NBA G League Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Bennett, D. Johnson, G. Davis, Montreal

October 10th, 2018 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Former first overall pick Anthony Bennett appears set to continue his comeback attempt in the G League. According to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link), Bennett has signed an NBAGL contract for the coming season.

Bennett, who was drafted first overall by the Cavaliers in 2013, appeared in 35 G League games last season for the Northern Arizona Suns and Maine Red Claws, averaging 14.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 26.9 minutes per contest. As Johnson notes, the Red Claws still hold his G League rights, so they’ll have the option of bringing him back if they want to.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

A pair of former NBA big men are leaving their international teams, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia reports that Dakari Johnson is parting ways with Chinese team Qingdao, while Glen Davis is no longer playing for Croatian club KK Zadar (Twitter link).
In advance of the Raptors‘ preseason game in Montreal, a group of Quebec business people announced that they’ve begun the process of convincing the NBA that the city is a viable location for expansion or relocation, reports Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun (Twitter links). The group believes the league will expand eventually, and would like to at least be considered as a “Plan B,” according to Wolstat, who says the plan would be to have the team play at Montreal’s Bell Centre (Twitter links).
Veteran NBA agent Calvin Andrews, who represents players like Aaron Gordon (Magic) and Josh Okogie (Timberwolves) has left BDA Sports to form his own agency called Serving Athletes with Integrity, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal.
The NBA will play additional preseason games overseas next year, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, who tweets that the league is adding trips to Japan and Dubai/India to its preseason schedule.

Seattle Remains Unlikely To Get NBA Team In Near Future

October 5th, 2018 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA will return to Seattle on Friday night, as the Kings and Warriors play one another at KeyArena, but the league still isn’t expected to return to the city on a permanent basis anytime soon, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst details in an in-depth report.

According to Windhorst, the NBA doesn’t have expansion on its timeline and the latest arena developments in Seattle weren’t discussed at the league’s Board of Governors meeting last month. Sources tell Windhorst that some prospective NBA ownership groups have been told by league officials that expansion may not happen until at least 2025, when a new TV deal can be negotiated.

The Los Angeles-based Oak View Group, led by veteran executive Tim Leiweke, is currently in the process of redoing KeyArena — the arena will close for renovations following Friday’s game. That renovation project, which initially had a $600MM price tag, is now projected to cost $750MM, Leiweke tells ESPN. When it’s finished, the New Arena at Seattle Center – as it’s now known – is expected to be ready to house an NHL team and an NBA team, as well as premium concerts and shows.

Seattle officials are optimistic that the city’s odds of landing an NBA franchise will increase substantially once that arena project is complete, with Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan indicating that she has spoken to commissioner Adam Silver and “communicated to him that we’re interested.” However, Windhorst notes that if an NHL franchise moves into the arena first, a hypothetical NBA team would be “arriving last to the party,” which could diminish the league’s interest.

As Windhorst explains, NBA franchise in major markets are increasingly looking to control their own arenas in order to maximize their revenue. The Warriors are doing just that with the Chase Center, and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has a similar plan in in the works to move out of the Staples Center and get his own building. Based on that trend, the NBA may ultimately be more interested in a rival Seattle arena plan from investor Chris Hansen. Hansen, who has long been interested in bringing the NBA back to Seattle, still hopes to construct a privately-financed arena in the city’s SoDo district, near the MLB and NFL stadiums. That project is still in the planning stages though.

For now, Silver and the NBA are focused more on building new audiences in non-U.S. markets than they are on expanding within the United States. Windhorst reports that the league is close to announcing the launch of an NBA G League franchise in Mexico City, which is expected to begin play in 2019/20. That G League team will serve as a “trial balloon” to see how an NBA team south of the border might function, Windhorst adds.

With expansion not on the table anytime soon, relocation would be another potential path to get the NBA back to Seattle. According to Windhorst, several prospective ownership groups are keeping an eye on the Grizzlies, since lawyers believe language in their long-term lease with FedEx Forum could create a window for the team to leave Memphis in 2021. However, team owner Robert Pera bought out a pair of minority owners earlier this year and said at the time that he was “committed to Memphis as an NBA market,” so there are no indications that he’d consider selling.

Ultimately, while the NBA seems destined to return to Seattle at some point, all signs point to that return being a ways off yet.

Thunder Second-Rounder Kevin Hervey To Play In G League

October 4th, 2018 at 8:46pm CST by JD Shaw

Rookie forward Kevin Hervey has signed an NBA G League contract, tweets Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. The Thunder selected Hervey with the No. 57 pick in the draft last June, with the team set to hold his rights in the G League.

Hervey, 22, spent four seasons at the University of Texas at Arlington before declaring for the NBA Draft. At 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, he has the ability to play both the small forward and power forward positions. He averaged 20.5 points per contest in his senior season last year.

