The Cavaliers, Nuggets and Pistons all moved on from their Exhibit 10 players on Saturday, clearing the way for each team to head into the regular season with its roster situation settled, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
Because the cuts came before the season starts, those players will clear waivers on Monday, and Cleveland, Denver and Detroit will avoid any dead money from the moves.
Cleveland waived four players: Rashaun Agee, Zack Austin, Tre’Von Spillers and Noam Yaacov. With those transactions in place, the Cavs are carrying 14 players on standard contracts, including 12 fully guaranteed deals, plus three players on two-way contracts. They do not have enough room below their hard cap at the first tax apron to keep a 15th player on a standard deal.
Denver also trimmed its Exhibit 10 group, waiving Dane Goodwin, Coleman Hawkins and Emanuel Miller. The Nuggets now sit at 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, which gets them under the regular-season roster limit. They technically could add a 15th player, but with the club well above the luxury tax line and the only team operating over the second apron, there’s no urgency to fill that spot.
Detroit waived John Ukomadu and Brice Williams. That leaves the Pistons with a full 15-man standard roster and three players on two-way contracts, putting them in position for the regular season.
Most of the players waived by the three teams are expected to land with their respective G League affiliates.
In Other News...
Cavs History Made No. 6 More Memorable Than Fans Realize
The No. 6 has a little more meaning in Cleveland now, even if it is not hanging in the rafters at Rocket Arena. The Cavaliers never officially retired the number as a franchise tribute, but the NBAs decision to retire it league-wide after Bill Russells death in 2022 means no player in wine and gold will wear it again, closing a small but notable chapter in team history.
Over the years, several Cavaliers have taken the number, including Mitchell Butler, Manny Harris and JaVale McGee, among others, making it a quiet thread through different eras of the franchise. For most fans, it was just another jersey number, but the league-wide change gives it a new permanence in Cleveland, even without a formal ceremony from the team. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Are Betting Big On James Harden Again
James Harden is back in the Cavaliers' plans in a major way, and Cleveland is treating last season's trade as more than a one-year swing. After arriving from the LA Clippers, Harden settled in as a steady secondary engine behind Donovan Mitchell, putting up 20.5 points and 7.7 assists per game in the regular season while giving the Cavs another proven organizer on the perimeter. Bleacher Reports latest creator rankings back up the idea that he still belongs in that upper tier of shot-makers and playmakers heading into 2026-27.
The bigger signal came this offseason, when Cleveland brought Harden back on a new deal and appears ready to start him alongside Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. For a roster built around size, shot creation and half-court execution, the fit is obvious enough. The remaining question is how much juice Harden still has left as the Cavaliers lean on him again for a top-end role rather than just a useful piece. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Add Developmental Big As System Depth Takes Shape
After a summer run with the Cavaliers in Summer League, TreVon Spillers has landed an Exhibit-10 contract with Cleveland, a move that points more toward the organizations developmental pipeline than the NBA roster. The signing gives the Cavs a chance to keep a look at a big man who has already bounced through a winding college path, with his most recent work coming over the past two seasons at Wake Forest after earlier stops at JUCO and Appalachian State.
For Cleveland, the value is in system depth. Exhibit-10 deals are designed to funnel players into the G-League track, and Spillers is expected to spend his time with the Cleveland Charge, where the staff can keep molding him without taking up a standard roster spot. It is the kind of low-risk, internal move teams make when they want another big in the building and more continuity between the NBA club and its affiliate. [Read more 🡒]