Jarron Cumberland

Blazers Sign Jarron Cumberland, Brandon Williams To 10-Day Contracts

DECEMBER 26: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Cumberland and Williams to 10-day deals, the team announced today in a press release. Those contracts will run through January 4.


DECEMBER 25: The Trail Blazers, having already agreed to terms with Cameron McGriff, will sign two more players using hardship exceptions, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), who reports that guards Jarron Cumberland and Brandon Williams are signing 10-day contracts with the club.

Cumberland, 24, went undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2020 after earning AAC Player of the Year honors in 2019. The 6’5″ shooting guard played for the Raptors 905 and Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League as a rookie and joined the Delaware Blue Coats for the 2021/22 season. In 13 NBAGL games (21.1 MPG) this season, he has averaged 9.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .432/.341/.857 shooting.

A former Arizona Wildcat, Williams had been playing for the Westchester Knicks this season. While his averages of 17.7 PPG, 4.5 APG, and 1.9 SPG through 10 games (30.1 MPG) are impressive, he has struggled with his efficiency, making just 36.4% of his field goal attempts, including 28.3% of his threes.

Portland didn’t have any players in the health and safety protocols entering the day on Friday, but has since placed five players in the protocols and lined up three deals with replacement players.

The Blazers’ next game is on Monday, so the team has a couple days to get its roster in order and finalize its signings. Hopefully no more Portland players have to be placed in the protocols before then.

Raptors Notes: Powell, Baynes, Lowry, Cumberland

If the Raptors are buyers at the trade deadline, the contracts of Patrick McCawAron Baynes, Stanley Johnson and Norman Powell are the ones most likely to be included in a deal for an impact player, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen. Powell, who holds an $11.6MM option on his contract for next season, and Kyle Lowry ($30.5MM expiring contract) are the players most likely to be traded if Toronto goes into sell mode. However, it’s likely that the team values Powell’s Bird rights to the point where it would take a very strong offer to part with the scoring wing, Koreen speculates.

We have more on the Raptors:

  • The success of smaller lineups could alter the front office’s approach to the trade market, Blake Murphy of The Athletic notes. The team has gotten positive results by using OG Anunoby as the de facto starting center and moving Baynes to the bench. That could result in expanding its options beyond an upgrade at center, rather than overpaying a potential trade partner for a big man.
  • Lowry deserves to finish out the season, if not his career, with the Raptors, Scott Stinson of The National Post opines. He’s been the only constant in the team’s sustained period of success and his days with the franchise shouldn’t end in pursuit of assets.
  • The club’s G League team, Raptors 905, has traded center Dewan Hernandez to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for guard Jarron Cumberland, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Raptors 905 is also receiving Stockton’s original second-round pick in the 2021/22 G League Draft via Canton. Hernandez, 24, played six games with Toronto last season. The undrafted Cumberland played four college seasons with Cincinnati.
  • In case you missed it, the Raptors have signed big man Donta Hall to a 10-day contract.

2020/21 NBA G League Draft Results

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2020/21 season on Monday afternoon.

In a typical year, the G League draft lasts four rounds and teams are only required to make two selections. However, this year’s draft was just three rounds and teams weren’t required to make any picks.

Because only 17 of 28 NBA G League affiliates (plus the G League Ignite) are participating in the revamped season at Walt Disney World in Florida, and because teams aren’t permitted to bring extra players to training camp for health and safety reasons, roster spots will be at a premium in the NBAGL this season, and the draft reflected that. Only 25 players were selected.

With the first overall pick, the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ affiliate – nabbed former Wizard Admiral Schofield. The 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 33 games (11.2 MPG) as a rookie before being traded to the Thunder during the offseason. Oklahoma City waived him last month.

With the second overall pick, which they acquired in a trade earlier in the day, the Memphis Hustle selected former Baylor standout Freddie Gillespie, who had been in camp with the Mavericks. Gillespie recently spoke to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors about his desire to make it to the NBA and his plans to begin his professional career in the G League. He’s now in position to suit up for the Grizzlies‘ affiliate.

Here are the full 2020/21 G League draft results:

Round One:

  1. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Admiral Schofield (Tennessee)
  2. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Freddie Gillespie (Baylor)
  3. Canton Charge (Cavaliers): Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
  4. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
  5. Lakeland Magic (Magic):  Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State)
  6. Canton Charge: Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
  7. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
  8. Lakeland Magic: DJ Hogg (Texas A&M)
  9. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Patton (Creighton)
  10. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Armoni Brooks (Houston)
  11. Raptors 905 (Raptors): Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
  12. Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
  13. Oklahoma City Blue: Vince Edwards (Purdue)
  14. Austin Spurs (Spurs): Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield)
  15. Raptors 905: Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
  16. Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
  17. Iowa Wolves: Dakarai Tucker (Utah)
  18. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): No pick
  19. N/A

Round Two:

  1. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State)
  2. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
  3. Westchester Knicks: No pick
  4. Iowa Wolves: No pick
  5. Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
  6. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
  7. Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight (Seton Hall)
  8. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
  9. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Selom Mawugbe (Azusa Pacific)
  10. Raptors 905: No pick
  11. Memphis Hustle: No pick
  12. Austin Spurs: Anthony Mathis (Oregon)
  13. Erie BayHawks (Pelicans): No pick
  14. Greensboro Swarm: No pick
  15. Austin Spurs: Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown)
  16. Santa Cruz Warriors: No pick
  17. Memphis Hustle: No pick
  18. Oklahoma City Blue: Rob Edwards (Arizona State)
  19. Salt Lake City Stars: No pick

Round Three:

  1. Greensboro Swarm: No pick
  2. Erie BayHawks: No pick
  3. Westchester Knicks: No pick
  4. Delaware Blue Coats: Braxton Key (Virginia)
  5. No picks from 43-57

The teams that didn’t make any picks will fill their rosters with affiliate players and returning rights players, meaning they didn’t need to draft anyone and/or didn’t have the open spots to do so.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted (via Twitter), NBAGL teams overwhelmingly opted for youth, passing on most of the notable veteran NBA players in the draft pool. That group included Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Emeka Okafor, and Shabazz Muhammad, among others.

Former Nets first-rounder Dzanan Musa removed his name from the draft pool before the event began, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Draft Decisions: Wigginton, Cumberland, Lamb, More

The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants is this Wednesday, May 29. That means that a number of college underclassmen who tested the draft waters this spring are now faced with a decision on whether to keep their names in the draft pool or pull out and head back to school for at least one more year.

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest reported early entrant decisions:

  • Iowa State sophomore guard Lindell Wigginton has decided to keep his name in the 2019 draft, he announced on Sunday (via Twitter). Wigginton doesn’t show up in ESPN’s top-100 list, so he’s far from a lock to be drafted.
  • The Bearcats got some good news today, as guard Jarron Cumberland will return to Cincinnati for his senior season, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
  • A spokesman tells Goodman (Twitter link) that Vermont forward Anthony Lamb will also head back to school for his senior year.
  • Two Davidson early entrants, sophomore guard Kellan Grady and junior guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson, are pulling out of draft and going back to school, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports relays (via Twitter).
  • Notre Dame guard TJ Gibbs will be heading back to school for his senior year, tweets Rothstein.
  • Missouri State junior forward Tulio Da Silva is withdrawing from the 2019 draft and retaining his college eligibility, a source tells Rothstein (Twitter link).
  • Portland State’s Holland Woods, a sophomore guard, is withdrawing from the 2019 NBA draft, according to Rothstein (via Twitter).

NBA Announces 80 Players For G League Elite Camp

The NBA has announced in a press release that 80 players are set to participate in its G League Elite Camp next week in Chicago from May 12-14. The event will include 40 prospects who are eligible for this year’s draft, as well as 40 standout prospects from the 2018/19 G League season.

Heading into this spring, the NBA revamped its G League Elite Camp, which in past years has simply showcased some of the NBAGL’s top performers.  That aspect of the event will still exist, but G League players will only participate in the first two days of the event.

The second half of the event will feature 40 draft-eligible prospects who aren’t among the 60 prospects invited to the actual draft combine. The list of participants was determined by an NBA team vote, and those prospects will work out and scrimmage during the final two days of the event — there will be no overlap with the G League portion of the event.

