Nets Notes: Fernandez, M. Smith, MPJ, Claxton, Clowney
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez is showing a commitment to tanking that he didn’t have earlier in the season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post, but all his players might not be on board. With Noah Clowney, Terance Mann and Ziaire Williams sitting out the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, a makeshift lineup erased a 21-point deficit against Philadelphia and briefly took the lead before Brooklyn fell to its third straight loss.
Lewis notes that Fernandez rested Clowney and Nic Claxton during the fourth quarter of a close game Thursday in Atlanta, and the coach seems more focused on evaluating his young talent over the last month of the season than trying to win games.
“It was great. We have young guys, rookies playing in the fourth quarter and getting a lot of experience. We have these guys that we need to know what we’ve got, playing high level to win a game,” Fernandez said of Saturday’s rally. “Playing competitive minutes is way better than just playing minutes. And this was great.”
Rookie big man Danny Wolf, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, was the only rotation member to play more than three minutes in the final quarter. Most of the damage was done by Josh Minott and two-way players E.J. Liddell and Chaney Johnson, along with Malachi Smith, who signed a 10-day contract Saturday morning.
There’s more on the Nets:
- The game marked Smith’s NBA debut at age 26 after nearly three years in the G League, and he was thrilled that his mother and stepfather flew to Philadelphia to watch it, Lewis states in the same piece. “It was a dream come true,” he said. “Single parent, had me at 20, driving 12 hours for AAU trips and six hours to watch me play in college. So she was like, ‘I’m not going to miss this.’” Smith played 23 minutes and posted four points, three rebounds and one assist.
- Michael Porter Jr. sat out the game with an ankle sprain, and Fernandez indicated that playing without Porter might become a more frequent occurrence, Lewis adds. “By the rules, he’ll rest whatever he [needs to] rest. Now he’s out with that ankle sprain. So whenever it’s back, we’ll figure that out,” Fernandez said. “And if we have to give looks to these other guys because we want to see what’s going on — what we have and the plan we want to put in the future — this is going to be very important for us.”
- In a pregame session with reporters, Fernandez clarified that there were no injury issues involved in his decision to keep Claxton and Clowney on the bench for the final quarter in Atlanta, Lewis tweets. “They’re both good,” he said. “It goes back to seeing guys that haven’t had a chance to play those minutes, because it gives me a better sense of who they are as players and what can I see as they develop.”
Contract Details: Sharpe, Liddell, Prosper, Brooks, Schumacher
As part of his two-year contract agreement with the Nets, Day’Ron Sharpe waived his right to veto a trade during the 2025/26 season, Hoops Rumors has learned.
A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year deal or a two-year deal that includes a second-year option is typically given an implicit no-trade clause, but a team can ask the player to give up that no-trade clause upon signing. Because Sharpe agreed to do so, he would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded ahead of February’s deadline.
[RELATED: NBA Players Who Can Veto Trades In 2025/26]
Even though he re-signed with his previous team, got a raise exceeding 20%, and signed for more than the minimum, Sharpe will become trade-eligible on December 15 instead of January 15 because the Nets were still operating below the cap upon completing his deal.
Here are more details on a few recently signed contracts from around the NBA:
- E.J. Liddell‘s new two-way contract with the Nets will cover just one season, Hoops Rumors has learned. The former Ohio State forward received a partial guarantee of $85,300 on that deal.
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who signed a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, also agreed to a one-year deal that includes a partial guarantee worth $85,300, but his partial guarantee would increase to $318,218 if he remains on the roster through opening night — that’s 50% of his full two-way salary ($636,435).
- As expected, the contract that Garrison Brooks signed with the Pelicans last week is a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. He’ll earn a bonus worth $85,300 if he’s waived by New Orleans and then spends at least 60 days with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate.
- While most Exhibit 10 contracts include that maximum bonus of $85,300, that’s not the case for every E10 deal. For instance, Alex Schumacher – who was signed and waived by the Suns last week – will earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth $20K if he spends 60 or more days with the Valley Suns in the G League.
Nets Sign Liddell To Two-Way Contract, Finalize Sharpe Deal
The Nets have officially announced a pair of signings, adding free agent forward E.J. Liddell on a two-way contract and finalizing their previously reported deal with free agent big man Day’Ron Sharpe (Twitter links).
