Rockets Waive Isaiah Taylor
The Rockets waived guard Isaiah Taylor on Sunday, the team announced via Twitter.
Taylor, who is 6’3,” played in three preseason games for the Rockets. He played only five minutes in Saturday’s double overtime loss to Memphis. The Rockets will take a $50K hit for waiving Taylor, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (on Twitter). Houston’s roster is now at 18 players.
The former Texas guard had agreed to a partially-guaranteed contract with the Rockets in September. Taylor was ranked as the No. 67 prospect for last summer’s draft by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. He went undrafted after averaging 15 points and 5.0 assists per game in his final season at Texas.
Trail Blazers Waive Luis Montero
The Trail Blazers have waived Luis Montero, the team announced today. The move brings Portland’s roster down to 17 players.
A 6’7″ swingman from the Dominican Republic, Montero signed with the Blazers in July of 2015. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie last season, averaging 1.2 points and 0.3 rebounds per night in limited playing time. He played just one game this preseason, scoring three points against Utah on October 3rd.
Montero was scheduled to make $874,636 this season and a non-guaranteed $1,014,746 for 2017/18.
Cavs Re-Sign J.R. Smith, Waive Douglas
SATURDAY, 11:37am: The Cavs officially announced the signing, as well as that guard Toney Douglas has been waived to clear a spot for Smith.
FRIDAY, 9:14pm: The fourth year of Smith’s deal is non-guaranteed, Stein relays (Twitter links). However, a full guarantee will kick in if he remains on the roster after the 2018/19 campaign comes to a close, the scribe adds. The guard will earn $45MM during the first three years of the pact, according to Stein.
8:18pm: According to Stein (Twitter link), a hard push from Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo to ink Smith is was spurred Cleveland to up its offer to the guard.
7:29pm: The Cavs and unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith have finally ended their stalemate, with the shooting guard agreeing to a new contract with the team, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It will be a four-year, $57MM arrangement, according to the scribe. There is no word yet if the agreement includes any options (player or team), nor if the entire pact is fully guaranteed.
Smith had been reportedly seeking an annual salary of $15MM, while the Cavs reportedly preferred to sign him to a contract in the $10MM to $12MM range. In the end, Smith will receive an average annual salary of $14MM, per the terms Stein relayed.
It was surprising that negotiations lasted this long between the two sides given their mutual desire to keep the relationship going. The Celtics reportedly had serious interest in signing Smith, though Boston wouldn’t have been able to offer Smith a salary starting more than $9MM unless they made a trade to clear cap space. The possibility of Smith signing elsewhere, which likely would have upset superstar LeBron James, may have played a factor in Cleveland upping its offer. Though, that is merely speculation on my part.
The 31-year-old started a career-high 77 games for the Cavs during the 2015/16 season, and also started all 21 of the team’s playoff games. During the season, he averaged 12.4 PPG and shot 40.0% from long distance, making 2.6 threes per game.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nuggets Waive Kennedy, Sampson, Toupane
The Nuggets have officially waived guard D.J. Kennedy, forward JaKarr Sampson and forward Axel Toupane, the team announced via press release. The moves pare down the team’s preseason roster to 17 players, which is two above the regular season maximum. The only one of the trio with any guaranteed salary is Kennedy ($50K), and that amount will remain on Denver’s cap for the season unless he is claimed off waivers by another team.
Kennedy appeared in one preseason game for the Nuggets, posting four points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals in 12 minutes of play. His NBA regular season experience consists of two games with the Cavaliers during the 2011/12 campaign where he averaged 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.5 minutes per outing. Kennedy has split the remainder of his playing career thus far between the NBA D-League and overseas. He spent the 2015/16 campaign with the Russian club Enisey Krasnoyarsk, appearing in 40 games and averaging 14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Kennedy’s shooting line on the year was .451/.287/.809.
Sampson was originally inked by Denver 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.
Toupane signed with the Nuggets in March of this year and averaged 3.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 14.5 minutes over the final 21 games of the 2015/16 campaign. He has appeared in one game this preseason, scoring 11 points, snagging seven rebounds and dishing out three assists in 19 total minutes.
Jazz Waive Eric Dawson, Quincy Ford, Marcus Paige
The Jazz have begun paring down their roster in advance of the regular season, announcing today in a press release that Eric Dawson, Quincy Ford, and Marcus Paige have been placed on waivers. The team’s roster now stands at 17 players, so two more cuts will be necessary before opening night.
[RELATED: Offseason In Review: Utah Jazz]
Dawson and Ford both signed free agent contracts with the Jazz this offseason, but were always viewed as long shots to make the club’s regular-season roster. While Dawson’s deal was fully non-guaranteed, Ford got a modest $75K guarantee, which will remain on Utah’s cap unless he’s claimed on waivers.
As for Paige, the rookie guard was the 55th overall pick in this year’s draft, and received a $125K guarantee from the Jazz. By waiving him, the team forfeits its NBA rights to Paige, so he’ll be free to join another NBA team if he clears waivers. If he goes unclaimed and unsigned, the 23-year-old is probably a good bet to join the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s D-League affiliate.
The Jazz now have 14 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Henry Sims on a partially guaranteed deal ($75K) and Chris Johnson and Jeff Withey on non-guaranteed pacts. Withey is expected to earn the club’s final roster opening.
