David Roddy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Sign Three Draft Picks, Kenneth Lofton Jr.

July 2nd, 2022 at 10:27am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies have signed first-round draft picks Jake LaRavia and David Roddy to multi-year contracts, the team tweets.

LaRavia, who played for Wake Forest last season, was acquired by Memphis with the No. 19 overall pick pursuant to a draft-night trade with the Timberwolves. His rookie scale contract, under the latest salary cap, could go four years and can be worth up to $14,763,367.

Roddy, who played for Colorado State last season, was acquired by the Grizzlies with the No. 23 overall pick after a trade with the 76ers. His rookie scale deal can go four years and be worth up to $12,985,886.

The Grizzlies also announced that wing Vince Williams Jr. and big man Kenneth Lofton Jr. have signed two-way contracts (Twitter link).

Williams Jr., the No. 47 overall pick of this year’s draft, was selected to the 2021/22 All-Atlantic 10 First Team during his senior year at VCU.

The Grizzlies’ decision to give Lofton a two-way deal was previously reported. He was named to the All-Conference USA First Team during his sophomore year at Louisiana Tech last season but went undrafted.

With Williams and Lofton on two-way deals, the Grizzlies have waived guard Tyrell Terry, who signed a two-year, two-way contract last season. Terry, drafted by Dallas in 2020, appeared in two games with Memphis in ’21/22.

The Grizzlies still have one unsigned draftee, No. 38 pick Kennedy Chandler. His deal will likely be completed once the July moratorium ends.

Grizzlies Trade De’Anthony Melton To Sixers For Roddy, Green

June 24th, 2022 at 5:12pm CST by Rory Maher

JUNE 24: The deal is now official, both teams announced in press releases.

JUNE 23: The Grizzlies and Sixers have agreed to a trade that will send the No. 23 pick in this year’s draft to Memphis and guard De’Anthony Melton to Philadelphia, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Danny Green is also headed to the Grizzlies in the swap, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Colorado State’s David Roddy will be Memphis’ pick at No. 23. Roddy had an excellent junior season for the Rams, averaging 19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG and 1.1 BPG on .571/.438/.691 shooting in 31 games (32.9 MPG).

In order for the trade to work, Green’s non-guaranteed contract will have to be partially guaranteed to at least $6.52MM for salary matching purposes, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tweets. Melton will earn $8.25MM next season and his $8MM salary in 2023/24 is partially guaranteed at $1.5MM.

As John Hollinger of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), the Sixers would lose the full mid-level exception with the deal unless they’re able to dump salary in subsequent moves, which could take them out of the running for P.J. Tucker, who is an unrestricted free agent after declining his player option.

Trading a guard in Melton and drafting a couple of forwards in Jake LaRavia and Roddy seems to indicate that Memphis wants to re-sign free agent Tyus Jones, who is one of the top point guards on the market. Jones has led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio for four straight seasons and set career highs in PPG (8.7) and 3PT% (.390) in 2021/22.

It was reported multiple times in the past couple weeks that the Sixers were dangling the No. 23 pick and Green’s expiring, non-guaranteed deal in an effort to add a win-now veteran, and they were able to acquire a talented young player in Melton, who had reportedly drawn considerable interest around the league.

Melton, 24, is a strong, versatile defender capable of playing both guard positions. In 73 regular season games this past season (22.7 MPG), he averaged 10.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.4 SPG on .404/.374/.750 shooting. He’s extension-eligible this offseason, although the Sixers might hold off on that decision.

Draft Notes: Rockets, Nuggets, Green Room, Houstan, Sharpe, Roddy

June 17th, 2022 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Now that they’re poised to add the No. 26 pick to their list of draft assets, the Rockets are looking into the possibility of trading up in the draft, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reports within his latest mock draft. According to O’Connor, Houston has inquired about moving up from No. 3 into one of the top two spots in the draft, and has also explored the possibility of moving up from No. 17 into the late lottery.

Like Houston, the Nuggets have agreed to acquire an extra first-round pick (No. 30) and are trying to package it with No. 21 in order to move into the middle of the first round, O’Connor writes. However, O’Connor expects Denver to have to add a young player or a future asset to its package in order to make any real headway.

O’Connor’s newest mock draft includes a few more interesting tidbits, including his suggestion that there’s still some “chatter” about teams trying to trade for the Magic‘s No. 1 overall pick.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

Five more players have been invited to the green room for next Thursday’s draft, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Tari Eason, Jalen Williams, TyTy Washington, MarJon Beauchamp, and Jaden Hardy received invites, joining an initial list of 16 invitees. Of the 21 players invited to the green room, only Hardy (No. 22) and Beauchamp (No. 23) are outside of the top 21 prospects on ESPN’s big board.
Michigan’s Caleb Houstan, one of the only prospects to decline a combine invite this year, worked out this week for the Grizzlies and Nuggets, a source tells Givony (Twitter link). Those two teams control the last two picks of the first round.
Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe told reporters today that the Spurs, Thunder, and Magic are among the teams he has worked out for in the pre-draft process, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Sharpe will work out for the Pacers on Monday, a source tells James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Colorado State forward David Roddy still has workouts coming up with the Thunder and Celtics, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. By the time draft night arrives, Roddy will have visited “half the league,” Wolfson adds.

Texas Notes: Rockets, Wood, Dragic, Roddy, Williams

June 16th, 2022 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The players the Rockets will acquire when the Christian Wood trade becomes official may never play for the team, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston has agreed to send Wood to the Mavericks in exchange for the 26th pick in next week’s draft and four players on expiring contracts, Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss.

Chriss and Brown both played for the Rockets before, but aren’t expected to be invited to training camp, according to Feigen. He cites Marjanovic as the most likely player to remain with the organization because of his abilities on offense and his willingness to accept a backup role, but adds that Marjanovic’s fate won’t be determined for a while.

None of the players will make more than $3.5MM next season, so they could be waived without a significant impact to the Rockets’ financial situation or they could be moved in other deals. Houston will have 16 players under contract once the deal is complete, along with its two-way players and three picks in the first round of the draft.

There’s more NBA news from Texas:

Wood’s time with the Rockets has seemed limited ever since the team traded up in last year’s draft to select Alperen Sengun, notes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Despite Wood’s unique talents, he wasn’t successful at power forward alongside Daniel Theis at the start of the season and he didn’t fit well next to Sengun. Wood also didn’t offer much rim protection as a center and he may not have been interested in re-signing with Houston because of his desire to be with a playoff team, Iko adds.
Marjanovic was one of Luka Doncic‘s best friends on the team, but the Mavericks could appease Doncic by pursuing fellow Slovenian guard Goran Dragic in free agency, suggests Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
Colorado State’s David Roddy is scheduled to work out for the Mavericks on Friday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Dallas won’t have any picks once the Wood deal goes through, but the team could try to trade into the late first round or early second round, where Roddy is projected to be taken.
Arkansas big man Jaylin Williams worked out for the Spurs on Tuesday, according to Andrew Slater of Pro Insight (Twitter link). Along with three first-round picks, San Antonio has the No. 38 selection, where it could target Williams, who is projected as a mid second-rounder.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Workouts, Jokic, Wolves, Roddy

June 15th, 2022 at 7:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz hosted another free agent mini-camp this week, bringing in 20 players on Monday and Tuesday for a closer look, as our JD Shaw relays (Twitter links). While not all of the invitees have NBA experience, there are a handful of noteworthy names in the group, including former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker. Big man Reggie Perry, swingman Denzel Valentine, forward Bruno Caboclo, and guards Langston Galloway, Sindarius Thornwell, and Grant Riller were among the other players to audition for Utah.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Jazz are working out six more draft-eligible prospects on Wednesday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune, who tweets that Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Tommy Kuhse (Saint Mary’s), Josh Minott (Memphis), Darryl Morsell (Marquette), Henri Drell (G League), and Jermaine Samuels (Villanova) will be in town.
Nuggets star and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic has committed to playing for the Serbian national team this offseason, the Serbian Basketball Federation announced on Wednesday (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops). Jokic likely won’t participate in the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup that will take place in a couple weeks, but he’s expected to be available later in the summer for the 2022 EuroBasket tournament.
Colorado State forward David Roddy, who went to high school in Minnesota, is working out for his hometown Timberwolves on Wednesday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Roddy, the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s big board, could be an option for the Wolves in the first round at No. 19 or in the second round if he slips — Minnesota holds the 40th, 48th, and 50th overall picks.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Blazers, Wolves, Jazz

June 9th, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to featuring Colorado State forward David Roddy, the Nuggets‘ group workout on Tuesday included Wendell Moore (Duke), Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest), Josh Minott (Memphis), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), and Lucas Williamson (Loyola), according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

