Anzejs Pasecniks Rumors

Bucks Give Robbins Two-Way Deal, Cut Pasecniks

October 19th, 2024 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:53pm: Robbins’ two-way contract is now official, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

1:52pm: The Bucks are making a change to their two-way players ahead of the regular season, with Shams Charania of ESPN reporting (via Twitter) that the team has decided to convert Liam Robbins‘ Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal while waiving big man Anzejs Pasecniks.

Robbins, a seven-foot center who played his college ball at Vanderbilt, was born in Wisconsin and grew up a Bucks fan, so he’ll be sticking with his hometown team after a solid preseason in which he averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 11.7 minutes per game across four outings.

Robbins missed part of his final college season in 2022/23 with a right leg fracture, which required surgery. A second surgical procedure was required this past January due to an issue with a plate that was inserted in his leg. But after a lost rookie season, he said this fall that he’s fully healthy and has no limitations.

A first-round pick in the 2017 draft, Pasecniks has only appeared in 28 total NBA regular season games – all with the Wizards – and has spent the past three seasons in Europe, playing for Real Betis (Spain), Metropolitans 92 (France) and Palencia (Spain). It remains to be seen whether he’ll head back overseas or if he’ll remain stateside and look to earn a shot with another NBA team.

Robbins joins Ryan Rollins and Stanley Umude as Milwaukee’s two-way players.

Contract Details: Mykhailiuk, Eubanks, Swider, Two-Ways

August 12th, 2024 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The four-year contract that veteran swingman Svi Mykhailiuk signed with the Jazz only includes $3.5MM in guaranteed money, Hoops Rumors has learned — that $3.5MM is the salary Mykhailiuk will earn in 2024/25.

The second and third years of Mykhailiuk’s deal, worth $3.675MM and $3.85MM respectively, are non-guaranteed, as is his $4.025MM team option for the 2027/28 season. The 27-year-old could earn up to a total of $15.05MM if he plays out the entire contract, but $11.55MM of that money is non-guaranteed.

June 30 represents Mykhailiuk’s annual salary guarantee date, so the Jazz would have to waive him by June 30, 2025 to avoid being on the hook for his full ’25/26 salary. That deadline also applies to each of the following two seasons.

Here are more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

Drew Eubanks will earn a $5MM guaranteed salary from the Jazz this season, with a $4.75MM non-guaranteed salary for 2025/26, Hoops Rumors has learned. Both Mykahiliuk and Eubanks were signed using a portion of Utah’s leftover cap room.
Cole Swider‘s one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers is worth the minimum salary and includes Exhibit 9 language, Hoops Rumors has learned. It doesn’t feature Exhibit 10 language, which suggests the plan probably isn’t for Swider to join Indiana’s G League team if he’s waived during training camp. The third-year forward vie for a spot on the Pacers’ 15-man regular season roster.
The two-way contracts recently signed by Enrique Freeman with the Pacers and Anzejs Pasecniks with the Bucks are each one-year deals, so both players will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025.

Bucks Sign Anzejs Pasecniks To Two-Way Contract

August 12th, 2024 at 6:35am CST by Rory Maher

AUGUST 12: Pasecniks officially signed his two-way contract over the weekend, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

AUGUST 1: The Bucks are signing free agent big man Anzejs Pasecniks to a two-way contract, agent Arturs Kalnitis tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

A 7’1″ center from Latvia, Pasecniks was a first-round pick (25th overall) back in 2017, but he never signed a rookie scale contract and his draft rights were renounced in 2019. He eventually landed with the Wizards, spending parts of two seasons with the club from 2019-21.

The 28-year-old holds career averages of 5.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 28 NBA games, all with Washington (15.8 minutes per contest).

Pasecniks has spent the past three seasons in Europe, playing for Real Betis (Spain), Metropolitans 92 (France) and Palencia (Spain). While his team struggled mightily in 2023/24 (Palencia finished 6-28 and was relegated to the second-tier division), Pasecniks was productive individually, averaging 13.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 60.4% from the floor in 34 games (21.9 minutes).

Pasecniks, who played for the Latvian national team at last year’s World Cup, has spent most of his professional career in Europe, playing for VEF Riga (Latvia) and Gran Carania (Spain) from 2012-19.

Milwaukee’s three-two way spots are currently occupied by Ryan Rollins, Jaylin Galloway and Stanley Umude, which means one of those players will need to be cut to make roster space for Pasecniks, who will provide some frontcourt depth for the Bucks.

