Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Sign, Waive Justise Winslow

October 17th, 2024 at 5:08pm CST by Rory Maher

5:08pm: The Bucks have now waived Winslow, according to the NBA’s transaction log. As noted below, this move was designed to secure Winslow’s G League rights for the upcoming season. He’ll earn a bonus as an affiliate player if he spends at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd.

1:30pm: The Bucks have signed free agent forward Justise Winslow to an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Jamal Collier of ESPN (Twitter link).

After spending his first five seasons in Miami — the team that drafted him 10th overall back in 2015 — Winslow has bounced around the league in recent years, suiting up for the Grizzlies, Clippers and Trail Blazers. The 28-year-old signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors last season, but he didn’t appear in an NBA game for Toronto.

Winslow’s 2023/24 debut was delayed due to ankle surgery. He spent most of last season with the Raptors 905 (Toronto’s G League affiliate), averaging 15.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .476/.295/.667 shooting in 22 regular season contests with the NBAGL club (27.0 MPG).

In July, Shams Charania reported that a handful of veteran free agents — including Winslow — worked out for the Bucks.

Since the Bucks have 14 players on guaranteed contracts and Andre Jackson with a significant partial guarantee, their standard roster looks pretty set. That means Winslow will almost certainly be waived and headed to the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee’s affiliate) to open ’24/25. Assuming Wisconsin acquires his returning player rights from the Raptors 905, Winslow could receive a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Herd.

The Bucks’ 21-man offseason roster is full once again following the addition of Winslow. The team released James Akinjo earlier on Thursday to make room for the newcomer.

Pistons Waive Lamar Stevens, Four Others

October 17th, 2024 at 4:50pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons waived five players on Thursday, according to the NBA’s official transaction log. Lamar Stevens, Dereon Seabron, Aaron Estrada, Javante McCoy and Tolu Smith were all cut by Detroit.

All five players were on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts that will allow them each to earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with Detroit’s G League affiliate. Of the five, only Stevens was ineligible for a two-way contract, as he holds four seasons of NBA experience.

It’s a bit interesting that not one member of Detroit’s training camp roster made the final cut. The Pistons have one standard contract slot open and waived Tosan Evbuomwan this week, which gives them two open two-way slots to fill. While Stevens impressed a bit in the preseason, he was available to sign late into the offseason and the Pistons could revisit him down the line if they chose.

In the aftermath, it seems as though the Pistons will explore what teams across the league do with their cuts. Having finished with the worst record last season, Detroit is in a good place to make whatever waiver claims they want. Perhaps a player or players they have interest in will shake loose for the Pistons to snag.

Stevens, 27, went undrafted in 2020 but caught on with the Cavaliers on a two-way deal. He impressed in his rookie season, earning a standard contract. He wasn’t retained past 2023 though and signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics, ultimately earning a spot on the standard roster. Stevens was then traded to the Grizzlies at the trade deadline in the move that sent Xavier Tillman to Boston, but Stevens wasn’t re-signed. Across four NBA seasons, he holds career averages of 5.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Seabron spent the last two seasons with the Pelicans on a two-way contract. He appeared in 11 games at the NBA level, averaging 1.6 PPG. The NC State product played more extensively in the G League, averaging 18.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 6.0 APG on a .555/.391/.724 shooting split in 28 games (26 starts) last season.

Estrada went undrafted in the 2024 class after a five-year college career. He spent time at Saint Peter’s, Oregon and Hofstra before playing his final collegiate season at Alabama, helping the team to a Final Four run. In his final season, he averaged 13.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.6 APG and 1.6 SPG.

McCoy spent his entire five-year collegiate career at Boston University, going undrafted in 2022. Across 147 career college games, he averaged 13.1 PPG and 3.3 RPG while shooting 37.7% from three. He spent time with the Lakers and Spurs previously in training camps, signing Exhibit 10 deals with each before playing for their respective G League teams. In 43 games with the Austin Spurs last year, he averaged 9.2 PPG.

Smith, a 6’11” forward, averaged 11.7 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 142 career college games (102 starts). He spent his freshman season at Western Kentucky before transferring and playing the final four years of his collegiate career at Mississippi State. He went undrafted in 2024 and made three preseason appearances with Detroit.

Trail Blazers Waive Devonte’ Graham

October 17th, 2024 at 3:19pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers have waived veteran guard Devonte’ Graham, the team confirmed in a press release (Twitter link). Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian was first to report the move.

Assuming he goes unclaimed, Graham will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday.

