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Raptors Hosting Free Agent Mini-Camp

June 12th, 2019 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

As the Raptors‘ players and coaches focus on preparing for a potential NBA Finals close-out game in Oakland on Thursday night, the team’s front office will take a closer look at a number of veteran free agents over the next two days in Toronto.

According to a press release, the Raptors will host a free agent mini-camp at its practice facility on Wednesday and Thursday, with 23 players scheduled to attend.

Those players are as follows:

McLemore, Patton, and Payne – all former first-round picks – are perhaps the most well-known players on the list of participants, but they aren’t the only ones with some NBA experience. Artis, Brussino, Costello, Lofton, Thomas, and Weber have each appeared in at least one regular season game as well.

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2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results

August 23rd, 2017 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s four new franchises to add the returning rights to 11 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 22 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to nine players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, though no team can lose more than two players. Adam Johnson recently outlined the full details of the expansion draft process in a piece for 2 Ways & 10 Days.

The G League’s four new teams this year are affiliates for the Hawks (Erie BayHawks), Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle), Bucks (Wisconsin Herd), and Clippers (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario). The Erie BayHawks have been in the G League for years but are technically an expansion team since the old iteration of the BayHawks was purchased by the Magic and moved to Lakeland, Florida — the Lakeland Magic will retain returning rights for former BayHawks players.

The players added today by the G League’s four expansion teams won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s not all that common for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas, if they’re not already on an NBA or international roster. Still, the expansion draft gives the G League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.

Listed below are the results of today’s expansion draft, per the G League’s official announcement. The player’s former G League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:

Erie BayHawks (Hawks)

  1. DeAndre Daniels (Raptors 905)
  2. Sean Kilpatrick (Delaware 87ers)*
  3. Ronald Roberts (Reno Bighorns)
  4. Terran Petteway (Maine Red Claws)
  5. Casey Prather (Windy City Bulls)
  6. Jordan Crawford (Grand Rapids Drive)*
  7. Jordan Sibert (Iowa Energy)
  8. Beau Beech (Long Island Nets)
  9. Raphiael Putney (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  10. Luke Harangody (Lakeland Magic)
  11. Will Bynum (Windy City Bulls)

Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)

  1. Marquis Teague (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  2. Okaro White (Sioux Falls Skyforce)*
  3. D.J. Stephens (Iowa Energy)
  4. Omari Johnson (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  5. Jamaal Franklin (Long Island Nets)
  6. Adonis Thomas (Grand Rapids Drive)
  7. Manny Harris (Texas Legends)
  8. Mark Tyndale (Reno Bighorns)
  9. Jordon Crawford (Canton Charge)
  10. Jimmer Fredette (Westchester Knicks)
  11. Terrence Drisdom (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Wisconsin Herd (Bucks)

  1. Vince Hunter (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  2. Gracin Bakumanya (Northern Arizona Suns)
  3. Perry Ellis (Greensboro Swarm)
  4. Corey Walden (Maine Red Claws)
  5. Josh Davis (Greensboro Swarm)
  6. Michael Dunigan (Canton Charge)
  7. Jarvis Summers (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  8. James Siakam (Raptors 905)
  9. Kyle Casey (Northern Arizona Suns)
  10. Cady Lalanne (Austin Spurs)
  11. Tyler Harvey (Lakeland Magic)

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)

  1. Andre Dawkins (Texas Legends)
  2. Bryce Cotton (Oklahoma City Blue)
  3. Corey Hawkins (Delaware 87ers)
  4. Will Cummings (Delaware 87ers)
  5. J.J. O’Brien (Salt Lake City Stars)
  6. Jamil Wilson (South Bay Lakers)
  7. Keith Steffeck (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  8. Julian Jacobs (South Bay Lakers)
  9. Aaron Craft (Salt Lake City Stars)
  10. Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Westchester Knicks)
  11. Youssou Ndoye (Austin Spurs)

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are currently on an NBA roster. If they remain under contract and are assigned to the G League, they would join their current NBA team’s affiliate.

