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Kings Pick Up 2017/18 Option On Willie Cauley-Stein

October 21st, 2016 at 5:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings had only one rookie-scale option to make a decision on in advance of the October 31st deadline this year. In a move that comes as little surprise, Sacramento has exercised its third-year option on Willie Cauley-Stein, the team announced via press release.

Cauley-Stein, who is earning $3,551,160 this season, will be on the Kings’ books for $3,704,160 in 2017/18. The big man would be due $4,696,875 in the final year of his rookie deal, should Sacramento elect to exercise his fourth year option next fall.

The 23-year-old is entering his second season in the league after being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Cauley-Stein was named to the All-Rookie Second Team last season, notching 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.00 blocks in 21.4 minutes per contest over 66 games played.His shooting line was .563/.000/.648.

Bulls Release Spencer Dinwiddie

October 21st, 2016 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

4:48pm: Chicago has announced that the move is official via press release.

2:08pm: The Bulls had already made the cuts necessary to get down to 15 players, but they aren’t done yet. According to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Chicago has also waived Spencer Dinwiddie, reducing the team’s roster to 14 players.

It’s been an eventful few months for Dinwiddie, who finished the 2015/16 campaign with the Pistons, having averaged 4.8 PPG and 1.8 APG in 12 contests for the club last season. Detroit sent Dinwiddie to the Bulls in a trade for Cameron Bairstow, and Chicago subsequently waived the 23-year-old in order to clear the cap room necessary to sign Dwyane Wade. The Bulls later re-signed Dinwiddie to a new deal.

Dinwiddie’s new two-year, minimum-salary contract was fully non-guaranteed, but he would have been in line for a $400K guarantee if he had remained on the Bulls’ roster beyond November 1. Rather than carrying him on the opening-night roster and then cutting him a few days later, it seems Chicago simply waived him now to avoid paying that partial guarantee.

The Bulls are now carrying 14 players — 13 with guaranteed salaries and Cristiano Felicio on a non-guaranteed pact. Check out Roster Resource for the team’s roster and depth chart.

Celtics Waive Ben Bentil

October 21st, 2016 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

4:25pm: The Celtics have officially announced that Bentil was waived.

12:44pm: Bentil will look to join another NBA team and isn’t expected to play for the Celtics’ D-League affiliate, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

12:24pm: The Celtics have become the second team to cut a player they drafted this past June, having released rookie forward Ben Bentil, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Bentil was the 51st overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Bentil, 21, averaged 21.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG at Providence last season, and signed a three-year contract with the Celtics after being selected with one of the team’s six draft picks. While his deal wasn’t fully guaranteed, he did get a strong partial guarantee of $250K, so Boston would presumably love to see him clear waivers and make it to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. However, as Charania observes, Bentil could be claimed or signed by another team, since the C’s no longer hold his NBA rights.

With 16 players on fully guaranteed deals for 2016/17, the Celtics had an overcrowded preseason roster of players capable of opening the season on an NBA team. Even after cutting Bentil, the team will have to remove one player from its roster — James Young and R.J. Hunter are viewed as the most likely candidates to be cut. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link), Boston has made both players available via trade, seeking a second-round pick in return.

The Jazz were the first team to waive a 2016 draftee, cutting 55th overall pick Marcus Paige from their roster last week.

Grizzlies Sign JaKarr Sampson, Waive Kellen Dunham

October 21st, 2016 at 4:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies have made a pair of roster moves, signing JaKarr Sampson and waiving Kellen Dunham, the team announced. The details of Sampson pact were not relayed, though it is almost assuredly a minimum salary arrangement that includes little or no guaranteed money. Memphis’ roster still stands at 20 players, so the team has five more players it will need to part ways with prior to the regular season commencing.

Sampson was waived by the Nuggets last week as Denver began paring down its preseason roster. Sampson was originally inked by the Nuggets this past February and played in the final 26 games (22 starts) of the 2015/16 season, averaging 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 18.0 minutes. He has appeared in one preseason contest this year, notching 10 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block in 20 minutes.

Dunham’s stay in Memphis was brief, having just been signed on Thursday. The shooting guard played for the Grizzlies’ summer-league team in Las Vegas, making four reserve appearances while averaging 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.9 minutes. He went undrafted in June after a four-year collegiate career at Butler. His addition was likely made with an eye on acquiring his D-League rights, though that is merely my speculation.

Magic Sign Ramon Galloway

October 21st, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic have signed Ramon Galloway, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports (via Twitter). The guard’s stay on Orlando’s roster is likely to be a short one, with the player added merely to acquire his D-League rights, Robbins adds. The Magic have confirmed the signing via press release.

The 25-year-old went undrafted in 2013 after splitting his four-year college career between LaSalle and South Carolina. He spent the 2015/16 campaign playing overseas with both OpenJobMetis Varese and Fulgor Omegna in Italy. His combined numbers through 26 contests were 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists to accompany a shooting line of .437/.333/.889.

Galloway suited up for Charlotte’s entry in the Orlando summer league this year, making three appearances and notching averages of 9.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 1.7 APG. His slash line was .476/.250/1.000.

Spurs Pick Up 2017/18 Option On Kyle Anderson

October 21st, 2016 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs had one rookie scale team option decision to make in advance of October 31 this year, and the team announced that decision today. Unsurprisingly, San Antonio has exercised its 2017/18 option on forward Kyle Anderson, guaranteeing his salary for the fourth year of his rookie contract.