As this week’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which takes place from May 15-19 in Chicago.

Here are the list of draft-eligible prospects who are expected to participate in the 2019 G League Elite Mini Camp, per the NBA:

  1. Tyus Battle (Syracuse)
  2. Bennie Boatwright (USC)
  3. Phil Booth (Villanova)
  4. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
  5. Bryce Brown (Auburn)
  6. Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State)
  7. Chris Clemons (Campbell)
  8. Amir Coffey (Minnesota)
  9. Tyler Cook (Iowa)
  10. Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
  11. Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida)
  12. Javin DeLaurier (Duke)
  13. Mamadi Diakite (Virginia)
  14. CJ Elleby (Washington State)
  15. Tacko Fall (UCF)
  16. Robert Franks (Washington State)
  17. Jared Harper (Auburn)
  18. Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)
  19. Dewan Hernandez (Miami)
  20. Amir Hinton (Shaw (NC))
  21. DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa)
  22. Sagaba Konate (West Virginia)
  23. Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep (Canada))
  24. Terance Mann (Florida State)
  25. Caleb Martin (Nevada)
  26. Cody Martin (Nevada)
  27. Luke Maye (North Carolina)
  28. Trey Mourning (Georgetown)
  29. Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
  30. James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska)
  31. Josh Perkins (Gonzaga)
  32. Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
  33. Jalen Pickett (Siena)
  34. Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
  35. Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
  36. Marial Shayok (Iowa State)
  37. Max Strus (DePaul)
  38. Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
  39. Kenny Wooten (Oregon)
  40. Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra)

Here are the 40 G League players set to participate in the G League Elite Camp:

  1. Josh Adams (Raptors 905)
  2. Jaylen Barford (Greensboro Swarm)
  3. Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
  4. Jared Brownridge (Delaware Blue Coats)
  5. Antonius Cleveland (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  6. Charles Cooke (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  7. Cody Demps (Stockton Kings)
  8. Aaron Epps (Northern Arizona Suns)
  9. Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue)
  10. John Gillon (Greensboro Swarm)
  11. Kaiser Gates (Windy City Bulls)
  12. Isaac Haas (Salt Lake City Stars)
  13. Johnny Hamilton (Grand Rapids Drive)
  14. Dusty Hannahs (Memphis Hustle)
  15. Zak Irvin (Westchester Knicks)
  16. Peter Jok (Northern Arizona Suns)
  17. Matt Jones (Stockton Kings)
  18. Marcus Lee (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  19. Zach Lofton (Grand Rapids Drive)
  20. Tahjere McCall (Long Island Nets)
  21. Brandon McCoy (Wisconsin Herd)
  22. MiKyle McIntosh (Raptors 905)
  23. Jordan McLaughlin (Long Island Nets)
  24. Jaylen Morris (Erie BayHawks)
  25. Mychal Mulder (Windy City Bulls)
  26. Malik Newman (Canton Charge)
  27. Retin Obasohan (Northern Arizona Suns)
  28. Chinanu Onuaku (Greensboro Swarm)
  29. Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
  30. Darel Poirier (Capital City Go-Go)
  31. Billy Preston (Texas Legends)
  32. Desi Rodriguez (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario)
  33. Kenneth Smith (Grand Rapids Drive)
  34. Richard Solomon (Oklahoma City Blue)
  35. Emanuel Terry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  36. Juan Toscano-Anderson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  37. Dakarai Tucker (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  38. Andrew White III (Maine Red Claws)
  39. Thomas Wimbush (Long Island Nets)
  40. Todd Withers (Grand Rapids Drive)

Latest On Early Entrants List For 2019 NBA Draft

The deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2019 NBA draft fell on Sunday night, with plenty of NCAA underclassmen and international prospects entering their names into the draft before that deadline.

News continues to trickle in on players making draft decisions, and it will just be a matter of time before the NBA issues an official list of the players who declared for the 2019 NBA draft as early entrants. Once that group is set, the next key deadline to watch will be May 29 — that’s the last day for NCAA players to withdraw from draft consideration while retaining their college eligibility.

Here are many of the early entrants who have declared for the draft within the past couple days (our full list can be found here):

NCAA early entrants:

International early entrants: