Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Sign, Waive Barefield, Edwards, Jack

October 19th, 2019 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

3:49pm: As expected, the Thunder have now waived Barefield, Edwards, and Jack, the team announced in a follow-up press release. OKC’s roster is back down to 16 players, including a pair on two-way contracts.

9:36am: The Thunder are making some last-minute roster moves to line up players for their G League affiliate, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed guard Sedrick Barefield, as well as forwards Vince Edwards and Kadeem Jack.

Barefield, an undrafted rookie out of Utah, averaged 16.8 PPG and 3.8 APG with a .408/.388/.825 shooting line in 31 games (32.2 MPG) in 2018/19, which was his final college season. He played for Atlanta’s Summer League team in July.

Edwards, a 2018 second-round pick, spent his rookie year on a two-way contract with the Rockets. He averaged 9.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 31 games (30.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, appearing in just two games for Houston.

Jack, a former Rutgers forward, is a G League veteran, having appeared in a total of 129 games for a handful of NBAGL squads. He last played for the South Bay Lakers early in 2018/19.

It appears as if the Thunder should be able to designate all three signees as affiliate players for their own G League team – the OKC Blue – since Jack was waived by South Bay last season and the other two players have never signed NBAGL contracts. All three will likely be released by the Thunder shortly.

Daryl Macon Receives Two-Way Deal From Heat

October 19th, 2019 at 3:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have signed guard Daryl Macon to a two-way contract, according to a team press release. Miami also waived four players — Kyle Alexander, Skyler Flatten, Davon Reed and Bubu Palo — to reduce their opening-night roster to 14 players, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

The Heat can only carry 14 players, one below the maximum, on their regular roster because they’re hard-capped.

Macon got the last spot on the 20-man training camp roster via an Exhibit 10 contract and made the most of it. He appeared in four preseason games, totaling 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes.

Macon, who signed a two-way contract with Dallas last season, split last season between the Mavericks and their G League team, the Texas Legends. He played on the Heat’s summer league team last year after going undrafted out of Arkansas. Forward Chris Silva has the other two-way spot.

Alexander and Reed are the most prominent players among the quartet that was waived. The 6’11” Alexander went undrafted out of Tennessee before joining Miami’s summer league squad.

Reed was the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Suns, but lasted just one season in Phoenix before being cut last October. He then signed with the Pacers on a two-way contract and spent most of the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.

Some or all of the players waived could wind up with the Heat’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls.

Clippers Waive Forward Donte Grantham

October 19th, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have waived forward Donte Grantham, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

The transaction reduces their roster to the maximum 15 players on standard contracts, though only 14 of those players have full guarantees. The only player remaining from the camp roster without a guaranteed deal is Derrick Walton Jr. His $1.45MM contract doesn’t fully guarantee until January 10.

Grantham signed an Exhibit 10 contract in August. He’ll likely join the Clippers’ G League affiliate, as the Agua Caliente Clippers traded for his returning rights last month.

He went undrafted out of Clemson last year and then spent most of his first professional season on a two-way contract with the Thunder. He played just two minutes in three NBA games for Oklahoma City but was a regular starter for the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG. Grantham’s two-way deal included a second season, but the Thunder waived him in July.

Hawks Waive Gabriel, Ogden Jr.

October 19th, 2019 at 2:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks waived forwards Kenny Gabriel and Mark Ogden Jr., according to a team press release.

Atlanta signed Gabriel on Friday and inked Ogden Jr. earlier on Saturday with the intent of making them affiliate players for the College Park Skyhawks, their G League squad.

Gabriel, 30, has spent his professional career playing in a handful of international leagues since going undrafted out of Auburn back in 2012. Most recently, he played for Turkish club Turk Telecom in 2018/19, averaging 9.2 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 43 games.

The 6’9” Ogden has spent the past three seasons overseas with the Georgian team Olimpi (2017-19) and in Luxembourg with Racing Lux (2016-17). Ogden went undrafted after playing his last two college seasons at Dixie State.

Both will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with the Skyhawks.

Mavericks Cut Chad Brown

October 19th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have placed former UCF forward Chad Brown on waivers, according to a press release issued today by the club. Brown, who was just signed on Thursday, is expected to be designated as an affiliate player for Dallas’ G League team, the Texas Legends.

