Sixers Waive JaVale McGee
11:25am: The move is official, the team announced, adding in its statement that McGee hit waivers before the end of Sunday, so he is indeed playoff-eligible for other teams.
MONDAY, 7:48am: There’s still been no official announcement from the Sixers, though presumably the move indeed took place late Sunday, since otherwise McGee would be ineligible to appear in the playoffs for another team.
SUNDAY, 11:02pm: The Sixers will waive JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports. Any player waived by the end of March 1st can still compete in the postseason with another team, so McGee should attract interest from winning clubs.
Earlier today, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that a buyout for McGee would be contingent on him finding a suitor if he were to hit free agency. No buyout was reached, but the Sixers have decided to let him go even though it appears that they won’t be saving any money in the transaction. McGee is owed $11.2MM for this season, and $12MM next season. They could spread next season’s salary through 2017/18 with $4MM payments each year using the stretch provision, but it’s unclear if they intend to do that.
McGee, a B.J. Armstrong client, has averaged 8.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG per game in seven seasons. He played in six games for Philly, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 10.2 minutes per contest.
The 27-year-old was acquired last month in a deadline-day deal from the Nuggets along with the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick and the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol.
Over the weekend, Sixers coach Brett Brown defended McGee’s performance and had kind words to say about his locker room presence. In the past, some have been critical of McGee’s attitude.
“He’s kind of maligned in some ways to me where, you know, people view him in a certain way. He’s been a great teammate,” Brown said. “It’s not like I’m starting him. It’s not like I’m giving him 25 minutes. I can’t ask for any more in regards to how he’s fit in, and how he’s just been extremely receptive and coachable.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pistons Sign John Lucas III For Rest Of Season
2:27pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
FEBRUARY 25TH, 12:01pm: Detroit is indeed signing Lucas for the rest of the season, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). His second 10-day deal expired after Tuesday night’s game. He’ll represent the 14th Piston signed through season’s end now that the team has claimed Shawne Williams off waivers.
FEBRUARY 20TH: The Pistons are highly likely to sign John Lucas III for the rest of the season after the expiration of his current 10-day contract, his second with the team this season, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters today, including Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). His 10-day deal, which actually runs for 13 days because it bridges the All-Star break, as I explained, is up after Tuesday.
The 32-year-old has played efficiently for the Pistons, averaging 4.8 points, 4.2 assists and 0.5 turnovers in 12.8 minutes per game spread over six appearances. The Pistons exchanged point guards Thursday, acquiring Reggie Jackson in a trade that sent out D.J. Augustin, so the team’s deadline moves don’t figure to affect Lucas’ spot on the depth chart.
Detroit is carrying the league-minimum 13 players, including Lucas and Brandon Jennings, who’s out for the season. The Pistons reportedly have an agreement to sign Quincy Miller to a 10-day contract to bolster their depth.
Pistons Claim Shawne Williams
6:18pm: The Pistons have claimed Williams off waivers, the team has announced.
4:27pm: The Pistons have submitted a waiver claim for Shawne Williams, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Williams had reached a buyout arrangement with the Pelicans after he was acquired as a part of the multi-team deal that sent Goran Dragic to Miami. Detroit currently has 14 players on its roster, which means no additional move would be required to add Williams.
It’s unclear how much salary Williams relinquished in his buyout arrangement with New Orleans, but the team won’t be on the hook for any remaining funds to the player if the Pistons indeed claim Williams. Detroit would then be responsible for the remainder of the $1,227,985 the 29-year-old forward is earning this season. Williams is also under contract for 2015/16, though the $1,356,146 he is scheduled to earn is non-guaranteed.
Williams had appeared in 44 games for the Heat this season, and averaged 6.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 21.0 minutes per game. His career numbers over seven seasons are 5.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG. His career shooting percentages are .407/.345/.848.
Cavs Sign Kendrick Perkins
TUESDAY, 3:40pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
9:49pm: Perkins will sign with the Cavaliers Tuesday before the team plays in Detroit, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
MONDAY, 4:14pm: Perkins has cleared waivers as expected, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), clearing the way for him to sign with the Cavs.
