NBA G League Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Free Agents, D-League, Bennett, Oden

May 3rd, 2017 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Several under-the-radar players who will be free agents this summer are improving their bargaining position with their performance in the playoffs, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He identifies six players, starting with Golden State big man JaVale McGee, who is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through five games despite playing just 11.8 minutes per night. McGee signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Warriors for the veteran’s minimum and could be in line for a huge pay raise in July. The others that Kennedy singles out are Serge Ibaka of the Raptors, Joe Ingles of the Jazz, Nene of the Rockets, Andre Roberson of the Thunder and Deron Williams of the Cavaliers.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

The Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the D-League, have given coach Bob MacKinnon a two-year extension, tweets D-League Digest. The D-League veteran is in his first season with the Legends.
Invitations have been issued for the D-League’s Elite Mini Camp, which will be held May 8-9 in Chicago, relays Chris Reichert of FanSided. Many players have used this showcase to earn spots on summer league rosters, with alumni such as Jonathon Simmons, Hollis Thompson and DeAndre Liggins. Among the best-known names at this year’s camp will be Russ Smith, JaKarr Sampson, Ray McCallum and Cliff Alexander.
Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, who played 23 games for the Nets this season, has been replaced on his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. Taking his spot on the roster is Pero Antic, who played for the Hawks from 2013 to 2015. Bennett will remain with the club and is expected to be part of the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four.
Greg Oden, another former No. 1 pick, is hoping to be part of The Basketball Tournament this summer on ESPN, relays Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Oden’s team is called Scarlet and Gray and is made up of Ohio State alumni. “We think we’re a team that can win it,” he said. “We look at the talent we’ve had here in the last 10 years or so, and we can match up with anybody. We want the state of Ohio supporting us. We’re called Scarlet and Gray, but this team is a representation of the whole state.”

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Griffin, D-League, Pierce

May 3rd, 2017 at 7:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach/executive Doc Rivers identified the Clippers’ offseason priorities during a press conference today, relays Jill Painter Lopez of The Associated Press. “We need length,” he said. “We need more length and two-way players. Again, that’s easy to say. Little harder to do with the way our contracts are. We may continue to do what we’ve done or we may decide to change our contracts and have more flexibility.”

The Clippers’ ability to add players will be hampered by their cap status. They are about $10MM over the cap heading into the offseason, and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are both expected to exercise early termination options and become free agents. Starting guard J.J. Redick will also be a free agent, and forwards Luc Mbah a Moute [$2.3MM] and Marreese Speights [nearly $1.46MM] both have player options. Rivers expressed hope that the core of the team can be kept together, saying, “I think they deserve a chance to win.”

There’s more Clippers news out of Los Angeles:

In the same story, Rivers offered the first medical update on Griffin since his surgery Tuesday on the right big toe that knocked him out of the playoffs. “He’s doing well … The surgery went better than we thought,” Rivers said.
Griffin will be the best available free agent on the market this summer, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Ziller notes that Griffin finished third in the 2014 MVP voting and argues that there wouldn’t be speculation about his availability if not for his injury history and the Clippers’ playoff disappointments.
A D-League affiliate is “going to happen at some point,” Rivers said today (Twitter link). The Clippers are one of just a handful of NBA teams without a direct affiliate in the D-League, and Rivers said the organization is committed to adding one.
Paul Pierce exits the NBA with a wealth of iconic moments, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Sunday’s Game 7 loss to Utah was the final game for the 19-year veteran, who revealed his retirement plans before the season began.

Timberwolves Finalize Purchase Of Iowa Energy

May 3rd, 2017 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have finalized the purchase of the Iowa Energy, a D-League franchise, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Energy previously had a partnership with the Grizzlies, but we learned back in January that the Wolves would be taking over control of the Des Moines-based club going forward.

In the wake of today’s announcement, it makes sense to take stock of where things stand in regard to NBA teams and their D-League affiliates. In 2016/17, 22 NBA clubs had one-on-one relationships with D-League teams, leaving eight NBA franchises without their own affiliates. However, changes are in store for the 2017/18 season, as the Development League becomes known as the Gatorade League.

Here are the changes expected for the 2017/18 G-League season, including updates on all the teams without affiliates:

Atlanta Hawks: Will take over the Erie BayHawks, with an affiliate of their own in College Park, Georgia lined up for the 2019/20 season. Previously unaffiliated.
Denver Nuggets: No concrete plans reported.
Los Angeles Clippers: Hoping to operate new affiliate in 2017/18.
Memphis Grizzlies: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Southaven, Mississippi. Previously affiliated with the Iowa Energy.
Milwaukee Bucks: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Previously unaffiliated.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Will take over the Iowa Energy. Previously unaffiliated.
New Orleans Pelicans: No affiliation for 2017/18. Intend to own and operate a new affiliate for the 2018/19 season. Search reportedly narrowed to six cities.
Orlando Magic: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Lakeland, Florida. Previously affiliated with the Erie BayHawks.
Portland Trail Blazers: No concrete plans reported.
Washington Wizards: No concrete plans reported.

NBA D-Leaguers To Represent Team USA In Qualifiers

May 2nd, 2017 at 9:39pm CST by marksuleymanov

The 2019 Basketball World Cup will serve as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and players from the NBA’s Developmental League will comprise most of the early Team USA men’s basketball roster leading up to that tournament, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.

The American team announced a six-member committee on Tuesday to select players — mostly from the D-League — to suit up for the USA team that will fight to qualify for the 2019 Basketball World Cup. If the roster of minor leaguers can get Team USA past that round, a Gregg Popovich-led roster of NBA talent will resume the action in the actual 2019 World Cup.

“This will be an excellent opportunity for NBA D-League players to showcase their talent and experience meaningful and important international competition while representing the United States,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said in a statement.

In the past, qualifiers and international events have been held during the NBA offseason, but some of the qualifying games for the World Cup in China will take place during the NBA season, Mahoney notes. With NBA players unavailable during that time, USA Basketball will look to become one of the 32 clubs that qualifies for the World Cup, even without its A-Team.

The new system enables teams to qualify for the 32-team World Cup in China, but since some qualifiers will occur during the NBA season, NBA players will not be available. While one representative on the six-person committee is yet to be named, the other five people will consist of several NBA D-League executives (Trajan Langdon, Adam Simon, and Tony Bollier) and USA Basketball men’s national team director Sean Ford (committee chairman).

Team USA would likely enjoy homecourt advantage at several NBA D-League arenas starting this November. As the AP report describes, “nations will be drawn into four-team groups and play home-and-away games within their zone.” The first round is scheduled for late November through July 2018 whereas the second round will start in late August 2018 and carry on through late February of 2019.

Raptors’ Affiliate Wins NBA D-League Championship

April 28th, 2017 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

Thursday was a good night for the Raptors’ organization. Not only did the NBA squad pull out a Game 6 victory in Milwaukee to make it through to the second round, but Toronto’s D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, won its first NBADL championship.

The Raptors’ affiliate dropped the first game of the D-League’s best-of-three Finals to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBADL team, on Sunday. However, the club bounced back with a win on Tuesday and a resounding 122-96 victory on Thursday night to clinch the series.

While many of the contributors to the championship roster aren’t under contract with the Raptors, former first-round picks Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam played major roles in the team’s postseason run, as did undrafted rookie Fred VanVleet. The trio combined for 76 points on Tuesday, with Caboclo (31 points, 11 rebounds) and VanVleet (28 points, 14 assists) leading the way. All three players remain under team control for the Raptors through at least next season.

While D-League excellence doesn’t necessarily translate to NBA success, the development of their young players is certainly a positive sign for the Raptors, who could be at risk of losing NBA rotation pieces this summer — Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, P.J. Tucker, and Patrick Patterson will all be eligible for free agency, and re-signing them would likely take Toronto deep into luxury-tax territory.

Meanwhile, the championship win is another major step forward for Raptors 905 head coach Jerry Stackhouse, who was named the D-League’s Coach of the Year last week. Stackhouse will be looking to join the NBA’s head coaching ranks at some point, and his first-year performance for Toronto’s affiliate will look pretty good on his résumé.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Raptors’ affiliate figures to officially go down as the last D-League champion in league history. Starting next season, the NBADL will be re-branded as the NBAGL — the NBA Gatorade League.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/27/17

April 27th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League transactions from today:

The Rockets have recalled Isaiah Taylor and assigned Troy Williams to the D-League affiliate, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Today the Rio Grande Valley Vipers play in the D-League’s championship game.

