Dru Smith Earns Two-Way Contract With Heat
OCTOBER 13: The Heat have officially waived Garrett, Mulder, Robinson, and Bouyea, while converting Smith’s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.
OCTOBER 12: The Heat will convert Dru Smith to a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Miami plans to waive Marcus Garrett, Mychal Mulder, Orlando Robinson and Jamaree Bouyea, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Mulder, Robinson and Bouyea are expected to join the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls after they clear waivers. Garrett, who suffered a fractured right wrist, will stay in Miami to rehab the injury.
A 24-year-old shooting guard, Smith signed with Miami last year after going undrafted out of Missouri. He spent the season in Sioux Falls and was part of the Heat’s Summer League team.
After signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat this offseason, Smith won the competition for a two-way deal with a strong preseason, including a 15-point performance Monday against the Rockets. In four games, he averaged 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17.3 minute per night.
Miami filled its other two-way slot on Sunday by converting Jamal Cain‘s Exhibit 10 contract. The Heat currently have 13 players on their roster with fully guaranteed contracts, plus Haywood Highsmith, who has a partially guaranteed deal.
Warriors Waive Quinndary Weatherspoon, Lester Quinones
The Warriors have opened up both of their two-way contract slots, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived guards Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lester Quinones. Both players had been on two-way deals.
With Weatherspoon and Quinones on waivers, the four players who are on Exhibit 10 contracts with the Warriors have become prime candidates to fill those newly opened two-way spots. Ty Jerome, Jerome Robinson, Pat Spencer, and Anthony Lamb are all eligible to have their Exhibit 10 deals converted into two-ways.
The 49th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Weatherspoon signed a two-way contract with the Warriors in January after spending his first two years in the NBA with San Antonio. The 26-year-old appeared in 11 games for Golden State, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 6.6 MPG.
Quinones, meanwhile, agreed to a two-way deal with the Warriors after going undrafted out of Memphis in June. Quinones averaged 10.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 1.2 SPG during his junior season in 2021/22, shooting 44.9% from the field and making 39.0% of his three-point attempts.
Golden State has until Monday to set its roster for the regular season.
Kings Waive Kent Bazemore, Quinn Cook
The Kings have trimmed their 20-man preseason roster to 18 players, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320 Sacramento, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has waived swingman Kent Bazemore and guard Quinn Cook.
Both Bazemore and Cook were in camp with the Kings on non-guaranteed deals attempting to earn regular season roster spots. However, it appears both players missed the cut.
Bazemore, 33, is coming off a disappointing 2021/22 season with the Lakers. He averaged just 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 39 appearances (14.0 MPG), though he still shot 36.3% on three-point attempts.
Cook, meanwhile, was out of the NBA last season after appearing in 188 games across the previous five seasons. He spent a chunk of the 2021/22 campaign with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate, where he averaged 23.7 PPG, 5.8 APG, and 5.0 RPG with an impressive .524/.446/.885 shooting line in 11 games (35.3 MPG).
Cook was on an Exhibit 10 contract with Sacramento this fall, so he would earn a $50K bonus if he returns to Stockton and spends at least 60 days with the team. Bazemore’s deal didn’t include an Exhibit 10 clause.
The Kings now have 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with KZ Okpala, Matthew Dellavedova, Chima Moneke, and Sam Merrill on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals. The club will have to waive or trade one more player before next Monday’s roster deadline to get down to 15 players for opening night.
Mavs Expected To Sign Facundo Campazzo To One-Year Deal
OCTOBER 13: Aris Barkas of Eurohoops reports that Campazzo has accepted the Mavericks’ one-year offer, while HoopsHype says (via Twitter) the veteran guard is expected to fly to Dallas on Saturday to undergo a physical and sign a contract.
OCTOBER 12: The Mavericks and free agent guard Facundo Campazzo are engaged in advanced discussions about a possible one-year contract, reports Marc Stein (via Twitter).
According to Stein, who first reported Dallas’ interest in Campazzo on Sunday, it appears increasingly likely that the two sides will work out a deal that allows the Argentinian to fill the 15th and final spot on the team’s regular season roster.
Campazzo spent the last two seasons with the Nuggets after establishing himself as one of the best point guards in the EuroLeague. He averaged 5.6 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 130 appearances (20.1 MPG) across his two seasons in Denver, though he knocked down just 37.2% of his shots from the floor. The 31-year-old played alongside Luka Doncic for Real Madrid from 2015-18.