Liddell, 24, was the 41st overall pick in the 2022 draft but tore his ACL in the Summer League just a few weeks later, wiping out his rookie season. The 24-year-old has since appeared in just 20 total NBA games for the Pelicans and Bulls and has seen extremely limited playing time. In 76 total NBA minutes across the past two seasons, he has scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
However, Liddell has been more productive in the NBA G League, including in 27 outings last season for the Windy City Bulls. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 32.3 minutes per game for Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate, posting a shooting line of .472/.361/.661.
Despite technically having been in the NBA for three seasons, Liddell still has two years of two-way eligibility left, since he missed one of those three seasons in its entirety due to an injury. He and Tyson Etienne are Brooklyn’s current two-way players, leaving one slot still open.
Meanwhile, Sharpe’s two-year, $12MM agreement with the Nets was reported was back on June 30, before the free agent period officially opened. The club has been putting off completing that deal – and Ziaire Williams‘ similar two-year, $12MM pact – in order to keep its options open with its cap room.
Still, all indications were that at least one of those two contracts would have to be signed using cap space, since the Nets renounced both players and wouldn’t be able to fit both Sharpe and Williams into their $8.8MM room exception. With that in mind, officially re-signing Sharpe doesn’t significantly impact Brooklyn’s flexibility — the team should still have roughly $16MM in room available.
Bulls Convert E.J. Liddell To Two-Way Deal
OCTOBER 19: Liddell’s conversion to a two-way contract is now official, the Bulls announced in a press release.
OCTOBER 18: The Bulls are converting E.J. Liddell‘s Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Chicago currently has an open two-way spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary to promote Liddell.
An Illinois native who starred in college at Ohio State, Liddell was selected with the 41st pick of the 2022 draft. Unfortunately, he missed his entire first season with the Pelicans after tearing his ACL in Summer League, but the team kept him on a two-way deal for the 2022/23 campaign.
Liddell, a 6’7″ forward, was promoted to a multiyear standard deal in July 2023. He spent most of last season in the G League, only making eight NBA appearances for 23 total minutes with New Orleans in ’23/24.
Liddell was traded twice during the offseason, first to Atlanta in the Dejounte Murray deal, then to Phoenix in a salary dump by the Suns (former first-rounder David Roddy was sent to Atlanta). Phoenix subsequently waived Liddell, making him a free agent until he signed a training camp deal with Chicago.
Since the Bulls didn’t release anyone, they still have 18 players under contract, which is the regular season limit.
As we previously relayed, it seems like the team plans to keep Talen Horton-Tucker into the regular season after waiving Onuralp Bitim and Kenneth Lofton, though that could change before Monday’s final cut-down deadline. Horton-Tucker, who has been a standout in preseason, was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal but is ineligible for a two-way contract due to having five years of NBA experience.
Checking In On Early 2024/25 Roster Battles
Each year, a handful of teams prefer to bring in players to battle it out for the last remaining spots on a given roster. Let’s take a look at a few training camp battles that are already brewing ahead of October.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have been busy in recent weeks, filling out their training camp roster with proven talent. The Bulls have 15 players on standard contracts, but Onuralp Bitim‘s deal is non-guaranteed. In addition, Chicago has two open two-way slots. The Bulls have four players — Talen Horton-Tucker, Kenneth Lofton Jr., E.J. Liddell and Marcus Domask — signed to training camp deals.
Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way contracts at any time. Horton-Tucker is the only player of that batch who is ineligible for a two-way contract, since he is at five years of NBA service. That gives the Bulls a handful of options for their opening night roster.
In essence, Bitim and Horton-Tucker seem to be battling it out for the Bulls’ 15th roster spot, while Lofton, Liddell and Domask all appear to be candidates for the team’s open two-way slots. Of course, if the Bulls opt to move on from Bitim on a standard deal, they could attempt to re-sign him to a two-way deal. They could also just carry 14 players on the standard roster to begin the year.
New York Knicks
As we detailed Saturday morning, Landry Shamet and Chuma Okeke appear to be battling for the Knicks’ 15th roster spot. Of course, there’s no guarantee that either player will make the roster, but each has a decent case to make the team.
