NBA G League

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/27/17

Here are the G League moves from around the NBA today:

  • The Knicks assigned guard Ron Baker to their Westchester affiliate and he’s expected to play tonight against the Windy City Bulls, according to a tweet from their PR department. Baker has already appeared in two G League games this season, averaging 13.0 PPG in 36.1 MPG.
  • The Rockets recalled center Zhou Qi from the RGV Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. That’s an indication that his sore calf would have prevented him from playing with the Vipers tonight, Feigen adds. Zhou missed the Vipers’ game on Saturday and the recall will allow him to get treatment from Houston’s medical staff.
  • The Grizzlies assigned power forward Ivan Rabb to their affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies media relations department tweets. The second-rounder out of Cal has already played six G League games, averaging 19.0 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 28.6 MPG.
  • The Jazz assigned center Tony Bradley to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s Twitter feed (Twitter link). The big man out of North Carolina scored 20 points in his only previous G League appearance.
  • The Nets recalled guard Isaiah Whitehead from the Long Island Nets prior to their game against the Rockets, according to a team press release. He has played two G League games, averaging 29.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 3.5 APG in 37.3 MPG.

And-Ones: Redick, Ariza, T. Robinson, J. Young

CAA Sports has picked up a pair of big new NBA clients, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal, who reports (via Twitter) that Sixers guard J.J. Redick and Rockets forward Trevor Ariza have signed on with the agency. Redick was previously represented by Wasserman, while Ariza was a Landmark Sports client.

Both Redick and Ariza are in contract years, so they’ll be in the market for new deals next July. Redick will be 34 years old at that point and Ariza will be 33, so neither player figures to get a massive long-term deal, but they’re both terrific complementary pieces who should do well in terms of annual salary.

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

  • Former NBA big man Thomas Robinson, who is currently playing for Khimki Moscow in Russia, suffered a broken hand and will miss the next three or four months of action, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. The former No. 5 overall pick, who spent time with six NBA teams, last played for the Lakers in 2016/17.
  • Having joined the Wisconsin Herd as an affiliate player for the Bucks, James Young isn’t one of the 59 players currently on a two-way contract. However, the former first-round pick has outperformed many of those two-way players in G League action so far, putting up an impressive 27.5 PPG in six games for the Herd, with a .536 FG% and 4.2 threes per game. Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days takes a closer look at Young, who is looking to play his way back into the NBA.
  • While China is set to host the 2019 Basketball World Cup, FIBA is already close to a decision on the hosts for the 2023 event. According to a press release, the 2023 World Cup will feature multiple host countries, with Argentina/Uruguay and Indonesia/Japan/Philippines as the two finalist groups. A decision is set for December 9.
  • ESPN’s Kevin Pelton takes a deep dive to assess what kind of career Derrick Rose might have had if not for his injury problems.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/26/17

Here are the G League moves from around the NBA today:

  • The Grizzlies recalled forwards Jarell Martin and Ivan Rabb from their Memphis Hustle affiliate, the team announced on its website. Martin, who was sent down Saturday, has played 17 games for the Grizzlies and two for the Hustle. Rabb has appeared in six G League games this season and just one in the NBA.
  • The Cavaliers have recalled Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic from the Canton Charge one day after they were assigned to the G League team. Both played in Saturday’s game against Long Island, with Osman posting 21 points and eight rebounds and Zizic adding 14 points and seven boards.
  • The Hawks assigned rookie guard Tyler Dorsey to their Erie affiliate, tweets Michael Cunningham of The Journal Constitution. Dorsey has played seven games for Atlanta and is averaging 2.3 points per night.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/25/17

Here are the G League moves from around the NBA today:

  • The Cavaliers sent forward Cedi Osman and center Ante Zizic to their affiliate in Canton, the team announced on its website. This is Osman’s first trip to the G League, while Zizic has played one game for the Charge. Osman is averaging 1.5 points in 11 games with Cleveland, while Zizic is scoring 1.2 points in six games.
  • The Grizzlies assigned forward Jarell Martin to their Memphis Hustle affiliate, according to an email from the team. Martin has played 17 games for the Grizzlies, starting 12, and is averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/24/17

Here are the G League moves from around the NBA today:

  • The Rockets have assigned big man Zhou Qi to their G League affiliate, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Qi will land with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers after showcasing some of his potential with the big league club on Wednesday.
  • The Grizzlies assigned Ivan Rabb to the Memphis Hustle, the team tweeted. Rabb has averaged 21.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game for the G League affiliate this season.
  • The Nets have assigned Isaiah Whitehead to their G League affiliate in Long Island, the team announced in a press release. Whitehead has averaged 3.6 points per game with the big league club and scored 26 points in his lone G League game this season.

