Lavoy Allen Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Likely To Promote From Within To Fill Roster Opening

October 30th, 2018 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

After carrying just 13 players on standard NBA contracts for two weeks to open the 2018/19 season, the Wizards now face a deadline to add a 14th player to their roster. The team is considered “highly likely” to fill that opening by promoting a player from within the organization, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.

As Hughes details, two-way players Jordan McRae and Devin Robinson are candidates to receive an NBA roster spot, but they’re not the only options for Washington. The Wizards may also consider calling up a player from their new G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

Lavoy Allen, Chasson Randle, Chris Chiozza, and Tiwian Kendley all spent time with the Wizards during the preseason before being waived and heading to the G League, so they’d be the top candidates for a promotion. Both Allen and Randle have previous NBA experience.

NBA teams are generally required to carry at least 14 players on their 15-man regular season rosters, but league rules allow clubs to carry less than that amount for up to two weeks at a time. Because the Wizards have only had 13 players under contract since setting their opening-night roster, those two weeks are just about up.

Whichever player fills that 14th slot on the roster seems unlikely to get a guaranteed contract. The Wizards, who are off to a 1-5 start and have had the league’s worst defense so far, will probably want to maintain flexibility to add roster reinforcements via free agency or a trade down the road.

Wizards Waive Lavoy Allen, Three Others

October 13th, 2018 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have reduced their roster to 16 players, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived four camp invitees: Lavoy Allen, Chasson Randle, Chris Chiozza, and Tiwian Kendley.

Of those four players, Allen is the only one with significant NBA experience. The veteran big man has appeared in 388 total regular season games for the Sixers and Pacers during his six-year NBA career, averaging 4.8 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 17.8 minutes per contest. However, he didn’t play in the NBA last season.

Randle also has a little NBA experience, having played 26 games for the Sixers and Knicks in 2016/17. Chiozza and Kendley signed their first NBA contracts with the Wizards this summer after going undrafted in the spring.

All four players are candidates to join the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s new G League affiliate.

The Wizards’ 16-player roster count includes 14 players on standard deals and a pair on two-way contracts, so they’re in compliance with regular season roster rules.

Wizards Notes: Leonsis, Howard, Contracts

September 26th, 2018 at 7:28pm CST by clarkcrum

It’s been a nice year for Wizards‘ owner Ted Leonsis, reports Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 61-year-old billionaire saw his Capitals win the Stanley Cup in June and the Wizards opened a new practice facility, the St. Elizabeth East Entertainment and Sports Arena, just last week.

So perhaps you can’t blame him when he says that there are “no excuses” for the Wizards anymore and that it’s time for the team to accomplish their goals.

“We need to raise the expectations. We have to make the playoffs. I’d like us to win 50 games. I’d like us to go to the ECF,” Leonsis told Hughes. “We have one of the highest payrolls in the league, beautiful, world-class practice facility. (The Wizards) are healthy entering the year, (so) no excuses. Let’s play ball.”

Leonsis feels that he’s done his part, giving the team the necessary resources to succeed. He also cited the Capitals recent success as proof the Wizards can reach their goals.

“We’ve proven that there is no [D.C. sports] curse,” Leonsis said. “If we are patient and work hard and are committed to continuous improvement than (the Wizards) can win a championship.”

There’s more from D.C. this evening:

The AP initially reported that newly-acquired Wizards’ center Dwight Howard may miss the start of training camp with a sore back, and pursuant to a tweet from the team itself, it appears as though Howard did indeed miss the first day of practice, with head coach Scott Brooks telling reporters the veteran center is day-to-day.
In another article for NBC Sports Washington, Hughes talks about how the Wizards are set to begin the 2018/19 season with seven players on expiring contracts, yet still believe that the added dynamic will not affect the success of the club, with players understanding that winning will raise each individual player’s value more than individual statistics could.
As we relayed last week, the Wizards signed both forward Lavoy Allen and guard Chasson Randle to training camp deals before beginning training camp this week.

