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NBA G League To Hold International Draft

May 9th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Overseas NBA draft prospects will have another option to develop their skills. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reports that the NBA G League will start holding international drafts, beginning this summer.

The inaugural one-round virtual draft will be held on June 28. Overseas prospects between the ages of 18-21 can enter the G League for player development, rather than joining a college team or playing for another professional organization next season. Eligible players will not have previously entered an NBA draft.

The order for the G League’s international draft will be determined during a random drawing on June 19. Players selected will have until July 7 to opt out of joining their NBAGL affiliate for next season. Prospects will not be required to enter the subsequent NBA draft but teams will hold G League rights on those players for two seasons.

It should be a win-win situation for all parties, as NBA teams will get an up-close look at these players in the G League.

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Pacers’ G League Affiliate Moving To Noblesville

May 8th, 2023 at 3:23pm CST by Rory Maher

Indiana’s NBA G League affiliate in Fort Wayne is being relocated to Noblesville, the Pacers announced in a press release. The city of Noblesville plans to build a new 3,400 seat arena at Finch Creek Park to accommodate the move.

For the 2023/24 season, the Mad Ants will keep their name but will be moving from Fort Wayne and playing in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Pacers’ home arena. According to the release, the Mad Ants’ name will be retired and a new mascot and team name will announced prior to ’24/25. The Noblesville arena is anticipated to open during the 2024/25 season.

“The G League is world-class basketball, and PS&E is proud to bring that to Noblesville as we strengthen our basketball operations and enhance player development in one of the state’s most vibrant and growing communities,” CEO Rick Fuson said. “We are excited about the way this partnership fits into the bold vision for economic development Mayor Jensen has laid out, and we can’t wait to continue growing our NBA and G League fan base right here in Hamilton County.”

It will be a 10-year partnership between PS&E and Noblesville. According to Google Maps, Gainbridge Fieldhouse is about 24 miles from Finch Creek, versus 129 miles to the arena in Fort Wayne.

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Northwest Notes: Jazz Draft, THT, Iowa Wolves, Connelly

May 5th, 2023 at 11:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Armed with three first-round picks in 2023, CEO Danny Ainge says the the Jazz will have at least 10 members of the organization present at the NBA draft combine in a couple weeks, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.

“Some. Yeah,” Ainge said when asked how much stock the team puts into the combine. “We’ll have 10 of us or more there anyway. We’ll spend a lot more time watching [the prospects] there collectively, with groups, and evaluating them. And we’ll have a lot of time at the combine and in draft workouts to get to know them up close and personal.”

The Jazz control their own first-rounder, currently projected to be No. 9 overall, though that draft slot could change when the lottery is conducted on May 16. They also control the Wolves’ (No. 16) and Sixers’ (No. 28) first-round picks from trades last summer. According to Walden, the team plans to bring in a horde of prospects to Utah for workouts, but it won’t be publicly disclosing those players “for competitive reasons.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

  • Talen Horton-Tucker is a difficult player to evaluate and that was certainly true of his performance with the Jazz during the 2022/23 season, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Todd says she would be surprised if Horton-Tucker declines his $11MM player option for ’23/24 due to his inconsistency, but notes that he’s still only 22 years old despite the fact that he’s already played four seasons. Horton-Tucker will be extension-eligible if he picks up his option, but Todd thinks the Jazz should take a wait-and-see approach with the young guard next season.
  • The Timberwolves‘ G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, received a couple of NBAGL awards, per a press release. The franchise received the President’s Choice Award for demonstrating “excellence in business performance across key areas of focus.” The team set a franchise record for attendance in ’22/23. Iowa Wolves president Ryan Grant was also named G League Executive of the Year, as voted by his peers.
  • Tim Connelly is a Baltimore native and got his start with the Wizards, which is why speculation about him possibly re-joining the organization won’t go away. Still, Minnesota’s president of basketball operations plans to remain with the Timberwolves next season, he said in a radio interview with Chad Hartman of WCCO. “That’s certainly the plan,” Connelly said, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “That’s why we came here, moved here. We had a lot of unfinished business. It’s been a really fun year, on and off the court, and we’re fully committed to being a Timberwolf.”
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50 Prospects Reportedly Invited To G League Elite Camp

May 5th, 2023 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 50 prospects for the 2023 NBA draft have been invited to the NBA’s G League Elite Camp, according to reports from Adam Zagoria of Forbes and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter links).

Those players are as follows:

The name of the G League Elite Camp is a bit of a misnomer — when first introduced, the event showcased NBAGL players, but the field of participants now consists exclusively of draft prospects. The event will take place on May 13 and 14 in Chicago, ahead of this year’s draft combine.

Like the combine, the Elite Camp brings young players to Chicago to meet NBA teams and participate in drills and scrimmages. While the combine focuses on the top prospects in a given draft class, the Elite Camp generally features prospects who are trying to break into that upper echelon of prospects but are more likely to go undrafted. The top performers at the event typically receive invites to the combine.

