Cavaliers Cut Norvel Pelle
As expected, the Cavaliers have waived forward/center Norvel Pelle, according to a press release from the team. The move was completed before Saturday night’s waiver deadline.
Pelle just signed with Cleveland earlier today, but wasn’t a candidate to make the club’s regular season roster. He was signed and waived with the G League in mind, and is expected to eventually suit up for the Canton Charge.
Pelle, who will turn 28 in February, spent last season with the Sixers, first on a two-way contract and later on a standard deal. He averaged 2.4 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 24 games (9.7 MPG) for Philadelphia in 2019/20, then was waived in the offseason before his salary for 2020/21 became guaranteed.
The Cavaliers now have their roster set for the regular season, with 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
Warriors Sign, Waive Elijah Pemberton
The Warriors signed and waived undrafted rookie wing Elijah Pemberton prior to Saturday night’s waiver deadline, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links).
A team that signs a player to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract and then waives him secures that player’s G League rights, assuming those rights aren’t already held by another NBAGL team. Golden State had hoped to sign-and-waive Jeremy Lin for that purpose, but he didn’t receive a Letter of Clearance from China by tonight’s waiver deadline after playing last season in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Based on the reports from Charania and Stein, it sounds like the Warriors will no longer complete that deal with Lin, since doing so after today would require the team to pay him a prorated portion of his minimum salary while he’s on waivers, increasing Golden State’s projected tax bill.
The club instead turned to Pemberton, who spent his four-year college career at Hofstra and averaged 17.6 PPG on .450/.380/.854 shooting in 34 games (36.3 MPG) as a senior in 2019/20. He’ll report to the Santa Cruz Warriors after the G League finalizes its plan for a revamped ’20/21 season.
Rockets Sign, Waive Josh Reaves
The Rockets signed free agent wing Josh Reaves to a contract and waived him shortly thereafter, as our JD Shaw reports (via Twitter).
Reaves, 23, signed a two-way contract with the Mavericks in 2019 shortly after going undrafted out of Penn State. The former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year logged just 28 total minutes in four games with Dallas, but was a full-time starter for the Texas Legends in the G League, averaging 13.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.0 SPG in 37 games (30.6 MPG).
It’s not uncommon for NBA teams to waive certain players right after signing them at this time of year — those transactions are generally completed with the G League in mind. If Reaves signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which seems likely, Houston will have his NBAGL rights and he’ll be in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he plays for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Of course, with the G League season still up in the air, it’s unclear whether or not the Vipers will even play this year, but the signing (and waiving) of Reaves suggests the Rockets’ affiliate hasn’t ruled out participating in the proposed NBAGL bubble.
Magic Place Three Players On Waivers
The Magic have waived their three Exhibit 10 players, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Gone are guard Devin Cannady, forward Robert Franks and center Jon Teske.
The Magic also signed and waived undrafted guard Jeff Dowtin, who averaged 13.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 3.2 APG on .429/.360/.757 as a senior at Rhode Island last season. His very brief stint on the roster was for G League rights purposes.
Orlando is now down to the league limit of 15 players, all with guaranteed contracts, plus two-way players Jordan Bone and Karim Mane.
Cannady was in camp with the Nets last season and played for their G League affiliate in Long Island. Franks divided last year between the Hornets’ and Kings’ teams in the G League. Teske signed with the Magic after going undrafted out of Michigan last month.
No Letter Of Clearance, No Warriors Deal For Jeremy Lin
9:55pm: Lin’s Letter of Clearance didn’t arrive in time for the Warriors to sign and release him by today’s waiver deadline, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Having failed to do so by today, it sounds like Golden State won’t sign and waive Lin after all, having turned to undrafted rookie Elijah Pemberton instead.
8:23pm: The Warriors would like to have Jeremy Lin under contract by 11pm Eastern today, but it may be hard to obtain the paperwork in time, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Lin and the team have reached an agreement, but are waiting for a FIBA Letter of Clearance from China. That type of document can be difficult to obtain on a weekend because international offices are closed, Stein adds.
Golden State was hoping to sign Lin and waive him before tonight’s waiver deadline so they can ensure they’ll have his G League rights (Twitter link). However, the transaction cannot be completed without the letter from FIBA.
The cost of waiting an extra day or two could be significant because the team is so far into the luxury tax, Stein notes. If the Warriors execute the move on Sunday rather than today, it would cost an extra $74,925 in tax penalties. Waiting until Monday would mean an extra $127,650 (Twitter link).
Lin, 32, has been working out in California recently with the G League Ignite, an NBAGL select team of top prospects and NBA veterans.
Hornets Waive Four Players
The Hornets have waived Keandre Cook, Javin DeLaurier, Xavier Sneed and Kahlil Whitney, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell expects all four to be considered for the team’s G League affiliate in Greensboro once they clear waivers.
The moves leave Charlotte with an open roster spot and more than $4MM in cap room, Bonnell adds (Twitter link), and general manager Mitch Kupchak may opt to keep that flexibility through the trade deadline.
All four players were rookies with non-guaranteed contracts, so Charlotte won’t be on the hook for any money.
