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Cavs Sign Tyler Cook To Second 10-Day Deal

January 20th, 2020 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

2:18pm: The Cavaliers have officially signed Cook to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. It’ll run through January 29.

11:07am: It looks like rookie power forward Tyler Cook will be the first NBA player this season to receive a second 10-day contract. A source tells Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that the Cavaliers are re-signing Cook, while Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports (via Twitter) that the new 10-day deal will be completed before Monday night’s game.

Cook, 22, has spent the season with the Cavaliers, first on a two-way contract, then briefly on a standard deal, then on a 10-day pact which expired on Saturday night. He has appeared in eight total NBA games, including two during his last 10-day deal, logging just 28 total minutes.

Most of Cook’s rookie season has been spent with the Canton Charge in the G League, where he has averaged 13.1 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 16 contests (21.4 MPG).

Cleveland is carrying 13 players on fully guaranteed standard contracts and had signed Cook and Alfonzo McKinnie to 10-day pacts on January 9. It’s unclear if McKinnie will also be brought back or if the Cavs will find another use for that 15th roster spot, perhaps leaving it open for the time being.

Teams can’t sign a player to three 10-day contracts in the same season, so once Cook’s second 10-day deal expires, the Cavs will either have to sign him for the rest of the season or let him return to the free agent market.

Royce O’Neale Signs Four-Year Extension With Jazz

January 19th, 2020 at 12:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:32pm: The extension is official, the Jazz announced on Twitter.

11:43am: Royce O’Neale has agreed to a four-year, $36MM extension with the Jazz, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The news was confirmed by O’Neale’s agents, Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports, who say their client plans to sign the deal today.

The third-year forward is making $1.6MM this season and was headed for restricted free agency this summer. He became a full-time starter this season and is averaging career highs with 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 44.3% from 3-point range. He’s also a defensive specialist who often takes on the opponent’s toughest matchup.

O’Neale went undrafted out of Baylor and played two seasons in Europe before signing with the Jazz in 2017. Wojnarowski notes that he’s the latest success story for a Utah franchise that puts heavy emphasis on player development.

The extension gives the Jazz 14 players under contract for the 2020/21 season, including their first-round pick, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The team is $18MM under the projected tax line and still has a $9.8MM mid-level and a $3.9MM biannual exception to work with. Upcoming free agents are Jordan Clarkson, whom the team has Bird rights on, and Emmanuel Mudiay.

Timberwolves Trade Jeff Teague To Hawks

January 16th, 2020 at 1:32pm CST by Luke Adams

1:32pm: The trade is official, according to press releases issued by the Hawks and Timberwolves.

11:07am: The Hawks and Timberwolves have finalized a trade agreement, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta will receive point guard Jeff Teague and swingman Treveon Graham in exchange for wing Allen Crabbe.

Teague, who began his career in Atlanta and spent seven seasons with the Hawks, including his lone All-Star campaign in 2014/15, will help fortify the team’s backcourt and serve as a veteran mentor for rising star Trae Young. He’ll also give the club a reliable floor general when Young sits. As ESPN’s Royce Young notes (via Twitter), Atlanta’s offensive rating this season has plummeted from 108.2 to 90.7 when Young is on the bench.

In 34 games (27.8 MPG) for Minnesota, Teague has averaged 13.2 PPG and 6.1 APG with a .448/.379/.868 shooting line. While those are solid numbers, he wasn’t viewed by the Timberwolves’ new management group as a part of the team’s future plans and had lost his starting job to Shabazz Napier.

Crabbe has struggled in a modest role for the Hawks this season, but has been a reliable three-point shooter throughout his seven-year career. He had knocked down 39.3% of his career outside attempts before making just 32.3% in 2019/20. If he can bounce back in Minnesota – at least to some extent – he’ll help provide the sort of floor spacing that wings like Andrew Wiggins and Jarrett Culver haven’t.

Teague ($19MM) and Crabbe ($18.5MM) are on similar expiring contracts, so swapping the two veterans won’t impact Minnesota’s or Atlanta’s books beyond this season. Graham, who has a $1.65MM minimum-salary contract, will also be a free agent at season’s end. His inclusion helps the Timberwolves save some money while opening up a roster spot for a possible forthcoming move.

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (via Twitter), Minnesota has been talking to teams around the NBA as they search for another ball-handler, so president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas likely isn’t done dealing. O’Connor reports that the Timberwolves recently pursued Pacers point guard Aaron Holiday, but didn’t get anywhere in those discussions.

The Wolves will create a pair of modest traded player exceptions in this swap. One will be worth Graham’s salary ($1.65MM) while the second will be worth the difference in Teague’s and Crabbe’s cap hits ($500K).

The Hawks, meanwhile, had an open roster spot and are under the salary cap, so acquiring Graham in addition to Teague won’t require any additional moves or cap gymnastics for them.

Atlanta still has big expiring contracts belonging to Chandler Parsons ($25.1MM) and Evan Turner ($18.6MM) if general manager Travis Schlenk wants to make another deal. It’s also worth noting that both Teague and Graham could theoretically be aggregated in a second trade before the deadline since the Hawks are taking them on using cap room.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nets Sign Jeremiah Martin To Two-Way Contract

January 15th, 2020 at 10:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

G League guard Jeremiah Martin has signed a two-way contract with the Nets, the team announced on Twitter, barely beating the deadline for this season.

An opening was created earlier tonight when Brooklyn gave a 10-day contract to two-way player Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot after letting Justin Anderson‘s 10-day deal expire.

Martin, 23, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Heat over the summer after going undrafted out of Memphis. He was waived before the season began and joined Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, where he averaged 18.5 PPG in 21 games.

