Nuggets Waive Bryce Wills
The Nuggets have waived guard Bryce Wills, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
Wills, who was a member of Denver’s Summer League team in Las Vegas in July, went undrafted out of Stanford in 2021 and has played in the G League for the last two years, spending time with the Capital City Go-Go as well as the Nuggets’ affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold.
In 44 games last season for Grand Rapids, Wills averaged 5.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 22.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .463/.340/.485. He’s known for more his defense than his offensive ability, having been named to the Pac-12’s All-Defensive team in 2020.
Wills inked an Exhibit 10 contract and will be heading to the Gold once again in 2023/24. If he spends at least 60 days with Grand Rapids, he could earn a bonus worth up to $75K.
Denver’s roster is down to 18 players, the regular season limit.
Southwest Notes: Osman, Doncic, Mavs, Eason, Pelicans
Veteran forward Cedi Osman had spent all six of his NBA seasons with the Cavaliers prior to the July trade that sent him to San Antonio. He says he’s thrilled he landed with the Spurs, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).
“I was happy and celebrating that I would be here in San Antonio with this franchise,” Osman said. “When you step on the court and you see all those (championship) banners, you feel great. It’s another reason to work harder and do anything for this team.”
The 28-year-old, who is on an expiring $6.7MM contract, has impressed his head coach and teammates during training camp and preseason, according to Orsborn.
“He’s a pro,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s confident, a team player. He is just solid.”
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters on Friday that star guard Luka Doncic‘s recovery timeline remains to be determined, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). Kidd added that Doncic, who has a mild left calf strain, has resumed light on-court activities. Marc Stein previously reported that the Mavs were optimistic about Doncic’s availability for next week’s regular season opener.
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, Tim Cato writes that he’s more concerned about Doncic’s mysterious thigh injury than his mild calf strain. Cato also touches on a handful of other Mavericks-related topics, including which players he expects to close games.
- Second-year Rockets forward Tari Eason missed his third straight preseason game on Friday vs. Miami due to a bruised lower left leg. He’ll be examined this evening to determine if he’ll miss additional time with the injury, head coach Ime Udoka said (Twitter links via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
- Christian Clark of NOLA.com (subscriber link) provides some takeaways from the Pelicans‘ 1-3 preseason, writing that the offense — which ranked last in the league over those four games — remains a work in progress. Turnovers and spacing have been particularly problematic, according to Clark, who says New Orleans will miss sharpshooter Trey Murphy, who is expected to be sidelined until at least November following meniscus surgery.
Celtics Sign, Waive James Banks, Reginald Kissoonlal
The Celtics have signed and waived free agent centers James Banks and Reginald Kissoonlal, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. Both players will likely be heading to Maine to play for Boston’s G League affiliate.
Banks went undrafted in 2020 out of Georgia Tech. After spending 2020/21 — his first pro season — playing in Israel, the 25-year-old returned stateside and has been playing in the G League the past two seasons.
In 41 career regular season contests with the Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans’ affiliate) and the Texas Legends (Mavs’ affiliate), Banks has averaged 6.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 19.0 MPG.
Kissoonlal, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2019 out of Marian University. He spent his first three professional seasons in Europe prior to signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Celtics last fall. He was waived the same day. The 27-year-old averaged 5.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 1.2 BPG in 18 regular season games with the Maine Celtics in 2022/23 (10.6 MPG).
Boston now has 17 players under contract.
Hornets Sign Terrell Brown Jr.
The Hornets have signed free agent Terrell Brown Jr., per a team press release.
In a related move, Charlotte’s NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, acquired Brown’s returning player rights from the Memphis Hustle (the Grizzlies’ affiliate) earlier on Friday. That means Brown almost certainly signed an Exhibit 10 deal, which would entitle him to a $75K bonus if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the Swarm.
A 6’3″ guard, Brown went undrafted in 2022 after five college seasons with four different schools, the most recent being Washington. In 2021/22, he averaged 21.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.2 RPG and 2.2 SPG in 32 games for the Huskies (36.1 MPG).
Brown spent last season playing for the Hustle, 7.5 PPG, 3.9 APG and 2.1 RPG in 34 appearances between the Showcase Cup and the regular season (16.8 MPG).
The Hornets now have 21 players under contract, which is the preseason maximum.
Wolves Release D.J. Carton, Trevor Keels, Tyrese Martin
The Timberwolves have released D.J. Carton, Trevor Keels and Tyrese Martin, the team announced in a press release.
Carton, who went undrafted in 2021, was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal that would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate. He spent last season with Iowa, averaging 15.6 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 RPG and 1.2 SPG on .529/.365/.813 shooting in 25 regular season contests (31.0 MPG).
Keels also signed a training camp deal that featured an Exhibit 10 clause. The 42nd pick of last year’s draft spent 2022/23 on a two-way deal with the Knicks, appearing in three games with New York. He spent most of his rookie season in the G League with the Westchester Knicks.
The 51st overall pick in the 2022 draft, Martin was waived by Atlanta in July after appearing in just 16 games for the Hawks last season as a rookie. He scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his 66 total minutes at the NBA level.
Martin saw more frequent playing time for the College Park Skyhawks in the G League, averaging 18.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .503/.366/.805 shooting in 23 regular season contests (33.9 MPG) for Atlanta’s G League affiliate. It’s unclear what type of contract he signed with Minnesota.
