2023 June | Hoops Rumors

Javan Johnson To Sign With Warriors

June 23rd, 2023 at 12:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Undrafted DePaul forward Javan Johnson has reached a contract agreement with the Warriors, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT tweets. While contract terms were not specified, it’s likely an Exhibit 10 deal.

Johnson had a winding journey through his college career. He played two seasons at Troy, sat out a season after transferring, then played one year at Iowa State.

He spent the past two seasons with the Blue Demons, though his first season with DePaul was limited to 10 games due to a hand injury. Last season, the 6’6” Johnson started 33 games and averaged 14.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 2.4 APG while making 41.2% of his 3-point attempts.

Assuming he’s inking an Exhibit 10 contract, Johnson could earn a $75K bonus by joining the G League Santa Cruz Warriors and spending at least 60 days with them if he’s waived by the NBA Warriors.

Hawks Signing Jarkel Joiner To Exhibit 10 Deal

June 23rd, 2023 at 12:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jarkel Joiner of North Carolina State will receive an Exhibit 10 contract with the Hawks, according to Jon Chepkevich of Draft Express (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old guard averaged 17.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his lone season with the Wolfpack after transferring from Mississippi. Joiner, a second-team All-ACC selection, is an accomplished shot creator with an aggressive approach to the game, Chepkevich adds.

Joiner will likely be with the Hawks in training camp and will get an opportunity to earn a two-way contract. If he’s waived, he can pick up a $75K bonus by spending 60 days with Atlanta’s G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.

Rockets Notes: Lopez, Whitmore, Draft Night, Splitter, Thompson

June 23rd, 2023 at 11:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets are a “real threat” to the Bucks to sign veteran center Brook Lopez, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (hat tip to ClutchFans.com).

Lopez is entering unrestricted free agency, as his four-year, $52MM contract expired after the season. Lopez, 35, remains one of the top players at his position. He started 78 games this past season and averaged 15.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG and a career-best 2.5 BPG. He also made 37.4% of his 3-point attempts.

Houston’s interest in Lopez has previously been noted. The Rockets have a 20-year-old center in Alperen Sengun, a 2021 first-rounder, but Lopez could also serve as a mentor to Houston’s youthful frontcourt bigs while stabilizing its defense and stretching the floor offensively.

We have more on the Rockets:

Villanova forward Cam Whitmore says he’s baffled by reports that he has a medical issue that contributed to his surprising slide in the first round, ESPN News Services relays. Projected to go as high as No. 4 in the draft, he dropped into Houston’s laps at the No. 20 slot. “I promise you there’s not (a medical problem),” he said. “I have no idea. I don’t know what happened. But I feel fine. It’s my body. If they think it’s something different, they have their own opinions. But at the end of the day, it’s my body.”
GM Rafael Stone tried in vain to trade up from the No. 20 spot and were stunned was Whitmore was still available, according to Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle. “We always intended to try and trade up in this draft,” Stone said. “But we also talked about, if that wasn’t successful, trading out if we didn’t like somebody at the pick. And we were talking to a number of teams about what that would look like, and some of those potential transactions were very attractive. But again, not nearly as attractive as picking Cam, which is what we did.” The Rockets reportedly made trade inquiries with the Lakers (No. 17), Heat (No. 18), and Warriors (No. 19). Stone added the medical staff had evaluated Whitmore and there were no concerns about his health.
The Rockets are close to adding Tiago Splitter to Ime Udoka’s staff, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets. Splitter worked with Udoka on the Nets’ staff before Udoka was hired as the Celtics’ head coach.
Lottery pick Amen Thompson came away from his pre-draft workout with the Rockets convinced that the franchise was ready to exit from the rebuilding stage, he told Iko. “Just that they were looking for a change,” Thompson said of last week’s visit. “They were looking to turn the franchise around and get some wins. I wanted to be a part of that.”

