Larry Drew II Rumors | Hoops Rumors

17 Players Vying For Spots On USA’s AmeriCup Roster

August 17th, 2017 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has begun the process of selecting its roster for the AmeriCup 2017, the first of a series of qualifying tournaments under FIBA’s new format. As Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press details, Team USA doesn’t need to win the AmeriCup to qualify for the next World Cup and Olympics, but it’s a tournament the U.S. must participate in to eventually play in more crucial events.

Because upcoming qualifiers will take place during the NBA season, Team USA is putting together a roster primarily made up of G League players and veterans who have been playing overseas, as we previously learned. With training camp set to begin on Thursday, 17 hopefuls are suiting up for Team USA, with the program poised to eventually pare that group down to a 12-man roster.

Here are Team USA’s training camp participants, via USA Basketball:

Billy Baron (UCAM Murcia, Spain)
Rod Benson (Wonju Dongbu Promy, South Korea)
Alec Brown (Windy City Bulls)
Will Davis II (Reno Bighorns)
Larry Drew II (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Reggie Hearn (Reno Bighorns)
Darrun Hilliard (Detroit Pistons)
Jonathan Holmes (Canton Charge)
Ra’Shad James (Cedevita Zagreb, Croatia)
Kendall Marshall (Reno Bighorns)
Darius Morris (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Xavier Munford (Greensboro Swarm)
Marshall Plumlee (New York Knicks)
Jameel Warney (Texas Legends)
C.J. Williams (Texas Legends)
Reggie Williams (Oklahoma City Blue)
Derek Willis (University of Kentucky)

Although there are no high-profile names in this group, several players have some NBA experience. Hilliard is currently a free agent, but appeared in 77 games over the last two seasons for the Pistons. Drew, Munford, and Plumlee have all played in at least a dozen NBA games.

Marshall, Morris, and Reggie Williams are perhaps the most notable names on the list, having played regular rotation roles for various NBA teams in recent years. Marshall was a lottery pick in the 2012 draft, while Williams has appeared in more than 200 NBA games since 2010.

None of the players on Team USA’s training camp roster are currently under contract with an NBA club, but Willis – the only player of the group who has yet to play professional ball – has reportedly agreed to a training camp deal with the Pistons.

The club will be coached by Jeff Van Gundy, an international rookie himself, and will eventually participate in preliminary round games in Uruguay later this month. If Team USA wins its group – which also includes Panama, the Dominican Republic, and host Uruguay – it would advance to the semifinals in Argentina in early September.

As Mahoney outlines in his report, Team USA won’t face real pressure to win until November, when the club need a top-three finish in a pool that includes Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba in order to start advancing to later qualifiers. For more in-depth details on how those qualifiers work, be sure to check out FIBA’s breakdowns for the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics.

Larry Drew II To Play In France

July 26th, 2015 at 9:43am CST by ChrisCrouse

Larry Drew II has signed a deal with AS Monaco Basket in France, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The point guard played for the Pelicans in this year’s summer league.

Drew II signed two 10-day contracts with the Sixers in January of last season, but was not re-signed for the remainder of the year. Philadelphia was pleased with the production it received from the University of California product, but the team didn’t want to tie up an additional roster spot before the trade deadline.

“Flexibility,” coach Brett Brown said last season when asked why the team didn’t sign Drew for the rest of the 2014/15 campaign. “The trade deadline is coming up, and we need flexibility. We may see [Larry] again. Who knows? What I do know is he was an ‘A’. He did everything and some, and it doesn’t prohibit us from revisiting him [in the future] at all.”

