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Kings Waive Trent Lockett

October 24th, 2013 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Sacramento has become the latest team to pare its roster down to 15 players, with the Kings announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived Trent Lockett. Lockett had a $35K guarantee on his deal, so the team will be on the hook for that amount.

Lockett, a 6’5″ shooting guard, played for Sacramento’s Summer League team after going undrafted in June out of Marquette. After recording 7.0 PPG in five Summer League games, he appeared in just two preseason contests with the Kings, scoring four total points. The guarantee on his contract was set to increase to $100K if he had earned a spot on the opening night roster, but he’ll likely end up with the D-League’s Reno Bighorns instead, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter).

With 15 players now on the roster, the Kings don’t necessarily have to make any more moves before the regular season gets underway. If the club stands pat, it would mean that Hamady N’Diaye, who is on a non-guaranteed deal, would be Sacramento’s 15th man.

Suns Waive James Nunnally

October 24th, 2013 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have waived camp invitee James Nunnally, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Nunnally represented the most obvious cut on the team’s roster, since he was the only player on a fully non-guaranteed contract.

Nunnally played for the Suns’ D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam, last season, averaging 10.3 PPG in 49 contests. The 23-year-old also joined the Heat’s Summer League squad this July before eventually signing a camp deal with Phoenix.

With Nunnally no longer on their books, the Suns are down to 17 players, meaning they’ll have to cut at least two more before opening night. Phoenix is carrying 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts, along with Dionte Christmas on a partially guaranteed deal, so in all likelihood the team will have to eat some salary in order to get down to 15 players.

Celtics Release Sims, Taylor, Bell-Holter

October 24th, 2013 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have trimmed their roster to 15 players, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, who tweets that the team has released camp invitees DeShawn Sims, Kammron Taylor, and Damen Bell-Holter. All three players were on fully non-guaranteed contracts and won’t count against the team’s cap.

We heard last night that the Celtics intend to carry a 14-man roster into the season, preferring to keep one spot open rather than filling it with a non-guaranteed player. So while Chris Babb, the team’s final non-guaranteed camp invitee, remains under contract for now, he’ll likely be waived as well within the next few days.

Sims, Taylor, and Bell-Holter are all candidates to land with the Celtics’ D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

International Updates: Williams, Thornton, Bremer

October 24th, 2013 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams are in the process of finalizing their rosters in advance of the regular season, and many clubs in other leagues around the world find themselves in the same boat. As such, we’ve got a few notable international signings to pass along today….

Since Terrence Williams was cut by the Celtics in June, the only report we’ve heard on him involved a change in representation. Several months later, Williams has changed agents yet again, and has also signed with a team in Turkey. Guido Guida of Gazzetta dello Sport tweets the details on Williams’ change in agencies, while Obrad Fimic of Alti Sport confirms (via Twitter) that his new client has signed with Turk Telekom.
Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passes along a tweet from Evan Wang indicating that former NBA lottery pick Al Thornton has signed with China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Thornton, who spent four NBA seasons with the Clippers, Wizards, and Warriors, also played briefly in China last season, averaging 27.4 PPG and 9.5 RPG for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions.
J.R. Bremer, who appeared in 100 NBA games with the Celtics, Cavs, and Warriors, has signed with Gaziantep in Turkey, the team announced on Twitter (English translation via Sportando). As our international player movement tracker shows, Bremer finished last season with Italy’s EA7 Milano.

Wizards Expected To Cut Childress, 2 Others

October 23rd, 2013 at 10:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards are set to waive camp invitees Josh Childress, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Xavier Silas, a source tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (Twitter link). All three are with the team on non-guaranteed deals. Washington entered the preseason with 15 guys on fully guaranteed contracts, so it appears none of the players the team brought to camp compelled the Wizards to cut one of their guaranteed salaries. The team released D’or Fischer, its other camp invitee, last week.

All three of the Wizards about to hit waivers have NBA experience, and none more extensive than Childress. The swingman from Stanford impressed in a sixth-man role for the Hawks during his first four-year stint in the NBA, but he hasn’t been able to regain his footing in the league after signing a lucrative deal with a Greek team in 2008. He returned to the NBA in 2010/11, but the Suns amnestied his contract after two seasons, and he didn’t make it until New Year’s Day last season with the Nets. He scored eight points in 32 minutes over four preseason games with Washington.

Mensah-Bonsu spent this month trying to return to the NBA after a two-season absence, while Silas has been seeking to add to his abbreviated NBA regular season game log, which includes just a pair of games with the Sixers in 2011/12. Neither saw significant action in any of the Wizards’ preseason games.

Bobcats Waive Patrick O’Bryant

October 23rd, 2013 at 7:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bobcats have waived center Patrick O’Bryant, the team announced via press release. The former ninth overall pick was in camp with Charlotte on a non-guaranteed deal. The release, sent via email, states that the club now has 16 players on its roster, but the 16 guys listed on the roster that appears on the team’s website include O’Bryant, so the team seems to be down to 15 players.