Shamet is a proven three-point shooter while Okeke is a versatile forward who is a previous 16th overall pick. The Knicks will likely assess in training camp what their biggest need is and keep the player who best fits that niche heading into the year.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have a handful of players on non-guaranteed or partially contracts heading into the season. However, previous reporting seems to indicate that the team’s final roster spot will come down to either Kendall Brown or Cole Swider.
Brown is an athletic forward who was the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has spent the last two seasons with the Pacers but has also appeared in just 21 total games. Meanwhile, the Pacers signed Swider to a training camp contract this offseason that doesn’t include Exhibit 10 language. Swider is a known three-point shooter who spent last season with the Heat and helped Miami to a summer league championship this offseason.
James Wiseman and James Johnson each have partially guaranteed salaries with the Pacers.
The others
Other teams across the league are poised to either carry just 14 players on standard deals to begin the year or already have their 15-man rosters determined. However, some of those teams have unsettled two-way roster slots.
The Heat have their standard roster filled out, but summer standout Isaiah Stevens is on an Exhibit 10 deal. It seems like Stevens will battle Dru Smith — who currently holds a two-way deal — outright for that spot.
The Hornets have Moussa Diabate and KJ Simpson on two-way deals but have another spot open. Keyontae Johnson could be an option for that spot. Charlotte also has a potential opening on the 15-man roster, with four players signed to Exhibit 10 deals and another agreed to.
The Wizards also have an open two-way slot. Washington signed Leaky Black, Kira Lewis and Jaylen Nowell to Exhibit 10 contracts, but only Black is eligible for a two-way deal. The Wizards also have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, with Jared Butler and his non-guaranteed deal possibly on the outside looking in unless they make a trade.
The Clippers have RayJ Dennis, Kai Jones and Elijah Harkless signed to Exhibit 10 deals. The team also has an agreement with Kevon Harris for another such spot. With only Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers on two-way contracts, all of Dennis, Jones, Harkless and Harris are eligible for the team’s third.
Bulls Sign E.J. Liddell To Exhibit 10 Contract
4:00pm: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, Hoops Rumors can confirm.
11:30am: The Bulls have agreed to a contract with forward E.J. Liddell, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). While the details of the contract aren’t yet known, it’s probably safe to assume it’s an Exhibit 10 deal, with Chicago having also signed Talen Horton-Tucker and Kenneth Lofton Jr. to such contracts in recent weeks.
Liddell, the No. 41 pick in the 2022 draft, spent two years with the Pelicans. He missed what would have been his rookie season in 2022/23 with a knee injury before playing eight games with New Orleans last season.
This offseason, Liddell was moved to the Hawks as part of the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans. He was then re-routed to the Suns before being waived.
In 29 G League games last season, Liddell averaged 17.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 50.8% from the floor and 27.0% from deep. The Ohio State product averaged 14.1 points across 92 career collegiate games as well.
If Liddell’s contract is an Exhibit 10 deal, he’ll be competing for one of the Bulls’ last remaining roster spots. As noted above, Chicago has Horton-Tucker and Lofton alongside Marcus Domask on training camp contracts. Chicago has 15 players on standard contracts but Onuralp Bitim‘s contract is non-guaranteed. The Bulls also have one two-way spot open.
It looks as though the Bulls are fielding an open competition heading into training camp. Bitim will battle to hold his 15th spot on the roster while the Exhibit 10 players compete for either that spot or the Bulls’ open two-way. It’s important to note that Liddell, Lofton and Domask are eligible for two-way deals while Horton-Tucker is not.
Deadline Looms For Teams To Stretch 2024/25 Salaries
Thursday, August 29 is the last day that an NBA team will be able to waive a player who has a fully or partially guaranteed salary for 2024/25 and stretch that player’s ’24/25 salary across multiple seasons.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Stretch Provision]
The stretch provision deadline has historically been August 31, and while that’s technically still the case, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement tweaked the wording of the rule. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), in order to apply the stretch provision to a player’s current-season salary, a team must now ensure the player clears waivers on or before August 31 rather than simply requesting waivers on him by August 31.
The adjusted wording is similar to the CBA language related to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January. In that case, a team must place a player on waivers on or before January 7 in order to have him clear waivers ahead of the league-wide Jan. 10 guarantee date. In the case of the stretch provision rule, a player whose salary is being stretched now must be waived by August 29 at 4:00 pm Central time to ensure he has cleared waivers prior to September 1.