[Update: Galloway has been waived.]

Bucks Waive Jaylin Galloway

August 1st, 2024 at 7:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bucks have waived two-way player Jaylin Galloway to create a roster spot for reported new two-way addition Anzejs Pasecniks, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

An Australian-born swingman, Galloway opted to forgo college in favor of playing for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League as a developmental prospect beginning in 2020. He eventually won a championship with Sydney in 2022 and has also played for a pair of NBL1 North semi-pro teams, the Mackay Meteors and Ipswich Force.

Galloway, 21, inked a two-way deal with the Bucks in March this past season. However, he didn’t appear in a game for Milwaukee during his tenure with the team.

Across seven contests with the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate squad, the Wisconsin Herd, Galloway averaged 4.7 points on a .406/.143/.667 shooting line, along with 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

In Galloway’s stead, Pasecniks now joins the Bucks’ two remaining two-way players, point guard Ryan Rollins and shooting guard Stanley Umude.

World Cup Notes: Latvia, Japan, Philippines, China, Australia

August 23rd, 2023 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Latvian Basketball Association has officially announced the national team’s 12-man roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup (Twitter link).

Thunder forward Davis Bertans is the only active NBA player on Latvia’s roster, but the team features a handful of former NBAers, including Bertans’ brother Dairis Bertans. Former Nets forward Rodions Kurucs and ex-Wizards big man Anzejs Pasecniks are the other Latvians with NBA experience.

Here are a few more notes on the 2023 World Cup:

Japan and the Philippines, two of the host nations of the World Cup, have announced their 12-man rosters for the event. Suns forward Yuta Watanabe is the only NBA player representing Japan in this year’s tournament, while Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is the lone NBA player for the Philippines (Twitter link). Young center Kai Sotto, who committed to the G League Ignite in 2020 and has spent the past two seasons in Australia, is also suiting up for the Philippines.
China and Australia are among the other national teams to finalize their 12-man World Cup squads. There are no surprises in either case — while Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson is China’s only NBA player (Twitter link), the Boomers have nine active NBAers on a loaded roster that includes up-and-comers like Thunder guard Josh Giddey and Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels (link via BasketNews.com).
A panel of ESPN’s basketball writers, including Brian Windhorst, has previewed the 2023 World Cup and made predictions for the event. South Sudan is a popular sleeper pick to make it to the knockout round and potentially earn an Olympic berth, but Team USA is widely expected to win the tournament — France was the only other team to receive a single vote.

Wizards Waive Anžejs Pasečņiks

January 18th, 2021 at 11:49am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 18: The move is official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

JANUARY 17: The Wizards will waive center Anžejs Pasečņiks, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Pasečņiks had a $350K partial guarantee on his minimum-salary contract with the club.

Pasečņiks was initially selected by the Sixers (by way of a trade with the Magic) with the No. 25 pick in the 2017 draft. The seven-footer remained in Europe, where he had been playing for Herbalife Gran Canaria in Spain since 2015, through the 2018/19 season.

The Sixers renounced their rights to Pasečņiks that summer. After he impressed the Wizards in their 2019 summer league, he was eventually signed to a two-way contract for the 2019/20 season and split time between the Wizards and their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

Pasečņiks appeared in 27 games for the Wizards during his rookie season, averaging 5.8 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 16.2 MPG. This season, the 25-year-old appeared in just one game for Washington.

The Wizards, who have not played a game since their 128-107 defeat of the Suns on January 11 due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, will now have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with one open spot on their 15-man roster.

Southeast Notes: Lopez, Pasecniks, Crowder, Hawks Crowds, Bogdanovic

January 11th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran Robin Lopez has moved into the Wizards’ starting lineup due to the season-ending loss of center Thomas Bryant but the rotation will be flexible, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington relays. Moritz Wagner will get some opportunities and power forward Rui Hachimura could man the middle in small-ball sets. The Wizards also have Anzejs Pasecniks on the roster.

