Nigel Hayes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

International Notes: Adams, McRae, Hayes, Wooten

August 22nd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Connecticut guard Jalen Adams has signed a one-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem, writes Johnny Askounis of EuroHoops.

Adams played for the Raptors in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 17.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in five games. He also had a workout for the Celtics in late July.

The 25-year-old has played in the G League and in France since going undrafted in 2019. He was in the G League bubble last season with the Erie BayHawks.

There are more overseas signings to report:

Former NBA guard Jordan McRae has signed with Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 in France, according to EuroHoops. The 30-year-old was with five teams from 2015/16 to 2019/20 and last played for the Pistons. He spent last season with Beijing.
Nigel Hayes, who worked out for the Sixers and Celtics last month, has reached a contract agreement with Barcelona, EuroHoops reports. The 26-year-old had brief stops with the Lakers, Raptors and Kings during the 2017/18 season and has played overseas since then, spending last season with Galatasaray in the Turkish League.
Kenny Wooten, who played in the G League last season, has joined Ironi Ness Ziona in Israel, writes Allessandro Maggi of Sportando. Wooten, 23, signed a two-way contract with the Knicks in January of 2020, but never appeared in an NBA game. The Rockets claimed him off waivers before the start of last season and he played for Rio Grande Valley in the G League.

Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Sixers, Cavaliers, Hornets

July 23rd, 2021 at 9:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tennessee guard Jaden Springer and Oregon guard Chris Duarte are expected to work out for the Hawks shortly before the draft, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. Duarte is ranked No. 23 on ESPN’s Best Available list, though he’s expected by some outlets to go higher, and Springer is rated No. 27. Atlanta holds the No. 20 pick.

We have more draft news involving Eastern Conference teams:

Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl worked out for the Sixers on Friday and former Wisconsin big man Nigel Hayes will visit on Saturday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have a late first-round pick at No. 28 that they’re reportedly shopping and a second-round selection at No. 50. Robinson-Earl, the co-Big East Player of the Year, is ranked No. 58 by ESPN.
Arkansas guard Jalen Tate, brother of the Rockets’ Jae’Sean Tate, worked out for the Cavaliers on Friday, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.
The Hornets have been very busy. On Thursday, they worked out Justin Champagnie (Pittsburgh), Marek Dolezaj (Syracuse), Juwan Durham (Notre Dame), Ty Gadsden (UNC-Wilmington), Neemias Queta (Utah State), Colbey Ross (Pepperdine) and Moses Moody (Arkansas), the team’s PR department tweets. On Friday, they brought in Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Denzel Mahoney (Creighton), Mac McClung (Texas Tech), EJ Onu (Shawnee State), Alperen Sengun (Besiktas-Turkey) and Cameron Thomas (LSU), according to another PR department tweet. Kispert (No. 13) and Sengun (No. 15) are the top-rated prospects in those groups. Charlotte holds the No. 11 pick and two late second-rounders.

And-Ones: McCullough, Hayes, Auguste, Udoh, Lofton

July 18th, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Nets forward Chris McCullough, the 29th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, is eyeing a return to the NBA this year, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. McCullough is currently training for The Basketball Tournament with Boeheim’s Army.

“I’m still athletic and stuff like that. But I do way more than dunk now,” said McCullough, who played 40 games with Brooklyn from 2015-17 and 21 games with Washington from 2017-18. “I can block shots. I can handle the ball. I have range. I can create my own shot now. So it will be very different.”

McCullough’s TBT team is set to start playing on Saturday. The 26-year-old has received interest for the Las Vegas Summer League next month, sources said. He also told the Daily News that he has upcoming workouts scheduled with multiple NBA teams.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

EuroLeague players Nigel Hayes and Zach Auguste will work out for the Celtics this week, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). Hayes, a 6’8″ power forward, holds nine games of NBA experience and last played in Lithuania. As for Auguste, a 6’10” big man, he’s spent most of his career overseas and most recently played in Greece.
Free agent center Ekpe Udoh has signed a two-year contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy, the team announced. Udoh, the No. 6 pick in 2010, has appeared in 384 NBA games with four teams. He most recently played in China.
Former Pistons two-way player Zach Lofton has signed in Kuwait with Kazma Sport Club, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Lofton is a 28-year-old guard who went undrafted in 2018.

