The San Antonio Spurs have waived Marcus Morris Sr. after agreeing to a buyout.
San Antonio acquired Morris Sr. on Feb. 8 as part of a three-team trade with the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers.
Pat Beverley previously reported that Morris is expected to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves upon his inevitable buyout.
Klay Thompson is eligible for a four-year contract worth up to $223 million, but he is open to re-signing with the Golden State Warriors on a shorter deal. A source told ESPN's Kendra Andrews that money and lineup status are not driving forces for Thompson.
Thompson could possibly sign a two-year deal this summer to align with the remaining time on the contracts of Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr.
Thompson is making $43 million his season on an expiring contract. When Thompson and the Warriors discussed an extension last summer, talks never progressed to specific dollar amounts and instead a range was presented by the Warriors.
Thompson has been candid about his on-court struggles and a source close to him says his frustrations are more about his own level of play and less about the team itself.
"He feels like he's letting everyone down," the source told ESPN. "He doesn't want to be a drain. He wants to help. He wants to feel valuable."
Thompson recently moved to the bench and responded with one of his best ames of the season. Thompson has shot 45 percent on three-pointers during his first five games as a reserve.
"The thought of him coming off the bench as our flame thrower, it's a pretty powerful weapon," Steve Kerr said.
Thompson, however, was very upset when he was informed of the decision from the Warriors to move him out of the starting lineup. Kerr told ESPN that Thompson initially yelled at him and some of the assistants. Thompson later came back to apologize to the coaches.
"It was not an easy conversation," Kerr said. "This is maybe the hardest part about getting further away from our prime. It's just, after 12 years [of Thompson starting], it wasn't easy.
"And still moving forward, it's not going to be easy. But I told him, 'If you really embrace it, you can help your team win.'"
The Charlotte Hornets are hiring Jeff Peterson as their new head of basketball operations. Peterson replaces Mitch Kupchak, who recently resigned as the Hornets president of basketball operations.
At 35 years old, Peterson will be the NBA's youngest front office leader. He's been working in the Brooklyn Nets front office as an assistant to Sean Marks for the past five years.
Peterson played college basketball at Iowa and Arkansas, before finishing his collegiate career at Florida State. He then held various roles with the Atlanta Hawks front office before joining the Nets in 2019.
Team USA has ramped up the selection process for this summer's Olympics in Paris. There are 11 players that the United States are counting on playing or are in strong consideration for a roster spot. The initial 11 are:
None of these players are considered absolute locks as of yet. But all 11 are under strong consideration and have mentioned interest in representing Team USA this summer, provided they are healthy enough to play.
Of that group, Booker, Curry, Durant, Embiid, Holiday, James and Tatum are considered to be the United States core group. Edwards and Haliburton are being considered after strong play at last summer's FIBA World Cup. Adebayo and Davis are garnering interest for additional frontcourt depth around Embiid.
Despite Joel Embiid still recovering from surgery to address a torn meniscus, Team USA is counting on the big man for this summer's Olympics in Paris. Embiid is still committed to playing in the games as well.
Embiid chose to represent the United States on the national team level this past fall. Embiid picked the United States over France and his native Cameroon, both of whom he was also eligible to play for.
The Philadelphia 76ers star had surgery in in early February to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Sixers are hopeful that Embiid will return in late March. If he can return and stay healthy through the playoffs, that should open the door for Embiid to join Team USA this summer.
Jaylin Galloway is receiving interest from NBA teams after finishing his NBL season with the Sydney Kings.
Galloway is just 21 and has considerable defensive potential. In 25 games this season, Galloway averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 22.8 minutes.
The Minnesota Timberwolves had Galloway on their Summer League roster last year.
Galloway is represented by Marquis Taylor
The Charlotte Hornets have begun their search to replace Mitch Kupchak to run their basketball operations department.
Sources tell Marc Stein that the Brooklyn Nets' Jeff Peterson, New Orleans Pelicans' Trajan Langdon and Minnesota Timberwolves' Matt Lloyd are three leading candidates for the position. Stein later reported that Austin Ainge of the Boston Celtics is another candidate to monitor.
Peterson is a top aide to Sean Marks and Brooklyn has a strong interest in trying to keep him. Peterson previously worked with Hornets' co-owner Rich Schanll with the Atlanta Hawks.
Langdon has been a strong candidate for lead decision-maker jobs previously.
Lloyd was one of Tim Connelly's first hires with the Wolves and has previous experience with the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic.
Aleksej Pokusevski has agreed to sign with the Charlotte Hornets.
Pokusevski was recently waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Pokusevski was the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
Evan Fournier is likely to stay with the Detroit Pistons for the rest of this season, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Fournier was traded in a deal involving Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks at the deadline.
Players waived by March 1 will be playoff eligible this season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to sign Sharife Cooper to a 10-day contract.
Cooper last played in the NBA in 21-22 with the Atlanta Hawks.
In 19 G League games this season, Cooper is averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 32.9 minutes.
Cooper is represented by Noah Croom.
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