No. 48 Pick Dakari Johnson To Play In D-League
Former Kentucky center Dakari Johnson will sign with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, GM Sam Presti said today to media, including Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oklahoma City drafted the 7-footer 48th overall this past June, though it’s no surprise that he’s not joining the NBA roster for the start of the season, particularly since the Thunder already have 15 fully guaranteed deals. Oklahoma City retains Johnson’s NBA rights even as he heads to the D-League.
Johnson was the 33rd-best prospect on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings heading into the draft, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him 45th, closer to his draft position. He averaged 6.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game, though he had to compete for playing time with top pick Karl-Anthony Towns and No. 6 selection Willie Cauley-Stein, among others, on last season’s stacked Kentucky team. Johnson, a Leon Rose client, saw more playing time in summer league, with 26.7 MPG, and while his 7.6 PPG were unremarkable, his 8.6 RPG showed his strength on the boards.
Oklahoma City has made frequent use of its D-League team to stash draft picks in recent years. The Thunder struck an innovative deal with Josh Huestis in 2014, agreeing to use the 29th overall pick on him in exchange for his promise to play in the D-League this past season. The team also had 2013 No. 40 pick Grant Jerrett and 2014 No. 55 pick Semaj Christon sign in the D-League.
Do you think Johnson will become a productive NBA player once he receives his shot in the league? Leave a comment to tell us.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Holiday, Magic
The Wizards are hoping that their $55MM Entertainment and Sports Arena which, when construction is completed, will serve as their practice facility, among other uses, will be a powerful lure for free agents, especially Kevin Durant, who is set to hit the open market next summer, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. Team owner Ted Leonsis also plans to add a D-League affiliate in the near future that will play in the new facility, Youngmisuk adds. Washington is currently operating without its own D-League affiliate.
“The Wizards would have a world-class practice facility and our fans would be able to watch practice,” Leonsis said. “And then we would attach to that facility a mini arena that would be really state of the art, maybe seat 3,000 to 5,000 people and we can do charity events there and have some preseason games there and maybe the Washington Mystics would play some games there. And we’d then also want to bring a D-League team there to the community and we would program it to put it in a part of the city that can really use hundreds of jobs,” he added. “Verizon Center is credited with helping turn around downtown D.C. and we think we can do it again in another community that needs a bear hug and some transformation.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks have officially named Michael Blackstone as assistant GM, John Treloar as Director of Player Personnel, Malik Rose as Manager of Basketball Operations, Dotun Akinwale as Manager of Scouting, Matt Elijah as Manager of Basketball Administration, Daniel Starkman as Coordinator of Basketball Operations and David Painter as Director of Basketball Facilities, the team announced (h/t to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who first reported the moves).
- The Magic have an intriguing collection of talent on paper, though it remains to be seen how well the players will mesh together on the court, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) writes in his season preview. Orlando has enough firepower to make the postseason, but it may take another season before the team gets there, Bontemps concludes.
- Justin Holiday is itching to assume a larger role with the Hawks than he had on a stacked Warriors squad in 2014/15, KL Chouinard of NBA.com writes in a profile of the guard. The 26-year-old appeared in 59 contests for Golden State last season, but only averaged 11.1 minutes of action per night. Holiday inked a two year pact with Atlanta this offseason.
Eastern Notes: Gibson, Raptors, Jackson
Bulls power forward Taj Gibson was suffering from a torn ligament in his ankle toward the end of the 2014/15 campaign, which explains his lackluster playoff showing during the postseason, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com writes. The true extent of the damage in Gibson’s ankle was discovered when the forward went under the knife in June for routine surgery, Goodwill adds. “I didn’t know I could play with that much pain but I just tried to help my team win,” Gibson told Goodwill. “I think it was a good thing for me to do the surgery. I’ve never been hurt this much. It was good for my career and for myself.”
