Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Sign Setric Millner To Two-Way Contract

September 18th, 2023 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have signed rookie free agent forward Setric Millner to a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

A report back in June indicated that Millner would be signing with San Antonio. However, that report stated that he’d be receiving an Exhibit 10 contract. It appears the former Toledo standout will fill the Spurs’ final two-way opening instead.

Millner, who began his college career with Cleveland State in 2018/19, spent his sophomore year with Northwest Florida State College, then transferred to Toledo, where he played his junior, senior, and “super-senior” seasons.

In 35 games (32.7 MPG) in 2022/23, Millner averaged 16.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG with a shooting line of .496/.420/.784, earning a spot on the All-MAC Second Team. He joined the Spurs for Summer League after going undrafted and appeared in five total games for the club in Las Vegas and Sacramento this July.

The Spurs now have 20 players under contract, including 17 on guaranteed standard deals and three on two-way pacts. They’ll need to reduce their standard roster count to 15 players (not counting two-ways) by opening night, but in the meantime, they’ll be able to carry up to 21 total players in training camp and the preseason.

Dominick Barlow and Sir’Jabari Rice are San Antonio’s other two-way players.

Timberwolves Sign Daishen Nix To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 18th, 2023 at 6:50am CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 18: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 17: Daishen Nix will sign a one-year contract with the Timberwolves, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link).

The 21-year-old combo guard averaged 4.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 57 games with the Rockets last season. Shooting has been an issue for Nix, who connected on just 34.2% of his attempts from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc in 2022/23.

Nix earned a two-way contract with Houston in 2021 after playing one year with the G League Ignite. He spent most of his rookie season in the G League, where he helped the Rio Grande Valley Vipers capture the championship.

The Rockets decided to waive Nix in late June before his $1,836,096 for next season became guaranteed. Houston had a team option for Nix for 2024/25, but it was also non-guaranteed.

The Exhibit 10 clause in Nix’s new deal with the Wolves will allow him to earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with Minnesota’s G League affiliate in Iowa. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals.

Minnesota has 14 players with fully guaranteed standard contracts, plus one two-way spot open, so there’s an opportunity for Nix to make the roster if he’s impressive during training camp. Once Nix’s signing becomes official, the Wolves will have two openings left on their offseason roster.

Mavericks Re-Sign Markieff Morris

September 16th, 2023 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks have re-signed free agent forward Markieff Morris, the team announced in a press release.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but given his modest role last season, it seems likely that the 34-year-old signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract. We’ll have to wait and see if he got any guaranteed money, but Morris, who is entering his 13th season, would earn just under $3.2MM on a minimum deal, while Dallas would carry a $2,019,706 cap hit.

Morris was sent to Dallas from Brooklyn in early February as part of the Kyrie Irving trade. He was averaging a career-low 10.6 minutes per game in 27 appearances for the Nets and said he was looking for an opportunity for more playing time after the deal, but Morris played even less for the Mavs, averaging just 8.8 minutes over eight appearances. That average is actually inflated — he played 26 minutes in the team’s final game, when Dallas was trying to lose to keep its lottery pick.

While he hasn’t found much individual success in recent seasons, Morris played all 21 playoff games for the Lakers in 2019/20 when they won the championship. The longtime veteran holds career regular season averages of 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 750 games (378 starts, 24.1 minutes), with a shooting slash line of .446/.343/.778.

The Mavericks waived and then used the stretch provision on JaVale McGee to free up a roster spot for Morris. McGee later signed a guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Kings after clearing waivers.

With Morris officially signed, the Mavs now have 20 players under contract, one shy of the offseason limit. They have one two-way slot open, as our tracker shows.

Wizards Sign Dejan Vasiljevic To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 16th, 2023 at 8:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 16: The Wizards officially signed Vasiljevic to an Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced (Twitter link). Washington still has a two-way contract opening, so he could be in competition for that spot.

JULY 31: Dejan Vasiljevic has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Wizards, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets.

The former Miami Hurricanes guard has played for the Sydney Kings of Australia’s NBL since 2020 after going undrafted by NBA clubs.

In 36 games last season, Vasiljevic averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The 26-year-old opted out of his contract with the Australian club following the season.

He was on the Suns’ Summer League squad in 2022 and played for Washington’s Summer League club this month. He averaged 7.3 points in 12.7 minutes in Las Vegas while appearing in three games for the Wizards.

