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Bucks Waive Kendall Marshall

October 8th, 2017 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

11:02am: The Bucks confirmed the move in a tweet.

10:46am: The Bucks have waived veteran point guard Kendall Marshall, tweets Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Velazquez noted Marshall’s absence from this morning’s Fan Fest scrimmage, as the team only had 19 players participating.

Marshall, 26, signed a training camp deal with Milwaukee last month. He was a lottery pick in 2012, but hasn’t been able to find an NBA home, going through brief stays with the Suns, Lakers, Bucks and Sixers. He put up good numbers with the Reno Bighorns last season and may be heading back to the G League.

This is the third roster move of the week for Milwaukee, which waived James Young Wednesday and signed Xavier Munford Thursday. Y0ung officially become a free agent after clearing waivers Saturday.

Raptors Sign Norman Powell To Extension

October 8th, 2017 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 8, 10:22pm: The extension has been finalized, according to a tweet from the Raptors.

OCTOBER 5, 12:54pm: The Raptors have reached an agreement on a contract extension with swingman Norman Powell, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, the deal – which will go into effect for the 2018/19 season – will be worth $42MM over four years, and includes a player option for the final season.

Powell, 24, is entering his third year in the NBA, but wasn’t a first-round pick when he entered the league, which makes him eligible for a contract extension a year earlier than many of his fellow 2015 draftees.

For a player in Powell’s position, the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for an extension with a starting salary worth up to 120% of the estimated average salary, with subsequent 8% annual raises. It looks like that’s the deal he’ll get — Josh Richardson, another 2015 second-rounder, signed a similar extension with the Heat earlier in the offseason.

A former UCLA standout, Powell took on a more significant role in his second season with the Raptors, averaging 8.4 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 76 regular season contests (18.0 MPG). Powell’s minutes increased following the February trade of Terrence Ross, and he was a key contributor in the postseason, upping his averages to 11.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG to go along with a .441 3PT% in nine playoff games.

With P.J. Tucker, DeMarre Carroll, and Cory Joseph among the offseason departures for the Raptors, Powell figures to become an even more crucial part of the club’s rotation going forward, giving him a chance to enjoy a breakout season in 2017/18. According to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), the Raps were concerned about being unable to afford Powell as a restricted free agent next summer and even quietly shopped him around prior to the draft — the team is likely thrilled to lock him up at a price just above the mid-level exception.

While the Raptors secured Powell at a fair price, the franchise will now have to worry about luxury tax payments in future seasons. Assuming Toronto picks up its 2018/19 options on Jakob Poeltl, Delon Wright, and Pascal Siakam, the team was already projected to have more than $115MM in guaranteed salary on its ’18/19 cap even before the Powell extension. Powell’s deal will add another $10MM to that total, pushing the Raps over the projected tax threshold.

If staying out of the tax – or even just creating more cap flexibility – is important to the Raptors, Masai Ujiri and the front office may push to eventually find a taker for Jonas Valanciunas, who is set to earn $16.5MM+ in 2018/19.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Chasson Randle Set To Play In Spain

October 7th, 2017 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 7, 4:24pm: Randle has signed a one-year deal with Real Madrid, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

OCTOBER 2, 9am: A week after being waived by the Knicks, point guard Chasson Randle appears to have secured a new job. According to a report from Spanish outlet Gigantes (English link via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando), Randle will sign with Real Madrid for the coming season.

Randle, a former Stanford standout, went undrafted in 2015 and began his professional career with a Czech team in 2015/16. Last season, Randle bounced around between a pair of Atlantic division clubs. After spending the preseason with the Knicks, he was waived and later caught on with the Sixers. When Philadelphia waived him, the 24-year-old returned to the Knicks to finish the year.

In 26 total NBA games last season, Randle averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.3 APG in 11.5 minutes per contest. He had been set to open camp with the Knicks, but when the club acquired two players in exchange for Carmelo Anthony last week, an extra roster spot was required, and Randle was cut.

If and when Randle finalizes a deal with Real Madrid, he’ll be playing alongside former NBA players like Anthony Randolph, Gustavo Ayon, and Jeffery Taylor. He’ll also be teammates with top prospect Luka Doncic.

Jazz Waive Taylor Braun

October 7th, 2017 at 3:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Less than two weeks after signing Taylor Braun to a training camp deal, the Jazz have waived the swingman, according to the team’s website.

The North Dakota State product appeared in two games for Utah this preseason. He saw just four minutes of action, scoring a total of four points.

Utah’s roster now sits at 19 and the team has two more preseason games before it has to make further roster cuts.

Raptors Make Roster Cuts

October 7th, 2017 at 2:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Raptors have waived Kennedy Meeks, Andy Rautins, and Kyle Wiltjer, according to a team press release. Toronto’s roster now sits at 17.

Meeks went undrafted out of the University of North Carolina and signed a partially guaranteed deal with the franchise this summer. He was only able to make one preseason appearance for the club before the team waived him.

Rautins and Wiltjer each made three preseason appearances for the Raptors. Rautins was never expected to make the opening night roster, while Wiltjer was in a better position to earn a spot.

Hawks Waive John Jenkins, Jordan Mathews

October 6th, 2017 at 10:23pm CST by Austin Kent

The Hawks have requested waivers on John Jenkins and Jordan Mathews, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets. The moves will bring Atlanta’s current roster count down to 18.

Neither player got a particularly long look with the franchise but they had their work cut out for them navigating the club’s backcourt depth chart either way.

While Jenkins has bounced around in the NBA over the past few seasons, Mathews was auditioning for the club as an undrafted rookie out of Gonzaga.

The brief tenure with the Hawks was actually Jenkins’ second, the guard having been drafted by Atlanta back in 2012. Unfortunately for the Tennessee native, he won’t stick with the squad this time around. In 145 career games in the NBA, Jenkins has averaged 5.1 points per game.

Grizz Sign Durand Scott, Waive Jeremy Morgan

October 5th, 2017 at 7:50pm CST by Austin Kent

The Grizzlies have signed guard Durand Scott, the club announced in a press release on Thursday night. They’ve also waived guard Jeremy Morgan, who they originally signed back in July.

Scott went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft and has been playing international ball ever since. Just last year, the 27-year-old posted 14.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for Enel Brindisi of the Italian League.

Morgan, an undrafted signee from the 2017 NBA Draft class, exits having been used sparingly in Memphis’ two preseason games thus far.

Celtics Waive Devin Williams

October 5th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Austin Kent

The Celtics have waived power forward Devin Williams, Jay King of Mass Live tweets.

The big man out of West Virginia signed a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the club in late September. With Williams out of the picture, the C’s drop down to 19 total players, 14 of whom remain on guaranteed deals.

Williams split time with the Hornets’ G League affiliate and Melbourne United of the Australian Basketball League last season.

Bucks Sign Xavier Munford

October 5th, 2017 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

12:31pm: The Bucks have officially signed Munford, the team announced today in a press release. The club’s roster is now full once again.

10:54am: After clearing a spot on their 20-man preseason roster, the Bucks are expected to sign free agent shooting guard Xavier Munford, a source tells international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link).

Munford, 25, made his NBA debut in 2015/16, appearing in 14 games for the Grizzlies. He hasn’t seen NBA action since then, having spent time last season in the G League and with a team in Spain.

Although Munford, who received a camp invite from the Clippers last fall, had yet to catch on with an NBA team this year, he had an eventful summer. The University of Rhode Island alum was part of the USA Basketball squad that won a gold medal at the FIBA AmeriCup tournament last month.

The Bucks created an opening on their roster by waiving James Young on Wednesday night. Still, the timing of their deal with Munford is somewhat unusual. At this point, Munford is unlikely to earn a spot on the Bucks’ regular season roster, with players like Brandon Rush, Gerald Green, and Gary Payton II likely ahead of him in the pecking order, and the Bucks don’t hold his G League rights.

Milwaukee may envision Munford as a player whose contract can be converted to a two-way deal later this month. Currently, the Bucks don’t have any players on two-way contracts, so both of those spots are up for grabs.

Bucks Waive James Young

October 4th, 2017 at 10:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:29pm: The Bucks have officially requested waivers on Young, the team announced in a tweet.

9:35pm: Bucks coach Jason Kidd told reporters he expects James Young to be released tonight, tweets Matt Velasquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Kidd said Young will likely join the Bucks’ G League affiliate if he clears waivers.

Young, 22, agreed to a training camp contract with Milwaukee four weeks ago. He had been searching for a new team since the Celtics elected not to re-sign him after the end of last season, playing for the Pelicans in the summer league and attending a free agent mini-camp conducted by the Bucks.

A first-round pick by Boston in 2014, Young spent most of his time in the G League, appearing in just 89 NBA games over three seasons. The 6’6″ shooting guard got into 29 games last year and averaged 2.3 points per night.

Milwaukee has the maximum of 20 players in camp, so there will be one opening if Young does get released. The Bucks have just 14 guaranteed contracts, so there’s an opportunity for one of the non-guaranteed players to make the roster.