Kings Add Wenyen Gabriel To 15-Man Roster
8:29pm: The roster moves are official, according to a team press release.
6:56pm: Wenyen Gabriel will have his two-way contract converted to a standard contract as part of the Kings’ roster tinkering, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
An opening on the 15-man roster will be created by waiving forward Tyler Lydon. As previously reported, Sacramento has claimed undrafted swingman DaQuan Jeffries from the Magic.
Jeffries will take Gabriel’s previous spot on a two-way deal, according to Ham. Rookie guard Kyle Guy has the other two-way contract.
Gabriel, 21, averaged 6.8 PPG and 5.4 RPG as a sophomore in 2017/18 at Kentucky but was not drafted. He signed a two-way contract with Sacramento last July, but has yet to make his NBA debut, spending his rookie season with the Stockton Kings. He averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 12.9 MPG during four preseason games this fall.
Clippers Sign Derrick Walton Jr. To One-Year Contract
The Clippers have signed point guard Derrick Walton Jr. to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract to fill their last roster spot, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.
The Clippers waived forward Donte Grantham on Saturday, paving the way for Walton to make the opening-night roster. Walton’s $1.45MM deal won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10.
Walton signed a training camp deal with the Clippers in July. Walton spent a season with the Heat on a two-way contract in 2017/18 after going undrafted out of Michigan. He joined the Bulls for training camp last fall, but was waived before the regular season began and ended up playing overseas in 2018/19 for teams in Lithuania and Germany.
Walton averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.0 APG while playing in all five Clippers preseason games. He’ll back up Patrick Beverley and Terance Mann, though Lou Williams will also run the offense at times.
Joe Ingles Signs One-Year Extension With Jazz
6:29pm: It’s official, according to the Jazz’s Twitter feed.
6:19pm: Forward Joe Ingles has agreed to a one-year, $14MM extension with the Jazz, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
The extension applies to the 2021/22 season. Ingles is making nearly $12MM this season but that number drops to $10.83MM next season, as the four-year, $52MM contract he signed in 2017 was frontloaded.
Monday was the deadline to extend a player with two years left on his deal, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in a tweet. The extension will include likely and unlikely bonuses, Marks adds.
The 6’8” Australian, who turned 32 earlier this month, emerged as a fixture in the starting lineup the last two seasons and his playmaking skills became a key component to Utah’s offensive scheme. He averaged 12.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 5.7 APG in 31.3 MPG last season. He’s averaged 9.7/4.2/3.6 in those categories in 27 career playoff games.
He might be used in a sixth-man role this season due to his versatility.
Bulls Exercise Options On Markkanen, Carter Jr., Hutchison
The Bulls have exercised their fourth-year option on forward Lauri Markkanen and third-year options on center Wendell Carter Jr. and forward Chandler Hutchison, according to a team press release. That guarantees the trio’s contracts for the 2020/21 season.
Markkanen will make $6.73MM next season after collecting $5.3MM this season.
Injuries limited Markkanen to 52 games last season. He averaged 18.7 PPG and 9.0 RPG while shooting .430 from the field and .361 from 3-point range.
Carter Jr. will take home $5.45MM next season after receiving approximately $5.2MM this season.
Carter Jr. was selected No. 7 overall in 2018 draft. He, too, battled injuries last season and was limited to 44 games but showed the ability to be a defensive anchor. He averaged 10,3 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.3 BPG in 25.2 MPG as a rookie.
Hutchison will receive $2.44MM next season after making $2.33MM in 2019/20.
Hutchison, selected with the No. 22 pick in 2018, averaged 5.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 44 games during his rookie campaign. He’s expected to play a reserve role this season.
Kings Claim Forward DaQuan Jeffries
The Kings have claimed rookie swingman DaQuan Jeffries off waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Jeffries was one of five players waived by the Magic on Saturday. The 6’5” Jeffries, who played college ball at Tulsa, was ranked by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony as the fourth-best prospect who wasn’t drafted in 2019. He posted 13.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.2 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in his final college season, shooting .502/.366/.755. Jeffries made five brief appearances during Orlando’s preseason games but didn’t score.
Tyler Lydon will likely be waived to clear a roster spot for Jeffries, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. The former Nuggets forward signed a two-year, minimum-salary pact with Sacramento in July but only $50K was guaranteed in the first year.
