B.J. Johnson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Sign Gabe York, B.J. Johnson To Exhibit 10 Deals

September 5th, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have added a pair of players to their 20-man offseason roster, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel, who reports (via Twitter) that Gabe York and B.J. Johnson have signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the team. The Magic have confirmed the signings in a pair of press releases.

Both players figure to ultimately end up with the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League squad, Robbins notes. Exhibit 10 contracts allow an NBA franchise to give bonuses worth up to $50K to players who are released from the team’s NBA roster and spend at least two months with the team’s G League affiliate.

York, who played his college ball at Arizona, went undrafted in 2016 and has since played for teams in the G League, Italy, and Germany. In 44 career NBAGL games for the Erie BayHawks, the 6’3″ guard averaged 15.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG with a .436/.361/.837 shooting line. He participated in a free agent camp with the Jazz earlier this summer.

As for Johnson, he completed his college career this past spring, so this deal with the Magic will be his first professional contract. In his senior year at La Salle, the 6’7″ shooting guard recorded 20.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG, earning Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.

The Magic had two openings on their roster prior to signing York and Johnson, so they’re now at the offseason max. The club is carrying 14 players on fully guaranteed salaries, two on two-way contracts, one (Isaiah Briscoe) with a partial guarantee, and three on non-guaranteed deals.

And-Ones: ROY Predictions, Offseason Rankings, NBAGL

August 6th, 2018 at 4:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has the best chance to win the Rookie of the Year award, according to an ESPN panel. Doncic will fill up the stat sheet and might wind up with the ball more often than second-year guard Dennis Smith Jr., according to Mike Schmitz. Top overall pick Deandre Ayton ranks second on the poll, with Schmitz noting that the Suns big man likely to get more playing time than any other rookie. Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Cavaliers point guard Collin Sexton and Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. round out the top five.

We have more from around the league:

Retaining Paul George in free agency and dumping Carmelo Anthony‘s contract while receiving projected sixth man Dennis Schroder in return earned the Thunder the top spot on NBA.com’s David Aldridge’s offseason rankings. The rankings are based upon what teams have done during the offseason. The Lakers ranked No. 2 by virtue of signing LeBron James and handing out one-year contracts to other players, thus allowing them to be a force again in next year’s free agent market. The Nuggets gained the No. 3 spot by locking up Nikola Jokic and making trades that cleared roster spots and eased their luxury-tax situation.
Forwards DJ Hogg (Texas A&M) and Malik Pope (San Diego State) and swingman BJ Johnson (LaSalle) are among the top 10 prospects at the G League Invitational, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. The invitational takes place Sunday in Chicago and over a dozen of last year’s prospects received training camp invites afterward.
The Warriors’ over-under odds for wins next season is 62.5, according to Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Celtics ranked second overall with a 57.5 over-under win total with the Rockets third at 54.5. The Hawks have the lowest projected win total at 23.5. The odds for each NBA team were passed along by ESPN’s Ben Fawkes.

Draft Workouts: Sixers, Grizzlies, Pacers, Hornets, T-Wolves

June 18th, 2018 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers will host Kentucky forward Kevin Knox and Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith for the second time on Tuesday, according to a team release. Knox’s workout will be separate from the other six players they will bring in, including Smith. The Sixers hold the No. 10 selection in the lottery. Knox is currently ranked No. 9 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Smith is slotted at No. 16.

The other members of the group workout are all guards, including B.J. Johnson (La Salle), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Tyler Nelson (Fairfield), Malik Newman (Kansas) and Landry Shamet (Wichita State). Melton (No. 24, Givony) is a possibility for the Sixers with their other first-rounder at No. 26.

We have numerous other draft workouts to pass along:

Potential first-rounder Bruce Brown (Miami, Fla.) is among the players the Grizzlies will evaluate on Tuesday, according to a team release. Brown, a shooting guard, is currently ranked No. 28 by Givony. Allonzo Trier (Arizona), Anfernee Simons (IMG), Brandon Sampson (LSU), Tim Bond (Eastern Michigan) and Markel Crawford (Ole Miss) are the other players invited to the workout. Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Nuni Omot (Baylor), J.P. Macura (Xavier), Daxter Miles (West Virginia), Brenton Scott (Indiana State) and William Lee (UAB) will visit the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
The Pacers will bring in Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown), Arnoldas Kulboka (Lithuania), Kelan Martin (Butler), Elie Okobo (France), and Theo Pinson (North Carolina) on Tuesday, according to a press release.
The Hornets will be evaluating some second-round prospects on Tuesday, including A.J. Davis (Central Florida), James Demery (St. Joe’s), Jerome Robinson (Boston College), Sam Hunt (North Carolina State) and Jared Terrell (Rhode Island), according to a team release.
Terrell worked out twice for the Timberwolves, according to Rhode Island basketball’s Twitter feed. Frazier visited Minnesota on Saturday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Projected first-round prospect Troy Brown (Oregon) also worked out on Saturday along with Duncan Robinson (Michigan), Andrew Rowsey (Marquette) and Kulboka, according to Wolfson (Twitter links). Duke’s Gary Trent visited on Monday and could also visit the Jazz and Warriors before the draft, Wolfson adds in another tweet.

