Andre Emmett

Former NBA Player Andre Emmett Dies At Age 37

Former NBA swingman Andre Emmett has died at age 37, according to multiple reports.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter links), Emmett was shot and killed this morning in Dallas. The Dallas Police have issued a statement with more details on the circumstances of Emmett’s death (Twitter link via Eric Kelly of KAMC).

A standout at Texas Tech from 2000-04, Emmett was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 35th overall pick in the 2004 draft and was traded to Memphis on draft night. He only ended up playing 14 total regular season games in the NBA – eight for the Grizzlies and six for the Nets – but Emmett had a long professional career in the D-League and in international leagues.

Emmett’s career included stops in Lithuania, Belgium, France, Venezuela, China, Puerto Rico, Lebanon, Mexico, Korea, and the Philippines. The Dallas native also earned D-League All-Star honors twice in 2012 and 2015 as he attempted to make it back into the NBA.

Emmett suited up for Puerto Rican club Capitanes de Arecibo earlier this year and has spent the last two years playing in the BIG3, emerging as one of the leading scorers in Ice Cube‘s 3-on-3 league. Only Joe Johnson scored more points during the 2019 BIG3 season than Emmett.

We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Emmett’s friends and family.

Clippers Interested In Andre Emmett

The Clippers are considering signing free agent Andre Emmett, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The 6’5″ swingman currently plays for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA D-League. Los Angeles reportedly has reached an agreement with Nate Robinson on a 10-day pact, which would increase the Clippers’ roster count to the league maximum of 15. The team has Jordan Hamilton also signed to a 10-day pact, so he would be a likely candidate to be released if Emmett is signed, though that is merely my speculation.

Emmett, 32, is reportedly considering a lucrative offer to play in the Philippines, so it’s unclear if the chance to chase his NBA dream on what would likely be a minimum salary arrangement would be enough to keep him stateside.

In 39 games for Fort Wayne this season Emmett is averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.5 minutes per contest. The 2004 second-rounder out of Texas Tech has had two brief stints in the NBA that were separated by a period of six seasons. Emmett appeared in eight games for the Grizzlies during the 2004/05 season, and he followed that up with a six game cameo for the Nets during the 2011/12 campaign. He owns a career scoring average of 1.4 points on 46.2% shooting.

And-Ones: NBPA, Russell, Childress

An attorney for the NBPA has strongly indicated that the union will want the minimum age requirement to enter the NBA lowered in the next round of collective bargaining, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. NBPA general counsel Gary Kohlman said that it is “quite likely the union will be taking a radically different position” than the NBA on the age issue, Reynolds notes. Under the current CBA rules, players must turn 19 years of age in the draft’s calendar year to be eligible, with American players also required to be one year removed from high school, Reynolds adds.

If they were white and hockey players they would be out there playing. If they were white and baseball players they would be out there playing,” Kohlman said regarding the age requirement. “Because most of them are actually African-American and are in a sport and precluded from doing it, they have to go into this absurd world of playing [in college] for one year. That’s just total complete hypocrisy.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • D’Angelo Russell, a projected top five pick in the 2015 NBA draft, has surprised himself and Ohio State coach Thad Matta with how quickly he has shot up draft boards this season, Nicole Auerbach of USA Today writes. “Did I think he was going to be this good, this consistent this year? Probably not,” Matta said. “I told people when D’Angelo was coming, I think he’s the second-best guard I’ve brought here, since Mike Conley. I had that thought in my mind, that he had a chance to be really good. To do what he’s done all the way through the season? Probably didn’t see that one coming.” The freshman is currently ranked No. 3 by DraftExpress, No. 4 by ESPN, and Russell checks in at No. 3 in Hoops Rumors’ Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
  • Brad Graham of Basketball Insiders interviewed former NBA player Josh Childress about playing overseas, his NBA career, and what the swingman’s future holds. The 31-year-old’s last NBA action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in four games for the Pelicans.
  • Andre Emmett, who currently plays for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, intends to leave the NBA D-League to sign a lucrative offer with a team in the Philippines, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando tweets. In 39 games for Fort Wayne this season Emmett is averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.5 minutes per contest.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

International Moves: Daniels, Mbenga, Emmett

It's a fairly quiet time of year for NBA transactions, but many former NBA players are still involved in the roster carousel with teams overseas. Here's the latest on a few of them:

  • According to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Sulia link), it will be Chris Daniels, rather than Alabi, who replaces Mbenga for Qingdao. Daniels had been playing for Golden State's D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 7.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in three contests.

Earlier updates:

  • The Qingdao Double Star Eagles, Tracy McGrady's team in China, have waived NBA veteran D.J. Mbenga, according to a Sports.QQ.com report (English link via Sportando). Mbenga, who has played for the Mavericks, Lakers, Warriors, and Hornets, was replaced by Solomon Alabi, who spent the last two season with the Raptors and was in camp with the Hornets this fall.
  • Former Texas Tech standout Andre Emmett has signed in Lebanon with Amchit, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Emmett, 30, was drafted by the SuperSonics 35th overall in 2004, but has only played 14 career regular season games with the Grizzlies and Nets.

Bulls Waive Andre Emmett

The Bulls have officially waived Andre Emmett, the team announced today in a press release. Emmett is the second camp invitee released by the Bulls, along with Vance Cooksey, who was let go early in the month. The team's roster now stands at 16 players.

