Suns Sign Tyrese Samuel To Exhibit 10 Contract
The Suns have signed Tyrese Samuel to an Exhibit 10 contract, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.
Phoenix’s intention to sign Samuel was reported shortly after he went undrafted out of Florida. He saw action in four Las Vegas Summer League contests with the Suns.
Samuel, a 6’10” All-SEC big man, spent his first four collegiate seasons at Seton Hall before transferring to the Gators in 2023/24. He scored 13.9 points per game on 56.4% field goal shooting and 56.2% foul shooting. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest.
Samuel will be eligible for a bonus up to $77.5K if he’s waived and the spends at least 60 days with the Valley Suns, Phoenix’s G League club.
Cavs Adding Four Players To Fortify Camp Roster
The Cavaliers have agreed to training camp deals with Pete Nance, Jules Bernard, Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Gabe Osabuohien, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Cleveland had 17 players, including two-way contracts, on its roster. If the Cavs don’t make any additional moves after finalizing these newly reported deals, they’ll have a full 21-man roster entering training camp.
Nance is a familiar name to Cavs fans. He finished last season on a two-way contract with Cleveland and also played on the Cavs’ Summer League team. The 24-year-old forward appeared in eight Cavs games last season.
Bernard, a 24-year-old guard, played 19 games for the Wizards last season on a two-way contract. The Cleveland Charge, the team’s NBA G League squad, recently acquired his returning rights.
Tomlin is an undrafted rookie forward out of Memphis. Osabuohien, another forward, has spent the last two seasons with the Charge.
Eastern Notes: Stewart, Pistons, Krauskopf, Heat Arena
With Mitchell Robinson now targeting December or January for his return to action from ankle surgery, the Knicks are seeking more depth in the middle, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic.
New York has spent a good portion of the last few months scouring the league for another frontcourt player, Edwards reports. One of those potential targets is the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart.
Stewart’s four-year, $60MM extension kicks in this season and includes a club option. He’s expected to fight for playing time at both power forward and center for the revamped Pistons.
The Pistons received numerous inquiries on Stewart before he signed the extension. Injuries limited him to 46 games last season.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- Speaking of the Pistons and Stewart, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required) examines three position battles heading into Detroit’s camp. That includes Stewart and Jalen Duren squaring off for the starting center job. There will also be camp battles for backup point minutes behind Cade Cunningham, as well as numerous candidates elbowing for playing time at the forward spots.
- Kelly Krauskopf is leaving her post as the Pacers’ assistant GM to become the president of basketball and business operations for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star relays via a press release from Pacers Sports and Entertainment. Krauskopf was the Fever’s president and GM from the team’s inception in 2000 until 2018. She was then hired by the Pacers and became the first woman in league history to hold an executive basketball management role. “I want to thank (Pacers president) Kevin Pritchard for asking me to join his management staff six years ago. There’s no doubt that experience will serve me well as I enter this next chapter,” she said.
- Kaseya Center, the current name of the Heat‘s home arena, has undergone a series of multimillion-dollar facility upgrades, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. The arena upgrades include a new scoreboard, new lighting and audio systems and a new retractable seating system in the lower bowl. The upgrades were made this summer.
Grizzlies Waive Derrick Rose
5:54pm: The Grizzlies have officially waived Rose, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
4:00pm: The Grizzlies plan to waive veteran point guard Derrick Rose, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Rose had one year left on the two-year, veteran’s minimum contract he signed with Memphis last offseason.
According to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link), Rose requested to be released from his contract. Expect the former MVP to provide an update on his status later in the week, Begley adds. It remains to be seen whether Rose is contemplating retirement or seeking out another opportunity.
Rose had been expected to battle for playing time behind starting point guard Ja Morant. Memphis’ decision to waive Rose may signal that it will offer a standard contract to Scotty Pippen Jr., who is currently on a two-way deal. However, the Grizzlies will likely target more depth at that position, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
There are some veteran point men still on the free agent market, including Markelle Fultz and Dennis Smith Jr. As our Offseason Check-In displays, the Grizzlies have exceptions available if they choose to use them but would risk surpassing the luxury tax line if they offer anyone more than the veteran’s minimum, assuming Rose didn’t give up any of his salary.
Rose, who turns 36 next month, only appeared in 24 games with the Grizzlies last season, including seven starts. He averaged 8.0 points and 3.3 assists in 16.6 minutes. He battled knee, hamstring, ankle and back ailments last season. He hasn’t appeared in more than 27 games in any of the past three seasons after playing in a combined 50 games with Detroit and New York in 2020/21.
The first overall pick of the 2008 draft, Rose made three All-Star teams before knee injuries plagued his career. He has appeared in 723 regular season games, averaging 17.4 points and 5.2 assists in 30.5 minutes.
Western Notes: Gordon, Rockets Roster, Divac, Doncic, Kennard
Aaron Gordon becomes eligible for a four-year contract extension later this week and that will be one of the big storylines at the Nuggets’ training camp, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post writes. Gordon has a player option for the 2025/26 season but could replace that with the first year of a new deal as part of an extension agreement.
Jamal Murray‘s health and the way Russell Westbrook fits into the Nuggets’ rotation are among the other storylines to watch in Denver, according to Durando.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- With the Rockets buying out and waiving forward AJ Griffin, they have an open spot on the official roster. How will it be filled? It could turn into a competition among players on two-ways and training camp deals, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Jeenathan Williams, Nate Hinton, N’Faly Dante, Jermaine Samuels and Jack McVeigh comprise that group. Houston could also opt to leave that spot open or sign a free agent.
- Former Kings general manager Vlade Divac made one of the biggest draft blunders in recent years when he passed on Luka Doncic in favor of Marvin Bagley in 2018. Divac admits he made a mistake but explained that he already had a talented floor leader in De’Aaron Fox. “I could’ve taken Luka, but then I would’ve had to trade Fox,” he said in an interview with Index, a Croatian outlet (hat tip to Grant Afseth of the Dallas Sports Journal).
- Grizzlies players have been competing in 5-on-5 scrimmages for over a month and Luke Kennard is impressed by the team’s competitiveness and attention to detail. “Something I haven’t really seen before,” Kennard told Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re really pushing each other and competing really hard. I think that’s going to go a long way. We start that right now. We’re getting a few steps ahead until the season starts.”
Community Shootaround: Rule Changes
Some rule changes in major sports transform the game in a good way. The pitch clock has done precisely what Major League Baseball hoped. It dramatically improved the pace of play and shaved nearly half an hour off the length of games.
Others, like the new NFL kickoff rule, have flopped. The league was hoping the new format would increase the amount of kick returns. Instead, teams would rather let the opponent start at its own 30-yard-line than risk a long return.
The NBA rules haven’t really changed much in recent years, save for a few tweaks here and there. However, the game itself has been impacted dramatically by analytics. Mid-range shots and post-ups have been deemphasized in favor of three-point attempts and driving to the basket for layups and dunks, or least setting up high-percentage shots.
The proliferation of three-point tries has been arguably the biggest change in the game in recent decades. Last season, for example, the champion Celtics attempted a whopping 42.5 3s per game. In contrast, their 2008 championship club averaged 19.1 three-point tries per game.
Coaches around the league rarely say their teams are shooting too many threes; usually they’re hoping to find ways to increase three-point attempts.
Is it time for the league to make the three-pointer less important? The NBA isn’t going to erase the three-point line but it could limit the amount a team takes. Or it could make all baskets two-pointers until a certain time structure, say the last three minutes of each quarter.
That would lead to more strategic moves by the league’s coaches. If there were a limit on threes, coaches might instruct their players to “save” some of the allotment for later in the game.
If three-pointers only counted for a certain time period, coaches would be certain to make sure their best perimeter shooters were on the floor when beyond-the-arc shots count for three points. Mid-range shooting and post-ups would have more of a place in game strategy when all baskets count for two points.
That brings up to today’s topic: Would you like to see the NBA take steps to limit three-point shooting or do you prefer the status quo? If there were limitations, what type of rule or rules would you like to see the league adopt?
Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.
G League Notes: Swirsky, Gueye, Dotson, Johnson, Smith
T.C. Swirsky has been named head coach of the Memphis Hustle, the NBA G League affiliate of the Grizzlies, the Hustle announced (via Twitter). Swirsky was an assistant with the team last season.
Danielle Boiago, Nick Covington, Jack Hostetler and Rob Sanicola have been named assistant coaches, while former Hustle head coach Jason March has been promoted to Taylor Jenkins‘ Grizzlies staff.
We have more G League news:
- The Raptors 905 have traded the rights to Mouhamadou Gueye to the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ affiliate, for the rights to Devon Dotson and a first-round pick in the 2025 G League draft, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets. Gueye appeared in 11 Raptors games last season. He was waived by Toronto in June. Dotson didn’t appear at all in the NBA last season but saw action in six Wizards games in 2022/23.
- The Valley Suns have received the returning player rights to guard Kaleb Johnson from the Austin Spurs in exchange for the returning player rights to Justin Smith, according to Phoenix’s affiliate (Twitter link). Johnson appeared in 24 regular-season games with the Austin Spurs last season.
- The Hawks’ G League affiliate has a new head coach. Get the details here.
Warriors Waive Donta Scott
The Warriors have waived forward Donta Scott, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log.
Scott was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract last week. He was officially cut on Saturday.
Scott wrapped up a five-year college career at Maryland this past spring. As a super-senior in 2023/24, he averaged 11.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 33 games (30.2 MPG), with a shooting line of .407/.335/.812. He went undrafted in June, then played for the Warriors in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues.
Under the terms of Scott’s Exhibit 10 deal, he’ll make $25K (on top of his standard G League salary) if he spends at least 60 days with Golden State’s affiliate in Santa Cruz after clearing waivers.
By waiving Scott, the Warriors now have three openings on their training camp roster.
Northwest Notes: Cui, Braun, Caruso, Hartenstein
The Trail Blazers did not want to hold back Yongxi Cui after he got a better offer from the Nets, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tweets.
Also known as Jacky, Cui officially signed a two-way contract with the Nets on Friday. He had previously agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Blazers, but hadn’t officially signed it.
If he’d come to camp in Portland he would have been competing for a two-way spot, according to Highkin. When the Nets offered him one outright, Portland didn’t want to stand in the way of the undrafted rookie.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- In a subscriber-only piece, Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com takes a look at how defenses will adjust to the Nuggets’ starting five with third-year guard Christian Braun replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Braun appeared in all 82 regular-season games last season but made just four starts and only played 28 regular-season minutes with Denver’s other four starters on the court. Caldwell-Pope signed with the Magic early in free agency.
- There’s been plenty of talk regarding the defensive impact of newcomers Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein on the Thunder. However, their offensive contributions will be just as key, Esfandiar Baraheni of Sportscasting.com writes. Caruso will help the team in the underrated roles of screener and secondary play-making. Hartenstein’s solid screening and short-roll game will also add to the versatility of Oklahoma City’s offense.
- In case you missed it, we took a look at every Northwest Division team’s roster as training camps approach.
International Notes: Baynes, Vezenkov, Taylor, Petrusev, Djurisic
Former NBA center Aron Baynes isn’t ready to end his career. He told ESPN’s Olgun Uluc he’s still shopping for an opportunity in Australia’s National Basketball League.
“My body feels good. I love playing the game,” he said. “It’s just, right now, I’m focused on my family and being there with my kids. Just being dad right now. Just enjoying not having to be anywhere at any particular time, apart from school drop off and school pickup. Right now, nothing labeled; just, body feels really good, though, I’m moving well. We’ll just see how it goes.”
Baynes, 37, played with the Brisbane Bullets last season, averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He spent nine seasons in the NBA from 2012-21, playing for the Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, Suns, and Raptors during that time.
We have more from the international basketball world:
- Sasha Vezenkov reiterated that he wanted to return to Europe because he was looking for a bigger role than he had in the NBA. “It gives you joy when you return to a familiar environment where you are loved,” he said, per Vangelis Papadimitriou of Eurohoops.net. “I prefer to be in a competitive environment, to fight for titles, and to feel important. I didn’t know if I would have an opportunity in the NBA like the one I gave myself. This is what I wanted to do, and I wanted to do it with Olympiacos. This is my home.” Vezenkov, who spent a single season in Sacramento, signed a five-year contract with Olympiacos after giving up over $6.6MM in guaranteed salary with the Raptors.
- Former NBA guard Isaiah Taylor has signed with the Dubai Basketball Club, the team tweets (hat tip to Sportando). Taylor appeared in 67 games for the Hawks in 2017/18. Taylor has played in Israel, Spain, Turkey, Lithuania and China in recent seasons.
- Crvena Zvezda’s president Nebojsa Covic confirmed that Olympiacos will not loan Filip Petrusev to his team this season, according to Eurohoops.net. He also said the team wasn’t signing Nikola Djurisic, a Hawks second-round draft pick in June who is recovering from foot surgery. “During the season, there could be departures or arrivals, which we currently don’t have planned. With that, I’m putting an end to the soap opera surrounding Petrusev and Djurisic, who is in America,” Covic said. “Petrusev is a player for Olympiacos.”