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Pelicans Sign DeAndre Liggins To 10-Day Deal

January 10th, 2018 at 12:01pm CST by marksuleymanov

JANUARY 10, 12:01pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Liggins to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Friday.

JANUARY 9, 8:48pm: The Pelicans are signing guard DeAndre Liggins to a 10-day deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Liggins was waived by the Bucks last Sunday to open a roster spot.

Liggins, 29, appeared in 31 games for Milwaukee, providing a jolt on the defensive end, per Wojnarowski. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

New Orleans currently has a full 15-man roster, but the team has four players – Alexis Ajinca, Frank Jackson, Tony Allen, and Solomon Hill – sidelined with long-term injuries. That makes the Pelicans eligible for a hardship exception, so they’ll temporarily add Liggins as a 16th man.

Liggins is expected to be available for New Orleans’ Wednesday night tilt against the Grizzlies. This marks Liggins’ seventh NBA stop as he has also suited up for the Magic, Thunder, Heat, Cavaliers and Mavericks since he was drafted out of Kentucky in 2011.

As Wojnarowski writes, Liggins joins a Pelicans team that features two former Kentucky teammates in DeMarcus Cousins and Darius Miller.

Lakers To Sign Jamil Wilson To 10-Day Deal

January 8th, 2018 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

4:14pm: Wilson will sign a 10-day contract with the Lakers, Wojnarowski tweets. He’s expected to sign Wednesday and play Thursday, the tweet adds.

JANUARY 8th, 10:18am: After being waived by the Clippers on Saturday, rookie forward Jamil Wilson may not have to leave town to continue his NBA career. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Lakers are the strong frontrunners to sign Wilson to a 10-day contract, assuming he clears waivers later today.

Wilson, 27, spent time in training camps with the Suns and Mavericks in past years, but had never appeared in a regular season NBA game until 2017/18. The former Marquette standout inked a two-way contract with the Clippers and appeared in 15 games (10 starts) for the club, averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG with solid shooting numbers (.469 FG%, .429 3PT%).

Although Wilson was solid for the Clippers, his 45 NBA days were running out, and the club needed some additional backcourt depth. Los Angeles waived Wilson in order to sign Tyrone Wallace to a two-way contract on Saturday, and now the former Clipper could join the NBA’s other L.A. team.

Assuming Wilson goes unclaimed on waivers and joins the Lakers, no corresponding roster move would be required. The Lakers waived veteran center Andrew Bogut on Saturday before his salary became fully guaranteed, so the club has an open roster spot.

Pelicans Waive Jalen Jones

January 8th, 2018 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have waived small forward Jalen Jones, a source tells William Guillory of The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Jones had been on a two-way contract with New Orleans, so the move – officially confirmed by the Pelicans – opens up a two-way slot, but doesn’t create an opening on the club’s 15-man NBA roster.

Jones, 24, was with the Celtics in training camp back in 2016, but was cut before the regular season began and spent the year in the G League. A solid showing in 46 games for the Maine Red Claws last season (21.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG) earned Jones a two-way contract with the Pelicans this season.

Since New Orleans doesn’t have a G League affiliate of its own, Jones split time between the Greensboro Swarm and Texas Legends this season, and also briefly appeared in four NBA games for the Pelicans. While his scoring average (19.1 PPG) remained strong in the G League this season, Jones’ 3PT% slipped from .345 last year to .275 this year.

The Pelicans are still carrying Charles Cooke on a two-way deal, but now have one of two slots open, becoming the latest NBA club to create a two-way opening. Teams have until January 15 to sign a player to a two-way contract, so I imagine those teams with open slots will be keeping a close eye on potential targets at this week’s G League showcase event in Mississauga, Ontario.

Bucks Convert Kilpatrick’s Deal, Waive Bolomboy

January 7th, 2018 at 9:18pm CST by Austin Kent

9:18pm: Both moves are official, the team announced in a press release.

4:32pm: The Bucks will convert guard Sean Kilpatrick‘s two-way contract into a regular season deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The shooting guard signed on with the club on December 18 and has seen action in five games since.

To free up a regular roster slot, the club will waive Joel Bolomboy whose own two-way deal had been converted into a regular season contract earlier today.

With Bolomboy out of the picture, Kilpatrick will slide into the vacancy that was initially created earlier this morning when the team waived DeAndre Liggins ahead of the deadline for his deal to become guaranteed.

All in all, both Liggins and Bolomboy are out of the picture, Kilpatrick will be Milwaukee’s 15th regular season contract, Munford was added on a two-way deal and the other two-way slot remains vacant.

Suns To Guarantee Isaiah Canaan’s Contract

January 7th, 2018 at 4:37pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Suns have guaranteed point guard Isaiah Canaan‘s contract for the rest of the season, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports.

Canaan, 26, is dealing with a left adductor strain that sidelined him for Phoenix’s last game. In 10 games for the Suns this season, the former second-round has averaged 10.0 PPG and 4.9 APG in 23.2 minutes per night.

Canaan was originally signed using the Suns’ hardship exception due to four players being out with injuries Last month, the Suns elected to keep Canaan over Mike James, who the team waived in favor the fifth-year guard. He was signed to a minimum deal after James’ release but did not see his contract guaranteed until today.

Pacers To Waive Damien Wilkins

January 7th, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

2:45pm: The Pacers have officially requested release waivers on Wilkins, thus ending his stint with the team, the organization announced in a press release.

12:57pm: The Pacers have decided to waive Damien Wilkins, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The 37-year-old forward had a $2,116,995 guarantee that would have kicked in if he were kept on the roster past today.

Wilkins had been out of the league for four seasons before earning a roster spot with Indiana in the preseason. He was first signed by the SuperSonics in 2004 and played for six NBA teams throughout his career.

Wilkins averaged 1.7 points and 8.0 minutes of playing time in 19 games with the Pacers and made his only start of the season last night.

Bucks Waive DeAndre Liggins

January 7th, 2018 at 10:46am CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 7, 10:46am: Milwaukee has officially requested waivers on Liggins, the team announced on its website.

JANUARY 6, 8:30pm: The Bucks plan to waive guard DeAndre Liggins before Sunday’s deadline to guarantee his salary for the season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Liggins played 31 games for Milwaukee and had his greatest impact on defense, Wojnarowski notes. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per night.

The move not only opens a roster spot, it will put the Bucks $5.1MM below the luxury tax, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Liggins’ contract will carry a $757,427 cap hit once the waiver becomes official. Milwaukee also has trade exceptions valued at $5MM and $3.4MM.

The Bucks acquired Liggins in October when they claimed him off waivers from the Heat. Since last April, the 29-year-old has spent time with the Cavaliers, Mavericks, Rockets, Clippers, Hawks, Heat and Bucks.

A two-time G League Defensive Player of the Year, Liggins had his best NBA season last year in Cleveland, averaging 2.4 points in 61 games.

Bulls To Guarantee David Nwaba’s Contract

January 7th, 2018 at 10:35am CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls guard David Nwaba will receive a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Nwaba, who was claimed off waivers from the Lakers in July, has shown improvement in his second NBA season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 28 games. He is making $1,312,611 this season and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Nwaba is so secure in his spot in Chicago’s rotation that he didn’t realize that 4pm today is the deadline to waive players before their contracts become fully guaranteed, relays K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.

“I’m not really concerned about that. I actually didn’t even know it was Sunday,” Nwaba said. “I just work hard, compete and see what I can do to help teams win games.”

Knicks’ Willy Hernangomez Attracting Trade Interest

January 7th, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Several teams have contacted the Knicks about backup center Willy Hernangomez, according to Ian Begley on ESPN Now.

Playing time has been an issue all season for Hernangomez as Enes Kanter took over as the starting center after being acquired from Oklahoma City, leaving Kyle O’Quinn, Joakim Noah and Hernangomez to compete for the remaining minutes.

Hernangomez has only played in three of the Knicks’ last 16 games and has appeared in just 17 all season. He is averaging 9.7 minutes per night, roughly half of his playing time as a rookie last year. The teams reaching out to the Knicks believe Hernangomez still has potential based on his performance last season, when he averaged 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

The Knicks don’t want to part with Hernangomez unless they receive a “prime talent” in return, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. He adds that no concrete offers have been received, but the teams making inquiries have a history of pursuing European players. New York would prefer to deal O’Quinn, who is expected to opt out this summer, but has only received “mild interest” from contenders about him.

A deal has been considered likely for some time as New York tries to solve its overabundance of centers. Hernangomez has the easiest contract to absorb, making $1,544,951 this season with a non-guaranteed $1,676,735 for 2018/19. O’Quinn is earning a little more than $4MM this year with a $4,256,250 player option for next season, while Noah is virtually untradable with two years and nearly $38MM left on his deal.

Jarrett Jack To Have Contract Guaranteed

January 7th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks point guard Jarrett Jack will have his contract guaranteed for the remainder of the season, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

Signed shortly before the beginning of training camp, Jack has taken over as New York’s starting point guard and is averaging 7.2 points and 5.9 assists in 37 games. He has also been a mentor to first-round pick Frank Ntilikina.

The Knicks are the eighth team for the 34-year-old, who is in his 13th NBA season. He has bounced back from a torn ACL he suffered with the Nets in 2015/16.