Nigel Hayes-Davis

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/8/18

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • Lakers rookie big man Thomas Bryant has been assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, according to a tweet from the team’s official account. Bryant, 20, is averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 30 G League games this season.
  • The Bulls have assigned 10-day contract signee Jarell Eddie to their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, per a tweet from the Bulls. Eddie, 26, is averaging 17.1 points and shooting 47.5% from long range in 21 games with Windy City.
  • Both Nigel Hayes and Alfonzo McKinnie have been assigned to the Raptors‘ G League affiliate, Raptors 905, according to the assignment page on the NBA’s official G League website.

Raptors Sign Nigel Hayes To 10-Day Deal

MARCH 6: The Raptors have formally signed Hayes to a 10-day contract, according to the league’s official transactions log. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link), head coach Dwane Casey didn’t rule out Hayes appearing in Tuesday’s game vs. Atlanta, but he doesn’t expect it to happen, pointing out that the rookie still has to learn the offense.

MARCH 5: The Raptors will fill their open roster spot by signing G League forward Nigel Hayes to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The move will give Toronto a full 15-man NBA roster.

Hayes, 23, signed a training camp contract with the Knicks last August, then was cut by New York before the regular season began. The former Wisconsin standout landed with the Westchester Knicks in the G League and has played very well for New York’s affiliate in his first professional season, averaging 16.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG on .450/.441/.744 shooting.

Hayes’ new deal with the Raptors will represent his second NBA stint — he signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers in January and appeared briefly in two games for L.A.

While it remains to be seen if Hayes will see any real action for the Raptors, the deal benefits the organization in another way, as Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic points out (via Twitter) — the Raptors 905 (26-17) are just behind Westchester (28-14) in the G League standings, so poaching Hayes bodes well for Toronto’s affiliate.

Of course, the move isn’t just about the G League playoff race for the Raptors. As Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets, Hayes had a good workout for Toronto prior to last year’s draft, so the club has had its eye on the rookie for a while.

Lakers Will Not Re-Sign Nigel Hayes

The Lakers will not re-sign forward Nigel Hayes after his 10-day contract expired tonight, Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times tweets. The 23-year-old rookie saw action in two games during his stint with the club, seeing a grand total of 11 minutes.

Hayes, an undrafted combo forward out of Wisconsin, will hit the open market while Los Angeles frees up a roster spot with which they can test drive other free agents.

With a glut of forwards already on board in L.A., Hayes’ chances of breaking into the Lakers’ rotation were slim from the start.

Hayes previously went through training camp with the Knicks.

Lakers Sign Nigel Hayes To 10-Day Deal

JANUARY 19: The Lakers have officially signed Hayes to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Sunday.

JANUARY 18: The Lakers plan to sign forward Nigel Hayes to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Wisconsin last summer but did end up briefly catching on with the Knicks in training camp.

Hayes averaged 14.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game across three seasons with the Badgers and will slot into a Lakers depth chart that could use depth down low.

In 30 games with the G League’s Westchester Knicks this season, Hayes has averaged 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.

Lakers Notes: Ball, Zubac, Hayes

Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball is headed for an MRI on his left knee after he experienced soreness this morning, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. There is no word on the severity of Ball’s soreness but Youngmisuk noted that the MRI is “precautionary.”

Ball, 20, has already missed time this season due to injury. The second overall pick from last year’s NBA Draft missed six games in late December-early January due to a right shoulder injury. Los Angeles will face the Grizzlies on the road on Monday and depending on the MRI, the team may be without Ball.

The rookie has played well since he returned from the aforementioned injury. All told, Ball is averaging 10.2 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 7.1 RPG in 36 games this season. In addition to facing scrutiny about his play, Ball has had to answer questions about his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, who has criticized the Lakers’ organization and its coaches.

Check out other Lakers news below:

  • After the Lakers waived Andrew Bogut, Croatian big man Ivica Zubac believed he would see an increased role for the Lakers, but that has not been the case, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. Zubac, 20, has appeared in just 11 games for the Lakers — something that’s hard to believe since he entered the summer at the Lakers’ starting center. Instead, Zubac has seen frequent action in the G League. “I think I really improved in those games,” Zubac said. “It’s harder when you’re not playing in the NBA but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” 
  • Tomorrow is the deadline for two-way deals and one name connected to the Lakers recently has been Wisconsin product Nigel Hayestweets Adam Johnson of 10Days2Ways.

Knicks Waive Trey Burke, Two Others

The Knicks have announced three roster cuts, confirming today in a press release that they’ve waived point guard Trey Burke, guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, and forward Nigel Hayes.