SATURDAY, 3:30pm: Kendrick Perkins has finalized a buyout arrangement with the Jazz and intends to sign with the Cavaliers if and when he clears waivers, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports. Perkins was dealt to the Jazz on Thursday as part of a three-way trade with the Pistons and Thunder that sent Reggie Jackson to Detroit and Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. The buyout has not been officially announced by the player or the Jazz as of yet, though Perkins’ agent Arn Tellem has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that a buyout had been agreed upon.
The veteran big man was recruited by LeBron James to select Cleveland as his next NBA destination, Young notes. Perkins also drew heavy interest from the Bulls, Clippers, Pelicans, and Spurs, the ESPN scribe adds. The combination of a chance to contend for an NBA title along with an opportunity for playing time pushed Perkins to choose Cleveland over his other suitors, Young relays. The Cavs currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional move would be required to sign Perkins. No contract details for Perkins have been released, but the Cavs do have a disabled player exception worth $4,852,273 for Anderson Varejao that they could use to sign Perkins for more than the minimum.
Perkins, 30, is making $9.654MM this season and would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In 51 appearances this season, all with the Thunder, Perkins is averaging 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 19.2 minutes per contest.
Clippers Sign Jordan Hamilton To 10-Day Deal
2:43pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
11:05am: The Clippers plan to sign Jordan Hamilton to a 10-day contract today, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The fourth-year NBA veteran has been playing for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, as Wojnarowski notes. He’s poised to go into one of the two open roster spots the Clips have.
Hamilton joined the D-League in November, shortly after the Jazz waived him and brought an end to a stint that lasted barely more than a week. Utah had claimed Hamilton off waivers just before opening night after the Raptors let him go following the spirited battle he put up for the roster spot that ultimately went to Greg Stiemsma. He was one of several players to work out for the Lakers earlier this season. The former 26th overall pick, who’s spent most of his NBA career with the Nuggets, initially played with the affiliate of the Grizzlies after signing with the D-League, but that club traded him to the Kings affiliate in December. Not surprisingly, his numbers have been more impressive since the swap that sent him to the up-tempo Reno Bighorns, as he’s averaged 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers has been targeting players who’ve gone through buyouts, but the team has come up empty in that market so far. Would-be target Tayshaun Prince ended up in a trade instead of a buyout deal, and Kendrick Perkins spurned the Clips in favor of the Cavs. The Clippers also tried to insert themselves in the running for Amar’e Stoudemire, but the Mavs quickly established themselves as front-runners before ultimately signing him.
Jazz Sign Jack Cooley To 10-Day Pact
TUESDAY, 11:09am: The deal is official, the team announced.
MONDAY, 4:52pm: The Jazz are signing Jack Cooley to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Cooley’s been playing for Utah’s D-League affiliate, and Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune last week identified the big man as a candidate for a 10-day deal. He’s elicited NBA interest on multiple occasions this season, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reported. The 23-year-old joins Bryce Cotton, who’s also reportedly set to ink a 10-day contract with the Jazz, and the apparent deal with Cooley is further confirmation that the team’s talks with draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss have run aground.
Cooley joined the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, Utah’s affiliate, shortly after the Jazz retained his D-League rights upon cutting him from NBA training camp. He’s averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game in his first season of D-League action after having played in Turkey last season. He 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.
Signing both Cotton and Cooley would give the Jazz a full 15-man roster, though the short-term 10-day arrangements would give the team flexibility while it monitors what goes on with Pleiss. The 10-day deals eat slightly into Utah’s nearly $2.826MM in cap room, but not by much. Since both Cotton and Cooley are NBA rookies, standard 10-day contracts for both wouldn’t cost the team as much as $60K combined.
Jazz Sign Bryce Cotton To 10-Day Contract
TUESDAY, 11:08am: The signing is official, the Jazz announced.
MONDAY, 1:19pm: The Jazz are poised to sign point guard Bryce Cotton to a 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cotton has been playing with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate since the Spurs dropped him from their NBA roster at the end of training camp. The Jazz are reportedly discussing a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss as well, but Utah has two open roster spots, so Cotton’s deal won’t necessarily interfere with that.