The Thunder have opted to send other draft picks to the G League in recent seasons, including Josh Huestis and Dakari Johnson.

Hervey is represented by agent Michael Tellem of CAA Sports.

Wizards Notes: Brown, Mahinmi, Meeks, Go-Go

September 15th, 2018 at 6:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookie swingman Troy Brown has multiple skills and can handle multiple positions, but he’ll have to battle for playing time at each one, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 15th player selected in this year’s draft, Brown excels at handling the ball, passing, rebounding and playing defense. The Wizards were happy with his performance in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he spent time at point guard as well as his more natural positions of shooting guard and small forward.

However, the 19-year-old won’t have an easy path toward getting minutes at any of those spots. All-stars John Wall and Bradley Beal are entrenched as the starting backcourt, and Austin Rivers was picked up in an offseason trade to provide depth. Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre will see most of the playing time at small forward, along with free agent addition Jeff Green.

Hughes suggests that Washington may see Brown as a long-term prospect and could use him at both the G League and NBA levels this season.

There’s more out of Washington:

The Wizards got to see more of backup center Ian Mahinmi last season, but not enough to justify his sizable contract, Hughes states in a separate piece. Injuries forced Mahinmi to miss 51 games in his first season after signing a four-year, $64MM deal, but he rebounded to play 77 games last year. He will remain the backup center after Washington signed Dwight Howard to replace Marcin Gortat, who was traded to the Clippers. Howard averages more minutes per game, which will limit Mahinmi’s role, as will the use of smaller lineups that could feature Markieff Morris or Green at center.
Jodie Meeks and Jason Smith will both be trying to improve after disappointing seasons, Hughes adds in another story. Meeks appeared in 77 games last year after two injury-filled seasons, but his numbers were down sharply in every category from his best years. He will start this season by serving the remaining 19 games of a 25-game suspension for a violation of the league’s drug program. Smith was healthy last year, but was only used in 33 games, and the addition of Green will continue to block his playing time. Both players will be free agents next summer.
Candace Buckner of The Washington Post chronicles today’s tryouts for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s new G League affiliate. Ninety-three players showed up in hopes of winning one or two invitations to the new team’s training camp.

And-Ones: Bazley, Garnett, Two-Way Players, Munford

September 7th, 2018 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Darius Bazley’s curious summer decisions have hurt his draft stock, according to Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. The 6’9” Bazley backed out of a commitment with Syracuse in order to play in the G League. He then announced he would simply train on his own until next year’s draft. Other than Bazley’s length and defensive effort, there are a lot of question marks about his game, Woo continues. He’s unpolished with a thin build and needs plenty of work on his offensive game, so he would be better off playing competitively for the next nine months. He now has the look of a second-round flier, Woo adds. Woo takes a closer look at several risers and droppers among 2019 draft prospects.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Kevin Garnett is filing a federal malpractice lawsuit against accountant Michael Wertheim and his firm, alleging they helped a wealth manager steal $77MM from him, according to Associated Press report. The suit claims the accountant and his firm enabled Charles Banks IV of Atlanta to defraud Garnett through businesses in which Garnett and Banks shared an interest. Banks, who was sentenced last year to four years in federal prison for defrauding retired Spurs star Tim Duncan, was not named in Garnett’s suit.
The maximum amount a two-way player can earn in training camp with an NBA team is $50K. The G League salary of a two-way player is $77,250, a mild increase from $75K last season. Those are some of the nuggets offered by Adam Johnson of 2Ways10Days in an examination of maximum earning power for players on two-way contracts during the upcoming season.
Free-agent guard Xavier Munford is mulling a move to the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Amico Hoops. The 6’4” Munford played on a two-way contract with the Bucks last season and appeared in six NBA contests. Munford, who also played 14 games with the Grizzlies during the 2015/16 season, is a restricted free agent within the NBA after receiving a qualifying offer from Milwaukee early this summer.

Atlantic Notes: Rozier, Knicks, Sixers, Kurucs

September 7th, 2018 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Terry Rozier is entering a contract year and is one of several productive point guards on a Celtics roster that also features Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, and EuroLeague star Brad Wanamaker. As such, it makes sense that his name would pop up in trade rumors, as it did last week when a report indicated he may be on the Suns’ wish list. For his part though, Rozier is unfazed by those rumors, as A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston details.

“It’s only going to get crazier every year, I feel,” Rozier said. “You just have to try and control what you can control. Try to focus on getting better every summer. Getting wiser, thinking about the game. I’m ready to get it going, ready to start the season.”

Even if he remains in Boston through the 2018/19 season, the summer of 2019 will be a big one for Rozier. With Smart locked up to a lucrative new long-term contract, and Irving a candidate for a new maximum-salary deal, the Celtics may not be able to retain Rozier if he draws serious interest from other teams in restricted free agency. Again though, the fourth-year guard isn’t focused on his long-term future for now.

