NBA Salary Cap Projection Increases To $94MM

For the past few months, we’ve been operating under the assumption that the NBA’s salary cap will increase to about $92MM for the 2016/17 season. However, it appears the cap will end up making an even larger jump from this year’s $70MM. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the NBA has informed teams that the projected salary cap will rise to $94MM, with the projected tax cutoff increasing to $113MM.

The actual salary cap for 2016/17 won’t be officially confirmed until July, so the latest projected figure remains just that — a projection. Still, the fact that the league is already informing teams of that $94MM figure suggests that the cap should end up in that neighborhood.

A difference of $2MM for the projected ’16/17 cap won’t make a major difference for most teams, but it could benefit clubs looking to carve out cap room for a max salary. Getting an extra couple million dollars in breathing room could allow clubs to keep a low-priced player and still land a coveted free agent, rather than having to jettison that incumbent player to make room.

Of course, with the cap increasing, projected max salaries will increase as well. The max salary projections for a $92MM cap were $21.6MM for players with six or fewer years of experience, $25.9MM for players with between seven and nine years of experience, and $30.3MM for veterans of 10 or more seasons.

A $94MM cap would increase those figures by a few hundred thousand dollars apiece, to $22MM, $26.4MM, and $30.8MM, respectively, according to Charania. Larry Coon’s max salary projections (via Twitter) are each $200K higher ($22.2MM, $26.6MM, and $31MM).

Draft Notes: Valentine, Murray, Diallo, Brown

Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held next Thursday in Brooklyn, New York:

  • The Bucks have a group workout scheduled today for Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt), Dejounte Murray (Washington), Carrington Love (UWBG), Ron Baker (Wichita State), Goodluck Okonoboh (UNLV) and Prince Ibeh (Texas), the team announced.
  • Milwaukee will also hold an individual workout today for former Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine, the team announced.
  • French swingman Timothe Luwawu worked out for the Nuggets on Thursday, the team announced.
  • The Jazz have a group workout set for today with Nic Moore (SMU), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), John Brown (High Point), Elgin Cook (Oregon), Jameel McKay (Iowa State) and Marshall Plumlee (Duke), the team announced.
  • Former Kansas big man Cheick Diallo will work out for the Pacers today and will display his wares for the Grizzlies on Saturday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
  • The teams that have done the most research on former California forward Jaylen Brown are the Suns, Celtics and Wolves, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.

Offseason Outlook: Orlando Magic

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise heading into the summer.

State Of The Franchise

Logan Bowles / USA Today Sports Images
Logan Bowles / USA Today Sports Images

The Magic find themselves in a familiar spot this summer. They’re stuck in the lottery after coming off another last-place finish, searching to find ways to turn things around and hoping a new coach will make a difference.

Orlando did win 10 more games this past season than in 2014/15 but that still left it 12 games under .500. The frequent trips to the lottery haven’t produced an All-Star talent, a clearcut No. 1 scoring option or an unquestioned leader.

The front office thought it could accelerate the rebuilding process by hiring a no-nonsense, defensive-minded coach last summer in Scott Skiles. But the Magic’s defense improved only marginally, finishing 20th in defensive field-goal percentage and 18th in points allowed. Skiles didn’t connect with his young players, clashed with GM Rob Hennigan and ultimately resigned after the season.

By hiring ex-Pacers coach Frank Vogel as his replacement, Orlando’s front office mitigated the damage caused by Skiles’ sudden departure. The task at hand now is to acquire some impact players to get the Magic back into the postseason after a four-year drought.

Money Is No Object

The Magic have made their objective clear — they want to land top-flight free agents. They have enough salary-cap space to make that happen.

Orlando has the ability to free up as much as $46MM to spend on free agents and make trades, thanks to a couple of deadline deals that more than doubled its potential salary-cap space.

It quickly soured on forward Tobias Harris, who re-signed with the club as a restricted free agent last summer, and acquired two veterans from the Pistons (Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova) that it can clear off its books prior to free agency. Sending reserve forward Channing Frye to the Cavaliers for a future draft choice freed up more money.

“We’ve been very open about what we’ve been going through and the fact that we’ve been building through the draft,” CEO Alex Martins told the Orlando Sentinel. “I think we’re being very open about the fact that in order to take that next step we have to inject veteran leadership.”

The tricky part is to sell free agents on a franchise that has been spinning its wheels since the end of the Dwight HowardStan Van Gundy era.

