Reggie Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

USA Basketball Announces AmeriCup Roster

August 22nd, 2017 at 8:33am CST by Luke Adams

After taking 17 players to training camp, USA Basketball has narrowed that group down to 12 players for its official AmeriCup roster, the program announced in a press release. The players representing Team USA in next week’s AmeriCup tournament will be as follows:

The five players who missed the cut for the final roster were Rod Benson, Will Davis II, Ra’Shad James, Darius Morris, and Derek Willis.

“All 17 guys that came to camp in Houston had a strong case that they could have made that they should have been selected, but unfortunately, we could only take 12,” said U.S. coach Jeff Van Gundy. “It was very, very difficult getting down to that number, but we feel very happy with the guys that we have selected. We feel we have positional versatility, we have a good balance between size and quickness, so it will be interesting for us to go to Uruguay and see what we can do.”

As we detailed in an earlier story, FIBA has changed its format for qualifying for marquee events like the World Cup and the Olympics, and many of the qualifier tournaments will now take place during the NBA season. For those events, Team USA intends to primarily use players who have been spending time overseas and in the G League, with the bigger-name players taking over for the main events in 2019 and 2020.

Team USA doesn’t need to win the AmeriCup to qualify for the next World Cup and Olympics, but it’s a tournament the U.S. must participate in to eventually play in more crucial events. Van Gundy’s squad will participate in preliminary round games in Uruguay starting next Monday. If Team USA wins its group – which also includes Panama, the Dominican Republic, and host Uruguay – it would advance to the semifinals in Argentina in early September.

The program won’t face real pressure to win until November, when Team USA need a top-three finish in a pool that includes Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba in order to start advancing to later qualifiers. For more in-depth details on how those qualifiers work, be sure to check out FIBA’s breakdowns for the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics.

17 Players Vying For Spots On USA’s AmeriCup Roster

August 17th, 2017 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has begun the process of selecting its roster for the AmeriCup 2017, the first of a series of qualifying tournaments under FIBA’s new format. As Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press details, Team USA doesn’t need to win the AmeriCup to qualify for the next World Cup and Olympics, but it’s a tournament the U.S. must participate in to eventually play in more crucial events.

Because upcoming qualifiers will take place during the NBA season, Team USA is putting together a roster primarily made up of G League players and veterans who have been playing overseas, as we previously learned. With training camp set to begin on Thursday, 17 hopefuls are suiting up for Team USA, with the program poised to eventually pare that group down to a 12-man roster.

Here are Team USA’s training camp participants, via USA Basketball:

Billy Baron (UCAM Murcia, Spain)
Rod Benson (Wonju Dongbu Promy, South Korea)
Alec Brown (Windy City Bulls)
Will Davis II (Reno Bighorns)
Larry Drew II (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Reggie Hearn (Reno Bighorns)
Darrun Hilliard (Detroit Pistons)
Jonathan Holmes (Canton Charge)
Ra’Shad James (Cedevita Zagreb, Croatia)
Kendall Marshall (Reno Bighorns)
Darius Morris (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Xavier Munford (Greensboro Swarm)
Marshall Plumlee (New York Knicks)
Jameel Warney (Texas Legends)
C.J. Williams (Texas Legends)
Reggie Williams (Oklahoma City Blue)
Derek Willis (University of Kentucky)

Although there are no high-profile names in this group, several players have some NBA experience. Hilliard is currently a free agent, but appeared in 77 games over the last two seasons for the Pistons. Drew, Munford, and Plumlee have all played in at least a dozen NBA games.

Marshall, Morris, and Reggie Williams are perhaps the most notable names on the list, having played regular rotation roles for various NBA teams in recent years. Marshall was a lottery pick in the 2012 draft, while Williams has appeared in more than 200 NBA games since 2010.

None of the players on Team USA’s training camp roster are currently under contract with an NBA club, but Willis – the only player of the group who has yet to play professional ball – has reportedly agreed to a training camp deal with the Pistons.

The club will be coached by Jeff Van Gundy, an international rookie himself, and will eventually participate in preliminary round games in Uruguay later this month. If Team USA wins its group – which also includes Panama, the Dominican Republic, and host Uruguay – it would advance to the semifinals in Argentina in early September.

As Mahoney outlines in his report, Team USA won’t face real pressure to win until November, when the club need a top-three finish in a pool that includes Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba in order to start advancing to later qualifiers. For more in-depth details on how those qualifiers work, be sure to check out FIBA’s breakdowns for the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics.

Pelicans Waive Omri Casspi, Sign Reggie Williams

February 25th, 2017 at 12:42pm CST by Milo Taibi

February 25: The Pelicans have now signed Williams to a 10-day contract. The club formally announced the addition in a press release on their official website.

February 24: The Pelicans will waive Omri Casspi and use his roster spot to sign Reggie Williams, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Casspi, acquired from Sacramento alongside DeMarcus Cousins, suffered a broken thumb in his team debut on Thursday.