Wizards Sign Lavoy Allen To Camp Deal

September 19th, 2018 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center Lavoy Allen has signed a training camp contract with the Wizards, reports Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Washington currently has 18 players under contract, so once the team completes its reported deals with both Allen and Chasson Randle, its 20-man offseason roster will be full.

According to Buckner, Allen has been in Washington for the last week working out with Wizards players. He seemingly made an impression on the team, and will now compete for the final regular season roster spot, Buckner adds.

Allen, 29, didn’t play an NBA game last season, but has extensive experience with the Sixers and Pacers over the course of a six-year career. Most recently, he averaged 2.9 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 61 games in a minor role for the Pacers in 2016/17.

The Wizards have 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Allen, Randle, Tiwian Kendley, and Chris Chiozza on non-guaranteed deals. While Allen and Randle are seemingly the best bets for that 15th roster spot, it’s possible Washington will carry just 14 players to start the season due to tax concerns.

Go-Go Stock Roster in G League Expansion Draft

August 22nd, 2018 at 4:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Capital City Go-Go welcomed their first 14 players today in the G League expansion draft, tweets Adam Johnson of Two Ways and 10 Days. The Wizards’ new affiliate stocked its roster with a mixture of young players and veterans, including a few names familiar to NBA fans, including Lavoy Allen, Alonzo Gee and Luke Harangody.

As we saw with last year’s expansion draft, being selected isn’t a guarantee that any of these 14 players will take the court for Capital City in its inaugural season. Many of the players chosen today are still seeking NBA opportunities and some will head overseas.

Allen, 29, played 388 games for the Sixers and Pacers, with his last NBA action coming in the 2016/17 season. Gee, 31, played for six teams in eight seasons and has also been out of the league since 2016/17. Harangody, 30, appeared in 70 total games with the Celtics and Cavaliers and hasn’t been in the NBA since 2011/12.

The other G League franchises were permitted to protect up to 12 players on their roster, and Capital City was limited to taking a maximum of two players from a single team. The Go-Go will begin play this fall, bringing the G League to 27 teams and leaving the Pelicans, Nuggets and Trail Blazers as the only NBA clubs without direct affiliates.

The other new members of the Go-Go, listed alphabetically, are:

Quinton Chievous

Michael Cobbins

Will Cummings

Alex Davis

Will Davis

Duje Dukan

Kellen Dunham

Tyler Harvey

Pe’Shon Howard

Vince Hunter

Stephen Zimmerman

Jazz Host 32 Free Agents At Veteran Mini-Camp

June 8th, 2018 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz are hosting a veteran mini-camp on Friday and Saturday, with 32 players set to participate in the event, the team announced in a press release.

While the list of participants isn’t exactly star-studded, there are a handful of intriguing names, including several players who have spent time in NBA training camps and some who have played in regular season games. Lavoy Allen, K.J. McDaniels, Diamond Stone, Jarrod Uthoff, and Mike Tobey are among the free agents at Utah’s mini-camp who have logged NBA minutes.

While many of the participants in this weekend’s mini-camp won’t ever play in an NBA game, the event has paid dividends for the Jazz in the past. As Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News writes, Royce O’Neale made a strong impression on the franchise during a free agent mini-camp in 2016, which eventually led to O’Neale signing a contract with Utah last summer and becoming a key part of the rotation in 2017/18.

“We tried to get him that summer (2016), tried to sign him but he decided to go to Spain and made the right choice for him because he got better over there and it ended up working out in the long run for him,” Jazz director of scouting Bart Taylor said. “Royce is a great story and we like to say it puts pressure on us to find another one.”

Taylor is optimistic about identifying another future contributor among this year’s group.

“There’s some good talent out here,” Taylor said. “I like to joke with all our guys and say there’s three or four guys out here that’ll play in the NBA, but you’ve got to find them. So there’s definitely a few guys out here that we like, a lot of guys actually that we really like but we’re just trying to see how they do over the course of the three practices and hopefully one of them does turn into Royce.”

Here’s the full list of participants for Utah’s free agent mini-camp:

And-Ones: Free Agent Market, Payne, Perkins, Booker

February 8th, 2018 at 10:54am CST by Arthur Hill

The bull market for free agents has ended and there will be few free-spending teams this summer, according to Brian Windhorst and Bobby Marks of ESPN. Many organizations are paying the price for the huge contracts that were handed out in 2016 as cap issues are forcing much of the league to take a more frugal approach.

