Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Thunder sign Alex Reese

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward/center Alex Reese, it was announced yesterday by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Reese (6-9, 230) appeared in three preseason games with the Thunder and averaged 2.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 8.7 minutes of action per contest. The Pelham, Alabama native appeared in 43 games for the NBA G League’s Rip City Remix last season and averaged 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while connecting on 40.5 percent from three-point range in 17.3 minutes per game.

Cavaliers waive Pete Nance, Jules Bernard, Zhaire Smith, and Jacob Gilyard

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived Pete Nance, Jules Bernard, Zhaire Smith, and Jacob Gilyard, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced yesterday from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

The Cavaliers will open the 2024-25 regular season on Wednesday, October 23 at the Toronto Raptors, followed by the home opener on Friday, October 25 versus the Detroit Pistons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The current roster stands at 17 players, including three two-ways.

Lakers convert contract of Quincy Olivari to a two-way contract

The Los Angeles Lakers have converted the contract of guard Quincy Olivari to a two-way contract.

Additionally, the team has waived two-way center Colin Castleton and guard Grayson Murphy.

Olivari (6’2”, 201) recently appeared in four preseason games for the Lakers, averaging 8.8 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the floor and 57.1 percent from 3-point range to go with 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 13.4 minutes. Oct. 18 at Golden State, Olivari recorded 22 points on 5-of-9 shooting from long distance, seven rebounds and two assists in 39 minutes. Sparking a fourth-quarter comeback Oct. 10 at Milwaukee, Olivari posted 11 points as part of a 20-0 Lakers run to steal the victory.

The Georgia native played five collegiate seasons at Xavier (2023-24) and Rice (2019-23). In his lone campaign as a Musketeer, Olivari appeared in 34 games (all starts) and averaged 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 32.2 minutes. He finished the season as the Big East’s leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.409) and was voted to the league’s honorable mention team. Olivari played for the Lakers’ 2024 summer league team.

Castleton was signed by the Lakers July 6 and recently appeared in five preseason games. In 16 contests for the Purple and Gold in 2023-24, he averaged 1.5 points in 3.7 minutes.

Murphy was signed by the Lakers Oct. 18.

Magic convert contract of Mac McClung to a two-way contract

The Orlando Magic have converted the contract of guard Mac McClung to a two-way contract.

In addition, Orlando has waived guard-forward Jarrett Culver, guard Alex Morales, forward Jalen Slawson and guard Ethan Thompson.

McClung (6’2”, 185, 1/6/99) was originally signed by Orlando on September 19. He appeared in two preseason games, averaging 4.0 ppg., 1.0 apg. and 1.00 blkppg. in 7.5 minpg. McClung played and started in 27 games last season with Osceola of the NBA G League, averaging a league-best 25.7 ppg., 6.6 apg., 4.7 rpg. and 1.26 stlpg. in 35.4 minpg., while shooting .509 (252-495) from the floor, .396 (72-182) from three-point range and .843 (70-83) from the free throw line. He was named the 2023-24 NBA G League Most Valuable Player and also earned 2023-24 All-NBA G League First Team honors. At NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, McClung won the Slam Dunk contest for the second consecutive year.

Undrafted by an NBA franchise, McClung has played in four career NBA regular season games with Chicago, the L.A. Lakers and Philadelphia, averaging 8.3 ppg., 3.3 rpg. and 2.5 apg. in 16.3 minpg. He has also appeared in 86 career NBA G League outings (82 starts) with South Bay, Windy City, Delaware and Osceola, averaging 21.9 ppg., 6.2 apg., 4.6 rpg. and 1.21 stlpg. in 32.1 minpg., while shooting .510 (677-1,327) from the floor, .415 (195-470) from three-point range and .849 (203-239) from the free throw line.

McClung played in 50 career games during two seasons (2018-20) at Georgetown University, averaging 14.2 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 2.2 apg. and 1.06 stlpg. in 26.6 minpg. During the 2018-19 season, he led all Big East freshmen in scoring and was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team. McClung also played in 29 games during one season (2020-21) at Texas Tech University, averaging 15.5 ppg., 2.7 rpg. and 2.1 apg. in 30.2 minpg.

Orlando’s roster now stands at 17 players, including two two-way players (McClung, Trevelin Queen).

Trail Blazers exercise contract options on Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Kris Murray

The Portland Trail Blazers have exercised the 2025-26 team contract option on the Rookie Scale contracts of guards Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, and forward Kris Murray.

