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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/11/16

November 11th, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA, as the D-League enters the opening weekend of its regular season:

The Kings have assigned their three 2016 first-round picks to the D-League, announcing today in a press release that center Georgios Papagiannis, forward Skal Labissiere, and guard Malachi Richardson were all sent to the Reno Bighorns. The trio has combined to play just 29 total minutes for Sacramento so far, so it makes sense that the club would send them to Reno, where they should have a chance to log plenty of game action.
The Thunder have assigned former first-rounder Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue, the club confirmed today in a press release. Huestis is expected to suit up for OKC’s D-League squad for its season opener Friday night against the Maine Red Claws.

Edy Tavares To Join Raptors’ D-League Affiliate

November 11th, 2016 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Hawks big man Edy Tavares, waived by Atlanta earlier this season, is nearing an agreement to join Raptors 905, Toronto’s D-League affiliate, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (via Twitter). If and when Tavares officially signs, he’ll remain an NBA free agent, as the Raptors would only hold his D-League rights.

Players can’t sign outright with D-League teams, instead signing a D-League contract and entering the league’s player pool, where teams can claim them. As D-League Digest tweets, the Northern Arizona Suns, the club with the top waiver priority in the D-League, claimed Johnny O’Bryant today. With the move, the Raptors’ D-League squad has moved up to the top waiver spot, giving them the opportunity to land Tavares, per Chris Reichert of The Step Back (Twitter link).

The 43rd overall pick in the 2014 draft, Tavares joined the Hawks for the 2015/16 season, appearing in just 11 games and averaging 6.6 minutes per contest. The 24-year-old Cape Verde native also made 29 D-League appearances, averaging 9.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 3.3 BPG in 21.6 minutes per game. The Hawks decided to move on from him earlier this year when they needed an opening on their 15-man roster to sign Ryan Kelly.

Tavares received interest from the Spanish club FC Barcelona, according to a recent report, and likely would’ve had other opportunities overseas if he chose to pursue them. His decision to head to the D-League instead suggests he hopes to get another shot with an NBA team.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/10/16

November 10th, 2016 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

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

The Knicks have recalled guard Ron Baker and center Marshall Plumlee from Westchester, the club announced today (via Twitter). The duo participated in a D-League exhibition game on Wednesday against Brooklyn’s affiliate, with Baker scoring 26 points en route to a Knicks win.
The Celtics have assigned rookie guard Demetrius Jackson to the Maine Red Claws, the club announced today (via Twitter). Like most assignments so far this season, Jackson’s will likely be a brief one, designed to get him some extra practice time.
The Pelicans have assigned forward Cheick Diallo to the Austin Spurs via the flex assignment rule, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back.
The Nets assigned forward Chris McCullough to the Long Island Nets, the club announced via press release. McCullough has appeared in three games for Brooklyn this season, averaging 0.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game.

Hawks To Purchase, Control D-League Affiliate

November 9th, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks, along with the city of College Park, are set to make a major announcement at a Thursday afternoon press conference, the team confirmed today in a press release. According to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter), the franchise is set to announce that it will purchase and control a D-League affiliate, which will play in College Park.

Currently, 22 NBA teams are affiliated with D-League squads. The remaining eight NBA clubs, including the Hawks, can still assign players to the D-League, but they don’t have control over which team of those 22 affiliates their players are sent to, and don’t have the opportunity to closely monitor and coach those players. It is expected that all 30 teams will eventually own and operate their own D-League affiliates, though that’s probably still at least a few years away.

In addition to the Hawks, the teams without their own D-League affiliates include the Nuggets, Clippers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Wizards. Those eight clubs were unable to designate affiliate players from among their training camp invitees earlier this month.

Because the city of College Park doesn’t have an arena ready to be used immediately, the Hawks’ D-League team isn’t expected to begin play until the 2019/20 season, after a new arena is built.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/8/16

November 8th, 2016 at 10:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls:

10:35pm:

The Knicks have assigned Ron Baker and Marshall Plumlee to their D League affiliate in Westchester, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. The duo are expected to participate in the team’s scrimmage against the Nets’ affiliate on Wednesday, Begley adds.
The Thunder have recalled Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.

2:51pm:

The newest member of the Bulls, R.J. Hunter, has been assigned to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to a press release. Hunter signed with Chicago during the first week of the regular season after being cut by Boston, but has yet to appear in a game for the Bulls.
For the second time in two days, the Nets assigned Chris McCullough to the Long Island Nets to practice with the D-League squad, then recalled him later in the day, the club announced in a pair of press releases. McCullough is expected to be active for Brooklyn’s game tonight against the Timberwolves.
Josh Huestis, who recently changed agents, was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue today by the Thunder to participate in the D-League team’s practice. The Thunder issued a press release confirming the move.

