Kleon Penn Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Several With NBA Ties Enter D-League Draft

October 31st, 2015 at 10:37am CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA D-League Draft is set for today, and a whopping total of 290 players are eligible for selection during this annual event. The D-League posted the full list of eligible participants, which can be viewed here, and it contains a number of notable players with NBA ties.

The two names that immediately jump out off the list are Jimmer Fredette, who was waived by the Spurs last week, and Perry Jones III, whose fully guaranteed deal was cut loose by Boston. Fredette’s chances of catching on in the NBA appear to be dwindling rapidly, though I do expect that there is a better than average chance he will be selected No. 2 overall by Westchester, the Knicks’ D-League affiliate. If that is indeed the case, then Fredette may have a shot at catching on with the Knicks at some point during the course of the 2015/16 campaign, given New York’s lack of backcourt depth.

As for Jones, his is likely to be the first named called by Idaho, Utah’s affiliate, when the draft commences, though that is merely my speculation. Jones, a former first-rounder, hasn’t been able to get on the court consistently over the course of his three years in the league. This was partly due to the depth and talent ahead of him while with the Thunder, but his lack of a consistent outside shot and defensive limitations also held him back from carving out a place in the team’s rotation. It was a bit of a surprise to see Boston cut him loose, but Jones was the victim of a numbers crunch with the Celtics, who had 16 fully guaranteed deals on their roster heading into the October 26th deadline to cut rosters to the league maximum of 15 players.

We’ve sorted through those 290 names to pare it down to a list of all D-League draft-eligibles who were in NBA camps this year or on NBA regular season rosters in 2014/15. The last NBA team with which they were under contract is in parentheses.

Jake Anderson (Bulls)
Jeff Ayres (Spurs)
Sampson Carter (Grizzlies)
Jimmer Fredette (Spurs)
Perry Jones III (Celtics)
Cartier Martin (Pistons)
Kleon Penn (Timberwolves)
Sam Thompson (Hornets)
Remi Yusuf (Rockets)

*Note that since the recent camp cuts among the names listed above are entering the D-League draft, they’re not affiliate players whose D-League rights were claimed by their former NBA teams.

These are NBA veterans who don’t fit the criteria for the above list but are otherwise noteworthy:

The current order for the first round of the 2015 NBA D-League Draft is as follows:

1. Idaho
2. Westchester
3. Iowa (from Los Angeles)
4. Iowa (from Reno)
5. Delaware
6. Texas
7. Grand Rapids
8. Delaware (from Santa Cruz via Erie)
9. Iowa
10. Rio Grande Valley
11. Raptors 905
12. Rio Grande Valley (from Fort Wayne)
13. Oklahoma City
14. Sioux Falls
15. Canton
16. Austin
17. Bakersfield
18. Santa Cruz
19. Maine

Wolves Waive Three Players

October 24th, 2015 at 11:33am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves have waived shooting guard Lorenzo Brown, center Kleon Penn, and swingman Nick Wiggins, the team announced via a press release. Both Penn and Wiggins were signed to non-guaranteed deals, so Minnesota won’t be responsible for any salary as a result of those moves, but Brown’s deal includes a $75K partial guarantee, which the team would be responsible for unless he is claimed off waivers. The Wolves’ roster count is now at the regular season maximum of 15 players.

Penn, 29, went undrafted out of McNeese State back in 2009, and he has played outside the U.S. ever since. He spent the 2014/15 season playing for the Puerto Rican team Vaqueros de Bayamon. In 44 contests last season, Penn averaged 4.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 19.3 minutes of action per night. His career NCAA numbers were 5.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.9 BPG to go along with a shooting line of .601/.000/.565.

Wiggins, 24, is the older brother of Andrew Wiggins. The elder Wiggins went undrafted in 2014 out of Wichita State after averaging 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.6 assists as a Senior. He spent the 2014 summer league playing for the Kings’ squad before signing a deal to play with Tigers Tübingen of the Basketball Bundesliga, though his tenure with the team ended after just 11 contests. Wiggins played for both the Jazz and Wolves in the summer league this offseason.

Brown, 25, has made a total of 55 appearances in two NBA seasons, averaging 3.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists to go along with a slash line of .375/.155/.656.

Wolves Sign Kleon Penn

September 18th, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

FRIDAY, 12:28pm: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Timberwolves have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent center Kleon Penn, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the deal are not yet known. It is most likely a minimum salary training camp deal that includes little or no guaranteed salary, though that is merely my speculation.

The 29-year-old went undrafted out of McNeese State back in 2009, and he has played outside the U.S. ever since. Penn spent the 2014/15 season playing for the Puerto Rican team Vaqueros de Bayamon. In 44 contests last season, Penn averaged 4.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 19.3 minutes of action per night. His career NCAA numbers were 5.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.9 BPG to go along with a shooting line of .601/.000/.565.

Penn joins a Timberwolves squad that already has a roster count of 17 players, including 16 possessing fully guaranteed deals. The 6’11” big man will certainly have a slim chance to beat the odds and secure a spot on Minnesota’s opening night roster, though he will provide some frontcourt depth during the preseason.