Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from the G League:
We noted earlier tonight that the Knicks plans to begin buyout talks with Enes Kanter if he’s not traded before tomorrow’s deadline. It appears Wesley Matthews is in the same situation and may wind up with the Warriors, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Matthews was acquired from Dallas last week as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, but he has an $18.6MM expiring contract and there’s little reason to keep him on one of the league’s worst teams. The Knicks are still hoping to work out a trade and had some interest from the Sixers before they acquired Tobias Harris, Berman adds.
Matthews was just 2 of 11 Tuesday in what the Knicks hoped would be a showcase game, but that won’t affect his popularity on the buyout market. Several teams are expected to make a run at Matthews if he becomes available, including Golden State, which a source says is “intrigued” by the 32-year-old swingman. “The biggest thing is winning,’’ Matthews said Sunday at his introductory press conference in New York, so the interest should be mutual.
Berman adds a few notes on other players:
Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from the G League:
Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
JANUARY 31: The Wizards have officially signed Jenkins to a 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release.
JANUARY 30: The Wizards are finalizing a 10-day deal with guard John Jenkins, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. Jenkins last saw NBA action with the Suns during the 2016/17 season.
The 27-year-old journeyman has previously played with the Mavs and Hawks in addition to Phoenix, averaging 5.1 points per game through 145 big league contests and eight starts.
Since 2017, Jenkins has bounced around the G League and Spain. In 19 games with the Westchester Knicks this season, he averaged an impressive 24.8 PPG on .473/.431/.928 shooting.
The former first-rounder will now look to demonstrate an ability to pitch in for a short-handed Wizards club from on the perimeter, competing mostly with two-way guard Jordan McRae for opportunities behind starter Bradley Beal. Jenkins is expected to take over the roster spot vacated by Gary Payton II, whose 10-day deal has expired. The Wizards have one additional opening on their 15-man roster.
With another round of World Cup qualifiers scheduled to begin next week, USA Basketball has officially announced its latest 12-man roster for games against Argentina (November 29) and Uruguay (December 2). The roster is made up primarily of G League players, though NBA free agents Tyler Zeller, Jarnell Stokes, and Eric Moreland are also on the squad. Other former NBA players on the roster include Chasson Randle, DeAndre Liggins, and John Jenkins.
With one more qualifying window scheduled for February after next week’s set of games, Team USA is in prime position to secure a spot in the 2019 World Cup. Team USA currently has a 7-1 record in qualifying contests, which puts the club in a tie with Argentina for first place in Group E. Puerto Rico and Uruguay are tied for third at 5-3. The top three teams in the group will earn spots in the World Cup, and the fourth-place team will have a chance to qualify as well.
Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…
The Knicks had some concerns about Kevin Knox‘s motor heading into the 2018 NBA draft, and while they were thrilled to land the young forward with the ninth overall pick, those concerns continue to linger 10 games into his NBA career, writes Mike Mazzeo of The New York Post.
According to head coach David Fizdale, the Knicks are working on that aspect of Knox’s game, showing him moments on film where he could have made a cut, run harder, or done something else with his athleticism. For his part, Knox agrees that there’s room for improvement in that area.
“That’s something I’m working on,” Knox said of his motor, per Mazzeo. “A lot of people told me that coming out of college, but that’s not something that’s going to fix overnight. I have to get in shape, get conditioning, compete every day in practice. I think most of it is just competing offensively and defensively. But there’s games when my motor is good, I just got to get it consistent and play at a high level.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
The revolving door continues at Knicks training camp as the team has waived John Jenkins, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley. Jenkins is expected to join the organization’s G League affiliate in Westchester.
Jenkins, who has previous NBA experience with the Hawks, Mavericks and Suns, just signed with the Knicks yesterday. New York, which is making a series of moves to line up players for Westchester, waived Tyrius Walker and Phillip Carr earlier this week.
Unloading Jenkins brings the Knicks down to 19 players and makes room for the expected signing of Billy Garrett, who reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract with the team earlier today. Like Jenkins, Walker and Carr, Garrett is expected to wind up in Westchester.
New York still has a reported deal with Jeff Coby to address and is working on a buyout with veteran center Joakim Noah.
OCTOBER 3: The Knicks have officially signed Jenkins, the team announced today (via Twitter).
OCTOBER 2: Having opened up a roster spot by waiving Tyrius Walker earlier today, the Knicks will sign John Jenkins to re-fill their 20-man preseason roster, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter links). According to Berman, Jenkins – who caught the Knicks’ eye during his Summer League stint with the Trail Blazers – will likely end up playing in the G League.
Jenkins, a 2012 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt, played 145 regular season NBA contests for the Hawks, Mavericks, and Suns, last appearing in an NBA game in December of 2016.
Jenkins spent the 2017/18 campaign with San Pablo Burgos in Spain, recording a team-high 12.7 PPG in 22 Spanish League games, before joining Portland for the 2018 Summer League. In seven Las Vegas Summer League games, Jenkins shot a blistering 69.6% from the field, averaging 12.0 PPG.
With Jenkins apparently poised to fill Walker’s spot on the Knicks’ roster, it remains unclear when Jeff Coby will complete his reported deal with the club. New York has 19 players under contract, leaving room for just one signing for now, though the club figures to waive other camp invitees and buy out Joakim Noah in the near future.
The Timberwolves have hosted a handful of free agents for a workout this week, with Marcus Georges-Hunt, Rashad Vaughn, and John Jenkins among the latest players to earn a look from Minnesota, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 (Twitter link) also adds Eric Moreland to the list of players auditioned by the Wolves.
Nick Young, Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer worked out for the Timberwolves too, but according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, a number of agents believe the Wolves simply plan to sign Luol Deng, making them reluctant to send their players for a workout with the team. Minnesota reportedly launched its pursuit of Deng this week.
There’s more from the Northwest Division: