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Pelicans Sign Emeka Okafor For Rest Of Season

February 26th, 2018 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

6:30pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Okafor to a rest-of-season deal, the team announced today in a press release.

8:31am: After his second 10-day deal with the Pelicans expired, Emeka Okafor will re-sign with the team, earning a rest-of-season contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Okafor, 35, entered this season having played his last NBA game during the 2012/13 campaign. However, after a solid G League showing with the Delaware 87ers, the former second overall pick was called up by the Pelicans earlier this month.

With DeMarcus Cousins sidelined due to a torn Achilles, Okafor has assumed the role of starting center in New Orleans. The big man hasn’t contributed much on offense, posting 3.7 PPG and a .346 FG% in six games (16.2 MPG). However, he remains a difference-maker on the defensive end, chipping in 6.3 RPG and 2.0 BPG. The Pelicans have won all four games he has started.

Once Okafor officially re-signs, he’ll become the second Pelicans player to parlay a pair of 10-day contracts into a rest-of-season deal — DeAndre Liggins also did so, as our 10-day tracker shows. New Orleans currently has 13 players on rest-of-season or multiyear NBA contracts, with Okafor poised to become the 14th. The 15th roster spot is occupied by Walter Lemon Jr., who is on a 10-day deal.

Assuming Okafor signs his new contract on Monday and it’s worth the minimum salary, it will count for approximately $374K on the Pelicans’ cap.

Mavs Sign Scotty Hopson To 10-Day Contract

February 26th, 2018 at 6:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have signed swingman Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contract, according to a team press release. The team has an open roster spot and thus does not need to make another move to add Hopson.

This confirms an ESPN report on Friday that Dallas intended to sign him.

Hopson, 28, has spent virtually all of his professional career overseas. He played two games for the Cavaliers during the 2013/14 season. That offseason, Hopson was traded four times before the Kings waived him.

Hopson has been playing with Galatasaray in the Turkish league this season. In 13 games, he averaged 11.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.8 APG and 21.8 MPG.

The 6’7” Hopson went undrafted in 2011 after playing three seasons at Tennessee. He’s played in Greece, Israel, Spain and China as well as Turkey.

Hawks, Ersan Ilyasova Finalize Buyout

February 26th, 2018 at 5:50pm CST by Luke Adams

5:50pm: Ilyasova plans to sign a veteran’s minimum contract with the Sixers for the rest of the season once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

3:05pm: The Hawks have officially waived Ilyasova, per a team release. He’s on track to clear waivers on Wednesday, at which point he’d be free to sign with the Sixers.

2:42pm: The Hawks and veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova have finalized their buyout agreement, reports Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The team is expected to formally announce Ilyasova’s release soon.

We first heard last Friday that the Hawks were nearing a buyout for Ilyasova. While it took a few days for the two sides to make the agreement official, it was always expected to happen. In fact, Ilyasova has already worked on lining up a new team for after he clears waivers — a Sunday report indicated that he intends to return to the Sixers.

Ilyasova, 30, has had a solid year with the Hawks, averaging 10.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 46 contests (25.5 MPG). The stretch four has a shooting line of .459/.359/.800. All of those numbers are in the general ballpark of his career averages.

After they waive Ilyasova, the Hawks will be left with just 13 players on their NBA roster, meaning they’ll once again have to get back up to 14 players, the league-mandated minimum. Atlanta left itself with 13 players after buying out Marco Belinelli earlier this month, and eventually signed Antonius Cleveland to a 10-day contract to get back to 14.

As for the Sixers, Belinelli ended up on their roster after being bought out by the Hawks, filling their final open roster spot. Philadelphia will have to cut a player to officially sign Ilyasova.

Jazz Give Naz Mitrou-Long Second 10-Day Contract

February 24th, 2018 at 4:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have signed Naz Mitrou-Long to a second 10-day contract, the team announced on its website.

The 24-year-old guard didn’t get any playing time during his first 10-day deal. He appeared in one game and saw one minute of action with Utah on a two-way contract earlier this season. Mitrou-Long has spent most of the year with the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars, where he is averaging 17.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

When Mitrou-Long’s second 10-day deal expires, the Jazz will either have to release him or sign him for the rest of the season.

Wizards Sign Ramon Sessions To 10-Day Deal

February 23rd, 2018 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 23: The Wizards have officially signed Sessions to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.

“We’re very familiar with Ramon,” Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “He’s a veteran who can play both guard positions and will add depth to our backcourt.”

FEBRUARY 22: The Wizards plan to sign veteran point guard Ramon Sessions to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The club has two open spots on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required.

An 11-year NBA veteran, Sessions has some previous experience with the Wizards, having spent time with the team in 2015 and 2016. He left Washington as a free agent in 2016 to join the Hornets, then spent the first part of this season with the Knicks.

New York’s starting point guard to open the 2017/18 campaign, Sessions was quickly supplanted in the lineup by Jarrett Jack and ultimately didn’t see much action with the Knicks. In total, he averaged 3.7 PPG and 2.1 APG in 13 games (12.8 MPG) for the club, struggling with his shot during his limited minutes (.321 FG%, .182 3PT%). He was waived in January.

The Wizards have been on the lookout for a veteran point guard to help man the position with John Wall on the shelf. Prior to the All-Star break, Washington was linked to Ty Lawson and Derrick Rose, along with Sessions. The timing of the move comes as no surprise, since the Wizards were required by league rules to add a 14th player to their roster this week — I’d expect the deal to be finalized by the end of the day.

As our chart from earlier today shows, Sessions will make $131,562 on his 10-day deal, while the Wizards will take on a cap hit of $83,129. The team will also incur approximately $147K in projected luxury tax penalties, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Mavs Plan To Sign Scotty Hopson To 10-Day Deal

February 23rd, 2018 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks intend to sign former NBA swingman Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contract in the coming days, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Dallas currently has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so the club won’t need to waive anyone to make room for Hopson.

Hopson, 28, had a very brief stint in the NBA during the 2013/14 season, when he played in two games for the Cavaliers. He then had an eventful 2014 offseason that saw him traded from the Cavs to the Hornets to the Pelicans to the Rockets to the Kings before he was finally waived by Sacramento. He hasn’t played an NBA game since then.

Although he hasn’t seen much NBA action, the former Tennessee star, who went undrafted in 2011, has built an extensive professional résumé in international play. Hopson has spent time with teams in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Spain, and China since going pro. This season, he has played for Turkish club Galatasaray, averaging 10.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 14 Turkish League games, with 11.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 13 EuroCup contests.

Based on their schedule, the Mavs will likely wait until next week to make Hopson’s signing official, tweets MacMahon.

Hawks Sign Antonius Cleveland To 10-Day Deal

February 22nd, 2018 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

12:15pm: Cleveland’s deal with the Hawks is now official, tweets Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

8:25am: The Hawks will fill one of their two open roster spots this week by signing shooting guard Antonius Cleveland to a 10-day contract, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Cleveland, 24, went undrafted out of Southeast Missouri State, but played for the Blazers in Summer League and then signed a training camp deal with the Warriors last summer. While he didn’t earn a spot on Golden State’s regular season roster, he later caught on with the Mavericks, signing a two-way contract with Dallas and appearing in 13 games for the club. He was waived by the Mavs in December.

Cleveland averaged just 6.2 minutes per contest in his 13 NBA games, but the rookie saw more consistent playing time in seven G League games with the Santa Cruz Warriors and Texas Legends. In that small sample, he averaged 13.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.7 SPG with a .538/.500/.826 shooting line.

Atlanta is one of four teams that needed to make a roster move this week in order to get back up to 14 players after slipping to 13 at the trade deadline. The Trail Blazers have already signed Brandon Rush, while the Cavaliers are signing Marcus Thornton, leaving the Wizards as the only club that still needs to add a player.

Cavaliers Sign Marcus Thornton To 10-Day Contract

February 22nd, 2018 at 10:53am CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 22: The Cavs have officially announced their 10-day deal with Thornton. However, it sounds like Thornton’s role with his G League squad won’t change much, as the Cavs’ announcement indicates he’ll be assigned to the Canton Charge before Friday’s game.

