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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/17/16

December 17th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League assignments and recalls for Saturday:

10:01pm:

The Bulls recalled Paul Zipser from Windy City after sending him down earlier in the day, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
The Pistons recalled forward Henry Ellenson and guard Michael Gbinije from their Grand Rapids affiliate, the team announced in an email. Both have appeared in six games for Detroit this season with limited playing time.
The Wizards recalled guard Sheldon McClellan from the Delaware 87ers, tweets J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. McClellan averaged 10.7 points in six games with the D-League team.

3:17pm:

The Hawks have recalled Mike Scott from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Scott helped lead the Long Island Nets to a pair of victories during his assignment this week, contributing 20.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in a pair of starts for the club.
After being assigned to Santa Cruz for Friday night’s game, Warriors center Damian Jones has been recalled to the NBA, according to an official announcement (Twitter link). Jones nearly posted a double-double for Golden State’s D-League affiliate last night, putting up 17 points, nine boards, and two blocks.

12:09pm:

The Nuggets have recalled shooting guard Malik Beasley from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The 20-year-old was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s D-League affiliate, on December 9 and averaged 18.5 points per game in his two contests with the team.
The Bulls have assigned forward Paul Zipser to the D-League, according to an announcement from the club. Zipser has seen action in just seven NBA games this season, most recently playing nine minutes Friday night.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/16/16

December 16th, 2016 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

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

The Warriors have announced that they’ve assigned Damian Jones to the D-League, giving him a chance to suit up for Santa Cruz tonight, tweets Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group. Jones, Golden State’s 2016 first-round pick, made his NBA debut with the Warriors last week, but continues to be brought along slowly after a pectoral injury sidelined him to start the season.
Rookie guard Demetrius Jackson has been sent back to the D-League by the Celtics, the club announced today (via Twitter). Jackson has played very sparingly in Boston so far this year, but has looked good for the Maine Red Claws, averaging 19.6 PPG, 6.5 APG, and 5.9 RPG in eight contests.
The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet from the D-League after the duo played in Thursday night’s Raptors 905 game. The team announced the move via Twitter.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/8/16

December 8th, 2016 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

The Warriors recalled rookie center Damian Jones from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to a press release. During his most recent assignment, which began Nov. 30, Jones averaged 2.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 19.3 minutes.
Ivica Zubac was assigned by the Lakers to their D-Fenders, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets. That allowed him to get some game action against Reno. The 7’1” rookie center has appeared in four games with the Lakers.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/30/16

November 30th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA, with the latest updates added to the top of the list throughout the day:

4:55pm:

The Nets have assigned a pair of players to the D-League, sending Yogi Ferrell and Chris McCullough to the Long Island Nets, the team announced today in a press release. Long Island will host an afternoon contest against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Thursday, so the duo will likely suit up for that game.

12:54pm:

As expected, the Hawks have assigned 2016 first-rounder DeAndre’ Bembry to the D-League, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Since Atlanta doesn’t have its own D-League squad, Bembry will play for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s affiliate.
A day after being recalled by Golden State, rookie center Damian Jones has been sent back to the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team announced today in a press release. Santa Cruz had an early game today, which Jones participated in — he picked up two points, four rebounds, and a pair of blocks.
In addition to confirming Nerlens Noel‘s D-League assignment (noted below), the Sixers announced today that they’ve recalled Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Delaware 87ers after a brief D-League stint for the rookie.

9:52am:

The Sixers are sending Nerlens Noel to their D-League affiliate for injury rehab purposes, league sources tell Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com. According to Spears, Noel, who has yet to make his 2016/17 debut after undergoing a knee procedure, is set to practice on Wednesday with the Delaware 87ers, Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate. Like Jerryd Bayless, who was recently assigned to the 87ers on a rehab assignment, Noel is not expected to play in any games during his time in Delaware. The big man hopes to return to the Sixers by mid-December.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/28/16

November 28th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

11:00pm:

The Nets have assigned forward Anthony Bennett to their Long Island affiliate, the team announced in a press release. He has played 10 games for Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per night.

