Minor Roster Moves: Mavericks, Clippers, Jazz

The Mavericks completed a series of minor roster moves on Tuesday, swapping multiple players in and out of the 21st spot on their preseason roster.

After officially confirming Monday’s signing of Matt Cross, the team waived Cross to sign guard Darin Green Jr. (Twitter link), waived Green to sign forward Chris Mantis (Twitter link), and then waived Mantis to sign big man Jorge Diaz Graham (Twitter link).

Dallas announced a jersey number (No. 23) for Diaz Graham, so it appears he’ll spend at least a little time on the roster rather than being waived immediately. The Texas Legends, the Mavs’ G League affiliate, previously selected the 6’10” forward/center with the first overall pick in this year’s NBAGL international draft.

Diaz Graham was also part of Dallas’ Summer League squad in July after wrapping up his college career with Oregon State, averaging 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game over the course of five outings for the Mavericks in Las Vegas.

It’s a safe bet that Green, Mantis, and Diaz Graham all signed non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts that will make them eligible for bonuses worth up to $91K if they spend at least 60 days with the Legends in the G League this season after being waived by the Mavs.

Green played last season for Hapoel Holon in Israel, while Mantis was a rotation player for the Capital City Go-Go. The Legends previously acquired both players’ returning rights via trade.

Here are more of Tuesday’s minor NBA transactions:

• After waiving Yuki Kawamura on Monday, the Clippers announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve re-signed former Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer to a new Exhibit 10 contract. The undrafted rookie was with the Clippers for the first week of training camp before being waived last Tuesday. Loyer’s previous contract was also an Exhibit 10 deal that included a full $91K bonus, so perhaps L.A. is bringing him back to give him a chance to compete for the team’s open two-way slot.
• The Jazz have waived big man Mohamed Wague, the team announced in a press release. The undrafted rookie forward/center signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Utah last week and will earn a bonus worth $5K if he spends at least 60 days in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars this season. The Jazz now have one opening on their 21-man preseason roster.