NBA G League Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Jovic, Washington, Hornets’ Affiliate

August 30th, 2023 at 10:07pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat forward Nikola Jovic didn’t get to play much during his rookie season in 2022/23, but he’s been making his mark at the 2023 World Cup, Ira Winderman writes in a pair of stories for The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Competing for the Serbian national team, which went 3-0 in its group and advanced to the second round, Jovic had a solid if unspectacular first game, putting up nine points (on 3-of-6 shooting), three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes against China.

On Monday against Puerto Rico, the 2022 first-round pick recorded a game-high 17 points (tied with teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic) on just nine field goal attempts. He also recorded four assists and three rebounds in 24 minutes.

Jovic followed up that strong performance with a perfect game on Wednesday against South Sudan, once again leading the contest with 25 points while shooting 9-of-9 from the field, to go along with three assists and two rebounds in 27 minutes.

Overall, the 20-year-old has averaged 17.0 PPG, 3.0 APG and 2.7 RPG with a scorching-hot .750/.667/.778 shooting line thus far. He has yet to commit a turnover in his 75 minutes on the court.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Former first-round pick Nikola Milutinov, whose draft rights are held by the Nets, praised his Serbian teammate after defeating South Sudan, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.net. “He’s playing amazing, he’s a great part of our team and has a bright future,” Milutinov said of the Heat‘s Nikola Jovic. Serbia faces Italy on Friday and the Domnican Republic on Sunday.
P.J. Washington‘s new contract with the Hornets features a declining structure, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who reports (via Twitter) that Washington will earn base salaries of $16.8MM, $15.5MM and $14.2MM over the next three years. The 25-year-old also has $500K in annual incentives, which are currently considered unlikely. Washington needs to play at least 74 games and 2,400 minutes to achieve the bonus in each season, Marks adds. Washington played a career-high 73 games for 2,380 total minutes last season.
The Hornets‘ NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, has retained head coach Jordan Surenkamp for a third season, but the Swarm have a new general manager, per a team press release. Taking over GM duties is Cole Teal, who acted as manager of basketball operations and player development last season. Cole is replacing Cam Twiss, who is now a pro scout for Charlotte.

And-Ones: Lewis, Ignite, Best Draft Assets, RSNs

August 30th, 2023 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA referee Eric Lewis has retired, the league announced today in a brief press release (Twitter link). Lewis officiated more than 1,000 regular season NBA games over the course of his career and has worked several NBA Finals contests since 2019.

Back in May, the NBA opened an investigation into a possible Twitter burner account run by Lewis. The Twitter account, which has since been deleted, responded to many posts about NBA officiating to defend Lewis and other referees. League rules prohibit referees from publicly commenting on the officiating without authorization.

According to today’s announcement, since Lewis has decided to retire, the NBA has closed its investigation into his social media activity.

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

Having previously announced the prospects that are joining the program for the 2023/24 season, the G League Ignite issued a press release revealing the veteran players who will serve as mentors. John Jenkins and Eric Mika will be returning to the team and will be joined by former NBA guards Jeremy Pargo and David Stockton, as well as guard Admon Gilder, who has played in a handful of international leagues since going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2020.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranked all 30 NBA teams based on their future draft assets, from the Thunder (No. 1) and Spurs (No. 2) to the Timberwolves (No. 29) and Suns (No. 30).
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a look at where things stand with the NBA and the Bally Sports regional sports networks after parent company Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy. The league has been informed, according to Vorkunov, that Diamond Sports Group has the capital to honor its NBA commitments for the upcoming season, though one industry source told The Athletic that it’s a “very fluid situation.”

Eastern Notes: Hayes, Pistons, Queen, Bulls, Skyhawks

August 18th, 2023 at 9:26pm CST by Rory Maher

Killian Hayes was Troy Weaver‘s first draft choice when he became general manager of the Pistons, having been selected No. 7 overall in 2020. Three years later, the guard’s future with Detroit is uncertain.

As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag, the Pistons have drafted guards Cade Cunningham (No. 1 overall in 2021) and Jaden Ivey (No. 5 overall in 2022) since Hayes was picked. This offseason, they traded up in June’s draft to acquire former Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall), and sent out a future second-round pick to land veteran guard Monte Morris from the Wizards.

Where does that leave Hayes? In Edwards’ view, the Pistons will either trade the 22-year-old before the 2023/24 season starts, or they added backcourt depth in order to “light a fire” under the young guard so he’ll have to earn his minutes.