NBADL Announces All-NBA D-League Teams

April 25th, 2017 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA Development League has announced its All-NBA D-League teams for the 2016/17 season, headlined by league MVP Vander Blue. While Blue didn’t play in the NBA at all this season, many of the players on the NBADL’s three All-NBA D-League squads received call-ups throughout the year, and some of them finished the season on an NBA roster.

Here are this year’s 15 All-NBA D-League players, many of whom will have a decent chance of finding their way onto an NBA roster next season:

First Team:

Vander Blue, G (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
Quinn Cook, G (Canton Charge)
Keith Benson, C (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Dakari Johnson, C (Oklahoma City Blue)
Edy Tavares, C (Raptors 905)

Second Team:

Josh Magette, G (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
Briante Weber, G (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Abdel Nader, F (Maine Red Claws)
Alex Poythress, F (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Shawn Long, F/C (Delaware 87ers)

Third Team:

Marcus Georges-Hunt, G (Maine Red Claws)
Axel Toupane, G (Raptors 905)
John Holland, G (Canton Charge)
Jalen Jones, F (Maine Red Claws)
Eric Moreland, F/C (Canton Charge)

Pelicans Narrow NBADL Affiliate Search To Six Cities

April 25th, 2017 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans intend to own and operate an NBA D-League franchise starting in 2018/19, and have received preliminary proposals from six cities in or near Louisiana, the team announced today in a press release. Representatives from those six locations will have until June 7 to submit a “complete and comprehensive proposal” for a D-League team to the Pelicans.

The six cities to express interest in housing the Pelicans’ new D-League affiliate are Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; St. Tammany Parish, LA; and Shreveport, LA.

“We are excited to the see the excitement which this process has generated among the six locations,” Pelicans owner Tom Benson said in a statement. “All of them have stepped forward with legitimate and sincere interest and are going to make a case via their proposals for why they would like to be the home of our NBA G League team in 2018-2019. The process is underway and we know that this will be a very significant addition for a city/parish near us as it will add global exposure and bring professional basketball to their town.”

The Pelicans initially announced in late March that they intend to launch a D-League affiliate to begin play for the 2018/19 season. By that time, of course, the league will have re-branded itself — it’s set to become the “G-League” later this year in honor of its partnership with Gatorade.

At the time of New Orleans’ initial announcement, the organization indicated that it would send a Request for Proposal to 11 cities, including seven in Lousiana and four in nearby states. It appears that about half of those cities responded to the Pelicans’ request, showing interest in landing a team. We should hear more in the coming months about which locations are the frontrunners to host the Pelicans’ NBADL affiliate.

With the Pelicans poised to acquire a D-League club of their own, the only NBA teams without an affiliate – or a plan in place to add one – are the Nuggets, Clippers, Trail Blazers, and Wizards.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/25/17

April 25th, 2017 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

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

In what could be the last D-League assignments of the season, Bruno Caboclo, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet have been sent to the Raptors 905 by the Raptors, the team announced today (Twitter link). Toronto’s D-League affiliate will look to extend the NBADL Finals to a third and deciding game with a win tonight, and VanVleet – who appeared briefly at the end of the Raptors’ win over Milwaukee on Monday – will Caboclo and Siakam as added reinforcements.
The Raptors 905’s opponent in the D-League Finals, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, likely won’t make any moves today — Kyle Wiltjer, Chinanu Onuaku, and Isaiah Taylor have been assigned to the Vipers for the last 10 days and will presumably remain with the Rockets‘ D-League affiliate as the club looks to clinch the NBADL title.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/24/17

April 24th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

After a Raptors 905 loss in the first game of the NBA D-League Finals on Sunday, Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam have been recalled to Toronto by the Raptors, the team announced today (Twitter link). Caboclo and Siakam figure to remain with the NBA club for tonight’s playoff game before being re-assigned to the Raptors 905 for Game 2 of the championship round on Tuesday. Since the NBADL’s series are best-of-three, Tuesday’s game could be the last of the D-League season.