Eastern Notes: Bayless, Kelly, Young
Jerryd Bayless was penciled in as the Sixers‘ opening night starter at point guard, but he’ll be in street clothes for at least the first month of the season while he recovers from a torn ligament in his left wrist, team sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The team announced last week that Bayless would not have surgery on his wrist, but did not put a timetable on his return to action, Goodman notes. Bayless signed a three-year deal with Philly this summer after averaging 10.4 points and 3.1 assists with Milwaukee in 2015/16.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Hornets forward Frank Kaminsky is out of the walking boot he was required to wear after straining his right foot during Charlotte’s final preseason contest on Friday, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. His status for the team’s regular season opener is still undetermined, Bonnell adds. “He said he felt a lot better,” coach Steve Clifford said of Kaminsky. “He did a ton [of rehabilitation] Sunday and then he was back in here this morning. I guess you’d call him questionable [for the season-opener], but he’s making lots of progress.”
- Celtics executive Danny Ainge confirmed that Ryan Kelly, who was waived by the team on Saturday, will be joining the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s D-League affiliate, Goodman tweets.
- Ainge also weighed in on James Young, who barely made the Celtics‘ regular season roster this season by edging out R.J. Hunter for the 15th and final spot. The executive told Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com, “I told him [Young] this morning that I think this is the first time he’s earned anything in his life. He earned this by his play, day in and day out, and he just has to keep earning it. He was given a lot as a young kid, with a lot of promise and a lot of potential and … he had to come out and win a spot with some good competition, and he did. So he just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing.“
- Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is eligible to sign an extension prior to this season’s deadline, but all signs point to him playing out the season and hitting restricted free agency next summer, as Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press explains.
- Entering his third season in New York, this may be team president Phil Jackson‘s last chance to turn around the team, which is no lock, given the multiple roster and health questions surrounding the Knicks, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes.
- The Hawks enter the season with just two point guards on the roster, a move the team made because of injuries suffered in the frontcourt, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “With the injuries, the few nagging things on the front line, at the end of the day you are probably going to be a little short on the bigs or a little short on the point guard,” coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said. “We are going with an extra big, more cover on the bigs.”
And-Ones: Dragic, Pelicans, Salary Cap, Brown
- E’Twaun Moore will start for the Pelicans at shooting guard entering the season ahead of lottery pick Buddy Hield, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Moore was one of the first unrestricted free agents to make a commitment in July, agreeing to a four-year, $34MM contract after playing a backup role with the Bulls.
- The projected salary cap for the 2017/18 season has been slightly raised from $102MM to $103MM, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That will give teams a little bit more elbow room as they make roster decisions.
- Shannon Brown has signed with the NBA D-League and will be eligible for its draft, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets. The 30-year-old guard last appeared in the NBA in 2014/15, when he played five games for the Heat.
- Swingman Jordan Hamilton has left the Turkish team Tofas Bursa after just one game, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Hamilton appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans last season. A former first-round pick, Hamilton spent his first few NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but has bounced around since 2014, spending time with the Rockets and Clippers as well as the Pelicans.
Kings Buy Controlling Interest In D-League Affiliate
The Kings have been affiliated with the Reno Bighorns since the D-League squad’s inaugural season in 2008/09, and the two teams have had a single-affiliate relationship since the 2013/14 campaign. However, 2016/17 will be the first season in which the Kings own a controlling interest in the Bighorns. Sacramento announced today in a press release that it has purchased a controlling interest in the D-League team, becoming the 15th NBA team to own and operate its D-League affiliate.
“We’re excited to deepen our relationship with the Bighorns and the Reno/Tahoe community,” Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé said in a statement. “This is an incredible opportunity to develop players, front-office staff and future business executives for the Sacramento Kings, while simultaneously contributing meaningfully to the Reno entertainment, commercial and non-profit ecosystem.”
The Kings’ already controlled the basketball operations for the Bighorns, but will control the business side of the franchise now as well, allowing the D-League squad to become an extension of the NBA team’s brand. Sam Amick of USA Today, who first reported the story, indicated that the Kings may eventually move the Bighorns closer to Sacramento, though he added that the Kings are “strongly indicating” publicly that they have no plans to relocate their affiliate (Twitter links).
For 2016/17, the Bighorns are set to play their home games in Reno, with a few games set to take place in Sacramento as well, Amick tweets. The Kings are carrying several young players on their roster, having selected Georgios Papagiannis, Malachi Richardson, Skal Labissiere, and Isaiah Cousins in this year’s draft — some of those draftees may end up being assigned to Reno for parts of this season to ensure that they receive regular playing time.
And-Ones: Rose, Crawford, Rudez
Derrick Rose‘s civil trial concluded today and the eight-member jury found Rose and his two friends not liable for damages stemming from an alleged sexual assault. The Knicks excused Rose from team activities during the trial and he will likely rejoin them later this week, A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet writes. However, there is no definite timetable for Rose to return to the lineup, as the team doesn’t want to rush him back and risk injury.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Grand Rapids Drive, the D-League affiliate of the Pistons, has acquired the rights to Jordan Crawford from the Mad Ants in exchange for the No. 6 overall pick in the D-League draft, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor reports (Twitter links). Reichert adds that Crawford will actually play for the Drive to begin the season.
- Damjan Rudez is likely to make the Magic’s opening night roster, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes. Coach Frank Vogel, who coached Rudez during his time in Indiana, lobbied for the team to invite the big man to training camp. “There’s so many spread fours out there that are making big bucks,” Vogel said. “[We had] an opportunity maybe to get him without paying a huge contract, but you get the same value as some of these Channing Frye, Ryan Anderson types.” Orlando has 13 players with guaranteed deals and 16 total player under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates.
- The Wizards are impressed by Andrew Nicholson‘s game so far during the preseason, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post writes. “He gets buckets,” Thornton said of Nicholson. “You throw it down to him, 90 to 95 percent of the time it’s going to be a foul or a bucket. We joke around about that every day. We call him a ‘walking bucket.’” Coach Scott Brooks called Nicholson “very fundamental sound” and added that the big man simply isn’t going to make many mistakes. The 26-year-old power forward signed a four-year, $26MM deal with the team during the offseason.
Western Notes: Harris, Turner, Ford, Ulis
Nuggets shooting guard Gary Harris, who is making his way back from a groin strain he suffered during the team’s first preseason game, has resumed light basketball activities, which is good news for Denver, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “That was the most I’ve done in a while,” Harris said. “Really haven’t tried anything [until today]. Just tried to be cautious with it, make sure everything is cool. Don’t want to re-aggravate it and make sure I’m feeling nothing when I’m doing things. Right there I felt fine, didn’t feel anything. So as long as we keep doing that, don’t want to push it too much.”
Head coach Michael Malone noted that Harris could be ready for the season opener, a date the guard wouldn’t commit to just yet, Dempsey notes. “I’m just going day by day, just trying to get better each day,” Harris said. “That’s two weeks down the road: We’ll see. I’m just trying to get better each day.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Evan Turner‘s new $70MM contract with the Trail Blazers spans four years, so he’ll have plenty of time to make sure the team gets its money’s worth. For now though, as Jason Quick of CSNNW.com writes, Turner is “still finding his way” with his new club, in the words of head coach Terry Stotts.
- Quincy Ford, who was waived by the Jazz on Thursday, will join the team’s D-League squad as an affiliate player, Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor reports (via Twitter).
- The Pelicans have officially confirmed via pres release that Anthony Davis will miss 10-14 days due to a sprained right ankle. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated first reported the injury.
- Suns rookie point guard Tyler Ulis has been receiving extensive preseason minutes as the team wants to get him as much experience as possible, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “It’s perfect for me,” Ulis said of averaging 17 minutes in four preseason games with two preseason games to go. “I know I’m getting valuable minutes right now. They want to see what I can do. I’m learning more and more. [Coach] Earl [Watson] is teaching me which spots to go at. This is fun. It’s a process. I’m happy to learn and it’s better to learn in a game than watching.”
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
NBA D-League Announces 2016 Draft Date, Order
The 2016 draft for the NBA Development League will take place on Sunday, October 30 at 2:00 pm eastern time, according to an announcement today from the league. The event will allow D-League teams to select the rights for players who aren’t yet affiliated with a club.
As D-League Digest observes (via Twitter), this year’s draft will just be six rounds, as opposed to the eight rounds in previous years. Adam Johnson of D-League Digest recently detailed changes being made to the way the D-League’s draft pool is populated — instead of the D-League’s front office simply offering contracts to players, each team in the league has the opportunity to submit a list of up to eight players they’re interested in drafting. Those lists will be used to help make up the draft pool.
[RELATED: D-League Affiliations For 2016/17]
The order for the D-League’s 2016 draft is listed below, including trades. This year’s three expansion teams will be slotted in between last season’s non-playoff and playoff teams.
- Erie BayHawks
- Santa Cruz Warriors
- Oklahoma City Blue
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Grand Rapids Drive (from Salt Lake City Stars)
- Grand Rapids Drive
- Delaware 87ers
- Northern Arizona Suns
- Texas Legends
- Santa Cruz Warriors (from Raptors 905)
- Iowa Energy
- Windy City Bulls
- Greensboro Swarm
- Long Island Nets
- Salt Lake City Stars (from Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Westchester Knicks
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Austin Spurs
- Canton Charge
- Maine Red Claws
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (from Reno Bighorns)
- Sioux Falls Skyforce
In addition to the players selected in this month’s draft, D-League teams will also fill out their rosters with affiliate players waived during the NBA season by their respective NBA affiliates, and by players whose rights were previously held or acquired.
Knicks Sign Damien Inglis
The Knicks have added another body to their preseason roster, with the team announced today (via Twitter) that free agent forward Damien Inglis has signed a contract with the team. Terms of the deal weren’t announced, but a non-guaranteed pact seems likely.
Inglis, 21, was selected by the Bucks in the second round of the 2014 draft and made his NBA debut last season, appearing in 20 contests for Milwaukee. He only averaged 7.8 minutes in those games, and became a roster casualty during the offseason, with the Bucks waiving him in late June, just before the new league year began. He suited up for the Pelicans in Summer League play in July.
The Knicks have 14 guaranteed salaries on their books for 2016/17, which means there may be a regular-season roster spot up for grabs. However, Inglis looks like a long shot for that opening. Other camp invitees like Chasson Randle, Ron Baker, and Maurice Ndour have been with the team longer and will have the leg up on that 15th spot.
Inglis could very well end up playing for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate though, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. Because the Bucks don’t have a D-League affiliate of their own, Inglis spent some time with the Westchester Knicks during the 2015/16 season, averaging 9.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 21.4 minutes per contest for the club.
And-Ones: VanVleet, Crawford, Lorbek
Fred VanVleet has a chance to make the Raptors’ opening night roster and the point guard is making the most out of his opportunity, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “When I’m out there, try to make it hard to notice who is the guy trying to make the team,” VanVleet said. “[I] try to be seamless in that regard, look like one of the starters, look like a bench player and look like you belong.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Jordan Crawford will return to the D-League and play for the Westchester Knicks, sources tell Chris Reichert of Upside Motor (Twitter link).
- Center Wally Niang will play in the D-League this season, Reichert reports (Twitter link). Niang played in the Liga ACB League in Europe during the past two seasons.
- Erazem Lorbek, whose rights right were traded to the Spurs in the Kawhi Leonard deal, has agreed to play for Barcelona’s farm team, Lassa II of LEB Gold, according to international jounralist David Pick (Twitter link).
And-Ones: McCants, Llull, D-League, Trades
Former UNC standout and 2005 lottery pick Rashad McCants hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since 2009, but he has played in Puerto Rico, China, Brazil, Lebanon, the Philippines, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic since then. Could his next stop be back in America? According to Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor (Twitter link), McCants may sign with the D-League in the hopes of making his way back onto an NBA roster.
While we wait to see what McCants’ future holds, let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the league…
- According to a report from Marca in Spain (translation via Sportando), Sergio Llull‘s buyout with Real Madrid was increased from five million euros to 12 million euros in his most recent contract extension with the team. This runs counter to a 2015 report that suggested Llull’s NBA buyout had been reduced with his new deal. If it’s true, it will make a signing even trickier for the Rockets, who would like to bring the Spanish star to Houston in 2017.
- The NBA D-League is making changes to the way it populates its pool of draft-eligible players. Adam Johnson of D-League Digest has the details, along with his thoughts on the adjustments.
- Kenneth Faried, who reportedly remains on the trade block in Denver, is one of the Western Conference players most likely to be traded this season, according to Kevin Pelton and a group of ESPN.com writers (Insider-only link). In addition to Faried, the list also features multiple Suns and Kings veterans.
- ESPN.com’s NBA Insiders also took a look at the Eastern Conference players most likely to be traded this season, including Jaylen Brown, Mario Hezonja, and a pair of Sixers bigs.
Northwest Notes: Faried, Abrines, Lucas, Butler
Kenneth Faried has the inside track to remain the Nuggets’ starting power forward when the season starts, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Coach Michael Malone wanted to have a competition at that spot, but no one appears to be a serious threat to Faried. Darrell Arthur is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and will be phased in slowly. Denver sometimes uses Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at power forward, but usually just in short bursts to speed up the game. It’s possible that Malone will decide to start Jusuf Nurkic at center and slide Nikola Jokic over to the four spot, but Dempsey believes the most likely outcome is Faried starting on opening night.
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets may get their own D-League team again, possibly by next season, Dempsey writes in a separate story. Denver last had a direct affiliate in 2009 with the Colorado 14ers, who moved to Texas and hooked up with the Dallas Mavericks.
- Alex Abrines waited to make the leap to the Thunder until he saw an opportunity for playing time, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. That chance came when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City for Golden State and created a huge opening on the wing. OKC has owned Abrines’ rights since 2013, when it took him 32nd in the draft. The 23-year-old shooting guard has been playing in Spain ever since, but now he believes there’s a chance to make an impact with the Thunder. “Once KD left, I think there was a spot at the three position,” Abrines said. “Also I can play the two. I thought I had a chance to come here and grab some minutes. I don’t want to be here and just practice.”
- Two veterans fighting for spots on the Timberwolves‘ roster, John Lucas III and Rasual Butler, know what to expect from coach Tom Thibodeau because they’ve played for him before, notes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. Both players are 37 and have non-guaranteed contracts, but they came into camp with a decent shot to make the team. Minnesota has 17 players in camp, including Nikola Pekovic, who will be kept on the roster but won’t play this season because of injuries. Butler played for Thibodeau in Chicago briefly in 2010/11, and Lucas and Thibodeau teamed up with both the Rockets and Bulls.