Darius Songaila Signs In Lithuania
According to a tweet from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Darius Songaila has signed a one-year contract with Lithuania’s Lietuvos Rytas.
Songaila spent eight seasons in the NBA playing for five teams. He most recently appeared two seasons ago, in a 10-game stint with the Suns. He holds career averages of 6.9 PPG and 3.4 RPG on 49.9% shooting from the floor.
Clippers Waive Green, Farrakhan
The Clippers announced today that they have waived JaMychal Green and Mustapha Farrakhan, trimming their roster down to 16 players. The two combined for 11 minutes of play during Monday night’s preseason victory against the Trail Blazers.
Farrakhan has spent the past two seasons on several teams in the D-League, posting averages of 8.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.9 RPG. In 40 games with the D-League’s Austin Toros last season, Green averaged 12.3 PPG and 8.1 RPG.
Farrakhan spent the 2012 preseason with the Bucks, while Green participated in the Spurs training camp.
Heat Exercise 2014/15 Option On Norris Cole
The Heat have officially exercised their fourth-year option on Norris Cole, the team announced today (Twitter link). Cole had already been under contract for the coming season, but now his deal will be guaranteed for 2014/15 as well. He’ll be in line for a salary of $2.04MM in ’14/15.
Cole, 24, has been the Heat’s backup point guard for the last two years, winning a pair of titles with the team. The former 28th overall pick posted identical PERs of 7.9 in his first two NBA seasons, along with 6.1 PPG and 2.0 APG in 145 career contests (19.7 MPG).
Despite a recent report suggesting that Miami was gauging Cole’s trade value, a Heat source tells Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that it was little more than “due diligence.” For his part, Cole isn’t letting the rumors bother him, as Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.
For a complete breakdown on 2014/15 rookie contract options, be sure to check out our tracker. Decisions on those third- and fourth-year options are due by Halloween.
Bulls Waive Dahntay Jones
The Bulls have officially released Dahntay Jones, the team announced today in a press release. The move reduces Chicago’s roster count to 15 players, including 11 on fully guaranteed contracts.
Camp invitees Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas had already been cut by the Bulls, so Jones becomes the third player waived by the team this month. With 15 players now under contract, the team could theoretically keep the current roster intact for the start of the regular season. However, the Bulls have traditionally been tax-conscious, so they may release one or two more players before opening night. As our list of non-guaranteed deals shows, Dexter Pittman, Mike James, and D.J. White remain on the bubble, while Erik Murphy is likely safe.
Jones, a former first-round pick, figures to clear waivers and continue to search for an NBA job. The Duke product has spent the last 10 seasons playing for the Grizzlies, Kings, Nuggets, Pacers, Mavericks, and Hawks, but is coming off a down year, having averaged just 3.4 PPG and a 6.4 PER in 2012/13.
We rounded up a few more Bulls-related items earlier this afternoon.
Von Wafer Signs With Shanghai Sharks
Veteran free agent guard Von Wafer will return to China for the coming season, according to Andrew Crawford of SharkFinHoops.com, who tweets that Wafer has signed with the Shanghai Sharks (hat tip to Sportando).
Wafer, 28, also played in China last season, for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, as our international player movement tracker shows. In 34 games with the team, the former second-round pick averaged 26.4 PPG and poured in 3.8 threes per game. Prior to heading overseas last season, Wafer played for the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Blazers, Rockets, Celtics, and Magic in parts of six NBA seasons.
We didn’t hear many rumors about a possible return to the NBA for Wafer this season, though the Heat reportedly had some interest. I’d guess that Miami wasn’t willing to guarantee Wafer the sort of money he’ll earn in China.
Grizzlies Waive Josh Akognon, Derrick Byars
The Grizzlies announced that they have waived guard Josh Akognon and forward Derrick Byars. Memphis' roster now stands at 16.
Akognon spent three games with the Mavericks last season and also played for the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters in China, where he averaged 29 points per game. The 27-year-old Cal State Fullerton product was claimed off waivers by Memphis on July 23rd after his minimum-salary contract was waived by Dallas on July 21st.
Byars, a Vanderbilt product, played competed for ALBA Berlin in Germany and Caciques de Humacao in Puerto Rico last season. Memphis signed the 29-year-old as a free agent on Sept. 29th but his stay didn't last too long.
