Scoot Henderson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Wembanyama, Henderson, Satoransky, Randall

October 9th, 2022 at 8:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Star prospect Victor Wembanyama will play for France’s national team in November during the next round of World Cup qualifying games, per an Associated Press report. The French club is set to face Lithuania on November 11 and will play Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 14.

Wembanyama is coming off a pair of eye-opening exhibition performances against the G League Ignite this week, as he solidified his place as the No. 1 player in the 2022 draft class by pouring in 73 points and blocking nine shots in the two games. The 18-year-old big man, who told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that his goal is “to be like something you’ve never seen,” is drawing rave reviews from many of the NBA’s biggest stars.

“He has the chance to be one of the best — not in his age, not in Europe — but one of the best to ever play this game,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said of Wembanyama, according to Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com. “We have never seen someone like that before. I think it’s a good challenge for everybody in the league, to have somebody who’s 7-foot-2 and is able to shoot over you and dribble like he’s a guard and block shots and run down the floor fast. We gotta get ready for this kid, you know? He’s going to be really good.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

While Wembanyama is considered a generational talent and earned more buzz this week, star Ignite guard Scoot Henderson isn’t ready to concede the top spot in next year’s draft, as he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He also downplayed the idea that he’ll have a long-standing rivalry with the Frenchman. “I’m not worried about him,” Henderson said. “I’m worried about the next level. I’m worried about guarding Steph (Curry).”
Jonathan Givony’s latest 2023 mock draft at ESPN (Insider-only link) has Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson as the No. 3 pick behind Wembanyama and Henderson, followed by Arkansas’ Nick Smith and Villanova’s Cameron Whitmore.
Speaking to Alex Molina of Eurohoops, veteran guard Tomas Satoransky expressed pride that he can say he was an NBA player, but admitted that he went through some “ups and downs” in the league. Satoransky said that he’s happy to be back in Europe, playing for Barcelona, because his new deal offers more stability for him and his family than he would have had in the NBA.
Former UT Martin guard Craig Randall, who averaged 26.7 PPG for the Long Island Nets last season, tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN that he turned down NBA camp offers that included guaranteed money. Randall instead opted to head to Australia’s National Basketball League, where he’ll have a chance to play a significant role for the Adelaide 36ers. Randall and teammates Antonius Cleveland and Robert Franks all have NBA out clauses in their contracts with Adelaide, according to MacMahon.

Agent: No Plan To Shut Victor Wembanyama Down Until Draft

October 5th, 2022 at 9:24pm CST by Rory Maher

After an excellent performance against the G League Ignite that included 37 points, seven three-pointers and five blocked shots, NBA executives are suggesting that it might be in Victor Wembanyama‘s best interests to sit out until the 2023 NBA draft next June, but his agent says that’s not on the table.

“NBA people are telling me to shut him down, and we are not going to shut him down,” Bouna Ndiaye told Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony of ESPN. “If we came with that kind of talk to [Wembanyama], he will look at us and say, ‘What are you talking about?’ He’ll never agree to that. He wants to compete and get better. With Victor, it’s basketball first and everything else second. He was so pissed off that he lost.”

The projected No. 1 pick is such a promising prospect that one GM thinks the French big man will have a major impact on the 2022/23 season in multiple ways.

“Victor distorts basketball reality,” the GM said. “The tank/trade market will really shift after that showing. It feels like last night will start a race to the bottom like we’ve never seen.”

Another GM, this one with a chance to land the No. 1 pick, thinks Wembanyama is a generational talent.

“He’s a 7-foot-4 (Kevin) Durant who blocks shots — and he’s not even close to what he’s going to be. He will be the most hyped player since LeBron (James),” the GM told ESPN.

As Wojnarowski and Givony write, after Wembanyama shined on national television in the U.S., multiple executives told ESPN that they have talked to their team owners about the steps necessary to tank and land him, with both sides gaining a “better understanding of the transformational value” of selecting Wembanyama. The presence of G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, the projected No. 2 pick, could further incentivize teams to roll the dice on tanking in ’22/23, per ESPN’s duo.

