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Warriors Waive Marquese Chriss, Will Promote Damion Lee

January 7th, 2020 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

1:58pm: The Warriors and Lee are working to finalize a multiyear deal that will includes partial guarantees in future seasons, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The team could offer Lee up to a four-year deal using its mid-level exception.

7:35am: The Warriors completed a somewhat surprising roster move late on Monday night, waiving big man Marquese Chriss, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Using the newly-available roster spot, Golden State will promote two-way player Damion Lee, giving him a standard contract, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

With only 14 players on their 15-man roster before cutting Chriss, the Warriors technically already had a roster spot available to promote Lee. However, the club’s flexibility was limited by its hard cap — with only about $375K in breathing room, there wasn’t enough space to give Lee a prorated minimum salary contract without waiving Chriss, whose salary wasn’t fully guaranteed.

By releasing Chriss in advance of today’s guarantee deadline, Golden State will reduce his cap hit from $1,620,564 to $758,804, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Lee’s cap hit for the remainder of the season, if he signs on Tuesday, will be $915,573, moving the Warriors slightly closer to their hard cap.

The team will retain its open 15th roster spot, which could still be used later in the season – perhaps on two-way player Ky Bowman – once the prorated minimum salary declines to the point where it would fit beneath the hard cap.

As Slater explains in a full story at The Athletic, parting ways with Chriss wasn’t an easy decision for the Warriors, or a popular one within “some pockets of the organization.” A former lottery pick, Chriss is just 22 years old, was well-liked in the locker room, and had played well in a part-time role this season, with 7.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 37 games (17.7 MPG).

However, according to Slater, when Lee agreed to return to the Warriors during the 2019 offseason, he did so with an understanding that he wouldn’t be spending any real time in the G League, and would get a standard roster spot once he exhausted his 45-day NBA limit. Lee has just two of those 45 days remaining, necessitating a move.

In an ideal world, the Warriors would’ve kept both Lee and Chriss, Slater notes. Golden State may have preferred to create space for both players by trading a minimum-salary veteran like Alec Burks or Glenn Robinson III, but with no deal in place, today’s salary guarantee deadline forced the club’s hand on Chriss.

There’s still a chance Chriss could be back at some point — Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that Golden State definitely hasn’t lost interest in him. But there’s no guarantee that another team won’t scoop him up as a free agent, or even via a waiver claim.

“They said it’s been a tough decision,” Chriss told Slater, after learning of his release. “It is what it is. I’ve accomplished a lot. I’ve shown what I’m capable of. I’ve shown I belong. People make business decisions.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavaliers Waive Alfonzo McKinnie, Tyler Cook

January 6th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

3:55pm: The Cavaliers have officially released McKinnie and Cook, the team confirmed in a press release. The club also announced the signing of Levi Randolph to a two-way contract.

2:30pm: The Cavaliers intend to waive third-year forward Alfonzo McKinnie, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Cleveland will also release rookie forward Tyler Cook, who was recently promoted to the 15-man roster.

McKinnie, 27, spent last season with the Warriors but was a cap casualty in October and was claimed off waivers by the Cavaliers. He struggled in Cleveland though, averaging 2.7 PPG with a .353/.286/.636 shooting line in 23 games (11.0 MPG).

As for Cook, he spent most of the season on a two-way contract with the Cavs before being promoted to the 15-man roster on Friday. It appears as if that move was designed to get him a little extra money before he was waived. ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports (via Twitter) that Cook got a $50K partial guarantee on his new contract.

In addition to eating Cook’s $50K guarantee, the Cavaliers will also be on the hook for a prorated portion of McKinnie’s non-guaranteed minimum salary, which works out to about $709K. Both players would have had their full 2019/20 salaries guaranteed if they had been retained through Tuesday.

The moves will leave the Cavs with just 13 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal, giving them a total of three open roster spots. Cleveland will have to add at least one player in the near future, since NBA teams can only dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time. The Cavs will also likely fill their two-way opening by next Wednesday, since January 15 is the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts.

Now that teams can sign players to 10-day contracts, the Cavs may look to bring in multiple players for 10-day auditions in the coming weeks and months. According to Charania, the club will explore the possibility of re-signing McKinnie, assuming he clears waivers on Wednesday.

