Trevor Cooney

Trevor Cooney To Play In Spain

Trevor Cooney had been expected to join the Nets and play for the team’s D-League affiliate this season, but the undrafted free agent guard will instead head overseas for the 2016/17 campaign. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Cooney has signed a Euroleague deal with Spanish team Baskonia.

It was Pick who reported last month that Cooney appeared ticketed for the Nets. Teams can sign a player to their 20-man offseason roster, then waive him prior to the regular season and designate him as an affiliate player for their D-League squad — Brooklyn intended to send Cooney to the Long Island Nets. However, the former Syracuse guard never made anything official with the Nets, and almost certainly received a more lucrative offer from Baskonia.

Cooney, 24, went undrafted this June after completing his collegiate career at Syracuse. In 37 games this past season as a fifth-year senior, Cooney averaged 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 36.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .348/.354/.806.

Nets Expected To Sign Trevor Cooney

The Nets intend to sign undrafted free agent guard Trevor Cooney, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Brooklyn is inking Cooney with an eye on him joining the team’s D-League squad as an affiliate player, Pick adds. No further details on the potential arrangement were relayed by Pick, but it is almost assuredly a minimum salary deal with little or no guarantee. Cooney will attend training camp with the Nets, then, once waived, would join the Long Island Nets as a designated affiliate player, Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor speculates (On Twitter).

For those unfamiliar, an affiliate player is someone who was under contract with an NBA team, was released and cleared waivers, and whose NBA team unilaterally claimed his D-League rights. NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players they release, thus keeping them out of the D-League draft  or the waiver system that the D-League uses during the season to determine which of its teams get newly signed players. You can read a more in-depth explanation of affiliate players in the Hoops Rumors Glossary.

As for Cooney, he went undrafted this year after completing his collegiate career at Syracuse. In 37 games this past season as a fifth-year senior, Cooney averaged 13.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 36.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .348/.354/.806.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Draft, Sixers

The Raptors own the No. 9 overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft, but the team doesn’t expect to land a player who can provide immediate help at that slot, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “I don’t know if it’s a draft where we can go and get somebody who will impact our team right away,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “And we have to take that . . . and look at it a different way. Is it a player that’s three, four years down the road and that player has a high upside? We have to look out for the organization that way.

The team also holds the No. 27 overall pick and Ujiri is pleased with the opportunities owning two first-rounders will provide, Smith adds. “You continue to narrow and narrow [list of possible suggestions] and when you have a bunch of guys you have different options,” Ujiri said. “You can look at trading the pick, you can look at drafting a guy who doesn’t come right away, you can look at a player you can draft and develop slowly. We just feel it’s a great position for us to be in.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sixers have a group workout scheduled for Wednesday with Trevor Cooney (Syracuse), Quenton DeCosey (Temple), Alex Hamilton (Louisiana Tech), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Devonta Pollard (Houston) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced via press release.
  • Former Arizona big man Kaleb Tarczewski will work out for the Celtics on Wednesday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
  • The Raptors held a group workout on Friday that included potential lottery picks Jakob Poeltl and Skal Labissiere, the team announced.
  • While many have suggested that the Sixers trade away a number of their big men, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer argues that Philly should instead look to build around Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. The scribe cites the small sample size of pairing Noel alongside Okafor, as well as Embiid’s in jury history as reason for his stance.

Draft Workouts: Jazz, English, Pacers, Pistons

The Jazz, armed with four picks in this year’s draft, are doing plenty of due diligence in the weeks leading up to June 23rd, and will bring in six more prospects for workouts tomorrow. According to the team (via Twitter), the following players will participate in that workout: Bryn Forbes (Michigan State), Max Landis (IPFW), Trevor Cooney (Syracuse), Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), Kenny Gaines (Georgia), and Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State).

Utah is hardly the only NBA team bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts, so let’s round up a few more updates from around the league…

  • Former Iona guard A.J. English has a pair of workouts for Eastern Conference teams lined up this week, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who writes that English will get a look from the Wizards on Wednesday and the Knicks on Thursday.
  • Thon Maker‘s previously-reported workout with the Pacers will take place on Wednesday, and the seven-footer will be joined by five other players, according to Zagoria (Twitter link). Jake Layman (Maryland), Retin Obasohan (Alabama), Shavon Shields (Nebraska), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV) will also participate in the workout.
  • Zagoria provides a couple more workout updates, tweeting that Manhattan’s Jermaine Lawrence will work out for the Warriors on June 6th, while his college teammate Shane Richards works out for the Nets on Wednesday.
  • Yogi Ferrell (Indiana), Ron Baker (Wichita State), Derrick Jones (UNLV), Thomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin), and Marcus Paige (UNC) worked out for the Pistons on Tuesday, tweets Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ferrell’s participation had been previously reported. Meanwhile, per Ellis (Twitter link), Tobias Harris‘ brother Tyler Harris also was a part of Detroit’s workout — the younger Harris played college ball for N.C. State, Providence, and Auburn.