Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Waive John Holland

October 22nd, 2016 at 4:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavs have waived John Holland, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The move will bring their roster count to 16 and Cleveland has until Monday to waive one more player.

Cleveland signed Holland last month, though he was never expected to make the team. The small forward’s only NBA experience came during last season’s playoffs with the Celtics, where he saw only one minute of action. During that game, he took one shot–a 3-pointer–which he missed.

Holland spent four years at Boston University and he wasn’t selected in the 2011 draft. He went overseas following college, playing for four teams in three different countries from 2011 until 2015 .

Celtics Waive Ryan Kelly

October 22nd, 2016 at 3:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

As expected, the Celtics have waived Ryan Kelly, with the team announcing the move via press release. This paves the way for the forward to join Boston’s D-League affiliate in Maine, which was why the team inked him to a deal on Friday.

Kelly, who was waived by the Hawks earlier this week, spent his first three seasons in the NBA as a member of the Lakers after being selected 48th overall in the 2013 draft. After averaging 22.9 minutes per contest during his first two seasons in Los Angeles, Kelly saw his playing time reduced last season, playing just 13.1 MPG in 36 contests. He averaged 4.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in those games, shooting just 36.9% from the floor, 13.5% from beyond the arc, and 68.5% from the line.

The Celtics still have one more cut to make to reduce their roster to the regular season maximum of 15 players, and it is likely going to be either R.J. Hunter or James Young who gets the axe.

Heat Part Ways With Five Players

October 22nd, 2016 at 3:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

3:06pm: The Heat have announced via press release that the moves are official.

1:40pm: The Heat intend to part ways with Briante Weber, Beno Udrih, Okaro White, Luis Montero and Vashil Fernandez, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (All Twitter links). The team will be on the hook for $100K for White, $327,989 for Weber and $980,431 for Udrih, unless those players are claimed off waivers by another team.

Udrih played 36 games with Miami last season before agreeing to a buyout in February to help the team avoid the luxury tax, which certainly gained him some fans within the organization. In those 36 games for the Heat last season, Udrih averaged 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 16.3 minutes per outing. He shot .434/.333/.882 from the field.

Weber, 23, appeared in a combined seven games with Miami and Memphis in 2015/16. He averaged 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 24.1 minutes per outing while shooting .359/.000/.750.

White went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, spending this past season with Aris BC, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.

A 6’7″ swingman from the Dominican Republic, Montero signed with the Heat after being waived by the Blazers earlier this month. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie last season for Portland, averaging 1.2 points and 0.3 rebounds per night in limited playing time. Montero played just one game this preseason for Portland before he was cut, scoring three points against Utah on October 3rd.

Fernandez went undrafted this June after spending his four-year college career at Valparaiso. The 6’10” big man averaged just 5.6 PPG during his senior season, but also chipped in 7.3 RPG and 3.3 BPG over the course of 36 games.

Bucks To Waive Roberts, Johnson, O’Brien

October 22nd, 2016 at 3:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bucks intend to waive Jaleel Roberts, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). The Bucks will also waive Orlando Johnson and J.J. O’Brien, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated adds (on Twitter). None of the players have any guaranteed money included in their deals, so Milwaukee won’t be responsible for any money to the trio.

Roberts, 25, played his college ball for UNC-Asheville, going undrafted in 2015 after averaging 7.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG in his senior season. Despite his modest college stats, Roberts received a training camp invite from the Wizards last season, and after being waived by Washington last fall, the seven-footer rejoined the club for Summer League play this July. The big man will likely look to join the NBA D-League, though, since the Bucks do not have an affiliate in the league, they won’t be able to hold onto his rights.

Johnson, 27, has been with four teams in four seasons after being drafted in the second round by the Kings in 2012. He signed two 10-day contracts last season, one with the Suns in February and one with the Pelicans in March. He appeared in two games with Phoenix and five with New Orleans.

An undrafted 24-year-old out of San Diego State, O’Brien played for the Jazz in Summer League action a year ago, then later signed a 10-day contract with the team. However, he only appeared in two regular season contests for Utah. O’Brien spent the majority of the 2015/16 season with the Idaho Stampede, averaging 14.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.5 SPG for the D-League squad.

Pistons Sign, Waive Mamadou N’Diaye

October 22nd, 2016 at 2:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:55pm: The Pistons announced that they have waived N’Diaye via a second press release.

10:59am: The Pistons have signed center Mamadou N’Diaye to a contract, the team announced via press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is almost assuredly a minimum salary deal with little or no guaranteed salary included. Coming this late in the preseason, inking Ndiaye was likely done with an eye on retaining his D-League rights as an affiliate player.

The 7’6″ big man went undrafted this year after spending three season at UC Irvine. The 23-year-old averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks during his junior campaign in 2015/16.

N’Diaye played in the Las Vegas Summer League as a member of Golden State’s squad. In three contests he went scoreless, averaging 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 blocks in 5.8 minutes per outing. N’Diaye attempted two shots, missing both of them.

