Ibi Watson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Release DaQuan Jeffries, Two Others

October 15th, 2021 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have cut three players from their preseason roster, announcing in a press release that they’ve requested waivers on swingman DaQuan Jeffries, center Johnny Hamilton, and guard Ibi Watson.

Of the three, only Jeffries has NBA experience. The 24-year-old averaged 4.1 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 31 games (15.9 MPG) for the Kings and Rockets in 2020/21, and also spent the ’19/20 season in Sacramento. However, he was a non-guaranteed contract this fall, so Atlanta won’t take on any dead money as a result of releasing him.

Like Jeffries, Hamilton and Watson also weren’t owed guaranteed money. Watson is probably a good bet to join the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate, but it’s not clear if Hamilton will head to the NBAGL too — he has played in international leagues over the last two seasons.

After today’s roster moves, the Hawks’ roster is technically ready for the regular season, with 15 players on standard contracts (14 on guaranteed deals, plus Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot) and a pair on two-way pacts. However, Atlanta could still make more moves before Monday’s deadline for teams to set their regular season squads.

Hawks Sign Ibi Watson To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 12th, 2021 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 12: Nearly two-and-a-half months after the two sides reached an agreement, the Hawks have officially signed Watson to his Exhibit 10 contract, the club announced today in a press release.

JULY 30: The Hawks have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with undrafted Dayton shooting guard Ibi Watson, a league source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Watson, who began his college career at Michigan, transferred to Dayton in advance of his junior year after not seeing much action in two years with the Wolverines. He emerged as a full-time starter for the Flyers as a senior in 2020/21, averaging 15.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG with a .467/.416/.757 shooting line in 24 games (37.1 MPG).

Watson, who will play for the Hawks at the Las Vegas Summer League, can officially sign his contract once the new league year begins next week.

An Exhibit 10 deal can eventually be converted to a standard NBA contract or a two-way pact. It can also put a player on track to join his team’s G League affiliate if he doesn’t make the NBA roster.

Western Notes: Culver, Mann, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Nuggets

July 27th, 2021 at 5:05pm CST by Eli Cohen

It’s possible that Timberwolves third-year wing Jarrett Culver could be available this offseason for a second-round pick, according to a tweet from Darren Wolfson of SKOR North.

Not only has Culver had trouble carving out a role for himself with the Timberwolves, but between last year’s No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards and Malik Beasley, who was signed to a four-year deal last summer, there’s little room on the wing for the 22-year-old to get developmental reps.

The Wolves are only two years removed from trading Dario Saric and the No. 11 pick to Phoenix in order draft Culver with the sixth overall pick, so the idea that they may be willing to settle for a second-round pick is discouraging. But it doesn’t take long for a prospect’s value to decline if he isn’t taking positive strides forward — even if he was a lottery pick.

We have more news from around the Western Conference:

Likely first-round pick Tre Mann is conducting last-minute workouts this week with the Suns, Kings, and Nuggets this week, Mann said in an interview with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Mann also mentioned that from conversations with his camp, he expects his draft range to be “from 16-25, maybe.”
On the heels of the Grizzlies‘ trade with the Pelicans, John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks down the salary and personnel machinations of the trade, as well as some potential moves that may stem from it, such as different ways Memphis could move Eric Bledsoe again. Sources tell Hollinger that the Grizzlies are discussing additional trades involving their surplus of perimeter players — Tyus Jones‘ name popped up in trade rumors earlier today.
The Nuggets worked out six prospects on Monday, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post: JT Thor, Juhann Begarin, Scottie Lewis, Feron Hunt, and Ibi Watson. Of the six, Thor is the only prospect expected to potentially be in play when the Nuggets pick at No. 26.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Hawks Notes: Prunty, J. McMillan, Workouts, Collins

July 15th, 2021 at 12:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Joe Prunty and Jamelle McMillan are expected to become part of Nate McMillan‘s revamped coaching staff with the Hawks, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Prunty, who began working as an NBA assistant in 1996, has spent time with a total of seven different teams and briefly served as the interim head coach of the Bucks during the 2017/18 season. Prunty, who last coached in the NBA in 2018/19 as a Suns assistant, was the head coach of the Team USA squad that played in the AmeriCup qualifiers earlier this year. He and Nate McMillan worked together in Portland from 2008-10.