A player who clears waivers between September 1 and the end of the 2024/25 season can still have his cap hit(s) for 2025/26 and future seasons stretched across multiple years, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’24/25 cap charge would remain unchanged in that scenario, unless he reaches a buyout agreement with his team.
The stretch provision allows teams to gain some short-term relief at the cost of reduced long-term flexibility. It’s used most frequently by teams in the luxury tax who want to lower their projected tax bill (or duck out of tax territory entirely) or by teams who want to create a little extra cap room to accommodate a specific roster move.
Teams haven’t employed the stretch provision all that frequently in recent years, but three players waived this week will have their guaranteed money stretched across multiple seasons. The Suns are stretching the $21.75MM owed to Nassir Little for the next three years, as well as the $2,120,693 owed to E.J. Liddell for 2024/25, while the Grizzlies are stretching Mamadi Diakite‘s $1,392,150 partial guarantee for ’24/25.
Since the stretch provision allows a team to spread the player’s remaining salary across twice the remaining years on his contract, plus one additional year, the new cap hits for those players will be as follows:
- Little (Suns): $3,107,143 for seven seasons (through 2030/31)
- Liddell (Suns): $706,898 for three seasons (through 2026/27)
- Diakite (Grizzlies): $464,050 for three seasons (through 2026/27)
The Suns’ moves reduce their projected tax bill, while the Grizzlies’ move creates a little additional breathing room below the tax line.
We likely won’t see a flurry of cuts today and tomorrow in order to take advantage of this rule, but the deadline is still worth keeping in mind for the possibilities it will take off the table. Any player on a guaranteed expiring contract who is waived after August 29 will have his remaining salary count entirely against his team’s ’24/25 books.
Suns Waive Nassir Little, E.J. Liddell
AUGUST 27: The cuts are official, according to PHNX Sports’ Gerald Bourguet (Twitter link). Both players will become unrestricted free agents if they clear waivers later this week.
With just one year of service, Liddell is eligible for a two-way contract with any team besides the Suns. Little, with five seasons of experience, is not two-way eligible.
AUGUST 21: The Suns are waiving forwards Nassir Little and E.J. Liddell, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will become unrestricted free agents.
Liddell being waived doesn’t come as much of a surprise. He looked like the odd man out for the projected 15-man regular season roster after the Suns acquired him a few weeks ago in a salary dump of David Roddy.
The former Ohio State forward missed his rookie season due to an ACL tear, but played in eight games with New Orleans last season. He was sent from the Pelicans to the Hawks in the Dejounte Murray trade this offseason before being rerouted to Phoenix.
Liddell is still just 23 and had a tremendously impressive junior season in college before his injury (19.4 PPG, 2.6 BPG, .374 3PT%) and he played well in the G League last year, averaging 17.3 points per game). The No. 41 overall pick from the 2022 draft is a candidate to catch on elsewhere.
Little being waived is more surprising, since he’s owed $21.75MM over the next three years and seemed like a candidate to be traded for salary-matching purposes down the line. However, the Suns will instead use the stretch provision in removing him from the roster.
There were rumblings in July that Phoenix cutting Little was a possibility. As Charania writes, the Suns moved forward with that plan in order to open up a roster spot and to create more flexibility for signings or trades.
A former first-round pick, Little wasn’t a huge part of Phoenix’s roster last season, averaging 3.4 points in 45 appearances. He was acquired from the Trail Blazers in last September’s three-team Damian Lillard trade after spending the first four years of his career in Portland. In 237 career games, Little holds averages of 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. The 25th pick in the 2019 draft, Little is still just 24 and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him earn another guaranteed contract down the line.
In addition to creating more roster flexibility, the Suns are now better positioned to give Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro an opportunity to earn immediate minutes, according to Charania, who notes that the team is high on both rookies (Twitter link). Phoenix landed Dunn 28th overall and Ighodaro at No. 40 in June’s draft.
With Little and Liddell waived, the Suns have 14 players on standard contracts and three players on two-way deals, so their opening day roster looks to be mostly set.
The Suns had until Aug. 31 to waive Little and stretch his contract through 2030/31 while reducing his $6.75MM cap hit this season. Under the stretch provision, his remaining salary will be paid over twice the number of seasons remaining on his contract, plus one year. Because he had three years left on his contract, Little’s remaining $21.75MM will be paid out equally over the next seven seasons (through ’30/31), for an annual hit of about $3.1MM.
