Grizzlies Sign Vince Hunter To Training Camp Deal
After being waived by the Bulls on Tuesday, Vince Hunter has signed a training camp deal with the Grizzlies, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Terms of the contract for the 6’8″ forward have not been released, but he had a non-guaranteed deal with Chicago.
Memphis signed Hunter to give its front-line rotation a break until the season starts, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “We want to make sure we don’t overload our veteran bigs during the remainder of preseason,” said GM Chris Wallace. “He’s in shape. He’s an easy player to assimilate. We need to protect ourselves upfront.” (Twitter link).
Hunter played for the Grizzlies’ team in summer league, so he is familiar with their system. The 22-year-old didn’t see any action in Chicago’s first preseason game on Monday.
Hunter spent last season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate in Reno, as well as Panathinaikos in the Greek League. He was in training camp with Sacramento a year ago after going undrafted out of UTEP.
It’s the second move of the weekend for the Grizzlies, who waived guard Tony Wroten on Friday.
Grizzlies Waive Tony Wroten
Veteran point guard Tony Wroten finds his name on the NBA’s transaction wire once again, with the Grizzlies announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived him from their roster. It’s the third time since the end of the season that Wroten has been cut, including the second time by Memphis.
Wroten, the 25th overall pick in the 2012 draft, appeared in just eight games for the Sixers last season before Philadelphia waived him in December. The Knicks later signed Wroten to a two-year deal, minimum-salary deal that contained no guaranteed money for the 2016/17 campaign, but removed him from their roster in June when they acquired Derrick Rose from the Bulls. The Grizzlies claimed him off waivers at that point, cut him in July, and re-signed him in August.
When Memphis initially claimed, waived, and re-signed Wroten, it appeared the team just wanted to make sure he was under contract on modified terms, but it’s unlikely that’s the case this time around. The Grizzlies had guaranteed a small portion of the point guard’s salary for 2016/17, so the team will carry a cap hit of $25K after waiving Wroten, assuming he goes unclaimed.
With Wroten no longer on the roster, Wade Baldwin and Andrew Harrison will continue to vie for the backup point guard job behind Mike Conley. Check out the Grizzlies’ depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Greg Smith To Play In Turkey
Veteran NBA big man Greg Smith will head overseas for the next few months, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who writes that Smith has signed in Turkey with Istanbul BSB. The team has confirmed that Smith will be joining the roster on a three-month contract, replacing the injured Jarvis Varnado.
Smith, 25, has appeared in 149 total NBA regular-season games over the last five seasons, spending time with the Rockets, Mavericks, and Timberwolves. Last season, he played 18 games for Minnesota, averaging 2.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 10.7 minutes per contest. He was waived by the Wolves in June before his salary for 2016/17 became guaranteed.
Assuming Smith’s new team doesn’t extend his contract beyond its current three-month term, the Fresno State product should have the opportunity to catch on with an NBA team later in the season. His stint with the Wolves in 2015/16 began with a pair of 10-day contracts, so Smith could get a look once teams are permitted to hand out 10-day deals this season.
Smith’s new deal in Turkey removes another name from our list of 2016 NBA free agents, a list that is growing increasingly thin.
Jabari Brown, Richard Solomon To Play Overseas
Jabari Brown and Richard Solomon were among the NBA’s first preseason roster cuts over the last few days, having been waived by the Bucks and Hawks, respectively. Brown’s release came on Wednesday, meaning he hasn’t even cleared waivers yet, but already both players have lined up new deals overseas.
According to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter), Brown has agreed to a deal with the Jilin Northeast Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, where he’ll replace Tony Crocker. Assuming the two sides finalize that agreement, it will be a return to China for Brown, who played for the Foshan Long Lions last season.
Brown, 23, averaged an impressive 32.4 PPG for Foshan in 27 games, also chipping in 3.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.1 SPG. Over the last two seasons, the young shooting guard has also spent time with the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, averaging 23.1 PPG and shooting .443/.374/.842 in 47 D-League contests.
As for Solomon, the forward has agreed to terms with Gravelines-Dunkerque in France, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The team has since confirmed the signing, announcing it via Twitter.
Solomon, who went undrafted out of the University of California in 2014, appeared in 59 games in the Japanese League last season and averaged 11.3 PPG and 8.9 RPG. Previously, he spent 28 games with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate in 2014/15, averaging 8.5 PPG and 6.9 RPG.
Bucks Waive Jabari Brown
The Bucks have waived shooting guard Jabari Brown, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Brown signed with the team roughly two weeks ago.
If Brown opts to rejoin the D-League, he will play for he Los Angeles D-Fenders since the Lakers’ affiliate owns his rights, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor notes (Twitter link). The 23-year-old played 41 games with D-Fenders over the last two seasons.
The team entered the day with 19 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Brown had an opportunity for playing time in Milwaukee, as someone needed to fill Khris Middleton‘s void. Instead, it’s likely that new additions Matthew Dellavedova and Jason Terry will see increased usage.
Norris Cole To Play In China
10:16am: Cole drew some NBA interest from the Cavs, Nuggets, and Suns, but no team was willing to offer him more than the minimum, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, who adds that Cole’s deal in China is believed to be worth about $5MM.
8:56am: Norris Cole is headed overseas for the coming season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who passes along a report from Zhang Duo (Twitter link). International basketball reporter David Pick confirms (via Twitter) that Cole has signed with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association, per the guard’s agent.