“It’s going to definitely be by committee,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

There’s a good reason why the Wizards should take a closer look at Pasecniks, Hughes writes in a separate story. His $1,517,981 contract becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster past January 31. A 2017 first-round pick, the 7’2” Pasecniks could help a defense that has been lacking in the early portion of the season, Hughes adds.
It has become more perplexing that the Heat didn’t make a strong push to re-sign Jae Crowder, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. They made Crowder a large, one-year offer in order to protect their cap space this summer but the forward chose more long-term security by inking a three-year, $29.2MM contract with the Suns. The Heat have cycled through Maurice Harkless, Meyers Leonard, Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk in the power forward rotation and could have enjoyed more stability with Crowder, Winderman adds.
The Hawks have pushed back the targeted return of ticketed fans at State Farm Arena to January 26 due to COVID-19 concerns, according to a team press release. The Hawks will open at 10% capacity (approximately 1,700 tickets) before gradually increasing throughout the season, pending adequate conditions.
A medical expert interviewed by The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner estimates that Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss 4-6 weeks due to the avulsion fracture in his right knee, assuming surgery isn’t required. In Bogdanovic’s absence, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish will assume bigger roles, Kirscher adds.

Southeast Notes: Bradley, Adebayo, Gallinari, Pasecniks, MCW

November 25th, 2020 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Introduced on Tuesday as a newly-signed member of the Heat, guard Avery Bradley cited the oft-lauded “Heat culture” as one of the key reasons why he wanted to join the team, as Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald write.

“I always felt like if I ever got an an opportunity to play here, I would fit in perfect,” Bradley said. “Once the opportunity presented itself, I knew I would take advantage of it. I’m excited because I do feel like I’m a perfect fit. We all know what it means to be a Miami Heat player — the passion, the dedication it takes to be a part of this culture. I think our team is going to be really good. I’m excited to be part of Miami and part of a great culture like this. I felt wanted.”

Maurice Harkless, who also officially signed with Miami this week, said talking to former Portland teammate Meyers Leonard helped convince him to join the Heat.

“The big thing that Meyers said and he talked about all the time was just the people in the organization and how everyone carried themselves and how everyone came to work every day,” Harkless said. “It’s just what everybody else talks about, the culture. He really embraced it and he spoke highly of everything that goes on in this organization. Hearing that from him, it made my decision a lot easier.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

After reaching an agreement with the Heat on a maximum-salary extension on Tuesday, Bam Adebayo told reporters – including Chiang and Jackson – that he never really had a conversation with the team about waiting until next year to sign his new deal. “Me and (Heat president Pat Riley) met one on one, and we kind of talked through it,” Adebayo said. “We both thought it was the right decision.”
The third year on Danilo Gallinari‘s new $61.5MM contract with the Hawks will only be partially guaranteed, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, who tweets that the forward will be assured of $5MM of his $21.4MM salary in that final year (2022/23).
The Wizards and big man Anzejs Pasecniks have agreed to push back his salary guarantee deadline from this week to February 1, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Pasecniks, who currently has a $350K guarantee on his $1.5MM salary, may have been waived if Washington had been forced to make an immediate decision.
Michael Carter-Williams‘ new two-year deal with the Magic features two fully guaranteed seasons worth $3.3MM apiece, according to Marks (Twitter link).

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.

Wizards Notes: Centers, Wall, Draft, I. Smith

March 9th, 2020 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard participated in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Sunday afternoon, and while not all of his answers were especially juicy, he shared a handful of interesting tidbits with fans over the course of that Q&A.

As Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington passes along, one of Sheppard’s most noteworthy responses came when he was asked about the Wizards’ center position and how much of the team’s cap flexibility this summer might be put toward addressing it. Sheppard’s answer suggested it won’t be a top priority, according to Hughes.

“If you look at the way the game is played, it’s harder and harder to have significant money tied in to one player at the center position,” Sheppard wrote. “We found it as a necessity to do center-by-committee. We’re pleased with the progress of Thomas Bryant, Moe Wagner, and Anzejs Pasecniks.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Within that Reddit AMA, Sheppard also addressed the progress John Wall is making as he rehabs his Achilles injury, noting that the point guard has scrimmaged with Washington’s G League affiliate. “We’re extremely pleased with John’s condition right now, his participation throughout the rehab process has been fantastic,” Sheppard wrote, according to Mike DePrisco of NBC Sports Washington. “I’ve never seen him this motivated to make a full recovery. We see John scrimmage with the Go-Go, we see him at practice with the Wizards. And while the rust is still there, there’s plenty of signs that point to a full recovery.”
Jackson Filyo of WashingtonWizards.com passes along a few more of the highlights from Sheppard’s AMA, including the GM’s comments on drafting Rui Hachimura, Troy Brown‘s position, and the Wizards’ plans for the 2020 draft. Sheppard described this year’s draft class as “deeper this year than people realize.”
Wizards point guard Ish Smith will be re-evaluated later this week, as his left hamstring injury has gone from a day-to-day issue to a week-to-week ailment. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington has the details.