- Because the Nuggets don’t have a G League affiliate of their own, their two-way players – PJ Dozier and Bol Bol – will play for the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate, as Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days tweets. It’s not clear whether more than one G League team expressed interest in taking on Dozier and Bol, but in that scenario, Denver would have had the opportunity to choose where to send them.
Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:
- Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
- As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
- Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
- The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
- The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
- The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
- The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.
Eric Bledsoe is expected to be ready for the Bucks‘ opener on Thursday, Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays.
“I kind of knew what it was, in a sense,” said Bledsoe, who suffered a rib cage injury earlier in the preseason. “I knew it wasn’t nothing serious… I knew I was going to bounce back.”
Bledsoe will join Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and newcomer Wesley Matthews in the Bucks’ starting lineup, Velazquez adds in the same piece. Matthews will take over for Malcolm Brogdon, who was traded to the Pacers this offseason.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today argues that the Bucks have done everything right to keep Antetokounmpo around long-term. Milwaukee can offer Giannis the super-max next summer.
- How Derrick Rose performs will go a long way toward whether the Pistons make the postseason, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. Rose signed a two-year deal with the club this offseason.
- There are plenty of questions surrounding second-year Bulls forward Chandler Hutchison, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who notes that it may be hard for the club to find rotation minutes for Hutchison even once he’s recovered from his hamstring injury.
After being released by the Celtics on Saturday, undrafted rookie shooting guard Max Strus has signed a new two-way contract with the Bulls, the club announced today in a press release. Chicago had an open two-way slot alongside Adam Mokoka, so no corresponding roster move was required.
It’s a homecoming for Strus, an Illinois native who finished his college career at DePaul. In 35 games in 2018/19, Strus averaged 20.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG with a shooting line of .429/.363/.842.
Strus’ strong senior season helped earn him a two-way contract with the Celtics, but he was moved to Boston’s standard roster and later waived when the team decided to retain Javonte Green and Tacko Fall to start the regular season.
Having reportedly received a partial guarantee worth in excess of $400K from the Celtics, Strus was ineligible to play for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G League affiliate, for the rest of the league year. But he’ll get a chance to play for the Windy City Bulls on his new two-way contract with Chicago. The deal will also permit him to spend up to 45 days with the NBA team after G League training camps get underway next week.
The Bulls have exercised their fourth-year option on forward Lauri Markkanen and third-year options on center Wendell Carter Jr. and forward Chandler Hutchison, according to a team press release. That guarantees the trio’s contracts for the 2020/21 season.
Markkanen will make $6.73MM next season after collecting $5.3MM this season.
Injuries limited Markkanen to 52 games last season. He averaged 18.7 PPG and 9.0 RPG while shooting .430 from the field and .361 from 3-point range.
Carter Jr. will take home $5.45MM next season after receiving approximately $5.2MM this season.
Carter Jr. was selected No. 7 overall in 2018 draft. He, too, battled injuries last season and was limited to 44 games but showed the ability to be a defensive anchor. He averaged 10,3 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.3 BPG in 25.2 MPG as a rookie.
Hutchison will receive $2.44MM next season after making $2.33MM in 2019/20.
Hutchison, selected with the No. 22 pick in 2018, averaged 5.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 44 games during his rookie campaign. He’s expected to play a reserve role this season.
- The Bulls will sign a two-way player in the coming days, but the team’s regular roster is set for now, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports. Chicago announced its decision to waive Simisola Shittu, Justin Simon and Milton Doyle on Saturday.
The Bulls have waived guards Milton Doyle and Justin Simon and forward Simisola Shittu, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
These moves reduce their opening night roster to the maximum 15 players. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts and were deemed most likely to be waived.
Chicago has no plans to add a player off the waiver wire, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, which is good news for Shaquille Harrison, whose $1.62MM contract was only guaranteed for $175K. He’ll receive a full guarantee if he remains on the roster through January 10th. All of the other 14 players on the regular roster have fully guaranteed deals.
The Bulls will add another two-way player in the coming days and that player will likely be someone from outside the organization, according to Johnson (Twitter links). Adam Mokoka has the other two-way contract.
Doyle played with the Nets on a two-way contract two seasons ago and spent last season with the Spanish team Murcia. Simon and Shittu are undrafted rookies who will likely join the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.
- The Bulls officially named offseason free agent addition Tomas Satoransky their starting point guard this week, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago details. Satoransky beat our fourth-year guard Kris Dunn, who is entering a contract year. However, Dunn is staying positive as he prepares for a reserve role, Johnson writes in a separate NBC Sports Chicago story.
- Free agent swingman Iman Shumpert has spoken to a few teams, including the Bulls and Grizzlies, Charania reports.
- Charania suggests that Bulls forward Chandler Hutchison has suffered a hamstring strain in “recent days.” His wording makes it sound like it’s either a different injury than the strain Hutchison suffered in early September or a re-aggravation of that injury. The second-year Bull is expected to miss more time, league sources tell Charania.
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Luol Deng will retire from the NBA after 15 seasons, according to a press release from the Bulls. Deng signed with the team today so he could announce his retirement with the organization where he had the most success. Chicago waived Perrion Callandret to create room for the signing.
“We’re very fortunate and humbled that Luol has chosen to retire as a Chicago Bull,” said President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Reinsdorf. “He was a role model on and off the court during his nine-plus years in Chicago, and he gave everything he had to help us win. I want to thank Luol for not only what he accomplished on the court for the team, but also for the leadership he demonstrated through his philanthropic efforts.”
Deng spent 10 years with the Bulls after being selected with the seventh pick in the 2004 draft. He also spent time with the Cavaliers, Heat, Lakers and Timberwolves, averaging 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 902 career games.
He remained productive in Cleveland and Miami, but his career hit a roadblock after signing a four-year, $72MM contract with the Lakers in 2016. He played just one game during the second season of that deal and was waived during the following offseason.
Deng ended his career last season in Minnesota, averaging 7.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 22 games.