K.J. McDaniels

Thunder Waive Alford, McDaniels, Solomon

The Thunder have waived three players from their preseason roster, the team confirmed today in a press release, announcing that guard Bryce Alford, forward K.J. McDaniels, and center Richard Solomon have been released.

Although Alford, McDaniels, and Solomon joined the Thunder for training camp and the preseason, they were never considered likely to make the club’s regular season roster. However, they could end up playing in the G League for the Thunder’s affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, assuming they clear waivers.

After today’s roster moves, the Thunder now have 17 players under contract, including 14 on guaranteed salaries and two on two-way contracts.

While Oklahoma City could technically carry its current squad into the regular season, the club will likely leave its 15th roster spot open to start the season to avoid increasing its projected tax bill. Still, the team’s final non-guaranteed player – Abdul Gaddy – remains on the roster for now.

Northwest Notes: Thunder, Roberson, Curry, Gibson

With a mammoth luxury tax bill looming at the end of the year, the Thunder plan on sticking with 14 players on their roster to begin this season, reports Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

“Right now we’re going with what we have,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “If something changes, I’ve always said this with Sam (Presti) and Troy (Weaver), they’re always looking to improve, make our team better all the time… that would be something that if Sam decided to do that, we’d probably talk about that.”

As Horne notes, the decision to keep the roster at fourteen makes sense considering the Thunder would face major luxury tax implications with the signing of a fifteenth player.

Right now, both Bryce Alford and K.J. McDaniels are on training camp contracts with the Thunder, so they’ll ultimately be waived if Horne’s report is accurate unless one of them impresses enough to force the Thunder into waiving someone with a guaranteed salary.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • In another piece for The Oklahoman, Horne writes that Thunder swingman Andre Roberson has been looking good in practice despite not yet being cleared for contact. Because he’s still rehabbing, he’s mostly limited to shooting drills at this point.
  • Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports that all indications out of Trail Blazers practice is that new addition Seth Curry is looking good. Teammates are praising his jump-shooting and playmaking ability, while coaches are impressed with his basketball intelligence and versatility.
  • According to Nick Friedell of ESPNTimberwolves forward Taj Gibson was surprised at Jimmy Butler‘s trade demand, saying, “I worked out with him all summer, so when I said what I meant, it was like a right hook. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know. I thought — it looked like from everything things were going good.”

Thunder Sign Four Players To Camp Roster

The Thunder have released their roster for training camp, and the list includes four new names beyond the players we already knew were under contract. According to the club (Twitter link via Brett Dawson), Abdul Gaddy, K.J. McDaniels, Richard Solomon, and Bryce Alford have also signed contracts.

Oklahoma City already had 14 players on guaranteed deals, plus two more on two-way pacts, so the four newly-added players almost certainly received non-guaranteed contracts for training camp. While it’s possible that one of those players could earn the team’s 15th roster spot for the regular season, the Thunder will likely carry just 14 players to start the year to avoid accruing additional tax penalties.

Of the four new additions, McDaniels has the only NBA experience, having appeared in 148 total regular season games for the Sixers, Rockets, and Nets from 2014 to 2017. The 25-year-old swingman averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.2 RPG in those games (14.1 MPG).

As for the others, Gaddy – a point guard – has played primarily in international league since going undrafted out of Washington in 2013. Former Cal big man Solomon – who has also played overseas – and ex-UCLA guard Alford have each spent time in past seasons with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.

Jazz Host 32 Free Agents At Veteran Mini-Camp

The Jazz are hosting a veteran mini-camp on Friday and Saturday, with 32 players set to participate in the event, the team announced in a press release.

While the list of participants isn’t exactly star-studded, there are a handful of intriguing names, including several players who have spent time in NBA training camps and some who have played in regular season games. Lavoy Allen, K.J. McDaniels, Diamond Stone, Jarrod Uthoff, and Mike Tobey are among the free agents at Utah’s mini-camp who have logged NBA minutes.

While many of the participants in this weekend’s mini-camp won’t ever play in an NBA game, the event has paid dividends for the Jazz in the past. As Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News writes, Royce O’Neale made a strong impression on the franchise during a free agent mini-camp in 2016, which eventually led to O’Neale signing a contract with Utah last summer and becoming a key part of the rotation in 2017/18.

“We tried to get him that summer (2016), tried to sign him but he decided to go to Spain and made the right choice for him because he got better over there and it ended up working out in the long run for him,” Jazz director of scouting Bart Taylor said. “Royce is a great story and we like to say it puts pressure on us to find another one.”

Taylor is optimistic about identifying another future contributor among this year’s group.

