NBA G League Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Top Prep Prospect Jalen Green Headed To G League

April 16th, 2020 at 12:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

12:58pm: Green has officially committed to participating in the G League program, according to an NBAGL press release relayed by Liz Mullen (Twitter link). Todd has also committed to the G League program, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

10:38am: Jalen Green, the top-rated prospect in this year’s high school class, intends to play in the G League next season, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets.

Green will make a formal announcement on Thursday regarding his plans but he’s already informing his college suitors that he’ll enter the G League’s professional pathway program, Givony adds.

Green is the first prominent high school player to select the G League, rather than being a one-and-done college player or playing overseas until he’s eligible for the draft. As G League expert Adam Johnson notes, the decision represents a huge coup for the league after all of last year’s high school prospects passed up on the chance to play in the NBA’s developmental program (Twitter link).

Green is a 6’5” shooting guard from Fresno, CA who had a laundry list of suitors. He took official visits to Oregon, Kentucky, Auburn and Memphis.

According to ESPN’s prospect evaluation, Green “is a scoring and play-making guard who is only just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.” Green played for USA Basketball in the FIBA U17 and U19 World Championships in 2018 and 2019 and won gold medals.

With all the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, the option of playing in the G League is becoming increasingly attractive to high school prospects, according to Evan Daniels of 247 Sports. Going overseas is much less attractive due to the pandemic and there’s no way of knowing if and when the college season will be played.

When the G League professional pathway program was announced in the fall of 2018, prospects were to be paid up to $125K. The league is now willing to go higher than that, Daniels adds.

Another major prospect, power forward Isaiah Todd, is also seriously considering the G League, Daniels adds. Todd is ranked No. 13 by ESPN.

G League Path Growing More Appealing For High School Prospects?

April 15th, 2020 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

While some top NBA prospects over the years have opted to forgo college basketball in favor of an international league, few have gone the G League route. However, multiple industry sources tell Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com that the idea of spending a year in the NBAGL is becoming more intriguing to high school prospects.

As Daniels notes, when the G League first introduced its new “select contracts” for top high school prospects in the fall of 2018, it announced plans to make those contracts worth $125K. However, sources tell Daniels that the NBAGL is now willing to pay more than that “for the right prospects.”

Additionally, Daniels speculates that the coronavirus pandemic could discourage prospects who want to go pro rather than attending college from choosing an international league, since traveling overseas may not look like as appealing an option at the moment.

According to Daniels, the G League is believed to be an option for some notable members of the recruiting class of 2020, including power forward Isaiah Todd – who recently backed out of his commitment to Michigan – and shooting guard Jalen Green. Even if neither of those two prospects opt to play to play in the NBA’s developmental league next season, the G League has been “aggressively” scouting and meeting with prospects over the last couple years and seems to be making some headway, Daniels writes.

Still, skepticism persists that the G League is a viable route for high school prospects who have a bevy of college and overseas options. Veteran NBA forward Jared Dudley tweets that the NBA has to address the NBAGL’s facilities and travel situation in order to increase the league’s appeal.

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Hiatus Notes: Playoff Plans, G League, Magic

March 16th, 2020 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to assessing the availability of its own teams’ arenas, the NBA has begun to look into availability at G League venues and practice facilities through the end of August, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

As we relayed on Sunday night, there’s a growing belief that the NBA’s hiatus will extend into at least mid-June, in which case the end of the 2019/20 season and postseason could run well into the summer. As such, the league is exploring all its options as it considers where it might play its games.

Stein explains in a follow-up tweet that venues like G League arenas and practice facilities would only become viable options to host NBA games if they’re closed off to fans. That’s one of many scenarios the league is looking into in an effort to save the playoffs, writes Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.

According to Golliver, some other measures being considered by the NBA include eliminating extra rest days between games, reducing the 16-team postseason field, or hosting a playoff tournament in a single site to reduce – or eliminate – travel between several markets. Commissioner Adam Silver is encouraging teams to be open to “experimental ideas” in when it comes to issues like scheduling format, venues, and television, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Here are a few more notes and updates related to the NBA’s coronavirus-related hiatus:

For now, like the NBA season, the NBA G League season has been postponed and not canceled. However, there’s an expectation that a cancellation is coming, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews, who say that teams are operating under the belief that they’ve played their final games of 2019/20. NBAGL players were informed over the weekend that they’ll receive their entire base salaries, per ESPN’s report.
Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days takes a look at why the G League can’t be treated in the same way as the NBA, and why it’s surprising that the NBAGL season hasn’t yet been canceled.
The Magic‘s ownership group – the DeVos family – has established a $2MM fund to compensate team and arena hourly workers for games and time missed, the team announced today in a press release. The club’s announcement indicates that multiple players are also providing financial assistance — we noted earlier today that Mohamed Bamba had vowed to help out.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN took a deep dive into the NBA’s decision last week to suspend season, examining how Rudy Gobert‘s positive coronavirus test changed the equation suddenly and drastically for the league.

Hiatus Notes: Revenue, G League, Warriors, Kings

March 13th, 2020 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The league could lose nearly $500MM in ticket revenue if the remainder of the season is not played out, Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports Philadelphia estimates. Using an unnamed high-ranking league official as a source, Haberstroh relays that the NBA makes an average of $1.2MM in gate revenue per regular season game and $2MM for each playoff game. There were 259 regular-season games remaining, a loss of approximately $300MM in ticket revenue. With 83 postseason games played on average, the league would lose $166MM in postseason revenue.

