NBA G League Affiliate Players For 2020/21
Throughout the offseason and preseason, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 (plus a pair of two-way players) in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams prior to the season can be designated as “affiliate players” and assigned to their G League squads.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, if a player’s NBA team has designated him as an affiliate player and he signs a G League contract, he is automatically assigned to that team’s NBAGL roster.
Affiliate players represent just one group of players who can be found on an NBA G League roster. Teams can also carry returning-rights players (whose G League rights carry over from a previous season), players selected in the NBAGL draft, players who earned spots via tryouts, players who are on assignment from an NBA roster, and players on two-way contracts.
Each year, we list the affiliate players on G League rosters because they share a common noteworthy trait — they were all on NBA rosters, at least briefly, prior to the start of the regular season. But if you’re curious about the rest of a given G League team’s roster, you can find it on that team’s official website.
Here are the 58 NBA G League affiliate players who will be part of the 17 NBAGL affiliate squads to start the 2020/21 season:
Brooklyn Nets (Long Island Nets):
Charlotte Hornets (Greensboro Swarm):
Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge):
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):
Memphis Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle):
Minnesota Timberwolves (Iowa Wolves):
New Orleans Pelicans / Washington Wizards (Erie BayHawks):
- Jordan Bell (Wizards)
- Yoeli Childs (Wizards)
- Caleb Homesley (Wizards)
- Marlon Taylor (Wizards)
- Justin Wright-Foreman (Pelicans)
Note: The Pelicans and Wizards are sharing operating costs of the BayHawks and are both permitted to assign affiliate players to the roster.
New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks):
Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue):
Orlando Magic (Lakeland Magic):
Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware Blue Coats):
San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs):
Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905):
Utah Jazz (Salt Lake City Stars):
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 2/2/2021
With the NBA’s season starting to hit its stride and the March 25 trade deadline less than two months away, we’re bringing back our weekly live chats at Hoops Rumors.
Each Tuesday at 12:00 pm central time (1 pm ET), join me to talk potential trades, free agent signings, salary cap machinations, or whatever else you feel like discussing!
Today’s chat transcript can be found right here.
Wolves Notes: Towns, McDaniels, Nowell, Rosas
Star center Karl-Anthony Towns is with the Timberwolves on their current road trip and is a good bet to return to action at some point this week, team owner Glen Taylor told David Shama of Sports Headliners.
Towns, 25, has been limited to just four games so far this season due first to a wrist injury and then to a positive COVID-19 test. He has been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for more than two weeks and hasn’t played since January 13.
Minnesota won its first two games of the 2020/21 season with Towns in the lineup, but has bottomed out since then, losing 15 of its last 18. Still, Taylor is hopeful that the club can make a push for a playoff spot this season, especially with a health Towns.
“I recognize that it’s going to be difficult, but on the other hand, there’s other teams that aren’t performing up to their expectations, too, and I guess we just gotta catch them,” he told Shama.
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- When the Wolves selected Jaden McDaniels with the 28th pick in November’s draft, he was viewed as a long-term project who was unlikely to contribute much right away. However, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes, the rookie forward has emerged as part of Minnesota’s regular rotation and has acquitted himself well, blocking three shots on Sunday and scoring 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting on Monday.
- Wolves guard Jaylen Nowell has also recently entered the rotation and has scored double-digit points in four straight games. The 21-year-old remains a work in progress though, according to Hine, who notes that Nowell hasn’t been able to translate his G League scoring efficiency to the NBA, where he has made just 9-of-48 career three-pointers (18.8%). Nowell is on a non-guaranteed contract.
- Now that the Wolves are a full 82 games into Gersson Rosas‘ tenure as president of basketball operations, Britt Robson of The Athletic‘s evaluates Rosas’ performance to date. Robson likes what Rosas has done to fill out the front office and to identify low-cost, low-risk players with upside, but identifies the team’s hole at power forward and its mismatched point guard duo as problems, and says the jury is still out on both of Rosas’ lottery picks (Jarrett Culver and Anthony Edwards).
Wizards Notes: Beal, Brooks, Neto
Having seen other NBA stars face criticism for requesting trades in recent years, Wizards guard Bradley Beal is privately “frustrated and confused” by the portrayal of his situation in D.C., according to Fred Katz and Shams Charania of The Athletic.