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And-Ones: Cotton, Thomas, Mavericks

August 11th, 2016 at 10:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks currently have 17 players on their roster, which is three below the preseason maximum, and Atlanta is likely to add to that total prior to the start of training camp, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. The team would like to add another point guard and possibly more frontcourt depth, notes Vivlamore. One possibility, as far as backcourt help goes, is unrestricted free agent Bryce Cotton, adds the scribe. Cotton played well on the Hawks’ Las Vegas Summer League squad, appearing in five games and averaging 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.6 minutes.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Former NBA player Adonis Thomas has signed with agent Jim Tanner and Tandem Sports, Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal tweets. Thomas last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 campaign when he briefly played for both the Sixers and the Magic.
  • Available roster spots are becoming scarce around the league, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes in his rundown of where each team currently stands as far as roster counts go.
  • The Mavs‘ roster looks markedly different from a season ago and team executive Donnie Nelson believes the changes made are for the better, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “You know, we’re excited. I think we’re better than we were last year,” Nelson explained. “We also have some really nice young pieces, and I think at the start of training camp we’ll have some really solid veteran leadership in the starting positions laced with guys in their mid-20s. So, it’s a really nice complement of Mavericks that have carried that baton for years and a young complement of Maverick young guns that will be positioning themselves for roster minutes.”
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Western Notes: Conley, Bogdanovic, Jazz Arena

June 14th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

There is growing concern in the Grizzlies‘ front office that point guard Mike Conley might leave the team in free agency this summer, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old will be the top point guard on the market after spending nine years in Memphis. Begley says Grizzlies part-owner Justin Timberlake will appear in a video presentation trying to convince Conley to remain with the team. Begley presents the item as possible good news for the Knicks, but it’s equally positive for all the teams planning to pursue Conley, and very negative for Memphis, which is hoping to keep the core of its perennial playoff team together. The Grizzlies still have the advantage of being able to offer Conley a five-year contract worth about $124MM, while other teams are limited to four years in the neighborhood of $92MM.

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

  • The Suns will negotiate with 2014 first-round pick Bogdan Bogdanovic now that his Turkish League season is over, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. This is the last season that Bogdanovic would be required to sign a rookie contract that would give him a salary of about $5.7MM over four years. If he waits until next offseason, Bogdanovic is free to negotiate any amount, starting with his draft year’s rookie salary scale.
  •  A request for $22.7MM in public funding for renovations to Utah’s Vivant Arena was approved today by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, writes Jasen Lee of The Deseret News. The money, which will be awarded though tax increment financing over the next 25 years, makes up 18% of the total cost of the proposed $125MM project. It will include safety and security improvements, heating and air conditioning upgrades, a new solar panel system and plaza, concession, seating and premium suite improvements.
  • The Mavericks are planning a free agent camp June 22nd with Arnett Moultrie, Bobby Brown, Dominic McGuire and Nick Minnerath among the players invited, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who played two games for the Knicks this season, also received an invitation but has not confirmed that he will attend the camp (Twitter link).
  • The Spurs will hold a free agent camp Wednesday, Kennedy tweets, with Chris Copeland, Adonis Thomas, Victor Rudd, Scott Suggs, J.J. O’Brien and Darius Adams among those expected to attend.
  • The Timberwolves have had workouts for several veteran free agents, including Jimmer Fredette, Phil Pressey, Marquis Teague, Ryan Boatright, Mike James, Ra’shad James, Mark Lyons and Aaron Craft, tweets international journalist David Pick.
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And-Ones: Draft, Zhou, Weems, Yabusele

June 14th, 2016 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With trade talks set to heat up next week as the 2016 draft approaches, ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider-only link) decided to create five hypothetical deals that he thinks should happen this offseason. Ford’s proposals include sending Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, Jahlil Okafor to the Pelicans, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle to the Celtics, and Jeff Teague to the Kings. Ford also suggests a mammoth, three-team deal that would involve Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Eric Bledsoe, and Brandon Knight. While we’ll likely see some major moves go down this summer, that particular proposal is probably a pipe dream.

