Okaro White Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Jack, Magic, Cuban, Whiteside

July 30th, 2016 at 4:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Jarrett Jack is looking forward to a “new start” in Atlanta after a torn ACL cost him most of last season, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Jack, who played in just 32 games for the Nets before suffering the injury in January, signed with the Hawks two weeks ago. Jack lives in Atlanta and played at Georgia Tech, so he said the city was an obvious destination. “I was flattered that they called and wanted to take a chance on me, knowing that I’m coming off knee surgery,” he said, “but I’m willing to prove to everybody that I’m more than capable of withstanding the physical challenges of the season and just contributing to the team.” Jack continues to rehab the knee and said he plans to be fully ready by the start of the season. He is about a month away from being cleared for full five-on-five basketball.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Developing chemistry is the next challenge in Orlando after this summer’s huge turnover, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The changes started with the hiring of coach Frank Vogel and continued through a revamped roster that has just six players back from the end of last season. The most notable additions for the Magic were Serge Ibaka, who was acquired in a draft night trade, and Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green, who signed as free agents. “To me, chemistry and togetherness is something you earn, something you achieve and something you work towards by creating this culture where people like to come to work and people are playing for each other,” Vogel said. “You talk about selflessness and a team-first mentality. Whether we’ve been together for five years or are brand new to each other, every year you’ve got to work to achieve chemistry.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who lost DeAndre Jordan to a change of heart in free agency last summer, said he never tried to persuade Heat center Hassan Whiteside to reconsider before this year’s moratorium was lifted, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Whiteside was Dallas’ top target in free agency, but he decided rather quickly to stay in Miami. “Never crossed our mind,” Cuban said in an interview with Dallas radio station 105.3-FM. “… We were happy with the direction we were going in and we had made our pitch to Hassan, but we didn’t really think he was going to leave and we didn’t go back to him and even bring it up.”
Offseason signings have left the Heat with 11 players who are ineligible to be traded before December 15th, Winderman notes in the same piece. In addition to Whiteside, they are Wayne Ellington, Udonis Haslem, Stefan Jankovic, James Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Willie Reed, Dion Waiters, Okaro White and Derrick Williams.

Heat Notes: Wade, Ellington, McGruder

July 19th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

On Saturday, we rounded up several of the comments made by Pat Riley during a press conference, including his thoughts on Dwyane Wade‘s departure, the team’s unsuccessful pitch to Kevin Durant, and Chris Bosh‘s uncertain future. During that session, Riley also addressed whether or not the Heat had any interest in Al Horford, admitting the team eliminated the free agent big man from consideration very early in free agency.

“It’s not out of a lack of respect for him, it’s that at 12:01 am, I came to an agreement with Hassan,” the Heat president said, per Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. “I don’t care if Dallas came in after us, we had Hassan. Once we got Hassan, I didn’t want to string along anybody else. … We like Al, we love Joakim Noah. Everybody that was at the top – the DeRozans, the Beals, the Batums, Howard, Horford – all those guys, their deals were done. Horford is going to really help Boston, I think. But we didn’t really push on that one.”

Here’s more out of South Beach:

Riley said on Saturday that the Heat don’t plan to use their $2.9MM room exception this summer, but that doesn’t mean it will go unused for the entire league year. As Anthony Chiang of The Palm Beach Post writes, the club intends to use it in February or March if a noteworthy veteran free agent becomes available, like Joe Johnson did last season.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel looks back at the Wade/Riley situation, noting that the crux of the issue between the two sides involved Riley’s preference to go season-by-season for Wade’s next few years. The longtime Heat star wanted a longer-term commitment from the franchise.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided several salary-related updates on recent signings by the Heat. As Pincus details, Wayne Ellington‘s second-year salary ($6.27MM) is non-guaranteed until the first day after 2017’s July moratorium. Additionally, Stefan Jankovic and Okaro White got similar two-year, minimum-salary deals from the club, while Rodney McGruder got a three-year contract worth the minimum.
Jankovic, White, and McGruder all start with $100K guarantees, but each player has different deadlines for when more of their salaries become guaranteed, per Pincus. McGruder has four upcoming guarantee dates for his 2016/17 salary, then has multiple guarantee dates for his 2017/18 salary as well.

Heat Sign Okaro White

July 15th, 2016 at 5:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 15, 5:01pm: The Heat have made their deal with White official.

JULY 14, 6:30pm: The Heat have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent forward Okaro White, Greek basketball journalist George Zakkas tweets and international journalist David Pick confirms (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are unknown, but it does include a partial guarantee, Pick notes.

The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and then headed overseas, spending the 2014/15 campaign with the Italian club Granarolo Bologna, where he averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season. White then headed to Greece, spending this past season with Aris BC, notching averages of 13.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per outing. He shot .465/.337/.791 from the field on the year.

White attended a free agent mini-camp that Miami held in June, but didn’t come away with a contract offer. He appeared in the Orlando Summer League for the Magic’s squad and has been suiting up for the Heat’s squad in Las Vegas, chipping in 10.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG over four contests.

Southeast Notes: Winslow, Durant, Hornets

June 15th, 2016 at 8:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Heat swingman Justise Winslow just completed his rookie campaign and hopes to develop into a player who the franchise can build around, Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald relays. “Yeah, definitely. Growing up, that was something I always wanted,” Winslow responded when asked if he wants to be the face of the franchise. “And being part of an organization that over the past 10, 13 years has sort of been built around one guy, it’s just something to look forward to. I know there’s a lot of work to be done. I’m not sure what team it will be with, hopefully with Miami, but eventually I would want to be a franchise guy, a leader on a team and the guy that the organization kind of builds around.”

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

The Heat held a free agent mini-camp this week and attendees included Rodney McGruder, Quinton Upshur, Brandan Kearney, Juwan Howard Jr., Jabril Trawick, Okaro White, Xavier Gibson, Kevin Tumba, Kenny Gabriel and Norvel Pelle, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald notes.
While the notion is certainly a long-shot, Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel makes the case for why Kevin Durant should sign with the Magic if he departs Oklahoma City as a free agent this offseason. The scribe cites the lack of media pressure, the presence of GM Rob Hennigan, who Durant is familiar with from their time together with the Thunder, new coach Frank Vogel and the team’s wealth of cap space as reasons the Slim Reaper should give serious consideration to joining Orlando.
The Hornets have workouts set for Thursday with Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma), Anthony Gill (Virginia), A.J. Hammons (Purdue), Codi Miller-McIntyre (Wake Forest), Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced.

Grizzlies To Invite Wilbekin, White To Camp

July 8th, 2014 at 12:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies will invite Scottie Wilbekin and Okaro White to training camp, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in a subscription-only piece. White, a forward from Florida State, and Wilbekin, a point guard from Florida, both went undrafted last month. It doesn’t appear as though either stands much of a chance of making the team’s opening night roster, as Tillery says the Grizzlies’ hopes involve the pair winding up with their D-League affiliate, but it sounds like they’ll at least receive the opportunity.

Wilbekin was the 50th-ranked senior on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, while White checked in at No. 67. Both are on the Grizzlies summer league roster for this week in Orlando, while Wilbekin will also suit up for the Sixers in the Las Vegas summer league.

If both accept the invitations and sign summer contracts, they’d be on non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals that wouldn’t count against the cap unless they made the opening night roster. NBA teams can reserve the D-League rights of three players who fail to make the cut out of training camp each fall, and it seems Memphis has two such slots earmarked for the Sunshine State duo.

Draft Notes: Celtics, Lakers, Kings, Randle

June 11th, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

We rounded up the latest on draft workouts around the league this morning, but updates continue to pour in, so we’ll pass along draft-related news from this afternoon here:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in a chat with readers, identifies the Celtics, Lakers and Kings as the three teams most likely to trade their top-10 picks.
Julius Randle will have an individual workout with the Celtics, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Nik Stauskas is set to work out for the Suns, in addition to previously reported workouts with the Hornets, Celtics, and Lakers, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who hears that those will be the only auditions Stauskas will do (Twitter links).
Gary Harris, T.J. Warren, K.J. McDaniels are among those showing off for the Sixers today, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Jazz will interview Spencer Dinwiddie next week, a source tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Dinwiddie is recovering from a torn ACL and can’t work out, as Jones points out (Twitter links).
James Michael McAdoo, Jake Odum, Ronald Roberts Jr. and Scottie Wilbekin are scheduled to work out Thursday for the Pacers, the team announced (on Twitter).
Jordan Clarkson, David Stockton, Cameron Clark, Davante Gardner, Richard Solomon and Tyler Stone are auditioning for the Suns today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press adds Jordan Bachynski and Dwight Powell to the list of players working out for the Pistons. Okaro White is also showing off for the Pistons, as well as the Warriors, as Natalie Pierre of the Tallahassee Democrat details (hat tip to Ellis).