Jamelle McMillan, who is Nate’s son, has spent most of his career with the Pelicans, including several years as an assistant under Alvin Gentry. He joined the Suns for a season in 2018/19 before rejoining the Pelicans, but was let go in 2020 when Stan Van Gundy was hired by New Orleans.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

After previously sharing a lengthy list of prospects who have worked out for the Hawks (or will do so soon), Chris Kirschner of The Athletic continues to add to that list. According to Kirschner (Twitter links), Atlanta is also auditioning Derrick Alston Jr., McKinley Wright IV, Chaundee Brown, Matt Coleman III, Nojel Eastern, Joshua Primo, Ibi Watson, Quade Green, Olivier Sarr, Feron Hunt, and Vrenz Bleijenbergh prior to the draft.
Kirschner teamed up with John Hollinger of The Athletic to preview the Hawks’ offseason, digging into how much a contract for John Collins and an extension for Kevin Huerter might cost the team. Collins’ situation will be much trickier than Huerter’s, according to Hollinger, who wonders if Atlanta can avoid a max deal for a Collins and re-sign him to something in the $100-110MM range.
In the second half of their Hawks offseason primer, Kirschner and Hollinger consider possible targets for Atlanta on the trade market and in the draft. Hollinger points to Miles McBride and Trey Murphy as two prospects who might be fits for the club with the No. 20 pick.

Draft Updates: J. Harris, Watson, Wiseman

May 22nd, 2020 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Nevada guard Jalen Harris, who declared for the draft before April’s early entry deadline, has decided to keep his name in the 2020 pool and go pro, according to his father (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports). Harris published a tweet of his own saying goodbye to Reno and indicating that he’s ready for his “next chapter.”

Harris, who began his college career at Louisiana Tech, transferred to Nevada and had a huge year in 2019/20 as a junior, averaging 21.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.9 APG with a .446/.362/.823 shooting line in 30 games (33.0 MPG). He’s not a lock to be drafted, but should be in the second-round mix, ranking 60th on SI.com’s big board and 85th on ESPN’s top-100 list.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

Dayton guard Ibi Watson has decided to withdraw from the draft and will return to school for his senior season, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Watson elected to test the draft waters this spring after averaging 10.1 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 31 games (22.5 MPG) off the bench for the Flyers as a junior.
After Jeff Goodman of Stadium polled 35 NBA evaluators and found that 20 picked James Wiseman as the top prospect in the 2020 class, Goodman asked Wiseman for his reaction. The former Memphis Tigers big man stressed that he’s not concerned about whether or not he’s picked first overall, adding that his focus is on continuing to improve as a player, regardless of where he’s drafted (video link).
In case you missed it, our Thursday poll focused on whether Wiseman or another player is the best prospect in the 2020 NBA draft.

205 Early Entrants Declare For 2020 NBA Draft

April 28th, 2020 at 10:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 205 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 163 are from colleges, while 42 are international early entrants.

That number falls just short of the previous record for early entrants, established in 2018. Two years ago, 236 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 91 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline. A year ago, 233 early entrants declared, with 98 remaining in the draft.

This year’s total of 205 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by June 3 and again by June 15, the two tentative deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool — assuming those dates aren’t pushed back. But it still looks like the pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants likely to exceed 60, the number of picks in the draft.

Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:

College underclassmen:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list.

Timmy Allen, F, Utah (junior)
Nojel Eastern, G, Purdue (junior)
Tony Goodwin II, G/F, Redemption Academy (N/A)
Jalen Hill, F/C, UCLA (sophomore)
Jay Huff, F, Virginia (junior)
Chance Hunter, G, Long Beach State (sophomore)
Damien Jefferson, G/F, Creighton (junior)
Dakari Johnson, G, Cape Fear CC (freshman)
Jalen Johnson, F, Louisiana (junior)
Colbey Ross, G, Pepperdine (junior)
Joe Saterfield, G/F, Ranger CC (freshman)
Justin Smith, F, Indiana (junior)
Ben Stanley, F, Hampton (sophomore)
Justin Thomas, G, Morehead State (junior)
Ethan Thompson, G, Oregon State (junior)
Alonzo Verge Jr., G, Arizona State (junior)
Ibi Watson, G, Dayton (junior)

The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.

Paul Atkinson Jr., F, Yale (junior)
Chaundee Brown, G, Wake Forest (junior)
Devon Daniels, G, North Carolina State (junior)
Ceasar DeJesus, G, UCF (junior)
Cartier Diarra, G, Kansas State (junior)
Jimma Gatwech, G, Huntington Prep (N/A)
TeShaun Hightower, G, Tulane (junior)

International players:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.

Philippe Bayehe, F, Italy (born 1999)
Vinicius Da Silva, C, Spain (born 2001)
Imru Duke, F, Spain (born 1999)
Michele Ebeling, F, Italy (born 1999)
Dut Mabor, C, Italy (born 2001)
Sergi Martinez, F, Spain (born 1999)
Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
Mouhamed Thiam, C, France (born 2001)
Andrii Voinalovych, F, Ukraine (born 1999)