JaCorey Williams Rumors

Cavaliers Cut JaCorey Williams

September 20th, 2018 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

JaCorey Williams‘ latest stint with the Cavaliers lasted a little longer than his time with the team a year ago, but not by much. A week after signing him, Cleveland has waived Williams, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

In 2017, Williams was signed by the Cavaliers and released one day later, since the team wanted to secure his G League rights. This year’s signing appears to have been G League-motivated as well, as Williams has been released several days before the Cavs’ training camp will get underway.

Williams, who was named the Conference USA Player of the Year in 2016/17 during his final year at Middle Tennessee State, spent last season playing for the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s NBAGL affiliate. In 50 games (40 starts), the 6’8″ forward averaged 15.6 PPG and 7.7 RPG.

Having released Williams, the Cavaliers created an opening on their 20-man offseason roster, which they used to formally sign Kobi Simmons. Simmons had agreed to terms on a deal with the Cavs last week.

Cavaliers Sign Forward JaCorey Williams

September 14th, 2018 at 6:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward JaCorey Williams has signed a contract with the Cavaliers, according to the RealGM transactions log.

Terms were not disclosed but it’s almost certainly a training camp deal. Williams participated briefly in Cleveland’s training camp last season but was waived to make room for Dwyane Wade. Williams eventually wound up playing 49 games for their G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, where he averaged 15.4 PPG and 7.5 RPG. Williams went on to play for Israel’s Hapoel Gilboa Galil during the spring.

Williams, a 6’8″ forward, played his first three college seasons at Arkansas, then transferred to Middle Tennessee State for his senior year. He enjoyed a breakout season there, averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG. Williams, who was named the Conference USA Player of the Year for 2016/17, joined the Warriors’ summer league team before his short stay in Cleveland’s training camp.

The Cavaliers have waived guards Isaac Hamilton and Scoochie Smith, whom they signed to Exhibit 10 contracts on Thursday, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. That duo will join the team’s G League camp.

The Cavs have also reportedly reached an agreement with point guard Kobi Simmons and also added forward Bonzie Colson, though neither have officially signed. If they do become official, Cleveland will reach the 20-player training camp roster limit.

Cavaliers Sign Dwyane Wade

September 27th, 2017 at 4:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

SEPTEMBER 27, 4:09pm: After clearing waivers, Wade has signed his new contract with the Cavs and will report to the team’s evening practice session tonight, says Wojnarowski. Assuming Wade’s signing is official, that means the Cavs have also waived JaCorey Williams, as reported earlier today.

SEPTEMBER 26, 4:37pm: Dwyane Wade plans to sign with Cleveland once he clears waivers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wade agreed to a buyout with the Bulls earlier this week and he’ll be free to sign with any club on Wednesday. Cleveland currently has 20 players under contract–the maximum allowed for training–so an immediate corresponding move will be needed to make the transaction official.

It was reported earlier today that Wade had “no intention of going anywhere” else besides Cleveland and that the two sides were nearing an agreement. The Thunder, Heat, Lakers, Warriors, and Spurs were all linked to the 35-year-old, though it appears Wade simply wants to compete for a championship alongside his good friend LeBron James.

Wade’s deal with the Cavaliers will be for one season at the minimum salary, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The Chicago native is entering his 15th season in the league, meaning his minimum salary will come in at approximately $2.33MM.

Wade was scheduled to make $23.8MM in Chicago this season, but the team’s offseason plans forced him to consider a buyout agreement. The Bulls traded away Jimmy Butler and appear to be in a full rebuild, something that didn’t appeal to Wade. After seemingly amicable negotiations with Chicago’s front office, Wade ended up forfeiting roughly $8MM for the right to be a free agent.

With Wade in the fold, the Cavs could roll at as many as three new starters on opening night, just four months after representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. The team traded away Kyrie Irving this summer, netting Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder along with Ante Zizic and a pair of future picks, and many speculate that the team could slide Kevin Love to the five in order to make room for Crowder in the first unit.

Wade played a career-low 29.9 minutes per contest in Chicago last season and it would be surprising if he tops that mark with Cleveland this year. In 60 games with the Bulls in 2016/17, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while posting a player efficiency rating of 18.5.

Photo courtesy of USA Today.

Cavaliers To Waive JaCorey Williams

September 27th, 2017 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers intend to create room on their roster to sign Dwyane Wade by waiving undrafted rookie JaCorey Williams, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).

Williams’ tenure as a Cavalier was short-lived — the team just made his signing official on Tuesday. However, with a full 20-man roster and Wade set to clear waivers later today, Cleveland needed to make a move in order to create an opening for the future Hall-of-Famer.

A report on Tuesday night had indicated that Kendrick Perkins may be on the chopping block, but the veteran center remains on the Cavs’ roster for now. Still, more cuts will come soon.

Once they waive Williams and sign Wade, Cleveland will be back up to 20 players, including 16 on guaranteed contracts. By opening night, the club will have to get down to 15 players, which will mean trading or cutting one player on a guaranteed deal — or more than one, if the Cavs want to keep any of their non-guaranteed players, such as Perkins, Kay Felder, or Edy Tavares.

Williams, a 6’8″ forward, played his first three college seasons at Arkansas, but didn’t see much action for the Razorbacks, averaging just 11.9 minutes per game in 96 total contests for the program. After transferring to Middle Tennessee State for his senior year, he enjoyed a breakout season, averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG. Williams, who was named the Conference USA Player of the Year for 2016/17, joined the Warriors for Summer League action in July before his brief stint with the Cavs. He’ll be on the lookout for a new team once he clears waivers.

Cavaliers Sign JaCorey Williams

September 26th, 2017 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

1:37pm: Williams’ deal with the Cavs is now official, the team confirmed in a press release.

8:24am: The Cavaliers will fill the final spot on their 20-man training camp roster by signing undrafted rookie JaCorey Williams, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. According to McMenamin, Williams will likely ink an Exhibit 10 deal, which could be converted into a two-way contract next month.

Williams, a 6’8″ forward, played his first three college seasons at Arkansas, but didn’t see much action for the Razorbacks, averaging just 11.9 minutes per game in 96 total contests for the program. After transferring to Middle Tennessee State for his senior year, Williams enjoyed a breakout season, averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG. He was named the Conference USA Player of the Year for 2016/17.

After Williams went undrafted in June, it initially appeared that he may end up in camp with the Warriors, but his agreement with Golden State only spanned Summer League play. Rather than joining the defending NBA champions, Williams will head to camp with the Eastern Conference champs, and the Cavs are intent on having him develop with the Canton Charge, their G League affiliate, McMenamin notes. Williams may end up as an affiliate player if he doesn’t land in one of the club’s two-way slots.

While the Cavs will have a full 20-man roster after finalizing Williams’ deal, the signing won’t preclude a pursuit of Dwyane Wade, who is on track to clear waivers on Wednesday. Cleveland would need to waive or trade a player to add Wade, but such a move would have been necessary by opening night anyway if Wade chooses the Cavs, since the team already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts.

Warriors, JaCorey Williams Agree To Deal

June 23rd, 2017 at 11:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The Warriors are said to have reached an agreement with Middle Tennessee forward JaCorey Williams, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports. It’s unclear whether the deal is just for Summer League or one that will span into training camp.

Coming off of their second title in three seasons, the Warriors don’t exactly need reinforcements, but the 23-year-old big man averaged 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in college.

Should the agreement be for more than just a Summer League deal, there’s a chance that the parties could have come to terms on a two-way deal. Earlier today, of course, we wrote that the Warriors and Oregon’s Chris Boucher had agreed on a two-way contract.