Celtics Waive Daniel Ochefu
The Celtics reached their roster limit Saturday by waiving Daniel Ochefu, according to RealGM’s official NBA transactions log.
The 23-year-old center signed with Boston on Friday. He will be eligible to join the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine if he clears waivers tomorrow.
Undrafted out of Villanova last year, Ochefu spent his rookie season with the Wizards, appearing in 19 games. He was waived last week and received a $50K guarantee on his $1,312,611 salary for this season.
Kings Waive Three Players
The Kings got down to the regular season roster limit on Saturday by parting with three players, according to RealGM’s official NBA transactions log. Sacramento waived camp invitees Matt Jones, David Stockton, and Reggie Hearn.
Jones, a 6’5″ guard out of Duke, received an Exhibit 10 contract when he signed with the Kings, so he’s a good bet to land in the G League with the Reno Bighorns as an affiliate player, earning him a modest bonus.
Stockton and Hearn, meanwhile, have been mainstays at Reno in recent years, so it makes sense that they’d return to the Bighorns for the coming season. Details of the contracts they signed with Sacramento earlier this week aren’t known, but there’s a good chance they include Exhibit 10 clauses as well, to ensure both players get a little extra bonus money for heading back to the G League.
With the three cuts, the Kings are now ready for the regular season, with 15 players on NBA contracts and two on two-way deals.
Five Key Stories: 10/7/17 – 10/14/17
Missed this week’s biggest NBA headlines? We’ve got a recap for you. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
The Sixers reached an extension agreement with oft-injured center Joel Embiid. The max deal is valued at $146.5M over five years, but it includes protections for the team if Embiid can’t reach benchmarks for games and minutes played. It also contains some incentives for Embiid that could push the value as high as $175.74MM.
Also signing a rookie-scale extension this week was high-scoring Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins. The fourth-year wing kept the team waiting for a couple of months before agreeing to the five-year, maximum-salary offer that will be pay him roughly $146.5MM. The former No. 1 draft pick fired his agent soon after Minnesota’s offer was finalized.
The Nuggets locked up guard Gary Harris for the next four years with an $84MM extension. The deal gives Harris $74MM in guaranteed money, with another $10MM available through bonuses and incentives. Harris overcame early-season injuries last year to average a career-best 14.9 points per game and shoot 42% from 3-point range.
In a cost-cutting move, the Cavaliers traded Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder to the Hawks. Atlanta also received $3MM in cash and second-round picks in 2019 and 2020 in exchange for the rights to draft-and-stash prospects Dimitrios Agravanis and Sergiy Gladyr. The Hawks subsequently waived Jefferson and Felder, making them unrestricted free agents if they clear waivers.
Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum was suspended for the season opener after leaving the bench during an altercation in a preseason game Wednesday. McCollum will lose roughly $165K in salary for the missed game.
Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:
- A rookie-scale extension for Marcus Smart seems unlikely before Monday’s deadline. The Celtics guard said earlier this week that he has yet to hear from the team.
- The Knicks signed free agent point guard Trey Burke then waived him three days later. There were rumors that Burke might be a contender for the starting job before his release was announced.
- Speaking to reporters before a game in China, NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the possibility of playoff re-seeding. He said increased travel and an unbalanced schedule are both working against the concept, but the league will continue to study it.
- Jazz point guard Dante Exum suffered a separated left shoulder that could sideline him for the entire season. Exum, who also had ligament damage, is searching for an alternative to surgery.
- Wizards guard Sheldon Mac will miss six to eight months with a torn left Achilles. Most of Mac’s salary for this season is non-guaranteed, but the team will have to pay him until he is fully healthy.
- A specialist told Hornets swingman Nicolas Batum he won’t need surgery on his injured left elbow. Batum suffered a torn ligament and is projected to be out of action for six to eight weeks.
- Pelicans point guard Rajon Rondo is expected to miss four to six weeks after surgery for a sports hernia. Rondo signed a one-year, $3.3MM deal with New Orleans in July.
- The Heat will be without swingman Rodney McGruder for three to six months because of a stress fracture in his left tibia.
- Sixers big man Richaun Holmes will be sidelined for the start of the season with a broken bone in his left wrist. Team doctors plan to re-evaluate him in late October.
- Mavericks guard Seth Curry is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his left tibia.
Mutual Interest Between Bucks, Richard Jefferson
The Bucks are a “serious suitor” for veteran forward Richard Jefferson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Cavaliers traded the 37-year-old to Atlanta earlier today along with Kay Felder in a move designed to save as much as $12.8MM in luxury tax. The Hawks immediately waived Jefferson and Felder, making them both unrestricted free agents if they clear waivers, which should happen Monday.
Milwaukee could claim Jefferson off waivers, but taking on his salary would push the team $5K over the luxury tax, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Jefferson will make $2.5MM this season and a non-guaranteed $2,612,500 in 2018/19.
Several other teams have also expressed interest in Jefferson, sources tell Wojnarowski, but the Bucks seem to be the most prominent. Milwaukee waived another veteran forward, Gerald Green, earlier today to open a roster spot.
