Fred VanVleet

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/12/16

Here are Saturday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA, with the D-League’s regular season underway:

10:51pm:

2:46pm:

  • The Thunder recalled forward Josh Huestis from the Oklahoma City Blue, they announced via press release. Huestis played 31 minutes in the Blue’s opener on Friday night, notching eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes against the Maine Red Claws.
  • The Mavericks assigned rookie center A.J. Hammons to the Texas Legends, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. The 7-footer has seen spot duty in three games with Dallas. The second-round pick will be available for the Legends’ season opener Saturday night against the Red Claws.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, VanVleet, Lopez, Lin

The Knicks‘ roster underwent some significant changes this offseason, and many of the club’s new additions recognize that there’s still work to be done before everyone is on the same page, per Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. Notably, Joakim Noah has been nagged by multiple injuries throughout the preseason, while Derrick Rose has barely practiced with the team, having spent a chunk of October in Los Angeles for his civil trial.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:

  • The Raptors were fond of all their camp invitees this fall, but Fred VanVleet entered as the favorite to earn the team’s final roster spot, and he did just that, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. As Wolstat notes, VanVleet – who turned down other offers to join the Raps this summer – will provide the team with point guard depth while Delon Wright recovers from his shoulder injury.
  • The Nets have gone from one of the league’s slowest-paced teams to one of its most up-tempo teams, which has been a challenge for Brook Lopez. With Lopez struggling so far, Brian Lewis of The New York Post wonders if trade speculation and rumors surrounding the big man could increase as the season goes on. Brooklyn is still at least a couple years away from contention, and Lopez’s contract expires in 2018.
  • In an interview with Newsday’s Greg Logan, new Nets point guard Jeremy Lin says he’s “extremely excited” to have the chance to run a team, which he describes as something he’s “waited a long time” for.

And-Ones: Roster Moves, Bulls, Rudez, Onuaku

Monday afternoon is the deadline to reach the roster limit of 15, and nine teams still have cuts to make, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad. The Celtics, Cavaliers, Rockets, Lakers, Pelicans, Thunder, Sixers, Suns and Kings all remain over the limit leading into what should be an eventful day, says Nahmad. By our count, the Grizzlies still have a move to make as well. The Pacers were the latest team to trim their roster, waiving Jeremy Evans and Julyan Stone tonight.

There’s more news from around the NBA:

  • J.J. Avila, who was waived Friday by the Bulls, has agreed to play for Chicago’s D-League affiliate, tweets Dennis Silva II of Monitor News. The 6’8″ power forward from Colorado State signed a training camp contract with Chicago in September. Guard Thomas Walkup of Stephen F. Austin, another Friday cut, will also be joining the Windy City Bulls (Twitter link).
  • Damjan Rudez and Arinze Onuaku both traveled a lot of miles to realize their dream of returning to the NBA, writes John Denton of NBA.com. After playing overseas and in the D-League, both veterans were told Saturday that they had earned a place on the Magic’s final roster. “It was a big blessing,” Onuaka said. “When you are out here fighting for a spot every day it’s stressful and to get that news, it was great. You’ve always got to wait to hear if you’re in or you’re out, so it wasn’t easy sleeping at night.’’
  • Fred VanVleet won the Raptors‘ final roster spot, but coach Dwane Casey said all the training camp invitees were impressive, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Casey said Drew Crawford and Brady Heslip have the talent to be NBA players, adding that he was disappointed he didn’t have room to keep all of them.

And-Ones: VanVleet, Crawford, Lorbek

Fred VanVleet has a chance to make the Raptors’ opening night roster and the point guard is making the most out of his opportunity, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “When I’m out there, try to make it hard to notice who is the guy trying to make the team,” VanVleet said. “[I] try to be seamless in that regard, look like one of the starters, look like a bench player and look like you belong.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Jordan Crawford will return to the D-League and play for the Westchester Knicks, sources tell Chris Reichert of Upside Motor (Twitter link).
  • Center Wally Niang will play in the D-League this season, Reichert reports (Twitter link). Niang played in the Liga ACB League in Europe during the past two seasons.
  • Erazem Lorbek, whose rights right were traded to the Spurs in the Kawhi Leonard deal, has agreed to play for Barcelona’s farm team, Lassa II of LEB Gold, according to international jounralist David Pick (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, VanVleet, Rose