[Related: Rookie scale team option decisions]

Anderson, 23, has posted modest numbers during his first two NBA seasons, averaging 4.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 78 regular season contests in 2015/16. However, multiple offseason reports have suggested that the Spurs believe the former 30th overall pick is ready to take on a larger role in the team’s rotation in 2016/17.

As the final pick in the 2014 first round, Anderson also comes at a bargain rate for the Spurs, who are paying him just $1.192MM this season. Anderson’s fourth-year option for 2017/18 will pay him $2.152MM, which represents a nice raise, but is still just a small fraction of the Spurs’ cap, which should easily exceed $100MM.

With his option for ’17/18 now locked in, Anderson will be eligible for a contract extension during the 2017 offseason, and would reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2018.

Pelicans Waive Shawn Dawson, Robert Sacre

October 21st, 2016 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have begun making their preseason roster cuts, announcing today in a press release that guard Shawn Dawson and center Robert Sacre have been waived by the team. New Orleans’ roster now sits at 18 players, so three more cuts will be required before opening night.

Dawson, an Israeli native, signed a non-guaranteed summer contract with the Pelicans and appeared in three preseason contests for the team, totaling just 10 minutes in those games. Sacre, a former Laker who was also on a non-guaranteed deal, played even less, appearing in just one exhibition contest for New Orleans. Both players were viewed as long shots to make the Pelicans’ 15-man roster, and will now become free agents if and when they clear waivers.

Quinn Cook and Quincy Ford are the other two players on non-guaranteed contracts on the Pelicans’ roster, so they’re good bets to be waived by Monday. The final roster decision will be a little tougher, and will likely come down to Alonzo Gee, who has a fully guaranteed salary, vs. Lance Stephenson, who doesn’t.

Knicks Cut Chasson Randle, Lou Amundson, Others

October 21st, 2016 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have waived point guard Chasson Randle, according to multiple reports, including one from Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). In addition to parting ways with Randle, the team has also cut big man Lou Amundson and shooting guard J.P. Tokoto, reports Ian Begley of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The team confirmed those three cuts and announced two more, tweeting that small forwards Cleanthony Early and Damien Inglis have also been released.

New York had been carrying 15 guaranteed salaries on its roster, along with five non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals, so its roster decisions had looked fairly simple on the surface. However, Randle and Ron Baker – two players without guaranteed deals – had impressed the team in training camp, complicating those decisions. The Knicks also had to weigh the fact that Randle is set to miss the next few weeks due to a left orbital fracture.

Marc Berman of The New York Post had speculated earlier today that Randle and Baker would both make the cut for the 15-man roster, with the Knicks cutting a pair of guaranteed salaries – Amundson and Maurice Ndour – along with Tokoto. While the team did eat Amundson’s guaranteed contract, it appears Ndour is safe, given Randle’s release. The Knicks are down to 15 players, so their regular-season roster seems set.

Among today’s cuts, Tokoto and Randle each had partial guarantees of $100K on their contracts, so the Knicks will carry that money on their cap. Both players are candidates to join the D-League’s Westchester Knicks, as are Early and Inglis. Randle may also receive consideration to re-sign with the Knicks when he gets healthy — Baker’s salary won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10, so the club will have some flexibility with that final roster spot.

Nets Waive Yogi Ferrell; Roster Down To 15

October 21st, 2016 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have requested waivers on rookie guard Yogi Ferrell, the team announced today in a press release. The move reduces Brooklyn’s roster from 16 players to 15, meaning the club is now ready for the regular season.

Ferrell, who signed with the Nets this summer as an undrafted free agent, started all four years while attending Indiana, averaging 17.3 points, 5.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game during his senior season. During the preseason, the 23-year-old played sparingly for the Nets, appearing in three exhibition games and getting on the floor for a total of 28 minutes in those contests.

The deal Ferrell signed with Brooklyn in August featured a guarantee worth $100K, and there’s a good chance he’ll end up playing for the team’s D-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, if he’s not claimed or signed by another NBA team.

Barring any last-minute roster moves, the Nets will head into the regular season with all 15 players on their roster on guaranteed contracts. That will reduce the team’s flexibility to a certain extent, but Brooklyn is well below the salary floor, so if the club needs to waive one of those players and eat a guaranteed salary at some point, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Bulls Waive Three Players; Roster Stands At 15

October 21st, 2016 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have waived three players from their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with camp invitees J.J. Avila, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and Thomas Walkup. All three players will become free agents if and when they clear waivers.

Avila, Smith-Rivera, and Walkup each signed one-year contracts with the Bulls this summer, and were always viewed as long shots to earn regular-season roster spots. Walkup received a guarantee of $69,500 on his minimum-salary contract, while Avila and Smith-Rivera received no guaranteed money. Assuming they aren’t snatched up by another club, all three players are candidates to join Chicago’s new D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.

The Bulls are now down to 15 players, meaning their roster is set for the regular season. Still, if the team wants to dip below the maximum, it has some flexibility to make additional cuts. Currently, 13 Chicago players have fully guaranteed salaries for 2016/17, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Cristiano Felicio are on non-guaranteed contracts.

For a breakdown of the Bulls’ current 2016/17 salary cap situation, check out our salary cap snapshot for the team.