Alex Hamilton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Waive Cleveland, Hamilton

October 1st, 2017 at 8:12am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors made a pair of roster moves after Saturday’s preseason opener, waiving Antonius Cleveland and Alex Hamilton, the team announced via Twitter.

Both will be eligible to join the Warriors’ G League team if they are not claimed on waivers. Golden State had the maximum 20 players in camp, so two open spots are now available.

Cleveland is a 6’6″ guard out of Southeast Missouri State. He played for Portland’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, then signed with the Warriors in mid-August. He played five minutes Saturday night and scored eight points.

Hamilton is a 6’4″ guard who completed his senior season at Louisiana Tech in 2016. He played for Golden State’s G League affiliate last season after a brief stay in Poland. He scored two points in two minutes in the season opener.

Warriors Sign Alex Hamilton

September 21st, 2017 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have filled out their roster for training camp by signing free agent guard Alex Hamilton to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. The move increases Golden State’s roster count to 20 players.

Hamilton, who turns 24 next month, played his college ball at Louisiana Tech, averaging 19.9 PPG and 6.2 APG in his senior year in 2015/16. Although his performance earned him Conference USA Player of the Year honors, Hamilton went undrafted last year.

After a short stint with a Polish team, Hamilton was selected in the G League draft and spent the 2016/17 season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s affiliate. He averaged 11.4 PPG and 4.5 APG in his first year at Santa Cruz, and is a good bet to head back to the G League following the preseason this year.

Although the Warriors have 20 players under contract, only one of the club’s two-way contract spots has been filled, so Hamilton may be a candidate for the other slot.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Draft, Sixers

June 21st, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors own the No. 9 overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft, but the team doesn’t expect to land a player who can provide immediate help at that slot, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “I don’t know if it’s a draft where we can go and get somebody who will impact our team right away,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “And we have to take that . . . and look at it a different way. Is it a player that’s three, four years down the road and that player has a high upside? We have to look out for the organization that way.”

The team also holds the No. 27 overall pick and Ujiri is pleased with the opportunities owning two first-rounders will provide, Smith adds. “You continue to narrow and narrow [list of possible suggestions] and when you have a bunch of guys you have different options,” Ujiri said. “You can look at trading the pick, you can look at drafting a guy who doesn’t come right away, you can look at a player you can draft and develop slowly. We just feel it’s a great position for us to be in.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers have a group workout scheduled for Wednesday with Trevor Cooney (Syracuse), Quenton DeCosey (Temple), Alex Hamilton (Louisiana Tech), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Devonta Pollard (Houston) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced via press release.
Former Arizona big man Kaleb Tarczewski will work out for the Celtics on Wednesday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
The Raptors held a group workout on Friday that included potential lottery picks Jakob Poeltl and Skal Labissiere, the team announced.
While many have suggested that the Sixers trade away a number of their big men, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer argues that Philly should instead look to build around Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. The scribe cites the small sample size of pairing Noel alongside Okafor, as well as Embiid’s in jury history as reason for his stance.

Pacific Notes: Walton, Rondo, Cousins, Clippers

June 19th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton has managed to stay focused on his duties as lead assistant with the Warriors, even as his head coaching job with the Lakers awaits, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton had his first interview on April 18th — more than two months ago — when he had a phone conversation with Knicks president Phil Jackson. “Luke is a real loyal guy,” said fellow Golden State assistant Ron Adams. “And he’s real loyal to the Golden State Warriors — has been since he was named coach of the Lakers. It might be hard for people to understand that. I would say he’s atypical in that regard. A lot of people, if a team would’ve allowed what the Lakers allowed, I think [the person] would’ve been more fixated on that team than this team. That’s not Luke. That’s not what Luke has been.” Walton will coach his final game with the Warriors tonight, then will likely be introduced as the Lakers’ new coach later this week.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings point guard Rajon Rondo pronounced himself fully healthy as he prepares for his second straight year of free agency, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rondo signed a one-year deal with Sacramento last summer, which gave him a first-hand view of the turmoil in the organization, especially between DeMarcus Cousins and former coach George Karl. “Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it as an exit [missing the playoffs], but I was able to bounce back, I believe,” Rondo said. “I am very healthy. I’ve been working extremely hard on my body and my game. I’m 30 years old and I feel great.” Rondo’s numbers had declined since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in 2013, but he bounced back to average 11.9 points and 11.7 assists per game this season.
Cousins’ younger brother, Jaleel, worked out for the Kings on Saturday, according to James Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The 6-11, 250-pound center was a senior this season at South Florida.
Dee Brown and Pat Sullivan have emerged as assistant coaching candidates with the Clippers, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kevin Eastman, a longtime assistant to Doc Rivers, announced his retirement earlier this week.
The Clippers will hold two workouts Monday, tweets Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. The morning session will feature Alabama’s Retin Obasohan, Miami’s Sheldon McClellan, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, Maryland’s Jake Layman, Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu and UNLV’s Stephen Zimmerman. Working out in the afternoon will be Tulsa’s James Woodard, West Virginia’s Jaysean Page, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisiana’s Alex Hamilton, SMU’s Markus Kennedy and Iowa’s Jared Uthoff.

Central Notes: Pistons, Maker, Williams

June 15th, 2016 at 5:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons have restructured their front office and have announced a number of promotions via press release. Pat Garrity has been promoted to assistant general manager, Andrew Loomis to chief of staff and Bob Beyer to associate head coach. Otis Smith is joining Detroit’s coaching staff as director of player development/assistant coach, assistant coach Brendan Malone will transition to a special assignment scout, residing in New York, and Quentin Richardson is leaving the organization for personal reasons.

“I’m proud to announce the restructuring of our basketball staff knowing that we have great people expanding their roles while maintaining continuity within our department,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said in the release. “Pat, Andrew and Bob are well deserving of new responsibilities and we welcome Otis to Detroit on a full-time basis. Brendan is moving away from the bench and returning to his New York roots, but will continue to provide great basketball counsel and insight that has made him a great basketball mind for decades. We thank Quentin for his hard work over the last two seasons and respect his desire to spend more time with his family in Orlando.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Bucks held workouts today for Troy Williams (Indiana), Thon Maker (Australia), Daniel Hamilton (UConn), Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) and Darnell Harris (Middle Tennessee), the team announced.
The Pistons held a group pre-draft workout today that included Kay Felder (Oakland), Trey Freeman (Old Dominion), Alex Hamilton (Louisiana Tech), Patrick McCaw (UNLV), Robert Carter (Maryland) and Ben Bentil (Providence), Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays (via Twitter).

Draft Rumors: Sixers, C’s, Kings, Bucks, Jazz

May 27th, 2016 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

As we passed along earlier today, ESPN’s Chad Ford said during a radio appearance that he believes the Sixers will gauge the trade value of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor this offseason, with the team perhaps preferring to move Okafor instead of Noel. In Ford’s view, it’s unlikely that both players will be back in Philadelphia next season.

Ford and Marc Stein have now published a full-fledged report on the subject at ESPN.com, citing league sources who say the 76ers will explore trading Noel or Okafor during the lead-up to next month’s draft. While the report reiterates that Okafor is more likely than Noel to be moved, Ford and Stein stress that Philadelphia is considering a wide range of possibilities. In a tweet, Ford adds that the Sixers are looking into getting a top-six pick back for Okafor, since they’re really hoping to land a young guard.

As we wait to see how serious Philadelphia is about trading one of their top picks from the last two years, let’s check in on a few other draft rumors and updates…

As the Sixers explore trade possibilities with their previous top picks, they’re also weighing which player to select first overall this year. According to Ford (Twitter link), Ben Simmons is the current frontrunner over Brandon Ingram. Ford places the odds of a Simmons pick for Philadelphia at 60-40.
The Celtics, Kings, Bucks, and Jazz appear to be the lottery teams most likely to trade their picks, tweets Ford.
Along with Oklahoma’s Isaiah Cousins, whose scheduled workout with Phoenix was previously reported, five prospects are working out for the Suns today, according to the team (Twitter link). Those players are Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt), DeAndre’ Bembry (St. Joseph’s), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), and James Webb III (Boise State).
The Grizzlies have a workout scheduled on Tuesday, May 31st for the following six players, per a press release from the team: Eli Carter (Boston College), Alex Hamilton (Louisiana Tech), A.J. Hammons (Purdue), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Mike Tobey (Virginia), and Troy Williams (Indiana).