As Katz and Charania explain, Beal likes the idea of spending his career with one team and would love to establish a legacy in Washington like Dirk Nowitzki‘s in Dallas — Nowitzki spent his 21-year NBA career with the Mavericks, winning a title with the club in year 13. However, Beal feels as if he’s being “nitpicked” for remaining loyal to a struggling Wizards club.
The Athletic’s duo confirms that Beal continues to express a desire to remain in Washington rather than a preference to be traded. The Wizards have just a 4-12 record so far this season, but the hope is that Sunday’s impressive comeback win over Brooklyn can be the start of a turnaround rather than a rare bright spot.
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- In a HoopsHype podcast, Fred Katz and Michael Scotto discussed a number of Wizards-related topics, including where things stand with head coach Scott Brooks. Katz believes that Wizards owner Ted Leonsis will be less inclined to fire Brooks during the season and pay him the remainder of his $7MM salary after having furloughed 40% of his company’s employees in 2020. “I think this is an organization that thinks about optics and that kind of stuff,” Katz said. “I don’t think the optics are there to pay somebody that much when you just furloughed that many people not to work for you in the middle of an economic crisis in the middle of a pandemic.”
- Brooks told reporters on Monday that Raul Neto will be out for at least a couple games due to a left groin strain (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington). Ish Smith, who missed a handful of games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, will reclaim backup point guard duties in Neto’s absence.
- In case you missed it, we noted on Monday that Wizards guard Garrison Mathews is among the players on two-way contracts making a case for a promotion to a standard contract.
NBA, NBPA Progressing Toward Agreement On All-Star Game
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are making progress toward an agreement to hold an All-Star Game on Sunday, March 7 in Atlanta, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. If finalized, it would be a single-night event at State Farm Arena that includes both a game and skills competitions, Wojnarowski adds.
The 2021 NBA All-Star weekend was originally scheduled to take place in Indianapolis, but the league postponed it — Indiana will now host the All-Star festivities in 2024.
Chris Paul, the president of the players’ union, has been among those pushing a revamped All-Star Game in Atlanta, which he’d like to use to benefit historically black colleges and universities and COVID-19 relief, Woj notes.
The idea of holding an All-Star Game at all amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has faced “resistance and skepticism” from a number of players and team executives, who view it as an unnecessary risk, according to Wojnarowski.
The safer approach would be to select two All-Star teams but not require players to travel from all over the country to a single site for a game, since one positive test among that group could result in mass postponements around the league at the start of the second half.
Still, the NBA sounds committed to trying to hold an All-Star Game, which is typically one of the league’s top events in terms of fan engagement, Wojnarowski observes. If an agreement can be officially reached, it would include a number of extra safeguards and protocols related to health and safety. Those details are still being negotiated.
The two sides are also believed to be discussing giving players the opportunity to opt out of participating in the game, which is usually mandatory for those selected, sources tell ESPN.
Pistons Expected To Resume Schedule On Tuesday
Following a postponement on Monday night, the Pistons are expected to avoid further schedule disruptions this week, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Monday night’s game between the Pistons and Nuggets was postponed due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, as a Detroit player reportedly returned a positive or inconclusive COVID-19 test, resulting in retesting and a contact tracing investigation.
[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Game Postponement Tracker]
However, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link), the test in question was determined to be a false positive. Edwards and Wojnarowski both indicate that the Pistons were en route to Salt Lake City late on Monday night and anticipate being able to play Tuesday’s game against the Jazz.
When a Grizzlies player recorded a confirmed positive test two weeks ago, the team had its next five games postponed out of an abundance of caution. It’s safe to assume a similar fate could have befallen the Pistons if Monday’s result had been a confirmed positive test rather than a false positive.
Assuming everyone on the roster tests negative again today, the Pistons should be given the go-ahead to play the Jazz on Tuesday, with contests against the Suns on Friday and the Lakers on Saturday to follow.
