Xavier Johnson (Indiana) Rumors

2024 NBA G League Draft Results

October 26th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2024/25 season on Saturday afternoon. Players who signed NBAGL contracts and whose rights weren’t already controlled by a team were part of the draft pool.

It was the first time in G League history that each of the 30 NBA teams had an affiliate squad take part in a draft. A 31st team, the unaffiliated Mexico City Capitanes, also participated.

The Westchester Knicks, New York’s affiliate, held the top two picks in Saturday’s draft and used them to select a pair of NBA veterans.

The No. 1 overall pick was sharpshooter Matt Ryan, who is reportedly drawing interest from the Knicks and is a candidate to be called up to their NBA roster at some point this season.

Drafting Ryan to Westchester won’t prevent another NBA team from poaching him, since holding a player’s G League rights doesn’t mean you control his NBA rights. But it will give the Knicks a chance to take a first-hand look at him before potentially offering him a standard or two-way contract.

Ryan has knocked down 41.1% of his three-point attempts in 63 career NBA games for the Celtics, Lakers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans.

The second player off the board was swingman Landry Shamet, who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder. Selecting him in the G League draft will allow the Knicks to keep him in the organization and closely monitor his rehabilitation process.

Shamet was expected to make the NBA roster prior to the injury and will be a candidate to rejoin the NBA squad later in the season if he fully recovers from his shoulder injury. He was the most experienced player in the NBAGL draft pool, with 348 career regular season outings at the NBA level.

Another notable name was picked fifth overall, as former NBA first-round pick Chandler Hutchison came out of retirement and was drafted by the Long Island Nets. Hutchison, 28, was the No. 22 pick in the 2018 NBA draft and appeared in 103 total games over the next four seasons for Chicago, Washington, and Phoenix.

Although the Nets’ affiliate technically drafted Hutchison, he was traded to the Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) in a four-team trade that saw No. 3 pick Sean East II sent to the South Bay Lakers and Colin Castleton‘s returning rights acquired by Long Island. The full details of the deal, which also involved the Santa Cruz Warriors, can be found here.

East reportedly agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Lakers back in June, but that signing never became official. It’s not clear why, but after his rights were acquired by South Bay on draft day, the former Missouri guard will head to Los Angeles’ affiliate after all.

Finally, a pair of familiar names were selected late in the second round, with the 53rd and 54th overall picks. The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets‘ affiliate, nabbed former Knicks guard Allonzo Trier, followed by the Maine Celtics (Boston’s affiliate) drafting Kavion Pippen, the cousin of Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and nephew of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.

Kavion Pippen wasn’t the only family member of a Hall of Famer who came off the board in the second round. The Capital City Go-Go (Wizards) picked former USC forward DJ Rodman, the son of Dennis Rodman, with the 43rd overall pick.

Here are the full 2024 G League draft results:

Round One:

Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Matt Ryan
Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Landry Shamet
Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Sean East II
Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Thierry Darlan
Long Island Nets (Nets): Chandler Hutchison
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Christian Brown
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Tyson Walker
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Malik Hall
Maine Celtics (Celtics): Eric Gaines
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Tae Williams
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Seth Maxwell (Indiana Wesleyan)
Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Cam Martin
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Ibrahima Diallo
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Justin Moore
Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tylor Perry
Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): Kevin Cross
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Paul Mulcahy
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon Childress
Valley Suns (Suns): Nate Roberts
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Tommy Rutherford
Maine Celtics (Celtics): London Johnson
Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Trae Hannibal
South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Marlain Veal
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Bryce Griggs (Overtime Elite)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Jaylan Gainey
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Justyn Hamilton
San Diego Clippers (Clippers): Garrett Denbow (Anderson University (SC))
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Steven Richardson (Montana State-Billings)
Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): Lewis Duarte (Overtime Elite)
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): No pick
San Diego Clippers (Clippers): Emmanuel Bandoumel

Round Two:

Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Sy Chatman
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Xavier Johnson
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Vonterius Woolbright
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Keyon Menifield
College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Terrell Burden
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Kamani Johnson
Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Jamal Bieniemy
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Charles Pride
- Note: Pride is being traded to the Raptors 905, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
Texas Legends (Mavericks): Bobby Planutis
Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): E.J. Montgomery
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): DJ Rodman
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Dee Barnes
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Devine Eke
Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Sterling Manley
Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Olisa Akonobi
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Jericole Hellems
Valley Suns (Suns): Olin Carter III
Osceola Magic (Magic): Cameron Parker
Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Allonzo Trier
Maine Celtics (Celtics): Kavion Pippen
Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): William Kondrat (D’Youville University)
Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jayden Hardaway
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Tray Jackson
Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): Ishmael Lane
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): No pick
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): No pick
San Diego Clippers (Clippers): Mike Scott

Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).

G League training camps open on Monday, with this year’s NBAGL Tip-Off Tournament getting underway on November 8. The Tip-Off Tournament will be played over about a month-and-a-half and will be followed by the G League regular season, which begins on December 27.