Malachi Smith, Antoine Davis Joining Trail Blazers On Exhibit 10 Deals

June 23rd, 2023 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Gonzaga’s Malachi Smith will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Trail Blazers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 23-year-old shooting guard was named WCC Sixth Man of the Year this season after averaging 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 37 games with the Zags. The fifth-year senior played one season for Gonzaga after transferring from Chattanooga.

Detroit-Mercy’s Antoine Davis will also get an Exhibit 10 deal with Portland, according to Charania (Twitter link). The 24-year-old guard was a huge scorer in all five seasons he spent with the Titans, and he capped off his college career by averaging 28.2 PPG this year.

Exhibit 10 contracts give players the opportunity to earn a $75K bonus by spending 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate if they’re waived before the start of the season. The Blazers announced the formation of their new G League team in April.

Hornets To Sign Angelo Allegri, Nathan Mensah

June 23rd, 2023 at 11:14am CST by Dana Gauruder

Eastern Washington undrafted wing Angelo Allegri has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Hornets, Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com tweets.

Allegri averaged 13.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 3.4 APG last season while claiming All-Big Sky First Team honors. Allegri spent three seasons with UNC Greensboro before starting regularly the last two seasons with the Eagles.

Charlotte is also signing two-time Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year Nathan Mensah, who helped San Diego State reached the NCAA Tournament title game, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets. The 6’10” Mensah played five seasons for the Aztecs and averaged 6.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG last season. He racked up 236 blocks in 146 career games.

It’s unclear what type of contract Mensah is signing but it’s also likely an Exhibit 10 deal.

Players on Exhibit 10 contracts can earn a $75K bonus by joining the team’s G League affiliate — in Charlotte’s case, the Greensboro Swarm — and spending at least 60 days with that team if they’re waived by the NBA squad.

Mavericks To Sign Jordan Walker

June 23rd, 2023 at 11:07am CST by Rory Maher

UAB guard Jordan Walker, who went undrafted last night, has agreed to a one-year contract with the Mavericks, agent Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but it seems likely that it will either be a two-way contract or an Exhibit 10 deal. The latter would put Walker in line to receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived by the Mavs and spends up to 60 days with their G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

Walker, who had previous stops at Seton Hall and Tulane, had a five-year college career, the final two with the Blazers. As a “super senior” in 2022/23, he averaged 22.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, 2.8 RPG and 1.2 SPG on .403/.378/.846 shooting in 33 games (33.5 MPG).

Grizzlies Notes: Bane, Smart, Morant, Jackson, Adams, Clarke

June 23rd, 2023 at 11:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Desmond Bane believes Marcus Smart is a perfect addition for the Grizzlies‘ style of basketball, writes Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. Memphis acquired the former Defensive Player of the Year from the Celtics in a three-team deal that was finalized late Thursday night, and Bane is thrilled to welcome him to the team.

Bane sees Smart as a replacement for free agent Dillon Brooks, who Memphis isn’t expected to re-sign. Bane said Brooks’ defensive prowess relieved him of the burden of having to guard the opponent’s best player, and he expects Smart to do the same.

“Marcus Smart brings a lot to the team,” Bane said. “I mean I think you guys are going to love him. He kind of brings that Dillon edge, a little bit more playmaking. It’s going to be fun.”

Bane added that he’s making progress after having toe surgery in mid-May, and he hopes to resume shooting soon. He’s expected to receive a rookie-scale extension after averaging a career-best 21.5 PPG this season.

There’s more from Memphis:

At a post-draft press conference, general manager Zach Kleiman offered the Grizzlies’ first public statement on Ja Morant since his 25-game suspension was announced last week, Cole states in a separate story. Kleiman said team officials have maintained a dialogue with Morant and the relationship isn’t strained, but the troubled guard has to prove he can change his behavior. “We’re going to continue to pour into him, we’re going to continue to hold him to account for everything that he’s doing day-to-day,” Kleiman said. “It’s on him to follow through, but he’s going to have every opportunity to do so.”
Second-round pick G.G. Jackson will likely receive a two-way contract and spend most of the upcoming season in the G League, Cole adds in another piece. The 18-year-old forward out of South Carolina was taken with the 45th pick Thursday night. “We see someone who for his size is incredibly skilled,” Kleiman said. “We see someone who is a hard worker and is committed to doing the hard work. … G.G. is going to have to put in the work to achieve his potential.”
Kleiman expressed confidence that Steven Adams will be ready for the start of next season, Cole tweets. The team’s starting center wasn’t able to return after suffering an injury to his right knee in January. Kleiman believes Brandon Clarke will be available for a “good portion” of the season after tearing his left Achilles in March.

Hawks To Sign Miles Norris To Two-Way, David Singleton To Exhibit 10

June 23rd, 2023 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie free agent Miles Norris has agreed to join the Hawks on a two-way contract, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Norris, who played his college ball at three different schools, spent the last three years at UC Santa Barbara. He had an impressive super-senior season in 2022/23, averaging 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game (35 games) with a strong .490/.391/.844 shooting line.

Atlanta is also signing former UCLA guard David Singleton, according to Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link). Singleton is receiving an Exhibit 10 contract.

Another prospect who wasn’t drafted on Thursday, Singleton played with the Bruins for five seasons, making 43.4% of his three-pointers during that time. He averaged 9.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 28.2 MPG in 37 appearances this past season.

While both Norris and Singleton are good bets to spend time with the College Park Skyhawks in 2023/24, Norris should also get an opportunity to play for Atlanta at the NBA level while on his two-way deal. Singleton looks like a longer shot to earn a spot on the Hawks’ NBA roster, though his Exhibit 10 contract could be converted into a two-way before the regular season begins.

Heat To Sign Justin Powell To Exhibit 10 Contract

June 23rd, 2023 at 10:53am CST by Rory Maher

The Heat plan to sign Washington State guard Justin Powell to an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com (Twitter link).

Powell, who is ranked No. 21 on ESPN’s best available undrafted players list, had stints with Auburn and Tennessee before finishing out his college career with Washington State. As a junior for the Cougars in 2022/23, he averaged 10.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 2.8 APG while shooting 42.6% from three-point range in 34 games (33.8 MPG).

Powell’s Exhibit 10 deal should give him an opportunity to suit up for the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, as a rookie in ’23/24. He could earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived by the Heat and then spends up to 60 days with the Skyforce. Powell’s Exhibit 10 deal could also be converted into a two-way contract if Miami decides it wants to keep him on the NBA roster.

Pelicans To Sign Landers Nolley, Tevian Jones, Liam Robbins

June 23rd, 2023 at 10:33am CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans are signing a trio of undrafted players, according to reports from Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com, Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com and Michael Scotto of Hoopshype (All Twitter links). The three prospects are Cincinnati guard Landers Nolley II, Southern Utah wing Tevian Jones and Vanderbilt big man Liam Robbins.

The terms of the contracts were not disclosed, so it’s unclear if they might be two-way deals or Exhibit 10 training camp contracts, the latter of which would put the players in line for a bonus worth up to $75K if they’re waived and spend up to 60 days with the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

All three prospects are on ESPN’s best undrafted players list. Robbins is No. 16, Nolley is No. 23 and Jones is No. 30.

Robbins, who played for Drake and Minnesota prior to finishing out his career at Vanderbilt, was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in ’22/23, averaging 15.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 3.2 BPG on .504/.365/.731 shooting for the Commodores. He managed to put up those numbers in just 23.0 minutes per contest over 26 games, including 15 starts.

Nolley played for Virginia Tech and Memphis before transferring to Cincinnati for his senior season in 2022/23, averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.0 SPG on .447/.417/.750 shooting in 36 games (32.1 MPG) for the Bearcats.

Jones started his college career at Illinois before transferring to Southern Utah. As a “super senior” in ’22/23, he averaged 17.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .407/.362/.840 shooting in 36 games (33.8 MPG) for the Thunderbirds. Chepkevich states that Jones impressed during the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which is used as a springboard for lesser-known prospects.

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