Kenneth Smith

NBA Announces 80 Players For G League Elite Camp

The NBA has announced in a press release that 80 players are set to participate in its G League Elite Camp next week in Chicago from May 12-14. The event will include 40 prospects who are eligible for this year’s draft, as well as 40 standout prospects from the 2018/19 G League season.

Heading into this spring, the NBA revamped its G League Elite Camp, which in past years has simply showcased some of the NBAGL’s top performers.  That aspect of the event will still exist, but G League players will only participate in the first two days of the event.

The second half of the event will feature 40 draft-eligible prospects who aren’t among the 60 prospects invited to the actual draft combine. The list of participants was determined by an NBA team vote, and those prospects will work out and scrimmage during the final two days of the event — there will be no overlap with the G League portion of the event.

As this week’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which takes place from May 15-19 in Chicago.

Here are the list of draft-eligible prospects who are expected to participate in the 2019 G League Elite Mini Camp, per the NBA:

  1. Tyus Battle (Syracuse)
  2. Bennie Boatwright (USC)
  3. Phil Booth (Villanova)
  4. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
  5. Bryce Brown (Auburn)
  6. Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State)
  7. Chris Clemons (Campbell)
  8. Amir Coffey (Minnesota)
  9. Tyler Cook (Iowa)
  10. Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
  11. Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida)
  12. Javin DeLaurier (Duke)
  13. Mamadi Diakite (Virginia)
  14. CJ Elleby (Washington State)
  15. Tacko Fall (UCF)
  16. Robert Franks (Washington State)
  17. Jared Harper (Auburn)
  18. Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)
  19. Dewan Hernandez (Miami)
  20. Amir Hinton (Shaw (NC))
  21. DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa)
  22. Sagaba Konate (West Virginia)
  23. Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep (Canada))
  24. Terance Mann (Florida State)
  25. Caleb Martin (Nevada)
  26. Cody Martin (Nevada)
  27. Luke Maye (North Carolina)
  28. Trey Mourning (Georgetown)
  29. Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
  30. James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska)
  31. Josh Perkins (Gonzaga)
  32. Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
  33. Jalen Pickett (Siena)
  34. Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
  35. Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
  36. Marial Shayok (Iowa State)
  37. Max Strus (DePaul)
  38. Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
  39. Kenny Wooten (Oregon)
  40. Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra)

Here are the 40 G League players set to participate in the G League Elite Camp:

  1. Josh Adams (Raptors 905)
  2. Jaylen Barford (Greensboro Swarm)
  3. Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
  4. Jared Brownridge (Delaware Blue Coats)
  5. Antonius Cleveland (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  6. Charles Cooke (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  7. Cody Demps (Stockton Kings)
  8. Aaron Epps (Northern Arizona Suns)
  9. Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue)
  10. John Gillon (Greensboro Swarm)
  11. Kaiser Gates (Windy City Bulls)
  12. Isaac Haas (Salt Lake City Stars)
  13. Johnny Hamilton (Grand Rapids Drive)
  14. Dusty Hannahs (Memphis Hustle)
  15. Zak Irvin (Westchester Knicks)
  16. Peter Jok (Northern Arizona Suns)
  17. Matt Jones (Stockton Kings)
  18. Marcus Lee (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  19. Zach Lofton (Grand Rapids Drive)
  20. Tahjere McCall (Long Island Nets)
  21. Brandon McCoy (Wisconsin Herd)
  22. MiKyle McIntosh (Raptors 905)
  23. Jordan McLaughlin (Long Island Nets)
  24. Jaylen Morris (Erie BayHawks)
  25. Mychal Mulder (Windy City Bulls)
  26. Malik Newman (Canton Charge)
  27. Retin Obasohan (Northern Arizona Suns)
  28. Chinanu Onuaku (Greensboro Swarm)
  29. Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
  30. Darel Poirier (Capital City Go-Go)
  31. Billy Preston (Texas Legends)
  32. Desi Rodriguez (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario)
  33. Kenneth Smith (Grand Rapids Drive)
  34. Richard Solomon (Oklahoma City Blue)
  35. Emanuel Terry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  36. Juan Toscano-Anderson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  37. Dakarai Tucker (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  38. Andrew White III (Maine Red Claws)
  39. Thomas Wimbush (Long Island Nets)
  40. Todd Withers (Grand Rapids Drive)

Pistons Notes: Kaminsky, Turner, Jaiteh

Frank Kaminsky and Myles Turner worked out for the Pistons on Saturday, a sign that the team is open to trading its lottery pick at No. 8 overall, Terry Foster of the Detroit News opines. The Pistons acquired a starting caliber power forward this month in Ersan Ilyasova, making it somewhat curious that they would work out two power forwards at this stage who are expected to be drafted in the 11-16 range, Foster continues. They could also swing a deal for the Knicks’ pick at No. 4,  which would allow them to secure either Justise Winslow or Mario Hezonja, who are considered to be the top small forwards in the draft, Foster adds.
In other draft news regarding the Pistons:
  • Detroit also brought in point guards Travis Trice, T.J. McConnell and Kenneth Smith and center  Mouhammadou Jaiteh on Saturday to wrap up its scheduled pre-draft workouts, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. The Pistons worked out 51 players, including likely first-rounders Devin Booker, Sam Dekker, Stanley Johnson, Kevon Looney, Kelly Oubre, Bobby Portis and Winslow, as well as Kaminsky and Turner, while guard Terran Petteway was the only player who worked out twice, Mayo reports.
  • Jaiteh plans to leave the French league and play in the NBA next season if he’s drafted, Mayo writes in a separate piece. “My goal is to join the team next year,” Jaiteh said to the Detroit media. “I’ve had three years now playing overseas pro. I really earned some experience, some maturity, and I think if I want to keep improving fast, I think the best is to be around the best players in the world, with the best coaches. That’s why I want to join the team this year and fight for it.”
  • If the Pistons move down in the first round, Boston would appear to be a likely trading partner, Mayo speculates in his weekly mailbag story. The Celtics have two first rounders at No. 16 and No. 28, but in Mayo’s thinking the Pistons would probably be more interested in a package of the No. 16 pick and a second-rounder with a non-guaranteed contract, rather than swapping for both first rounders. The Pistons probably don’t have the assets to move up from No. 8 and in all likelihood will retain the pick, Mayo concludes.