This season, five teams are on pace to pay the luxury tax, which kicks in with a payroll topping $119MM. Twelve teams are projected to be in tax territory for 2018/19 and several more are in danger of getting there just by re-signing their own free agents. The authors list the Bucks as one team that will cross the line if they hold onto Jabari Parker.

“The luxury tax was not designed for this many teams to pay it,” a league executive told Windhorst and Marks. “Many of those owners probably didn’t think they’d be paying it. Quite a few of those teams are probably going to take steps to get out of the tax or limit new spending.”

When teams were handing out big contracts in the summer of 2016, they were expecting a salary cap in the range of $108MM for next season. That projection has been revised down to $101MM, leaving many in an unexpected dilemma. Only seven teams — the Lakers, Sixers, Bulls, Hawks, Mavericks, Suns and Nets — will have more than $10MM available to chase free agents, and virtually all of those teams are in rebuilding mode.

NBA agent Mark Bartelstein expects the situation to improve in 2019 and 2020 when those 2016 contracts start to expire.

There’s more NBA-related news this morning:

Max and “supermax” deals are the reason more stars seem to be on the trade market, writes Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer. Clippers consultant Jerry West had been urging owner Steve Ballmer to trade Blake Griffin ever since Chris Paul let the team know he wouldn’t be re-signing. Ballmer was convinced after Griffin’s latest injury, recognizing the risks of paying him $171MM over five years, including nearly $39MM in the 2021/22 season when he will be 32. Teams are taking stock of their future and weighing whether maxing out a star is worth giving up financial flexibility. O’Connor predicts fewer mid-sized deals, like the approximately $17MM the Magic are giving to Bismack Biyombo and Evan Fournier, in favor of more non-taxpayer midlevel exceptions, which are valued at $8.4MM an will rise to about $10MM before the current CBA expires.
Adreian Payne, who was waived by the Magic last month in the wake of the Michigan State scandal, had signed to play in Greece, relays the Associated Press. Payne had a two-way contract and played just four games for Orlando.
Veteran center Kendrick Perkins has decided to leave the G League Canton Charge, tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. Several teams have contacted him about signing after the deadline, and he may consider playing in China or Japan next year, depending how the rest of this season turns out, adds Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Perkins officially “retired” from the G League so the Charge can receive compensation, according to 2 Ways & 10 Days.
Sixers forward Trevor Booker has changed agents in advance of his upcoming free agency, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Booker has signed with Jim Tanner’s Tandem Sports + Entertainment.
Lavoy Allen, who played 61 games for the Pacers last season, has joined the Northern Arizona Suns of the G League, the team tweeted.

Lavoy Allen Set To Play In China

November 27th, 2017 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

After not finding an NBA home for the 2017/18 season, veteran big man Lavoy Allen is headed to China, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that Allen will sign with the CBA’s Zhejiang Golden Bulls. Former Grizzlies power forward Jarnell Stokes is expected to be let go by the Bulls, per Pick.

Allen, 28, entered the NBA in 2011 as the 50th overall pick in the draft. After spending two and a half seasons with the Sixers, Allen was sent to Indiana in 2014 along with Evan Turner. Allen had been a member of the Pacers for three and a half seasons since that trade, but had his team option for 2017/18 declined in June, making him a free agent.

Allen’s numbers in 388 career regular season NBA games were modest — in 17.8 minutes per contest, the Temple alum averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.8 RPG. Those averages figure to skyrocket in China, where marginal NBA bigs often transform into stars. Jared Sullinger, for instance, has put up 34.0 PPG and 15.6 RPG in nine games for the Shenzhen Leopards this season, while Stokes – apparently being replaced by Allen – had recorded 28.2 PPG and 13.4 RPG in five games.

Allen will join a Zhejiang squad that has a 5-3 record in CBA action so far this season. Former NBA swingman Sonny Weems has been the club’s leading scorer, averaging 29.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 6.6 APG.

Five Notable Big Men Still Available In Free Agency

July 30th, 2017 at 10:39am CST by Arthur Hill

Andrew Bogut is a former No. 1 pick with NBA Finals experience, and he probably would have had more if not for a fractured tibia he suffered in his first game with the Cavaliers. He’s among several free agent big men remaining on the market who could become bargains as teams fill out their rosters.

Bogut was able to recover without surgery and has been cleared for full basketball workouts. The 12-year veteran is only 32 and believes he has a lot of productive basketball left.

“Rehab’s been good,” he told Steve Aschburner of NBA.com late last month. “I feel strong, everything feels good. But the full explosive stuff will be about another three weeks.”

Bogut was a fixture in Golden State until the Warriors got the opportunity to sign Kevin Durant. They needed to shed salary, so Bogut and his $11MM deal were sent to Dallas. He was traded to the Sixers at the February deadline, then agreed to a buyout before his ill-fated stint in Cleveland.

Bogut doesn’t fear any long-term effects from the injury, saying the bone will “heal stronger than it was before.” He and his agent have sent copies of the medical report to several teams that expressed interest in signing him.

Bogut isn’t the only notable unsigned veteran big man on the market. Here are four others:

David Lee — The 34-year-old declined his player option after one year in San Antonio. He was a productive part of the Spurs’ rotation, averaging 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 79 games, and thought he could do better than the $2.33MM he was due to make next season. He could still return to San Antonio, although the signing of Joffrey Lauvergne may make him expendable.
Kris Humphries — The 32-year-old saw his role decline last season with the Hawks, as his minutes dropped to 12.3 per night. Still, he was productive when he played, averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 56 games. The Hawks have launched a youth movement and renounced their rights to Humphries three weeks ago, so the veteran forward is searching for a new team.
Lavoy Allen — The Pacers declined their $4.3MM team option on the 28-year-old last month, leaving him on the open market. The power forward/center has been part of the rotation in Indiana since arriving in a 2014 trade, but saw his playing time decline late in the season. He averaged 2.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 61 games last year.
Roy Hibbert — An All-Star as recently as 2014, Hibbert has been with four teams over the past two seasons and is looking for someone to give him another shot. Hibbert signed with the Hornets last summer and was traded in February to the Bucks, who later sent him to the Nuggets. He played just six games in Denver, wrapping up an overall forgettable year. However, Hibbert is only 30 and will probably get an opportunity from a team in need of veteran help.

Note: Restricted free agents aren’t noted here, since they’re not free to sign with any team, but Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, and Mason Plumlee are among the noteworthy RFA bigs still on the market.

Pacers Waive Rakeem Christmas

July 6th, 2017 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

5:03pm: The Pacers have officially waived Christmas, per the NBA’s transactions log.

10:17am: In his full story on Christmas’ pending release, Agness clarifies that the forward’s salary would have become guaranteed if he remained under contract beyond July 6, which is why the team is making the move today.

10:03am: The Pacers plan to waive Rakeem Christmas before the end of the day on Thursday, league sources tell Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports (Twitter link).

Christmas, 25, made his NBA debut for the Pacers in 2015/16, then appeared in 29 regular season games for the team last season. Christmas saw limited minutes in those games, averaging 2.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 7.6 minutes per contest.

Christmas’ 2017/18 salary, worth the minimum, was reportedly only guaranteed for $50K, per Basketball Insiders, so the Pacers will clear most of it from their cap. The 6’9″ forward’s full salary was scheduled to become guaranteed on August 1.

The Pacers waived Monta Ellis on Wednesday, stretching his contract in order to create nearly $9MM in cap room for 2017/18. The team also renounced its free agent rights to Aaron Brooks, Lavoy Allen, and Jeff Teague, per RealGM’s transactions log.

Teague has a deal lined up with Minnesota, so that move isn’t a surprise, but there didn’t seem to be any pressing need to renounce Brooks or Allen. There also was no apparent rush to cut Christmas quite yet, so it’s possible the Pacers have a move or two up their sleeves with their newly-expanded cap room.