Ja Morant ranks slightly higher on the Knicks’ board, but the team will be content to stay put at No. 3 and take Barrett if that’s how the draft works out, a source tells Berman.
There’s more from New York on the eve of the draft:
Since the NBA introduced two-way contracts in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, no rookie drafted higher than No. 49 has signed one. However, Nuggets center Bol Bol – this year’s No. 44 overall pick – appears likely to fill one of Denver’s two-way slots, a source tells Nick Kosmider of The Athletic.
The Nuggets currently have an open spot on their projected 15-man regular season roster, as well as two open two-way contract slots. While it’s possible Bol will sign a standard deal and become Denver’s 15th man, Kosmider suggests the team seems content to keep that roster spot open for now, perhaps saving it for a third point guard, a trade deadline acquisition, or another purpose.
As Kosmider explains, Bol may not be ready to make an NBA impact as a rookie, since he missed much of last year with a left foot injury and still needs to put on weight. If he were on a two-way deal, he’d be able to work with the Nuggets’ development coaches and training staff while coming along slowly in the G League. If he shows he’s capable of contributing at the NBA level, the 7’2″ youngster could be elevated to the standard roster.
The Nuggets have a history of promoting promising two-way players to their standard roster — Torrey Craig and Monte Morris, who are now key rotation pieces in Denver, spent the 2017/18 season on two-way deals.
Still, signing a two-way contract (which has a base salary starting at about $80K) would be a disappointing turn of events for Bol, who was considered a probable lottery pick at this time last year. If his camp is resisting a two-way deal, that may explain why he’s one of just four 2019 draftees who is still unsigned.
Even if Bol signs a two-way contract, it remains to be seen how the Nuggets will fill their second two-way slot, writes Kosmider. Mike Singer of The Denver Post suggests that Tyler Cook will likely get a two-way deal, while Kosmider believes that other training camp invitees, including PJ Dozier, may get the opportunity to compete for that spot.
We’re about a month and a half removed from the 2019 NBA draft, and the contract statuses of 56 of the 60 players selected on that night have been determined.
As our list of draft pick signings shows, 53 players – 29 first-round picks and 24 second-rounders – have signed contracts with their new NBA teams. Three more players – Didi Louzada (Pelicans), Deividas Sirvydis (Pistons), and Vanja Marinkovic (Kings) – will reportedly spend the 2019/20 season overseas in various international leagues.
That leaves just four players whose contract situation for ’19/20 remains up in the air. Those players are as follows:
Okeke is the lone 2019 first-rounder who remains unsigned, and it’s probably not just a coincidence that he’s the last one to ink his rookie contract. He tore his ACL in March and is expected to miss a good chunk – if not all – of his rookie season. While virtually every first-round pick signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, the Cavaliers were able to get Kevin Porter for lower than that earlier in the offseason — it’s possible the Magic are exploring a similar deal with Okeke.
Bol, meanwhile, figures to sign with the Nuggets eventually. The team still has a projected opening on its 15-man regular season roster, plus a pair of open two-way contract slots. I’d expect Bol to sign a standard deal, but the two sides will have to reach an agreement on the years, dollars, and guarantee amounts. Since Denver has its full mid-level exception available, a variety of options are on the table.
As for McDaniels and Hands, they look like strong candidates to sign two-way contracts. Both the Nets and Hornets have an open two-way slot, and players selected in the 50-60 range frequently end up on two-way deals. While Brooklyn already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, Charlotte is only carrying 13, so it’s possible a regular season roster spot is still in play for McDaniels.
Vlatko Cancar will have plenty of competition at the forward spots but the 22-year-old could help the Nuggets in a variety of ways, as Eric Spyropoulos of the team’s website details. While playing on Denver’s summer league team for two years, Cancar has shown that he can handle the ball, knock down outside shots and battle in the lane. He doesn’t bring elite mobility at the defensive end but he uses his basketball IQ and awareness to position himself well, Spyropoulos adds.
Cancar, a 2017 second-round pick who spent the last two seasons overseas, signed a three-year contract. The first two years are guaranteed and the Nuggets used part of their mid-level exception to secure him, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. They are now $979K below the luxury tax line, Marks adds.
We have more from around the Western Conference:
NBA teams weren’t allowed to send out more than $5.243MM in trades during the 2018/19 league year, but the Jazz entered last Thursday’s draft will that full allotment still available, and made use of it during the second round.
