Nigel Williams-Goss

And-Ones: Coach K, Fan Conduct, Williams-Goss, Coaching Candidates

Longtime Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski has decided to retire following the upcoming 2021/2022 college basketball season, reports Jeff Goodman of Stadium (via Twitter). Coach K has helmed the Duke program since 1980, and has been key in ushering in the era of one-and-done college players and collegiate recruiting battles.

During his tenure as head coach, Krzyzewski led the team to five national titles and 12 Final Fours, and with two potential top freshman on next year’s roster in Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin, he will look to end his storied career with one final title run.

Goodman also reports that assistant coach Jon Scheyer is the leading candidate to replace Krzyzewski. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter) that Scheyer is considered Duke’s coach-in-waiting.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • As fan-related incidents continue to occur around the league, the NBA has instituted new measures in an attempt to prevent fan misconduct, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. These policies include: encouraging teams/arenas to pursue legal recourse against such actions, enhanced security, and a “code of conduct” message to be broadcast multiple times throughout the game.
  • Former Jazz point guard Nigel Williams-Goss has agreed to a two-year deal with Real Madrid, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 6’2″ point guard played 15 games for PBC Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia this season, averaging 17 points and 5.9 assists while shooting 46% from three.
  • Although the Celtics are the only team with a head coach vacancy so far this summer, there are plenty of enticing first-time head coach options available, writes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN. Among them: Patrick Ewing, Chauncey Billups, Will Weaver, and Darko Rajakovic. Arnovitz uses present success stories to detail what front offices are looking for in a first time head coach and what attributes can make them successful.
  • Now that the first season of the Basketball Africa League has ended and Egypt’s Zamalek has been crowned champions, the league is looking ahead and planning its 2022 season, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.  “The biggest triumph? Maybe it was just making it to reality,” BAL President Amadou Fall said, regarding the first season of the new league. “Just a long time coming and just being the culmination of many decades of work and engagement by the NBA across the continent, committed to growing the game. And now, it has established a complete pathway for basketball development from grassroots to elites and just league.” Those in and around the league are hoping that as the BAL grows, it will attract more and more viewers and participants from around the country. Though none of the players this season are expected to draw attention from NBA teams, Fall expects that to change soon. “This is the first time that this league is here,” Zamalek’s Walter Hodge said upon receiving the Hakeem Olajuwon MVP award. “And it’s going to be here for a long time.”

Nigel Williams-Goss Signs With Russian Team

JANUARY 5: Lokomotiv Kuban has officially signed Williams-Goss for the rest of the season, the team announced today in a press release.


DECEMBER 31: Free agent guard Nigel Williams-Goss is close to finalizing a contract agreement with Russian club Lokomotiv Kuban, according to a report from Serbian outlet MozzartSport (hat tip to Sportando).

Williams-Goss, who was selected by the Jazz with the 55th overall pick in the 2017 draft, is no stranger to international ball, having spent the 2017/18 season with Partizan in Serbia and the ’18/19 campaign with Olympiacos in Greece before arriving in Utah last season.

Although Williams-Goss signed a multiyear contract with the Jazz in 2019, only the first year of that deal was guaranteed, and he was waived earlier this month before the team was on the hook for his ’20/21 salary.

In his first and only NBA season last year, Williams-Goss appeared in just 10 games for Utah and 17 more for the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League. The 26-year-old averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 3.9 RPG on .508/.352/.778 shooting in 29.6 minutes per contest for the Stars.

Assuming Williams-Goss officially completes a deal with Lokomotiv Kuban, he’ll be joining a team that features several former NBA players, including Alan Williams, Jordan Crawford, and Kevin Hervey. Lokomotiv Kuban plays in the VTB United League and the EuroCup.

Jazz Waive Nigel Williams-Goss

The Jazz have waived point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN (via Twitter). Williams-Goss had been owed a $1,517,981 salary for the 2020/21 season, but it was non-guaranteed.

The Jazz drafted Williams-Goss with the No. 55 pick in 2017 out of Gonzaga. Utah held onto his rights even as he opted to play overseas to start his pro career, spending time in Serbia and Greece during the 2017/18 and ’18/19 seasons. The 6’3″ guard then signed a three-year, $4.2MM deal with the Jazz in 2019, although only the first season was fully guaranteed.

Williams-Goss finally made his NBA debut in the 2019/20 season. He appeared in just 10 games for the Jazz, averaging 5.0 MPG. He got significantly more run with the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. Across 17 games (all starts), Williams-Goss averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.6 SPG in 29.6 MPG for the Stars. He also boasted a respectable shooting line of .508/.352/.778.

Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that, even after this transaction, the club remains $2MM over the league’s luxury tax threshold. The Jazz now have 11 players with guaranteed deals, three with zero salary protection (Shaquille Harrison, Miye Oni, and Juwan Morgan), three more on Exhibit 10 contracts, and a pair on two-way pacts.

Jazz Stars Sitting Out Friday’s Game With Spurs

The Jazz will play the Spurs on Friday but they will look like a totally different team. They’ll go without all of their star players due to injury or, in one case, rest, according to an ESPN report.

The starting backcourt of Donovan Mitchell (left peroneal strain) and Mike Conley (right knee soreness) will sit out, as will center Rudy Gobert. Coach Quin Snyder is resting his defensive stalwart in the first game of a back-to-back. Utah plays Denver on Saturday.

