Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Patrick Christopher Waived By Grizzlies

October 25th, 2014 at 4:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Guard Patrick Christopher has been waived by the Grizzlies, the team announced in a press release. It’s unclear if Memphis intends to send Christopher to the D-league, as teams can retain the rights for up to four players. The Grizzlies preseason roster now sits at 14 players.

The Grizzlies won’t be on the hook for any money because Christopher’s minimum-salary contract was non-guaranteed. The 26-year-old was considered a long shot to make the regular season roster, so the move isn’t surprising.

The 6’5″ Christopher played college ball at California, but has bounced around after going unselected in the 2010 NBA draft. He spent last season with the Iowa Energy of the D-league, averaging 13.6 points and 4.0 rebounds. He has also played professionally in Turkey and France.

Magic Waive Batts, Crawford, Curry, Siva

October 25th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have waived Kadeem Batts, Drew Crawford, Seth Curry and Peyton Siva, the team announced via press release. The moves bring Orlando’s roster to the regular season maximum of 15 players, so the Magic don’t have to make any more cuts. All four had small partial guarantees that add up to $425K, so that total will stick on the team’s books for the season assuming they go unclaimed on waivers. Orlando’s other 15 contracts are fully guaranteed.

Siva has the most NBA experience of the foursome, having played 24 games last season with the Pistons, who made him the 56th overall pick in 2013. The report of his deal with the team over the summer indicated the Magic brought him on board to secure his D-League rights more so than to have him make a run at a regular season roster spot, and presumably that’s the case with all four of today’s cuts. Siva’s partial guarantee is worth $100K.

Batts has the largest partial guarantee, worth $150K, though he has a low profile, having gone undrafted out of Providence this year. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game across four preseason games with the Magic. Curry has brief NBA experience from a short stint with the Grizzlies last season as well as a 10-day contract with the Cavs. He only played in one game at each stop, however. Curry, the brother of Stephen Curry, had a partial guarantee for $100K. Crawford only had $75K guaranteed. The son of NBA referee Danny Crawford went undrafted out of Northwestern this year and didn’t appear in a preseason game for the Magic.

Grizzlies Cut Ties With Kalin Lucas

October 25th, 2014 at 4:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:30pm: Lucas has been officially waived, the team has announced.

2:20pm: The Grizzlies have waived Kalin Lucas, Shams Charania of RealGM is reporting (Twitter link). The team intends for Lucas to play for them in the D-League, provided he clears waivers, Charania notes. Waiving Lucas reduces Memphis’ preseason roster count to 15 players, so they don’t have to make any further roster moves.

Lucas’ contract was non-guaranteed, so the Grizzlies aren’t on the hook for any cash for the 25-year-old point guard. He was a longshot to make the team out of camp, and spending time in the D-League should improve his shot at landing another shot at the NBA, either via a 10-day contract or a camp invite next summer.

He hasn’t seen any regular season action yet, but during his four seasons at Michigan State, Lucas averaged 14.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 4.0 APG. His slash line was .425/.377/.796.

Lakers Waive Jabari Brown, Roscoe Smith

October 25th, 2014 at 4:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have officially waived Jabari Brown and Roscoe Smith, the team has announced. These moves cut down Los Angeles’ preseason roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum. Neither player’s contract came with any guaranteed money, so the team won’t owe them any salary.

These players being waived comes as no surprise, and with the loss of Steve Nash for the season the Lakers are most likely going to be in the market for point guard help, if they in fact decide to make another addition to their roster.

Smith went undrafted out out of UNLV, and is a bit undersized for his natural position of power forward. He spent his first two years of college at UConn before transferring. His career collegiate numbers were 7.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 0.4 APG. His career slash line was .452/.279/.698.

Brown, who led the SEC in scoring during the 2013/14 campaign , went undrafted in June after departing Missouri after his junior year. He averaged 19.9 PPG and shot 41% from beyond the three point line during his final year with the Tigers. Both players could be candidates to head to the D-League, though that is just my speculation.

Jazz Waive Brock Motum

October 25th, 2014 at 4:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Forward Brock Motum has been waived by the Jazz, the team announced in a press release. The move cuts Utah’s roster to 14 players, one under the league maximum. It’s unclear if the Jazz intend to send Motum to the D-League, as teams can retain the rights for up to four players.

Motum’s minimum-salary contract was non-guaranteed, so the Jazz won’t be on the hook for any money as a result of cutting him. The 23-year-old Motum appeared in five games for Utah’s summer league team in Las Vegas, averaging 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. He spent the 2013/14 season with Granarolo Bologna of the Italian Serie A League, where he averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

The 6’10” Australian played at Washington State and ranks second in school history in both career points (1,530) and field goal percentage (.567). He was the Pac 12’s leading scorer as a senior at 18 points per game.

