Sean McDermott Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sign Onu, Weems; Waive McDermott, Hurt

October 13th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have signed forward/center E.J. Onu and forward Romeo Weems, the team announced today in a press release. Swingman Sean McDermott and forward Matthew Hurt were waived to create the necessary spots on the team’s 20-man preseason roster.

Onu and Weems both played for the Memphis Hustle – the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate – last season and appear likely to return to the Hustle this fall. Their new deals probably include Exhibit 10 language designed to get them bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with Memphis’ G League team.

That’s presumably also the plan for McDermott and Hurt, who had only been on the Grizzlies’ roster since Monday. The team is rotating players in and out of the last two spots on its preseason roster as it prepares for the NBA and G League seasons.

The Grizzlies have until Monday to set their roster for the start of the regular season.

Grizzlies Sign Matthew Hurt, Sean McDermott

October 10th, 2022 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have made some changes to the back end of their 20-man preseason roster, announcing today in a press release (via Twitter) that they’ve signed forward Matthew Hurt and swingman Sean McDermott. The team waived camp invitees Jacob Gilyard and Justin Bean to open up roster spots for the new additions.

The transactions are unlikely to have an impact on the Grizzlies’ projected regular season roster. Gilyard and Bean were in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and are safe bets to join the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate. Hurt and McDermott will likely be waived before next Monday’s roster deadline and report to the Hustle as well.

Hurt, who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies a year ago after going undrafted out of Duke, spent his first professional season with the Hustle, but a knee injury prevented him from appearing in any NBAGL regular season games.

McDermott, who went undrafted out of Butler in 2020, has spent the last two seasons in the Grizzlies’ organization. He was on a two-way contract as a rookie, then was an affiliate player with the Hustle in 2021/22. He has appeared in a total of 18 regular season games in the NBA and 17 in the G League.

The Grizzlies once again have a full 20-man preseason roster. They have 16 players on standard contracts (15 fully guaranteed, plus Danny Green with a partial guarantee), Hurt and McDermott presumably on Exhibit 10 deals, and Vince Williams and Kenneth Lofton Jr. on two-way pacts.

Grizzlies Sign Ahmad Caver, Matthew Hurt; Waive Sean McDermott, Romeo Weems

October 14th, 2021 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have completed a series of four roster moves, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived Sean McDermott and Romeo Weems, replacing them on the roster with Ahmad Caver and Matthew Hurt.

Both McDermott and Weems had been on Exhibit 10 contracts and it’s safe to assume that Caver and Hurt will receive similar deals.

All four players are candidates to join the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate. Signing them to Exhibit 10 deals now ensures the Grizzlies will secure their NBAGL rights or – if the team already holds their returning rights – will be able to award them bonuses of up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with the Hustle.

Caver, a 6’2″ point guard, has spent the last two seasons with the Hustle and made a major impact off the bench for the team in the 2021 NBAGL bubble, averaging 16.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.8 APG on .525/.425/.634 shooting in 15 games (29.4 MPG).

Hurt, a 6’9″ forward who played two seasons for Duke, had a very productive sophomore season for the Blue Devils in 2020/21, averaging 18.3 PPG and 6.2 RPG with a stellar .556/.444/.724 shooting line across 24 games (32.7 MPG). He signed a two-way contract with Houston in August, but was waived in September.

Grizzlies Waive Carsen Edwards, Daniel Oturu

September 23rd, 2021 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have waived guard Carsen Edwards and big man Daniel Oturu while adding Shaq Buchanan and Sean McDermott to their camp roster, the team tweets.

Edwards was acquired from the Celtics earlier this month. Oturu was among the players acquired from the Clippers in the deal that sent Eric Bledsoe to Los Angeles. Edwards had a salary of $1.78MM, while Oturu’s salary for the upcoming season was $1.52MM.

Memphis had other motives for making those deals and obviously wasn’t interested in retaining either player.

By waiving the duo, Memphis is now down to 16 guaranteed contracts, one over the limit for the regular season, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Buchanan has played for Memphis’ G League team. He was in Grizzlies camp last season but was waived prior to opening night.

McDermott appeared in 18 games with Memphis as a two-way player last season, averaging 2.2 PPG in 8.8 MPG. Memphis waived McDermott in August.

Grizzlies Waive Sean McDermott To Complete Trade With Wolves

August 25th, 2021 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

In order to create room on their 20-man roster to accommodate a one-for-two trade with the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies have waived wing Sean McDermott, the team announced today in a press release.

