Balsa Koprivica

Pistons, Clippers Complete Minor Trade

The Pistons and Clippers have officially finalized a minor transaction, according to announcements from both teams (Twitter links). Detroit traded the draft rights to 2021 second-round pick Balsa Koprivica to Los Angeles in exchange for cash considerations.

The 57th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Koprivica has spent the last two seasons overseas with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia after playing his college ball at Florida State. The big man averaged 9.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 24 games (19.5 MPG) during his sophomore season with the Seminoles in 2020/21.

According to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), the Clippers sent $2.1MM to Detroit for Koprivica’s rights, which isn’t an insignificant sum.

Tony East of SI.com (Twitter link) theorizes that the Clippers decided to pay for the rights to a draft-and-stash player before the new league year began on July 1 because teams over the second tax apron won’t be permitted to trade cash in the new CBA, but will be able to trade players’ draft rights. In other words, they were turning an asset they won’t be able to use into one they can.

My understanding, however, is that the restrictions on trading cash won’t go into effect until after the 2023/24 regular season ends. So perhaps the Clippers just believe in the 23-year-old’s NBA potential.

Pistons’ Second-Rounder Koprivica Signs With KK Partizan

Center Balsa Koprivica has signed with KK Partizan, the Serbian club announced today in a press release. According to the team, the deal is for three years.

Koprivica, who spent two seasons at Florida State, averaged 9.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 24 games (19.5 MPG) in 2020/21. He declared for the draft following his sophomore year and was selected with the No. 57 overall pick. Although the Hornets technically drafted him, they did so on behalf of the Pistons, who officially acquired his draft rights after the new league year began.

Koprivica was one of four players the Pistons added in last month’s draft. While Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Livers received standard contracts and Luka Garza got a two-way deal, there wasn’t room on the roster for Koprivica, who will be stashed overseas for at least a season. His new contract with Partizan covers three years, but I expect it will include NBA outs.

Koprivica, 21, was born in Belgrade and lived in Serbia until 2012, so his deal with Partizan represents a homecoming.

As our tracker shows, Koprivica is the fourth player from the 2021 draft class to be stashed overseas, joining Rokas Jokubaitis (Knicks), Juhann Begarin (Celtics), and Filip Petrusev (Sixers).

Checking In On Unsigned 2021 NBA Draft Picks

When Usman Garuba officially signed his rookie contract with Houston earlier this week, he became the 30th and final first-round pick from the 2021 draft to sign his first NBA deal. There will be no draft-and-stash players among this year’s first-rounders — they’re all now officially on NBA rosters.

As our tracker shows, another 23 second-rounders from this year’s draft class have also signed their first NBA contracts or – in Joe Wieskamp‘s case – agreed to a deal that should be officially completed soon.

That leaves just seven prospects from 2021’s 60-player draft class who have yet to be signed. They are as follows:

  1. New York Knicks: Rokas Jokubaitis, G, Lithuania
  2. Boston Celtics: Juhann Begarin, G, France
  3. Brooklyn Nets: Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton
  4. Philadelphia 76ers: Filip Petrusev, F, Serbia
  5. Philadelphia 76ers: Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky
  6. Detroit Pistons: Balsa Koprivica, C, Florida State
  7. Brooklyn Nets: RaiQuan Gray, F, Florida State

Of these seven players, at least three appear on track to spend the 2021/22 season in Europe. Jokubaitis returned to his team in Barcelona following his Summer League stint with the Knicks, while Petrusev signed with Turkish team Anadolu Efes after playing for the Sixers in Summer League. Begarin, who also played in Summer League for the Celtics, will likely end up heading back overseas to France

That leaves just four true unsigned second-round picks, including a pair of Nets. It will be interesting to see what Brooklyn’s plans are for Zegarowski and Gray. The team currently has 13 players on guaranteed contracts and one on a two-way deal, so there could conceivably be room for Zegarowski on the 15-man squad, with Gray getting the other two-way deal.

However, DeAndre’ Bembry has a partially guaranteed contract and looks like a good bet to make the Nets’ regular-season roster, and Reggie Perry (free agent) and David Duke (Exhibit 10) are among the other candidates to get a two-way deal from the team. It’s also not clear if Brooklyn intends to carry a full 15-man roster to start the season, since leaving a roster spot open would create major tax savings for the franchise.

I could envision a scenario in which Zegarowski signs a two-way contract and Gray signs a G League deal to play for the Long Island Nets, but that’s just my speculation. There are still a number of ways the Nets could go.

Meanwhile, prospects drafted in the 50s like Bassey (No. 53) and Koprivica (No. 57) are generally good candidates for two-way deals, but the Sixers and Pistons have recently filled both of their two-way openings. Perhaps Philadelphia envisions Bassey taking Anthony Tolliver‘s spot on the 15-man roster, since Tolliver is on a non-guaranteed contract.

It’ll be trickier for Detroit to find a roster spot for Koprivica. The Pistons already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts and still may re-sign restricted free agent Hamidou Diallo. Stashing Koprivica overseas or in the G League could be the plan. Koprivica was born and raised in Serbia, so he might be more comfortable spending a season overseas than a typical NCAA draftee would be.

Pistons Notes: Stewart, Cunningham, Hayes, Koprivica

Pistons center Isaiah Stewart is making progress in his recovery from an ankle injury he suffered as part of the U.S. Select Team, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. After a strong rookie season, Stewart was chosen to be part of the squad that helped Team USA prepare for the Olympics last month. Despite hurting the ankle during a scrimmage, he said it was a valuable experience.

“It was great,” Stewart said. “Just my name being selected on that USA Select Team. Being out there with the best of the best will definitely for sure boost your confidence. Just shows you that you belong. It was great to be out there. I learned from some great coaches while being out there, and I was just being a sponge.”

Stewart was in a walking boot for a while, but he has progressed beyond that as the ankle heals. He’s with Detroit’s Summer League team in Las Vegas, but isn’t playing as the Pistons are focused on having him fully healthy for training camp.

Stewart also discusses his heated high school rivalry with Cade Cunningham and what he believes the No. 1 pick can bring to the team.

“I see him fitting with me easy,” Stewart said. “I’m tough, hard-nosed, chip on my shoulder. I feel like he’s got that same thing even though he’s the No. 1 pick. I can just tell he’s a dog. I feel like in Detroit, that’s what this team needs to be surrounded by is tough, hard-nosed players who put they construction hat on, go to work every night. And I can see him meshing with the rest of the guys pretty well. That’s the culture we’re trying to build.”

There’s more on the Pistons:

  • Cunningham has looked like a star in the Summer League and turned in his best game in Friday’s win over the Knicks, per Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Cunningham went 7 for 10 from three-point range in a 24-point performance. “There’s a reason we drafted him at one,” said Summer League coach J.D. DuBois. “His ability to do multiple things, his ability to make tough shots, to want the ball. His leadership, both with his voice and his actions. He prepares at a high level every day. When you see him perform like this, you’re not shocked. He works really hard at it on a consistent basis.”
  • The Pistons have a good collection of young talent in place, but Killian Hayes looks like a question mark, observes Evan Sidery of Basketball News. The seventh pick in the 2020 draft, Hayes was limited to 26 games as a rookie because of injuries and has struggled with his shot during Summer League.
  • Second-round pick Balsa Koprivica was confident the Pistons would select him after a strong pre-draft workout for the team, Sankofa adds in a separate story.

Central Notes: Pistons, Bucks, Dosunmu, Mobley

The Pistons have a logjam and will need to make some moves to create roster space, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. They’re already at the 15-player limit for standard contracts and a decision on restricted free agent Hamidou Diallo is still looming. They also have only one two-way contract slot available and have yet to sign second-round draft picks Luka Garza and Balsa Koprivica.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • The Bucks gave up two second-round picks in the Grayson Allen deal with the Grizzlies. The picks they’re giving up are owed to Milwaukee from previous deals, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets. The first of those picks will either the Pacers’ pick or the less favorable of Cavaliers’ or Jazz’s pick in 2024. The second will be conveyed in 2026, the highest of either the Pacers’ or Heat’s pick.
  • Bulls second-rounder Ayo Dosunmu is off to a rough shooting start in the summer league, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. He’s shooting 7-for-24 (29%) from the field through three games. “The advice I got was go out there and play hard,’’ said Dosunmu, the 38th overall selection. “Just try to learn something new each game. That’s the best way you’re going to get better.”
  • The No. 3 overall pick, Evan Mobley, is showing the Cavaliers in summer league play how he can impact their offense in a number of ways, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. His passing ability, in particular, can diversify their attack. “He’s going to be an extremely integral piece for us throughout the season and his willingness to share the ball and then also be able to get his own shot when he wants it is extremely important,” Cavaliers summer league coach J.J. Outlaw said. “But as you can see his teammates trusted that he would deliver the ball on time, on target when they would cut and they just kept cutting.”

