Dee Bost

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)

Eastern Notes: Embiid, D-League, Bulls

Sixers GM Sam Hinkie noted that while Joel Embiid adhered to the prescribed recovery plan for his injured right foot, the team would have liked the center to be more focused at times regarding his rehab, Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes. “He [Embiid] gets thrown into the NBA and the thing you love the most is taken away from you,” Hinkie said. “I found his diligence to be good. At the same time, I’ve had conversations with him that everybody’s got to step up their focus. The stakes are very high. It’s clear to everyone however high they were, they’re higher [now].” Embiid underwent a second surgical procedure on his injured right foot this week, and he is expected to miss the entire 2015/16 campaign.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

  • The Raptors have secured the D-League rights to several players via the expansion draft, and a number of recognizable names are up and down the list, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca notes (on Twitter). Some of the better known players selected by the team include Earl Clark, Nolan Smith, Dee Bost, Dahntay Jones, and Ricky Ledo, Grange relays.
  • The Bulls chose to stand pat for the most part this offseason regarding making roster moves, with the team still believing that its core has the capability of reaching the NBA Finals, a plan that center Joakim Noah agrees with, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com writes. “I think continuity is gonna be great for us,” Noah told Goodwill. “Even though it’s the same group, it’s still gonna be change at the leadership role as far as coaching. So it’s gonna be very different. So having the same team brings stability as well.
  • Lamar Patterson, who inked a two-year pact with the Hawks this offseason, hopes that shedding 22 pounds of weight from his 6’5″ frame will help him earn a regular season roster spot, Jake Fischer of SI.com writes. The guard spent last season with Tofas Bursa of Turkey, averaging 11.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game. Patterson, who turns 24 next month, led the Hawks in scoring at the Las Vegas Summer League with 13.1 PPG to go along with 5.1 RPG in 25.8 MPG.

Dee Bost Signs To Play In Turkey

FRIDAY, 2:33pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

THURSDAY, 8:25am: Former Jazz camp invitee Dee Bost has a one-year deal with Trabzonspor of Turkey, Sportando’s Enea Trapani reports. Utah had reportedly maintained interest in having the point guard play for its D-League affiliate, but it appears he’ll go overseas instead. It’s not clear what Bost will make with Trabzonspor, but it likely involves a greater salary than he would have made in the D-League.

The Jazz waived Bost nearly two weeks ago, and he didn’t appear in any preseason games, suggesting that he was a long way from making Utah’s regular season roster, even though the team guaranteed his salary for $65K. He had more extensive involvement with the Blazers last year, averaging 3.5 points in 10.4 minutes per game across four preseason contests before Portland let him go about a week before opening night.

Bost, now 25, spent much of last season with the Blazers one-to-one affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, which this year serves as the one-to-one affiliate of the Jazz. He also saw action with Trotamundos de Carabobo of Venezuela last year, and he’s no stranger to European competition, having played with Montenegro’s KK Buducnost VOLI in 2012/13.

Western Notes: Thompson, Holiday, Jazz

Klay Thompson tells J.A. Adande of ESPN.com that he’s more interested in securing an extension with the Warriors now than signing a single year contract next summer to prepare for the 2016/17 free agent market, when the league’s new TV deal will kick in and boost player salaries. “It really is tempting to do all that,” said Thompson, who admitted that seeing Paul George‘s shocking injury with Team USA has affected his outlook. “But I’d rather have the security right now, you know?” Adande gets the sense from both Thompson and the Warriors that a deal will get done before the October 31 deadline.  Here’s more from Golden State and the rest of the West:

  • 25-year-old Justin Holiday has faced a tough road to crack an NBA roster, but tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that his experience in international and D-League play has been formative. “I don’t need to go out here and do the jobs of Steph [Curry] and Klay. I understand that,” said Holiday, who hopes to earn one of the two open regular season roster spots with the Warriors. “That’s what a team is about: playing together and using each guy’s strengths in order to win… I want to help and lead on defense. You can’t control your jump shot every night, but you can control your effort on defense all the time.”
  • Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke highly of Holiday’s ability, telling Simmons, “He’s an unbelievable guy. He’s a great worker, he’s smart and he’s a team guy. Justin belongs in this league.” Kerr has expressed similar non-committal praise for fellow Golden State camp invite Jason Kapono.
  • Veteran Jazz newcomers Trevor Booker and Dahntay Jones tell Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune that Utah’s roster is at an advanced stage for a rebuilding team, having witnessed successful rebuilds in their time with the Wizards and Pacers, respectively.
  • Though the Jazz have waived Dee Bost and Kevin Murphy, they still have interest in adding the pair to their D-League team, Falk notes.