Of the 50 G League Elite Camp invitees, 15 show up on Jonathan Givony’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects at ESPN.com. However, no Elite Camp invitee ranks higher than No. 58 (Hart) on ESPN’s board.

The G League Elite Camp will give the invitees who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 31. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Some NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Clippers guard Terance Mann, and Heat wing Max Strus.

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And-Ones: Grant, Abu Dhabi, Regular Season, Adaway

May 2nd, 2023 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran point guard Jerian Grant, who appeared in 279 NBA games from 2016-20, has been named the MVP of the 2022/23 EuroCup, the league announced in a press release. Like the EuroLeague, the EuroCup brings together several of the top teams from various leagues in Europe. Grant’s current club, Turk Telekom, is among the competitors.

In 18 regular season EuroCup games, Grant averaged 14.6 points per game on 57.1% shooting and also contributed 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest. He helped lead Turk Telekom to a 13-5 record and a deep playoff run — the Turkish team will square off against Gran Canaria in Wednesday’s EuroCup final.

Grant, the older brother of Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, was the 19th overall pick in the 2015 draft and played for the Knicks, Bulls, Magic, and Wizards during five NBA seasons. He put up modest averages of 6.1 PPG and 2.9 APG during his time in the NBA, but perhaps his strong showing overseas will earn him another shot stateside.

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

  • The NBA has confirmed in a press release that the Mavericks and Timberwolves will take part in a pair of preseason games at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi this fall. The contests will be played on October 5 and 7.
  • It has already been an unusual postseason in 2023, which has become the first year in which a No. 7 seed (the Lakers) and No. 8 seed (the Heat) both advanced to the second round. Additionally, a No. 6 team (the Warriors) won a series for just the second time since 2016. Given the strength of the lower-seeded clubs in this year’s playoffs, John Hollinger of The Athletic explores the apparent decline in the regular season’s meaningfulness, considering why it’s happening and whether it will continue.
  • Former St. Bonaventure guard Jalen Adaway, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio last summer and played for the Austin Spurs in 2022/23, has been dismissed and disqualified from the NBA G League for a violation of the league’s anti-drug program, per a press release. He’ll be eligible to apply for reinstatement in one year.
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Trail Blazers To Add G League Team

April 26th, 2023 at 10:39am CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers will start operating a G League affiliate next season, the team announced in a press release. The new team will play home games at the University of Portland and will practice at the Blazers’ facility.

The team name and other information such as the front office and coaching staff will be revealed at a later date, the Blazers added.

“I’m excited to welcome Jody Allen and the Trail Blazers ownership group to the NBA G League family,” said G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim. “The NBA G League continues to grow to meet the developmental demands of NBA teams, and today’s announcement is further proof of the value the league provides to the NBA every day. I can’t wait to watch the team tip off at the Chiles Center next season.”

The release states that the G League will grow to a record 31 teams, so the new affiliate will be an expansion franchise.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski notes that it usually takes 18 to 24 months to launch a G League franchise, but the Blazers are determined to have a team in place when the 2023/24 season begins this fall. Allen wants the organization to place a priority on player development, with Portland holding two first-round picks and a second-rounder in this year’s draft.

Wojnarowski adds that having their own affiliate will streamline the process when the Blazers send players to the G League. Currently, their players end up with teams run by rival organizations, such as the Kings and Clippers.

The move will leave the Suns, who sold their G League affiliate to the Pistons in 2020, as the only NBA team without a minor league operation. New owner Mat Ishbia is working to change that and hopes to add a G League team soon, sources tell Wojnarowski.

If Phoenix were to establish an expansion NBAGL affiliate, the league would have 32 teams — 30 affiliated with NBA franchises, plus the G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes.

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And-Ones: Pate, Ignite, Awards, Combine, Players’ MVP Pick

April 18th, 2023 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

Dink Pate, a 6’8″ point guard and a five-star recruit, has signed with the G League Ignite, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Having just turned 17 in March, Pate will be the youngest known professional basketball player in U.S. history, according to Givony, who notes that the youngster won’t be draft-eligible until 2025. That means he’s committing to spending two seasons with the Ignite, like Scoot Henderson did from 2021-23.

According to Pate, he considered the possibility of committing to a college program and was leaning toward Alabama over Arkansas, but believes he’ll have a better opportunity to continue developing his game with the Ignite.

After graduating high school a year early, Pate intends to move to Las Vegas later this month and begin training at the Ignite’s practice facility with new teammates Matas Buzelis and London Johnson, per Givony. Buzelis is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, while Johnson currently projects to be a first-rounder.