Justin Verrier of ESPN initially reported Casspi would miss 4-to-6 weeks with the injury (Twitter link). According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Pelicans felt Casspi’s absence would leave them short-handed on the wing in midst of a playoff hunt. The decision to cut Casspi wasn’t an easy one, as GM Dell Demps resisted the temptation to flip Casspi leading up to the deadline (Twitter links).

If Casspi doesn’t play another game in 2016/17, he’ll have finished the year averaging 6.1 points through a career-low 23 games. As Bobby Marks of The Vertical points out, the Pelicans are only responsible for $906K of Casspi’s salary, unless he’s claimed on waivers (Twitter link).

The 30-year-old Williams appeared in five games with the Pelicans in December, recording 25 points in that span. A veteran of five NBA teams, Williams averaged 18.2 points this season with the D-League’s Oklahoma City Blue. A lifetime 36.6% 3-point shooter, Williams will supplant Casspi as a long distance threat off New Orleans’ bench.

Pelicans To Audition Chalmers, Thompson, Others

February 21st, 2017 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

3:50pm: Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link) adds Wayne Selden to the list of players auditioning for the Pelicans. Selden, 22, was in camp with the Grizzlies and has spent the regular season with the D-League’s Iowa Energy, averaging 18.3 PPG.

8:57am: The workouts noted below are happening today at the Pelicans’ facility, according to Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter link).

8:40am: The Pelicans were widely praised for their trade for DeMarcus Cousins this week, but even though the acquisition cost for the All-NBA center wasn’t exorbitant, New Orleans’ roster looks a little unbalanced in the wake of the deal. Having sent Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, and Langston Galloway to Sacramento in the swap, the Pelicans will now be looking to fortify their backcourt, and will audition several free agent guards this week, per ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link).

According to Stein (via Twitter), the group of guards working out for New Orleans this week includes Mario Chalmers, Hollis Thompson, Quinn Cook, and Reggie Williams. All of those players except Chalmers are currently on D-League teams, but aren’t under contract with the affiliated NBA club, making them free agents.

Cook and Williams each have previous experience with the Pelicans — Cook was with the club in training camp, while Williams had a brief stint in New Orleans earlier this season before he was waived to make room for Donatas Motiejunas. Both players have had solid seasons in the D-League, though Cook in particular has stood out. The former Duke guard has averaged 26.0 PPG for the Canton Charge and earned MVP honors this past weekend in the NBADL All-Star Game.

Like Williams, Thompson was on an NBA roster earlier this season, but the Sixers cut the four-year veteran before his salary for the year became fully guaranteed. He has since played for the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in Austin. As for Chalmers, he’s the most well-known player in the group, having won a pair of championships with the Heat and appeared in 580 total NBA games for Miami and Memphis.

After trading three players for two in the Cousins deal, the Pelicans currently have an open spot on their 15-man roster. The club may wait until after the trade deadline to seriously consider signing a free agent guard, just in case that roster spot can be used to accommodate another trade.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Hayward, Lillard

January 5th, 2017 at 9:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The sheer abundance of valuable young assets on the Nuggets make Denver a team to watch prior to February’s trade deadline, writes Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post. Bontemps cites Nikola Jokic and the club’s backcourt full of promising guards as two of the major reasons why the franchise’s forecast is so bright.

In addition to their coveted young core, the multiple first-round picks they hold and a bevy of reliable veterans make them uniquely qualified to deal in the coming months. That bodes particularly well as rumors swirl around Hawks forward Paul Millsap. Millsap has been linked to the Nuggets this year and was nearly dealt to the Mile High City last year as well.

If nothing else, the Nuggets could look to simply free up space for the young players they feel most confident about heading forward. As head coach Mike Malone learned with Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic earlier this season, there are only so many opportunities to go around.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

In the midst of a playoff push, the Jazz have little incentive to deal Gordon Hayward, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, and even if they did, the franchise is notoriously tight-lipped. “No one does things more quietly than Utah,” a league source told him. Alas, the Hayward-to-Boston narrative may, for the time being, be more “myth than reality.”
After missing five games with an ankle sprain, Damian Lillard returned to action for the Trail Blazers. The All-Star’s return was reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes. Portland matched up against the Lakers on Wednesday night.
Recently released by the Pelicans, journeyman forward Reggie Williams has reunited with the Oklahoma City Blue, the D-League affiliate of the Thunder. According to The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne, Williams is expected to play on Saturday.
Regression across the board has limited Ricky Rubio‘s value, writes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune, and the veteran guard hasn’t provided leadership to help elevate the young Timberwolves either. Rumored to be on the move for months, Rubio is averaging career lows in points and assists per game and is shooting just .276 from beyond the arc.

Pelicans Waive Reggie Williams, Will Sign Motiejunas

January 1st, 2017 at 6:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:55pm: New Orleans hopes to have the new contract with Motiejunas competed by Monday or Tuesday, Stein reports in a full story.

