Magic Add Six Camp Invitees To Roster
SEPTEMBER 8: The Magic officially confirmed that they’ve signed the six players listed below (Twitter link).
SEPTEMBER 7: The Magic entered the day with just 13 players on their roster, but will add six more names to that list with a group of training camp invitees. According to Brian K. Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter), the Magic are bringing the following six players to camp:
- Cliff Alexander, F/C: Alexander signed with the Blazers as an undrafted rookie out of Kansas last July, but only saw action in eight games for the club during the 2015/16 season, playing a total of 36 minutes. He was waived in July before his 2016/17 salary became guaranteed.
- Branden Dawson, F: Waived by the Clippers in July, Dawson faced felony domestic violence charges earlier this year, but the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office didn’t pursue those charges, due to insufficient evidence. On the court, the 2015 second-rounder out of Michigan State appeared in just six games for the Clippers, spending most of the season in the D-League.
- Nick Johnson, G: The 42nd overall pick in the 2014 draft, Johnson spent a year with Houston, appearing in 28 games for the team. He was sent to Denver in last year’s Ty Lawson trade, and was subsequently waived by the Nuggets, eventually landing with the D-League’s Austin Spurs for 34 games.
- Kevin Murphy, G: Since being selected by the Jazz in the second round of the 2012 draft and playing 17 games in his rookie season, Murphy has bounced around, spending time with three D-League teams, as well as in China and Japan.
- Arinze Onuaku, F/C: Although he appeared in regular-season games for three different teams – New Orleans, Cleveland, and Minnesota – from 2013 to 2015, Onuaku saw action in just 11 total contests. The former Syracuse big man spent time with teams in Israel and the Phillippines last season.
- Damjan Rudez, F: Rudez’ training camp invite from the Magic was first reported last month. The 30-year-old Croatian saw a decent amount of playing time in Indiana during his first NBA season in 2014/15, averaging 15.4 minutes in 68 regular-season contests for the Pacers. However, he was traded to the Timberwolves last July in a deal for Chase Budinger, and never carved out a consistent role in Minnesota last season. The Wolves declined their team option on his contract in June.
Contract details on the Magic’s new additions aren’t yet known, but the team is over the cap and short-term, minimum-salary deals seem likely. Orlando does still have its $2.898MM room exception available if it needs to offer more than the minimum to secure a player’s services.
With 13 guaranteed contracts on their books, the Magic could be looking to fill two more roster spots for the regular season, with the players listed above vying for those openings.
Pacers Sign Kevin Seraphin
SEPTEMBER 8: The Pacers have formally issued a press release announcing their deal with Seraphin. Within the release, Indiana also officially confirmed the previously-reported signing of Nick Zeisloft.
SEPTEMBER 2: Kevin Seraphin will join the Pacers on a two-year, $3.6MM contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical. The deal includes a team option for the second season, sources tell Charania.
Seraphin held workouts for Indiana officials Monday and Tuesday, and the agreement was finalized late Thursday night. The 6’10” center/power forward is expected to sign it sometime next week.
After five years with the Wizards, Seraphin spent last season with the Knicks, averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per night in 48 games. The Pacers will count on him to provide depth in the front court behind Myles Turner and free agent addition Al Jefferson.
The signing of Seraphin gives Indiana 16 players with guaranteed contracts heading into training camp.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Sign E.J. Singler
SEPTEMBER 8: The Raptors have officially signed Singler, the team announced today (via Twitter).
AUGUST 24: The Raptors are bringing another player to camp, according to Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has agreed to a deal with E.J. Singler. It’s not clear whether Singler will get any guaranteed money on his new contract, but the former Oregon forward will have the chance to compete for the 15th roster spot, notes Murphy.
The brother of Thunder forward Kyle Singler, E.J. Singler spent a little 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. He may be a long shot to earn a roster spot in Toronto this fall, and could end up returning to the Raptors’ D-League affiliate.
Not including Singler, the Raptors currently have 18 players under contract, including 14 on fully guaranteed salaries and two with partial guarantees.
Bucks Sign J.J. O’Brien
The Bucks have added a couple more players to their offseason roster, inching closer to the 20-man limit. According to RealGM’s NBA transactions log, Milwaukee has signed free agent wing J.J. O’Brien. RealGM also confirms the team’s previously-reported agreement with Orlando Johnson.
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.
The Bucks already have 15 guaranteed contracts on their books, so O’Brien will have an uphill battle ahead of him as he attempts to earn a roster spot in Milwaukee. In addition to their 15 players with guaranteed salaries, the Bucks have also reportedly reached agreements with Xavier Henry, Ronald Roberts, O’Brien, and Johnson, though the team has yet to formally announce those additions.
[RELATED: Salary Cap Snapshot: Milwaukee Bucks]
While exact details of O’Brien’s and Johnson’s contracts aren’t known, it appears likely that both players got one-year, non-guaranteed deals worth the minimum.
Hornets Sign Andrew Andrews, Rasheed Sulaimon
The Hornets officially signed Andrew Andrews and Rasheed Sulaimon, the team announced today. The signings give Charlotte 18 players under contract with training camp looming at the end of the month.
Andrews, 23, is a 6’2″ point guard who played four years at the University of Washington. As a senior, he averaged 20.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 34 games with the Huskies. Andrews received a training camp invitation from Charlotte in early August.
Sulaimon, 22, is a 6’4″ shooting guard who averaged 11.1 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds as a senior with Maryland last season. He played with the Bulls’ summer league team and reached an agreement with the Hornets on August 7th. Sulaimon will spend the upcoming season with Charlotte’s new D-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.
Pacers Sign Nick Zeisloft
After playing his college ball with the Hoosiers for the last two years, Nick Zeisloft will remain in Indiana this fall. According to RealGM’s NBA transactions log, the Pacers have signed the undrafted free agent guard. While terms of the deal aren’t known, it figures to be a one-year, minimum-salary “summer contract,” which won’t count against Indiana’s cap unless Zeisloft makes the team.
After starting his college career at Illinois State, Zeisloft made the move to Indiana for the 2014/15 season. In his two years with the Hoosiers, he averaged just 6.6 PG, but shot an impressive 43.2% from beyond the arc. Over the course of his four-year college career, Zeisloft was a designated sharpshooter for his two teams, making 216 overall three-pointers and just 43 two-point shots.
The Pacers, who already had 15 guaranteed contracts on their books, recently agreed to a deal with Kevin Seraphin that also looks to be guaranteed for 2016/17. With Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress also in the mix as camp invitees, the odds that Zeisloft earns a 15-man roster spot are extremely slim. Still, assuming the Pacers like what they see this fall, they may intend to have the 23-year-old join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, their D-League affiliate.
Sixers Sign Elton Brand To One-Year Deal
2:48pm: Brand’s one-year deal is non-guaranteed, according to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly (via Twitter).
2:29pm: Former first overall pick Elton Brand isn’t ready to call it a career quite yet. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Brand will return to Philadelphia for the 2016/17 season, having signed a one-year contract with the Sixers. The team has since confirmed the signing in a press release.
Financial terms of the deal aren’t yet known. Philadelphia has no shortage of cap room, so the club could have lured Brand out of potential retirement by offering more than the minimum after he expressed back in April that he didn’t expect to keep playing. Still, a minimum-salary contract appears likely.
[RELATED: Salary Cap Snapshot: Philadelphia 76ers]
Brand, 37, signed with the Sixers last January and appeared in 17 games for the team the rest of the way, averaging 4.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 13.2 minutes per contest. When Brand first joined the team, he wrote a piece for The Cauldron suggesting that he believed his “experience and wisdom” could help Jahlil Okafor and other young players on Philadelphia’s roster. Presumably, he’s returning to fill that veteran leadership role once again.
