Ike Iroegbu

Clippers Waive Plumlee, Iroegbu, Wallace

The Clippers reached the roster limit by waiving Marshall Plumlee, Ike Iroegbu and Tyrone Wallace, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Plumlee was in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, hoping to win a spot as a third center behind DeAndre Jordan and Willie Reed. The 25-year-old spent part of last season with Knicks, appearing in 21 games, after going undrafted out of Duke. New York had interest in re-signing him, but Plumlee chose the opportunity with the Clippers.

Iroegbu, a 22-year-old point guard, signed with L.A. on Friday in a move designed to get him to the Clippers’ new G League affiliate. The Washington State alum went undrafted and played briefly with the Suns’ summer league team.

Wallace, 23, played for Utah’s G League affiliate last season after being the final pick in the 2016 draft. Even though he came to camp with the Clippers, his rights still belonged to the Salt Lake City Stars. However, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario made a trade to acquire Wallace’s rights earlier today.

Earlier today, we told you the Clippers opted to keep shooting guard C.J. Williams by converting his contract to a two-way deal. That will limit him to 45 days in the NBA this season.

Clippers Sign Ike Iroegbu

The Clippers signed point guard Ike Iroegbu to a deal on Friday, as reported by Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Iroegbu played for 17 minutes in the Clippers’ preseason finale against the Lakers, posting seven points, five rebounds and one assist.

Iroegbu, 22, spent the last four seasons at Washington State University. He appeared in 31 games in each of his four years at the school, averaging just under 10 points, three rebounds and three assists during his tenure. After going undrafted, Iroegbu participated in Afrobasket this year representing Nigeria and appeared in one game with the Suns during Summer League.

It is likely that the Clippers waive Iroegbu ahead of the deadline for teams to finalize rosters at 15 players. Signing and then waiving Iroegbu will give the Clips first dibs to make the young guard an affiliate player for their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

Knicks Draft Notes: Smith Jr., Mitchell, Williams-Goss

Dennis Smith Jr. met with Knicks team president Phil Jackson and according to the prospect’s trainer, he would love a chance to play with Carmelo Anthony, as Adam Zagoria of Fan Rag relays.

“Those guys are proven, USA [Basketball], Olympic players, I think he would mesh well. And Junior wants to learn now, too,” Smith’s longtime trainer Shawn Farmer. “He doesn’t just want to go in and think he knows everything. He wants to get up under those guys’ wing and learn from those guys.”

Farmer added playing in the triangle wouldn’t upset Smith. “He saw it was successful prior years with Kobe [Bryant] and all of those kids [on the Lakers]. So Junior is one of the smartest basketball players I’ve ever been around and I’ve played professionally in Europe. I’ve been around a lot of pros and not being biased, he’s such a smart kid,” Farmer said.

The NC State product was expected to work out for New York on Wednesday, but that never took place, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (ESPN Now link). The point guard also met with the Magic on Wednesday, so it’s possible that he received a draft promise from Orlando and decided not to go through drills with the Knicks, though that is merely my speculation.

Here’s more from the Big Apple:

Draft Notes: Monk, Wolves, Bell, Knicks

Selecting Malik Monk is the Sixers‘ best option at No. 3, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer contends. While taking Monk so high may be considered a reach, Ford doesn’t see it that way. He argues that front office should disregard expert rankings and pick the player who would fit in best with the team.

Only five teams were worse than the Sixers from long-range last season, as I mentioned in the franchise’s offseason preview. The Sixers’ greatness need may be shooting and Monk, who Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks as the eighth best prospect in the draft, made 39.7%  of his attempts from behind the arc during his lone season in Kentucky.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said other teams have been trying to acquire the No. 7 overall pick, ESPN’s Nick Friedell tweets. Thibs added that he believes there will be high demand for many picks in the draft.
  • Jordan Bell had an impressive workout with the Sixers, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer“For a Dennis Rodman-like player who has the ability to play across a few positions, mainly defensively, we sat with him, had a great interview as we’ve learned more about him,” Sixers executive Brandon Williams said. If Bell falls in the draft, Philadelphia could be a team to watch out for since it has four selections in the second round.
  • The Knicks worked out Ike Iroegbu and Trevor Thompson, Marc Berman of the New York Post passes along (Twitter link).
  • Elie Okobo worked out for the Sixers today, Jessica Camerato of Comcast Sports relays (Twitter link). Okobo previously worked out for the Jazz and he plans to meet with the Nets and Hawks.

Draft Updates: Tuesday Night

Underclassmen who submitted their names for draft consideration have until tomorrow —  May 25th — to decide whether or not to remain in the draft. If those players don’t withdraw from consideration by Wednesday’s deadline, they’ll forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and will be available to NBA teams in June. Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft:

  • Seton Hall sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead intends to remain in the draft and will sign with agents Andy Miller and Stephen Pina of ASM Sports, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets. Whitehead is a projected second round pick, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him as the No. 59 overall player.
  • Villanova junior swingman Josh Hart is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his senior season, Evan Daniels of Scout.com tweets.
  • Northwestern State junior point guard Zeke Woodley intends to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
  • Freshman center Moustapha Diagne is withdrawing from the draft and will attend junior college next season with an eye on making the jump to division one the following year, Goodman tweets.
  • Gonzaga junior center Przemek Karnowski is withdrawing from the draft and returning to school for his senior season, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com relays (Twitter link).
  • Center Amida Brimah and guard Rodney Purvis have withdrawn from the 2016 NBA Draft and are returning to UConn for their senior seasons, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.
  • San Diego State sophomore small forward Malik Pope is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his junior season, the player announced on his Twitter feed.
  • Thon Maker is being viewed as a potential first-rounder after his excellent showing in front of NBA personnel in New York City, Zagoria tweets. The 19-year-old is currently slotted No. 40 overall by Givony.
  • Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson, Conor Clifford and Ike Iroegbu are withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for the 2016/17 season, Goodman tweets.