12:28pm: The Pelicans are finalizing a one-year deal with Motiejunas at the veteran’s minimum, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein.

12:02pm: Representatives for Donatas Motiejunas had “positive talks” with the Pelicans this morning, and a deal could be finalized today, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The news comes after the team announced that it has waived veteran small forward Reggie Williams.

New Orleans has about $808K left under the room mid-level exception to sign Motiejunas, according to The Vertical’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). A veteran’s minimum deal for Motiejunas would be worth roughly $600K, since the value of the minimum exception has prorates during the season. Either exception would limit Motiejunas to a two-year deal.

Motiejunas has been without a team since restricted free agency began in July. He went five months without an offer before agreeing to an offer sheet with the Nets in early December. That deal was matched by the Rockets, but that was followed by a holdout after Houston didn’t match the bonuses in the contract, then a separate deal with the Rockets, who decided to waive Motiejunas after his physical.

The Lithuanian big man could find an opportunity for playing time in New Orleans, where centers Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca have been removed from the rotation. Motiejunas was limited by back problems last season and averaged 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 37 games with the Rockets.

Williams, who was waived by the Thunder during the preseason, signed with the Pelicans December 9th. He got into five games, averaging 5.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per night. New Orleans was the fifth team for the 30-year-old, who was out of the NBA all of last season. Marks tweets that the Pelicans’ cap hit for waiving Williams is $180,483.

Pelicans Sign Reggie Williams

December 10th, 2016 at 12:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DECEMBER 10: The Pelicans have officially signed Williams, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 9: The Pelicans freed up a roster slot earlier today by waiving Anthony Brown and it appears the team will fill that opening by signing Reggie Williams, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The details of the arrangement are unknown, but it is more than likely a minimum salary pact that includes little or no guaranteed salary.

The 30-year-old, who was waived by the Thunder during the preseason, last played in the NBA during the 2014/15 season, when he joined the Spurs during the middle of the campaign. He previously played with the Thunder, signing a 10-day contract with the team during the 2013/14 campaign. The forward only saw a total of 17 minutes of action and OKC didn’t re-sign him once the deal expired.

Williams has been playing for the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA D-League, appearing in 11 games and averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 33.3 minutes per night. His shooting line is .462/.419/.727.

Thunder Waive Reggie Williams

October 19th, 2016 at 7:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Thunder have waived Reggie Williams, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Williams signed with OKC on Tuesday and $50K of his minimum salary arrangement was guaranteed. It’s possible that Williams will play for the team’s D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders speculates on Twitter.

Williams last played in the NBA in 2015, where he latched onto the Spurs during the middle of the season. He previously played with the Thunder, signing a 10-day contract with the team during the 2013/14 campaign. The forward only saw a total of 17 minutes of action and OKC didn’t re-sign him once the deal expired.

The Thunder entered the day with 20 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource shows. They will have to make at least four more cuts to set its opening night roster.

Thunder Sign Reggie Williams, Waive Alex Caruso

October 17th, 2016 at 7:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder shuffled guards on their roster today, announcing via press release that Reggie Williams has been signed and Alex Caruso was waived. The details of Williams’ deal were not relayed, though it is almost assuredly a minimum salary arrangement that may include a small partial guarantee. Caruso’s minimum salary pact included a partial guarantee of $50K, which will remain on OKC’s salary cap unless he is claimed off waivers by another club.

Williams spent the 2015/16 campaign overseas with the Russian club Avtodor Saratov. He appeared in 16 contests and averaged 13.6 points on 58.8% shooting overall. The guard has appeared in 200 career NBA games (32 starts) with the Thunder, Spurs, Hornets and Warriors. He owns career averages of 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.3 minutes

Caruso, who went undrafted in June, played his college ball at Texas A&M, averaging 8.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.1 SPG in his senior year, while shooting 36.8% from three-point range. The 22-year-old was also named to the SEC’s All-Defensive Team. He did not log a single minute of action during preseason play for the Thunder.

Reggie Williams Signs To Play In Russia

January 10th, 2016 at 4:47pm CST by Will Joseph

Veteran small forward Reggie Williams, who played with the Spurs last season, has signed a deal to play with Avtodor Saratov in Russia, the overseas team announced (h/t Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The contract is for the remainder of the season, according to Avtodor Saratov’s press release.

The Spurs waived Williams, who was on a non-guaranteed deal, in late October. Williams joined the Spurs for the remainder of last season in February after signing a pair of 10-day pacts with the team. Williams was with the Heat on a training camp deal before last season, but he failed to make the opening night roster.

Williams, 29, made 20 appearances for the Spurs last season, averaging 1.9 points in 5.3 minutes per game. His career averages through 200 career NBA regular season contests are 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. He owns a slash line of .458/.363/.747. Williams has also played for the Warriors, Bobcats (now the Hornets) and Thunder.