Christian Vital Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Sign, Waive Four Players

October 15th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have signed and waived David Johnson, Reggie Perry, Christian Vital and Ryan Hawkins, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. All four players got Exhibit 10 contracts and will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with Raptors 905 in the G League.

Toronto selected Johnson with the 47th pick in the 2021 draft and signed him to a two-way contract last season. He saw minimal playing time in two NBA games, but averaged 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23 G League contests.

Perry played nine games for the Trail Blazers and one with the Pacers last season, all on 10-day contracts.

Vital joined the Raptors for Summer League action, and the team recently acquired his rights in a G League trade. Hawkins also played for Toronto’s Summer League team after going undrafted out of Creighton.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Williamson, Silas, Adams, Lecque

September 29th, 2022 at 8:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have never paid the luxury tax but that could change soon, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Owner Gayle Benson is willing to pay the tax, according to Pelicans executive VP David Griffin, since the team has the ability to become a serious contender.

“We’re not bound by, ‘We won’t pay the tax,'” Griffin said. “We will not frivolously pay the tax. If this team is in a position to be as good as we hope to be, I don’t think resources are going to be the reason we won’t get where we need to go.”

The Pelicans are currently approximately $3.6MM below the NBA’s luxury tax line of $150.3MM.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Following a season in which he rehabbed a foot injury, Pelicans big man Zion Williamson left his coach and teammates awestruck in two practices Tuesday, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “What stood out was his force more than anything,” coach Willie Green said. “He got down the floor quickly. When he caught the ball, he made quick decisions. Whether it was scoring, finding a teammate. It was really impressive to see.” Williamson inked a five-year, max extension this summer.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas wasn’t thrilled by what he saw during Wednesday’s practice, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I saw we have a lot of work to do,” Silas said. “(It’s) day two, obviously. We did a good job of putting things in. We scrimmaged quite a bit today and it’s evident, it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s going to be a process for us. We’re going to have to learn from mistakes and watch film and get better as a result.”
Steven Adams taking 3-pointers this season? It’s not out of the question. “He’s definitely putting in the work over the summer,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins told Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I even told him if you’re open, shoot it. I want him to be aggressive.” However, Adams hopes to keep it a secret weapon. He’s only made one 3-pointer in 14 career attempts.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ G League affiliate, acquired the returning player rights to guard Jalen Lecque from the Raptors 905, the team tweets. The Vipers traded away the returning player rights to Christian Vital. Lecque played four games with the Pacers in 2020/21.

Rockets Sign, Waive Christian Vital

October 16th, 2021 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets have signed and waived former Connecticut point guard Christian Vital, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. He will likely wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley after clearing waivers.

Vital, 24, signed to play in Germany last year after going undrafted. However, his contract was later terminated and he wound up in the G League bubble with the Memphis Hustle. He was briefly in training camp with the Grizzlies last December, also on a sign-and-waive arrangement.

Vital received first-team honors in the American Athletic Conference as a senior in 2020, averaging 16.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Grizzlies Sign Shaq Buchanan, Waive Two Players

December 16th, 2020 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

2:38pm: The Grizzlies have now officially signed Buchanan and cut Vital, according to a second press release from the team. Buchanan currently occupies the 20th spot on Memphis’ roster, while Vital and Smith are both on waivers.

1:48pm: The Grizzlies continue to shuffle players in and out of the spots at the back of their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed free agent guard Christian Vital, waiving guard Zhaire Smith to create room on the 20-man squad.

Vital, who spent his college career at UConn, averaging 16.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.5 SPG in 31 games (32.2 MPG) as a senior in 2019/20. He went undrafted last month, and now looks like a strong candidate to end up with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate. The same is true of Smith, who had just signed with the Grizzlies on Tuesday.

It’s not uncommon to see players being released a day or two after they’re signed at this time of year. Signing a player to an Exhibit 10 contract and then cutting him allows an NBA team to secure the player’s G League affiliate rights if they don’t already belong to another NBAGL club, or to line up a $50K bonus for returning-rights players.