Cavaliers Sign Levi Randolph To Two-Way Contract

January 6th, 2020 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers are filling their open two-way contract slot by signing G League guard Levi Randolph to a two-way deal, league sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The team has issued a press release confirming the move is official.

Randolph, who went undrafted out of Alabama in 2015, has yet to appear in a regular-season NBA game, but has played professionally in the G League and in multiple international leagues over the last few years.

The 6’5″ guard spent last season with the Canton Charge, then returned to the Cavs’ G League affiliate this fall. In 20 NBAGL games (36.0 MPG) in 2019/20, he has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.4 SPG with a .457/.373/.800 shooting line.

Randolph will join power forward Dean Wade as Cleveland’s second two-way player. He fills the opening created last week when the Cavs promoted Tyler Cook to the 15-man roster. Cook and Alfonzo McKinnie were waived today.

Nets Sign Justin Anderson To 10-Day Contract

January 6th, 2020 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have officially signed free agent wing Justin Anderson to a 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release. No corresponding roster move was required, as Brooklyn recently waived David Nwaba to open up a spot on its 15-man squad.

Anderson, the 21st overall pick in the 2015 draft, had spent this season so far with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. He averaged 21.2 PPG and 6.9 RPG with a .484/.343/.762 shooting line in 13 NBAGL games (33.5 MPG), earning an NBA audition with the Nets.

Anderson, who has appeared in 216 total regular season games, last played in the NBA for Atlanta in 2018/19, recording 3.7 PPG in 48 games (9.6 MPG) for the Hawks. He signed a training camp deal with the Wizards in the fall, but didn’t make Washington’s regular-season roster.

We first heard last Thursday that Anderson would receive a 10-day deal from Brooklyn, but NBA teams weren’t permitted to begin signing those contracts until Sunday. The Nets waited one additional day in order to maximize their 10-day window with Anderson — the team will play six times during his 10-day stint, which ends on January 15.

The Nets now have a full roster, with 15 standard contracts and a pair of players on two-way contracts. The club has made a series of roster moves in recent days, releasing Nwaba and two-way player Henry Ellenson and replacing them with Anderson and new two-way player Chris Chiozza.

Hawks Sign Paul Watson To 10-Day Contract

January 6th, 2020 at 8:50am CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 6: Watson’s 10-day contract with the Hawks is now official, the team announced today in a press release. The deal makes Watson the first player to sign a 10-day contract in 2020 and will keep him locked up through January 15.

JANUARY 4: The Hawks will sign G League swingman Paul Watson to a 10-day contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Watson has spent this season with Raptors 905, where he is averaging 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 13 games while shooting 46.7% from 3-point range. Undrafted out of Fresno State in 2017, Watson had a brief stop in Germany before joining the G League later that year.

Tomorrow is the first day this season that 10-day contracts can be extended. Teams can sign players to a pair of 10-day deals, then they must either be waived or signed for the rest of the season.

Atlanta only has 14 players on its active roster, so Watson can be added with no corresponding move. The Hawks have been carrying an open roster spot since waiving Tyrone Wallace on December 14.

Wizards Waive Johnathan Williams

January 5th, 2020 at 12:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 5: The move is official, the Wizards announced in a press release.

JANUARY 4: The Wizards will waive Johnathan Williams, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Williams is on a non-guaranteed contract, so only a portion of his minimum salary will count against Washington’s cap.

The second-year center signed with Washington on December 26 under the hardship provision. He appeared in five games, starting four, and averaged 4.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per night.

Williams broke into the league last season on a two-way contract with the Lakers. He also played briefly with Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion in Israel.

The Wizards had been carrying 17 players after being granted a pair of hardship exceptions. Those remain in effect only as long as the team has at least four or five players who have missed three or more games due to injury or illness and are expected to miss at least two more weeks.

Wizards Waive Justin Robinson

January 5th, 2020 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards have waived rookie point guard Justin Robinson, the team announced in a press release.

Robinson signed with Washington in July after going undrafted out of Virginia Tech. He spent most of his time in the G League, averaging 14.2 points and 6.1 assists in 18 games with Capital City. Robinson saw limited playing time in nine games with the Wizards.

