NBA G League

Hawks’ NBADL Affiliate To Play In Erie For Two Years

JANUARY 31: The Hawks have officially announced in a press release that they’ll take control of a D-League team in Erie for the next two seasons before relocating to College Park for the 2019/20 campaign.

JANUARY 23: The Hawks are in the final stages of an agreement to operate the Erie BayHawks in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This development comes on the heels of a report from NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper during last week’s D-League Showcase in Ontario.

The BayHawks will serve as a placeholder for Atlanta, whose permanent D-League team in College Park, Georgia is expected to begin operations in 2019/20. The Hawks will supplant the Magic as Erie’s NBA affiliate, as Orlando has a deal in place to move its D-League affiliate to Lakeland, Florida.

The Hawks, who currently use the D-League’s flexible assignment system, haven’t been tied to any one particular NBADL team this season, assigning players to the Salt Lake City Stars, Long Island Nets, and Delaware 87ers.

With the Hawks and Timberwolves expected to gain control of current D-League teams while the Grizzlies and Magic move their operations elsewhere, the NBADL should feature at least 24 teams for the 2017/18 season.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/30/17

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

10:01 pm:

  • The Bulls have assigned Denzel Valentine to their D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to a team press release.  The rookie scored 24 points while adding eight assists and seven rebounds in his only D-League appearance this season.
  • The Clippers have assigned Diamond Stone to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website. The franchise does not have its own D-League affiliate, so it will use the league’s flex assignment rule.

2:05 pm:

  • The Pelicans have taken advantage of the flexible assignment rule by sending rookie big man Cheick Diallo to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Because New Orleans doesn’t have its own NBADL affiliate, Diallo will join the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s D-League club.
  • The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo to the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). The Raptors 905 will play in Canton tomorrow, though it’s not clear if Caboclo’s assignment will last that long, given how often he has been shuttled up and down this season.
  • Pistons youngsters Henry Ellenson, Darrun Hilliard, and Michael Gbinije have been sent to the Grand Rapids Drive, per a press release issued by the club. The trio hasn’t seen a ton of action for the NBA team this season, but has combined to average 57.2 total PPG in D-League action.

And-Ones: Players Association, Campazzo, Fredette, Neal

Several NBA players and coaches (including Steve Kerr, Stan Van Gundy, Kyle Lowry, and Luol Denghave launched criticisms of President Trump’s executive order banning entry to the U.S. of all refugees. Most recently, the NBA Players Association lent their voice to the conversation, releasing the following statement to members of the press:

“Anything that might compromise our players’ freedom as members of the global basketball community is a cause of concern for the NBPA,” relayed USA Today reporter Jeff Zillgitt. “With that in mind, we have been working diligently to gather all available information regarding the recent executive order on immigration and its potential affects on our players. We’ve also been in regular contact with the players who could be impacted, and we will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”

More from around the league:

  • Facu Campazzo, a 25-year-old star of Liga ACB, plans on transitioning to the NBA, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. A skilled point guard, Campazzo had a strong 2016 Olympics alongside Manu Ginobili, Wojnarowski notes. Campazzo initially voiced his interest in making the leap to the NBA in September of last year.
  • Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette is thriving for the Shanghai Sharks, regularly tallying 40+ point performances in the CBA. According to Les Carpenter of The Vertical, Fredette had never been to China prior to signing with the Sharks in August of last year. “Obviously, I’m from the USA and the NBA is the greatest league in the world, and if I have the opportunity to play in the NBA that’s where I would love to play,” Fredette said. “But China is a great opportunity. The fans have been great to me, more than I can imagine, especially in such a short amount of time. It’s a good league over there, and there are some changes coming, good changes for the league, and I think there’s an amazing opportunity to make a great living, to make a lot of money.”
  • Gary Neal, whose 10-day contract with Atlanta expired on Friday, has been acquired by Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back. The Texas Legends acquired Reno’s 2017 4th round draft pick in exchange for the 32-year-old veteran. Neal, who averaged 20.2 MPG in 40 games with the Wizards last season, has appeared in just two NBA games in 2016/17.

NBA D-League Recalls/Assignments: 1/29/17

Here are the D-League transactions from the day:

8:33pm:

6:58pm:

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/17

Here are the D-League transactions for Saturday:

10:10 pm:

  • The Bulls have assigned Denzel Valentine to their D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to a team press release. Valentine has seen action in 27 contests for the NBA club. He’s averaging 3.3 points in 11.9 minutes per game this season.
  • The Grizzlies have recalled Wade Baldwin from the Iowa Energy, according to the team’s website. Baldwin has appeared in 13 games for the Energy this season and he’s scoring 13.3 points per game.

11:56 am:

  • The Mavs have recalled Nicolas Brussino from their D-League affiliate, the team has announced via press release. In two separate stints with the Dallas affiliate Texas Legends, Brussino has averaged 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
  • The Jazz have recalled rookie/birthday boy Joel Bolomboy from their D-League affiliate in Salt Lake City. Bolomboy has averaged 15.8 points and 12.9 rebounds per game in 14 D-League contests.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/27/17

