbe agreed to give back in the buyout hasn’t been reported.

The Wolves now have a roster opening that they can fill or keep for the rest of the season.

Kings Waive Anthony Tolliver

February 29th, 2020 at 4:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings have placed veteran forward Anthony Tolliver on waivers, the team announced in a press release.

Tolliver got into nine games with Sacramento after being acquired from the Trail Blazers in a January 21 trade. He averaged 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. The 34-year-old was on his second tour of duty with the Kings and has played for nine teams in his 12-year NBA career.

Tolliver will be playoff eligible if he signs with another team before the end of the season. Tomorrow is the deadline for players to be released without having their eligibility for the postseason affected.

Sacramento had a full 15-man roster before the move, so the team now one open spot.

Rockets Sign Jeff Green For Remainder Of Season

February 28th, 2020 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have signed forward Jeff Green for the remainder of the season, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

The move was anticipated with Green’s 10-day contract about to expire.

Green, who was released by the Jazz in December, was a free agent for nearly two months before agreeing to sign with the Rockets last week. He and the team initially reached a 10-day deal so he could evaluate the situation before making a rest-of-season commitment.

In four games with Houston, Green has averaged 9.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 19.3 MPG. The 33-year-old power forward has looked comfortable as the reserve center in the Rockets’ small-ball lineups.

With Green’s signing, Houston has a full 15-man roster. Terms were not disclosed but if it’s a minimum-salary deal, he’ll earn $695,526 the rest of the way, with a $439,475 cap hit.

Grizzlies Sign Jarrod Uthoff To 10-Day Contract

February 27th, 2020 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

4:04pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Uthoff to his 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. As expected, Hannahs’ 10-day deal has been ended early in order to create a roster spot for Uthoff.

11:39am: The Grizzlies are signing G League forward Jarrod Uthoff to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Uthoff, 26, has spent the season with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, averaging a double-double (19.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG) in 34 contests (34.9 MPG). Uthoff has also filled up the box score by averaging 3.1 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.1 BPG with a shooting line of .491/.367/.790.

An undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2016, Uthoff appeared in nine games with the Mavericks during his rookie season, but hasn’t played in a regular-season NBA game in nearly three years.

Memphis doesn’t currently have an open spot on its 15-man roster and doesn’t qualify for a hardship exception, so a corresponding move will need to be made to bring Uthoff aboard. The obvious move would be to terminate Dusty Hannahs‘ 10-day contract a little early.

Hannahs signed his deal, which is set to expire on Sunday night, before Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke went down with injuries. Now that the Grizzlies are in need of frontcourt depth, it makes sense to replace Hannahs, a guard, with a forward like Uthoff.

Warriors Sign Mychal Mulder To 10-Day Deal

February 27th, 2020 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 27: Mulder has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Warriors, the team confirmed today in a press release. It will run through March 7.

FEBRUARY 26: The Warriors will use one of the open spots on their 15-man roster to sign G League guard Mychal Mulder to a 10-day contract, league sources tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Mulder, 25, has been a G League mainstay since going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2017, appearing in a total of 134 games for the Windy City Bulls and Sioux Falls Skyforce over the last three seasons. In 39 games (33.2 MPG) with the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate in 2019/20, the Canadian has averaged a career-best 17.0 PPG with 4.5 RPG on .451/.399/.700 shooting.

Mulder sign an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami last fall and spent training camp and the preseason with the club, but has never been on an NBA roster during the regular season.

Since clearing several roster spots in trades before the deadline, the Warriors have been auditioning a variety of players on 10-day deals. After signing Jeremy Pargo and Zach Norvell earlier in the month, Golden State will now have Dragan Bender and Mulder on 10-day contracts.

The Warriors, who are being careful to stay below the tax line, currently have two openings on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for Mulder. As our breakdown of 10-day salaries shows, he’ll earn nearly $51K on his new deal. If he signs it on Thursday, rather than today, it will cover Golden State’s next six games instead of just five.