Robinson will have a $396K cap hit for his time in Washington, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. He signed a three-year, $4.2MM contract over the summer, but it contains no guaranteed money past this year. Salaries across the league will be guaranteed for the rest of the season later this week for players who remain on the roster past Tuesday.

Washington was briefly carrying 17 players after being approved for two hardship exceptions last week. The roster will be back down to 15, along with a pair of two-way contracts, after today’s move and the expected decision to waive Johnathan Williams.

Cutting Robinson indicates that Gary Payton II, who was one of those hardship signings, will be kept on the roster, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Payton is averaging 6.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals in seven games since joining the Wizards.

Nets Sign Chris Chiozza To Two-Way Contract

January 4th, 2020 at 8:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 4: Chiozza has been signed to a two-way contract, the Nets announced in a press release.

JANUARY 3: After being waived by the Wizards in December, point guard Chris Chiozza is expected to sign with the Nets, reports Ben Standig of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Brooklyn is shaking up the back of its roster this week, having already released injured swingman David Nwaba, with two-way player Henry Ellenson expected to follow him to waivers. Those moves opened up one spot on the 15-man roster and one two-way contract slot. With Justin Anderson reportedly set to sign a 10-day contract, the Nets and Chiozza may be on track for a two-way deal, though that remains unclear.

Chiozza, 24, has appeared in a total of 17 NBA games for Houston and Washington since going undrafted in 2018, having spent most of the last season-and-a-half in the G League. The former Florida Gator has struggled with his efficiency this season in 10 games (31.1 MPG) for the Capital City Go-Go, averaging 10.8 PPG on .333/.328/1.000 shooting. However, he has contributed in other ways, recording 6.4 APG and 2.7 SPG.

The Nets’ backcourt depth has been hit hard by injuries this season. Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert have been sidelined since mid-November and Garrett Temple currently day-to-day with a knee issue. The club is on track to get LeVert back on Saturday though, and Chiozza and Anderson should provide added depth.

Nets Waive Forward Henry Ellenson

January 3rd, 2020 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

5:32pm: The Nets have officially waived Ellenson, according to a team press release.

1:01pm: The Nets‘ series of roster moves will include waiving two-way player Henry Ellenson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wonjarowski, who tweets that Brooklyn may use its newly-opened two-way slot to add a backcourt piece.

As we relayed on Thursday, the Nets are also making changes to their 15-man roster, waiving injured swingman David Nwaba and signing G League wing Justin Anderson to a 10-day contract to replace him.

Ellenson, a former 18th overall pick, has been one of Brooklyn’s two-way players this season, alongside Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. While TLC has gotten the opportunity to play a rotation role, Ellenson appeared in just five games at the NBA level, logging 15 total minutes. The big man has spent most of the season with the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.3 PPG and 9.5 RPG in 11 NBAGL games (28.6 MPG).

January 15 is the deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts, so the Nets figure to fill their open spot by then. If Brooklyn wants to promote Luwawu-Cabarrot to the 15-man roster, the team could end up adding a pair of new two-way players.

Cavs Promote Tyler Cook To 15-Man Roster

January 3rd, 2020 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have converted Tyler Cook‘s two-way contract to a standard deal, promoting him to their 15-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. According to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link), it’s a non-guaranteed contract for Cook.

A standout at Iowa, Cook went undrafted last spring, but signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets in August. After being waived by Denver in October and claimed by the Cavs, the 22-year-old has spent most of his rookie year so far with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate. In 15 NBAGL games, he has averaged 12.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 20.7 minutes per contest.

The timing of Cook’s promotion is interesting. All players on non-guaranteed contracts will have their salaries guaranteed if they’re not waived by next Tuesday, so if Cleveland plans to keep Cook on his new standard contract, it’s unclear why the team wouldn’t just guarantee it now.

The Cavs may have another move or two up their sleeves, but for now the team has a full 15-man roster and a newly-opened two-way contract slot. Neither Cook nor Alfonzo McKinnie has a fully guaranteed 2019/20 salary, so Cleveland could waive one or both players in the coming days to create added flexibility.