Tis the the season to be making roster moves. With the NBA in full training camp mode, there will be many transactions. I will examine the most recent moves by the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Portland Trail Blazers.
NBA Rumors: Clippers, Hawks, Kings, Spurs, and Trail Blazers Make Roster Decisions
Clippers Swap Nate Darling For Broderic Thomas
The Los Angeles Clippers waived Brodric Thomas, who was on an Exhibit 10 contract, on Monday and re-signed Nate Darling to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Andrew Grief of the Los Angeles Times.
The Clippers have waived Brodric Thomas and have in turn brought back Nate Darling on an exhibit 10 deal, per source. Darling isn’t in Seattle but will join the team once back in LA.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) October 10, 2023
Thomas went through the first of training camp with the Clippers but didn’t appear in Los Angeles’ 101-96 loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Thomas has 44 games of NBA experience, though he last played in the League in 2021-22. The 26-year-old guard earned a camp contract after playing for the Clippers’ Summer League squad.
Thomas will likely play for the G-League’s Ontario Clippers this year. He will earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with Ontario.
With the new deal, Darling re-joins the Clippers after being waived by Los Angeles after they signed him to a two-way contract. Darling did appear in 21 games for Ontario last year, compiling 21.2 points and 3.8 3-pointers while shooting 46.2% from the field and 38.8% from the 3-point line. He played seven games with the Charlotte Hornets in 2020-21.
Sacramento Kings Waive Jeremy Lamb
The Sacramento Kings placed veteran wing Jeremy Lamb on waivers Monday. According to the Sacramento Bee, Lamb is expected to join Sacramento’s G League affiliate in Stockton after clearing waiversSacramento Bee.
Lamb, who was not in the league last season, scored six points in six minutes off the bench in the Kings 112-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. The 31-year-old went 1 of 2 from 3-point range and 3 of 4 at the free-throw line.
Lamb should have a chance to latch on to at least a 10-day NBA contract this year if he can still defend while with the Stockton Kings. Lamb is a good scorer — owning a career average of 10.1 points per game — who does a lot of the little things well. He is not a great shooter, but Lamb won’t hurt teams when on the court when he is at his best.
By waiving Lamb, the Kings are now down to 20 players. The Kings currently have 14 players on standard contracts and are likely to carry 15 players on their opening-day roster. Therefore, unless they add another player between now and the start of the regular season, the competition for the final spot is down to three players. Jaylen Nowell, Deonte Burton, and Chance Comanche are these players.
Like Lamb, Nowell and Burton played seven minutes against the Raptors. Meanwhile, Comanche didn’t play in the preseason opener.
Nowell appears to have the upper hand if the Kings keep 15 players. The 24-year-old wing is coming off a career year with Minnesota last season. However, Burton does have NBA experience and saw six minutes of action in two games for the Kings in 2022-23.
Trail Blazers Make Several Decisions
Prior to the Portland Trail Blazers preseason opener tonight against the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL, they announced four roster decisions.
The most important decision was the Trail Blazers picking up the third-year option on guard Shaedon Sharpe, which was a given.
Sharpe, the No. 7 overall pick in 2022, had a promising rookie season and is thought to be part of the Blazers backcourt for years to come — along with Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons. The 20-year-old averaged 9.9 points and 3.0 rebounds while posting a shooting slash line of .470/.360/.714 across 80 appearances, including 15 starts.
While Sharpe will still make $6.3 million this year, he will get a slight increase next season at $6.6 million. The Trail Blazers’ next contract decision on Sharpe will come a year from now — they’ll have until October 31, 2024, to decide whether to exercise his $8.4 million option for 2025-26. Sharpe will become extension-eligible for the first time in the summer of 2025.
Portland Adds George Conditt, Waived Two Players
Portland also announced that they have waived rookies Malachi Smith and Antoine Davis. Smith and Davis are strong candidates to end up with the Rip City Remix in the G League.
With those two transactions, the Trail Blazers opened up a couple of roster spots. The Blazers filled one of those with George Conditt IV. Conditt is on an Exhibit 10 contract.
The 6-11 big man, who went undrafted in 2022, played for teams in Puerto Rico and Greece in his first professional season. Conditt also played well for Puerto Rico during the 2023 World Cup, with 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 30.6 minutes per night.
Portland currently has 20 players in training camp. The Trail Blazers are one of four teams who still need to add a player to their opening-day roster, as they have 13 on standard deals.
Hawks Add Brandon Randolph, Then Waive Him
Atlanta has made a trio of roster moves in the past few days. After waiving Jerkel Joiner and Kameron Hankerson on Sunday, the Hawks added Brandon Randolph to their training camp roster today.
While the club didn’t reveal any details about the agreement, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks said it’s a non-guaranteed training camp contract. It also likely includes Exhibit 10 language.
The Hawks are signing former Arizona guard Brandon Randolph to a camp deal.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) October 10, 2023
Randolph has spent most of his professional career in the G-League since going undrafted out of Arizona in 2019. The 26-year-old guard averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 43 games with the Wisconsin Herd and Austin Toros. He posted a solid shooting shooting line of .505/.351/.788.
Atlanta’s G-League club, College Park Skyhawk, acquired Randolph’s rights from Austin in August. So, expect Randolph to end up with them to start the season ultimately. The Hawks officially waived Randolph at 5:22 this evening.
Atlanta’s training camp roster now stands at 18. The Hawks have 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
San Antonio Spurs Sign Erik Stevenson and Paul Watson
The San Antonio Spurs finally filled its training camp roster. After going through the first week of camp and preseason opener with 19 players, the Spurs announced the addition of Erik Stevenson and Paul Watson today, per Keith Smith Sportac.
The San Antonio Spurs have signed Erik Stevenson and Paul Watson to training camp contracts, a league source told @spotrac.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 10, 2023
Stevenson went undrafted earlier this year after playing five college seasons at four different schools. He played six games for the Spurs Summer League squad this year. While Stevenson showed well in Sacramento SL, he struggled in Vegas. The 24-year-old averaged 8.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 32.1% from the field and 32.1% from the 3-point line.
Watson has played professionally overseas, in the G-League and the NBA. The 28-year-old wing has played in 46 NBA games, including nine games with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2021-22.
Most likely, Stevenson and Watson contracts have Exhibit 10 language. Expect both players to start the 2023-24 season with the G-League’s Austin Toros.