Jazz Waive Kevin Murphy, Dee Bost

The Jazz have waived swingman Kevin Murphy and point guard Dee Bost, the team announced. The moves mean Utah will be stuck with $130K of dead money on its cap this season unless another team claims one of the players off waivers, since Bost and Murphy had identical $65K partial guarantees on the deals they signed this summer. Their departures leave the Jazz with 17 players on their roster.

Murphy, 24, appeared for five minutes in Tuesday’s preseason opener against the Blazers, scoring four points, but that’s the only action that either has seen in the team’s two exhibition games so far. It was Murphy’s second stint with Utah, which drafted him 47th overall in 2012 and gave him brief regular season playing time in his rookie season before shipping him to the Warriors in a three-team trade during the summer of 2013. Golden State waived him shortly thereafter, and he spent last season playing in France and for the Blazers D-League affiliate.

Bost, who turns 25 on Sunday, also has a Blazers connection, having spent training camp with Portland last autumn. Bost has made stops in Venezuela and Montenegro, and he, like Murphy, spent time last year with Portland’s D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, who’ve switched their one-to-one affiliation to the Jazz for this season. The Jazz signed both with the idea that they’d end up playing for Idaho again this year, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, so it seems likely that Utah will retain the D-League rights to the pair.

The Jazz have 13 fully guaranteed contracts, plus two remaining partial guarantees on the books with Toure’ Murry and Jack Cooley. Brock Motum and veteran Dahntay Jones are without guaranteed salary.

Murphy, Bost To Join Jazz For Training Camp

AUGUST 27TH: Murphy’s deal is official, too, the team announced.

AUGUST 25TH: The team hasn’t announced Murphy’s signing, but it has occured according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Pincus reports that both players’ deals are partially guaranteed at $65K, and Murphy’s total salary is set at $840K. Bost’s total salary was already reported to be at the minimum for three seasons (none of which are fully guaranteed).

AUGUST 15TH: The Jazz officially announced the signing of Bost, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.

AUGUST 14THKevin Murphy and Dee Bost will join the Jazz for training camp, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (on Twitter). Both players spent last season with the Idaho Stampede of the D-League.

Bost, 25 in October, signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Blazers last fall before being waived in October.  The guard went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2012 and spent the following season overseas with Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 turnovers in 21.5 minutes per contest.  In 50 games for Idaho last season, Bost averaged 15.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 40.5 minutes per night.

Murphy auditioned for the 76ers in March in hopes of securing a 10-day deal and also worked out for the Nets earlier this offseason.

Western Notes: Bennett, Jazz, Bost, Kobe

No one is ever going to mistake the Twin Cities for Los Angeles or Miami, but Wolves executive/coach Flip Saunders believes geography is overrated when it comes to attracting free agents, as Michael Rand of the Star Tribune notes.

“Our NBA has become, instead of destination city, it’s become destination players,” Saunders said. “Around our league it seems players gravitate toward other players to play with. We feel with some of the players that we have that we’re going to have the ability to get players to gravitate towards our organization because of that.”

It remains to be seen whether Andrew Wiggins and fellow No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett will develop into the sorts of players that others will want to team with, but whether one or both of them does could tell the tale of the Kevin Love trade for the Wolves, Rand argues. There’s more on the Wolves amid the latest from the Western Conference:

  • Minnesota’s 2015/16 team option on Bennett’s contract is a “lock” to be exercised, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities writes (Twitter links), though the Wolves have yet to make their final decision, one that’s due at the end of October.
  • Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey says he plans to keep one or two roster spots open for competition among the players the team invites to camp, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune observes. That suggests the team won’t add to its total of 13 players on fully guaranteed deals and is a positive development for Dee Bost, Jack Cooley and Kevin Murphy, the trio of players with whom the team has pacts that aren’t fully guaranteed. Still, a source tells Falk that Bost, who reportedly has a partial guarantee of $65K, still faces long odds to stick with the team.
  • The Lakers aren’t about to trade franchise icon Kobe Bryant, but even if they wanted to, one NBA GM tells Chris Ballard of SI.com that they’d meet a dead end, deeming Bryant’s trade value as “zero,” based on his bloated two-year, $48.5MM extension.

