NBA G League

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/14/17

Here are the D-League transactions for the day:

10:32pm:

  • The Spurs recalled guard Bryn Forbes from their D-League affiliate in Austin before today’s game with the Suns.
  • The Lakers sent center Ivica Zubac to the D-Fenders following their afternoon game, giving him a chance to play for both teams in the same day, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.

2:56pm:

  • The Warriors recalled Kevon Looney and Patrick McCaw from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team has announced in a press release. Both were assigned on Friday. In a victory over Salt Lake City, Looney dropped 18 points and 20 rebounds.
  • The Rockets have assigned rookie center Chinanu Onuaku to their D-League affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Onuaku has averaged 11.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in 19 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers so far this season.
  • The Cavaliers have assigned point guard Kay Felder to the D-League, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The rookie expected to be back with the big league club as soon as Sunday.
  • After clearing waivers last week, former Hawks forward Ryan Kelly has rejoined the Maine Red Claws, tweets Chris Reichert of The Step Back. Kelly was called up by the Hawks before suiting up for Maine, but they still held his returning rights.

And-Ones: PEDs, Cavs, Hawks, D-League, Cuban

Appearing in London this week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked to respond to comments former NBA head coach George Karl made in his book about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the NBA. Although Karl put forth no proof that PED use is common in the NBA, he wrote that “it’s obvious some of our players are doping.” Silver acknowledged that the league will treat any allegations seriously, but responded to Karl’s comments with some skepticism (link via USA Today).

“I’ll just say our testing is state of the art,” Silver said. “I have no reason to believe whatsoever that we have an issue, either as the result of testing or as the result of other information that comes to the league office. … I’d say that in most sports where there are issues, even when players do not test positive, usually there is some chatter that there is something going on. Other than what George Karl wrote in his book, there is no chatter whatsoever in the league.”

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

  • The Cavaliers are sending $750K in cash to the Hawks as part of the Kyle Korver trade, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. As our Salary Cap Snapshot for the Cavs shows, the team has now sent out cash in three separate trades during the 2016/17 league year. Cleveland is eligible to send out another $750K.
  • The full details of the two-way NBA/D-League contracts introduced by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement aren’t yet known. However, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link) hears from a source that those two-way deals are expected to worth up to approximately $275K in 2017/18.
  • The National Basketball Referees Association is “aggressively asserting” that the NBA is turning a blind eye on misconduct by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to the referees’ union, the league has cowed to Cuban, allowing him to pursue a competitive advantage for his club “via threats and intimidation” and to wield “inappropriate influence” over referee employment decisions. Wojnarowski passes along several comments from the NBRA and from Cuban himself, and also provides several memos and other correspondence between the league and its referees’ union.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/13/17

Here are the D-League moves from throughout the NBA today:

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/12/17

  • The Jazz recalled guards Alec Burks and Raul Neto from the Salt Lake City Stars and assigned forward Joel Bolomboy to the same team, the team announced in a press release. The guard duo was assigned there on Wednesday to get some playing time against the Grand Rapids Drive and Neto finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. This marks the 10th assignment for Bolomboy.
  • The Knicks recalled forward Maurice Ndour and center Marshall Plumlee from their affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, the team’s PR staff tweets. That duo combined for 24 points and 20 rebounds against the Maine Red Claws after being assigned on Tuesday.
  • The Nets recalled forward Chris McCullough from their Long Island affiliate and he was available against the Pelicans on Thursday night, the team tweets. McCullough poured in 37 points in Long Island’s 138-133 overtime win over the Greensboro Swarm earlier in the day, his 22nd appearance with the D-League club.
  • The Pelicans recalled forward Cheick Diallo, who was also playing for the Long Island Nets, the team’s PR department tweets. He played two games there, averaging 12.0 points in 17.4 minutes after going there on Tuesday under the flexible assignment rule.
  • The Thunder assigned guard Semaj Christon to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a tweet. Christon has appeared in 36 games with the Thunder this season, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 assists in 15.4 minutes.
  • The Trail Blazers assigned guard Tim Quarterman to the Windy City Bulls under the flex rule, they announced in a press release. The rookie has made 12 brief appearances with the Blazers this season.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/11/17

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

10:20pm:

  • The Jazz have assigned Alec Burks and Raul Neto to their D-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website. Both players were in action for tonight’s contest against the Grand Rapids Drive.
  • The Blazers have assigned Tim Quarterman to the D-League, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. Portland does not have its own affiliate, so Quarterman will play for the Windy City Bulls on this assignment.

1:41 pm

  • The Raptors recalled rookie guard Fred VanVleet from their D-League affiliate following the team’s Tuesday night victory (Twitter link). VanVleet posted a double-double for the Raptors 905 on Tuesday, with 12 points, 11 assists, and four steals.
  • The Nets have re-assigned Chris McCullough to the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. The second-year power forward has played sparingly this season for Brooklyn, but has appeared in 21 games for the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.8 PPG and 8.4 RPG.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/10/17

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

10:40 pm: 

  • The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from their D-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, according to a team press release. The power forward played seven games with Long Island during his latest stint, averaging 18.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest.

3:17 pm

  • The Kings have sent 2016 first-round pick Malachi Richardson to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). In 11 games so far this season for the Reno Bighorns, Richardson has averaged 21.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG.
  • The Pelicans have re-assigned rookie forward Cheick Diallo to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Interestingly, after being assigned to San Antonio’s affiliate twice earlier in the season, Diallo joined the Long Island Nets this time around. New Orleans doesn’t have its own NBADL squad, so the club needs to rely on other affiliates, using the flexible assignment rule.
  • Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee have been assigned to the D-League, according to a tweet from the Knicks. Both players are expected to suit up tonight for the Westchester Knicks, New York’s NBADL affiliate.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/9/17

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

7:55pm:

  • After assigning them to the D-League earlier today to practice with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz have recalled Alec Burks, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto, the team announced in a press release. None of the three Utah players have seen much playing time recently, so the brief NBADL assignment allowed them to get some practice reps in.
  • The Spurs have recalled Dejounte Murray from the D-League, a day after he picked up 31 points and 12 boards for Austin, San Antonio’s affiliate. The club announced the transaction in a press release.