“We didn’t know it was a torn ligament. It was on the completely opposite side of the foot,” Gibson continued. “When he finally went in during surgery, he was astounded how I was able to still play. He said he never knew anybody who could play through so much pain. I just thought it was normal. He was surprised I was even able to run or lift off it. That’s how bad it was.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Reggie Jackson enters his first training camp with the Pistons feeling much more comfortable in the team’s system and more entrenched with the franchise, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “I feel like I’ve been here. I feel like the guys know who I am and for the most part I know them,” Jackson said. “Even though it was short, I was extremely blessed and privileged to come over here [for the remainder of the 2014/15 season]. It was a tough struggle, but I think it’s going to pay off in the end. I truly believe that. Teammates are all ready to get into camp. It feels like we know each other more than if I was traded in the summer or signed and not coming in new. We did the whole [team-bonding trip] thing in Vegas, I got there and knew everybody vs. trying to meet everybody. I could arrange dinners and didn’t have to worry about knowing a guy’s phone number, what you like, don’t like. It’s already established.”
- The Raptors have officially named Tim Lewis, Nathaniel Mitchell, and David Gale as assistant coaches for their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, the team announced (via Twitter).
- The deals that Sam Thompson and Jason Washburn inked with the Hornets are both non-guaranteed, minimum salary training camp contracts that cover one year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
Southeast Notes: Batum, Kaminsky, Wizards, Heat
Hornets coach Steve Clifford wants to have more players involved in the offense this season, and he envisions trade acquisition Nicolas Batum as a facilitator for much of that in a manner similar to how the Magic used to run offense through Hedo Turkoglu, observes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
“He’s in a similar place to where Turkoglu was in Orlando as far as size and exceptional feel for the game,” Clifford said. “If he’s open, he shoots it. If he’s not, he’ll drive. He’s as instinctual as you can ask of a player, and you can’t coach that.”
Clifford was an assistant coach during Turkoglu’s time in Orlando. See more on the Hornets and the rest of the Southeast Division:
- Frank Kaminsky has more experience than most lottery picks, having gone to college for four years, but he’s having a rough adjustment to NBA competition during informal scrimmages so far, Clifford said, as Bonnell relays in the same piece. “The kid has a chance to be really something as a player, [but] right now he’s a kid and they’re beating up on him [in scrimmages],” Clifford said. “They’re 28 or 29 and he’s 22.” Charlotte reportedly turned down an offer of four first-round picks to hold on to the ninth selection and draft Kaminsky this year.
- The start of construction is set for next year on a new practice facility for the Wizards that is to open in the fall of 2018, the team announced. The Wizards hope it will help them attract free agents, including Kevin Durant when he’s on the market next summer, as Jonathan O’Connell of The Washington Post wrote earlier this week. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said the franchise wants to house a D-League team there, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com notes.
- The Heat should sign a veteran whom they could bank on rather than relying on a young player at the end of their bench, given their questionable depth, opines Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
And-Ones: Hornets, D-League, Aldridge
The Hornets currently have a roster count of 18 players, a number that isn’t likely to increase, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer relays in a series of tweets. Coach Steve Clifford believes that adding more players would have a negative impact on the practice reps that the rotation players receive, notes Bonnell, with Clifford saying, “Last year I did a poor job of getting our team ready for the season. We were [initially] bad on offense and bad on defense.”
Bonnell also thinks the team has created some healthy competition for playing time, especially at power forward and backup shooting guard, and he believes that this year’s training camp will be a more competitive one overall than last year’s, especially among the 14 players possessing fully guaranteed pacts. Bonnell also praises the addition of Jason Washburn, noting that the team has no true backup for starting center Al Jefferson, and the Charlotte Observer scribe also likes Aaron Harrison‘s chances to make the regular season roster. Harrison’s two-year deal is only partially guaranteed.
Here’s more from around the league…
- The D-League is undergoing changes, and what happens in the NBA’s minor league can have significant consequences, as Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders points out amid his look at the best players ever to have emerged from the D-League. Danny Green, who re-signed with the Spurs for $40MM over four years this summer, is No. 1 on Brigham’s list.
- With the 2015 NBA Draft in the rearview, Jonathan Wasserman of BleacherReport took a look ahead at a number of questions relating to 2016’s draft. The talking points touched upon by Wasserman included who the likely No. 1 overall pick will be, with the scribe predicting it will come down to LSU’s Ben Simmons or Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere. Wasserman also runs down a number of prospects who could be selected in the lottery, including Jaylen Brown (California), Jamal Murray (Kentucky), and Brandon Ingram (Duke).
