Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Armoni Brooks

Rockets Notes: Injuries, Thomas, Reynolds, Tate, Brooks

May 16th, 2021 at 5:20pm CST by Luke Adams

As has been the case for much of the 2020/21 season, the Rockets have a crowded injury report today, with 10 of the team’s players having been ruled out for the regular season finale in Atlanta.

However, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), none of those 10 players are dealing with long-term injuries that will hinder their ability to conduct offseason training or participate in Summer League games.

That includes Khyri Thomas, who underwent an MRI this weekend after he “tweaked” his Achilles on Friday (Twitter link via Feigen). According to head coach Stephen Silas, that Achilles injury isn’t severe, which bodes well for Thomas and the Rockets — the young swingman just signed a four-year contract with the team on Friday.

Here’s more out of Houston:

  • Cameron Reynolds will only spend three days (two games) with the Rockets before his rest-of-season contract expires, but even that brief stint with his hometown team means a lot to the Pearland, Texas native, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston relays. “I’ll never forget this,” Reynolds said, adding that several family members were in attendance to watch him on Friday. “I’ll never forget being able to play for the Houston Rockets. This is huge for me.”
  • After going undrafted in 2018, Jae’Sean Tate played for a new team in each of his first three professional seasons, so he’s especially appreciative of being able to enter the 2021 offseason knowing he’ll remain under contract with the Rockets and won’t have to find a new home. “It’s kind of surreal,” Tate said, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “This is what I’ve been dreaming of. This is what I’ve been working so hard for, to come in on the back end of my first year. It went by so fast; I feel I just walked into training camp. Also, it just makes me hungrier because I know there are so many things I can work on and get better at.”
  • Armoni Brooks, who went undrafted in 2019, didn’t make his NBA debut until last month, but he has played big minutes (25.6 MPG) for an injury-ravaged Rockets team and his 54 three-pointers are the most ever by any NBA player through the first 19 games of his career. In a separate Houston Chronicle story, Feigen looks at what’s next for Brooks, who is shifting his focus to summer workouts.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Rockets Sign Armoni Brooks To Two-Way Deal, Waive Justin Patton

April 4th, 2021 at 8:08am CST by Arthur Hill

APRIL 4: Both moves are official, the Rockets announced on Twitter.

APRIL 3: The Rockets will sign free agent guard Armoni Brooks to a two-way contract, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Houston will make room by waiving center Justin Patton, who is currently on a two-way deal, sources tell Iko (Twitter link).

Brooks, 22, played for the Rockets’ G League affiliate this season, averaging 16.8 PPG in 15 games in the Orlando bubble. He also played in the NBAGL last season after going undrafted out of the University of Houston. There was an announcement last week that Brooks was headed to France to join Orléans Loiret Basket, but those plans fell through.

“It’s just exciting,” Brooks told Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. “It’s a dream come true to finally be able to play in the NBA and being able to do it in the city that I went to college in is just great” (Twitter link).

Patton, 23, appeared in 13 games with the Rockets after signing in mid-February. He averaged 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, but fell out of the rotation when Christian Wood returned from an ankle injury. Houston was the fourth team in four years for Patton, who has struggled through injuries since being selected with the 16th pick in the 2017 draft.

The moves continue a roster overhaul for the rebuilding Rockets, who are also planning to waive Ben McLemore. The team doesn’t have any immediate plans to replace McLemore, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

And-Ones: Woodson, Ivey, McCall, Brooks

March 28th, 2021 at 9:02pm CST by JD Shaw

Knicks assistant Mike Woodson has accepted a position to become the new head coach of Indiana men’s basketball program, the school announced today (Twitter link).

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) that the sides were finalizing a six-year contract. The agreement allows Woodson to officially return to his alma mater.

Woodson moved up in the program’s wish list after Celtics coach Brad Stevens and Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann both declined the job, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).

Woodson, a former NBA player and veteran coach, joined Tom Thibodeau‘s staff with the Knicks last September. He has previously served as an assistant with several teams from 1996-2004, head coach of the Hawks from 2004-10, head coach of the Knicks from 2012-14 and assistant with the Clippers from 2014-18.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Woodson isn’t the only New York-based assistant coach eyeing a college job. According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Nets assistant Royal Ivey interviewed for the Texas Longhorns’ open coaching position on Sunday. Ivey played his college ball for Texas before entering the NBA in 2004, appearing in the Final Four with the program in ’03.
  • Free agent guard Tahjere McCall is signing in France with Orléans Loiret Basket, his agent told Hoops Rumors. The 26-year-old recently played with the Lakeland Magic and received NBA G League All-Defensive Team honors. He also averaged 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 15 games, proving his worth on both ends of the floor.
  • Despite an announcement from the team last week, guard Armoni Brooks will no longer be reporting to Orléans Loiret Basket, sources said. McCall will essentially be replacing Brooks, who averaged 16 points per game in the G League this season. The 22-year-old Brooks went undrafted in 2019.
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

2020/21 NBA G League Draft Results

January 11th, 2021 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2020/21 season on Monday afternoon.