Edwards also touches on some other topics, including who might take the backup center job between James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III. For what it’s worth, Edwards thinks Bagley is a better player right now, but acknowledges Wiseman might have more upside.

Here’s more from the East:

Trevelin Queen will be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Queen’s one-year training camp deal is non-guaranteed and worth the veteran’s minimum. If he’s waived before the season starts, he could earn a bonus of up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Osceola Magic, the team’s G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, and Orlando does have a two-way opening, as our tracker shows.
Re-signing forward Terry Taylor to a two-year, minimum-salary contract might be the final offseason move for the Bulls, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Having Taylor and Carlik Jones on non-guaranteed deals creates financial flexibility for the Bulls, who now have 15 players on standard deals and all three two-way slots filled, Johnson notes. It’s worth noting that Chicago is virtually certain to add some players on Exhibit 10 deals ahead of training camp, though those are often geared more toward filling out the G League roster.
The College Park Skyhawks — the Hawks‘ NBAGL affiliate — have announced Daniel Starkman as their new general manager and confirmed that Ryan Schmidt will be their new head coach, according to a team press release. Starkman, who has been with the Hawks organization since 2015, was previously Atlanta’s senior manager of basketball operations. Schmidt was head coach of the British Basketball League’s London Lions last season. He will also be an assistant coach with the Hawks under Quin Snyder.

Los Angeles Notes: G League Coach, Miller, Harden

August 15th, 2023 at 7:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The South Bay Lakers have promoted Dane Johnson to their head coaching position, according to a press release from the NBA G League team.

Johnson spent the last six seasons on the South Bay coaching staff, including one season as associate head coach (2022/23), four seasons as an assistant coach and one year as a coaching assistant.

“Dane has developed many coaching attributes over the last seven years with this organization,” South Bay Lakers team president Joey Buss said. “We are excited to see his growth in becoming our next head coach. He has a key understanding of our culture and goal of winning a championship while developing high-level talent for the NBA.”

The position opened up when Miles Simon departed the Lakers organization to become an assistant coach with the Suns.

We have more from the Los Angeles teams:

Jordan Miller‘s two-way contract with the Clippers is for two years, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. Miller signed a two-way deal earlier this month. Miller, a Miami (Fla.) product, was the 48th overall pick of June’s draft.
The Clippers are content to sit and watch how the James Harden–Sixers situation plays out, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. The same tradable contracts they have in a potential Harden deal aren’t going anywhere, though with training camp starting in seven weeks the Clippers will eventually reach a point where they no longer can be patient due to their “championship or bust” approach.
The Lakers will open their in-season tournament schedule with the Suns on Nov. 10, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic notes. For more info on the tournament, click here.

Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Long Island, Petrusev, Sixers

August 11th, 2023 at 7:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Jalen Brunson faced plenty of questions last summer entering his first season with the Knicks. He not only answered all of the questions, he “raised the bar” for the franchise and now he’ll face a different kind of pressure in 2023/24 as the “unquestioned leader” of the team, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post (subscriber link).

As Braziller writes, Brunson put up career highs in nearly every major statistical category last season, but teams will be more focused on slowing him down in ’23/24. As Team USA’s probable starting point guard ahead of the World Cup, Brunson hasn’t shown any signs of being impacted by enhanced external expectations — if anything, he seems to thrive under increased scrutiny, which could be a boon for the Knicks, per Braziller.

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

The Nets‘ NBA G League affiliate in Long Island recently announced a series of coaching changes. Shawn Swords, who was an assistant last season, has been promoted to associate head coach under Mfon Udofia, while Travis Voigt, Andrew Cobian and L.D. Williams were named assistant coaches.
In an interview with Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.net, Sixers big man Filip Petrusev discussed signing his first NBA contract, expectations (or lack thereof) for his rookie season, playing for the Serbian national team in the World Cup, and escaping the wildfires in Greece while he was vacationing with his girlfriend.
Appearing on NBA Today (YouTube link), ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne says the Sixers are still in a stalemate with former MVP James Harden, with no real trade talks at the moment. Shelburne also says Joel Embiid is motivated to enter 2023/24 in tip-top shape and is excited by the upside of Tyrese Maxey, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract but isn’t expected to receive an extension. It may seem like the franchise is in turmoil from the outside given Harden’s trade request, but Shelburne hears Embiid is in regular communication with the front office. While this season will undoubtedly be vital, next summer might be even more important for Embiid’s future, according to Shelburne, who notes that the reigning MVP is waiting to see what the roster looks like in ’24/25 with so few players under contract.

