Malik Newman

Cavaliers Sign Malik Newman To 10-Day Contract

DECEMBER 29: Newman’s 10-day deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. It’ll run through January 7, covering Cleveland’s next five games.


DECEMBER 28: The Cavaliers will add 6’3″ shooting guard Malik Newman to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

As Charania notes, Newman had most recently been playing for the Cavaliers’ NBAGL affiliate club, the Cleveland Charge. The 24-year-old out of Kansas has averaged 17.8 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 3.2 RPG on .473/.423/.789 shooting in 13 games (27.2 MPG) for the Charge this season. He has played in exactly one NBA game, for the Cavaliers, during the 2019/20 season.

Cleveland has six players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols as of this writing, including star guard Darius Garland and little-used reserve Dylan Windler. Guard Collin Sexton is also out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Jarrett Allen, Ed Davis, Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens round out the club’s COVID-19 absences.

Newman will be the Cavs’ fourth hardship addition, joining Luke Kornet, Justin Anderson, and Tre Scott.

And-Ones: TBT, Daniels, Whittington, Newman

A number of former NBA players are set to take part in 2020’s edition of The Basketball Tournament, an annual, winner-take-all tournament with a prize of $1MM.

As Carmine Carcieri of ESPN details, veteran guard Joe Johnson is playing in The Basketball Tournament after winning a championship and an MVP award in the BIG3 in 2019. Malachi Richardson, Tony Wroten, Johnny O’Bryant, and Markel Brown are among the others with NBA experience who will suit up for the event, per Carcieri.

More recently, a couple more notable names have joined the list of participants, with veteran guard Jarrett Jack joining Johnson’s Overseas Elite squad (Twitter link), while former lottery pick Hasheem Thabeet will be a member of the Playing For Jimmy V team.

With most professional sports still on hiatus, The Basketball Tournament should be under a larger spotlight in 2020. ESPN announced its broadcast schedule for the event today, starting with four games on July 4 and culminating in a July 14 championship.

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

  • CAA Sports is hiring Evan Daniels of 247Sports to become an agent in its college basketball coaching division, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Daniels has long been one of the most well-connected and reliable sources for college basketball and NBA draft news.
  • Free agent forward Greg Whittington, who had a strong year in Turkey in 2019/20, isn’t eligible to join an NBA team for the summer restart, but continues to receive strong offers from EuroLeague teams, including Panathinaikos BC, agent Jerry Dianis tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter links).
  • Former lottery pick Derrick Williams has received interest from international teams, including Khimki, but no deal is imminent, reports JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link). Williams, who last played in the NBA in 2017/18, spent the ’19/20 season with Fenerbahce.
  • Malik Newman, who spent a little time with the Cavaliers this season, has signed with Turkish team Bursaspor, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes. Newman appeared in just one game for Cleveland, spending most of 2019/20 with the Canton Charge in the G League.

Cavaliers Sign J.P. Macura, Malik Newman To 10-Day Deals

The Cavaliers have signed guards J.P. Macura and Malik Newman to 10-day contracts, the team announced in a press release.

The transactions bring Cleveland’s total roster count to 17 players, which includes Dean Wade and Matt Mooney on two-way contracts.

Macura, 24, has appeared in 32 games with Cleveland’s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge. He’s averaged 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists across those contests, playing 30.1 minutes per game.

Newman, 22, has appeared in 31 contests with Canton this season, holding per-game averages of 17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 30.9 minutes. He also spent time with the team during summer league in 2019.

Cleveland was active around the trade deadline last week, trading for star center Andre Drummond while sending Brandon Knight, John Henson and a future second-round pick to Detroit. The team has upcoming games against the Clippers on Sunday and Hawks on Wednesday before the All-Star break.

Macura and Newman will both be eligible to play in three games over the course of their 10-day deals, with Cleveland also visiting Washington the Friday after All-Star Weekend.