- Though there will be a mutual period of adjustment, LaMarcus Aldridge will fit in just fine with the Spurs this season, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland.com. “LaMarcus will be different,” said GM R.C. Buford. “And we’ll be different than we were before LaMarcus. We have to figure out how LaMarcus will play within our group, and produce at levels that he’s capable of — and that are important to him, and to our success.” Lowe’s piece also includes a detailed look at how Aldridge can thrive within San Antonio’s system that is well worth a look.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Latest On Draft, D-League Expansion
A few NBA GMs believe that it’s possible that the NBA draft will expand by a round or two once the D-League has 30 teams, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes within his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Such a move would require union approval and wouldn’t take place until every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, Aldridge cautions. Still, D-League president Malcolm Turner told Aldridge that expansion to 30 teams is the top priority for his circuit. The Nets and Hornets have a goal of starting up one-to-one D-League affiliates in time for the 2016/17 season, and almost all of the 11 teams currently without a D-League affiliate have expressed interest in following suit within the next few years, Aldridge reports.
“With those independent teams, we’re in varying stages of expansion discussions,” Turner said to Aldridge. “No question, it’s a process. Several months ago we added Toronto and they’ll start next season, and with the Indy purchase of Fort Wayne we’ll have all our teams affiliated. For 2016/17 we’re focused on adding two and perhaps three teams. Beyond that, while we haven’t written anything in stone, expansion and 30 for 30 is definitely in the discussions for us.”
One GM suggested to Aldridge that players drafted after round two could have “two-way” contracts that call for them to make NBA salaries if they’re on NBA rosters and D-League salaries if they’re in the D-League. Another GM with whom Aldridge spoke brought up an idea of expanding the draft to five rounds for one year so that teams could stock their D-League clubs with draftees.
Still, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders heard recently that the D-League, currently at 19 teams, would likely grow by only one or two teams per year (Twitter link). Miniscule D-League salaries are often unappealing to players, many of whom can command more money overseas, but sources who spoke with Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders expect that D-League money will improve as the league continues to grow.
A GM of an NBA team without a D-League affiliate told Aldridge that his team has an unofficial arrangement with an NBA team that has a one-to-one affiliate to take on the players it assigns this season. The system in place for assigning players from the 11 unaffiliated teams seemingly allows for that. I’d speculate that the teams involved in the unofficial arrangement are the Hawks and the Spurs, who hooked up twice on D-League assignments last year, though that’s just my speculation.
Do you think the draft should go more than two rounds? Leave a comment to tell us.
Northwest Notes: D-League, Wolves, Westbrook
The acquisition of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants by the Pacers will certainly change how teams around the NBA without their own affiliates utilize the D-League. The Blazers severed their partnership with the Idaho Stampede, who are now the Jazz‘s affiliate, at the completion of the 2013/14 campaign, but not having a D-League franchise of its own hasn’t hurt Portland’s player development yet, Mike Richman of the Oregonian opines. The franchise was still able to add point guard Tim Frazier last season, who was the D-League’s MVP and Rookie of the Year, despite not having their own affiliate, Richman notes. Establishing its own D-League affiliate isn’t currently a priority for Portland, Richman adds.
Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves GM Milt Newton, who’s in charge of the team’s front office while Flip Saunders recovers from cancer, wants to add two more players for training camp and he’ll need to unload one of the team’s 16 fully guaranteed contracts before opening night, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
- Kevin Durant expressed his admiration for what teammate Russell Westbrook was able to accomplish last season with the rash of injuries the Thunder had suffered, including Durant himself missing a total of 55 contests, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. “It was amazing to see a guy at the point guard position take over the game from all aspects and will his team with his passion, his enthusiasm, his energy on top of his skill,” Durant said. “It was incredible to watch. I was [expletive] I wasn’t out there to help him out. But I could tell he learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence.“
- The Nuggets are in for a long, difficult season, but the franchise does possess solid building blocks in Jusuf Nurkic and Emmanuel Mudiay, as well as a revitalized Danilo Gallinari, which should give the team hope for the future, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) in his season preview.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
How Teams Without Own Affiliates Used D-League
The disappearance of shared D-League affiliates this season shouldn’t have much of an effect, since the 13 teams that shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season rarely sent players on assignment, argues Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. The Hawks, as Reichert notes, were the exception.
Atlanta made 11 assignments to the D-League in 2014/15, more than twice as many as any other NBA franchise without a one-to-one NBA affiliate. The Raptors were next in that category, with four, but they’ve started their own D-League team for this season. Still, the Hawks aren’t strangers to the system that will govern their D-League assignments in the months ahead.
The 11 remaining NBA teams without their own D-League affiliate may assign players to the affiliates of other NBA franchises, just as the Hawks did three times last season when the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the D-League squad Atlanta shared with a dozen other NBA teams, had a full roster. The Hawks used the arrangement to find a home particularly conducive to the development of their players, as Adam Johnson of D-League Digest observes, sending Adreian Payne on two occasions to the affiliate of the Spurs. Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer was a longtime assistant in San Antonio before taking the job in Atlanta, and he’s brought a similar operation with him to his new job. The Hawks also sent John Jenkins to the affiliate of the Jazz, another organization with close ties to the Spurs.
Of course, it won’t always work out that way. Not every NBA team has close similarities with another, Johnson notes. The D-League will ask for volunteers among its ranks to take NBA players on assignments, but if the affiliate that the NBA team making the assignment doesn’t raise its hand, the NBA club has to choose another volunteer or have the destination for its assigned player determined at random if no volunteers emerge.
It’s an imperfect system, but it’s the price NBA teams that haven’t invested in their own D-League outfits must pay. Of course, many of those teams figure to simply decline to participate, given their lack of D-League assignments in the past.
With an assist from the D-League Usage Reports that Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors compiled, below is a list of every D-League assignment that the 13 teams without a one-to-one D-League affiliate made last season. Those teams collectively sent players to the one-to-one affiliates of other NBA franchises on six occasions, with the Spurs taking on six such players.
Atlanta Hawks
- November 20th: Assigned Adreian Payne (Recalled November 23rd)
- November 28th: Assigned John Jenkins (Recalled December 8th)
- November 28th: Assigned Adreian Payne (Recalled December 6th)
- December 6th: Assigned Mike Muscala (Recalled December 8th)
- December 9th: Assigned Adreian Payne to Spurs affiliate (Recalled December 22nd)
- December 19th: Assigned Mike Muscala (Recalled December 20th)
- December 28th: Assigned Mike Muscala (Recalled December 29th)
- December 30th: Assigned John Jenkins to Jazz affiliate (Recalled January 20th)
- December 30th: Assigned Adreian Payne to Spurs affiliate (Recalled January 12th)
- February 7th: Assigned Mike Muscala (Recalled February 8th)
- March 1st: Assigned Mike Muscala (Recalled March 2nd)
Brooklyn Nets
- January 1st: Assigned Markel Brown to Celtics affiliate (Recalled January 8th)
- January 1st: Assigned Cory Jefferson to Celtics affiliate (Recalled January 8th)
Charlotte Hornets
- December 27th: Assigned Noah Vonleh (Recalled December 31st)
- December 28th: Assigned Jeffery Taylor to Spurs affiliate (Recalled January 9th)
Chicago Bulls
- None
Denver Nuggets
- January 20th: Assigned Erick Green (Recalled January 25th)
Indiana Pacers (this year, they’ll have their own affiliate)
- January 27th: Assigned Shayne Whittington (Recalled January 30th)
- April 8th: Assigned Shayne Whittington (D-League Playoffs)
Los Angeles Clippers
- January 6th: Assigned C.J. Wilcox (Recalled January 21st)
Milwaukee Bucks
- None
Minnesota Timberwolves
- None
New Orleans Pelicans
- December 5th: Assigned Russ Smith (Recalled December 8th)
- December 11th: Assigned Russ Smith (Recalled December 20th)
- January 9th: Assigned Russ Smith (Traded to the Grizzlies on January 12th)
Portland Trail Blazers
- None
Toronto Raptors (this year, they’ll have their own affiliate)
- December 25th: Assigned Bruno Caboclo (Recalled January 1st)
- February 18th: Assigned Bruno Caboclo (Recalled March 8th)
- March 12th: Assigned Lucas Nogueira (Recalled March 16th)
- March 17th: Assigned Lucas Nogueira (Recalled March 26th)
Washington Wizards
- November 20th: Assigned Glen Rice Jr. (Waived on January 7th)
Eastern Notes: Pacers, Knicks, Kaun
One of the main reasons that the Pacers decided to forge ahead with the purchase of the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants was the rising salaries of NBA players, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter links). Team owner Herb Simon said that the Pacers will need young players to go along with the higher paid players on the roster, and that those young players would need development, which purchasing the Mad Ants would help facilitate, Buckner adds.
Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks are unquestionably a better team than a season ago, but just about every other team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference also improved this offseason, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Facebook link). Bontemps also noted that he expects New York to struggle to compete for the final playoff spot in the East, which would result in the possibility that the team would look to deal small forward Carmelo Anthony to a contender at the trade deadline.
- The majority of the Pistons‘ roster is now comprised of players acquired by executive/coach Stan Van Gundy, and this season’s focus will be in determining which of those players will have long-term futures with the team, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com in his 30 Teams, 30 Days series.
- Sasha Kaun‘s two-year deal with the Cavaliers will see him earn $1,276,000 in 2015/16 and $1,333,240 during the final season, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Both seasons are fully guaranteed, Pincus adds. Reports initially conflicted on whether the contract would include a player option, and Pincus confirms that it does not.
- Kendall Marshall will earn approximately $2.1MM this season courtesy of his deal with the Sixers, and his salary is fully guaranteed, Pincus tweets.
NBA D-League Affiliations For 2015/16
The concept of shared D-League affiliates changed drastically last season, when the Fort Wayne Mad Ants became the only D-League team available for the 13 NBA franchises that didn’t have their own one-to-one affiliates. This year represents another dramatic step, as for the first time since D-League and NBA team affiliations began, some teams will have no affiliate at all.
Those 11 NBA teams without their own D-League squad will get to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises, as the NBA announced today amid the news that the Pacers have bought the Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner. D-League teams can volunteer to take the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerge, the players will be assigned at random.
A similar system was in place last season to deal with occasions when the Mad Ants were fully stocked with players and one of their 13 NBA partners wanted to make an assignment. Those 13 teams made a total of 27 D-League assignments, including six to one-to-one D-League affiliates of other NBA franchises.
The D-League landscape looks much different from the way it did two years, ago, when three D-League teams were shared affiliates for the 2013/14 season, and no more than six NBA teams partnered with any one D-League squad. Five shared D-League affiliates split no more than four NBA teams apiece in 2012/13.
The Raptors avoided the disappearance of their shared affiliate this summer when they created Raptors 905, a D-League expansion team, to serve as their one-to-one partner. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is that all 30 NBA franchises will have their own D-League squads.
NBA D-League affiliations for 2015/16
- Atlanta Hawks — None
- Boston Celtics — Maine Red Claws
- Brooklyn Nets — None
- Charlotte Hornets — None
- Chicago Bulls — None
- Cleveland Cavaliers — Canton Charge
- Dallas Mavericks — Texas Legends
- Denver Nuggets — None
- Detroit Pistons — Grand Rapids Drive
- Golden State Warriors — Santa Cruz Warriors
- Houston Rockets — Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Indiana Pacers — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Los Angeles Clippers — None
- Los Angeles Lakers — Los Angeles D-Fenders
- Memphis Grizzlies — Iowa Energy
- Miami Heat — Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Milwaukee Bucks — None
- Minnesota Timberwolves — None
- New Orleans Pelicans — None
- New York Knicks — Westchester Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder — Oklahoma City Blue
- Orlando Magic — Erie BayHawks
- Philadelphia 76ers — Delaware 87ers
- Phoenix Suns — Bakersfield Jam
- Portland Trail Blazers — None
- Sacramento Kings — Reno Bighorns
- San Antonio Spurs — Austin Spurs
- Toronto Raptors — Raptors 905
- Utah Jazz — Idaho Stampede
- Washington Wizards — None
Which of the teams without a D-League affiliate would most benefit from having one? Leave a comment to let us know.