Pistons Waive Lorenzo Brown, Trey Freeman

October 22nd, 2016 at 2:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:54pm: The Pistons confirmed the moves are official via press release.

1:49pm: The Pistons intend to waive Trey Freeman and Lorenzo Brown, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press reports (on Twitter). Neither player’s deal included any guaranteed money, so Detroit won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of parting ways with the pair.

Freeman played for the Rockets summer league squad in Las Vegas this year, appearing in five games and averaging 5.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 18.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .265/.200/.750. The 23-year-old went undrafted after completing his senior campaign at Old Dominion. Freeman’s numbers for the 2015/16 season were 22.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 35.1 minutes per night. His shooting numbers on the year were .429/.349/.829.

Brown, 26, appeared in eight contests for the Suns a season ago, averaging 2.5 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 7.6 minutes per night. His slash line was .320/.125/.750.

Raptors Waive Five Players

October 22nd, 2016 at 2:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors have reduced their roster count to 15 players, announcing that guards Drew Crawford and Brady Heslip, forwards E.J. Singler and Jarrod Uthoff and center Yanick Moreira have been waived. Toronto will be on the hook for Singler’s partial guarantee of $50K, Heslip’s partial guarantee of $56,500 and Uthoff’s partial guarantee of $50K as a result of these moves, provided another team doesn’t claim them off of waivers.

Crawford and Moreira each spent last season overseas, with Crawford playing for Bnei Hertzeliyya in Israel, while Moreira split time between UCAM Murcia (Spain) and Rouen (France). Crawford has also spent some time in the D-League, playing for the Erie BayHawks in 2014/15 after playing his college ball at Northwestern. Moreira spent two seasons at SMU before going undrafted last year.

After going undrafted out of Baylor in 2014, Heslip joined the Bighorns for a brief stint before heading overseas and playing in Bosnian and Italian leagues. Last season, the 26-year-old played for Acqua Vitasnella Cantù in Italy, averaging 12.7 PPG and shooting 45.5% on three-pointers in 29 Italian League contests.

Singler spent some time with the Raptors 905 in the D-League last season, allowing Toronto’s decision-makers to take a closer look at him. The 26-year-old has yet to appear in a regular-season NBA game since finishing his college career with the Ducks, though he has had brief preseason stints with the Trail Blazers (2013) and Jazz (2015). In his senior year at Oregon back in 2012/13, Singler averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 37 contests, shooting 35.9% from three-point range.

Uthoff went undrafted this year despite being an All-American at Iowa last season. Among Big Ten players, Uthoff ranked second in scoring (18.9), first in blocked shots (2.7), and tied for 11th in rebounding (6.4).

Spurs To Waive Jean-Charles, Garino, Anthony

October 22nd, 2016 at 2:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs are paring down their roster for the regular season and are set to waive Livio Jean-Charles, Patricio Garino, and Joel Anthony, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Garino’s deal has a partial guarantee of $100K and Jean-Charles’ pact worth $1,188,840 is fully guaranteed, which San Antonio will be on the hook for unless the players are claimed off waivers by another team. No guaranteed money was included in Anthony’s arrangement.

Jean-Charles was a draft-and-stash prospect, taken No. 28 overall during the 2013 draft. The 6’9”, 22-year-old Charles played the last four seasons for the French League club ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, which is co-owned by San Antonio point guard Tony Parker. Last season he appeared in 25 games, averaging 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.2 minutes.

Garino, 23, spent four years at George Washington, increasing his production in each season. In 2015/16, the 6’7″ forward averaged 14.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG, and 0.8 BPG while shooting 43.0% on three-point attempts.

Anthony, 34, spent the last two seasons in Detroit, playing sparingly for the Pistons. In 2015/16, he averaged a career-low 5.1 minutes per game in 19 regular-season contests.

Magic Waive Nick Johnson, Ramon Galloway

October 22nd, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic have officially parted ways with guard Nick Johnson, the team announced via press release. Johnson’s minimum salary agreement includes no guaranteed money, so Orlando won’t have any cap consequences as a result of the move.

Johnson appeared in four preseason games for the Magic, averaging 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 10.2 minutes per outing. His career NBA regular season numbers through 28 games, all with the Rockets, are 2.3 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 0.4 APG to accompany a shooting line of .347/.238/.680.

The team also announced that Ramon Galloway, who was signed on Friday, was also let go. Orlando’s roster count is now at 15 players, which is the regular season maximum.

Jazz Waive Chris Johnson

October 22nd, 2016 at 1:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Jazz have waived forward Chris Johnson, the team announced via press release. The player’s contract was non-guaranteed, so there will be no cap consequences resulting from letting him go.

Johnson appeared in all six preseason games for Utah, averaging 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.2 minutes. He appeared in 82 games the Jazz over the past two seasons, averaging 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per contest.

Following the move, Utah’s roster now stands at 15 players, which is the regular season maximum.