Grizzlies Sign JaKarr Sampson, Waive Kellen Dunham
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
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
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
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
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
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.
[RELATED: Nets waive Chase Budinger, three others]
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
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.
Wizards Pick Up 2017/18 Option On Kelly Oubre
OCTOBER 21: The Wizards have made it official, formally picking up Oubre’s third-year option, per RealGM.
AUGUST 2: In an unsurprising move, the Wizards will exercise the third-year option on Kelly Oubre‘s rookie contract, reports J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Washington won’t have to rush to make the move official, since the deadline for rookie-scale option decisions is still nearly three months away.
Rookie-scale contracts for first-round picks feature two guaranteed seasons, followed by two non-guaranteed team options. Teams must make decision on those options a year in advance, by October 31. Generally, those third- and fourth-year salaries are so affordable – particularly under the new salary cap – that it makes sense for teams to exercise those options unless the player has been a total bust.
Oubre, the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, didn’t receive a ton of playing time in his rookie season, but flashed potential when he saw the floor. The 20-year-old, who played his college ball at Kansas, appeared in 63 games for the Wizards in 2015/16, averaging 3.7 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 10.7 minutes per contest.
Oubre’s contract will pay him about $2MM this season, while his third-year option for 2017/18 will be worth about $2.093MM. A year from now, the Wizards will have to make a decision on Oubre’s fourth-year option for 2018/19, which will pay him $3.209MM if it’s picked up.
Hawks Waive Will Bynum
The Hawks have moved one step closer to finalizing their roster for the regular season, having parted ways with veteran guard Will Bynum, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The move brings Atlanta’s roster count down to 16 players, one above the regular-season maximum.
Although he has appeared in 360 total regular season NBA games for three different teams since 2005, Bynum hasn’t played in a regular season contest since the 2014/15 season. For most of the last two seasons, Bynum has played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China. He averaged 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG for the CBA club in 2015/16.
During the preseason, Bynum saw a decent amount of playing time in the Hawks’ first five preseason games, averaging 17 minutes per contest, but played just 10 total minutes in the club’s final two exhibitions. The 33-year-old’s contract was non-guaranteed, so Atlanta won’t carry a cap hit after releasing him.
With Bynum no longer in the mix, the Hawks have one more player – Josh Magette – who has a fully non-guaranteed salary. He looks like the odd man out for the team’s 15-man roster, with Mike Muscala and his partially guaranteed deal making the cut.
Amnesty Clause Unlikely To Remain In Next CBA
There isn’t enough support among NBA owners to retain the amnesty clause in the new CBA, which could impact the Heat’s long-term decision on Chris Bosh, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports.
The amnesty clause was included in the past two CBAs, which allowed each team to waive one of its player contracts and have 100% of the player’s salary removed from the team’s salary for cap and tax purposes. The team still had to pay that player.
Without an amnesty clause included in the next agreement, the Heat would lose one of their best options regarding Bosh. They refuse to medically clear Bosh, whose last two seasons have been cut short by blood clots, leaving Bosh in limbo. Bosh has three years and approximately $76MM remaining on his contract.
The two sides are close to finalizing the new CBA, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier. Windhorst offers a few more tidbits on the negotiations:
- Players are expected to have the ability to sign an extension two years after the date they signed their current contract, rather than three seasons.
- Restricted free agents will be able to agree to offer sheets on the first day of free agency — July 1 — instead of waiting to July 7. The window for teams to decide to match offer sheets would be reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours. That would make it more appealing for suitors to make those offers, since they are often hamstrung financially until a final decision is made.
- Teams would no longer be able to pull qualifying offers from RFAs, which is currently allowed prior to July 31.