2016 NBA D-League Expansion Draft Results
The NBA D-League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s three new teams to add the rights to 12 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 19 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to 10 players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, as Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com explained earlier today.
As we noted on Tuesday, the D-League’s three new franchises this year are affiliates for the Nets (Long Island Nets), Hornets (Greensboro Swarm), and Bulls (Windy City Bulls).
The players those three teams added today won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s somewhat rare for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs, as D-League Digest tweets. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas. Still, the expansion draft gives the D-League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.
Per Reichert, here are the results of today’s expansion draft. The player’s former D-League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:
Long Island Nets (Twitter link)
- Gary Forbes (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Carrick Felix (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Jamaal Franklin (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Akil Mitchell (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Peyton Siva (Delaware 87ers)
- Alex Kirk (Canton Charge)
- Austin Freeman (Westchester Knicks)
- Kendall Gray (Iowa Energy)
- Lazar Hayward (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Dwayne Polee Jr. (Reno Bighorns)
- Matt Bouldin (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Lewis Jackson (Salt Lake City Stars)
Greensboro Swarm (Twitter link)
- Josh Davis (Austin Spurs)
- Abdul Gaddy (Maine Red Claws)
- Tony Bishop (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Scotty Hopson (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Toure’ Murry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Rodney Williams (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Josh Huestis (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Ralston Turner (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Keanau Post (Raptors 905)
- Damien Wilkins (Iowa Energy)
- Kris Joseph (Westchester Knicks)
- Dee Bost (Raptors 905)
Windy City Bulls (Twitter link)
- Wesley Saunders (Austin Spurs)
- Kiwi Gardner (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Ralph Sampson III (Maine Red Claws)
- Booker Woodfox (Texas Legends)
- Jerel McNeal (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Akeem Richmond (Reno Bighorns)
- Casey Prather (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Jon Octeus (Canton Charge)
- Justin Dentmon (Texas Legends)
- Jamal Jones (Delaware 87ers)
- Xavier Thames (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Ian Chiles (Salt Lake City Stars)
Poll: Should Nets Trade Brook Lopez?
Shortly after he was hired, new Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson raved about Brook Lopez, suggesting that he views the big center as an important part of the club’s rebuilding plan. Lopez expressed similar enthusiasm earlier this month, telling Fred Kerber of The New York Post that he feels like the Nets are the moving in the right direction. Lopez also helped the team recruit free agents this offseason.
Still, the Nets project to be a lottery team this season, and perhaps the year after that too. That’s a problem for Brooklyn because a poor finish won’t allow the team to add a potential star with a top pick — the Celtics have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Nets in 2017, and own Brooklyn’s pick outright in 2018.
In other words, the Nets’ rebuilding process could be a long, painful one, and it will likely extend beyond the end of Lopez’s current contract, which expires in 2018. As such, it’s no surprise that the 28-year-old’s name has surfaced in trade speculation. Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders identifies Lopez as one of three trade candidates to watch as the season approaches, while Michael Pina of RealGM.com argues that the Nets should trade Lopez at some point — it’s just a matter of finding a fit.
Pina has a hard time finding a suitable trade partner for the Nets, eventually landing on the Bucks as a suitor that could make sense. However, he concedes that even Milwaukee isn’t a perfect match, and points out that it may not be easy for Brooklyn to pick up long-term assets in a deal involving Lopez. Even though the Nets probably should trade Lopez, Pina writes, simply selling him to the highest bidder may not be an ideal course of action.
Our poll question is fairly simple: Should the Nets trade Lopez during the 2016/17 league year? But there are nuances to the discussion. What sort of assets should Brooklyn be targeting? Do you see any team that would make sense as a trade partner for the Nets? Could it be in the club’s best interests to hang on to Lopez and perhaps seek a deal in 2017/18, allowing him to be a veteran presence this season on a young roster?
Vote in our poll, and weigh in below in the comment section to share your thoughts!
Should the Nets trade Brook Lopez?
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Yes 73% (481)
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No 27% (178)
Total votes: 659
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Nets Name D-League Assistants
- The Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s D-League affiliate, named Ryan Gomes and Pat Rafferty as assistant coaches, the team announced via press release.
New York Notes: Rose, Carmelo, Lin, Nets
Derrick Rose, traded by the Bulls to the Knicks two months ago, referred to his new squad as a “super team” last month, and recently doubled down on the assertion. In a conversation with Nick DePaula of The Vertical, the former MVP continued to rave about his new club and his new teammates.
“I just love the group,” Rose said. “I think everybody is on the same page. I love the culture that Phil [Jackson] is creating. Just the organization and franchise, I love everybody that’s working on it, and they seem like they’re very excited for everything. That just rubs off on people. … I think we have a chance to win every game, and in the league, that’s rare.”
While Rose expects a big year from the Knicks, Hoops Rumors commenters recently named the Nets as the most likely team to be the NBA’s worst in 2016/17. Here’s the latest out of New York on both squads:
- Carmelo Anthony is riding high after winning his third Olympic gold medal this summer, but his supporting cast with the Knicks this season won’t be as star-studded as the one he enjoyed in Rio. Marc Berman of The New York Post examines the leadership role Anthony will have to assume for the new-look Knicks as they look to return to the postseason.
- Nets CEO Brett Yormark, speaking at an event in Beijing, admitted that the Nets will market newly-signed point guard Jeremy Lin in an effort to tap into a new, Chinese-American fan base (link via Net Income of NetsDaily). However, Yormark says his team won’t try to recreate the “Linsanity” phenomenon, preferring to let things happen organically.
- A separate NetsDaily piece focuses on the storylines to watch in Brooklyn with training camp around the corner, including Lin’s arrival, Bojan Bogdanovic‘s contract year, and the Nets‘ youth movement.