Hoops Rumors Glossary: G League Assignments

NBA G League teams have no shortage of ways to stock their rosters. They can add players through the G League draft, carry players on two-way contracts, acquire players via waivers, take on affiliate players from NBA training camps, and sign players they find in preseason tryout camps. Yet perhaps the most noteworthy players to pass through the G League come via NBA assignment.

The players assigned to the G League by NBA teams aren’t quite like other G Leaguers. NBA players receive their full NBA salaries while on G League assignment, whereas the G Leaguers without an NBA contract receive far more modest annual earnings that currently top out at about $26K.

Still, a G League assignment may come at a cost for an NBA player, since performance in the G League doesn’t count toward any incentive clauses built into an NBA contract. So if a player heads down to the G League on a rehab assignment and plays in a couple games for his NBA club’s G League affiliate, none of the numbers he puts up during that assignment would count toward the performance incentives built into his contract with the big club.

Of course, generally speaking, only longer-tenured veteran NBA players have incentives in their contracts, and most of those players won’t be assigned to the G League. Virtually all of the NBA players assigned to the G League have less than three full years of experience. That’s partly because NBA teams want to give their young players some extra seasoning — after all, before being re-branded as part of a sponsorship agreement with Gatorade, the G League was known as the “Development League” (D-League).

More importantly, players in their first, second or third NBA seasons are the only ones whom NBA teams can unilaterally send down to the G League. Otherwise, teams must get the consent of the players’ union as well as the player. It does happen on occasion though — fourth-year Raptors forward Bruno Caboclo has consented to multiple G League assignments so far this season, and Tony Parker has accepted G League assignments from the Spurs as well, as part of his injury rehab.

Once a player has been assigned to the G League, he can remain there indefinitely, and lengthy stints are not uncommon. However, since there’s no limit to the number of times an NBA team can assign and recall a player, assignments can also be very brief, particularly now that many teams are in close geographical proximity with their G League affiliates. In one case this season, the Grizzlies recalled Ivan Rabb from the Memphis Hustle, then assigned and recalled him again, all in the span of a few hours, in order to get him as much practice time as possible.

The Grizzlies are one of 26 NBA teams that either own their G League teams outright or operate the basketball operations of their affiliates in “hybrid” partnerships with local ownership groups. Teams that have these arrangements can set up a unified system in which the G League club runs the same offensive and defensive schemes and coaches dole out playing time based on what’s best for the parent club. That gives these NBA teams an advantage, so it’s no surprise that we’re moving toward every NBA team having a one-to-one affiliation — as recently as 2012/13, only 11 teams had such an arrangement.

Four NBA teams – the Nuggets, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Wizards – don’t have a G League affiliate of their own in 2017/18. However, those teams can still assign players to the G League via the “flexible assignment” rule. If, for instance, the Nuggets want to send Tyler Lydon to a G League team, any of the 26 teams may volunteer to accept him. Denver can choose from those clubs if there are multiple volunteers, but if no G League team raises its hand, the G League will randomly choose one of its teams to accept Lydon.

For more on the G League, check out our list of affiliations for this year and bookmark our G League news archive to track the latest updates on NBA players being assigned to or recalled from the G League. Be sure to check out our FAQ on two-way contracts as well — players on two-way deals can’t technically be assigned to and recalled from the G League, but they can be transferred back and forth between the NBA and the G League on a limited basis.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.

Versions of this post were initially published in 2012, 2013, and 2014 by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/22/17

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

11:04pm:

  • The Hawks have assigned swingman Nicolas Brussino to their Erie affiliate, the team announced in an email. He has played two games with the Hawks and four with the BayHawks this season.