The 25-year-old has shown play-making ability, but his inconsistent jumper needs improvement if he is going to have a career in the NBA. He averaged 3.8 points and 3.8 assists while shooting 15.4% from behind the arc during his 12 games as a Sixer last year.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Early, Magic

February 5th, 2015 at 8:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scott Skiles has been mentioned as a candidate to take over as coach of the Magic, but he has a reputation as being difficult for players to get along with, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype writes. Keyon Dooling, who played for Skiles when both were with the Bucks, thinks that Skiles will do better in his next coaching job, Sierra notes. “Skiles is a high-pedigree coach,” Dooling said. “A lot of times when coaches get fired, they get better at wherever they were weak. [If he gets the Orlando job] I think he’ll be better in how he deals with players this time. During my time in Milwaukee, he had an average relationship with the players. I don’t think it was great, I don’t think it was bad. His work ethic, X’s and O’s and game-planning were his strengths. Where he fell short is maybe with people.”

Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks have assigned Cleanthony Early to their D-League affiliate in Westchester, the team announced. This will be Early’s second trip of the season to the D-League.
Tobias Harris says that the Magic need to rally around interim coach James Borrego, John Denton of NBA.com writes (Twitter link). “We have to have his back. We have to want to win and play hard and do all that we can do to help [JB].“
The Sixers were pleased with the production that they received from Larry Drew II, but the rookie was caught in an unfortunate numbers game that prevented Philadelphia from signing Drew for the remainder of the season, Max Rappaport of NBA.com writes. “Flexibility,” coach Brett Brown said when asked why the team didn’t sign Drew for the rest of the 2014/15 campaign. “The trade deadline is coming up, and we need flexibility. We may see [Larry] again. Who knows? What I do know is he was an ‘A’. He did everything and some, and it doesn’t prohibit us from revisiting him [in the future] at all.”
Jacque Vaughn became the fall guy for the Magic, who are in the third season of their rebuilding project and appear to be heading in the wrong direction as a franchise, Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel writes.
One of the issues that the Magic‘s front office had with Vaughn was his inconsistent use of Harris and Maurice Harkless, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. Both players received sporadic playing time under Vaughn, which didn’t sit well with Orlando’s GM Rob Hennigan and CEO Alex Martins, Schmitz notes.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Nets, Stoudemire, Drew

February 4th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson‘s hints to Harvey Araton of The New York Times that his stay as Knicks president might not be a lengthy one lead Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com to wonder if the door is ajar for a return of the Zen Master to the Lakers, where Jim Buss is on a three-year timetable to succeed. Still, Jackson told Brian Lewis of the New York Post within the past week that “I’ve kind of just divorced myself from them,” in reference to the Lakers, so it seems a purple-and-gold reunion is almost certainly not in the cards. Here’s more from Jackson’s current division:

Trade rumors have swirled around Brook Lopez, and a recent report cast some doubt about the long-term job security of coach Lionel Hollins, but Lopez and Hollins have begun to forge a better working relationship, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News details. Hollins’ public criticism of Lopez and others had bothered Nets ownership, as sources recently told Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
Amar’e Stoudemire said today that he doesn’t anticipate he’ll be traded this year, and that while he hasn’t had a conversation with the Knicks front office about a future with the team beyond this season, he expects one to take place soon, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Larry Drew II‘s 10-day contract with the Sixers expires tonight, but coach Brett Brown made it plain Tuesday that he’s a fan of the point guard, notes Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). Drew is on his second 10-day arrangement with Philadelphia, so any subsequent deal between the sides would have to cover the rest of the season.
Sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia that former Knicks guard Chris Smith is headed to play for KB Peja in Kosovo. The Knicks signed Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, to a minimum-salary contract with a fully guaranteed salary for last season, but they waived him a little more than two months into 2013/14.

