Tim Frazier

And-Ones: Frazier, Grant, Anderson, Christmas Games

Former NBA guard Tim Frazier didn’t last long with his latest European team. He parted ways with Greece’s Promitheas Patras after playing just one game, according to Eurohoops.net.

The club made the announcement, saying Frazier left due to a family emergency. Frazier previously played in Greece with AEK Athens and, most recently spent time in France with SIG Strasbourg. He appeared in 289 NBA games, most recently in 2021/22 when he saw action in 12 contests with the Magic and Cavs.

We have more from the international basketball world:

  • Another former NBA guard, Jerian Grant is expected to get a contract extension with Greek club Panathinaikos until 2026, according to another Eurohoops.net post. Grant, the 2022/23 EuroCup MVP, is averaging 8.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals this season.
  • Spain’s Valencia has announced the signing of former NBA forward Justin Anderson, according to Sportando. Anderson played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season after getting waived by Indiana during training camp. He was named to the All-G League Third Team. Anderson, who appeared in 242 NBA games after being a 2015 first-round pick, signed a 45-day contract with Valencia that can be extended until the end of the season.
  • The Warriors are playing on Christmas Day for the 13th time in the last 14 years and Stephen Curry doesn’t take it lightly, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “Marquee games on Christmas, it’s going to be a great atmosphere,” Curry said. “You know, we’ve been in that environment before, so I understand what it’s going to be like. On the road, it’s going to be fun to just compete. It’s a test.” This year’s group of Christmas participants is virtually the same as last year. Of the 10 teams picked, nine also played on Dec. 25 last year. The exception is Miami, with Memphis not on the slate after debuting last year.

International Notes: Nader, McLemore, Frazier, Walker

Abdel Nader has signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix for the remainder of the 2023/24 NBL season, the team says, (Twitter link via Olgun Uluc of ESPN). The NBA’s Suns waived Nader back in February 2022 and he never worked his way back into the league. Nader, 30, appeared in 202 NBA games with the Celtics, Thunder and Suns.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • Longtime NBA guard Ben McLemore has parted ways with Greece’s AEK Betsson, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. It was his first stint in Europe after playing in China last season. In Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League, McLemore averaged 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in seven appearances. McLemore played for the Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, Lakers and Trail Blazers over the course of his nine-year NBA career, which spanned from 2013-22.
  • Greece’s Promitheas Patras has signed former NBA guard Tim Frazier, according to Eurohoops. Frazier previously played in that country with AEK Athens and, most recently spent time in France with SIG Strasbourg. The 33-year-old averaged 11.3 points, 5.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds with AEK in 2022/23 and posted 8.3 points, 4.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds over seven games with Strasbourg. He appeared in 289 NBA games, most recently in 2021/22 when he saw action in 12 contests with the Magic and Cavs.
  • Kemba Walker is enjoying his transition to European basketball, playing for AS Monaco, Eurohoops relays. In an interview with Joe Arlauckas of The Crossover, Walker said, “I wanted to have a new experience. I wanted to try to experience the world. And it’s really been an easy adjustment. These guys welcomed me with open arms, treated me with a lot of respect. Just really made my transition super easy.” The former NBA All-Star had a nine-game stint with the Mavs last season.

Tim Frazier Signs With AEK Athens

Veteran NBA guard Tim Frazier will play in Europe for the first time in his professional career, having signed a one-year contract with AEK Athens, the Greek team announced today in a press release.

Frazier, 31, went undrafted out of Penn State in 2014, but has since suited up for nine different NBA teams, appearing in a total of 289 regular season games, including 128 for New Orleans and 59 for Washington. In 2021/22, he played 10 games for the Magic and two for the Cavaliers on a series of 10-day deals.

Frazier has primarily served as a backup point guard at the NBA level, averaging 4.9 points and 4.0 assists per game with a .400/.323/.723 shooting line in 17.6 minutes per contest over the course of his eight-year career.

AEK Athens, Frazier’s new team, competes in the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the Greek Cup in addition to FIBA’s Basketball Champions League. Earlier this offseason, AEK added free agent forward Cameron McGriff, who also saw some NBA action in 2021/22, appearing in three games for Portland.