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

  • After naming Jaren Jackson Jr. the Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, the NBA will announce another major postseason award winner for each of the next three evenings (Twitter link). Newly added award Clutch Player of the Year is due up on Tuesday, followed by Coach of the Year on Wednesday and Sixth Man of the Year on Thursday.
  • According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links), the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it mandatory for prospects who receive an invite to the draft combine to attend and do what’s required of them there (that will likely include medical testing but not scrimmages). A player who declines a combine invite without an excused absence won’t be draft-eligible until the following year, says Pincus.
  • The Athletic’s NBA writers polled 108 current NBA players on a series of NBA-related questions, including their MVP pick, their title prediction, and much more. Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have compiled the results, which include Sixers star Joel Embiid (50% of the vote) comfortably beating out Nikola Jokic (25.5%) as the players’ MVP choice; Hawks guard Trae Young getting the most votes (14.5%) for the NBA’s most overrated player; and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday earning the nod as both the best individual defender (28.7%) and most underrated player (17.5%).
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NBAGL Announces 2022/23 All-League Awards

April 13th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA G League named the recipients of its All-League, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive teams on Thursday (all Twitter links found here). Many of the honorees are on standard NBA or two-way contracts.

Here’s the full list:

All-NBA G League First Team

All-NBA G League Second Team

All-NBA G League Third Team

NBAGL All-Defensive Team

NBAGL All-Rookie Team

  • Kenneth Lofton
  • Lester Quinones – Santa Cruz Warriors *
    • Note: Quinones placed second in ROY voting.
  • Darius Days
    • Note: Days placed third in ROY voting.
  • Jamaree Bouyea
  • Moussa Diabate

(^ denotes standard NBA contract)

(* denotes two-way contract)

(# Bouyea signed 10-day deals with the Heat and Wizards, but is now an NBA free agent)

Both Dunn and Samanic signed standard contracts with the Jazz, while Harrison signed with the Lakers at the very end of the season after playing with Portland on a 10-day deal. Duke and Lofton recently had their two-way contracts converted into standard deals.

Cooper, Chiozza and Anderson all hold NBA experience as well. Cooper spent 2021/22 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal with the Hawks; Chiozza has played for the Rockets, Nets and Warriors, and recently signed with a Spanish team; Anderson has appeared in 242 NBA games with six teams in as many seasons.

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Magic To Relocate, Rebrand G League Affiliate

April 10th, 2023 at 3:29pm CST by Rory Maher

In a press release, the Magic say they have a “major announcement” scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. League sources tell Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link) that the Magic will announce they are relocating and rebranding their G League affiliate.

The club’s G League affiliate currently plays at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida, which is roughly 55 miles from the Amway Center in downtown Orlando.

The problem is I-4 — the interstate highway between Lakeland and Orlando (it technically runs from Tampa to outside of Daytona Beach) — is frequently heavily congested with traffic and/or construction, making the travel tedious and about an hour-and-a-half.

According to Price, Orlando will be relocating its NBAGL affiliate to Kissimmee, specifically Osceola Heritage Park, where the team will play at the Silver Spurs Arena starting in November. That’s much closer to the Amway Center — about 24 miles or 31 minutes, per Google maps.

Orlando’s G League team will now be known as the Osceola Magic.

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Atlantic Notes: Maxey, Nurse, Knicks, Bridges, Celtics

April 8th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason and has put himself in position for a major payday by averaging a career-high 20.3 points per game on .481/.434/.845 shooting in 60 games (33.6 MPG) this season, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

Assuming they look to negotiate a new deal with Maxey, the Sixers may want to use recent rookie extension recipients like Jordan Poole and Tyler Herro as points of comparison. Poole signed for four years and $123MM (plus incentives) last offseason, while Herro got $120MM (plus incentives) on his four-year extension. However, rival executives who spoke to Deveney believe the 22-year-old’s value has increased beyond that.

“They might have thought there was room to negotiate there,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “But look at what the guy has done. He’s gotten better at every turn, his work ethic is really, really amazing from everyone around him. That’s what stands out. This guy is only getting better. Probably, there’s no negotiation, they’re going to have to max him out.”

The exact value of a maximum-salary extension for Maxey would depend on where the 2024/25 salary cap lands, but it could exceed $40MM per year. For what it’s worth, the Sixers could have Tobias Harris and his $39.3MM expiring salary coming off the books in the summer of 2024.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Whether or not Nick Nurse remains with the Raptors beyond this season, he’ll coach Team Canada in the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Within the same story, Smith points out that this week’s Jeff Dowtin drama could have been avoided if Toronto had done a better job finding a reliable backup point guard instead of having to rely on a player on a two-way contract.
  • In a pair of subscriber-only stories for The New York Post, Peter Botte explores how president of basketball operations Leon Rose set up the Knicks for future success despite missing out on Donovan Mitchell, while Brian Lewis suggests that Nets forward Mikal Bridges has room to continue getting better even after taking a big step forward since arriving in Brooklyn.
  • Speaking to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said that he and Jayson Tatum have been “incredibly successful” together despite some calls over the years to break them up. “At this point, we’re part of each other’s destiny,” Brown said. “The only thing that could put the ribbon on top is winning a championship.”
  • In an interesting feature for The Athletic, Jared Weiss takes a deep dive into the Maine Celtics’ season, focusing on a few of the players who spent time with Boston’s G League affiliate, including Luka Samanic, who eventually earned a call-up to Utah, and Eric Demers, who hopes to work in basketball when his playing days are over.
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