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

  • With the deadline for international prospects to withdraw from the NBA draft having passed, Chinese big man Zhou Qi has kept his name in the draft, according to Ford (Twitter links). The ESPN.com scribe notes that Zhou’s stock is hard to gauge because some teams believe he’s three or four years older than his listed age of 20.
  • Sonny Weems‘ two-year, $3MM deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv is now official, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick. Weems played overseas for several seasons before getting another NBA look from the Suns and Sixers in 2015/16.
  • French prospect Guerschon Yabusele has looked very good in his pre-draft workouts, and could play his well into the back of the first round in next week’s draft, writes Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com. Within his latest piece for CBSSports.com, Rothstein also examines the Ben Simmons/Brandon Ingram debate and Marquese Chriss‘ rising stock.
  • Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders takes a look at Adonis Thomas‘ efforts to get back onto an NBA roster. Thomas, who is participating in several free agent mini-camps, was in training camp with the Pistons last season before a leg injury sidelined him.
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Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Grizzlies, Diaw, Spurs

June 7th, 2016 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Dirk Nowitzki remains undecided on what he’ll do this summer with his contract — the longtime Mavericks star could exercise his player option and address his deal in 2017, but he indicated today that the more likely scenario would see him opt out in order to sign a new two- or three-year contract with Dallas, as Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News outlines.

“[I] haven’t decided 100%, but I’ve met with Donnie (Nelson) and I just met with Mark (Cuban) once I came back from vacation just seeing what the next few years could bring for this franchise, who’s available, what’s out there, what’s best for both sides,” Nowitzki said. “I don’t think either side has made a decision yet, but it’s probably going to look like it (opting out). Since I felt great and played sort of decent, I might opt out and maybe sign a two- or three-year deal (with the Mavericks). We’ll see how it goes, but that’s probably the plan for now.”

Although Mavericks management will obviously have some say in the outcome, Cuban made it clear today that the decision will be primarily Nowitzki’s, telling Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, “Dirk gets to do whatever he wants to do. Period.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest:

  • In a separate Morning News article, Sefko says that he’d be “scared to death” to offer a maximum-salary contract to Chandler Parsons this offseason, but concedes that the Mavericks probably won’t have much choice if they want to keep the veteran wing.
  • Even if Mike Conley re-signs with the Grizzlies, it may be time for the team to develop a young point guard to back him up, writes Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. As Tillery observes, Memphis could use the No. 17 overall pick in the draft to address the position.
  • In an interview with Basket-Infos.com (French link; translation via Christophe Brouet), Spurs forward Boris Diaw said he’s not yet sure whether the team will keep him on its roster and guarantee the remaining $4MM on his $7MM salary for 2016/17. However, Diaw said he’s been told that San Antonio would like to keep him.
  • The Spurs will be hosting a veteran free agent mini-camp next Tuesday that will includes Chris Copeland and Adonis Thomas, among others, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
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Southwest Notes: Gasol, Kalamian, D’Antoni, Thomas

June 5th, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who missed the end of the season after breaking his foot in February, is still very limited physically and may have to skip the Olympics, he said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper As (hat tip to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). “I’m not going to lie; it’s very difficult,” Gasol said. “The training camp starts in less than a month and I still can’t run.” Gasol has been part of the Spanish national team since 2006 and won silver medals at the Olympics in both 2008 and 2012. It’s too early to say whether the injury will affect Gasol’s participation in Memphis’ training camp, which will start in late September.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • In the same interview, Gasol remains convinced that his brother should join the Spurs. Pau Gasol has a player option with the Bulls for next season worth less than $7.77MM, which he is expected to turn down. He has said the idea of going to San Antonio is intriguing and it’s one of the spots he considered during free agency two summers ago. “I think that the Spurs are the best option for him,” Marc Gasol said. “What that franchise represents, their winning culture, how they treat players. Everything is great there.”
  • The Rockets and Wizards are trying to lure Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. New coaches Mike D’Antoni in Houston and Scott Brooks in Washington are both working hard to add Kalamian to their staffs, but Dwane Casey wants to keep him in Toronto. James Harden is reportedly a fan of Kalamian, who was an assistant in Oklahoma City when Harden broke in with the Thunder (Twitter link).
  • Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski likes D’Antoni’s chances of succeeding with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Krzyzewski, who hired D’Antoni as part of his USA Basketball staff, thinks D’Antoni and Harden will be an effective pairing. “When you have plays and reads, it’s the best combination,” Krzyzewski  said. “It’s especially good if you have a special player, and they do in James. It will be interesting to see how that develops because James is not just a really good scorer; James is a heck of a passer. Who knows what their roster will be next year, but it will start with James.”
  • Adonis Thomas attended the Rockets‘ free agent camp and plans to be at similar events for the Spurs and Jazz, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The 6’7″ small forward, who played for the Magic and Sixers during 2013/14, started last year with the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive but was released in December with a season-ending wrist injury.
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Western Notes: Howard, Felton, Thomas