Contract Details: Inglis, Heat, Jazz, Hamilton

The pace of signings is slow this time of year, but teams continue to add to their rosters. Eric Pincus reveals some previously unreported details about a handful of these signings within his latest updates to the salary pages at Basketball Insiders, so we’ll pass along the news here:

  • The Bucks are giving 31st overall pick Damien Inglis guaranteed salaries of $820K this season and $855K for 2015/16, both amounts that are more than the minimum, as Pincus notes (Twitter link). It’s a three-year deal in all that features a non-guaranteed season at the minimum salary in the contract’s final year. Milwaukee used part of its cap space to accommodate the signing.
  • Tyler Johnson‘s minimum salary with the Heat this season is guaranteed for $75K, while his minimum salary for next season is without a guarantee, according to Pincus. Reggie Williams is receiving a non-guaranteed minimum salary in his pact with the Heat this year, as Pincus also reveals.
  • The Jazz gave Dee Bost a $65K guarantee this season, while the other two years of his three-year contract for the minimum salary are non-guaranteed, Pincus reports. Pincus also notes that the team gave Jack Cooley a three-year deal for the minimum, though it remains unclear whether any of Cooley’s pay is guaranteed. Utah used cap space rather than the minimum-salary exception on Bost and Cooley, since the minimum-salary exception only allows for two-year deals.
  • The Raptors have the means to shell out more than the minimum salary, but they didn’t give Jordan Hamilton any more than that, as Pincus documents. Hamilton’s deal is reportedly partially guaranteed, but just how much he’s guaranteed remains unknown.
  • Darius Morris is on a one-year deal with the Blazers, Pincus shows.

And-Ones: D-League, Garcia, Love, Bost

Sources tell Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (on Twitter) that the 2014/15 D-League season is likely to start a week earlier than last season, which could provide roster opportunities for teams.   Also, with the new schedule, the regular season is set to wrap on April 4th (link).  More from around the Association..

  • Despite some speculation to the contrary, agent Aaron Goodwin says that client Francisco Garcia has not agreed to re-sign with the Rockets, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.  Late last month it was reported that there is mutual interest between the two sides, however.
  • With Kevin Love likely heading from the Wolves the Cavs in a little over a week, Michael Rand of the Star Tribune looked at five things he’ll miss about Kevin Love and five things he won’t miss.  Rand will miss Love’s willingness to take big shots and his beautiful outlet passes, but he won’t miss the All-Star’s inability to elevate the team around him and his lack of interior defense.
  • Sources tell Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter) that Dee Bost‘s deal with the Jazz is guaranteed for $65K.  In total, it’s a three-year deal worth $2.35MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.  He’ll attend Jazz camp but will likely play in the D-League for the Idaho Stampede.  In 50 games for Idaho last season, Bost averaged 15.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 40.5 minutes per night.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Corbin, Trail Blazers

Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard is rarely rattled on the basketball court, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “[Sunday night] was a Damian Lillard performance,” Head coach Terry Stotts said. “Damian rises to the occasion. For all those people who were wanting to know if he was ready for the playoffs, I think he answered that question, so we don’t have to answer that anymore. He made big plays. The three was big, getting to the rim was big, making free throws – it was a big time performance.”  The latest out of the Northwest Division..

  • Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (on Twitter) says that Tyrone Corbin had some support from Jazz leadership but not enough in basketball operations to get an extension with the team.
  • In an afternoon press conference, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey called Corbin “a man of dignity, class, and integrity,” tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.  Lindsey also explained that he hasn’t picked out a successor yet (link).  “Literally we haven’t had one conversation with regards to other names. … Now that the decisions closed we’ll meet quickly,” said the GM.
  • Even though Jim Boylen might fit Lindsey’s vision and is an outstanding coach, he’d be a very tough sell for Jazz fans, opines Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter).  He also wouldn’t have a honeymoon period and would be expected to deliver wins off the bat.
  • Guard Dee Bost, who was waived by the Trail Blazers in October, signed a deal in Venezuela with Trotamundos de Carabobo, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The player spent the season in D-League with the Idaho Stampede averaging 15.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 8.4 assists, and 2.1 steals in 50 games.