Josh Akognon Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks To Waive Josh Akognon

July 21st, 2013 at 11:42am CST by Chuck Myron

The same need for salary cap room that forced the Mavs to waive Bernard James is prompting them to do the same with Josh Akognon, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Akognon, who spent most of last season in China, will have lucrative offers to return there, but he'd prefer to stay in the NBA, as Stein also tweets. The Mavs would like to give him the opportunity to do so with a training camp invitation if he clears waivers, Stein adds (Twitter link).

Akognon has been on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal with Dallas, who originally signed him to a 10-day contract in April. Any team can claim him off waivers and short-circuit the Mavs' plans of bringing him back on board, just as is the case with James. He's the leading scorer on the summer-league Mavs at 17.5 points per game, so there could well be interest from other NBA clubs. The 5'11" 27-year-old also lit up scoreboards in China, pouring in 29.0 PPG this past season and 28.2 in 2011/12.

The Dallas front office is trying to accomodate several deals they've already agreed upon with free agents this summer. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, Dallas has landed five new players this month, and the Mavs are still chasing Greg Oden. The agreements with Monta Ellis and Wayne Ellington haven't become official yet, so it appears the releases of James and Akognon are to make room for them.

Akognon is a client of the Alpha Basketball Agency, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Mavs Re-Sign Josh Akognon

April 13th, 2013 at 1:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:52pm: The Mavericks officially announced the signing in a press release.

1:15pm: The Mavs and Josh Akognon are lining up a deal that would keep him on the team for the rest of the season and include a team option for 2013/14, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Akognon's 10-day contract with the team expired last night.

The 5'11" guard made just a single four-minute appearance for Dallas during his 10-day deal, but the Mavs have apparently seen enough to settle on the 27-year-old journeyman for their final roster spot heading into the offseason. Dallas also signed Chris Wright and Justin Dentmon to 10-day contracts in recent weeks, but didn't re-sign either player.

Akognon was in training camp with the Mavs this past fall, but spent the season in China with the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters, for whom he averaged a team-high 29.0 points per game. It was the second straight year Akognon made his mark in the Chinese league, after posting 28.2 PPG for the DongGuan New Century Leopards in 2011/12.

Mavs Sign Josh Akognon To 10-Day Contract

April 3rd, 2013 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

3:49pm: The Mavs have officially signed Akognon to a 10-day deal, the team confirmed in a press release. To create space on the roster, Dentmon was released from his contract before it expired.

8:13am: Justin Dentmon's 10-day contract with the Mavericks is set to expire tonight, and the team will not re-sign him to a second 10-day deal. Instead, the Mavs will continue to audition guards, adding Josh Akognon on a 10-day contract later this week, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

Akognon, 27, was in camp with the Mavericks in the fall, but was cut by the team a couple weeks before the regular season got underway. He spent the season in China, pouring in 29.0 PPG on 54.8% shooting in 36 games for the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters. It was Akognon's second straight impressive season in the CBA, after he averaged 28.2 PPG for the DongGuan New Century Leopards in 2011/12.

The Mavs have had a revolving door of guards occupying their 15th roster spot in recent weeks, including Dentmon, Chris Wright, and now Akognon. Depending on when Akognon's 10-day deal is finalized, it appears it will expire before the postseason, though after last night's loss in Los Angeles, Dallas is extremely unlikely to advance to the playoffs anyway.

Mavericks Waive Josh Akognon

October 18th, 2012 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

4:15pm: The team has confirmed the move via press release.

3:48pm: The Mavericks have requested waivers on camp invitee Josh Akognon, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Akognon was on a fully non-guaranteed contract, so the Mavs won't take a cap hit for releasing him.

Akognon, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2009, averaged 23.9 PPG in his senior year, earning Big West Conference Player of the Year honors. Since going undrafted, he has played primarily overseas, including an impressive 2011/12 season with the CBA's DongGuan New Century Leopards. In 37 games for DongGuan, the 26-year-old was a top-five scorer in the league, averaging 28.2 PPG on 51% shooting.

As Sefko writes, Akognon had said he was enjoying experiencing an NBA camp, and was happy to be in a situation with a "Plan A and a Plan B." Based on previous reports, it appears Plan B for Akognon may involve heading back overseas to rejoin a CBA team.

The move reduces Dallas' roster to the maximum allowable 15 players, leaving the Mavericks with no players left on non-guaranteed contracts. The Mavs had previously waived camp invitees D.J. Mbenga and Tu Holloway.

