NBA G League

And-Ones: Buford, Wiseman, Okafor, Bibby

Wisconsin Herd coach Chase Buford has been suspended two games without pay for a direct and extended public attack on the integrity and credibility of the game officials, according to a league press release. Among other comments, Buford called one of the officials a “clown” after his team, the Bucks’ G League affiliate, got outscored 48-20 in the fourth quarter and lost 126-117 to the Grand Rapids Drive on Sunday. Buford subsequently apologized for his tirade.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Projected lottery pick James Wiseman felt he was treated unfairly by the NCAA before he decided to leave Memphis during his freshman season, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He left the Tigers during a 12-game suspension for rules violations. His family accepted $11,500 in moving expenses in 2017 from Penny Hardaway, who became the team’s coach a year later. “I was really in the middle of a hurricane,” Wiseman said. “That’s like the worst place you could possibly be.” Wiseman is currently rated No. 3 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
  • Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor has agreed to play for Nigeria in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, Marc Spears of The Undefeated tweets. The team will be coached by Warriors assistant Mike BrownOkafor’s grandfather Chicko was born in Nigeria.
  • Mike Bibby will coach the Aliens in the BIG3 this season, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. The former Kings guard was the Ghost Ballers’ team captain last season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/24/20

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

  • The Pistons recalled guard Khyri Thomas from the Grand Rapids Drive, according to a team press release. In two games with the Drive, Thomas averaged 17.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 1.5 APG in 22.0 MPG. Thomas, a second-round pick in 2018, played two early-season games with the Pistons before undergoing foot surgery.
  • The Warriors assigned big man Alen Smailagic to their Santa Cruz affiliate, the team’s PR department tweets. He has averaged 15.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 18 games with the G League club. The rookie has also seen action in 14 Golden State games.
  • The Timberwolves recalled swingman Jacob Evans III and forward Jarred Vanderbilt from their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Evans was acquired from Golden State and Vanderbilt was acquired from Denver earlier this month.
  • The Pacers assigned forward Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team’s PR department tweets. The 2018 second-round pick has appeared in 12 games with the NBA club this season.
  • The Spurs assigned Keldon Johnson and  Chimezie Metu to their Austin affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Johnson, the team’s first-round pick last June, has played five NBA games. Metu, a second-year forward, has appeared in 16 games for San Antonio this season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/23/20

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

  • The Bucks have assigned forward D.J. Wilson to the Wisconsin Herd, G League affiliate of the team, announcing the news in a press release. This is Wilson’s second NBAGL assignment on the season.
  • The Grizzlies have recalled guard Dusty Hannahs, the G League announced on social media (Twitter link). Hannahs, 26, was recently signed to a second 10-day contract by the team.
  • The Warriors recalled Alen Smailagic from Santa Cruz, announcing the news on social media (Twitter link). The rookie forward has appeared in 13 games with Golden State this season, averaging 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and ten minutes per contest.
  • The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the G League. Oni, a Yale product, was drafted with the No. 58 pick last June.
  • The Nets have assigned Rodions Kurucs to their minor league affiliate in Long Island, according to the G League. Kurucs has averaged 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season, appearing in a total of 33 contests.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/22/20

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

  • The Timberwolves assigned Jacob Evans to their G League affiliate in Iowa (Twitter link). He has played just one minute for Minnesota since being acquired from Golden State in a February 6 trade.
  • The Warriors assigned forward Alen Smailagic to their Santa Cruz affiliate (Twitter link). He’s averaging 16.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 17 G League games.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/21/20

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

  • The Pistons assigned guard Khyri Thomas to the Grand Rapids Drive, according to a team press release. Thomas has been sidelined most of the season after undergoing foot surgery. He played two early-season games with Detroit and will be playing his first G League game this season on Friday.
  • The Magic assigned second-year shooting guard Melvin Frazier to their Lakeland G League affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Frazier has logged time in 14 games with the Magic this season.
  • The Jazz assigned and then recalled guard Rayjon Tucker from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the G League log. Tucker has appeared in 12 games with the Jazz.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/19/20

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

Also on the transactions log:

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/18/20

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

  • The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team announced. Kabengele was the team’s first-round draft pick back in June.
  • The Rockets have assigned Chris Clemons and Isaiah Hartenstein to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Fox 26’s Mark Berman tweets. Hartenstein, who is one of two seven-footers on the team, has started two games for the NBA club this season.
  • The Lakers have assigned Talen Horton-Tucker to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. Horton-Tucker was the team’s only draft pick back in June.
  • The Nets have assigned Dzanan Musa to the Long Island Nets. Musa has appeared in 35 NBA games this season.
  • KZ Okpala has been sent to the G League by the Heat, per the league’s transaction log. Okpala was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft.
  • The Suns have sent Jalen Lecque to the Northern Arizona Suns. The rookie has appeared in just four games for the NBA club this season.

