Month: March 2024

Sixers Sign Lamine Diane To Exhibit 10 Contract

The Sixers have officially signed undrafted rookie Lamine Diane, with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey posting a message on Twitter welcoming him to the organization. Diane’s deal with Philadelphia is an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

A 6’7″ forward, Diane put up monster numbers for Cal State Northridge in his two college seasons, averaging 25.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in a total of 52 games (35.5 MPG). He won the Big West Player of the Year award in consecutive years before declaring for the draft this spring.

Although Diane wasn’t drafted on November 18, he’ll head to training camp with the 76ers and should have a chance to land with the team’s G League affiliate – the Delaware Blue Coats – if he doesn’t make the regular season roster.

The Sixers now project to have a full 20-man roster once they sign first-rounder Tyrese Maxey and complete their agreed-upon Al Horford trade with Oklahoma City.

Rockets Add Hornacek To Silas’ Coaching Staff

The Rockets have hired Jeff Hornacek as an assistant on Stephen Silas’ staff, according to a team press release.

Hornacek was the head coach in Phoenix for 2 1/2 seasons from 2013-16 and in New York for two seasons from 2016-18. Previous reports indicated Houston was close to an agreement with Hornacek and now it’s official.

John Lucas, who was reportedly one of the finalists to replace Mike D’Antoni as head coach, will remain in the organization as an assistant. Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop will also join Silas’ staff.

Weaver was the head coach of the Sydney Kings in Australia after being named NBA G League Coach of the Year for the 2018/19 season with the Long Island Nets. Higgins spent the past two seasons with the Magic as associate coach/player development, while Diop spent the past four seasons on the Jazz’s staff.

Pistons Waive Zhaire Smith

The Pistons have placed swingman Zhaire Smith on waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The transaction was expected, as Detroit’s plan to waive Smith was previously reported. The Pistons officially acquired Smith from the 76ers in exchange for center Tony Bradley a week ago.

Smith was due to make $3.2MM during the upcoming season but that was the only guarantee left on his rookie contract. His $4.915MM salary for the 2021/22 season includes a team option.

There’s a good chance Detroit will use the stretch provision on Smith’s contract. Only the guaranteed money would count, so if the Pistons stretch his contract for three years, the cap hit would be around $1MM per season.

Smith was drafted just outside the lottery with the No. 16 pick in the 2018 draft but his first two seasons were marred by injuries.  He’s appeared in just 13 NBA games.

Mavs Sign Josh Green To Rookie Contract

The Mavericks have officially signed No. 18 overall pick Josh Green to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Green, one of multiple Wildcats to declare for this year’s draft, was the first of three Arizona players selected on November 18, ahead of former teammates Zeke Nnaji and Nico Mannion. In 30 games (30.9 MPG) as a freshman, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.5 SPG with a .424/.361/.780 shooting line.

Assuming he signs for 120% of the standard rookie scale amount, as nearly every first-round pick does, Green will make $2.82MM as a rookie this season. His four-year deal will be worth about $13.64MM in total if his third- and fourth-year options are picked up.

The Mavericks also officially announced their two-way deal with Tyler Bey, which had been previously reported. As our roster counts page shows, Dallas has reached eight other contract agreements that aren’t yet official, so it’s safe to assume the club will be sending out a few more press releases pretty soon.

Wizards Sign Anthony Gill To Two-Year Deal

NOVEMBER 30: The Wizards have officially signed Gill, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Katz that it’s a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a non-guaranteed second year.


NOVEMBER 20: The Wizards have reached a two-year agreement with power forward Anthony Gill, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The 6’8″ Gill, 28, went undrafted out of Virginia in 2016 and has spent his professional career overseas. He’s played the last three seasons with Khimki in the EuroLeague.

In 70 career games with Khimki, Gill averaged 10.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 1.2 APG in 23.5 MPG. He’s a solid 3-point shooter, knocking down 40.6% of his attempts.

Gill adds more depth to Washington’s roster as a stretch four. The Wizards are still hoping to re-sign Davis Bertans.

Jazz Notes: Gobert, Favors, Bogdanovic, Azubuike

Asked today during a media session about the possibility of signing Rudy Gobert to a contract extension in the coming weeks, Jazz executive VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey declined to offer any specifics, but suggested the team would be happy to get something done.

We don’t comment on past, present or future negotiations, but we love Rudy,” Lindsey said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). “We want Rudy to be here for the rest of his career.”

Tony Jones of The Athletic, who has said repeatedly that Gobert and the Jazz are actively discussing a new contract, reiterated that point today (Twitter link).

