Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Rockets Rumors

NBA G League Announces 2018/19 All-NBAGL Teams

April 3rd, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season on Monday, Raptors 905 big man Chris Boucher – now a member of the Toronto Raptors – headlines the All-NBA G League first team, as the league announced today in a press release.

Boucher was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by teammate Jordan Loyd, as well as Capital City Go-Go guard Jordan McRae, Long Island Nets big man Alan Williams, and Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario center Angel Delgado. All four players are currently on two-way contracts with NBA teams.

That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams, as most of the 15 players named to the three squads aren’t currently NBA free agents, having signed two-way or NBA contracts.

The complete list of the 2018/19 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on a 15-man NBA roster are marked with an asterisk (*), while players on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).

All-NBAGL First Team:

  • Chris Boucher (Raptors 905) *
  • Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
  • Jordan Loyd (Raptors 905) ^
  • Jordan McRae (Capital City Go-Go) ^
  • Alan Williams (Long Island Nets) ^

All-NBAGL Second Team:

All-NBAGL Third Team:

NBAGL All-Rookie Team:

  • Chris Chiozza (Capital City Go-Go) *
    • Note: Chiozza wasn’t on an NBA contract for most of the season, but was recently called up by the Rockets.
  • Angel Delgado (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario) ^
  • Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
  • Theo Pinson (Long Islands Nets) ^
  • Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^

NBAGL All-Defensive Team:

The All-Defensive team is the only squad that features players who are currently NBA free agents — Brimah and Pelle haven’t been on an NBA roster this season, while Payton only briefly spent time with an NBA team, signing a 10-day contract with the Wizards in January.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Expected To Keep Scott Brooks As Coach

April 3rd, 2019 at 9:11am CST by Arthur Hill

The shakeup in Washington won’t include head coach Scott Brooks, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. The Wizards fired GM Ernie Grunfeld yesterday as the first step in what could be a massive housecleaning, but multiple sources tell Aldridge that Brooks’ job remains safe.

Brooks has a 124-118 record since taking over in Washington in 2016. He still has two years left on his five-year, $35MM contract, so there’s a financial incentive for the franchise to keep him around. This will be the first time the Wizards will miss the playoffs under his guidance.

“I’ve spent one-on-one time with Scott just to tell him I expect us to do, work hard and play hard and continue to give the fans their money’s worth,” owner Ted Leonsis said Tuesday.

There’s more today on the shakeup in Washington:

  • Nuggets executive Tim Connelly is believed to be the top candidate to replace Grunfeld, but the Wizards will strongly consider promoting VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard, confirms Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington. Leonsis told reporters that Sheppard, who has been with the organization for 16 years, will get a shot at the GM post. “I’ve told Tommy it’s not lip service, you’re highly regarded and there’s other teams that want to talk to Tommy and when the time comes, we will interview for the top job,” Leonsis said. Sheppard is also reportedly being considered for the Pelicans’ open GM spot.
  • League sources tell Standig that others names to watch in the GM search are Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren and Pelicans interim GM Danny Ferry. Other possibilities include former Cavaliers GM David Griffin and Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon.
  • Figuring out what to do with the backcourt will be the greatest challenge for the new GM, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. John Wall may miss all of next season with a ruptured Achilles while making $37.8MM in the first year of his supermax contract, while Bradley Beal will be eligible for a supermax of his own this summer if he makes an All-NBA team. If the Wizards decide to rebuild, Beal could find himself on the trade market.
  • Grunfeld’s most significant mistake was targeting Kevin Durant in free agency in 2016 and not having a backup plan ready when he signed with the Warriors, Aldridge contends in the Athletic piece. Grunfeld spent two years clearing cap space to make a run at Durant, who never gave the team serious consideration. That meant parting with solid players such as Nene and Trevor Ariza. Grunfeld tried to sign Al Horford after not getting a meeting with Durant, but then gave $64MM to Ian Mahinmi and $26MM to Andrew Nicholson.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

April 2nd, 2019 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Kings and Knicks filled the final open spot on their respective rosters, signing a 15th man to a rest-of-season contract. With the NBA’s 2018/19 regular season set to come to an end next Wednesday, we can expect to see more teams making that kind of transaction in the next week.

While teams often leave a roster spot or two open during the season to maintain flexibility or to help reduce their projected tax bill, most of those clubs won’t leave any openings at season’s end. After all, the one-day cap hit for a minimum-salary player signed on the last day of the season maxes out at $8,548.

For playoff-bound clubs, that’s a small price to pay to add one more depth piece who might be needed for a game or two in the postseason. For lottery-bound teams, it’s a worthwhile investment to fill that 15th roster spot with a developmental player who could be an option for the 2019/20 roster.

