Knicks Waive Denzel Valentine
4:56pm: The Knicks have officially waived Valentine, the team tweets.
4:20pm: The Knicks are placing Denzel Valentine on waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Valentine was just acquired from Cleveland in a three-team deal but New York obviously had no plans to retain the five-year veteran guard.
The dead-money cap hit for waiving Valentine is $880,509. However, New York received $1.1MM from the Lakers in the trade, offsetting the move. Wayne Selden was also waived on Monday, so New York will now have an open spot on the 15-man roster.
Valentine appeared in 22 games off the bench for Cleveland, averaging 2.9 PPG in 9.3 MPG. Valentine, who played four seasons for Chicago, will now try to hook onto another team in free agency.
Sixers Sign Charlie Brown Jr. After Maxey Enters Protocols
The Sixers have added Charlie Brown Jr. on a 10-day contract via the hardship exception after another prominent player entered health and safety protocols, Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice tweets. Philadelphia confirmed the signing in a team press release.
Starting guard Tyrese Maxey will miss Monday’s game against Houston due to those restrictions, joining Matisse Thybulle and two others.
Brown was signed to a 10-day contract by the Mavericks but it wasn’t renewed. He made three brief appearances with Dallas.
Brown had been playing with the NBAGL’s Delaware Blue Coats before the wave of COVID positives around the league. He also appeared in a total of 19 games with the Hawks in 2019/20 and the Thunder in 2020/21.
A Philadelphia native, Brown played his college basketball at Saint Joseph’s, where he averaged 19.0 PPG in his final season with the Hawks.
Grizzlies Sign Jon Teske To 10-Day Contract
The Grizzlies have signed big man Jon Teske to a 10-day contract under the hardship exception, the team’s PR department tweets.
Teske was waived by Orlando during training camp. He has appeared in 29 games with the G League Lakeland Magic in two seasons, averaging 6.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG. Teske played four seasons at Michigan but went undrafted in 2020.
Memphis currently has six players in the league’s health and safety protocols.
Nuggets Sign Carlik Jones To 10-Day Deal
2:42pm: Denver has officially inked Jones to his 10-day hardship contract, the team announced in a press release. Jones’ deal with Dallas hadn’t been set to expire until the end of the day, so the Mavs presumably terminated it a little early.
12:02pm: The Nuggets are planning to sign Carlik Jones to a 10-day contract under the hardship exception, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.
Jones has been on the Mavericks’ roster under a 10-day deal, which will expire tonight. The point guard has made three short appearances with Dallas.
Denver currently has four players in league protocols.
Jones went undrafted earlier this year after transferring from Radford to Louisville for his senior season. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) in 2020/21 for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.
Jones spent training camp this fall with the Mavs, then reported to the Texas Legends, where he started all 10 games he played for Dallas’ G League team. He averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .451/.324/.875 shooting in 30.8 minutes per contest.
Mac McClung Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Bulls
2:10pm: Chicago has officially signed McClung to a second 10-day deal, the team announced on social media (Twitter link).
11:46am: The Bulls are signing guard Mac McClung to another 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
McClung signed his initial 10-day on December 22. He has made just one three-minute appearance.
After going undrafted out of Texas Tech over the summer, the 22-year-old guard signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers, but was waived in October before the season began. He played 13 games for L.A.’s G League affiliate in South Bay, averaging 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
The Bulls still have four players in the league’s health and safety protocols. Chicago, which is currently riding a six-game winning streak, had three COVID-related postponements in December.
COVID Updates: Cheatham, Brown, Simpson, York
Here’s are the latest updates regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols or on 10-day contracts:
- Zylan Cheatham‘s 10-day contract with the Heat expired after the team’s game against the Rockets on Friday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. The Heat still have six other players on 10-day contracts and six players in protocols. Cheatham never appeared in a game with the Heat and entered protocols on Dec. 29.
- Charlie Brown Jr. won’t receive another 10-day from the Mavericks, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Brown made three cameo appearances for Dallas.