Tim Frazier Signs 10-Day Contract With Cavaliers

FEBRUARY 27: Frazier has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, per a team press release.


FEBRUARY 25: The backcourt-depleted Cavaliers are signing veteran point guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The team announced on Thursday that Caris LeVert would miss one to two weeks due to a foot sprain while All-Star Darius Garland is battling lower back soreness. Neither played in the team’s loss to Detroit Thursday night. On Friday, Rajon Rondo was diagnosed with a sprained toe that will sideline him at least two weeks.

Frazier was signed to 10-day contracts with the Magic this season under the hardship exception during the COVID crisis in late December. He wound up playing 10 games for Orlando, including three starts.

Frazier, 31, has also played for Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Detroit and Memphis is his journeyman career. He’s averaged 4.9 PPG and 4.0 APG in 17.7 MPG in 287 NBA games.

Cleveland had a roster spot available and won’t have to make a corresponding move.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Magic, Wagner, Bryant

After a remarkable 2021 postseason run that saw them reach the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks have staggered out of the gate in 2021/22. The team is off to a 16-20 start and currently occupies the conference’s No. 12 seed. Chris Kirschner and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss several potential trades for Atlanta. Kirschner and Hollinger identify a defensive upgrade on the wing as the ideal priority for the club.

Hollinger pinpoints the expiring mid-sized deals of Lou Williams, Gorgui Dieng and Delon Wright, as well as intriguing young players such as Cam Reddish, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, as possible trade chips that team president Travis Schlenk could look to move. Kirschner considers the Pacers and Celtics to be amenable to making deals that could suit the Hawks’ needs.

The Hawks would be open to offloading some of their depth to add a high-impact player in a two-for-one deal, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic in another piece. Amick suggests that forwards Danilo Gallinari and Reddish may be the most likely players to be moved.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Several Magic players signed to 10-day hardship exception deals will soon discover their fates with the club, writes Khobi Price of the Orlando SentinelHassani Gravett, Admiral Schofield, Tim Frazier and Freddie Gillespie are the team’s four current hardship exception signings. The contracts of Gravett and Schofield, who signed their second 10-day deals with Orlando in late December, expire today. “The one thing is these guys understand what we’re asking them to do,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Their ability to move the basketball, sit down and defend the right way — no matter who’s out there, they’re coming in and doing their jobs.” 
  • Rookie Magic small forward Franz Wagner, selected with the eighth pick out of Michigan, has emerged as one of the prime bright spots for the 7-32 team this season, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
  • Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. has revealed that center Thomas Bryant, still recuperating from ACL surgery, could rejoin Washington within the next two weeks, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).

Magic Re-Sign Freddie Gillespie, Tim Frazier

6:11pm: The Magic have re-signed both Gillespie and Frazier to their second 10-day contracts via a hardship exception, the team’s PR department tweets. Frazier has averaged 4.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 3.4 APG in five games with the club (20 MPG).


7:02am: The Magic intend to sign Freddie Gillespie to a second 10-day contract using a hardship exception, our JD Shaw reports (via Twitter). Gillespie’s first 10-day deal with the club expired overnight.

Playing a part-time role for an Orlando squad hit hard by COVID-19, Gillespie averaged 3.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in five games (12.8 MPG) this month. It was the 24-year-old’s second stint in the NBA, as he appeared in 20 games with the Raptors as a rookie during the 2020/21 season.

The Magic’s COVID situation remains fluid — the team still has five players in the health and safety protocols, but one (Mychal Mulder) entered the protocols on December 22 and another (Mohamed Bamba) went in on Dec. 17, so hopefully they’ll be cleared soon.

There are currently two players – Hassani Gravett and Admiral Schofield – on active 10-day deals with the Magic. Gabe York reportedly reached an agreement to sign with the club, but it hasn’t been finalized yet. Tim Frazier‘s 10-day hardship contract, like Gillespie’s, expired overnight.

Magic Sign Freddie Gillespie, Tim Frazier To 10-Day Contracts

DECEMBER 21: The Magic have officially signed Gillespie to his 10-day deal and also announced that veteran guard Tim Frazier has been added on a 10-day contract of his own. Hardship exceptions were used to complete both moves.

