Ray Spalding

Hawks Waive Ray Spalding

The Hawks have requested waivers on training camp invitee Ray Spalding, the team announced today in a press release. Assuming he goes unclaimed, Spalding will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday.

Spalding, a 22-year-old power forward, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Atlanta in July after having his 2019/20 team option turned down by the Suns in June. The No. 56 overall pick in the 2018 draft, the former Louisville standout appeared in 14 total NBA games for the Mavericks and Suns in his rookie season, averaging 3.9 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 10.6 minutes per contest.

With Spalding no longer on the roster, the Hawks have 19 players under contract, leaving an opening in case they want to sign another player before the season begins.

Of Atlanta’s 19 players, two are on two-way contracts and 14 have fully guaranteed salaries, leaving a potential opening on the regular season roster if the team intends to carry a full 15-man squad. Armoni Brooks, Marcus Derrickson, and Tahjere McCall are the non-guaranteed camp invitees still under contract.

Hawks Notes: Carter, Roster, Parker, Spalding

The Hawks have left open a roster spot for Vince Carter but it’s still unsure whether the 42-year-old will rejoin them, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic details.

Carter doesn’t want to just ride the bench if he plays a 22nd season, which would be an NBA record. However, lottery picks De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish and free agent signee Jabari Parker will all see significant action, which would cut into Carter’s minutes. Carter is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“Just waiting for the right opportunity, and nothing has changed as far as that goal, and that dream of mine is to still play,” Carter said. “It’s just a patient thing. I get it. I’m older. Teams are going younger. Hopefully, within the coming days, we’ll have something figured out.”

We have more on the Hawks:

  • The Hawks plan to keep one roster spot open entering next season in order to facilitate trades, Kirschner reports in the same piece. They plan to use their approximate $5MM in remaining cap space to help make a trade before February’s deadline to collect future draft picks.
  • Parker used his abbreviated stay with the Bulls as a learning experience, as he told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Parker signed with the Bulls last offseason on a two-year, $40MM deal that included a team option. He lost his rotation spot and was traded to the Wizards, who declined the option this summer. He then signed a two-year, $13MM contract with the Hawks. “It was really good because now I can relate to every kind of player,” Parker said of playing for Chicago. “When I talk to kids, I can talk to them about everything – from being the best player on a team to being the player who isn’t even playing. I’m just grateful for that experience. It allowed me to see things differently.”
  • Forward Ray Spalding said the Hawks sought him out after the Suns declined to sign him after summer league play, as he told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution“Phoenix set up different contracts with different players. My agent thought maybe it would be time to look elsewhere,” Spalding said. “So we did that and the Hawks reached out. He really liked what the Hawks said about me and offered me so I felt like this would be a safe place to start.” Spalding signed an Exhibit 10 contract.

Hawks Sign Ray Spalding

JULY 31: The Hawks have officially signed Spalding, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who confirms that it’s an Exhibit 10 deal (Twitter link).

JULY 25: The Hawks will bring in free agent forward Ray Spalding, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link). It will be a partially guaranteed arrangement.

Additional details on the pact are not yet known, but it’s likely an Exhibit 10 deal. Atlanta currently has 14 players under contract.

Spalding was selected late in the second round of the 2018 draft by the Mavericks and split his time last season between Dallas and Phoenix, having been waived by the Mavs in January.

The power forward appeared in 29 contests in the G League with the Texas Legends last year, posting averages of 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He finished the season with the Suns, but had his team option for 2019/20 turned down by Phoenix, which made him an unrestricted free agent.

Free Agent Rumors: Holiday, Cousins, Burke, More

Free agent swingman Justin Holiday has received interest from the Lakers, Clippers, Bulls, Raptors, Pacers, Wizards, Hornets, and Cavaliers, league sources tell Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Given how quickly most of the top players came off the market, Holiday represents one of the more intriguing options available, given his ability to knock down three-pointers (1.8 3PG on 35.4% shooting over the last three years) and defend on the perimeter.

According to Scotto, the Grizzlies are open to the idea of accommodating a sign-and-trade deal involving Holiday, so a team with interest in him could potentially acquire him using a trade exception if it doesn’t want to cut into its mid-level.

Here’s more on a few NBA free agents:

  • Wizards interim head of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard briefly spoke with free agent big man DeMarcus Cousins in Las Vegas, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link). A previous report indicated there was virtually no chance of Cousins signing with Washington, and Buckner cautions that the conversation was described as small talk, but she still refers to it as an “interesting development.”
  • The Lakers are in the mix for free agent point guard Trey Burke, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link). Los Angeles still has plenty of roster spots to fill, so it’s not clear how high Burke is on the team’s wish list.
  • Veteran NBA big man Darrell Arthur, who sat out last season after being waived by Phoenix in October, is considering a comeback and is open to continuing his career overseas, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
  • ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Marc J. Spears, and Ohm Youngmisuk spoke to coaches, scouts, and executives at the Utah and California Summer Leagues to get their thoughts on free agency so far. Among the highlights: McMahon writes that a number of rival executives and scouts believe the Rockets dodged a bullet by not landing Jimmy Butler.
  • The Suns have formally renounced their free agent rights to several players, including Dragan Bender, Jamal Crawford, Jimmer Fredette, and Ray Spalding, per RealGM’s transactions log.

