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Bulls Sign Sean Kilpatrick To Multiyear Contract

March 26th, 2018 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have signed veteran guard Sean Kilpatrick to a three-year, $6.2MM contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. According to Charania, the deal – signed using the mid-level exception – isn’t guaranteed for the second and third years.

It has been an eventful season for Kilpatrick, who opened 2017/18 with the Nets. Waived by Brooklyn in December, Kilpatrick signed a two-way deal with the Bucks, which was eventually converted into a standard NBA deal in January. The 28-year-old was cut by Milwaukee in March and then signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Clippers. After those deals expired, Kilpatrick appeared poised to sign with the Celtics, but that deal fell through over the weekend when he received a more appealing offer from the Bulls.

Kilpatrick’s nomadic existence this season comes on the heels of his best year as a pro. In 2016/17, he averaged 13.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 70 games for the Nets. Perhaps hoping he can repeat that level of production in the right environment, the Bulls are taking a very low-risk flier on Kilpatrick.

Because the Bulls remain below the NBA’s minimum salary floor, the deal essentially won’t cost them anything this season — the gap between a team’s total salary and the league-mandated minimum (90% of the cap) must be paid out at the end of the season to the club’s players, so the money given to Kilpatrick won’t add anything to the team’s year-end bill. The Bulls are believed to still be about $2MM below the salary floor after adding Kilpatrick.

Chicago’s 15-man roster was full after Sunday’s C.J. Fair signing, so Fair – like Jaylen Johnson before him – figures to be the player waived to make room for Kilpatrick.

Bulls Sign Fair, Waive Jaylen Johnson

March 25th, 2018 at 2:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls signed forward C.J. Fair and waived forward Jaylen Johnson, according to a team press release.

The 6’8” Fair has appeared in 47 G League games this season, splitting time between the Windy City Bulls and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ affiliate. He averaged 10.1 PPG and 4.3 RPG.

Fair, 26, went undrafted in 2014 after playing his college ball at Syracuse. He has played Summer League ball with the Mavericks and Celtics and was on the Pacers’ training-camp roster in 2014 and 2015. He has also played in France. The Windy City Bulls acquired him in February in a trade with the Mad Ants.

Johnson, 21, was barely on the Bulls roster for 24 hours. They signed him to a contract on Saturday. He averaged 11.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 2.9 APG in 49 games with the Windy City affiliate. He went undrafted last summer before signing with the Bulls on a training camp deal but was waived before the regular season.

Celtics No Longer Expected To Sign Sean Kilpatrick

March 24th, 2018 at 3:35pm CST by marksuleymanov

3:35pm: Murphy is now hearing that another, unnamed team has stepped in and provided a better offer to Kilpatrick (Twitter). Accordingly, it is unlikely that the Celtics will sign him to a 10-day deal after all.

11:38am: The Celtics are expected to sign Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract later today, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.

Keith Smith of RealGM tweeted last night that sources expected Boston to utilize the NBA’s roster hardship exception to sign another player.

The team is currently without Gordon Hayward (dislocated left ankle), Daniel Theis (torn left meniscus), Marcus Smart (right thumb), and Kyrie Irving (left knee). Irving will undergo a “minimally invasive” procedure today on his left knee and his timetable to return should be clearer post surgery.

To qualify for the exemption, at least four players must miss a minimum of three consecutive games, and later be deemed to be out for an additional two weeks.

It has been a well-traveled 2017/18 campaign for Kilpatrick, who started the season with the Nets followed by cameos with the Bucks and Clippers. Kilpatrick suited for the Clippers on a pair of 10-day contracts recently, averaging 4.8 PPG in four games. He was not signed to a deal for the rest of the season after the second contract expired.

In 43 total games this season, Kilpatrick has averaged 4.4 PPG and 1.4 RPG.

Bulls Sign Jaylen Johnson

March 24th, 2018 at 2:20pm CST by clarkcrum

The Bulls have signed rookie forward Jaylen Johnson to an NBA contract, the team announced today via an official press release.

Johnson, 21, has until now spent this season with Chicago’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, where he has put up averages of of 29.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 7.6 boards and 2.9 assists per game in 49 games (37 starts).

Johnson went undrafted last summer before catching on with the Bulls on a training camp deal. He was waived a few days before the regular season began.

It isn’t yet clear whether the new deal for Johnson is a 10-day contract or rest-of-season deal, but a 10-day contract would count as $46.1K towards the Bulls’ cap, while a rest-of-season pact, assuming it’s signed today, would count as $87.6K.

Grizzlies Sign Marquis Teague To 10-Day Contract

March 24th, 2018 at 10:25am CST by clarkcrum

MARCH 24: The Grizzlies made their 10-day deal with Teague official, according to a press release from the team.

MARCH 23: The 10-day contract of Grizzlies guard Briante Weber expires today, and league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that Memphis will sign former first-round pick Marquis Teague of the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, Memphis Hustle, to the open roster spot vacated by Weber as early as tomorrow.

Teague, 25, was drafted by the Bulls with the 29th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but failed to make an impact in the league. Chicago traded Teague to Brooklyn, who subsequently traded him to Philadelphia, who waived him before his rookie-scale contract expired. In 88 career NBA games, he has averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 assists in only 9.5 minutes per game.

Recently, Teague played for Ironi Nahariya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League before being drafted by the Hustle in the G League expansion draft last summer. This season, he has averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG while shooting 42.7% from long range in 47 G League games.

With two seasons of NBA experience under his belt, Teague’s 10-day contract will count as $83,129 against Memphis’ cap.

Rockets Waive Brandan Wright, Sign Le’Bryan Nash

March 24th, 2018 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 24: The NBA’s official transactions log indicates that both moves are now official. The league’s site classifies Nash’s new deal as a 10-day contract.

MARCH 23: Brandan Wright‘s time in Houston will be coming to an early end, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who reports that the Rockets are waiving the veteran. The team will sign forward Le’Bryan Nash to fill the newly-opened roster spot, Feigen adds.

Wright, 30, received a buyout from the Grizzlies after last month’s trade deadline and quickly reached an agreement to join the Rockets. While the versatile big man was viewed as a good fit for Houston, he only appeared in one game for the club before being shut down due to right knee soreness. Wright underwent a minor procedure to address that issue and will continue to work on his rehab with the Rockets’ medical staff even after being waived, a source tells Feigen.

It sounds like Wright won’t be healthy enough this season to return to the court for the postseason anyway, but even if he were to make a quick recovery, he wouldn’t be playoff-eligible for a new team, since he’s being waived after March 1.

As for Nash, the former Oklahoma State standout played in South Korea this season after spending 2016/17 with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. I would expect him to be assigned to the Vipers again for the NBAGL playoffs once he officially signs with the Rockets.

It’s also worth noting, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report recently observed, that signing a player like Nash to a multiyear, minimum salary deal could help the Rockets accommodate another summer trade like the one they made a year ago for Chris Paul, but that’s merely hypothetical for now.

Hawks Sign Damion Lee To Second 10-Day Deal

March 23rd, 2018 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

4:06pm: The signing is official, per an official release and tweet from the team. The deal will run through next Sunday, April 1.

2:38pm: The Hawks will sign Lee to a second 10-day contract after all, Cunningham reports (via Twitter).

11:38am: Damion Lee‘s 10-day contract with the Hawks expired overnight on Thursday, and the team had planned to lock him up to a second 10-day deal, according to Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. However, a source tells Cunningham that Lee is exploring other options available to him.

Lee, 25, has appeared in his first five NBA games over the last 10 days and has looked good as a regular part of the Hawks’ rotation. In 23.8 minutes per contest, the rookie shooting guard has averaged 10.4 PPG on .447/.375/.800 shooting, chipping in 3.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG.

It’s not clear which other teams might be looking to lure Lee away from Atlanta, or if another club might be willing to give him a rest-of-season contract rather than just another 10-day deal. As Cunningham observes, Lee may have interest in signing with a team that would give him a better chance to stick around for 2018/19 — the Hawks have a crowded depth chart at shooting guard.

We’ll have to wait to see where he ultimately lands, but given his solid play in the G League and a promising start to his NBA career, it’s no surprise that Lee is drawing interest from more than one team.

Mark Suleymanov of Hoops Rumors took an in-depth look on Thursday at Lee’s long road to the NBA, a journey that saw him make his way back from ACL tears in both knees.

Lakers Sign Travis Wear For Remainder Of Season

March 23rd, 2018 at 11:44am CST by marksuleymanov

MARCH 23: The Lakers have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Wear for the rest of the season. The team now has 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with one open roster spot available.

MARCH 22: The Lakers are signing forward Travis Wear for the remainder of the season, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Wear inked a pair of 10-day deals with the Lakers and the second one expired on Thursday night.

In nine games with the Lakers, Wear has averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.2 RPG while shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc.

Wear, 27, previously suited up for the Knicks, appearing in 51 games for the team during the 2014/15 season. He spent time in camp with the Lakers in 2016 and played for the team’s G League affiliate for the past two seasons.

In 33 G League games for the South Bay Lakers this season, the 6’9″ forward averaged 16.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.0 APG.

Mavericks Sign Aaron Harrison To 10-Day Deal

March 22nd, 2018 at 10:24am CST by clarkcrum

MARCH 22: The Mavericks have officially signed Harrison to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Saturday, March 31.

MARCH 20: As we noted yesterday, the 10-day contract of Mavericks forward Jameel Warney expires today, and league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times that Dallas will sign former NBA player and current member of the G League’s Reno Bighorns, Aaron Harrison, to the open roster spot vacated by Warney.

Harrison, 23, went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2015 before signing with the Hornets, where he played for two seasons until being waived towards the middle of the 2016/17 season. In 26 career NBA games, he has averaged 0.7 points and 0.7 rebounds in only 4.2 minutes per game.

Since then, Harrison has bounced around the G League, playing for the Greensboro Swarm, Delaware 76ers, and aforementioned Bighorns. This season, he has averaged 18.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG while shooting 42.5% from long range in 41 G League games.

The signing of Harrison will continue somewhat of a trend for the Mavs, who have now parted ways with two players – Warney and Scotty Hopson – after giving them only one 10-day deal.

Because Harrison played in the NBA in both the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, his 10-day contract will count as $83,129 against Dallas’ cap.

Hawks Sign Jaylen Morris For Rest Of Season

March 21st, 2018 at 5:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 21: The Hawks officially signed Morris to a multi-year deal on Wednesday, tweets Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

MARCH 17: Rookie shooting guard Jaylen Morris will sign with the Hawks for the remainder of the season, according to a tweet from his agency, RZA Sports.

Morris inked a pair of 10-day deals with Atlanta, with the latest one due to expire Wednesday. He is currently sidelined by a sprained ankle that he suffered Sunday and is projected to miss another week. He appeared in six games before the injury, averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in about 16 minutes of playing time.

Morris went undrafted last summer out of Division II Molloy College. He spent most of this season with the Hawks’ G League affiliate in Erie, where he averaged 12.6 points in 39 games.