Although the Sixers have a crowded frontcourt, Brand figures to ostensibly take Carl Landry‘s place on the roster. Landry was expected to the veteran presence for a group of frontcourt players that includes Okafor, Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric. However, Landry wanted the opportunity to earn more playing time, so Philadelphia granted him his release. In Brand, the Sixers have an experienced big man who won’t expect or demand significant minutes.
The 76ers, who had been carrying the maximum allowable 20 players, opened up two roster spots when they cut Landry and Tibor Pleiss, but have since filled those openings by signing Brand and Cat Barber. Not counting Barber and Brand, since the exact details of their deals haven’t yet been reported, Philadelphia has 11 guaranteed salaries on its books, plus seven non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contracts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jazz Sign Quincy Ford
SEPTEMBER 7: Ford’s deal with the Jazz, first reported in June, is now official, the team announced today in a press release. While Utah didn’t confirm the terms of the agreement, the club still has plenty of cap room, which allows Ford to sign a three-year contract.
The Jazz’s roster has undergone some changes since Ford initially agreed to terms. There are 14 players with guaranteed contracts on Utah’s books, with Ford, Chris Johnson, Jeff Withey, and Marcus Paige on non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed deals.
JUNE 24: The Jazz will sign combo forward Quincy Ford to a partially guaranteed, three-year deal, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it will likely be a minimum-salary arrangement.
Ford was solid during his five years at Northeastern, shooting 34.9% from behind the arc and 46.5% overall. He injured his back early in his collegiate career and he underwent surgery on it in 2013. He was able to red-shirt during the 2013/14 season and he continued to improve in many areas once he returned to the floor.
Utah has 15 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. That figure doesn’t include any of the prospects whom were drafted by the team on Thursday, so Ford is going to face stiff competition for a roster spot despite receiving a three-year deal.
DeJuan Blair To Play In China
Confirming international reports from earlier in the week, DeJuan Blair‘s agent, Happy Walters, confirmed that his client will head to China for the upcoming season. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter), Blair has signed with Jiangsu Tongxi of the Chinese Basketball Association.
A former second-round pick, Blair was a solid backup for the Spurs during his first four NBA seasons, but has seen his production slip along with his playing time in recent years. After spending a year in Dallas, the veteran big man played for the Wizards the past two seasons.
In 2015/16, Blair appeared in 29 games, averaging just 2.1 PPG and 2.0 RPG while shooting a career-low 41.2% from the floor. The 27-year-old was sent to Phoenix in the deadline deal that saw Markieff Morris head to Washington, and the Suns subsequently waived him, ending his season early.
In China, Blair will be joining a team that also signed Jared Cunningham last month. Blair and Cunningham will be tasked with helping to reverse the fortunes of a club that finished with a 12-26 record in CBA play last season.
Cavaliers, Markel Brown Agree To Deal
Free agent guard Markel Brown has reached an agreement on a deal with the Cavaliers, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). The newest Cav will have an opportunity to compete for a regular-season roster spot in Cleveland.
Brown, 24, has spent the last two seasons in Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 1.2 APG in his 109 total contests with the club. He played sparingly during the 2015/16 season until after Lionel Hollins was dismissed as the Nets’ head coach, and saw his minutes – and his production – increase down the stretch. In his final 30 games of the season, Brown averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, and shot .438/.358/.758, a significant improvement on his career marks.
Despite his solid performance in the spring, Brown ultimately wasn’t in the Nets’ plans. After initially tendering him a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, Brooklyn rescinded that QO near the end of the July moratorium.
For a player looking to earn a spot on a 15-man roster, Cleveland isn’t a bad landing spot — the team only has 12 fully guaranteed contracts on its books. J.R. Smith appears likely to join that mix at some point, but that still leaves two openings. DeAndre Liggins, Jordan McRae, and Cory Jefferson are among the other camp invitees who will look to stick with the Cavaliers through training camp and into the regular season.
The Cavs have used nearly their entire room exception to sign Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder, and are well over the cap, so Brown will get a minimum-salary contract, likely with a partial guarantee. It figures to be either a one- or two-year deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.