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Nuggets Sign Troy Daniels

March 5th, 2020 at 4:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 5: The Nuggets have officially signed Daniels, the team announced today in a press release.

MARCH 4: Denver is finalizing a deal with former Lakers guard Troy Daniels, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Daniels was waived by L.A. on Sunday night after he and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, worked out a deal with the team. He cleared waivers earlier today. Daniels is a career 39.7% shooter from 3-point range and will give the Nuggets another deep threat off the bench. He will be eligible for the playoffs because he was waived by the March 1 deadline.

Denver was able to sign Daniels with the money it saved when Jordan McRae was claimed by the Pistons, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Daniels will make $481K over the rest of the season and the Nuggets will have a $385K cap hit. That salary is in addition to the $2MM he receives from the Lakers.

Daniels averaged 4.2 PPG in 41 games with the Lakers after signing a minimum-salary contract last summer. Denver will be his seventh team in a seven-year career.

Warriors Sign Dragan Bender To Second 10-Day Deal

March 5th, 2020 at 12:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:55pm: The move is official, the Warriors announced (Twitter link).

9:46am: Dragan Bender will sign a second 10-day contract with the Warriors, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The decision follows a story yesterday that Golden State was taking a wait-and-see approach to Bender’s future with the team. His first 10-day contract expired after Tuesday’s game.

Bender has played six games since joining the team, starting three and averaging 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per night.

The signing will bring Golden State back to a full roster. Two potential openings will arise in the next week with Mychal Mulder‘s 10-day contract expiring Saturday and Chasson Randle‘s 10-day deal ending next Thursday.

Pistons Claim Jordan McRae Off Waivers

March 4th, 2020 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

4:15pm: The waiver process is complete and McRae belongs to the Pistons, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

3:07pm: The Pistons intend to claim guard Jordan McRae off waivers this afternoon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

After reaching a buyout agreement with Denver on Sunday, McRae was officially released and appeared to be headed to Phoenix, with the Suns planning to place a waiver claim of their own. However, with Derrick Rose on the shelf due to an ankle injury, the Pistons were said to be eyeing McRae for backcourt depth.

Because the waiver priority order is determined by the NBA’s reverse standings, Detroit (20-42) will be awarded McRae over Phoenix (24-38) if both teams submit claims. Technically, one of the five teams with a worse record than the Pistons could swoop in and steal McRae, but there has been no indication that will happen.

A fourth-year shooting guard, McRae was putting up the best numbers of his career in D.C. this season, recording 12.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .420/.377/.371 shooting for the Wizards, though injuries limited him to just 29 games. He was sent to Denver in a deadline deal for Shabazz Napier and averaged just 8.0 MPG in four games for the Nuggets, who have an overcrowded rotation.

The two sides reached a deal on Sunday that allowed McRae to get a new opportunity, with the Nuggets opening up a roster spot and saving some money. Although the 28-year-old agreed to surrender $390,424 of his minimum salary, that agreement will be negated by the Pistons’ waiver claim. Detroit will simply take on McRae’s $1,645,357 expiring contract, which will come off Denver’s books. The Pistons will be on the hook for paying the prorated salary remaining on the deal, while the Nuggets’ financial obligation will be extinguished.

By claiming McRae off waivers, the Pistons will get his Early Bird rights, which will give them added flexibility to re-sign him this summer. No corresponding roster move will be necessary for Detroit, since the team has an open spot after letting Derrick Walton‘s 10-day contract expire earlier this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavs Sign Sir’Dominic Pointer To 10-Day Deal

March 4th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

3:55pm: The Cavaliers have officially signed Pointer to a 10-day contract, the club confirmed today in a press release.

12:56pm: The Cavaliers are signing G League swingman Sir’Dominic Pointer to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Cleveland has been carrying a pair of open roster spots since shortly after the All-Star break and needed to fill at least one of them by this weekend.

Pointer, the 53rd overall pick in the 2015 draft, has spent the last several seasons playing in the G League and in international leagues in Israel, Lebanon, and Hungary. The Cavs held his draft rights up until last fall, when he signed his required tender and was immediately waived by the club.

Although Cleveland no longer held Pointer’s NBA rights after that point, he has spent the 2019/20 season playing for the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, averaging 12.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.9 BPG, and 1.8 SPG in 40 contests (25.7 MPG) for the Charge.

Pointer is the latest in a long line of G League call-ups for the Cavs this season. Previously, Cleveland has promoted Malik Newman, J.P. Macura, Marques Bolden, Levi Randolph, and Matt Mooney (two-way deal) from the Charge to the NBA roster.

Pointer will earn $50,752 on his 10-day deal with the Cavs.

Warriors Sign Chasson Randle To 10-Day Deal

March 3rd, 2020 at 12:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 3: The Warriors have officially signed Randle to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Golden State now has a full 15-man roster, though three of its players are on 10-day deals and Bender’s will expire tonight.

MARCH 1: Chasson Randle will sign with the Warriors, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Randle’s agent, Darrell Comer of YouFirst Sports, confirmed the deal.

Randle made two prior attempts to join the NBA on 10-day contracts, but they were both blocked by Tianjin, his current team in the Chinese Basketball Association. Comer said Randle has reached a settlement with the club and will receive a FIBA letter of clearance as soon as his request can be processed.