Meanwhile, Damion Lee of the Santa Cruz Warriors will replace Thornton on USA Basketball’s roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

FEBRUARY 21: The Cavaliers will fill one of their open roster spots by signing G League guard Marcus Thornton to a 10-day contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Cleveland had been carrying a 13-man roster since making three deals at the February 8 trade deadline. NBA rules require teams to have at least 14 players, but they are permitted to go below that number as long as they get back to 14 within two weeks.

Thornton was a second-round pick by the Celtics in 2015 and has played in Australia, Italy and the G League. The Celtics renounced their rights to Thornton over the summer and he signed with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate, in November. The 25-year-old averaged 18.8 points in 37 games with Canton.

Thornton will receive $46,080 for the 10 days, but his salary will count $83,129 toward the luxury tax, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The signing will cost the Cavs about $353K in luxury taxes, raising their overall bill to $50.3MM.

Once Thornton’s contract expires, Cleveland can sign him to another 10-day deal, keep him for the rest of the season or release him and make another move to stay at the 14-player limit.

Thornton’s signing also affects Team USA in its quest to qualify for the FIBA World Cup, notes Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Coach Jeff Van Gundy will have to find a replacement for Thornton before upcoming games on Friday and Monday.

Blazers Sign Brandon Rush To 10-Day Contract

February 21st, 2018 at 6:52pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 21, 6:52pm: The signing is official, the Blazers announced on their website.

FEBRUARY 20, 7:55am: The Trail Blazers will fill one of their two open roster spots by signing veteran swingman Brandon Rush to a 10-day contract this week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Rush, a lottery pick back in 2008, has spent time with the Pacers, Warriors, Jazz, and Timberwolves over the course of nine NBA seasons. Known for his outside shooting ability, the 32-year-old has a career .402 3PT%. While he didn’t play a major role for Minnesota last season, averaging a modest 4.2 PPG, he continued to knock down outside shots when he took them, with a .386 3PT%.

This past offseason, Rush caught on with the Bucks for training camp, but failed to earn a spot on Milwaukee’s regular season roster, having been cut just before opening night. In Portland, he’ll get an opportunity to establish himself as a player worth keeping on the roster down the stretch.

As we outlined on Monday, the Blazers are one of four NBA teams that needs to sign a player this week in order to get back up to 14 players on standard contracts. Portland, Washington, Cleveland, and Atlanta all dipped to 13 players around the trade deadline, which is only permitted for two weeks.

The Blazers are well positioned to remain under the luxury tax following Rush’s signing, since his contract will feature a modest cap hit of $83,129, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks details (via Twitter). Portland will still be about $573K below the tax line after signing Rush.

That cushion would allow the Blazers to re-sign Rush to another 10-day contract and – eventually – a rest-of-season deal and stay out of the tax, though the equation would become more complicated if the club wants to add a 15th player to its roster at some point.

Pelicans Sign Walter Lemon Jr. To 10-Day Contract

February 21st, 2018 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 21, 6:20 pm: The signing is official, the Pelicans confirmed in an email.

FEBRUARY 20, 1:42pm: A busy day of 10-day contract agreements continues, as Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that the Pelicans have agreed to sign G League guard Walter Lemon Jr. to a 10-day deal.

New Orleans currently has 13 players on standard NBA contracts, plus Emeka Okafor on a 10-day contract of his own, leaving one open spot on the 15-man squad. As such, no corresponding move will be required to finalize Lemon’s agreement.

Lemon, a former Bradley point guard who went undrafted in 2014, has made stops in Hungary, Germany, and Greece during his professional career, but is having his most successful season this year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

In 36 games for Indiana’s G League affiliate, Lemon has averaged 22.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG, and a .490 FG%, with Dedrick Hendrix of Ridiculous Upside recently singling out the 6’3″ guard as a rising star in the G League. The 25-year-old will get a chance to make his NBA debut for the Pelicans.