Draft Notes: Robinson, Kings, Bluiett, Rorie, Caldwell

May 22nd, 2018 at 9:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Despite reports suggesting otherwise, the Lakers aren’t believed to have made a promise to Mitchell Robinson to take him in the first round, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Robinson skipped last week’s combine and a report surfaced that the Lakers made a pledge to him with the No. 25 overall pick. The seven-footer did not play college basketball, as he withdrew from Western Kentucky as a freshman last September to focus on the draft. He’s ranked as the No. 22 prospect on ESPN Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 list.

In other draft-related developments:

The Kings will work out Jaylen Hands (UCLA), Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan), Devon Hall (Virginia), Rawle Alkins (Arizona), B.J. Johnson (La Salle) and George King (Colorado) on Wednesday, according to the team’s website. They brought in Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Jevon Carter (West Virginia), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Caleb Martin (Nevada), Cameron Reynolds (Tulane) and Gabe Vincent (UC Santa Barbara) on Monday.
Bluiett also has workouts scheduled with the Jazz, Bulls and Suns, according to Xavier’s Twitter feed (Twitter link).
Montana guard Ahmaad Rorie will return to school for his senior year, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman tweets. He averaged 17.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 3.7 APG as a junior.
J.J. Caldwell will be going pro, as Goodman relays (via Twitter). The Texas A&M guard had a rocky college career, as he was ineligible as a true freshman, then got kicked off the team this past season in February for off-the-court issues.

Draft Notes: Ferguson, Blakeney, Berry

April 25th, 2017 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Terrance Ferguson has hired Rich Paul of the Klutch Sports Group to be his agent, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The shooting guard opted to play in Australia over attending a university this season and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express pegs him as the 15th best prospect in the draft.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Antonio Blakeney is staying in the draft and he has hired Aaron Turner of the Verus Management Team, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The shooting guard is the 97th best prospect in the draft, according to Givony.
Joel Berry is withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning to North Carolina, according to the university’s website. “I know I can continue to improve my game and be better prepared for the NBA after another year playing against the best college competition in the country. There’s no reason to rush leaving school,” Berry said.
B.J. Johnson is will return to La Salle for his senior season, according to the school’s website. Johnson had previously declared for the draft but didn’t hire an agent.
Elijah Stewart will head back to USC, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reports (Twitter link). Stewart initially intended to declare for the draft without hiring representation, but that didn’t happen because he never submitted the proper paperwork.

And-Ones: Brown, Johnson, Porter Jr., Thunder

March 23rd, 2017 at 10:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Swingman Anthony Brown has a stress fracture in his left ankle and will miss the remainder of the D-League season, Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets. The No. 34 overall pick by the Lakers in the June 2015 draft was averaging 20.3 PPG in 24 games for the Erie BayHawks. Brown was the last cut by the Lakers during training camp this season, then had a brief stint with the Pelicans. He also played for the Magic on a 10-day deal in late January but wasn’t re-signed.

In other news around the league:

La Salle’s B.J. Johnson will test the draft waters but has not hired an agent, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. The 6’7” swingman averaged 17.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG during his junior season. He’s not considered a top 100 prospect by DraftExpress or ESPN’s Chad Ford.
Michael Porter Jr., the nation’s top recruit, has been granted a release from his letter of intent by the University of Washington, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reports. Porter Jr., a 6’10” forward, asked for a release after Lorenzo Romar was fired as Huskies coach last week. Porter Jr.’s father, Michael Porter Sr., has accepted an assistant coaching job at Missouri, according to Borzello, fueling speculation that his son will land there. As Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders notes, Porter Jr. said in a conference call he would seriously considers the Tigers even before news broke of his father’s new job. “It could be something real, real special to be able to come home and do my thing there,” Porter said of possibly playing at Missouri.
The Thunder could make a blockbuster deal this summer to land another star to pair up with Russell Westbrook, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman speculates. The team’s salary commitments prevent it from landing a top-level free agent this summer, Horne explains. Thus, the Thunder would probably have to give up its first-round pick and a player such as Enes Kanter, who enters his walk year next season, to land another All-Star talent, Horne concludes.

Draft Updates: C. Sanders, Rathan-Mayes, Kohs

March 23rd, 2017 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Rutgers guard Corey Sanders has decided to test the draft waters without hiring an agent, the school announced today in a press release. “We support Corey’s choice to enter his name into consideration for the draft,” Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said in a statement. “The evaluation process will provide valuable information. It is in everyone’s best interest that he makes a thorough and informed decision about his future.”

Here’s more draft-related news:

Florida State guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes announced today in a statement that he’ll enter the 2017 NBA draft, and it doesn’t sound as if he’s planning to return to the Seminoles for his senior year. The 22-year-old, who tested the draft waters a year ago, ranks as the 37th-best junior on DraftExpress’s list.
La Salle forward B.J. Johnson will test the draft waters without hiring an agent, tweets Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. Johnson isn’t considered likely to be drafted, but had a solid junior year for La Salle, averaging 17.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG.
Nineteen-year-old Latvian forward Verners Kohs will apply for the draft as an early-entry candidate, according to agent Arturs Kalnitis (via Twitter). So far, most of the early-entry news we’ve heard has involved NCAA underclassmen, but more international players figure to follow Kohs’ lead in the coming weeks.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has published a new mock draft for The Vertical based on updated info on who’s in and out of 2017’s draft pool.