Bucks Sign Javin DeLaurier, Waive Mamadi Diakite
The Bucks have signed Javin DeLaurier to a non-guaranteed training camp contract, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter), and waived Mamadi Diakite, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
DeLaurier, a 6’10” forward/center, spent four seasons at Duke prior to going undrafted in 2020. Last season he signed an Exhibit 10 training camp contract with the Hornets, was waived, and then played seven games for Hornets’ G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. He most recently played for the Hawks’ Summer League squad. It’s worth noting that he played just 11.1 MPG for the Swarm — roughly in line with his college averages.
Diakite, a 6’9″ forward, played four seasons for Virginia prior to going undrafted in 2020. Diakite signed a two-way contract with the Bucks and put up strong numbers in the G League, averaging 18.5 PPG/ 10.4 RPG/ 2.0 APG/ 2.1 BPG (27.7 MPG) with a .580/.500/.750 shooting line in 12 games for the Lakeland Magic (he was assigned to the Magic because the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, elected not to participate in the bubble last season). He played in just 14 games for the Bucks but had his two-way contract converted to a standard contract in April.
Diakite had a partial guarantee of $100K that the Bucks will be on the hook for unless he’s claimed off waivers by another team.
The two moves leave the Bucks with 19 players for their training camp roster, with 13 on fully guaranteed contracts. 2021 60th overall pick Georgios Kalaitzakis has a partial guarantee of $462K for the upcoming season, so he might have a leg up on the competition for the 14th spot, but the remainder of his contract is non-guaranteed.
Kings Notes: Mitchell, Fox, Ranadivé, Sarin, Coleman III
Many around the NBA world were surprised when the Kings selected guard Davion Mitchell with the 9th pick of the 2021 draft, not because they thought Mitchell was undeserving, but because two of the Kings’ best players last season were De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, both slender guards.
However, Mitchell quickly showed his value in Summer League, spearheading a dominant defensive effort en route to the championship, winning co-MVP in the process. Fox believes Mitchell’s defense-first mentality will be “great for the team,” and “he’s definitely going to come in and help us change a lot of that,” in regard to turning around the team’s 30th ranked defense, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (via Twitter).
There’s more on the Kings:
- Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé announced today that he bought out the shares of several minority owners who were essential in keeping the team in Sacramento, per James Patrick of The Sacramento Bee. It’s worth noting that the move was made in part because the former owners believe the team is stable now, with no plans to relocate.
- The Kings are hiring Saagar Sarin as a scout, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Sarin served as the Timberwolves’ scouting coordinator the past two seasons and previously worked with Kings general manager Monte McNair in Houston. Anderson adds that the move was unrelated to the recent firing of Gersson Rosas.
- McNair believes players want to play for coach Luke Walton and credits him with the the team’s ability to re-sign free agents as well as the return of Alex Len, per Jason Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- The Kings have officially signed Matt Coleman III to a non-guaranteed training camp contract, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Coleman played four seasons for Texas and was a two-time All-Big 12 member for the Longhorns. James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area confirms the contract will be a standard Exhibit 10 (via Twitter). The move was first reported in July by Jeremy Woo of SI.com.
Clippers Sign, Waive Jordan Ford
The Clippers signed free agent guard Jordan Ford to a non-guaranteed contract on Wednesday and then waived him on Thursday, according to the transaction logs at RealGM and NBA.com.
The move was a procedural one. Ford’s deal was likely an Exhibit 10 contract that will ensure he receives a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, L.A.’s G League affiliate.
The Clippers already controlled Ford’s NBAGL rights because he played for Agua Caliente in 2020/21 after going undrafted out of St. Mary’s. He appeared in 15 games for the G League squad last season, averaging 13.9 PPG and 3.4 APG with an impressive .471/.439/.923 shooting line in 27.2 minutes per contest.
Pelicans Sign Zylan Cheatham To Camp Roster
The Pelicans officially announced their 20-man training camp roster today, issuing a press release that lists all their players.
The team, which had officially been carrying 18 players, confirmed the previously-reported signing of Jared Harper and also revealed that it has signed free agent forward Zylan Cheatham to fill out the roster.
Cheatham, who spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way contract with New Orleans, appeared in just four games at the NBA level that year, but he played well in 34 contests for the Erie BayHawks in the G League, averaging 16.2 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 32.6 minutes per contest.
Although Cheatham didn’t play in the NBA at all last season, he technically received a full minimum salary, since he was signed-and-traded from the Pelicans to the Thunder in the Steven Adams trade for salary-matching purposes. After being waived by OKC, Cheatham briefly spent time with Minnesota on an Exhibit 10 contract, then appeared in 15 G League games for the Iowa Wolves.
