Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Waive Ahmed Hill

October 19th, 2019 at 1:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets have waived guard Ahmed Hill, according to a team press release.

Hill was signed to a two-way contract in early September, so this move opens up one of those slots.

The former Virginia Tech guard appeared in four preseason games, averaging 1.8 PPG in 5.7 MPG. After going undrafted, the 6’5” Hill joined the Nets’ Summer League roster and appeared in six games in Las Vegas, averaging 6.8 PPG on 44.8% shooting in 18.2 MPG.

He averaged 11.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.2 APG over 134 appearances in his four-year college career.

After waiving Hill, the Hornets’ roster stands at 17 players.

Grizzlies Waive Ivan Rabb, Miles Plumlee

October 19th, 2019 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

1:17pm: The Grizzlies have issued a press release confirming that Rabb and Plumlee have been waived. The team has also cut Bennie Boatwright, according to the announcement.

1:05pm: The Grizzlies will set their regular season roster by parting ways with Ivan Rabb and Miles Plumlee, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Memphis had 17 players with full or partial guarantees and could only retain 15, so Rabb and Plumlee are the odd men out.

Rabb, 22, was the 35th overall pick in the 2017 draft and has spent his first two professional seasons in Memphis, but hadn’t developed into a reliable, consistent rotation piece. In 2018/19, he averaged 5.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 49 games (14.7 MPG). His deal included a partial guarantee of $371,758, which the Grizzlies will have to pay.

As for Plumlee, he was one of the two players acquired by Atlanta earlier this summer in the Grizzlies’ Chandler Parsons trade. Memphis had hoped that Plumlee and Solomon Hill, who each have expiring contracts in the $12-13MM range, would be easier to use as salary-matching pieces in subsequent trades than Parsons. However, the Grizzlies won’t get a chance to flip Plumlee in another deal and will be on the hook for his $12.5MM cap charge.

By releasing Rabb and Plumlee, the Grizzlies are in position to retain Andre Iguodala, Josh Jackson, and Bruno Caboclo. Iguodala and Jackson have guaranteed contracts, but aren’t expected to be with the team to begin the season — Iguodala reached an agreement not to report to the Grizz as they consider trade options, while Jackson is joining the Memphis Hustle in the G League.

Caboclo, meanwhile, never seemed in danger of being cut, but only has a $300K partial guarantee at this point.

Sixers Sign, Waive Five Players

October 19th, 2019 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

1:01pm: In a press release, Philadelphia has confirmed all the roster moves detailed below and announced a couple more. According to the Sixers, in addition to signing and waiving Washburn, Alston, and Harris, they also signed and waived guards Jared Brownridge and Xavier Munford.

Brownridge played for the Delaware Blue Coats last season and Munford’s rights were acquired by Delaware last month, so they’d both be returning-rights players for the Blue Coats.

10:23am: The Sixers have signed and subsequently waived Julian Washburn, Shizz Alston Jr., and Terry Harris, according to reports. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) first reported the signings, while Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link) indicated that all three players had already been released.

Alston is a 6’4″ guard who went undrafted out of Temple this spring after averaging 19.7 PPG and 5.0 APG as a senior. Harris, another undrafted rookie, is the younger brother of Sixers forward Tobias Harris. The former North Carolina A&T swingman played for the 76ers’ Summer League team in July.

As for Washburn, the 6’8″ forward spend much of the 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies before he was dealt to Golden State in the Andre Iguodala deal. The Warriors waived him and the Sixers’ G League affiliate – the Delaware Blue Coats – acquired his returning rights last month.

Alston and Harris will join the Blue Coats as affiliate players, while Washburn will be a returning-rights player for the squad. As a result of their brief stays on the Sixers’ roster, they should also be eligible for Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days in Delaware.

The Sixers had cleared space on the roster for these three players by waiving Isaiah Miles, Christ Koumadje and Haywood Highsmith, as we detailed on Friday night.

Magic Waive Five Players

October 19th, 2019 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have cut down their roster in advance of opening night, announcing today in a press release that they’ve released guard Jon Davis, swingmen DaQuan Jeffries and B.J. Johnson, forward Vic Law, and big man Isaac Humphries.

All five players were training camp invitees on non-guaranteed contracts, so it’s not surprising that they’ve been cut. Still, the series of moves leaves Orlando with just 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts.

NBA rules require teams to carry at least 14 players on standard contracts, though teams can dip below that minimum for two weeks at a time.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote earlier today that the Magic, who don’t have a ton of room below the luxury-tax threshold or hard cap, may alternate between carrying 13 and 14 players to start the regular season to meet those roster requirements while limiting their financial commitments.

In addition to their 13 players on standard contracts, Orlando is also carrying two players on two-way deals.

Warriors Sign Two Players, Release Three

October 19th, 2019 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have officially waived guard Andrew Harrison, guard Juan Toscano-Anderson, and center Kavion Pippen, according to a press release issued by the club. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts.