It appears that 6’3″ guard Shaq Buchanan will be one of the Hustle’s returning-rights players. After spending his rookie season with Memphis’ G League team last season, averaging 11.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 33 games (22.4 MPG), Buchanan has signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Grizzlies again this year, agent Josh Goodwin tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

After swapping out Smith for Vital, the Grizzlies have a full 20-man roster, so they’ll need to waive another player in order to officially announce the Buchanan signing. Ahmad Caver and Bennie Boatwright are the most obvious candidates to be cut, but we’ll await official word from the club.

Draft Notes: Bowen, Vital, Shabazz, Ona Embo

May 22nd, 2018 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

After being linked to a scandal at Louisville, 6’7″ wing Brian Bowen II transferred to South Carolina, but has still not been cleared by the NCAA or played in a single college game. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, it has been a frustrating journey for Bowen, who calls it “the biggest thing I’ve ever been through in my life.”

The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their college eligibility is May 30, meaning Bowen only has about another week to make up his mind. As of now, the NCAA has offered little clarity on whether or not he can expect to be cleared for the 2018/19 season, complicating his decision. Still, as Reynolds details, Bowen is trying to stay positive.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Bowen said. “Somebody’s situation is always going to be worse than mine. Other people in my family have worse situations than I have. I just have to learn, use it as a learning experience, use it as motivation and have a chip on my shoulder.”

Here’s more on the 2018 NBA draft:

UConn guard Christian Vital has officially withdrawn his name from the 2018 draft pool, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Vital, who averaged 14.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in his sophomore year with the Huskies, had announced his decision with a tweet that suggested he has “unfinished business” at UConn.
Appalachian State junior guard Ronshad Shabazz confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link) that he’ll be removing his name from the 2018 NBA draft. Shabazz, who wasn’t considered likely to be drafted, was facing a May 30 deadline for his decision to withdraw.
Tulane guard Ray Ona Embo, who had been testing the draft waters without an agent, is expected to head back to school for his junior season, tweets Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. Embo averaged 10.1 PPG, 3.3 APG, and 3.2 RPG with a .432/.365/.719 shooting line in 2017/18.
Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post rounds up several of his observations from last week’s draft combine, writing that Kevin Huerter (Maryland), Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), and Grayson Allen (Duke) were among the big winners in Chicago.

Draft Updates: Matthews, Shine, Huerter, Vital

April 20th, 2018 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Junior guard Charles Matthews, a key contributor during Michigan’s Final Four run in this year’s NCAA tournament, announced today (via Twitter) that he’ll test the draft waters, entering his name in the pool without hiring an agent.

Although he’s not viewed as a first-round prospect, Matthews enjoyed a successful March Madness run for the Wolverines, averaging 16.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG with a .532 FG% in Michigan’s five wins. He posted just six points and three boards in the championship game before fouling out.

We have a few more draft updates to pass along, so let’s dive in…

Oklahoma State guard Tavarius Shine, who is forgoing his final year of NCAA eligibility and going pro, has signed with JCK Sports Group for representation, the agency announced today (via Twitter). Shine is one of two redshirt juniors leaving Oklahoma State a year early, joining teammate Yankuba Sima, as Nathan Ruiz of The Oklahoman detailed last month.
Maryland sophomore Kevin Huerter will enter the draft without hiring an agent, the school announced today in a press release. The 6’7″ shooting guard had a nice year for the Terrapins in 2017/18, averaging 14.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.4 APG with an efficient .503/.417/.758 shooting line.
UConn sophomore guard Christian Vital is testing the NBA draft waters, as Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports tweets. Vital is considered unlikely to be drafted, so he could withdraw his name before the May 30 deadline and return to school for his junior year.
According to Rothstein (via Twitter), invitations for this year’s NBA draft combine will be sent out next Friday, April 27. The event is scheduled to take place from May 16-20 in Chicago, right after the league conducts the draft lottery on May 15.