Bucks Sign Four To Camp Roster
The Bucks have added four players to their training camp roster on non-guaranteed deals, according to various reports. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported (via Twitter) that the team had signed Orien Greene, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported (via Twitter) the signing of Mustapha Farrakhan, and Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel added Alando Tucker and Eddie Gill to the list of new Bucks (Twitter link).
We had previously heard that Greene, a four-year NBA veteran, and Tucker, a former Wisconsin standout and first-round pick, were auditioning for the Bucks in hopes of landing training camp invites. Farrakhan, meanwhile, played for the Knicks' summer league squad, while Gill hasn't appeared in an NBA game since he played for Milwaukee in the 2008/09 season.
The Bucks already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so it will be an uphill battle for any of these four players to earn a regular-season roster spot with the team. The team's roster now stands at 19 players.
Grizzlies Sign Kyle Weaver, Flip Murray
12:45pm: The Grizzlies have announced Weaver's signing in a press release, and confirmed Ronald "Flip" Murray's deal as well. Murray's agreement had been reported previously, but wasn't yet confirmed.
12:15pm: The Grizzlies have added Kyle Weaver to their training camp roster on a non-guaranteed deal, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Based on the team's reported agreements to date, Weaver would be the 20th player under contract in Memphis.
Weaver, 26, was the 38th overall pick in the 2008 draft. He has since appeared in 73 games for the Thunder and Jazz, as well as playing in the D-League, in Germany, and in Belgium. The 6'6" wing has averaged 5.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG in his NBA career.
Spurs Sign Eddy Curry, Sherron Collins
The Spurs have officially unveiled their training camp roster, and there's at least one unexpected name on the list: Eddy Curry. Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News first reported that Curry was in camp with the Spurs (via Twitter).
Among the team's other additions, we'd previously heard about Tyler Wilkerson, Wesley Witherspoon, Josh Powell, and Derrick Brown. One new name on the training camp roster is Sherron Collins. It appears Collins may have taken the spot that previously appeared ticketed for fellow point guard Tre Kelley, whose name doesn't appear on the list.
While Brown, Powell, and the others should have a chance to earn a roster spot for the Spurs, Curry may be the most intriguing player among the new additions. According to Monroe, Curry has been playing all summer, looks fit, and has reportedly dropped 15 pounds (Twitter link). It would still be a little surprising to see the veteran big man earn a roster spot, but it appears he'll at least be given the opportunity.
Cavaliers Sign Justin Holiday
The Cavaliers have added Justin Holiday to their training camp roster, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Sulia link). The older brother of Jrue Holiday was part of the Cavs' summer league squad in July.
Holiday, 23, played his college ball at Washington, graduating in 2011. The 6'5" wing went undrafted despite being ranked as the 57th-best prospect in the class by ESPN.com's Chad Ford. He figures to be on a non-guaranteed summer contract with Cleveland and will be an extreme long shot to make the team's regular-season roster.
Bulls Sign Five To Finalize Camp Roster
The Bulls have officially signed five players to finalize their training camp roster, the team announced today in a press release. In addition to previously reported signees like Andre Emmett and Kyrylo Fesenko, the Bulls also added Marko Jaric, Ryan Allen, and Vance Cooksey, according to the team release.
With 13 players previously under contract, the Bulls were up against a hard cap, with only about $758K available to spend on players. However, since these five players were presumably signed to summer contracts, the salary won't count against Chicago's cap unless one of more of these guys makes the team. In that case, the Bulls would have to shed salary in another way, perhaps via trade, to clear room.
In addition to previously hearing about Emmett's and Fesenko's agreements, we also heard that Jaric and Allen were working out with the Bulls. Cooksey is the only new name — he spent last season playing in the D-League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Texas Legends, averaging 8.8 PPG and 4.8 APG in 38 contests.
Hornets Sign Alabi, Morrison, Wright
The Hornets have added three players to their training camp roster, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (via Twitter). Eichenhofer tweets that Solomon Alabi, Dominique Morrison and Chris Wright will be in camp with the team, clarifying that Wright is a guard from Georgetown, not the Raptors forward of the same name (Twitter link).
