Warriors Convert Ty Jerome, Anthony Lamb To Two-Way Contracts
The Warriors have made a series of roster moves in advance of the regular season deadline, announcing that they’ve converted guard Ty Jerome and swingman Anthony Lamb to two-way contracts while waiving guards Jerome Robinson and Pat Spencer (Twitter links).
All four players were in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, which can be converted to two-way deals or can make a player eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate. Robinson and Spencer look like candidates to take the latter route and join the Santa Cruz Warriors if they clear waivers.
The 24th pick in the 2019 draft, Jerome spent his rookie season with the Suns before being sent to the Thunder as part of the Chris Paul trade. The 6’5″ guard, who helped Virginia win an NCAA championship in 2018/19, spent the last two seasons with Oklahoma City, averaging 8.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 2.6 RPG on .410/.353/.790 shooting in 81 total games with the Thunder (19.6 MPG). He was traded to Houston last month and was subsequently waived by the Rockets.
Lamb went undrafted out of Vermont in 2020 and signed a two-way contract with the Rockets during the ’20/21 season, appearing in 24 games (17.3 MPG) while averaging 5.5 PPG and 2.9 RPG on .390/.324/.857 shooting. He spent most of last season in the G League with Houston’s affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, averaging 17.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.3 BPG on .466/.390/.757 shooting in 31 regular season games (34.4 MPG).
Jerome and Lamb will provide depth in the Warriors’ backcourt and are eligible to play in up to 50 regular season games on their two-way deals. They’ll earn $508,891 apiece this season.
While it’s possible Golden State will sign-and-waive more players on Saturday, the team’s roster looks fairly set for the regular season. The Warriors will keep the 15th spot on their standard roster open to start the year, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Jazz Waive Stanley Johnson
The Jazz have waived forward Stanley Johnson, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News (Twitter link).
The Jazz are facing a roster crunch with 17 players on guaranteed standard contracts, and with the regular season limit set at 15, they’ll need to release at least one more player by October 17. Utah will be on the hook for Johnson’s fully guaranteed $2,351,521 salary in 2022/23 if he goes unclaimed on the waiver wire.
Johnson was acquired by the Jazz as a salary-matching piece in the trade that saw Talen Horton-Tucker head to Utah, with Patrick Beverley sent to the Lakers. As Danny Leroux of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), the Lakers cannot sign Johnson for the rest of the league year due to a rule in the collective bargaining agreement.
According to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), the Jazz tried to deal Johnson this week and were unable to find any takers despite playing decently for Los Angeles last season and having some good moments for Utah during preseason.
He averaged 6.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 APG and 0.9 SPG on .466/.314/.716 shooting in 48 games (27 starts, 22.8 MPG) for the Lakers in ’21/22.
The eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Johnson has played for the Pistons, Pelicans and Raptors in addition to the Lakers. His relative lack of an offensive game is the main reason why he struggled to find an NBA contract last season before landing a 10-day hardship deal with Chicago last December (he never played for the Bulls), then multiple 10-day deals and later a two-year contract with the Lakers.
Justin Champagnie Earns Raptors’ 15th Roster Spot
Justin Champagnie has won the training camp battle for the Raptors‘ 15th and final standard roster spot, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
Toronto has waived the three other contenders for the last spot on the 15-man roster, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Those players are Josh Jackson, D.J. Wilson and Gabe Brown, and they’ll clear waivers on Monday, assuming they go unclaimed.
Champagnie, 21, went undrafted last year after starring in two college seasons at Pitt. He signed a two-way deal with the Raptors as a rookie, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per night in 36 games last season.
Though his role with the NBA club was modest, Champagnie averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks on .489/.409/.778 shooting in 14 regular season games (35.9 minutes) for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, and clearly made a strong impression on the organization. His contract was previously partially guaranteed for $325K, but now he’s set to have his $1,637,966 deal for 2022/23 fully guaranteed.
Wilson had a $250K partial guarantee on his deal, and the Raptors will be on the hook for that amount. Jackson’s deal was non-guaranteed, as was Brown’s, but unlike Jackson, Brown signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he will earn a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905.
Wolves Converting Luka Garza To Two-Way Deal
10:50pm: Lawson will be waived to make room for Garza, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Minnesota was high on Lawson, but didn’t want to lose Garza, per Krawczynski.
10:26pm: The Timberwolves are signing center Luka Garza to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While Charania says “signing,” Garza is already under contract with the team, so the Wolves are technically converting his Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal. Minnesota’s two-way slots are currently occupied by A.J. Lawson and Eric Paschall, so they’ll need to waive one of them in order to convert Garza.