In a typical year, the G League draft lasts four rounds and teams are only required to make two selections. However, this year’s draft was just three rounds and teams weren’t required to make any picks.

Because only 17 of 28 NBA G League affiliates (plus the G League Ignite) are participating in the revamped season at Walt Disney World in Florida, and because teams aren’t permitted to bring extra players to training camp for health and safety reasons, roster spots will be at a premium in the NBAGL this season, and the draft reflected that. Only 25 players were selected.

With the first overall pick, the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ affiliate – nabbed former Wizard Admiral Schofield. The 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 33 games (11.2 MPG) as a rookie before being traded to the Thunder during the offseason. Oklahoma City waived him last month.

With the second overall pick, which they acquired in a trade earlier in the day, the Memphis Hustle selected former Baylor standout Freddie Gillespie, who had been in camp with the Mavericks. Gillespie recently spoke to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors about his desire to make it to the NBA and his plans to begin his professional career in the G League. He’s now in position to suit up for the Grizzlies‘ affiliate.

Here are the full 2020/21 G League draft results:

Round One:

  1. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Admiral Schofield (Tennessee)
  2. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Freddie Gillespie (Baylor)
  3. Canton Charge (Cavaliers): Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
  4. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
  5. Lakeland Magic (Magic):  Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State)
  6. Canton Charge: Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
  7. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
  8. Lakeland Magic: DJ Hogg (Texas A&M)
  9. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Patton (Creighton)
  10. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Armoni Brooks (Houston)
  11. Raptors 905 (Raptors): Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
  12. Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
  13. Oklahoma City Blue: Vince Edwards (Purdue)
  14. Austin Spurs (Spurs): Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield)
  15. Raptors 905: Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
  16. Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
  17. Iowa Wolves: Dakarai Tucker (Utah)
  18. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): No pick
  19. N/A

Round Two:

  1. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State)
  2. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
  3. Westchester Knicks: No pick
  4. Iowa Wolves: No pick
  5. Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
  6. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
  7. Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight (Seton Hall)
  8. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
  9. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Selom Mawugbe (Azusa Pacific)
  10. Raptors 905: No pick
  11. Memphis Hustle: No pick
  12. Austin Spurs: Anthony Mathis (Oregon)
  13. Erie BayHawks (Pelicans): No pick
  14. Greensboro Swarm: No pick
  15. Austin Spurs: Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown)
  16. Santa Cruz Warriors: No pick
  17. Memphis Hustle: No pick
  18. Oklahoma City Blue: Rob Edwards (Arizona State)
  19. Salt Lake City Stars: No pick

Round Three:

  1. Greensboro Swarm: No pick
  2. Erie BayHawks: No pick
  3. Westchester Knicks: No pick
  4. Delaware Blue Coats: Braxton Key (Virginia)
  5. No picks from 43-57

The teams that didn’t make any picks will fill their rosters with affiliate players and returning rights players, meaning they didn’t need to draft anyone and/or didn’t have the open spots to do so.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted (via Twitter), NBAGL teams overwhelmingly opted for youth, passing on most of the notable veteran NBA players in the draft pool. That group included Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Emeka Okafor, and Shabazz Muhammad, among others.

Former Nets first-rounder Dzanan Musa removed his name from the draft pool before the event began, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Retweet 7 Share 0 Send via email0

Hawks Waive Four Players

October 18th, 2019 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have waived all four of their players on non-guaranteed contracts, the team announced today in a press release. Armoni Brooks, Marcus Derrickson, Tahjere McCall, and Jordan Sibert have been cut by Atlanta.

[RELATED: 2019/20 Non-Guaranteed Contracts By Team]

Brooks and Derrickson signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Atlanta back in August and are now likely to become affiliate players for the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ newly-relocated G League team.

McCall signed with the Hawks in September, while Sibert joined the team earlier this month — they’re also on track to join the Skyhawks, as returning-rights players.

After today’s roster moves, the Hawks are carrying 14 players with guaranteed salaries and two on two-way contracts. The roster is regular-season-ready, though Atlanta still could make additional moves within the next couple days to line up more affiliate players for the Skyhawks.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Hawks Sign Armoni Brooks

August 27th, 2019 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

11:51am: Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms (via Twitter) that Brooks received an Exhibit 10 contract.