Draft Updates: Ferrell, Ndiaye, Moore, Hawks

May 9th, 2016 at 4:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

A major draft-related event takes place this week, as scouts, executives and these prospects will gather for the NBA combine in Chicago from Wednesday through Sunday. Teams will start working out players in earnest after that, though some auditions have already taken place. Here’s the latest on that front with the June 23rd draft little more than six weeks away:

The workouts that former Indiana University point guard Yogi Ferrell has with the Lakers and Clippers are slated for May 16th and 18th, respectively, tweets Jonathan Goodman of ESPN.com, advancing an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Ferrell will also work out for the Suns on the 20th, Jazz on the 22nd, Bulls on the 23rd, Hawks on the 25th, Mavericks on the 26th, Pistons on the 31st, Wizards on June 2nd, Nets on June 8th, and Knicks on June 10th, Goodman reveals. Ferrell is trying to work his way into the second round, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him No. 66 while Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates him only 99th.
Massive UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye will work out for the Rockets and Lakers, Goodman tweets. Givony, who ranks him the 30th-best prospect among juniors, lists Ndiaye at 7’6″, while Goodman says he’s 7’5″. Ford, who also lists him at 7’6″, ranks him the 136th-best prospect overall.
Utah State small forward Jalen Moore will work out with the Grizzlies on May 16th, the Timberwolves on the 18th and the Nets on the 23rd, as he tells Goodman (Twitter link). Moore is Givony‘s 69th-best junior and Ford‘s 190th prospect overall.
The Hawks worked out Taurean Prince, Justin Jackson, Nigel Hayes, Pascal Siakam, Alex Hamilton and Wes Washpun on Saturday, a source told Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: Donovan, Jazz, Barton

May 3rd, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder coach Billy Donovan made a successful transition from the college coaching ranks to the NBA this season, with Oklahoma City notching a 55-27 record for the season. Donovan, reflecting on his rookie campaign, chalks up much of his success to film study and input from a number of current NBA coaches, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “I watched an enormous amount of NBA film in the preseason and an enormous amount in the playoffs,” Donovan told Zillgitt. “I always felt from an NBA perspective, just because of the amount of time coaches spend on the game, they’re a lot further along than college coaches in terms of the nuances.”

Donovan also offered up praise for Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, noting that without their willingness to sacrifice, the team’s offense wouldn’t be effective, Zillgitt adds. “The one thing that helps with that is that Kevin and Russell are unselfish players,” Donovan said. “I know they score a lot of points. I know they get recognized for their ability to play isolation basketball. Sometimes they get criticized for it, and I’ve never really understood it because they’re willing passers. When you’re a willing passer, that’s what you’re looking for as a coach. We have to play to our identity and because Russell and Kevin are so good offensively, we give them that opportunity to beat their man. That’s a good thing. You need to be able to take advantage of that as a coach and let them take advantage of it as a player.”

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The Jazz have predraft workouts scheduled on Wednesday with Wyoming guard Josh Adams, Louisiana Tech guard Alex Hamilton, Fairfield small forward Marcus Gilbert, Texas A&M swingman Jalen Jones, Arkansas-Little Rock point guard Josh Hagins and Utah small forward Jordan Loveridge, the team announced.
Nuggets swingman Will Barton had a strong 2015/16 campaign that saw him notch career-highs in scoring (14.4 points), field-goal percentage (43.2%), 3-point percentage (34.5%) and rebounds per game (5.8), but the 25-year-old needs to improve his defense and reduce his turnovers if he hopes to continue to progress as a player, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Barton is signed for only about $3.5MM each of the next two seasons.