Heat Sign Juwan Howard For Season
Juwan Howard's second 10-day contract with the Heat expired last night, and rather than letting him go, the team has re-signed him for the remainder of the season, according to a press release. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported when Howard first signed that he would likely stick with the Heat for the season.
Howard, 40, has not appeared in a single game during his first 20 days with the team. As I noted when he signed his second 10-day deal, he has a spot on the roster more for his off-court leadership than what he can provide on the court.
With Howard under contract for the season, the Heat now have 15 players on fully guaranteed deals, so if the team wanted to add anyone, a corresponding roster move would be required to open up a spot.
Celtics Sign Shavlik Randolph For Season
THURSDAY, 2:20pm: The Celtics have officially re-signed Randolph, the team announced in a press release. The release refers to it as a multiyear deal, which likely means, as Charania reported, that it will be guaranteed for this season and non-guaranteed for next season.
WEDNESDAY, 2:41pm: Randolph's deal with the Celtics will include a team option for next season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
11:25am: The Celtics officially signed D.J. White for the remainder of the season today, and will do the same tomorrow with another player whose second 10-day contract will expire. Head coach Doc Rivers told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) that, in the interest of continuity, Shavlik Randolph will be re-signed to a rest-of-season deal.
After not playing during his first 10 days with the club, Randolph has appeared in three contests during his second 10-day deal. His best performance came last Saturday in a 105-88 win over the Bobcats, as he piled up six points, eight rebounds, a pair of steals in just over 15 minutes of action. Prior to making his NBA return with Boston, the big man appeared in 28 games for the Foshan Long Lions in China, averaging 32.0 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 36.5 minutes per contest while shooting 53.1% from the floor.
Once they formally announce their rest-of-season deals with White and Randolph, the Celtics will have 15 players under guaranteed contracts. So if the team wanted to add another player before season's end, a corresponding roster move would be necessary to open up a spot.
D-League Moves: Terrence Jones, Jarvis Varnado
We'll follow today's D-League assignments and recalls in this space, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Rockets have re-assigned Terrence Jones to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today in a press release. Houston's D-League affiliate, which lost one power forward today, will add another in Jones, who has averaged 18.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 17 games with the team this season.
Earlier updates:
- The Heat have sent Jarvis Varnado back to the D-League, following last night's win over the Cavs, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The move was confirmed by the Heat in a press release. In 15 D-League games so far this season, Varnado has nearly averaged a double-double, with 12.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 3.7 BPG.
Celtics Re-Sign D.J. White
11:45am: The Celtics have formally announced the signing in a press release. Like Terrence Williams' deal, it will include a team option for next season.
WEDNESDAY, 11:01am: The Celtics have officially signed White for the remainder of the season, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
TUESDAY, 8:44am: D.J. White's second 10-day contract with the Celtics is set to expire tonight, but the 6'9" forward won't be looking for work tomorrow. Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com reports that the Celtics will re-sign White to a contract for the remainder of the season.
White, 26, hasn't seen a ton of playing time during his first 20 days with the club, appearing in just four games for a total of 27 minutes. Still, he has looked solid in his limited minutes, and provides some frontcourt depth as the Celtics approach the postseason.
With all 15 roster spots currently filled, the Celtics will make White their 14th player on a guaranteed contract. Shavlik Randolph's second 10-day contract with the club will expire tomorrow night, so Boston will face another decision later in the week on whether to bring back Randolph or leave one roster spot open.
Cavs Sign Chris Quinn For Rest Of Season
10:11am: The Cavaliers have officially signed Quinn, the team announced in a press release. The deal will be for the remainder of the season, according to the Cavs.
WEDNESDAY, 8:23am: Quinn is expected to finalize his deal and be in uniform tonight against the Heat if he passes a physical today, tweets Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
TUESDAY, 8:24pm: The Cavaliers will sign Chris Quinn of the NBDL's Tulsa 66ers, reports Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside (via Twitter). With Kyrie Irving potentially sidelined for the remainder of the season, the Cavs just learned that Dion Waiters will now miss at least a week. Per Schlosser, Quinn will serve as a short term fix in Cleveland.
Quinn, a Notre Dame product, has five years of NBA experience on three teams but has not played in the league since 2010-11 with the Spurs. Since then, he has bounced between the NBDL and overseas and was one of the final cuts last fall in training camp with the Jazz. At 29 years old, this audition might be the last in the regular season for Quinn if he cannot prove his worth.
Spurs Recall Aron Baynes From D-League
Here are today's D-League assignments and recalls, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Spurs have recalled Aron Baynes from the D-League, the Spurs announced today in a press release. Baynes played in a pair of games for the Austin Toros over the weekend, during his third stint with the club, averaging 11.5 PPG and 7.0 RPG.
Clippers Re-Sign Maalik Wayns
The Clippers have re-signed Maalik Wayns to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Wayns' original deal with the Clips expired last night.
Wayns, 21, appeared in just one game for the Clippers during his first 10 days with the club, recording five assists in 11 minutes in a blowout win over the Pistons. The rookie, who went undrafted last June, was signed as a free agent by the 76ers and played 21 games for the team before finding his way to Los Angeles.
The Clippers currently have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Wayns and DaJuan Summers on 10-day deals. The team will have the chance to re-sign Summers to a second 10-day contract when his deal expires next week, but will have to sign Wayns for the season or let him go when his new 10-day is up.
Bulls Sign Malcolm Thomas To 10-Day Contract
TUESDAY, 12:05pm: The Bulls have officially signed Thomas to a 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release. The club now has 15 players under contract.
MONDAY, 1:25pm: The Bulls and Malcolm Thomas have reached agreement on a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Thomas' 10-day deal with the Warriors expired last night. The 6'9" power forward saw plenty of action while with Golden State, appearing in five games with the Warriors and one game with their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Thomas has made plenty of stops since going undrafted out of San Diego State in 2011. He was in camp with the Lakers that year, and spent a month with the Spurs last season, appearing in three games. The Rockets signed him to a 10-day contract later in 2011/12, but he didn't make an appearance for Houston. In addition to his cameo with the Santa Cruz Warriors last week, he's also played for three other D-League teams in the past two seasons, and spent time with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.
The Bulls have maintained interest in Thomas since he caught their eye in summer league this past offseason, Charania writes. The 24-year-old will occupy the final spot on Chicago's roster and give the team depth up front, where Taj Gibson is dealing with a knee injury. The Bulls had big man Louis Amundson on a 10-day deal earlier this month, but he signed with the Hornets for the rest of the season when his contract with Chicago was up.
D-League Moves: Thunder, Kevin Jones, Nets
We'll round up today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page:
- The Thunder have recalled Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Liggins and Daniel Orton from the D-League, the team announced via press release. All three, along with Perry Jones III and Reggie Jackson, have frequently shuttled back and forth between Oklahoma City and the Tulsa 66ers this season, as the Thunder have taken advantage of their nearby single-affliate D-League club. Among the players returning to the Thunder today, Lamb has put up the most impressive numbers with the 66ers, averaging 21.4 points in 20 games.
- The Cavs have recalled Kevin Jones from the D-League's Canton Charge, according to the Plain Dealer (Twitter link). The power forward had been on his sixth D-League assignment this season after Cleveland signed him in late November. Jones is averaging 22.4 points and 11.2 rebounds in a dozen games for the Charge. He's appeared in 19 games for the Cavs, but has seen just 8.9 minutes per contest.
- The Nets have assigned Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to the D-League for the second time in the past week, the team announced via press release. The pair are headed down to the Springfield Armor again after a one-day stint on Friday. Taylor delivered 21 points and eight assists while Shengelia had 15 points and five rebounds for the Armor that night in a win against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, though both players struggled with turnovers. Taylor gave the ball away nine times and Shengelia committed five giveaways. Both players will be in uniform for the Armor's game Tuesday, so their D-League stays should be at least slightly longer this time around.
Hornets Re-Sign Terrel Harris
The Hornets have signed Terrel Harris to a second 10-day contract, the team announced via press release. The guard's first 10-day deal with New Orleans expired last night. Harris has appeared in only two games for a total of 12 minutes with the Hornets so far, but today's move allows the team some more time to evaluate him before deciding whether to sign him for the rest of the season.
Harris was a part of the Heat's championship team as a rookie last season, and opened this year with Miami before the team waived him just before his minimum-salary contract would have become guaranteed for the season. The 6'5" 25-year-old has averaged 2.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game over 31 NBA contests the past two seasons.
The Hornets are at the 15-man roster limit with Harris back on board, so if they keep him, they'd have to waive someone on a guaranteed contract to sign anybody else this season. While Harris is on a 10-day deal, the Hornets have to option to terminate his contract before the 10 days are up if they'd prefer to bring in someone else, as they did when they waived Henry Sims to clear room for Louis Amundson.