Another key player, forward Royce O’Neale (right calf soreness), is also taking the night off, as well as guard Nigel Williams-Goss (left ankle sprain).

None of the injuries appear to be long-term, so it’s quite possible most or all of those players could return for the Denver game. The Nuggets have been playing shorthanded during the restart and are missing four starters — Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton and Paul Millsap — in their game against Portland on Thursday.

Utah is trying to hold onto the fourth seed in the Western Conference and is also within striking distance of the third-place Nuggets.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/10/20

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Magic have recalled second-year shooting guard Melvin Frazier Jr. from their Lakeland G League affiliate, per the team’s social media. Frazier has logged time in 14 games with the Magic this season.
  • The Pacers have recalled rookie center Goga Bitadze from their G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced. Bitadze has appeared in 42 games for Indiana.
  • The Thunder have assigned rookie small forward Isaiah Roby to the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. Roby is averaging 9.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.18 SPG and 1.09 BPG in 20.4 minutes over 11 G League contests.
  • The Heat have sent rookie small forward KZ Okpala to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team noted on social media. Okpala has appeared in five games for Miami.
  • The Wizards have recalled guards Gary Payton II and John Wall from the Capital City Go-Go, per the G League. Payton has appeared in 21 games for Washington this season. The Wizards are also sending rookie forward Admiral Schofield to the Go-Go.
  • The Nets have assigned second-year wing Dzanan Musa to their Long Island G League club, according to the G League.
  • The Jazz have sent 25-year-old rookie point guard Nigel Williams-Goss to the Salt Lake City Stars, per the G League.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/31/20

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:

  • The Nets assigned forward Dzanan Musa and guard Theo Pinson to their Long Island affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Pinson, a second-year guard, has appeared in 27 games with Brooklyn this season, averaging 4.4 PPG in 12.3 MPG. Musa, a second-year swingman, is averaging 4.2 PPG in 11.9 MPG through 33 appearances with the NBA club.
  • The Jazz assigned point guard Nigel Williams-Goss to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the G League log. Williams-Goss has made nine abbreviated appearances with the NBA team this season.
  • The Wizards assigned rookie swingman Admiral Schofield to the Capital City Go-Go, according to the G League log. Schofield has played 26 games with the Wizards this season, averaging 3.2 PPG in 11.2 MPG.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/20

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Wizards have recalled Admiral Schofield from the Capital City Go-Go, per the team’s Twitter feed. Schofield was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft.
  • The Celtics are bringing Romeo Langford back from the G League. They’ve recalled him, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports (Twitter link).
  • The Spurs have recalled Keldon Johnson from the Austin Spurs, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson was the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
  • The Clippers have assigned Derrick Walton Jr. and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, per the team. Los Angeles hasn’t practiced in several days but is expected to hold practice tomorrow.
  • The Jazz have assigned Nigel Williams-Goss, Juwan Morgan, and Miye Oni to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. All three are were just with the Salt Lake City Stars over the weekend.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/1/20

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Timberwolves have recalled rookie shooting guard Jaylen Nowell from their G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, according to a team press release. Nowell was drafted by the Wolves with the No. 43 pick this summer. The 6’4″ guard out of Washington has appeared in five games for Minnesota. In 15 games for Iowa, Nowell is logging impressive averages of 21.3 PPG on 50% shooting from the floor, 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG.
  • The Bucks have sent forward Dragan Bender to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, according to the NBA G League’s website. The forward, drafted No. 4 in 2016 by Phoenix, has played just three games for Milwaukee this season.
  • The Bulls have recalled second-year small forward Chandler Hutchison from their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to the team’s Twitter. Drafted with the No. 22 pick in 2018, Hutchison has only appeared in nine games for Chicago due to injury. With Otto Porter‘s extended absence dragging into 2020, odds are good Hutchison will see significant time in Chicago this year.
  • The NBA G League website notes that the Jazz have assigned rookie guards Nigel Williams-Goss and Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, their G League affiliate. Williams-Goss has appeared in eight games for the major league club, Oni has logged time in three.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/23/19

Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Hornets recalled Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels from their Greensboro affiliate, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Martin has gotten into three NBA games this season, while McDaniels has appeared in just one.
  • The Timberwolves recalled Jaylen Nowell from their affiliate in Iowa, the team announced in a press release. The second-round pick is averaging 18.5 PPG in six G League games.
  • The Pistons recalled rookie Sekou Doumbouya from Grand Rapids, according to an email from the team. He is averaging 18.4 PPG in eight games with the Drive.
  • The Jazz assigned Miye Oni and Nigel Williams-Goss to their Salt Lake City affiliate, the team announced on Twitter.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/19/2019

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

  • The Warriors have sent Kevon Looney to the Santa Cruz Warriors for a rehab assignment, as the team announces on its website. Golden State also assigned Alen Smailagic to the G League.
  • The Raptors have assigned Dewan Hernandez to the Raptors 905, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic relays on Twitter. On Wednesday, the two teams will have a doubleheader, with the G League squad playing in the morning and the NBA club at night.
  • The Jazz recalled Miye Oni and Nigel Williams-Goss from the Salt Lake City Stars before practice today. The club sent the pair back to the G League afterward, as the team passes along on Twitter.
  • The Spurs have recalled Keldon Johnson from the Austin Spurs, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson may see action for the Spurs this week, as they have a back-to-back later in the week.
  • The Wolves have sent Naz Reid to their G League affiliate, the team announces. The former LSU Tiger was with the Iowa Wolves over the weekend.