“There’s some good talent out here,” Taylor said. “I like to joke with all our guys and say there’s three or four guys out here that’ll play in the NBA, but you’ve got to find them. So there’s definitely a few guys out here that we like, a lot of guys actually that we really like but we’re just trying to see how they do over the course of the three practices and hopefully one of them does turn into Royce.”

Here’s the full list of participants for Utah’s free agent mini-camp:

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Jazz, Wolves, Nuggets

While most NBA teams are focusing on workouts for 2018 draft prospects these days, this is also a time of year when clubs take a closer look at veteran free agents, bringing them in for auditions of their own. The Trail Blazers are doing just that at a mini-camp this week, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype details (Twitter link).

According to Kennedy, former Sixers, Rockets, and Nets swingman K.J. McDaniels is among the players earning a look from the Trail Blazers, along with Casper Ware, Kadeem Jack, Isaiah Cousins, Kyle Randall, and a number of others. A handful of current Portland players, including Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan, participated in those sessions alongside the free agents on Monday, Kennedy notes.

Here’s more from around the Northwest division:

And-Ones: G League Mini Camp, Combine, Balls

A number of NBA players with recent big league experience have been named to the G League’s Elite Mini Camp roster. In mid-May, about 40 players from the developmental league will get the chance to strut their stuff in front of NBA personnel.

A total of 13 players from the initial roster have had at least some NBA experience, including the always intriguing likes of K.J. McDaniels and Archie Goodwin.

Other players, like Marcus Thornton and Naz Mitrou-Long who signed 10-day contracts in 2017/18 will look to prove that they deserve another crack at a rotation spot.

While it will be tough for a significant number of these players to make final rosters next season, there are plenty of opportunities between training camp and the regular season, especially now with the introduction of two-way contracts last season.

Jonathon Simmons, the G League is quick to mention, once participated in this event, prior to latching on with the Spurs and spinning that into a role with the Magic last summer.

There’s more from around the league this afternoon:

  • While it’s become commonplace for highly regarded draft prospects to skip out on the combine, a number of reputable players from last year’s class were in attendance, including Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo. Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype broke down some of the best players from this year’s rookie crop that are actually expected to participate in the pre-draft event later this month.
  • The dust has settled after LaVar Ball‘s decision to move his non-Lonzo sons to Lithuania. According to Donatas Urbonas of 15min.It, LiAngelo Ball may have been slightly underrated prior to arriving in Europe while LaMelo Ball isn’t prepared to perform at the pro level yet. Urbonas connected with USA Today’s Andrew Joseph to discuss the Ball family’s Lithuanian adventure.
  • The NBA offseason is a lot closer than you might think. In fact, players like Cory Joseph and Wesley Johnson have already made key decisions on contract options for the 2018/19 campaign. For a rundown of what we expect from each team’s pending free agents, check out your respective team’s recap in our Free Agent Stock Watch series. Similarly, Hoops Rumors writers have ranked who we think the top available 2018 NBA free agents are.

And-Ones: Ball Brothers, McDaniels, E. Okafor

Lithuanian team Prienu Vytautas made it official this week, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball, and expect Lonzo Ball‘s younger brothers to report to the team in early January. However, it’s not a long-term agreement. As Nicola Lupo details for Sportando, the deal for the two American teenagers includes a team opt-out after the first month, so it could end up being a brief experiment.

Still, Vytautas director Adomas Kubilius admits that he’s intrigued by exposure the Ball brothers will bring to the franchise, not to mention the potential financial benefits (Twitter link via Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas). The club didn’t speak directly with its new players during negotiations, having worked things out with agent Harrison Gaines, but Kubilius suggests that – outside of guaranteed playing time – the Ball brothers didn’t make any major requests (Twitter link via Urbonas). And for what it’s worth, LaVar Ball would also be “warmly welcomed” in Prienai, according to the team (Twitter link).

As we wait to see how LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball adjust to Lithuania, let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world….

  • Veteran swingman K.J. McDaniels has signed a G League contract and been claimed off waivers by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons‘ affiliate, tweets Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days. McDaniels, who spent time with the Nets and Rockets in 2016/17 and was in camp this fall with the Raptors, has averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 148 total NBA games.
  • Bobby Marks’ latest piece for ESPN Insider is packed with team-by-team details on trade restrictions and notes that will be relevant as the February deadline approaches. Among the info Marks passes along: Which teams can only send or receive limited amounts of cash, which players can veto trades, and which can’t be traded until certain special dates.
  • Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines the job security for head coaches around the NBA, concluding that Frank Vogel (Magic), Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), Dave Joerger (Kings), and Fred Hoiberg (Bulls) are among those whose seats are hottest.
  • Former second overall pick Emeka Okafor continues to try to make it back to the NBA, with Blake Murphy taking an in-depth look at the big man’s comeback efforts in an excellent piece for Uproxx.com.