Pacific Notes: Fredette, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers

June 24th, 2019 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette will have a spot on the Warriors‘ Summer League roster next month, assistant GM Larry Harris tells Joe, Lo and Dibs of 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). Fredette technically remains under contract with the Suns and has a team option for the 2019/20 season. If he has already committed to Golden State for Summer League play though, that’s a strong indication that Phoenix won’t be exercising that option.

In other Summer League news, former Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes will play for the Clippers‘ squad, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that Hayes is employing an NBA out after signing with EuroLeague team Zalgiris. Hayes appeared in nine NBA games during the 2017/18 season, including five with the Kings.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Within an article exploring the pitch the Clippers should make to Kawhi Leonard in free agency, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz cites sources who say a belief that Leonard would sign with an L.A. team in 2019 was a significant reason why the Celtics and Sixers didn’t go all-in for the forward on the trade market a year ago.
While Leonard will be the Clippers‘ top target in free agency this summer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said that the club would “never put all our eggs in one basket,” as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times relays.
Their trade for Anthony Davis will make the Lakers contenders, but their title aspirations ultimately may hinge on what sort of role players they can acquire to complement Davis and LeBron James, writes Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times.

Nigel Hayes To Play In Turkey

August 8th, 2018 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

Former Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes is headed overseas for the coming season, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who reports (via Twitter) that Hayes has reached a contract agreement with Turkish club Galatasaray.

Hayes, 23, went undrafted last summer, but joined the Knicks for training camp. A strong showing (16.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, .454 3PT%) for New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, resulted in a handful of NBA opportunities for the young forward later in the year.

Hayes signed 10-day contracts with the Lakers and Raptors before inking a rest-of-season deal with the Kings. He appeared in nine total games for the three clubs, but was waived by Sacramento last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.

According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who reported earlier today that Hayes was closing in on a deal with Galatasaray, the Turkish team is also moving toward signing former Hornets and Mavericks guard Aaron Harrison. Harrison finished the 2017/18 season with Dallas but is now an unrestricted free agent.

Kings Waive Nigel Hayes

July 7th, 2018 at 2:22pm CST by clarkcrum

The Kings have placed the contract of forward Nigel Hayes on waivers, reports James Ham of NBC Sports California. Hayes’ deal was non-guaranteed until January 10, so the Kings will not be on the hook for any of Hayes’ salary, nor will the team incur a cap hit.

Hayes, who was scheduled to earn $1.38MM this season, was a casualty of the Kings’ offer sheet to Zach LaVine. To clear the required $19.5MM in cap space to fit LaVine’s offer, the Kings were also forced to renounce their rights to Vince Carter and Bruno Caboclo, whose combined cap holds totaled nearly $17MM.

It’s also likely that the acquisition of Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles’ expected return from injury made Hayes expendable; however, per Ham, Hayes remains a member of the Kings’ Las Vegas Summer League team. Accordingly, Sacramento may still plan to bring him back at a later date.

Hayes, 23, played nine games during his rookie season in 2017/18, where he averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Hayes, Offseason, Gallinari

April 7th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by marksuleymanov

Isaiah Thomas has returned to Los Angeles to proceed with his post-hip surgery rehab and he remains engaged with the Lakers, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. Even though the soon-to-be free agent may never suit up for the team again, the Lakers will make their facilities available to Thomas for his rehab.

Head coach Luke Walton spoke highly of Thomas and the relationship he maintains with teammates — even teammates who he played with briefly due to injury.

“From what I know of him he’s very team-oriented,” Walton said. “His teammates have always loved him, he loves his teammates.”

Thomas appeared in 17 games with the Lakers, averaging 15.6 PPG and 5.0 APG. A troublesome hip ended Thomas’ season in the playoffs last year and delayed the start of his current season before sidelining him earlier this month.

