Danuel House

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

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

  • The Sixers have recalled Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Jerryd Bayless from the Delaware 87ers, tweets Derek Bodner of PhillyMag. Luwawu-Cabarrot, a first-round pick, was sent down Tuesday, and Bayless was assigned Monday as part of an “ongoing rehabilitation program” as he recovers from a left wrist injury.
  • The Wizards will be sending rookie guard Danuel House to the 87ers, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Washington doesn’t have a direct affiliate in the D-League.
  • The Thunder have recalled rookie power forward Josh Huestis from the Oklahoma City Blue, tweets Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript. Huestis has appeared in five games with the Thunder.
  • The Celtics have announced that they’re bringing back point guard Demetrius Jackson from the Maine Red Claws (Twitter link). Jackson played three games with Maine, averaging 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.3 steals.
  • The Lakers have assigned rookie center Ivica Zubac to the L.A. D-Fenders, the D-League team announced (Twitter link). He is expected to play Thursday night.

Southeast Notes: Mahinmi, Wizards, Wade, Heat

Even though they could use his help, the Wizards don’t plan to rush Ian Mahinmi back on the court, writes Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. The 6’11” center is a month removed from surgery to repair a partially torn medial meniscus in his left knee. His recovery time was set at six weeks, and coach Scott Brooks said his return will depend on how the knee responds. Mahinmi was jumping and rebounding today without a brace at today’s practice. “Once you’re able to get on the practice court with the group, it’s going to take some time to gain condition,” Brooks said. “He’s still some time away. Like I said, I hate to put a timetable on it, but I know he’s going to do his job to get back as soon as he can, but we’re not going to push him. We want to make sure he’s fit to play for the remainder of the season.” Washington signed Mahinmi to a four-year $64MM deal over the offseason.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • If Brooks is as unhappy with the team’s 1-5 start as Bradley Beal suggested this weekend, it may result in opportunities for younger players, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Rookies Sheldon McClellan, Danuel House and Daniel Ochefu could see increased minutes if the team doesn’t improve soon.
  • As Dwyane Wade prepares for his return to Miami on Thursday, he tells Nick Friedell of ESPN.com that he still pays attention to his former team. “I definitely watch when I get an opportunity to watch them play,” Wade said. “One, because it’s a lot of my young guys over there. I want to see them succeed. I want to see Tyler [Johnson] and Justise [Winslow] and all those guys take that next step. I want to see how Hassan [Whiteside] is going to respond to everyone saying this and that about him since he got paid. So I watch that as someone who knows them, then I watch the game as a fan and I watch it as a competitor. I watch it so many different ways.”
  • Wade also likes the moves the Magic made over the offseason, writes John Denton of NBA.com. Orlando overhauled its roster by adding nine new players, including a trade for Serge Ibaka and the free agent signing of Bismack Biyombo. “I thought they did a great job in Orlando of putting together a competitive team,’’ Wade said. “They did it a little different – like a throwback – where they went and got two bigs. Most people are trying to get smaller, but they went and got two bigs and that’s a throwback. But their bigs spread the floor and shoot the jump shot.”

Eastern Notes: Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards

Beau Beech’s long-range shooting ability gives him a chance to stick with the Nets, according to an in-depth analysis by NetsDaily.com’s Bryan Fonseca. The 6’9” Beech, who went undrafted out of the University of North Florida, received a partially guaranteed contract from Brooklyn. Beech’s main attribute is his jumper and he’s supremely confident when he sets up beyond the arc, Fonseca’s film study reveals. He should be very effective in transition but doesn’t create his own shot very much, Fonseca continues. If Beech can become a defensive factor, he can play in the league, though he’ll likely spend most of next season in the D League, Fonseca adds.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • Nets guard Greivis Vasquez has pulled out of the Rio Olympics for medical reasons, NetsDaily.com relayed via Vasquez’s Twitter account. Vasquez underwent ankle surgery over the winter and missed most of the season while on the Bucks’ roster. Vasquez, who was on the Venezuelan team, did not indicate if he would be ready by training camp, NetsDaily adds. Vasquez, who is expected to back up Jeremy Lin, signed a one-year deal with Brooklyn on July 13th.
  • The Cavaliers allowed two trade exceptions to expire, Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net reports. The exceptions were created when they dealt Mike Miller and Brendan Haywood to the Trail Blazers last summer. The exception created by trading Miller was worth $2.8MM, while Haywood’s exception was originally $10.5MM. There was only $2.3MM remaining on Haywood’s exception, as the Cavs used the bulk of it to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic at the trade deadline.
  • The Wizards don’t plan on paying any more players to attend training camp, according to J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com. Washington’s front office will only offer non-guaranteed camp deals, Michael continues, because they already have four players on partially-guaranteed contracts to go along with a dozen more on fully guaranteed deals. Jarell Eddie, Danuel House, Sheldon McClellan and Daniel Ochefu are the players with partial guarantees. Center Micheal Eric, who played on the Wizards’ summer league team, is unlikely to attend their camp because he’s looking for guaranteed money, Michael adds.