Emmett, a second-round pick in 2004, went seven seasons between NBA games, appearing in eight contests in 2004/05 and then not seeing his next NBA action until 2011/12 with the Nets. He appeared in a pair of preseason games for the Bulls this month, but didn't see much playing time, averaging just 1.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 3.8 MPG.

If the Bulls want to keep any of their camp invitees on the roster once the regular season gets underway, they'll need to either trade one of their 12 guaranteed contracts or release Nate Robinson, whose deal is partially guaranteed. Because the Bulls are up against a hard cap, Kyrylo Fesenko, Marko Jaric, and Ryan Allen are all facing uphill battles to make the team.

Central Notes: Bulls, Pacers, Cavs, Pistons

Shams Charania of RealGM had a few interesting tidbits to relay from Bulls camp, writing about how coach Tom Thibodeau personally recruited Nate Robinson, Andre Emmett's fight to earn a contract during training camp and his willingness to sign with the team at any point during the season, and coach Thibodeau's aim to maintain Joakim Noah's minutes during the season. We have quite a few more links to share with news from the Central Division…

  • K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes that despite losing many rotation players from last year's team, Thibodeau likes the versatility of the team's new additions and the flexibility of the roster overall. 
  • Pacers insider Mike Wells of IndyStar.com breaks down what he will pay attention to during the team's scrimmage on Friday, particularly Roy Hibbert's positioning, the play of the reserves, Paul George's ball-handling, and how the rookies fare. 
  • Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio listed some of his early observations from Cavaliers training camp early on, saying that Dion Waiters' conditioning is not an issue, C.J. Miles is standing out as a perimeter shooting threat, Samardo Samuels and Jon Leuer appear to have earned significant roles, and that the team will have tough roster decisions to make by the end of camp. 
  • Cavaliers coach Byron Scott appears especially impressed with Leuer, who the team had claimed off waivers in July. "I just don't think he knows how good he can be," said Scott (according to a tweet by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer). Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal elaborates about Samuels' hard work this past summer, shedding 20 pounds since the end of last season and has cut down his body fat from 15 percent to between six and seven percent. 
  • Jonny Flynn and Terrence Williams, the sixth and ninth picks of the 2009 NBA draft respectively, find themselves vying for guaranteed contracts on the Pistons roster. David Mayo of MLive.com writes about their thoughts on the opportunity as well as head coach Lawrence Frank's firm belief that both are NBA players. Frank says that he's liked what he's seen from Flynn and Williams in camp so far, even pointing out that he sees Williams as a point guard (and not a wing player).  

Bulls Sign Five To Finalize Camp Roster

The Bulls have officially signed five players to finalize their training camp roster, the team announced today in a press release. In addition to previously reported signees like Andre Emmett and Kyrylo Fesenko, the Bulls also added Marko Jaric, Ryan Allen, and Vance Cooksey, according to the team release.

With 13 players previously under contract, the Bulls were up against a hard cap, with only about $758K available to spend on players. However, since these five players were presumably signed to summer contracts, the salary won't count against Chicago's cap unless one of more of these guys makes the team. In that case, the Bulls would have to shed salary in another way, perhaps via trade, to clear room.

In addition to previously hearing about Emmett's and Fesenko's agreements, we also heard that Jaric and Allen were working out with the Bulls. Cooksey is the only new name — he spent last season playing in the D-League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Texas Legends, averaging 8.8 PPG and 4.8 APG in 38 contests.

Bulls To Sign Andre Emmett

The Bulls have agreed to sign Andre Emmett to a make-good contract, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Sulia link). Emmett will get an invite to Chicago's training camp with a chance to earn a roster spot for the regular season.

Emmett, a second-round pick in 2004, went seven seasons between NBA games, appearing in eight contests in 2004/05 and then not seeing his next NBA action until 2011/12 with the Nets. The 30-year-old earned a little playing time in New Jersey last season, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 7.5 MPG over the course of six contests.

Since the Bulls only have 13 contracts on their books prior to finalizing their agreement with Emmett, the Texas Tech product would appear to have a good opportunity to make the team. However, the club's cap situation may hurt his chances — the Bulls are hard-capped at about $74.3MM and can't exceed that number at any point.

If Emmett signs a non-guaranteed summer contract, his cap hit won't count against team salary unless he makes the regular-season roster. But since Chicago's team salary is already $73.55MM, the club would have to make an additional move to clear room for his salary under the hard cap.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Mavs, Raptors, Kidd-Gilchrist

Rounding up a few Tuesday odds and ends from around the NBA…

Nets Sign Andre Emmett To 10-Day Contract

The Nets have signed Andre Emmett to a 10-day contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). Keith Bogans, who underwent season-ending surgery yesterday, was waived to clear a roster spot.

Emmett, 29, had been playing for the D-League's Reno Bighorns this year, posting 23.7 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 24 games this season. Those numbers, along with his strong FG% (.531) and 3PT% (.459), made him an obvious candidate for a 10-day contract, despite not seeing NBA action since 2004/05. The Nets, meanwhile, having suffered a number of injuries, including Bogans' season-ender, will add another healthy body to their rotation.

Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside first reported that the Nets were expected to sign Emmett.