Alabi, a 24-year-old center from Nigeria, spent two season with the Raptors before Toronto turned down its option on him for 2012/13. Morrison and Wright, meanwhile, both went undrafted — Morrison in 2012 and Wright in 2011. A 6'6" forward, Morrison averaged 19.8 PPG in his senior year at Oral Roberts, while Wright 12.9 PPG and 5.3 APG in his senior year as Georgetown's point guard.
The Hornets have at least two other players on contracts without full guarantees — Brian Roberts' deal is only partially guaranteed for $100K, and Lance Thomas' contract is non-guaranteed. Darius Miller's deal may also not be fully guaranteed. That leaves just 11 Hornets assured of full guarantees, which should give Alabi, Morrison, and Wright the opening to impress in camp and earn a roster spot.
Nuggets Sign Anthony Carter, Ben Uzoh
The Nuggets have signed Anthony Carter and Ben Uzoh to deals that will bring the pair of point guards to training camp, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The additions bring Denver's roster count to 17 players.
Both Carter and Uzoh played for the Raptors in 2011/12, though their career trajectories don't have much in common besides that. Carter is 37 years old and averaged just 8.7 minutes per game in his 24 contests last season. Uzoh, meanwhile, made his NBA debut just two seasons ago and has split time between the NBA and the D-League since then. It appeared the 24-year-old was heading overseas for the year before he parted ways with French team Cholet last week.
Of the Nuggets' 17 players, 14 are on guaranteed contracts. Besides Uzoh and Carter, the only other player without a full guarantee is third-string point guard Julyan Stone, which seems to suggest that both Uzoh and Carter will receive the chance to outplay Stone this month and earn that final roster spot.
Sixers Sign Mikki Moore
The 76ers have officially signed Mikki Moore, the team announced today in a press release. Within the same release, the Sixers announced that they'll take "precautionary measures" with newly-acquired Andrew Bynum, holding him out of basketball activities for the next three weeks while he continues to recover from the Orthokine therapy he underwent in his knees this offseason.
Moore, 36, has appeared in 564 NBA games over his lengthy career, though his contributions have been limited in recent years. The big man played seven games last year for the Warriors, his first NBA action since the 2009/10 season. In his brief time with Golden State, Moore played 16.9 minutes per game, averaging 3.4 points and 3.4 rebounds.
Moore will be the 18th player under contract for the Sixers.
Raptors Notes: Rookies, Calderon, DeRozan
The Raptors are holding their media day in Toronto, and a number of interesting tidbits have already come out of the session. Here are the day's Raps notes, both from the media session and elsewhere:
- Raptors president Bryan Colangelo expects all three of the team's rookies — Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, and Quincy Acy — to contribute this season, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
- Asked about Jose Calderon as a trade candidate, Colangelo said he must explore every avenue to upgrade the roster, but nothing is imminent with Calderon and no trades involving the point guard were ever close (Twitter links via Wolstat).
- For his part, Calderon acknowledged recently in an interview with Marca.com (passed along by Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld) that the team has indicated he could be on the block because of his contract situation — he'll become a free agent next summer.
- The Raptors view DeMar DeRozan as a key part of the team's future and have discussed an extension, though Colangelo isn't sure something will get done by Halloween (Twitter links via Wolstat).
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star asks five questions that could be crucial to the Raptors' 2012/13 season.
Thunder Sign Walker Russell Jr.
The Thunder have finalized their training camp roster by adding Walker Russell Jr. to the squad, the team announced today (Twitter link). The move gives Oklahoma City 19 players under contract heading into camp.
Russell, who turns 30 this weekend, went undrafted in 2006 and has bounced around since then, playing for a number of teams overseas and in the D-League. He finally made his NBA debut last year for the Pistons, signing a non-guaranteed contract with the team that eventually became guaranteed. In 28 games for Detroit, the point guard averaged 3.0 PPG and 2.1 APG in 12.8 MPG.
Terms of Russell's deal with the Thunder aren't known, but it's almost certainly a non-guaranteed summer contract.