11:13am: The Hawks have officially signed undrafted rookie guard Armoni Brooks to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract.

Brooks declared for the draft this spring as an early entrant after a junior season in which he posted 13.4 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 37 games for Houston. Of his 425 field goal attempts, 310 came from beyond the arc.

Word broke shortly after the draft that Brooks was signing with the Wizards as an undrafted free agent, but it appears that agreement was only for the Summer League. The 6’3″ guard struggled in limited minutes in Las Vegas, making just 4-of-24 shots from the floor in three games (12.7 MPG) for Washington.

The Hawks now have 18 players formally under contract, with Brooks joining Marcus Derrickson and Ray Spalding as training camp invitees without guaranteed salaries. Vince Carter has also reached a deal with the team, so Atlanta will have just one open spot left on its 20-man offseason roster once Carter officially signs.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Expected To Sign Garrison Mathews, Justin Robinson, Armoni Brooks

June 21st, 2019 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

After selecting Rui Hachimura and acquiring Admiral Schofield in Thursday night’s draft, the Wizards are poised to add a few more rookies to their roster, according to various reports.

Lipscomb shooting guard Garrison Mathews will sign a two-way contract with the Wizards, a league source tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

Washington has also agreed to deals with undrafted Virginia Tech guard Justin Robinson and undrafted Houston guard Armoni Brooks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston, respectively (Twitter links).

Mathews, one of the premier marksmen in the NCAA over the last four years, averaged 20.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG in his final season at Lipscomb, knocking down 3.2 threes per game at a 40.3% rate. The ASUN Player of the Year is set to claim one of the Wizards’ two-way contract slots for the 2019/20 season, per Givony.

Robinson, meanwhile, has agreed to a multiyear deal that will feature a “substantial” guarantee, says Charania. Interim GM Tommy Sheppard suggested that Robinson will likely end up in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go, but has a chance to stick with the Wizards, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Robinson averaged 13.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.2 RPG with a .418 3PT% in 24 games in his senior season at Virginia Tech.

As for Brooks, he’s coming off a junior season in which he posted 13.4 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 37 games for Houston. Of his 425 field goal attempts, 310 came from beyond the arc. Berman doesn’t provide any additional details on Brooks’ deal with Washington, but says he’ll sign with the team as an undrafted free agent (Twitter link).

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Draft, Anunoby

June 17th, 2019 at 5:33pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers want to select someone in the mold of Landry Shamet with the No. 24 overall pick.

“[Shamet has] always been an overcomer and mature and very very self-aware,” senior director of scouting Vince Rozman said (via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “…I think those are the guys that tend to make it in that range, because they know their role and they know what’s going to be asked of them.”

Pompey suggests that Cameron Johnson fits the profile and speculates that the UNC product may slip in the draft because of his age. Johnson turned 23 in March.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Wade, Raptors, Workouts

June 11th, 2019 at 8:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics own three of the first 22 selections in the NBA draft and we reported last month that the team was expected to shop at least one of those picks. It appears that Boston has begun making calls with Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders connecting Houston as a potential trade partner for the franchise.

Boston has interest in Clint Capela, though the big man is not the organization’s top priority. As we wait to see if Capela is shipped to Boston or if Danny Ainge‘s squad unloads a first-rounder elsewhere, let’s take a look at some draft notes from the Atlantic Division:

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Notes: Brown, Workouts, GM Search

June 6th, 2019 at 7:42pm CST by clarkcrum

Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington sat down with Wizards rookie Troy Brown Jr. to discuss his first year in the NBA, which began with an overwhelming welcome at the combine and finished with Brown becoming a calmer, wiser, 19-year-old man.

“I wouldn’t say I was lost (in regard to the 2018 NBA Combine), but I didn’t know what to expect,” Brown said. “I was just kind of going about things, trying to do everything the best I could. …I knew I was going to get drafted, but it was more about the work that I put in. Is it going to happen? I want to go this number (in the draft). There’s a lot of stuff running through your brain.”

Immediate expectations for Brown’s rookie season were not very high, as Washington came into the season with playoff aspirations and more. But after a disappointing 2018/19 campaign, Brown may be the most important player on the roster long term after All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal.

“It’s definitely weird not knowing who is going to be back and knowing our whole roster (might) be different… (but) (a)t the same time, you know it’s a business… I’m kind of use to it now. I had 24 teammates in one year.”

There’s more out of D.C. tonight:

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0