December 20, 2020
The Oklahoma City Thunder waived forwards T.J. Leaf and Admiral Schofield, the team announced.
The Thunder acquired Leaf, 23, on Nov. 25 and a 2027 second-round pick from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Jalen Lecque. In three seasons with the Pacers, Leaf averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 139 games.
Schofield, 23, was traded by the Washington Wizards with the draft rights to Vit Krejci to the Thunder for Cassius Winston and a 2024 second-round pick on Nov. 19. The No. 42 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 points in 33 games last season.
NBA rosters must be set by 5 p.m. ET on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s Opening Day.
Other notable NBA waiver transactions on Saturday:
–The Dallas Mavericks requested waivers on guard Courtney Lee, who was acquired as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade with the New York Knicks in January 2019.
Lee averaged 4.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 24 games with Dallas in the 2019-20 season. He did not join the team in the league restart this summer because of a calf injury.
He scored three points in six minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the team’s final preseason game on Thursday.
–The Cleveland Cavaliers waived two-way player Matt Mooney and guard/forwards Levi Randolph and Charles Matthews. They also converted center Marques Bolden to a two-way contract and signed forward Norvel Pelle.
The 6-foot-11 Bolden played in one game for the Cavaliers last season after signing a 10-day contract on Jan. 30. He played in 38 games (27 starts) in 2019-20 with the Canton Charge of the NBA G League, averaging 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds.
Pelle averaged 2.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 24 games last season for the Philadelphia 76ers.
–The Miami Heat waived guard/forward BJ Johnson, who joined the team on Dec. 4.
He appeared in two preseason games with Miami, scoring three points and adding two assists and a rebound.
The 24-year-old has played in 17 games over two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic. He has a career scoring average of 3.1 points per game.
–The Brooklyn Nets waived guards Chris Chiozza and Elie Okobo and forward Paul Eboua.
Chiozza originally signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn on Jan. 4 and re-signed with the Nets on Dec. 1. He appeared in Brooklyn’s preseason game against Washington on Dec. 13, totaling eight points, two rebounds and two assists in nine minutes off the bench.
Chiozza, 25, has averaged 4.2 points and 2.5 assists in 35 games with the Nets, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets.
Okobo, 23, originally signed with the Nets on Dec. 16. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.2 assists in 108 games (19) starts with the Phoenix Suns from 2018-20.
Eboua, a 20-year-old rookie from Cameroon, signed with Brooklyn on Dec. 18.
–Field Level Media
