Southeast Notes: Bryant, Hayward, Collins, Magic Bench, Rozier
Wizards center Thomas Bryant has been fined $45K for repeatedly making inappropriate contact with an official on Thursday, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Bryant, who received a technical foul as part of the incident, was aggressively attempting to confront Pistons forward Blake Griffin, who had committed a Flagrant Foul 1 against Bryant.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets’ prized offseason acquisition, forward Gordon Hayward, is hopeful he’ll play opening night despite a fractured right pinky finger, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Hayward tested out his injury on Friday with some shooting and ball-handling. He won’t play in the preseason finale on Saturday but believes he could return for the regular-season opener against the Cavaliers on Monday. “Certainly, I’m going to be doing everything I can to be ready for the opener,” Hayward said.
- The Hawks are still hopeful of getting a rookie scale extension done with forward John Collins by Monday’s deadline, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. If a deal doesn’t get done, Collins will be a restricted free agent next offseason. Team owner Tony Ressler recently remarked that he would “love to see” Collins remains in Atlanta for years to come.
- Rookies Cole Anthony and Chuma Okeke provide the Magic with a potent offensive duo off the bench, Dan Savage of the team’s website writes. They combined for five 3-pointers in Orlando’s preseason game on Thursday. “We obviously need to have balance with the starting five and the bench,” Magic shooting guard Evan Fournier said. “They’re going to have a huge role to play, so hopefully the (young) guys can figure it out and help us win.” Okeke missed all of last season with a knee injury, while Anthony was chosen with the 15th pick in this year’s draft.
- There’s no upside to trading Terry Rozier this season, Bonnell opines in a separate article for The Observer. Though the Hornets selected LaMelo Ball in the draft, Rozier is a steady producer, a strong locker room presence and adds intangibles that rub off on other players. It would make more sense to deal Rozier next offseason for a draft pick or young veteran when he’ll be entering his walk year, Bonnell adds.
Pacers Waive Naz Mitrou-Long, Josh Gray, Devin Robinson
The Pacers have reduced their preseason roster from 20 players to 17, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived guard Naz Mitrou-Long, guard Josh Gray, and forward Devin Robinson.
Mitrou-Long spent the 2019/20 season on a two-way contract with the Pacers, appearing in five regular season NBA games. Gray was on a two-way deal with the Pelicans last season and played in just two games with the team. Robinson has some previous NBA experience with the Wizards but spent the ’19/20 campaign in the G League.
All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts, so Indiana won’t be on the hook for any dead money after cutting them.
The Pacers’ roster now appears set for the regular season, with 14 players on guaranteed deals, one with a partial guarantee (Kelan Martin) and a pair on two-way contracts (Brian Bowen and Cassius Stanley).
Derrick Walton Signs With French Club
Walton, 25, made his NBA debut with the Heat back in 2017/18. He spent most of the ’19/20 season with the Clippers, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.0 APG in limited minutes (9.7 MPG) over 23 games.
L.A. sent Walton to Atlanta at February’s deadline in a salary-dump trade and the Hawks subsequently released him. He caught on with the Pistons for a 10-day deal in February, but didn’t finish the season on an NBA roster.
Cavs Convert Bolden To Two-Way Deal, Add Pelle
The Cavaliers have converted Marques Bolden‘s contract into a two-way deal and signed forward/center Norvel Pelle, according to a team press release.
The 6’11” Bolden appeared in all four Cavaliers preseason games. He played in one game for the Cavs last season after signing a 10-day contract in January. He was also a member of the Cavaliers’ 2019 training camp roster and played in 38 games last season with the Canton Charge, averaging 9.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.5 BPG in 18.9 MPG.
A two-way slot opened up when Cleveland waived guard Matt Mooney on Saturday.
