Bobcats Re-Sign DJ White To 10-Day Contract
The Bobcats have re-signed power forward DJ White to a second 10-day contract, the team announced via press release. White’s first 10-day deal with the team expired last night.
The team brought him aboard to shore up its depth inside, but the Bobcats have had little use for him so far, putting him in just one game for a total of four minutes. Still, the front office is familiar with his game, having had him during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons. The Jeff Wechsler client has spent most of the season in China, where he averaged 20.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Sichuan Blue Whales.
Charlotte’s move fills the team’s final open roster spot once more. The Bobcats will have to decide whether to keep White for the rest of the season or part ways at the end of his second 10-day contract. Last year, Boston picked him up out of China and gave him a pair of 10-day contracts before keeping him for the season. The Celtics also included a non-guaranteed season for 2013/14 in his deal, but they traded him to the Nets, who waived him over the summer.
Warriors Sign Armstrong To 10-Day Contract
4:38pm: The Warriors have officially announced the signing.
11:20am: The Warriors have signed Santa Cruz center Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract, bringing him back to the team at a time when they are short on big men heading into today’s game against the Knicks, reports Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group. Armstrong, 29, played in eight games for Golden State this season and will be on his third stint with the team. He previously was signed in December before being waived later that month. In February, he signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors and returned to Santa Cruz after it expired and the team chose not to re-sign him.
Starting center Andrew Bogut was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Saturday after suffering a pelvic contusion the previous night in a win against Memphis. and power forward David Lee is also questionable to face New York due to a strained right hamstring suffered eight days ago in a loss to the Spurs.
Armstrong averaged 12 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 32 appearances for Santa Cruz and had 19 points and 13 rebounds in a loss at Los Angeles on Saturday. For the year, Armstrong has averaged 0.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 4.4 minutes per contest with Golden State.
Nets Re-Sign Jorge Gutierrez To Two-Year Deal
SATURDAY, 5:45pm: Gutierrez said Friday that his two-year contract isn’t guaranteed for next season, but a source tells Tim Bontemps of The New York Post that there is a “very nominal” guarantee involved (Twitter link).
9:22am: Gutierrez tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that next season isn’t guaranteed, as I suspected (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 8:51am: The Nets have re-signed Jorge Gutierrez to a deal that covers the rest of this season and beyond, the team announced via press release. The terms of the contract are unclear, but since Brooklyn is without cap space and possesses no exceptions that allow for a deal longer than two seasons, it has to be a pact for the minimum salary for the balance of 2013/14 and 2014/15. Next season is most likely not fully guaranteed.
Gutierrez had been on a pair of 10-day contracts with the club, the last of which expired Wednesday night. Earlier that evening he was ejected from Brooklyn’s overtime loss to the Bobcats for committing a flagrant-two foul. Still, the 6’3″ point guard saw more than 19 minutes in that contest, his most during his five-game stint. He’s averaged 3.4 points, 1.4 assists and 0.2 turnovers in 13.4 minutes per game for the Nets.
Brooklyn brought the Arn Tellem client to camp in the fall, but the team released him before opening night, and he spent most of this season with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs. The Nets circled back to him earlier this month when he beat Darius Johnson-Odom in an audition for a roster spot.
Gutierrez becomes the 15th player on the Nets with a guaranteed contract for this season, meaning the team is likely done making moves in 2013/14. They have a disabled player exception worth $5.15MM for Brook Lopez, but it looks like that will go unused. That exception would cover a contract that runs only through the end of the season, so for Gutierrez the Nets are instead using the minimum-salary exception, which provides for deals of up to two years.
Kings Sign Willie Reed
FRIDAY, 11:26am: The Kings have signed Reed to a deal for the rest of the season, the team announced. The team’s statement doesn’t make mention of it being a multiyear arrangement, as had previously been reported, so perhaps it only covers the balance of 2013/14. In any case, the team has also assigned Reed to the D-League, as Pilato reported they would.
