Jalen Crutcher Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Waive Jalen Crutcher, Cameron McGriff

October 14th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have cut a pair of players from their preseason roster, announcing in a press release that Jalen Crutcher and Cameron McGriff have been placed on waivers.

Crutcher, a 6’1″ point guard, spent his last four years at Dayton, where he averaged 17.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .463/.372/.763 shooting in 24 games (38.1 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He suited up for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas after going undrafted.

McGriff went undrafted in 2020 after four seasons with Oklahoma State. The 6’7″ forward averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his senior year, then played for Belgium’s Okapi Aalstar last season, putting up 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. He joined the Hornets for this year’s Summer League.

Charlotte signed Crutcher and McGriff to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts less than a week ago. While Crutcher saw some action in one of the team’s preseason games, neither player was a real candidate to make the regular season roster. Both Crutcher and McGriff will likely end up playing for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.

Hornets Sign Jalen Crutcher, Cameron McGriff

October 8th, 2021 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving two players earlier in the day, the Hornets have wasted no time filling those newly-opened roster spots. According to a press release from the team, Charlotte has signed guard Jalen Crutcher and forward Cameron McGriff.

Crutcher, a 6’1″ point guard, spent his last four years at Dayton, where he averaged 17.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .463/.372/.763 shooting in 24 games (38.1 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He suited up for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas after going undrafted.

McGriff, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2020 after four seasons with Oklahoma State. He averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his senior year, then played for Belgium’s Okapi Aalstar last season, putting up 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. The Hornets’ agreement with McGriff, who was on the club’s Summer League roster, was reported in September.

Neither Crutcher nor McGriff is likely to make the Hornets’ regular season roster, as the team currently has 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts. However, they’re strong candidates to play for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate. Assuming they signed Exhibit 10 contracts, Crutcher and McGriff will be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K if they spent at least 60 days with the Swarm.

The Hornets now once again have a full 20-man preseason roster.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Hernangomez, Nuggets

July 20th, 2021 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

While it doesn’t look at this point like the Trail Blazers will seriously explore Damian Lillard trades this offseason, that doesn’t mean they’re not getting calls about their All-NBA point guard. Front office sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Heat, Kings, Knicks, Rockets, and Sixers have been the most aggressive suitors for Lillard as of late.

With no Lillard trade request imminent, the Blazers are more likely to pursue upgrades around the star guard, though O’Connor notes that the team’s trade assets are somewhat limited. Portland doesn’t have any draft picks this year and rival teams aren’t particularly high on young players like Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little, according to O’Connor. The club’s best bet for a deal that reshapes the roster and increases its ceiling might involve CJ McCollum and Ben Simmons, O’Connor adds.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Former WNBA guard Edniesha Curry has joined Chauncey Billups‘ new Trail Blazers coaching staff, tweets Jason Quick of The Athletic. Curry had been an assistant for the men’s basketball team at the University of Maine since 2018.
When Juan Hernangomez dislocated his left shoulder earlier this month, it appeared to end his chances of playing for Spain at the Tokyo Olympics. However, Spain’s final 12-man roster for the games includes the Timberwolves forward, a signal that Hernangomez’s injury isn’t as serious as initially believed. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has the story.
The Nuggets brought in Miles McBride, Joshua Primo, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Alan Griffin, Damien Jefferson, and Zaccheus Darko-Kelly for a pre-draft workout on Monday, then hosted David Duke, Jalen Crutcher, Aaron Henry, Colbey Ross, Terry Taylor, and Ethan Thompson for a group workout on Tuesday, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter links).

Draft Workouts: Wizards, Springer, Kuminga, Pacers, Hornets, Bezhanishvili

July 14th, 2021 at 3:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards own the No. 15 pick and they’ve been very busy working out players. Guards Chris Duarte of Oregon, Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and Josh Christopher of Arizona State visited last week, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. They brought in some less heralded prospects on Tuesday, a list that includes Mitchell Ballock (Creighton), D.J. Carton (Marquette), Matt Coleman III (Texas), Ryan Daly (St. Joseph) and Mark Vital (Baylor), according to a team press release.