Check out more Pacific Division notes below:

Nigel Hayes has had an adventurous 2017/18 season, which included a standout year in the G League with two teams, three separate 10-day contracts, and finally, a guaranteed deal with the Kings. As Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes, Hayes is excited to join the team and head coach Dave Joerger wants to find playing time for him. “That’s all you can ask for is an opportunity,” Hayes said. “In the talks my agent had with the organization, it was a great place for me to try to showcase what I can do, an opportunity to play in NBA games, play on a team to see what I can do to help contribute to a winning culture.”
In an in-depth piece, Bobby Marks of ESPN Insider (subscription required) looks ahead to the Kings‘ offseason, Marks breaks down the team’s potential free agent targets, draft picks, and salary cap breakdown.
As we relayed earlier this week, the Clippers do not expect to have Danilo Gallinari back during the regular season, which could spell the end of an injury-plagued first season with Los Angeles.

Kings Sign Nigel Hayes To Multi-Year Deal

March 31st, 2018 at 7:17pm CST by marksuleymanov

MARCH 31, 7:17pm: The signing is official, the Kings announced on their website.

MARCH 30, 7:45pm: The Kings have signed forward Nigel Hayes to a deal for the rest of this season and the 2018/19 campaign, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hayes has played through an eventful 2017/18 season. The 23-year-old signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers in mid-January but only appeared in two games, accumulating 11 minutes. Los Angeles chose not to re-sign him and he ended up signing a pair of 10-day deals with the Raptors, also appearing in just two games.

All told, the University of Wisconsin product appeared in four NBA games, averaging 2.3 PPG in 17 minutes of action.

The rest of Hayes’ season was split between the G League’s Westchester Knicks and Raptors 905. He had just rejoined the Westchester club for the team’s postseason run, per ESPN’s Ian Begley. In 43 G League games (38 of which came with the Knicks), Hayes averaged 15.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 34 minutes per contest.

Raptors Open Up Spot On NBA Roster

March 26th, 2018 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nigel Hayes‘ second 10-day contract with the Raptors expired overnight on Sunday, leaving the team facing a decision on whether or not to re-sign him for the rest of the season. According to Eric Koreen of The Athletic (Twitter link), Hayes is “done as a Raptor” for now, suggesting the club has no immediate plans to re-sign him.

Hayes, who also got a brief look from the Lakers on a 10-day contract this season, has accumulated 30 days of NBA service during his rookie season. However, the young forward only appeared in four total games for L.A. and Toronto, playing very limited minutes (4.3 MPG) in those contests.

Assuming he doesn’t receive another NBA deal from the Raptors or any other team, Hayes would likely return to the Westchester Knicks for the G League playoffs. The former Wisconsin standout has averaged 16.1 PPG and 6.7 RPG with a .451/.454/.744 shooting line in 38 games for New York’s NBAGL affiliate this season.

As for the Raptors, they’ll open up a spot on their 15-man roster, since they only have 14 players on guaranteed contracts. There’s no rush for Toronto to fill that open slot, but I’d expect the team to do so before the postseason gets underway. One option for the Raps would be to sign one of their two-way players – likely Malcolm Miller – to an NBA contract before the end of the regular season, making him playoff-eligible.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/25/18

March 25th, 2018 at 4:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Rockets have recalled center Zhou Qi from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The 7’1” center has made 14 brief appearances with the Rockets this season. He’s averaging 11.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 2.3 BPG in G League play.
The Raptors recalled forward Nigel Hayes from their Raptors 905 affiliate, the team’s media relations staff tweets. Hayes has appeared in 43 G League games this season, averaging 15.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG. He’s also made two cameo appearances for Toronto, which signed him to a second 10-day contract on March 16th.
The Timberwolves recalled rookie center Justin Patton from their Iowa affiliate, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The 7-footer averaged 12.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 1.4 BPG for the Iowa Wolves, who did not qualify for the G League playoffs. Patton has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Warriors recalled Damian Jones from the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team announced in a press release. The center has averaged 15.0 points and 8.1 boards in 44 games with the affiliate. Also, two-way forward Chris Boucher has also been recalled from Santa Cruz. He appeared in one game with the Warrior.
The Suns recalled veteran big man Alan Williams from their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, as part of his rehab process in returning from a torn right meniscus, per an official press release.