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Hornets Waive Kai Jones

October 11th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets have waived former first-round pick Kai Jones, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team confirmed the news in a press release.

Jones had been away from the Hornets – with no timetable for a return – for personal reasons. The decision for him not to attend training camp was made after the 22-year-old made a series of unusual social media posts, calling out some of his teammates in a handful of tweets and videos.

The No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jones averaged just 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game across 67 total appearances in his first two professional seasons. He had a much bigger role at the G League level, averaging 17.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.1 blocks in 38 regular season games with the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — from 2021-23.

A 6’11” big man from the Bahamas, Jones publicly requested a trade a couple days ago. The Hornets decided to release him instead, and they will be on the hook for his full $3,047,880 salary for 2023/24 if he goes unclaimed on waivers. Charlotte also declined its fourth-year team option on Jones — worth $4,693,735 — as part of the move.

Charlotte originally acquired Jones’ rights in a draft-night trade with the Knicks. The first-round pick the Hornets sent New York as part of that deal still hasn’t conveyed and will be lottery-protected in 2024 and 2025. If it hasn’t conveyed by then, it will turn into two second-round picks.

As our roster count shows, the Hornets now have 20 players under contract, with all three two-way slots filled.

It’s worth noting that the Hornets have three players — Edmond Sumner (Exhibit 9), Frank Ntilikina ($200K partial guarantee) and JT Thor — on non-guaranteed contracts, not counting their players on Exhibit 10 deals. The odds of all three players making the opening night roster likely increased now that Jones is out of the picture, since Charlotte only has 12 players on guaranteed standard deals.

Wizards Sign Michael Foster Jr. To Exhibit 10 Contract

October 11th, 2023 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have made a minor change to their roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed forward Michael Foster Jr. to an Exhibit 10 contract. Rookie guard Chase Audige, who was also on an Exhibit 10 deal, was waived to open up a spot on the 21-man roster.

Foster went undrafted a year ago after playing for the G League Ignite in 2021/22. He caught on with the Sixers and spent a few weeks at the start of the regular season on a two-way contract with the team, making his NBA debut during that time. However, he was waived last November and spent the rest of the season with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate.

Foster, 20, averaged 13.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 24.3 minutes per contest in 41 appearances last season for the Blue Coats, posting a shooting line of .519/.254/.693. He continued to play a rotation role for the club en route to its NBAGL championship in the spring.

As we noted earlier today, the Blue Coats traded Foster’s returning rights to the Capital City Go-Go, so he’ll now be in line to play for the Wizards’ G League affiliate if he’s waived and heads to the NBAGL. In that scenario, Foster would be eligible to earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $75K as long as he spends at least 60 days with the Go-Go.

Nuggets Picking Up Christian Braun’s Third-Year Option

October 10th, 2023 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets are picking up their third-year option on Christian Braun, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

It’s a mere formality, as Braun has already earned a prominent role with the defending champions. There was no doubt Denver would retain him on his rookie scale contract.

Braun is expected to be the first reserve off the bench in his second season. He appeared in 76 regular season games as a rookie, averaging 4.7 points in 15.5 minutes per game, and saw action in 19 playoff games, contributing 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per contest.

The 21st overall pick of last year’s draft, Braun’s third-year option for the 2024/25 season is worth $3,089,640. He’ll make $2,949,120 this season and Denver holds a fourth-year option worth $4,921,797, which must be exercised by the end of next October.

Hawks Sign, Waive Brandon Randolph

October 10th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

5:15pm: The Hawks have waived Randolph, according to another press release from the club.

2:33pm: The Hawks have signed guard Brandon Randolph, the team announced today in a press release.

While the club didn’t reveal any details about the agreement, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks tweets that it’s a non-guaranteed training camp contract. It likely includes Exhibit 10 language, as most camp deals do.

Randolph, who went undrafted out of Arizona in 2019, has spent most of the last few seasons playing in the G League. In 43 regular season and Showcase Cup games last season for the Wisconsin Herd and Austin Spurs, he averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 27.7 minutes per contest, posting a solid shooting line of .505/.351/.788.

