Grizzlies Sign Ahmad Caver, Matthew Hurt; Waive Sean McDermott, Romeo Weems
The Grizzlies have completed a series of four roster moves, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived Sean McDermott and Romeo Weems, replacing them on the roster with Ahmad Caver and Matthew Hurt.
Both McDermott and Weems had been on Exhibit 10 contracts and it’s safe to assume that Caver and Hurt will receive similar deals.
All four players are candidates to join the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate. Signing them to Exhibit 10 deals now ensures the Grizzlies will secure their NBAGL rights or – if the team already holds their returning rights – will be able to award them bonuses of up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with the Hustle.
Caver, a 6’2″ point guard, has spent the last two seasons with the Hustle and made a major impact off the bench for the team in the 2021 NBAGL bubble, averaging 16.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.8 APG on .525/.425/.634 shooting in 15 games (29.4 MPG).
Hurt, a 6’9″ forward who played two seasons for Duke, had a very productive sophomore season for the Blue Devils in 2020/21, averaging 18.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG with a stellar .556/.444/.724 shooting line across 24 games (32.7 MPG). He signed a two-way contract with Houston in August, but was waived in September.
Warriors Notes: Bradley, Payton, Lee, Green, Myers, Wiseman
With just one preseason game left on the Warriors‘ schedule, they may be down to three choices for their 15th roster spot, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic: Avery Bradley, Gary Payton II, or luxury tax savings.
As Slater outlines, Bradley looked like the frontrunner early in the fall, but he hasn’t wowed the team during the preseason, leaving the door open for Payton to push for a roster spot following his return from hernia surgery. Payton had a strong debut in Tuesday’s contest vs. the Lakers, scoring 12 points and providing energy and solid defense off the bench. He’ll have another opportunity in Friday’s preseason finale vs. Portland to make a case to stick around.
The Warriors have just 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, since swingman Damion Lee only has a partial guarantee, so technically two roster spots could be up for grabs. But Lee showed on Tuesday why he has been penciled into that 14th spot, as he put up 16 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes of action as a starter.
“He’s had a great camp, and he’s a guy on our team who we kind of take for granted,” Kerr said of Lee, per Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s such a pro. He’s such a rock-solid player. He’s ready every night, whether I play him 20 minutes or whether I don’t play him at all. He’s always prepared.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio (video link), Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers explained why he didn’t feel the need to talk to Draymond Green about comments Green made on a podcast over the summer. Green said in the podcast that the front office mishandled its response to his on-court confrontation with Kevin Durant during KD’s last season in Golden State. “He’s allowed to feel how he feels about that and so is Kevin,” Myers said. “I’ve been through too much with him. I’ve watched that guy win three championships with us. I can’t get upset about (his comments) — I just won’t. … Him and Kevin, the good they’ve done for me and our franchise way outweighs anything like that.”
- Once James Wiseman gets healthy, the Warriors don’t intend to shuffle him back and forth between the NBA and G League, Slater writes for The Athletic. The team might send Wiseman to Santa Cruz as he gets back up to speed, but once he gets recalled to the NBA, the plan is for him to stay there, according to Slater, whose article takes an in-depth look at assistant coach Dejan Milojević‘s developmental plan for the young center.
- The 20-year-old Wiseman is only the third-youngest player on a roster that includes a pair of teenagers, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga. Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer explores the challenge Golden State will face as it tries to focus on winning games while also developing its young lottery picks.
- Shaun Livingston and Zaza Pachulia, who both have roles in the Warriors’ basketball operations department, spoke to team broadcaster Bob Fitzgerald about how their experiences as players in Golden State made it an easy decision to rejoin the franchise once their playing careers ended.
- In case you missed it, we published our recap of the Warriors’ offseason on Wednesday night.
Injury Notes: Diakite, P. Williams, C. White, Zion, Lakers
Thunder forward Mamadi Diakite has been diagnosed with a left hip fracture and has been ruled out indefinitely, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter links). Diakite sustained the injury during Sunday’s preseason game against Milwaukee, Mussatto adds.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Diakite, who was claimed off waivers by the Thunder last month and was trying to prove he deserved a spot on the regular season roster. Only $100K of Diakite’s minimum-salary contract is guaranteed, making him a potential casualty of a roster crunch.
Although the Thunder haven’t revealed their plans for their 15-man regular season roster, they’re carrying 13 players on guaranteed contracts, and Kenrich Williams is a lock for the roster despite his non-guaranteed salary. That leaves just one available 15-man spot — if Diakite’s injury takes him out of the running, Gabriel Deck and D.J. Wilson would likely be the top contenders for it.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Bulls forward Patrick Williams appears to be nearing a return. He participated fully in Wednesday’s practice and said his injured ankle “feels good,” per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Bulls guard Coby White, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, still isn’t close to being cleared for contact. Head coach Billy Donovan said on Wednesday the team is about three or four weeks away from determining the next step in White’s rehab process (Twitter link via Cody Westerlund of 670TheScore.com).
- Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin said last month he thought Zion Williamson, who underwent offseason foot surgery, would be ready for opening night. However, head coach Willie Green confirmed on Monday that Williamson still isn’t running or participating in team activities, according to William Guillory of The Athletic, who says Zion’s uncertain status leaves New Orleans in limbo with the regular season around the corner.
- Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is hopeful that Malik Monk (groin) and Kendrick Nunn (ankle) will be ready to go by opening night, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group (Twitter links). However, veteran guard Wayne Ellington is dealing with a hamstring strain that makes him more of a question mark for the start of the season.
Kyrie Irving Confirms He’s Unvaccinated, Says He’s Not Retiring
Appearing on Instagram Live on Wednesday night (video link), Nets guard Kyrie Irving publicly confirmed for the first time that he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Due to a New York City mandate that requires individuals to have received at least one vaccine shot in order to enter public indoor venues, Irving is ineligible to play in over half of Brooklyn’s games this season. The Nets announced this week that Irving won’t be permitted to play or practice with the team – even on the road – until he can be a full-time participant.
Repeating many of the same points that were conveyed through sources by Shams Charania of The Athletic on Tuesday, Irving claimed on Wednesday that his decision is “not about being anti-vax,” adding that he’s “being true to what feels good for me” and understands the ramifications of remaining unvaccinated, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN details.
“I am going to just continue to stay in shape, be ready to play, be ready to rock out with my teammates and just be part of this whole thing,” Irving said, though he gave no indication that he plans to receive the vaccine. “This is not a political thing; this is not about the NBA, not about any organization. This is about my life and what I am choosing to do.”
The death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 700,000 in the United States and 4.5 million worldwide, while many others are still dealing with long-term health effects from the virus. Data has shown that the vaccines reduce the risk of infection and drastically lessen the likelihood of an affected individual being hospitalized or dying. NBPA executive director Michele Roberts has stated that about 96% of the NBA’s players are vaccinated.
Irving said on Wednesday he was under the belief entering the fall that he’d be able to receive an exemption that would make him eligible to play in New York this season. It’s unclear whether or not he applied for a medical or religious exemption. Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins attempted to get a religious exemption in the hopes of circumventing a similar mandate in San Francisco, but his request was denied by the NBA and the city stated it wouldn’t have approved such an exemption anyway. Wiggins subsequently agreed to get vaccinated.
Irving, on the other hand, appears to be digging in his heels, telling viewers on his Instagram Live that he’s prepared to face the financial consequences of his decision.
The NBA has indicated that players who are ineligible to play in games due to local vaccine mandates will lose 1/91.6th of their salary for each game they miss. While the NBPA has pushed back against the league’s interpretation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the expectation is that Irving’s stance will cost him $381K per game over the course of 43 games (41 in Brooklyn, plus two at Madison Square Garden), for a total of nearly $16.4MM in lost base salary, plus more in incentives that he’ll be unable to achieve.
Though it remains unclear if we’ll see Irving at all on the court this season, he stressed on Wednesday that he has no intention of walking away from basketball altogether.
“No, I am not retiring. And no, I am not going and leaving this game like this,” Irving said. “There is still so much more work to do.”
Nets general manager Sean Marks previously expressed interest in signing Irving to a contract extension this offseason, but multiple reports have suggested those discussions are no longer taking place, for obvious reasons.
Raptors Sign Alex Antetokounmpo To Exhibit 10 Deal
11:00pm: The deal is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
9:31pm: The Raptors will sign forward Alex Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, to an Exhibit 10 contract before the regular season begins next week, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
The Greek newspaper Ethnos first reported last month that Antetokounmpo was expected to sign with Toronto.
As Murphy notes, the plan is for Antetokounmpo to be waived shortly after he signs. His Exhibit 10 deal would allow the Raptors to gain his affiliate rights and ensure he receives a bonus worth up to $50K for eventually joining the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League team.
Antetokounmpo, 20, spent last season under contract in Spain with UCAM Murcia, then joined the Kings’ Summer League roster in August.
As we wrote earlier today, Toronto is also signing former Thunder forward Josh Hall to an Exhibit 10 contract for G League purposes.
Raptors Sign Josh Hall To Exhibit 10 Contract
9:00pm: The deal is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
3:50pm: The Raptors are signing former Thunder forward Josh Hall to an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).
Hall, 21, went undrafted in 2020, but caught on with Oklahoma City and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He appeared in 21 games for the Thunder, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 16.0 minutes per contest. The 6’9″ forward has impressive athleticism, but struggled to score efficiently, posting a shooting line of .303/.108/.500.
The Thunder liked Hall enough to make him a restricted free agent this offseason, and he ended up signing his qualifying offer, briefly occupying one of the team’s two-way slots. However, Oklahoma City opted to go in another direction with that spot and waived Hall last month when Paul Watson was signed to a two-way contract.
The Raptors already have a handful of veterans on partially guaranteed contracts vying for the final spots on their 15-man regular season roster, so Hall appears likely to end up as an affiliate player for Toronto’s G League squad, the Raptors 905.
Sixers Sign, Waive Jared Brownridge, Braxton Key
The Sixers used the two open spots on their 20-man preseason roster to sign Jared Brownridge and Braxton Key to Exhibit 10 contracts, according to reports from our JD Shaw and Nicola Lupa of Sportando (Twitter links).
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that both players have already been waived, which confirms that the 76ers signed them with the G League in mind. Brownridge and Key should now be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with the Delaware Blue Coats this season.
Heading to Delaware will be nothing new for Brownridge, who has played for Philadelphia’s G League affiliate in each of the last four seasons. In 2020/21, he averaged 12.3 PPG with a .402 3PT% in 15 games (24.9 MPG) for the Blue Coats.
Key, meanwhile, had his first season with Delaware in the 2021 G League bubble. He had a very limited role, recording 4.3 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 12 contests (12.3 MPG).
Wizards Cut Jay Huff, Jordan Schakel
The Wizards removed a pair of players from their preseason roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Jay Huff and Jordan Schakel.
A 7’1″ forward/center, Huff spent his college career at Virginia and was a full-time starter for the first time as a senior in 2020/21. He averaged 13.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 2.6 BPG with a stellar .585/.387/.837 shooting line in 25 games (27.0 MPG). Huff, who won a national title in 2019, made the All-ACC Second Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2021.
The 6’6″ Schakel averaged 14.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG on .473/.461/.908 shooting in his final college season at San Diego State in ’20/21. The 23-year-old was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team and to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.
Both players had signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington as undrafted free agents and now appear on track to join the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G League affiliate.
Warriors Sign, Waive Quinndary Weatherspoon
OCTOBER 13: The Warriors have waived Weatherspoon, according to the team.
OCTOBER 11: The Warriors have signed free agent shooting guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, the team announced today in a press release. Weatherspoon claims the 20-man roster spot previously occupied by Langston Galloway, who was cut over the weekend.
Weatherspoon was selected by San Antonio with the 49th overall pick in the 2019 draft and spent his first two professional seasons on a two-way deal with the Spurs. He appeared in just 31 total NBA games during that time, averaging 1.9 PPG in 6.4 MPG.
The 25-year-old saw more action at the G League level, recording 14.9 PPG and 5.1 APG on .455/.333/.795 shooting in 37 games (29.1 MPG) for the Austin Spurs. However, San Antonio opted not to give him a qualifying offer this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Terms of Weatherspoon’s contract with the Warriors aren’t known, but it’s safe to assume it’s a non-guaranteed camp deal, likely with Exhibit 10 language. Weatherspoon almost certainly won’t make the 15-man regular season roster, but if he’s willing to play for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBAGL, Golden State could make Weatherspoon an affiliate player and give him a bonus worth up to $50K.
Cavaliers Sign Ed Davis, Justin James
The Cavaliers have announced a pair of signings, stating in a press release that they’ve added big man Ed Davis and guard Justin James to their roster. Cleveland now has a full 20-man squad.
Davis, 32, spent the 2020/21 season with the Timberwolves, playing a limited role in the team’s frontcourt. The center averaged 2.1 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 23 games (13.0 MPG).
Davis, an 11-year veteran who has 691 career regular season games under his belt, isn’t the kind of player who typically gets signed and quickly waived this week for G League purposes, so it will be interesting to see what the Cavs’ plan for him is. The team only has 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there’s room for Davis to make the 15-man regular season roster.
As for James, he spent his first two NBA seasons with the Kings after being selected 40th overall in the 2019 draft out of Wyoming. He didn’t play a regular role for Sacramento, but appeared in 72 games across two seasons, averaging 3.2 PPG and 0.9 RPG with a shooting line of .446/.343/.544 in 7.5 minutes per contest.
The 24-year-old was waived by the Kings earlier this offseason, signed a two-way deal with Utah, and then was released by the Jazz as well. The Cavs may view him as a potential affiliate player for the Cleveland Charge.