2:55pm:

  • After playing key roles in the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ 138-124 win on Tuesday night, Troy Williams and Zhou Qi have been recalled to the Rockets, the team announced today (via Twitter). Williams scored a team-high 26 points for Houston’s G League affiliate last night, while Zhou had 18 points and four blocks.
  • The Lakers‘ NBA and G League teams are both in action tonight, and it appears rookie big man Thomas Bryant will suit up for L.A.’s affiliate rather than accompanying the NBA squad to Sacramento. Bryant was assigned today to the South Bay Lakers, according to a press release.
  • Rookie guard Furkan Korkmaz has been recalled to the NBA by the Sixers, the team announced today in a press release. Korkmaz had a big game for the Delaware 87ers on Tuesday, recording 27 points and eight rebounds in a loss to the Wisconsin Herd.
  • The Pistons have recalled Henry Ellenson from the G League, according to a team release. Ellenson poured in 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds for the Grand Rapids Drive on Tuesday night.

Kendall Marshall Finished With G League

Kendall Marshall, who played for four teams in four NBA seasons, has decided to retire from the G League, tweets Chris Reichert of 2 Ways and 10 Days. It’s not clear if this means Marshall is just leaving the league or if he is done with basketball completely, although 26 would be an early age to retire for someone with no recent major injuries.

The point guard was waived by the Bucks in early October and has been playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers. He appeared in three games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 assists in 14.2 minutes. Marshall has previous G League experience in Bakersfield, Delaware and Reno.

The 13th selection in the 2012 draft, Marshall was never able to find a long-term NBA home. He spent a year with the Suns before being traded just before the start of the 2013/14 season to the Wizards, who waived him three days later. He was picked up by the Lakers, then spent partial seasons with the Bucks and Sixers. The Jazz traded for Marshall and waived him on the same day in August of 2016, and he hasn’t found an NBA job since.

Marshall was part of the U.S. team that captured the gold medal at this summer’s FIBA AmeriCup tournament.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/21/17

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

3:57pm:

  • The Cavaliers have recalled rookie center Ante Zizic from the G League, the team announced today in a press release. Zizic made his debut for the Canton Charge on Monday, racking up 14 points and 16 rebounds.
  • The Rockets have sent rookie Zhou Qi to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Feigen expects Zhou to return to the NBA after the Vipers’ Tuesday night contest vs. the Memphis Hustle.

3:01pm:

  • The Sixers have assigned rookie guard Furkan Korkmaz to their G League affiliate, the club announced today in a press release. Korkmaz, who has averaged 15.0 PPG in three games with the Delaware 87ers so far this season, figures to suit up for the club on Tuesday night against the Wisconsin Herd.
  • The Pacers have recalled 2017 second-round pick Ike Anigbogu from the G League, according to a press release from the club. The rookie center started two games during his assignment, averaging 12.0 PPG and 7.5 RPG for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in those games.
  • After sending him to the G League on Monday, the Raptors have recalled rookie forward Alfonzo McKinnie, the team announced today (via Twitter). McKinnie recorded 17 points and six boards for the Raptors 905 last night.
  • The Pistons have assigned second-year big man Henry Ellenson to the G League, the team announced today in a press release. Ellenson, who has appeared in just six NBA contests this season, figures to play major minutes for the Grand Rapids Drive in Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Blue.
  • Rookies Khem Birch and Wesley Iwundu continue to yo-yo-back and forth between the NBA and the G League, having been assigned to Lakeland again today by the Magic (Twitter link).

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/20/17

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

3:25pm:

2:17pm:

  • The Knicks have recalled rookie shooting guard Damyean Dotson from the G League, according to the team (via Twitter). Dotson, assigned to the Westchester Knicks for Sunday’s game, scored 23 points in the team’s victory over the Lakeland Magic.
  • Magic rookies Khem Birch and Wesley Iwundu, who were on the other side of Sunday’s Lakeland/Westchester matchup, were recalled to the NBA today, the team announced (via Twitter). Birch and Iwundu both had double-doubles on Sunday, combining for 34 points and 23 rebounds for Orlando’s G League affiliate.
  • The Raptors have sent Bruno Caboclo and Alfonzo McKinnie to the G League, per the team (Twitter link). Both players should be active for Monday’s Raptors 905 contest vs. the Greensboro Swarm.
  • Big man Georgios Papagiannis has been recalled to the NBA by the Kings, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Papagiannis grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds for the Reno Bighorns on Sunday, chipping in 12 points in the club’s loss to the Long Island Nets.