In an NBA G League swap, the Memphis Hustle acquired a 2025 first-round pick and the returning player rights to forward Malik Fitts from the Cleveland Charge, the Grizzlies’ G League team tweets. The Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate, received the returning player rights to guard Jacob Gilyard.
Fitts has appeared in 18 NBA games, most recently in eight contests with Boston during the 2021/22 campaign when he was signed to two 10-day contracts. Gilyard appeared in a combined 41 NBA games with the Grizzlies and Nets last season. He was on a two-way deal with Brooklyn after Memphis waived him.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- It’s impossible to keep all the NBA teams happy and give them their desired dates on an 82-game schedule. Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic spoke to an unnamed source who detailed the issues confronting the schedule makers. “You’ve got 30 different teams each with their own perspective on what they would like to see and within each of the 30 teams, you’ve got multiple perspectives from what makes the most sense,” the source said. “The league is then responsible for taking all of the different perspectives and try to make something that’s going to please everyone, which inherently is an impossible task.”
- How would projected 2025 top pick Cooper Flagg impact a team in rebuild mode? Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report dives into that topic, exploring how the Duke freshman big man would fit in with the Nets, Hornets, Pistons, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Raptors, Jazz and Wizards.
- Nathan Peavy, David Noel III and Alex Ruoff have been announced as assistant coaches on DJ Bakker‘s staff with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets‘ affiliate, the G League team announced in a press release. Peavy joins the Swarm after serving last season as the head coach of the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league, Puerto Rico’s top professional division. Noel spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ affiliate. Ruoff was on West Virginia’s coaching staff the last two seasons.
Wasserman imagining Flagg on the pistons rebuild is a waste of time as they don’t own a first rounder in 2025.
Calling the jazz and wizards a rebuild team is ridiculous considering their commitment in salaries to 27+ yo scorers.
Finally, I think the spurs are finally in rebuilt (past tense) mode. We tanked for 2 years, now we got veterans to turn it around, and stopped playing socjan at pg. No way pop will have a negative record threepeat.
They’re gonna win at least 1 playoffs series this year.. and still could add Flagg through hawks’ 2025 first round pick!
Detroit’s pick is protected if they don’t even qualify for the play in. At this rate, they may not give up a 1st rounder at all. Utah and Washington also owe similarly protected picks that they can weasel out of.
Speaking of which, paying Lauri and Kuzma doesn’t eliminate the option to flip them for a haul later down the road. In fact, they were both approached with the possibility of a trade but preferred to stay. Nothing about the average age of their rosters otherwise says “win now”.
For the Spurs I could see 10 extra wins alone on Wemby’s development and the upgrade at PG, but winning a round is a lot to ask for in a stacked Western Conference. I don’t disagree with you on the possibility of Flagg, though.