While reducing their team salary by $3.65MM might not seem worth it at face value, given the long-term impact, the Suns are drastically reducing their tax burden by moving Little. They’re over $36MM over the second tax apron, so the tax savings on that $3.65MM will be significant. Based on their current payroll, stretching Little’s salary will save the Suns approximately $40MM in tax penalties across the next two seasons, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Suns Trade David Roddy To Hawks For E.J. Liddell
JULY 29: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Suns. As we detailed in separate stories, Phoenix isn’t expected to retain Liddell into the regular season, since the team has 16 players on guaranteed contracts after signing Tyus Jones.
JULY 26: The Suns and Hawks have agreed to a minor trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Phoenix is sending forward David Roddy to Atlanta in exchange for forward E.J. Liddell.
It’s a cost-saving move for Phoenix, which is above the second tax apron and cannot take in more salary than it ships out in a trade.
Liddell has a $2.1MM contract and a $2.3MM team option for 2025/26. Roddy has a $2.8MM salary and a $4.8MM team option for 2025/26. Atlanta has until October 31st to exercise its ’25/26 option on Roddy, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link).
Roddy was shipped from Memphis to Phoenix in a three-team deal at last season’s trade deadline. The 23rd overall pick of the 2022 draft will be entering his third season. He started 13 of 48 games for the banged-up Grizzlies last season, averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.7 minutes per contest. He saw less action in a Suns uniform, appearing in 17 games off the bench and averaging just 3.7 minutes in those outings.
It remains to be seen how Roddy slots in to the Hawks’ plans, since they have a number of options at both forward spots. It stands to reason they value him over Liddell, since they’ll add some salary in this transaction. Indeed, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link) reports via a source that the Hawks view Roddy as a better roster fit than Liddell.
Liddell, a 2022 second-rounder out of Ohio State, has only been under contract with Atlanta since July 6. He was thrown into the Dejounte Murray blockbuster with New Orleans for salary-matching purposesl
Liddell had his rookie season delayed by a devastating right knee injury in July 2022. Last season, he appeared in just eight games off the bench for New Orleans. He played 26 games for the Birmingham Squadron in the G League, averaging 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest.
Suns Unlikely To Retain E.J. Liddell, Eyeing Tyus Jones
The Suns‘ trade of David Roddy for E.J. Liddell is a financially motivated deal, as Roddy wasn’t on track to be on the team’s regular season roster and Liddell likely won’t make the cut either, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
According to Gambadoro (Twitter link), whether Liddell’s $2.12MM is stretched across three seasons or applied solely to the 2024/25 cap, the expectation is that the forward will be waived at some point after he’s officially acquired by Phoenix. That would open up a spot on the team’s projected 15-man regular season roster.
Having already signed Monte Morris earlier in the offseason, the Suns remain on the lookout for point guard help and have their eye on the top option on the market. Gambadoro (Twitter link) hears there’s a “real chance” that the club could land Tyus Jones, adding that a deal could materialize quickly if the veteran free agent decides he’s willing to accept a minimum-salary contract, which is all Phoenix can offer.
As Gambadoro explains, Jones could get more money from at least a couple other interested teams, but joining the Suns would give him the chance to play a significant rotation role for a club with championship aspirations.
[RELATED: Community Shootaround: Where Will Tyus Jones Sign?]
Jones’ landing spot has been a popular subject of speculation for a couple weeks, as he’s easily the highest-ranked unrestricted free agent on our top-50 list who remains unsigned. The 28-year-old is coming off a season in which he established new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) for the Wizards.
Most of the teams with money left to spend and a roster spot available aren’t projected to be contenders, so Jones may have to decide between accepting a more lucrative offer from a likely lottery team or settling for a minimum-salary deal from the Suns or another would-be contender. If he signs for the minimum, I’d expect him to get a second-year player option so that he’d have the ability to try his luck on the open market again in 2025.
Phoenix’s three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – are all relatively ball-dominant, but none of them are true point guards, so the Suns entered the offseason looking for a veteran capable of organizing the offense. They landed Morris relatively early in free agency, but continued to be linked to other point guards, including Kyle Lowry, who ended up back in Philadelphia. Adding both Jones and Morris on minimum-salary deals would be a big win for the organization if it comes to fruition.