The Pelicans are back at it with a familiar move on Johnny O’Neil, signing the former Santa Clara big man and then waiving him, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.
It’s the same pattern New Orleans used last September, when it signed and waived O’Neil to secure his G League rights and make sure he collected a $50K bonus for spending at least 60 days with the club’s NBAGL affiliate. This time, the Laketown Squadron hold O’Neil’s returning rights through the 2026/27 season, and the expectation is that he’ll be back with the team. His Exhibit 10 deal also gives him a shot at a bonus worth as much as $91K, in addition to his base G League salary.
O’Neil logged a steady season in 2025/26 for New Orleans’ NBAGL team, appearing in 45 games and putting up 9.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks in 25.4 minutes per night. He shot .406 from the field, .367 from deep, and .688 at the line.
Cleveland made a similar roster-filling move, signing guard Sean McNeil to a non-guaranteed training camp contract, per Paul Garcia of Spot Up Shot. McNeil went undrafted out of West Virginia and has spent the past two seasons with the Cleveland Charge in the G League, so the expectation is that he’ll end up back with the Cavs’ affiliate after he’s waived by the NBA team. The 28-year-old shotmaker hit 42.5% of his 4.7 three-point attempts per game across 44 games for the Charge last season.
Golden State also added two players with the G League picture in mind, bringing in guards Chance McMillian and Deivon Smith on Exhibit 10 contracts, Garcia reports. Both played for the Santa Cruz Warriors last season and will be eligible for Exhibit 10 bonuses if they stick with the team for at least 60 days. McMillian averaged 16.6 points and 5.0 assists in 31 games for Santa Cruz, while Smith scored 17.2 points per game and shot .450/.393/.743 in nine appearances.
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Devin Booker sits at the center of the conversation, even if the practical path is thin. Analysts view a deal as highly unlikely, mainly because he remains firmly under contract in Phoenix and is not regarded as someone looking for a change of scenery. For Golden State, though, the continued linkage says plenty about how the organization is still chasing star power, even when the odds say the dream is more talk than transaction. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Just Added Another Name To A Tough Two-Way Battle
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For McMillian, the next step is simple in theory and tricky in practice: show enough in training camp and the preseason to carve out a real opening. He is entering a battle that includes Graham Ike, Nick Boyd, Deivon Smith and Alex Toohey, and with only so much room at the bottom of the roster, the path to a two-way deal figures to come down to who performs best when the games start counting again. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors May Be Paying For Waiting Too Long On Draymond
Draymond Green has been part of the Warriors identity for his entire NBA career, which is why his current one-year deal carries more weight than a typical contract season. For a franchise that spent so long leaning on its established core, Greens situation has become a symbol of where the team stands now, caught between trying to keep one more window open and facing the reality of a roster that no longer looks built for the long haul.
Golden States patience with that core helped fuel a run that changed the organization, but it also left the front office in a familiar spot when the margins began to tighten. Greens future now sits in the middle of that tension, and the bigger question around him is not just what he means to the Warriors today, but what it says about how long the team waited to confront the costs of staying attached to its old formula. [Read more 🡒]