David Nwaba Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Galloway, Pistons, Thomas, Nwaba

September 18th, 2017 at 4:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Having received a three-year, $21MM deal, Langston Galloway was the Pistons‘ biggest free agent investment of the offseason, and even he admits that he was surprised how quickly he reached an agreement with the team, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

“I really thought it was going to take a while. I thought I was going to be on the board for a long time,” Galloway said. “My agent was pretty optimistic. We knew there were a few teams talking about me, but nobody really said, ‘We’re going to take a chance on you and go with you.’ But, hey, once 12 o’clock hit and I got an unexpected call from [Pistons president of basketball operations] Stan [Van Gundy], that was amazing.”

As Langlois details, Galloway is comfortable playing at both the one and two, and his ability to handle the point allowed the Pistons to avoid having to go out and sign a third pure point guard behind Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Another one of the new Pistons backcourt additions, Avery Bradley, is already showing signs of emerging as a team leader, Langlois writes in a separate piece for Pistons.com. Bradley’s new teammates are optimistic about the impact the former Celtic will have in Detroit. “When you have a guy that works like that on the defensive end and is that good, it forces you to play harder,” Anthony Tolliver said.
In a mailbag for The Detroit Free Press, Vince Ellis tackles questions on Andre Drummond, Stanley Johnson, and Stan Van Gundy‘s future with the Pistons.
While Isaiah Thomas isn’t expected to be ready to start the regular season due to a hip injury, he’ll attend LeBron James‘ workouts at UC-Santa Barbara this week with his new Cavaliers teammates, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Second-year shooting guard David Nwaba was claimed off waivers by the Bulls in July, but isn’t necessarily guaranteed a roster spot in Chicago. In an interesting piece for The Players’ Tribune, Nwaba acknowledges as much, but points out that he has overcome long odds before and fully intends to stick around as a Bull.

Bulls Claim David Nwaba Off Waivers From Lakers

July 14th, 2017 at 4:29pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Bulls have claimed shooting guard David Nwaba off waivers from the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). The Lakers waived Nwaba on Wednesday as a precursor to completing a deal with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The 24-year-old Nwaba made his NBA debut with the Lakers in 2016/17 and earned himself a permanent roster spot after a strong showing following two 10-day contracts. While Los Angeles picked up Nwaba’s option for 2017/18, his salary remained non-guaranteed, giving the team the flexibility to create additional cap space.

Nwaba posted solid numbers in his 20-game cameo with the Lakers, averaging 6.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 19.8 minutes per game. The Lakers were intrigued by Nwaba’s development and defensive capabilities but understood he would likely be claimed off waivers, per Charania’s report.

Lakers Waive David Nwaba

July 12th, 2017 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived shooting guard David Nwaba, the team announced today in a press release. The move appears to be a precursor to L.A. finalizing its contract agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Nwaba, 24, made his NBA debut with the Lakers earlier this year after signing a 10-day contract with the team. The 6’4″ shooting guard eventually earned a second 10-day deal and then a rest-of-season contract with an option for ’17/18.

In 20 regular season contests (19.8 MPG), Nwaba averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG for the Lakers. The team was also said to be impressed with his play on defense. Nwaba did enough to get the club to pick up his team option last month, but his salary for 2017/18 remained non-guaranteed, making him a candidate to be waived when the Lakers needed to clear a little extra cap flexibility.

With Nwaba’s minimum salary contract off the books, the Lakers have about $17.7MM in cap room. There’s a good chance the team will sign second-round pick Thomas Bryant to a contract using cap space before finalizing its deal with Caldwell-Pope, since that would allow for a longer-term contract for the rookie without reducing the team’s cap room — Bryant’s $816K minimum salary would replace an $816K charge for an empty roster spot.

After that, the Lakers could make Caldwell-Pope’s deal official and would still have the $4.3MM room exception to add another player. The club could also re-sign Nwaba to a new minimum salary deal at some point. However, he’d have to clear waivers first, and there’s no guarantee another team won’t claim him later this week.

Lakers Pick Up Team Option On David Nwaba

June 28th, 2017 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have exercised their 2017/18 team option on David Nwaba, the team announced in a press release. Nwaba is now on track to earn a minimum salary of $1,312,611 next season.

Nwaba, 24, made his NBA debut with the Lakers earlier this year after signing a 10-day contract with the team. The 6’4″ shooting guard eventually earned a second 10-day deal and then a rest-of-season contract with an option for ’17/18.

In 20 regular season contests (19.8 MPG), Nwaba averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG for the Lakers. The team was also said to be impressed with his play on defense.

Nwaba will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2018.

Lakers Notes: FA Priorities, Nwaba, Ball

June 23rd, 2017 at 6:56pm CST by Austin Kent

Speaking to the media, including Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said that the Lakers were relentless on the draft day trade market and even spoke with the Pacers about a possible Paul George deal.

While they didn’t ultimately manage anything of a similar magnitude to their Brook Lopez trade days before, they did manage to move the No. 28 pick for a pair later in the draft and are expected to continue seeking ways of improving.

“That will continue until we get in a position again where we feel like this roster is a championship-level roster,” Pelinka said. “We’re not there yet. So we’re going to be relentless with the work and we’re going to pursue every opportunity until we reach our goal.”

