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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/2/16

November 2nd, 2016 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s D-League assignments and/or recalls:

The Spurs have made their first D-League assignment of the season, announcing today in a press release that 2016 first-round pick Dejounte Murray will join the Austin Spurs. The D-League season hasn’t gotten underway yet, so Murray will participate in training camp with the team and perhaps see some preseason action when games begin.

Spurs Notes: Arcidiacono, Aldridge, Hardy

November 1st, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

Ryan Arcidiacono, waived by the Spurs during the team’s preseason cuts, will join San Antonio’s D-League affiliate in Austin, league sources tell Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. According to Young, the Spurs are hopeful that Patricio Garino and Livio Jean-Charles, who were both recently cut by the club, will head to the D-League as well. Both players were listed on Austin’s preseason roster, so it appears they’ll start the year with the team.

Here’s more from out of San Antonio:

Speaking to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link), LaMarcus Aldridge reiterated that he’s content with his situation in San Antonio. “The organization is happy with me and I’m happy with them,” Aldridge said. “As long as we keep a good relationship then everything is fine.”
Boris Diaw won’t play in the Jazz’s first game against San Antonio this season, but that didn’t stop Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News from examining how this summer’s change of scenery has affected the veteran French forward.
In another piece for The Express-News, Young takes a closer look at new Spurs assistant coach Will Hardy, a potential up-and-coming “gem” for the franchise.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 10/31/16

October 31st, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here are the D-League assignments and recalls for the day:

The Rockets are the first team to send a player to their D-League affiliate this season, with the team announcing (via Twitter) that Chinanu Onuaku will be joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The power forward has yet to see the court during the regular season for Houston.

Ray McCallum Joins Pistons’ D-League Affiliate

October 30th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ray McCallum, who was waived Monday by the Pistons, has signed with their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. He will join Trey Freeman, Nikola Jovanovic and Mamadou N’Diaye as affiliate players, adds Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link).

McCallum appeared to have earned a roster spot in Detroit, but was cut when the Pistons claimed veteran point guard Beno Udrih on waviers. Detroit needed depth at that position after an injury sidelined Reggie Jackson for the beginning of the season.

McCallum split last season with the Spurs and Grizzlies, averaging 3.3 points and 1.5 assists in 41 games. He joined the Pistons as a free agent in July, signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

Heat Notes: Winslow, Weber, Haslem, Wade

October 30th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Justise Winslow‘s ballhandling skills gave Miami the confidence to cut Beno Udrih and Briante Weber, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The second-year forward has been helping Goran Dragic run the offense and allowing coach Erik Spoestra to put another shooter on the floor. Winderman speculates that as Josh McRoberts becomes available, the Heat will play more often without a traditional point guard on the floor.

There’s more news from Miami:

Weber has been promised a full opportunity to display his skills in the D-League, Winderman relays in a separate piece. With the Sioux Falls team last season, Weber shared the point guard role with Tre Kelley and DeAndre Liggins, but now he will be the clear starter. “They did everything right. They made him feel like he’s still very much in their plans,” said Weber’s agent, Bill Neff said. “To me, that was the sole criteria: They made it clear they have plans. They said, ‘He’s the point guard [at Sioux Falls] and we want to see him get better offensively.’ They told him, ‘Even though we cut you, we see real value.'”
Late-season collapses like the one Friday night against Charlotte as to be expected for a team with so much roster turnover, writes Shandel Richardson of The Sun-Sentinel. Veteran forward Udonis Haslem understands the need to be patient with all his new teammates. “You have to learn from the mistakes,” he said following the game. “You can’t come back the next game and continue to make the same mistakes and have the same errors. The key is learning from those things and being able to adjust and make those corrections the next game.”
The absence of Dwyane Wade hung over Friday’s home opener, according to Ethan Skolnick of CBS Sports. Even in the pre-game introductions, where Wade’s name used to be the last one called, fans and players could feel there was something missing. After 13 years with the Heat, Wade signed with the Bulls in July.

D-League Will Hold Draft Today

October 30th, 2016 at 9:49am CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Brown, who was the last player cut by the Lakers on Monday, is expected to be the top pick in today’s D-League draft. The event will get under way via teleconference at 2 p.m. Eastern, with the Erie BayHawks, Orlando’s affiliate, holding the first selection.

Brown, a 24-year-old forward, was taken in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft by the Lakers and played in 29 games during his rookie season. He was in the starting lineup 11 times and averaged 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per night. L.A. parted ways with Brown despite a guaranteed salary of $874,636.

Big men will be a draft priority in a guard-heavy league, writes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, but the Santa Cruz Warriors may be tempted to use the second pick to bring back a former Warrior, 6’4″ shooting guard Travis Leslie. Johnson also projects center/power forward Will Davis of UC Irvine, center/power forward Chris Horton of Austin Peay and 7-foot center Jaleel Roberts of UNC Asheville to be taken early.

The draft has been reduced from eight rounds to six this year, and the number of eligible players has dropped from 290 to 182. Three expansion teams, the Long Island Nets, Greensboro Swarm and Windy City Bulls, will be joining the draft.

In his mock draft, Johnson lists Brown, Horton, Leslie, Davis and Roberts as the top five picks, followed by 6’7″ forward Shonn Miller of Connecticut, 6’7″ forward Jarelle Reischel of Eastern Kentucky, 6’9″ forward Markus Kennedy of Southern Methodist, 6’4″ guard Keith Hornsby of LSU and 6’3″ guard DaVonte Lacy of Washington State.

And-Ones: Prigioni, Teague, Evans, Hummel

October 29th, 2016 at 10:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pablo Prigioni, who was waived by Houston on Monday, is drawing interest from a team in Spain, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The 39-year-old point guard has an offer from Barcelona that he is reportedly considering. Prigioni played for the Knicks, Clippers and Rockets in four NBA seasons.

There’s more NBA-related news tonight:

Former NBA guard Marquis Teague has been released by his Israeli team, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The younger brother of Pacers guard Jeff Teague, Marquis Teague played 88 games for the Bulls and Nets but has been out of the league for the past two seasons.
Ex-NBA players Jeremy Evans and Robbie Hummel have signed with Khimki Moscow, Pick reports (Twitter link). Evans, who was waived by the Pacers last week, had a guaranteed $1,227,286 contract. Hummel had a $150K guarantee from the Nuggets, who released him last week.
Three recently waived players were part of a D-League trade today, reports Chris Reichert of The Step Back (Twitter link). The Northern Arizona Suns dealt Xavier Munford, Cory Jefferson and Alec Brown to the Greensboro Swarm in exchange for three draft picks. Munford, a 24-year-old shooting guard, was released by the Clippers, Jefferson was cut by the Cavaliers and Brown was waived by the Suns.

D-League Notes: Brown, Magette, Patterson

October 27th, 2016 at 7:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Anthony Brown has signed a D-League contract and will be eligible for its draft on Sunday, a league source told the D-League Digest (Twitter link). Brown was the final training-camp cut by the Lakers. Los Angeles ate his guaranteed $874,636 contract, opting to keep two more experienced forwards on the bubble, Thomas Robinson and Metta World Peace. Brown, 24, was selected 34th overall in the 2015 draft by the Lakers, and appeared in 29 games during his rookie season, including 11 starts. The Stanford product averaged 4.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 20.7 minutes but shot just 31.0% from the field.

In other D-League developments:

Point guard Josh Magette has signed an NBADL contract, the D-League Digest tweets. Magette was a late training-camp cut by the Hawks. The Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the D-Fenders, owns his rights. Magette, 26, made three preseason appearances for Atlanta, spanning 17 minutes. He averaged 11.5 points and 9.1 assists in 45 games last season for the D-Fenders, with whom he has played the past two seasons.
Shooting guard Lamar Patterson has signed a D-League contract and will be an affiliate player for the Kings’ Reno Bighorns, according to another tweet from the D-League Digest. Patterson appeared in four preseason games for the Kings, averaging 5.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, before he was waived. He spent much of the 2015/16 season playing in the D-League and the Hawks waived him in July.
Yogi Ferrell plans to open the season with the D-League’s Long Island Nets, according to Jeff Rabjohns of Scout.com. The former Indiana University standout was Brooklyn’s final training-camp cut. He appeared in three exhibition games, logging 28 minutes.
Forward C.J. Leslie has signed a contract with the Raptors’ D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets.

Southeast Notes: Batum, Magic, Schroder, Heat

October 27th, 2016 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Nicolas Batum drew interest this summer from several potential suitors, such as Dallas and New York, but he never seriously considered any team besides the Hornets, as Shams Charania of The Vertical details. “There were options with other teams and different scenarios,” Batum said. “But I tried to look at what suited me best, and look at this franchise long term. Having Kemba [Walker] under contract, having [Michael Kidd-Gilchrist] under contract, having Frank [Kaminsky] under contract, having Coach [Steve] Clifford under contract, we have the same core.”

Here’s more from out of the Southeast division:

The Magic expect to choose the location for their new D-League affiliate within the next month or so, CEO Alex Martins tells Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando hopes to have a D-League affiliate ready to begin play in 2017/18, and the team has narrowed the potential location down to two Florida-based candidates: Kissimmee (Silver Spurs Arena) and Lakeland (Lakeland Center).
Bobby Marks of The Vertical has the details on Dennis Schroder‘s new deal with the Hawks, who will carry a $15.5MM annual cap hit for the point guard for four years, from 2017/18 through 2020/21. According to Marks (via Twitter), the extension features $2MM per year in unlikely incentives, so the total value could max out at $70MM.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel isn’t sure there’s room in the Heat‘s rotation for Derrick Williams, who joined the team on a one-year, $4.6MM deal in July.
The Hornets‘ first game of the season showed that new center Roy Hibbert, who signed a one-year deal with the team this summer, can impact games in a way that no Charlotte player could last season, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

Briante Weber Headed To The D-League

October 26th, 2016 at 6:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Point guard Briante Weber, who was waived by the Heat on Saturday, will join the team’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, according to D-League Digest (Twitter link).

Miami was reportedly intrigued with Weber’s performance during the preseason and believed he needed to go somewhere he could get regular playing time. The Heat gave him a $328K guarantee and were hoping to keep him close to the organization. Weber is still working his way back from a severe injury in January that saw him tear the ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee.

A defensive specialist, the 23-year old had 19 steals in 149 preseason minutes. However, he committed 20 turnovers and shot just 9 for 30 from the field, making 1 of 7 shots from 3-point range.