And-Ones: Edey, Flagg, In-Season Tournament, Bozic, Schmidt

August 11th, 2023 at 5:33pm CST by Rory Maher

Purdue star center Zach Edey tested the draft waters this past spring. However, he decided to return to school for his senior year after he was unable to convince an NBA team to give him a two-way contract with the opportunity for playing time, writes Dana O’Neil of The Athletic.

That doesn’t mean teams weren’t interested in the NCAA’s reigning National Player of the Year, but none were willing to commit to him weeks in advance of the draft — the withdrawal deadline was 11:59 pm ET on May 31, while the 2023 NBA draft didn’t take place until June 22. Edey was ranked No. 47 on ESPN’s big board at the time, so he may have been a second-round pick.

Edey tells O’Neil that with name, image and license in play, he was in no rush to make it to the NBA for financial reasons, since he’ll be compensated about the same as he would’ve been had he secured a two-way deal.

“If this was before NIL, I probably would have left,” Edey said. “That’s fair to say. But now I’m allowed to be rewarded for the season I had last year, for the season my team had last year. This is how NIL was meant to be used, I think. Not the way some schools are using it.”

Instead, the 7’4″ Canadian ultimately returned to the Boilermakers after his mother asked him what he really wanted to do.

“I kept thinking, I don’t want to look back on this and say, ‘Damn. I wish I had gone back,'” Edey said, per O’Neil. “I have the rest of my life to work. The NBA is a business. Purdue is a blessing.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Top high school prospect Cooper Flagg has reclassified from the 2025 class to 2024, which means he’ll be eligible for the 2025 NBA draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). The 16-year-old phenom is a “strong candidate” to be selected first overall in 2025, says Givony.
The schedule for the NBA’s new in-season tournament will be announced next Tuesday, August 15, the league announced on Friday (via Twitter). ESPN’s NBA Today will reveal the full schedule at 3:00 pm ET.
The Spurs‘ G League affiliate in Austin is losing its head coach, Petar Bozic, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Bozic will be heading to the British Basketball League to coach the London Lions, Woj reports. Bozic was with the Austin Spurs for six seasons — four as an assistant and two as head coach. He will be replacing Ryan Schmidt, who is expected to become the head coach of the Hawks‘ NBAGL affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, sources tell Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter).

Central Notes: Simpson, Turner, Bucks’ Christmas Game, Cavs’ Arena

August 11th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Zavier Simpson gained a spot on the Pistons’ training camp roster and the former Wolverines star is thrilled to wear a Detroit uniform, he told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.

“It’s tremendous,” Simpson said of joining the Pistons. “Being able to be back here, it’s almost like home. Being able to play for the University of Michigan and have a tremendous career, and being able also to come here in Detroit and also play. It’s phenomenal. I’m excited, I love it and obviously the new coaching staff is coming in, which is phenomenal. Blessed to be a part of it, and it’s home so just want to keep working and do the most I can with the opportunity, and leave the results to the results.”

The Pistons’ NBA G League affiliate, Motor City Cruise, recently announced it has acquired Simpson’s returning player rights through a trade with the Magic’s affiliate team.

We have more from the Central Division:

Pacers big man Myles Turner is pleased with the team’s offseason moves, particularly the free agent acquisition of Bruce Brown. “I think we definitely got better,” Turner told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “We got that championship mindset with Bruce Brown. He’s fresh off a ‘chip. He could have gone anywhere this summer and he chose to come here and build with this group. I was with (GM Chad Buchanan) last night at the Nike Skills Academy in Portland and we just talked about the opportunity we have this year and a lot of that comes to being better on defense.”
The Bucks’ streak of playing on Christmas Day will continue this upcoming season, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays via The Athletic. Milwaukee’s sixth consecutive appearance during the league’s showcase day will come against the Knicks at New York. Milwaukee is 3-2 in Christmas Day games since the streak began.
The Cavaliers’ arena, now called the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, will be getting $24.4MM in publicly funded repairs, according to Lucas Daprile of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a subscriber-only story. However, the exact source of those funds remains a mystery.

Beno Udrih To Coach Bucks’ G League Team

August 9th, 2023 at 6:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA player Beno Udrih will become head coach of the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks‘ affiliate in the G League, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Udrih spent last season as a scout with the Hawks. He has also served as a player development coach for the Pelicans and an assistant coach with the G League’s Westchester Knicks.