Gobert is eligible to sign an extension anytime before he reaches free agency during the summer of 2021, though if the Jazz are willing to give the All-Star center a super-max deal starting at 35% of the cap (which seems unlikely), they’ll have to get it done by December 21.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

  • Lindsey said today that the Jazz’s decision to bring back Derrick Favors in free agency was motivated by feeling undersized defensively last season against teams with multiple big men, such as the Lakers (Twitter link via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune).
  • Bojan Bogdanovic‘s recovery from wrist surgery is progressing well, according to Lindsey, who said the team will decide in about a week whether the veteran forward is ready to progress to contact workouts (Twitter link via Walden).
  • Addressing Utah’s decision to use the No. 27 pick in the draft on Udoka Azubuike, Lindsey said the team took the “best player available” route (Twitter link via Walden). The Jazz’s analytics models ranked the former Kansas center as the second-best prospect in the draft, while the club’s scouts ranked him in the top 10, Lindsey added.
  • Tony Jones of The Athletic provides a training camp primer for the Jazz, discussing Gobert’s contract situation, Donovan Mitchell‘s new extension, and the club’s goal of getting back into the top 10 for overall team defense in 2020/21.

2020/21 NBA Roster Counts

While NBA rosters are limited to 15 players during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 20 players during the offseason. Expanded offseason rosters allow clubs to bring in players on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed, giving those players a chance to earn a regular season roster spot or getting a closer look at them before sending them to their G League affiliate.

In addition to the usual 15-man rosters, NBA teams are permitted to carry two players on two-way contracts. Two-way deals, which we describe in detail in our glossary, essentially give clubs the NBA rights to players, though they’ll spend the majority of the season in the G League rather than with the NBA team. While two-way players don’t count toward the regular season roster limit, they do count toward the 20-man offseason limit.

Following a whirlwind offseason, we’ve done our best in the space below to present a picture of where each team’s roster stands. Here are the various categories you’ll find in our list:

  • Official: These players are officially under contract, with fully guaranteed salaries for 2020/21.
  • Reported: These are players whose contract agreements have been reported but haven’t been made official. We’re expecting them to be finalized at some point, though it’s possible some will fall through or were reported erroneously.
  • 10-day: These are players officially signed to 10-day contracts, along with the expiry date on those deals.
  • Two-way: These are players officially signed to two-way contracts. You can find a specific team’s two-way players right here.
  • Total: A team’s total roster count, taking into account all of the above.

Here are 2020/21’s NBA roster counts, which we’ll continue to update through the preseason and into the regular season:

Updated 5-17-21 (6:20am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Boston Celtics

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Brooklyn Nets

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Charlotte Hornets

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Chicago Bulls

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Read more

Pelicans Sign Jarrod Uthoff To Non-Guaranteed Deal

DECEMBER 2: The Pelicans have officially signed Uthoff, according to RealGM’s transactions log.


NOVEMBER 30: The Pelicans are signing free agent forward Jarrod Uthoff to one-year contract, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). The minimum-salary deal will be non-guaranteed, Guillory adds.

Uthoff, 27, has played for a handful of teams in the NBA and the G League since going undrafted in 2016, as well as spending a stint in Russia in 2018/19. Last season, he signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies in February and then joined the Wizards as a substitute player during the summer restart.

Although Uthoff only got into seven NBA games in 2019/20, he had a big year in the G League, averaging 19.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG, and 3.1 APG with a shooting line of .491/.367/.790 in 34 games (34.9 MPG) for the Memphis Hustle. He was named to the All-NBAGL First Team.

Uthoff is probably unlikely to make the Pelicans’ regular season roster, but the team doesn’t have a full 15-man squad of guaranteed salaries, so the door’s not entirely closed if he impresses during the preseason.

New Orleans has also officially announced its previouslyreported deals with free agents Willy Hernangomez and Wenyen Gabriel.

Pelicans Sign Kira Lewis Jr. To Rookie Contract

The Pelicans have officially signed first-round pick Kira Lewis Jr. to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.

A sophomore at Alabama in 2019/20, Lewis averaged a team-high 18.5 PPG to go along with 5.2 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in 31 games (37.6 MPG). After leaving the Crimson Tide to enter the draft pool, Lewis became a lottery pick, going 13th overall to New Orleans.

Lewis will join a solid group of Pelicans point guards that also includes Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball. As the No. 13 pick, he’ll be in line for a four-year contract worth over $17MM, including a first-year salary of $3.64MM.

Nineteen of the 30 players drafted in the first round on November 18 have now signed their rookie contracts, as our tracker shows.

Hoops Rumors’ 2020 NBA Free Agent Tracker

We’re only 10 days removed from the start of NBA free agency, but with teams already finalizing their 20-man rosters and training camps set to begin, a lot has happened in those 10 days. Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason.

To this end, we continue to update our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.

A few notes on the tracker:

  • Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
  • Similarly, contract years and dollars will sometimes be based on what’s been reported to date, so those amounts could be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
  • Our tracker will continue to be updated with the latest moves right up until opening night on December 22. Signings completed after the season begins won’t be included.
  • If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2020 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”

The tracker will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.