When free agency begins next week, expect the Lakers to target shooters, Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet tweets. General manager Rob Pelinka is said to have shooting at the top of his priority list.
The Lakers have until Saturday to decide if they’d like to pick up David Nwaba‘s $1.3MM option for next season, Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet tweets. Update: Bresnahan has sent an updated tweet, correcting the deadline to Thursday (as opposed to Saturday)
General manager Rob Pelinka thinks that the Lakers will need two superstars to compete for a championship and intends to go out and get them. “I think with the leading teams in the league today, we felt like, to be able to look them in the eye and challenge them, we need two superstar players to come here and join this platform and join our core group of players we now have,” he told Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “That’s our plan, and we’re going to put all of our energy and all of our hard work toward that.”
A contributing factor to the Lakers taking Lonzo Ball with their second overall pick was the unconventional workout the two parties went through prior to the draft. The Vertical’s Shams Charania has details of the day the Lakers spent observing the eventual No. 2 overall pick’s daily routine.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/10/17

April 10th, 2017 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

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

2:14pm:

The Rockets have sent rookie forward Kyle Wiltjer back to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). As noted below, Wiltjer was recalled to Houston earlier today, but it appears it was just for practice purposes. By rejoining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Wiltjer will get a chance to play in the team’s playoff game tonight against the L.A. D-Fenders.
According to RealGM’s transactions log, the Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey to the Maine Red Claws, the Lakers have assigned David Nwaba to the L.A. D-Fenders, and the Pelicans have sent Axel Toupane to the Raptors 905. Mickey and Nwaba will be in action tonight, while Toupane’s team is awaiting the winner of the Maine/Fort Wayne series.

1:25pm:

The Cavaliers have recalled rookie guard Kay Felder from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The Canton Charge’s season came to an end over the weekend, so Felder would’ve likely been back with the Cavs either way, but it’s worth noting that he could see some action for Cleveland tonight, with Kyrie Irving and LeBron James among the regulars expected to rest.
The Rockets have recalled forward Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to the team (Twitter link). Houston has the No. 3 seed in the West locked up, so Wiltjer could get some playing time this week if regulars rest. However, if he remains with the Rockets through tonight, the rookie sharpshooter would miss the Vipers’ deciding first-round game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the D-League playoffs.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/7/2017

April 7th, 2017 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the league, as the NBADL postseason continues:

In the wake of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ Game 1 win in the D-League playoffs on Thursday, the Rockets recalled Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor, and Kyle Wiltjer to the NBA, the team announced today (Twitter link). The trio played a major role in Thursday’s victory, with Taylor scoring 24 points and dishing out nine assists, Wiltjer adding 17 points, and Onuaku snatching 18 rebounds.
The Lakers have recalled rookie guard David Nwaba from the NBADL, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Lakers’ affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, was on the losing side in Thursday’s D-League playoff game, despite Nwaba’s team-high 22 points. The Vipers and D-Fenders will play Game 2 on Saturday, so Nwaba and the Rockets’ youngsters may be headed back to the NBADL within the next 24 hours.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/6/17

April 6th, 2017 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With the NBADL playoffs now underway, here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Lakers assigned guard David Nwaba to their affiliate, the D-Fenders, according to the D-League team’s Twitter feed. Nwaba, who has become a rotation player for the Lakers, contributed 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes against the Spurs on Wednesday. The D-Fenders have a playoff game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday.
The Rockets assigned point guard Isaiah Taylor and forward Kyle Wiltjer to Rio Grande, its D-League affiliate, according to the Rockets’ Twitter feed. Taylor and Wiltjer were sent down for the Valley Vipers’ playoff game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Taylor, a rookie out of Texas, made his NBA debut on Sunday, playing 15 minutes against the Suns. Wiltjer, who attended Gonzaga, has appeared in 13 games with Houston but none of his outings lasted more than six minutes.

Pacific Notes: Kings’ Rookies, Booker, Nwaba, Ulis

March 31st, 2017 at 10:50pm CST by Milo Taibi

While the Kings have dropped out of playoff contention, Dave Joerger will still seek to build the talent and IQ of his younger players. As Joerger acknowledged in a recent post-game press conference, ensuring proper player development is a large part of his job.

“Having been there with those guys (in Memphis) I felt a great deal of responsibility to maximize every win that we could get,” Joerger told reporters, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “That’s where are these gray hairs popped out. Now the gray hairs are (from) are you playing the right guys with the right group, developing guys, giving them the right experiences?”

Joerger has given valuable playing opportunities to rookies down the stretch; providing Skal Labissiere, Buddy Hield, and Georgios Papagiannis with multiple 20+ minute games over the past week.

And-Ones: B. Roy, Blatt, BIG3, Amundson

March 22nd, 2017 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

Brandon Roy, a former sixth overall pick who earned three All-Star nods before injuries derailed his NBA career, is enjoying success in a new role. As Molly Blue of The Oregonian writes, Roy has remade himself as a high school basketball coach at Seattle’s Nathan Hale High School. After taking over a team that had gone 3-18 a year before, Roy led the school to a 29-0 run this season. Nathan Hale High School won Washington’s Class 3A state title, and the former Trail Blazers star was named the 2017 Naismith High School Coach of the Year. At age 32, Roy would probably prefer to still be playing in the NBA, but it’s good to see him continuing to thrive in the sport in a new way.

Here are a few more odds and ends from across the basketball world:

Former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt has been coaching in Turkey this season, and has no plans to return to the NBA for 2017/18, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando details. In an interview with Match TV, Blatt said that he’s not going anywhere and intends to remain with Darussafaka Dogus next season.
The BIG3, Ice Cube‘s half-court, three-on-three league that will debut in June, has a broadcast television deal. The league announced today that it has partnered with FOX Sports and FS1. For more on the BIG3, be sure to check out our breakdown of the players and coaches participating in the league.
Veteran NBA center Lou Amundson, who appeared in 29 games for the Knicks last season, appears to be headed to the Philippines. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes that Amundson is close to signing a deal with TNT, after international basketball journalist David Pick reported (via Twitter) that the 34-year-old would land with a team in the Philippines.
Free agent point guard Greivis Vasquez and Lakers guard David Nwaba have new representation, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal, who reports (via Twitter) that Glushon Sports Management recently signed the duo.