Dwayne Polee Jr.

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)

Q&A With San Diego State Forward Dwayne Polee

Over the next few weeks, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft. Today, the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with San Diego State forward Dwayne Polee.  

A product of Los Angeles powerhouse Westchester High School, Dwayne Polee arrived at St. John’s in 2010 with a great deal of hype.  The small forward thrived under first-year head coach Steve Lavin, but an illness at home prompted him to relocate back to the West Coast.  Leaving St. John’s was a difficult decision for Polee, but he landed with another solid program in San Diego State, where he enjoyed multiple appearances in the NCAA tournament.  The 23-year-old is now auditioning for teams in hopes of hearing his name called later this month.  Recently, Polee took some time out of his schedule to chat with Hoops Rumors about his career going forward.

Zach Links: This year, San Diego State made the NCAA tournament and your first game was against St. John’s. Was it strange facing your old teammates in such a high stakes game?

Dwayne Polee: No it wasn’t awkward or anything because I still keep in touch with so many of those guys. I loved my time at St. John’s. I have a very close bond with my teammates that I played with in that year.  Steve Lavin and that whole coaching staff was great to me.  It was just a great experience all around.

Mar 7, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs forward Dwayne Polee II (5) dunks during the second half against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Photo courtesy of USA TODAY Sports Images.

ZL: Have you bumped into Phil Greene or any of your former Red Storm teammates on the draft workout circuit?

DP: Nope, not yet. Could happen over the next few weeks though.

ZL: What do you feel like your greatest strengths are on the court? What do you want to work on?

DP: I think my greatest strengths are probably my defense, athleticism, and length. With my wingspan I can clog the passing lanes and pressure ball handlers a lot more than other guys can.  I want to become a more consistent shooter and a more consistent ball handler.

ZL: Your father played professionally and was drafted in the third round by the Clippers. What sort of advice has he given you about the draft process?

DP: He just told me just go out there and play like you’re in the backyard.  He told me to play as though there are no GMs or scouts are watching me, because that can be a big distraction.  I just go out there and play my hardest like nobody is watching.

ZL: What NBA player would you compare yourself to?

DP: I think I would compare myself to a Jeff Green or a Tony Allen type of player. They play great defense and they’re solid athletes. They can nail the open shots and they just bring their team a lot of energy.

ZL: What workouts have you had so far?

DP: Dallas and the Clippers.

ZL: What are you hearing about your chances of getting drafted?

DP: I haven’t really talked about that with my agent too much just yet, but [Jim Tanner] is just telling me to go out there and play hard. He’s pretty sure that I’ll be able to shock some teams.

ZL: Late last year in a game against UC-Riverside, you had a scary moment where you collapsed mid-game and had to be taken off the court on a gurney.  I know that doctors held you out of practice for a while and you weren’t allowed to return to the court until February.  We’ve heard players talk about their trepidation in cutting on a surgically-repaired knee or ankle for the first time – what was it like coming back from this incident?

DP: It was kind of weird mentally because you got to get back to the business of basketball. Being with your teammates, running the plays, the rhythm and everything…I would say that was the most challenging part for me. The rest of it didn’t stress me out too much. The way I play is that even if I don’t score a single point, I still go out there and play hard and give it my best.

ZL: What led you to choose Jim Tanner as your agent?

DP: For me, everything is just based on vibes, you know. Jim, when I met with him, he just gave me a great vibe and I just felt comfortable signing with [Tandem Sports and Entertainment]. Since then, everyone I’ve come across tells me that I picked the best agency. I’m very comfortable with the decision that I made.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Mavs, Grizzlies

The Pelicans and Celtics assistant coach Darren Erman have an agreement in principle for Erman to join Alvin Gentry‘s coaching staff in New Orleans, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported overnight that the Pelicans were aggressively pursuing Erman, a detail-oriented defensive whiz who complements Gentry’s offensive acumen. The Raptors also recently made a run at Erman, sources told Wojnarowski. New Orleans is poised to hire Thunder assistant coach Robert Pack for Gentry’s staff, too, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times hears (Twitter link). However, Wojnarowski, whose story appeared later, writes that the Pelicans and Pack are in talks but makes no mention of a deal. Regardless, new Thunder head coach Billy Donovan is unlikely to keep Pack on his staff, Wojnarowski adds. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

  • San Diego State small forward Dwayne Polee worked out for the Mavericks late last month, as he tells Zach Links of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link). Michigan State’s Travis Trice, Stanford’s Chasson Randle, Dayton’s Jordan Sibert and Harvard point guard Wesley Saunders showed off for Dallas today, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
  • Big men highlight the Grizzlies workout scheduled for Wednesday, with Kentucky center Dakari Johnson and French center Mouhammadou Jaiteh on the docket, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal in a subscription-only piece. Centers Youssou Ndoye from St. Bonaventure and Charles Jackson from Tennessee Tech, Connecticut point guard Ryan Boatright and Boise State shooting guard Derrick Marks are the others in the workout, as Tillery details.
  • Florida’s Michael Frazier is auditioning for the Spurs today, Scotto reports, and the team will also get a look at North Carolina’s J.P. Tokoto, according to Pincus (Twitter links).
  • Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders adds the Rockets to the list of teams working out N.C. State shooting guard Trevor Lacey (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Booker, Clippers, Sanders

Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker will work out for the Thunder on Tuesday, Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman tweets. Oklahoma City owns the No. 14 overall pick. The Suns, who have the No. 13 pick, brought in Booker for a workout on Monday. according to a tweet from Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. Dez WellsJosh Richardson, Derek Cooke, Vince Hunter and Jarvis Summers also participated in Phoenix’s workout, according to Scotto.

In other news around the league:

  • The Clippers, who don’t have a pick in the draft, nonetheless brought in several prospects for workouts on Monday, including Chris WalkerDwayne PoleeRalston TurnerKeifer SykesShannon Scott and Richaun Holmes, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports.
  • Trevor Lacey, Dakari Johnson, Rayvonte Rice, Corey Hawkins, Kenneth Smith and Alpha Kaba worked out for the Lakers on Monday, according to the Lakers’ Twitter feed.
  • Jerian Grant and Delon Wright participated in the Wizards’ first pre-draft workout, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.
  • Larry Sanders has no regrets walking away from the Bucks and the NBA, he tells Gus Turner of Complex.com in a lengthy feature article. Sanders left approximately $27MM but has found peace and happiness outside of basketball, Turner adds. “I couldn’t function outside of the gym and my studio,” he told Turner. “I couldn’t be around my family; I couldn’t be around anybody else. I was creating from a place of anxiety and fear, suffering. I wasn’t creating from a place of joy or happiness or freedom. Everything I did was pure avoidance.”
  • Alvin Gentry’s four-year deal to coach the Pelicans is worth a total of $13.75MM, and that includes a team option of $4MM for the final season, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.