Aaron Gordon Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Ankle Injury
Magic forward Aaron Gordon has been diagnosed with a severe left ankle sprain and is expected to be sidelined for the next four to six weeks, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Gordon suffered the injury during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Toronto when he rolled the ankle while bringing the ball up the court. He was seen on crutches after the game.
While Gordon didn’t sustain a fracture, it’s still terrible news for a Magic team that has already been hit hard this season by injuries. Jonathan Isaac won’t play at all in 2020/21 due to a torn ACL and Markelle Fultz was limited to eight games before suffering an identical season-ending ACL tear.
Evan Fournier, Michael Carter-Williams, and Chuma Okeke have also missed time due to injuries, while Al-Farouq Aminu hasn’t been able to play at all as he continues to recover from a knee issue. With Gordon, Isaac, Aminu, and Okeke all currently on the shelf, Orlando will have to lean heavily on Gary Clark and Khem Birch at the power forward spot.
The Magic currently sit at No. 12 in the East with an 8-13 record. Without Gordon and so many other players available, they’ll be hard-pressed to make a run and push their way back up the standings in the coming weeks.
Fischer’s Latest: Beal, Wizards, Pelicans, Hawks, Ujiri
Reiterating a point made by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday and Wizards head coach Scott Brooks on Saturday, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report confirms that Bradley Beal is not available via trade, citing one longtime executive who notes that the team’s stance on the matter appears sincere and isn’t a bluff to drive up the guard’s price.
Despite there being no change in Beal’s potential availability, it continues to be a popular subject of speculation around the NBA. As Fischer explains, opposing front offices anticipate an “inevitable inflection point,” since there’s an expectation that the Wizards won’t be able to transform into a contender before Beal becomes eligible for free agency in 2022.
That inflection point isn’t here yet though, and the expectation is that it won’t arrive prior to this season’s trade deadline. According to Fischer, there’s a sentiment around the league that, regardless of Washington’s record, team ownership is unlikely to approve a Beal trade until the 2021 offseason at the very earliest.
“Teams say it all the time, but you feel like it’s real,” one assistant GM told Fischer, referring to the Wizards’ unwillingness to engage.
Here are a few more items of note from Fischer’s latest report:
- New Orleans’ interest in Beal is one of the “biggest open secrets” around the league, according to Fischer, who suggests that the Pelicans and Hawks could be among the potential suitors for the Wizards guard if he eventually hits the trade block. Washington had been eyeing Onyeka Okongwu with the No. 9 pick in the 2020 draft before Atlanta scooped him up at No. 6, Fischer notes.
- The Hawks “widely signaled” prior to draft night in the fall that Kevin Huerter was available via trade, per Fischer. It’s unclear whether the team’s stance has changed at all since then or if Huerter will be a trade candidate at next month’s deadline.
- Word in NBA circles is that the Wizards may try to make another run at Masai Ujiri this summer, according to Fischer, who says the franchise has some deep-pocketed minority stakeholders interested in pursuing the Raptors‘ president of basketball operations. Although the Wizards denied it at the time, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in June 2019 that the club was ready to make an aggressive offer to Ujiri, whose contract with Toronto expires later this year.
NBA G League Affiliations For 2020/21 Season
In recent years, the NBA has gradually moved closer to establishing a 30-team G League, with each NBAGL club directly affiliated with an NBA franchise. During the 2019/20 season, 28 of the NBA’s 30 teams had their own affiliates — the Trail Blazers and Nuggets represented the only outliers.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and a handful of other factors, that march toward a G League full of 30 NBA affiliates has taken a detour in 2020/21.
The G League has introduced one franchise, the G League Ignite, that’s not affiliated with any NBA team, with another unaffiliated squad on the way for 2021/22, when the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico are expected to enter the fray.
Meanwhile, the Pistons purchased the Suns‘ G League affiliate and will relocate the team to Detroit in ’21/22, leaving Phoenix without an affiliate of its own. However, neither the Pistons nor the Suns will have an NBAGL squad in action in ’20/21 anyway, since the revamped G League season at Walt Disney World will only include 17 of 28 affiliates.
Here’s the full list of the G League affiliates who will be participating in the 2020/21 season:
- Brooklyn Nets: Long Island Nets
- Charlotte Hornets: Greensboro Swarm
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Canton Charge
- 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
- Memphis Grizzlies: Memphis Hustle
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Iowa Wolves
- New Orleans Pelicans: Erie BayHawks
- Note: The Washington Wizards will be sharing the costs and operations of the BayHawks this season.
- New York Knicks: Westchester Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma City Blue
- Orlando Magic: Lakeland Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers: Delaware Blue Coats
- San Antonio Spurs: Austin Spurs
- Toronto Raptors: Raptors 905
- Utah Jazz: Salt Lake City Stars
This group of teams will be joined by the unaffiliated Ignite, whose roster is made up partly of NBA prospects who chose to play in the NBAGL (rather than attend college) before entering the draft, and partly of G League veterans who will serve as mentors to those young prospects.
Here’s the full list of G League franchises that won’t be in action this season:
- Atlanta Hawks: College Park Skyhawks
- Boston Celtics: Maine Red Claws
- Chicago Bulls: Windy City Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks: Texas Legends
- Detroit Pistons: Grand Rapids Drive
- Los Angeles Lakers: South Bay Lakers
- Miami Heat: Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Milwaukee Bucks: Wisconsin Herd
- Phoenix Suns: Northern Arizona Suns
- Sacramento Kings: Stockton Kings
- Washington Wizards: Capital City Go-Go
This would have been the last season that Grand Rapids was the Pistons’ affiliate and Northern Arizona was affiliated with the Suns. The Northern Arizona franchise will be relocated for 2021/22 and will become the Motor City Cruise, the new affiliate for the Pistons.
The Grand Rapids franchise reportedly hopes to remain in the G League as an unaffiliated team. Theoretically, an NBA club without an affiliate could enter into an agreement with the Drive, but the location wouldn’t be very geographically convenient for the Suns, Trail Blazers, or Nuggets.
Additionally, the plan is for Mexico City’s Capitanes to enter the G League in 2021/22, with the Erie BayHawks (the Pelicans’ affiliate) relocating to Birmingham, Alabama for the 2022/23 season.
If the Suns, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets look to establish affiliates in the coming years, we could eventually see a G League that features upwards of 32 teams. For this season though, barely over half that number will be in action when the NBAGL regular season schedule tips off on February 10 at Disney World.
Southwest Notes: Winslow, JJJ, Aldridge, DeRozan, Rockets
Justise Winslow, who has yet to appear in a game for the Grizzlies since being acquired nearly a year ago at the 2020 trade deadline, hopes to return to the court later this month, he said on Monday. As Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, Memphis’ lengthy hiatus due to contact tracing in January set Winslow back slightly due to a lack of practice opportunities, but he’s getting close.
“I’m feeling great, my hip feels great. I’m really close to getting back on the court, hopefully sometime this month,” the Grizzlies forward said. “I really don’t have an exact day in mind. Just with COVID and how our team had to miss almost a week of practice and that sort of thing, that set me back, just without being able to have proper access to workouts and things like that.”
Meanwhile, Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will have his rehab process ramped up in the coming weeks as he looks to return from meniscus surgery, as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian reports (via Twitter). Herrington doesn’t anticipate Jackson will return to action before the first half ends on March 4, but there’s no set timeline yet for the 21-year-old’s season debut (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- People around the NBA are curious to see what the Spurs will do with veterans LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, who are both on expiring contracts, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Aldridge’s value is “declining quickly,” according to O’Connor, who believes that DeRozan might be the best player on the trade market if San Antonio were to make him available.
- Within the same story, O’Connor notes that some executives around the NBA are wondering if the Rockets could end up being a buyer – rather than a seller – at the trade deadline. O’Connor expects teams to call about Victor Oladipo and P.J. Tucker, who will both be free agents this summer, but suggests Houston shouldn’t feel any pressure to make a deal. The club could entertain any favorable opportunities that arise, whether that means buying or selling, O’Connor adds.
- The Rockets got back to .500 on Saturday night by winning their fifth consecutive game, prompting head coach Stephen Silas to express that his club is “moving in the right direction for sure.” Kelly Iko of The Athletic has the story on Houston’s recent hot streak, as well as Oladipo’s comfort level, Christian Wood‘s All-Star case, and the team’s strong depth.