Nets Part With Justin Anderson, Sign Luwawu-Cabarrot To 10-Day Deal

January 15th, 2020 at 9:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets won’t re-sign Justin Anderson to a second 10-day contract, tweets Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report.

His roster spot will go to two-way player Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who has been playing regular minutes lately and has about a week left on his 45-day NBA limit. Luwawu-Cabarrot will be given a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Anderson signed with Brooklyn on January 6, so his 10 days expired tonight. The small forward appeared in three games, averaging 5.7 minutes per night and scoring three total points. The Nets were the fourth NBA stop for Anderson, who played for the Hawks last season and has spent time with the Mavericks and Sixers.

Anderson, who had been playing for Raptors 905 before signing with Brooklyn, is expected to return to Toronto’s G League team, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.

Ray Spalding Joins Hornets On Two-Way Deal

January 15th, 2020 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:05pm: Spalding’s two-way deal is now official, the team confirmed in a press release.

6:21pm: The Hornets will sign Ray Spalding to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 23-year-old forward was in training camp with the Rockets and joined their G League affiliate after being waived just before the start of the season. He was averaging 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in 20 games with Rio Grande Valley.

Spalding got 14 games of NBA experience last year as a rookie. Thirteen of those were with Mavericks and the other one came after joining the Suns on a 10-day contract last February.

By signing today, Spalding will be eligible to spend up to 24 days in the NBA between now and the end of the G League regular season in March.

The Hornets opened a two-way slot by waiving Robert Franks earlier today, which marks the deadline for issuing two-way contracts this season.

Raptors Waive Shamorie Ponds, Sign Paul Watson

January 15th, 2020 at 5:50pm CST by Luke Adams

5:50pm: The Raptors have officially signed Watson to a two-way deal, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.

7:39am: The Raptors are making a change to one of their two-way contract slots, announcing this morning in a press release that they’ve waived guard Shamorie Ponds. According to Brad Rowland of UPROXX Sports (Twitter link), guard Paul Watson is expected to sign a two-way deal with Toronto.

Ponds, 21, joined the Rockets last summer after going undrafted out of St. John’s. He was cut at the end of the preseason and appeared to be on track to join Houston’s G League affiliate. Instead, he was scooped up a few days later by the Raptors, who signed him to a two-way contract.

While he didn’t see much NBA action, logging 11 total minutes in four games, Ponds has been a regular part of the rotation for the Raptors 905 in the G League. He has averaged 14.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 2.1 APG in 18 NBAGL contests (28.1 MPG).

As for Watson, he spent most of the season with the Raptors 905 too before signing a 10-day contract with the Hawks on January 6. Atlanta released Watson on Tuesday, a day before that deal was set to expire. If he had played out his full 10-day pact, he wouldn’t have been eligible to sign a two-way contract before today’s deadline, so the Hawks did him a favor by letting him go early.

The 25-year-old Fresno State alum has averaged 18.4 PPG and 7.4 RPG with a .533 FG% and .467 3PT% in 13 games (34.4 MPG) for Toronto’s G League affiliate this season. Now that the Raptors are getting healthy, Watson will likely continue to spend most of his time at the NBAGL level, rather than with the NBA club.

Hornets Waive Robert Franks

January 15th, 2020 at 4:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets have opened a two-way slot by waiving Robert Franks, the team announced on Twitter.

The 23-year-old forward signed a two-way deal with Charlotte in July after going undrafted out of Washington State. He didn’t appear in any NBA games, but was averaging 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 22 games with the Hornets’ G League affiliate in Greensboro.

Today marks this season’s deadline for signing two-way players, so another move could be coming from Charlotte later tonight.

Cavs Sign Matt Mooney To Two-Way Contract

January 15th, 2020 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

3:26pm: The Cavaliers have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Mooney to a two-way contract.

8:00am: After releasing Levi Randolph on Sunday to open up a two-way contract slot, the Cavaliers are expected to fill that opening by signing G League guard Matt Mooney, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. It’ll be a two-year, two-way deal for Mooney, Fedor adds.

An undrafted rookie out of Texas Tech, Mooney signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies in September and spent training camp with Memphis. Once the regular season got underway, he joined the franchise’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, where he has started 22 of 24 games, averaging 12.6 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.7 SPG with a shooting line of .479/.368/.955.

Mooney, who will be Cleveland’s second two-way player alongside Dean Wade, will be eligible to spend up to 24 days in the NBA before the G League regular season ends in March. If the Cavs keep him for the entirety of his new two-way contract, Mooney will be eligible for restricted free agency during the summer of 2021.

The signing will give the Cavs a full roster, though two of the players on their 15-man squad – Alfonzo McKinnie and Tyler Cook – are on 10-day contracts that will expire this weekend.

Heat Sign Kyle Alexander To Two-Way Contract

January 15th, 2020 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 15: The Heat have formally finalized Alexander’s two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.

JANUARY 14: With Chris Silva ticketed for a spot on the Heat‘s 15-man roster, the team will fill his two-way contract slot by signing forward Kyle Alexander, sources tell Andre Fernandez of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Alexander, 23, signed a training camp deal with the Heat last July after going undrafted out of Tennessee. Having reported to Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, once he was cut by the NBA club in the fall, he has averaged 10.6 PPG and 9.0 RPG with a .692 FG% in 23 NBAGL games (25.1 MPG).

According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), Alexander will remain with Sioux Falls after signing his two-way deal. However, he’ll be eligible to spend up to 24 days with the NBA team until the G League regular season ends.

Once the Heat’s series of moves is complete, the team will have a full roster for the first time this season. Silva’s three-year contract will make him the 15th man on the standard roster, while Alexander and Gabe Vincent will fill Miami’s two-way slots.