Cavs Officially Sign Four Players, Waive Two

The Cavaliers have finalized a series of roster moves, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. Cleveland released a pair of players on non-guaranteed contracts, then signed four players to training camp deals, filling their 20-man offseason roster. Here’s a breakdown of the moves made by the Cavs:

Signed:

Waived:

Newman and Randolph signed with the Cavs nearly a month ago, but didn’t stick with the team long enough to attend training camp. Both players spent last season with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate, and look like good bets to return to Canton in 2019/20. Their Exhibit 10 deals will entitle them to bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least two months with the Charge this season.

As for Bolden, Hamilton, Macura, and Thornwell, we provided more details on all four players in our previous stories on their deals with the Cavs, as linked above. They’ll fill out the team’s 20-man roster and will get an opportunity to compete in camp for a spot on the 15-man regular season roster or a two-way contract.

Currently, Cleveland is carrying 13 players with guaranteed salaries and one on a two-way deal. The newly-signed quartet will join Alex Robinson and Jarell Martin as non-guaranteed camp invitees who will look to make a positive impression in the preseason.

Cavs Sign Levi Randolph, Malik Newman

The Cavaliers have signed a pair of G League players, Levi Randolph and Malik Newman, to standard contracts, per RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. RealGM classifies them as one-year deals, so they’re likely Exhibit 10 contracts.

Randolph, 26, is a 6’6″ guard who spent the 2018/19 season playing for the Canton Charge. He averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .478/.451/.765 shooting line in 50 games (31.4 MPG). Assuming Randolph returns to Canton for the coming season, he’ll likely be in line for a bonus worth $50K, assuming his deal is in fact an Exhibit 10 contract.

Meanwhile, the Cavs probably also view Newman as a returning-rights player for the Charge. After going undrafted out of Kansas in 2018, the 6’3″ guard briefly signed a two-way contract with the Lakers, then caught on with the Heat for training camp. He eventually made his way to the G League, appearing in 17 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce before Miami’s affiliate traded him to Canton for the rest of the season.

In 25 games off the bench for the Charge, Newman averaged 12.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.5 minutes per contest. He also suited up for Cleveland’s Summer League squad last month in Las Vegas.

The Cavs now have 16 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed standard deals and one on a two-way pact. Marques Bolden, J.P. Macura, and Sindarius Thornwell are also expected to sign non-guaranteed contracts with the club.

Raptors Hosting Free Agent Mini-Camp

As the Raptors‘ players and coaches focus on preparing for a potential NBA Finals close-out game in Oakland on Thursday night, the team’s front office will take a closer look at a number of veteran free agents over the next two days in Toronto.

According to a press release, the Raptors will host a free agent mini-camp at its practice facility on Wednesday and Thursday, with 23 players scheduled to attend.

Those players are as follows:

McLemore, Patton, and Payne – all former first-round picks – are perhaps the most well-known players on the list of participants, but they aren’t the only ones with some NBA experience. Artis, Brussino, Costello, Lofton, Thomas, and Weber have each appeared in at least one regular season game as well.

NBA Announces 80 Players For G League Elite Camp

The NBA has announced in a press release that 80 players are set to participate in its G League Elite Camp next week in Chicago from May 12-14. The event will include 40 prospects who are eligible for this year’s draft, as well as 40 standout prospects from the 2018/19 G League season.

Heading into this spring, the NBA revamped its G League Elite Camp, which in past years has simply showcased some of the NBAGL’s top performers.  That aspect of the event will still exist, but G League players will only participate in the first two days of the event.

The second half of the event will feature 40 draft-eligible prospects who aren’t among the 60 prospects invited to the actual draft combine. The list of participants was determined by an NBA team vote, and those prospects will work out and scrimmage during the final two days of the event — there will be no overlap with the G League portion of the event.

As this week’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which takes place from May 15-19 in Chicago.

Here are the list of draft-eligible prospects who are expected to participate in the 2019 G League Elite Mini Camp, per the NBA:

  1. Tyus Battle (Syracuse)
  2. Bennie Boatwright (USC)
  3. Phil Booth (Villanova)
  4. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
  5. Bryce Brown (Auburn)
  6. Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State)
  7. Chris Clemons (Campbell)
  8. Amir Coffey (Minnesota)
  9. Tyler Cook (Iowa)
  10. Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
  11. Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida)
  12. Javin DeLaurier (Duke)
  13. Mamadi Diakite (Virginia)
  14. CJ Elleby (Washington State)
  15. Tacko Fall (UCF)
  16. Robert Franks (Washington State)
  17. Jared Harper (Auburn)
  18. Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)
  19. Dewan Hernandez (Miami)
  20. Amir Hinton (Shaw (NC))
  21. DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa)
  22. Sagaba Konate (West Virginia)
  23. Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep (Canada))
  24. Terance Mann (Florida State)
  25. Caleb Martin (Nevada)
  26. Cody Martin (Nevada)
  27. Luke Maye (North Carolina)
  28. Trey Mourning (Georgetown)
  29. Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
  30. James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska)
  31. Josh Perkins (Gonzaga)
  32. Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
  33. Jalen Pickett (Siena)
  34. Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
  35. Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
  36. Marial Shayok (Iowa State)
  37. Max Strus (DePaul)
  38. Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
  39. Kenny Wooten (Oregon)
  40. Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra)

Here are the 40 G League players set to participate in the G League Elite Camp:

  1. Josh Adams (Raptors 905)
  2. Jaylen Barford (Greensboro Swarm)
  3. Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
  4. Jared Brownridge (Delaware Blue Coats)
  5. Antonius Cleveland (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  6. Charles Cooke (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  7. Cody Demps (Stockton Kings)
  8. Aaron Epps (Northern Arizona Suns)
  9. Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue)
  10. John Gillon (Greensboro Swarm)
  11. Kaiser Gates (Windy City Bulls)
  12. Isaac Haas (Salt Lake City Stars)
  13. Johnny Hamilton (Grand Rapids Drive)
  14. Dusty Hannahs (Memphis Hustle)
  15. Zak Irvin (Westchester Knicks)
  16. Peter Jok (Northern Arizona Suns)
  17. Matt Jones (Stockton Kings)
  18. Marcus Lee (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  19. Zach Lofton (Grand Rapids Drive)
  20. Tahjere McCall (Long Island Nets)
  21. Brandon McCoy (Wisconsin Herd)
  22. MiKyle McIntosh (Raptors 905)
  23. Jordan McLaughlin (Long Island Nets)
  24. Jaylen Morris (Erie BayHawks)
  25. Mychal Mulder (Windy City Bulls)
  26. Malik Newman (Canton Charge)
  27. Retin Obasohan (Northern Arizona Suns)
  28. Chinanu Onuaku (Greensboro Swarm)
  29. Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
  30. Darel Poirier (Capital City Go-Go)
  31. Billy Preston (Texas Legends)
  32. Desi Rodriguez (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario)
  33. Kenneth Smith (Grand Rapids Drive)
  34. Richard Solomon (Oklahoma City Blue)
  35. Emanuel Terry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  36. Juan Toscano-Anderson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  37. Dakarai Tucker (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  38. Andrew White III (Maine Red Claws)
  39. Thomas Wimbush (Long Island Nets)
  40. Todd Withers (Grand Rapids Drive)

Heat Sign Charles Cooke, DeAndre Liggins

The Heat have signed guards Charles Cooke and DeAndre Liggins and waived Marcus Lee and Malik Newman, the team announced on Twitter.

Lee and Newman are both expected to wind up with Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat already have 14 players with guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible that Cooke and Liggins will eventually be joining them.

Cooke was a two-way player with the Pelicans last season and got into 13 NBA games, playing less than 3 minutes per night. He became a free agent when New Orleans elected not to make him a qualifying offer.

Liggins has bounced around the league since 2011, seeing brief stays with seven franchises, including one game with the Heat in 2013/14. He split last season between the Bucks and Pelicans and was waived by New Orleans at the end of August.