With that in mind, here are the teams that still have at least one 15-man roster spot available:

Teams with two open roster spots:

  • Miami Heat

Teams with one open roster spot:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Houston Rockets
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Washington Wizards

Teams with a full 15-man roster who have one player on a 10-day contract:

Retweet 7 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/1/19

April 1st, 2019 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Rockets assigned big man Isaiah Hartenstein to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Hartenstein will play in the G League conference finals game against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Tuesday. Hartenstein is averaging 19.5 PPG, 14.7 RPG and 3.8 APG in 26 G League appearances this season.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/30/19

March 30th, 2019 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Rockets recalled forward Gary Clark and center Isaiah Hartenstein from Rio Grande Valley after Friday’s G League playoff victory, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. They will likely rejoin the Vipers Tuesday for the start of the conference finals.
  • The Grizzlies recalled rookie guard Jevon Carter from the Memphis Hustle, according to a tweet from the team. Memphis lost its playoff game last night, so Carter’s G League season is over.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/29/19

March 29th, 2019 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Rockets assigned forward Gary Clark to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Clark will play for the Vipers in the Western Conference playoffs on Friday. Clark has appeared in seven G League games this season, averaging 12.0 PPG and 6.9 RPG. The rookie big man has appeared in 47 games with Houston this season, including two starts.
  • The Grizzlies assigned rookie guard Jevon Carter to the Memphis Hustle, the team’s PR department tweets. Carter will play against the Vipers in the Western Conference playoffs. He’s averaging 18.4 PPG, 6.5 APG and 2.7 SPG in 22 G League games.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Pelicans To Interview Harris, Langdon, Rosas For GM Job

March 29th, 2019 at 5:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have been granted permission to interview several front office candidates for their GM job, including Warriors assistant GM Larry Harris, Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon and the Rockets’ VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. More candidates are expected to be interviewed, Wojnarowski adds.

New Orleans’ GM position opened up when it parted ways with Dell Demps shortly after the February deadline. Danny Ferry has been serving as the interim GM.

Harris interviewed for the Sixers’ GM job last summer, which went to Elton Brand. Rosas was a finalist for the same job. Rosas also withdrew his name from the pool of candidates for the Pistons’ GM job last summer. Detroit eventually chose to hire Ed Stefanski as a senior adviser. Additionally, Rosas was seriously considered by the Hornets for the same position a year ago.

Langdon was a prime candidate for a Pistons front office position last summer.

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

And-Ones: Nurkic, Bonuses, Draft, Poirier

March 29th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Jusuf Nurkic‘s season came to an early end this week when he suffered a horrific leg injury that figures to sideline him for much of the 2019/20 campaign as well. While it was a devastating blow for Nurkic and the Trail Blazers, the veteran center might get a bit of good news before the regular season.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN.com details in an Insider-only story, Nurkic will earn a $1.25MM bonus if Portland records at least 50 wins this season. The Trail Blazers’ record currently sits at 47-27, giving the team eight more games to win three more games, which seems like a reasonable bet. If Nurkic does earn that bonus, the Blazers’ projected tax bill will increase by more than $2MM and the big man’s cap hits in future seasons would rise, Marks notes.

Marks has the details on several other potential incentives within his article, noting that Clint Capela (Rockets) and Kyle Lowry (Raptors) will earn bonuses of $1MM and $500K respectively if their teams reach the conference finals. Lowry, who must appear in five of Toronto’s last six games to achieve his bonus, also gets a $500K incentive if the Raptors reach the NBA Finals and another $500K if they win the title.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…

  • Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson are two of the most successful players in NBA history, but they’ve yet to achieve much success as executives for the Hornets and Lakers respectively. Shaun Powell of NBA.com takes a look at how the two NBA legends are trying to turn their teams into winners.
  • The NCAA has made some changes to its rules for early entrants this year, as underclassmen are now permitted to hire agents while they test the draft waters and retain their NCAA eligibility. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) breaks down the new rules, with multiple agents weighing in on the pros and cons of the changes for young prospects.
  • French big man Vincent Poirier, who plays for Baskonia in Spain, said in an interview with RMC Sports that there are NBA clubs with interest in him, as Orazio Cauchi of Sportando relays. It’s not clear which teams those are, or whether they’ll attempt to bring him stateside once his contract with Baskonia expires.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/27/19

March 27th, 2019 at 7:29pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Thunder have recalled Deonte Burton from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. Burton accumulated 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one block during Monday’s G League playoff game against the Salt Lake City Stars.
  • The Rockets have assigned Isaiah Hartenstein to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The Vipers are in the G League Western Conference Finals.
  • The Knicks have assigned Luke Kornet to the Westchester Knicks, per the team’s Twitter feed. The big man will be available for the G League squad’s playoff game tonight.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Holiday, Pelicans, Rockets

March 27th, 2019 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2018/19 season, Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will still receive a $255K bonus for appearing in at least 66 games and averaging at least 7.3 assists per contest, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes. Holiday averaged 7.7 APG in 67 games, and also achieved three separate bonuses for his games played, total minutes, and rebounds per game.

As a result of flipping some unlikely to bonuses to likely for 2019/20, Holiday will see his cap hit for next season increase to $26,231,111, according to Marks, who adds that the number could increase by another $100K if the standout guard is named to one of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • While the Pelicans are no longer vying for a postseason spot, the final couple weeks of the season could go a long way toward determining which players fit into the club’s plans beyond this season, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate.
  • Elfrid Payton is one Pelicans players whose future remains uncertain. William Guillory of The Athletic takes a closer look at what the future may hold for Payton, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
  • The Rockets‘ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recently claimed Daniel Hamilton off waivers, tweets Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. Hamilton will be eligible to participate in the postseason for the Vipers, who finished atop the NBAGL’s Western Conference.
  • With the regular season winding down, the Rockets are aiming to trim their rotation to nine players in preparation for the playoffs. However, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle details, the club is still figuring out who those nine players will be.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts