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Wizards Waive Kadary Richmond, Alondes Williams

October 18th, 2025 at 8:44am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards have waived guards Kadary Richmond and Alondes Williams, the team’s PR department tweets. Both players were signed to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts earlier this week.

Richmond, a 6’5″ guard, played at St. John’s last year after spending one season with Syracuse and three with Seton Hall. He earned second team All-Big East honors last season after averaging 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 36 games.

Williams has appeared in nine total games over the past three seasons while on two-way contracts with Brooklyn, Miami and Detroit.

Both players will likely end up with the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate — their Exhibit 10 contracts make them eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with the team.

Pelicans Pick Up 2026/27 Options On Hawkins, Missi

October 18th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have picked up their fourth-year option on Jordan Hawkins and their third-year option on Yves Missi, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. The duo now have their rookie scale contracts guaranteed through the 2026/27 season.

Hawkins, the 14th overall pick of the 2023 draft out of UConn, will make $7,021,895 in ’26/27, while Missi, who was selected with the No. 21 pick out of Baylor last year, will pull in $3,512,760.

Hawkins missed some time due to back pain last season but wound up appearing in 56 games, including nine starts. He averaged 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.6 minutes per contest. Prized for his shooting prowess, he only made 37.1% of his overall attempts and 33.1% of his three-point tries. He’s projected to back up Trey Murphy III at the shooting guard spot this season.

Missi was one of the league’s top rookies last season. He appeared in 73 games, including 67 starts, and averaged 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per night. He’s expected to retain his starting center spot to open this season with veteran newcomer Kevon Looney injured.

We’re tracking all of the 2026/27 rookie scale option decisions right here. They’re due by October 31.

Kings Waive Terence Davis

October 18th, 2025 at 7:40am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have waived guard Terence Davis, tweets Sean Cunningham of KCRA News in Sacramento. The transaction reduces the Kings’ standard roster to the maximum of 15 players.

Davis’ chances of making the opening-night roster were greatly reduced by this week’s addition of Russell Westbrook, who signed a non-guaranteed contract on Friday. Davis signed a non-guaranteed deal of his own with Sacramento last month, but only appeared in one preseason game.

It’s actually the second time Davis has been waived by Sacramento this offseason. Davis, who has appeared in 122 total games across four seasons for the Kings since being traded from Toronto to Sacramento in 2021, entered the summer on a non-guaranteed deal but was cut in early September.

Davis appeared in 64 games for the Kings in 2022/23 and averaged 6.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per contest, with a .423/.366/.791 shooting line. However, he hasn’t spent much time on an NBA roster since then.

Davis opened the ’23/24 campaign with the Rip City Remix in the G League, but suffered a torn Achilles in December that ended his season. The 6’4″ guard spent the majority of ’24/25 with the Wisconsin Herd in the NBAGL, averaging 14.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.1 APG with a .415 3PT%, before he was called up to the Kings on the last day of the season.

He could wind up with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s affiliate, if he doesn’t receive another NBA opportunity.

Knicks To Waive Garrison Mathews; Nets Sign Hunter Cattoor

October 17th, 2025 at 11:35pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks plan to cut Garrison Mathews at some point before Saturday’s waiver deadline, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter).

Stefan Bondy of The New York Post confirms the news (Twitter link).

According to Begley, the Knicks were happy with how Mathews performed in training camp and preseason but opted not to retain the sharpshooter due to their financial situation. New York is hard-capped at the second apron and — barring a cost-cutting trade, which appears unlikely in the short term after Malcolm Brogdon‘s sudden retirement — is only able to keep one veteran on a minimum-salary camp deal.

Landry Shamet has long been viewed as the frontrunner to fill that position and looks like an even stronger bet to stay with the Knicks after they decided to cut Mathews.

Begley hears Mathews, a six-year veteran who spent the past two-plus seasons with the Hawks, is expected to draw interest from rival teams that are looking for outside shooting.

The Nets also made a transaction tonight, officially signing Hunter Cattoor, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays (via Twitter).

A 6’3″ guard, Cattoor played five college seasons for Virginia Tech prior to going undrafted in 2024. The 24-year-old spent last season with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque in France’s top basketball league, averaging 8.5 points while shooting 37.2% from long distance in 25 games.

Cattoor most recently suited up for the Cleveland’s Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Suns Waive Jared Butler, Will Keep Jordan Goodwin

October 17th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Jordan Goodwin has won a training camp battle in Phoenix, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Suns will retain the 6’3″ combo guard for the 2025/26 regular season.