Southeast Notes: Robinson, Hornets, Wade, Carter

Despite being invited to participate with USA Basketball in its World Cup qualifying round games, Heat swingman Duncan Robinson has opted to remain in Miami for informal team workouts in the hopes of landing a standard NBA contract for the upcoming season, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.

“I’m really proud in the fact that Duncan Robinson has been invited to play in the international series,” said Heat team president Pat Riley“but he decided to stay here because he wanted to make our team, he wants to force us into giving him a real (standard NBA) contract.”

Robinson, 24, signed a two-way contract with the Heat on July 10th that would limit him to 45 days in the NBA this coming season and maximum earnings of about $385K, per Winderman. A standard NBA contract at the rookie minimum would pay Robinson just north of $838K.

Robinson says that his goal in passing over the opportunity to play for Team USA is to maximize his opportunities in the Heat developmental program. “I mean the margin between having this job or being overseas or being in the G League, whatever it might be, is so thin,” Robinson said. “And I understand that. I understand I caught some breaks and was able to put myself in a situation to be successful. I’m certainly thankful for that.”

There’s more today out of the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets have struggled to attract big name free agents since the franchise returned to North Carolina in 2004, but Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer doesn’t think it has as much to do with the city of Charlotte itself as it has to do with the team’s lack of cap space. Per Bonnell, money is the No. 1 factor in free agency and, unfortunately, the Hornets don’t have significant space under the salary cap now or in the immediate future.
  • In another piece for the Sun-Sentinel, Winderman opines that Riley is fully committed to signing Wade to a free agent contract this summer, luxury tax concerns be darned. Riley’s greater concern would be Wade’s level of commitment. Per Winderman, Riley would likely want a commitment from Wade that this season isn’t simply a retirement tour, but that Wade is seriously interested in making the Heat a better team.
  • While Vince Carter could have spurned the Hawks and signed with a serious title contender this offseason, he tells Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that such a quest is “not his style.” Rather, Carter will be relied upon to be a veteran influence over the youthful roster Atlanta has assembled. “Let them see me and let them see how annoying I can be, but in a good way,” Carter said during an introductory press conference. “I’m going to stay in their ear. At least you know at any time throughout the year, whether it’s practice games, any situation, they will have me to fall back on. Or I’ll come up to them and help them out any way I can.”

Heat Notes: J. Johnson, Weber, Newman, Lee

Despite rumors that he’s on the trade market, the Heat aren’t shopping forward James Johnson, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The team expects Johnson’s productivity to increase after offseason surgery to fix a sports hernia, which involves damage to soft tissue in the groin area. Johnson dealt with the injury through much of last season.

“It’s something that he played through last year and it affected him for sure,” said his agent, Mark Bartelstein. “They don’t come any tougher than James. His pain threshold is unlike anyone I’ve seen.”

Johnson posted a 10.9/4.8/3.9 line last season while providing the defense and versatility that he’s known for. He still has two seasons and about $30MM left on his contract, along with a $16MM player option for 20/21.

There’s more news from Miami to pass along, all courtesy of Jackson:

  • The Heat know what they’re getting from Briante Weber, who reached a partially guaranteed agreement with the team earlier this week. He got into one game for Miami in 2015/16, but has played extensively for the organization’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls. Weber is an excellent defender who struggles with his outside shot and has been prone to turnovers. He had brief stays with the Rockets and Grizzlies last season and has played for five NBA teams in his three-year career.
  • The Heat look for elite athletes when evaluating prospects, which is why they were drawn to former Parade All-Americans Malik Newman and Marcus Lee. Neither player was drafted, but both have raw ability that could help them succeed at the NBA level. Depending on whether Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem decide to return, Newman, Lee and Weber could all be competing for one roster opening.
  • Dion Waiters continues to work out at the Heat’s facility as part of his comeback from ankle surgery that he underwent in January. Waiters was limited to 30 games last year and has only played 76 in two seasons since coming to Miami. He has two more years and $24.75MM left on his current deal.