The Sixers should consider sitting out Ben Simmons for the entire season while he recovers from foot surgery, argues Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. It would be the same strategy the team used for Nerlens Noel and twice for Joel Embiid, and it would ensure that Simmons is fully recovered before making his NBA debut. An X-ray revealed that Simmons has a Zone 2 fracture, which is more commonly called a Jones fracture. With that type of break comes a greater chance of another fracture occurring. Pompey compares Simmons’ situation to that of Oklahoma City guard Cameron Payne, who had surgery on a Jones fracture July 25th, then got hurt again Tuesday in training camp, breaking the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. A similar injury cost Kevin Durant most of the 2014/15 season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • Fred VanVleet is trying to forget about his draft snub as he works to earn a spot on the Raptors‘ roster, relays Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. VanVleet was a leader on some very successful teams at Wichita State, but didn’t have the standout athletic ability that impresses scouts. “When you line me up as an athletic prospect against the best guys in the world, I’m not going be very high on that board,” he said. “But when we are taking about basketball players? I’ll just say sometimes you have to evaluate what you are looking for. I don’t trust that everybody knows what they are talking about. Those guys get paid to do what they do and I’m not questioning anybody who didn’t draft me. It is what it is. I ended up in a great place in a great situation.” With Delon Wright still recovering from a shoulder injury in summer league, VanVleet has a chance to make the Raptors as a backup point guard.
  • Derrick Rose‘s $21.5MM civil sex assault trial begins Tuesday, but he plans to be with the Knicks for a preseason game in Houston, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I’ll figure out anything a little bit later when I get into the city, but for right now they are allowing me to just be with the team,” Rose said. “I haven’t heard anything legal-wise.” In his first year with the Knicks after a summer trade, Rose said he had his best camp ever.
  • Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek has been impressed by Spanish center Willy Hernangomez, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Hornacek said the 22-year-old Hernangomez, who signed with the team in July, “looks like he’s a 10-year vet out there in terms of his calmness when he’s playing.”

Contract Details: DeRozan, Barbosa, Spurs

DeMar DeRozan‘s new five-year contract with the Raptors has a maximum salary in the first year, but it’s not a true max deal, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details. In years two through five, DeRozan will earn a salary of $27,739,975 annually, a figure which will fall increasingly below the max over the length of the contract. In total, Pincus pegs the five-year value of DeRozan’s deal at $137.5MM, which is slightly lower than the figure initially reported ($139MM), so it’s possible the pact features unlikely incentives. Still, it looks like Toronto got a bit of a hometown discount, since DeRozan surely could’ve commanded a full max from other suitors.

Here are a few more contract and salary updates from Pincus:

  • Leandro Barbosa‘s two-year contract with the Suns was reported to have a team option on its second year. Pincus clarifies that Barbosa’s 2017/18 salary, worth $4MM in total, is partially guaranteed for just $500K.
  • Davis Bertans, joining the Spurs as a draft-and-stash prospect, received a fully-guaranteed two-year contract worth the minimum from San Antonio.
  • Ryan Arcidiacono and Bryn Forbes also got two-year minimum-salary deals from the Spurs. However, their salaries are only partially guaranteed in year one. Arcidiacono got a $75K guarantee, while Forbes received a $125K guarantee.
  • Undrafted rookie Fred VanVleet inked a two-year minimum-salary deal with the Raptors, receiving a $50K guarantee in year one from the team. He’ll face an uphill battle in his attempt to earn his roster spot, with three point guards ahead of him on the depth chart.

Raptors Sign Fred VanVleet

JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed VanVleet to a multiyear contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).

JULY 12: The Raptors have reached a contract agreement with free agent Fred VanVleet, Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic reports. The pact will be a multiyear arrangement, according to Murphy, and barring a last minute alteration, will include a partial guarantee.

VanVleet went undrafted out of Wichita State this year and he has been playing on Toronto’s squad at the Las Vegas Summer League, Murphy notes. The scribe notes that the guard has impressed the franchise with his composure running the offense and an improved 3-point stroke. Through three summer league contests, VanVleet has scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and added five assists.