McDermott, who went undrafted out of Butler in 2020, quickly caught on with the Grizzlies, signing a two-way deal with the team last November. He appeared in 18 NBA games during his rookie season, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.1 RPG in limited action (8.8 MPG).

Because McDermott’s two-way contract covered two seasons, he had remained under team control to start the 2021/22 league year, but it looks like he’s no longer in the team’s plans for the time being.

Memphis now has an open two-way contract slot, with Killian Tillie occupying the other one. Yves Pons, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract, looks like a candidate to claim the second two-way deal before the regular season, notes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).

Besides Tillie and Pons, the Grizzlies’ other 18 players are on guaranteed contracts. That includes Juan Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver, who were acquired from Minnesota in exchange for Patrick Beverley in the trade that was completed today, and Rajon Rondo, whom Herrington doesn’t expect to still be on the team when the season begins (Twitter link).

Grizzlies Trade Beverley To Wolves For Culver, Hernangomez

August 25th, 2021 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 25: Over a week after agreeing to terms, the Grizzlies and Timberwolves have completed their trade, according to press releases sent out by both teams. Memphis waived Sean McDermott in order to make room on the 20-man roster for the extra incoming player.

AUGUST 17: A day after acquiring him from the Clippers, the Grizzlies have lined up a deal to flip veteran guard Patrick Beverley to the Timberwolves, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, Memphis will receive wing Jarrett Culver and forward Juan Hernangomez from Minnesota in the trade.

As Wojnarowski observes (via Twitter), Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas worked in the Rockets’ front office when Beverley was in Houston and appreciates the toughness and leadership he can bring to a young team. Minnesota lost some point guard depth when the team shipped Ricky Rubio to Cleveland, so Beverley will help fortify that position.

Beverley, 33, averaged 7.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG on .423/.397/.800 shooting in 37 games (22.5 MPG) for the Clippers in 2020/21 and is considered a strong perimeter defender.

Moving Hernangomez will reduce the Wolves’ options at an already-thin power forward spot, but it may have been a necessary move. There was reportedly tension between the player and the team after Minnesota’s medical staff prevented the 25-year-old from representing Spain at the Tokyo Olympics last month due to a shoulder injury.

Culver, meanwhile, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft. One of Rosas’ first moves after being hired by the Wolves was to trade Dario Saric and the No. 11 pick (Cameron Johnson) in order to move up for Culver, but he struggled during his first two years in the NBA, putting up a modest 7.8 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .406/.288/.503 shooting in 97 total games (20.7 MPG).

After taking on some extra 2021/22 money in their trade with the Clippers, the Grizzlies will reduce this year’s team salary a little in this deal — the combined salaries for Culver ($6.4MM) and Hernangomez ($6.9MM) come in slightly lower than Beverley’s cap hit ($14.32MM). Neither player is owed any guaranteed money in 2022/23 yet either, though Culver has an $8.11MM team option and Hernangomez has a $7.42MM non-guaranteed salary.

It’s unclear how Culver and Hernangomez fit into Memphis’ plans. The deal certainly doesn’t help the Grizzlies’ roster crunch — they already had 17 players on guaranteed contracts before swapping out Beverley for two new players, and will actually have to waive someone from their 20-man roster in order to complete the one-for-two trade.

There are likely more moves to come for the Grizzlies, so we’ll have to wait to see what they have in mind for Culver and Hernangomez, but it’s worth noting that Culver is still just 22 years old — the club may seem some untapped potential there. Memphis will have to make a decision on his $8.1MM option for 2022/23 this fall.

Southwest Notes: Lamb, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Luka

March 9th, 2021 at 8:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

At 18-16, the Mavericks are currently the No. 8 seed in the West. Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at potential trades ahead of the March 25 deadline that could help Dallas move into the Western Conference’s top tier.

Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal and Hawks power forward John Collins (a restricted free agent this summer) are among the higher-impact targets Dallas could pursue to pair with All-Star guard Luka Doncic. Veteran Pelicans wing J.J. Redick could be a more realistic addition.