And-Ones: Varejao, Wells, Gay, Contract Details

The Warriors announced via press release that center Anderson Varejao was diagnosed with a small lower back disc herniation. The injury will force him to sit out the 2016 Olympics, but he is expected to be at full strength in time for training camp, per the release. Varejao recently inked a one-year, minimum salary deal to return to Golden State for the 2016/17 campaign.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Equipment manager Matias Testi, who was on the receiving end of a Blake Griffin punch during an altercation at a restaurant last season, is no longer with the Clippers, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets, confirming an earlier report by TMZ (Twitter link).
  • Dez Wells, who spent part of last season with the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, has signed a deal to play in Germany for Tigers Tubingen, J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic.com writes.
  • Disgruntled Kings swingman Rudy Gay underwent shock wave treatment to alleviate pain in his Achilles, not surgery as was initially relayed, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com notes. “I actually had surgery,” Gay had previously told Sactown Royalty, “I had Achilles tendonitis, basically micro tears in my Achilles and for the past two seasons it’s been bothering me so I’ve been trying to play through it and I got to a point where I needed to have it fixed so I got it fixed.”
  • Troy Williamstwo-year deal with the Grizzlies includes a partial guarantee of $150K for 2016/17, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
  • The Wizards‘ two-year deal with undrafted free agent Danuel House is a minimum salary arrangement that includes a partial guarantee of $100K, Pincus relays ( Twitter links). Washington also included a $50K partial guarantee in Sheldon McClellan‘s pact, Pincus adds.
  • Treveon Graham‘s two-year arrangement with the Hornets includes a partial guarantee of $75K for next season, Pincus tweets.

Wizards, Danuel House Agree To Two-Year Deal

The Wizards have agreed to a two-year deal with undrafted free agent Danuel House, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). House had played for Washington’s Summer League squad this month, but didn’t officially have a spot on the team’s 20-man fall roster.

With his new deal, House will be in attendance at training camp for the Wizards later this year, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com, who tweets that the Texas A&M alum got a partial guarantee as part of the agreement. Michael had written this morning that, given House’s solid showing in Summer League play, the Wizards might end up regretting it if they had let him go.

House, a 6’7″ forward, was ranked as 2016’s 87th-best prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. The 23-year-old averaged 15.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 36 appearances during his senior year at Texas A&M.

In other Wizards news, the team won’t have to make a decision right away on whether or not to keep Jarell Eddie, writes Michael at CSNMidAtlantic.com. Eddie’s contract was originally set to become guaranteed if he remained on Washington’s roster beyond today, but the two sides have agreed to push back that deadline until the start of the regular season. That will allow the 24-year-old forward to compete for a roster spot this fall, rather than being cut today.

Wizards To Sign Sheldon McClellan

Shortly after the completion of Thursday night’s draft, the Wizards struck a deal to sign former University of Miami shooting guard Sheldon McClellan, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reports (via Twitter) that McClellan’s deal with the Wizards will be partially guaranteed, adding that the 23-year-old turned down teams that wanted to draft-and-stash him with a second-round pick.

