NBA G League Affiliations For 2017/18 Season
The NBA Development League has officially rebranded itself as the NBA Gatorade League (NBA G League). While we knew the change was coming, it’s official now, with the league’s official website having been updated to reflect the new name and new logo(s).
Going forward, we’ll be referring to the league by its new name, and our page for D-League news has been updated to indicate that it’s now the G League.
The G League will have 26 franchises for the 2017/18 season, with all but four NBA teams now in a one-on-one relationship with an affiliate. Twenty-two of those 26 NBA teams with G League affiliates own and operate their squad.
Here’s the list of affiliates for the 2017/18 season:
Atlanta Hawks: Erie BayHawks (expansion)
Boston Celtics: Maine Red Claws
Brooklyn Nets: Long Island Nets
Charlotte Hornets: Greensboro Swarm
Chicago Bulls: Windy City Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers: Canton Charge
Dallas Mavericks: Texas Legends
Detroit Pistons: Grand Rapids Drive
Golden State Warriors: Santa Cruz Warriors
Houston Rockets: Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Indiana Pacers: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Los Angeles Clippers: Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (expansion)
Los Angeles Lakers: South Bay Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies: Memphis Hustle (expansion)
Miami Heat: Sioux Falls Skyforce
Milwaukee Bucks: Wisconsin Herd (expansion)
Minnesota Timberwolves: Iowa Wolves (new affiliation)
New York Knicks: Westchester Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma City Blue
Orlando Magic: Lakeland Magic (relocation)
Philadelphia 76ers: Delaware 87ers
Phoenix Suns: Northern Arizona Suns
Sacramento Kings: Reno Bighorns
San Antonio Spurs: Austin Spurs
Toronto Raptors: Raptors 905
Utah Jazz: Salt Lake City Stars
Teams without G League affiliates:
Denver Nuggets
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
Washington Wizards (affiliate planned for 2018/19)
Pau Gasol Opting Out, Plans To Re-Sign With Spurs
Pau Gasol will turn down his player option for the 2017/18 season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). However, Gasol intends to work out a new deal with the Spurs that will allow him to continue his career in San Antonio, Wojnarowski adds.
Gasol’s decision could have significant implications for the Spurs’ offseason and the club’s pursuit of free agents. The veteran big man would have earned about $16.2MM if he had exercised his option, but it sounds as if he’s willing to accept at a lesser rate to remain with the Spurs. The team will likely tack on a second or third guaranteed year to repay Gasol for taking a pay cut in 2017/18.
[RELATED: Five Key Offseason Questions: San Antonio Spurs]
Depending on how much Gasol’s salary is reduced, the Spurs could open up an extra chunk of cap room that will allow the team to be players in free agency. Without taking Gasol into consideration, San Antonio already has nearly $73.5MM in guaranteed salaries on its books for 2017/18. That doesn’t include possible deals for Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, and Jonathon Simmons, and still wouldn’t leave enough room to sign a veteran to a maximum salary contract, but removing Gasol’s option from the equation is the first step toward creating some flexibility.
Gasol saw his numbers drop off substantially during his first season with the Spurs, as he played a lesser role for the team than he had for other clubs. However, he remained efficient when he did play. Averaging a career-low 25.4 minutes per game, the Spaniard chipped in 12.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. He also developed into a three-point shot, shooting an eye-popping 53.8% from outside, with 0.9 threes per game.
As our player option decision tracker shows, the Spurs are also waiting to hear from David Lee about his minimum salary player option for 2017/18.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dwyane Wade Leaning Toward Opting In With Bulls
Dwyane Wade doesn’t have to make a final decision on his player option for 2017/18 until next Tuesday, but at this point he’s leaning toward exercising that option, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
Having signed last summer with the Bulls on a two-year deal that features an opt-out for year two, Wade would earn $23.8MM if he picks up his option for next season. While it’s possible that he could find an offer that exceeds that total figure on the open market, he’s unlikely to top that annual salary.
Wade, who will turn 36 next January, remains productive, but is coming off a season in which his numbers reached their lowest point since his rookie year. The 14-year veteran averaged 18.3 PPG with a career-low .434 FG% in 60 games for Chicago, failing to earn an All-Star nod for the first time since 2003/04.