1:17pm:

  • The Jazz have assigned Alec Burks, Dante Exum, and Raul Neto to the D-League, according to a press release issued today by the team. It sounds like the trio will participate in practice with the Salt Lake City Stars, but won’t be on assignment for long. Meanwhile, Utah has also recalled Joel Bolomboy from the D-League.
  • The Raptors have assigned Delon Wright to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). That’s positive news for the 2015 first-round pick, who is recovering from a major shoulder injury. However, Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic notes (via Twitter) that Wright hasn’t yet been cleared for full practice, so he’s not close to seeing the court in Toronto yet.
  • NBADL regulars Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet will join Wright on assignment, having also been sent to the D-League by the Raptors, per the team (Twitter link).
  • The Celtics have recalled rookie guard Demetrius Jackson from the Maine Red Claws, according to the team (Twitter link). On his one-day D-League assignment, Jackson scored 26 points to help lead Boston’s affiliate to a Sunday victory over Fort Wayne.
  • The Suns have sent Derrick Jones back to the D-League, the club announced today (via Twitter). Jones, who has barely seen the floor for Phoenix, has averaged 14.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 15 NBADL games this season.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/8/17

Here are the D-League assignments and recalls from Sunday:

10:20pm:

  • The Spurs moved guard Dejounte Murray to the Austin Spurs of the D-League, the team announced on its website. The rookie guard has appeared in 19 games for San Antonio, averaging 2.3 points in 5.5 minutes.
  • The Mavs announced via press release that they have assigned center A.J. Hammons and guard-forward Nicolas Brussino to their D-League affiliate. Hammons has appeared in 17 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.5 minutes. Brussino has played in 27 games for Dallas this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.8 minutes.
  • The Nuggets recalled rookie guard Malik Beasley, Denver announced in a press release.

12:18pm:

  • The Sixers have recalled forward Richaun Holmes from their Delaware affiliate, the team announced in a press release. He had 10 points and eight rebounds in the 87ers’ win Saturday.
  • The Knicks have recalled Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee from their Westchester affiliate, the team tweeted.
  • The Bulls have recalled forward Paul Zipser from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced via press release. Zipser had played in the D-League team’s last two games, averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
  • The Celtics have assigned guard Demetrius Jackson to their affiliate in Maine, the team tweeted.
  • The Rockets have assigned forward Kyle Wiltjer to their affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, according to a tweet from the team.

Arthur Hill contributed to this report.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/7/17

Here are the D-League assignments and recalls from Saturday:

10:11pm:

  • The Bulls have recalled forward Bobby Portis from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Portis had 32 points and nine rebounds in Friday’s game.
  • The Spurs have recalled rookie guard Dejounte Murray from their affiliate in Austin, the team posted on its website. Murray is coming off a 25-point performance Friday and is averaging 16.6 points per game in 12 D-League contests. He has played 18 games for San Antonio, getting 5.6 minutes per night.
  • The Pacers have recalled Georges Niang from their Fort Wayne affiliate, according to the team’s website. He connected on five 3-pointers and scored 23 points in his last game for the Mad Ants.

2:07pm:

  • The Suns have recalled Derrick Jones Jr., according to a team-issued press release. Jones comes off of his fourth assignment to the club’s D-League affiliate this season.
  • The Lakers have assigned center Ivica Zubac to the D-League, reports Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times via a team press release. Zubac has already played 11 games for the team’s affiliate, averaging 15.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
  • The Nuggets have recalled Juan Hernangomez from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Hernangomez appeared in just one game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

11:30am:

Cavaliers Notes: Korver, Liggins, Dunleavy, Holmes

The Cavaliers plan to use Kyle Korver primarily off the bench, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland’s trade for the veteran guard was finalized today, and coach Tyronn Lue calls him one of the NBA’s best shooters off screens, along with Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. “Especially a guy who can move without the ball the way he moves coming off screens and things like that, there’s no better guy,” Lue said. “You put him on the floor with Channing [Frye], RJ [Richard Jefferson], LeBron [James] and the floor will open wide, so now you got to pick your poison when you try to help off Kyrie and LeBron.” However, Lue prefers to keep DeAndre Liggins in the starting lineup because of defense against opposing point guards.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

  • Mike Dunleavy Jr.‘s disappointing season played a huge role in the deal, Lloyd writes in the same piece. The Cavs picked up Dunleavy for virtually nothing over the summer when the Bulls were clearing cap space to sign Dwyane Wade, but he put up some of the worst numbers of his career in Cleveland. He averaged just 4.6 points in 23 games and shot 35% from 3-point range, his worst figure since 2009/10. Dunleavy dropped out of the rotation early, but Lue says it wasn’t entirely his fault. “We really didn’t run the same movement stuff for him that Chicago ran for him and he didn’t really get a chance to really fit and blend in,” the coach said. “And that was on me, on us, but that’s just how our team is constructed. And it wasn’t fair to him but he’s a great professional. … I just thought he never really got a great rhythm on our team.”
  • Jonathan Holmes, who was cut by the Cavaliers in training camp, has joined the team’s D-League affiliate in Canton, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The 24-year-old forward signed a two-month contract with Barcelona in November with an option for the rest of the season, but the team decided not to extend the deal. Pick calls him a “legit call-up candidate.”