The Suns claimed Goodwin in July after he was waived by the Lakers, who wanted to create room below the first apron to sign Marcus Smart. In late June, the Lakers picked up their team option on Goodwin’s $2.35MM contract for the upcoming season, which carries a guarantee of just $25K.

Goodwin, who turns 27 years old next week, averaged 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steal on .438/.382/.818 shooting in 29 games (18.7 minutes per contest) for the Lakers in ’24/25. He also had a strong preseason for Phoenix, averaging 12.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.8 SPG on .462/.389/.700 shooting in four games (19.0 MPG).

This is Goodwin’s second stint with the Suns — the former Saint Louis standout, who is known for his defense, also spent part of ’23/24 with Phoenix prior to being traded to Memphis.

Goodwin’s primary competition for Phoenix’s 14th standard roster spot — the team is only carrying 14 players due its tax situation — was believed to be guard Jared Butler, a four-year veteran who played for the Wizards and Sixers last season. The 25-year-old also had an impressive preseason, averaging 15.5 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.3 RPG and 1.8 SPG on .471/.353/.667 shooting in four appearances (20.9 MPG).

The Suns have officially requested waivers on Butler and David Duke Jr., the team announced in a press release (Twitter link). Butler’s non-guaranteed training camp deal did not contain Exhibit 10 language, and it’s unclear what his next step will be. Duke’s deal did though, so he’s likely headed to the G League’s Valley Suns to open the season. Duke is another four-year veteran who has played for the Nets and Spurs.

Immediately after waiving Butler and Duke, the Suns signed Nathan Mariano and Sean McDermott to Exhibit 10 deals, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Both players are locks to be waived in the coming hours.

Marino, 22, is a 6’9″ wing. He has spent several seasons playing professionally for Franca in Brazil, his home country.

McDermott, 28, spent time with Memphis on a two-way deal back in 2020/21. The former Butler Bulldog spent a few seasons in the G League with the Memphis Hustle before continuing his career overseas, playing in Italy and Turkey the past two years.

Raptors Sign, Waive Julian Reese

October 17th, 2025 at 9:40pm CST by Luke Adams

9:40 pm: Toronto has waived Reese, the team announced. As noted below, he’s now eligible for a bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905.

1:23 pm: The Raptors have signed undrafted rookie forward Julian Reese, the team announced today in a press release. It’s a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Reese spent the past four seasons at Maryland, where he averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 28.5 minutes per game (36 appearances) as a senior in 2024/25. By the time he left the Terrapins, he was the second all-time leading rebounder in school history, behind only Len Elmore.

Reese, whose sister Angel Reese plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, joined the Lakers’ Summer League team in July and appeared in four games for the club — two at the California Classic and two in Las Vegas. He averaged 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 11.5 MPG.

The Raptors likely plan on making Reese an affiliate player for the Raptors 905, their G League team. Assuming he’s waived within the next couple days and then reports to Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate, he’d be in line to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his standard G League salary as long as he stays with the team for at least 60 days.

The Raptors cut five players from their preseason roster on Thursday, so there was plenty of room for Reese. The team now has 17 players under contract.

Hoops Rumors Mailbag: Grizzlies, Rockets, Sheppard

October 17th, 2025 at 9:02pm CST by Rory Maher

With the 2025/26 season about to get underway, Hoops Rumors is starting a weekly mailbag for Front Office members. Our first mailbag covers a couple of teams in the Southwest Division.

Ben asks:

Memphis' center depth is looking fairly shady coming into the season with all of the injuries they're facing. Do you see them sticking with the status quo, or could you envision transactions being made to address this issue? Might a trade with Houston, who could use backcourt help in the wake of the VanVleet injury make sense, or would a trade between contending division rivals be unlikely?

In case you missed it, the Grizzlies announced toward the end of September that three key big men -- all of whom play center at times -- would likely miss several weeks of action.

At the time, Memphis said 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., who is recovering from July surgery for a turf toe injury, was expected to return one-to-three weeks from now. He appears to be ahead of schedule -- he played 22-plus minutes in Wednesday's preseason loss to Charlotte.
Second-year center Zach Edey, who is recovering from offseason ankle surgery, could be back sometime in November.
Key reserve Brandon Clarke will reportedly be out until at least November after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to address synovitis in his right knee. The team said this issue was not a result of the March PCL sprain which cut Clarke's '24/25 season short.