Of the three players, only Harrison has NBA experience. The former second-round pick has appeared in a total of 145 regular season games for the Grizzlies, Cavaliers, and Pelicans since 2016. It’s not clear what the next step will be for him, but Toscano-Anderson and Pippen are likely to join the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G League team.

Meanwhile, the Warriors put out another press release announcing that they’ve added two new players to their roster, having signed former first-round pick Jared Cunningham and former Indiana standout Nick Zeisloft. Both players are guards.

Cunningham and Zeisloft won’t last long on Golden State’s roster — I expect them to be waived shortly and to eventually land in Santa Cruz.

Raptors Waive Cameron Payne, Devin Robinson

October 19th, 2019 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have cut a pair of training camp invitees, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic, who tweets that the team has placed point guard Cameron Payne and small forward Devin Robinson on waivers.

Payne, who was competing to be Toronto’s third point guard, had a partial guarantee of $150K, so the Raptors will be on the hook for that money, which will count against their cap. Robinson, who appeared to be in the running for a two-way contract, had a non-guaranteed deal.

After waiving Matt Morgan on Friday, the Raptors are now carrying 17 players, including 12 on fully guaranteed contracts. Dewan Hernandez and Chris Boucher appear likely to earn regular-season roster spots, leaving Malcolm Miller and Isaiah Taylor battling for the 15th spot, Murphy tweets. Oshae Brissett‘s contract will likely be converted into a two-way deal.

As Murphy notes (via Twitter), the Raptors’ preference may be to retain Miller, cutting Taylor and then re-signing him to fill the other two-way contract slot after he clears waivers. However, it’s not clear if Taylor would be on board with that plan — or if he’d go unclaimed on waivers.

The Raptors don’t have to make their final decisions today since Miller and Taylor both have partial guarantees. Keeping both players until Monday’s roster deadline won’t result in any extra dead money on the club’s cap.

Pacers Release Stephan Hicks

October 19th, 2019 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

Two days after signing him, the Pacers have waived swingman Stephan Hicks, per Scott Agness of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Hicks has spent the last several seasons playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, recording 15.4 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 48 games (32.6 MPG) for the team in 2018/19.

The 27-year-old is expected to return to Indiana’s G League affiliate for the 2019/20 season. His brief stint with the Pacers should ensure that he earns a bonus worth up to $50K once he spends 60 days with the Mad Ants.

The Pacers now have 17 players under contract — 15 on the standard roster and two on two-way deals.

Hawks Exercise 2020/21 Options On Collins, Young, Huerter

October 19th, 2019 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have picked up their fourth-year option on John Collins and their third-year options on Trae Young and Kevin Huerter, officially announcing the moves today in a press release. All three players are now locked up for the 2020/21 season.

Collins, 22, enjoyed a breakout season in 2018/19, averaging 19.5 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 61 games (30.0 MPG) for the Hawks. The former 19th overall pick will have a cap hit of $4,137,302 in 2020/21 and will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2021 if he doesn’t sign a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason.

Young, the runner-up to Luka Doncic in last season’s Rookie of the Year race, had a big second half and finished with averages of 19.1 PPG and 8.1 APG in 81 games (30.9 MPG). He’ll have a $6,571,800 cap charge in ’20/21. The Hawks will have to decide on his $8.33MM option for 2021/22 by October 31 of next year, though it’s a safe bet that option will be exercised.

Huerter, a member of the 2018 draft class like Young, averaged 9.7 PPG with a .385 3PT% as a rookie. The 21-year-old has a relatively modest $2,761,920 cap figure for ’20/21.

Knicks Waive Three Players

October 19th, 2019 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have officially waived guard Lamar Peters, swingman V.J. King, and forward Kenny Wooten, the team announced today in a press release. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts, so New York’s cap won’t be affected by the cuts.

Peters, King, and Wooten each joined the Knicks as rookie free agents after going undrafted in the spring, which makes them eligible to be designated as affiliate players for the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League team. That appears to be the plan, as Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets.

As a result of today’s roster moves, the Knicks now have 16 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed salaries and one on a two-way deal. I expect the club will make an additional move by Monday to fill that second two-way slot.

Spurs Waive Daulton Hommes

October 19th, 2019 at 8:30am CST by marksuleymanov

The Spurs have waived forward Daulton Hommes, the team announced in a press release on Saturday. Hommes appeared in four preseason contests for San Antonio.

After going undrafted, Hommes, 23, appeared in four games with the Bucks during NBA Summer League action, averaging 8.8 PPG and 1.6 RPG. The Point Loma Nazarene University product averaged 21.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG as a senior, earning NABC Division II National Player of the Year honors.

He was inked to an Exhibit 10 contract by the Spurs in mid-August.

By waiving Hommes, the Spurs have reduced their roster total to the regular-season limit of 15 players on standard deals and two on two-way contracts.