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Magic Sign Greg Stiemsma, Nnanna Egwu

September 24th, 2015 at 4:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:18pm: The signings are official, the team announced via a press release.

11:02am: The Magic expect to bring Greg Stiemsma and Nnanna Egwu to training camp, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Robbins lists the pair along with Keith Appling, Melvin Ejim and Jordan Sibert, each of whom has a previously reported deal to join the Magic for camp. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported earlier that Stiemsma was close to a deal with Orlando. The additions of the veteran center, plus Egwu, a center who went undrafted out of Illinois this year, will give the Magic 19 players, including 13 on fully guaranteed contracts.

Stiemsma, 29, has five years of NBA service time and spent this past season with the Raptors after securing a regular season roster spot in camp last fall. His playing time was down sharply from a career-best 18.3 minutes per game for the Pelicans in 2013/14, when he made 20 starts. Stiemsma came off the bench in all 17 appearances for Toronto in 2014/15 and saw a career-low 3.9 minutes per game.

Egwu was with the Magic in summer league, when he posted 3.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 20.0 minutes per game across five contests. The 6’11” 22-year-old, who turns 23 next month, also had a single-digit scoring average in each of his four college seasons, though he was a starter for all but one game the past three years for the Illini.

Veterans like Stiemsma don’t usually end up in the D-League, but it seems a decent chance exists that Egwu will ultimately make his way to Orlando’s D-League affiliate. The Magic can retain the D-League rights to as many as four of the players they cut at the end of the preseason.

Should the Magic keep Stiemsma for the regular season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Magic Sign Keith Appling

September 24th, 2015 at 4:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 24TH, 4:17pm: The signing is official, the Magic announced in a press release.

JULY 20TH, 2:51pm: The Magic and Keith Appling have agreed to a partially guaranteed two-year deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The point guard from Michigan State played summer league ball with the Magic earlier this month. Orlando has its $2.814MM room exception to spend, but it seems more likely that this will be a minimum-salary contract.

The Thunder reportedly met with him a couple of weeks ago. Appling was with the Lakers during the preseason last fall after having gone undrafted in 2014. He spent much of the season with the Lakers D-League affiliate before a trade sent him to the Magic’s D-League team. He averaged 10.5 points, 3.9 assists and 1.9 turnovers in 24.4 minutes per game across 38 total D-League appearances. The 23-year-old displayed more scoring prowess in summer league this year, posting 15.6 PPG in 26.3 MPG over five games.

The existence of a partial guarantee in his deal doesn’t necessarily mean he has a better shot to make the Magic’s opening night roster. Orlando reportedly gave Peyton Siva a partial guarantee in his deal last summer but viewed him as a D-League player. The Magic apparently used the partial guarantee as a way to gild his D-League salary and help keep him from signing overseas or ending up with another D-League team. NBA clubs can retain the D-League rights to as many as four of the players they waive at the end of training camp. Still, it appears he’ll have a chance to impress the Magic in NBA training camp and force his way onto the regular season roster.

What do you think Appling’s chances of making the opening night roster are? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Magic Sign Jordan Sibert

September 24th, 2015 at 4:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 24TH, 4:16pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

AUGUST 29TH, 8:46am: The Magic have agreed to a deal with undrafted free agent guard Jordan Sibert, David Jablonski of The Dayton Daily News reports. The length and terms of the contract are unknown, but it is likely a minimum salary training camp deal, though that is merely my speculation.

Sibert, 23, played in three contests for the Magic’s summer league team in Orlando back in July and averaged 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He spent his first two collegiate seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Dayton. Sibert’s career NCAA averages are 9.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists to accompany a slash line of .430/.364/.738.

Orlando already has a roster count of 16 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed pacts. The team is especially deep in the backcourt, and Sibert definitely can be considered a longshot to make the regular season roster. It’s quite possible that the team has designs on sending Sibert to its D-League affiliate in Erie for the 2015/16 campaign after getting a look at the guard in training camp, though that is purely speculation.

Wizards To Sign Jaron Johnson For Camp

September 24th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards and 23-year-old shooting guard Jaron Johnson have agreed to a non-guaranteed deal for training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Johnson went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in 2014 and spent last season with the D-League affiliate of the Rockets. Houston also had Johnson on its summer league team this year. Washington already has 15 fully guaranteed contracts plus four additional pacts for camp, so presumably Johnson will round out the team’s training camp roster.

Johnson averaged more minutes per game in the D-League this past season than he did in his final collegiate year, as he put up 15.1 points and 4.5 rebounds with 37.2% three-point shooting in 29.9 MPG for the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He didn’t shoot as well across the small sample size of five summer league contests, but he was nonetheless a more efficient per-minute scorer than he had been in college.

The Wizards reportedly have two other guards, Ish Smith and Toure’ Murry, on camp deals, along with big men Josh Harrellson and Jaleel Roberts. Washington is without a D-League affiliate, so Johnson wouldn’t have a way to stay in the team’s system if the Wizards cut him at the end of the preseason, which seems likely.

Warriors Close To Camp Deal With Ben Gordon

September 24th, 2015 at 11:22am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors and Ben Gordon are close to agreement on a deal for training camp, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Gordon has remained in free agency since he cleared waivers from the Magic, who released him in June rather than guarantee his $4.5MM salary. Golden State doesn’t have the capacity to give the 11-year veteran and former Sixth Man of the Year more than the minimum salary, and it would appear that little, if any, guaranteed money would be involved.

Gordon, who’s hit 40.1% of his career three-point attempts, would give Golden State an extra shooter, an asset the team has been looking for, Stein notes. He bounced back this past season, knocking down 36.1% of his treys, after an uncharacteristic 27.6% three-point shooting performance for Charlotte in 2013/14. The 32-year-old nonetheless saw a career-low 14.1 minutes per game in his year with Orlando, fueling the notion that the Magic overpaid when they struck a two-year, $9MM deal with Gordon in 2014.

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Golden State already has 19 players with either signed contracts or verbal agreements, leaving just one open spot for camp, as our roster count shows. Room on the regular season roster is similarly tight, with 13 full guarantees and a partial guarantee for James Michael McAdoo, who has drawn raves from coach Steve Kerr.

Should the Warriors sign Gordon? Leave a comment to tell us.

Grizzlies, Yakhouba Diawara Agree To Camp Deal

September 24th, 2015 at 11:19am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have agreed to a non-guaranteed deal with four-year NBA veteran Yakhouba Diawara, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It’ll be his first NBA contract since 2010. The signing will ostensibly round out the camp roster for Memphis, which already had signed contracts or verbal agreements with 19 players.

Diawara, a native of France, has been playing overseas since he last appeared in the NBA with the Heat. He averaged 13.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game with OpenJobMetis Varese of Italy this past season, though he shot only 28.3% from behind the arc. Outside shooting has never been his strength, however, as he connected on just 30.1% of his three-point attempts during his NBA career with Miami and the Nuggets.

Memphis is no stranger to taking chances with veterans during the preseason, having signed Michael Beasley and Earl Clark to camp deals last year. Neither made it to opening night with the team, and Diawara faces an uphill battle if he’s to stick for the regular season this year. The Grizzlies also have reportedly agreed to sign center Ryan Hollins, and 14 other players have fully guaranteed contracts. Memphis has started each of the past three seasons with fewer than the maximum 15 players for opening night.

No. 51 Pick Tyler Harvey To Sign With D-League

September 24th, 2015 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

Magic second-round pick Tyler Harvey will spend the season with the D-League affiliate of the Magic, who drafted him 51st overall in June, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). The shooting guard from Eastern Washington will sign directly with the Erie BayHawks instead of the Magic, but, as Robbins notes, Orlando will retain his NBA rights and the power to sign him at any point this season.

Harvey was a walk-on three years ago but quickly made his mark as an elite three-point shooter, nailing 43.2% of his tries beyond the arc during his three-year college career. He was the 48th-best prospect in the draft, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him at No. 60.

Orlando could use outside shooting, and the team has only 13 fully guaranteed contracts, including fellow draft pick Mario Hezonja, so it’s somewhat surprising the Magic didn’t elect to bring Harvey onto the roster for this season. Still, the Magic can change that if they decide the 22-year-old shows enough in the D-League to justify using an NBA roster spot on him.

Thunder To Sign Julyan Stone

September 23rd, 2015 at 7:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent shooting guard Julyan Stone, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pact are unknown, though it’s likely a minimum salary training camp deal, but that is merely my speculation.

Stone, 26, saw his last NBA action come during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in 21 contests for the Raptors and averaged 0.9 points in 5.7 minutes per game. His NBA career has also includes parts of two seasons spent with the Nuggets. Stone’s career NBA numbers overall are 1.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG to go along with a slash line of .440/.211/.722. The 6’6″ guard spent the 2014/15 season playing for Umana Reyer Venezia of Italy.

The addition of Stone will give the Thunder a roster count of 18 players, including 15 with fully guaranteed deals, thus making it a long shot for Stone to make the regular season roster. OKC may have designs on having him play for its D-League affiliate, though that is just speculation on my part.

Cavaliers To Sign Austin Daye

September 23rd, 2015 at 5:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

5:38pm: Daye’s contract will be non-guaranteed, international journalist David Pick tweets.

5:34pm: The Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a contract with unrestricted free agent small forward Austin Daye, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). It will be a one-year deal, though it is unclear if the arrangement includes any guaranteed salary, Charania adds. It’ll have to be for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Cavs can give. Cleveland’s roster count will increase to 17 players with the addition of Daye, including 13 with fully guaranteed pacts. This number does not include restricted free agent Tristan Thompson, who remains unsigned.

Daye, 27, had been waived by the Hawks back in July in an effort to clear cap space. His salary was non-guaranteed, but the move cleared his $1,185,784 cap hold from Atlanta’s books, which it required to re-sign of Paul Millsap and trade for Tiago Splitter. Atlanta originally signed Daye to a pair of 10-day contracts during the 2014/15 campaign before inking him to a deal that covered the rest of the season as well as added an additional non-guaranteed year. Daye recently hired agent Obrad Fimic of the AltiSport agency to negotiate deals in Europe.

The former 15th overall pick didn’t see much action while with the Hawks, appearing in only eight regular season games for an average of 9.5 minutes per contest. He didn’t make it in to any of Atlanta’s playoff games. Daye’s career numbers through 293 NBA contests are 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists to accompany a slash line of .402/.351/.778.

Wolves, Anthony Bennett Reach Buyout Deal

September 23rd, 2015 at 4:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:09pm: The buyout is official and Bennett has been placed on waivers, the team announced. “In speaking with Anthony and his representatives over the past few days, we came to the conclusion that this was the best outcome for both parties,” Timberwolves GM Milt Newton said in the team’s official statement. “When you look at our team, our deepest position is probably power forward. This move balances out our roster while also allowing Anthony another opportunity in the NBA. He has a lot of talent and his play this summer internationally made this a difficult decision for us. During his short time here Anthony has carried himself with class and represented the franchise in a very professional manner. We thank him for his positive attitude and wish him the best of luck in future endeavors.”

WEDNESDAY, 10:29am: Bennett agreed to have his salary cut to $3.65MM in the deal, which the Timberwolves are finalizing, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links). Minnesota won’t be responsible for even the reduced figure if another team picks him up off waivers, but the Wolves haven’t been expecting that to happen, Krawczynski adds (on Twitter).

TUESDAY, 11:12am: The Timberwolves and Anthony Bennett have reached agreement on a buyout, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Minnesota will waive the 2013 No. 1 overall pick shortly, Charania adds. The move will resolve a roster dilemma, since Minnesota has been carrying 16 players with fully guaranteed contracts, one more than the regular season roster limit. Without Bennett, the Wolves will have 15 full guarantees plus a partial guarantee for Lorenzo Brown and the non-guaranteed pacts of Kleon Penn and Nick Wiggins.

Bennett has been in line for a guaranteed $5,803,560 this season, with a decision due by the end of November 2nd on a team option worth more than $7.318MM for 2016/17. It’s unclear how much the Excel Sports Management client is giving up, but he wanted the buyout so he could have an opportunity to control the next step in his career, according to Charania (Twitter link), while Bennett’s reps have been eager for a buyout so that he can see more playing time elsewhere, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote Monday. Wojnarowski first reported at that point that Bennett and the Wolves were making progress toward a buyout deal.

The 22-year-old Bennett showed improvement last season after a disastrous rookie year, and he looked strong playing for the Canadian national team this summer. However, his path to minutes was complicated in Minnesota, where 2015 top pick Karl-Anthony Towns, 2014 15th overall pick Adreian Payne and reigning Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica are all competing for playing time in the frontcourt along with Gorgui Dieng, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Garnett. Andrew Wiggins, Tayshaun Prince, Shabazz Muhammad and Damjan Rudez clog the way to playing time at small forward.

Who do you think a buyout will benefit more, Bennett or the Timberwolves? Leave a comment to let us know.