Brian Bowen Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Sign Brian Bowen To Two-Way Contract

November 27th, 2020 at 8:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 28: Bowen’s two-way deal has been finalized, according to RealGM’s log of official transactions.

NOVEMBER 27: The Pacers made Brian Bowen an unrestricted free agent, then decided to bring him back.

Bowen will return to Indiana on a two-way deal, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Indiana didn’t extend a qualifying offer to Bowen prior to free agency after he played his rookie season on a two-way deal.

The small forward appeared in just six games with the Pacers last season. He averaged 16.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG in 29 games with the G League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Bowen played professionally in Australia during the 2018/19 season for the Sydney Kings before going undrafted.

Indiana has its other two-way spot available. Check out our Two-Way Contract Tracker for the latest updates.

QO Updates: Wanamaker, Hernangomez, Fall, Chiozza, More

November 19th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics won’t be making a qualifying offer to guard Brad Wanamaker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The decision will ensure that Wanamaker becomes an unrestricted free agent on Friday, rather than an RFA.

The decision is a little surprising, as Wanamaker’s QO would only have been worth about $1.82MM. And he was a fairly reliable bench contributor in Boston in 2019/20, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.5 APG on .448/.363/.926 shooting in 71 games (19.3 MPG). However, with Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard entering the mix, the Celtics don’t have a ton of roster spots to go around.

There’s still a chance that Wanamaker could return to the Celtics, particularly if Gordon Hayward ends up elsewhere, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Here are several more updates on qualifying offer decisions from around the NBA:

The Timberwolves, as expected, tendered a qualifying offer to power forward Juan Hernangomez, making him a restricted free agent, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That QO is worth about $4.6MM. Hernangomez could accept it, but is more likely to try to negotiate a new, longer-term deal with Minnesota.
The Celtics extended qualifying offers to both of their two-way players, Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters, the team announced in a press release. Those QOs are for new two-way deals with $50K guarantees.
The Pacers won’t extend qualifying offers to big man Alize Johnson or two-way players Brian Bowen and Naz Mitrou-Long, tweets Scotto. All three players will become unrestricted free agents.
Among other two-way players, Nets guard Chris Chiozza will receive a qualifying offer, but Pelicans guard Josh Gray won’t, according to Scotto (Twitter links). The Heat also won’t send a QO to two-way player Kyle Alexander, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Central Notes: Mitrou-Long, Markkanen, Griffin, Drummond

November 18th, 2019 at 2:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Injuries have thrust Pacers two-way players Naz Mitrou-Long and Brian Bowen into action more than anticipated in the early going, Mark Monteith of the team’s website notes. Backcourt injuries forced Indiana to play Mitrou-Long 14 minutes on Saturday one night after he scored 28 points for its G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Bowen made a five-minute appearance in the loss to Milwaukee.

We have more from the Central Division:

Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen hasn’t reached the 20-point mark since scoring 35 points in the season opener and shooting guard Zach LaVine is looking to change that, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays. “He just doesn’t seem in rhythm right now man. It’s a new offense. And I think it has a part to do with it,” LaVine said. “We’ve just got to help him find it.”
Injuries to Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose have contributed greatly to the Pistons’ 4-9 start. With some days off and both stars back in action, coach Dwane Casey is hoping to get things back on track, Keith Langlois of the team’s website writes. “We’ve got three or four days we can practice,” he said. “Before, there was one day in between. … Sounds like an excuse. But it’s going to take a while for our guys to jell together, work together, learn each other. With Blake and Derrick back, for them to learn each other. It’s going to be a marathon.”
The Pistons will have to consider drastic changes if they don’t break the cycle of mediocrity soon, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. The trade for Griffin hasn’t resulted in a huge uptick in the team’s fortunes, Beard continues. Andre Drummond, who can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, hasn’t impacted winning significantly enough to warrant another long-term deal in many people’s minds, Beard adds.

Pacers Agree To Deal With Sumner; Sign Bowen, Gant, Wilcox

July 1st, 2019 at 4:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Edmond Sumner has agreed to a three-year contract to stay with the Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The third year will be a team option, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets.

Sumner appeared in 23 games last season, averaging 2.9 PPG in 9.1 MPG. He has a $1.8MM cap hold, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, which is factored into the team’s $5MM of remaining cap space. Indiana can keep the hold in place, use the remaining room and then officially sign Sumner.

The Pacers declined his $1.6MM team option but tendered a qualifying offer to the former second-round pick to make him a restricted free agent.

We have more on the Pacers:

Forward Brian Bowen II has signed a two-way contract, according to a team press release. Bowen played professionally in Australia during the 2018/19 season for the Sydney Kings. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 30 games. Bowen, 20, went undrafted. He was ruled ineligible to play last season by the NCAA after a recruiting scandal at Louisville.
Forward Jakeenan Gant and guard C.J. Wilcox were signed to Exhibit 10 contracts. Gant played for Louisiana-Lafayette and was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference. He averaged 20.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG in his senior year. Wilcox was on a two-way contract with the Pacers last summer before suffering a torn right Achilles tendon prior to training camp. He was a late first-round pick for the Clippers in 2014 and played in G League during the 2017-18 season.
Bowen’s and Gant’s deals with Indiana were previously reported in June.