2:32pm:

The Warriors have recalled rookie center Damian Jones from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. It’s not clear if Jones is ready to make his NBA debut quite yet, or if he’s just being called up to practice with Golden State for now.
A day after he was on the receiving end of an emphatic dunk by Wayne Selden, forward Rakeem Christmas has been recalled by the Pacers, according to a team release. Christmas contributed 18 points and seven boards to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants’ win on Sunday.
The Magic have assigned rookie center Stephen Zimmerman to the Erie BayHawks, the team announced today (via Twitter). A second-round pick in June, Zimmerman has only appeared in two regular season games so far for Orlando.
Chris McCullough continues to be shuttled back and forth between the Brooklyn Nets and the Long Island Nets. The team announced today in a press release that he has been sent back to the D-League, where he has appeared in four games so far for Long Island, averaging 17.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

Western Notes: Walton, Barton, Jones

November 25th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Durant shared his thoughts on the state of Lakers franchise, noting that Los Angeles’ collection of young talent reminds him of his early seasons with the Thunder, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register relays. “You can tell they enjoy playing with each other. You can tell [Lakers coach] Luke Walton has come over there and changed the culture a bit,” Durant said. “I’ve been on a team like that. You’re young and just want to go out there and have fun with the game with no expectations. You’re just playing. It did wonders for me at that age, being around a bunch of guys that were just as hungry as me and wanting to win. But when we lost games, we weren’t upset with ourselves. There weren’t any feuds. We knew it was a process.”

Durant continued to praise Walton, telling Medina, “They got great management, ownership and that seeps through the organization. It falls down to Luke Walton. Being here now, you can tell the atmosphere they have and how it’s the same. A lot of stuff we run, they run. A lot of things we do, they do over there with the Lakers. It starts with being in an environment where it’s about the players and it’s about wanting them to get better.”

Here’s more from out West:

Nuggets guard Will Barton is still experiencing discomfort in his ankle and is expected to miss an unspecified amount of time, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The 25-year-old is considered day-to-day moving forward, the scribe adds. In six appearances for Denver this season, Barton is averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 28.0 minutes per night to accompany a slash line of .367/.438/.808.
Warriors rookie Damian Jones is expected to make his debut for Golden State’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz this evening, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets. The late first-round pick has been out of action since undergoing surgery back in June for a torn right pectoral muscle, which he suffered during a weight-lifting session.
The Pelicans have been much improved since the return of Jrue Holiday, but much of the credit still goes to Anthony Davis, who has elevated his game to another level this season, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/21/16

November 21st, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

6:00pm

The Celtics assigned guard Demetrius Jackson to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. The 22-year-old has made just three appearances for Boston this season and is averaging 3.3 points and 1.0 rebound in 5.0 minutes per outing.
The Sixers announced that they have assigned swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Delaware 87ers, their D-League affiliate.
Forward Danuel House was recalled by the Wizards from Delaware, where he was sent via the league’s flexible assignment rule, the team announced.

12:27pm

The Rockets have recalled rookies Chinanu Onuaku and Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today (via Twitter). As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets, the duo likely won’t see any game action for Houston, but the Rockets’ D-League affiliate doesn’t play until Saturday, so it made sense to have them rejoin the NBA club.
Rakeem Christmas has been recalled from the D-League, the Pacers announced today in a press release. Myles Turner and Kevin Seraphin are battling injuries, so Christmas could see some minutes for Indiana tonight against Golden State.
The Jazz have assigned rookie forward Joel Bolomboy to the D-League, according to a team release. Bolomboy will suit up for the Salt Lake City Stars tonight in their game against the Oklahoma City Blue.
Damian Jones has been assigned to Santa Cruz by the Warriors, according to Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group, who writes that the rookie center will continue his injury rehab in the D-League as he works toward his NBA debut.
The Kings have sent first-round rookie Georgios Papagiannis back to the Reno Bighorns, tweets James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. Papagiannis has averaged 10.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in three D-League contests so far this year.

Warriors Rumors: Durant, Curry, McGee, Jones

November 12th, 2016 at 1:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Retaining both Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant beyond this season could prove difficult for the Warriors under the next CBA agreement, Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com examines in great detail. While the provisions in the new labor deal are unclear, Durant might have to leave money on the table to re-sign with Golden State, or opt in and take the $27.7MM salary in the final year of his two-year contract, in order to keep the Super Team together. As a non-Bird free agent if he opts out, Durant would likely have to take less than the max to stay put because of cap-space constraints, Feldman continues. The amount of cap space available will depend in part on the cap hold for Curry, who will become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and the hold could be significantly greater in the new CBA, Feldman explains. Max salary tiers could also rise, complicating the process even further, Feldman adds.

In other news regarding the Warriors:

Coach Steve Kerr wants to give reserve center JaVale McGee increased playing time, Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News reports. McGee sparked the team in his first chance to play rotation minutes against the Nuggets on Thursday, contributing 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes. “We’re looking at the first part of the season as somewhat experimental,” Kerr told Slater and other reporters. “We haven’t really given him a chance yet. You could see he gives us a dimension that we don’t have, throwing it up to the rim for a lob, which provides you extra spacing.” McGee was signed to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract in September. His $1.4MM salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster January 10th.
Rookie center Damian Jones is expected to join the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz on November 20th and make his season debut there five days later, according to Connor Letorneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. The late first-round pick underwent surgery in June for a torn right pectoral muscle, which he suffered during a weight-lifting session. He is one of four centers on the NBA roster, along with McGee, Zaza Pachulia and Anderson Varejao, but Jones could spend much of the season in Santa Cruz. “He’s a kid, he’s a rookie, and it takes a while to get to know this league and understand how to be productive,” Kerr told Letorneau .“We’re not being overly hopeful for him to step in and play right away.”

