Eastern Notes: Gill, LeBron, Watson, Heat
Anthony Gill’s new one-year contract with the Wizards is a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal that includes Exhibit 9 language, Hoops Rumors has learned.
While Gill looks to be in a good position to make Washington’s 15-man regular season roster, his minimum-salary cap charge ($2,449,421) won’t count against the team’s books until the first day of the season and his full salary ($3,066,143) won’t become guaranteed until the league-wide salary guarantee date on January 10.
A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year deal is typically awarded the right to veto a trade for the coming season, but Gill waived that right as part of his agreement with the Wizards, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the Eastern Conference:
- LeBron James’ endorsement deal with the prediction-market platform Polymarket will pay him $15MM per year, sources tell Ryan Glasspiegel and Ben Horney of Front Office Sports. James, whose role with the company will focus on promoting football rather than basketball, is earning a fraction of that amount (about $3.88MM) on his contract with the Sixers this season, Glasspiegel and Horney note.
- Exploring what Peyton Watson can bring to the Cavaliers, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) says multiple members of the organization expect the 24-year-old to slot into a role similar to ones Jaden McDaniels, OG Anunoby, Toumani Camara, and Andrew Wiggins play for their respective clubs. Although Watson isn’t necessarily considered a lock-down point-of-attack defender, he’ll have to guard the opponent’s top perimeter threat most nights, Fedor notes, since the Cavs won’t want Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, or Jarrett Allen handling that assignment.
- Mauricio Casamajor has been named the head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate, while Liam Doyle is the Skyforce’s new general manager, per a press release from the team. Casamajor, who spent the past three years as Miami’s head video coordinator, is replacing Dan Bisaccio as Bisaccio transitions back to a role on Erik Spoelstra’s NBA staff, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As for Doyle, his titles last season were senior manager of basketball analytics and scouting for the Heat and assistant GM for the Skyforce.