And-Ones: Mock Draft, Maker, G League Union, Bethea Jr.

Georgia guard Anthony Edwards heads to Cleveland in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Former Memphis center James Wiseman (Golden State), Auburn swingman Isaac Okoro (Atlanta), guard LaMelo Ball (New York) and Israeli swingman Deni Avdija (Charlotte) round out the top five. USC big man Onyeka Okongwu has firmly moved into the top 10 after a couple of big performances against top competition and Givony has him going to Detroit at No. 7.

We have more from the basketball world:

  • Makur Maker has been declared eligible for this year’s draft, Evan Daniels of 247Sports reports. The 6’11” Maker is a five-star recruit currently at Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix but he doesn’t plan to play any more games there, Daniels continues. The question about his eligibility stemmed from not receiving his diploma following his senior year of high school. Maker plans to play in the Iverson Classic All-Star game and the Nike Hoop Summit, Daniels adds.
  • NBA players have voted to support the formation of a union for G League players, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The vote was held at the NBPA meeting on Monday. Formal approval at the G League level will have to take place before the union can be formed (Twitter links).
  • Raptors 905 guard Michael Bethea Jr. is the subject of a feature story by The Athletic’s Blake Murphy on the life of a G League player.

And-Ones: Doncic, Crawford, Cook, Edwards

Luka Doncic, who played in both the Rising Stars and All-Star games this weekend, has another non-Mavericks event circled on his calendar for later this year. Asked about his potential participation for Slovenia in this June’s Olympics qualifying tournament, Doncic responded, “I’m gonna play for sure” (Twitter link via Donatas Urbonas).

The Mavericks star didn’t get the chance to suit up for his home country during the 2019 FIBA World Cup, since Slovenia wasn’t able to qualify for the event. This June’s tournament will represent the last chance the squad has to earn a spot in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Doncic and the Slovenians won’t have it easy — they’ll have to beat Lithuania and Poland, among others, in that qualifying tournament to secure one of four Olympic berths up for grabs this summer.

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

  • Former NBA guard Jordan Crawford is working out for German team Brose Bamberg, according to Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. If the audition – which will take place within the next 10 days – goes well, Crawford will sign a rest-of-season deal with the German club, Borghesan adds.
  • In a conversation with Ian Begley of SNY.tv, veteran NBA agent Todd Ramasar provided an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at his typical approach to the NBA trade deadline.
  • The Canton Charge and Oklahoma City Blue completed a trade sending Tyler Cook to the Thunder‘s G League affiliate and Vince Edwards to Cleveland’s NBAGL team (Twitter link). Both players have some NBA experience, with Cook having spent time with the Cavaliers this season on a two-way deal, a standard contract, and a pair of 10-day pacts.
  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony examines a few of the notable prospects who took part in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during All-Star weekend in Chicago.

Hasheem Thabeet Garnering Interest From Teams In Asia, Spain

Former No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet is evaluating interest from multiple teams in Asia and Spain, with the former UConn center hoping to resurrect his NBA career by proving his worth, agent Jerry Dianis told Hoops Rumors.

In addition to clubs overseas, several teams in the G League have maintained an interest in Thabeet, Dianis said.

Thabeet signed an NBA G League contract and started the season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate. He parted ways with the team last month after averaging four points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in fairly limited time (16.4 minutes per contest), appearing in nine total games.

Thabeet, 32, remains a valuable defensive asset for teams in need of rim protection. He’s established himself as an elite shot-blocker during his professional career, using his 7’3″, 260-pound athletic frame to contest shots and play strong defense.

Thabeet worked out for multiple NBA teams before being drafted by Fort Wayne in the fall, including Golden State, Denver and New York. He also attended two workouts with Milwaukee.

Thabeet, who spent three seasons at UConn from 2006-09, has shown impressive durability and worked hard on improving his body in recent years. He has made past stops with the Grizzlies, Rockets, Blazers, Thunder, Pistons and Lakers, which includes an array of G League stints.