Cole, who turns 28 this month, appeared in 45 games for the Pelicans last season, starting 23 of them. He set new career highs with 10.6 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.4 RPG, though his FG% (.405) and 3PT% (.324) were a little below his career marks. Before joining the Pelicans, the former first-round pick had spent three and a half seasons in Miami with the Heat.
A recent report suggested that Cole was drawing interest from Cleveland as the team considered adding point guard depth, but the Cavs ultimately decided to add Toney Douglas, perhaps prompting Cole to accept an offer elsewhere.
By signing with Shandong, Cole will be joining the team that signed NBA free agent Jason Thompson earlier in the offseason. According to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (via Twitter), Cole’s deal is believed to have an NBA out. The Chinese regular season typically ends in February, with the playoffs wrapping up in March, so assuming Cole didn’t sign a multiyear pact – which seems like a safe bet – he should have the opportunity to return to the NBA before the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
Bulls Waive Vince Hunter
The Bulls have reduced their preseason roster to 18 players, the team announced today in a press release. According to the club, forward Vince Hunter has been released. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll become a free agent later this week.
Hunter, 22, went undrafted in 2015 after a 2014/15 season in which he averaged 14.9 PPG and 9.2 RPG for UTEP. He was in camp last fall with the Kings, but didn’t make Sacramento’s regular-season roster. Hunter did spend a good chunk of last season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, in addition to playing for Greek team Panathinaikos, before signing with the Bulls for training camp. He was one of five players who didn’t see the floor during Chicago’s preseason game against the Bucks on Monday.
Hunter had been on a non-guaranteed summer contract, so the Bulls won’t be on the hook for any money on their cap after cutting him loose.
We’ll see if the Bulls opt to bring aboard any players to fill the two openings currently on the roster, but for the time being, the team is carrying 13 players on guaranteed salaries, with five more players battling for a spot on the regular-season roster.
Pelicans Waive Chris Copeland
3:39pm: The Pelicans have officially announced the move via press release.
3:29pm: Less than two weeks after announcing they signed him, the Pelicans have waived veteran forward Chris Copeland, according to Paul Garcia of Project Spurs (via Twitter). The move opens up a roster spot for New Orleans, as the team had been carrying the maximum 20 allowable players.
Copeland, 32, played for the Bucks last season after having also spent time with the Knicks and Pacers over the course of his NBA career. He played sparingly in Milwaukee, averaging just 2.1 PPG in 6.5 minutes per contest for the team, and shot a career-worst 33.3% from the floor, including 27.8% on three-pointers.
Copeland’s deal with the Pelicans hadn’t included any guaranteed money, so the club won’t be on the hook for any salary after releasing him. The club already has 15 players on guaranteed salaries, along with Lance Stephenson on a partially guaranteed deal, so Copeland would have been a long shot to make the regular-season roster.
Hawks Sign Josh Magette
OCTOBER 3: The Hawks have officially signed Magette, the team announced today in a press release.
OCTOBER 2: The Hawks have reached an agreement with point guard Josh Magette, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Journal Constitution. He is expected to join the team in time for Monday’s practice.
The 26-year-old has spent the past two seasons with the L.A. Defenders in the D-League. He averaged 11.5 points and 9.1 assists in 45 games last season. Magette played college ball at Alabama-Huntsville and spent a year in both the Netherlands and Greece before coming to the D-League.
The move confirms speculation that the Hawks were looking to add a guard after waiving Richard Solomon on Saturday. Starting point guard Dennis Schroder has been slowed by an ankle injury and backup Jarrett Jack is working his way back from a torn ACL. The addition of Magette brings Atlanta back up to the preseason roster limit of 20.
Cavaliers Sign Toney Douglas
11:07am: Douglas’ deal with the Cavs doesn’t include any guaranteed money, though he’ll have the opportunity to earn a regular-season roster spot, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
10:58am: The Cavaliers have added some veteran depth at the point guard position, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed unrestricted free agent Toney Douglas to a contract. To make room on their 20-man preseason roster, the Cavs have waived big man Eric Moreland, according to the team.
Douglas, 30, began his NBA career in 2009 with the Knicks. After spending three seasons in New York, the point guard has bounced around, playing for the Rockets, Kings, Warriors, Heat, and Pelicans. His time with the Heat overlapped with LeBron James‘ last season in Miami, so the two players will be teammates again this fall in Cleveland.
Last season, Douglas started a career-high 18 games for the Pelicans, appearing in 61 overall contests. The former first-round pick averaged 8.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, to go along with a shooting line of .411/.399/.848.
While Douglas likely isn’t guaranteed a roster spot for the regular season, he’ll have a good chance to crack the rotation in Cleveland, given the club’s lack of point guard depth. Mo Williams was expected to enter the season as a primary backup behind Kyrie Irving at the point, but Williams decided to retire instead. The only other true point guard on the Cavs’ roster prior to the signing of Douglas was Kay Felder, a second-round rookie who may not be ready to handle a key rotation role right away.
We don’t know the details yet on Douglas’ contract, though it will almost certainly be a minimum-salary pact. If he receives a fully guaranteed deal, or at least a significant partial guarantee, it will be a strong signal that the Cavs expect him to make their 15-man roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.