Nets Hire Gianluca Pascucci, BJ Johnson
The Nets continue to reshape their front office under general manager Sean Marks, announcing today in a press release that they’ve added two more executives to their current group. Brooklyn has hired Gianluca Pascucci as the club’s director of global scouting, and BJ Johnson as coordinator of player evaluation.
“We are thrilled to add Gianluca and BJ to our front office,” Marks said in a statement. “Collectively, they bring valuable experiences that cross many platforms and their extensive knowledge of both the NBA and the global game will be tremendous assets to our scouting department. Both will be excellent additions to our culture and we are excited about welcoming them to Brooklyn.”
As Marks points out, the Nets’ new additions have basketball experience on a national and international level. Pascucci, who is coming off a stint as the Rockets’ VP of player personnel, and the GM of the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, previously spent several years with Italian team Olimpia Milano, acting as the team’s CEO and GM. Pascucci also has a previous stint in Houston as the Rockets’ international scout.
As for Johnson, he has worked for the last several years as USA Basketball’s assistant men’s national team director, and has held a variety of other roles in both the men’s and women’s USA Basketball programs.
Marks has only been on the job in Brooklyn for about six months, having been hired in February as the Nets’ new general manager. However, he has made significant changes to the team’s front office during his time with the franchise. Per NetsDaily (via Twitter), today’s additions bring the total number of new staff members hired by the Nets since Marks’ arrival to 25.
Lin Works On Shot; Foye New Veteran Leader
Jeremy Lin is trying to justify the Nets‘ $36MM investment by becoming a better shooter this offseason, relays Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Lin, who accepted a three-year deal to leave Charlotte for Brooklyn, has altered his shooting style and is hoping for better results. Mazzeo notes that Lin’s percentage as a jump-shooter over the past four seasons is just 34.8%. “I’ve changed my form, brought my release lower and made the motion smoother in hopes of making it more consistent, creating a quicker release and using less energy so on nights when I’m tired I can still shoot it well,” Lin said. “I’ve also been working on my floaters and change of pace game because as I get older, I will rely less and less on my athleticism.”
- Randy Foye stands out as a veteran on a very young Nets team, writes Cory Wright of NBA.com. Foye, who signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with Brooklyn last month, has played 683 games in his 10-year NBA career. That’s about 200 more than the combined total of new teammates Anthony Bennett, Bojan Bogdanovic, Justin Hamilton, Joe Harris, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sean Kilpatrick and Chris McCullough. Foye is aware of his new role as a veteran leader. “When I first came into the league, Kevin Garnett was my vet,” Foye said. “He was on me, but everything he told me, he practiced what he preached. He got on the floor, dove on the floor and a lot of the things that he did he led by example.”
Bennett Likes 'New Vibe'
- Former overall No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett says he likes the “brand new vibe” in Brooklyn as he tries to resurrect his career with the Nets, relays NetsDaily.com. “For the most part, [I’m] going in here with an open mind, no pressure, just going out there and playing,” Bennett says in a new video posted on YouTube. Bennett signed a two-year deal that will pay him a guaranteed $1,015,696 this season and $1,087,745 if he’s on the roster for opening night in 2017.
Nets Expected To Sign Trevor Cooney
The Nets intend to sign undrafted free agent guard Trevor Cooney, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Brooklyn is inking Cooney with an eye on him joining the team’s D-League squad as an affiliate player, Pick adds. No further details on the potential arrangement were relayed by Pick, but it is almost assuredly a minimum salary deal with little or no guarantee. Cooney will attend training camp with the Nets, then, once waived, would join the Long Island Nets as a designated affiliate player, Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor speculates (On Twitter).
For those unfamiliar, an affiliate player is someone who was under contract with an NBA team, was released and cleared waivers, and whose NBA team unilaterally claimed his D-League rights. NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players they release, thus keeping them out of the D-League draft or the waiver system that the D-League uses during the season to determine which of its teams get newly signed players. You can read a more in-depth explanation of affiliate players in the Hoops Rumors Glossary.
As for Cooney, he went undrafted this year after completing his collegiate career at Syracuse. In 37 games this past season as a fifth-year senior, Cooney averaged 13.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 36.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .348/.354/.806.
Earl Clark Will Play In Turkey
NBA veteran Earl Clark, who was cut by the Nets last year, will play in Turkey next season, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Clark, who played in the D-League and China in 2015/16, will sign a deal with the Besiktas franchise.
Clark last played for Brooklyn at the end of the 2014/15 season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10 games. The Nets signed the 6’10” power forward in late March of 2015, but released him during the offseason. He was part of a D-League trade in January, going from the Suns‘ Bakersfield affiliate to the Sixers‘ Delaware affiliate.
The 28-year-old had a journeyman NBA career after the Suns made him a lottery pick out of Louisville in 2009. He also played for the Magic, Lakers, Cavaliers and Knicks during his six years in the league. Clark’s best season was with L.A. in 2012/13, when he averaged 7.3 points per night in 59 games.
Grizzlies Hire Bob Bender As Assistant Coach
Bob Bender has joined the Grizzlies’ coaching staff, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The move completes the staff of new head coach David Fizdale, who was hired in May, Wojnarowski notes.
Bender served as a scout with the Nets last season after working as an assistant with the Bucks in 2013/14. He had spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant with the Hawks after joining the team in 2004. He broke into the NBA as an assistant with the Sixers during the 2002-03 season.
Prior to that, Bender was an accomplished college coach, working for nine seasons at Washington and four years at Illinois State and earning Pac 10 Coach of the Year honors in 1996. Bender played for Indiana’s national championship team in 1976 and later played at Duke.