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

  • Three Pistons players were assigned to the D-League today, with Henry Ellenson, Darrun Hilliard, and Michael Gbinije all joining the Grand Rapids Drive, per a team release. Detroit has a fully healthy roster for the time being, meaning there aren’t enough minutes to go around for the club’s young players. The plan is for them to remain in the D-League for two games, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
  • The Knicks assigned Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee to the D-League earlier today, according to the team (Twitter link). Ndour led the Westchester Knicks with 22 points tonight, while Plumlee grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
  • Rookie forward Joel Bolomboy was sent back to the Salt Lake City Stars by the Jazz, per a team press release. Bolomboy had 17 points and 15 boards for Utah’s NBADL affiliate tonight.
  • The Mavericks assigned A.J. Hammons and Nicolas Brussino to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Both players were in the starting lineup tonight for the Texas Legends, scoring a club-high 19 points apiece.
  • After being assigned to Long Island on Thursday, Chris McCullough was recalled by the Nets today, according to a press release. McCullough saw five minutes of action in Brooklyn’s loss against Cleveland tonight.
  • Semaj Christon and Josh Huestis were also recalled to the NBA after a one-day D-League assignment, the Thunder announced in a press release. The duo contributed to the Oklahoma City Blue’s home win over Iowa on Thursday.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/26/17

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

7:49 PM

  • The Grizzlies assigned rookie forward Troy Williams to the Iowa Energy, the team posted on its website. Williams has appeared in nine games over two previous assignments with the Energy, averaging 15.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.3 APG in 21.5 minutes. He has appeared in 24 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 5.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.0 SPG in 17.4 minutes.
  • The Jazz recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars after assigning him to the D-League earlier in the day, the club announced in a press release. Although he has barely played for Utah this season, Bolomboy has been a double-double machine during his time in the D-League, averaging 15.2 PPG and 12.8 RPG in 13 games.

1:15 PM

  • The Thunder have assigned guard Semaj Christon and forward Josh Huestis to the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. Although Christon had a rotation role for Oklahoma City earlier this season, he has seen his NBA role reduced since Cameron Payne returned to the lineup.
  • The Mavericks have recalled A.J. Hammons from the D-League, according to a press release from the team. Hammons had eight points, five boards, and four blocks for the Texas Legends on Wednesday.
  • The Nets have sent Chris McCullough back to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. McCullough has spent a good chunk of the season with the Long Island Nets, averaging 19.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 25 contests for the club.

Atlantic Notes: Holmes, Celtics, Nader, Knicks

Richaun Holmes was removed from the Sixers‘ rotation last month after Nerlens Noel returned to the court, but Holmes has been back in the lineup this week and has looked good — he scored 18 points on Tuesday, then grabbed eight boards to go along with nine points on Wednesday. As John Smallwood of The Philadelphia Daily News writes, Holmes is making a case that he might be an ideal backup for Joel Embiid.

While he isn’t necessarily as talented as Noel or Jahlil Okafor, Holmes also wasn’t a top draft pick, and didn’t come with the same expectations as the Sixers’ other bigs, making him a better fit as a backup. In the view of Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers (Twitter links), Holmes’ trade value is also very much on the rise, given his extremely favorable contract. As Fischer notes, that doesn’t necessarily mean Holmes will be moved, but teams will likely inquire on the big man, who is under contract through 2018/19 on a minimum salary deal.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • In the wake of a report suggesting the Knicks have reached out to the Celtics to gauge their interest in Carmelo Anthony, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe argues that the Knicks forward isn’t the right fit for the C’s. Acquiring Anthony wouldn’t help shore up Boston’s defense, and would significantly limit the team’s flexibility to pursue free agents going forward, Himmelsbach writes.
  • The Celtics are taking a unique approach with the development of 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader, writes Chris Reichert of The Step Back. Nader appears to be the top candidate for the NBA D-League’s Rookie of the Year honors, and may get an opportunity to crack Boston’s NBA roster in 2017/18.
  • Brett Koremenos of RealGM.com takes a closer look at the Knicks in an attempt to determine why the team’s current roster has disappointed, and what steps the club should take going forward.

NBA D-League Assignment/Recalls 1/25/17

Here are Wednesday’s D-League transactions:

  • The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright to their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Coboclo has played in 16 D-League contests this season and he’s averaging 8.8 points per game. Wright has only played in one game and he scored 10 points.
  • The Clippers have recalled Diamond Stone from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website. Stone appeared in six games during his latest assignment and he scored 15.5 points and 10.8 rebound per game.
  • The Grizzlies have recalled Troy Williams from the Iowa Energy, per the team’s website. Memphis currently doesn’t have its own D-League affiliate, but that won’t be the case starting next season.
  • The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from their affiliate, the Long Island Nets, according to a team press release. McCullough has played in 25 games for Long Island and he’s averaging 19.0 points per contest.

And-Ones: D-League, BIG3, Greg Oden

A pair of former NBA players have signed D-League contracts, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back, who reports (via Twitter) that Duje Dukan and Stephane Lasme are joining the league. Dukan played a single game last season for the Kings before returning to Croatia, while Lasme last saw NBA action way back in 2007/08 for the Warriors and Heat. Lasme has spent the last several years in Europe, though he received a suspension in 2016 for a failed doping test.

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

  • The new BIG3 league, which will debut this summer, has secured coaching commitments from Rick Barry, Clyde Drexler, and Rick Mahorn, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). Previous reports have indicated that George Gervin and Gary Payton will also serve as coaches in the eight-team, three-on-three league.
  • While former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden has referred to himself in the past as the biggest bust in NBA history, he walked those comments back a little in a conversation with Dana O’Neil of Outside The Lines. “If you’re out there and you can’t do it, that makes you a bust,” Oden said. “Well, I was never really out there. I was never Greg Oden in the NBA.” Check out O’Neil’s piece for more from Oden, who hasn’t ruled out the possibility of pursuing a coaching or personnel job in the future.
  • In a piece for The Step Back, Reichert identifies several D-League players who made unexpectedly strong impressions as last week’s NBA D-League Showcase. It remains to be seen whether the players singled out by Reichert will be able to land 10-day contracts with NBA teams this season, but they could at least be in line for larger roles on their respective D-League clubs.