Heat Waive Bryson Warren, Malik Williams
The Heat have waived Bryson Warren and Malik Williams, the team announced (via Twitter). Both players were signed to Exhibit 10 contracts on Wednesday.
As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald points out (Twitter link), the moves were procedural, as both players are expected to spend the upcoming season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s NBA G League affiliate. If they spend at least 60 days with the Skyforce, each player could earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of their regular NBAGL salary.
Warren, a 6’3″ guard, spent all of last season with Sioux Falls, averaging 6.9 PPG and 1.8 APG on .376/.325/.800 shooting in 27 total games (17.4 MPG). The 19-year-old turned pro early, previously playing in the Overtime Elite league, but technically didn’t declare for the NBA draft until this year, when he went undrafted.
Williams, a 6’11” center, spent most of last season with Sioux Falls before receiving a 10-day contract and a rest-of-season deal from Toronto at the end of ’23/24. Overall, the 26-year-old big man played in 42 games with the Skyforce and seven with the Raptors. He went undrafted out of Louisville in 2022 and spent his first pro season in Poland.
The Heat are back down to 19 players under contract, two shy of the offseason maximum.
Cedi Osman: “Easy Choice” To Sign With Panathinaikos
Turkish forward Cedi Osman, who has spent the past seven seasons in the NBA (six with Cleveland, one with San Antonio), said it wasn’t a difficult decision to sign a one-year contract with defending EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos, per Eurohoops.
“It was a long process, but, obviously, it was an easy choice for me,” Osman said of joining the Greek club. “I have known Panathinaikos for a lot of years. I played against them as a kid. And Ergin [Ataman] was my coach since I was a kid. There were links with other teams, but it was not a really hard choice for me.”
According to Osman, “a couple” of NBA teams expressed interest in his services during free agency. Eurohoops previously reported that the Lakers offered Osman a training camp deal, and it’s not surprising he declined — it likely would have been non-guaranteed, and L.A. already has 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts.
“At the end of the day, I had to keep going,” Osman said. “I came to a team with seven EuroLeague titles, that has won the EuroLeague and Greek league championships last year.”
Osman, 29, averaged 6.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.7 APG on .479/.389/.673 shooting in 72 games with the Spurs last season (17.6 MPG). He holds career averages of 9.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 2.0 APG on .432/.357/.711 shooting over 476 regular season contests, including 186 starts (22.7 MPG).
Panathinaikos big man Matthias Lessort, who helped France claim a silver medal at the Olympics, said he was excited to have Osman on the roster. Lessort’s draft rights are controlled by the Knicks.
“Cedi Osman is a great player; he can create and shoot, contribute defensively, and of course, having a player of that caliber is very good for the team,” Lessort told Vuk-Milos Petrovic of Basketball Sphere. “Panathinaikos is a great team, and I hope he comes ready to impose himself and help.”
Poll: How Will Isaac Okoro’s Situation Be Resolved?
With training camps set to begin in about three weeks, there haven’t been many updates on the NBA’s lone remaining restricted free agent, former No. 5 overall pick Isaac Okoro.
Okoro provides real value to the Cavaliers — he’s their best on-ball defender and is frequently tasked with guarding the opposing teams’ best perimeter player. Even with a major size disadvantage, Okoro did an admirable job defending Paolo Banchero in Cleveland’s first-round playoff series vs. Orlando.
The issue is on the other end of the court, where Okoro is an inconsistent shooter and scorer whom opposing defenses frequently ignore. After shooting a career-best 39.1% from three-point range in the 2023/24 regular season, he converted just 25.7% of his outside looks in the postseason.