Wade’s player option decision is complicated by the fact that he has no interest in being part of a rebuilding situation in Chicago, as Shelburne notes. Although a Jimmy Butler trade remains unlikely, Wade’s All-NBA teammate has been the subject of plenty of rumors already this week, so it makes sense for Wade to hold off on his player option decision until after the draft, in case the Bulls decide to move Butler.
Still, sources have indicated to Shelburne that Wade is leaning toward exercising his option for 2017/18 no matter what the Bulls do in the next week. It’s possible that stance is meant to discourage the Bulls from trading Butler, and Wade will continue to monitor that situation. However, the 12-time All-Star genuinely likes playing in his hometown, and has little interest in taking a significant pay cut after settling for discounts for several years in Miami, per Shelburne.
Pistons’ Aron Baynes Declines Player Option
Pistons big man Aron Baynes has turned down his player option for the 2017/18 season, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). As our list of early player option decision dates shows, Baynes had to make a call on his $6.5MM option today.
[RELATED: Five Key Offseason Questions: Detroit Pistons]
Baynes, 30, was a part-time player for the Pistons in 2016/17, averaging 15.5 minutes per contest in 75 games. In his modest role, he averaged 4.9 PPG and 4.4 RPG, with a .513 FG%. The five-year veteran, who has spent two years in Detroit after playing for the Spurs for three seasons, will hit the unrestricted free agent market on July 1.
While it’s possible Baynes will be back with the Pistons, the team already has upwards of $95MM in guaranteed salaries without him on the books, and that doesn’t account for a potential new deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. With Boban Marjanovic possibly ready to play more minutes, and 2016 first-rounder Henry Ellenson perhaps in line for a larger frontcourt role as well, the Pistons may opt to let Baynes sign elsewhere.
You can check out our full list of this summer’s player option decisions right here.
Five Key Offseason Questions: Phoenix Suns
The Suns showed only modest improvement in their first full season under coach Earl Watson, going from 23 wins to 24. There are reasons to hope for a brighter future, but the Phoenix front office has a lot of work to do on a roster stocked with a combination of very young and very old players, with little in between.
Here are five key questions facing the Suns as that project begins:
1. Anybody need an extra guard?
Devin Booker‘s path to stardom was shorter than anyone expected, and he punctuated his rise to the NBA elite with a 70-point barrage at Boston in March. The second-year guard has been a starter since early in his rookie season and led the Suns in scoring this year at 22.1 points per game. However, his performance has made Brandon Knight expandable, and Knight hasn’t handled it well. He didn’t appear in a single game after the All-Star break and told the team when asked to play in March that back spasms were preventing him from taking the court.
Knight still has three seasons and nearly $43.9MM on a contract he signed in 2015 before the Suns realized what they had in Booker. It won’t be easy to unload a deal of that size, especially given Knight’s reduced production last year. On the other hand, he’s only 25 and has a history of being an explosive scorer, so there may be takers if the Suns don’t expect much in return. A strong first season from Tyler Ulis makes Knight even more expendable.
Another option is dealing Eric Bledsoe, a productive but injury-prone talent. Bledsoe, 27, will be the Suns’ highest-paid player next season ($14.5MM) and in 2018/19 ($15MM) and would probably fetch a nice collection of assets to help with the team’s youth movement.
Draft Lottery Notes: Sixers, Suns, Ntilikina, Nuggets
The Sixers are still actively seeking another first-round pick in Thursday’s draft despite acquiring the top overall pick from the Celtics on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Philadelphia will take Washington point guard Markelle Fultz at the top of the draft but still have four second-rounders in this draft to dangle, as well as numerous other future picks. The Sixers could trade a player on their current roster in a package with some of those second-rounders or future picks to get another player in the first round, Pompey adds. “I think whether we were selecting at No. 1 or staying at 3, there’s been some talk about our interest in acquiring yet another pick,” President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo told Pompey and other media members. “I’m not going to give up those efforts because we moved up to No. 1.”
In other notable developments involving this year’s lottery:
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough doesn’t anticipate moving the No. 4 pick in the draft, as he told Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic and other reporters on Monday. The Suns have been rumored to part of three-way deals involving Paul George and Jimmy Butler, and they are also reportedly enamored with UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, who is expected to be drafted No. 2 overall by the Lakers. However, McDonough says he’s comfortable with staying put and taking whatever player falls to that spot. “We have a good grouping of players regardless of who goes one, two or three we really like,” McDonough told Bordow. “I think at this point there’s one player we feel won’t be there for sure at No. 4 (Fultz) and we’re prepared for every other scenario.”