The CBA has suspended play because of the coronavirus outbreak in China, affecting the status of roughly 40 American players, including familiar names such as Jeremy Lin, Lance Stephenson and Tyler Hansbrough. Givony adds that if the league does resume, it won’t happen until April, leaving all those players uncertain about their contracts.

Randle last played in the NBA during the 2018/19 season when he averaged 5.5 PPG in 49 games with the Wizards. The 27-year-old guard also had brief stops with the Sixers and Knicks.

Golden State has a roster opening, so no move will be necessary before Randle can be added. The Warriors already have two players on 10-day contracts, Dragan Bender, whose deal runs through Tuesday, and Mychal Mulder, who is signed through Saturday. It’s unclear if Randle will receive a 10-day deal or a rest-of-season commitment now that he’s no longer controlled by Tianjin.

Pistons Re-Sign Donta Hall To 10-Day Contract

March 3rd, 2020 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have signed big man Donta Hall to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Hall’s first 10-day deal with Detroit expired last night, so the club didn’t waste any time in locking him right back up.

An undrafted rookie out of Alabama, Hall spent most of his rookie season with the Grand Rapids Drive, Detroit’s G League affiliate. He has averaged 15.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 36 G League games (28.6 MPG).

Since being promoted to the NBA last month, Hall has appeared in three games for the Pistons, recording 1.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 13.7 minutes per contest. His new 10-day contract, which will pay him $50,752, will run through March 12, covering Detroit’s next four games.

The Pistons had been one of a small handful of NBA teams with two roster openings, so no corresponding move is necessary to make room for Hall. The team still has its 15th roster spot open in case it wants to place a waiver claim for Jordan McRae, as was rumored earlier today.

Once Hall’s second 10-day contract expires, Detroit will have to either let him go or sign him for the remainder of the season.

Hornets Sign Joe Chealey To Second 10-Day Contract

March 3rd, 2020 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed guard Joe Chealey to a second 10-day contract after his initial 10-day deal with the club expired on Sunday night, the team announced today in a press release.

Chealey, 24, appeared in a pair of games during his first 10 days with the Hornets, going scoreless in 19 total minutes on 0-for-3 shooting. He did record three steals, and Charlotte apparently liked what it saw from him enough to bring him back for 10 more days.

Chealey’s new 10-day contract will cover the Hornets’ next five games, running through March 12, before the team will have to decide whether to let him go or sign him to a rest-of-season deal. He could see some minutes as soon as Tuesday night, especially if Devonte’ Graham (ankle) can’t go.

Before being promoted to the NBA by the Hornets, Chealey had been a regular for the club’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. He averaged 11.1 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.3 RPG on .398/.346/.813 shooting in 34 NBAGL games (28.3 MPG) this season.

Chealey will earn $81,678 on his second 10-day contract with Charlotte, the same amount he earned on the first one. The Hornets won’t be required to make a roster move, since they had two openings on their 15-man roster before re-signing Chealey.

Anthony Tolliver Signs 10-Day Contract With Grizzlies

March 2nd, 2020 at 11:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

11:02pm: The Grizzlies officially signed Tolliver and waived Bell prior to tonight’s game, according to a team press release. Tolliver logged 19 minutes and had a +25 rating, knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers in Memphis’ blowout win over Atlanta.

4:19pm: Veteran power forward Anthony Tolliver has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. In order to open a roster spot, the team is waiving forward Jordan Bell, Charania reports in another tweet.

Tolliver was waived on Saturday after finalizing a buyout agreement with Sacramento. Tolliver gave back $144,901, the same amount as a 10-day contract, as we relayed this afternoon. Tolliver was on a veteran’s minimum contract, so Sacramento will still have a cap hit of $1.6MM.

Tolliver, 34, began the season with the Trail Blazers and appeared in 33 games, including nine starts. He was dealt to the Kings and saw action in nine games before getting waived. Tolliver is a career 37.3% 3-point shooter, though he’s struggled from the perimeter this season.

Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Justise Winslow are all currently sidelined with injuries and Memphis obviously didn’t feel comfortable giving Bell expanded minutes.

Bell began the season with the Timberwolves, then was dealt to the Rockets. They quickly flipped him to Memphis for Bruno Caboclo just before the trade deadline. Bell, who has a $1.62MM contract, appeared in just two games with Memphis after coming off the bench in 27 games with Minnesota.

Suns Intend To Claim Jordan McRae

March 1st, 2020 at 9:21pm CST by JD Shaw

The Suns intend to put a waiver claim on guard Jordan McRae, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

McRae and the Nuggets reached a buyout agreement on Sunday, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reporting that Phoenix would likely be his destination.

McRae, 28, started the season with Washington and was traded to Denver last month. He averaged 12.8 points in 29 games with the Wizards, shooting 42% from the floor and 38% from 3-point range.

The Suns have lost three straight games and currently own the third-worst record in the Western Conference at 24-37. McRae previously spent time with Phoenix back in 2016, signing two 10-day contracts with the organization.

Because McRae is on a minimum-salary contract, the Suns can use the minimum salary exception to place a claim on him. Doing so will give the team his Early Bird rights at season’s end, and won’t cost any extra money, since Phoenix will only have to pay the prorated salary left on his deal. The Nuggets, meanwhile, will get to remove McRae’s cap hit from their books entirely, giving them some extra flexibility below the tax line.

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.