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Beno Udrih Signs With Lithuanian Team

December 24th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Beno Udrih, who was waived by the Pistons in October, has signed to play in Lithuania, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Udrih will join Zalgiris Kaunas, one of the oldest and most decorated teams in the EuroLeague.

Udrih, 35, played for eight teams during a 13-year NBA career after being drafted by the Spurs with the 28th pick in 2004. His best seasons came in Sacramento, where he was a double-digit scorer for four straight years from 2007/08 to 2010/11.

He was involved in a controversy in February of 2016 when he agreed to a buyout with the Heat that gave Miami enough cap room to sign Joe Johnson after his buyout from the Nets. Udrih was sidelined because of foot surgery at the time and had no chance to catch on with another team. Miami re-signed him in August of that year, but he failed to earn a roster spot.

The Pistons claimed him off waivers and he spent a full season in Detroit, averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 39 games. The team opted to part with him in mid-October, even though it was already down to the roster limit of 15.

“It was still hard for me because I love the guy, and so does everybody out here,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Ansar Khan of MLive at the time. “Good guy, knows how to play, really has a good way about him of helping the young guys and talking to them and teaching them. I’ve seen a lot of veterans who try to help young guys, but they come across as condescending a little bit, like, ‘I know more than you.’ Beno never came across like that. He was able to talk to guys.”

Mike James Waived By Suns

December 22nd, 2017 at 9:24pm CST by Austin Kent

The Suns have waived guard Mike James, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 27-year-old rookie had initially been signed to a two-way contract with the franchise but had that deal converted into a regular season contract.

The decision was likely a difficult one for the organization to make, considering that James had thrived on a young team that found stability in the mature first-year player. We discussed on Wednesday, however, that such a decision may have been looming for the franchise.

With four players sidelined due to injury, the team had recently been granted a hardship exception and used it on December 13 to sign journeyman point guard Isaiah Canaan. Canaan’s play in the four games since has essentially forced the team’s hand.

In four matchups this season, playing 25.0 minutes a night, Canaan has averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. While James’ numbers were respectable in their own right, Canaan may have the higher ceiling, not least because despite being a five-year veteran, he’s still actually younger than James.

James, who went undrafted in 2012, will now turn his attention to finding a new home, a task that may be a bit easier now that he has a quarter of a season of big league games under his belt.

Jazz To Sign Naz Mitrou-Long To Two-Way Deal

December 22nd, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz plan to sign Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The combo guard out of Iowa State went undrafted over the summer but played briefly with Utah in training camp prior to being cut ahead of opening day.

After his October 14 release from the Jazz, the Canadian combo guard went to work for Utah’s G League affiliate, playing 20 games for the Salt Lake City Stars averaging 15.0 points and 3.7 assists per game.

Mitrou-Long will slide into the opening created earlier today when the Jazz waived two-way guard Nate Wolters.

Mitrou-Long was named to the All-Big 12 second-team during his final year of NCAA action and played with the Kings in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Jazz Release Nate Wolters

December 22nd, 2017 at 4:27pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have released two-way signee Nate Wolters, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 26-year-old guard only had only seen 3.8 minutes per game of action across five contests with the big league squad so far this season.

Wolters, who hadn’t played in the NBA since a 2014/15 campaign split between the Bucks and Pelicans, has started 13 games for Utah’s G League affiliate the Salt Lake City Stars.

The announcement comes a day after the Jazz let another player on a two-way contract go, waiving Eric Griffin to free up room in order to sign Erik McCree.

With Wolters out of the picture now as well, the Jazz will have one of their two allotted two-way slots free until they find somebody to sign. A player signed to such a deal today would have about 30 days of big league service time (down from the typical 45-day limit based on a full season).

Jazz Release Big Man Eric Griffin

December 21st, 2017 at 5:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have released Eric Griffin, the team’s public relations department tweeted. The 27-year-old rookie was unloaded in order for the team to sign Erik McCree to a two-way contract.

Griffin has started 19 games with Utah’s G League affiliate so far this season, averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for those Salt Lake City Stars.

Griffin was previously a training camp cut by the Heat, Mavs and Pistons in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Jazz Sign Erik McCree To Two-Way Deal

December 21st, 2017 at 4:43pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have signed forward Erik McCree to a two-way contract, the team’s public relations department announced. McCree went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech last summer but played through training camp with the Heat.

In order to make room on the roster, the club had to release big man Eric Griffin, who had also been on a two-way deal with the franchise (their second two-way signee, who will remain under contract, is Nate Wolters).

Given that the contract is being inked partially through the season, McCree’s 45-day NBA service alotment will be pro-rated to around 30 days, as was the case with Sean Kilpatrick (who signed with the Bucks on December 16).

McCree profiles as a four with three-point shooting range and will look to pilfer some of Jonas Jerebko‘s minutes when up with the big league club. The rest of the time he’ll suit up for the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.