Pacers Adding Brian Bowen, Jakeenan Gant

June 21st, 2019 at 10:46am CST by Arthur Hill

Brian Bowen, who played in Australia last season with the Sydney Kings, will join the Pacers on a two-way contract, tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. Indiana is also signing Jakeenan Gant of Louisiana to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Bowen will opt out of the second year of his Australian contract to come to the NBA, tweets Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. The former McDonald’s All-American went overseas after the NCAA declared him ineligible in the wake of a recruiting scandal at Louisville. He declared for the draft last year, but withdrew before the deadline.

Bowen worked out for the Pacers last month and told Robert General of The Indianapolis Star that he wants to change the public perception of him.

“There’s a lot of narratives out there about me, but once you meet me you can tell I have a pretty good character and everything,” Bowen said. “I like to be responsible and everything and I’m just going to show teams that I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

Gant has been named Defensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt the past two seasons. He was also the league’s top rebounder at 8.7 per night, while averaging 20.5 points and 2.6 blocks.

Draft Notes: Wolves, Kings, Pistons

June 12th, 2019 at 9:03pm CST by clarkcrum

We’re continuing to pass along workout schedules for NBA teams in advance of the 2019 NBA Draft on June 20. See below for some additional workout notes from Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Detroit.

French standout Sekou Doumbouya spent a day with the Timberwolves earlier this week, undergoing some medical testing and a workout, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Doumbouya is the No. 9 ranked prospect by ESPN. Minnesota owns the No. 11 pick in this month’s draft.
Wolfson adds that Kentucky’s PJ Washington worked out for the Timberwolves today alongside some other prospects. ESPN ranks Washington as the No. 16 overall prospect.
The Kings hosted six prospects for a workout on Tuesday. Per an official release, the list of players that worked out is guard Marcquise Reed (Clemson), guard Shaq Buchanan (Murray State), guard Bryce Brown (Auburn), guard Frank Howard (Syracuse), forward Juwan Morgan (Indiana), and forward Aric Holman (Mississippi State).
Tomorrow, the Kings will host six more prospects for their 15th pre-draft workout. Per an official release, the workout participants are guard Rickey McGill (Iona), guard Jeremiah Martin (Memphis), guard Ar’Mond Davis (UC Santa Barbara), forward Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State), forward Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), and big man Christ Koumadje (Florida State).
The Pistons held a workout today as well, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. They hosted Brian Bowen, Jalen Adams (UConn), Jarrell Brantley (Charleston), Robert Franks (Washington State), Khalil Iverson (Wisconsin), and Terance Mann (Florida State).

Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Barrett, Knicks, Pistons

June 10th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With six of the top 44 picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Hawks have been understandably busy when it comes to bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. While Atlanta is unlikely to keep all six of its selections, the club is doing its due diligence on players who might be available at each spot — or as undrafted free agents.

On Sunday, the Hawks worked out Darius Bazley (Princeton HS), Robert Franks (Washington State), Matur Maker (Zlatorog Lasko), William McDowell-White (Baunach), Miye Oni (Yale), and Trayvon Reed (Texas Southern), according to the team.

The Hawks conducted another workout on Monday, bringing in Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Brian Bowen (Sydney), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), Jordan Poole (Michigan), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) in for a look.

On Tuesday, the Hawks will host yet another workout, with Charlie Brown Jr. (St. Joe’s), Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Nassir Little (UNC), KZ Okpala (Stanford), and Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) set to participate.

Here are a few more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Eastern Conference:

R.J. Barrett doesn’t have many team visits on his schedule this month. According to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter), Barrett’s individual workout and meeting with the Knicks today represents his first and only session of the pre-draft process. “This is the place I want to be. So I hope they draft me,” the Duke forward said today (Twitter link via Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic). Barrett is widely viewed as the favorite to be selected with the No. 3 overall pick.
Croatian forward Luka Samanic, an early entrant who will keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool, will have an individual workout on Tuesday with the Pacers, the team announced in a press release.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech), KeVaughn Allen (Florida), Robert Franks (Washington State), Tyler Herro (Kentucky), Christ Koumadje (Florida State), and Greg Malinowski (Georgetown) worked out for the Magic on Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
The Pistons worked out Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech), Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Nassir Little (UNC), and Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s) on Friday, then auditioned Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Barry Brown Jr. (Kansas State), Digue Diawara (France), Nikola Miskovic (Serbia), Zach Jackson (Omaha), and Josh Perkins (Gonzaga) on Monday, per Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter links).