Rockets Waive Gerald Green, Others
9:30pm: All the roster moves detailed below are now official, per the Rockets and RealGM’s transactions log.
11:46am: Veteran swingman and Houston native Gerald Green will be among the players waived by the Rockets today as they ready their roster for the regular season, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Green has spent most of the last three years with the Rockets, though he was unable to play at all during the 2019/20 season due to a broken foot. He signed a non-guaranteed deal with Houston prior to training camp and was a candidate to make the roster, but cap constraints will make it impossible for now.
The Rockets only have enough room under their hard cap to carry 14 players for the time being, and Chris Clemons will be one of those players since his salary will now be guaranteed due to his season-ending Achilles tear. Houston still had some flexibility to cut a non-guaranteed player besides Green, but the team – unsurprisingly – will hang onto DeMarcus Cousins, Jae’Sean Tate, and Bruno Caboclo ahead of the 34-year-old wing.
The Rockets are open to bringing back Green later in the season if other roster moves make it possible, a source tells Feigen.
Meanwhile, Houston will also waive Trey Mourning and William McDowell-White, according to Feigen. McDowell-White just signed a two-way contract this week, but the plan is for Brodric Thomas to fill that two-way slot — he’ll have his Exhibit 10 deal converted into a two-way contract, says Feigen.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks Notes: Knox, Brazdeikis, Robinson, Noel
After a disappointing second NBA season, Kevin Knox is taking advantage of a fresh start with the Knicks‘ new coaching staff, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Knox has emerged as a dangerous outside shooter, making nine of his last 10 from beyond the arc.
“Looking at his career, when he’s taken good shots, he’s always made them. Or at least had a good chance to make them,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And when he’s eliminated the tough shots, it makes him a much better player. He plays with a lot more energy defensively. But I want him to get himself going — with his defense first, running the floor, rebounding and then spacing the floor. … Kevin has worked extremely hard to get himself ready for the season.”
Knox, the ninth player taken in the 2018 draft, turned in a strong rookie season, averaging 12.8 PPG in 75 games. But his playing time was cut from 28.8 to 17.9 minutes per game last year and his performance declined across the board. Knox is still only 21 and was counting on a strong preseason showing after the coaching change.
“It’s good, it’s always good to see the ball go through the net,” he said. “But with preseason over now, starting Wednesday we get the real games going, so I want to continue to get the work in, watch a lot of film, get a lot of shots up. It was great to see the ball go through the net these last two games, and hopefully I can continue with that confidence and play with it consistently like I’ve been playing.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Ignas Brazdeikis was in the G League for most of his rookie season and opportunities are still coming slowly, observes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Brazdeikis sat out the Knicks’ first three preseason games before playing 17 minutes Friday night. “I’m just working every single day to get better,” he said. “That’s the main focus is just developing my game. I’m still young. I’ve got to improve a lot. I’m not even close to the player I want to be.”
- New York wasn’t able to upgrade its roster in free agency, so the focus turns to developing players into tradable assets, notes Steve Popper of Newsday. He adds that the Knicks weren’t able to find anyone willing to give up a draft pick for Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina and states that Mitchell Robinson might have the most trade value on the roster.
- Nerlens Noel is seeking a new agent after ending his relationship with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball News. Paul and the agency say it was an amicable separation (Twitter link).
Knicks Waive Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Two Others
8:36pm: The Knicks have confirmed that Kidd-Gilchrist has been waived, along with guards Bryce Brown and Myles Powell (Twitter link). Brown and Powell both had Exhibit 10 contracts and are likely to play for the team’s G League affiliate in Westchester.
New York is now at the roster limit for the season, with 15 guaranteed contracts and a pair of two-way players.
7:29pm: The Knicks will place veteran forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on waivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Kidd-Gilchrist was in a difficult position because New York had 15 other players with guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season. An illness slowed him throughout training camp, and he didn’t appear in any preseason games. Kidd-Gilchrist had an Exhibit 10 deal, which would have paid him the minimum salary for one year if he had made the team.
The Knicks believed it was worth gambling on the 27-year-old, who was the second overall choice in the 2012 draft. His career has sputtered in recent years, and he played a combined 25 games last season for the Hornets and Mavericks.
New York still has to trim two more players off its roster before Monday’s deadline.
Thunder Sign, Waive Chasson Randle
DECEMBER 19: The Thunder signed and waived Randle today, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
DECEMBER 2: The Thunder have reached an agreement to sign free agent guard Chasson Randle, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Terms of the deal haven’t been reported, but a training camp contract seems likely.
Randle, who made his NBA debut in 2017, has appeared in 78 total games since then for the Sixers, Knicks, Wizards, and Warriors, averaging 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG in 13.9 minutes per contest. He was on a 10-day contract with Golden State in March when the season was suspended.
The Thunder have had perhaps the most eventful offseason in the NBA in terms of roster moves, and a handful of those reported transactions still aren’t complete. For now, the team has 19 players on its roster, which would seemingly leave a single opening for Randle. However, reported agreements with Frank Jackson, Omer Yurtseven, Moses Brown, and Josh Hall will also need to be finalized at some point too.