THURSDAY, 6:24pm: The move was made in part to help the Reno Bighorns (Sacramento’s NBDL affiliate) as they make a late season push for the playoffs, reports Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest. As Pilato explains, there is a rule that states that if an NBA team assigns any player called up within 21 days of the end of the NBA regular season or at any subsequent point during the NBDL regular season or playoffs, the player will return to the D-League team that he was previously playing for.
The Kings barely made the deadline to sign Reed with the option of sending him to their own affiliate, and that’s exactly what the team plans on doing, a source tells Pilato.
9:08am: The Kings are signing D-Leaguer Willie Reed for the rest of the season, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. Charania’s full story indicates that the deal includes a team option for 2014/15, though I suspect that’s simply a non-guaranteed season, since team options are rare outside of rookie scale contracts.
Reed also inked a multiyear deal with Memphis in mid-April last year, but he never made it into a game, and the Grizzlies cut him and his non-guaranteed contract in training camp this past autumn. Reed appears to represent Plan B for the Kings, who were reportedly set to sign Chris Johnson on Wednesday before the deal fell through.
The 6’9″ Reed has been playing with the D-League affiliate of the Nets this season, averaging 14.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per contest. Rebounding is his most significant area of improvement over last year, when he averaged 7.8 per contest in similar minutes for the same D-League club.
The Kings gave Reed his first NBA contract in 2012, but he failed to make the team out of camp. Still, Sacramento is high on his activity and athleticism, Charania notes, though most of the team’s management has changed since Reed’s first stint with the Kings.
Thunder Re-Sign Reggie Williams To 10-Day Deal
The Thunder have signed Reggie Williams to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman first reported the news via Twitter. Williams was with Oklahoma City earlier this month, but when his first 10-day contract expired, the team gave his roster spot to Mustafa Shakur, who signed a 10-day contract of his own, as our tracker shows. Shakur’s deal expired Tuesday, and it looks like the club has turned back to Williams, at least for now.
The 27-year-old Williams saw just five minutes of action in his first stint with Oklahoma City, his only NBA burn this year after having been a part of the league for the previous four seasons. The Rockets cut him before opening night even though his minimum-salary contract was 50% guaranteed, and the Bulls and the Grizzlies had interest in him earlier in the season. The swingman has spent most of 2013/14 with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, and he returned to the Tulsa 66ers after his first 10-day deal expired. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game with 35.5% three-point shooting in the D-League this year.
The return of the Interperformances client gives the Thunder a full 15-man roster, though bringing Williams back on another 10-day affords the club a bit of flexibility between now and the end of the season.
Sixers Re-Sign James Nunnally To 10-Day Pact
THURSDAY, 12:08pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 11:44am: The Sixers are set to sign James Nunnally to a second 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The small forward’s first 10-day deal expires tonight. Nunnally also went through a pair of 10-day stints with the Hawks this year, and his goal at this point is presumably to convince Philadelphia to sign him for the season, which Atlanta decided not to do.
The 6’7″ Nunnally went undrafted out of UC Santa Barbara in 2012 and played last season in the D-League, but he was a sought-after camp invitee after a strong summer league performance with the Heat in 2013. He joined the Suns for the preseason but failed to make the opening-night roster and returned to the D-League, where he’s spent the bulk of this season aside from his brief time with the Hawks and Sixers. He’s averaging 12.4 minutes per game in five contests for Philadelphia, putting up 2.2 points and 1.0 rebounds a night.
The Sixers also have Casper Ware on a 10-day contract that runs until a week from tonight. A new deal with Nunnally would keep the team at the 15-man roster limit. Philadelphia has given 10-day contracts to five players this season, as our 10-Day Tracker shows.
Rodrigue Beaubois To Play In Belgium
Former Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois will play for Belgacom Spirou in Belgium, the team announced via Twitter. La Nouvelle Gazette originally reported the news (translation via Sportando). Beaubois was in talks with the Celtics about a 10-day contract last month, but a deal never materialized, and earlier this week we heard the 26-year-old turned down an offer to play in Italy and was set to audition for a French team. Beaubois, the 25th overall pick in 2009, has been out of the NBA since his rookie contract expired last summer.
