Chimezie Metu

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/23/18

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Kings have recalled rookie big man Harry Giles from the Stockton Kings, according to James Ham of NBC Sports California (via Twitter).
  • The Spurs announced in a press release that they have recalled rookies Chimezie Metu and Lonnie Walker from their G League affiliate in Austin. Walker has yet to make his debut for the Spurs as he continues his recovery from a knee injury he suffered during the preseason.
  • The Warriors have recalled rookie guard Jacob Evans from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to a press release sent out by the team.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/9/18

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/8/18

Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Grizzlies have recalled rookie guard Jevon Carter from their Memphis Hustle affiliate, the team announced on Twitter. Carter was sent to the G League on Thursday.
  • The Hornets have assigned forward Dwayne Bacon to the Greensboro Swarm, according to the team website. This is the second trip to the G League for Bacon, who has played one game for the Swarm and 15 for Charlotte.
  • The Spurs sent forward Chimezie Metu to the Austin Toros so he could play in tonight’s game, tweets JeffGSpursZone.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/1/18

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Hornets sent forward Dwayne Bacon and guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced on its website. This is the first G League assignment of the season for Bacon, who has appeared in 13 games for Charlotte and is averaging 6.4 points per night. It’s the third time for Graham, who has gotten into eight NBA games.
  • The Spurs assigned Chimezie Metu to their Austin affiliate, according to the team website. He has appeared in 12 games with San Antonio.
  • The Pistons have recalled Luke Kennard from Auburn Hills, the team announced in an email. Kennard is recovering from an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder that has sidelined him for the past 15 games.
  • The Pelicans sent rookie Kenrich Williams to the G League, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. New Orleans doesn’t have a direct affiliate, so Williams has been assigned to the Westchester Knicks.
  • The Knicks called up center Luke Kornet from Westchester and placed him on the active list for tonight’s game, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link).
  • The Rockets recalled guard Brandon Knight from their Rio Grande affiliate, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/21/18

Here are Wednesday’s assignment and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Magic have recalled Melvin Frazier Jr. from their G League affiliate, according to the team’s Twitter Feed. The shooting guard appeared in one game during his G League stint, scoring 11 points while adding four rebounds.
  • The Spurs have recalled Chimezie Metu from the Austin Spurs, according to a team press release. Metu had 22 points and 10 rebounds during his lone G League appearance.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/20/18

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Spurs have assigned Chimezie Metu to the team’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, according to their website. Metu has seen action in nine NBA games this season, averaging 6.0 per contest.
  • The Timberwolves have assigned Keita Bates-Diop to the Iowa Wolves, per the team’s Twitter feed. This is Bates-Diop’s second G League stint this season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/9/18

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Hornets assigned rookie guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. Graham has appeared in two games with Charlotte, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.5 APG in 9.5 MPG. The 6’2 Kansas product, an early second-round pick, has averaged 23.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 8.0 APG in two outings with Greensboro.
  • The Sixers recalled forward Jonah Bolden from the Delaware Blue Coats prior to their game against the Hornets on Friday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The 6’10” Bolden, a 2017 second-rounder, has appeared in four NBA games this season but none this month.
  • The Spurs recalled forward Chimezie Metu from the Austin Spurs after assigning him to the G League on Thursday, according to a team press release. The 6’10” Metu, a second-round pick in June, is averaging 1.6 PPG  and 1.2 RPG in 4.0 MPG over five games with San Antonio.
  • The Thunder assigned forward Abdel Nader to the Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. The 6’6” Nader, acquired from Boston in July, has seen just seven minutes of action with OKC.
  • The Clippers assigned guards Jerome Robinson and Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, then recalled Thornwell, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links). The 6’5” Thornwell has yet to make his season debut with the Clippers after appearing in 73 games last season. The 6’5” Robinson, the 13th overall pick in this June’s draft, has appeared in seven games and averaged 2.9 PPG in 5.0 MPG.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/8/18

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Pistons recalled forward Henry Ellenson and guard Khyri Thomas from the Grand Rapids Drive, the team announced in a press release. Ellenson has averaged 21.3 points in three games for the Drive, while Thomas has averaged 19 points in three games.
  • The Thunder assigned and later recalled forward Abdel Nader from the Oklahoma City Blue, the team’s G League affiliate. Nader has played six minutes in three games with the Thunder this season.
  • The Spurs announced they have assigned forward Chimezie Metu to the Austin Spurs in the G League. Metu was drafted 49th overall in 2018 by San Antonio.
  • The Jazz assigned Tony Bradley to the Salt Lake City Stars (Twitter link). Bradley is in his second season with Utah.