Free Agent Targets

Orlando’s biggest need is to fill the vacancy created by the Harris trade, preferably with a top-notch veteran. That could be either a power or small forward, since Aaron Gordon can play either spot. Gordon showed he could do more than just dunk after the All-Star break, averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Forget about Kevin Durant, who’s not going to consider a rebuilding team. The Magic might have a shot at another All-Star level forward, or at least a proven veteran.

They made a strong push to sign Paul Millsap last summer and came up empty. They will undoubtedly make a big run this summer at Millsap’s frontcourt partner in Atlanta, Al Horford. He would instantly turn them into a playoff contender with his all-around skills and leadership.

If that fails, they could chase prolific outside shooter such as Ryan Anderson, Chandler Parsons or Marvin Williams, though it’s highly questionable whether Anderson would consider a second stint with Orlando after the team dealt him to New Orleans four years ago in a sign-and-trade.

Another intriguing possibility is Horford’s ex-University of Florida teammate, Bulls power forward/center Joakim Noah. He’d provide the defensive presence the team has sorely lacked in recent years.

Even if the team plans on a Victor OladipoElfrid Payton pairing for the long-term, they need to fortify their backcourt with a veteran shooter and/or ballhandler. The pool of backcourt free agents isn’t as deep as the frontcourt options and they may have to fill those needs via the trade route.

Free Agent Decisions

The team will likely decline its option on Ilyasova’s $8.4MM contract for next season. Jennings and reserve forward Jason Smith will become unrestricted free agents and they’re nothing more than fallback options.

Orlando has to decide whether to extend qualifying offers to three players. They plan to make those offers to swingman Evan Fournier and center Dewayne Dedmon, which would make them restricted free agents. It’s unclear whether they have a similar interest in retaining Andrew Nicholson. Hennigan has stated that re-signing Fournier is a top priority. The caveat is they may have to pay a hefty price, since it’s quite conceivable he could receive a eye-popping offer sheet designed to pry him away.

Potential Trades

The Magic’s desire to make trades will depend upon how successful they are in the free agent market. They’d probably have to trade away a starter or last year’s lottery pick, Mario Hezonja, to make something big happen.

Draft Outlook

  • First-round pick: No. 11
  • Second-round pick: No. 41
  • Second-round pick: No. 47

The Magic will lean toward adding a frontcourt piece if they don’t deal away their lottery pick. Current mock drafts by ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony have the Magic selecting Kentucky freshman power forward Skal Labissiere, who would at least provide some much-needed shot blocking.

Coaching Outlook

Vogel received a four-year, $22MM contract and seems like a better fit to nurture the team’s young talent than the abrasive Skiles. Vogel wants to make better use of the team’s versatility and athleticism by employing more small-ball lineups.

Final Take

The Magic have failed repeatedly in the lottery to find a superstar but they have accumulated enough talent to get back in the playoff hunt. It’s all predicated on convincing at least one high-level free agent to sign on the dotted line. If they strike out and have to fill out the roster with veteran role players, there’s a good chance they’ll be right back in the lottery next summer.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Ersan Ilyasova ($8,000,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above1
  • Devyn Marble ($980,431)
  • Total: $8,980,431

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Other Cap Holds

  • No. 11 pick ($2,033,500)
  • Fran Vazquez ($2,033,500)
  • Total: $4,067,000

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

Footnotes:

  1. Ilyasova’s full $8,400,000 salary will become guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on July 1st.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Eastern Notes: Morris, Simmons, Hornets

ESPN draft guru Chad Ford believes the Wizards made the right move in dealing away the No. 13 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft for mercurial forward Markieff Morris. Speaking on ESPN 980’s “Inside the Locker Room” with Brian Mitchell and Scott Jackson, Ford said, “You look at [everything] and probably say the Wizards made the right call here in that they got more value [with Morris] than they would have gotten with the 13th pick.” Ford noted that after the presumptive top two of Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram the quality of players drops off significantly in the second-tier, adding, “I think all of those guys are solid players. They’ll probably be starters in the league and make a positive contribution. … Typically, you’re still drafting high-level starters in the 5-7 range. Instead I think you’re probably drafting average starters.”

After that, I think you’re looking at role players throughout the rest of the draft,” Ford continued. “That means I think the value in this is draft is a little low. At nine, if you’re drafting a role player, that’s again not great value compared to other drafts.

Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Sixers met with projected No. 1 overall pick Simmons and agent Rich Paul on Thursday night in Cleveland, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays  (Twitter links).
  • Former North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige worked out for the Hawks on Thursday and will do the same for the Hornets today, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays (via Twitter).
  • Hornets GM Rich Cho, speaking at a press conference today, noted that the team believes it can land an impact player with the No. 22 overall pick, but didn’t rule out making an attempt to move up in the draft, Charlotte relayed in a series of tweets. “We feel like it’s a deep draft and we’ll get a good player at pick 22. At the same time we’re looking at our options,” Cho said. “With 8 free agents, I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re trying to get more depth with our team and get guys that can play in our rotation. At this point in the process, we’ve already done all our work. Scouted tons of games and did all background work and intel. We’ll be ready.

Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 24)

The results of the 2016 NBA Draft lottery are in and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we are doing with a series of polls.

We are now well on our way to completing the first round and have once again come to the Sixers. Readers, you are now on the clock! Working under the assumption that the team will keep the pick, cast your vote for Philadelphia’s selection and check back Saturday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Clippers will select with the No. 25 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 24 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

  1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
  2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
  3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
  4. Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
  5. Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
  6. Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
  7. Nuggets — Jamal Murray (Kentucky)
  8. Kings — Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
  9. Raptors — Marquese Chriss (Washington)
  10. Bucks — Jakob Poeltl (Utah)
  11. Magic — Skal Labissiere (Kentucky)
  12. Jazz — Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)
  13. Suns — Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga)
  14. Bulls — Deyonta Davis (Michigan State)
  15. Nuggets — Timothe Luwawu (Mega Leks)
  16. Celtics — Thon Maker (Australia)
  17. Grizzlies — Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt)
  18. Pistons — Tyler Ulis (Kentucky)
  19. Nuggets — Furkan Korkmaz (Anadolu Efes)
  20. Pacers — Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame)
  21. Hawks — Taurean Prince (Baylor)
  22. Hornets — Brice Johnson (North Carolina)
  23. Celtics — Malachi Richardson (Syracuse)

With the No. 24 Overall Pick, the Sixers Select...

  • Malik Beasley (Florida State) 24% (231)
  • Dejounte Murray (Washington) 23% (218)
  • DeAndre Bembry (St. Joe's) 13% (124)
  • Cheick Diallo (Kansas) 7% (66)
  • Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia) 4% (40)
  • Zhou Qi (China) 4% (39)
  • Caris LeVert (Michigan) 4% (37)
  • Wayne Selden (Kansas) 3% (30)
  • Ante Zizic (Croatia) 3% (29)
  • Diamond Stone (Maryland) 3% (27)
  • Patrick McCaw (UNLV) 2% (24)
  • Damian Jones (Vanderbilt) 2% (19)
  • Juan Hernangomez (Spain) 2% (18)
  • Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV) 1% (13)
  • Isaia Cordinier (France) 1% (13)
  • Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) 1% (9)
  • Robert Carter (Maryland) 1% (8)
  • A.J. Hammons (Purdue) 1% (7)
  • Guerschon Yabusele (Rouen) 1% (6)
  • Petr Cornelie (Le Mans) 0% (3)

Total votes: 961

For Trade Rumors app users: [Direct Link]

Pistons Acquire Cameron Bairstow

David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images
David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images

The Pistons have agreed to a trade with the Bulls that sends power forward Cameron Bairstow to Detroit in exchange for combo guard Spencer Dinwiddie, the team announced. The deal is official, per the press release. Chicago has confirmed the trade with a press release of its own.

Bairstow, 25, appeared in 18 games with Chicago last season, averaging 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per outing.  The two-year veteran was drafted out of the New Mexico with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.  As a senior for the Lobos, he averaged a Mountain West Conference-high 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 32.9 minutes in 34 games. Bairstow holds career averages of 1.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 4.6 minutes in 36 NBA games with the Bulls. His 2016/17 salary of $980,431 is non-guaranteed.

Dinwiddie, 23, completed his second NBA season with averages of 4.8 points, 1.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes over 12 contests.  He was drafted by the Pistons with the No. 38 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft. Dinwiddie owns career averages of 4.4 points, 2.7 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes in NBA 46 games. The player is also set to earn $980,431 next season, an amount that is non-guaranteed.