Potential first-round Jaden Springer (Tennessee) heads the list of prospects who will work out for the club on Thursday, Hughes tweets. They’ll also take a look at Zane Martin (Towson), Asbjorn Midtgaard (Grand Canyon), Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon), Micah Potter (Wisconsin) and Guilherme Santos (Minas-Brazil).

We have more draft workout info:

Jaden Springer, a point guard currently ranked No. 27 on ESPN’s Best Available list, has also worked out for the Knicks, Spurs, Thunder and Pelicans, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report tweets.
G League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga, ranked No. 5 by ESPN, worked out for the Cavaliers on Wednesday, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. The Cavs hold the No. 3 overall pick.
Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech), Dalano Banton (Nebraska), Chaundee Brown (Michigan), Sharife Cooper (Auburn), Jalen Crutcher (Dayton) and Mac McClung (Texas Tech) will work out for the Pacers on Thursday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets.
The Hornets hosted Vrenz Bleijenbergh (Antwerp Belgium), Feron Hunt (SMU), D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State), Romeo Weems (DePaul) and Marcus Zegarowski (Creighton), the team’s PR department tweets.
Illinois big man Giorgi Bezhanishvili is working out for the Hawks Thursday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. He’s also worked out recently for the Bucks and Grizzlies.

Draft Notes: Executive Roundup, Duarte, Monyyong, Lakers, Mini-Combine

July 10th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

In a Draft Confidential column for The Athletic, Hall-of-Fame reporter David Aldridge interviews anonymous team executives and college coaches to get their inside scoop on the 2021 draft’s burning questions.

Some of the topics discussed: the Jalen Green versus Jalen Suggs debate, who will be the fourth guard taken after Suggs, Green, and Cade Cunningham are off the board (James Bouknight, Moses Moody, Davion Mitchell, and Keon Johnson are the top candidates), draft promises, some of the late risers (Joshua Primo, Nah’Shon Hyland, Miles McBride, and others), and a whole lot more.

We have more news from the draft:

Former Oregon guard Chris Duarte worked out for the Wizards on Thursday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 24-year-old sharpshooting guard also had workouts scheduled with the Thunder and Pelicans.
Ruot Monyyong had a workout with the Kings on Thursday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Monyyong isn’t expected to be drafted, but could be a candidate for a two-way contract or Summer League invitation.
The Lakers worked out six players today, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register: Nah’Shon Hyland, Austin Reaves, Trey Murph y III, Oscar Da Silva, DJ Funderburk, and Chaundee Brown Jr. Hyland and Murphy are projected to be first-round picks, and could be in play for the Lakers with the No. 22 selection.
11 players participated in a mini-combine in Minneapolis, in front of 25 teams, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The participants were: McKinley Wright IV, Jalen Crutcher, Denzel Mahoney, Moses Wright, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Matt Coleman III, Colbey Ross, Jordan Schakel, Matt Mitchell, Brandon Rachal, and M.J. Walker.

Draft Notes: Pistons, Timberwolves, Banton, Hornets

June 19th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie, Toledo’s Spencer Littleson, UC Santa Barbara’s Jaquori McLaughlin and Florida State’s M.J. Walker are among the players the Pistons worked out on Friday, Keith Smith tweets. The 6’6” Champagnie is ranked No. 63 among all prospects and 10th among small forwards by ESPN. The G League Ignite’s Daishen Nix also participated in the workout. Nix is ranked by No. 55 by ESPN and 10th among point guard prospects.