Pistons Trade Mason Plumlee To Hornets

AUGUST 6: The trade is now official, according to press releases from both the Hornets and Pistons. Charlotte received Plumlee and the rights to No. 37 pick JT Thor in exchange for the rights to No. 57 pick Balsa Koprivica.


JULY 29: The Pistons and Hornets are finalizing a trade that would see Mason Plumlee sent to Charlotte along with the No. 37 pick in tonight’s draft in exchange for the No. 57 pick, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

The Hornets had been expected to be one of the NBA’s most aggressive teams in pursuit of a center this offseason and will get an early start on addressing that position by acquiring Plumlee, who averaged 10.4 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 3.6 APG in 56 games (26.8 MPG) during his first and only season as a Piston.

Plumlee had been set to earn $8.1MM in 2021/22 and will receive a 10% trade bonus as a result of the deal, bumping up that cap hit by $830K, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Even at close to $9MM, Plumlee’s deal isn’t particularly onerous, especially since it’s only partially guaranteed in 2022/23. So it’s somewhat surprising that the Pistons were willing to drop down 20 spots in the draft to move off of it, especially since GM Troy Weaver just signed Plumlee to that deal last offseason.

Still, Detroit will gain cap flexibility as a result of the trade and could open up about $20MM in space rather than operating over the cap this summer, tweets Nate Duncan. The move will also create additional playing time for promising young big man Isaiah Stewart.

The deal will have to be completed once the new league year begins, when the Hornets can take Plumlee into their cap space. They’ll still have about $13MM in projected cap room, according to Marks, so they could pursue another center in free agency.

Pacific Notes: Oubre, Kings Workouts, Lakers Workouts, Suns Arena

Warriors free agent wing Kelly Oubre sat down with Stadium’s Shams Charania for an interview on Wednesday to discuss his up-and-down season with in Golden State, as well as his free agency plans.

This season obviously wasn’t my best showing, but at the end of the day, I know what I’m capable of and I think the whole world knows what I’m capable of,” Oubre said.

Oubre, who has never lacked confidence, spoke on why he feels he stands apart from other free agents in this year’s class: “I’m a worker. I wouldn’t always get better and you wouldn’t be able to see improvements in my game somewhere each and every year if I wasn’t working continuously and staying locked in and focused on my craft. I think that puts me at an advantage over a lot of other free agents.

An unrestricted free agent, the 25-year-old will try to find a permanent home after bouncing around from the Wizards to the Sunsto the Warriors over the last few seasons.

We have more from around the Pacific Division:

Draft Notes: Warriors, Hornets, Green Room Invites, Preston

The Warriors brought in some first-round prospects for workouts on Friday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweetsChris Duarte, Keon Johnson, Corey Kispert, Trey Murphy III, Ziaire Williams and Ayo Dosunmu visited the Warriors’ training facility. Johnson is the highest-rated prospect on the list, as the Tennessee guard is currently ranked No. 9 overall by ESPN.

Gonzaga’s Kispert (No. 13), Virginia’s Murphy (18), Oregon’s Duarte (23), Stanford’s Williams (24) and Illinois’ Dosunmu (34) could all be off the board by the second round. Golden State holds the seventh and 14th overall picks.

We have more draft-related news and tidbits:

NBA G League Announces 40 Draft-Eligible Participants For Elite Camp

The NBA G League has announced in a press release that 40 draft-eligible prospects are set to participate in the NBAGL Elite Camp next week in Chicago from June 19-21.

The G League Elite Camp is back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place right before the draft combine, will give a few dozen draft-eligible players an opportunity to impress scouts, coaches, and executives through strength and agility drills and 5-on-5 games.

As today’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 is scheduled for June 21-27 in Chicago.