The 6’10” Pelle appeared in 24 games with the 76ers last season, averaging 2.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 9.7 MPG. Philadelphia waived him last month before his $1.52MM contract became guaranteed. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavs, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
Cleveland remains one player over the opening-night limit with the addition of Pelle. However, it sounds like the plan is for him to eventually join the Canton Charge in the G League — Fedor reports that he’ll be waived later today. No further cuts should be required for the Cavs.
Timberwolves To Release Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will be among the players waived by the Timberwolves in advance of the regular season, sources tell Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While most of today’s roster cuts are moves that had been anticipated, Hollis-Jefferson’s release comes as a surprise. He had played fairly well in three preseason games – including a 17-point outburst on 6-of-6 shooting on Monday – and the Wolves aren’t exactly loaded with depth at the power forward spot.
According to Krawczynski (Twitter link), the decision to part ways with Hollis-Jefferson is a “flexibility play” for the Wolves, who will enter the season with an open roster spot. Krawczynski hears that there’s a possibility Minnesota will bring back RHJ at a later date, but for now the club wants to keep that 15th spot open in case an injury replacement is required or an opportunity for a two-for-one trade arises.
Hollis-Jefferson, who will turn 26 next month, played for the Raptors last season, providing energy and defense off the bench. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 60 games (18.7 MPG) for Toronto.
Since Hollis-Jefferson was on a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract, a team with interest would be able to claim him off waivers on Monday using the minimum salary exception. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll return to the free agent market.
The Timberwolves will have to cut a few more players – likely Tyler Cook, Zylan Cheatham, and Charlie Brown Jr. – to set their regular season roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mavs Release Guard Courtney Lee
Veteran guard Courtney Lee has been waived by the Mavericks, head coach Rick Carlisle told Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
The move trims the Mavs’ roster to the 15-player opening-day limit, plus two others on two-way contracts. While Dallas will monitor roster cuts by other teams, it’s unlikely the team will make another move, Caplan adds.
Lee was signed on a training camp deal on December 11 but was a longshot to make the final roster. He played for the Mavericks last season but was not a consistent rotation presence. Lee appeared in just 24 games, averaging 4.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG, and 0.8 SPG in 14.4 MPG.
He didn’t participate in the restart due to a calf injury.
The 35-year-old out of Western Kentucky was an effective three-and-D perimeter player in his prime. Prior to Dallas, he played for the Magic, Nets, Rockets, Celtics, Grizzlies, Hornets, and Knicks across a 12-year NBA career.
Cavs Place Randolph, Matthews, Mooney On Waivers
The Cavaliers have waived guards Levi Randolph, Charles Matthews and Matt Mooney, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.
The most significant cut is Mooney, since he was on a two-way deal. That opens up a two-way slot, with the other occupied by Lamar Stevens.
The moves leave Cleveland with 16 players on the official roster, one over the limit. Big men Marques Bolden and Dean Wade are candidates for the two-way contract, though Wade would have to go through waivers before he could sign that deal.
Randolph was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal last month. He’ll likely wind up with their G League team, the Canton Charge.
Randolph, 28, has been trying to break into the NBA since graduating from Alabama in 2015. He has been part of Cleveland’s training camp the past two seasons and signed a two-way contract in January, but was waived six days later. Randolph led the Charge in scoring last year at 16.9 PPG.
Matthews was also on an Exhibit 10 contract. He spent one season at Kentucky in 2015/16 before transferring to Michigan, where he played for two seasons. Matthews declared early for the draft in 2019, but tore his ACL during a team workout.
Mooney signed a two-way contract with the Cavs last January after going undrafted in 2019. He made four brief appearances with Cleveland last season and saw action in 42 G League games, averaging 13.1 PPG and 5.1 APG in 31.2 MPG.
Why Many Teams Are Finalizing Roster Cuts On Saturday
NBA teams have until Monday night to officially set their rosters for the 2020/21 regular season. However, a majority of NBA teams will likely have their rosters ready to go on Saturday, with more roster cuts expected today than on Sunday or Monday.
Why is that? Well, releasing a player today will allow him to clear waivers on Monday, before the regular season gets underway.
