Mac McClung

And-Ones: Kerr, Schofield, Lopez, Harrell, Play-In, McClung, Harrison

Would less be more? When it comes to the NBA schedule, Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes so. He’d like to see the NBA cut its regular season from 82 games to 72, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. That would encourage coaches to play their regulars more often, instead of giving them nights off, particularly as the season winds down.

What makes the most sense is cutting back to maybe a 72-game schedule,” Kerr said. “Take 10 games off and get more time to rest in between games. I think you’ll get buy-in from the teams to play their guys more often.”

We have more tidbits from around the basketball world:

  • Magic forward Admiral Schofield was fined $20K, while Magic center Robin Lopez and Hornets center Montrezl Harrell were fined $15K for their roles in an on-court altercation on Thursday, the NBA announced (Twitter link). All three were ejected during the fourth-quarter scuffle (video link).
  • Commissioner Adam Silver likes the way the play-in tournament has encouraged teams on the playoff bubble to remain competitive but might tweak it in future years, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets. Executive VP of basketball strategy and analytics Evan Wasch suggested the league would consider a scenario where the ninth- and 10th-place finishers in each conference would have to win a certain number of games to qualify for the play-in.
  • Guard Mac McClung was named NBA G League Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.6 PPG and 7.6 APG for the South Bay Lakers, the league tweets. The Lakers rewarded McClung with a two-way contract on Saturday.
  • Free agent guard Shaquille Harrison has been named G League Defensive Player of the Year, according to a league press release. Harrison averaged 1.93 steals per game for the Delaware Blue Coats.

Lakers Sign Mac McClung To Two-Way Deal

APRIL 9: McClung has officially signed his two-way contract with the Lakers, the team announced on social media (Twitter link).


APRIL 8: The Lakers intend to sign G League guard Mac McClung to their open two-way spot, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (via Twitter).

Los Angeles recently created a two-way opening by promoting Wenyen Gabriel to a standard contract on Friday after waiving Trevor Ariza on Thursday.

McClung, 23, went undrafted in 2021 after three college seasons. He started his collegiate career with Georgetown, but transferred to Texas Tech following his sophomore year. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers last summer, but was waived in October before the season began.

McClung signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Bulls in December and January, but only appeared in one NBA game for just three minutes. He has spent the majority of the season in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate, South Bay, where he was named NBAGL Rookie of the Year.

In 35 NBAGL appearances, including 33 with South Bay, McClung stuffed the stat sheet with averages of 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.4 steals on .459/.365/.857 shooting. Once the signing becomes official, the Lakers will have a full 15-man roster and both two-way spots filled.

Mac McClung Signs Second 10-Day Deal With Bulls

2:10pm: Chicago has officially signed McClung to a second 10-day deal, the team announced on social media (Twitter link).


11:46am: The Bulls are signing guard Mac McClung to another 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

McClung signed his initial 10-day on December 22. He has made just one three-minute appearance.

After going undrafted out of Texas Tech over the summer, the 22-year-old guard signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers, but was waived in October before the season began. He played 13 games for L.A.’s G League affiliate in South Bay, averaging 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists.

The Bulls still have four players in the league’s health and safety protocols. Chicago, which is currently riding a six-game winning streak, had three COVID-related postponements in December.

Zach LaVine, Four Other Bulls Exit COVID-19 Protocols

All the Bulls players who were in the health and safety protocols have now rejoined the team, head coach Billy Donovan said today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). That group consists of Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Alize Johnson, Matt Thomas, and Devon Dotson.

LaVine, Dosunmu, Johnson, and Thomas were all placed in the COVID-19 protocols at least 10 days ago. Dotson just entered the protocols on Tuesday, but has since tested out of them, according to Donovan (Twitter link via Johnson). That suggests that perhaps Dotson registered a false positive test earlier in the week.

It’s great news for the Bulls, who were one of the first teams to be affected by a coronavirus outbreak this month and who have had three games postponed. They’ll resume play on Sunday when they host Indiana.

The Bulls currently have three replacement players on 10-day hardship contracts. Alfonzo McKinnie signed his second 10-day deal on Monday and Ersan Ilyasova and Mac McClung inked their respective 10-day pacts on Wednesday.

While those contracts remain active for now, once all the Bulls players coming out of the protocols have been medically cleared to return to action, the team won’t be able to continue carrying those hardship signees, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That means Ilyasova and McClung likely won’t get to play out their full 10-day contracts, and if Chicago wants to keep McKinnie around, the team would have to create room by trading or waiving someone from the 15-man roster.

Bulls Sign Mac McClung To 10-Day Deal

DECEMBER 22: McClung’s deal is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions page.


DECEMBER 21: The Bulls will sign guard Mac McClung to a 10-day hardship contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

After going undrafted out of Texas Tech, the 22-year-old guard signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers, but was waived in October before the season began. He has played 13 games for L.A.’s G League affiliate in South Bay, averaging 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists per night.

