NBA Draft Rights Held: Pacific Division
When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.
When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.
However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.
While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.
For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.
This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.
Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Pacific teams:
Golden State Warriors
- Mladen Sekularac, G/F (2002; No. 55): Retired.
Los Angeles Clippers
- Maarty Leunen, F (2008; No. 54): Playing in Italy.
- David Michineau, G (2016; No. 39): Playing in France.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Brad Newley, F (2007; No. 54): Last played in Greece.
- Chinemelu Elonu, C (2009; No. 59): Playing in Greece.
Phoenix Suns
- Ron Ellis, F (1992; No. 49): Retired.
- Milos Vujanic, G (2002; No. 36): Retired.
- Cenk Akyol, G/F (2005; No. 59): Last played in Turkey.
- Dwayne Collins, F (2010; No. 60): Retired.
Sacramento Kings
- Alex Oriakhi, F (2013; No. 57): Playing in Uruguay.
- Dimitrios Agravanis, F (2015; No. 59): Playing in Greece.
- Luka Mitrovic, F (2015; No. 60): Playing in Germany.
Previously:
Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Pacific Notes: Ingram, Randolph, Warriors, Kings
Kings‘ forward Zach Randolph was formally charged with two misdemeanors after his August 9 arrest for possession of marijuana, John Schultz of the Sacramento Bee writes.
Charges against Randolph were reduced from possession of marijuana with intent to sell to possession of more than one ounce of marijuana and resisting arrest, per the Los Angeles County Superior Court website.
Possession of marijuana comes with a possible six-month sentence, a fine not exceeding $500, or both. The resisting arrest charge comes with up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.
Randolph, 36, signed a two-year, $24MM deal with Sacramento in July, bringing a stable veteran presence to an otherwise rebuilding Kings team. While age has slowed Randolph’s production, he has still posted at least 14.1 PPG and 7.8 RPG the last five seasons. Needless to say, this type of legal issue is not what the Kings had in mind when they committed two years to the NBA veteran.
Below you can read other tidbits of news around the Pacific Division:
- In a piece for ESPN Insider (subscription required and recommended) Mike Schmitz examines Lakers‘ forward Brandon Ingram. The second overall pick from last year’s draft did not have the type of season he and the organization hoped for in 2016/17. Schmitz — who expects a breakout season — explains that Ingram’s shooting was impacted by a change of position and simply adjusting from college to the professional level.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) explains how the Warriors‘ star players can be even better in 2017/18. Golden State has made three consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning two out of the three.
- A state senator in Inglewood, California, says it is possible that a proposal to fast track a new arena for the Clippers will be introduced, Liam Dillon of the Los Angeles Times writes.
- Shaun Powell of NBA.com has compiled an offseason recap for the Kings.
Patrick Beverley Embraces New Opportunity
After years counterbalancing James Harden‘s offensive presence in Houston, Patrick Beverley will step into a larger role as Chris Paul‘s replacement with the Clippers, James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes.
Not only has the veteran guard embraced the trade to the Clippers, he asked for the change of scenery. Now the 29-year-old will get a chance to showcase what he’s capable of above and beyond his reputation as a tenacious perimeter defender.
While Beverley will have big shoes to fill even on the defensive side of the ball – Paul was the only player that ranked higher than him in defensive real plus minus – he brings leadership qualities that should help the Clippers franchise in the midst of a critical transition.
- A handful of Pacific Division rotation players could make names for themselves as sleepers this season, David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders writes, including Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. and recently acquired Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell.
Former GM Dave Wohl To Serve As Advisor
- The Clippers have shuffled around their executive team this summer. Most recently, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets, the Clips have named Michael Winger their new general manager and Dave Wohl (their previous GM) a special advisor to the team.
Clippers Sign Marshall Plumlee
AUGUST 25: Plumlee’s deal with the Clippers is now official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log. It’s a one-year pact.
AUGUST 19: Marshall Plumlee has agreed to join the Clippers on a partially guaranteed contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The 25-year-old center has brief NBA experience, playing 21 games with the Knicks last season and averaging 1.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in about 8 minutes per night. Undrafted out of Duke in 2016, he signed with New York as a free agent and spent most of the year in the G League.
The Knicks decided to waive him in July to create cap room to sign Tim Hardaway Jr. Plumlee received the $100K that was guaranteed on his contract for next season. New York considered trying to bring him back earlier this month, but Plumlee has opted for L.A.
The signing brings the Clippers up to 18 players in camp, with 14 having guaranteed contracts. Plumlee will try to earn a roster spot as a third center behind DeAndre Jordan and Willie Reed.
