Rockets Claim Arsalan Kazemi From Hawks
The Rockets have claimed Arsalan Kazemi off waivers from the Hawks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Houston becomes the third team within the past month to have a hold on Kazemi after the Sixers relinquished their draft rights to the Iranian power forward so he could sign with Atlanta. Houston inherits the non-guaranteed contract he received from the Hawks. Kazemi becomes the 20th player on the Rockets, who have 14 signed to fully guaranteed pacts, as our roster count shows.
The former Rice and Oregon player didn’t appear in a preseason game in his brief time with the Hawks, who had him for less than two weeks when they released him Saturday. His deal only covers one year at the minimum salary without any guarantees, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported, so the Rockets don’t assume much risk. It’s not altogether surprising to see him end up with Houston, since GM Daryl Morey is the former boss of Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, who had acquired his draft rights in a trade with the Wizards in 2013 on the same night that Washington drafted him 54th overall. The waiver claim is the first in the NBA since the calendar flipped to the 2015/16 season on July 1st.
It would nonetheless seem as though the 25-year-old Kazemi, who put up 15.0 points in 38.9 minutes per game for ChongQing AoLong of China last season, faces long odds to make the regular season roster in Houston, given the competition from five other camp invitees. The Rockets face a hard cap because they exceeded the taxpayer’s amount on the mid-level exception with their signings of K.J. McDaniels and Montrezl Harrell, so the distinct possibility exists that Houston won’t carry a 15th man for opening night. Still, the Rockets can keep the D-League rights to as many as four of the players they waive, so perhaps that’s what they have in mind for Kazemi.
Warriors Waive Tony Mitchell
The Warriors have waived power forward Tony Mitchell, the team announced. The subtraction of his non-guaranteed deal leaves Golden State with 19 players, 13 of whom have full guarantees, as our roster count shows. Mitchell was the only Warriors camp invitee who didn’t pose much of a threat from beyond the arc, as I noted earlier today, so it’s not entirely surprising that he’s the first cut, given the team’s desire for more shooting.
The former Piston who was the 37th overall pick out of North Texas in 2013 is not to be confused with the ex-Bucks small forward of the same name. Mitchell, who didn’t see any preseason action for the Warriors, has expressed interest in playing for Golden State’s D-League affiliate, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Still, the 23-year-old had been giving it a go in Warriors camp to see if he could return to the NBA after a 2014/15 season in which he didn’t appear in a single regular season game for the Pistons even though he was on their roster for nearly two months. Detroit traded him to Phoenix in late December, but he didn’t see any playing time there either before the Suns waived him in conjunction with the Brandan Wright trade.
James Michael McAdoo appears to have a line on the 14th regular season spot for the Warriors, leaving Chris Babb, Ian Clark, Ben Gordon, Jarell Eddie and rookie Juwan Staten to battle over spot No. 15, assuming the taxpaying Warriors carry a full roster on opening night.
How would you handicap the battle for the last regular season spots on the Warriors? Leave a comment to tell us.
Nuggets Pick Up Options on Harris, Nurkic
The Nuggets have picked up third-year team options on Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic for the 2016/17 season, the team announced today in a press release. Both players were acquired in a draft-night trade with Chicago in 2014.
Both moves were likely, as our rookie scale option page indicates. Nurkic’s option is for $1,921,320 while Harris’ is for $1,655,880.
Harris, the 19th pick of the 2014 draft, averaged 3.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game last season in 13.1 minutes of playing time. He has averaged 11.3 points while making five of 10 three-pointers in the Nuggets’ first three preseason games.
Nurkic, the 16th overall pick in 2014, made the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team, averaging 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. He started 27 games at center for the Nuggets last season.
Pelicans Sign Jerome Jordan
OCTOBER 11TH, 12:40pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
OCTOBER 10TH, 11:19am: The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with center Jerome Jordan, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the deal are unclear, but Spears refers to it as a “make good contract,” so it’s likely a non-guaranteed training camp pact. The move will give New Orleans 19 players, 13 of whom have full guarantees, as our roster count shows.
This is New Orleans’ second attempt to add depth at the center position, after revealing that starting center Omer Asik is set to miss three weeks with a right calf strain, and they’re also without backup center Alexis Ajinca for about four to six weeks as he recovers from a strained right hamstring. The team had reached an agreement with four-year NBA veteran Greg Smith, but he reportedly failed his physical, so the deal was called off.
Jordan, 29, appeared in 44 contests for the Nets last season, averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game. His slash line was .532/.000/.864.
Hawks Waive Edgar Sosa, Arsalan Kazemi
3:35pm: Both players have officially been waived, the team announced in a press release.
1:12pm: The Hawks have waived point guard Edgar Sosa and power forward Arsalan Kazemi, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter). Both players were in training camp on non-guaranteed deals, so Atlanta won’t be on the hook for any funds as a result of these moves. This reduces the Hawks’ preseason roster count to 18 players, including 13 with full guarantees on their deals.
Sosa, 27, went undrafted out of Louisville back in 2010 after posting career NCAA numbers of 9.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. He joined the Pistons summer league entry that year, but he ended up signing overseas with the Italian club Angelico Biella. The point guard spent the 2014/15 campaign playing for Dinamo Sassari in Italy. Sosa’s numbers last season were 10.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 3.5 APG to accompany a slash line of .387/.320/.789.
Kazemi, a native of Iran, played last season for ChongQing AoLong of China in his second year as a pro after he became the 54th overall pick of the 2013 draft. He spent the majority of his college career at Rice before transferring to Oregon for his senior season, when he notched averages of 9.4 points and 10.0 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game.
Cavs Sign Dionte Christmas, Waive Dunigan
SATURDAY, 11:30am: The signing is official, the team announced.
THURSDAY, 10:24pm: The Cavaliers are close to signing shooting guard Dionte Christmas, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The deal is contingent on Christmas passing his physical, which will be administered on Friday, Spears adds. In order to clear a roster spot, the Cavs will release center Michael Dunigan, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Cleveland currently has a roster count of 20 players, which is the preseason maximum.
Cleveland is limited to offering Christmas a minimum salary contract, and Spears termed the pending arrangement as a “make good deal,” which likely means that there will be no guaranteed money involved. Christmas, 29, last played in the NBA during the 2013/14 campaign when he made 31 appearances for the Suns, averaging 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per contest. He spent last season with Paris-Levallois of France.
Dunigan, 26, was in training camp with the Grizzlies back in 2012, but he’s primarily played overseas since going undrafted in 2011. The Mike Naiditch client came to the U.S. to spend part of last season with Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, notching averages of 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game across 24 regular season appearances. It’s possible that the Cavs are eyeing Dunigan for a spot on the Canton Charge for 2015/16, though that is merely my speculation.
Pelicans, Greg Smith Deal Nixed
11:59pm: The sides had a signed contract, and the Pelicans voided it, according to the RealGM transactions log.
9:30pm: Smith has failed his physical, which means the pending agreement between the two sides has been canceled, John Reid of The Times-Picayune reports.
2:29pm: The Pelicans are bringing aboard four-year NBA veteran Greg Smith, sources tell Scott Kushner for The New Orleans Advocate, who indicates that the big man has already put pen to paper on a non-guaranteed contract. The team has yet to make an official announcement, but the Pelicans yesterday revealed that starting center Omer Asik is set to miss three weeks with a right calf strain, and they’re also without backup center Alexis Ajinca for about four to six weeks as he deals with a strained right hamstring. The move will give New Orleans 19 players, 13 of whom have full guarantees, as our roster count shows.
Smith, 24, didn’t appear to generate much interest in free agency this summer after he saw little playing time for the Mavs, who didn’t re-sign him in spite of their need at center. He failed to impress in a workout last month for China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers, as international journalist David Pick reported. He’s spent most of his time in the NBA with the Rockets, who gave him 15.9 minutes per game in 70 contests, including 10 starts, during the 2012/13 season, but they waived him shortly before the 2014 playoffs. The Bulls snapped him up just days later and signed him to a deal that included a fully guaranteed 2014/15 season, but he never made it into a game for Chicago before a trade sent him to the Mavs.
The Pelicans focused on the backcourt with their camp invitees, as power forward Jeff Adrien had been the only frontcourt player without a full guarantee on the New Orleans roster. Shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones is the sole Pelican with a partial guarantee, as he’s assured of $50K, so Smith would appear to have a decent chance to hang around into the regular season.
Do you think the Pelicans should keep Smith into the regular season even if Asik is back for opening night? Leave a comment to tell us.
Bucks Waive Jon Horford, Charlie Westbrook
The Bucks have waived camp invitees Jon Horford and Charlie Westbrook, the team announced (Twitter link). Both were on non-guaranteed contracts that they signed last month. The moves leave Milwaukee with 18 players. It’s no surprise to see them hit waivers, since the team has 15 fully guaranteed deals.
Horford, the brother of Hawks star and 2016 free agent Al Horford, didn’t score in six minutes of action Tuesday against the Bulls in Milwaukee’s first preseason game. Westbrook had four points and three rebounds in nine minutes. Both are undrafted, though Horford is fresh out of college, having finished up with Florida last year. Westbrook was in his second NBA training camp since coming out of South Dakota in 2012, as he’d spent time with the Heat in 2013.
Jorge Gutierrez, Marcus Landry and Josh Powell are the Bucks without guaranteed money remaining on the roster. Milwaukee doesn’t have a D-League affiliate, so the team won’t be able to continue its partnership with Horford, Westbrook, or any of the other players it waives.
Pistons Waive Eric Griffin
The Pistons have waived combo forward Eric Griffin, the team announced via press release. Griffin, who signed with the team last month, faced long odds to make it to opening night on his non-guaranteed contract. The move takes the Pistons down to 19 players, 17 of whom have fully guaranteed deals.
Griffin, 25, didn’t see action in Detroit’s preseason opener Tuesday. The Mavs hold his D-League rights from last season, so the D-League affiliate of the Pistons would have to trade for him for Detroit to continue their partnership. He was Third Team All-D-League last season and a D-League All-Defensive Second Team selection, so it would seem he’d carry some level of intrigue for other teams on the NBA level or overseas, though that’s just my speculation.
The move means Jordan Bachynski is the only Pistons player without some guaranteed money on his contract, as our roster count shows. Adonis Thomas has a $60K partial guarantee, but he’s a long shot for the regular season, too.
Grizzlies Sign Alex Stepheson, Cut Michael Holyfield
2:59pm: The Grizzlies followed up with a press release to formally announce the Stepheson signing.
2:38pm: Holyfield’s release is official, the team announced, though the Grizzlies made no mention of Stepheson.
12:24pm: The Grizzlies are switching out big men on their camp roster, waiving center Michael Holyfield to make room for the signing of power forward Alex Stepheson, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Tillery indicates the transactions have already taken place, though the team has not made an announcement. Stepheson, who went undrafted out of USC in 2011, was with the Mavericks in summer league this year, but this will be his first NBA contract. It’ll be for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Grizzlies can hand out after using their mid-level exception on Brandan Wright, though the level of guarantee on Stepheson’s deal isn’t immediately clear. Holyfield, who signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Grizzlies in August, went scoreless in eight minutes in Tuesday’s preseason opener for Memphis. The Grizzlies roster will remain at the preseason limit of 20.
Stepheson, 28, scored a total of five points in about 18 minutes of playing time spread across three games with the summer league Mavs in July. He also appeared in summer league with the Kings in 2014, but most of his pro career has played out overseas. Stepheson averaged 12.3 points and 9.2 boards in 26.8 minutes per game across 29 appearances with Turkey’s Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi last season, showing his skill as a high-volume rebounder. He began his college career at North Carolina before transferring to USC, where he pulled down 9.2 RPG in 32.9 MPG as a senior in 2010/11.
Holyfield was with the Grizzlies summer league team this year before formally joining the Memphis roster. He went undrafted out of Sam Houston State in June. The Grizzlies can retain his D-League rights if they wish, just as they can with as many as four of the players they waive. Fellow Memphis camp invitee Dan Nwaelele, whom the Grizzlies waived earlier this week, appears set to become one of those four, as international journalist David Pick reported that he’s on his way to the D-League affiliate of the Grizzlies.
Memphis has 14 full guarantees plus a partial guarantee for JaMychal Green, as our roster count shows. Thus, Stepheson doesn’t appear to have much of a chance to stick with the Grizzlies for long, so he, too, is a candidate to end up with their D-League team.