There’s more out of the Southwest:

New Rockets forward Anthony Lamb raved about the club, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). “It’s an unbelievable opportunity,” Lamb said. “Just being able to play with them is awesome. I’m so grateful for the chance.” Lamb had been playing with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ G League affiliate. He highlighted his familiarity with the Vipers’ system (which is modeled after Houston’s) when discussing his transition to Houston, Berman tweets. “It’s gonna make it a lot easier to make it simple for myself,” Lamb said.
The Grizzlies have announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled Jontay Porter from their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, and have transferred two-way player Sean McDermott back to the Grizzlies as well. Across nine contests for the Hustle, Porter averaged 7.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.2 APG and 1.2 BPG. McDermott averaged 17.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.5 for the club’s NBAGL affiliate.
Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News wonders if a trade could help the Mavericks spread the wealth and yield a more balanced offensive attack for the club. This could prove particularly beneficial to point guard Luka Doncic, currently quarterbacking the club’s offense at a high usage rate.

Southwest Notes: Cousins, McDermott, Spurs, Pelicans

February 22nd, 2021 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Rockets and DeMarcus Cousins intend to amicably part ways, it’s possible the veteran center hasn’t played his last game for the team yet. Addressing the Cousins situation on Sunday, head coach Stephen Silas said the 30-year-old was still at practice and that the plan was to have him continue to start at center as long as he remains on Houston’s roster, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

Cousins’ representatives and the Rockets are working on a potential trade or release that would get the big man to a team of his choosing. Other players in similar situations, like Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, are being held out of action while their teams look to finalize a resolution, but Silas’ comments indicated the Rockets aren’t necessarily committed to that same approach.

Still, Cousins’ availability in the coming days will hinge in large part on his health. He has been ruled out for Monday’s game due to a sore right heel and it’s safe to assume the Rockets will be very cautious with the big man as they explore the trade market in search of a potential deal.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

With the Grizzlies‘ roster getting a little healthier, the team has sent two-way player Sean McDermott to the G League bubble, transferring him to the Memphis Hustle (Twitter link). McDermott has been a depth option on the wing for the Grizzlies this season, appearing in just eight games, so he’ll see more frequent playing time for the Hustle.
The Spurs also made a pair of G League transactions, announcing (via Twitter) that they’ve recalled guard Tre Jones and forward Luka Samanic from the Austin Spurs. Jones had been leading the G League with 9.7 assists per game, while Samanic ranked in the top six in the NBAGL in both PPG (21.8) and RPG (11.3).
The Pelicans continue to gradually increase the number of fans allowed at the Smoothie King Center, issuing a press release today confirming that capacity will increase to 2,700 as of Wednesday. New Orleans, whose previous capacity was 1,900 fans, hope to bump that number up to 4,000+ by season’s end.

Contract Details: Adams, Hernangomez, Bol, Bacon, McDermott

November 26th, 2020 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

After receiving a trade bonus worth $2MM as part of the deal that sent him from Oklahoma City to New Orleans, Pelicans center Steven Adams will have a new 7.5% trade kicker on his two-year extension with his new team, tweets Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. That kicker will give Adams a rare opportunity to potentially cash in on two trade bonuses between free agencies.

Meanwhile, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that another new Pelicans center, Willy Hernangomez, will only have a partial guarantee on his new deal with the team. Hernangomez is assured of receiving at least $700K of his $1.74MM minimum salary for 2020/21, Smith notes.

Here are a few more notes on recently-signed contracts from around the NBA:

Both years on Bol Bol‘s two-year contract with the Nuggets are fully guaranteed, tweets Eric Pincus. Denver used a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the $4.2MM deal.
Dwayne Bacon‘s new two-year contract with the Magic is for the veteran’s minimum and will be non-guaranteed for 2021/22, tweets Keith Smith. If Bacon remains under contract for more than three days after 2021’s free agency moratorium ends, he’ll get that full guarantee on year two, Smith adds.
While most of the two-way contracts that have been signed by players in the last week are only for one year, Sean McDermott’s deal with the Grizzlies will cover two years, tweets Smith.

Killian Tillie, Sean McDermott Sign Two-Way Deals With Grizzlies

November 19th, 2020 at 12:28am CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: The Grizzlies have officially announced their two-way deals with Tillie and McDermott.

NOVEMBER 19: Undrafted Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie has agreed to a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Memphis will sign Butler swingman Sean McDermott with its other two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The French-born Tillie played four seasons for the Bulldogs. As a senior, the 6’10” Tillie averaged 13.6 PPG and 5.0 RPG. His calling card is his ability to stretch the floor. He shot 44.4% on his 3-point tries during his college career.

Another four-year college player, McDermott started for Butler in his last two seasons. He averaged 11.7 PPG and 6.3 RPG as a senior. He’s also a prolific 3-point shooter, knocking down 40.3% of his attempts during his college career.

Two-way players can be active for 50 games this season, up from the usual 45-day limit.