LaRavia (No. 31), Moore (36), and Minott (47) all rank as top-50 prospects on ESPN’s big board, as does Roddy (46). Denver only holds the No. 21 pick in this year’s draft, but may like one or more of those prospects more than ESPN’s experts do. The Nuggets could also just be doing their homework in case they trade back in the draft, pick up a extra second-round selection, or have an opportunity to sign any of these players as undrafted free agents.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

In a mailbag for The Denver Post, Singer discusses possible offseason targets for the Nuggets, identifying Dillon Brooks, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cam Reddish, Josh Hart, and Kenrich Williams as possibilities on the trade market and Bruce Brown, Caleb Martin, and Cody Martin as free agents worth considering. While Singer doesn’t necessarily have any inside info saying Denver will pursue those players, he notes that he ran his list past a couple NBA executives and “they didn’t outright laugh at me.”
Memphis center Jalen Duren worked out for the Trail Blazers earlier this week, tweets Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian. It remains to be seen whether or not the Blazers will hang onto the No. 7 pick in this month’s draft, but if they do, Duren could be a player they consider — he’s ranked 10th on ESPN’s big board.
French big man Ismael Kamagate and Duke’s Wendell Moore were among the prospects working out for the Timberwolves this week, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links). Both are top-40 prospects on ESPN’s board.
Jazz CEO Danny Ainge believes getting player input on the team’s head coaching search is important, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that candidates who have existing relationships with star guard Donovan Mitchell (or other Utah players) will have a leg up, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “You have to sell (players) on what you’re doing, whatever it is — if you’re making a trade that they might not like you have to be able to sell why you’re doing it,” Ainge said. “That’s just to get them in the right frame of mind so they can give that change an opportunity to succeed. But, I believe players are partners in this thing, too.”

Draft Notes: Hardy, Braun, Roddy, Pistons, Ivey

June 8th, 2022 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters after working out for Washington on Tuesday, G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy said he has already worked out for the Warriors, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Thunder, and has auditions on tap with the Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, and Pelicans (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic). Viewed as a good bet to be a first-round pick, Hardy currently ranks 22nd overall on ESPN’s big board.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

Kansas shooting guard Christian Braun, the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s board, has worked out for the Bucks, Clippers, and Magic, and had a visit scheduled with the Grizzlies this week, tweets Andrew Lind. Those four teams each have at least one pick between No. 22 and No. 43 in this year’s draft.
Colorado State forward David Roddy, ESPN’s No. 46 prospect, had a meet and greet with Nuggets staffers a month ago and was brought back for a workout with the team on Tuesday, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Asked if he senses interest from the Nuggets, Roddy replied, “I would say so. Everybody’s a fan of my game here. They’ve told me that.” Roddy has also worked out for several other teams, including the Warriors and Raptors, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link).
David Aldridge of The Athletic spoke to a handful of coaches and executives at the college and NBA levels to get their thoughts on several of the top guards in the 2022 draft class, including Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Johnny Davis, and several others. One Eastern Conference executive told Aldridge that he knows the Pistons – who hold the No. 5 overall pick – “love” Ivey.

David Roddy, John Butler, Caleb Houstan Staying In Draft

June 1st, 2022 at 5:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Colorado State swingman David Roddy and Florida State big man John Butler Jr. both plan to stay in the 2022 NBA draft, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter links).

Both players have a chance to hear their names called on June 23; Roddy is currently ranked No. 47 on ESPN’s big board, while Butler is No. 72.

In 31 games (32.9 MPG) as a junior in 2021/22, Roddy stuffed the stat sheet with averages of 19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 1.1 BPG on .571/.438/.691. The 7’1″ Butler had a lesser role in his lone season for FSU, averaging 5.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG in 31 games (19 MPG), but he did shoot an impressive .393 from three-point range.

Michigan’s Caleb Houstan will also stay in the draft, according to a team press release (via Twitter). The guard/forward averaged 10.1 PPG, 4 RPG, and 1.4 APG on .384/.355/.783 shooting for the Wolverines as a freshman in ’21/22.

Houstan is No. 49 on ESPN’s board, but there have been rumors that he received a first-round promise, with some league insiders speculating that it may have come from OKC at No. 30.