We have more draft-related news:

McLaughlin, ranked No. 93 by ESPN, also worked out recently for the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The 6’4” McLaughlin was the Big West’s Conference Player of the Year. Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr. also visited the Timberwolves, Wolfson adds in a separate tweet. Washington is participating in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago this weekend.
Nebraska guard Dalano Banton also received an invite to the Elite Camp, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated tweets. Blanton averaged 9.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 3.9 APG last season.
The Hornets hosted several prospects on Thursday, including North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher, Winthrop’s Chandler Vaudrin, Tennessee’s Yves Pons and Washington’s Nahziah Carter, according to Matthew Stephens of the Charlotte Observer. Pons, a small forward, is ranked No. 88.

Draft Notes: Garza, Mike, Thompson, Ross, Crutcher

August 2nd, 2020 at 5:56pm CST by JD Shaw

Iowa star Luka Garza has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and is set to return with the Hawkeyes for his senior season, he announced on social media Sunday.

Garza is an early frontrunner for National Player of the Year, with the 21-year-old center hoping that his team can compete for a championship next season. He averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season, leading the Hawkeyes to a 20-11 record.

“My heart is in Iowa City,” Garza said in a statement. “I love this place too much to leave it. I love my teammates, coaches, community, fans and university. I don’t care how many games we were able to play, I want to be here and wear IOWA across my chest one more time. It would have been too hard to close the book without the last chapter. I have decided to return to the University of Iowa for my senior season.”

Here are some other draft-related notes tonight:

SMU junior Isiaha Mike has signed with Chemnitz in the German BBL, agent Adam Papas told Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Mike will decide on October 6 whether to stay in the 2020 NBA Draft, Goodman notes. “Isiaha has a child that he was ready to provide for,” Papas said. “He feels like a year of pro development gets him closer to a NBA roster next season either via a draft and stash this season or being in next year’s draft. There’s too much uncertainty with the G League/2-ways.”
Oregon State swingman Ethan Thompson has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and is set to return to school, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Thompson averaged 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season.
Pepperdine guard Colbey Ross is withdrawing from the draft, he told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Ross held per-game averages of 20.5 points and 7.2 assists last season, shooting 40 percent from the field and 35% from deep.
Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher will return for his senior season and withdraw from the draft, as relayed by David Jablonski of the Dayton Daily News (Twitter link). Crutcher averaged a career-high 15.1 points this past season, raising his shooting percentage to 47%.

Draft Updates: Bey, Robinson-Earl, Fitts, Crutcher, More

March 26th, 2020 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Villanova head coach Jay Wright expects both Saddiq Bey and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to test the NBA draft process, he told reporters on Wednesday (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports). Bey currently ranks 21st overall on ESPN’s big board, while Robinson-Earl is at No. 66, so it makes sense that they’re considering going pro.

Because neither player has made that decision official and Wright only “expects” them to declare, we’re not yet adding their names to our running list of early entrants. However, that list continues to grow. Here are details on some other players we’re adding today:

Saint Mary’s forward Malik Fitts will forgo his final year of college eligibility and go pro, signing with agent Charles Briscoe for representation, per Evan Daniels of 247Sports. Fitts, who averaged 16.5 PPG and 7.1 RPG on .472/.408/.799 shooting as a junior, made his decision official in a Twitter post.
Dayton junior guard Jalen Crutcher will test the draft waters, he tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link) and announced on his own Twitter account. He’s coming off a season in which he averaged 15.1 PPG and 4.9 APG with a .424 3PT%.
St. Joe’s junior guard Ryan Daly, who averaged 20.5 PPG in 30 games this season, will declare for the draft while retaining his college eligibility, he tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
North Carolina State’s D.J. Funderburk and Devon Daniels, who each have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, will test the 2020 draft waters, head coach Kevin Keatts announced today, per R. Cory Smith of 247Sports. “They will learn a lot more about what the NBA folks think about them,” Keatts said of the Wolfpack duo. “They will take the feedback and make an informed decision.”
Butler sophomore forward Jordan Tucker announced today on Twitter that he’s entering the 2020 NBA draft pool. “Being able to play in the NBA has been my dream since I was kid and I am excited to take this next step toward reaching it,” Tucker wrote.