Casey Prather

2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results

The NBA G League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s four new franchises to add the returning rights to 11 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 22 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to nine players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, though no team can lose more than two players. Adam Johnson recently outlined the full details of the expansion draft process in a piece for 2 Ways & 10 Days.

The G League’s four new teams this year are affiliates for the Hawks (Erie BayHawks), Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle), Bucks (Wisconsin Herd), and Clippers (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario). The Erie BayHawks have been in the G League for years but are technically an expansion team since the old iteration of the BayHawks was purchased by the Magic and moved to Lakeland, Florida — the Lakeland Magic will retain returning rights for former BayHawks players.

The players added today by the G League’s four expansion teams won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s not all that common for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas, if they’re not already on an NBA or international roster. Still, the expansion draft gives the G League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.

Listed below are the results of today’s expansion draft, per the G League’s official announcement. The player’s former G League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:

Erie BayHawks (Hawks)

  1. DeAndre Daniels (Raptors 905)
  2. Sean Kilpatrick (Delaware 87ers)*
  3. Ronald Roberts (Reno Bighorns)
  4. Terran Petteway (Maine Red Claws)
  5. Casey Prather (Windy City Bulls)
  6. Jordan Crawford (Grand Rapids Drive)*
  7. Jordan Sibert (Iowa Energy)
  8. Beau Beech (Long Island Nets)
  9. Raphiael Putney (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  10. Luke Harangody (Lakeland Magic)
  11. Will Bynum (Windy City Bulls)

Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)

  1. Marquis Teague (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  2. Okaro White (Sioux Falls Skyforce)*
  3. D.J. Stephens (Iowa Energy)
  4. Omari Johnson (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  5. Jamaal Franklin (Long Island Nets)
  6. Adonis Thomas (Grand Rapids Drive)
  7. Manny Harris (Texas Legends)
  8. Mark Tyndale (Reno Bighorns)
  9. Jordon Crawford (Canton Charge)
  10. Jimmer Fredette (Westchester Knicks)
  11. Terrence Drisdom (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Wisconsin Herd (Bucks)

  1. Vince Hunter (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  2. Gracin Bakumanya (Northern Arizona Suns)
  3. Perry Ellis (Greensboro Swarm)
  4. Corey Walden (Maine Red Claws)
  5. Josh Davis (Greensboro Swarm)
  6. Michael Dunigan (Canton Charge)
  7. Jarvis Summers (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  8. James Siakam (Raptors 905)
  9. Kyle Casey (Northern Arizona Suns)
  10. Cady Lalanne (Austin Spurs)
  11. Tyler Harvey (Lakeland Magic)

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)

  1. Andre Dawkins (Texas Legends)
  2. Bryce Cotton (Oklahoma City Blue)
  3. Corey Hawkins (Delaware 87ers)
  4. Will Cummings (Delaware 87ers)
  5. J.J. O’Brien (Salt Lake City Stars)
  6. Jamil Wilson (South Bay Lakers)
  7. Keith Steffeck (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  8. Julian Jacobs (South Bay Lakers)
  9. Aaron Craft (Salt Lake City Stars)
  10. Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Westchester Knicks)
  11. Youssou Ndoye (Austin Spurs)

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are currently on an NBA roster. If they remain under contract and are assigned to the G League, they would join their current NBA team’s affiliate.

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)

  1. Gary Forbes (Grand Rapids Drive)
  2. Carrick Felix (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  3. Jamaal Franklin (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
  4. Akil Mitchell (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  5. Peyton Siva (Delaware 87ers)
  6. Alex Kirk (Canton Charge)
  7. Austin Freeman (Westchester Knicks)
  8. Kendall Gray (Iowa Energy)
  9. Lazar Hayward (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
  10. Dwayne Polee Jr. (Reno Bighorns)
  11. Matt Bouldin (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  12. Lewis Jackson (Salt Lake City Stars)

Greensboro Swarm (Twitter link)

  1. Josh Davis (Austin Spurs)
  2. Abdul Gaddy (Maine Red Claws)
  3. Tony Bishop (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  4. Scotty Hopson (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  5. Toure’ Murry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  6. Rodney Williams (Oklahoma City Blue)
  7. Josh Huestis (Oklahoma City Blue)
  8. Ralston Turner (Grand Rapids Drive)
  9. Keanau Post (Raptors 905)
  10. Damien Wilkins (Iowa Energy)
  11. Kris Joseph (Westchester Knicks)
  12. Dee Bost (Raptors 905)

Windy City Bulls (Twitter link)

  1. Wesley Saunders (Austin Spurs)
  2. Kiwi Gardner (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  3. Ralph Sampson III (Maine Red Claws)
  4. Booker Woodfox (Texas Legends)
  5. Jerel McNeal (Northern Arizona Suns)
  6. Akeem Richmond (Reno Bighorns)
  7. Casey Prather (Northern Arizona Suns)
  8. Jon Octeus (Canton Charge)
  9. Justin Dentmon (Texas Legends)
  10. Jamal Jones (Delaware 87ers)
  11. Xavier Thames (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  12. Ian Chiles (Salt Lake City Stars)

And-Ones: Sidney, D-League, Turner

The top performing players during the 2015 NBA D-League Elite mini-camp were Aaron Craft, Adonis Thomas, Shawn Jones, and Casey Prather, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets. The NBA D-League’s camp offers standouts from the past season another chance to perform in front of NBA team personnel in advance of Summer Leagues and 2015 training camps, Brian Kotloff of NBA.com writes. “It’s really a great thing for our league to showcase the players,” Elite Mini Camp director Bob MacKinnon, a five-year NBA D-League coaching veteran, said. “Every NBA team will be represented with scouts in these two days. We changed the schedule to accommodate what NBA scouts have told us they want to see.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Eight NBA teams are attending a workout for former Mississippi State center Renardo Sidney tonight in Chicago, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The big man is a free agent and went undrafted back in 2012.
  • The NBA draft combine allows teams to examine more than just the players’ on court abilities, and in some cases these secondary observations can mean the difference between a player getting drafted or needing to scramble to snag a training camp invite, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “The interviews are a big part of this week,” said a Western Conference official. “For teams, a lot of times it’s the first chance they get to sit down with players and find out the answers to some questions that might mean the difference between that kid staying on their board or taken off entirely.
  • Texas big man Myles Turner has a chance to contribute immediately and possibly become a building block for a future contending team, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. Turner is looking to make a splash in the league, saying, “Definitely a long-term goal is to get Rookie of the Year and get into the NBA All-Star Weekend. As far as short-term goals, I’d like to be able to have a great role within the team I’m drafted by to be able to go out there and get quality minutes instead of riding the bench the whole entire rookie season.” The 19-year-old is the No. 10 overall prospect according to Ford, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots him at No. 11. You can view Hoops Rumors’ expanded profile of Turner here.

Suns Waive Jackson, Prather, Wilson

The Suns have waived Joe Jackson, Casey Prather and Jamil Wilson, the team announced in a press release. All three players were in camp on non-guaranteed deals, so Phoenix isn’t on the hook for any salary as they begin paring down their roster in anticipation of opening night. The three rookies initially signed with the Suns at the end of September, and all were longshots to make the regular season roster. These moves leave the Suns’ preseason roster count at 16, with Earl Barron being the lone player left whose deal isn’t fully guaranteed.

Prather played in the summer league for the Hawks before catching Phoenix’s eye after a  predraft workout. The small forward out of Florida averaged 13.8 points in 27.9 minutes per game represented the first double-digit scoring average of his college career.

The 6’7″ Wilson went undrafted this year out of Marquette despite being projected as a possible late second-round pick by some. His college numbers, which include his freshman season at Oregon, are 8.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His college shooting statistics were .447/.336/.708.

Jackson worked out for the Wolves, Kings, Suns, Knicks, Rockets, Mavs, Grizzlies, and the  Jazz prior to the 2014 Draft, but didn’t hear his name called that evening. He was able to catch the Suns’ eye during a June workout, which led to him joining Phoenix for training camp.

Suns Sign Barron, Prather

SEPTEMBER 27TH, 11:34am: The signings are official, the team has announced.

SEPTEMBER 25TH, 11:05pm: The signings have taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.

AUGUST 26TH, 8:21am: The Suns have agreed to non-guaranteed deals with eight-year NBA veteran Earl Barron and undrafted rookie Casey Prather that will allow the pair to join the team for camp, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. They’re almost certainly on minimum-salary arrangements in spite of Phoenix’s ample cap flexibility.