Raptors Waive K.J. McDaniels

12:35pm: The move is official, according to a tweet from the team.

11:56am: The Raptors plan to waive K.J. McDaniels, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

The fourth-year swingman won a roster spot in Toronto after signing with the team in August. He didn’t play in either of the Raptors’ first two regular season games.

McDaniels only has a $100K guarantee on his $1,524,305 salary, so the Raptors won’t lose much by parting with him. The team, which had a full roster heading into the season, now has one opening.

McDaniels has bounced around the league since being drafted by the Sixers in the second round in 2014. He was traded to the Rockets in 2015, then was dealt to the Nets in February. The 52 games he played with the Sixers as a rookie remain his career high.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Hornacek, Holmes, Morris

The Sixers could still have $40MM in cap space next season despite agreeing to a five-year, $148MM extension with center Joel Embiid, ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out. Embiid’s starting salary of $25.3MM is $7MM more than his $18.3MM cap hold for the 2018/19 season, Marks continues. Philadelphia still has just $57MM in guaranteed contract commitments for next season, Marks adds.

In other developments around the Atlantic Division:

  • The current Knicks roster puts head coach Jeff Hornacek in a no-win situation, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News argues. The front office has stressed improvement in effort and stops but recent acquisitions Tim Hardaway Jr., Michael Beasley, Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott won’t improve the defense, Bondy continues. Hornacek will have the unenviable task of trying to develop a system to mask those defensive shortcomings, Bondy adds.
  • Injured Sixers power forward Richaun Holmes doesn’t believe he’ll require surgery on his injured wrist, Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia tweets. Holmes suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist during a preseason game on Friday.
  • Celtics forward Marcus Morris needs to drops about seven pounds and work on his conditioning but he plans to play the regular-season opener, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston reports. Morris missed a portion of training camp while on trial in Phoenix for an assault charge. He was acquitted.
  • Forward K.J. McDaniels and Alfonzo McKinnie are likely fighting for the final spot on the Raptors’ opening-day roster, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. There’s room for both but GM Bobby Webster has expressed a desire to leave a spot open, Smith continues. Raptors coach Dwane Casey told Smith and other media members that the competition between the two is close. “There’s right now no clear-cut favorite going into this week,” he said.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, KP, Smart, Lowry, McDaniels

The Knicks and Carmelo Anthony have officially separated and the organization is moving on from their once perennial All-Star. Now is the time for the Knicks to move on from Anthony through the way the team plays the game, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

Head coach Jeff Hornacek now has a retooled roster and the freedom to coach the team his way. Former team president Phil Jackson harped on the triangle offense, which affected Hornacek’s own coaching style and forced the team to run a scheme many players later admitted was uncomfortable. Thus far in training camp, Hornacek said the team is focused on playing at a quicker pace.

“We want to move the ball,’’ Hornacek said. “We’ve had plays out there that I wish I could bottle up and have these guys do it every time. We’ve had some fantastic, six, seven extra passes and a guy nails the shot. We’ll continue to harp on that. We’ll continue to encourage the guys every time that happens, make or miss, and that’s that contagious thing.”

Hornacek also said the Knicks will rely on improved defense even if the team did not necessarily acquire any defensive upgrades. While Anthony was on the roster, he was criticized for holding the ball too long and playing spotty defense. While removing the 10-time all-star will not fix the Knicks, it gives the team a chance find a game plan that works.

Read up on additional news around the Atlantic Division:

  • Knicks GM Scott Perry said to MSG’s Alan Hahn (via ESPN’s Ian Begley) that does not want to put too much pressure on Kristaps Porzingis as the Latvian big man settles in as the team’s franchise player. “I never want to put that much pressure on one individual,” Perry said. “He knows that he needs every one of his teammates to help this team be successful.”
  • Celtics‘ guard Marcus Smart is aware of the massive deals players around the NBA are signing but he is focused on the season and not free agency. “It’s huge; it’s crazy,” Smart said to NBC Sports Boston’s A. Sherrod Blakely. “Those guys definitely deserve it. But like I said, that’s not my focus. I can’t control what those guys are getting. I can only control what I can control.”
  • After signing a massive three-year deal worth up to $100MM to remain in Toronto, Kyle Lowry said to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star his new deal will not kill his desire to be great.
  • K.J. McDaniels has been productive for every team he has played for, and this season he wants to put it all together with the Raptors, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype writes.
  • While Furkan Korkmaz is likely a year away from having a major NBA impact, David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the rookie has impressed Sixers officials in training camp.