Hawks Signing Nathan Knight To Two-Way Contract
The Hawks have reached an agreement on a two-way deal with undrafted free agent center Nathan Knight, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Knight, who spent all four years of his college career at William & Mary, averaged a double-double in 2019/20 as a senior, recording 20.7 PPG and 10.5 RPG in 32 games (29.6 MPG).
Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who ranked Knight 11th among undrafted prospects, called him one of the most skilled big men in college basketball and suggested he would have been a lock to have been drafted in the first round a decade or two ago. However, his poor lateral quickness could create issues on defense in the modern NBA.
Knight is the third rookie the Hawks are adding to the mix, having drafted Onyeka Okongwu and Skylar Mays on Wednesday.
Myles Powell To Sign Exhibit 10 Deal With Knicks
NOVEMBER 29: New York’s signing of Powell is now official, per a team tweet.
NOVEMBER 19: The Knicks will sign Seton Hall guard Myles Powell to an Exhibit 10 contract, Adam Zagoria writes for NJ.com.
Powell, an AP first-team All-American and winner of the Jerry West Award as the nation’s top shooting guard, will be with New York in training camp. He is eligible for a guarantee of up to $50K if he is waived and joins the Knicks’ G League affiliate.
Zagoria notes that the team’s shake-up may give Powell an opportunity to earn a roster spot. After today’s moves, New York has just seven players under contract for next season.
Former NBA player Rick Brunson, who has been training Powell and Knicks top pick Obi Toppin, believes the Seton Hall product has a future in the league.
“There’s NBA talent, which usually gets drafted on their talent, and there’s NBA players, and Myles is an NBA player,” said Brunson. “He may not check all the boxes with the length and the athleticism and height and all that B.S., but the guy is an NBA player. He can shoot, he’s tough, he makes threes at a high rate, he’s tough as nails, he can guard. He’s a winner and he’s a proven winner in college.”
Mavericks’ Tim Hardaway Jr. Opts In For Next Season
Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. will exercise his $18.975MM player option for next 2020/21, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Acquired from the Knicks midway through the 2018/19 season, Hardaway became a valuable contributor during his first full season in Dallas. The 28-year-old averaged 15.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 71 games while shooting a career-best 39.8% from three-point range.
Like many players with option years, Hardaway would have faced an uncertain fate in free agency due to the league’s downturn in revenue and the lack of teams with cap space. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer in what is expected to be a more robust market.
Thunder To Exercise Option For Hamidou Diallo
The Thunder will exercise their $1.66MM team option for next season on Hamidou Diallo, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Diallo, 22, has been a solid bench player for Oklahoma City during his first two years in the NBA. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 46 games last season.
With Mike Muscala opting in earlier today, all the Thunder’s option decisions for next season have been resolved.
Knicks Waive Four Players, Decline Options For Portis, Pinson
12:40pm: The Knicks have confirmed all the roster moves detailed below and added that they’ve turned down their team option on Theo Pinson, whom they claimed off waivers in June. Pinson’s option had been worth $1.7MM, but he’ll become an unrestricted free agent instead of remaining with New York.
The team projects to enter free agency with upwards of $38-40MM in cap room.
12:06pm: The Knicks will waive Elfrid Payton and Kenny Wooten and have decided not to pick up Bobby Portis‘ option for next season, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. In addition, the team won’t make a qualifying offer to Damyean Dotson, who becomes an unrestricted free agent.
New York will also waive veteran forward Taj Gibson, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), and Wayne Ellington, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post.
The decisions are designed to create cap flexibility, Popper adds (Twitter link). He notes that the team could opt to re-sign some of the players, but at lesser salaries than what they were scheduled to make (Twitter link).
Payton had a $1MM guarantee on his $8MM deal for next season. He started 36 of the 45 games he played last season, but the Knicks have indicated they want to find a new starting point guard. Gibson also had a $1MM guarantee on his $9.45MM contract, while Ellington receives $1MM of his $8MM deal. Wooten was on a two-way contract and didn’t appear in any NBA games.
