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Timberwolves Waive Chris Johnson

October 26th, 2013 at 2:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:40pm: The Wolves have officially announced the moves, according to the team’s Twitter account.

1:19pm: The Timberwolves have waived big man Chris Johnson, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The former LSU Tiger is not to be confused with the Chris Johnson from Dayton whom the Nets waived earlier today. The Wolves will be on the hook for Johnson’s guaranteed $916,099 salary this season. The move likely means Robbie Hummel and A.J. Price, both of whom are on non-guaranteed deals, have made the opening-night roster, since the subtraction of Johnson leaves Minnesota with 15 players.

Multiple reports this month indicated Johnson’s spot on the team was vulnerable in spite of the guaranteed money on the contract he signed with the team last season after a pair of 10-day deals. He appeared in just two games for a total of nine minutes during preseason action. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game across 30 contests for the Wolves last year.

Wolves Pick Up Options On Rubio, Williams

October 26th, 2013 at 2:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 2:38pm: The team has officially announced, via Twitter, that it’s exercising the options on Rubio and Williams.

TUESDAY, 1:16pm: The Wolves will exercise their team option on Ricky Rubio for 2014/15, a source tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, and it’s a move that comes as no surprise. The source also confirms that the team will exercise its option on Derrick Williams, as owner Glen Taylor told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities last night. Rubio’s option adds another $5,070,686 to the team’s payroll for next season, as our rookie contract option tracker shows.

I listed Rubio among the “no brainers” last month when I examined rookie option decisions, and there was never any doubt that Minnesota would ensure team control over the former No. 5 overall pick through his fourth season. A trickier decision involving Rubio looms next offseason, when the Wolves must decide whether to grant him a lucrative extension.

Picking up the options on Rubio and Williams will push the team’s commitments for 2014/15 to $68,403,149, ensuring the Wolves will be well over the cap unless they can move some salary via trade. Once these option pickups become official, Minnesota will trail only the Nets for the most amount of guaranteed money on the books for 2014/15.

Hawks Release Eric Dawson

October 26th, 2013 at 2:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks have cut Eric Dawson, according to a press release from the team. The move brings Atlanta’s roster down to 15 players, but there’s still some uncertainty, since only 12 of them have fully guaranteed deals. Mike Scott seems likely to stick on his $100K guaranteed deal, and Shelvin Mack seems to slot in as the third point guard. If the Hawks do carry 15 players at the start of the regular season, it’s likely that Cartier Martin, on a non-guaranteed deal, beat out Dawson for a spot.

The 29-year-old Dawson came to camp with the Hawks hoping to add to an NBA resume that includes just four regular season games with the Spurs in 2011/12. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was an assistant on that San Antonio team, but the connection wasn’t enough to earn Dawson an opening-night roster spot. He notched 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game over three preseason contests.

Atlanta won’t be on the hook for Dawson’s non-guaranteed salary. If the Hawks keep just 13 players, they’ll retain about $3MM worth of wiggle room under the cap, as well as their $2.652MM room exception to use to acquire players later in the season.

Magic Exercise 2014/15 Options On Four

October 26th, 2013 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 1:59pm: The Magic have officially announced the moves.

FRIDAY, 10:12pm: Having just made their camp cuts this evening, the Magic will pick up their rookie-scale options on four players tomorrow, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team is set to guarantee the 2014/15 salaries of Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, Andrew Nicholson and Nikola Vucevic.

Robbins first reported that the team had decided on the option pickups back in July, well ahead of the October 31st deadline and long before most teams make these kinds of moves. Together the exercised options will add $8,565,534 to the team’s 2014/15 commitments, bringing the total to about $33.4MM — the 11th lowest amount of guaranteed salary in the league when I ran the numbers and projected next summer’s cap space for every team earlier this month.

Vucevic and Harris, who’ll be playing their fourth NBA seasons in 2014/15, will receive about $2.75MM and $2.4MM, respectively, while Harkless and Nicholson, who’ll be third-year guys that season, are set to make around $1.9MM and $1.5MM. Check out our tracker for details on 2014/15 rookie contract options for each team as the October 31st deadline to exercise them draws near.

Pacers Waive Hilton Armstrong

October 26th, 2013 at 1:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have waived center Hilton Armstrong, the team announced via press release. That leaves Rasual Butler‘s deal as the only non-guaranteed contract on a roster that’s down to 14 players. Butler hasn’t necessarily made the team, since coach Frank Vogel has indicated the Pacers are likely to go with just 13 players to start the regular season.

Armstrong played sparingly in the preseason, appearing in seven games and averaging 1.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 6.1 minutes per contest. The 28-year-old has five years of NBA experience, but he hasn’t seen regular season action since 2010/11 with the Hawks.

The Pacers have about $69MM on their books for this season, roughly $2.7MM beneath the luxury tax threshold. The team has been adamant about avoiding the tax, so keeping fewer than the 15-player roster max as the regular season gets underway will allow them some flexibility to sign players later this year.

Bulls Release Dexter Pittman, D.J. White

October 26th, 2013 at 1:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have placed Dexter Pittman and D.J. White on waivers, the team announced via press release. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reported the news shortly before the transactions took place (Twitter link). The moves pare the team’s roster down to 13, the minimum number of players a team can carry in the regular season. Both were on non-guaranteed deals.

Mike James remains the only Bulls player without any guarantee on his contract, so it looks like the 38-year-old guard has made the opening night roster. Second-round pick Erik Murphy, who has a $250K guarantee, also remains with Chicago.

The Bulls are over the luxury tax line, so getting down to 13 players is likely a cost-cutting move for the franchise, which paid the tax for the first time last season.

Bucks Cut Graham, McKinney Jones, Czyz

October 26th, 2013 at 1:03pm CST by Zachary Links

1:03pm: The Bucks have also released Stephen Graham and Trey McKinney Jones, taking their roster down to 15, the team announced on Twitter. Both were on non-guaranteed contracts. None of the team’s camp invitees had much of a shot to make the opening-night roster, since the team began preseason with 15 fully guaranteed deals.

9:45am: The Bucks have released Olek Czyz, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). The Polish forward spent last season with Virtus Roma in Italy and left a guaranteed gig overseas to try and hook on with Milwaukee this offseason.

Czyz played alongside Gigi Datome in Italy and averaged 5.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG in just 14.5 minutes per contest across 48 games. Czyz joined the Bucks at a time when they already had 15 players under guaranteed contracts and was signed at the same time as Junior Cadougan, Trey McKinney Jones, and Stephen Graham, so his chances were never that strong.

The Bucks could theoretically try and steer him to their D-League affiliate, but it could be tough to pry open a spot as they share the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with five other clubs.

Jazz Sign Jamaal Tinsley

October 26th, 2013 at 12:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 12:45pm: The Jazz have officially announced the move, with a press release on their website.

9:17am: The deal is a one-year, minimum salary pact, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter). While most contracts signed this month are non-guaranteed, it’s unclear whether or not that’s the case for Tinsley’s deal.

THURSDAY, 12:18am: Utah and Tinsley have reached agreement on a deal, Kennedy reports. He’ll join the team for its game Friday at the Lakers (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 9:09pm: It’s “only a matter of time” before the Jazz bring aboard Jamaal Tinsley, a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who says the team’s interest in the point guard has intensified (Twitter link). Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld classifies the possibility of a deal between the two sides as “very likely” (on Twitter). Agent Raymond Brothers said last week that his client, a free agent who spent the last two seasons with Utah, and the team were both giving thought to a reunion.

The Jazz are without rookie point man Trey Burke, the ninth overall selection this June, who suffered a broken right hand earlier this month. John Lucas III, Scott Machado, Lester Hudson and Alec Burks are all internal options at the point, but it’s sounding like the club will seek outside help in the form of the 35-year-old Tinsley, who started 32 games for the Jazz last season.

Tinsley’s addition could spell trouble for the six players trying to make the team on non-guaranteed deals. Utah has 12 guys on fully guaranteed contracts, and rookie Ian Clark has a partial guarantee of $200K. That could leave just one spot open for Hudson, Machado, Brian Cook, Mike Harris, Justin Holiday and Dominic McGuire, and that’s assuming Utah elects to carry a full complement of 15 players to start the regular season.

The Mavericks, Bobcats, Rockets, Suns and Nets all reportedly looked into signing Tinsley during the offseason, but I’d be surprised if Tinsley warranted any more than a minimum-salary deal. Tinsley made the minimum in both years of his previous contract with the Jazz, and neither season was guaranteed when he signed the deal in 2011.

Nets Waive Gutierrez, Johnson, Thomas

October 26th, 2013 at 12:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Nets announced that they have waived guard Jorge Gutierrez and forwards Chris Johnson and Adonis Thomas. Brooklyn’s roster now stands at the max of 15.

Gutierrez, who was signed to the training camp roster on September 30, appeared in five preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Johnson, who was also signed to the training camp roster on September 30, played in seven preseason games, averaging 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Thomas, who was signed to the training camp roster on October 18, did not appear in any preseason games for the Nets.

Jazz Waive Cook, McGuire, Holiday, Hudson, Machado

October 26th, 2013 at 11:48am CST by Zachary Links

The Jazz announced that they have cut Brian Cook, Dominic McGuire, Justin Holiday, Lester Hudson and Scott Machado. Utah’s roster is now down to 15, including the injured Brandon Rush and Marvin Williams.

Today’s news means that Mike Harris and Jamaal Tinsley have both made the cut for the Jazz. Tinsley’s signing, necessitated when rookie point guard Trey Burke broke his hand earlier this month, likely cost one of today’s camp cuts a spot on the team. All five were on fully non-guaranteed deals, so the Jazz aren’t on the hook for their salaries.

Everyone the Jazz brought to camp has NBA experience, and that includes Harris, who’ll begin his fourth NBA season on opening night. The power forward has played sparingly, totaling just 34 games across stints with the Rockets and Wizards, but coach Tyrone Corbin values the mobility of his 6’6″, 235-pound frame, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News points out (on Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.