Nick Zeisloft

Warriors Waive Cunningham, Zeisloft

The Warriors have waived Jared Cunningham and Nick Zeisloft and confirmed the release of Alfonzo McKinnie (Twitter link).

Cunningham and Zeisloft both signed with the team earlier today, so expect them to be headed to the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Cunningham is trying to work his way back into the league after spending the past three seasons in China, Germany and Italy. The 28-year-old shooting guard appeared in a combined 84 games during brief stays with the Mavericks, Hawks, Kings, Clippers, Cavaliers and Bucks. Zeisloft is a 26-year-old guard who has spent time in the G League and in Europe.

Warriors Sign Two Players, Release Three

The Warriors have officially waived guard Andrew Harrison, guard Juan Toscano-Anderson, and center Kavion Pippen, according to a press release issued by the club. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts.

Of the three players, only Harrison has NBA experience. The former second-round pick has appeared in a total of 145 regular season games for the Grizzlies, Cavaliers, and Pelicans since 2016. It’s not clear what the next step will be for him, but Toscano-Anderson and Pippen are likely to join the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G League team.

Meanwhile, the Warriors put out another press release announcing that they’ve added two new players to their roster, having signed former first-round pick Jared Cunningham and former Indiana standout Nick Zeisloft. Both players are guards.

Cunningham and Zeisloft won’t last long on Golden State’s roster — I expect them to be waived shortly and to eventually land in Santa Cruz.

NBA D-League Affiliate Players For 2016/17

Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.

The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.

There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.

With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:

Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)

Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)

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Pacers Waive Alex Poythress, Nick Zeisloft

The Pacers have waived camp invitees Alex Poythress and Nick Zeisloft, the team announced today in a press release. The pair of cuts reduces Indiana’s roster to 17 players, including 16 with fully guaranteed salaries.

Poythress and Zeisloft both signed minimum-salary contracts with the Pacers this summer, and both players received very modest guarantees — Poythress got $35K, while Zeisloft received $25K. The duo played very sparingly in Indiana’s preseason games, and are likely ticketed for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ D-League squad, as Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com tweets.

With Poythress and Zeisloft no longer in the mix, the Pacers will have to make two more roster cuts to get their roster down to the regular-season limit of 15 players. Julyan Stone, whose salary is only guaranteed for $50K, is the most likely candidate to be waived. Indiana will also have to cut a player with a guaranteed salary, and Jeremy Evans may be that player — he was acquired in a salary-dump deal with the Mavericks and hasn’t played at all for the Pacers during the preseason.

Central Notes: I. Smith, Pistons, Bulls, Zeisloft

Ish Smith was one of the top three point guard targets identified by the Pistons when free agency got underway this summer, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press, who writes that the club was also eyeing D.J. Augustin and Ramon Sessions. Detroit may have had some interest in Brandon Jennings as well, but there are signals that interest wasn’t reciprocated, per Ellis. In any case, it was Smith who ended up becoming a Piston, and now the team will be leaning on him heavily to start the season. With Reggie Jackson sidelined for six to eight weeks, Smith will move into the starting lineup at the point, and as Ellis details, he’s confident he’ll be able to step up for the club.

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • James Hawkins of The Detroit News passes along a few Pistons notes, including the latest on Ray McCallum and Lorenzo Brown battling for the backup point guard role
  • The Bulls had already been without guard Denzel Valentine due to an injury, and have now learned that Tony Snell will be out at least a week, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). As Nick Friedell of ESPN.com tweeted earlier, Snell sprained his ankle in Monday’s practice and was expected to be out for “a little while.” The injuries don’t appear serious enough to affect Chicago’s regular-season roster decisions, though that’s just my speculation.
  • After his final year at Indiana, Nick Zeisloft participated in just one pre-draft workout and didn’t get a Summer League invite. However, Zeisloft still managed to land a training camp deal with the PacersJim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star examines how that agreement came about, and what’s next for the sharpshooter, who figures to head to Fort Wayne to join the Pacers’ D-League affiliate.

