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.
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.
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.
Lottery Pick Okongwu Won’t Suit Up For Opener
Hawks lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu will miss at least the first three regular-season games, according to a team press release.
The rookie big man out of USC is recovering from inflammation of the sesamoid bone in his left foot. He has participated in modified team practice with contact and is progressing toward unlimited team practice. He will be reviewed again on December 28.
The Hawks will open the season on Wednesday against the Bulls. They’ll also play the Grizzlies (Dec. 26), Pistons (Dec. 28) and Nets (Dec. 3o) before New Year’s Day.
Okongwu, who turned 20 this month, was a one-and-done player. In his season with the Trojans, he started 28 games and averaged 16.2 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG in 30.6 MPG. He was the sixth overall pick.
The Hawks previously announced that guard and free agent acquisition Kris Dunn would miss the opener.
Sixers To Sign Guard Frank Mason
The Sixers are signing point guard and reigning G League Player of the Year Frank Mason III to a non-guaranteed contract, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.
It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, Bodner adds (Twitter link), though Mason could add backcourt depth to the NBA club.
Mason 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. Mason averaged a league-best 26.4 PPG for the Herd, along with 5.0 APG and 3.4 RPG, earning G League MVP honors.
Pacers Waive Brimah, Hammonds, Add Gray, Robinson
The Pacers have waived Amida Brimah and Rayshaun Hammonds and signed Josh Gray and Devin Robinson, according to a team press release.
Brimah and Hammonds were on Exhibit 10 contracts and could resurface on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League team, once they clear waivers.
Brimah, 26, was in Indiana’s training camp last season on an Exhibit 10 contract but suffered a torn right ACL that required surgery.
Brimah’s previous NBA experience includes an Exhibit 10 deal with the Spurs in 2018 and a Summer League stint with the Bulls in 2017. He played two G League seasons with the Austin Spurs and spent one season in Belgrade.
Hammonds is a rookie forward out of Georgia. He averaged 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 32 games for the Bulldogs last season.
Gray was waived by the Thunder early this month after they acquired the guard in a multi-team trade. The 27-year-old Gray played in five games for the Suns during the 2017/18 season. He had a two-game cameo with the Pelicans during 2019/20. Across 15.6 MPG with those clubs, Gray has averaged a cumulative 4.9 PPG, 2.0 APG, 1.7 RPG and 1.14 SPG.
Robinson, 25, played for the Raptors’ G League team, Raptors 905, last season. The 6’8” forward averaged 17.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
An Exhibit 10 contract provides players with an invitation to training camp and a guarantee of up to $50K if they are waived and later stay with the team’s affiliate in the G League for at least 60 days.
Western Notes: Wood, Beasley, Pelicans, Suns Arena
Christian Wood made an impressive preseason debut for the Rockets after missing three games with a sore elbow, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Wood racked up 27 points with 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Wood was acquired in a sign-and-trade from the Pistons after agreeing to a three-year, $41MM contract. “It’s one game. It’s preseason. But I left it all out there,” he said. “I felt like I was playing hard. We just have to keep it up.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Malik Beasley should be available for the Timberwolves’ regular-season opener on Wednesday despite his impending court case, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. A court hearing scheduled for this week has been moved to next week and it doesn’t appear the NBA will take any action until the case is settled, Wolfson adds. Beasley faces a pair of felony charges related to a late September arrest for drug possession and threats of violence.
- The Pelicans will allow approximately 750 fans at home games as the start of the season, the team announced in a press release. Fans will not be allowed to sit within 30 feet of the court. In addition, a limited number of tickets to satisfy player, team and other required NBA obligations was also approved.
- The Suns have completed 80 percent of their renovations to their arena, according to Kellan Olson of the Arizona Republic. The franchise will able to finish the renovations during the offseason and the building won’t have be to closed next summer, as previously planned.
Nets Claim Paul Eboua Off Waivers
The Nets have claimed forward Paul Eboua off waivers, Alex Schiffer of The Athletic tweets. The Heat waived Eboua on Wednesday.
Eboua had been in the running for one of Miami’s two-way deals. He was previously a member of Italian club Victoria Libertas and declared for the draft as an early entrant in the spring.
A number of teams reportedly expressed interest in Eboua before he signed a camp deal with the Heat. While Eboua chose the Heat at the time, Miami’s G League club in Sioux Falls isn’t expected to participate in the NBAGL’s proposed Atlanta bubble.
The 6’8″ Eboua, 20, will likely to wind up with the Nets’ G League team in Long Island, according to NetsDaily.com. He averaged 7.4 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 21.6 MPG last season.
Jazz Waive Trevon Bluiett, Three Others
The Jazz have waived guard Trevon Bluiett and three undrafted rookies — center Romaro Gill, forward Tre Scott and guard Jake Toolson — according to a team press release.
Utah needed to make room on its 20-man roster for two new additions, guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Malcolm Miller.
Some or all of the players let go on Friday could wind up with the Jazz’s G League club in Salt Lake City if they clear waivers.
Bluiett appeared in 41 games with the Salt Lake City Stars last season, averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 2.5 APG in 29.3 MPG.
Gill, an undrafted rookie out of Seton Hall, posted averages of 7.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 3.2 BPG in 30 games last season.
Scott was a four-year player at Cincinnati and averaged 11.4 PPG and 10.5 RPG in 33.7 MPG for the Bearcats last season.
Toolson spent two seasons at BYU before transferring to Utah Valley and then back to BYU last season. He averaged 15.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.9 APG as a senior.