Garza, 23, was selected by the Pistons with the 52nd overall pick in the 2021 draft and spent his rookie season in Detroit, averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 32 games (12.2 MPG). He was a standout for the Motor City Cruise, Detroit’s G League affiliate, putting up 20.6 PPG and 9.5 RPG in 16 games (29.8 MPG) and earning a spot on the All-NBAGL Third Team.
The former Iowa star’s contract with the Pistons was for two years, but the 2022/23 season was a team option, which Detroit declined, making him an unrestricted free agent. Garza signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Wolves in August.
Wolves head coach Chris Finch recently stated that he likes what Garza has brought to the team during training camp.
“He’s the perfect system fit for us. Great acquisition by our front office,” Finch said. “He’s a guy I think can really grow into our system here. He can stretch the floor and he can score around the basket. That’s a great combo. Not a lot of bigs can do that.”
Sixers Guarantee Paul Reed’s Contract For 2022/23
Paul Reed has had his $1,782,621 salary for the 2022/23 season fully guaranteed by the Sixers, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As Wojnarowski observes (via Twitter), Philadelphia technically didn’t have to make a decision on Reed’s deal until January, but the team opted to guarantee it a few months early. Reed will be a restricted free agent in 2023 if he’s extended a $2,228,276 qualifying offer.
The 23-year-old was the 58th overall pick of the 2020 draft after three college seasons with DePaul. He has had a minor role at the NBA level to this point, averaging 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per contest in 64 games over the past two seasons.
However, Reed has been a star for the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers’ G League affiliate. He has averaged 22.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks on .582/.436/.725 shooting in 24 NBA GL games (31.6 minutes) since he was drafted two years ago.
The 6’9″ big man has served as the primary backup center to Joel Embiid during preseason over veteran Montrezl Harrell, though head coach Doc Rivers said on Wednesday that the two will split time behind Embiid, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).
Reed was in a training camp battle with Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey for the 14th spot on the 15-man standard roster. The Sixers ended up waiving both Joe and Bassey yesterday, and it appears as though they’ll keep the 15th spot open for now to maintain roster and financial flexibility.
Bulls Convert Kostas Antetokounmpo To Two-Way Contract
The Bulls have signed forward Kostas Antetokounmpo to a two-way contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).
Technically, Antetokounmpo, who was in camp with the Bulls on an Exhibit 10 contract, had that deal converted into a two-way pact. Teams are allowed to turn Exhibit 10s into two-ways at any time up until October 17, assuming the player meets the two-way criteria. Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, has just three years of NBA experience, so he fits the bill.
Although he has appeared in NBA games in three separate seasons, Antetokounmpo has never played a regular rotation role during previous stops with the Mavericks and Lakers. The 24-year-old has logged just 87 total minutes in 22 games, putting up 21 points and 23 rebounds during his limited action.
Malcolm Hill and Justin Lewis had previously held the Bulls’ two-way contract slots. The Bulls haven’t announced that they’ve waived either player, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago suggests that Lewis, who sustained an ACL injury this summer, will be the odd man out. Lewis will remain around the team during his recovery process, Johnson writes.
In other Bulls roster news, the club has signed former NBA forward Okaro White to a contract, per RealGM’s transaction log. White is still listed as part of the roster on the team’s official website, but will likely be waived in the next 24 hours or so and eventually join the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League team.
Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw Hired By Iowa Wolves
Hoops Rumors staff writer and reporter JD Shaw is leaving our writing team for a position as a basketball operations associate with the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves‘ G League affiliate, he announced today (via Twitter).
JD has been with Hoops Rumors since September of 2018, publishing more than 1,200 posts on the website during that time.
He has also broken many news stories over the years and conducted several in-depth interviews with NBA players and prospects, including Omer Yurtseven (story) and Freddie Gillespie (story), among others.
We here at Hoops Rumors wish JD the best of luck in his new role with the Wolves!
Lakers Will Try Bringing Westbrook Off Bench In Preseason Finale
The Lakers will have Russell Westbrook come off the bench in their preseason finale against the Kings on Friday night, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin, who say that lineup decision could carry over into the regular season, depending on how it goes.
As ESPN’s duo explains, the Lakers believe Westbrook could be a better fit as the “quarterback” of the second unit, which would allow him to have the ball in his hands more.
The former MVP and Lakers head coach Darvin Ham have had talks throughout the offseason about the possibility of him playing a Sixth Man role, and revisited that discussion on Thursday, sources tell Wojnarowski and McMenamin.
Westbrook struggled last season in his first year as a Laker, and is still trying to establish chemistry with stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. When all three players are on the court together, L.A. generally wants its offense to run more through James and Davis, so moving Westbrook to the second unit could give him a better chance to thrive — the team envisions him playing “faster and freer” in that role, per ESPN’s report.