The addition of Vasiljevic gives Washington 20 players on its roster. The Wizards have a two-way opening, so it’s possible he could earn that spot, since Exhibit 10 deals can be converted to two-way contracts before the regular season begins.

If they’re waived by the NBA squad, players on Exhibit 10 deals can also earn a bonus of up to $75K by joining the team’s G League affiliate — in this case, the Capital City Go-Go — and spending at least 60 days with that NBAGL club.

Knicks Sign Ryan Arcidiacono, Waive Dmytro Skapintsev

September 15th, 2023 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

4:10pm: Arcidiacono signed an Exhibit 9 contract, league sources tell Begley. That means the veteran guard is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract that is non-guaranteed and doesn’t count against the salary cap unless he makes New York’s regular season roster.

The Exhibit 9 language in the deal provides protection to the Knicks in case Arcidiacono sustains an untimely injury during training camp.

3:55pm: The Knicks made a pair of roster moves on Friday, announcing (on Twitter) that they’ve waived center Dmytro Skapintsev and signed free agent point guard Ryan Arcidiacono.

Cutting Skapintsev was necessary in order to open up a spot for Arcidiacono, since New York has a full 21-man roster. Skapintsev, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the team last month, figures to end up playing for the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate.

As for Arcidiacono, the veteran guard has spent most of the past two seasons with the Knicks, appearing in 10 games for the team in 2021/22 and 11 more in ’22/23 before he was sent to Portland in February’s Josh Hart trade. The Trail Blazers subsequently waived Arcidiacono in April.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), the Knicks were reluctant to include Arcidiacono in the Hart trade and only did so in order to satisfy salary-matching rules. Arcidiacono is the fourth Villanova player on the roster and is known to be particularly close with Jalen Brunson, Begley adds.

In 237 career regular season games with the Bulls, Knicks, and Blazers, Arcidiacono has averaged 4.4 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per night, posting a shooting line of .424/.373/.807.

It’s unclear if Arcidiacono’s new contract with the Knicks includes any guaranteed money, but he has made the regular season roster despite being on a non-guaranteed deal in each of the previous two seasons, and he has a path to a 15-man spot this fall. New York is only carrying 12 players on guaranteed contracts, with DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby, Duane Washington, Jacob Toppin, and Charlie Brown Jr. on non-guaranteed deals.

Magic Sign, Waive Alex Morales

September 15th, 2023 at 2:20pm CST by Rory Maher

SEPTEMBER 15: The Magic have waived Morales, tweets Beede. The plan is for the guard to return to the Osceola Magic in the G League this season, and his brief stint on Orlando’s roster ensures he’ll receive an Exhibit 10 bonus for spending at least 60 days with the NBAGL club.

SEPTEMBER 14: The Magic have signed free agent guard Alex Morales, the team announced in a press release. According to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, who was first to report the news, Morales will receive an Exhibit 10 contract (Twitter link).

Morales signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Orlando last fall and was waived before the 2022/23 season began. He spent his rookie season with Lakeland, Orlando’s then-G league affiliate. The team has rebranded and moved, and is now known as the Osceola Magic.

The former Wagner star, who spent 2022 Summer League with the Warriors, averaged 6.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.1 SPG on .471/.276/.733 shooting over 30 regular season games with Lakeland (21.9 MPG). Morales, 25, also appeared in 17 games with the NBAGL squad during the Showcase Cup last fall.

The Exhibit 10 clause in Morales’ contract means he could receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived before the season starts and spends at least 60 days with Osceola in 2023/24. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals, and Orlando has one two-way slot open.

The Magic’s roster is now full, with 21 players under contract, the offseason maximum. That number will drop to 18 — 15 on standard deals and three two-way slots — once the regular season begins.

Wizards Re-Sign Taj Gibson

September 15th, 2023 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

1:51pm: The Wizards have officially re-signed Gibson, the team announced in a press release.

“Taj has earned his reputation as a consummate professional and loyal teammate,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said in a statement. “We look forward to him adding to the competitive atmosphere when we begin training camp next month.”

9:47am: Free agent big man Taj Gibson has reached an agreement to return to the Wizards on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Gibson, 38, appeared in 49 games for Washington last season, averaging 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per night. All of those figures were career lows, though the former first-round pick was a valued veteran presence in the Wizards’ locker room.

Given that the Wizards were already carrying 16 players on guaranteed contracts and revamped their front office this offseason, the odds seemed to be working against Gibson’s return. However, Washington isn’t especially deep in the frontcourt after trading away big man Kristaps Porzingis, so having a vet like Gibson on the bench could be a useful insurance policy.

It’s unclear at this point whether or not Gibson’s salary will be fully guaranteed. Many of the contracts being signed by veteran free agents at this stage of the offseason are either non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed, and the Wizards may not be eager to exacerbate their roster crunch by adding another guaranteed salary to their books. We’ll have to wait for additional details.

Assuming they all make the 15-man regular season roster, Gibson could end up vying with fellow centers Daniel Gafford and Mike Muscala for playing time at the five. His minimum-salary contract would pay him $3,196,448 for the 2023/24 season, while Washington would have a $2,019,706 cap charge.

Warriors To Sign Donovan Williams

September 15th, 2023 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors will bring wing Donovan Williams to training camp to compete for a roster spot, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Slater, Williams impressed the Warriors during recent scrimmages at their facility. The team also likes his length — he’s 6’6″ with a seven-foot wingspan.

Williams, who went undrafted out of UNLV in 2022, began his rookie season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, then signed a two-way contract with the Hawks in January and spent most of the rest of the season with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s NBAGL team. That two-way deal with the Hawks included a second year covering 2023/24, but the 22-year-old was waived in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Williams averaged 15.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game with a .476/.402/.680 shooting line in 18 Showcase Cup appearances for Long Island. During the G League regular season, he played in 32 total contests (27.3 MPG) for Long Island and College Park, putting up 12.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG on .438/.302/.702 shooting. He also briefly saw the floor in two NBA games for the Hawks.

Slater’s report doesn’t specify what kind of contract Williams will receive from Golden State, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal, likely with Exhibit 10 language. That would allow the Warriors to convert Williams to a two-way contract if they want to keep him around without dedicating a standard 15-man roster spot to him.

Even after reaching an agreement today on a two-way deal with Usman Garuba, the Warriors have one two-way slot still open.

Cavaliers Sign Zhaire Smith To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 15th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

11:58am: The signing is official, Hoops Rumors has learned. Cleveland now has a full 21-man offseason roster.

11:14am: The Cavaliers are set to add a former first-round pick to their 21-man roster, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), who hears from agent Adie von Gontard that Cleveland has agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with free agent wing Zhaire Smith.

The 16th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Smith battled health issues after going pro and was limited to 13 regular season appearances in two NBA seasons with the Sixers. He was traded during the 2020 offseason to the Pistons, who subsequently waived him. The former Texas Tech standout hasn’t been on an NBA roster since he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies in December 2020.

Although Smith was on the roster for the Memphis Hustle – the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate – in 2020/21, he didn’t play at all that season and hasn’t suited up for any team since then, having continued to be plagued by injuries. According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, the 24-year-old underwent separate cleanup procedures on both knees during the summer of 2022.

“Every year I was like, ‘Oh, I’m about to play, I’m about to play,’ then there was just a setback,” Smith said, per Mussatto. “I didn’t know what was going on with my knees, and that was the hardest part.”

Smith’s ongoing effort to make an NBA comeback saw him join the Thunder for Summer League action this July. He appeared in four total games in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, averaging 6.0 points on 75.0% shooting in 14.0 minutes per game.

Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way deals, but the Cavaliers have filled all three of their two-way slots, so they likely envision having Smith suit up for their G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge. If he’s waived before the NBA season begins and then spends at least 60 days with the Charge, Smith would be eligible to earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $75K.

Kings Convert Jordan Ford To Two-Way Contract

September 15th, 2023 at 10:25am CST by Tristan Tucker

SEPTEMBER 15: Ford’s contract has officially been converted to a two-way deal, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 14: The Kings are converting the recently signed Jordan Ford to a two-way contract from his previous Exhibit 10 deal, according to TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Ford signed his original Exhibit 10 deal with Sacramento on Tuesday.

It’s a bit surprising that Ford is having his deal converted so quickly, especially with it being reported before training camp, but as we wrote Tuesday, his G League and Summer League numbers were impressive.

Ford averaged 14.7 points and 4.6 assists in 32 games with Sacramento’s G League affiliate Stockton Kings last year and averaged 14.2 points and 5.0 assists with the Kings in Summer League this year.

After the conversion becomes official, the Kings will have three players signed to two-way deals (Ford, Keon Ellis and Jalen Slawson) and have 14 players on standard contracts. After converting Ford, the Kings will have no players signed to training camp contracts, though that figures to change in the coming weeks.