“I mean, I’ll see how it goes for myself,” Rozier said, per Blakely. “I’m not really going crazy. I got a season to worry about. I’m not worried about what’s next for me individually; I’m just worrying about how special this team can be.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

During an appearance on SiriusXM Radio, Enes Kanter said he’s “love to see” Kevin Durant on his team again, adding that he’ll “try to recruit” his former Thunder teammate to the Knicks in 2019 (link via Marc Berman of The New York Post). Of course, Kanter’s recruitment of LeBron James this offseason wasn’t particularly effective, and there’s no guarantee the center will even be a Knick a year from now — Kanter hopes to remain in New York for the long term, but will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are the only long-term certainties for the Sixers, so the team’s new general manager should be a creative thinker who isn’t afraid to shake up the rest of the roster if it moves the team closer to title contention, writes David Murphy of Philly.com. The 76ers are considering both external and internal candidates as they seek a new head of basketball operations.
Nets second-round pick Rodions Kurucs said during an interview with LTV Sport Studio in Latvia that he expects to spend some time with the Long Island Nets in the G League during his rookie season, as relayed by NetsDaily. Kurucs, the 40th overall pick in the draft, signed a four-year deal with Brooklyn, so the club figures to be patient with his development.

Northwest Notes: Singler, Towns, Williams, Trail Blazers

September 1st, 2018 at 6:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder’s decision to use the stretch provision on Kyle Singler will result in a savings of about $20MM for the upcoming season, according to Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. The veteran forward was owed $4.996MM in the final season of an extension that was granted in 2015. That money that will now be paid out over the next five seasons, giving OKC a significant reduction in its 2018/19 luxury tax bill, which will drop from $93.1MM to $73.7MM.

Singler, 30, spent three and half seasons with the Thunder, but barely played last year. He dropped out of the rotation early and appeared in just 12 games, averaging 4.9 minutes per night. Oklahoma City tried to find a taker on the trade market, but had few first-round picks left to offer.

Cutting ties with Singler brings OKC down to 14 guaranteed contracts, along with two-way players Deonte Burton and Tyler Davis. The team payroll is set at $145.5MM, the highest in the league, well above the projected $101MM salary cap and the $123MM tax threshold.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

There hasn’t been any progress in extension talks between the Timberwolves and center Karl-Anthony Towns, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in a recent appearance on “The Jump.” Towns has until October 15 to reach an extension that could pay him up to $158MM over five years. Windhorst speculates that Towns might be considering a shorter agreement rather than a full five-year deal.
C.J. Williams, who signed a two-way contract with the Timberwolves in July, is putting his new team ahead of his role with USA Basketball, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. The former Clipper played for Jeff Van Gundy and the U.S. team last September, but will be in Minnesota on Monday when the national team opens training camp in its quest to qualify for the World Cup.
The Trail Blazers don’t seem to mind being among three NBA teams without direct G League affiliates, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times in his latest email notebook. Portland once had an affiliate in Idaho and isn’t convinced that it was a valuable investment, Stein adds. However, he notes that G League President Malcolm Turner said this year that he expects all 30 teams to have affiliates within 12 to 18 months, so the Blazers appear ready to give it another shot.

And-Ones: 2019 Draft, Age Minimum, Team USA

August 29th, 2018 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

After attending a handful of summer events involving top prospects, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) have updated their 2019 NBA mock draft. While Duke freshman R.J. Barrett continues to be viewed as 2019’s top pick, he’s joined in the top three this time around by a fast-rising teammate — Givony and Schmitz have Duke forward Zion Williamson at No. 3 in their latest mock.

Other new names in ESPN’s top 10 include Kentucky freshman wing Keldon Johnson and Oregon freshman center Bol Bol. Johnson excelled in the Wildcats’ exhibition games in the Bahamas, though the ESPN duo was also impressed by Johnson’s teammate PJ Washington, who “looks to be in much better shape” than he was last season. As for Bol, he had a strong showing at the Nike Basketball Academy, as Givony detailed earlier in the month.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Although the NBA’s draft eligibility rule related to a player’s minimum age won’t change within the next couple years, it seems highly likely to be altered or eliminated at some point. Tom Ziller of SBNation.com explores a few possible alternatives to the current rule.
In a step toward the elimination of the one-and-done rule, the NBA, NCAA, and NBPA reached an agreement with USA Basketball, announcing today that Team USA will expand its Men’s Junior National Team program to include additional training camps and year-round player development programming. The program will include approximately 80 top high school prospects, or about 20 per high school class. Here’s the official announcement from USA Basketball, along with more details from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Players on two-way contracts who spend the maximum allowable number of days with their NBA clubs in 2018/19 will be able to earn up to $385,612 this season, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad. That’s still well short of the NBA rookie minimum ($838,464), but greatly exceeds the standard $35K G League salary.
Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders examines some potential surprise teams for the 2018/19 season, suggesting that the Bulls, Mavericks, Pistons, Clippers, and Suns are candidates to exceed expectations.