Frazier, who has 277 NBA regular season games under his belt, last played for the Grizzlies during the 2020/21 season. The 31-year-old has averaged 5.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 2.3 RPG on .404/.322/.728 shooting in 17.6 minutes per game across his NBA career.


DECEMBER 19: The Magic are planning to sign big man Freddie Gillespie to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Orlando will use a hardship exception to sign him.

Gillespie has been playing with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, averaging 11.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. This is his second straight G League campaign with Memphis.

Gillespie also played 20 games with the Raptors last year, but he was waived this past fall. The 24-year-old went undrafted in 2020 after playing for Carleton and Baylor.

Orlando recently signed B.J. Johnson, Hassani Gravett, Admiral Schofield and Aleem Ford to 10-day contracts. The team is missing several players due to health and safety protocols.

Lakers Rumors: Gasol, Frazier, Sampson, Thomas, LeBron

Veteran center Marc Gasol told reporters following his stint with the Spanish team at the Tokyo Olympics that he intends to play out the 2021/22 season with the Lakers, but NBA reporter Marc Stein (subscription required) has heard that Gasol isn’t a lock to return to the team.

Stein’s report is a little vague — it’s not clear, should the two sides part ways before the end of Gasol’s deal, whether that split would be initiated by the Lakers or by the 36-year-old big man. Stein suggests it’s also unclear whether Gasol would seek another NBA opportunity in that scenario or if he’d want to finish his playing career with a team in Spain like his brother Pau Gasol.

As we keep an eye on that situation, let’s round up a few more Lakers-related rumors and notes…

  • After a recent report identified free agent guards Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James as some players the Lakers have worked out and are considering signing, Stein adds a couple more names to that list, suggesting that the team also has guard Tim Frazier and forward JaKarr Sampson on its radar. Although Los Angeles doesn’t intend to carry a full 15-man roster to open the season, the team currently has just 12 players on guaranteed deals, so a couple more additions will be necessary.
  • Thomas’ workout with the Lakers happened a few weeks ago, before he scored 81 points in a pro-am game in Seattle, Stein says.
  • LeBron James took exception to the fact that 10 executives and scouts polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps all named either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant as the NBA’s best player entering 2021/22. As Bontemps details in a separate story, James tweeted that he intends to use the snub as fuel going forward.

Grizzlies Sign Tim Frazier For Rest Of Season

3:51pm: The team has confirmed the transaction via a press release.


3:15pm: The Grizzlies are signing reserve point guard Tim Frazier for the remainder of the season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Frazier’s second 10-day contract with the club expired on Friday night. He signed a 10-day with Memphis in January, then was re-signed in the middle of April.

Normally, teams can’t sign players to three 10-days in a season. Frazier would have be allowed to sign a third 10-day contract with Memphis because the first 10-day deal was completed using the team’s hardship exception and didn’t count toward the usual limit. However, the Grizzlies opted to give him a standard contract anyway.

He’s appeared in three games this season, averaging 1.3 PPG and 2.3 APG in 11.o MPG.

The well-traveled Frazier has also played for the Sixers, Blazers, Pelicans, Wizards, Bucks and Pistons. He went unselected in the 2014 draft.

Grizzlies Sign Tim Frazier To 10-Day Contract

APRIL 14: The Grizzlies have officially signed Frazier to his 10-day deal, the team confirmed today in a press release.


APRIL 11: The Grizzlies are bringing back point guard Tim Frazier on a 10-day contract, his second of the 2020/21 season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Memphis previously signed Frazier to a 10-day deal in January, opting not to bring the 30-year-old back on a second contract at the time. He appeared in three games during that span and logged a total of 33 minutes.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Frazier will be allowed to sign a third 10-day contract with Memphis if the team so chooses. The first 10-day deal he signed was completed using the team’s hardship exception and didn’t count toward the usual limit, making this a rare possibility for each side.

[RELATED: NBA Tweaks Rules For Hardship Provision, 10-Day Contracts]

The deal itself is pending health and safety protocols, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that it’ll likely be finalized this week. Frazier holds past experience with the Sixers, Blazers, Pelicans, Wizards, Bucks and Pistons. He went unselected in the 2014 draft.

Memphis currently holds the eighth-best record in the West at 26-24. The franchise is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and doesn’t have any other vacant roster spots.