Players who are cut during the season are also paid for each day they spend on waivers, so a player who hits waivers on Sunday and doesn’t clear until the first day of the season on Tuesday would technically earn one day’s worth of pay, even if his salary isn’t guaranteed. A player waived on Monday would spend two regular season days on waivers.
For players with partial or full guarantees, spending the first day or two of the regular season on waivers doesn’t really matter — they’re getting their full 2020/21 salary no matter when they’re released. But if a team waits until Monday to cut a player with a non-guaranteed salary, that team will be on the hook for two days’ worth of dead money for the player.
Two days’ worth of dead money won’t exactly break the bank — it shouldn’t be more than about $22K for a minimum-salary player. But most teams already know which players are in and which are out, so there’s no need to take the decision down to the wire on Monday. They’ll make those cuts today and will avoid adding extra cap charges to their books for ’20/21. Even that small amount of savings could make a difference for teams who are right around the tax line or up against a hard cap.
While many teams will make their cuts today, clubs like the Pistons and Thunder can afford to wait an extra day or two, since they’ll each be waiving a player who has a full or partial guarantee. Waiting until Sunday or Monday to make that move won’t affect their cap outlook at all.
[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Roster Counts]
Meanwhile, it’s worth keeping an eye on a team like the Knicks, who have 15 players on guaranteed contracts but might want to retain veteran forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, whose deal is non-guaranteed. If New York hangs onto Kidd-Gilchrist and doesn’t trim its roster to 15 players on standard deals today, that’ll signal that the team likely plans to waive a player with a guaranteed salary by Monday.
Sixers Waive Justin Anderson, Frank Mason
The Sixers have waived swingman Justin Anderson, according to 973 ESPN Sixers Insider Paul Hudrick (Twitter link). They’ve also waived guard Frank Mason III, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.
Philadelphia has now trimmed down to a 15-man opening-day roster, along with a pair of two-way players.
Anderson signed a minimum salary two-year contract in late November but only $125K was guaranteed. He signed with the Nets as a substitute player prior to last season’s restart and saw action in seven seeding games and three postseason contests.
Anderson also signed a 10-day contract with the Nets in January before being released by the organization. A first-round pick by the Mavericks in 2015, Anderson had brief stops with the Sixers and Hawks as well.
Mason was just added this weekend on an Exhibit 10 contract. Unless he’s claimed, he’ll likely resurface with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League squad. He initially became an unrestricted free agent when the Bucks pulled their qualifying offer to him last month.
The 5’11” point guard out of Kansas spent his first two seasons in the league with the Kings, appearing in a total of 90 games. He then signed a two-way contract with the Bucks in 2019/20.
Mason played nine games for Milwaukee and 23 for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. He averaged a league-best 26.4 PPG for the Herd, along with 5.0 APG and 3.4 RPG, earning G League MVP honors.
Pelicans Waive Four Players
The Pelicans announced on Saturday that they’ve waived guards Rawle Alkins and Tony Carr, forward Jarrod Uthoff, and center Ike Anigbogu.
Given all four of those players were on non-guaranteed deals, the Pelicans’ roster is likely set for the regular season with 12 guaranteed contracts, two partially guaranteed deals (Willy Hernangomez and Sindarius Thornwell), and a pair of two-way pacts.
Anigbogu is the most prominent name among the bunch as the big man was a second-round draft pick (47th overall) of the Pacers in 2017. However, Anigbogu has seen action in just 14 games from 2017-19. The 6’10” center has also seen time in the G League, suiting up for 47 games over the past three seasons.
Uthoff and Alkins have also seen NBA action; Uthoff appeared in three games for the Wizards last season while Alkins played in 10 games for the Bulls in 2017/18.
Carr, 23, was a second-round pick of the Pelicans in 2018 and saw time for the team’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, in 2019/20.
New Orleans also signed and waived Justin Wright-Foreman, per RealGM’s transactions log, presumably for G League purposes.