The list of draft-eligible players who took part in the most recent G League Elite Camp in 2019 included a handful of prospects who were eventually drafted, such as Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Justin Wright-Foreman, Reggie Perry, and Dewan Hernandez.

Many of the draft-eligible participants in the 2019 Elite Camp also made it to the NBA after going undrafted, including Oshae Brissett, Chris Clemons, Tyler Cook, Tacko Fall, DaQuan Jeffries, Caleb Martin, Justin Robinson, and Max Strus.

Two years ago, this event also featured 40 G League veterans, for a total of 80 players. Based on today’s press release, it sounds like this year’s Elite Camp may be pared down to only include draft-eligible prospects, though it’s possible the NBAGL will announce more names within the next few days.

Here are the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the 2021 G League Elite Camp:

  1. Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
  2. Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
  3. Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech)
  4. Juhann Begarin (France)
  5. Chaundee Brown (Michigan)
  6. Jordan Burns (Colgate)
  7. Marcus Carr (Minnesota)
  8. D.J. Carton (Marquette)
  9. Moussa Cisse (Memphis)
  10. Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
  11. Oscar Da Silva (Stanford)
  12. Darius Days (LSU)
  13. Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
  14. Dawson Garcia (Marquette)
  15. Marcus Garrett (Kansas)
  16. Haowen Guo (China)
  17. Jay Huff (Virginia)
  18. DeJon Jarreau (Houston)
  19. Carlik Jones (Louisville)
  20. DeVante’ Jones (Coastal Carolina)
  21. Balsa Koprivica (Florida State)
  22. A.J. Lawson (South Carolina)
  23. E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
  24. Mac McClung (Texas Tech)
  25. JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB)
  26. Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
  27. RJ Nembhard (TCU)
  28. Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon)
  29. EJ Onu (Shawnee State)
  30. Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
  31. Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
  32. Aamir Simms (Clemson)
  33. Javonte Smart (LSU)
  34. Mike Smith (Michigan)
  35. D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State)
  36. MaCio Teague (Baylor)
  37. M.J. Walker (Florida State)
  38. Duane Washington (Ohio State)
  39. Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
  40. Jalen Wilson (Kansas)

Trey Murphy, Others Declare For 2021 NBA Draft

Virginia junior shooting guard Trey Murphy III has decided to declare for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced today (via Twitter).

Murphy, who began his college career at Rice, transferred to Virginia for the 2020/21 season and started 20 of his 25 games for the club, averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per contest.

While those numbers are relatively modest, Murphy has displayed an impressive shooting stroke from beyond the arc throughout his college career — he knocked down 43.3% of his three-point attempts as a junior, increasing his career average to 40.1%. He’s considered one of the best outside shooters in this year’s class.

Murphy currently ranks as the No. 42 prospect on ESPN’s big board, making him a strong candidate to be drafted if he decides to go pro.

Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the draft:

  • Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton (junior): Zegarowski will enter the draft, he announced on Twitter, and the wording of his statement suggests he intends to go pro. After making the All-Big East Second Team in 2020, he earned a spot on the First Team in 2021, having averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.3 APG on .464/.421/.786 shooting in 29 games (33.6 MPG).
  • Dawson Garcia, F, Marquette (freshman): Garcia announced on Instagram that he’ll test the draft waters without hiring an agent. He averaged 13.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 27 games (29.7 MPG) in his first college season, making the Big East All-Freshman team.
  • Balsa Koprivica, C, Florida State (sophomore): Koprivica’s announcement on Twitter declaring his intent to enter the draft didn’t mention anything about maintaining his eligibility, so he’s likely going pro. As a sophomore in 2020/21, he recorded 9.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 24 games (19.5 MPG) as FSU’s primary starting center.
  • Kevin Samuel, C, TCU (junior): Samuel, who has averaged 8.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 95 games (26.1 MPG) across three college seasons, announced on Twitter that he’ll enter the draft while maintaining his NCAA eligibility. Samuel also tested the draft waters two years ago following his freshman season.
  • Trevion Williams, F, Purdue (junior): Coming off an All-Big Ten season in which he posted a career-best 15.5 PPG and 9.1 RPG in 28 contests (25.1 MPG), Williams has opted to test the draft waters, he announced on Instagram.