Kyler’s Latest: Irving, Cavaliers, LeBron
One of the most surprising things about the blockbuster trade that sent Kyrie Irving from Cleveland to Boston this week was the Cavaliers‘ willingness to deal with their closest conference rival, just months after facing the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Cavs did try to find a deal with a Western team, having worked the Suns and Nuggets “pretty hard.” Cleveland also had some discussions with the Spurs and Clippers, but those clubs didn’t have the right combination of assets to really intrigue the Cavs, Kyler adds. Eventually, the Cavs circled back to the Celtics, who had expressed interest in Irving earlier and could put together the right sort of package to appeal to Cleveland.
Kyler’s latest piece at Basketball Insiders includes many more notes on the Irving deal, so let’s round up some of the highlights…
- After news of his trade request leaked, Irving essentially stopped talking to the Cavaliers, sources close to the situation tell Kyler. Even before that news came out, the Cavs hadn’t heard much from Irving’s camp after he informed them of his desire to be moved, per Kyler.
- Sources close to Irving tell Kyler that the star point guard was very aware of the age difference between him and many of his Cavaliers teammates. Irving is looking forward to joining a roster that features more players around his age, and hopes that he can build stronger connections and become more of a team leader rather than being viewed as a “little brother,” according to Kyler.
- Kyler hears that new Cavaliers GM Koby Altman spoke to LeBron James on Tuesday after completing the deal. Although LeBron had hoped the relationship between Irving and the team could be repaired, he’s happy to have closure on the situation, says Kyler.
- The Irving trade hasn’t changed James’ stance on his future — the four-time MVP enjoys having options and the freedom to make his own choices when the time comes, and doesn’t intend to give that up by locking himself into anything early, says Kyler. This stance was reflected in a series of pro-player tweets issued by LeBron earlier today.
Clippers Hiring Mark Hughes As Assistant GM
The Clippers continue to revamp their front office, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is hiring longtime Knicks executive Mark Hughes as an assistant general manager.
Hughes, formerly the Knicks’ director of player personnel, interviewed with the Hawks and Bucks earlier this offseason when those teams were retooling their own front offices. Hughes is said to have been heavily involved with the Knicks’ drafts over the last decade or so, and was highly regarded within the organization. However, he interviewed last month with the Clippers for their assistant GM job and now will join the team in that capacity.
The Clippers also recently reached an agreement with Thunder executive Michael Winger to become their new GM, and are also reportedly bringing aboard former Cavs exec Trent Redden as an assistant GM. There’s no indication that the deal with Redden has fallen through, so it appears Hughes is coming aboard alongside Redden, rather than in his place.
The Clippers began overhauling their front office earlier this summer when the team removed the president of basketball operations title from Doc Rivers, elevating Lawrence Frank to head of the basketball operations department.
2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results
The NBA G League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s four new franchises to add the returning rights to 11 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 22 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to nine players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, though no team can lose more than two players. Adam Johnson recently outlined the full details of the expansion draft process in a piece for 2 Ways & 10 Days.
The G League’s four new teams this year are affiliates for the Hawks (Erie BayHawks), Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle), Bucks (Wisconsin Herd), and Clippers (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario). The Erie BayHawks have been in the G League for years but are technically an expansion team since the old iteration of the BayHawks was purchased by the Magic and moved to Lakeland, Florida — the Lakeland Magic will retain returning rights for former BayHawks players.
The players added today by the G League’s four expansion teams won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s not all that common for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas, if they’re not already on an NBA or international roster. Still, the expansion draft gives the G League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.
Listed below are the results of today’s expansion draft, per the G League’s official announcement. The player’s former G League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:
Erie BayHawks (Hawks)
- DeAndre Daniels (Raptors 905)
- Sean Kilpatrick (Delaware 87ers)*
- Ronald Roberts (Reno Bighorns)
- Terran Petteway (Maine Red Claws)
- Casey Prather (Windy City Bulls)
- Jordan Crawford (Grand Rapids Drive)*
- Jordan Sibert (Iowa Energy)
- Beau Beech (Long Island Nets)
- Raphiael Putney (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Luke Harangody (Lakeland Magic)
- Will Bynum (Windy City Bulls)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
- Marquis Teague (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Okaro White (Sioux Falls Skyforce)*
- D.J. Stephens (Iowa Energy)
- Omari Johnson (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Jamaal Franklin (Long Island Nets)
- Adonis Thomas (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Manny Harris (Texas Legends)
- Mark Tyndale (Reno Bighorns)
- Jordon Crawford (Canton Charge)
- Jimmer Fredette (Westchester Knicks)
- Terrence Drisdom (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Wisconsin Herd (Bucks)
- Vince Hunter (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Gracin Bakumanya (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Perry Ellis (Greensboro Swarm)
- Corey Walden (Maine Red Claws)
- Josh Davis (Greensboro Swarm)
- Michael Dunigan (Canton Charge)
- Jarvis Summers (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- James Siakam (Raptors 905)
- Kyle Casey (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Cady Lalanne (Austin Spurs)
- Tyler Harvey (Lakeland Magic)
Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
- Andre Dawkins (Texas Legends)
- Bryce Cotton (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Corey Hawkins (Delaware 87ers)
- Will Cummings (Delaware 87ers)
- J.J. O’Brien (Salt Lake City Stars)
- Jamil Wilson (South Bay Lakers)
- Keith Steffeck (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Julian Jacobs (South Bay Lakers)
- Aaron Craft (Salt Lake City Stars)
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Westchester Knicks)
- Youssou Ndoye (Austin Spurs)
Players marked with an asterisk (*) are currently on an NBA roster. If they remain under contract and are assigned to the G League, they would join their current NBA team’s affiliate.
Clippers To Hire Michael Winger As GM
After having offered their general manager position to Michael Winger several days ago, the Clippers have now reached an agreement to bring the Thunder executive aboard as the team’s new GM, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, Winger will get a multiyear contract from Los Angeles.
[RELATED: Jerry West talks Clippers, Steve Ballmer, more]
Winger’s hiring is one move in a series of changes to the Clippers’ front office this month. The overhaul began in early August when the team announced that it was removing Doc Rivers‘ president of basketball operations title, allowing him to retain a voice in the front office but to focus primarily on coaching.
Executive VP of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was elevated to the top front office role to replace Rivers, and the Clips have since committed to filling out the front office with more seasoned executives. Winger, who will report to Frank, was the assistant general manager in Oklahoma City, where he worked closely with GM Sam Presti over the last several years. The Clippers have also agreed to hire former Cavaliers executive Trent Redden, who will be L.A.’s new assistant GM.
Winger had been a key voice in the OKC front office under Presti, along with Troy Weaver, so the Thunder figure to promote or hire a replacement to fill his role in the not-too-distant future.
Jerry West Talks Dubs, CP3, Dekker, Ballmer, Lakers
Longtime basketball executive Jerry West surprised many NBA observers earlier this offseason when he decided to leave the Warriors for the Clippers. Speaking to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, West acknowledged that he was sad to leave Golden State and had been very happy working for the Warriors, chalking up his decision to timing.
Although he’s a consultant for the Clippers now, West still views the Warriors as the overwhelming favorite to win another championship in 2018, telling Kawakami that “everyone’s playing for second place right now.”
In addition to sharing his lingering fondness for his old team, West also touched on several other noteworthy topics during his discussion with Kawakami. Here are a few highlights:
On whether he knew Chris Paul would leave when he left the Warriors for the Clippers:
“I felt he was. Yes. I didn’t think he was going to stay there. You just get a sense that some players are going to move, you do. You just get a sense… there was all the talk. I know that Steve [Ballmer] met with him. I think Lawrence [Frank] and Doc [Rivers] both met with him. I did not meet with him or talk with him. I just had the sense when I first started talking to them, I asked them, ‘You may not be able to keep either one of these players, him or Blake Griffin.’ I said, ‘How’s that going to work?’ I think they felt there was a chance for sure that he was going to leave.”
On the Clippers moving on without Paul:
“I know some of the people down there [in Houston] and obviously Mike D’Antoni, he’s a friend of mine, he has a place at the Green Brier, and he’s very high on the players we got. He mentioned to me, he said that he thinks they’ll get to play there more and particularly if Sam Dekker can be healthy, he’s a very good prospect. He’s had two seasons of injuries, but he seems very healthy.
“It also gives Doc a chance as a coach to be able to coach differently, more ball movement. Chris was a ball-dominant point guard. [Not having Paul] encourages more movement. When a coach has to do things a little bit differently, that might be challenging but also might be fun for him. Even though we’ll miss Chris, it’s part of the NBA.”
On Clippers owner Steve Ballmer:
“[In] a lot of ways he reminds me of the kind of owners that you want, somebody who’s really committed to trying to build a team. He’s smart, he lets people do their job, he doesn’t think he’s someone who wants to run the team. He’s given Lawrence and Doc a lot of leeway there and they’re going to hire two new people there in the front office. It’s just… I see some changes from the prior regime there that I think are going to be really positive.
On whether he thought he might return to the Lakers rather than joining the Clippers:
“Absolutely not. I had no contact with the Lakers. Honestly, I would’ve never gone back there even if they would’ve contacted me. Never had any conversations, never had a desire there. I knew that would’ve never happened.”
Be sure to check out Kawakami’s full interview with West for more interesting observations from The Logo.