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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/7/19

November 7th, 2019 at 9:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

The Nuggets have assigned rookie forward Vlatko Cancar to the Erie BayHawks, the team’s PR department tweets. The 2017 second-round selection has appeared in one game, a two-minute cameo on Oct. 31. Denver doesn’t have a G League affiliate.
The Clippers assigned center Mfiondu Kabengele and guard Derrick Walton Jr. to the Agua Caliente Clippers for a practice and then recalled them, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets.
The Bulls assigned swingman Denzel Valentine, who missed last season due to an ankle injury, to the Windy City Bulls, the team’s PR department tweets. Valentine practiced with the G League team and is expected to remain with them for their first two games on Friday and Saturday. Rookie power forward Daniel Gafford was also assigned to the Windy City Bulls and will remain for their season opener, according to another team tweet.
The Spurs assigned forward Chimezie Metu to their Austin affiliate, then recalled him prior to their game against Oklahoma City, according to a team press release. He’ll be re-assigned to Austin for its season opener on Friday.
The Hawks assigned swingman Allen Crabbe to the College Park Skyhawks for a practice and then recalled him, according to Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the team’s PR department (Twitter links). Crabbe is working his way back from knee surgery.
The Hornets assigned two rookies, guard Cody Martin and forward Caleb Martin, to the Greensboro Swarm for a practice and then recalled them, according to a team press release. They also recalled rookie forward Jalen McDaniels, according to another team release.

Clippers Sign Derrick Walton Jr. To One-Year Contract

October 21st, 2019 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have signed point guard Derrick Walton Jr. to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract to fill their last roster spot, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.

The Clippers waived forward Donte Grantham on Saturday, paving the way for Walton to make the opening-night roster. Walton’s $1.45MM deal won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10.

Walton signed a training camp deal with the Clippers in July. Walton spent a season with the Heat on a two-way contract in 2017/18 after going undrafted out of Michigan. He joined the Bulls for training camp last fall, but was waived before the regular season began and ended up playing overseas in 2018/19 for teams in Lithuania and Germany.

Walton averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.0 APG while playing in all five Clippers preseason games. He’ll back up Patrick Beverley and Terance Mann, though Lou Williams will also run the offense at times.

Clippers Waive Forward Donte Grantham

October 19th, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have waived forward Donte Grantham, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

The transaction reduces their roster to the maximum 15 players on standard contracts, though only 14 of those players have full guarantees. The only player remaining from the camp roster without a guaranteed deal is Derrick Walton Jr. His $1.45MM contract doesn’t fully guarantee until January 10.

Grantham signed an Exhibit 10 contract in August. He’ll likely join the Clippers’ G League affiliate, as the Agua Caliente Clippers traded for his returning rights last month.

He went undrafted out of Clemson last year and then spent most of his first professional season on a two-way contract with the Thunder. He played just two minutes in three NBA games for Oklahoma City but was a regular starter for the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG. Grantham’s two-way deal included a second season, but the Thunder waived him in July.

Clippers Sign Derrick Walton Jr.

July 26th, 2019 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

12:39pm: Walton confirmed to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that he and the Clippers completed a deal. Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract, as expected.

9:59am: The Clippers have signed free agent point guard Derrick Walton Jr., according to RealGM’s official log of NBA transactions. Details aren’t known, but RealGM classifies it as a one-year contract, so an Exhibit 10 deal seems likely.

Walton, 24, spent a season with the Heat on a two-way contract in 2017/18 after going undrafted out of Michigan. He caught on with the Bulls for training camp and the preseason last fall, but was waived before the regular season began and ultimately ended up playing overseas in 2018/19 for teams in Lithuania and Germany.

The Clippers added Walton to their Summer League roster this offseason, and he appeared in four games for the club in Las Vegas, averaging 4.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.8 RPG in four games (13.3 MPG).