Kings Notes: Cauley-Stein, Workouts, Team USA

June 8th, 2019 at 2:43pm CST by clarkcrum

The Kings are known to be looking for a starting center when free agency begins on June 30, but does that mean that it’s time for Sacramento and former No. 6 overall pick Willie Cauley-Stein to part ways?

Jason Jones of The Athletic opines that even though the Kings have the ability to make Cauley-Stein a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of just under $6.3MM, it might be best after four seasons for both sides to see what else is out there, especially if the Kings can pick up someone like Nikola Vucevic.

The 25-year-old big man had some bright spots during the 2018/19 campaign, including a hot start that helped make the Kings one of the NBA’s surprise teams to start the season. But, the Kings still feel that Cauley-Stein is an average to below-average rebounder for a big man, and his blocks per game this past season were the lowest of his career.

Perhaps more importantly, the Kings really like what they already have from young, cheaper big men like Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles, and questions still remain, fairly or not, about Cauley-Stein’s desire and focus, which the Kings aren’t sure will now suddenly change after four seasons in the NBA.

There’s more out of Sacramento this weekend:

The Kings brought in six prospects for workouts on Thursday, per the team’s website. The players are: guard Jordan Bone (Tennessee), guard Terence Davis (Mississippi), swingman Brian Bowen (Australia), forward Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State), forward Trey Mourning (Georgetown), and big man Chris Silva (South Carolina).
Six more more NBA hopefuls will work out for the Kings on Monday, per a report on the team’s website. The prospects are: guard Kyle Guy (Virginia), guard B.J. Taylor (UCF), guard John Konchar (IPFW), guard Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian), swingman Jakeenan Gant (UL Lafayette), and forward Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky).
As we relayed earlier this week, two Kings’ players will be participating in USA Basketball this summer. Harrison Barnes will be at USA Basketball’s August training camp ahead of the FIBA World Cup in China this fall, while the aforementioned Bagley will be part of the 10-man select team that will scrimmage against the 18-man FIBA World Cup roster.

Draft Notes: Aiken, Wieskamp, Bowen, Jazz

May 23rd, 2019 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

All-Ivy League guard Bryce Aiken will take advantage of his final remaining year of NCAA eligibility and will return to Harvard for his senior season, the program announced today in a press release. Aiken had elected to test the draft waters this spring, but ultimately decided to pull out of the 2019 pool before next Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline.

“After having the opportunity to experience the NBA underclassmen process, I’m looking forward to graduating with my class next year, and, hopefully, leading Harvard basketball to unprecedented heights,” Aiken said in a statement.

Here are a few more draft-related notes and updates:

Count Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp among those early entrants who has also decided to withdraw from the draft process and return to school. The Hawkeyes made Wieskamp’s decision official in a press release.
Draft-eligible prospect Brian Bowen has workouts lined up with the Jazz, Warriors, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Bowen previously worked out for Indiana.
Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy, who previously worked out for the Grizzlies, will be part of the Jazz‘s group workout tomorrow, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Jon Axel Gudmundsson (Davidson), Zach Norvell Jr. (Gonzaga), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), and Donnie Tillman (Utah) will also be part of that workout, according to the Jazz (Twitter link).
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares some of his takeaways from last week’s draft combine, identifying Luka Samanic, Nicolas Claxton, and Mfiondu Kabengele as a few of the event’s standouts, and digging into Bol Bol‘s draft stock.

Draft Notes: Brazdeikis, Pistons, Pacers, Dort, Wooten

May 20th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

University of Michigan freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis is strongly leaning toward staying the draft, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. “Definitely leaning toward staying in,” he said while working out for the Pistons on Monday. Brazdeikis’ representatives have told him he’ll go anywhere from No. 20-40 in the draft, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony currently pegs the power forward at No. 46 overall.

We have more developments regarding draft prospects:

The Pistons brought in two groups of prospects, including Brazdeikis, on Monday, Langlois notes in a separate tweet. The first group included centers Naz Reid (LSU) and Marques Bolden (Duke), point guards Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Nembhard (Florida) and forward Louis King (Oregon) came in during the morning session; Shooting guards Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State) and Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech), forwards Martin Krampelj (Creighton) and Savion Flagg (Texas A&M) and point guard Phil Booth (Villanova) visited during the afternoon session.
The Pacers will conduct a pair of draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced in a press release. The first group includes Brian Bowen II (Australia), Ty Jerome (Virginia), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra). The second group includes Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), CJ Elleby (Washington State), Krampelj, Derrik Smits (Butler), and Lamar Stevens (Penn State). Edwards (No. 25) and Jerome (No. 29) are the highest-rated prospects among those groups, according to Givony.
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort will work out for the Suns, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Jazz next week, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. The 6’5” Dort (Arizona State) is rated No. 27 overall by Givony and No. 7 among shooting guard prospects.
Oregon forward Kenny Wooten wrote on his Instagram account that he will remain in the draft, Steve Mims of DuckSports.com reports. Wooten averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.2 BPG in his sophomore year. He is not listed among Givony’s Top 100 prospects.