The Bulls, who had two games postponed last week, are starting to get healthier, but still have six players in the health and safety protocols. They signed Alfonzo McKinnie to a second 10-day contract on Monday.

Lakers Waive Mac McClung

The Lakers have waived former Texas Tech guard Mac McClung, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McClung signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Los Angeles as an undrafted rookie this offseason and played for the team at the Las Vegas Summer League and in the preseason. However, he struggled with his shot, making just 6-of-31 attempts (19.4%) in Vegas and 1-of-7 (14.3%) in three preseason contests.

McClung played two seasons for Georgetown before joining the Red Raiders as a junior. He averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2020/21.

There was a sense that McClung could be a candidate for a two-way contract if he impressed the Lakers this fall, but the club signed Sekou Doumbouya on Tuesday to fill its open two-way slot. McClung’s next step will be with the South Bay Lakers, as he’s expected to be an affiliate player for L.A.’s G League team.

Lakers Notes: Centers, Monk, Two-Ways, Brown, Queen

With Anthony Davis expected to see more action at the center spot this season, it remains to be seen how much playing time former All-NBA big men Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan will get at the five for the Lakers. However, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times writes, Jordan isn’t overly concerned about how many minutes he’ll play.

“That’s the blessing of it, having a lot of different lineups that you can use. And I think each game is gonna have a say on what we do,” Jordan said on Saturday. “We can be rolling with a huge lineup. And, you know, we’ll win with that. And some games may need us to go small. And I think that at this point of my career, of all of our careers, you know, at the end of the day, ultimately, we just want to be able to win and be able to achieve something as a collective.”

Howard, who played a career-low 17.3 minutes per contest last season in Philadelphia, shares Jordan’s philosophy.

“Leave the ego at the door, leave it at home when you wake up,” Howard said of his role. “There’s no need to have it. We all represent this emblem that’s behind me, this Laker logo. We understand that, and it’s whatever the team needs to win.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • Malik Monk‘s impressive preseason debut on Sunday further complicates an already-crowded battle for playing time at shooting guard, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who observes that the Lakers will have to find time at the two for Monk, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kent Bazemore, and Kendrick Nunn. Nunn has generally played point guard, but may not see much action there if Russell Westbrook plays big minutes and Rajon Rondo has a regular role, Buha notes.
  • Cameron Oliver, Mac McClung, Chaundee Brown, and Trevelin Queen are the camp invitees currently in the mix for the Lakers’ second two-way contract slot, but the team could end up going outside of the organization to fill that spot, as Buta writes in the same story. “We’re gonna see how the preseason plays out,” head coach Frank Vogel said. “See who all is available, both the guys that are here, or who are around the league, guys that might get cut, and we’ll make a decision closer to opening night.”
  • If the Lakers do convert one of their current camp invitees to a two-way contract, Brown and Queen may be the frontrunners, says Buha. Both of those players are wings, which might be the Lakers’ biggest need.

Lakers Sign Chaundee Brown, Mac McClung To Exhibit 10 Deals

AUGUST 10: The Lakers have officially signed Brown and McClung to Exhibit 10 contracts, per RealGM’s transactions log.


JULY 30: The Lakers have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract with undrafted rookie Chaundee Brown, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

The 6’5″ wing averaged 8.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for Michigan this season. He spent three years at Wake Forest before opting to play his senior season with the Wolverines. Brown was ranked 60th on ESPN’s big board.

The Lakers have also agreed to sign Texas Tech guard Mac McClung to a training camp deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

McClung played two seasons for Georgetown before joining the Red Raiders as a junior. He averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season.

L.A. also reached agreements to fill both two-way slots after Thursday night’s draft, signing Joel Ayayi of Gonzaga and Austin Reaves of Oklahoma.

Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Sixers, Cavaliers, Hornets

Tennessee guard Jaden Springer and Oregon guard Chris Duarte are expected to work out for the Hawks shortly before the draft, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. Duarte is ranked No. 23 on ESPN’s Best Available list, though he’s expected by some outlets to go higher, and Springer is rated No. 27. Atlanta holds the No. 20 pick.

We have more draft news involving Eastern Conference teams:

Pacific Notes: Oubre, Kings Workouts, Lakers Workouts, Suns Arena

Warriors free agent wing Kelly Oubre sat down with Stadium’s Shams Charania for an interview on Wednesday to discuss his up-and-down season with in Golden State, as well as his free agency plans.

This season obviously wasn’t my best showing, but at the end of the day, I know what I’m capable of and I think the whole world knows what I’m capable of,” Oubre said.

Oubre, who has never lacked confidence, spoke on why he feels he stands apart from other free agents in this year’s class: “I’m a worker. I wouldn’t always get better and you wouldn’t be able to see improvements in my game somewhere each and every year if I wasn’t working continuously and staying locked in and focused on my craft. I think that puts me at an advantage over a lot of other free agents.

An unrestricted free agent, the 25-year-old will try to find a permanent home after bouncing around from the Wizards to the Sunsto the Warriors over the last few seasons.

We have more from around the Pacific Division: