Magic Converting Colin Castleton To Two-Way Deal
The Magic are converting center Colin Castleton‘s Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
As our tracker shows, Orlando has a two-way opening, so no corresponding move will be necessary to promote Castleton, who signed his non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal with the Magic in late August.
A Florida native who spent the final three years of his college career at UF, Castleton went undrafted in 2023 and spent 2023/24 — his rookie season — on a two-way contract with the Lakers.
Castleton was waived by L.A. shortly before the ’24/25 campaign began, but quickly caught on with Memphis on another two-way deal. He was released by the Grizzlies in January.
After spending a few months in the G League, the 25-year-old big man inked a pair of 10-day deals with Toronto in March before joining the 76ers on a 10-day pact in early April. The Raptors re-signed him to a two-year standard contract on the final day of the regular season, but the second year was non-guaranteed, and he was cut in late July.
In 26 total appearances for Memphis, Philadelphia and Toronto last season, Castleton averaged 4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.
As a two-way player, Castleton can be active for up to 50 of Orlando’s 82 regular season games. He will earn will earn $636,435 in 2025/26 — that figure will be non-guaranteed until January and does not count against the salary cap.
Roster Moves: A. Scott, Cooke, Council, Carey, Hunter
The Celtics have signed wing Aaron Scott to an Exhibit 10 contract, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Scott went undrafted earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent.
After spending three college seasons at North Texas, Scott transferred to St. John’s for his senior year. In 36 appearances with the Red Storm in 2024/25, he averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 27.2 minutes per game. His shooting slash line was .389/.293/.813.
While those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, college coaches who spoke to The Athletic in June viewed Scott as a “deep sleeper” who could potentially work his way onto an NBA roster at some point.
Here are a few more transactions from around the NBA:
- The Trail Blazers have waived Javonte Cooke, the team announced in a press release. He had been signed to an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp and preseason. A 6’6″ shooting guard, Cooke has played primarily in the G League since 2022, with a stint in Canada for the Brampton Honey Badgers in 2024. The 26-year-old made 42 appearances for the Oklahoma City Blue last season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game while converting 42.4% of his shots from the floor, including 33.5% of his three-point attempts.
- Portland’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, acquired Cooke’s returning rights in a trade with the Blue earlier this week. While that would typically signify a player is headed to the NBAGL to open the season, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report hears the Blazers are still considering Cooke for their vacant two-way spot, so there’s a chance he could re-sign with Portland (Twitter link).
- The Rockets have signed a trio of free agents, according to Smith, who tweets that the team has added Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Hunter. All three players will soon be waived, sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). High-flying wing Council spent the past two years with Philadelphia. He was waived by the 76ers in late July and was reportedly going to sign with the Nets, but that deal fell through. Carey, a 24-year-old center, was the No. 32 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He holds three years of NBA experience and last played professionally in Turkey. Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, went undrafted out of Memphis in June. As a senior last season, he averaged 13.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774.
- With the possible exception of Cooke, all of these players will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re released and spend at least 60 days with their respective clubs’ G League affiliates.
Bulls Waive Yuki Kawamura, Sign Trentyn Flowers
7:10 pm: Flowers is officially a Bull, according to the team (Twitter link via Lorenzi).
5:33 pm: The Bulls have waived two-way guard Yuki Kawamura, the team announced (via Twitter).
According to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link), the Bulls’ PR department specified that Kawamura was released due to a medical condition. As Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic tweets, the Japanese point guard had quickly become a fan favorite in Chicago, but was ruled out earlier this preseason due to right lower leg pain.
The Bulls will fill their two-way vacancy by signing Trentyn Flowers, agents Mike Silverman and Troy Payne tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Flowers, a 6’7″ wing, spent 2024/25 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal with the Clippers. He only played a total of 27 minutes in six appearances with the Clips, but was a regular contributor for their G League affiliate in San Diego. In 42 combined games (30.7 MPG) with San Diego, Flowers averaged 17.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 1.9 APG, with a shooting line of .475/.385/.740.
The Clippers tendered Flowers a two-way qualifying offer in June, which he quickly accepted, locking in a partial guarantee worth $85,300. However, the 20-year-old was cut a few days ago and cleared waivers, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Kawamura, who had been the shortest active player in the league at 5’8″, was a star in Japan before signing an Exhibit 10 deal with Memphis last fall. He was promoted to a two-way contract just before ’24/25 began and spent his rookie season with the Grizzlies, playing a modest role in 22 games (4.2 MPG).
The 24-year-old received extended run with the Memphis Hustle, averaging 12.7 PPG, 8.5 APG, 3.1 RPG and 1.0 SPG on .383/.365/.761 shooting in 31 games (31.6 MPG). The Grizzlies didn’t give him a QO though, and he was an UFA for a few weeks prior to impressing with the Bulls’ Summer League team, earning himself a two-way deal.
Chicago will have 18 players under contract once Flowers’ agreement is finalized.
Jazz Waive Mo Bamba, Pedro Bradshaw, Sean East II
The Jazz have waived Mo Bamba, Pedro Bradshaw and Sean East II, the team announced in a press release.
All three players were signed to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deals and are candidates to open the 2025/26 season with the Salt Lake City Stars. Each player is now eligible for a bonus worth $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Jazz’s G League affiliate.
Bamba, a 7’0″ center, was a one-and-done prospect after playing his college ball for Texas. He holds seven years of NBA experience, mostly with Orlando, the team that selected him sixth overall in the 2018 draft.
The Magic traded Bamba to the Lakers in February 2023, and he was cut by Los Angeles that summer. The 27-year-old spent 2023/24 on a minimum-salary deal with the Sixers and signed the same sort of contract last summer with the Clippers.
The Clips traded Bamba to Utah in February as part of a salary-dump deal involving P.J. Tucker. The Jazz waived Bamba the following day.
Bamba spent some time in the G League with the Pelicans’ affiliate while looking for another NBA opportunity and found one on March 10, when he signed a 10-day deal with New Orleans. He was unable to secure another guaranteed contract after that deal expired.
Bradshaw and East were signed a few days ago. Bradshaw played in Australia and Germany last season, while East played in Canada and Romania. Neither has appeared in a regular season NBA game to this point in their careers.
Utah’s roster is theoretically set for the regular season, with 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts and all three two-way spots filled.
Bucks Sign, Waive Johnny Davis, Jeremiah Tilmon
October 17, 4:23 pm: As expected, Davis and Tilmon have been waived, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
October 17, 7:38 am: In addition to finalizing their deal with Davis, the Bucks also signed center Jeremiah Tilmon, according to the NBA transaction log at RealGM.
Tilmon has bounced around the G League and a handful of non-NBA leagues around the world since going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021, most recently playing for the Shenzhen Leopards in China during the 2024/25 season. Like Davis, he almost certainly signed an Exhibit 10 contract and is likely on track to join the Wisconsin Herd.
October 16: Former lottery pick Johnny Davis has agreed to a contract with the Bucks, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Davis will almost certainly sign an Exhibit 10 deal and be waived by Saturday. In that scenario, he would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Davis, who grew up in La Crosse and played his college ball at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Davis, 23, was the 10th overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft after a pair of college seasons with the Badgers. The 6’5″ shooting guard never lived up to that lofty draft status in parts of three seasons with the Wizards, who traded him to Memphis in February. He was released by the Grizzlies a couple weeks later after he didn’t appear in a game with the team.
Davis finished last season in the NBAGL with New York’s affiliate team in Westchester. He went unsigned throughout the offseason prior to this agreement with the Bucks.
In 112 career games with Washington, Davis averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .397/.273/.561.
The Bucks have a pair of roster openings and don’t need to waive anyone to add Davis.
Mavericks Release Banton, Robinson-Earl, Smith
The Mavericks have requested waivers on Dalano Banton, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Dennis Smith Jr., the team announced today (Twitter link).
All three NBA veterans were on non-guaranteed contracts for training camp. Banton’s deal contained both Exhibit 9 and Exhibit 10 language, meaning he’s now eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he reports to the Texas Legends and spends at least 60 days with Dallas’ G League affiliate.
Robinson-Earl and Smith, meanwhile, were on Exhibit 9 deals, protecting the Mavs in the event of an injury to either player, which thankfully did not occur.
Banton was the 46th overall pick in the 2021 draft and has played in 216 regular season games for Toronto, Boston and Portland over the past four seasons. In ’24/25, he made a career-high 67 appearances, averaging 8.3 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .391/.324/.728.
The Canadian guard looked like a relative long shot to make Dallas’ roster, given that he was signed a week after training camp had gotten underway.
Robinson-Earl, a 6’9″ forward/center, was also selected in the second round of 2021 (32nd overall) and has appeared in 197 regular season contests for Oklahoma City and New Orleans over the past four seasons. In ’24/25, he averaged 6.3 PPG and 4.8 RPG in a career-best 66 games (18.8 MPG) for the Pelicans, posting a shooting slash line of .455/.341/.836.
Robinson-Early had by far the largest role of the three players during preseason, appearing in all four games for the Mavs while averaging 7.3 PPG and 4.0 MPG in 12.2 MPG.
Despite being out of the NBA last season, Smith is undoubtedly the most familiar face for Mavs fans. Dallas selected the 6’2″ guard No. 9 overall back in 2017, but wound up trading him to New York during his second season as part of the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster.
Smith has developed into a strong point-of-attack defender, but has struggled to score efficiently throughout his seven-year career. He drew praise from head coach Jason Kidd multiple times during training camp.
The moves seemingly indicate that the Mavs intend to keep guards Dante Exum and Brandon Williams on their standard roster. Exum’s minimum-salary contract is fully guaranteed, but he has dealt with a right knee injury during training camp and preseason and could miss extended time.
While Williams’ deal is only partially guaranteed for $200K in 2025/26, Dallas has been encouraged by the 25-year-old’s development over the past couple seasons, having promoted him from a two-way deal at the end of ’24/25.
The Mavs now have 18 players under contract.
Injury Notes: Embiid, George, Sabonis, Chomche, Ivey
Sixers star Joel Embiid may or may not be available for Friday’s preseason finale against Minnesota, but there’s a good chance he’ll suit up for Philadelphia’s regular season opener next week, Chris Haynes reported on NBA TV (Twitter video link).
According to Haynes, the 76ers plan to be “very cautious” with Embiid throughout the season. The veteran NBA insider added that he does not expect the 31-year-old center to play in back-to-backs in 2025/26.
While Sixers forward Paul George is expected to be sidelined for next Wednesday’s season opener vs. Boston, he has made “significant progress” in his recovery from offseason knee surgery and likely won’t miss many games beyond that, league sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN. George won’t return until he feels fully healthy, Charania added on NBA Today (Twitter video link).
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Kings center Domantas Sabonis suffered a right hamstring injury in Wednesday’s preseason loss. Haynes hears (via Twitter) the three-time All-Star has a “mild” strain and has been ruled out of Friday’s preseason finale vs. the Lakers. Despite the relatively positive update, Matt George of ABC 10 thinks the Lithuanian big man will likely miss some time to start the season (Twitter link).
- Second-year center Ulrich Chomche, who was on a two-way deal with Toronto prior to being waived by the Raptors on Thursday, has been referred to the NBA’s fitness-to-play panel, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Chomche has been dealing with an unspecified health issue that prevented him from participating in training camp and preseason, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.
- Pistons guard Jaden Ivey underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on Thursday after his 2024/25 campaign was cut short due to a broken left fibula. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said there was no single incident that led to the procedure, writes Vincent Goodwill of ESPN.com. “It was something that was developing over his work. Obviously, from coming back but in training camp also, he started to feel something,” Bickerstaff said before Detroit’s final preseason game against the Wizards. “We took precautions, and then the medical team did their assessments and those things, and then had to make the decision that ultimately led us to where we are today.” The Pistons plan to be cautious with Ivey’s recovery process, according to Bickerstaff.
Knicks Sign, Waive Romeo Langford, Adama Bal, Ibrahima Diallo
The Knicks continue to make changes at the back end of their offseason roster, announcing in a series of press releases that they have signed and waived Romeo Langford, Adama Bal and Ibrahima Diallo (Twitter links for each transaction here).
All three received Exhibit 10 deals, making each player eligible for a bonus (worth up to $85,300) on top of his G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with the Westchester Knicks.
Langford, a 6’5″ wing who turns 26 years old next week, holds four years of NBA experience, having been selected 14th overall in the 2019 draft. However, he has been out of the league for the past two seasons, last suiting up for the Spurs during the 2022/23 campaign.
