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Marvin Bagley III

And-Ones: Free Agents, Antic, Bagley, Heat

September 11th, 2017 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The addition of two-way contracts has impacted the ability of veteran free agents to find new homes this offseason, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com in his latest Morning Tip column. Gerald Green, David Lee, Anthony Morrow and Shabazz Muhammad are among the notable free agents who remain on the market and Aldridge points out that many teams are leaving their 15th roster spot open, rather than signing another player. That’s in part due to the ability of teams to sign two players to low-cost two-way deals, Aldridge continues. The increase in veteran minimum salaries under the new CBA has also depressed the free agent market, especially for teams close to or over the luxury tax threshold, Aldridge adds.

In other notable developments around the league:

  • Former NBA big man Pero Antic will play in Serbia for KK Crvena Zvezda during the upcoming season, according to a Sportando report. Antic, who signed a one-year contract, spent the last two seasons in Turkey with Fenerbahce. Antic played 113 games over two seasons for the Hawks, averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17.4 MPG.
  • Russell Westbrook‘s ability to coexist with another star player in Paul George and Kemba Walker‘s impact on Dwight Howard in Charlotte are two of the five big NBA questions heading into training camp, according to Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders. The league’s proposal to change the draft lottery has much more to do with access to star players rather than concerns about tanking, Grizzard argues in another of the hot topics he addresses.
  • The potential No. 1 overall pick in the next draft, Marvin Bagley, has been officially cleared to play for Duke, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’11” power forward was reclassified into the class of 2017 last month.
  • Roof damage to the Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena by Hurricane Irma was superficial, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. The team’s practice court also sustained minor damage, Winderman adds.
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Top Prospect Marvin Bagley Reclassifies, Commits To Duke

August 15th, 2017 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Top high school prospect Marvin Bagley has reclassified into the class of 2017, and will now be eligible to play college basketball during the coming season, rather than in 2018, he announced on Monday. As Evan Daniels of Scout.com details, Bagley committed to playing ball at Duke in 2017/18, making the Blue Devils the odds-on favorite to open the year as the No. 1 team in the nation.

While Bagley’s decision to attend Duke is good news for Mike Krzyzweski’s program, his reclassification itself is the most important news for NBA teams and evaluators, who will now have the opportunity to select the big man in the draft next June, assuming he enters the 2018 draft class after his freshman year.

If he does submit his name for next year’s draft, Bagley is expected to be one of a handful of players who will receive consideration for the No. 1 overall pick, alongside Michael Porter, DeAndre Ayton, and Luka Doncic, among others. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony suggests (via Twitter) that he believes there are still seven viable candidates for that top pick, adding that it’s too early to lock anyone in.

In his first 2018 mock draft for ESPN, Givony has Bagley coming off the board at second overall, writing that Duke’s newest player is “a terror in the open court” and has “a natural feel for scoring, rebounding and blocking shots.” NBA scouts will be keeping a close eye this season on the 18-year-old’s defense and outside shooting potential as he transitions to the college game, Givony writes.

Of course, before he can take the court for the Blue Devils, Bagley will still need to be deemed eligible by the NCAA. According to Givony, one college assistant for a team that was recruiting Bagley suggests that he expects that ruling to come in “a matter of days or weeks,” and he’s optimistic the young forward/center will be cleared. “[Bagley’s father] is way too detail-oriented for this not to work,” the assistant told Givony.

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