Lakers Waive Zach Auguste, Julian Jacobs, Travis Wear
The Lakers have begun making cuts from their offseason roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived camp invitees Zach Auguste, Julian Jacobs, and Travis Wear. All three players will hit the free agent market, assuming they clear waivers later this week.
While Wear and Jacobs saw 11 total minutes in the Lakers’ four preseason games to date, Auguste didn’t see any action. None of the three players had a fully guaranteed salary, but Auguste did have a modest $60K guarantee on his deal, so that figure will remain on the team’s cap following his release.
After cutting Auguste, Jacobs, and Wear, the Lakers will have 17 players on their roster, including 14 on guaranteed contracts. Yi Jianlian, Thomas Robinson, and Metta World Peace appear to be vying for the 15th and final roster spot, with Yi likely holding the edge due to his guarantee ($250K) and his incentive-heavy, trade-friendly contract. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets that Yi will likely have to beat out Robinson, with World Peace a long shot to make the team.
As for the trio of players waived today, all three could eventually end up joining the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers’ D-League affiliate. Jacobs, in particular, is a candidate to join L.A.’s D-League squad, tweets Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet.
Clippers To Waive Dorell Wright, Xavier Munford
The Clippers are poised to cut a pair of camp invitees, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive Dorell Wright and Xavier Munford today. Both players have non-guaranteed salaries, so releasing them won’t affect the Clippers’ cap.
Wright, 30, spent most of last season in China before signing with the Heat in mid-April. He didn’t play any regular season games with Miami, but did appear in five playoff contests, averaging 3.2 points and 3.8 minutes per game. Prior to last season, Wright had appeared in 549 total NBA regular-season contests, spending time with the Heat, Warriors, Sixers, and Trail Blazers over the course of 11 years. In those seasons, he averaged 8.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG, and shot 36.5% on three-point attempts.
According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), Wright bypassed an opportunity to return to China for the 2016/17 season in the hopes of earning a roster spot with the Clippers, his hometown team. Now that he’s returning to the free agent market, perhaps the veteran forward will head back overseas.
As for Munford, the 22-year-old made his NBA debut in March with the Grizzlies, joining the injury-ravaged Memphis roster for the stretch run. In his 14 contests with the team, Munford averaged 5.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG, while connecting on 39.1% of his three-point attempts. Prior to getting called up by the Grizzlies, Munford scored an impressive 20.4 PPG to go along with 6.4 APG and a .412 3PT% for the 2015/16 Bakersfield Jam in the D-League.
The Clippers’ roster had featured 15 players on guaranteed salaries, with Wright and Munford representing the only non-guaranteed camp invitees, so the moves don’t come as a surprise. While Los Angeles could tweak its roster during the final couple weeks before the regular season begins, it appears the team will head into opening night with its current 15-man squad.
Knicks Sign Damien Inglis
The Knicks have added another body to their preseason roster, with the team announced today (via Twitter) that free agent forward Damien Inglis has signed a contract with the team. Terms of the deal weren’t announced, but a non-guaranteed pact seems likely.
Inglis, 21, was selected by the Bucks in the second round of the 2014 draft and made his NBA debut last season, appearing in 20 contests for Milwaukee. He only averaged 7.8 minutes in those games, and became a roster casualty during the offseason, with the Bucks waiving him in late June, just before the new league year began. He suited up for the Pelicans in Summer League play in July.
The Knicks have 14 guaranteed salaries on their books for 2016/17, which means there may be a regular-season roster spot up for grabs. However, Inglis looks like a long shot for that opening. Other camp invitees like Chasson Randle, Ron Baker, and Maurice Ndour have been with the team longer and will have the leg up on that 15th spot.
Inglis could very well end up playing for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate though, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. Because the Bucks don’t have a D-League affiliate of their own, Inglis spent some time with the Westchester Knicks during the 2015/16 season, averaging 9.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 21.4 minutes per contest for the club.
Suns Waive Bakumanya, Cooke, Harrison
The Suns trimmed their roster to 16 players by waiving center Gracin Bakumanya, forward Derek Cooke Jr. and guard Shaquille Harrison, the team announced today.
All three players signed with Phoenix on September 25th, but none saw any playing time during the team’s first three preseason games. They will all likely wind up with the Suns’ D-League affiliate, suggests Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. (Twitter link).
Bakumanya was an international early-entry candidate who hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was part of the Rockets’ summer league team and spent last season in France.
Cooke has a history with the organization. He played for the Suns’ D-League affiliate in Bakersfield last year and was part of the Phoenix entry in the summer league.
Harrison went undrafted after playing college ball at Tulsa and earning All-American Athletic Conference second team honors.
All teams must cut their rosters down to 15 players by October 24th.
Warriors Waive Elgin Cook, Scott Wood
The Warriors reduced their training camp roster to 18 today by waiving Elgin Cook and Scott Wood, the team announced in a press release.
Both players received $50K guarantees to come to camp, and both were considered long shots to make Golden State’s talent-laden roster. They may get a chance to prove themselves with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Cook signed with Golden State in September after being undrafted out of Oregon. A 6’6″ small forward, he averaged 14.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a senior with the Ducks, and played for the Kings’ team in summer league.