The Cavaliers extended a qualifying offer — essentially just a one-year contract offer — to Okoro in June, granting them the right of first refusal in negotiations. That QO is worth $11,828,974. If the 23-year-old accepts the QO, he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
In late July, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that the Cavs also made Okoro a multiyear offer, roughly in the range of $8-10MM annually. Cleveland certainly seems to be in the driver’s seat in negotiations and hasn’t budged on that stance, according to reports last month from Fedor and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
One of the primary issues for Okoro is the Pistons are the only team in the league that has cap room available, and there has been no indication they’re interested in testing the Cavaliers with a long-term offer that Cleveland could match. There also haven’t been any rumors about teams potentially using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to make Okoro an offer.
For what it’s worth, the Cavs used the stretch provision to spread Ricky Rubio‘s $1,274,015 dead-money cap hit for 2024/25 across three seasons. Rubio will now count against Cleveland’s books for $424,672 annually through ’26/27. That might not sound significant, but it could help the Cavs re-sign Okoro while avoiding the luxury tax — a key consideration for a team whose payroll is set to balloon in ’25/26, when Evan Mobley‘s rookie scale extension kicks in.
Aside from accepting the QO, re-signing with the Cavs on a multiyear deal, or signing with another team (again, the Cavs could choose to match), there’s one other viable outcome. The Cavs reportedly discussed a sign-and-trade with the Nets involving Okoro and Dorian Finney-Smith, but it sounds like those talks didn’t get serious.
We want to know what you think. How will Okoro’s situation be resolved? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts.
Heat Exercise 2025/26 Options On Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic
The Heat have exercised their 2025/26 team options on wing Jaime Jaquez and forward Nikola Jovic, the team announced (Twitter link via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press).
Jaquez is now guaranteed to earn $3,861,600 in ’25/26, which will be his third season, while Jovic will earn $4,445,417 during his fourth campaign. Jovic will also become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2025 offseason.
As our tracker shows, Miami is the first NBA team to make decisions on its rookie scale team options for the ’25/26 season. The outcome was a mere formality after both players had strong seasons in ’23/24.
The No. 18 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Jaquez averaged 11.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.0 SPG in 75 regular season contests for the Heat (28.2 MPG). His excellent play earned him a spot on the All-Rookie First Team.
Jovic, who is two-plus years younger than Jaquez (21 vs. 23) despite being drafted a year earlier (No. 27 in 2022), spent the beginning of last season in the G League before emerging as a rotation regular down the stretch. In 46 regular season games (19.5 MPG), Jovic averaged 7.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.0 APG. The Serbian won a bronze medal this summer at the Olympics in Paris.
The deadline for teams to pick up 2025/26 rookie scale options is October 31, 2024.
Hornets Sign Keyontae Johnson
The Hornets have signed free agent forward Keyontae Johnson, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.
The news of Johnson landing with Charlotte was announced last month by his agency. At the time, it was unclear what type of contract he would be signing. By process of elimination, it appears the 24-year-old signed an Exhibit 9 contract, likely with Exhibit 10 language.
Players who sign Exhibit 9 or Exhibit 10 contracts don’t appear on NBA.com’s official transactions log, but RealGM does track those deals. Exhibit 9/10 players only show up on NBA.com’s log when they’ve been waived (Jared Brownridge is a recent example).
The No. 50 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Johnson spent his entire rookie campaign on a two-way contract with Oklahoma City. He only appeared in nine games with the Thunder last season for a total of 66 minutes, but had a significant role with their NBA G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
The Thunder declined to give Johnson a two-way qualifying offer after the 2023/24 season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Although they’re not technically required to, virtually every Exhibit 10 contract also contains an Exhibit 9 clause, which provides a team protections when a player on a non-guaranteed training camp contract suffers an injury. If a team wants to sign a player to a deal that includes both an Exhibit 9 and Exhibit 10 clause, it must already be carrying at least 14 players on standard contracts. The Hornets currently have 14 players on standard deals.
If Johnson signed an Exhibit 10 deal, he could receive a $77.5K bonus if he’s waived before the season starts and spends at least 60 days with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s NBA G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted to two-way deals, and the Hornets currently have one two-way opening.
