Knicks Sign Ricky Ledo To 10-Day Deal
THURSDAY, 9:26am: The deal is official, the team announced.
WEDNESDAY, 10:08pm: The Knicks are set to sign Ricky Ledo to a 10-day deal, reports Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com (Twitter link; hat tip to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com). New York won’t need to make a corresponding move to accommodate Ledo’s arrival since they’re only carrying 14 guaranteed contracts at the moment, as our list of roster counts shows.
Ledo was waived by the Mavs around the trade deadline to make room for Amar’e Stoudemire. He only appeared in five games with Dallas this season, spending the lion’s share of his time with the Texas Legends, the club’s D-League affiliate. The 22-year-old guard was the 43rd pick in the 2013 draft but hasn’t been given much of a chance to display his skills at the NBA level. Joining the league-worst Knicks might give him a better platform to demonstrate his abilities than he had with the title-hopeful Mavs.
Should Ledo stick around in New York, there’s little chance Thanasis Antetokounmpo makes the roster in 2014/15, as Begley points out (on Twitter). The Knicks were reportedly considering bringing aboard Thanasis, the older brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Ledo’s presence might indicate they’ve moved on from that idea.
Clippers Sign Nate Robinson To Second 10-Day
TUESDAY, 2:33pm: The deal is official, the Clippers announced via press release (hat tip to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register).
MONDAY, 3:35pm: The Clippers will sign Nate Robinson to a second 10-day contract, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Coach/executive Doc Rivers said earlier to reporters, including Markazi, that the move was likely (Twitter link), but Markazi hears that the signing will indeed take place because of an injury to Jamal Crawford that will keep him out at least 10 more days. Robinson’s first 10-day deal expires after tonight. Rivers also reiterated that he plans to sign Jordan Hamilton to a deal that covers the rest of the season, Markazi notes, so put together, the moves would give the team a full 15-man roster.
Robinson has averaged 4.0 points in 14.6 minutes per game in five appearances for the Clippers on his initial 10-day deal. It seemed the guard’s arrival on the roster would come much sooner, as the team was reportedly the front-runner for him in mid-January, shortly after he bought his way off the Celtics, but Rivers and company decided to pursue other options before circling back to the 30-year-old. The Bulls and Robinson engaged in exploratory talks following Derrick Rose‘s injury, but the discussion didn’t appear to progress any further.
The 10th-year veteran is set to become the only Clipper without a deal that carries at least through season’s end if he and Hamilton sign this week. Rivers had earlier spoken of a desire to pursue the post-deadline buyout market, but Robinson is the lone player to have engineered a buyout this season before joining the Clippers.
Bucks Sign Chris Johnson To Second 10-Day
The Bucks have signed small forward Chris Johnson to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. The move is no surprise, since Bucks coach Jason Kidd said this weekend that a another deal for the 24-year-old was likely. Johnson’s first 10-day contract with Milwaukee expired overnight.
Johnson averaged 20.0 minutes per game in five contests for the Bucks on his initial deal with the team, notching 4.6 points per game. He also saw action with the Jazz on a 10-day contract earlier this year, and he was briefly with the Sixers as the season began after they claimed him off waivers from the Celtics in September.
The signing bumps Milwaukee back up to a full 15-man roster. Johnson and the Bucks would have to commit through season’s end if they want to continue their partnership at the end of their latest deal. Johnson is not to be confused with the three-year veteran NBA center by the same name.
Jazz Sign Jack Cooley To Second 10-Day Pact
MONDAY, 11:27am: The deal is official, the team announced.
SUNDAY, 2:52pm: The Jazz are set to sign Jack Cooley to another 10-day deal, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The rebounding specialist first joined Utah on February 24th and returned back to the D-League after that pact expired.
The 23-year-old (24 in early April) played a whopping two minutes during his time in Utah with his lone appearance coming on February 27th against the Nuggets. Cooley spent the bulk of the season playing Utah’s D-League affiliate and he attracted the attention of the varsity squad with his performance there.
The 6’9″ forward has averaged 16.8 points and 12.4 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game in his first season of D-League action after having played in Turkey last season. He’s been especially impressive in his latest stint with Idaho, including a 29 rebound performance against the Los Angeles D-Fenders last week. Cooley went undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2013, but he’s remained on NBA radars, having participated in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues the past two years.
Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To Multiyear Deal
The Jazz have signed Bryce Cotton to a multiyear deal, the team announced. Shams Charania of RealGM reported earlier that the sides were making progress as they spoke about a deal that covered the rest of the season. I speculated then that Utah and the Passing Lane Sports Management client were probably haggling over the existence of additional seasons on such a contract and the details thereof. It’s unclear just how long the deal stretches and whether there’s any guaranteed salary beyond this year.
Jazz coaches have liked what they’ve seen from Cotton in practice and the limited time he’s seen in games, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. The 22-year-old point guard saw only 12 total minutes of action on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Jazz, but Utah has nonetheless committed to him for at least the balance of the season. He saw a ton of playing time in 34 games with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate earlier this season, averaging 40.3 minutes per game. Cotton was also on San Antonio’s NBA roster for the preseason and joined the Spurs for summer league this past offseason after going undrafted out of Providence.
Utah filled its open roster spots in quick succession with announcements separated by a few minutes of Cotton’s deal and a new 10-day contract with Jack Cooley. The Jazz have signed a half dozen players to at least one 10-day deal this season, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows, but Cotton and Elijah Millsap, who received a three-year deal, are the only ones to have been re-signed for the balance of the season.
Pistons Sign Quincy Miller To Two-Year Deal
SUNDAY, 11:02pm: The Pistons still haven’t made a formal public announcement of the move, but the RealGM transactions log shows the signing as having taken place Friday.
10:34am: There’s been no formal announcement from the team, but Miller took to Twitter to declare that he is “officially a Piston,” and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com retweeted Miller’s dispatch. Charania indicates in a follow-up story that the figure approaching $1MM represents Miller’s full salary and not the amount of his partial guarantee, and he’s followed up with a tweet that confirms that’s the case. Miller is receiving a minimum-salary deal, as Charania clarifies, rather than one via the room exception.
THURSDAY, 7:45am: The deal is for two years and is partially guaranteed for nearly $1MM next season, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Since Miller would make $981,348 next season on a minimum-salary deal, it sounds like the Pistons are using a portion of their room exception to accommodate the signing, though that’s not entirely clear.
WEDNESDAY, 8:37pm: The Pistons intend to sign Quincy Miller for the remainder of the season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The deal also includes a training camp invite for next season, but there doesn’t appear to be any guaranteed money for 2015/16 included, though that is just my speculation since training camp deals usually carry little or no guaranteed cash.
Miller, 22, has not appeared in a game for Detroit thus far, despite being on his second 10-deal with the club. The forward did notch six appearances for the Kings while on two 10-day contracts earlier this season. Miller averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game for Sacramento, who had reportedly discussed inking him for the rest of the season, but no deal came to fruition.
The forward put up strong numbers in the D-League with Sacramento’s affiliate in Reno earlier this season, averaging 25.3 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 28.9 MPG across 15 appearances. Those stats served to rebuild Miller’s value after the Nuggets cut him at the end of the preseason after failing to find a taker for him in the trade market.
Hawks Sign Austin Daye To 10-Day Contract
SUNDAY, 12:07pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
SATURDAY, 12:31pm: Austin Daye will sign a 10-day contract with the Hawks, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The Hawks needed depth at the forward position after Mike Scott broke the big toe on his left foot this week. Daye was playing for the team’s D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, where he averaged 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in 10 games.
Daye was waived in January by the Spurs after appearing in 26 games this season, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in those contests. Daye, a first-round pick by the Pistons in 2009, has also played for the Grizzlies and Raptors over the past three seasons. Daye can play either forward spot and gives the Hawks another 3-point threat. He’s a 35.2% shooter from long range over his career.
Scott, who was averaging 7.5 points and 2.7 rebounds, is out indefinitely, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The club decided not to re-sign guard Jarell Eddie to a second 10-day contract on Saturday because of Scott’s injury.
Pelicans Give Elliot Williams Another 10-Day
The Pelicans signed guard Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract, the team announced on Saturday. Williams has appeared in three games with the Pelicans, averaging 4.0 points and 1.0 assists in 11.0 minutes per game.
Williams continues to give New Orleans depth at shooting guard as the Pelicans deal with two backcourt injuries. Jrue Holiday has not played since January 12 because of a right leg injury. Tyreke Evans has been bothered by an ankle issue and did not play against the Nets on Tuesday.
Prior to joining the Pelicans, Williams had 10-day contracts with the Hornets and Jazz. He was playing for the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors just before New Orleans signed him. The former 22nd overall pick had his 10-day contract with the Hornets terminated early so they could pull off the Mo Williams trade last month.
Elliot Williams didn’t see action on his lone pact with Charlotte, but he averaged 3.6 points in 8.4 minutes per contest in five appearances for the Jazz, who signed him to two 10-day deals.
Suns Sign Earl Barron For The Season
FRIDAY, 1:22pm: The deal is official, the team announced. The Suns refer to it a contract for the remainder of the season rather than a multiyear arrangement.
THURSDAY, 7:39pm: The Suns intend to sign Earl Barron to a contract for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear if the deal stretches into next season and if so, if any guaranteed money is involved. Barron’s second 10-day pact expires today.
This move will give Phoenix 14 players on its roster with fully guaranteed deals for this season. The team also has Seth Curry, whom they recently signed to a 10-day pact. Phoenix will still be able to offer Curry another 10-day deal before having to decide to sign him for the remainder of the season.
The 33-year-old out of Memphis has appeared in eight contest for Phoenix, including one start. Barron is averaging 1.1 points and 0.8 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per night. His career numbers are 4.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG, with a slash line of .374/.071/.717.
Heat Ink Henry Walker To Multiyear Deal
FRIDAY, 10:14am: The deal is official, the team announced.
THURSDAY, 7:02pm: The Heat intend to sign Henry Walker to a multiyear deal that includes the remainder of this season and the 2015/16 campaign, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link). David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link) also confirmed that a deal is imminent. Walker’s second 10-day deal with Miami ends today. It’s unclear if next season’s agreement will be a team option, or if any guaranteed money will be included.
This signing will give the Heat 14 players on the roster who have guaranteed salaries for this season. Miami also has Michael Beasley, who is on his second 10-day deal, which is set to expire on March 17th. At that point the team will need to re-sign the forward for the remainder of the season or else he’ll become a free agent immediately.
In 10 appearances for the Heat this season, including five as a starter, Walker is averaging 8.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 27.4 minutes per game. The swingman is only hitting 34.1% of his shots from the field, which is well below his career number of 45.7%.