Rockets Expected To Sign Jeff Green For Rest Of Season

February 25th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract with the Rockets doesn’t expire for a couple more days, but it sounds like the two sides will extend their relationship beyond Thursday. According to Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link), Green intends to sign with Houston for the rest of the season.

Green, who was released by the Jazz in December, was a free agent for nearly two months before agreeing to sign with the Rockets last week. He and the team initially reached a 10-day deal so he could evaluate the situation before making a rest-of-season commitment. Both Green and the Rockets are “really happy with the fit,” per Schultz.

In three games so far with Houston, Green has averaged 9.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG on .833/.714/.750 shooting. It’s a safe bet that those shooting marks will decline going forward, but the 33-year-old has looked comfortable as a de facto big man in the Rockets’ small-ball lineups.

When Green’s rest-of-season contract becomes official, Houston will have a full 15-man roster. The team had a pair of open roster spots following the All-Star break, filling them with Green and DeMarre Carroll, who was bought out by San Antonio.

The exact value of Green’s new contract will depend on when it’s made official. If he signs a minimum-salary deal on Friday, the day after his 10-day contract expires, he’d earn $695,526 the rest of the way, with a $439,475 cap hit.

Lakers Sign Markieff Morris

February 23rd, 2020 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 23, 6:45pm: The Lakers have officially signed Morris, the team announced in a press release. As expected, Cousins has been waived to open up a roster spot.

FEBRUARY 23, 3:55pm: The Lakers will sign Morris using their $1.75MM disabled player exception once he clears waivers at 4 p.m. CST this afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

FEBRUARY 21, 5:04pm: Power forward Markieff Morris plans to sign with the Lakers once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Morris reached a buyout agreement with the Pistons on Friday afternoon and was placed on waivers. It’s possible another team could swoop in and claim Morris, who was making $3.2MM this season. However, Morris had a $3.36MM player option on the second year of his contract with Detroit. He let the Pistons off the hook with the buyout but that option would be restored if he were claimed.

A team would have to have a traded player exception big enough to accommodate Morris’ $3.2MM cap hit in order to claim him. Most contenders that fit the bill have tax or hard-cap concerns, making a claim unlikely.

The Lakers will have to make a roster move to add Morris. They’ll reportedly release injured center DeMarcus Cousins rather than a little-used rotation player like Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook, or Jared Dudley, despite head coach Frank Vogel recently suggesting that Cousins could get healthy for the playoffs.

Morris’ addition to the Lakers provides even more intrigue between the Los Angeles teams. He could wind up guarding his brother, Marcus Morris, if the Lakers and Clippers meet in the playoffs. Marcus Morris was traded to the Clippers in a deadline deal.

Markieff Morris, 30, has appeared in 44 games for the Pistons this season, averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .450/.397/.772 shooting line in 22.5 minutes per contest.

Warriors Sign Dragan Bender To 10-Day Contract

February 23rd, 2020 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 23: The signing is official, the Warriors announced on Twitter.

FEBRUARY 20: The Warriors intend to sign free agent big man Dragan Bender to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds (via Twitter) that the deal is expected to be completed on Sunday. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported that Golden State was considering bringing in Bender on a 10-day pact.

Bender, the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft, spent three seasons in Phoenix before joining the Bucks for the 2019/20 season. The 22-year-old was on Milwaukee’s roster until earlier this month despite appearing in just seven NBA games, but was waived when the team needed to make room for Marvin Williams.

With career averages of 5.2 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 178 NBA contests (20.0 MPG), Bender hasn’t delivered on the potential that made him a top-five pick in 2016. However, the Warriors had some success developing the Suns’ other ’16 lottery pick – Marquese Chriss – this season, so perhaps the team can also make positive strides with Bender.

The Warriors currently have three open roster spots after Jeremy Pargo‘s and Zach Norvell‘s 10-day contracts expired earlier this week. Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link) suggested the team plans to roll with 12 players for tonight’s game, at least, since not immediately filling those open roster spots will help the club remain comfortably below the tax.

Bender will make $94,851 on his 10-day contract, with Golden State taking on a $91,557 cap hit.