Clippers Sign Elijah Harkless To Exhibit 10 Contract
September 5: Harkless’ Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
July 29: Free agent guard Elijah Harkless will be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Clippers, a source tells Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Harkless went undrafted in 2023 after playing five seasons of college basketball with three different schools (Cal State Northridge, Oklahoma and UNLV). As Murray notes, Harkless recently suited up for the Clippers during Summer League action.
The 24-year-old spent his first professional season playing for the Clippers’ NBA G League affiliate in Ontario, California. He put up solid numbers off the bench in 27 Showcase Cup and regular season games, averaging 11.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.0 SPG on .493/.419/.750 shooting (20.7 MPG).
Exhibit 10 deals, which are non-guaranteed, can be converted to two-way contracts, and the Clips do have a two-way opening. They can also ensure a player receives a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with his club’s G League affiliate.
Central Notes: Horton-Tucker, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons
Free agent guard Talen Horton-Tucker will reportedly be signing with his hometown Bulls. According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, the five-year veteran will sign an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp.
Shams Charania of The Athletic, who broke the news of both deals, said that Horton-Tucker and Mac McClung (Magic) received partially guaranteed contracts. From the players’ perspective, that’s not wrong in a sense — the Exhibit 10 language in their contracts makes them eligible for a bonus worth $77.5K (on top of their G League salaries) if they’re waived and spend at least 60 days with their clubs’ NBAGL affiliates.
It is misleading though, because for NBA teams, Exhibit 10 deals are one-year, minimum-salary contracts that are non-guaranteed. For example, if Horton-Tucker is immediately cut after the deal is official, the Bulls won’t carry any dead money toward the salary cap. That’s different than a player like Keon Johnson — if the Nets waive him today for whatever reason, they would owe him his full $250K partial guarantee while carrying an identical dead-money cap hit for 2024/25.
Here’s more from the Central:
- In another story for NBC Sports Chicago, Johnson attempts to predict the Bulls‘ starting lineup and rotation. Despite the obvious defensive shortcomings, Johnson believes Josh Giddey, Coby White, Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic is the “most logical” outcome for the starting five. However, only Ayo Dosunmu and free agent addition Jalen Smith seem like locks for rotation minutes off the bench, per Johnson.
- Eric Nehm of The Athletic answers mailbag questions related to the Bucks, including whether they should reduce Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s workload during the upcoming season to try to keep him fresh ahead of a potential playoff run. Nehm also examines whether Taurean Prince could be used at power forward in small-ball lineups featuring Antetokounmpo at center.
- Will the Pistons carry a 15th player on their standard roster to open the season? What about their remaining cap room — will they use it before the season starts or carry it over until the trade deadline? Keith Langlois of Pistons.com explores those questions.
International Notes: Duval, Inglis, Tinkle
Former NBA guard Trevon Duval has signed with Salah BC, a team based in Azerbaijan that will compete in the qualification round of the upcoming Basketball Champions League (BCL), as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays.
A former top high school recruit who played one college season at Duke, Duval went undrafted in 2018. He spent most of the 2018/19 season on a two-way contract with the Bucks, appearing in three NBA games.
Duval has spent most of his professional career in the NBA G League, playing for the Wisconsin Herd, Iowa Wolves and Grand Rapids Gold. The 26-year-old played in Turkey last season with Manisa Basket, Skerletic notes.
Here are a couple more international notes:
- French forward Damien Inglis has signed with the Yokohama B-Corsairs, the Japanese team announced in a press release. The 31st pick of the 2014 draft, Inglis spent two NBA seasons with the Bucks from 2014-16. While his NBA stint was brief, the 29-year-old has enjoyed a long career in Europe, playing for teams in France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. Last season with Valencia Basket, he averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 32 EuroLeague games (20.5 MPG). This is Inglis’ first stint in Japan.
