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Alfonzo McKinnie, Warriors Agree To Two-Year Deal

October 12th, 2018 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

4:11pm: The pact is not guaranteed, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. It won’t be fully guaranteed until January 10th, Slater adds.

3:37pm: McKinnie’s stint on a two-way contract with the Warriors didn’t last long. According to Charania (via Twitter), the two sides have already negotiated a new two-year, minimum salary contract that will make McKinnie the 14th man on the roster. By temporarily giving him a two-way contract, Golden State avoided having to put the second-year forward through waivers.

It’s not clear how much – if any – of McKinnie’s new deal will be guaranteed, or whether his roster spot will be safe if the Warriors eventually bring back Patrick McCaw. For now though, it appears he’s on track to open the regular season with the club.

8:24am: The Warriors are signing camp invitee Alfonzo McKinnie to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). McKinnie’s current contract with Golden State is reportedly an Exhibit 10 deal, which will allow the Dubs to unilaterally convert it into a two-way pact.

According to Charania, the move could be a procedural one, opening the door for McKinnie to eventually sign a new standard contract with the Warriors. Converting his Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract will allow Golden State to keep the 26-year-old forward on the team without keeping him on its 15-man roster, which would increase the club’s projected tax bill. As a two-way player, McKinnie won’t count against the cap, and he could negotiate a standard NBA contract during the season if the Warriors decide they want to move him to the 15-man squad.

McKinnie, who played his college ball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, spent the 2017/18 season with the Raptors, appearing sparingly in 14 games for the club. He saw more action for the Raptors 905 in the G League, averaging 14.0 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 35 contests for the squad. After Toronto waived McKinnie in July, he caught on with the Warriors for camp and has apparently impressed the defending champions this fall.

The Warriors have one open two-way contract slot, with Damion Lee filling the other, so no corresponding cut will be required to finalize the move.

Warriors Waive Tyler Ulis, Three Others

October 12th, 2018 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have waived four players from their 20-man preseason roster, the team announced today in a press release. Point guard Tyler Ulis, swingman Danuel House, big man Deyonta Davis, and guard Kendrick Nunn have all been released, according to the club.

Ulis and House, who each have some NBA experience, appeared to be potential candidates to make the regular season roster with Patrick McCaw‘s restricted free agency still unresolved, but it looks like it will be Alfonzo McKinnie who fills the Warriors’ 14th roster spot instead — he agreed to a two-year contract with Golden State today.

The team is expected to leave its 15th roster spot empty to open the season to retain flexibility and to avoid increasing its projected tax bill.

With Ulis, House, Davis, and Nunn all on waivers and McKinnie receiving a new contract, Marcus Derrickson is the only non-guaranteed camp invitee who wasn’t involved in a roster move today. Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that he wouldn’t be surprised if Derrickson claims Golden State’s second two-way contract slot. Currently, the club’s only two-way player is Damion Lee.

Pistons Waive Johnny Hamilton

October 12th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have waived center Johnny Hamilton, the team announced today in a press release. The move reduces Detroit’s roster count to 18 players, including a pair on two-way contracts.

Hamilton, who went undrafted out of the University of Texas-Arlington, joined the Pistons for Summer League play in July and earned a training camp invite from the team. However, the seven-footer was always more likely to end up as an affiliate player for the Grand Rapids Drive than he was to make Detroit’s regular season roster.

With Hamilton no longer in the picture, the Pistons are carrying 16 players on standard NBA contracts and two on two-way deals. Zach Lofton, the only player on the roster with a non-guaranteed contract, would typically be the odd man out, but he has impressed Detroit this fall, so we’ll see if the club can find room for him in the next few days.

Lakers Sign Scott Machado

October 12th, 2018 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have made an addition to their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today that they’ve signed guard Scott Machado. The team is now carrying 18 players.

Machado, 28, hasn’t played in the NBA since he appeared in six games for the Rockets during his rookie season in 2012/13, but he spent last year with the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate. In 46 games, the former Iona point guard averaged 15.9 PPG, 8.5 APG, and 3.8 RPG with a .450/.405/.884 shooting line.

With Machado apparently poised to return to South Bay in 2018/19, signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract and then waiving him before Monday’s NBA roster deadline will allow the Lakers to award him a bonus worth up to $50K.

Raptors Waive Four, Convert Boucher To Two-Way Deal

October 12th, 2018 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors appear to have set their roster for the regular season, announcing today in a pair of press releases that they’ve waived four players from their roster and converted Chris Boucher‘s Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract. The club now has 16 players under contract, including a pair on two-way deals.

According to the club, forward Deng Adel, center Eric Moreland, and guards Kyle Collinsworth and Kay Felder were all released today. Boucher presumably beat out Moreland for Toronto’s second two-way contract slot, since the team wanted to keep an extra big man. Guard Jordan Loyd currently holds the other two-way deal for the Raptors.