Shelden Williams To Sign In China
Free agent Shelden Williams has agreed with Tianjin in China on a deal, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Williams, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 Draft, has played for seven NBA teams over the course of his career. We heard back in August that the big man was likely going to sign somewhere overseas. Williams turned down offers from Euroleague teams and it would appear that he found a more lucrative deal waiting for him in China.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old spent last season with France's Elan Chalon. Before that, he averaged 4.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG over the course of his career with the Hawks, Kings, Wolves, Celtics, Nuggets, Knicks, and Nets.
Williams didn't pan out the way that the Hawks hoped when they tabbed him with the fifth pick, but he's far from the only bust to come from the 2006 class. Fellow top picks Andrea Bargnani, Adam Morrison, and Tyrus Thomas also failed to live up to expectations while LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Roy were the only All-Stars out of that draft.
Sixers Sign Gani Lawal
SATURDAY, 8:56am: The Sixers confirmed the signing via press release.
FRIDAY, 2:18pm: The 76ers have agreed to sign Gani Lawal to a deal that is partially guaranteed for this season, a source tells Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Meanwhile, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link) that it's a multi-year pact.
We heard earlier today that Lawal broke off an agreement with Latvia's VEF Riga in order to sign an NBA contract. The forward, who was taken with the 46th overall pick by the Suns in 2010, wasn't able to stick in the NBA coming out of school, but has found success overseas. Lawal spent this past season with Italy's Virtus Roma, averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.4 blocks per game. He worked out for the Pacers, Raptors, and Magic this summer and possibly other clubs, but his reintroduction to the NBA will be in Philadelphia.
To keep up with the whereabouts of the top international talent, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' International Tracker.
Sixers Cut Solomon Alabi
The Sixers were at the 20-man preseason roster limit when they reached an agreement Gani Lawal today, meaning someone had to go. The unlucky Sixer is Solomon Alabi, whom Philadelphia has waived, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Alabi's tenure with the Sixers lasted less than a week, as the team announced his signing this past Saturday. He was presumed to be on a non-guaranteed camp deal, so Philly won't have to pay his salary now that he's off the roster.
Alabi was attempting a return to the NBA after a two-year stint with the Raptors ended in 2012. He spent last season with Ikaros in Greece, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. The 7'1" center went to Greece after spending camp last fall with the Pelicans (then the Hornets), so perhaps he'll once more head overseas.
Just like the Rockets and Jordan Henriquez, who was also waived today, the Sixers used cap space to sign Alabi to a three-year deal. As I explained this summer, doing so gives a team subtle advantages if it wants to re-sign the player when his contract ends. In this case, Alabi won't be sticking around, but the cap space he occupied goes back on Philly's books, and the Sixers will presumably use it for Lawal's contract.
Rockets Waive Jordan Henriquez
The Rockets have cut center Jordan Henriquez, tweets Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The 6'11" former Kansas State Wildcat signed a three-year deal with the team in July, but it was entirely non-guaranteed, so Houston isn't on the hook for any of his salary. The move drops the team to 17 players, down from the 19 who began October with the team. The Rockets waived B.J. Young on Wednesday.
Henriquez went undrafted this past June, but he worked out with the Knicks prior to the draft, and saw some run with the Rockets summer league team. He showed enough to earn a brief training camp stint, but presuming another NBA team doesn't claim him off waivers or show interest soon, Henriquez appears destined for the D-League or international ball this year. The Rockets have the option of protecting the D-League rights of up to three of their camp cuts, so perhaps they'll do so with Henriquez in an effort to get him to stay stateside, where they can more easily scout him.
Since Henriquez's deal was for three years, rather than one or two, the Rockets couldn't use the minimum-salary exception on him and instead spent some of their cap room. Still, it was a small investment, since he was only set to make the $490K rookie minimum, and because the deal was non-guaranteed, the money goes back toward Houston's cap space.
Patrick Beverley, Ronnie Brewer, Greg Smith and Reggie Williams, all NBA veterans, are the only remaining Rockets without fully guaranteed deals. Houston has 13 players with full guarantees on their contracts, so two of the four vets are in danger of finding themselves without an NBA job on opening night.