Pacific Notes: Keefe, Farmar, Damian Jones

September 13th, 2016 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brian Keefe, the Lakers‘ new player development coach, has experience with young rosters, having been a member of the Sonics staff beginning the year Kevin Durant was drafted, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com writes in his profile of the coach. Keefe understands there will be growing pains for L.A.’s young roster, but he believes in the end that the team will reap the rewards, Ramirez adds. “We started off a little slow, didn’t have a lot of success right away,” Keefe said of his time with the Sonics/Thunder. “Those guys kind of created an organization, because it was really a new organization when it went to Oklahoma City. They really put an imprint on the whole thing. … Obviously it was an unbelievable experience. We had a lot of success, a lot of deep playoff runs.”

Keefe isn’t afraid to call out players if they make errors, including the stars, with Durant telling David Aldridge of NBA.com back in March that he benefited from the coach’s discipline. “That was probably one of the most realest conversations I’ve had with a coach, ever,” Durant said regarding a chat he had with Keefe back in 2014 after the team had lost three straight home games. “He let me know how bad I was — my body language, my attitude. I just decided to look at myself and self-evaluate. And he was right. I had to change how I was thinking, how I was acting toward my teammates. Everything.”

Here’s more from out of the Pacific Division:

The development of 2016 first round pick, Damian Jones, is crucial for the Warriors given their aging big men and expanding payroll, Anthony Slater of the Mercury News writes. “If you look around the league, big guys are always at a premium,” GM Bob Myers said. “Especially athletic bigs. We sometimes demean them by going small. We’re probably one of the teams that do that. But they’re very necessary.” Jones, who is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle he suffered during a pre-draft workout, is expected to miss the entire preseason, which will set him back during his rookie campaign. “Besides the pectoral injury, he’s really healthy as far as knees, ankles, back,” Myers said of Jones. “Which is also another thing that’s hard to find with big guys.”
Jordan Farmar, who reportedly reached an agreement with the Kings earlier today, is likely just a short-term addition for Sacramento, Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 opines (Twitter link). The veteran was brought in for depth to start the season while Darren Collison serves whatever suspension the league doles out for his domestic violence incident, Cunningham notes. Collison was found guilty on one count of misdemeanor domestic violence as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders weighed in on Lakers‘ chances this season, with the majority of the writers predicting the franchise would finish last in the Pacific Division in 2016/17.

And-Ones: Davis, Pacers, Clippers, Warriors

September 8th, 2016 at 9:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis has been medically cleared to play, according to the team’s official website in news that was passed along by ESPN.com’s Justin Verrier. Davis participated in his first scrimmage on Wednesday and GM Dell Demps said at a season-ticket holder event that Davis is expected to start the season without any restrictions, Verrier adds. Davis’ 2015/16 season ended prematurely because of a left knee injury. He underwent an ultrasonic debridement and received an injection of his own bone marrow March 25.

In other news around the league:

Nick Zeisloft’s training camp deal with the Pacers includes a $25K guarantee, league sources told Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com. Zeisloft’s one-year, rookie minimum contract allows the Pacers to retain his rights for D-League purposes, Agness adds. The signing of the 6’4” shooting guard was somewhat surprising, considering he only averaged 6.5 points with the Indiana Hoosiers last season and wasn’t on the Pacers’ summer league teams.
The Clippers have hired Monte Mathis as a scout under new GM Lawrence Frank, sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). Mathis was previously an assistant coach with the Mavericks and Magic.
Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t see the Lakers becoming playoff contenders any time soon, he told Bill Oram of the Orange County Register and other reporters during Hall of Fame weekend. “I mean, they’ve still got to go up against Golden State in the West, they’ve got to go up against OKC, still got to go up against Cleveland, the Rockets. So they have a long way to go to be a contender,” O’Neal said. “Every now and then they’ll make some noise and get the people in the Staples Center excited.”
Warriors rookie center Damian Jones is showing progress from a pectoral injury but is unlikely to be healthy enough to participate at the start of training camp, Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News tweets. Jones, who suffered the injury in June, has begun to lift weights, Slater adds. The 7-footer was the 30th overall pick in the draft.