Boucher, a Montreal native, spent last season with Golden State on a two-way contract. He appeared in just one game for the NBA squad, but posted 11.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 20 games for Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League.

If they don’t make any other roster moves before Monday’s deadline, the Raptors will enter the season with an open spot on their 15-man roster. That comes as no surprise, since carrying a 15th player to start the year would increase Toronto’s projected tax bill and reduce the club’s flexibility.

Adel, Moreland, Collinsworth, and Felder will all clear waivers and become free agents on Sunday, assuming they go unclaimed.

Magic Waive Devin Davis, John Petrucelli

October 12th, 2018 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have released a pair of players from their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve requested waivers on forward Devin Davis and guard John Petrucelli.

Both Davis and Petrucelli were recent additions to Orlando’s roster, and were never considered likely to make the team’s 15-man regular season roster. Instead, they’re good bets to end up playing for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate. Because they were on Exhibit 10 contracts, they’ll be eligible for bonuses worth up to $50K if they stick with Lakeland for at least two months.

The Magic now have 18 players under contract. If they don’t sign any more new players within the next couple days, they’ll just need to cut one more player in order to get down to the regular season roster limit.

Warriors To Sign Jaleel Cousins To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 12th, 2018 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are signing center Jaleel Cousins to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Golden State doesn’t currently have an opening on its 20-man roster, so a corresponding move will be required to finalize the signing.

Cousins, the younger brother of Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins, went undrafted in 2016 after playing his college ball at South Florida. Since then, he has played for the G League’s Texas Legends and Reno Bighorns, and also spent time with the Formosa Dreamers in Taiwan. The Warriors figure to waive him shortly and have him play for their own G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Golden State is currently carrying six players on non-guaranteed contracts, though one of those players – Alfonzo McKinnie – is reportedly receiving a two-way deal. That leaves five other candidates to be cut to make room for Cousins — Deyonta Davis, Marcus Derrickson, Danuel House, Kendrick Nunn, or Tyler Ulis.

Nets Sign Tahjere McCall, Shannon Scott

October 12th, 2018 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have signed a pair of guards, Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release. Both players received Exhibit 10 contracts, per Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link).

McCall, 24, spent last season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, averaging 9.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in 37 games. Scott, a strong defender out of Ohio State, was also a regular starter for Long Island last season, recording 7.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.2 SPG in 49 games.

Both players figure to be waived within the next couple days, but will likely return to Long Island for the 2018/19 season. Having signed Exhibit 10 deals, they’ll now be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K, which won’t count against Brooklyn’s cap and should exceed the full-year salaries they’d earn on standard G League contracts.

The Nets’ roster is back up to 20 players for now. The team will make three cuts by Monday.

Warriors Sign Deyonta Davis, Waive Will Cherry

October 11th, 2018 at 5:15pm CST by JD Shaw

The Warriors have signed free agent Deyonta Davis, waiving Will Cherry to create roster space, the team announced in a press release Thursday.

Cherry is expected to play in the G League with Santa Cruz, Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated tweets. He signed a contract to join the Warriors on Monday.

Davis, 21, holds career-averages of 4.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 12.1 minutes in 98 games. He’s spent the past two NBA seasons with the Grizzlies, also seeing action with the team’s G League affiliate.

Davis was drafted with the No. 31 pick in 2016 by Boston. Before then, he spent one collegiate season at Michigan State.

The Warriors still have 20 players on their active roster, with NBA rules requiring that they soon waive three players to reach the season limit.

Mavericks Release Rashad Vaughn, Donte Ingram

October 11th, 2018 at 4:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Three days after signing them, the Mavericks have waived Rashad Vaughn and Donte Ingram, both of whom were on non-guaranteed contracts. Dallas confirmed the cuts today in a press release.

While Vaughn and Ingram didn’t spend much time with the Mavericks, they could be in line for a stint with Dallas’ G League club, the Texas Legends. Unless another team signs them once they clear waivers on Saturday, Vaughn and Ingram are eligible to become affiliate players for the Mavs and could earn bonuses worth up to $50K.

Vaughn was the Bucks’ first-round pick in 2015 and has played a total of 139 NBA games since then. In 28 games for the Bucks, Nets and Magic last season, Vaughn averaged 2.3 PPG in 7.6 MPG. He played for the Heat’s Summer League teams in Las Vegas and Sacramento this offseason.

Ingram, meanwhile, went undrafted in June after playing four years for Loyola University Chicago. He started 38 games as a senior and averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 30.6 MPG. He also appeared in five games for the Bulls’ Las Vegas Summer League team in July, averaging 6.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.4 APG in 26.8 MPG.

Dallas’ roster now sits at 17 players — 15 on standard NBA contracts and a pair on two-way deals.