NBA G League

Sixers Not Re-Signing Justin Harper

Justin Harper‘s 10-day contract with the Sixers expired overnight, and he won’t receive a second deal with the team at this time, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Following his stint in Philadelphia, Harper will rejoin the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders.

“It’s a great team and a great group of guys,” Harper said of the 76ers. “I was just fortunate for the opportunity to be a part of it. If it’s not for the long term, I still enjoyed my time with the team when I was here.”

Harper, the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 draft, made his NBA debut way back in 2011 for the Magic, but was out of the league for a few years following his rookie season and had only appeared in 19 total regular season games in his career before catching on with the Sixers this month. Appearing in three games for Philadelphia during his 10-day stint with the club, Harper chipped in with 4.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG.

Harper’s return to the D-Fenders will be a welcome one for the No. 1 seed in the NBADL’s Western Conference. The Lakers’ D-League affiliate is 29-13 for the season, but has lost three of four games since Harper joined the Sixers. The 27-year-old earned an NBADL All-Star nod a year ago, and has been arguably even better this season, averaging 16.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and a .401 3PT% in 37 D-League games.

As for the Sixers, they now have 15 players on their roster — they had been carrying an extra man, having received an injury exemption as a result of carrying four players with long-term injuries. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tiago Splitter, and Jerryd Bayless all remain sidelined, so the Sixers should still be able to continue taking advantage of that exemption if they so choose. Philadelphia could also open up a roster spot later this week if Shawn Long isn’t re-signed to a second 10-day contract.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls 3/12/17

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

11:58pm:

5:00pm:

  • The Raptors have assigned Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam to the Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Poeltl and Siakam are just two of the 2016 first-round picks who were sent down to the D-League this season, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors details.
  • The Mavericks have recalled Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff from the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. Dallas is about to embark on a 4-game road trip and each of the 15 players on the roster will make the journey, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
  • The Cavaliers have recalled Kay Felder from the Canton Charge, according to the team’s website. Felder has seen action in 37 games for Cleveland this year and he’s averaging 4.0 points per game

Central Notes: Bulls, Harris, Bucks, World Peace

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg will have to decide soon whether to emphasize making the playoffs or developing young talent, writes Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago. Chicago is coming off a terrible week, losing four straight games and slipping to 10th in the East. Hoiberg continues to experiment with different combinations, playing everyone but Nikola Mirotic in the first half of each game.

Last month’s five-player trade that sent Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to Oklahoma City clouded the team’s direction, Goodwill writes, with newly acquired Cameron Payne now the team’s third “point guard of the future” since Dwyane Wade signed last summer. “We’re doing everything we can to compete to win, at the same time we have some young guys we wanna get on the floor. It’s a balance,” Hoiberg said. “It’s guys, we want to get them out there and see how they play then make a decision in the second half.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Pistons have climbed back to .500, sparked by the insertion of Tobias Harris into the starting lineup, notes Aaron McMann of MLive. Harris scored 28 points Saturday against the Knicks and helped Detroit build a comfortable early lead. “He came out really aggressive,” said teammate Marcus Morris. “It was good to have him back in the starting lineup. We know what he can do. We know how well he can score the ball. So, it’s not really surprising to us.”
  • The Bucks have named Steve Brandes president of their new D-League affiliate, the team announced on its website. The Oshkosh, Wisc., franchise will begin play next season.
  • At age 37, Metta World Peace has assumed the role of a mentor with the young Lakers. But the former Ron Artest still has strong regrets about the effect he had on the Pacers almost 13 years ago, writes Mark Montieth of NBA.com. Artest was suspended for the season after charging into the crowd in Detroit on November 19, 2004, to confront a fan. That effectively killed Indiana’s title chances and led to the breakup of a promising young team. “We were supposed to win a ring together,” World Peace recalls. “Everything revolved around me, because I was unstable. That’s what I feel bad about to this day. That’s something I can never, ever forgive myself for. It’s something I have to recognize. We were on our way. [GM] Donnie [Walsh] put a helluva team together. I wanted to win a championship here. That was a big thing to me. And to Reggie [Miller]. At my most unstable point, it was the end of Reggie’s career.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls 3/11/17

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

  • The Mavericks have assigned Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff to their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. Dallas signed both players to 10-day deals earlier this week.
  • The Warriors have recalled Damian Jones from the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, per a team press release. Jones is seeing court time for Golden State tonight, as coach Steve Kerr decided to rest several of the team’s top players.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/10/17