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Celtics To Sign, Waive RJ Luis

October 17th, 2025 at 8:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Just a couple days after waiving him from a two-way contract, the Celtics are re-signing RJ Luis to an Exhibit 10 deal, reports Noa Dalzell of CLNS and CelticsBlog.com (via Twitter).

According to Dalzell, Luis will be waived a second time and head to the Maine Celtics to open the 2025/26 season. The Exhibit 10 language in his contract will make Luis eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Boston’s G league affiliate.

Luis earned numerous accolades — including Big East Player of the Year — following a junior season with St. John’s in which he averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 35 games (31.8 minutes per contest). The 6’7″ wing posted a shooting line of .439/.336/.747.

Luis, who reportedly turned down lucrative NIL offers to return to college, didn’t hear his name called during June’s draft, making him an unrestricted free agent. He was ranked No. 56 on ESPN’s big board prior to the draft and was No. 58 on Sam Vecenie of The Athletic‘s board.

Luis, who turns 23 years old next month, signed a two-way deal with the Jazz shortly after going undrafted. He was traded to Boston in August when the Celtics sent Utah a pair of second-round picks to take on Georges Niang‘s salary.

The Celtics waived Luis on Wednesday in order to promote Ron Harper Jr. to a two-way deal.

Magic Converting Colin Castleton To Two-Way Deal

October 17th, 2025 at 8:25pm CST by Rory Maher

The Magic are converting center Colin Castleton‘s Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

As our tracker shows, Orlando has a two-way opening, so no corresponding move will be necessary to promote Castleton, who signed his non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal with the Magic in late August.

A Florida native who spent the final three years of his college career at UF, Castleton went undrafted in 2023 and spent 2023/24 — his rookie season — on a two-way contract with the Lakers.

Castleton was waived by L.A. shortly before the ’24/25 campaign began, but quickly caught on with Memphis on another two-way deal. He was released by the Grizzlies in January.

After spending a few months in the G League, the 25-year-old big man inked a pair of 10-day deals with Toronto in March before joining the 76ers on a 10-day pact in early April. The Raptors re-signed him to a two-year standard contract on the final day of the regular season, but the second year was non-guaranteed, and he was cut in late July.

In 26 total appearances for Memphis, Philadelphia and Toronto last season, Castleton averaged 4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.

As a two-way player, Castleton can be active for up to 50 of Orlando’s 82 regular season games. He will earn will earn $636,435 in 2025/26 — that figure will be non-guaranteed until January and does not count against the salary cap.

Roster Moves: A. Scott, Cooke, Council, Carey, Hunter

October 17th, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The Celtics have signed wing Aaron Scott to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Scott went undrafted earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent.

After spending three college seasons at North Texas, Scott transferred to St. John’s for his senior year. In 36 appearances with the Red Storm in 2024/25, he averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 27.2 minutes per game. His shooting slash line was .389/.293/.813.

While those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, college coaches who spoke to The Athletic in June viewed Scott as a “deep sleeper” who could potentially work his way onto an NBA roster at some point.

Here are a few more transactions from around the NBA:

The Trail Blazers have waived Javonte Cooke, the team announced in a press release. He had been signed to an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp and preseason. A 6’6″ shooting guard, Cooke has played primarily in the G League since 2022, with a stint in Canada for the Brampton Honey Badgers in 2024. The 26-year-old made 42 appearances for the Oklahoma City Blue last season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game while converting 42.4% of his shots from the floor, including 33.5% of his three-point attempts.
Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, acquired Cooke’s returning rights in a trade with the Blue earlier this week. While that would typically signify a player is headed to the NBAGL to open the season, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report hears the Blazers are still considering Cooke for their vacant two-way spot, so there’s a chance he could re-sign with Portland (Twitter link).
The Rockets have signed a trio of free agents, according to Smith, who tweets that the team has added Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Hunter. All three players will soon be waived, sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). High-flying wing Council spent the past two years with Philadelphia. He was waived by the 76ers in late July and was reportedly going to sign with the Nets, but that deal fell through. Carey, a 24-year-old center, was the No. 32 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He holds three years of NBA experience and last played professionally in Turkey. Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, went undrafted out of Memphis in June. As a senior last season, he averaged 13.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774.
With the possible exception of Cooke, all of these players will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re released and spend at least 60 days with their respective clubs’ G League affiliates.