Mavs Waive Jeff Withey, Sign Kyle Collinsworth To Two-Way Deal

December 19th, 2017 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have completed a series of roster moves, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived center Jeff Withey from their 15-man roster. Additionally, Dallas has made a change to its two-way players, waiving swingman Antonius Cleveland and signing guard Kyle Collinsworth to a two-way contract to replace him.

Withey, 27, signed a non-guaranteed two-year deal with the Mavericks back in August, and earned a spot on the team’s regular season roster. However, he didn’t play much in Dallas, appearing in 10 games and logging just 39 total minutes this season. The Mavs will assume a cap hit of about $588K for Withey if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Meanwhile, Dallas also swapped in a new player on a two-way contract — Johnathan Motley will remain in one of the team’s two slots, while Collinsworth will replace Cleveland in the other. Collinsworth has spent the last two seasons with the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate. In 18 games this season, the 6’6″ guard has averaged 11.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

As for Cleveland, he had spent a good portion of this season with the Mavericks, having appeared in 13 games for the team, but with his 45-day limit approaching, Dallas has apparently decided to cut him rather than to convert his contract into a standard NBA deal. Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News notes (via Twitter) that Cleveland suffered an ankle injury on Monday night, so it’s possible the Mavs could bring him back when he gets healthy.

The Mavs now have 16 players under contract — two on two-way deals and 14 on standard NBA pacts.

Bulls Waive Kay Felder

December 19th, 2017 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have made a minor change to their roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived second-year point guard Kay Felder. Felder will become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Felder, a Detroit native, joined the Cavaliers last season after being selected 54th overall in the 2016 draft. He spent his entire rookie year in Cleveland, but was a victim of the Cavs’ roster crunch this fall after the team acquired three players for Kyrie Irving and signed Dwyane Wade. Felder was cut by the Cavs at the end of the preseason, then claimed off waivers by the Bulls.

Although the Bulls’ point guard situation was in flux to start the 2017/18 season, Felder didn’t see much playing time for the club, averaging 9.6 MPG in 14 contests. For his career, he has recorded 3.9 PPG and 1.4 APG in 56 games (9.3 MPG). Felder has been far more productive in the G League, averaging 27.2 PPG and 5.7 APG in 14 total games for the Canton Charge and Windy City Bulls.

Because Felder’s salary for 2017/18 wasn’t fully guaranteed, the Bulls will only carry a partial cap charge after waiving him. If my math is right, Felder’s cap hit will be just shy of $490K, assuming he’s not claimed by another team on waivers.

We’ll see if the Bulls have a corresponding roster move lined up after cutting Felder, but for the time being, the team has an open spot on its squad.

Nets Sign Milton Doyle To Two-Way Deal

December 18th, 2017 at 7:29pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 18, 7:29pm: Brian Lewis of the New York Post has tweeted that Doyle’s two-way contract is for this season only.

DECEMBER 18, 11:12am: After officially waiving two-way player Yakuba Ouattara on Sunday, the Nets have moved quickly to replace him. As expected, Brooklyn has signed Milton Doyle to a two-way contract, the club announced today in a press release.

Doyle, 24, initially joined the Nets in August as a training camp invitee after graduating from Loyola, where he averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 1.8 SPG in his senior year. The 6’4″ guard didn’t earn a spot on Brooklyn’s regular season roster, but after waiving him in October, the Nets made him an affiliate player for their G League squad, the Long Island Nets.

In 17 G League games so far this season, Doyle has averaged a team-high 21.3 PPG to go along with 5.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, and 1.6 SPG. He’s also launching a ton of threes, attempting 8.8 per games and making 3.4, good for a .383 3PT%.

Signing a two-way contract won’t change Doyle’s situation significantly — he’ll remain with the Long Island Nets, but he’ll earn a little more money and could see some playing time with the NBA club in Brooklyn. Our full breakdown of how two-way contracts work can be found right here.

Hawks Sign Tyler Cavanaugh To NBA Contract

December 18th, 2017 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have converted Tyler Cavanaugh‘s two-way contract into a standard NBA deal, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed the rookie forward to a multiyear pact. Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported (via Twitter) that the deal was done, while Shams Charania of The Vertical noted (via Twitter) that it’s a two-year contract.

Cavanaugh, who will turn 24 in February, initially inked an NBA contract with the Hawks in September, but it was a non-guaranteed camp deal. After being waived in October, the former George Washington standout signed a two-way contract with Atlanta in November. With the Hawks battling injury issues in the frontcourt, Cavanaugh has been on the NBA roster rather than with the Erie BayHawks since he signed, meaning his 45-day clock had nearly run out.

The Hawks won’t need to make a corresponding roster move today to create room for Cavanaugh, since they already did so earlier this month — the club waived Nicolas Brussino on December 8 and have been carrying an open roster spot since then. With Cavanaugh now on the NBA roster full time, Atlanta has 15 players on standard NBA contracts, with one (Josh Magette) on a two-way pact.

In 19 games (13.8 MPG) for the Hawks so far this season, Cavanaugh has averaged 5.5 PPG and 3.2 RPG with a .507/.409/.769 shooting line.