McClellan wasn’t the only undrafted prospect to reach a deal with the Wizards. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter) that Texas A&M’s Danuel House agreed to a deal with Washington, while Aldridge tweets that the team will sign former Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski. Finally, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post says (via Twitter) that Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu will sign with the Wizards.

While McClellan has some guaranteed money in his contract, the terms of the other deals aren’t known, so it’s not entirely clear whether Washington will bring all those players to camp in the fall, or if they’ll just play for the Wizards in Summer League games next month.

As for McClellan, he ranked 60th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress.com. He’s coming off a senior season in which he averaged 16.3 points per game and made 40.6% of his three-pointers for the Hurricanes.

Draft Rumors: Chriss, Kings, Trade Candidates

Former Washington power forward Marquese Chriss figures to be one of the first several players to come off the board three weeks from tonight – the latest mock draft at DraftExpress has him being picked third by Boston – but it sounds as if Chriss wouldn’t mind still being available at No. 8. As Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes, Chriss grew up in the Sacramento area, and would love to play for the Kings, who hold the No. 8 pick and are “ready for any scenario” with that selection, per James Ham of CSN California.

“That would be everything,” Chriss said of the possibility of playing for the Kings. “It would be cool, my family could come to half the games. To be in an environment with a new arena, they’re rebuilding their program, that would be really cool.”

As we look forward to seeing where Chriss lands, let’s round up a few more draft rumors and updates, including a couple more from Deveney…

  • League sources tell Deveney that, while the 76ers and Lakers are expected to hang onto the top two picks in the draft, six other lottery teams may be looking to deal. The Timberwolves (No. 5), Raptors (No. 9), Bucks (No. 10), Magic (No. 11), Jazz (No. 12), and Suns (No. 13) are all believed to be open to trades involving their picks, per Deveney. Phoenix also holds the No. 4 overall selection, but likely wouldn’t want to move that one.
  • Texas A&M prospect Danuel House has a busy workout schedule, according to Deveney. House has worked out for the 76ers and Celtics, and will work out for the Knicks, Hawks, Lakers, Mavericks, and Timberwolves within the next couple weeks. The Suns and Pistons are also expected to be added to his list of visits, per Deveney, who says House looked good against Cal freshman Jaylen Brown at his workout with Boston.
  • Fran Fraschilla of ESPN (Twitter link) hears that the Raptors are “fans” of Isaiah Whitehead. Toronto holds the No. 27 pick, and while Fraschilla seems confident the Seton Hall guard will be a first-round pick, other draft experts aren’t so sure — Whitehead ranks 39th on Chad Ford’s big board at ESPN.com, and 57th on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress.com board.
  • According to the team’s official website, the Bucks had the following six prospects in for a pre-draft workout today: Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Josh Adams (Wyoming), Isaiah Miles (St. Joe’s), Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Tonye Jekiri (Miami), and Mike Tobey (Virginia).
  • Chip Williams of Upside and Motor identifies five prospects who benefited from the draft’s new rules and deadlines for early entrants.

Atlantic Notes: Kerr, Bender, Sixers, Biyombo

As the Warriors prepare for Monday’s Game 7 with the Thunder, Marc Berman of The New York Post offers a reminder that the results of Golden State’s last Game 7 prevented Steve Kerr from coaching the Knicks. After the Warriors lost to the Clippers in 2014, owner Joe Lacob decided to fire coach Mark Jackson. The team contacted the agent for Kerr, who had a verbal agreement with New York but nothing on paper. Kerr met with the Warriors and decided that was a better opportunity for him. With the expected hiring of Jeff Hornacek, the Knicks are now on their third coach since Kerr’s change of heart.