The College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate, acquired Randolph’s rights from Austin in August. That deal and today’s signing are strong indicators that the Skyhawks plan on having him on their roster as a returning rights player this fall.

Atlanta now has 19 players under contract, two below the preseason limit.

Celtics Sign Payton Pritchard To Four-Year Extension

October 10th, 2023 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 10: Pritchard’s contract extension is now official, the Celtics have announced in a press release.

“In addition to his great skill, Payton brings toughness, resiliency, and diligence that collectively elevate the room,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement. “We are excited that he chose to extend with the Celtics and look forward to what’s ahead.”

OCTOBER 8: The Celtics and guard Payton Pritchard are in agreement on a four-year rookie scale extension worth $30MM, his agents at CAA Basketball tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will be fully guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds.

The 26th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Pritchard had a promising rookie season, averaging 7.7 points per game with a .440/.411/.889 shooting line in 66 contests (19.2 MPG). He had his role cut back in his second and third seasons though — in 2022/23, he played just 13.4 minutes per night, averaging 5.6 PPG on .412/.364/.750 shooting.

Due to his declining role, Pritchard admitted back in February that he had hoped to be traded at the deadline to a team that intended to use him more. However, following the offseason trades of Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon, the 25-year-old is expected to have an expanded role in a new-look Boston backcourt behind Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

Pritchard is apparently confident enough in his new role to sign a long-term deal with the Celtics well in advance of the October 23 deadline for rookie scale extensions. The former Oregon guard has only earned only approximately $6.4MM in his first three NBA seasons and will make $4.04MM in 2023/24, so it certainly makes sense that he’d want to lock in a contract that guarantees him $30MM, exponentially increasing his career earnings.

While Pritchard’s numbers to date have been modest, the Celtics are taking a calculated risk that he’ll increase his value in 2023/24 as he comes off a stint with the USA Select Team and receives a minutes bump. By deciding to extend him in advance of a possible breakout year, Boston now won’t have to worry about warding off potential suitors for Pritchard in restricted free agency next summer.

Pritchard’s new deal will further increase a Celtics payroll that appears likely to go well beyond the luxury tax line again in 2024/25, with big-money cap hits for Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, White, and Al Horford already on the books. The club also reportedly has interest in negotiating an extension with Holiday, who holds a $39.4MM player option for ’24/25.

As our extension tracker shows, Pritchard is the seventh player to agree to a rookie scale extension in 2023, joining LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Desmond Bane, Devin Vassell, and Isaiah Stewart. A total of 20 more players are still eligible to sign a rookie scale extension by Oct. 23.

Trail Blazers Pick Up Shaedon Sharpe’s 2024/25 Option

October 10th, 2023 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have exercised their third-year team option on guard Shaedon Sharpe for the 2024/25 season, the team announced in a press release.

The move doesn’t affect Sharpe’s contract status for the coming season — his $6.3MM salary for 2023/24 was already guaranteed. The option pick-up ensures that his $6.6MM salary for the ’24/25 season is now locked in as well.

Sharpe, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft, is coming off a promising rookie season in which he averaged 9.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game and posted a .472/.360/.714 shooting line across 80 appearances (15 starts).

The 20-year-old expected to take on a bigger role in his second NBA season following the trade of Damian Lillard. Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and this year’s No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson are viewed as Portland’s backcourt of the future, with Sharpe potentially sliding up to the three at times if the team wants to play the trio together.

The Blazers’ next contract decision on Sharpe will come a year from now — they’ll have until October 31, 2024 to decide whether to exercise his $8.4MM option for 2025/26. Assuming that option is picked up, Sharpe will become extension-eligible for the first time in the summer of 2025.

The rookie scale team option decisions for 2024/25, due by October 31, can be found right here.

Blazers Sign George Conditt, Waive Two Players

October 10th, 2023 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

2:23pm: In a press release officially confirming the signing of Conditt and the release of Smith, the Trail Blazers announced that they’ve also waived guard Antoine Davis. Like Smith, Davis is a good bet to end up with the Rip City Remix in the G League.