Langford spent the 2023/24 season in the NBAGL with the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.7 APG on .462/.371/.697 shooting in 30 games (26.9 MPG). He had a brief stint last fall with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, but mutually agreed to part ways with the French club in late November and hasn’t been on a team since then.
French guard Bal played a minor role for Arizona for two years prior to transferring to Santa Clara ahead of the ’23/24 campaign. He was a full-time starter for the Broncos over the past two seasons, averaging 13.7 PPG, 3.1 APG and 2.9 RPG on .426/.366/.808 shooting in 60 games over that span (3o.7 MPG).
Bal went undrafted in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Diallo, who is from Senegal, played five college seasons with three different schools, the last of which was UCF in ’23/24. He wasn’t selected in last year’s NBA draft but was picked 13th overall by the Austin Spurs in the G League draft last fall. The 25-year-old big man appeared in 32 regular season games with Austin, averaging 5.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 2.1 BPG in 19.4 MPG.
Extensions Not Expected For Hawks’ Young, Suns’ Williams
The Hawks will not sign star point guard Trae Young to an extension before the season begins, league sources tell Fred Katz and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise — Jake Fischer reported a couple months ago that the two sides weren’t expected to discuss an extension during the offseason. Katz and Vardon say the Hawks want to see how the new-look roster meshes before making a potential long-term commitment to the four-time All-Star.
Young admitted late last month that he was a little disappointed about entering training camp without an extension in place, but also said he was focused on the present and wouldn’t let the lack of a new deal be a distraction.
Young is coming off a 2024/25 season in which he played 76 games (36.0 minutes per contest) while averaging 24.2 points, a league-high 11.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals, with a shooting line of .411/.340/.875.
There’s no real urgency to extend Young from Atlanta’s perspective. While he could become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he declines his player option (worth about $49MM) for 2026/27, he will remain extension-eligible throughout the ’25/26 league year. Signing an in-season extension would also require Young to decline that option.
Whether they sign him to a rookie scale extension before Monday’s deadline or re-sign him as a restricted free agent in 2026, the Hawks feel good about their chances of retaining Most Improved Player winner Dyson Daniels, according to Katz and Vardon.
In other extension news, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 cautions (via Twitter) not to expect a rookie scale deal for Suns center Mark Williams. The former Duke big man has frequently been injured over his first three seasons, appearing in a total of just 106 games, and Phoenix appears likely to use ’25/26 to evaluate his fit after acquiring him in a summer trade with Charlotte.
Fischer reported last week that the Suns were considered unlikely to sign Williams to an extension. If no deal is reached, the 23-year-old would be a restricted free agent next summer, assuming he’s given a qualifying offer.
Knicks Sign, Waive Donovan Williams, Isaiah Roby
The Knicks signed Donovan Williams to an Exhibit 10 contract on Thursday evening and subsequently waived him a little over an hour later (all Twitter links from the team).
Williams, who is now eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Westchester Knicks, spent part of 2022/23 on a two-way contract with the Hawks, but has otherwise spent the past three seasons playing in the G League, Canada and China.
A 6’6″ wing, Williams appeared in 35 total games (30.3 minutes per contest) for Westchester last season, averaging 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists on .465/.382/.744 shooting. The 24-year-old, whose agreement with the Knicks was first reported at the beginning of October, also had recent stints with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
To make room on their offseason roster for Williams, the Knicks waived veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon, who surprisingly announced his retirement on Wednesday despite reportedly being on track to make New York’s regular season roster. The former Rookie of the Year (2017) and Sixth Man of the Year (2023) winner was on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal for training camp.
The Knicks have also signed and waived former second-round pick Isaiah Roby, per the team (Twitter links). As with Williams, Roby is likely headed back to Westchester after spending last season in Germany with Ratiopharm Ulm.
A 6’8″ power forward who has also been used as a small-ball center, Roby averaged 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks on .457/.375/.633 shooting in 26 games with Weschester during the ’23/24 campaign.
Roby, 27, has made 151 career NBA appearances over four total seasons with the Thunder and Spurs (18.9 MPG), averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .485/.351/.675 shooting. He signed with the Knicks at the end of the ’22/23 season, but didn’t appear in any games for New York.