O’Bryant washed out of the league after four seasons, the first two of which he spent with the Warriors, the team that used its 2006 lottery pick on him. The 7-footer appeared in a total of just 90 NBA regular season games, averaging 2.1 points in 5.8 minutes per contest. He was well-traveled after the Raptors let him go in 2010, playing in Puerto Rico, Greece, Lithuania and the D-League before finally getting another chance this month in Charlotte. Though he grabbed five rebounds in his one-game, six-minute preseason stint, it wasn’t enough to make the Bobcats opening-night roster.

The ‘Cats could open the season with the 15 players they have, but they could also make two more cuts. Jeff Adrien and James Southerland figure to be the most likely to go, since neither of them has a guarantee on his deal. Jannero Pargo‘s contract is partially guaranteed for $300K.

Cavs Pick Up ’14/15 Options On Four Players

October 23rd, 2013 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have exercised their options for 2014/15 on a pair of third-year players and a pair of second-year players, ensuring that all four Cavs remain under contract for at least the next two seasons. The team announced today in a press release that it has picked up its ’14/15 options on Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, and Tyler Zeller.

Irving and Thompson, members of the 2011 draft class, will be eligible for extensions next offseason, and Irving at least seems like a good bet to sign one. Even if they don’t sign extensions though, Irving and Thompson can remain with the Cavs through 2015 before becoming restricted free agents. Irving, the former first overall pick, will earn about $7.07MM in 2014/15, while Thompson will make about $5.14MM.

Meanwhile, Waiters and Zeller are each now locked up for a third NBA season, with Waiters set to earn $4.06MM in ’14/15 and Zeller in line for about $1.7MM. The Cavs hold additional options for 2015/16 on both players.

You can follow all of this month’s rookie contract option decisions right here.

Blazers Waive Bost, Singler, Howell

October 22nd, 2013 at 5:44pm CST by Michael Pina

The Trail Blazers have waived Dee Bost, E.J. Singler, and Richard Howell, according to a tweet from CSNNW.com’s Chris Haynes. All three will join the Idaho Stampede.

From the University of Oregon, Singler, the younger brother of Pistons forward Kyle Singler, was a non-roster camp invite, along with Bost, in September. A forward at North Carolina State last season, Howell was also signed to a training camp deal in September.

None of the three were expected to make Portland’s roster when the team extended them contracts last month (Bost’s deal was $25K guaranteed, and Howell’s was believed to be partially guaranteed as well). The moves put the Trail Blazers’ roster at 15, meaning it’s unlikely the club makes any further roster cuts.

Mavs Waive Balkman, Ebanks, Kennedy, Melo

October 22nd, 2013 at 5:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:02pm: The Mavs have waived Renaldo Balkman, Devin Ebanks, D.J. Kennedy and Fab Melo, the team announced via press release. The move makes official the news about Balkman that he himself revealed earlier today, and leaves Mickey McConnell as the team’s only camp invitee left. McConnell, a 24-year-old guard, was the only player without NBA experience that Dallas brought to camp, but it appears as though he might have made the strongest impression. Still, it seems unlikely he’ll remain with the club through the end of the week, since the Mavs would have to cut someone on a fully guaranteed deal to keep him.

It’s the second time in two months that Melo has hit waivers, after the Grizzlies let him go in late August. That was shortly after Memphis acquired him from the Celtics, and it appears the NBA career of the center whom Boston drafted 22nd overall in 2012 is in jeopardy. Ebanks turned down a $650K offer from China to sign with the Mavs, so perhaps he’ll head overseas, if the Chinese club is still interested. An Italian team had interest in Kennedy before he indicated he would prefer to sign in the NBA, so he could be headed for international ball, too.

Balkman admits his violent incident while playing in the Philippines last year could make some front offices squeamish, but his camp stint with the Mavs, where coach Rick Carlisle counted him as a welcome presence, could help his chances of returning to the NBA at some point. All four players the Mavs waived today were on non-guaranteed deals, so the team isn’t on the hook for any of their salaries.

4:57pm: Renaldo Balkman has told Puerto Rican radio station TAB Deportes 101.3 that the Mavs have let him go (Twitter link; translation via Sportando). The team has yet to officially announce the move, but the subtraction would be no surprise, since he’s one of five players with non-guaranteed deals on the Mavs, who have 15 others on fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster counts show.

Wolves To Exercise Derrick Williams’ Option

October 21st, 2013 at 9:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wolves will exercise Derrick Williams‘ option for the 2014/15 season, owner Glen Taylor tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). Minnesota technically has until October 31st to trigger the option.

The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft struggled in his rookie year but took a step forward in 2012/13, averaging 12 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 24.6 minutes per contest. For his part, the 22-year-old has been confident that the option would be picked up. Now, it’s all but certain that Williams will earn $6.33MM in the fourth and final year of his rookie deal.

The Arizona product has been linked to trade talk seemingly since the day he was drafted, but president Flip Saunders put that talk to rest over the summer.