Wizards Ink Toure’ Murry To 10-Day Deal
12:00pm: The deal is official, the Wizards announced.
THURSDAY, 10:27am: There’s been no official announcement from the Wizards, but Murry put pen to paper on a contract this morning, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The team still views Will Bynum as its top choice for the roster spot that Murry is going into for now, but he’s still nursing a hamstring injury, Castillo also tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 4:45pm: The Wizards intend to sign Toure’ Murry to a 10-day contract, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has been playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate, since he was waived by the Jazz back in January. The Wizards currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional moves would be necessary to ink Murry.
The 6’5″ guard from Wichita State saw one single minute of action for the Jazz this season, much to the chagrin of his agent Bernie Lee, who didn’t think Murry was given a fair chance in Utah. “Utah just didn’t see value in giving [Toure’] a real opportunity to prove himself, which is their right,” Lee said. “I had a sense things were working against him early when during the Jazz’s first open scrimmage in the preseason the team-employed radio voice used the forum to crush his future NBA prospects. Just an odd situation through and through. He went to Utah as a young developing point guard who played 51 games for an extremely visible team and today leaves Utah having played his last game as an assigned player in the NBADL [D-League] having been asked to play the four. Perspective and opportunity are a funny thing in basketball.”
Murry saw a bit more action for the Knicks last season, putting up 2.7 points in 7.3 minutes per game across 51 appearances. Murry has appeared in 16 contests for the Vipers this season, averaging 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in 28.2 minutes per game.
Suns Sign Seth Curry To 10-Day Contract
WEDNESDAY, 1:45pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
TUESDAY, 2:32pm: The Suns and shooting guard Seth Curry have reached agreement on a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Phoenix has been carrying 14 players, including Earl Barron on a 10-day contract of his own, so the team has plenty of flexibility to add Curry, the younger brother of Warriors star Stephen Curry. The Curry who’s apparently heading to the Suns has been playing for the Magic’s D-League affiliate.
Seth Curry has gained a toehold in the league on previous occasions, joining his brother on the Warriors for camp in 2013, spending a brief tenure with the Grizzlies over the holidays that year, and signing a 10-day contract with the Cavs nearly a year ago. His first tie to the Suns came when he joined the team for summer league action this past July. Curry inked a training camp deal with the Magic that had him on Orlando’s NBA roster with a $100K partial guarantee this past fall. He didn’t make it to opening night, but the Magic’s D-League affiliate traded for his D-League rights before the season, and Curry has spent the season with the Orlando-controlled Erie BayHawks, averaging 23.5 points in 37.0 minutes per game with impressive 48.2% three-point shooting.
Phoenix’s second 10-day contract with Barron expires after Thursday night, so it’s unclear if the Suns intend to replace him with Curry or re-sign Barron for the season and start carrying 15 players. Barron’s a center, so it would seem the addition of Curry wouldn’t be directly related to his status, though that’s just my speculation.
Lakers Sign Jabari Brown To 10-Day Deal
1:55pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced. The team also confirmed that it used a hardship exception to add Brown without dropping anyone, so the Lakers now have 16 players.
1:19pm: The Lakers have a 10-day deal “in the works” with shooting guard Jabari Brown, as coach Byron Scott told reporters, including Bill Oram of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported that the Lakers planned a 10-day contract with Brown (Twitter link). It appears the Lakers are using the hardship exception they had intended to apply for so that they can add a player to their 15-man roster without dropping someone, though that’s not immediately clear. Brown has been playing for L.A’s D-League affiliate, as Wojnarowski notes.
Brown, who went undrafted out of Missouri this past June, was on the Lakers’ NBA roster during the preseason after signing a non-guaranteed training camp deal, but he played only nine minutes total during the preseason and failed to make it to opening night. The Lakers retained his D-League rights, and the first-year pro has impressed, averaging 24.4 in 34.9 minutes per game with a 39.2% three-point percentage for the L.A. D-Fenders.
The ability to add a 16th player is triggered when a team has four players who are expected to miss significant time, and when Ronnie Price joined Steve Nash, Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant among the long-term wounded for the Lakers, an opportunity sprang forth. Nick Young has also been dealing with swelling in his knee, and Scott indicated that was part of the catalyst for bringing Brown aboard, too, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).
Heat Re-Sign Michael Beasley
The Heat have re-signed Michael Beasley to second 10-day contract, according to a team press release. The forward’s first 10-day contract with Miami ended Saturday night after the team’s win over the Kings. Given how the Jared Karnes client has performed, it was widely expected that he would get another contract from Miami.
In six games with the Heat so far this season, Beasley has shot 44.6% from the field and averaged 10.5 points during 23.7 minutes per game. While those aren’t spectacular numbers, the Heat could use all the offense they can get as they rank 28th in the league in offense, scoring only 94.5 points per game.
The deal will continue the former No. 2 overall pick’s third stint with the team. The team drafted him in 2008 but traded him in a salary shedding deal that cleared the way for Miami to sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010. Beasley joined forces with James and Bosh last season, but the team didn’t offer him a chance to return last offseason.
Beasley, who came into the league as Miami’s No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, has appeared in 415 career NBA games (199 starts) and averaged 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 24.8 minutes per game while shooting 45% from the field.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Clippers Sign Nate Robinson To 10-Day Pact
2:04pm: The signing is official, the Clippers announced.
1:04pm: The Clippers have signed free agent Nate Robinson, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The two sides reached an agreement after meeting earlier this morning, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. The deal is a 10-day contract, and not one for the remainder of the season, Spears adds in a separate tweet. The Clippers have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary in order to bring Robinson aboard.
The diminutive point guard became a free agent after reaching a buyout arrangement with the Celtics, who had acquired Robinson from the Nuggets in return for Jameer Nelson. The Clippers were reportedly the 30-year-old’s preferred destination. The Heat, Wizards, Bulls and Cavs were also mentioned as possibilities to ink Robinson.
In 33 games for the Nuggets this season, Robinson averaged 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. His career numbers over nine seasons in the league are 11.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His career slash line is .424/.360/.796.
Bucks Sign Chris Johnson To 10-Day Deal
10:47pm: The deal is official, the team has announced.
9:31am: The Bucks plan to sign guard/forward Chris Johnson to a 10-day deal, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Johnson, currently with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, is on his way to Milwaukee.
Johnson, 24, was waived by the Celtics in September and claimed off waivers soon after by the Sixers. After some time in the D-League, Johnson returned to the NBA when he got a 10-day deal from the Jazz. In total, Johnson has seen time in eleven games this season, averaging 6.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 20.5 minutes per contest.
For his career, Johnson has averaged 5.9 PPG and 2.3 PPG across parts of three seasons with the Grizzlies, Celtics, Sixers, and Jazz. Johnson is not to be confused with the three-year NBA veteran center by the same name who recently signed to play in Turkey.
As the Hoops Rumors roster counts show, the Bucks have only 14 players under contract so they will not have to release anyone to make way for Johnson. Johnson is averaging 20.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Rio Grande Valley.
Clippers Re-Sign Jordan Hamilton
3:23pm: The deal is official, according to the RealGM Transactions Log.
2:00pm: Jordan Hamilton will get a second 10-day contract from the Clippers, according to Arash Markazi of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Coach Doc Rivers indicated earlier this week that Hamilton would “most likely” get a second deal.
The fourth-year NBA veteran signed his first 10-day pact with the Clips on February 24th. Rivers was targeting players who’ve gone through buyouts around that time, but wound up using Hamilton to fill out one of his empty spots when he came up short on some of the players he was eyeing.
The former 26th overall pick, who’s spent most of his NBA career with the Nuggets, has bounced around quite a bit this season. After some quick stints with the Jazz and Raptors, he initially landed with the affiliate of the Grizzlies after signing with the D-League, but that club traded him to the Kings affiliate in December. His numbers were more impressive since the swap that sent him to the up-tempo Reno Bighorns, as he averaged 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
In four games (two starts) for the Clippers, he has averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 11.5 minutes per contest.
Jazz Sign Jerrelle Benimon To 10-Day Deal
In addition to signing Bryce Cotton to another 10-day deal, the Jazz announced the signing of forward Jerrelle Benimon to a 10-day pact. Utah won’t have to release anyone as he’ll be taking over the roster spot previously occupied by Jack Cooley, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter).
As the press release notes, Benimon is now the 32nd different player to be called up from the D-League this season. With the former Idaho Stampede standout in the fold, the Jazz are at the maximum 15-man roster.
The Towson product appeared in 35 games (29 starts) for the Stampede this season, averaging 19.9 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 1.0 SPG in 34.9 minutes per contest while shooting 62.4% from the floor.
Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To Second 10-Day
The Jazz announced that they have signed guard Bryce Cotton to a second 10-day contract. Cotton signed his first 10-day with the Jazz on Feb. 24 and has appeared in one game.
Cotton, who had three points, two boards and one assist in seven minutes against the Nuggets on February 27th, was picked up after he impressed as a member of the D-League’s Austin Spurs. In Austin, Cotton averaged 22.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, and 1.3 SPG in 40.5 minutes per contest. His scoring average placed him third in the D-League this season.
Cotton reportedly turned down several offers to play in Europe that came his way earlier this season in hopes of landing an NBA deal, and he eventually found that opportunity with Utah. The 6’1″ guard signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Spurs in July and although he was waived in October, he did walk away with $50K for his time. Cotton first displayed his skills for Utah when he worked out for the Jazz prior to the 2014 draft.
Wolves Claim Hamilton, Waive Robinson III
5:44pm: The moves are official, the team has announced.
4:41pm: The Timberwolves have claimed Justin Hamilton off of waivers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Pelicans waived the big man on Tuesday in order to ink Elliot Williams to a 10-day pact. Minnesota will waive Glenn Robinson III in order to clear the required roster spot, Stein tweets. The Pelicans are now off the hook for the remainder of Hamilton’s $816,482 salary for the 2014/15 campaign, with Minnesota now responsible for signing the seven-footer’s checks.
The 24-year-old out of LSU had been acquired by Minnesota as a part of the multi-team trade that sent Goran Dragic to Miami. Hamilton didn’t appear in a game for New Orleans prior to being waived. The big man did appear in 24 contests for the Heat this season, including five starts, and averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game.
Minnesota will be responsible to pay the remainder of the rookie’s minimum salary deal if Robinson, 23, clears waivers. The 6’7″ swingman out of Michigan has appeared in 25 games this season for the Wolves, averaging 1.2 points in 4.3 minutes per contest.