Here are more updates on the early entrants who are up against the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline:

Pete Nance, the younger brother of Larry Nance Jr., will withdraw from the draft and transfer from Northwestern, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium (twitter link). Nance averaged 14.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.1 BPG for the Wildcats last season. He’s No. 77 on ESPN’s board and will use his extra year of eligibility to play a fifth college season.
Florida A&M’s MJ Randolph and Coastal Carolina’s Vince Cole are both staying in the draft, as Rothstein relays (Twitter links). Both players were seniors in 2021/22, but could have used an extra year of eligibility to play one more season in college. Instead, they’ll turn pro.
Drew Peterson is withdrawing from the draft and using his extra year of eligibility to return to USC next season, tweets Rothstein. Peterson, who recently worked out for the Lakers, averaged 12.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.3 APG on .467/.412/.717 shooting for the Trojans last season (34 games, 33 MPG).
Forward Jalen Wilson is also withdrawing from the draft and returning to Kansas for his senior season, Goodman reports (via Twitter). Jayhawks fans will certainly be happy to hear the news, as he averaged 11.1 PPG and 7.4 for the champs last season.
Mouhamed Gueye will withdraw from the draft and transfer from Washington State, Goodman tweets. The 6-foot-11 big man averaged 7.4 PPG and 5.2 RPG for the Cougars in ’21/22.

Draft Notes: Ivey, Murray, Sharpe, Daniels, Roddy, Minott, Segu

May 26th, 2022 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith and Paolo Banchero are the consensus top three prospects in this year’s draft, it’s rare that the top three picks in a draft end up being the three players who enjoy the best pro careers, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz.

The ESPN duo identifies Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe and Dyson Daniels as the other prospects who are the best bets to emerge as top-three players from the 2022 draft class, breaking down the strengths of that quartet and considering which lottery teams might benefit the most from their talents.

We have plenty of draft-related news to pass along:

Colorado State’s David Roddy has worked out for the Magic, Nuggets and Rockets, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The power forward is ranked No. 47 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
Memphis forward Josh Minott has workouts lined up with the Magic, Raptors, Hawks, Spurs, Bulls and Hornets, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Minott is ranked No. 48 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
Buffalo guard Ronaldo Segu will continue to pursue professional opportunities and forgo his remaining year of college eligibility, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. He averaged 14.9 PPG and 5.1 APG last season.
Nathan Mensah is withdrawing from the draft and returning to San Diego State, the school announced in a press release. Mensah is the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
Josh Mballa is pulling out of the draft and transferring from Buffalo to Ole Miss, Jeff Goodman tweets. Mballa averaged 13.0 PPG and 8.6 RPG last season.
Texas Tech guard Adonis Arms has workouts scheduled with the Nuggets, Pistons, Pelicans, Magic and Jazz, Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets.
Northern Colorado’s Bodie Hume will remain in the draft, Rothstein adds in another tweet. The senior forward averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG last season.
Potential top-10 selection Johnny Davis wants to model his game after Devin Booker. Another potential top-10 pick, Daniels, believes he’s a combination of Tyrese Haliburton offensively and Alex Caruso or Lonzo Ball defensively. Numerous draft prospects told The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov which NBA players they most closely resemble or strive to be.

Eastern Draft Notes: Pistons, Pacers, Nets, Knicks

May 23rd, 2022 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Assuming Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and Paolo Banchero are the top three picks in next month’s draft, the Pistons are expected to zero in on four potential targets at No. 5, sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Those players are Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, and Bennedict Mathurin.

All four prospects intrigue the Pistons, according to Edwards, who says that Murray is considered the most well-rounded of the four, while Sharpe is viewed as a “high-upside gamble.” Edwards adds that some sources believe Mathurin is the best wing in this year’s draft class, while there’s little consensus on Ivey, who is regarded as a top-three prospect by some evaluators and is outside the top five for others.

Here are a few more draft-related notes from around the Eastern Conference:

James Akinjo (Baylor), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Justin Lewis (Marquette), and David Roddy (Colorado State) are participating in a pre-draft workout with the Pacers on Monday, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter links). Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard and UCLA’s Johnny Juzang had also been scheduled to take part, but were unable to make it due to weather-related travel issues.
Villanova’s Collin Gillespie has worked out for the Nets and has about 10 more pre-draft workouts on tap following the draft combine, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.
According to Zagoria (Twitter link), Michigan State’s Gabe Brown has workouts with the Hornets and Magic on tap this week after previously auditioning for the Celtics, Nets, and Knicks.
Marc Berman of The New York Post explores whether Malaki Branham could be a legitimate target at No. 11 for the Knicks, who met with the Ohio State sharpshooter at last week’s combine.