Eastern Notes: Rambis, Jefferson, Snell, Sixers

June 10th, 2014 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have granted the Knicks permission to interview assistant coach Kurt Rambis for a job on head coach Derek Fisher‘s staff, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Rambis is willing to listen, Medina hears. Rambis also remains a candidate for the Lakers head coaching job, but it’s uncertain whether he’d be retained as a Lakers assistant if they go with someone else for the head job, as Medina points out. Here’s more news related to Eastern Conference teams:

Al Jefferson is recruiting free agents to come to Charlotte, and Hornets coach Steve Clifford is confident that the mere presence of the Third-Team All-NBA center makes the Hornets more attractive to potential signees, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
The Bulls remain sold on Tony Snell as a rotation-caliber talent, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details in his latest mailbag column. Johnson also says he’d be “shocked” if the Bulls don’t address their shooting via the draft.
The New Jersey state government gave the OK this morning for the Sixers to build a practice facility in Camden, reports Julia Terruso of the Philadelphia Inquirer, prompting the team to announce plans for the facility. GM Sam Hinkie and coach Brett Brown have contended that the facility will be key to attracting free agents.
The Celtics are among the teams that have worked out draft lottery prospect Doug McDermott, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com notes in his Insider-only mock draft.
Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson will audition for the Pistons, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
The Wizards will work out LaQuinton Ross, Devyn Marble, Jarell Eddie, Okaro White and Kendall Williams, the team announced.
Semaj Christon, DeAndre Kane, Drew Crawford, Sebastian Koch and Talib Zanna are among those who’ll perform for the Hornets on Wednesday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). Crawford was also scheduled to show off for the team last week.
Alex Kirk is working out for the Hornets this week, too, and he’ll also do so for the Raptors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

Draft Notes: McRae, Hood, Young, Suns, Smart

June 2nd, 2014 at 5:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

Earlier today, our own Zach Links (Twitter links) spoke with Tennesee guard Jordan McRae who told Hoops Rumors that he has worked out for the Heat, Pistons, and 76ers in addition to his previously reported audition with the Bulls. Still on the docket for McRae are workouts with the Bucks, Raptors, Mavericks, Wizards, Pacers, and Rockets. In total, McRae says he has “about nine” workouts to go, so there should be even more clubs on the horizon for him (link). DraftExpress currently has McRae pegged to go to Toronto at No. 59 in their mock draft. Here’s the latest draft news from around the league..

Rodney Hood, James Young, Zach LaVine, and Clint Capela are among those working out for the Suns today whom we hadn’t previously heard about. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details (Twitter links).
Marcus Smart says he’ll work out a second time for the Magic, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
The Knicks will audition Patric Young, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears (Twitter link). They brought Markel Starks in for a look this weekend, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Orlando Sanchez has already shown off for Kings, and he’ll also do so for Pacers, as Josh Newman of SNY.tv chronicles.
The Bucks brought Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cameron Clark, Josh Huestis, Melvin Johnson, Ovie Soko, and Fuquan Edwin in for auditions today, the team announced. Our own Zach Links interviewed Huestis in April as a part of our Prospect Profile series.
Edwin also has the Suns on his agenda, and he’s already worked out for the Spurs, Sixers, Kings and Clippers, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds the Knicks and Sixers to the list of teams for which Antetokounmpo auditioned (Twitter link).
Bryce Cotton is headed for a workout with the Mavs on Wednesday, tweets Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal.
DeAndre Kane, Jake Odum, Jakarr Sampson, and Okaro White are among those performing for the Grizzlies today, as Michael Cohen of The Commercial Appeal details in a subscription-only piece.

Zach Links contributed to this post.