Draft Workouts: Spurs, Suns, Pacers, Blazers, Lakers, Wolves, Thomas

June 20th, 2024 at 9:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs, who are widely expected to draft at least one guard next Wednesday, recently worked out both Stephon Castle of UConn and Devin Carter of Providence, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

As we relayed on Wednesday, recent mock drafts from ESPN and Bleacher Report both have San Antonio drafting Castle at No. 4, and the team is said to be high on Carter as well. Iko confirms as much, writing that the Spurs have “strong interest” in Carter, Castle, and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, with Carter’s private workout “resonating” among the team’s decision-makers.

Here’s more pre-draft workout news from around the NBA:

After a previous report indicated that the Suns may target Tyler Kolek with the No. 22 pick, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic says Phoenix brought the former Marquette guard in for a workout on Thursday. Kolek is the No. 25 prospect on ESPN’s board and the Suns are believed to be in the market for a point guard this offseason.
The Pacers held their sixth pre-draft workout on Thursday, with Adem Bona (UCLA), RayJ Dennis (Baylor), Ariel Hukporti (Germany), Daniss Jenkins (St. John’s), Keshad Johnson (Arizona), and Babacar Sane (G League Ignite) in attendance, per a press release from the team. Bona (No. 33) is the highest-rated player of the group on ESPN’s board.
International prospects Yongxi Cui and Quinn Ellis and G Leaguer Bryson Warren were among the players who participated in a pre-draft workout with the Trail Blazers on Friday, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Tristan Enaruna (Cleveland State), Oso Ighodaro (Marquette), and Nae’Qwan Tomlin (Memphis) also took part.
The Lakers brought in a handful of potential second-rounders or undrafted free agents on Thursday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link), who says Quinn Slazinski (West Virginia), Jalen Bridges (Baylor), Raequan Battle (West Virginia), Quincy Olivari (Xavier), and Lance Jones (Purdue) attended the session. McMenamin also says Xavier Johnson participated, though he doesn’t specify whether that’s the Xavier Johnson from Indiana or Southern Illinois.
Keion Brooks Jr. (Washington), Tyler Wahl (Wisconsin), N’Faly Dante (Oregon), Aaron Estrada (Alabama), and Isaac Jones (Washington State) worked out for the Timberwolves on Friday, according to the club (Twitter link). It’s worth noting that it was Estrada’s second workout for Minnesota, which may signal real interest.
Tyler Thomas of Hofstra has recently worked out for the Cavaliers, Rockets, Magic, Timberwolves, and Knicks, a source tells Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link). Thomas isn’t considered a top-100 prospect by ESPN, but could catch on with a team in free agency if he goes undrafted.

Central Notes: Bird, Pacers, Pistons, Portis

June 12th, 2024 at 9:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Six players who participated in a pre-draft workout for the Pacers on Wednesday were surprised when a Hall of Famer showed up to watch them, writes Zion Brown of The Indianapolis Star. Larry Bird, who was hired as a consultant last June, walked into the gym to observe the prospects, who noticed his presence immediately.

“It’s exciting,” Oakland’s Jack Gohlke said. “Obviously (he’s) an NBA legend, and a guy who has been with the Pacers organization for forever and a legend with the Celtics, too. So I think it’s just really cool. … I would say it’s almost easier to play in front of a sold-out arena than to have these guys sitting courtside, but it’s still a really cool experience.”

Bird has worked for the Pacers in several capacities over the years, starting as head coach in 1997. Tyrese Haliburton and Isaiah Jackson also made an appearance on Wednesday, but the focus was on Bird, even though the players at the workout were all born well after his playing career ended.

“Once he walked in I was like, ‘I recognize him,’” UC-Santa Barbara’s Ajay Mitchell said. “It’s amazing to see him here. Working in front of him, it’s a great opportunity and it’s a blessing to have him around.”

Also participating in the workout were Yongxi Cui of China, Thijs de Ridder of Belgium, TCU’s Emanuel Miller and Michigan State’s Tyson Walker. Indiana owns picks 36, 49 and 50 in this month’s draft.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers have another workout set for Thursday featuring Baylor’s Jalen Bridges, North Carolina State’s D.J. Burns Jr., West Virginia’s Jesse Edwards, Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and Morehead State’s Kalil Thomas, the team announced (via Twitter). Indiana’s Xavier Johnson was a late replacement for USC’s Boogie Ellis (Twitter link).
New Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has a challenge to try to fix an organization that has been sputtering for years, observes Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News. Wojnowski blames owner Tom Gores, whom he accuses of meddling too often, as well as the people he has entrusted to run the franchise. He criticizes former general manager Troy Weaver for his roster construction, particularly his willingness to take on big men who failed elsewhere, and coach Monty Williams for his insistence on playing Killian Hayes and his misuse of Jaden Ivey early in the season.
Bobby Portis should be thrilled by the return of Darvin Ham to the Bucks‘ coaching staff, notes Christopher Kuhagen of The Journal-Sentinel. Kuhagen recalls that after Milwaukee was eliminated from the playoffs in 2023, Portis sent out a social media message that read, “Only thing hurt us was D ham leaving. That ain’t talked about enough.”