Mavericks Sign Akognon, Mbenga, Holloway

September 27th, 2012 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have officially added three players to their training camp roster, according to a press release from the team. Dallas finalized its deals with Josh Akognon and D.J. Mbenga, which had been previously reported, and also added former Xavier guard Tu Holloway.

Akognon, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2009, averaged 23.9 PPG in his senior year, earning Big West Conference Player of the Year honors. Since going undrafted, he has played primarily overseas, including an impressive 2011/12 season with the CBA's DongGuan New Century Leopards. In 37 games for DongGuan, the 26-year-old was a top-five scorer in the league, averaging 28.2 PPG on 51% shooting.

Mbenga, 31, began his NBA career with the Mavericks in 2004, having been signed as a rookie free agent by Dallas. The seven-footer played three seasons in Dallas before spending time with the Warriors, Lakers, and Hornets. Mbenga, who has appeared in 234 career games, last played in the NBA in 2010/11, with New Orleans.

Holloway, 23, was ranked as this year's 68th-best prospect by ESPN.com's Chad Ford but went undrafted. In his senior year at Xavier, the 6'0" point guard averaged 17.5 PPG and 4.9 APG. Holloway was originally slated to join the Raptors' summer league roster in Las Vegas, but ended up playing for Dallas' squad instead.

All three players figure to be on non-guaranteed deals, bringing the Mavericks' roster to 18 players. We've previously heard that Mbenga has agreed to join Dallas' D-League affiliate if he doesn't earn a spot on the team, while Akognon appears ready to head back to China if he fails to make the regular-season cut.

Western Notes: Wolves, Suns, Akognon, Nash

September 21st, 2012 at 11:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wolves owner Glen Taylor has had plenty to say of late, and while guaranteeing he'll be majority owner for the next two years to ESPN 1500 radio's Darren Wolfson, the owner also weighed in on the trade market. "Nobody is talking trade right now," Taylor said, adding that action should pick up once preseason begins. That could be interpreted as tough news for Anthony Tolliver, who'd like to return to the Wolves but has been unwilling to do so on the minimum-salary deal he'd have to take unless the team moved another of its contracts. While there hasn't been a trade since the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum blockbuster was finalized on August 10th, that certainly hasn't stemmed the flow of news, and we've got more from the West tonight:

Lon Babby, president of basketball operations for the Suns, said the team "will not do anything dramatic at this point" to the roster in response to Channing Frye's season-ending heart ailment, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets. There's no need for the Suns to seek a disabled player exception since they're more than $8MM below the cap.
Guard Josh Akognon, who's set to join the Mavericks in training camp, is headed back to China if he doesn't make the regular season roster, reports Christopher Reina of RealGM.com. D.J. Mbenga has already agreed to go to the Mavs D-League affiliate if he's waived, but Akognon apparently wouldn't be joining him. Both are longshots to make the team, since Dallas already has 15 fully guaranteed contracts.
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld believes Steve Nash will have a greater impact on the Lakers than any other player changing teams this summer, and that includes new teammate Dwight Howard.
Danny Green gave the Spurs more than eight times the value of his minimum-salary contract last season, according to advanced metrics compiled by Quixem Ramirez of Air Alamo. As Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News points out, the Spurs had a host of players whose work exceeded their paychecks.

Mavericks To Sign Josh Akognon

September 18th, 2012 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

Former Cal State Fullerton sharpshooter Josh Akognon has accepted an invite from the Mavericks to participate in the team's training camp, according to David Pick of EuroBasket and Sportando (via Twitter). Akognon had signed with Chinese team Liaoning Jiebao Hunters, but will use his out clause to join the Mavs, says Pick.

Akognon, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2009, averaged 23.9 PPG in his senior year before going undrafted. He has played primarily overseas since then, including an impressive 2011/12 season with the CBA's DongGuan New Century Leopards. In 37 games for DongGuan, the 26-year-old was a top-five scorer in the league, averaging 28.2 PPG on 51% shooting.

Akognon doesn't seem like a strong bet to make the Mavs' roster, considering the team is believed to have 15 guaranteed rosters on its books already. Another camp invite, D.J. Mbenga, has reportedly agreed to join Dallas' D-League affiliate if he doesn't make the team's NBA roster, so perhaps a similar arrangement could be in the cards for Akognon, who had a brief stint with the D-League's Canton Charge last season.