Cotton reportedly turned down several offers to play in Europe that came his way earlier this season in hopes of landing the NBA deal that he now appears to have. The 22-year-old who went undrafted out of Providence this past June has put up 22.6 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the D-League Austin Spurs. He’s also corralled an impressive 4.8 rebounds considering his 6’1″ height.
The Spurs gave Cotton a $50K partial guarantee on the deal that brought him to San Antonio’s training camp, so he’s already made more in NBA salary than the $29,843 that a standard 10-day contract would give him. The Jazz have familiarity with him, since he worked out for the team prior to the draft, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune notes (on Twitter). He’s set to become the fourth player the Jazz have signed to a 10-day deal this season, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows.
And-Ones: Embiid, Johnson, Spurs, Thomas
The Sixers were willing to trade rookie center Joel Embiid for a high draft pick, according to Mark Heisler of Forbes.com. Philadelphia drafted Embiid third overall last June, but he had offseason surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot and has yet to take the court for the Sixers. Philadelphia was unable to work out a deal for Embiid, but did send reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to the Bucks in a three-team deal that brought back the Lakers‘ top-five protected first round pick for this year.
There’s more news from around the league:
- The Rockets announced that they have recalled Nick Johnson from the D-League, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (via Twitter). Johnson’s assignment was his fourth trip down this season, as our assignments/recalls log shows. The 22-year-old guard has seen time in 18 games for the Rockets this season, averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 10.3 minutes per contest.
- Some people, like Charles Barkley, aren’t so wild about analytics. However, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express News writes that the Spurs are undeniable proof that analytics can help to build a tremendous roster.
- New Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas did his best to squash rumors that he was unhappy with his role while with the Suns, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets. “The guy that complained, you seen it in the media. I didn’t say anything,” Thomas said.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Sixers Claim Ish Smith, Waive Malcolm Thomas
MONDAY, 9:34am: Philadelphia acquired Smith via waiver claim, doing so Saturday instead of Sunday, according to the RealGM transactions log.
SUNDAY, 4:56pm: The Sixers confirmed both moves via press release, referring to Smith’s acquisition as a signing. That makes sense given the timing, since Smith would have cleared waivers Saturday.
4:40pm: To make room for Smith, the Sixers have waived Malcolm Thomas, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
Thomas signed a four-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary with Philly back in December. The deal was similar to the one he had just signed in October with the club, though that pact gave him a $474K partial guarantee.
Thomas, 26, appeared in 17 games for the Sixers this season, averaging 2.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 11.4 minutes per contest. Over parts of four seasons in the NBA, Thomas has appeared in a grand total of 40 games with averages of 1.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG.
4:24pm: The Sixers have claimed guard Ish Smith off waivers, a league source told Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (via Twitter). The guard was waived by the Pelicans late last week.
Of course, Smith’s stay in New Orleans was incredibly short-lived. The Pelicans acquired Smith from the Thunder in one of the less-heralded deadline day trades. In the swap, New Orleans received Smith, the rights to Latavious Williams, cash considerations, and a 2016 protected second round choice. OKC made the deal to get their roster count to the league maximum of 15 players.
Smith appeared in 30 games this season for the Thunder, averaging 1.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Since going undrafted out of Wake Forest back in 2010, Smith has appeared in 221 career games for the Suns, Magic, Rockets, Bucks and Grizzlies, averaging 2.7 points, 1.9 assists and 1.4 rebounds. His career slash line is .388/.216/.581.
Nuggets Waive Victor Claver
SUNDAY, 3:40pm: The Nuggets announced that they have waived Claver.
FRIDAY, 8:37pm: The Nuggets intend to waive forward Victor Claver, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Claver was acquired from the Trail Blazers on Thursday along with Will Barton and Thomas Robinson in exchange for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.
The 26-year-old from Spain is earning $1.37MM this season, and was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the campaign. Denver currently has the league maximum 15 players on its roster, so releasing Claver would allow the team some roster flexibility moving forward.
Claver has appeared in 10 games this season, all with Portland, and he is averaging 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game. His career numbers through 80 contests are 3.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG. Claver’s career slash line is .398/.293/.585.