Central Notes: Blatt, Butler, Draft Workouts

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt is still bitter about his ouster in Cleveland, as he told Ynet.com (h/t Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com).  “I can’t think of any reason in the world [that he was fired],” Blatt said. “Maybe for them, thinking forward, I wasn’t the person to lead. It hurt me very bad. It surprised me, I didn’t feel well, but you move on. There are disappointments in life, the question is what do you do when you take a blow. I could have coached in the NBA next season. It’s more about timing . Sometimes great coaches have to sit outside. I didn’t fail in my job, I failed keeping my job

Blatt also admitted that he could have dealt with LeBron James differently, noting that he didn’t quite grasp the NBA power structure that places players first. “You have to learn to work with people like him, not manage him,” Blatt said. “This takes time. There are a lot of things I would have done differently, with him included. In the reality of the NBA and this team, there is no doubt that LeBron is the center. He is the cornerstone of the club, there is no doubt that LeBron was more important to the system than me. ”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • On Thursday, the Bucks held a group workout for Malachi Richardson (Syracuse), Isaia Cordinier (France), Stefan Moody (Mississippi), Maodo Lo (Columbia), Georges Niang (Iowa State) and Guerschon Yabusele (Rouen), Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
  • Working out for the Pacers today will be Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Cheick Diallo (Kansas),  Yogi Ferrell (Indiana),  Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Niang, and Ante Zizic (Croatia), Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter).
  • Despite the rumors of discord between himself and Derrick Rose, Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler believes the pair can be dominant on the court together moving forward, as he told Bill Simmons of The Ringer (audio link). “I think us being one in the same player, maybe I’m a little taller, he’s a little faster, we can both attack the rim,” Butler explained. “We can both beat our guy and then get shots for other players. Finish at the rim, midrange and we can both really guard to tell you truth. Get out in the open floor. There are so many things that we have in common that when we utilize those things and play together like that, I think we can be just as unguardable as anybody else.”

Unsigned Draft Picks: Central Division

As the 2016 NBA draft rapidly approaches the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team,  it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.

While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal.  Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks.  Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.

Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Central Division:

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Edin Bavcic — Selected No. 56 overall in 2006.
  • Ilkan Karaman — Selected No. 57 overall in 2012.
  • Milan Macvan — Selected No. 54 overall in 2011.
  • Cedi Osman — Selected No. 31 overall in 2015.
  • Sir’Dominic Pointer — Selected No. 53 overall in 2015.
  • Ejike Ugboaja — Selected No. 55 overall in 2006.

Detroit Pistons

  • None

Indiana Pacers

  • Stanko Barac — Selected No. 39 overall in 2007.
  • Andrew Betts — Selected No. 50 overall in 1998.

Milwaukee Bucks

  • Andrei Fetisov — Selected No. 36 overall in 1994.
  • Albert Miralles — Selected No. 39 overall in 2004.
  • Eurelijus Zukauskas — Selected No. 54 overall in 1995.

Offseason Outlook: Milwaukee Bucks

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise heading into the summer.

State Of The Franchise

 Jeff Hanisch / USA Today Sports Images
Jeff Hanisch / USA Today Sports Images

The Bucks came into the 2015/16 season with high expectations after finishing at .500 the previous year, reaching the playoffs and then signing coveted free agent center Greg Monroe during the summer. Instead of meeting those expectations, the Bucks took a big step backward, wallowing in last place in the Central Division and winding up 16 games under .500.

Milwaukee does have some quality young players pieces to build around, most notably Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 6’11” Antetokounmpo was a revelation after becoming the team’s primary ballhandler, recording five triple-doubles after the All-Star break. Having a 21-year-old point guard as tall as a center makes him a matchup nightmare for opponents, though Antetokounmpo needs to improve his shooting.

The second pick in the 2014 draft, Jabari Parker, bounced back from a season-ending knee injury during his rookie campaign to average 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds after the All-Star break. The shooting guard spot is also in good, young hands, as Khris Middleton averaged a career-high 18.2 points and shot 39.6% on 3-point attempts.

Now, GM John Hammond must find better pieces to surround his budding stars. There are plenty of areas for improvement. The Bucks need to develop a defensive mindset, upgrade their perimeter shooting, become a better rebounding team, and add veteran savvy to the mix. They finished 17th in defensive field-goal percentage, 21st in 3-point percentage, and 25th in rebounding.