Grizzlies To Decline Josh Jackson’s Option
The Grizzlies are declining Josh Jackson‘s fourth-year option, which will make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets.
Jackson, who will make a little over $7MM this season, was due to receive $8.93MM in 2020/21 if Memphis had chosen to pick up the option.
Jackson was a huge disappointment in his two seasons with the Suns, who selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2017. He averaged 12.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.9 APG in 156 games with Phoenix. He only started 29 of 79 games last year for one of the league’s worst teams.
His unspectacular play, coupled with some troubling incidents off the court, convinced Phoenix to ship him to Memphis this offseason in what was essentially a salary dump.
He will start this season in the G League after skipping training camp. However, if Jackson can turn his career around, the Grizzlies might still be interested in re-signing him, Herrington adds.
Grizzlies Exercise Contract Options On Jackson Jr., Allen
The Grizzlies have exercised their 2020/21 contract options on big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and guard Grayson Allen, according to a team press release.
Jackson, the fourth pick in the 2018 draft, averaged 13.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 1.4 BPG during his rookie campaign. He’ll now make a guaranteed $7,257,360 next season after collecting approximately $6.93MM during his second season. The option was a mere formality for Memphis, which is building around Jackson and 2019 lottery pick Ja Morant.
Allen was selected with the No. 21 overall pick last year by the Jazz. He averaged 5.6 PPG in 10.9 MPG over 38 appearances with Utah.
Allen was part of the package Memphis received in the Mike Conley blockbuster. Allen, who is making approximately $2.43MM this season, will receive $2,545,320 in 2020/21. Allen is competing for minutes at shooting guard with Dillon Brooks and European import Marko Guduric.
Bulls Waive Doyle, Simon, Shittu
The Bulls have waived guards Milton Doyle and Justin Simon and forward Simisola Shittu, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
These moves reduce their opening night roster to the maximum 15 players. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts and were deemed most likely to be waived.
Chicago has no plans to add a player off the waiver wire, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, which is good news for Shaquille Harrison, whose $1.62MM contract was only guaranteed for $175K. He’ll receive a full guarantee if he remains on the roster through January 10th. All of the other 14 players on the regular roster have fully guaranteed deals.
The Bulls will add another two-way player in the coming days and that player will likely be someone from outside the organization, according to Johnson (Twitter links). Adam Mokoka has the other two-way contract.
Doyle played with the Nets on a two-way contract two seasons ago and spent last season with the Spanish team Murcia. Simon and Shittu are undrafted rookies who will likely join the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.
Daryl Macon Receives Two-Way Deal From Heat
The Heat have signed guard Daryl Macon to a two-way contract, according to a team press release. Miami also waived four players — Kyle Alexander, Skyler Flatten, Davon Reed and Bubu Palo — to reduce their opening-night roster to 14 players, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
The Heat can only carry 14 players, one below the maximum, on their regular roster because they’re hard-capped.
Macon got the last spot on the 20-man training camp roster via an Exhibit 10 contract and made the most of it. He appeared in four preseason games, totaling 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes.
Macon, who signed a two-way contract with Dallas last season, split last season between the Mavericks and their G League team, the Texas Legends. He played on the Heat’s summer league team last year after going undrafted out of Arkansas. Forward Chris Silva has the other two-way spot.
Alexander and Reed are the most prominent players among the quartet that was waived. The 6’11” Alexander went undrafted out of Tennessee before joining Miami’s summer league squad.
Reed was the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Suns, but lasted just one season in Phoenix before being cut last October. He then signed with the Pacers on a two-way contract and spent most of the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.
Some or all of the players waived could wind up with the Heat’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls.
Clippers Waive Forward Donte Grantham
The Clippers have waived forward Donte Grantham, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
The transaction reduces their roster to the maximum 15 players on standard contracts, though only 14 of those players have full guarantees. The only player remaining from the camp roster without a guaranteed deal is Derrick Walton Jr. His $1.45MM contract doesn’t fully guarantee until January 10.
Grantham signed an Exhibit 10 contract in August. He’ll likely join the Clippers’ G League affiliate, as the Agua Caliente Clippers traded for his returning rights last month.
He went undrafted out of Clemson last year and then spent most of his first professional season on a two-way contract with the Thunder. He played just two minutes in three NBA games for Oklahoma City but was a regular starter for the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG. Grantham’s two-way deal included a second season, but the Thunder waived him in July.