Chris Johnson's second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies expired following last night's victory over the Kings, and the Dayton product won't be re-signed, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Because players can only receive two 10-day deals from a single team, the Grizzlies would have needed to guarantee Johnson's contract for the rest of the season to bring him back.
Johnson, not to be confused with the Timberwolves big man of the same name, appeared in eight games during his 20-day stint with the Grizzlies, including a January 25th contest against Brooklyn in which he scored 10 points and four rebounds. The 22-year-old was part of the rotation following the Grizzlies' trade with the Cavs, but saw his playing time dwindle after the club acquired Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye, and Ed Davis.
With Johnson no longer on the roster, the Grizzlies are currently carrying just 12 players. The team is permitted to have that number of players on a temporary basis, but will have to add a 13th man via trade or free agency in the near future. Armed with seven trade exceptions, including one worth nearly $7.5MM, Memphis has the ability to acquire a player in a trade without sending any salary out, something the club is reportedly considering.
The Grizzlies have re-signed small forward Chris Johnson to another 10-day contract, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. It's the final 10-day deal he can sign with the team, as the Grizzlies would have to commit for the rest of the season if they want to bring him back again.
Memphis inked him to his first 10-day contract on January 23rd, and he's averaged 5.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes over five games. The Grizzlies were down to an 11-man roster after their three-for-one trade with the Cavs before they added him last month, and briefly dipped down to 12 when Johnson's first 10-day deal expired this weekend. The roster minimum is 13, though Memphis had a couple weeks to restock its roster following the trade.
Johnson, a product of Dayton, is not to be confused with Chris Johnson of LSU, a big man on a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will likely know by tomorrow about whether or not the NBA will approve their Disabled Player Exception for the injured Jordan Hill (Twitter link). With the roster currently at 14, an exception worth $1.78MM would be a very valuable asset for a team that would have otherwise only have a veteran's minimum deal or a small, pro-rated portion of their mini mid-level exception to offer free agents at this point during the season. You'll find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:
9:55am: The Grizzlies have made Johnson's signing official, the team announced in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 8:10am: Although he wanted a rest-of-season deal, Johnson will sign a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies, according to Tillery (via Twitter).
TUESDAY, 12:46pm: Needing to add a couple players to reach the roster minimum, the Grizzlies will sign Chris Johnson, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). This isn't the 27-year-old big man by the same name that's currently on a 10-day deal with the Timberwolves, but rather the 22-year-old small forward out of Dayton.
Johnson was cut from the Clippers' training camp roster in early October but was quickly picked up by the Magic before being released near Halloween. Johnson also played for the Sixers in the summer league this past July, averaging 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game over four contests.
The Magic have waived Quentin Richardson, Justin Harper, and Chris Johnson, a team official told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). Richardson will be owed $5MM over the next two years while Harper is guaranteed $762K for this season. Johnson's deal was non-guaranteed.
Richardson was set to earn $2.627MM this season and held a $2.808MM player option for 2013/14 that now becomes guaranteed after being waived. The guard came to Orlando on a widely panned four-year deal worth more than $10MM in the 2010 offseason. In two years with the club, the 32-year-old averaged 4.4 PPG and 2.9 RPG.
Harper, 23, was taken with the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Cavs before being traded to Orlando for two future second-round selections. The big man saw time in 14 games for the Magic last season.
The Magic have signed Chris Johnson, who was waived this weekend by the Clippers, the team announced. Johnson is a 6'6" small forward from Dayton, and is not to be confused with the 6'11" center of the same name who's in camp with the Timberwolves. Johnson is likely joining the Magic on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal.
Johnson went undrafted this year, though he was ranked 74th among prospects by ESPN.com's Chad Ford. He played for the Sixers in the summer league this past July, averaging 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game over four contests. He put up 12.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG and shot 39.7% from three-point range in his senior year at Dayton.
The move brings the Magic roster to 20 players, the preseason limit.
The Clippers have waived Courtney Fortson and Chris Johnson, leaving their roster at 18 players as the team heads to China, according to a tweet from Clippers reporter Madelyn Burke.
Fortson was signed by Los Angeles after being released by the Rockets earlier this summer, while Johnson was an undrafted rookie out of the University of Dayton.
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