7:42am: Ahead of their preseason opener, the Trail Blazers have made a minor change to their roster, waiving guard Malachi Smith and signing forward/center George Conditt IV, per RealGM’s transaction log. Portland still has a full 21-man preseason roster after completing the pair of moves.

Smith, who went undrafted out of Gonzaga in June after being named the WCC’s Sixth Man of the Year, quickly reached an agreement with the Blazers and then officially signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team last week ahead of the start of training camp.

Following a brief stint with the Blazers, Smith appears likely to report to the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate. If he spends at least 60 days with the Remix, he’ll earn an Exhibit 10 bonus, which can be worth up to $75K.

As for Conditt, his Exhibit 10 agreement with the Blazers was reported a month ago. The big man, who went undrafted out of Iowa State in 2022, played for teams in Puerto Rico and Greece in his first professional season.

Conditt subsequently suited up for Puerto Rico in this year’s World Cup. He averaged 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 30.6 minutes per night (five games) for the Puerto Rican team in the tournament.

Conditt appears likely to follow Smith’s trajectory and land with the Remix, but his non-guaranteed deal could also be converted into a two-way contract or a standard contract if he impresses during the preseason.

Clippers Waive Brodric Thomas, Sign Nate Darling

October 9th, 2023 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have waived Brodric Thomas and brought back Nate Darling on an Exhibit 10 deal, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

Thomas was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract in late September. He appeared in a total of 44 NBA regular season games from 2020-22 for the Rockets, Cavaliers, and Celtics, averaging 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per contest.

Thomas will likely to end up with the Ontario Clippers, Los Angeles’ G League affiliate. He would earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived by L.A. and then spends at least 60 days with Ontario.

Darling was waived by the Clippers shortly after they signed him to a two-way deal. He played 21 games for Ontario last season, including 11 starts, and averaged 21.3 points in 31.3 minutes per game. His NBA regular season experience is limited to seven outings with Charlotte during the 2020/21 season.

Kings Waive Jeremy Lamb

October 9th, 2023 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have waived veteran guard Jeremy Lamb, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports.

Lamb was signed earliler this month on an Exhibit 10 contract. He’s expected to join Sacramento’s G League affiliate in Stockton after clearing waivers, according to Anderson. Lamb would receive a bonus of $75K if he stays with the Stockton franchise at least 60 days.

Lamb saw action in Sacramento’s preseason opener on Sunday, scoring six points in six minutes.

Lamb, 31, is a former lottery pick who has appeared in 573 career regular season games since 2012 for four teams, including – most recently – the Kings. However, the veteran swingman wasn’t in the league last season following a down year in 2021/22. He averaged 7.3 PPG on .383/.324/.840 shooting in 56 games (16.7 MPG) for Indiana and Sacramento in ’21/22.

Sacramento had a full roster of 21 players entering camp, as our roster count shows. They’ll have to shed two more to get down the 15-man limit (not counting their three two-way players) by opening night.

Jarkel Joiner, Keaton Wallace Waived By Hawks

October 8th, 2023 at 3:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Training camp invitees Jarkel Joiner and Keaton Wallace have been waived by the Hawks, Atlanta announced in a press release.

Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the two guards seem likely to next suit up with Atlanta’s NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.

Wallace spent most of his 2022/23 season with the Clippers’ G league affiliate, the Ontario Clippers. Across 49 NBAGL contests, he averaged 13.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals with a shooting line of .463/.382/.745.

Joiner went undrafted out of North Carolina State this summer. During his final NCAA season in 2022/23, the 6’1″ guard averaged 17.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.3 SPG en route to a second-team All-ACC selection.

As Exhibit 10 signings, Joiner and Wallace will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $75K, should they remain with the Skyhawks for at least 60 days.

The Hawks’ preseason roster has now been trimmed to 18 players, with all 15 standard roster spots and all three two-way spots currently occupied.