Brandon Slater Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Sign Marcus Garrett, Waive Brandon Slater

September 20th, 2025 at 11:38am CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets continue to make changes to the back end of their roster ahead of training camp, having signed free agent guard Marcus Garrett, the team announced (via Twitter).

In a corresponding move, forward Brandon Slater has been released.

While the terms of Garrett’s contract were not revealed, it’s likely to be an Exhibit 10 deal, which would make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he’s waived before the season begins and spends at least 60 days with the Hornets’ G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.

Garrett, who went undrafted out of Kansas in 2021, appeared in 12 NBA games while on a two-way contract with the Heat as a rookie, but he has spent most of his professional career in the G League, including the past two seasons with the Swarm. He signed a 10-day hardship contract with the Hornets in March and appeared four NBA games, averaging 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per contest.

Known as a solid defender, Garrett played 42 games (29.7 MPG) for the Swarm in 2024/25, averaging 10.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.5 SPG on .451/.298/.705 shooting.

Garrett will fill Charlotte’s 21st and final roster spot for the time being.

Hornets Sign Brandon Slater, Waive Keyontae Johnson

September 19th, 2025 at 1:16pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets have signed Brandon Slater, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter). In a related move, Keyontae Johnson has been waived.

A 6’8″ forward, Slater went undrafted in 2023 after five college seasons at Villanova. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston two years ago, was cut, and spent the 2023/24 season in the G League with the Maine Celtics.

Instead of returning to the NBAGL, Slater signed with GS Lavrio of Greece’s top basketball league. In 24 games (19.5 MPG) with the Greek club, Slater averaged 7.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG on .444/.344/.771 shooting.

Slater most recently suited up for Charlotte at the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, averaging 5.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG in eight appearances (17.7 MPG).

While the 26-year-old will fill the Hornets’ final roster spot for now, he likely signed an Exhibit 10 deal and will be waived in the coming days. If that comes to fruition, Slater will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the Greensboro Swarm — the Hornets’ G League affiliate — in ’25/26.

And-Ones: Expansion, EuroLeague, G League Trades, Hawes

September 18th, 2024 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

What would it look like if the NBA awarded expansion teams to a pair of new cities? In an entertaining story for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks broke down the rules governing expansion drafts, then submitted lists of protected players for each team to Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton, who conducted a mock expansion draft on behalf of the two hypothetical new franchises.

As Marks details, the rules for expansion drafts aren’t specifically laid out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but in the past, each existing NBA team has been permitted to protect up to eight players in the spring, including pending restricted free agents and/or players holding options. In those instances, expansion teams weren’t allowed to select more than one player from any of the NBA’s existing clubs.

Marks also lays out how expansion teams would be incorporated into the annual rookie draft (they’re typically not given the opportunity to land the No. 1 overall pick during their first couple seasons) and how the salary cap would work for them (their cap would be two-thirds of the league-wide cap in year one, 80% in year two, and the full cap in year three).

While expansion is likely still at least two or three years away, ESPN’s exercise is an informative one that helps illustrate with practical examples how new teams would fill out their rosters.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required) takes a look at 10 notable players in the EuroLeague who are on expiring contracts and will reach free agency in 2025. Mathias Lessort, Kevin Punter, and Chima Moneke are among the headliners on Urbonas’ list who figure to be monitored by NBA teams in 2024/25.
The Westchester Knicks – New York’s G League affiliate – completed a pair of trades on Tuesday. Westchester sent Dmytro Skapintsev‘s returning rights to the Maine Celtics in exchange for the rights to Brandon Slater and Joe Wieskamp; in a separate deal, the Knicks’ NBAGL team acquired Brandon Williams‘ returning rights and a 2025 G League international draft pick from the Osceola Magic in exchange for the rights to Charlie Brown Jr. (Twitter links). The NBA’s Celtics signed Skapintsev to an Exhibit 10 contract on Tuesday.
Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype spoke to former NBA big man Spencer Hawes about the ups and downs of his playing career, which saw him appear in 684 regular season games for six teams from 2007-17. A 7’1″ center who made 35.0% of his career-three pointers, Hawes was asked if he felt like he arrived in the league a few years too early. “I kind of joke about my buddies. I missed the max (contract) by a couple of years,” Hawes said. “Well, I think the game just wasn’t in such a good place and my game as well. I came in kind of as a more traditional old-school post-up player and I realized that pretty quickly that wasn’t working. So, I kind of had to figure out a different way to try and get on the floor and help the team win.”

Celtics Sign, Waive Brandon Slater; Cut Two Others

September 29th, 2023 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics officially completed a series of roster moves on Thursday, per RealGM, signing and then waiving forward Brandon Slater while also cutting wing Jordan Schakel and forward Taylor Funk.

Slater went undrafted in June after spending five years playing for Villanova at the college level. As a super-senior in 2022/23, he averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game across 34 appearances (all starts) for the Wildcats.

Schakel had signed with the Celtics earlier this week, while Funk joined the roster in early September. Like Schakel and Funk, Slater likely received an Exhibit 10 contract, which will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate.

The series of roster moves reduces Boston’s roster count to 18 players under contract, including 11 on guaranteed deals, four on non-guaranteed pacts, and three on two-way contracts. The team will likely fill out its 21-man roster before training camp begins next week, with DJ Steward among the anticipated additions.