Sharpe, the 7th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers, posted 15.9 points (40.6% FG, 33.3% 3-PT, 82.4% FT), 5.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals in 33.1 minutes per game in 32 games (25 starts) during the 2023-24 season and earned a 2024 Rising Stars selection at All-Star weekend. The second-year guard holds career averages of 11.6 points (44.5% FG, 35.0% 3-PT, 77.2% FT), 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.6 steals and 25.3 minutes per game in 112 career games (40 starts) in two seasons with Portland.

During his rookie campaign, Henderson averaged 14.0 points (32.5% 3-PT, 81.9% FT), 3.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists and 28.5 minutes per game in 62 games (32 starts) for the Trail Blazers and ranked amongst rookies first in assists per game (5.4), first in total assists (336), fifth in points per game (14.0) and sixth in total points (868).

In his first season out of Iowa, Murray accrued averages of 6.1 points (39.6% FG, 26.8% 3-PT, 66.1% FT), 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals and 21.7 minutes per game in 62 games (29 starts) in his rookie season.

Raptors waive three players

The Toronto Raptors announced yesterday that they have waived guards Jahmi’us Ramsey and Jared Rhoden and center Brenden Carlson.

In a corresponding move, the Raptors converted forward Jamison Battle to a two-way contract.

Battle, 6-foot-6, 228 pounds, averaged 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 31.4 minutes in 35 games (all starts) as a fifth-year senior at Ohio State last season. He shot .469 (179-382) from the field and a career-best .433 (91-210) from beyond the arc, which ranked second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally. He also led the Big Ten with a .926 (88-95) free throw percentage. Prior to joining the Buckeyes, Battle played two seasons at George Washington (2019-21) and two at Minnesota (2021-23).

A native of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, Battle averaged 6.4 points and 9.8 minutes in five preseason games with the Raptors after signing as an undrafted free agent July 16. Toronto finished the preseason with a 3-2 record.

Toronto’s roster now stands at the league maximum 15 players and three two-way players.

Wizards sign RayJ Dennis to Two-Way contract

The Washington Wizards have signed guard RayJ Dennis to a two-way contract.

Dennis (6-2, 180), spent 2024 NBA Summer League and preseason with the LA Clippers before being waived on Oct. 9. The Oswego, Illinois native played five seasons of college basketball with Boise State (2019-21), Toledo (2021-23), and Baylor (2023-24) – appearing in 35 games as a super-senior with the Bears in 2023-24. He was voted as a second-team All-Big 12 selection after averaging 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. Dennis was the unanimous MAC Player of the Year in 2022-23, averaging 19.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game and leading the Rockets to a MAC title.

Heat waive Nassir Little, Zyon Pullin, Isaiah Stevens and Warren Washington

The Miami Heat have waived Nassir Little, Zyon Pullin, Isaiah Stevens and Warren Washington.

Little, who was signed on September 24, appeared in two preseason games with the HEAT totaling 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 4-of-14 from the field, 4-of-8 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the foul line.

Pullin, who was signed on August 5, appeared in two preseason games with the HEAT totaling 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 4-of-9 from the field, 1-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-3 from the foul line.

Stevens, who was signed on July 6, appeared in four preseason games with the HEAT totaling six points, 12 assists, five rebounds and three steals while shooting 1-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line.

Washington, who was signed on October 10, appeared in one preseason game with the HEAT totaling two points and two rebounds while shooting 1-of-2 from the field.

The HEAT’s roster now stands at 17.

Spurs sign Riley Minix to Two-Way contract

The San Antonio Spurs have signed Riley Minix to a Two-Way contract.

Minix, 6-7/230, has appeared in three preseason games for the Spurs, averaging 7.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes while shooting 70.0% (8-12 FG) from the floor. In three NBA 2K25 Summer League games, he posted 12.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.8 minutes for the Silver and Black.

Prior to joining the Spurs, Minix played four seasons at Southeastern State University before transferring to Morehead State for the 2023-24 season. In one season at Morehead, he started all 28 games, averaging 22.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.9 minutes, earning Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year as well as Lou Henson Mid Major All-American while leading MSU to the OVC regular season co-championship and tournament title. At Southeastern State, he played in 99 total games (83 starts) and averaged 20.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on his way to being named NAIA and NABC All-American, two-time Sun Conference Player of the Year (2020, 2022) and First-Team All TSC honors as a freshman.