Cavaliers Exercise Option On Dion Waiters

October 25th, 2014 at 3:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have exercised their fourth-year contract option on Dion Waiters, general manager David Griffin announced Saturday. This move gives the Cavs $21.48MM in guaranteed salary commitments for the 2015/16 season. But that figure doesn’t include a total of $41.17MM in player options for LeBron James, Kevin Love and Mike Miller. It also doesn’t factor in Tristan Thompson, who will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension by Oct. 31st.

The decision on Waiters isn’t surprising, as he has become a big part of Cleveland’s rotation during his two seasons in Cleveland. Last year with the Cavaliers, he averaged 15.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 70 games. Waiters was selected fourth overall by the Cavaliers in the 2012 NBA draft. He is scheduled to make $4,062,000 in 2014/15 and $5,138,430 in 2015/16.

During his time in Cleveland, Waiters hasn’t quite developed as rapidly as the team would have hoped. A natural point guard, he’s still adapting to his move to the wing, and his high turnover rate (2.1 per game) and low field goal percentage (42.4% for his career), have held him back from having more of an impact on the court. With the additions of James and Love, and with the continued development of Kyrie Irving, Waiters won’t likely average 13-14 shots per game, so his numbers are likely to take a slight hit.

Pacers Waive Four Players

October 25th, 2014 at 3:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

3:24pm: All four players have indeed been waived, the team announced.

3:05pm: The Pacers have waived C.J. Fair, Arinze Onuaku, Chris Singleton and Adonis Thomas, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star reports (Twitter link). These moves will trim Indiana’s preseason roster count down to the regular season maximum of 15 players. All four of the waived players were in camp on non-guaranteed deals, so the team won’t be responsible for any debt to them.

Thomas appeared in only six NBA games as a rookie, averaging 2.3 points in 6.2 minutes per game. The 21-year-old spent two years at Memphis, where he played 27.5 minutes per game for the Tigers and was the second leading scorer on a team that earned a six seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

The 6’9″, 27 year-old Onuaku appeared in a total of five games last season, split between the Pelicans and the Cavaliers. Onuaku averaged 0.6 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 0.6 APG. His slash line was .200/.000/.500.

A former first round selection of the Wizards, Singleton has appeared in 148 career games, including 62 starts, averaging 4.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 0.6 APG, while playing 17.6 MPG. His career shooting numbers are .376/.319/.633.

Fair played four season for Syracuse, averaging 11.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 0.8 APG. His career slash line was .462/.343/.723.

Mavs Waive James, Johnson, Lamb

October 25th, 2014 at 3:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks have officially waived Bernard James, Ivan Johnson, and Doron Lamb, the team has announced. These moves bring Dallas’ preseason roster count down to the league maximum 15, so no further roster moves would be required prior to beginning the regular season. This also means that Charlie Villanueva and his non-guaranteed contract is likely to make the regular season roster, though that’s just my speculation.

James’ contract was fully guaranteed for $915,243, and the team has reportedly looking to trade the center, but apparently no takers were found. Lamb’s deal came with no guarantee, but Johnson’s contract included a partial guarantee of $25K, which the Mavs will be responsible to pay.

It’s not clear if the team will look to send any of these players to the NBA D-League at this time. Teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players. Lamb would seem to be the most likely of the bunch for Dallas to try and develop down in the D-League, seeing as he’s the youngest of the players that were waived, and has the most potential upside.

Wolves Cut Brady Heslip

October 25th, 2014 at 2:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Guard Brady Heslip has been officially waived by the Timberwolves, the team has announced. The move trims Minnesota’s roster to 16 players, one over the league maximum. It’s unclear if the team intends to send Heslip to the D-league, as teams can retain the rights for up to four players.

Heslip’s minimum-salary contract was non-guaranteed, so the Wolves won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of this move. Heslip wasn’t a lock to make the regular season roster, so his departure doesn’t come as a shocker.

The 6’2″ Canadian was a sharpshooter at Baylor, ranking first in school history in three-point percentage and second in made three-pointers. The 24-year-old guard played in five games for the Minnesota’s summer league team in Las Vegas, averaging 6.2 points per game.

Kings Cut Trey Johnson

October 25th, 2014 at 2:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have cut ties with Trey Johnson, the team has officially announced. This move reduces Sacramento’s preseason roster count to 14 players, one below the regular season maximum.

Johnson’s minimum salary contract didn’t include any guaranteed money, so the Kings aren’t on the hook to the player for any cash. Johnson was a longshot to make the regular season roster with Sacramento’s depth in the backcourt, so the team parting ways with him isn’t surprising.

In parts of three NBA seasons, Johnson has appeared in 23 contests, averaging 2.6 PPG, 0.9 RPG, and 0.7 APG. The 6’5″ shooting guard’s career slash line is .385/.333/.947. He has also spent parts of four seasons in the D-League, turning in his best season as a professional in a 2010/11 campaign in which he averaged 25.5 PPG.