The loss of basketball-related income could actually total near the $500MM for the regular season alone, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That would directly affect the salary cap and luxury tax for next season. However, a resumption of the season with fans in attendance could mitigate and eliminate those potential financial losses, Marks adds.

We have more regarding the suspension of NBA games:

G League players will be paid as contracted and receive benefits, league expert Adam Johnson tweets. The remainder of the NBAGL season has already been suspended, with Johnson suggesting it may be canceled entirely. The G League’s regular season had been scheduled to end on March 28, with the postseason to follow.
Warriors staffers will work from home for at least the next two weeks, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. Their players will be allowed to work out individually inside the team’s facility but it’s not a requirement.
The Kings have suspended all team activities through Monday, according to a team press release. The players will remain in the Sacramento area but will not participate in group workouts or practices. No Kings players have experienced symptoms of COVID-19.

NBA G League Suspends Season

March 11th, 2020 at 11:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has followed the NBA’s lead, announcing tonight in a press release that it has suspended its 2019/20 season in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that the NBA has suspended its season.

As Fred Katz of The Athletic points out (via Twitter), there are plenty of reasons why it makes sense to suspend play in the G League in conjunction with the NBA. The two leagues share not just two-way players and players on NBAGL assignments, but also several facilities. Additionally, G League teams often travel via commercial flights.

The G League’s regular season had been scheduled to end on March 28, with the postseason to follow. Tonight’s announcement indicated that play will be postponed, rather than cancelled, so if the NBA resumes play in a few weeks, the G League may follow suit. There’s no concrete timeline for that to happen though.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/11/20

March 11th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are today’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Trail Blazers assigned Jusuf Nurkic to the G League, per the team. Portland doesn’t have a G League team, so Nurkic reported to the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The Raptors assigned Stanley Johnson to the Raptors 905 for today’s game, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Johnson, who is the former No. 8 overall pick, signed with the team this past offseason.
There were also a handful of other assignments today, per the G League’s official log. They are as follows:
- Nuggets assign Keita Bates-Diop (to Windy City Bulls).
- Sixers assign Norvel Pelle (recalled).
- Spurs assign Luka Samanic.
- Wizards assign Anzejs Pasecniks (recalled), Gary Payton II (recalled), and Admiral Schofield.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/10/20

March 10th, 2020 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Wizards announced today (via Twitter) that they assigned Admiral Schofield and Gary Payton II to their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, before recalling them later in the day. According to the NBAGL’s official assignment log, the team did the same for rehabbing point guard John Wall.
The Rockets have assigned rookie guard Chris Clemons to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Ben McLemore and Eric Gordon are both available for Tuesday’s game vs. Minnesota, reducing Houston’s need to carry Clemons on its active roster.
The Cavaliers assigned rookie forward Sir’Dominic Pointer to its G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, per the NBAGL’s official assignment log. Pointer is on a 10-day deal that runs through this Friday night — this is his second G League assignments since he signed that contract.

Jordan Bell Joins Wizards’ G League Affiliate

March 10th, 2020 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Having being waived by the Grizzlies last week, big man Jordan Bell has signed a G League contract, per the NBAGL’s official transactions log. And according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (via Twitter), the Wizards‘ G League affiliate – the Capital City Go-Go – has claimed Bell off waivers.

After starting his NBA career by spending two seasons with the Warriors, Bell has had a tumultuous 2019/20 season. He signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Timberwolves during the summer, but didn’t establish himself as a reliable rotation player in Minnesota, averaging 3.1 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 27 games (8.7 MPG).

Prior to the trade deadline, Bell was sent to Houston in the four-team Clint Capela trade, then was flipped to Memphis in exchange for Bruno Caboclo. Despite the Grizzlies enduring some frontcourt injuries, potentially clearing a path for Bell to earn regular minutes, the team opted to release him, bringing in Anthony Tolliver on a 10-day contract to fill his roster spot. Now, Bell will look to rebuild his value in the G League for the Go-Go.

Although they’ll get a closer look at the 25-year-old by virtue of having him on their NBAGL affiliate, the Wizards won’t have any control over Bell’s NBA rights — he’s free to sign with any NBA team if he gets an offer between now and the end of the regular season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/9/20

March 9th, 2020 at 7:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

Forward Donta Hall has been recalled by the Pistons, James Edwards of The Athletic tweets. Hall is nearing the end of his second 10-day contract with the club. He has appeared in three Pistons games since signing his first one.
The Grizzlies assigned and then recalled swingman Justise Winslow, the team’s PR department tweets. Winslow participated in a practice with the G League club as part of a rehab assignment for his back injury.
The Hornets recalled guard Dwayne Bacon from their Greensboro affiiliate, according a team press release. Bacon has appeared in 39 games with Charlotte, posting averages of 5.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.3 APG in 17.6 MPG.
The Knicks assigned rookie Ignas Brazdeikis to their Westchester affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Brazdeikis, a second-round pick out of Michigan, has appeared in nine Knicks games.
The Jazz assigned guard Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the same log. The rookie out of Yale has played in five Utah games.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/8/20

March 8th, 2020 at 8:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Nuggets have recalled Keita Bates-Diop from the Windy City Bulls, announcing the news on social media. Bates-Diop was the No. 48 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, with the 24-year-old appearing in two games with Denver on the season.
The Pistons have assigned forward Donta Hall to their G League affiliate in Grand Rapids, the team announced on social media. Hall is on a second 10-day contract with Detroit and is under strong consideration for a rest-of-season deal.