Brown primarily came off the bench during his four college seasons, averaging 4.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 33 games (17.3 MPG) as a senior in 2018/19. He went undrafted this spring and joined the Magic for Summer League play in July.

Dallas now has 17 players under contract — 15 on fully guaranteed standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. The roster is regular-season ready, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the Mavs are done making moves.

Lakers Release Marcus Allen

October 19th, 2019 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

After signing him on Thursday, the Lakers have waived guard Marcus Allen, the team announced today in a press release.

Allen, who played his college ball at Stanford, spent last season with the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate. His brief stint on the NBA roster this week was seemingly designed to ensure he gets an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with South Bay again this year.

In his lone preseason appearance for the Lakers on Friday, Allen had four points, an assist, and a pair of steals in 21 minutes.

Los Angeles now has 19 players under contract.

Wizards Waive Pasecniks, Jones

October 19th, 2019 at 2:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards have waived center Anzejs Pasecniks and forward Jalen Jones, the team’s media relations department tweets.

Both players were recently signed to Exhibit 10 contracts and will likely wind up with the team’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

Pasecniks, a seven-footer from Latvia, was acquired by the Sixers on draft night in 2017 after he was selected with the 25th overall pick by Orlando. He played overseas the last two seasons for the Spanish team Gran Carania. Philadelphia renounced his NBA rights, clearing a path for him to join the Wizards for Summer League play.

Jalen Jones, a 6’7″ forward out of Texas A&M, has appeared in 32 total games for the Pelicans, Mavericks, and Cavaliers over the last two seasons. He was waived from his two-way contract with Cleveland in January and finished the 2018/19 season with Baskonia in Spain.

Jordan McRae and Justin Robinson are likely to get the last two roster spots now that Pasecniks and Jones have been waived, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. McRae’s veteran minimum salary includes a guarantee of $600K if he’s on the opening night roster. His $1.6MM contract would fully guarantee if he’s still on the Wizards through December 20th.

Robinson’s $988K contract doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10th. Robinson, a 6’2” guard, was signed in July after going undrafted out of Virginia Tech.

Guard Chris Chiozza will likely receive the team’s other two-way contract, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets. Chiozza was signed to a training camp deal last month. The Wizards’ other two-way player is guard Garrison Mathews.

Bucks Sign Jemerrio Jones

October 19th, 2019 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have signed former Lakers and Wizards forward Jemerrio Jones, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Jones, 24, finished the 2018/19 season with the Lakers, averaging 4.5 PPG and 8.2 RPG in six games (23.8 MPG). He was sent to Washington in the three-team Anthony Davis blockbuster this summer for salary-matching purposes, then was waived by the Wizards earlier this week.

Because Jones received a partial guarantee of nearly $200K as a result of his inclusion in the Davis trade, he’s ineligible to sign a two-way contract with any NBA team this season. However, he can still play in the G League.

According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), Jones’ new deal with Milwaukee contains an Exhibit 10 clause and the plan is for him to be waived and to join the Wisconsin Herd to start the season, so he can earn a $50K bonus. Of course, if he gets an NBA opportunity before he spends 60 days with the Herd, that plan could change.

Cavaliers Waive Jarell Martin

October 19th, 2019 at 1:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers have waived forward Jarell Martin, Chris Fedor of The Athletic tweets.

The move reduces their roster to 13, suggesting another transaction may be forthcoming. The team has discussed the possibility of claiming forward Alfonzo McKinnie, who was waived by the Warriors, Fedor reports in another tweet. They could also be in the market for another big man, due to injury concerns regarding John Henson and Ante Zizic, Fedor adds.

The roster count does not include two-way players Dean Wade and Tyler Cook.

Teams are technically required to have at least 14 players on standards contracts, though they are allowed to skate by with 13 for two weeks at a time.

Martin was signed in September on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract.

Martin, 25, was selected out of LSU with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2015 draft. He spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Grizzlies before being dealt to the Magic in July 2018. Martin played sparingly in Orlando, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 42 games (7.8 MPG).

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.