Graham signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract with Portland in August in the hope of making the regular season roster. He was competing with Dalano Banton for the 15th and final standard roster spot — Graham being released drastically improves Banton’s odds of making the team.

The news doesn’t come as a surprise, but it was still a key roster battle to monitor. Banton impressed the Blazers down the stretch of last season, and they picked up their 2024/25 team option on his contract at the end of June, giving him a partial guarantee of $217,533, with the remainder of his $2,196,970 salary still non-guaranteed. If Banton makes the opening night roster, his partial guarantee will increase to $1,098,485.

A former second-round pick (No. 34 overall in 2018) who played four years of college ball at Kansas, Graham had some productive seasons with Charlotte in his first few NBA seasons, including averaging 18.2 points, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steal per contest in 63 games in ’19/20 (35.1 MPG).

However, the six-year veteran only appeared in 23 games for San Antonio last season, averaging a career-low 13.6 minutes, and was traded to the Hornets in July in a salary dump. Charlotte promptly waived him before his full $12,650,000 salary became guaranteed, but Graham will still be paid his $2.85MM partial guarantee, with the Hornets carrying that figure as a dead-money cap hit.

Portland’s roster could be ready for the regular season, though there’s still time to make some minor additions for G League purposes. The team now has 18 players under contract, with 15 players on standard deals and all three of its two-way slots filled.

Elijah Hughes Joins Cavaliers On Exhibit 10 Contract

October 17th, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

OCTOBER 17: Hughes’ deal with the Cavaliers is official, per RealGM’s transaction log.

OCTOBER 16: Elijah Hughes has agreed to a contract with the Cavaliers, agent Daniel Hazan tells NBA reporter Chris Haynes (Twitter link). It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).

Hughes will play for the Cavs’ G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, Fedor adds. He will be eligible for a bonus of up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Charge, who acquired Hughes’ rights in a G League trade earlier this month.

The 26-year-old swingman was selected with the 39th pick in the 2020 draft and spent the first season and a half of his career in Utah. A three-team deal at the 2022 trade deadline sent him to Portland, and he became a free agent after finishing out the season with the Trail Blazers.

Hughes signed with Milwaukee during each of the last two preseasons, but he hasn’t worked his way back into the NBA. He averaged 10.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29 regular season games with the G League Wisconsin Herd last season.

Cleveland has an opening on its 21-man roster, so another move won’t be necessary before finalizing the deal with Hughes.

Bulls Waive Onuralp Bitim, Kenneth Lofton Jr.

October 17th, 2024 at 10:30am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have waived Onuralp Bitim and Kenneth Lofton Jr., the team tweets.

Bitim was battling for the last spot on the roster on a non-guaranteed contract. The 25-year-old would have received $350K if he had made the opening night roster. He underwent surgery for a detached retina in the spring.

Bitim began last season on a two-way contract but was promoted to Chicago’s standard roster in February. After making his NBA debut on February 22, he appeared in 22 total games for Chicago, averaging 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .381/.273/.800.

Lofton, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract in August, began last season on the Grizzlies’ 15-man roster, but was waived in December. He spent a couple months on a two-way deal with Philadelphia, then was waived again in March and signed a rest-of-season contract with the Jazz, who cut him before his ’24/25 salary became partially guaranteed.

Assuming Lofton isn’t claimed, he’ll receive a bonus worth $77.5K if he joins the G League’s Windy City Bulls and remains with them for at least 60 days.

The Bulls camp roster now stands at 18, including a pair of two-way players.

These moves would seemingly improve the chances of Talen Horton-Tucker making the roster. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract last month.

Spurs’ McDaniels Among Wednesday’s Cuts

October 17th, 2024 at 9:37am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs waived forward Jalen McDaniels on Wednesday, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

San Antonio acquired McDaniels earlier this week from the Kings in a salary dump. The deal sent McDaniels, cash, and the Kings’ unprotected 2031 second-round pick to San Antonio in exchange for the Bulls’ top-55 protected 2025 second-round pick.

At the time of the deal, it was reported the Spurs did not intend to keep McDaniels. San Antonio will be on the hook for McDaniels’ $4.74MM expiring contract, which it absorbed using its $8MM room exception. The Spurs have one of the lowest team salaries in the NBA and still have plenty of room below the tax line after eating his contract.

We have more waiver moves from Wednesday:

The Nuggets waived Andrew Funk, Will Richardson and Charles Bediako. That trio was signed to Exhibit 10 deals last week. They’ll each earn a bonus worth $77.5K if they join Denver’s G League club, the Grand Rapids Gold, and remain with the team for at least 60 days.
The Bucks waived guard James Akinjo. He was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract in late August. The guard split time last season between the Stockton Kings and Wisconsin Herd. He’ll be eligible for $77.5K bonus if he rejoins the Herd and remains with them for at least 60 days.

Kings Sign Doug McDermott

October 16th, 2024 at 10:34pm CST by Luke Adams

10:34pm: The signing is official, tweets Sean Cunningham of KTXL.

1:50pm: The Kings have reached an agreement on a one-year contract with free agent sharpshooter Doug McDermott, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

While there has been no confirmation that McDermott’s contract is guaranteed, it likely won’t be the same sort of sign-and-waive Exhibit 10 agreement we’ve seen so often in recent weeks for G League purposes.

McDermott is a 10-year NBA veteran who appeared in 64 regular season games in 2023/24 and the Kings have a pair of openings on their projected 15-man regular season roster after trading Jalen McDaniels to San Antonio, so there’s a clear path for him to claim a spot on the opening night squad.

McDermott, 32, is a career 41.0% three-point shooter across 655 total contests with the Bulls, Thunder, Knicks, Mavericks, Pacers, and Spurs. He spent the first half of last season in San Antonio before being traded to Indiana in the three-team deadline deal that sent Buddy Hield to Philadelphia.

Although McDermott was part of his teams’ rotations for much of the season, he averaged just 14.1 minutes per game, his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2014/15. In his reduced role, he contributed 5.5 points per night on .433/.410/.579 shooting.

Sacramento sent out Harrison Barnes, Sasha Vezenkov, and Chris Duarte in a pair of offseason deals, so it certainly won’t hurt the team to add another reliable outside shooter at the back end of its bench.

Assuming McDermott signed for the veteran’s minimum (which is highly likely) and makes the regular season roster, he’ll count against the Kings’ cap for about $2.09MM, leaving the team’s salary roughly $3.74MM below the luxury tax line with 14 players under contract.

Sixers Waive Four Players

October 16th, 2024 at 10:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers made four roster cuts after Wednesday’s preseason game, waiving Jordan Tucker, Isaiah Mobley, Judah Mintz and Max Fiedler, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

All four players were on Exhibit 10 contracts and are likely to wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Delaware, where they can earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they remain there for at least 60 days.

Tucker and Mobley signed in late September, just before the start of training camp. Tucker was in the LNB Pro A League in France last season and has played in the G League and internationally since going undrafted out of Butler in 2020. Mobley, the brother of Cavaliers star Evan Mobley, had been with Cleveland on two-way deals the past two seasons.

Mintz, a former standout guard at Syracuse, inked an Exhibit 10 contract in early September, while Fielder, a rookie big man out of Rice, signed in late August.

The moves bring Philadelphia’s roster down to 17 players ahead of the upcoming cutdown date. The team has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, along with Ricky Council, whose $1.9MM salary for this season and $2.2MM for 2025/26 are both non-guaranteed.

Although there’s still a few days for the Sixers to make last-minute moves, it’s possible that the roster is set heading into the October 23 opener against Milwaukee.

Grizzlies Sign Miles Norris, Waive David Johnson

October 16th, 2024 at 9:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies have signed power forward Miles Norris and waived guard David Johnson, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Johnson signed with Memphis earlier on Wednesday, and although terms of the deals weren’t announced, it’s very likely that both players received Exhibit 10 contracts. That will make them eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.

Norris, 24, signed a two-way contract with Atlanta last summer after going undrafted out of California-Santa Barbara. He was waived in December and joined the Hawks’ G League team in College Park, where he averaged 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 16 Showcase Cup games. Norris also played for Atlanta in the Las Vegas Summer League the past two years.

Memphis remains at the offseason roster limit of 21 players.

Celtics To Sign Hason Ward To Exhibit 10 Deal, Waive Dmytro Skapintsev

October 16th, 2024 at 6:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics will sign Hason Ward to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’9″ forward advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 last spring with Iowa State. A super senior, Ward averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Cyclones while shooting 62.8% from the field. He transferred two years ago after playing his first three collegiate seasons at Virginia Commonwealth.

Ward is likely headed for the Maine Celtics in the G League, and the Exhibit 10 deal makes him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the team.

To make room on the roster, Boston has waived Dmytro Skapintsev, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Ukrainian center also had an Exhibit 10 deal and is also expected to play in Maine.

The Celtics will be back to the offseason roster limit of 21 players once the addition of Ward is finalized.