The Knicks held a $15.75MM option for Portis, who averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 66 games last season, mostly as a reserve. Dotson, who got into 48 games off the bench and averaged 6.7 PPG, would have required a $2,023,150 QO.
Warriors’ Klay Thompson Suffers Torn Achilles
NOVEMBER 19: Thompson has suffered a season-ending Achilles tear, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
It’s devastating news for the Warriors and for Thompson, who will miss a second consecutive season with a major leg injury and will be looking to return in 2021/22 at age 31 after not having played a game in about 28 months.
The Warriors will likely apply for a disabled player exception, which would be worth the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception ($9.3MM).
NOVEMBER 18: The Warriors fear that Klay Thompson has suffered a “significant” Achilles injury, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Haynes, Thompson is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his injured right leg on Thursday.
As we relayed earlier this evening before the draft got underway, Thompson suffered the lower leg injury during a workout in Southern California today. He has been sidelined since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, having suffered a torn left ACL in that game, but had been on track to return to the court for the Warriors to start the 2020/21 season.
If Thompson suffered an Achilles tear or another major injury, it’s possible he’ll miss his second consecutive full season, which would be brutal news for both him and the Warriors.
Several members of the Warriors organization are headed to Los Angeles to be with Thompson for his MRI tomorrow morning, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). The club is still hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.
The Warriors should have clarity on the severity of Thompson’s injury before free agency begins on Friday, so that news may impact how the team approaches its offseason. Golden State has a $17MM+ trade exception and the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception and may need to prioritize a wing if Thompson won’t be available anytime soon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacers Signing Rayshaun Hammonds To Exhibit 10 Deal
Georgia forward Rayshaun Hammonds will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pacers, tweets Scott Agness.
The 6’9″ junior averaged 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 32 games for the Bulldogs last season. He was second on the team in scoring behind overall No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards.
An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later assigned to the team’s affiliate in the G League.
Thunder Acquire Schofield, Second-Rounder Krejci From Wizards
NOVEMBER 19: The Thunder also acquired Admiral Schofield from Washington in the deal, which is now official, according to a tweet from the Wizards.
NOVEMBER 18: The Wizards selected guard Vit Krejci with the No. 37 but they’re trading him to the Thunder, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Washington will receive the No. 53 pick in this draft plus additional compensation, Ben Standig of The Athletic tweets.
The Wizards used that pick on Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston. Winston led the Spartans to the Final Four as a junior and averaged 18.6 PPG and 5.9 APG as a senior.
The additional competition will be a future second-rounder, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets.
Krejci of the Czech Republic won’t be able to play in the NBA in the near future. While playing for the Spanish team Casademont Zaragoza, the 20-year-old Krejci suffered an ACL injury that required surgery in early October. He’s a member of the Czech Republic national team and projects as a 6’8” combo guard.
Mike Muscala Exercises Player Option
Thunder center Mike Muscala has exercised his $2,283,034 player option for next season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Oklahoma City signed Muscala last summer to a two-year, $4.31MM deal that included the option for the second season. The 29-year-old appeared in 47 games in his first year with the Thunder, averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in about 12 minutes per night.
Muscala has been in the NBA since signing with the Hawks in 2013. He has also played for the Sixers and Lakers.
Timberwolves Extend Qualifying Offer To Malik Beasley
Malik Beasley has received a qualifying offer from the Timberwolves, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The $3,895,424 offer means Beasley will be a restricted free agent and Minnesota can match any offer he receives.
Beasley was extremely effective in 14 games with the Wolves after being acquired from Denver in a four-team trade in February. He moved into the starting lineup and averaged 20.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42.6% from beyond the arc.
While Beasley figures to be in line for a huge payday, some teams may be reluctant to pursue him because of his recent legal troubles. Beasley faces felony charges of fifth-degree drug possession and threats of violence after being arrested in September and recently had his parental rights challenged.