Spurs Notes: Walker, Duncan, Cunningham, Metu

A Spurs legend is helping Lonnie Walker navigate his first NBA training camp, writes Jabari Young of The Athletic. Tim Duncan has served as a mentor to the rookie guard, helping him refine his game to get ready for the start of the season.

“It’s a little surreal,” Walker said. “But that’s probably one of the best things about being a rookie, especially being drafted by the Spurs. You have players who are [the] previous greatest of all-time, such as him and Manu [Ginobili], and they treat you like family.”

Walker admits to being awe-struck the first time he met Duncan, but their relationship has become much more comfortable. Duncan is seen as a teacher who happy to pass along advice to any Spurs player, and he has become a surrogate to coach Gregg Popovich.

“It’s nothing unusual for us to see,” long-time Spur Patty Mills said. “[It’s] that same characteristic that Manu has of being able to help younger guys for the better of the team. Just because he’s retired doesn’t mean that that trait can’t keep going.”

There’s more tonight from San Antonio:

  • Popovich used numerous combinations in the preseason opener, but he seems fond of a second unit that provides a lot of floor spacing, Young adds in a separate story. The group had Mills on the floor along with Jakob Poeltl, Davis Bertans, Marco Belinelli and Bryn Forbes“It’s a unit that can score,” Popovich said. “With Jakob in the post and shooters all around, it can be pretty interesting. We’re blessed with some people who can put it in the basket, and we want to put them in situations where they can use those skills.”
  • The Spurs like the toughness that veteran forward Dante Cunningham brings to the court, relays Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio gave Cunningham a one-year, $2.5MM contract after deciding not to match the Grizzlies’ offer sheet for Kyle Anderson. Cunningham has been with six other teams during his nine-year NBA career, including the Pelicans and Nets last season. “I like to think I am more of a ball player than a position kind of guy — kind of short to be a center, kind of tall to be in a guardish-type situation,” he said. “But I kind of battle around and do a little bit of everything, I guess.”
  • Second-rounder Chimezie Metu has made a quick impression on his teammates with his shot-blocking skills, with LaMarcus Aldridge calling him “a pogo stick,” Orsborn notes in another piece.

Spurs Sign Chimezie Metu To Three-Year Deal

SEPTEMBER 4: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

AUGUST 30: The Spurs have reached a contract agreement with 2018 second-round pick Chimezie Metu, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Metu is signing a three-year deal with San Antonio.

Metu, a 6’11” forward/center, declared for the draft as an early entrant this past spring after a productive season at USC. In his junior year, Metu averaged 15.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 1.7 BPG with a .523 FG% in 34 games.

The Spurs used the 49th overall pick in the 2018 draft to nab Metu, and while it took a couple months for the two sides to finalize a contract agreement, Charania notes that the team is “high” on the young big man.

San Antonio will use a portion of its mid-level exception to complete its deal with Metu. The Spurs initially used about $6.15MM of their $8.64MM MLE to sign Marco Belinelli, and could’ve fit Dante Cunningham‘s one-year, $2.49MM contract neatly into the remaining portion of that exception.

[RELATED: How teams are using 2018/19 mid-level exceptions]

However, signing Cunningham using the mid-level exception would’ve prevented San Antonio from offering Metu more than two years, since the team only would have had the bi-annual exception and minimum salary exception still available in that scenario. Instead, the Spurs completed their deal with Cunningham using the bi-annual exception, leaving their MLE open for Metu.

The Spurs currently have 13 players on fully guaranteed salaries, not counting Manu Ginobili, who figures to be waived at some point after having announced his retirement. Metu’s deal will almost certainly have at least a guaranteed first year, increasing San Antonio’s fully guaranteed contract count to 14. Quincy Pondexter, who reportedly received a partial guarantee on his new contract, is also in the mix for a spot on the regular season roster.