There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:

  • Danny Ainge, the Celtics‘ president of basketball operations, is in Israel this weekend to scout Dragan Bender, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI. Ainge was accompanied by his son, Austin, who serves as director of player personnel. They planned to watch Bender practice Saturday and today, but will not see him in a game. The 18-year-old is considered a possibility with Boston’s No. 3 pick in next month’s draft.
  • The Sixers will hold a workout Monday for six players, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Potential second-rounders Joel Bolomboy of Weber State and James Webb III of Boise State will be the top players at the session, according to Pompey. They will be joined by Brannen Greene of Kansas, Danuel House of Texas A&M, Tim Quarterman of LSU and Isaiah Taylor of Texas.
  • Bismack Biyombo’s playoff performance virtually assures his future won’t be in Toronto, claims Scott Stinson of the National Post. Biyombo put up dazzling numbers after Jonas Valanciunas was sidelined by a sprained ankle and may have earned a maximum contract. Valanciunas has a four-year, $64MM extension that begins next season, and Stinson doesn’t think the Raptors want to give huge money to two centers.

Pacific Notes: Hornacek, Bogut, Lemon Jr.

Jeff Hornacek, who is reportedly set to become the Knicks new head coach, was sabotaged during his tenure with the Suns by injuries and a toxic environment created by the trade demands of Markieff Morris, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “There were circumstances around him that caused us to not meet expectations more than his style of coaching or ability to coach,’’ Mark West, Phoenix’s vice president of player relations, told Berman. “If you look at a thin slice of the pie and not the whole body of work, [Knicks president] Phil Jackson is smarter than that. I’m sure he didn’t judge it over Jeff’s career in basketball. He was in a tough spot. It unraveled. We won 48 games his first year, lost some of those players that helped achieve those goals, and it went the other way.”

Discussing what Hornacek has to offer as a coach, West said, “He has a combination of different influences since being in the league — Cotton Fitzsimmons with the up-and-down, run-and-gun the Suns played — and playing for Philly in the East, more grinding, half-court set-it-up. With Utah, it was a blend of both. The best thing about Jeff is incorporating different styles, but he’s better coaching the up-and-down. He’ll morph the team to what they need to do.’’

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Clippers held workouts today for A.J. English (Iona), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Danuel House (Texas A&M), Marshall Plumlee (Duke) and Josh Scott (Colorado), Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times relays (via Twitter).
  • The Warriors saved $4MM in luxury tax penalties as a result of Andrew Bogut not being named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (on Twitter). Golden State’s tax bill for 2015/16 is now $14.9MM and Bogut’s cap hit for next season drops to approximately $11MM, Marks adds.
  • The Clippers are bringing in point guard Walter Lemon Jr. for their veteran mini-camp, Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report tweets. Lemon Jr. spent last season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ D-League affiliate, averaging 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 24.7 minutes per outing.

Draft Workouts: Nuggets, Suns, Clippers, Jazz

The Nuggets are well-armed heading into this year’s draft, holding three picks in the top 20 and another two in the second round. With so many selections under team control, Denver figures to take a closer look at a wide variety of prospects in the next few weeks. The team announced today in a press release that they’re bringing in the following six players for a Wednesday workout: Vanderbilt guard Wade Baldwin, Providence forward Ben Bentil, Virginia forward Anthony Gill, UNLV forward Derrick Jones, Colorado-Mesa center Ryan Stephan, and California guard Tyrone Wallace.

Denver is hardly the only NBA team with a full workout schedule, so let’s round up several more updates…

  • The Suns are conducting workouts with six forward prospects on Tuesday, and announced the full list of participants, via Twitter. Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson), Shaq Goodwin (Memphis), Jake Layman (Maryland), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State), and Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa) are working out for Phoenix.
  • In addition to A.J. English, whose scheduled workout was previously reported, the Clippers will take a closer look at Gary Payton II, Malcolm Brogdon, Danuel House, Marshall Plumlee, and Josh Scott on Wednesday, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
  • The Jazz will also hold a six-player workout on Wednesday, with four guards and two big men taking part. According to the team (via Twitter), Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt, Gonzaga’s Eric McClellan, Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson, UNC’s Marcus Paige, Virginia’s Mike Tobey, and Australian Thon Maker will be in attendance for that workout.
  • Former St. Joe’s wing DeAndre’ Bembry was among the players to work out for the Hawks on Tuesday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
  • Alex Kirshner of Testudo Times adds the Nets and Mavericks to the list of teams that have recently worked out Maryland junior power forward Robert Carter.
  • The Celtics will work out Weber State’s Joel Bolomboy a week from Wednesday, sources tell A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).