Raptors Notes: Roster Battle, Boucher, Porter, J. Jackson, Achiuwa
With Dalano Banton likely to make the team after a strong preseason, the Raptors appear to have a three-man battle for their final roster spot, writes Lori Ewing of The Toronto Star. Justin Champagnie, Josh Jackson and D.J. Wilson are all in the running and Friday’s preseason finale is their last chance to make an impression.
The competition is particularly stressful for Champagnie, who missed the first three preseason games with pain in his hip, Ewing notes. He played only eight minutes Sunday, recording one point and one rebound. Champagnie, who appeared in 36 games for Toronto as a rookie last season, estimates that he is 90 to 95 percent recovered from the hip issue.
“I sensed some urgency from Justin,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think some other guys just kind of let their game each day do what it does. It’s hard to get all excited one game and be not so excited the next because they play good and then not so good. Then they come back in practice and light it up again and get you thinking again. (Making cuts) is always a tricky thing. We’ll see how it all shakes out. I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered.”
There’s more from Toronto:
- A hamstring injury will keep Chris Boucher out of the lineup for Friday’s game, which is in his hometown of Montreal, Ewing adds. Free agency addition Otto Porter Jr. will also miss the game with an injured hamstring, and Nurse said he’s not certain if either player will be ready for the regular season opener next Wednesday.
- Jackson is hoping to revive his career with the Raptors after playing for four teams in his first five NBA seasons, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Jackson takes responsibility for not living up to the expectations that came along with being the fourth pick in the 2017 draft. “I can’t say that every organization that I’ve been a part of has been great in helping its players succeed but, with that, what I have learned is you’ve got to be the one to make sure that you’re getting everything that you need,” he said. “You have to make sure you’re working on the things you need to work on because, at the end of the day, it is your career, it’s not theirs.”
- Sixth Man of the Year or Most Improved Player honors might be within reach for Precious Achiuwa after his impressive performance during the second half of last season, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. “[The accolades are] something that [will] just happen based on how I play,” Achiuwa said. “Control what I can control. Your shots aren’t always going to go in but being able to play defense and bring effort, that’s something you can control every game.”
Magic Sign Simisola Shittu
OCTOBER 12: The signing is official, the Magic announced (via Twitter). The team waived Drake Jeffries to create room on the roster for Shittu, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
AUGUST 9: The Magic are set to sign free agent power forward Simisola Shittu, his agent Daniel Hazan informs Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Given that Orlando has 15 players on guaranteed deals for its full roster and both its two-way slots are occupied, the agreement seems likely to be an Exhibit 10 training camp contract.
Shittu, still just 22, went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2019, then joined the Bulls’ NBAGL affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, for the 2019/20 season. He linked up with the Knicks’ G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, during the team’s abbreviated ’20/21 season.
Shittu then set his sights internationally for the 2021/22 season, joining Israeli club Ironi Ness Ziona. During 15 contests for Ironi Ness Ziona, he sported averages of 7.1 PPG on 50.6% shooting, 4.9 RPG, 0.9 APG and 0.8 SPG across 17.5 MPG.
The 6’10” big man played with the Pacers during the 2022 Summer League in Las Vegas.
Sixers Sign, Waive Skylar Mays
5:19pm: Mays has been placed on waivers, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
2:10pm: The Sixers have signed guard Skylar Mays to a training camp contract, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.
Mays, 25, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two professional seasons with the Hawks. He was on two-way contracts until being promoted to Atlanta’s standard 15-man roster during the final week of the 2021/22 regular season.
In 61 total games for the Hawks, Mays averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .469/.338/.882 shooting in 8.0 MPG. He became an unrestricted free agent this summer when Atlanta opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.
The 76ers are likely signing Mays to secure his G League rights. Assuming he received an Exhibit 10 contract, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s NBAGL affiliate.
Mays will likely be waived soon, but remains on the Sixers’ roster for the time being, as the team’s official website shows. He’s occupying the 20th and final slot, which was open after Philadelphia signed and waived Patrick McCaw.
Wizards Sign Craig Sword To Training Camp Deal, Waive Makur Maker
The Wizards have brought back shooting guard Craig Sword on a training camp contract, the team announced (via Twitter). Center Makur Maker was waived to make room on the roster.
Sword, 28, appeared in three games for Washington last season after signing a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption in late December. Sword spent most of the year with the team’s G League affiliate in Capital City.
Maker joined the Wizards in August on an Exhibit 10 contract, and the organization is planning for him to play this season in the G League. He will receive a bonus worth up to $50K if spends at least 60 days with Capital City.
The moves leave Washington with a full 20-man roster.
Thunder Sign Adam Mokoka, Cut Abdul Gaddy
The Thunder have signed free agent guard Adam Mokoka, waiving guard Abdul Gaddy to make room on the roster, the team announced today.
Mokoka, 24, spent two seasons on a two-way contract with the Bulls from 2019-21. During that time, he appeared in 25 games at the NBA level, averaging 1.9 points in 6.7 minutes per game. The Frenchman returned to his native country last year to spend the season with Nanterre 92.
Mokoka and Gaddy will likely both end up playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. Assuming both players signed Exhibit 10 contracts, they’ll be eligible for bonuses worth up to $60K if they spend at least 60 days with the Blue.
The Thunder still have a full preseason roster of 20 players after today’s moves.
Celtics Sign, Waive Reggie Kissoonlal
4:49pm: The Celtics have already waived Kissoonlal, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
4:21pm: Reggie Kissoonlal has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. He is expected to be waived and will wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Maine, Weiss adds.
The seven-footer has been playing overseas since going undrafted out of Northwestern State in 2019. He spent last season with Randers in Denmark.
The Exhibit 10 contract will provide Kissoonlal with a bonus of $50K if he spends at least 60 days with Maine.
Once the moves are complete, Boston will have one open spot on its 20-man roster for the preseason.
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.
And-Ones: Maledon, One-And-Done, Wembanyama, Ignite, Selden
After being waived by the Rockets this week, French point guard Theo Maledon isn’t eager to head back to Europe to resume his playing career, according to a Eurohoops report. He played for ASVEL in France from 2017-20 before being selected 34th overall in the 2020 NBA draft.
Maledon is still just 21 years old and showed some promise during his two seasons in Oklahoma City, so he looks like a good candidate to get another NBA opportunity. He’ll clear waivers on Thursday, assuming he goes unclaimed.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- There are no indications that the NBA’s one-and-done rule for draft prospects will be scrapped anytime soon, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider-only link). While commissioner Adam Silver would like to eliminate the rule, the players’ union would want “major financial concessions” from team owners in order to agree, according to Givony, who adds that some teams believe allowing younger prospects to enter the NBA would water down the league’s talent level.
- In a separate Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Givony breaks down last week’s Victor Wembanyama vs. Scoot Henderson showdowns, writing that Wembanyama is the best NBA prospect he’s seen since LeBron James. Givony also explains why Wembanyama is in a great developmental situation with the Metropolitans 92 in France and says the NBA’s G League Ignite program looks like it’s here to stay.
- Former NBA wing Wayne Selden has left his Italian team, Tezenis Verona, his agency told Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. Verona put out a statement announcing that the club intended to take legal action in response to Seldon’s departure, prompting agent Charles Misuraca to accuse the team of breaching Selden’s contract agreement by not paying him.
- Just how valuable is it to acquire the swap rights to a future first-round draft pick? Zach Kram of The Ringer explores that question, ultimately concluding that it’s pretty rare for a team to jump up significantly in the draft and the result of a pick swap.
Trail Blazers Waive Jared Rhoden, Isaiah Miller
3:45pm: The Blazers have officially cut Rhoden and Miller, the team confirmed in a press release.
3:35pm: The Trail Blazers intend to waive guards Jared Rhoden and Isaiah Miller, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Rhoden and Miller had been in camp on Exhibit 10 contracts.
Rhoden, who went undrafted out of Seton Hall in June, played for Sacramento’s Summer League teams in July before signing a training camp contract with Portland. Miller went undrafted in 2021 out of UNC Greensboro and spent the season in the G League as an affiliate player with the Iowa Wolves, averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32 games.
Neither player will report to the Trail Blazers’ G League team, since Portland is one of two NBA teams that doesn’t have an NBAGL affiliate.
The cuts, once they’re official, will leave the Blazers with 15 players under contract — 14 of those players have guaranteed standard deals, while Olivier Sarr is on an Exhibit 10 contract.
Fentress notes that Sarr has had a strong preseason and seems to have a strong chance to make the regular season roster, though I’d be surprised if the tax-conscious Blazers keep him on the standard 15-man roster rather than converting him to a two-way deal. Both of Portland’s two-way slots are currently open.
Mavericks Waive Four Camp Invitees
The Mavericks have cut four players who were in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, the team announced today in a press release. Marcus Bingham, Mouhamadou Gueye, Tyler Hall, and D.J. Stewart Jr. have been placed on waivers, according to the Mavs.
Bingham and Gueye signed with Dallas this summer after going undrafted in June and are good candidates to end up with the Texas Legends, the Mavs’ G League affiliate. Hall and Stewart were veteran free agents, though Hall has only appeared in one NBA game and Stewart has yet to make his NBA debut.
The series of moves leaves the Mavs with just 16 players under contract, at least for the time being. Of those players, 14 have guaranteed contracts, one (Tyler Dorsey) is on a two-way deal, and just one (McKinley Wright IV) still has an Exhibit 10 contract.
The fact that Wright survived this round of cuts may signal that he’s the leading candidate to have his deal converted to a two-way contract before the regular season begins, though it’s possible more moves are coming in Dallas.