May 26th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets guard Jason Terry doesn’t believe that center Dwight Howard is a lock to opt out of his deal this summer and test free agency, as he told Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He has yet to opt out,” Terry said. “Again, it’s just going to depend on if you get the right coach in there. At this point in his career, he’s not going to be the focal point offensively. They’ve made that clear. He’s gonna have to, if he remains in Houston, buy into the role fully, commit himself to setting screens, rebounding, running the floor, blocking shots and working on his free throws, obviously.” Terry’s comments were made prior to the reports that Mike D’Antoni would be the team’s new head coach, which may significantly impact Howard’s thinking given the two did not mesh well together in Los Angeles.

Here’s more from out West:

  • The Mavericks could benefit by re-signing Raymond Felton this summer after his solid 2015/16 campaign, though the team should only do so if he is willing to accept the salary of a backup player, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Felton made 80 appearances this season, including 30 starts, and he averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27.4 minutes per outing.
  • Former NBA player Adonis Thomas will attend mini-camps with the Rockets, Spurs and Jazz, his agent Travis King informed Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype (Twitter link). The 23-year-old swingman appeared in six games during the 2013/14 campaign for the Sixers and Magic.
  • If Kevin Durant leaves the Thunder as a free agent this offseason, he will also be leaving behind Russell Westbrook, whose presence has played a significant part in Durant’s success thus far in his career, Ben Alamar of ESPN.com writes.
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Dahntay Jones Joins Pistons D-League Team

December 4th, 2015 at 1:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Longtime NBA shooting guard Dahntay Jones has joined the D-League affiliate of the Pistons, the team announced, according to Adam Johnson of D-League Digest and Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (All Twitter links). Jones, an 11-year NBA veteran, spent the second half of last season with the Clippers and was with the Nets during the preseason. The Grand Rapids Drive opened a roster spot when they waived Pistons camp invitee Adonis Thomas, who suffered a season-ending wrist injury, the team announced (Twitter link).

The Clippers reportedly kept Jones around last season in large measure because of his locker room presence, as he averaged less than a point in 3.7 minutes per game across 33 regular season appearances. Brooklyn picked him up in September and gave him significant playing time during the preseason, as he posted averages of 7.5 points in 24.5 minutes per game, but the Nets cut him before opening night anyway. The Drive announced Thursday that they’d pulled off a trade with the affiliate of the Raptors to acquire Jones’ D-League rights (Twitter link). Jones, 34, is atypically old for a D-Leaguer, but playing on the circuit gives NBA scouts a chance to keep an eye on him.

Thomas joined the Pistons NBA roster in July on a deal that included a $60K partial guarantee after Stan Van Gundy gave him assurances that he’d have a legitimate chance to make it to opening night. However, Achilles tendon issues kept him out for all but one of Detroit’s preseason games, and the Pistons waived him before the start of the regular season. After clearing NBA waivers, Thomas rejoined the Drive, the club with which he finished the 2014/15 season.

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NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players

November 3rd, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.

NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)

Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)

Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)

Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)

Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)

Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.

Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.

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