The deal is Barron’s first in the NBA after he signed with the Knicks for the final game of the regular season and the playoffs in 2013. He didn’t see any postseason action that year, appearing in just that lone regular season game, and while the Knicks were reportedly split on bringing him back for last year’s camp, they decided against it, and he spent the season playing in China and Lebanon instead.

Prather made his first contact with the Suns through a predraft workout, though he spent summer league with the Hawks. The small forward from Florida entered the draft as the 83rd-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 95 on Chad Ford’s ESPN.com board after a breakout senior season with the Gators. His 13.8 points in 27.9 minutes per game represented the first double-digit scoring average of his college career.

Barron and Prather will join 13 other Suns, all of whom have guaranteed deals, as our roster counts show. That doesn’t include Eric Bledsoe or second-round pick Alec Brown, though the Suns could make room for them if they cut Barron, Prather or both before opening night.

Northwest Notes: Love, Lucas, Smart, Nuggets

No one is sure what the Timberwolves want in exchange for Kevin Love, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com, dismissing the notion that the team prefers veterans over draft picks. The Wolves have been “cagey” about their desires, Mannix writes. As the Nuggets emerge as a leading suitor for Love, here’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Jazz are signaling that they won’t waive John Lucas III‘s non-guaranteed contract for next season, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Still, the Jazz can cut Lucas anytime before opening night without paying him any of the $1.6MM he’s set to make in 2014/15, and that salary won’t become fully guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date in January.
  • Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin said today that he’s spoken four times with Marcus Smart‘s agent to try to get him to work out for Utah, with no success, notes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). DeAndre Daniels, Jordan McRae, Casey Prather, Langston Hall, Kendall Williams, Mike Burwell and Tristan Spurlock are the previously unreported prospects who did audition for the Jazz today, the team announced (on Twitter).
  • K.J. McDaniels and Davon Usher will work out for the Nuggets on Thursday, the team announced via press release.

And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves

The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Here’s more from around the association:

  • The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
  • The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
  • Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
  • In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
  • The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
  • In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.

Draft Notes: Gordon, Napier, Spurs, Raptors

The draft is three weeks from tonight, and players continue to travel around North America to show off for teams and make the best of their chances. Here’s the latest:

  • The Jazz are among the teams on Aaron Gordon‘s workout schedule, tweets Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento.
  • Shabazz Napier is set to audition for the Bulls today, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Spurs are working out Cleanthony Early, Glenn Robinson III, and Isaiah Austin today, according to Goodman (via Twitter).
  • The previously unreported prospects showing off for the Raptors today are the similarly named DeAndre Kane, DeAndre Daniels, K.J. McDaniels and C.J. Fair, the team announced.
  • The Suns worked out Aaron Craft, Markel Starks, Tarik Black and Casey Prather on Wednesday, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
  • Bryce Cotton will audition for the Sixers next week, as agent Harold B. Woolfalk tells Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
  • The Knicks are set to get a look at Arkansas State forward Kirk Van Slyke today, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Vonleh, Stauskas, McDermott, Harris

Indiana big man Noah Vonleh looked impressive in a workout this week, and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Magic to the list of teams auditioning the potential top-five pick (Twitter link). There’s news on a few other projected lottery selections among the latest on the draft:

  • Nik Stauskas will work out for the Lakers and Celtics, Goodman reports, adding that the same two teams are on Doug McDermott‘s agenda (Twitter links).
  • Gary Harris will show off for the Suns and Lakers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
  • Adreian Payne is set to audition for the Celtics, Suns and Jazz, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
  • The Hawks worked out Nick Johnson on Thursday, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • Jahii Carson, Justin Cobbs, Cory Jefferson, Artem Klimenko and Akil Mitchell are all performing for the Bucks today, the team announced (on Twitter).
  • The Suns will audition Lamar Patterson today, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Phoenix is also getting a look at De’Mon Brooks, according to agent Keith Kreiter (Twitter link).
  • The Sixers worked out Patterson, Semaj Christon, Devon Saddler, Casey Prather and Langston Galloway, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Pacers had a look at Galloway, Jabari Brown, Markel Starks and C.J. Wilcox, as Tynes also writes.
  • The Celtics and Bulls will audition Kadeem Batts, Sportando’s David Pick tweets.

Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:

  • Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
  • The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
  • Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
  • Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
  • Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
  • Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.