Two Cavaliers Trade Exceptions Expire
Two traded player exceptions created by the Cavaliers in last January’s acquisition of Kyle Korver expired this week, as expected. One of those two trade exceptions was already utilized by the Cavs in the offseason, and the amount left on it made it virtually impossible to use again. However, the other one, worth about $4.84MM, wasn’t used at all.
[RELATED: Outstanding NBA Trade Exceptions]
Despite letting those two trade exceptions expire, the Cavs remain well-stocked with TPEs in the event that they need one to make a deal at next month’s deadline. Most notably, they hold one worth approximately $5.81MM, which will be available until late August.
The following trade exceptions around the NBA will also expire if they’re not used by the February 8 trade deadline:
- Milwaukee Bucks: $5,000,000
- New Orleans Pelicans: $3,517,200
- Chicago Bulls: $1,589,480
- Dallas Mavericks: $1,514,160
- Milwaukee Bucks: $1,151,241 (expires on February 2)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $980,431
- Dallas Mavericks: $621,362
- Washington Wizards: $425,973
- Portland Trail Blazers: $407,210
- Toronto Raptors: $328,000
While they won’t expire until sometime in the offseason, the Trail Blazers ($12.97MM), Raptors ($11.8MM), and Clippers ($7.27MM) also have sizable trade exceptions worth keeping an eye on. Still, all three of those clubs have potential luxury tax concerns, so they’re unlikely to take on big salaries at the deadline without sending out any money.
For more information on how trade exceptions work, be sure to check out our glossary entry on the subject.
Bucks, Others Eyeing Andrew Bogut
At least two teams have reached out to Andrew Bogut‘s camp this week to express interest in the veteran center, reports Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. According to Woelfel, the Bucks weren’t one of those two clubs, but Milwaukee also has interest in Bogut, and the front office has “thoroughly” discussed the pros and cons of signing him.
Waived over the weekend by the Lakers before his 2017/18 salary became fully guaranteed, Bogut cleared waivers on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent. He’s now free to sign with any team, though he’s unlikely to make a decision until at least Wednesday, per Woelfel. It’s possible it will take even longer than that for Bogut to land with a new club.
Bogut, 33, was selected first overall in the 2005 draft by the Bucks and spent the first seven years of his NBA career in Milwaukee. During that stretch, he averaged 12.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 408 regular season games for the franchise. If Bogut were to return to the Bucks at this point, the team wouldn’t be expecting him to produce at that same level — he’d likely be relied on for part-time minutes up front, where Milwaukee could use some rebounding and rim-protecting help.
The Bucks lost one big man earlier this season when they sent Greg Monroe to Phoenix, and have reportedly been considering a potential veteran addition to complement Thon Maker and John Henson in the frontcourt. The club has been linked to possible trade candidates like DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler, among others.
Bucks Convert Kilpatrick’s Deal, Waive Bolomboy
9:18pm: Both moves are official, the team announced in a press release.
4:32pm: The Bucks will convert guard Sean Kilpatrick‘s two-way contract into a regular season deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The shooting guard signed on with the club on December 18 and has seen action in five games since.
To free up a regular roster slot, the club will waive Joel Bolomboy whose own two-way deal had been converted into a regular season contract earlier today.
With Bolomboy out of the picture, Kilpatrick will slide into the vacancy that was initially created earlier this morning when the team waived DeAndre Liggins ahead of the deadline for his deal to become guaranteed.
All in all, both Liggins and Bolomboy are out of the picture, Kilpatrick will be Milwaukee’s 15th regular season contract, Munford was added on a two-way deal and the other two-way slot remains vacant.
Possible Strategy Behind Bolomboy Posturing
- While they haven’t said so specifically, the Bucks may have strategically converted and waived Joel Bolomboy earlier today to dissuade teams from scooping him up off of waivers, Matt Velasquez of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. As things stand, a team will need to sign him for the remainder of the season if they claim him.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/7/2018
Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Lakers recalled rookie center Thomas Bryant from their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers so he could play in tonight’s game, per a press release. Bryant has appeared in two NBA games this season. Bryant has appeared in two games for the Lakers this season. With South Bay, Bryant has averaged 21.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 29.7 minutes per game.
- The Bucks have recalled D.J. Wilson from their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, the team announced in a press release. Wilson has appeared in 12 games with Milwaukee this season.