And-Ones: G League, 2019 Cap Room, Prkacin

August 27th, 2018 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League announced its schedule for the 2018/19 season today, beginning with opening night on November 2. Like the NBA, the NBAGL has reduced its back-to-backs to an all-time low and eliminated stretches of four games in five nights entirely.

The G League also slightly tweaked its divisions for the coming season, with the Delaware Blue Coats – the Sixers‘ affiliate – shifting to the Atlantic. Delaware had previously been in the Southeast Division, but with Capital City Go-Go – the Wizards‘ new affiliate – joining the Southeast, it made sense to move the Blue Coats to the Atlantic to better reflect the actual NBA divisions.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Keith Smith of RealGM.com offers an early look at the 2019 cap projections for each NBA team, with clubs like the Nets, Bulls, Mavericks, Pacers, Clippers, and Kings expected to have the most spending power.
In a piece for Basketball Insiders, Lang Greene highlights five veteran NBA players who will be adjusting to new roles on new teams this season. There’s a pattern here, with vets like Carmelo Anthony, Dennis Schroder, and DeMarcus Cousins all being asked to play more modest roles for their new clubs than they did for their old teams.
After spending several years with a Suns squad that didn’t make the playoffs, P.J. Tucker saw his career path altered over the last two seasons when he joined the Raptors and then the Rockets, a pair of teams with title aspirations. Matt John of Basketball Insiders looks into which NBA player might be the “next” P.J. Tucker, making the move from a lottery club to a key role on a contender.
Croatian forward Roko Prkacin stood out as the top prospect at this year’s under-16 European Championships, according to Mike Schmitz of ESPN.com (Insider link). In Schmitz’s view, Prkacin – who led Croatia to the tournament title – has an “extremely high floor” and was “looking like a future lottery pick” during the competition.

Darius Bazley Won’t Play In G League After All

August 27th, 2018 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Top 2019 draft prospect Darius Bazley has opted not to play in the G League during the 2018/19 season after all, he tells Shams Charania of The Athletic. Instead of playing professionally, Bazley will take the year to train and prepare for the next stage of his career.

Bazley, a 6’9″ forward who had originally planned to play with Syracuse in 2018/19, decommitted from the college program in March and announced his intentions to spend a season in the G League before becoming draft-eligible in 2019. However, he no longer considers it necessary to play in the NBAGL after having talked it over with his “group.”

“It’s mainly me talking to [agent] Rich [Paul], he knows so much, and whenever he speaks my ears perk up,” Bazley told Charania. “When Miles [Bridges] was in Cleveland for his predraft workouts, whenever he got a chance to work out in front of NBA teams, I was working out in the gym, too. So that played a part in it, me playing well in those workouts for us to say there’s no upside in the G League. If you play well, it’s expected. If you don’t play well, you’re not NBA-ready. That’s what they’ll say. For me, working out and preparing is the best route.”

If he had signed a G League contract, Bazley would have been eligible for the league’s 2018 draft, and likely would’ve been the first overall pick, meaning he would have had little control over whether or not he landed with one of the NBAGL’s better developmental programs. The 18-year-old touched on that issue – and explained his concerns about the G League in general – when he spoke to Charania about his decision.

“The G League is the only league where winning might not be everything,” Bazley said. “Development is the most important aspect, but guys are playing for the team and at the same time trying to play for themselves. That’s not the type of guy I am. For me in those settings to just get mine, I’ve never been brought up that way. I feel basketball is a team sport and everybody is supposed to eat. In the G League, that’s not the way it is. Everyone is trying to get an opportunity to go to the NBA.”

Bazley projects as a first-round pick – and potentially a lottery selection – in next year’s NBA draft. However, his decision to pass on the G League comes after an appearance at the Nike Basketball Academy earlier this month that was described by some experts and scouts as underwhelming.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony suggested at the time that there was speculation among scouts at the event that Bazley could back out of his G League plans and take the Mitchell Robinson route — the Knicks big man, a second-round pick in June, sat out the 2017/18 season before becoming draft-eligible this spring.

Meanwhile, Bazley’s decision shows that the G League still has some work to do in order to be viewed as a genuinely appealing alternative for top prospects who are looking for other options outside of the NCAA.

“This shows the impact of the rules now that have taken away the flexibility for a five-star prospect to enter the league,” one NBA executive said to Charania. “Each team in the G League is not the same in terms of resources and development.”