The 22-year-old made 31 appearances for the Shockers this past season and averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 29.0 minutes per outing. His slash line on the year was .390/.381/.817. He’s a longshot to make the regular season roster, but would be a wise addition to the Raptors’ D-League affiliate where he can be developed as a player during the 2016/17 campaign.

Central Rumors: Cavaliers, Love, Bucks, Pistons

After winning a championship, the Cavaliers may not be as inclined to retool their roster as they otherwise might have been, but the team is still expected to listen to any trade inquiries it receives on Kevin Love, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Appearing on Zach Lowe’s podcast (hat tip to RealGM.com), Windhorst identified the Celtics as the ideal trade partner for Love, suggesting that the Cavaliers “really like” Avery Bradley and could also ask for Marcus Smart and a draft pick (not the No. 3) if Boston shows interest in making a deal.

While we wait to see if those hypothetical trade talks come to fruition, let’s round up a few more items from out of the Central division…

  • While plenty of reports have suggested Thursday could be a busy trade night around the NBA, Bucks general manager John Hammond isn’t expecting much movement at the top of the board, telling reporters that “people feel good about this draft” (Twitter link).
  • Hammond spoke a little more about the Bucks‘ draft and trade options, telling reporters that Milwaukee is targeting three or four players with the No. 10 pick, and hasn’t ruled out a big man at that spot (Twitter links via Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Hammond was also asked about rumors that the Celtics may be targeting Khris Middleton, and while he declined to comment on that report, he noted that many Bucks players have “great value around the league” (Twitter links via Gardner).
  • Wes Washpun (Northern Iowa), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), Retin Obasohan (Alabama), Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech), Cinmeon Bowers (Auburn), and Gracin Bakumanya (Democratic Republic of Congo) participated in a workout for the Bucks today, the team announced in a press release.
  • The Pistons are hosting Florida State’s Malik Beasley for a workout today, according to David Mayo of MLive.com (Twitter link). Beasley is ranked 17th on Chad Ford’s ESPN big board and 23rd at DraftExpress.com, so he’s a candidate to be on the board when Detroit picks 18th overall.
  • Rod Beard of The Detroit News doesn’t mention Beasley in his list of five potential targets for the Pistons at No. 18, instead naming Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), and Ivica Zubac (Croatia), among others.

And-Ones: Jones, Exum, Smith

Potential first-round pick Damian Jones has undergone surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, reports Jonathan Givony of The Vertical. Jones suffered the injury while bench pressing in a workout with the Magic. He should be ready to play near the end of training camp for whatever team drafts him.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Dante Exum will not play for the Australian national team in the Olympics this summer, according to the team’s website. Exum was recently cleared for full-contact basketball activity and he is focused on preparing himself for the 2016/17 season with the Jazz.
  • Russ Smith, who averaged 27.8 point per game in the D-League this past season, has worked out for the Nuggets, Blazers and Clippers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders passes along (Twitter link).
  • The Raptors will workout Trey Freeman, Fred VanVleet, Malachi Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Tyler Harris and Venk Jois on Sunday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Valentine, Murray, Diallo, Brown

Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held next Thursday in Brooklyn, New York:

  • The Bucks have a group workout scheduled today for Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt), Dejounte Murray (Washington), Carrington Love (UWBG), Ron Baker (Wichita State), Goodluck Okonoboh (UNLV) and Prince Ibeh (Texas), the team announced.
  • Milwaukee will also hold an individual workout today for former Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine, the team announced.
  • French swingman Timothe Luwawu worked out for the Nuggets on Thursday, the team announced.
  • The Jazz have a group workout set for today with Nic Moore (SMU), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), John Brown (High Point), Elgin Cook (Oregon), Jameel McKay (Iowa State) and Marshall Plumlee (Duke), the team announced.
  • Former Kansas big man Cheick Diallo will work out for the Pacers today and will display his wares for the Grizzlies on Saturday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
  • The teams that have done the most research on former California forward Jaylen Brown are the Suns, Celtics and Wolves, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.