Eastern Notes: Kobe, Wizards, Durant, Lopez

January 26th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant wanted to join the Wizards more than a decade ago when Michael Jordan was with the team, Bryant acknowledged to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. While Jordan was playing with the Wizards, Bryant told him several times that he wanted to come to Washington, assuming that Jordan would again head basketball operations for the Wizards as he did before his comeback, sources tell Lee. Jordan was confident he would sign Bryant when he became a free agent in 2004, Lee hears, but the current Hornets owner never got that chance, since then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin decided against letting Jordan run the front office upon his final retirement from playing in 2003. The Wizards missed out on a star then, but they have their sights set on acquiring one a dozen years later, as we detail:

It’s a long shot but more than a pipe dream that the Wizards would land Kevin Durant when he hits free agency in 2016, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. A D.C. income tax loophole would allow Durant to save more than $700K per year in tax payments if he played for the Wizards instead of the Thunder, as Aldridge explains. However, the Thunder, who hold Durant’s Bird rights, can offer better annual salary raises than the Wizards or any other team can.
J.R. Smith got over some initial mixed feelings about the trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Cavs and calls playing for Cleveland “the best situation for me as a person,” as he told Aldridge for the same piece. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season.
Trade candidate Brook Lopez would prefer to stay with the Nets, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes amid his weekly power rankings.
Scouts, coaches and GMs at the D-League showcase were puzzled when the Sixers signed Larry Drew II, who had been playing for the Heat’s affiliate, to a 10-day contract earlier this month, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest hears (Twitter links). Drew put up strong numbers, with 10.1 assists per game and 40.4% three-point shooting in 21 D-League appearances this year, but there were other, more intriguing prospects, Pilato believes. Drew signed his second 10-day deal with Philly earlier today.

Sixers Sign Larry Drew II To Second 10-Day Pact

January 26th, 2015 at 11:56am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers have signed Larry Drew II to his second 10-day contract with the team, Philadelphia announced via press release. His initial 10-day deal expired at the end of Sunday. This will be the final 10-day arrangement this season between the Sixers and the point guard, who’ll have to decide whether to ink a deal for the rest of the season or part ways when his latest contract runs out.

Drew has seen fairly heavy use during his time with the Sixers, appearing in six contests for an average of 18.7 minutes per game. He’s putting up 4.7 points and 4.3 assists per night, his solid ball-distribution representative of his time for the Heat’s D-League affiliate earlier this season. The ASM Sports client set a D-League record for assists in a single game with 23 on Christmas Day.

The 24-year-old Drew will continue to help bolster a Sixers team that’s lost backup point guard Tony Wroten to a torn ACL. Drew’s new contract puts Philadelphia back up at 16 players, one more than the standard 15-man limit. Andrei Kirilenko‘s presence on the suspended list gives the team the extra roster spot.

Sixers Sign Larry Drew II To 10-Day Contract

January 16th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 2:57pm: The deal is official, the team announced. The statement from the Sixers makes no mention of a corresponding move, so Philadelphia will carry 15 players plus Kirilenko on the Suspended List.

THURSDAY, 8:06am: The Sixers will sign former Heat camp invitee Larry Drew II to a 10-day contract, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Philadelphia has 15 players, but the team won’t have to make a corresponding move to add Drew, since Andrei Kirilenko is on the Suspended List. Drew has been playing with Miami’s D-League affiliate.

The deal will give the 24-year-old point guard a chance to make his NBA regular season debut. He’s spent time with the Heat during the last two preseasons only to end up on waivers before opening night. This year’s preseason stint was only a five-day affair, as Miami signed him in late October, but his contract included a $25K partial guarantee, likely an enticement for Drew to join the Heat’s D-League team once he hit waivers. He’s averaged 11.0 points in 37.5 minutes per game while putting up an impressive 10.1 assists per contest to go with 40.4% three-point shooting in 21 appearances this season for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Drew remained free to sign with any NBA team even as he played for the Heat’s affiliate, and it appears the Sixers are snapping him up. The son of Cavs assistant coach Larry Drew, the former Bucks and Hawks head coach, is poised to become the first player the Sixers sign to a 10-day contract this year after they inked a league-high five players to 10-day deals in 2013/14, as our 10-Day Contract Tracker shows.

