Shannon Scott

Nets Waive Gordon, McCall, Scott

The Nets got down to the roster limit by waiving forward Drew Gordon and guards Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release.

Gordon will join Brooklyn’s G League affiliate in Long Island and is expected to be called up during the season after turning down offers to play overseas. The older brother of Aaron Gordon, most of his professional experience has come in Europe. He has played nine NBA games, all for the Sixers in 2014/15.

McCall and Scott both signed Exhibit 10 contracts yesterday and appear headed back to the G League. Both played for Brooklyn’s affiliate in Long Island last season.

Nets Sign Tahjere McCall, Shannon Scott

The Nets have signed a pair of guards, Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release. Both players received Exhibit 10 contracts, per Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link).

McCall, 24, spent last season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, averaging 9.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in 37 games. Scott, a strong defender out of Ohio State, was also a regular starter for Long Island last season, recording 7.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.2 SPG in 49 games.

Both players figure to be waived within the next couple days, but will likely return to Long Island for the 2018/19 season. Having signed Exhibit 10 deals, they’ll now be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K, which won’t count against Brooklyn’s cap and should exceed the full-year salaries they’d earn on standard G League contracts.

The Nets’ roster is back up to 20 players for now. The team will make three cuts by Monday.

NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.

NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)

Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)

Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)

Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)

Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)

Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.

Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.

Raptors Part Ways With Four

The Raptors have officially released Shannon Scott, Axel Toupane, Michale Kyser, and Ronald Roberts, the team announced. Scott, Toupane, and Kyser all had partial guarantees of $25K included in their deals, and Roberts’ pact includes a partial guarantee of $75K. Toronto will be responsible for these payments unless the players are claimed off waivers. The Raptors’ roster count is now at 15 players.

Roberts, 23, played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippines last season after inking a deal in January. Prior to signing overseas, he played in the D-League after the Sixers released him. He spent less than a week on Philadelphia’s NBA roster in December, having been signed to replace Jorge Gutierrez and let go to accommodate Furkan Aldemir. The Adam Pensack client was also with the Sixers during the preseason, and he played for Philly’s summer league team after going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s last summer.

Kyser’s numbers at Louisiana Tech weren’t overwhelming, as he put up 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game as a senior this past season, but at 6’10”, he patrolled the paint well, blocking 2.9 shots per contest. He put up 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 0.8 BPG in 14.6 MPG in four summer league appearances.

Scott played for the Spurs summer league team that won the title in Las Vegas, and he also saw action for San Antonio’s squad at the Salt Lake City summer league, averaging 5.3 points and 2.4 assists in 22.6 minutes per game over nine total appearances. The 6’2″ 22-year-old who went undrafted this summer was a full-time starter only in his senior season at Ohio State, when he averaged 8.5 PPG, 5.9 APG and 2.4 turnovers in 30.5 MPG.

The 6’7″ Toupane has been a mainstay for France’s Strasbourg IG over the past few seasons, and he averaged 7.0 points in 18.3 minutes per game with 35.4% three-point shooting in 2014/15. He put up 4.3 PPG in 10.9 MPG for the Raptors in summer league, missing all four of his three-point attempts.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Anthony, Scott

The Knicks need to show that the team has some forward momentum this season if the franchise wants to have a shot at landing premier free agents next offseason, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Doolittle points to the Bucks as an example, who despite their small market, managed to sign Greg Monroe this Summer, a player who the major market Knicks had their sights on. If the Knicks are unable to show improvement in the win column over last year’s squad, then no amount of available cap space will be able to convince stars like Kevin Durant that New York is a preferred free agent destination, Doolittle concludes.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • There’s an excellent chance that the Knicks will explore trading Carmelo Anthony this season, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report opines (video link). New York will likely wait to see how the roster performs at the start of the season, and if the team doesn’t look to be headed toward the playoffs, then it could look to deal Melo, possibly to the Bulls, Bucher notes. Anthony’s contract does include a no-trade clause, so the forward would have to be on board with any potential swap.
  • The Raptors gave recent training camp signee Shannon Scott a partial guarantee of $25K on his minimum salary deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
  • Despite some skeptics saying that the Nets have the worst starting point guard in the league in Jarrett Jack, forward Thaddeus Young said during an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, that the team has full confidence in Jack’s ability to lead them, Tom Lorenzo of NetsDaily writes.

Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Scott, Smart

Former Knicks forward Andrea Bargnani indicated that he will “gladly” respond to team president Phil Jackson‘s criticism of his work ethic, but now is not the time, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily relays. “There is a right time for everything,” Bargnani told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I have the answers, but it would be selfish to trigger controversy. Today, the only important thing is the national team. Later, gladly.” In an interview earlier this month Jackson had told ESPN’s Charlie Rosen that Bargnani “was and still is a big tease who seemed like a malingerer,” and that the Zen Master didn’t like the way Bargnani refused to engage in non-contact activities while he was recovering from an injury, nor his on-court intensity. Bargnani, 29, inked a two year deal with the rival Nets this offseason.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • The minimum salary training camp deal that undrafted Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott inked with the Raptors is partially guaranteed for $25K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
  • In a look ahead toward 2015/16 the ESPN Summer Forecast Panel was asked to name which member of the Celtics would have a breakout season, and the majority predicted that player would be second year guard Marcus Smart. A number of the panel members pointed to Smart’s increased confidence and leadership that he demonstrated during summer league play as a positive sign of things to come.
  • You can see our full roster counts for the Celtics, Knicks, Nets, Raptors, and Sixers by clicking on the link over the desired team’s name.

Raptors Sign Shannon Scott For Camp

AUGUST 21ST, 3:07pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link).

AUGUST 6TH, 10:54am: The Raptors and undrafted Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott have agreed to a partially guaranteed deal, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’ll have to be for the minimum salary, since that’s all Toronto has left to give to outside free agents. The level of the guarantee isn’t immediately clear, but the Raptors gave camp invitees Michale Kyser and Axel Toupane matching $25K guarantees on their deals earlier this summer, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Scott played for the Spurs summer league team that won the title in Las Vegas, and he also saw action for San Antonio’s squad at the Salt Lake City summer league, averaging 5.3 points and 2.4 assists in 22.6 minutes per game over nine total appearances. The 6’2″ 22-year-old was a full-time starter only in his senior season at Ohio State, averaging 8.5 PPG, 5.9 APG and 2.4 turnovers in 30.5 MPG this past season.

The Raptors are setting up a battle for their final regular season roster spot, as they’ve been carrying 14 fully guaranteed salaries plus partial guarantees for Kyser, Toupane and Ronald Roberts. Scott joins that group, one in which Roberts would seem to have a slight financial edge with a $75K partial guarantee. Point guards Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph and Delon Wright are among those 14 Raptors with full guarantees, so Scott faces an uphill battle, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Toronto isn’t obligated to carry more than 13 players into the regular season, so it would seem Scott, Kyser, Toupane and Roberts are all strong candidates to end up with Raptors 905, Toronto’s new one-to-one D-League affiliate. The Raptors organization can claim the D-League rights to as many as four of the players it cuts at the end of the preseason.

If the Raptors carry a 15th man on opening night, who do you think should get the nod? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Borrego, Draft, Crawford

Walter Pitchford, a center from Nebraska, and Gardner-Webb combo forward Jerome Hill are the two U.S. players who withdrew from the draft in advance of Monday’s deadline to do so, the league announced. The deadline to withdraw while still maintaining college eligibility was more than two months ago, so neither is able to return to NCAA ball. Neither had much chance to be drafted this year, so the outcome of their respective decisions Monday, at least as far as next season is concerned, is likely the same, with either the D-League or overseas play probably in the future for them. Still, both will have the chance to go through the draft process again next year, when they’ll be automatically draft-eligible.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Also withdrawing from the draft were Spanish small forward Alberto Abalde and Oriol Pauli, Ukrainian centers Vladislav Korenyuk and Sergiy Zagreba, Lebanese point guard Wael Arakji, Greek shooting guard Eleftherios Bochoridis, Georgian forward Beka Burjanadze, Senegalese center Moussa Diagne, Croatian shooting guard Ognjen Dobric, Spanish shooting guard Marc Garcia, Spanish forward Juan Alberto Hernangomez, Slovenian point guard Aleksej Nikolic and Kazakhstani power forward Alexandr Zhigulin, the league announced in the same press release. Several other overseas prospects also withdrew, according to Monday reports that the league confirmed.
  • Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw has been cleared to resume workouts after his heart issue scare, Reid Forgrave of FOXSports.com relays (Twitter link). Upshaw has already worked out for the Mavericks, and will show his wares for the Rockets on Wednesday, Forgrave adds.
  • Clippers guard Jamal Crawford has hired Wasserman Media Group to represent him, Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Crawford was previously with Andy Miller of ASM Sports.
  • Former Magic interim coach James Borrego is finalizing a deal with the Spurs to join coach Gregg Popovich‘s staff as an assistant, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
  • The Hornets held workouts today for Treveon Graham (VCU), Alan Williams (Santa Barbara), Trevor Lacey (NC State), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Shannon Scott (Ohio State), and Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), the team announced (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Kaun, Pacers, Wells

Draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Kaun is moving to the United States and will explore his NBA options, his agent J.R. Hensley tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The 30-year-old Kaun, who played for CSKA Moscow last season, has retired from the Russian League, Pick adds in a separate tweet. The 6’11” center was originally drafted in 2008 by the SuperSonics — the last draft pick made by the franchise before moving to Oklahoma City — and his rights were later traded to the Cavaliers for cash considerations.

In other news around the league:

  • Kentucky forward Trey Lyles is among the group of players scheduled to work out Thursday for the Pacers, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He’ll be joined by three other forwards — Arkansas’ Bobby Portis, LSU’s Jordan Mickey and Wyoming’s Larry Nance Jr. — along with Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott and D-League guard Jarvis Threatt. Indiana owns the No. 11 overall pick. 
  • Maryland shooting guard Dez Wells pulled out of a scheduled workout with the Jazz on Friday with an undisclosed injury, Randy Hollis of the Deseret News reports. Wells is rated No. 69 by ESPN Insider Chad Ford and No. 84 by DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony on their lists of Top 100 prospects.
  • Delaware State center Kendall Gray will work out with the Heat on Tuesday, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Okafor, Nets, Connaughton

Jahlil Okafor might still be on the board when the Knicks’ turn comes up in the draft, an unnamed Western Conference executive told Keith Schlosser of SNY.tv. The executive has Karl-Anthony Towns going to the Timberwolves as expected, followed by two surprises, with the Lakers selecting D’Angelo Russell and the Sixers choosing Justise Winslow. That would allow the Knicks to grab Okafor. The Knicks have been exploring trade possibilities to move down since they dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 in the lottery, Schlosser continues, but they could wind up with one of their original targets in that scenario.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

  • The Nets are scheduled to work out six prospects on Wednesday, according to their official website. The list includes guards Shannon Scott (Ohio State), Darian Hooker (New York Tech), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington) and Josh Richardson (Tennessee), forward Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse) and center Youssou Ndoye (St. Bonaventure). Christmas is the most highly-regarded of the group, ranked No. 39 by ESPN Insider Chad Ford and No. 36 by DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony on their top 100 prospects lists.
  • Notre Dame shooting guard Pat Connaughton is scheduled to work out for the Celtics on Wednesday and the Knicks on Saturday, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe tweets. A second-round prospect, Connaughton is ranked No. 47 by Ford and No. 76 by Givony. The Celtics have two second-rounders (No. 33 and 45) but the Knicks don’t have any.
  • Texas combo forward Jonathan Holmes added the Sixers to the previously reported list of teams for which he’s worked out, as he revealed today to reporters, including Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).