With only 13 players on guaranteed contracts, the Clippers still project to have a couple openings on their regular season roster. It’s not clear if Walton will get the opportunity to compete for one of those spots, or if Los Angeles simply views him as a potential candidate to join the team’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

And-Ones: Team USA, Walton, J. Crawford, Draft

February 13th, 2019 at 6:06pm CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced its 13-man roster for the upcoming 2019 World Cup qualifiers, with the squad once again made up of NBA G League players. Of the 13 players on the roster, Reggie Hearn, Xavier Munford, Cameron Reynolds, and Travis Trice have suited up for previous World Cup qualifiers.

They’ll be joined by nine newcomers, including players with a little NBA experience like Chinanu Onuaku and Emanuel Terry.

Josh Adams, Kyle Casey, Chris Chiozza, Charles Cooke, Michael Frazier II, D.J. Hogg, and Tanner McGrew round out the roster.

Team USA, having gone 8-2 in previous qualifiers, has already earned its spot in the 2019 World Cup, so there won’t be as much pressure on this group for the games taking place in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 22 (vs. Panama) and February 25 (vs. Argentina).

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

Former Michigan and Heat point guard Derrick Walton, who recently left his team in Lithuania, has signed with ALBA Berlin in Germany, according to the club (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando). Walton was on a two-way contract with Miami last season and was in training camp with the Bulls in the fall before heading overseas.
Veteran NBA guard Jordan Crawford saw his one-month contract with Israeli club Ironi Nahariya expire and is once again a free agent, as Nicola Lupo of Sportando relays.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) has released an updated 2019 mock draft at ESPN.com, with Murray State’s Ja Morant moving up to No. 3 to break up a run of Duke prospects at the top of the draft.
In an entertaining piece for SI.com, Jake Fischer spoke to a number of role players who have been traded along with stars to find out what it’s like to be an afterthought at an introductory press conference.

Derrick Walton To Play In Lithuania

October 18th, 2018 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

After being waived by the Bulls over the weekend, guard Derrick Walton has lined up his next opportunity, with Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas announcing today (via Twitter) that it has officially added Walton to its backcourt (hat tip to Sportando).

Walton, 23, signed a two-way contract with the Heat last year and appeared in 16 games for the NBA squad, playing limited minutes. He saw more extensive action for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate, recording 16.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .442/.377/.902 shooting line in 27 games for the club.

Although the Heat initially tendered Walton a two-way qualifying offer, they withdrew that QO in July, clearing the way for the former Michigan point guard to sign a camp deal with the Bulls. However, he didn’t make the team’s regular season roster.

Walton joins a lengthy list of veterans who will play overseas in 2018/19 after seeing NBA action last season.

Bulls Waive Four Players

October 13th, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have released four players from their 20-man preseason roster, the team announced today (via Twitter). Antonius Cleveland, Derrick Walton Jr., Kaiser Gates, and JaKarr Sampson will all become unrestricted free agents on Monday, assuming they clear waivers.

Cleveland was claimed by the Bulls off waivers from the Hawks back in July, while the other three players signed camp deals with Chicago in August and September.

Of the four, Sampson has the most NBA experience, having appeared in 169 total regular season games for the 76ers, Nuggets, and Kings. Cleveland and Walton saw some action last season in Atlanta and Miami respectively, while Gates – a rookie out of Xavier – has yet to make his NBA debut.

The Bulls now have 16 players under contract, with 15 on standard deals and one (Rawle Alkins) on a two-way pact. Today’s moves clear the way for Ryan Arcidiacono, who has a $50K partial guarantee on his contract, to open the season on Chicago’s roster.

Bulls Sign Derrick Walton Jr.

August 14th, 2018 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 14: The Bulls have made it official, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Walton.

AUGUST 10: Former Heat two-way player Derrick Walton Jr. intends to sign a new contract with the Bulls, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Walton, 23, inked a two-way contract with the Heat last July after going undrafted out of Michigan. The 6’1″ point guard stuck with the franchise all season, appearing in 16 games for the NBA squad and 27 for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League.

Although his role for the Heat was very limited, Walton averaged 16.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .442/.377/.902 shooting line in the NBAGL.

When Walton’s two-way agreement with the Heat expired at season’s end, the club tendered him a qualifying offer, retaining the right of first refusal. However, Miami withdrew that QO during the second week of July, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

While details of Walton’s deal with Chicago aren’t yet known, the club has a little flexibility. The Bulls currently have 17 players under contract — 14 on fully guaranteed deals, two on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals, and one on a two-way pact. As such, the team could give Walton a camp deal and allow him to compete for the last spot on the 15-man regular season roster, or it could ink him to a two-way contract.

Central Notes: Arcidiacono, Dekker, Walton, Clarkson

August 12th, 2018 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The way that Ryan Arcidiacono‘s contract with the Bulls is structured to keep him eligible for the G League, Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus tweets. Arcidiacano has a $50K guarantee, which will allow him to play with the Windy City Bulls. He signed a minimum one-year deal worth $1,349,383. The 6’3” guard out of Villanova appeared in 24 NBA games last season as a two-way player, averaging 2.0 points in nearly 13 minutes of action. He posted a 13.8/4.5/8.6 line in 37 G League games.

In other news around the Central Division:

The Clippers will send $1,247,494 to the Cavaliers as part of the Sam Dekker trade, which was made official on Tuesday, Pincus reveals in another tweet. That amount isn’t random — it’s the exact difference between Dekker’s salary and a veteran’s minimum salary, essentially allowing the Cavs to take a flier on the forward at the minimum.
Derrick Walton Jr. gives the Bulls another alternative, along with Arcidiacono, to Cameron Payne as Kris Dunn‘s backup, Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago notes. Walton is expected to sign with Chicago, according to his agent, after the Heat cut ties with the former University of Michigan floor leader last month. Walton is a better perimeter shooter than Payne, who is more comfortable having the ball in his hands and running pick-and-rolls, Michael Walton continues. The Bulls have a number of players who can create for themselves, so Walton might be a better fit behind Dunn, Michael Walton adds.
Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson is unlikely to play for Philippines in this month’s Asian Games, according to a Sportando report. Clarkson was a late addition to their national team but won’t be able to join them in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Heat Notes: Trade Rumors, Walton, Haslem, Free Agents

August 12th, 2018 at 11:21am CST by Arthur Hill

Don’t be surprised if the Heat keep their current roster together for a while despite a flurry of trade rumors surrounding the team, Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel writes in a mailbag column. Numerous Miami players have been mentioned in possible deals, with Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Tyler Johnson among the most prominent.

Winderman notes that team president Pat Riley indicated in a media session that month that he would like to keep the current core together to see what it can accomplish. A deal could still happen before training camp opens in late September, but Winderman believes it would be more of a surprise, rather than something that has been rumored for weeks.

There’s more today out of Miami:

Derrick Walton may go on to better things with the Bulls, but the Heat didn’t have playing time to offer him, Winderman adds in the same piece. The 23-year-old guard is close to a deal with Chicago after Miami pulled his qualifying offer last month. The Heat have a crowded backcourt with Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, Wayne Ellington and Rodney McGruder all established, Waiters returning from ankle surgery and Dwyane Wade possibly wanting to play another season. Walton appeared in 16 games last year as a two-way player.
The Heat are giving up a roster spot by holding onto veteran forward Udonis Haslem if coach Erik Spoelstra refuses to play him, Winderman states in a separate mailbag. Haslem, 38, has developed into a virtual assistant coach, getting into 14 games last season and 16 the year before. Even so, he has a standing offer to return to the team if he wants to keep playing.
The Heat don’t have much playing time to offer combo guards or big men, which is why Mario Chalmers and Jahlil Okafor didn’t consider Miami before signing elsewhere, Winderman writes in another mailbag. Along with the logjam in the backcourt, the Heat have Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo all competing f0r playing time in the middle. Winderman speculates that the team could look for help at small forward if either Wade or Haslem doesn’t return.