Burke is the most noteworthy player of the group. The former ninth overall pick signed a contract with the Knicks earlier this week, and given the team’s uncertain point guard picture, it looked like there may be an opportunity for him to sneak onto the regular season roster. That won’t happen after all.

Rathan-Mayes and Hayes look like good bets to land with the Westchester Knicks as G League affiliate players. Burke could also end up in the G League, though he’ll likely exhaust his NBA opportunities first, and overseas league may be an option for the former Michigan standout too.

As for the Knicks, they’re still carrying 16 players on their NBA roster, but don’t necessarily need to make any additional cuts before the season begins. Joakim Noah is in the midst of serving a 20-game ban and will open the year on the suspended list, giving the Knicks the chance to add a 16th player until Noah returns. Jarrett Jack – the only non-guaranteed player left on the roster – appears to be the beneficiary.

Knicks Sign Nigel Hayes

AUGUST 21: Hayes has officially signed with the Knicks, according to the team. It’s a one-year, partially guaranteed deal.

AUGUST 17: The Knicks have reached an agreement with Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes on a partially guaranteed contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowki of ESPN.

The senior averaged 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds last season for the Badgers. He was invited to New York’s mini-camp in July and played for the Knicks’ summer league team, averaging 5.2 points, and 5.0 rebounds in five games in Orlando.

New York has 14 players with guaranteed contracts, so Hayes will have the opportunity to win a roster spot in training camp.

Hayes’ deal with the Knicks was first reported in June by ESPN’s Ian Begley.

Knicks Agree To Sign Nigel Hayes, Luke Kornet

After nabbing Frank Ntilikina and two other prospects in Thursday night’s draft, the Knicks continue to secure young talent, having struck two deals with undrafted rookies, according to reports.

Former Wisconsin big man Nigel Hayes, who will play for the Knicks in Summer League, has also agreed to a free agent contract with the team, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Begley, Hayes’ training camp contract will include a partial guarantee.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter) that the Knicks are also in agreement with former Vanderbilt big man Luke Kornet. League sources inform Haynes that Kornet’s deal will be a two-way contract, meaning he figures to spend most of the 2017/18 season in the G League with the Westchester Knicks.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts]

Both Hayes and Kornet were viewed as top-100 prospects by DraftExpress, with Hayes coming in at No. 80, while Kornet ranked 69th. Their deals with the Knicks aren’t yet official, since undrafted free agents can’t sign contracts until at least July.

Draft Notes: Ball, Lakers, Pre-Draft Workouts

There has been much innuendo and rumor in recent weeks that Lonzo Ball would not necessarily be taken by the Lakers with their second overall pick. Still, a majority of executives at the adidas EuroCamp expect the Lakers to draft Ball second, reports Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (link via Twitter). Howard goes on to state that these executives believe that the purple and gold like De’Aaron Fox and Josh Jackson, but still lean towards Ball.

Check out the latest news in pre-draft workouts here:

Southeast Notes: Hayward, Hornets, Hawks, Workouts

The Heat have the flexibility to sign Gordon Hayward and create room for another top-level free agent, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. A report Friday said the Jazz consider Miami a legitimate threat to sign the free agent forward, who is coming off the best season of his career. In response to a reader’s question, Winderman notes that the Heat can give $30MM to Hayward and open up another $23MM or so by trading Tyler Johnson, Josh McRoberts and Justise Winslow. However, he cautions that the team tried to find a taker for McRoberts’ contract last summer, and that was before he missed more than half a season with injuries. If Miami were able to pull off such a scenario, it would be in the range for players such as Serge Ibaka, Paul Millsap or the combination of Zach Randolph and a re-signed Dion Waiters.

There’s more this morning out of the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets have limited resources to work with as they try to improve on this year’s 36-46 record, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. With six players who have salaries topping $12MM, Charlotte is already over the salary cap for next season, leaving GM Rich Cho with little to offer prospective free agents. The team will have its mid-level exception [worth about $8.4MM] and its bi-annual exception [about $3.3MM], but neither will be enough to add a difference maker. The Hornets own both of their picks at 11 and 41, but the team’s draft record has been mixed in recent years. Trade assets are limited, with only Kemba Walker able to bring a significant return. Bonnell cites depth, defense and closing out games as areas in which Charlotte needs to improve.
  • Duke’s Amile Jefferson is among six players who will work out for the Hornets today, Bonnell relays in a separate story. He will be joined by Antonio Blakeney of LSU; Torian Graham of Arizona State; Kyle Kuzma of Utah; Derrick Walton of Michigan; and Nigel Williams-Goss of Gonzaga. Several more workouts are planned for next week.
  • Kuzma held a second pre-draft workout for the Hawks on Thursday, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Joining him at that session were Dwayne Bacon of Florida State, Nigel Hayes of Wisconsin and Nik Slavica of Croatia.