Southwest Notes: Gordon, James, Grizzlies

Eric Gordon, who will reportedly pick up his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans, is likely making a savvy financial decision, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes, because there’s a strong chance the guard fetches a more lucrative deal in the summer of 2016, when the salary cap rises. The projected salary cap of $67.1MM for next season is expected to jump to $89MM in 2016/17 before soaring to $108MM in 2017/18, as Reid points outs. There’s a distinct possibility Gordon thrives under new coach Alvin Gentry‘s up-tempo offense, Reid adds, and that would give a boost to his numbers and stock.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Free agent Bernard James has teams interested in signing him, but the center would like to return to the Mavs, the team that re-signed him in March for the remainder of the season after two 10-day pacts, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. James signed with the Shanghai Sharks of China in November after the Mavs waived him just before the season started. “You know, I’ve been talking to my agent a lot, and there’s a few teams interested,” James said. “But, hopefully, I’d like to be back here with the Mavericks. We’ll see what happens in the draft, what’s their needs and whoever [Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle] find for next year. Whatever players they sign, hopefully there’s a spot for me and there’s a niche I can carve out. We’ll see what happens, man, but I’m expecting it not to be quite as crazy as the last two summers.”
  • Cliff AlexanderAaron HarrisonJamal JonesKenneth SmithCorey Walden and Christian Wood will all work out for the Grizzlies on Monday, the team announced in a press release.

Western Notes: Calathes, Jazz, McCullough

Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes has insisted that he prefers to remain in the NBA, but rumors continue to signal that his camp is soliciting his services overseas, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears that he’s seeking a $3.5MM annual salary from international clubs (Twitter link). Calathes can become a restricted free agent this summer if Memphis tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,147,276.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • The Jazz have two sets of workouts scheduled for tomorrow, the team announced (Twitter links). The first group consists of Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Gabriel Olaseni (Iowa), Charles Jackson (Tennessee Tech), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), J.J. O’Brien (San Diego State), and Marcus Thornton (William and Mary).
  • The second group working out for the Jazz on Saturday will be comprised of Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Mouhammadou Jaiteh (France), Cady Lalanne (UMass), and Myles Turner (Texas).
  • The Mavericks brought in Syracuse forward Chris McCullough for an interview on Thursday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
  • The Thunder will bring in Tennessee swingman Josh Richardson on Saturday as part of a group workout, Scotto relays (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Hornacek, Blazers, Draft

Now that Fred Hoiberg has been officially named as the Bulls’ new coach, there has been speculation linking Suns coach Jeff Hornacek to Hoiberg’s vacated post at Iowa State, Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic writes. But Hornacek, who played his collegiate ball for the Cyclones, declined an opportunity to interview for the position, Joseph notes. “[GM] Ryan [McDonough] and I came here for a purpose. We think we’ve got a good young crew that we can build with. We’ll work on getting some more veteran guys to help them but we’ve got a job to do here and that’s our plan,” Hornacek said when asked about the possibility of him departing Phoenix.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • The Trail Blazers held workouts today for Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Corey Hawkins (UC Davis), Stefan Nastic (Stanford), Christian Wood (UNLV), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), and Luis Montero (Westchester Community College), Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com reports (Twitter link).
  • St. John’s University swingman SirDominic Pointer worked out for the Thunder today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
  • UC Santa Barbara forward Alan Williams displayed his wares for the Mavericks today, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (on Twitter).
  • Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker worked out for the Suns today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. Phoenix is considering taking Dekker with the No. 13 overall pick this June, Scotto adds. You can check out our prospect profile for Dekker here.

And-Ones: Booker, Clippers, Sanders

Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker will work out for the Thunder on Tuesday, Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman tweets. Oklahoma City owns the No. 14 overall pick. The Suns, who have the No. 13 pick, brought in Booker for a workout on Monday. according to a tweet from Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. Dez WellsJosh Richardson, Derek Cooke, Vince Hunter and Jarvis Summers also participated in Phoenix’s workout, according to Scotto.

In other news around the league:

  • The Clippers, who don’t have a pick in the draft, nonetheless brought in several prospects for workouts on Monday, including Chris WalkerDwayne PoleeRalston TurnerKeifer SykesShannon Scott and Richaun Holmes, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports.
  • Trevor Lacey, Dakari Johnson, Rayvonte Rice, Corey Hawkins, Kenneth Smith and Alpha Kaba worked out for the Lakers on Monday, according to the Lakers’ Twitter feed.
  • Jerian Grant and Delon Wright participated in the Wizards’ first pre-draft workout, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.
  • Larry Sanders has no regrets walking away from the Bucks and the NBA, he tells Gus Turner of Complex.com in a lengthy feature article. Sanders left approximately $27MM but has found peace and happiness outside of basketball, Turner adds. “I couldn’t function outside of the gym and my studio,” he told Turner. “I couldn’t be around my family; I couldn’t be around anybody else. I was creating from a place of anxiety and fear, suffering. I wasn’t creating from a place of joy or happiness or freedom. Everything I did was pure avoidance.”
  • Alvin Gentry’s four-year deal to coach the Pelicans is worth a total of $13.75MM, and that includes a team option of $4MM for the final season, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.