Suns Decline 2019/20 Option On Ray Spalding

The Suns have turned down their team option on power forward Ray Spalding for the 2019/20 season, reports Gina Mizell of The Athletic (via Twitter). The option would have paid Spalding a minimum salary of $1,416,852.

A former Louisville standout, Spalding was drafted by the Sixers with the 56th overall selection last June and traded to Dallas on draft night. However, the Mavericks waived him in January to open up a roster spot to complete the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

Spalding subsequently caught on with the Suns, signing a 10-day contract and then a multiyear deal. He appeared in 13 games for Phoenix down the stretch, averaging 4.2 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 11.3 minutes per contest.

Spalding is eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Suns, but there has been no indication that the team has issued a QO. Without that offer, the 22-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent.

Ray Spalding Gets Multi-Year Deal From Suns

12:26pm: Phoenix has officially signed Spalding for the remainder of the season, announcing the news in a press release. The Suns’ roster still stands at 16 players.

8:44am: The Suns will sign Ray Spalding for the rest of this season, with a partial guarantee for next year, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The new contract comes as a 10-day deal that Spalding had with Phoenix is set to expire. The 21-year-old hasn’t taken the court yet for the Suns, but he did get into one game for the Mavericks before being waived in January.

Dallas selected the ex-Louisville star with the 56th pick in the 2018 draft. He was a starter in the G League, averaging 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game with the Texas Legends. The Mavericks released him to open a roster spot to complete the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

The Suns will still have a roster opening once the Spalding deal is complete, but they will now have 14 guaranteed contracts.

Suns Sign Ray Spalding To 10-Day Contract

FEBRUARY 21: The Suns have officially signed Spalding to a 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 19: The Suns intend to sign free agent forward Ray Spalding to a 10-day contract, reports Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link). Phoenix has a pair of open roster spots, so no corresponding move will be necessary.

Spalding, who will turn 22 next month, was selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2018 draft and spent most of his rookie season with the Mavericks. While the former Louisville standout appeared in just one game for Dallas, he was a starter in the Texas Legends’ frontcourt, averaging 15.9 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.2 BPG, and 1.7 SPG in 29 games (30.1 MPG) for the Mavs’ G League affiliate.

The Mavericks released Spalding about three weeks ago when they needed to open up a roster spot to accommodate the incoming players in the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster. Despite a team-friendly contract, he cleared waivers and has been an unrestricted free agent since then.

The Suns will get a look at the rookie and will get back to the NBA-mandated roster minimum of 14 players as a result of the signing. Phoenix had been at 13 players since waiving Wayne Ellington on February 7, and had a two-week window to re-add a 14th man.

Mavericks Waive Ray Spalding

The Mavericks waived forward Ray Spalding after agreeing to a trade with New York on Thursday, the team announced in a press release. He’ll clear waivers and become a free agent on Saturday, assuming no team places a claim.

Having acquired four players, including Kristaps Porzingis, in a blockbuster deal with the Knicks, the Mavs only sent out three players in the swap, meaning the club had to waive a player to avoid exceeding the 15-player max. Spadling was ultimately the odd man out.

Spalding appeared in just one game with Dallas and was selected with the No. 56 pick in 2018. His rights were traded to Dallas from Philadelphia on draft night, with the 21-year-old now set to enter unrestricted free agency during his rookie season.

Spalding, who spent four seasons at Louisville, has spent most of the 2018/19 season with the Texas Legends — G League affiliate of the Mavericks. He’s held per-game averages of 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 29 games with Texas on the year.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/19

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Nets assigned rookie forward Dzanan Musa to the Long Island Nets, the G League team tweets. Musa has been working his way back from a left shoulder injury suffered during a G League game in mid-December. The 29th overall pick hasn’t seen action in an NBA game since December 1st.
  • The Mavericks recalled rookie forward Ray Spalding from the Texas Legends for the first time this season, Dwain Price of Mavs.com tweets. Spalding, a late second-round selection acquired from Philadelphia, has averaged 15.9 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 2.2 BPG in 30.1 MPG over 29 games with the Legends.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/29/18

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Clippers assigned guard Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the Clippers’ PR department tweets. Thornwell was a regular member of the team’s rotation as a rookie last season, appearing in 73 games, including 16 starts. He hasn’t seen the court this season.
  • The Mavericks have assigned rookie big man Ray Spalding to the Texas Legends, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Spalding was languishing behind DeAndre Jordan, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell in the rotation and with Harrison Barnes returning from an injury, there was no playing time for him. The 6’10” Spalding was the 56th overall pick in June by the Sixers, who then shipped him to the Mavs. He has made one cameo appearance with Dallas.