Minor Moves: Covington, Mekel, Heat, Warriors

October 30th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Robert Covington nearly had a deal with the Sixers this week shortly after the Rockets waived him, but talks broke down over contract length and the 23-year-old forward is expected to sign with the D-League instead, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Philadelphia offered a four-year arrangement with a “high” amount of guaranteed salary, Charania writes, but Covington apparently passed on that. The sides were unable to forge a deal on a shorter contract, Charania notes. Covington joins K.J. McDaniels, the 32nd pick in this year’s draft who inked with the Sixers for just one year, among those resisting Philly’s efforts to tie up young players on long-term deals. The deluge of players hitting waivers in the past week has led to news around the D-League and international circuits, and we’ll pass along the latest here:

Gal Mekel isn’t thinking of heading overseas to play in the wake of the Mavs‘ decision to waive him Wednesday, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com, so he’ll remain free to sign with another NBA team providing he clears waivers.
Khem Birch, Larry Drew II, Tyler Johnson and Shawn Jones have agreed to join the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Miami is using its ability to reserve the D-League rights to up to four of its preseason cuts to keep Birch, Johnson and Jones out of the D-League draft, but Drew played with the Heat’s D-League affiliate last year, so he wouldn’t have been subject to the draft. That allows the Heat to preserve their ability to retain the D-League rights to one player they waive during the regular season. Andre Dawkins seems a likely candidate for that sort of maneuver, Winderman suggests (on Twitter).
Sean Kilpatrick will play for the Warriors D-League affiliate, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who confirms an earlier report that Aaron Craft will do the same. That means Golden State retained the D-League rights to both after waiving them last week.

Heat Cut Drew, Johnson, Jones

October 25th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 4:56pm: All three players have been officially waived, the team announced.

8:47pm: All three players have been waived, according to the RealGM transactions log. No announcement from the team has been made yet.

THURSDAY, 11:58am: The Heat are waiving Larry Drew II, Tyler Johnson and Shawn Jones, as coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters today, including Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). The team has yet to make a formal announcement, but Miami hopes that all three will sign with its D-League affiliate, tweets Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. The Heat has a $75K partial guarantee with Johnson and $25K with Drew, so the team will be on the hook for those amounts assuming they clear waivers. Jones has been on a non-guaranteed pact.

The athletic Johnson appeared in only one preseason game, but he performed well, scoring 17 points and coming up with four steals in more than 36 minutes of action. Jones averaged 3.0 points in 16.5 minutes per game in four preseason contests, while Drew, who signed on Monday, hasn’t played in any of the team’s exhibitions. Johnson and Jones went undrafted this summer, while Drew spent much of last season with the Heat’s D-League affiliate after joining Miami for camp last year.

The moves will leave Miami with 16 players, including 11 with fully guaranteed contracts. Three others have partial guarantees, while Shannon Brown and Andre Dawkins are on non-guaranteed deals.

Heat Sign Larry Drew II

October 21st, 2014 at 5:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 5:01pm: Drew’s deal with Miami is for the minimum but includes only $25K of guaranteed salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 12:41pm: The Heat have signed Larry Drew II, the team announced. Miami is limited to giving out the minimum salary, but it’s not clear if there’s any guaranteed money involved for the 24-year-old. The timing of the move is odd, as most teams are paring down their rosters rather than adding to them, and Drew played for the Heat’s affiliate in the D-League last season, which means the team wouldn’t have to sign him to the NBA roster just to gain his D-League rights.

The 6’0″ point guard averaged 11.4 points and 7.0 assists in 35.5 minutes a game across 41 appearances with Miami’s D-League affiliate last year. Drew spent training camp on the Heat’s NBA roster last fall after going undrafted out of UCLA.

The move gives the Heat 19 players. Miami had been carrying only 11 fully guaranteed contracts and partially guaranteed arrangements with four others. Drew is the son of former Hawks and Bucks head coach and current Cavs assistant coach Larry Drew.