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Kings Sign B.J. Johnson

April 2nd, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

2:19pm: In their announcement officially confirming Johnson’s signing, the Kings added that he’ll be assigned to the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate. That move will allow Johnson to continue his NBAGL playoff run with Lakeland.

11:09am: After signing a pair of 10-day contracts with Atlanta earlier this year, rookie swingman B.J. Johnson will finish the 2018/19 season with another NBA team. According to Jason Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter), the Kings are signing Johnson for the rest of the season. NBA.com’s official transactions log confirms that the move was finalized on Monday.

Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, has spent most of his first professional season playing for the Lakeland Magic in the G League. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .476/.444/.841 in 39 NBAGL games, earning him an NBA shot with the Hawks.

Over the span of 20 days in Atlanta, the 23-year-old appeared in six games, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.3 RPG in limited minutes (7.2 MPG).

The Kings had an open spot on their 15-man roster after Cody Demps‘ 10-day deal expired, so no corresponding move is necessary to create room for Johnson, who figures to earn a rest-of-season minimum salary worth just over $47K. There’s no indication yet that his new contract includes any form of team option for 2019/20.

Jones adds that the Kings intend to immediately assign Johnson to the G League so he can resume playing in the postseason. However, Sacramento’s own affiliate – the Stockton Kings – has been eliminated from the NBAGL playoffs, and it’s not clear that assignment rules would allow the Kings to send him back to his old team in Lakeland. We’ll wait for official word on Johnson’s status.

Hawks Sign Isaac Humphries

April 1st, 2019 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have signed G League center Isaac Humphries for the remainder of the season, the team announced today in a press release. Based on Atlanta’s announcement, it sounds as if Humphries’ new deal will expire at season’s end rather than including an option for next season.

Humphries, who played for the Erie BayHawks – Atlanta’s G League affiliate – this season, averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 46 games (21.8 MPG) this season. The Australian native went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2017 and joined the Sydney Kings for his first professional season in 2017/18, earning NBL Rookie of the Year honors.

Atlanta has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to clear space for Humphries. The Hawks now have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with Deyonta Davis on a 10-day deal that will expire on Sunday night.

Humphries will earn just over $47K on his new contract, which will cover the season’s final 10 days.

Lakers Sign Jemerrio Jones To Two-Year Deal

March 31st, 2019 at 12:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

MARCH 31: The signing is official, according to a tweet from the Lakers.

MARCH 30: The Lakers will sign Jemerrio Jones to a two-year deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The second-year of the pact contains a team option.

Jones will have six games to further make his case for a roster spot next season. The combo forward most recently played for the Lakers’ G League affiliate, leading the team in rebounds per game.

Jones will take over the roster spot currently held by Scott Machado, who will see his 10-day deal with Los Angeles expire on Sunday. Machado appeared in four games for the Lakers, seeing a total of 19 minutes.

JaKarr Sampson Signs 10-Day Contract With Bulls

March 31st, 2019 at 11:10am CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have added JaKarr Sampson on a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release. Sampson was signed with a hardship exception, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary.

It’s the latest effort to provide reinforcements for a squad that is missing seven rotation players because of injuries. On Friday, Chicago signed Walter Lemon Jr. for the rest of the season.

Sampson had been playing for the Bulls’ Windy City affiliate, averaging 21.1 points and 9.1 rebounds in 24 games. The 26-year-old forward joined the G League team after being cut by Chicago in the preseason.

Sampson was a two-way player with the Kings last year, appearing in 22 NBA games. He signed with the Bulls after Sacramento withdrew a qualifying offer last summer. Sampson has also spent time with the Sixers and Nuggets.

Wolves Sign Mitch Creek To 10-Day Deal

March 30th, 2019 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

8:22pm: The signing is official, the Timberwolves confirmed in a tweet.

11:44am: The Timberwolves are working on a 10-day deal for Mitch Creek, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Minnesota has been hit with a rash of injuries in the backcourt and Creek may get a chance to see playing time with the team.

Creek signed two 10-day deals with Brooklyn earlier this season. He saw action in four games, scoring just 3.8 points per contest.

The shooting guard most recently played for the Long Island Nets of the G League. Creek also has an extensive international resume with China and Australia among his prior stops.

Minnesota has a full 15-man roster, but should qualify to add an extra player via the hardship provision, since the team has at least four players – Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Jeff Teague, and Robert Covington – sidelined with long-term injuries. Assuming the team is granted a hardship exception, no corresponding roster move will be needed to clear room for Creek.

Grizzlies Sign Dusty Hannahs To 10-Day Deal

March 30th, 2019 at 10:16am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Grizzlies have inked Dusty Hannahs to a 10-day contract, according to a team press release. Hannahs had been playing with the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.

Hannahs also spent last season with the Hustle and is the young franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He helped lead the G League squad to the playoffs this season.

Hannahs was not selected in the 2017 draft after playing two seasons at the University of Arkansas. He also played two seasons of collegiate basketball with Texas Tech.

The Grizzlies have a full 15-man roster, but won’t need to waive anyone to make room for Hannahs. Kyle Anderson, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson, and C.J. Miles are all sidelined with long-term injuries, so Memphis meets the terms of the hardship provision, which grants injury-plagued teams an extra roster spot.

Hawks Sign Deyonta Davis To Second 10-Day Contract

March 29th, 2019 at 10:55am CST by JD Shaw

MARCH 29: Davis, whose first 10-day deal with Atlanta expired overnight, has officially signed his second 10-day contract with the Hawks, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

MARCH 28: The Hawks have agreed to a second 10-day contract with forward Deyonta Davis, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Davis appeared in two games with Atlanta during his first 10-day contract, scoring once in seven minutes. The Hawks have games scheduled against the Blazers, Bucks (twice), Spurs, Sixers and Magic over the next 10 days, giving Davis ample opportunity to prove his worth.

Davis, a 6-foot-10 forward drafted No. 31 in 2016, appeared in 43 games in the NBA G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors before signing with Atlanta. He held per-game averages of 9.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over that stint.

Davis was the fourth player to sign a 10-day contract with the Hawks this season. Before this transaction, the team signed Tyler Zeller, Jordan Sibert and B.J. Johnson to separate 10-day deals of their own.

Bulls Sign Walter Lemon Jr.

March 29th, 2019 at 10:52am CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 29: The Bulls have officially signed Lemon, the team announced today in a press release.

MARCH 28: Point guard and Chicago native Walter Lemon Jr. will sign with the Bulls for the rest of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Lemon has spent most of this season with Chicago’s Windy City affiliate in the G League, where he averaged 20.1 points per game after being acquired in an early-season trade with Maine. The 26-year-old has played extensively in the G League and overseas since going undrafted out of Bradley in 2014.

Lemon got into five games with the Pelicans after signing a pair of 10-day contracts late last season. He inked a two-way deal with the Celtics last summer, but never played for Boston and was waived in November.

He will provide some help to a Bulls team that has been overwhelmed by injuries. On Wednesday, Lauri Markkanen became the team’s third prominent player to be shut down for the rest of the season, joining Chandler Hutchison and Wendell Carter Jr., who have both been sidelined for weeks. Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Otto Porter have also been unavailable recently.

Rockets Claim Trevon Duval Off Waivers

March 27th, 2019 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets claimed Trevon Duval off waivers from the Bucks on Tuesday before he reached unrestricted free agency. The move was first reported by Kelly Iko of The Athletic (via Twitter) and later confirmed by the team.

Duval, 20, was on a two-way contract with Milwaukee, but the club decided to move on from the rookie guard once the G League season ended over the weekend. The Rockets, who had a two-way spot open after promoting Danuel House‘s to the 15-man roster, were rumored to be interested in claiming two-way player Jawun Evans. However, after the Thunder put a claim in for Evans, Houston nabbed Duval instead.

An undrafted free agent out of Duke, Duval spent most of the 2018/19 season in the G League, averaging 12.5 PPG, 3.6 APG and 2.8 RPG in 38 contests with the Wisconsin Herd. He got into three games for Milwaukee, playing six total minutes and averaging 1.7 PPG.

Before joining the Bucks last offseason, Duval played for the Rockets’ Summer League squad, so this is a reunion of sorts for the two sides.

Because he was waived after March 1, Duval won’t be playoff-eligible, even if the Rockets were to convert his contract to a standard NBA deal. However, he may see some action during the final couple weeks of the regular season, particularly if the Rockets aim to reduce James Harden‘s and Chris Paul‘s workloads down the stretch.

Raptors Re-Sign Jodie Meeks

March 26th, 2019 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 26: The Raptors have officially signed Meeks, the team confirmed today in a press release.

MARCH 25: After letting Eric Moreland‘s 10-day contract expire over the weekend, the Raptors plan on filling one of their open roster spots by bringing back Jodie Meeks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Toronto will sign Meeks to a rest-of-season contract.

Meeks, 31, appeared in 77 games in 2017/18 for the Wizards but saw his season come to an early end when he was suspended 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Meeks was traded to Milwaukee in the offseason, where he served the rest of his suspension at the start of 2018/19 before being waived.

Since then, Meeks has signed just one NBA contract, inking a 10-day deal with Toronto after the All-Star break. Although he only got into a couple games with the Raptors, the veteran sharpshooter provided a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points and knocking down three 3-pointers in just 24 total minutes. The former Kentucky standout is a career 37.2% shooter from beyond the arc.

While Meeks is unlikely to play much of a role for Toronto in the postseason, he figures to see some action in the club’s final regular season games. Still, it’s not clear when the Raptors will officially sign Meeks, since they’re over the tax line and aren’t under pressure to add a 14th man right away.

When he does sign, Meeks will earn $12,295 per day for the rest of the regular season, with the contract counting against the Raps’ cap at a rate of $8,546 per day. The team will still have one more open roster spot once Meeks is back on board.