- After recalling the duo on Saturday, the Kings re-assigned Justin Jackson and Georgios Papagiannis to the G League on Sunday, per RealGM’s transactions log. The duo helped lead the Reno Bighorns to a victory, combining for 43 points and 20 rebounds.
- A pair of Celtics, Abdel Nader and Guerschon Yabusele, headed to the G League on Sunday, according to RealGM’s transactions log. The two youngsters suited up for the Maine Red Claws in Sunday’s loss to the Raptors 905.
Bucks Waive DeAndre Liggins
JANUARY 7, 10:46am: Milwaukee has officially requested waivers on Liggins, the team announced on its website.
JANUARY 6, 8:30pm: The Bucks plan to waive guard DeAndre Liggins before Sunday’s deadline to guarantee his salary for the season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Liggins played 31 games for Milwaukee and had his greatest impact on defense, Wojnarowski notes. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per night.
The move not only opens a roster spot, it will put the Bucks $5.1MM below the luxury tax, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Liggins’ contract will carry a $757,427 cap hit once the waiver becomes official. Milwaukee also has trade exceptions valued at $5MM and $3.4MM.
The Bucks acquired Liggins in October when they claimed him off waivers from the Heat. Since last April, the 29-year-old has spent time with the Cavaliers, Mavericks, Rockets, Clippers, Hawks, Heat and Bucks.
A two-time G League Defensive Player of the Year, Liggins had his best NBA season last year in Cleveland, averaging 2.4 points in 61 games.
Bucks To Sign Xavier Munford To Two-Way Deal
The Bucks will sign guard Xavier Munford to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. Munford is currently playing for the organization’s G League affiliate, where he is averaging 24 points per game.
Milwaukee already has both of its two-way slots filled with Joel Bolomboy and Sean Kilpatrick, so at least one more move will have to be made before Munford can be added. Either player could be released or have his contract converted to a standard NBA deal as the Bucks plan to open a roster spot by waiving guard DeAndre Liggins on Sunday.
Munford signed with the Bucks in early October, but was waived a week later. He has extensive experience in the G League since going undrafted in 2014, but his only time in the NBA was 14 games with the Grizzlies during the 2015/16 season.
Bucks Recall Jabari Parker From G League
- The Bucks assigned forward D.J. Wilson to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, according to a press release. This is the third G League assignment for Wilson, who has appeared in 11 games with Milwaukee and two games for the Herd.
- A day after being assigned to the G League, Jabari Parker has been recalled by the Bucks, the team announced today (via Twitter). Parker, who continues to rehab his ACL injury and remains on track for a February return, practiced with the Wisconsin Herd on Monday.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/1/18
Here are the G-League moves from around the NBA today:
- The Bucks assigned forward Jabari Parker to their affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, to continue his rehabilitation process. Parker suffered a torn ACL in February. The club is hopeful Parker can make his season debut next month.
NBA Competition Committee To Review Out-Of-Bounds Replays
Just last week we highlighted how the growing tension between NBA players and officials had gotten to a point where leaders of their respective unions felt compelled to meet. Then, in response to an NBA Officiating Last Two Minute Report, LeBron James came out and stated that the issue irking him most about the officiating is when an official refuses to acknowledge that an infraction occurred (per Dave McMenamin of ESPN).
Now, based at least in large part on a call missed by the officials during the Bucks win over the Thunder on Friday night, the NBA’s competition committee will look into making missed out-of-bounds calls replayable, according to Royce Young of ESPN.
The controversial non-call occurred with less than 5.0 seconds remaining in the game. The Bucks called timeout and set up a play for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who spun around Josh Huestis and finished with a dunk over Russell Westbrook. However, replays visible in the arena clearly showed that Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds on his way to the hoop.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, the officials were not permitted to review the play because it did not meet the criteria to trigger a review. In order for a review to be triggered under the current replay system, the officials would have needed to make a call on the floor signaling that Antetokounmpo was out of bounds.
As succinctly explained by head official Derrick Stafford after Friday’s game, “In any reviewable matter, there has to be a whistle called on the floor. There was no whistle blown for the play, so we couldn’t review it.”
The NBA’s competition committee will meet in March to discuss this and other issues, but a change, if any, would not be implemented until the 2018-19 season.