While the bottom three teams in the standings will each only have a 14% chance each of landing the top pick after the NBA flattened the lottery odds in 2019 to disincentive intentionally losing, that might not matter for the upcoming season. ESPN’s duo suggests slow-starting teams might consider dealing away impact players earlier than normal for a better chance at Wembanyama, even though the past few seasons have seen more buyers than sellers due to teams believing they have a shot at the playoffs via the play-in tournament.

Community Shootaround: Best Potential Landing Spot For Wembanyama

October 5th, 2022 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

There were more than 200 NBA scouts and executives in attendance on Tuesday to watch the projected top two picks in the 2023 draft square off, as Victor Wembanyama and French club Metropolitans 92 faced Scoot Henderson and the G League Ignite, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Henderson, widely viewed as the second-best prospect in next year’s draft class, lived up to that billing, racking up 28 points to go along with nine assists and five rebounds. He led the Ignite to a 122-115 victory.

But it was Wembanyama who stole the show, even in a losing cause. The 7’3″ Frenchman poured in 37 points on just 20 field goal attempts, knocking down seven three-pointers and blocking five shots. According to Matt Williams of ESPN (Twitter link), only one player in NBA history has ever made seven threes and blocked five shots in a single game before — Danny Green did it in a triple-overtime game in 2014.

Wembanyama admitted after Tuesday’s game that the longer G League quarters affected his stamina, but his incredible performance showed why he’s considered one of the best NBA prospects in years.

“He was amazing,” Metropolitans 92 coach Vincent Collet said, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN. “What he can do with his size, his agility, mobility, not only his ability to shoot the three, moving very well. He even made a couple of very good passes. I think he (had) a real good game but he also will learn from the first half. He has to fight more because he knows to expect that kind of aggressive defense.”

As Jeremy Woo of SI.com writes, after Tuesday’s game, the idea of tanking for a shot at Wembanyama may look even more appealing to a handful of the NBA teams likely headed for a lottery spot this season.

As we outlined when we conducted our over/under polls last month, the Thunder, Pacers, Spurs, Rockets, Jazz, and Magic are projected to be the NBA’s bottom-feeders in 2022/23. But even the league’s very worst team will only have a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery, so a number of clubs will be in play for Wembanyama.

In the wake of Tuesday’s impressive showcase, we want to know what you think. Which lottery-bound team would be the best landing spot for Wembanyama?

You can interpret that question in any way you like — there are, of course, certain teams that might be more ideal for the big man’s development, while certain landing spots would just be flat-out entertaining. For instance, as Tom Ziller notes on his Substack, if the Lakers’ 2023 first-round pick lands at No. 1, the Pelicans would be able to swap their own first-round pick for it and pair Wembanyama with Zion Williamson.

Does that Pelicans scenario sound like one you’d want to play out? Or would you rather see Wembanyama join forces with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren in Oklahoma City; Jalen Green and Jabari Smith in Houston; Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in Orlando; Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Jalen Duren in Detroit; or Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin in Indiana?

Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!

London Johnson To Sign With Ignite For Over $1 Million

October 3rd, 2022 at 9:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Point guard London Johnson will reclassify into the 2022 recruiting class and sign with the NBA G League Ignite this season, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Vecenie report. Johnson will receive the biggest contract handed out to an Ignite player to date.

The 18-year-old will earn more than $1MM, exceeding Scoot Henderson‘s $1MM salary. Henderson is considered the No. 2 prospect in next year’s draft.

“The main (reason) was being able to play against NBA talent and getting coached from the highest level NBA coaches,” Johnson said of his decision to join the Ignite. “Also, seeing the success from past (prospects), I really felt like I could create my own path and be successful myself.”

The 6’4” Johnson doesn’t plan to enter next year’s draft. He anticipates being in the Ignite program for two seasons.

A dual citizen of the U.S. and Jamaica, he played last season at Norcross High School in Georgia. Johnson played with Henderson briefly in Atlanta.

Johnson was considering North Carolina, Clemson, NC State, Virginia and USC before choosing the G League, according to The Athletic duo.

“I feel like my game will translate even better than it does in high school because of the spacing,” Johnson said. “I try to model my game after Chris Paul. He reads ball screens really well and can score from all three levels. He really tries to get his teammates involved, but also can score.”

And-Ones: Wembanyama, Henderson, James Lawsuit, Cole, Las Vegas

September 6th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The top two projected picks in next year’s draft will square off in Las Vegas next month, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports.

Projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama and his team, Metropolitans 92 from Paris, will face the G League Ignite and projected No. 2 pick, Scoot Henderson, on October 4 and 6 in a pair of exhibition games in Henderson, Nevada.

Rafael Barlowe revealed earlier that discussions were ongoing about a potential matchup featuring those two teams (Twitter link).

They naturally won’t be guarding each other. Wembanyama is a 7’4” center with an eight-foot wingspan, while Henderson is a lightning-quick 6’3” point guard.

We have more from around the basketball world:

LeBron James and rappers Drake and Future are accused in a $10MM lawsuit filed by former NBPA executive director Billy Hunter of stealing the “intellectual property rights” to a film, according to Carl Campanile and Priscilla DeGregory of the New York Post. Hunter is seeking a share of profits from the documentary as well as $10MM in damages in a complaint filed in Manhattan State Supreme Court. The film, “Black Ice,” focuses on a segregated hockey league for black players in Canada.
Former NBA guard Norris Cole and Craig Sword combined for 28 points as Team USA rolled past Panama 88-58 in the AmeriCup basketball tournament on Monday, ESPN reports. Sword appeared in three games with the Wizards last season. Another former NBA guard, Jeremy Pargo, added 10 points.
A $3 billion sports and entertainment center, including a $1 billion, 20,000-seat arena, near the Las Vegas Strip could be a stepping stone for the city to get an NBA franchise, Tashan Reed of The Athletic writes. The complex, which will break ground in 2023 and is set to be completed in 2026, will also include an amphitheater, hotel and casino. “There are no guarantees the NBA is coming, and that’s been made very clear,” Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke said. “So, what you’ve got to do is go build (the arena) and make it work on everything else. My guess is they’ll get more interested and fascinated by Vegas if there is a world-class, billion-dollar arena.”

And-Ones: Antetokounmpo, COVID Policy, Wembanyama, D. Stockton

August 30th, 2022 at 10:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a runaway winner as the NBA’s best player in an ESPN poll of 15 coaches, scouts and executives. The Bucks star collected 11 votes, with three going to NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry and one to LeBron James. Antetokounmpo tied with Kevin Durant for the top spot in the survey last year.

“He’s healthy, you can put the ball in his hands or play off the ball as a screen-and-roll guy, and his defensive effectiveness,” a Western Conference scout in choosing Antetokounmpo. “I think Durant is the most talented guy because of his shooting and scoring ability, [but] Giannis’ will, the human, the winner, the mentality, the everyday effort, raising the effort of guys around him … it’s hard to top that.”

The 27-year-old Antetokounmpo was also projected to be the league’s best player in five years, narrowly edging Luka Doncic, and he won a tight race to be named MVP for the upcoming season. In other significant categories, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren tied as the best rookie in five years, Donovan Mitchell is almost unanimously expected to be with the Knicks by the trade deadline, the Celtics were picked as the team that had the best offseason and the Mavericks were tabbed as having the worst offseason.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA has revised its health and safety protocols relating to COVID-19 for the 2022/23 season, tweets Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Unvaccinated players will have to undergo coronavirus testing once each week, while vaccinated players will be tested only when they show symptoms. Isolation measures will be implemented immediately following a positive test, and face masks won’t be required in team settings.
French center Victor Wembanyama and G League guard Scoot Henderson top the projected 2023 draft class, according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. “Wembanyama is a physical freak who plays like a guard that can hit step-back shots and handle the ball,” a general manager told Scotto. “His durability is a concern. He’s not Kristaps Porzingis. I think he’s more talented. Defensively, he’s like Evan Mobley. Offensively, he’s like Porzingis.”
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants – the Pacers‘ G League affiliate – announced in a press release that they have picked up the returning player rights to David Stockton in a G League trade with the Memphis Hustle.

And-Ones: T. Scott, 2023 Draft, ’23 Cap, Freedom

August 1st, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA and G League veteran Tre Scott is headed overseas for the 2022/23 season, having signed with Fos Provence Basket, the French team announced in a press release.

Scott, who went undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2020, has spent most of his first two professional seasons in the NBAGL, playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, and the Cleveland Charge.

The 6’8″ forward earned a call-up to the NBA last December during the league’s COVID-19 outbreak, signing a 10-day hardship deal with the Cavaliers. He appeared in two games for the Cavs during his brief NBA stint, scoring six points and grabbing a couple rebounds in 11 total minutes of action.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report shares his first 2023 mock draft, headed by French big man Victor Wembanyama and G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson. Overtime Elite wing Amen Thompson, Duke swingman Dariq Whitehead, and Villanova forward Cam Whitmore round out Wasserman’s initial top five.
Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at the teams currently projected to have the most cap room in 2023, including the Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, and Magic.
In an interview with Israeli outlet Walla, free agent center Enes Freedom said he hasn’t received any offers from NBA teams this offseason (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops). Freedom attributed that lack of NBA interest to the comments he has made denouncing China, though it’s worth noting that his minutes were already on the decline due to his subpar outside shooting and defense.

And-Ones: Henderson, Sessions, Point Guards, EuroLeague

June 13th, 2022 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson has agreed to a multiyear endorsement deal with Puma that will be worth at least seven figures annually, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. It’s believed to be the most lucrative endorsement contract ever for a basketball player who is not yet eligible for the draft, Charania adds.

Henderson will play for the Ignite again next season before becoming draft-eligible in 2023 — he was the No. 2 pick in ESPN’s most recent ’23 mock draft, behind only French big man Victor Wembanyama.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Ramon Sessions, who became an NBPA-certified player agent earlier this year, tells Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that his experience working with the players’ union during his 11-year player career helped push him toward his new path. “It just made too much sense. I always was intrigued my whole career — being a union guy — wanting to know how a contract worked,” Sessions said. “Just wanted another challenge. Me doing this is no different than me being picked 56 (in the 2007 draft).”
Kyrie Irving and Jalen Brunson are the headliners of this year’s free agent point guards, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who believes point guard may be the strongest position in free agency this summer. Ricky Rubio, Delon Wright, Tyus Jones, Anfernee Simons, and Patty Mills are some of the other names near the top of Hollinger’s list.
Alex Madrid of Eurohoops.net names 10 current NBA players he believes are candidates to join EuroLeague teams for the 2022/23 season. Madrid’s list includes players originally from Europe, such as Ignas Brazdeikis and Vlatko Cancar, as well as U.S.-born players who have previous EuroLeague experience, like Matt Thomas and Anthony Gill.

And-Ones: G League Ignite, Barea, Contract Extensions, Ukraine

February 24th, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Being involved with All-Star Weekend was a dream experience for several members of G League Ignite, writes Tania Ganguli of The New York Times. Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, MarJon Beauchamp and Dyson Daniels were all selected to participate alongside first- and second-year NBA players in the Rising Stars games. Fanbo Zeng and Michael Foster Jr. were chosen for a shooting competition, but Zeng had to withdraw because of an injury.

“I was nervous before the game before I even got out there, but when I got out there it was kind of relieving,” said Beauchamp, who is projected to be a mid first-round selection in this year’s draft. Beauchamp added that he always watches the All-Star events, “so just seeing myself on the screen is pretty amazing.”

The Ignite team, which serves as an alternative to college for NBA prospects, is only in its second season but is proving to be successful. Two Ignite players, Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, were lottery picks last year and the team continues to attract elite young talent, paying up to $500K per season. The chance to be part of the All-Star experience was a bonus that the NBA offered this year.

“It was just fun to be able to be out there on the court with those young stars really and just being able to go out there and just laugh and compete,” Hardy said.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Veteran guard J.J. Barea will return to Cangrejeros de Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 37-year-old, who spent 14 seasons in the NBA, also played for the team last season.
Although Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic will miss an extended stretch due to plantar fasciitis, he’s among a handful of viable candidates to receive contract extensions before the regular season ends, writes Yossi Gozlan of Hoops Hype. Nurkic is on track to be a free agent this summer, but he’s also eligible to extend his current deal for up to $64.5MM over four years. Another option, Gozlan notes, is to extend for two years at $25.8MM if Nurkic wants to keep his trade eligibility this offseason. Gozlan identifies Robert Covington, Thaddeus Young, Gary Harris and Tyus Jones as other players who are eligible for in-season extensions and could be realistic candidates.
The attacks on Ukraine are having an effect on basketball in the region, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Roughly 40 American players have played in the country this year and several are still under contract. An agent told Smith that there’s an effort to bring those players home to protect their safety, even though it would be a breach of contract. Familiar names on the Budivelnik Kiev roster include Michael Stockton, son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, along with former NBA players Gian Clavell, Drew Gordon and Alec Brown, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Blue, Pargo, Morey, G League Ignite

February 20th, 2022 at 2:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NBA alum Vander Blue has signed a new deal to play for Club Atletico Peñarol in Uruguay, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Most recently, Blue played with Mexican club Libertadores de Queretaro, where he averaged 21.7 PPG, 3.7 APG and 1.8 SPG during the team’s 2021/22 season.

The 6’4″ shooting guard out of Marquette, 29, logged parts of three seasons in the NBA for the Celtics and Lakers, playing a total of 10 NBA games, including one start, and ultimately averaging 13.4 MPG. He last saw league action for five games during the 2017/18 NBA season with Los Angeles.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

After leaving Napoli Basket last month, former NBA guard Jeremy Pargo has signed a new G League deal and will join the Windy City Bulls, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors. Pargo, a Chicago native, played with the Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Sixers and Warriors during three NBA seasons. The 35-year-old combo guard holds NBA averages of 4.8 PPG, 1.8 APG and 1.0 RPG across 86 contests.
As a recent guest on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, Sixers GM Daryl Morey shared some bold concepts for changing the NBA regular season’s schedule and playoffs structure (hat tip to Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post). Morey proposed cutting the league’s current 82-game regular season schedule to 58 contests. “Every team plays every [other] team two times,” he said. “The playoffs, I 100 percent agree, shorter is better… I would have it one-and-done,” Morey said, suggesting that every postseason round be reduced from seven games to a single contest. “There’s a reason everyone tunes into every game at huge ratings in the NFL. It is literally one-and-done.”
Six prospects from the NBAGL club the G League Ignite, point guard Scoot Henderson, wing Dyson Daniels, shooting guard Jaden Hardy, and forward MarJon Beauchamp, plus big men Michael Foster Jr. and Fanbo Zeng, participated in the festivities for the NBA’s 2022 All-Star Weekend. Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated evaluated the Ignite players during a recent two-game stint prior to the weekend, five of whom (Henderson being the lone exception) could be selected for the NBA draft this year. Woo indicates that Henderson, Daniels, Hardy and Beauchamp all appear likely to be first-round picks.