Pacers Notes: George, Hairston, Turner

Paul George officially became eligible for a new contract extension on Sunday, and as I explained last week, there are multiple pros and cons to consider as he decides whether or not to re-up with the Pacers this year. For his part though, George doesn’t seem to have those pros and cons weighing too heavily on his mind. Speaking to reporters today, George said he’s focused on the season and is “not even thinking about” his contract situation, per Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

Presumably, George’s agent is thinking about a little more than his client is, so it’s not out of the question that the Pacers and their All-Star forward could reach an agreement prior to the regular season. As we wait to see whether a new deal for George is in the cards, let’s round up a few more Pacers notes…

  • According to Pacers head coach Nate McMillan, the team is heading into camp with 19 players, and three of those players will eventually end up with the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Twitter link via Taylor). Barring any surprises, Julyan Stone, Nick Zeisloft, and Alex Poythress, whose deals aren’t fully guaranteed, are the best bets to end up at Fort Wayne.
  • Free agent swingman P.J. Hairston, who recently worked out for Brooklyn, also had a workout with the Pacers, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
  • Myles Turner is currently in the NBA’s concussion protocol, McMillan said today (Twitter link via Taylor). However, Turner’s regular-season availability isn’t expected to be impacted. McMillan expects the young big man to join George, Jeff Teague, Monta Ellis, and Thaddeus Young in the starting lineup to open the year (Twitter link via Taylor).

And-Ones: Davis, Pacers, Clippers, Warriors

Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis has been medically cleared to play, according to the team’s official website in news that was passed along by ESPN.com’s Justin Verrier. Davis participated in his first scrimmage on Wednesday and GM Dell Demps said at a season-ticket holder event that Davis is expected to start the season without any restrictions, Verrier adds. Davis’ 2015/16 season ended prematurely because of a left knee injury. He underwent an ultrasonic debridement and received an injection of his own bone marrow March 25.

In other news around the league:

  • Nick Zeisloft’s training camp deal with the Pacers includes a $25K guarantee, league sources told Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com. Zeisloft’s one-year, rookie minimum contract allows the Pacers to retain his rights for D-League purposes, Agness adds. The signing of the 6’4” shooting guard was somewhat surprising, considering he only averaged 6.5 points with the Indiana Hoosiers last season and wasn’t on the Pacers’ summer league teams.
  • The Clippers have hired Monte Mathis as a scout under new GM Lawrence Frank, sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). Mathis was previously an assistant coach with the Mavericks and Magic.
  • Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t see the Lakers becoming playoff contenders any time soon, he told Bill Oram of the Orange County Register and other reporters during Hall of Fame weekend. “I mean, they’ve still got to go up against Golden State in the West, they’ve got to go up against OKC, still got to go up against Cleveland, the Rockets. So they have a long way to go to be a contender,” O’Neal said. “Every now and then they’ll make some noise and get the people in the Staples Center excited.”
  • Warriors rookie center Damian Jones is showing progress from a pectoral injury but is unlikely to be healthy enough to participate at the start of training camp, Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News tweets. Jones, who suffered the injury in June, has begun to lift weights, Slater adds. The 7-footer was the 30th overall pick in the draft.

Pacers Sign Kevin Seraphin

SEPTEMBER 8: The Pacers have formally issued a press release announcing their deal with Seraphin. Within the release, Indiana also officially confirmed the previously-reported signing of Nick Zeisloft.Kevin Seraphin vertical

SEPTEMBER 2: Kevin Seraphin will join the Pacers on a two-year, $3.6MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical. The deal includes a team option for the second season, sources tell Charania.

Seraphin held workouts for Indiana officials Monday and Tuesday, and the agreement was finalized late Thursday night. The 6’10” center/power forward is expected to sign it sometime next week.

After five years with the Wizards, Seraphin spent last season with the Knicks, averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per night in 48 games. The Pacers will count on him to provide depth in the front court behind Myles Turner and free agent addition Al Jefferson.

The signing of Seraphin gives Indiana 16 players with guaranteed contracts heading into training camp.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacers Sign Nick Zeisloft

After playing his college ball with the Hoosiers for the last two years, Nick Zeisloft will remain in Indiana this fall. According to RealGM’s NBA transactions log, the Pacers have signed the undrafted free agent guard. While terms of the deal aren’t known, it figures to be a one-year, minimum-salary “summer contract,” which won’t count against Indiana’s cap unless Zeisloft makes the team.

After starting his college career at Illinois State, Zeisloft made the move to Indiana for the 2014/15 season. In his two years with the Hoosiers, he averaged just 6.6 PG, but shot an impressive 43.2% from beyond the arc. Over the course of his four-year college career, Zeisloft was a designated sharpshooter for his two teams, making 216 overall three-pointers and just 43 two-point shots.

The Pacers, who already had 15 guaranteed contracts on their books, recently agreed to a deal with Kevin Seraphin that also looks to be guaranteed for 2016/17. With Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress also in the mix as camp invitees, the odds that Zeisloft earns a 15-man roster spot are extremely slim. Still, assuming the Pacers like what they see this fall, they may intend to have the 23-year-old join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, their D-League affiliate.