- Gabe York agreed to a 10-day contract with the Magic on Dec. 29. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, scuttling the deal, Justin Spears of Tucson.com reports. York has been playing with the G League Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ affiliate.
- Guard Zavier Simpson agreed to a 10-day with the Thunder on Monday. However, he has also entered protocols, according to Shaw. It’s still possible Simpson could sign a contract once he’s cleared.
Grizzlies Sign DaQuan Jeffries To 10-Day Contract
The Grizzlies have signed swingman DaQuan Jeffries under the hardship exception, the team’s PR department tweets.
He has appeared in 44 games the past two seasons with the Kings and Rockets, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 14.4 MPG.
Jeffries was playing for Atlanta’s G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, prior to signing the 10-day deal. He was averaging 15.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 1.6 APG in 26.6 MPG for the Skyhawks. He was waived by the Hawks during training camp before joining their G League squad.
Memphis currently has six players in the league’s health and safety protocols, including one of the players they signed to a 10-day contract.
James Ennis Signs With Clippers
DECEMBER 29: The Clippers have officially signed Ennis to a 10-day hardship deal, the team announced today. The contract will run through January 7, covering L.A.’s next five games.
DECEMBER 28: Veteran forward James Ennis is expected to sign a 10-day hardship contract with the Clippers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Ennis’ 10-day contract with the Nets expired last night and our JD Shaw reported today (via Twitter) that the team didn’t plan to sign him to a second deal. Ironically, Ennis made a cameo appearance against the Clippers on Monday. He also played one other game for the Nets.
The well-traveled Ennis appeared in 41 games for the Magic last season, including 37 starts. He averaged 8.4 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 24.0 MPG. He failed to find a free agent offer after playing out his one-year, $3.3MM contract with Orlando.
The Clippers currently have three players in the league’s health and safety protocols.
Schröder Hasn’t Been Cleared; Gravett Enters Protocols
A clerical error gave Celtics fans false hope that Dennis Schröder would return to action on Wednesday. It was reported earlier that Schröder had cleared the league’s health and safety protocols but in fact he’s still under those restrictions, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter links). He’s one of six Boston players currently in the protocols.
Magic guard Hassani Gravett entered the protocols after the team’s game on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Gravett played 19 minutes against Milwaukee before being pulled out when it was determined he had tested positive prior to the game.
Gravett just signed a second 10-day contract for a team depleted by COVID-19 positives.
Western Notes: Reed, Morant, Bane, Mathews, Chriss
The Nuggets are exploring ways to keep Davon Reed beyond his second 10-day contract, Mike Singer of the Denver Post reports. Coach Michael Malone confirmed Singer’s report on Tuesday, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets.
“Hopefully there’s a way we keep Davon in a Nuggets uniform for a while moving forward,” Malone said.
Reed has appeared in eight games since joining the Nuggets, averaging 5.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 17.0 MPG. His second 10-day deal expires on Tuesday night.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Grizzlies’ backcourt of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane is quickly developing into one of the league’s best, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “He’s a professional scorer,” Morant said of Bane. The second-year shooting guard has lifted his scoring average from 9.2 PPG during his rookie campaign to 17.2 this season, putting him in the discussion for the league’s Most Improved Player.
- Garrison Mathews was grateful to receive a four-year contract from the Rockets after fighting for years to earn an NBA job, he told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “Those two-way contracts, they’re hard to get out of. Because with two-way contracts, there’s not a lot of opportunities,” he said. “Then you’re in restricted free agency. It’s just tough, man. A lot of people go through it, and it’s hard. So, a lot of relief, a lot of thankfulness, honestly.” Mathews’ four-year contract is worth $8.2MM, with a $2MM guaranteed salary this season.
- Marquese Chriss worked out for the Mavericks a couple of weeks before they signed him to a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. At the time, there was no roster spot open for Chriss, who has averaged 6.3 PPG and 4.8 RPG in four games.