And-Ones: Fizdale, Jefferson, Thompson

November 8th, 2016 at 10:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

New Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale has drawn rave reviews from a number of his former players, including Mike Miller, who says Memphis hit the jackpot by hiring the former Heat assistant this offseason, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “He’ll do a great job because he can communicate,” Miller said. “At this level it’s becoming that, it’s communicating with your players and obviously being organized. He’s going to take that same culture that was in Miami. He’s from the Pat Riley [coaching] tree, you know he’s going to be organized and prepared. For him, the biggest challenge will be coaching the personnel and not the system. That’s going to be his challenge, but I think he’ll do a phenomenal job.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Cory Jefferson, who was in training camp with the Cavaliers this year, has signed a contract to join the D-League, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest reports (via Twitter). Jefferson’s rights are currently held by the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s affiliate, Johnson adds.
Also signing a D-League contract is Mychel Thompson, whose rights are held by the Santa Cruz Warriors, Johnson relays (via Twitter). Thompson has played parts of the last three seasons with the Warriors’ affiliate. He also appeared in 14 games with Pallacanestro Varese of Italy last season before rejoining Santa Cruz.
Former Relativity Sports executives Happy Walters and Josh Swartz are launching a new venture, Catalyst Sports & Media, an agency that will focus on representing athletes who play basketball, soccer and esports, Ian Thomas and Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal report.

Southwest Notes: Stephenson, Diallo, Grizzlies

November 8th, 2016 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans have gotten some negative feedback from around the league for their decision to waive Lance Stephenson, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Stephenson was let go after suffering a serious groin injury on Saturday that is expected to sideline him for several weeks. With New Orleans already missing Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter, the team needed to open a roster spot to sign Archie Goodwin. With only $100K of his contract guaranteed, Stephenson was an obvious candidate.

The Pelicans are obligated to pay Stephenson his full salary while he is injured and have pledged to help with his recovery, but they haven’t escaped criticism for the way they handled the situation. “Remember this is a business,” Kings forward Matt Barnes posted on Instagram. “When you can no longer serve your purpose, these teams cut you, trade you or bury you on the bench. Case in point, Lance gets hurt playing and needs surgery now, so instead of supporting him and helping him get healthy, they cut him.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans plan to send rookie power forward Cheick Diallo to the D-League this week for more playing time, tweets Jennifer Hale of WVUE Fox 8 in New Orleans. Diallo has appeared in just one game so far, getting six minutes of action.
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is still deciding whether to give more minutes to Andrew Harrison or Wade Baldwin, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Harrison has been getting more playing time lately and has started two games with Tony Allen nursing a knee injury. “Wade had been struggling and I’ve got two young point guards,” Fizdale said. “Neither one has solidified that spot.”
The Mavericks are off to a slow start, but owner Mark Cuban has too much at stake financially to give up on this season, contends Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavericks draw about 20,000 fans for each home game, which Gosselin believes will only keep happening if they stay in the playoff race. Dallas picked up its first win Sunday after starting the season with five straight losses.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/7/16

November 7th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

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

10:00pm:

The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from the Long Island Nets, according to a press release issued by the team. Brooklyn sent the 21-year-old forward to the D-League earlier today, as noted below.

2:46pm:

After assigning them to the Austin Spurs on Sunday, the Spurs have recalled Bryn Forbes, Danny Green and Dejounte Murray today, the club announced in a press release. Green appears to be on the verge of returning from the quad injury that has sidelined him so far this season.
The Knicks assigned Willy Hernangomez, Maurice Ndour, and Marshall Plumlee to their D-League affiliate today, allowing the trio to practice with the Westchester Knicks, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). They’re expected to be back with New York tomorrow.
The Mavericks assigned A.J. Hammons to the Texas Legends today, then recalled him a few hours later, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter links).
Former first-round pick Bruno Caboclo was sent to the Raptors 905 by the Raptors today, according to Toronto’s D-League affiliate (via Twitter). Caboclo has yet to appear in an NBA game this season, so the Raptors have been getting him work with their D-League squad when possible.
The Nets assigned Chris McCullough to their D-League team, the Long Island Nets, the team announced today (via Twitter).

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/6/16

November 6th, 2016 at 10:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

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

The Spurs assigned Bryn Forbes, Danny Green and Dejounte Murray to their D-League affiliate in Austin, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. The moves were just for practice purposes because the D-League team was training at the Spurs’ practice site.
Pistons first-round pick Henry Ellenson, who was assigned to the D-League on Saturday, plans to use the experience to improve his game, writes Aaron McMann of MLive. Ellenson and fellow rookie Michael Gbinije were sent to the Grand Rapids Drive for a weeklong assignment while the Pistons are on a western road trip. Ellenson, who has played sparingly so far this season, welcomes the chance. “I’ve got to look at it as an opportunity to improve,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest thing. The team is doing really well right now, so they’re going to go handle business on the West Coast. I’m going to go handle my own this week — and that’s how I’m going to take it.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/5/16

November 5th, 2016 at 9:35pm CST by ChrisCrouse

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

The Knicks assigned Ron Baker, Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee to their D-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, earlier today so they could practice with the team, according to their Twitter feed. New York has since recalled all three players.
The Pistons have assigned Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije to the Grand Rapids Drive, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. Ellenson has only appeared in two games for Detroit, while Gbiniji has only seen action in one.
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue earlier today so he could participate in practice, per a team press release. The practice has commenced and the team has subsequently recalled the forward.