The Wolves now have 17 players under contract, with 14 players on guaranteed standard deals and all three two-way spots filled.
Lakers Sign Quinndary Weatherspoon, Waive Louis King
7:35pm: The Lakers have officially signed Weatherspoon. In a related move, they have waived forward Louis King, the team’s PR department tweets.
5:03pm: The Lakers are signing free agent guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it seems likely that Weatherspoon will be signed to an Exhibit 10 contract, which would entitle to him a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate.
A former second-round pick (No. 49 overall in 2019), Weatherspoon played 42 NBA games with the Spurs and Warriors from 2019-22, with a modest average of 6.5 minutes per night. He was out of the league last season, having played professionally in China.
Weatherspoon most recently played for Israeli club Maccabi Ra’anana during the preseason, suiting up for a couple games while averaging 15.5 points and shooting 40% from three, Haynes notes.
The Lakers will have 18 players under contract once the signing is official, with 14 players on guaranteed standard deals and all three two-way slots filled.
Pelicans Exercise 2024/25 Options On Dyson Daniels, Trey Murphy
The Pelicans have picked up their 2024/25 team options on Dyson Daniels and Trey Murphy, the team announced in a press release.
Neither player will be impacted in ’23/24, but their salaries for the following year are now locked in. Daniels will earn $6,059,520 in his third season, while Murphy will make $5,159,854 in his fourth.
A 6’8″ guard who was the No. 8 overall pick last year, Daniels averaged 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.3 APG on .418/.314/.650 shooting in 59 games as a rookie in ’22/23 (11 starts, 17.7 MPG). The 20-year-old Australian is known more for his strong defense than his offense at this stage of his career.
Murphy, meanwhile, will now be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer after having his fourth-year option exercised.
The No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Murphy emerged as a full-time starter for New Orleans in ’22/23. He averaged 14.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 31.0 MPG across 79 appearances (65 starts), posting an impressive shooting line of .484/.406/.905.
Unfortunately, Murphy is currently sidelined a torn meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery. He’s expected to miss 10-to-12 weeks, with a rough return timeline of mid-November.
The full list of ’24/25 rookie scale team option decisions can be found right here.
Warriors Waive Javonte Green
The Warriors have waived Javonte Green, the team announced on Thursday (via Twitter).
Green, 30, has spent the past four seasons playing for Boston and Chicago. The 6’4″ guard/forward was limited to 32 games in 2022/23 due to a lingering right knee problem.
A strong athlete and defender who is limited offensively, Green holds career averages of 5.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .534/.342/.753 shooting in 186 regular season contests (15.8 MPG).
While it was previously reported that Green was expected to be waived and play for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s NBA G League affiliate, we later learned that he had signed an Exhibit 9 contract, not an Exhibit 10 deal. That means he may not be headed to Santa Cruz after all, and it’s unclear what’s next for the former Radford Highlander, who played four seasons in Europe from 2015-19 after going undrafted.
Knicks Waive Knight; Sign Diakite, Goodwin
4:18pm: Knight has officially been waived. The Knicks have also signed free agents Mamadi Diakite and Brandon Goodwin to Exhibit 10 contracts (Twitter links). New York now has 20 players under contract.
4:09pm: The Knicks are waiving big man Nathan Knight, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As Katz notes, Knight was signed to a two-way contract, and New York also recently waived Jaylen Martin, so the team now has a pair of two-way spots open.
Knight, who starred in college at William & Mary, has played in 108 NBA games over the past three seasons after going undrafted in 2020. He spent his rookie season with the Hawks on a two-way deal and spent the past two seasons with the Timberwolves.
The Wolves had a minimum-salary team option on Knight for the 2023/24 season but turned it down and opted not to issue him a qualifying offer, so he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He signed a two-way deal with the Knicks a couple weeks later.
The 26-year-old forward/center holds career averages of 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per night.
Bucks Sign Elijah Hughes, Kihei Clark To Camp Deals
The Bucks have added Elijah Hughes and Kihei Clark to their roster, with both players receiving training camp contracts, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. The signings are official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
A 6’5″ wing, Hughes was the No. 39 overall pick in 2020 after playing three seasons of college ball at East Carolina and Syracuse, respectively. He holds two years of NBA experience with the Jazz and Trail Blazers, averaging 2.9 points in 9.2 minutes (54 games) while struggling mightily with scoring efficiency (.328/.280/.769 slash line).
Hughes was out of the league in 2022/23, having signed a training camp deal with the Bucks to secure his G League rights for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate. He struggled with efficiency again during last fall’s Showcase Cup (.372/.284/.733 slash line in 14 games), but played better for the Herd in the regular season, averaging 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals on .426/.355/.853 shooting in 25 games (18 starts, 33.1 minutes).
Clark, meanwhile, went undrafted in June after five college seasons at Virginia. The 5’9″ guard averaged 10.7 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .399/.352/.767 shooting in 33 games (33.2 minutes) as a “super senior” in ’22/23.
Assuming Hughes and Clark signed Exhibit 10 deals, which seems likely, they would each be eligible for a $75K bonus if they’re waived before the season starts and spend at least 60 days with the Herd. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, and the Bucks do have a two-way opening after waiving Omari Moore.
The Bucks’ roster is now full, with 21 players under contract.