Westbrook hasn’t come off the bench since early in his rookie season in 2008, having started over 1,000 consecutive regular season games since then.
The Lakers are experimenting with a number of different starting lineups during the preseason as they try to find the best fits for James and Davis. With Westbrook coming off the bench on Friday, Los Angeles will be using its sixth starting lineup in six games.
Here are a couple more notes on the Lakers and their point guards:
- Westbrook brushed off a pair of viral videos that appeared to show him not joining his Lakers teammates in on-court huddles and dismissed the idea that there’s any discord in the team’s ranks, as McMenamin writes at ESPN.com. “Honestly I’m just trying to compete and do my job. Everything, videos, get nitpicked. You can cut any video and make anything you want out of it,” Westbrook said. “It’s not up to me to be able to judge that. I know I’m a genuine team player. I’ve never had a problem being with my teammates, so I’m going to continue doing what I’ve been doing.”
- Lakers guard Dennis Schröder is dealing with a finger injury and his status for next week’s regular season opener is up in the air, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Schröder won’t play vs. Sacramento on Friday as he undergoes more testing on the finger. The injury is on Schröder’s right hand, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, who says (via Twitter) doctors are still determining whether the veteran can play through the injury or if it will need more time to heal.
Sixers Waive Charles Bassey, Isaiah Joe
5:37pm: The Sixers have officially announced in a press release that they’ve waived Bassey and Joe.
8:32am: The Sixers are also waiving Joe, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). With Joe’s non-guaranteed $1.78MM salary no longer on the books, the team will have more than $5.5MM in breathing room below its hard cap, tweets Bodner.
Joe appeared in 55 games for the 76ers last season, averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .350/.333/.935 shooting in 11.1 MPG.
The two cuts will give the Sixers the option of opening the season with just 14 players on their standard roster or of adding a 15th man (including perhaps Joe) on a new non-guaranteed contract.
Joe’s previous deal called for his full 2022/23 salary to become guaranteed if he made the opening night roster, so Philadelphia theoretically could re-sign him on a more team-friendly contract if he passes through waivers, though it’s unclear if that’s in the plans. The team also may have interest in bringing him back on a two-way deal, says Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.
8:18am: The Sixers have waived big man Charles Bassey, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
The 53rd overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Western Kentucky, Bassey signed a three-year, minimum-salary contract with Philadelphia last September, then appeared in 23 games as a rookie, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per contest. He played a starring role when assigned to the G League, averaging 18.9 PPG and 10.3 RPG in 17 regular season games (28.6 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats.
Although Bassey’s contract ran through 2024, it wasn’t fully guaranteed beyond his rookie season, making his grip on a roster spot tenuous this fall. Isaiah Joe‘s strong Summer League showing and the Sixers’ decision to sign Montrezl Harrell a month ago to fill out their frontcourt also didn’t work in his favor, making Bassey the odd man out.
Assuming Bassey clears waivers without being claimed, the 76ers will be on the hook for his partial guarantee of $74,742. Because that guarantee exceeds $50K, he’s ineligible to play for the Delaware Blue Coats – Philadelphia’s G League team – as an affiliate player or two-way player.
A team with interest in claiming Bassey off waivers would need a trade exception, disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his $1,563,518 salary. Even though he’s earning the minimum, the fact that Bassey was on a three-year contract means he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception.
With Bassey and Trevelin Queen out of the picture, Philadelphia looks poised to carry a 15-man roster that features 13 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Paul Reed and possibly Joe on non-guaranteed deals. The Sixers’ team salary is now approximately $3.76MM below the hard cap, tweets Derek Bodner of The Daily Six.
Blazers’ Payton To Miss Start Of Regular Season
Gary Payton II, who signed a three-year contract with the Trail Blazers in July, won’t be available for the start of the regular season next week, the team announced today in a press release.
Payton, who underwent core muscle surgery this summer, will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the Blazers. That means, even if he’s ready to return at that point, he’ll miss Portland’s first five games of the season.
When the Blazers first announced Payton’s procedure in September, they indicated that they expected him to be ready for opening night. That won’t happen, but the team said in today’s statement that Payton “continues to progress well” in his rehab, so it doesn’t sound like he has experienced any setbacks.
It’s possible Payton’s absence will open the door for rookie Shaedon Sharpe to play regular minutes to start the season. Wings Nassir Little and Justise Winslow should also see an uptick in playing time.
In addition to their injury update on Payton, the Blazers also put out a press release announcing that center Olivier Sarr, who was converted to a two-way deal earlier today, has been diagnosed with a right wrist sprain after undergoing an MRI. He’ll be reevaluated in one week, at which point the team should have a clearer idea of when he’ll be able to return.