Heat Waive Khem Birch
The Heat have waived Khem Birch along with the trio of cuts made earlier this evening, according to a team release. Miami will be on the hook for $50K in partially guaranteed money from his contract, unless another team claims him.
Birch was in the running for one of the Heat’s 15 final roster spots, but ultimately wasn’t preserved for the 2014/15 season. If Birch clears waivers, the Heat will hold his D-League rights, and they are expected to invite him to join their D-League affiliate, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
The undrafted power forward was projected as a potential second-rounder out of UNLV, and he has impressed in stints with the Wizards summer league team and as a member of Miami’s preseason squad. Birch averaged 10.2 rebounds in his junior year, opting to declare for the draft rather than stay for his senior year.
Jeremy Tyler Signs To Play In China
Center Jeremy Tyler has signed with the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, his agents at Octagon Sports tell Enea Trapani of Sportando and confirm on their website. Adrian Wojnarowski reported a few days ago that Tyler had reached a deal to play in China and that he’d asked for the Lakers to release him from his non-guaranteed contract, a wish the team granted, but the identity of his Chinese team was unknown. It’s unclear how long Tyler’s contract runs or just how much he’ll earn, but with the short length of the Chinese season, he’ll likely have a chance to hook on with an NBA team for the stretch run of 2014/15.
Tyler spent the past month with the Lakers after the Kings let him go shortly following the trade that brought him to Sacramento from the Knicks. He played in 41 games for New York after signing December 31st, averaging 3.6 points in 9.7 minutes per night. The now 23-year-old has appeared in the NBA in each of the past three seasons after the then-Bobcats made him the 39th overall pick in 2011.
The Dragons signed center Daniel Orton earlier this month, but they also have fellow NBA veteran Von Wafer, and the league’s rules on international players prohibit the team from playing three Americans, as Trapani points out. So, that suggests a corresponding move is in order, though the Dragons’ plans are unclear.
Mavs Sign, Waive Renaldo Balkman
The Mavs have signed and waived Renaldo Balkman today, as indicated by Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The swift moves were almost surely made to secure D-League rights to the 30-year-old forward, as teams around the league are utilizing the provision to do so in the days leading up to the regular season.
Balkman hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2011/12 season, and spent time with Dallas in training camp last year before being cut prior to the season. He has career averages of 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest over six seasons.
Clippers Waive Joe Ingles
Guard Joe Ingles has been waived by the Clippers, according to a team release. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register was the first to tweet news that Ingles would be let go. The move cuts the Clippers’ roster to the league maximum of 15. It isn’t clear if the team intends to sign Ingles to their D-League affiliate, but they do have the inside track if so, as teams can retain the rights for up to four players waived before the regular season.
The Clippers won’t be on the hook for any money because Ingles’ minimum-salary contract was non-guaranteed. Ingles was reportedly in a battle for the final roster sport with guard Jared Cunningham.
The 6’8″ Australian boosted his NBA chances with a strong performance during this year’s FIBA World Cup. The 26-year-old played last season at Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, where he averaged 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Heat Cut Drew, Johnson, Jones
SATURDAY, 4:56pm: All three players have been officially waived, the team announced.
8:47pm: All three players have been waived, according to the RealGM transactions log. No announcement from the team has been made yet.
THURSDAY, 11:58am: The Heat are waiving Larry Drew II, Tyler Johnson and Shawn Jones, as coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters today, including Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). The team has yet to make a formal announcement, but Miami hopes that all three will sign with its D-League affiliate, tweets Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. The Heat has a $75K partial guarantee with Johnson and $25K with Drew, so the team will be on the hook for those amounts assuming they clear waivers. Jones has been on a non-guaranteed pact.
The athletic Johnson appeared in only one preseason game, but he performed well, scoring 17 points and coming up with four steals in more than 36 minutes of action. Jones averaged 3.0 points in 16.5 minutes per game in four preseason contests, while Drew, who signed on Monday, hasn’t played in any of the team’s exhibitions. Johnson and Jones went undrafted this summer, while Drew spent much of last season with the Heat’s D-League affiliate after joining Miami for camp last year.
The moves will leave Miami with 16 players, including 11 with fully guaranteed contracts. Three others have partial guarantees, while Shannon Brown and Andre Dawkins are on non-guaranteed deals.
Knicks Cut Galloway, Vandenberg
4:46pm: The moves are official, the team announced (Twitter link).
1:53pm: The Knicks have waived Langston Galloway and Jordan Vandenberg, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork is reporting (Twitter link). Both players are likely headed to New York’s D-League affiliate, notes Begley. These moves reduce the Knicks’ preseason roster count to 16, and the team is considering waiving forward Travis Outlaw as well, tweets Begley, which would get them down to the regular season maximum of 15 players.
Vandenberg’s contract came with a partial guarantee of $27K, and Galloway’s deal was also partially guaranteed for $31K. If Outlaw is in fact waived, the Knicks will still have to pay his fully guaranteed amount of $3MM, unless they reach some type of buyout arrangement with the player.
The 24-year-old Vandenberg played just 10 minutes total in a pair of summer league games, and he only averaged more than 12 minutes a night once during his five seasons at N.C. State, where he received a medical redshirt in his third year despite appearing in seven games. Vandenberg averaged 4.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 22.3 minutes per game as a senior this past season.
Galloway averaged 17.7 points and 4.3 rebounds with a 44.3% three-point accuracy in 36.2 minutes per game this past season with St. Joseph’s, then played for New York’s summer league entry. The Knicks coaches praised him for picking up the triangle offense quickly, but the team is especially deep with swingmen, so Galloway was a longshot to make the team.
Patrick Christopher Waived By Grizzlies
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
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
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
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.