Jefferson was a teammate of Bucks coach Jason Kidd for seven years with the Nets, including two trips to the NBA Finals. Their relationship could give Milwaukee an edge once Jefferson hits the open market.
Wojnarowski adds that the Bucks have been working on several deals to trim cap space involving guard Rashad Vaughn and center John Henson. The team has offered a second-round pick to anybody willing to take Vaughn, who is owed nearly $1.9MM this season and has a team option worth $2.9MM+ in 2018/19. Henson has three seasons and more than $31.7MM left on his contract.
Teams Contact Mavericks About Gian Clavell
Several teams have reached out to the Mavericks in an effort to acquire shooting guard Gian Clavell, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Clavell, MacMahon notes, was Dallas’ only camp invitee who wasn’t waived today.
The Mavs are one over the roster limit and could keep Clavell by converting his contract into a two-way deal, which would limit him to 45 days in the NBA over the course of the season. He is also eligible to be designated as an affiliate player, which would require him to spend the entire season in the G League.
Clavell went undrafted out of Colorado State after being named Mountain West Player of the Year last season. He signed with Dallas in early August after playing summer league ball with Miami. The 23-year-old has spent several years with the Puerto Rican National Team.
Clippers Waive Plumlee, Iroegbu, Wallace
The Clippers reached the roster limit by waiving Marshall Plumlee, Ike Iroegbu and Tyrone Wallace, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
Plumlee was in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, hoping to win a spot as a third center behind DeAndre Jordan and Willie Reed. The 25-year-old spent part of last season with Knicks, appearing in 21 games, after going undrafted out of Duke. New York had interest in re-signing him, but Plumlee chose the opportunity with the Clippers.
Iroegbu, a 22-year-old point guard, signed with L.A. on Friday in a move designed to get him to the Clippers’ new G League affiliate. The Washington State alum went undrafted and played briefly with the Suns’ summer league team.
Wallace, 23, played for Utah’s G League affiliate last season after being the final pick in the 2016 draft. Even though he came to camp with the Clippers, his rights still belonged to the Salt Lake City Stars. However, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario made a trade to acquire Wallace’s rights earlier today.
Earlier today, we told you the Clippers opted to keep shooting guard C.J. Williams by converting his contract to a two-way deal. That will limit him to 45 days in the NBA this season.
Pistons Waive Beno Udrih
The Pistons have waived veteran point guard Beno Udrih, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Detroit had already trimmed its roster to 15 players plus a pair of two-way deals, so the decision to waive Udrih could pave the way for another move.
The 35-year-old spent one season with the Pistons after being claimed off waivers last October. Udrih appeared in 39 games in Detroit, averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 14.4 minutes per night. He will go back on waivers, putting him in a situation similar to last year, when the Heat released him just before the start of the season.
Udrih was a first-round pick by San Antonio in 2004. He has also played for the Kings, Bucks, Magic, Knicks and Grizzlies.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/7/17 – 10/14/17
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are our segments and features from the past seven days:
- Our Offseason in Review series, which sees us looking back at the biggest stories and roster moves of each team’s summer, continued this week with breakdowns of the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.
- Luke Adams examined five intriguing team option decisions.
- Our Community Shootaround series asked whether the NBA should shorten its 82-game schedule.
- Our Sunday Mailbag addressed questions on the Pelicans, Cedi Osman and James Young.
- Chris Crouse discussed Trey Burke‘s chances of becoming the starting point guard role in New York. Burke, who was being considered for that role, was waived today.
Sixers Waive Andrews, Loving, Webb
The Sixers have waived Andrew Andrews, Marc Loving and James Webb III, the team announced in a tweet. All three players were signed earlier today and are expected to join the team’s G League affiliate in Delaware once they clear waivers.
Andrews, a 24-year-old guard, played in Turkey last year after being waived by the Hornets before the start of the season. He went undrafted out of Washington in 2016.
Loving, a 6’7″ power forward, played for Ohio State last year, averaging 12.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Webb, a 24-year-old forward, spent last season with the Sixers’ G League team in Delaware after Philadelphia waived him out of training camp.
Philadelphia is now down to the limit with 17 players on its roster, including two-way contracts for James Michael McAdoo and Jacob Pullen.
Bucks Waive Gerald Green
The Bucks have waived veteran forward Gerald Green, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
The 10-year veteran signed with Milwaukee last month just before training camp opened. Green’s deal was non-guaranteed, so the Bucks won’t owe him anything. He will now go on waivers and will be free to sign with any team if he is not claimed.
Green played 47 games for the Celtics last season, averaging 5.6 points in 11.4 minutes per night. A first-round pick in 2005, the 31-year-old has experienced a journeyman career, never spending more than two straight seasons with the same team. He has also played for the Timberwolves, Rockets, Mavericks, Nets, Pacers, Suns and Heat.
The move gives the Bucks flexibility as they now have 14 players on their roster, one below the league limit. Milwaukee is the only team in the league without at least one two-way contract.