According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter), the Jazz sent their own unprotected 2021 second-round pick along with $1MM in cash to the Pacers in order to acquire the No. 50 overall pick. Utah used that selection to nab Charleston forward Jarrell Brantley.
The Jazz also traded for one more selection near the very end of the draft, sending $2MM to the Warriors in exchange for the rights to No. 58 pick Miye Oni, tweets Pincus. In total, Utah gave up $3MM and a future second-rounder to acquire the two picks in the 50s.
Here are a few more leftover trade details from draft night, courtesy of Pincus:
11:28pm: The trade is now official, per an announcement from the Nuggets. The draft pick the Heat received in the trade is a 2022 second-rounder, according to a press release from Miami.
10:51pm: The Nuggets have reached an agreement to trade for No. 44 pick Bol Bol, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Heat officially selected the Oregon center, but will send his draft right rights to Denver.
Miami will receive a future second-rounder and cash from Denver, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated tweets.
The freshman big man, who only played nine games for the Ducks due to a foot injury, took the biggest slide in the draft. The son of former NBA center Manute Bol projected as a mid-first round selection and was one of 20 players invited to the Green Room.
Bol could miss a sizable chunk of next season, so the Nuggets are essentially bringing in another rehab project for the second straight draft. They acquired the rights to forward Michael Porter Jr. in the first round last summer and Porter sat out the entire season.
The Knicks held a last-minute workout with North Carolina guard Coby White this morning, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s the second significant workout in less than 24 hours for New York, which brought in Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland yesterday.
White was impressive in the private session, according to Ian Begley of SNY.TV (Twitter link), and the Knicks are prepared to trade down if they get the right offer. They have also worked out Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver and met with Duke’s Cam Reddish, but are still expected to select Duke’s R.J. Barrett if they remain at No. 3.
There’s more draft news as tonight’s event draws closer:
Family considerations are part of the reason R.J. Barrett wants to be drafted by the Knicks tomorrow, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. At a press conference today, Barrett explained that his grandfather was a huge Knicks fan, his mother is from Brooklyn and his father played at St. John’s.
It appears Barrett will get his wish, unless someone leapfrogs New York and makes a deal with Memphis for the No. 2 pick. He has turned down requests for a workout with the Grizzlies, saying he prefers to play for the Knicks.
“My agent and I and my parents, we just decided not to (work out for Memphis),’’ Barrett said. “Not really anything wrong with Memphis. New York is just more where I wanted to be.”
Ja Morant ranks slightly higher on the Knicks’ board, but the team will be content to stay put at No. 3 and take Barrett if that’s how the draft works out, a source tells Berman.
There’s more from New York on the eve of the draft:
Oregon center Bol Bol has received the last of 20 invites to the draft’s Green Room, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Bol Bol is ranked No. 15 overall by Givony. The 7’2” freshman appeared in only nine games with the Ducks due to a foot injury but averaged 21.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG.
We have more draft notes:
As expected, Oregon center Bol Bol held a Pro Day on Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that about a dozen NBA teams attended the event, including five general managers. Bol, who is viewed as one of the draft’s biggest high-risk, high-reward prospects, is coming back from surgery on his left foot and wanted to use the Pro Day to ease concerns about his health, says Givony.
Givony adds that Bol showed on Wednesday why he’s considered a top-five prospect in terms of talent, and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (Twitter link) also hears from teams that the young big man looked good. However, Vecenie points out that the questions about Bol weren’t going to get answered in a non-contact open gym setting. He remains one of the draft’s most intriguing wild cards.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
Former Michigan guard Charles Matthews suffered some bad luck with the 2019 NBA draft right around the corner, as agent Adam Pensack tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com that his client has a torn ACL. The injury occurred during a workout with the Celtics, Givony adds.
Matthews, who had been ranked as the No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s big board and was receiving second-round interest, will head to his hometown of Chicago to undergo surgery to repair the ACL. He hasn’t given up hope of being selected in next week’s draft.
“Injuries are tough, but Charles is an extremely hard worker and will be back stronger than ever,” Pensack told Givony. “He had a series of outstanding workouts lately and has helped himself. Charles will continue that momentum when he returns to action. As of now, we have interest in the second round as Charles is OK signing a two-way contract like Edmond Sumner did with the Indiana Pacers in 2017.”
Let’s round up a few more draft-related items…