Following Jalen Brunson‘s departure in free agency, the Mavs could use one more reliable veteran ball-handler to back up Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie. The team has been debating whether it will add a free agent who can fill that role or leave its 15th roster spot open to start the season in order to maximize flexibility and limit its projected luxury tax bill.
As the Mavs seemingly move closer to a deal with Campazzo, it appears that Tyler Dorsey‘s spot on the roster is increasingly tenuous — a report from Aris Barkas of Eurohoops says the club is considering cutting Dorsey. Such a move wouldn’t be directly related to signing Campazzo, since Dorsey is on a two-way contract, while Campazzo is believed to be negotiating a standard deal.
Still, Dorsey was one of the players in the mix for a ball-handling rotation role in Dallas, so it’s possible the Mavs would want to use that two-way slot on another type of player if they sign Campazzo to fill that spot on the depth chart.
Celtics Waive Brodric Thomas
The Celtics have waived Brodric Thomas, according to the NBA.com transactions log.
The 25-year-old shooting guard spent last season with Boston as a two-way player and re-signed with the team in September shortly before the start of training camp. During 2021/22, he appeared in 12 games for the Celtics and 22 with the team’s G League affiliate in Maine.
Thomas has an Exhibit 10 contract, so he could theoretically earn a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with Maine this season. However, the Celtics would have to acquire his returning rights from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
The move brings the Celtics’ roster to 18 players ahead of next week’s cutdown date.
Micah Potter Signs Two-Way Contract With Jazz
OCTOBER 12: Potter has officially signed his two-way contract with the Jazz, who waived Jeenathan Williams to open up a spot on the 20-man preseason roster, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 20: The Jazz will sign center Micah Potter to a two-way deal, Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic report (via Twitter).
Utah had a two-way slot open and won’t need to make a corresponding roster move. Johnny Juzang holds the other two-way contract.
The Pistons waived Potter last week just days after officially signing him. He seemed likely to begin the season with the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ NBAGL team, since the Motor City Cruise previously acquired his returning rights from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s affiliate.
However, Potter obviously found a better opportunity.
Potter, 24, initially signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami last fall after going undrafted out of Wisconsin. He was released before the regular season began and spent most of his rookie year with the Skyforce, averaging 17.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG on .539/.445/.731 shooting in 33 NBAGL games (28.8 MPG).
Potter’s strong performance at the G League level earned him a brief look at the NBA level. The Pistons signed him to a 10-day contract in December. He appeared in three regular season contests, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 31 total minutes.
Marvin Bagley III Out At Least 3-4 Weeks With Knee Injury
Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and a sprained MCL in his right knee, the team announced today in a press release. Bagley underwent an MRI after sustaining the injury during Detroit’s preseason game vs. Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
According to the Pistons, the injury will require rest and rehabilitation, with Bagley expected to miss at least the next three or four weeks. That means he’ll be unavailable when the team begins its regular season scheduled next Wednesday vs. Orlando. Still, there’s some relief that his injury wasn’t more serious, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
A former No. 2 overall pick, Bagley was traded from Sacramento to Detroit at last season’s deadline. He averaged 14.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 18 games (27.2 MPG) for the Pistons down the stretch, earning a fully guaranteed three-year, $37.5MM deal in free agency this summer.
The Pistons will have to take advantage of their depth in the frontcourt in the early part of the season, with Bagley sidelined and Nerlens Noel – who just started light team activities a couple days ago, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link) – still on the shelf. It could mean that lottery pick Jalen Duren sees some playing time right away behind starting center Isaiah Stewart.
Jae Crowder Rumors: Hawks, Jazz, Celtics, Grizzlies
Rival teams are a little surprised by the way the Suns have handled the Jae Crowder situation, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who notes that keeping a player away from the team generally lowers his trade value. Crowder didn’t join the Suns for training camp this fall as the two sides attempt to find him a new NBA home.
“I thought the way Phoenix played the situation was strange,” a Western Conference executive told Fischer. “You’re not a super deep team. You’re a contender. Doesn’t it seem like there’s some other way to resolve this other than him sitting out and hurting your depth?”
An Eastern Conference exec who spoke to Fischer offered a similar assessment: “For Jae to hold out is pretty rare. It’s pretty extreme. It’s really interesting they didn’t just play hardball with him.”
A Shams Charania report earlier this week indicated that the Hawks are among the teams with interest in Crowder, and Fischer confirms that Phoenix and Atlanta have had conversations about the veteran forward throughout the offseason. The Hawks are believed to be one of Crowder’s preferred landing spots, along with the Heat, Fischer writes.
As for what the Hawks might be willing to give up for Crowder, that remains unclear. Front office personnel have speculated about the possibility of a Crowder/Landry Shamet package for Bogdan Bogdanovic, but one source told Fischer that Shamet isn’t part of the Suns’ discussions with the Hawks. Some league executives have wondered if Atlanta would give up De’Andre Hunter in a deal for Crowder, says Fischer, but there’s no indication the team is exploring that scenario.
As I suggested on Monday, a package of Justin Holiday and a young player such as Jalen Johnson could theoretically work from a salary-matching perspective. According to Fischer, it’s possible that structure would work if a third team were involved, allowing the Suns to acquire a different player on their wish list.
Here’s more on Crowder from Fischer:
- The Suns have inquired about acquiring Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson in exchange for Crowder, sources tell Fischer. It’s unclear whether Phoenix would be willing to attach a draft asset to Crowder to land Clarkson. The rebuilding Jazz wouldn’t have much interest in Crowder as a player, so they’d need to be enticed to make a deal.
- The Suns are believed to have interest in Celtics guard Derrick White, but Boston hasn’t entered the mix for Crowder so far, according to Fischer.
- While the Grizzlies could theoretically build a package for Crowder around Danny Green‘s expiring contract, there are a couple roadblocks, as Fischer explains. The Suns don’t want to take on Green while he recovers from a torn ACL and are reluctant to send Crowder to a Western Conference rival unless the deal makes Phoenix significantly better. Sources tell Fischer that Memphis isn’t actively pursuing Crowder.
Draymond Green Fined, Will Return To Warriors On Thursday
The Warriors have opted to fine, but not suspend, forward/center Draymond Green for punching teammate Jordan Poole in a practice last Wednesday, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday night. As Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes, Kerr also said that Green, who has been away from the team since the altercation, will rejoin the club on Thursday.
Kerr acknowledged that the Warriors may face criticism for their decision not to suspend Green, but explained that the team made the decision it felt was best after a series of internal discussions involving players, coaches, and executives.
Poole was among the players consulted during the decision-making process, meeting with Kerr and the front office multiple times, and also meeting with Green, as Andrews relays. The fourth-year guard was “willing to get back out on the floor with Draymond and go to work,” according to Kerr.
“This is the biggest crisis that we’ve had since I’ve been the coach here,” Kerr said. “It’s really serious stuff. We’re not perfect. … But we’re going to lean on the experience that we have together and trust that this is the best decision for our team. We have a lot of work to do. All of us.”
Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers first said last Thursday that he didn’t think Green would be suspended, but it was unclear if the club intended to stick to that plan after TMZ published video of the punch on Friday.
Green, who privately apologized to Poole and the team on Thursday, reiterated that apology publicly on Saturday, announcing at that time that he would step away from the Warriors for at least a few days and admitting that he had work to do to regain the trust of his teammates and the organization.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kerr expressed confidence that Green will be able to mend the necessary fences, but said he’ll be keeping a close eye on how the team’s young players look at the former Defensive Player of the Year, according to Andrews. Some of those players are newcomers and don’t have a preexisting relationship with Green.
“There is no way around it: (Our) culture has been damaged by this incident,” Kerr said. “You have to work to repair that. … (Green) broke our trust, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt because I think he’s earned that.”
The expectation is that Green will play in Golden State’s preseason finale vs. Denver on Friday and will be available for the team’s regular season opener next Tuesday vs. the Lakers.
Trevelin Queen Signs Two-Way Deal With Pacers
9:00pm: Queen’s two-way contract with the Pacers is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
4:43pm: Guard Trevelin Queen is signing a two-way contract with the Pacers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
It’s a quick turnaround for Queen, who was just waived by the Sixers over the weekend.
The 25-year-old shooting guard had a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season. He was named G League MVP with Rio Grande Valley last season and appeared in 10 games with the Rockets after signing a two-way contract in December.
The Pacers have an open two-way slot, so they won’t have to make a corresponding move. Kendall Brown holds the other two-way contract.