Two Pelicans signings that were previously reported have not yet been finalized. Our JD Shaw confirms (via Twitter) that the team still plans to sign big man James Banks III to an Exhibit 10 contract at some point, and I’d imagine that’s the case for small forward Malcolm Hill too. NBA teams shuffle roster spots frequently in the weeks leading up to the regular season in order to secure G League rights to certain players or to ensure that others receive bonuses for playing in the NBAGL.
Andrew Wiggins’ Vaccination Status May Jeopardize Availability
SEPTEMBER 24: The city of San Francisco will not permit Wiggins – or any other Warrior – to play home games this season without being vaccinated, reports Eric Ting of SFGate. The Department of Public Health stated on Friday that it wouldn’t matter if the NBA grants Wiggins a religious or medical exemption. For what it’s worth, Wiggins’ request for a religious exemption was denied by the league.
“At large and mega indoor events, all patrons 12 and older must be vaccinated at this time,” the department said in its statement to SFGate. “Under the current order, if unvaccinated, they cannot enter indoor areas regardless of the reason they are unvaccinated and cannot test out of this requirement even if they have a medical or religious exemption. This same rule applies to performers and players employed by the host at large and mega indoor events who are covered by the vaccination requirements of the Health Order.”
When Wiggins first commented on the vaccine in March, he said he didn’t envision himself getting it anytime soon unless he was “forced” to. He may have reached that point, since he’d risk missing the Warriors’ entire 41-game home schedule if he remains unvaccinated.
SEPTEMBER 23: Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who spoke last season about preferring not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, hasn’t changed his stance and remains unvaccinated, sources tell Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Although the NBA doesn’t intend to mandate the vaccine for its players, the league will abide by local vaccination policies in municipalities where it’s required for indoor events. San Francisco is one of those cities that requires individuals to be vaccinated in order to enter indoor venues such as basketball arenas.
[RELATED: Nets, Knicks, Warriors Affected By Local Vaccination Policies]
Assuming Wiggins remains unvaccinated and San Francisco’s regulations remain unchanged, the veteran forward would require a medical or religious exemption in order to play in the Warriors’ home games in 2021/22.
According to Simmons, league sources believe the NBA will grant Wiggins a religious exemption, but that would just be one step toward making sure he can play. The city of San Francisco would have the power to override any exemption granted by the league. Asked for a statement on the issue, the city’s Department of Public Health told The Chronicle it would provide more clarity if and when Wiggins receives an exemption from the NBA.
“We are actively addressing the matter of requests for religious exemption from vaccinations across many industries and will work with our business and entertainment community on next steps,” the statement read. “We will provide further clarification on this topic.”
It seems likely that the Warriors and Wiggins will be able to resolve the issue somehow – whether that means his exemption is approved and upheld or he agrees to be vaccinated – since it’s hard to imagine him missing half of the team’s ’21/22 games. Still, his situation is an example of the challenges certain teams may face with vaccine-hesitant players.
The two New York teams – the Nets and Knicks – are among the other clubs affected by local restrictions on unvaccinated individuals. Nets GM Sean Marks said this week that he still has “a couple” players who need to be fully vaccinated, but he’s confident it will happen before the regular season begins.
Rockets Waive Matthew Hurt
The Rockets are waiving rookie Matthew Hurt, per Alykhan Bijani and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hurt had been signed to a two-way contract.
Hurt, a 6’9″ forward who played two seasons for Duke, had a very productive sophomore season for the Blue Devils in 2020-21, averaging 18.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG (32.7 MPG) with a stellar .556/.444/.724 shooting line across 24 games.
Hurt went undrafted before signing the two-way deal with the Rockets. The move leaves the Rockets with 19 players entering training camp, with their one opening now a two-way contract.
Hurt should be able to catch on with another team, whether it be on a two-way or an Exhibit 10 contract, although with training camp fast approaching, roster spots are filling up very quickly.
Warriors Add Jordan Bell To Camp Roster
SEPTEMBER 26: Bell has officially signed with the Warriors, per RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors are bringing back big man Jordan Bell for training camp, according to Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated (Twitter link). The addition of Bell – along with the reported deals for Langston Galloway and Avery Bradley – will bring Golden State’s roster to the preseason maximum of 20 players.
Bell, 26, began his career in Golden State after being selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He was part of the rotation for his first two professional seasons and won a title with the team in 2018, but departed in free agency in 2019 and has bounced around a little since then, playing for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and Wizards before returning to the Dubs during the last week of the 2020/21 campaign.
In 160 total regular season games, Bell has averaged 3.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 12.1 minutes per contest. It looked as recently as last weekend as if he might be headed overseas for the 2021/22 season, but he’ll at least get a chance to make an NBA roster this fall.
Although Bell will be in the mix for Golden State’s 15th roster spot for the regular season, he’s probably the least likely of the five candidates to make the team, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who suggests the Warriors are more likely to keep someone from a group of guards that includes Gary Payton II, Mychal Mulder, Galloway, and Bradley. Slater identified Payton and Bradley as the favorites, given their talents on defense.
Bell is also ineligible for a two-way contract, so if he doesn’t make the Warriors’ regular season roster and doesn’t catch on with another NBA team, he may have to turn to the G League or an international league.
Stein’s Latest: Timberwolves, Ujiri, Simmons, Lacob, Dragic
Incoming Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore won’t assume majority control of the the franchise from Glen Taylor until 2023, but they’re operating in some ways as if they’re already the team’s primary owners, says Marc Stein of Substack.
Shortly after Gersson Rosas was dismissed this week, Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore suggested (via Twitter) that rumors have circulated for months that Rodriguez and Lore want to bring in a “top-five” front office executive. Stein doesn’t specifically confirm that rumor, but he corroborates it, writing that word circulated at Summer League in August that A-Rod and Lore would have loved to make a run at veteran executive Masai Ujiri, who ultimately re-upped with the Raptors.
While those reports suggest that the Wolves’ new ownership group wants to make a splash, league sources tell Stein that Sachin Gupta is expected to get every chance to impress the team during his time running the basketball operations department. According to Moore (Twitter link), Gupta – whose title is executive VP of basketball operations – doesn’t technically have the “interim” tag attached to his position, an indication that he’ll receive serious consideration for the permanent job.
Here’s more from Stein’s latest NBA roundup:
- According to Stein, teams around the NBA are skeptical that the Sixers genuinely want to bring back Ben Simmons, viewing Doc Rivers‘ media comments on Wednesday as an attempt to regain trade leverage rather than a legitimate effort to mend the team’s relationship with Simmons.
- It may seem odd that Warriors owner Joe Lacob was fined for comments about Simmons that didn’t even mention him by name and made it clear that Golden State isn’t really interested in the Sixers star. However, Stein says the tampering penalty was “as automatic as these ever get,” since there was no doubt Lacob was referring to Simmons, and his comments could be viewed as an attempt to diminish the 25-year-old’s trade value.
- It doesn’t appear that any deal involving Goran Dragic is imminent. Stein writes that the Raptors want to be as competitive as possible this season, and Dragic can help with those efforts. Toronto also believes that more appealing trade scenarios could arise once the season gets underway and more teams need a point guard due to injuries or underperformance.
Spurs Hire Manu Ginobili As Special Advisor
Within a press release announcing more than a dozen additions and promotions within their basketball operations department, the Spurs confirmed today that they’ve hired former star player Manu Ginobili as a special advisor to basketball operations.
Ginobili’s role with the franchise was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who hears that the four-time NBA champion will work closely with Spurs players, focusing on their development both on and off the court.
According to Wojnarowski, the Spurs have been persistent in trying to get Ginobili to accept a position with the organization since he retired as a player in 2018. Head coach Gregg Popovich, CEO R.C. Buford, and general manager Brian Wright believe Ginobili can help pass on the Spurs’ culture to the next generation of players and staffers, Woj adds.
The 44-year-old spent 16 seasons with the Spurs, earning two All-NBA nods and a Sixth Man of the Year award in addition to his four championships with the club. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in 2004.
Sixers Sign Second-Rounder Charles Bassey
2:25pm: The Sixers have officially announced their deal with Bassey, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.
11:42am: Charles Bassey has agreed to a three-year contract with the Sixers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal, which provides a full guarantee in the first year and a partial guarantee in the second, was confirmed by his agents, Adie von Gontard and Daveed Cohen.
The 20-year-old center out of Western Kentucky is one of the last players taken in this year’s draft to sign a contract. He was selected with the No. 53 pick, which Philadelphia acquired from the Pelicans for $2MM in a draft-night trade.
The delay in signing reportedly stemmed from Bassey’s desire to get two years of fully guaranteed money, which is unusual for a player drafted that low. A report last month indicated he may sign his non-guaranteed one-year tender rather than agreeing to a multiyear deal, but it sounds like the two sides were able to reach a compromise.
The deal will come out of Philadelphia’s mid-level exception.
Bassey was named Conference USA Player of the Year last season as a junior with the Hilltoppers after averaging 17.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. He was also selected as a third-team All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers.