NBA G League Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ryan Arcidiacono Joining Bulls’ G League Affiliate

February 23rd, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Ryan Arcidiacono is joining Chicago’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Although neither Windy City nor the Maine Celtics have officially announced it yet, the two teams made a trade sending Arcidiacono’s G League rights to the Bulls, according to the G League’s transaction log.

Arcidiacono, who played in Chicago for four seasons at the start of his NBA career from 2017-21, has spent the majority of the past three seasons with the Knicks. A Tom Thibodeau favorite, the 29-year-old guard is considered a welcome presence on the bench and in the locker room, but played very sparingly in New York — he went scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting in 45 total minutes of action across 20 games this season.

The Knicks sent Arcidiacono to the Pistons in the trade that saw Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks land in New York. Detroit, facing a roster crunch, subsequently waived him.

Thibodeau and the Knicks, who had three roster spots available earlier this week, probably wouldn’t mind re-signing Arcidiacono and reuniting him with fellow Villanova alums Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo. However, they’re ineligible to do so. A team that trades away a player can’t bring back that player as a free agent later in the season if he’s waived by the team he was traded to.

And-Ones: Holland, Toscano-Anderson, All-Star, MVP Race, Reid

February 22nd, 2024 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

G League Ignite forward Ron Holland underwent surgery on his injured right thumb on Tuesday in order to repair a complete tendon rupture, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). Spears had reported over the weekend that Holland would miss the rest of the NBAGL season due to the thumb injury, but didn’t say at that time that the young prospect would be going under the knife.

Based on Holland’s projected recovery timeline, he should be back on the court within six-to-eight weeks, according to Spears, which will allow him to participate in the pre-draft process this spring.

Although Holland’s stock has slipped a little over the course of the 2023/24 season, he still looks like a probable lottery pick if he’s fully healthy, ranking 10th on ESPN’s latest big board.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Veteran swingman Juan Toscano-Anderson, who played for the Mexico City Capitanes earlier in the season, has rejoined the G League club following a stint in Sacramento, per a press release (Twitter link). The Capitanes have a 10-6 regular season record, good for fourth place in the NBAGL’s Western Conference.
The NBA has updated its criteria for hosting an All-Star weekend, requiring a city to reach certain benchmarks in terms of hotel rooms, convention center space, and flights, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, one of the league’s smallest markets, doesn’t meet any of the three requirements, making it unlikely that the Thunder will host an All-Star game anytime soon, Mussatto notes.
With the schedule set to resume following the All-Star break, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press checks in on the contenders for Most Valuable Player, suggesting that it could be one of the most wide-open MVP races in years.
Former NBA wing Robert Reid, who played in the league from 1977-91, passed away this week at age 68 after a battle with cancer, according to Jyesha Johnson of FOX26 Houston. Reid appeared in over 900 regular season games, primarily with the Rockets, averaging 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per night. Our condolences go out to his friends and family.

Karlo Matkovic Joins Pelicans’ G League Team

February 21st, 2024 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Croatian big man Karlo Matkovic has joined the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans‘ G League team, according to the league’s official transaction log (hat tip to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).

Matkovic was selected 52nd overall in the 2022 NBA draft by the Pelicans, who still control his NBA rights. He had remained overseas since that draft, spending this season with KK Cedevita Olimpija in Slovenia.

Matkovic, who will turn 23 in March, enjoyed a strong year with Olimpija, averaging 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game across 15 EuroCup appearances. He also averaged 15.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.8 BPG in 17 ABA contests (28.4 MPG).

Word broke last month that Matkovic would be leaving his team in Slovenia to come stateside, but it wasn’t reported at that time whether he would be signing a standard NBA contract, a two-way deal, or a G League contract.

It turned out to be the latter, which means the Pelicans will retain the forward/center’s exclusive NBA rights going forward and will get a closer look at him in Birmingham without having him occupy one of the team’s 15 standard roster spots or three two-way slots. Depending how his rest-of-season audition goes, Matkovic could earn one of those 18 spots in New Orleans next season.

Draft Notes: Buzelis, Ignite, Risacher, Sarr, Mocks

February 20th, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Matas Buzelis, who was the No. 1 prospect in the very first 2024 mock draft that ESPN’s Jonathan Givony published a year ago, had slipped to 10th in ESPN’s prospect rankings last month, but has rebounded nicely as of late, Givony writes in an Insider-only story.

After missing the first part of the G League season due to ankle problems, Buzelis has shown off an improved three-point shot in recent weeks (38.5% in his past 10 games) and has been better on the defensive end of the court, according to Givony, who notes that the Ignite guard/forward made an impact at All-Star weekend, hitting a game-winning shot in the Rising Stars semifinal on Friday.

While Buzelis hasn’t reclaimed that No. 1 spot on ESPN’s big board, he’s back up to No. 6. And, as Givony observes, in a class with no obvious top prospect, a strong finish to the G League season could put the 19-year-old back in the conversation for that first overall pick.

Here are a few more notes on the 2024 NBA draft:

Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) examine where things stand for the G League Ignite, noting that Adam Silver‘s comments at All-Star weekend suggest that the program’s days may be numbered. The Ignite are just 2-19 this season and player development has been inconsistent due to the lack of quality guard play, Woo writes. Still, it seems safe to assume the Ignite will be back for the 2024/25 season, since prospects like Dink Pate and Thierry Darlan are under contract for another year and the program continues to actively recruit high-profile prospects.
International prospects Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr top the latest mock draft from Givony and Woo, with Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham at No. 3, Buzelis at No. 4, and Colorado’s Cody Williams at No. 5.
Risacher and Sarr are also the two players first off the board in the newest mock draft from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. However, there are significant deviations from ESPN’s mock draft beyond that, starting with Serbian point guard Nikola Topic (No. 3) and Connecticut wing Stephon Castle (No. 5) cracking Vecenie’s top five. Topic is at No. 6 in ESPN’s mock, while Castle is all the way down at No. 15.
Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports has also published a new mock draft for 2024, with Sarr claiming the top spot.

Adam Silver Defends 65-Game Requirement At Press Conference

February 17th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Commissioner Adam Silver defended the NBA’s 65-game requirement for players to qualify for postseason awards and All-NBA honors at his annual All-Star Weekend press conference, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The new minimum was enacted to reduce the number of games missed by marquee players, and Silver is happy with the effect it’s had on the league.

“I’m not ready to say it isn’t working so far,” he said. “I can tell you that the number of games that players have participated in is up this season and interestingly enough, injuries are actually down. Whether that’s meaningful data yet, I don’t know. I think the right time to take a further look at this rule is at the end of the season when we sort of at least have a year under our belt.”

Vardon cites Sixers center Joel Embiid as an example of a player who was affected by the 65-game standard. A series of nagging injuries made Embiid unlikely to be eligible to repeat as MVP, even before he underwent surgery for a meniscus tear. Vardon also points to Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is trying to stay on the court while battling hamstring issues so he can make an All-NBA team and be eligible for a larger contract extension.

Silver stated that the players union agreed to the 65-game requirement with the understanding that “we needed to incentivize players, particularly star players, to play more games.” Vardon notes that 16 of the league’s top 20 scorers and 35 of the top 50 have played at least 45 games by the break, which is up sharply from last season.

There’s more from Silver’s press conference, all from Vardon:

The commissioner addressed the explosion of offense this season as the league average of 115.6 points per game per team is at its highest level in 54 years. Silver believes the increased scoring is a result of the high-level talent throughout the NBA and isn’t something that the league should be trying to control. “I want to dispel any notion that the league feels, or the league office necessarily feels that high-scoring games in the abstract are good,” Silver said. “I think what we want are competitive games. … The skill level is off the charts. Every player at every position has to be able to shoot the ball. … You’re seeing this global pool of talent coming into the league (with) some of the best athletes in the world who can frankly shoot the lights out. I think that’s partly what’s responsible for the increased scoring.”
Silver said the league is “in the process of reassessing” the G League Ignite, which was created to appeal to young players looking for an alternative to college. Silver acknowledged that NIL incentives have made the NCAA more lucrative for athletes and reduced the appeal of the Ignite.
The NBA is encouraging changes to the development system for American players, with Silver noting that 30% of the league was born somewhere other than the U.S. “It’s clear that the development is very different in many of those programs outside of the United States, more focused on practice and less focused on games, which seems to be the opposite of many of the youth programs in the United States,” Silver said. “We’ve begun discussions with the NCAA. … There’s no question (top American players) are coming into the league incredibly skilled, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into being team basketball players.”

And-Ones: Holland, 2024 Mock, All-Star Game, Rising Stars

February 17th, 2024 at 11:17am CST by Tristan Tucker

G League Ignite forward Ron Holland will miss the rest of the season to protect his injured right thumb, according to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears (Twitter link). Spears adds that Holland is expected to make a full recovery and will have complete involvement with the pre-draft cycle.

Holland, currently ranked 10th on ESPN’s 2024 best available players list, averaged 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals for the Ignite across the regular season and Showcase Cup.

As Spears observes, this case is similar to what happened with Scoot Henderson last season. In his second year with the Ignite, Henderson was shut down in mid-March to protect his health.

According to Spears, Holland injured his thumb on Jan. 31 against Iowa and his plan is to finish the season on the Ignite’s roster as an injured player.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Holland goes fourth off the board to the Hornets in Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report’s latest 2024 mock draft. Holland joins Alexandre Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, Nikola Topic and Cody Williams in the top five of Wasserman’s mock. UConn’s Stephon Castle, Miami’s Kyshawn George and UNC’s Harrison Ingram are some of Wasserman’s top risers while Kentucky’s Justin Edwards, Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile, Duke’s Tyrese Proctor and Santa Clara’s Adama Bal are among the biggest fallers.
Despite several changes over the past decade, the NBA’s All-Star Game still lacks real competitiveness, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst opines. Even though the Elam ending helped make things interesting at first, the game has reverted back to players not engaging on defense. Everyone realizes some change needs to come and, according to Windhorst, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander suggested a financial incentive. Regardless of what happens, it’s clear the All-Star Game isn’t a finished product. “We need to make the message clear to players [so] guys come out and say, ‘It’s a game. Let’s go try to win it,’” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
The NBA’s next generation are among those who recognize the flaws with the All-Star Game and tried to do their part by putting on a good show in the Rising Stars game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I think the only thing we can do is just go out there and just play like a real game,” Henderson said. “I think the All-Star Game and All-Star in general is just looked at like fun and games, but I think the fans, they want to see a competitive spirit. And there’s been sparks like that in the game in recent years but I think all that we can do as young guys coming up is try to continue to have that competitive edge.“

Wizards Notes: Avdija, Coulibaly, Davis, Hampton

February 17th, 2024 at 8:15am CST by Tristan Tucker

Wizards forward Deni Avdija might have turned a corner in his NBA career, highlighted by a career-high 43 points and season-high 15 rebounds on Wednesday against the Pelicans, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes.

“It’s a little emotional,” Avdija said. “I never thought that, coming to the league, seeing all those numbers, those big players score those points, [I would be] able to be that hot. All the hard work, the times that I was down or I didn’t have good games — and I was down on myself a lot of times — I [stuck] with it. I kept working hard, I kept being patient. I went through a lot. And for me, it’s only the start. I feel like I’m still getting better.”

The Wizards have exercised patience with Avdija, the ninth overall pick in 2020. Robbins writes that while he hasn’t turned into a star like others selected after him — such as Tyrese Haliburton or Tyrese Maxey — he’s always been a versatile defensive player with secondary ball-handling upside.

But now, Avdija is improving at a rapid rate. As Robbins observes, he has been far better from three this season, shooting 40.5% from beyond the arc (up from 29.7% in 2022/23) and has also become a better driver and finisher at the rim. Interim head coach Brian Keefe is helping Avdija play to his strengths by increasing Washington’s pace of play, Robbins writes.

Avdija is averaging career highs of 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest this season. In his last four games, he has averaged 28.3 points and 11.5 rebounds.

We have more on the Wizards:

Rookie Bilal Coulibaly has been tasked with guarding some of the NBA’s top players as a teenager, and though the results fluctuate, he’s been impressive through his young career, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post writes (subscriber link). “He’s had his ups and downs like every other rookie, but I think he’s composed, he’s working hard, he knows what he needs to do on the court and he’s very decisive,” Avdija said. “He’s very confident for a rookie. That’s important.” Wallace writes that Coulibaly has impressive maturity for his age, due largely to his upbringing.
Selecting Johnny Davis over the likes of Jalen Williams, Jalen Duren and Mark Williams is looking like a major whiff for the Wizards, Zach Lowe of ESPN opines (Insider link). Davis has spent more time in his career in the G League than the NBA after being selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He’s averaging 2.3 points in only 8.0 minutes per game this season, and while it’s still early in his career, his playing time has only decreased in his second season.
After he was waived by the Heat, the Wizards’ G League affiliate acquired the rights to R.J. Hampton in exchange for the returning player rights to Trevion Williams and a 2024 first-round pick (Twitter link via the Capital City Go-Go). While his numbers were modest in eight games with Miami, Hampton showed some flashes and made a pair of starts. He averaged 11.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the G League with the Heat’s affiliate this season. With the Wizards waiving Delon Wright, they have just 13 players on standard contracts. All of Jules Bernard, Eugene Omoruyi and Jared Butler — Washington’s two-way players — have impressed in the G League. If Washington promotes one of them, Hampton could be a logical choice for a two-way.

Suns To Become 30th NBA Team With G League Affiliate

February 14th, 2024 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have announced in a press release that they’ve acquired the right to own and operate a G League team, which will debut in 2024/25.

Phoenix had been the only NBA team without an NBAGL affiliate, so barring an unexpected development, all 30 NBA clubs will be affiliated with a G League team beginning next season. The league, which also features the unaffiliated G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes, will feature a total of 32 franchises in ’24/25.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia stated after he took over majority control of the team a year ago that establishing a G League affiliate was a priority and formally announced last July that he intended to do just that. Today’s announcement confirms that the Suns are officially moving forward with that plan and are on track to have the team begin competing this fall.

“Bringing a G League team to Phoenix was one of my first priorities as owner,” Ishbia said today in a statement. “Adding a G League team creates another area for us to compete to be the best and will be a vital tool to help develop players and coaches. Just like the Suns and Mercury, our G League team will serve as a community asset and make a positive impact on and off the court.”

The Suns’ new G League team will play its home games in the Phoenix metro area, but more details beyond that aren’t yet known. Announcements on the venue, team name, and logo, will come in the spring, with a contest being held during the next two weeks giving fans an opportunity to name the franchise.

“To get the team going as quickly as we are, we’re probably going to have to find some temporary,” Ishbia told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “The plan is to have an arena and place and a venue for the G League team to play. We plan on it being close enough to our current place that players aren’t driving four hours like I think a lot of other teams have set up.”

Phoenix actually had a G League affiliate known as the Northern Arizona Suns from 2016-21, but former team owner Robert Sarver sold the franchise to the Pistons, who relocated it to Michigan and rebranded it as the Motor City Cruise.

As a result, the Suns haven’t had a G League team for the past three seasons, meaning any player they want to send to the NBAGL has had to report to another NBA club’s affiliate. That will no longer be the case beginning this fall.

And-Ones: MVP Race, 2024 Draft, Korkmaz, Okafor, More

February 13th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

With Joel Embiid no longer eligible for this season’s MVP award due to the number of games he has missed, the race appears wide open, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, who conducted another version of his straw poll ahead of the All-Star break.

The 100 media members polled over the weekend by MacMahon selected Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current MVP favorite, with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the runner-up. Jokic earned 69 first-place votes and was the only player selected by all 100 voters on their five-player ballots, while Gilgeous-Alexander was listed on 99 ballots and was the top choice on 24 of them.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard rounded out the top five in Bontemps’ latest poll, with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell also appearing on double-digit ballots. Notably, while just four of 100 media members had Anthony Edwards in their top five, one made the Timberwolves guard their MVP choice.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Although Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) still feel as if the 2024 draft class is short on high-end talent, they believe it could end up being a relatively deep draft. Givony and Woo suggest that some teams will be able to find rotation players later in the first round or in the second round, even if there are no sure-fire stars at the top of the class.
After being traded from Philadelphia to Indiana and then waived by the Pacers, veteran swingman Furkan Korkmaz has turned down interest from Turkish club Besiktas for now and is hoping to remain in the NBA, according to a report from Eurohoops. Korkmaz didn’t play much for the Sixers the past two seasons, but is still just 26 years old and is a 36.1% three-point shooter over the past five years.
Former lottery pick Jahlil Okafor is on the move again, having recently signed with Puerto Rican team Capitanes de Arecibo, as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Okafor played in Spain and China earlier this season. He last played in the NBA with Detroit in 2020/21.
Grizzlies guard Vince Williams has been chosen to replace injured Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels in this Friday’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend, while Indiana Mad Ants guard Kyle Mangas will replace Sixers two-way player Kenneth Lofton Jr. in the G League Next Up game, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA and NBAGL.

Southeast Notes: Kupchak, Hornets, Hayward, Gueye, Krejci, Beal

February 6th, 2024 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets’ front office could get a shakeup after the trade deadline. According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, the scuttlebutt around league circles is that their new ownership group is planning to soon make a change in the front office.

Whether that involves Mitch Kupchak remains to be seen. Kupchak has been the Hornets’ president of basketball operations and general manager since April 2018.

We have more on the Southeast Division:

With Terry Rozier traded to Miami and LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward sidelined by injuries, the Hornets are struggling to get settled on offense. They’re saddled with an eight-game losing streak entering Wednesday’s contest against Toronto. ‘We gotta learn to trust the pass more, trust each other,” coach Steve Clifford said, per Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer. “You know, that’s part of how we have to evolve. But we’re playing without one of the most creative players in the world in Melo. Terry obviously creates a lot of shots. And Gordon. So when you get used to playing a certain way, (it’s tough). Now we just have to just flick the switch a little bit. Move the ball, move our bodies a little bit more. And we have more than enough offense on the floor to play well for four quarters.”
Hayward, who hasn’t played since Dec. 26 due to a calf injury, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, the team’s PR department tweets.
Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (right low back stress fracture) has returned to modified practice with the NBA G League’s College Park Skyhawks, according to a team press release. He is traveling with the Hawks this week to continue his rehabilitation plan. Gueye has only appeared in two NBA games this season. Forward Vit Krejci (left shoulder subluxation) practiced Monday with the Skyhawks and is traveling with the Skyhawks for their games this week at Grand Rapids, Mich. Krejci, a two-way player, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game this season.
Bradley Beal returned to Washington and dropped a season-high 43 points on his former team on Sunday. The Suns wing said he has a lot of good memories regarding his former NBA home and has no ill will toward the Wizards organization, according to the Noah Trister of The Associated Press. “It was a mutual decision back in the summer. It wasn’t a spiteful or like a disgusting divorce,” Beal said of the offseason trade. “It was a good separation. No hard feelings in it.”