Cavs Waive Kapono, Sign Harris
The Cavs have waived forward Jason Kapono and signed guard Manny Harris, the Associated Press confirms. The moves had been anticipated last night.
Harris returns to the team after signing a pair of 10-day contracts earlier this year. His contract, likely for the minimum salary, will be guaranteed for the rest of the season. Harris played 54 games with the Cavs last year and with the team in training camp before this season began, but was cut after suffering a bizarre freezer burn injury at Nike facilities in Oregon. The 6'5", 185-pound University of Michigan product has averaged 5.8 points, 1.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds in two seasons.
Kapono, acquired in the deal that sent Ramon Sessions to the Lakers, is a three-point specialist who's fallen on hard times. A career 43.4% three-point shooter, his long-distance accuracy has slipped to 25.7% over the last two seasons.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first tweeted last night that Kapono would likely be waived. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reported via Twitter that Harris would replace him. Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer added detail.
Rockets Waive Terrence Williams
The Rockets have waived Terrence Williams, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
Williams, 24, had only appeared in three games since the start of February, and played just 23 total games for the Rockets after being acquired at last year's trade deadline. The former 11th overall pick averaged 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game this season.
The former Louisville Cardinal was the only one of Houston's four 2009 draft-lottery players that wasn't shipped out in a trade yesterday — Jordan Hill was sent to the Lakers, while Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet headed to Portland.
Cavaliers Sign Donald Sloan
Moving quickly to fill the point guard hole left by Ramon Sessions' departure, the Cavaliers have signed Donald Sloan to a contract for the rest of the season, according to the team. Duane Rankin of the Erie Times-News initially reported that the Cavs would sign Sloan.
"This is a result of everything I did last year up to now," Sloan said. "It's paying off…. Anything I can do to come in and help, I'm going to try to make sure I do that and a little bit more."
Sloan, 24, played for the Hawks earlier this season, then signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets, but only saw action in eight games for the two teams. He had been playing for the Erie BayHawks of the D-League, averaging 22.8 PPG and 7.4 APG in eight contests for the 'Hawks.
Sloan hears from his agent that the Knicks and Rockets also had some interest in signing him.
Spurs Re-Sign Eric Dawson
To get their roster to 12 active players, the Spurs have signed Eric Dawson to a second 10-day contract, according to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter). The Spurs confirmed the move in a press release.
The Spurs initially signed Dawson to a 10-day deal in February, but didn't re-sign him when that contract expired. Monroe reported at the time that the decision was made for financial reasons. By including T.J. Ford in yesterday's Richard Jefferson/Stephen Jackson trade, the Spurs likely created the future financial flexibility to bring Dawson back.
Dawson played just two games in his first stint with the Spurs. In his NBA debut in Denver on February 21nd, he logged nearly 32 minutes, recording nine points and six rebounds.
Nets Sign Jerry Smith To 10-Day Contract
The Nets have signed point guard Jerry Smith to a 10-day contract, the team announced (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted last night that Smith was expected to join the Nets today.
Smith, 24, averaged 19.1 points and 4.2 assists in 34.5 minutes per game in 32 contests for the D-League's Springfield Armor this season. The Louisville product has yet to make his NBA debut.
Because the Nets traded away two players to acquire Gerald Wallace, the team has an empty roster spot and won't have to make a corresponding move to clear room for Smith.
Nuggets, Wizards, Clips Agree To Three-Way Deal
4:55pm: Lee clarifies (via Twitter) that the Hornets' pick heading to the Wizards is a 2015 selection. Lee also reports that Young was initially supposed to go to the Nuggets in the deal, but declined to surrender his Bird rights to go to Denver (Twitter link).
4:42pm: The draft pick the Clippers are sending to Washington is the second-round pick they acquired from the Hornets, so it should be an early second-rounder, tweets Michael Lee.
2:38pm: The Clippers have acquired Nick Young from the Wizards as part of a three-team trade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, JaVale McGee is heading to Denver and Nene will go to Washington (Twitter link). Ronny Turiaf will also head to the Nuggets, with Brian Cook going to the Wizards, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post. The Wizards will receive a future second-round pick from the Clippers, says Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
For the Nuggets, the deal seems intended to create future cap flexibility. Ken Berger of CBS Sports hears Denver had been experiencing some "buyer's remorse" about Nene's long-term deal (Twitter link). The future cap space created could make the Nuggets more inclined to increase their offer to restricted free agent Wilson Chandler before his self-imposed Friday deadline.
The Wizards acquire what appears to be their center of the future in Nene. Presumably, amidst reports that McGee would seek $14MM annually in free agency this summer, Washington decided to acquire a big man they felt was worth that sort of commitment. Nene has four years and $52MM remaining on his contract after this season.
The Clippers, meanwhile, use the $3.8MM trade exception they received by trading Eric Gordon to absorb Young's salary. For the low cost of Cook and a second-rounder, they've added a two guard to help in a potential postseason run. Young has the ability to veto any trade he's involved in, but multiple reports have suggested he appears willing to approve this deal.
TNT's David Aldridge first tweeted that the Wizards and Nuggets were "in serious talks" about a deal involving Young, McGee, and Hilario.
Blazers To Waive Greg Oden, Chris Johnson
After completing a pair of two-for-one trades today, the Blazers found themselves over the maximum roster size by two players. To clear roster spots for the new additions, it appears the team will waive Greg Oden and Chris Johnson. Joe Freeman of The Oregonian tweets the Oden scoop, while Johnson's wife first broke the news on her husband on her Twitter account, tweeting "C just got released :(" (hat tip to Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge).
In addition to those moves, the Blazers are also working on a possible buyout for newly-acquired forward Shawne Williams, tweets Freeman.
Oden, the former first overall pick, was sidelined by health issues again this season, having undergone season-ending knee surgery. Johnson, meanwhile, has seen limited action in 20 games with the Blazers this year, averaging 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in less than five minutes per contest.
Pacers Acquire Leandro Barbosa
The Pacers and Raptors have completed a trade that will send Leandro Barbosa to Indiana in exchange for a second-round draft pick and cash considerations, both teams announced today.
While recent reports suggested the Raptors likely wouldn't make any major moves at the deadline, GM Bryan Colangelo said last month that Barbosa was drawing interest. When I examined the shooting guard as a trade candidate, I suggested that the Pacers could acquire him without compromising the team's long-term plans. Indiana has the cap space to absorb Barbosa's 2011/12 $7.6MM cap figure, and can simply let his contract expire at season's end.
Acquiring Barbosa will leave the Pacers about $6.7MM under the cap this season, taking them out of the running for players like Chris Kaman. The Raptors, meanwhile, should receive a traded player exception worth $7.6MM, which they'll have a year to use.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter) first reported the deal, with TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter), ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter), and Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star adding details along the way.
Raptors Waive Anthony Carter
The Raptors have waived Anthony Carter, the team announced today in a press release. The Raptors and Carter decided to part ways last week, with the club searching for a trade partner for the veteran before eventually deciding to release him.