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

  • Having signed him to a 10-day contract, the Mavericks have now recalled Manny Harris from their D-League affiliate, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Harris, assigned to the Texas Legends for one more game after signing with the Mavs on Thursday, put up 31 points last month in a loss to Northern Arizona.
  • The Pistons have sent Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije back to their D-League affiliate for the weekend, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. The Grand Rapids Drive will play games in Erie tonight and tomorrow.
  • Rookie guard Malik Beasley is headed to the Sioux Falls Skyforce on an assignment, the Nuggets announced today in a press release. Denver doesn’t have its own D-League squad yet, so this is Beasley’s fifth assignment to Miami’s affiliate.
  • The Lakers have assigned Ivica Zubac to the D-League for tonight’s game against Reno, per Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). Zubac has had a more regular role for the Lakers over the last month, and will get a chance to suit up for the D-Fenders today with the NBA club not in action until Sunday.
  • The Knicks have assigned Maurice Ndour to Westchester, the team announced today (via Twitter). The rookie forward has averaged 14.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 12 D-League games this season.
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Deyonta Davis to the Iowa Energy, the team announced in a press release. The No. 31 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Davis has been used sparingly in David Fizdale’s rotation; accumulating four DNP’s over Memphis’ last seven games. Davis has averaged 8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks over five games with the Energy in 2016/17.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/9/17

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

  • Shortly after he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks, Manny Harris was sent right back down to the D-League, the team announced in a press release. Harris figures to get a shot in Dallas at some point during his current 10-day deal, but with the Mavs not in action until tomorrow, Harris will remain with the Texas Legends for the club’s Thursday night game against Northern Arizona.
  • The Rockets have recalled Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today (Twitter link). Houston had needed to get up to 12 active players by today, necessitating the call-up of Wiltjer, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Rookie big man Georgios Papagiannis has been sent back to the D-League by the Kings, per James Ham of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link). Papagiannis is one of 16 first-round picks from 2016 who have been on D-League assignments this season, as we detailed yesterday.
  • The Pelicans have assigned rookie Cheick Diallo to the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Diallo will head to the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’ D-League squad, via the flexible assignment rule.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/8/17

Here are Wednesday’s D-League transactions:

  • The Spurs have recalled Bryn Forbes from their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. In 18 D-League games this season, Forbes is averaging 23.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest.
  • The Thunder have recalled Josh Huestis from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. The forward is averaging 13.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in the D-League this season.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/7/17

Here are the D-League transactions from today:

And-Ones: Draft, D. Smith, Ball, Sixers, Webb

It’s still a little early for NBA prospects to start formally declaring for the 2017 NBA draft, but there’s “no question” that North Carolina State freshman Dennis Smith Jr. will be among the players who enter, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), the Timberwolves had multiple people, including assistant GM Noah Croom, in attendance to watch N.C. State play Clemson at this week’s ACC tournament — Smith certainly would have been a player of interest in that game.

Here are a few more odds and ends from across the NBA:

  • Lavar Ball, the father of UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball, has made headlines by boasting about his son’s potential, and NBA executives have to take Lavar’s presence into consideration when evaluating Lonzo, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. “That is going to be another thing to look at when it comes to due diligence before the draft,” one GM told Deveney. “How does he handle his dad — is it just something he laughs about, or is it real pressure on him?”
  • Sixers cornerstones Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid won’t play again for the team this season, but will they be ready to contribute in Summer League action in July? Head coach Brett Brown believes it’s “too early to make that judgment,” though he acknowledges that it’s something the team is considering. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer has the quotes and the details.
  • James Webb III, who has been with the Delaware 87ers as an affiliate player this season after being waived by the Sixers in the fall, has fractured his right ankle and will be sidelined for the rest of the D-League season, the team announced today in a press release. A camp invitee who received a $65K guarantee from Philadelphia, Webb has averaged 13.1 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 39 NBADL games.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/6/17

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

  • The Cavaliers have recalled rookie guard Kay Felder from their D-League affiliate in Canton, the team announced today in a press release. With Deron Williams now in the mix in Cleveland, there isn’t much of a role available for Felder, who is coming off a 26-point, 10-assist performance for Canton on Sunday.
  • Rookie guard Malik Beasley has been recalled from the Sioux Falls Skyforce by the Nuggets, according to a press release issued by the team. Denver doesn’t have its own D-League squad yet, so Beasley has been playing for Miami’s affiliate. In his latest stint, he appeared in three games, averaging 16.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 2.7 APG.
  • Rookie forward Joel Bolomboy, who has been assigned and recalled 16 times this season, is back with the Jazz, the team announced today. Bolomboy posted yet another double-double for the Salt Lake City Stars on Sunday, with 17 points and 11 boards.
  • The Spurs recalled Davis Bertans and Dejounte Murray from the Austin Spurs, the team announced on its official website (link). Bertans and Murray each received over 30 minutes of court time in Austin’s match-up with the Salt Lake City Stars on Sunday.