NBA Player News

Payne signed a two-way contract with the Magic on Monday, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Payne has spent the last two and half season in Minnesota, but is coming off a 2016-17 campaign where he played in just 18 games. The bulk of those absences were due to thrombocytopenia, which is a disorder related to a low-platelet count in the bloodstream, but he's since been cleared for basketball activity. That said, Payne largely struggled to field interest during free agency and will have to settle for a two-way deal, which means he'll spend the majority of the upcoming campaign with the Magic's G-League affiliate.

Antetokounmpo, due to persistent knee soreness, has chosen not to participate in EuroBasket this season, Eric Nehm of ESPN Milwaukee reports.

Antetokounmpo missed a five-day chunk of EuroBasket practice earlier in August due to knee soreness, with the issue failing to subside. The star also cited exercises the Bucks' staff had him perform in China being too painful to complete, ultimately forcing him to withdraw from his national team to ensure his health for the NBA season. It remains to be seen if this issue will carry over into training camp.

Withey has come to terms with the Mavericks on a one-year contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports.

Withey spent last season as a member of the Jazz, who renounced his rights in mid-July. He was a deep reserve, posting just 2.9 points and 2.4 boards across 8.5 minutes per contest. While he'll likely play a similar role with the Mavericks, as his skill hasn't warranted him being deployed for more than 12.9 minutes per game in his career, he could see extended run here and there depending on the health of the Dallas centers. Regardless, he should probably be avoided in every fantasy format considering his projected workload and production.

McDaniels has agreed to terms with the Raptors on a one-year, partially guaranteed contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

McDaniels was somewhat of a forgotten commodity this summer as many teams' free agency dollars dried up, but he'll head to Toronto on what's in all likelihood a minimum deal. The former Clemson standout spent time with both Houston and Brooklyn last season, appearing in 49 total games and averaging 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds. The 24-year-old has shown flashes of promise as an athletic defender, but he struggles as a shooter and may face an uphill battle toward having his contract fully guaranteed by the Raptors.

Bass signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Liaoning Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association, international writer David Pick reports.

A 12-year NBA veteran, Bass has bounced around a bit of late, playing for three different teams in as many seasons. He spent the 2016-17 campaign with the Clippers, averaging 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds across 11.1 minutes, which was his smallest workload overall since the 2009-10 season. After failing to receive much interest on the free agent market, Bass will head overseas to resume his playing career. He could attempt to latch on with an NBA team following the international season, though it's unclear how many suitors he'd have.

Yabusele has fully recovered from ankle surgery and will take part in Monday's informal practices, Scott Souza of The Providence Journal reports.

This is great news for the Celtics' 2016 first-round pick, as foot problems prevented him from participating in this year's summer league, and he'll now get to spend some extended time with the team through training camp. Boston, however, is loaded in the frontcourt, and Yabusele will likely struggle to find quality minutes in his debut season with the team, so some extended time in the G League could be on the horizon for the rookie.

Niang signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Warriors on Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Niang, a 2016 second-round pick who played sparingly with the Pacers as a rookie before being waived in July, will receive the chance to compete for a roster spot with the reigning NBA champs. More realistically though, the Warriors likely plan to stash Niang with their G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, as the 24-year-old has only a small chance of beating out the likes of Omri Casspi, Jordan Bell and Kevon Looney for one of the final available spots at forward.

Wiltjer agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million non-guaranteed deal with the Raptors on Tuesday, Oliver Maroney and Robby Kalland of Uproxx.com reports.

In signing the non-guaranteed deal, Wiltjer will compete for a job on the Raptors' 15-man roster. Last season, he played for the Rockets, though a significant chunk in the D-League, after going undrafted out of Gonzaga. He played just 44 minutes in the NBA. In the D-League, however, he posted 20.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 37.7 percent from deep. At 6-foot-10, he has the mold of a stretch-four.

Cole has signed a one-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Euroleague, international writer David Pick reports.

Cole opened the 2016-17 campaign playing in the Chinese Basketball Association, but following the completion of that season, he ended up joining the Thunder for the final month of their schedule. He took part in just 13 games, posting averages of 3.3 points and 1.1 assists across 9.6 minutes. Once again, Cole struggled to field interest during free agency this offseason and will now head to Maccabi Tel Aviv. That said, there's a chance he ends up coming back to the States following the completion of their season once again, so it wouldn't be surprising if he ultimately attempted to latch on with a contender in February.

Bird, who was selected by Boston with the 56th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, has agreed to join the team on a two-way contract, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reports.

The Celtics likely wouldn't have been able to find significant playing time for Bird in their stacked depth chart, so they've opted to send him to the G-League for the majority of the season instead. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard who spent four years at Cal will still be able to spend up to 45 days at the NBA level, however.