Big Man Dilemma

The Bucks were eager to upgrade their frontcourt last summer and were thrilled when Monroe chose to sign a three-year max deal with them. They soon learned that Monroe’s shortcomings often outweigh the positives he brings to the table.

Monroe is a solid low-post scorer and rebounder, but lacks the foot speed and athleticism to guard the paint or pick-and-rolls effectively. He also doesn’t block shots. Monroe often sat during crunch time while Miles Plumlee closed out games.

“We got him to help score, and he did that,” head coach Jason Kidd recently told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Charles F. Gardner. “He delivered. I think with our defense, we’ve got to do a better job.”

The best solution would be to move Monroe and find a better rim protector. Milwaukee reportedly shopped Monroe to the Pelicans prior to the trade deadline but couldn’t get the package it wanted for him. The Bucks will surely continue to pursue deals involving Monroe, hoping to find a team willing to live with his deficiencies.

Plumlee is a restricted free agent and the Bucks have expressed their desire to re-sign him. But he’s nothing more than a complementary piece and the Bucks will still need a starter to replace Monroe if they’re successful in moving him and his $17.14MM salary for next season.

Free Agent Targets

With approximately $61.6MM committed to guaranteed salaries next season, the Bucks have plenty of cap room to sign free agents. Dwight Howard and Hassan Whiteside will be the top big men available, though it would be a big surprise if either would want to spend their winters in Milwaukee.

The Bucks could certainly use a forward with a consistent long-distance stroke to improve spacing. Ryan Anderson, Marvin Williams or Harrison Barnes could fill that need but they’ll all come with hefty price tags.

It’s more likely Milwaukee will chase second-tier free agents. The Bucks had one of the worst benches in the league last season and have vowed to improve it. They especially need to find shooters — Middleton and oft-injured point guard Jerryd Bayless were their only reliable 3-point threats last season.

The Bucks have to decide whether to pursue any of their unrestricted free agents, a quartet of backcourt players who had injury issues last season — Bayless, O.J. Mayo, Steve Novak and Greivis Vasquez. They will reportedly try to retain Bayless and Novak while letting Mayo and Vasquez find new homes.

Potential Trades

Besides Monroe, the Bucks must figure out what to do with Michael Carter-Williams, who is now in an awkward situation with Antetokounmpo essentially taking his job. Carter-Williams is a subpar shooter, so playing him off the ball doesn’t work. He’s still on his rookie contract, so a potential suitor could acquire the 24-year-old to audition him at the point without committing to him beyond next season.

Draft Outlook

  • First-round pick: No. 10
  • Second round picks: Nos. 36, 38

The Bucks could go any number of ways with their lottery pick, but the smart money has them taking a big man. Jakob Poertl and Skal Labissiere are the top centers expected to go in the bottom half of the lottery. Should they target a stretch four, Marquette product Henry Ellenson and/or Domantas Sabonis could still be on the board when their pick comes up.

Coaching Outlook

Anyone who thought the Bucks might sour on Kidd after their subpar season were proven wrong when the team agreed to a contract extension with him this week. Kidd still has one year left on his original deal before that new three-year, $18MM extension kicks in.

Final Take

The Bucks aren’t a typical last-place team. They have some real hope of getting back into the playoff picture next season, thanks to the talented young trio of Antetokounmpo, Parker and Middleton. But they’ll need to make shrewd decisions while restructuring their roster around those players. Milwaukee must find a defensive stalwart in the middle and more perimeter threats. Monroe and Carter-Williams don’t seem like a part of the long-term plan and need to be moved. The Bucks also need to acquire some veterans who can help nurture the talented young core

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Other Cap Holds

  • No. 10 pick ($2,140,500)

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Draft Notes: Maker, Luwawu, Cordinier

Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held in Brooklyn, New York next Thursday:

  • The Nuggets have a group workout scheduled on Friday for Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova), Isaia Cordinier (France), Petr Cornelie (France) and Majok Deng (Louisiana-Monroe), the team announced via press release.
  • Denver held an individual workout today for swingman Timothe Luwawu, the team announced. The Frenchman averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 31.1 minutes for Mega Leks of the Serbian League this past season.
  • The Hornets have a group workout scheduled for Friday with Thon Maker (Australia), Marcus Paige (North Carolina), Joel Bolomboy (Weber State), Patricio Garino (George Washington) and Melvin Johnson (VCU), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter).
  • Former Auburn small forward Tyler Harris has a workout scheduled with the Raptors on Sunday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (Twitter link).