- Former Oregon State star Tres Tinkle will be heading to Turkey for the ’24/25 campaign, having signed with Darussafaka (Twitter link). A 6’7″ forward, Tinkle signed Exhibit 10 deals with the Lakers and Raptors in 2020, ultimately playing for the G League’s Raptors 905 during the ’20/21 season. He has spent the past three seasons playing for clubs in Italy, France and Spain, respectively.
- In case you missed it, guard Saben Lee and center Omer Yurtseven have signed international contracts in recent days. Both players played for NBA teams last season.
Two 2024 Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
Of the 58 players who were selected in June’s draft, 54 have signed their first NBA contracts since the start of July. As our tracker shows, the breakdown is as follows:
- First-round picks signed using the rookie scale exception: 30
- Second-round picks signed using the second-round pick exception: 13
- Second-round picks signed to two-way contracts: 10
- Second-round picks signed using cap room: 1
Two second-round picks — Juan Nunez (No. 36) and Melvin Ajinca (No. 51) — will continue their professional careers in Europe. Their draft rights are controlled by the Spurs and Mavericks, respectively.
That leaves two players from the 2024 draft class who have yet to sign with their respective NBA teams. Here are those players:
- 43. Atlanta Hawks: Nikola Djurisic, G, Mega Basket
- 52. Golden State Warriors: Quinten Post, F/C, Boston College
The Hawks‘ plans for Djurisic remain unclear. The 20-year-old sustained a left foot fracture during a Summer League game in July; the injury required surgery, with another update on his status slated for November. That means he is expected to miss the beginning of the 2024/25 regular season, which opens in late October.
Atlanta has 15 players signed to guaranteed standard contracts, and all three of the team’s two-way spots are currently filled. It’s possible the Hawks could waive one of their two-way players to create room for Djurisic, but there are other possibilities, both in North America and overseas.
When our Luke Adams wrote about Djurisic last month, he wondered whether the young guard might consider signing a G League contract to rehab and get back into game shape with the College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta’s NBAGL affiliate). Going that route could potentially earn Djurisic a promotion to the NBA roster later in the season, perhaps after Atlanta opens up a spot on its standard roster with a trade or two.
As for Post, Adams believes the most likely outcome is Golden State eventually waiving Pat Spencer, opening a two-way contract spot for the Dutch big man. If the Warriors make a multiplayer trade, a standard deal for the 24-year-old is another possibility, but nothing appears imminent on that front.
Nine NBA Teams Have Two-Way Contract Openings
Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry three extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. These players generally bounce back and forth between the NBA and G League, but remain under team control and can’t be poached by rival franchises.
With training camps set to begin in about a month, there are still nine NBA teams with open two-way spots. Two clubs — the Nets and Magic — each have a pair of two-way openings, while the remaining seven teams have one opening apiece. That means there are currently 11 two-way openings in the NBA.
Here’s the full list of NBA teams with two-way vacancies, as shown by our 2024/25 two-way contract tracker:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Chicago Bulls
- Charlotte Hornets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Detroit Pistons
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Orlando Magic
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Washington Wizards
Technically, the Cavaliers have yet to finalize their reported two-way deal with JT Thor, but we expect that to occur at some point before training camp — that’s why they are not included on this list.
Since two-way deals are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, it’s pretty common to see players shuffled in and out of rosters both before and during the season. It’s worth noting that Exhibit 10 deals can be converted to two-way contracts under certain conditions — these teams may be waiting until training camp and preseason to get a better look at young players.
First introduced in 2017, two-way deals have undergone some rule changes in recent years, and the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has updated them further. Here are some key points to remember:
- Teams can now carry three players on two-way contracts, rather than two.
- Two-way players are eligible to be active for up to 50 of their team’s 82 regular season games. If a team isn’t carrying a full 15-man standard roster, its two-way players can only be active for a combined 90 games.
- Players on two-way contracts will earn $578,577 in 2024/25, half of the rookie minimum.
- Two-way contracts can’t be signed after March 4.
You can check out our glossary entry to learn more about two-way contracts.