- The Mavs have hired the coach of potential lottery pick Frank Ntilikina, Vincent Collet, to run their Orlando Summer League team, ESPN’s Chad Ford tweets. Collet is Ntilikina’s coach for SIG Strasbourg in France. The coaching hire means that Dallas, which has the No. 9 pick in the draft, is “all in” on Ntilikina, Ford adds. Ntilikina wants to go to Dallas but the Knicks, who have the No. 8 pick, are also interested in the point guard, Ford reports in a separate tweet. Despite the Mavs’ efforts, the Knicks have shown the most interest in the French point guard, according to the New York Daily News’ Stefan Bondy, having sent scout Makhtar Ndiaye to watch him extensively.
- Danilo Gallinari‘s foray into free agency will have little to no impact on the Nuggets’ lottery selection, according to Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post: President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly told Kosmider and other reporters that the club isn’t targeting a specific need with the No. 13 overall pick. “Whoever we draft, whether it be No. 13 or we move up or we move down, it would be hard for them to have a significant role next season,” Connelly said.
Woj’s Latest: Pacers, George, Lakers, Knicks
Before Paul George‘s camp informed the Pacers that George expects to opt out and leave Indiana next year, the team had been considering pursuing some notable free agents, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. On his latest podcast with Bobby Marks, Wojnarowski identifies point guard Jrue Holiday and forward Danilo Gallinari as a pair of veterans being eyed by the Pacers.
However, according to Wojnarowski, George didn’t want the Pacers to make major moves for his benefit this offseason, locking themselves into big free agent contracts in the hopes that he would be willing to re-sign. With George’s days in Indiana now numbered, the club will likely forgo its potential pursuit of free agents like Holiday and Gallinari.
Here are some more highlights from Wojnarowski’s conversation with Marks, which centered on George but touched on a few other topics as well:
- Although Larry Bird is no longer the Pacers‘ president, he’s still a consultant for the team, and he likely wants to avoid sending George to his old rivals in Los Angeles for pennies on the dollar, Wojnarowski observes. Still, Wojnarowski and Marks don’t expect George’s camp to help accommodate a trade to any team besides the Lakers, since the star forward may simply prefer to stay with the Pacers for one more season rather than being sent to a team he’ll likely leave in a year.
- The Lakers won’t offer Brandon Ingram or the No. 2 overall pick in a package for George, according to Wojnarowski, who predicts that L.A. wouldn’t offer the Pacers more than some combination of Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and the No. 28 pick.
- As the Lakers look ahead to the 2018 offseason, which could see them going after top free agents like George and LeBron James, they’ll want to clear Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng from their books. However, Wojnarowski says the only way that will happen is if the club is willing to attach a first-round pick or a talented young player like D’Angelo Russell to one of those bad contracts. Using the stretch provision on the duo in the summer of 2018 probably makes more sense for L.A.
- In Wojnarowski’s view, the door was open for the Knicks to be in the Chris Paul discussion this summer, since there’s no perfect fit for CP3 if he wants to leave the Clippers. In theory, the Knicks could have been that fit, but with Phil Jackson and the triangle around, nobody is talking about wanting to play in New York, says Woj.
- Continuing his discussion of the Knicks, Wojnarowski suggests that Jackson’s treatment of Carmelo Anthony has soured many veterans on New York. In particular, Anthony’s friends like Paul, LeBron, and Dwyane Wade view Carmelo’s situation as a cautionary tale, and that view seems to be widely shared around the NBA.
Northwest Rumors: Gallinari, Blazers, Monk, Timberwolves
Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari doesn’t consider Denver his preferred choice in free agency, according to a Premium Sport interview that was relayed by Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Gallinari, who will decline his $16.1MM player option in order to enter the market, says the Nuggets are “exactly at the same level” as any other team that pursues him. The only thing in Denver’s favor is that it can offer an extra year, Gallinari adds in the interview.
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- North Carolina swingman Justin Jackson was among six players the Trail Blazers brought in for pre-draft workouts on Monday, the team’s website reports. Considered a potential late-lottery selection, Jackson is currently ranked No. 16 on DraftExpress’ list of Top 100 prospects. A trio of big men with first-round potential were also at the workout, including Isaiah Hartenstein (No. 19), who played in Lithuania last season; University of California’s Ivan Rabb (No. 30); and Oregon’s Jordan Bell (No. 35).
- The Timberwolves will have a tough decision if Kentucky shooting guard Malik Monk is still available when their turn comes up in the lottery, as Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune details. Monk could turn into a prolific scorer in the mold of the Trail Blazers’ C.J. McCollum, Zgoda continues. Alternatively, Minnesota might conclude that the 6’3” Monk will end up being an off-the-bench scorer because of his lack of size and length for his position, Zgoda adds. Minnesota holds the No. 7 overall pick.
- Along with the well-documented Jimmy Butler rumors, the Timberwolves could pursue a number of pricey veterans in trades, Zgoda writes in a separate piece. LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwight Howard, Eric Bledsoe and Wes Matthews are among the players that Zgoda speculates could be potential trade targets for Minnesota.
Cavs Trying To Piece Together Trade For Butler
The Cavaliers are seeking to acquire Bulls All-Star Jimmy Butler by putting together a multi-team trade, league sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Cleveland needs to get at least one other team involved to obtain the assets Chicago would demand and have been working diligently to do so, Stein adds. (Twitter links)
The Cavaliers’ high payroll, plus their lack of draft picks, makes it difficult to swing a deal for any high-level player. The Trail Blazers own their pick in Thursday’s draft and they also owe the Hawks a first-rounder in 2019. They don’t have any first-rounders coming their way.
It’s logical to assume they’d have to include Kevin Love in any blockbuster deal. Whether the Bulls would be interested in Love is unknown. Perhaps a third-party would facilitate the deal by taking on Love’s contract, which has three years and approximately $74MM remaining, though the final year is a player option.
The Suns might be a team that would get involved in the Cavaliers’ quest for Butler, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
Butler’s name continues to swirl in trade rumors, even though numerous executives around the league believe Butler won’t be dealt during draft week. The Timberwolves, Celtics and Suns have all been mentioned as possible suitors for Butler. The Bulls’ asking price is high, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted, but there has been preliminary contact between Minnesota and Chicago. Boston has a bevy of first-round picks to offer the Bulls, adding another in its deal with the Sixers to swap the first and third overall picks, which was finalized today.
The Cavaliers have also been linked to the Pacers’ Paul George, who informed Indiana he won’t re-sign with the franchise when he becomes a free agent next summer. As is the case with Butler, the Cavaliers would likely to have to get a third party involved to pry away George.
Bulls Remain Unlikely To Trade Jimmy Butler
3:57pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link) agrees that the Bulls’ asking price for Butler remains high, but notes that the Timberwolves have “assets and interest,” adding that Minnesota and Chicago made preliminary contact this week. The Wolves were also linked to Butler around the time of last year’s draft.
Meanwhile, the Suns are another team to watch if Chicago is willing to move Butler, tweets K.C. Johnson.
12:18pm: The Celtics’ impending acquisition of yet another future first-round pick has increased speculation that Danny Ainge will make a push for a star like Jimmy Butler or Paul George in the coming days. However, that talk is “based more on speculation than reality” when it comes to Butler, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who cites three executives who don’t believe the Bulls forward is going anywhere this week.
Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times expresses a similar sentiment in his latest piece, writing that sources say the Bulls’ asking price for Butler is still “almost insurmountable,” and is unlikely to drop by Thursday. People around the Bulls aren’t even convinced that Ainge will come calling on Chicago before the draft, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com.
As Johnson details, the Celtics and Bulls discussed Butler at the trade deadline and around the time of last year’s draft, but February’s discussions were less serious than the talks in 2016. The Bulls asked for at least three – and possibly four – assets from the Celtics, and didn’t want to accept top-one protection on Boston’s 2017 first-round pick, according to Johnson.
While it’s possible that the Bulls’ position on Butler could change at some point, perhaps even later this week, there’s a belief around the league and within the Bulls organization that the Celtics plan to use the third overall pick in this year’s draft and then pursue Gordon Hayward in free agency. If Boston wants to make a blockbuster trade, the team would still have plenty of assets to pursue a deal after the free agent period, with or without Hayward.