Udrih, 41, played 13 NBA seasons before officially announcing his retirement in 2021. He suited up for eight teams during his career and won two titles with the Spurs in his first three seasons in the league.

Udrih will be the fourth head coach in the history of the Herd, who debuted in the 2017/18 season. He replaces Chaisson Allen, who guided the team for the past two seasons.

Northwest Notes: Holmgren, Thunder, Scott, Dunn

August 7th, 2023 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thunder big man Chet Holmgren admits that spending an entire season rehabbing a foot injury was tough, as he told Sam Yip of Hoops Hype.

“Anything like that is gonna be challenging for anybody, but I feel like I’ve stayed the course really well, and I didn’t let my focus, attention to detail or confidence waver,” he said. “It was a challenging year, but I feel like I made the most out of it.”

Holmgren could battle Victor Wembanyama and the rest of the 2023 rookie class for the Rookie of the Year award, since he sat out last season. However, he’s only interested in team goals.

“My focus is on helping this team win games,” he said. “Things like Rookie of the Year, and everything else are not important, so I’m just focused on helping the team. Everything else follows the team’s success.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Despite all the assets that Thunder executive Sam Presti has hoarded in recent years, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman doubts he’ll cash a bunch of them in to land a star. Mussatto believes OKC will most likely focus on retaining Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and Holmgren on rookie scale extensions when they’re eligible, as the team did with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Timberwolves have named Ernest Scott as head coach of the Iowa Wolves, the team’s G League affiliate, according to a team press release. Nathan Bubes has been named an assistant coach for Iowa, while Michael DiBenedetto will have to dual title of assistant coach and director of operations for the G League team. Scott replaces Jeff Newton, who was previously promoted to assistant coach/quality control coach for the NBA team.
Kris Dunn could begin the season in the Jazz‘s starting lineup, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News opines. Todd views Dunn as Utah’s best point guard. However, with Talen Horton-Tucker, Collin Sexton and rookie Keyonte George also in the mix, head coach Will Hardy could go a number of different ways with that key position. Dunn signed a multi-year contract with the Jazz in March.

Western Notes: Davis, Lakers, Kessler, Garuba, Canales

August 4th, 2023 at 11:03pm CST by Rory Maher

While the Lakers are certainly well aware of Anthony Davis‘ injury history, they were impressed with how he battled through his foot issues last season and recognized that he spearheaded their defensive turnaround after the trade deadline, with the club advancing to the Western Conference Finals despite a terrible start to 2022/23.

“They understand AD and his work ethic has shown,” Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda on Friday. “He has some injuries, but it wasn’t due to him not working. It’s not like he came into camp overweight or showed any laziness. There were just fluke things. That happens in the game.”

Paul said the two sides are still determining whether Davis will have a player option in his new three-year extension, but it will not contain a team option.

Both Medina — writing for The Sporting Tribune — and Jovan Buha of The Athletic believe it’s a win-win for Davis and the Lakers, though there’s obviously some risk involved for Los Angeles. The two authors note that Davis could potentially have earned more money had he hit free agency in 2024.

Here’s more from around the West:

After a standout rookie season, Jazz center Walker Kessler, who will be representing Team USA at the upcoming World Cup, has added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. “A lot of the offseason has been about gaining weight and gaining strength,” Kessler said. “It’s been a lot of hard work. But I’m excited to try and put myself in a position to make a difference on the floor, so the work has been a lot of fun. I love the weight room. I love working on my body. I’m really excited to be a part of Team USA and extremely thankful that I get to be a part of this. I think the amount of talent and the amount of knowledge that’s going to be on the roster is amazing. I’m trying to learn as much as I can and use this experience to try and better myself in every way that I can.”
Speaking to Nacho Duke of Spanish outlet Marca, Thunder big man Usman Garuba said he hopes to spend the rest of his professional career in the NBA. “If possible, I intend to play my entire career in the NBA, and I’m going to push it to the maximum,” Garuba said, per BasketNews.com. “I do not think about another thing. Anything can happen, but I only have in mind to continue in the NBA all my professional life.” Oklahoma City acquired Garuba last month via trade.
Veteran assistant Kaleb Canales is joining the Texas Legends — the Mavericks‘ G League affiliate — as associate head coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Canales, who became the NBA’s first Mexican-American head coach in 2012, last worked for the Pacers in 2020/21. He also had stints with Portland, Dallas and New York over his lengthy coaching career, so it will be a reunion with the Mavs organization.