The Bouna Ndiaye client was apparently set to work out for the Wizards and the Grizzlies last month before auditioning for the Celtics, although another report indicated that Washington had no plans to bring him in. The Heat wanted to have Beaubois work out for them shortly before camp, but he suffered a wrist injury that prevented that from happening. The Sixers had offseason interest, too.
Beaubois, a native of Guadeloupe, saw his role diminish with the Mavs last season, as his 12.2 minutes per game were the fewest of his career. His per-36-minute numbers in points, shot attempts and rebounds last year were also career lows.
Kings, Chris Johnson Call Off Deal
WEDNESDAY, 12:45pm: The deal has come apart, and the Kings no longer plan to sign Johnson, Deeks reports (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 7:20pm: The Kings are set to sign Chris Johnson tomorrow, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports,com. The big man out of LSU is not to be confused with the Celtics player of the same name. We heard that the Bobcats worked out Johnson a couple of weeks ago, but Charlotte ended up signing DJ White to a 10-day contract instead, leaving the opportunity for the Kings to swoop in and ink the athletic center.
Johnson, 28, has been playing in China since November. He’s averaged impressive numbers of 20 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2 blocks per night in 29 games for Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. During his most recent stint in the NBA, Johnson played 30 contests for for the Timberwolves and averaged 3.9 points per game while posting an impressive 18.9 PER.
It’s not clear whether Sacramento is giving Johnson a 10-day deal or signing him for the rest of the season and possibly beyond, writes Deeks. The Kings have an open roster spot after waiving Jimmer Fredette and opting not to retain Orlando Johnson, who signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the club. The acquisition of Johnson will now put the Kings’ roster at an NBA maximum of 15 players.
Bucks Sign D.J. Stephens To 10-Day Deal
MARCH 26TH: The Bucks have officially signed Stephens, the team announced (Twitter link).
MARCH 24TH: Milwaukee is circling back around to Stephens now that their 10-day deal with Chris Wright has lapsed, as the Bucks will sign Stephens to a 10-day contract on Wednesday, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
MARCH 14TH: The Bucks are set to sign former University of Memphis swingman D.J. Stephens to a 10-day deal, according to Greek site EBasket. Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (on Twitter) has confirmed the news. Stephens had interest from several clubs heading into last year’s draft but was not selected.
In 18 games with Greek team Ilysiakos this season, Stephens has averaged 9.9 PPG and 8.8 RPG. The 23-year-old averaged less than eight points and seven rebounds in his senior season at Memphis, but his highlight reel of blocks and eye-popping dunks had scouts drooling. At the pre-draft combine, Stephens registered a 46″ vertical leap, the highest ever recorded by the NBA. For reference, LeBron James and Michael Jordan have never recorded more than a 44″ vertical.
Sasha Vujacic Signs To Play In Italy
Former Lakers, Nets and Clippers shooting guard Sasha Vujacic has signed with Reyer Venezia of Italy, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Massimo Oriani of La Gazzetta dello Sport originally reported the deal. The contract covers the rest of the season for the 30-year-old, who had briefly returned to the NBA last month on a 10-day contract with the Clippers. Doc Rivers said shortly after the deal expired that the club might re-sign Vujacic at some point this season if there was a roster spot available, and though the Clippers have just 14 players at this point, it looks like a reunion won’t materialize.
Vujacic spent most of this season attempting to revive his NBA career, which had been dormant since 2010/11, but his recent decision to join the Interperformances agency might have signaled a shift in plans. He spent 2011/12 and 2012/13 playing for Anadolu Efes in Turkey.
The Slovenian native last played in Italy before the Lakers drafted him 27th overall in 2004. He won a pair of championships with the purple-and-gold, but in parts of eight NBA seasons, he’s never averaged more than 9.8 points per game. He set that career high with the Nets in 2010/11, the only year he averaged as many as 20 minutes per contest.