And-Ones: Wembanyama, Henderson, Satoransky, Randall
Star prospect Victor Wembanyama will play for France’s national team in November during the next round of World Cup qualifying games, per an Associated Press report. The French club is set to face Lithuania on November 11 and will play Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 14.
Wembanyama is coming off a pair of eye-opening exhibition performances against the G League Ignite this week, as he solidified his place as the No. 1 player in the 2022 draft class by pouring in 73 points and blocking nine shots in the two games. The 18-year-old big man, who told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that his goal is “to be like something you’ve never seen,” is drawing rave reviews from many of the NBA’s biggest stars.
“He has the chance to be one of the best — not in his age, not in Europe — but one of the best to ever play this game,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said of Wembanyama, according to Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com. “We have never seen someone like that before. I think it’s a good challenge for everybody in the league, to have somebody who’s 7-foot-2 and is able to shoot over you and dribble like he’s a guard and block shots and run down the floor fast. We gotta get ready for this kid, you know? He’s going to be really good.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- While Wembanyama is considered a generational talent and earned more buzz this week, star Ignite guard Scoot Henderson isn’t ready to concede the top spot in next year’s draft, as he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He also downplayed the idea that he’ll have a long-standing rivalry with the Frenchman. “I’m not worried about him,” Henderson said. “I’m worried about the next level. I’m worried about guarding Steph (Curry).”
- Jonathan Givony’s latest 2023 mock draft at ESPN (Insider-only link) has Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson as the No. 3 pick behind Wembanyama and Henderson, followed by Arkansas’ Nick Smith and Villanova’s Cameron Whitmore.
- Speaking to Alex Molina of Eurohoops, veteran guard Tomas Satoransky expressed pride that he can say he was an NBA player, but admitted that he went through some “ups and downs” in the league. Satoransky said that he’s happy to be back in Europe, playing for Barcelona, because his new deal offers more stability for him and his family than he would have had in the NBA.
- Former UT Martin guard Craig Randall, who averaged 26.7 PPG for the Long Island Nets last season, tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN that he turned down NBA camp offers that included guaranteed money. Randall instead opted to head to Australia’s National Basketball League, where he’ll have a chance to play a significant role for the Adelaide 36ers. Randall and teammates Antonius Cleveland and Robert Franks all have NBA out clauses in their contracts with Adelaide, according to MacMahon.
Western Notes: Hart, Alvarado, Rockets, Jazz
The Trail Blazers have made a decision on their starting small forward job, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, who hears from a source that Josh Hart has won the training camp competition.
Hart had been competing with Nassir Little and Justise Winslow for the right to start at the three for Portland this season, alongside a backcourt of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons and a frontcourt of Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic.
Hart, whom the Blazers acquired in last season’s CJ McCollum blockbuster, has earned praise from head coach Chauncey Billups for his effort on defense and his basketball IQ, as Fentress notes. The veteran swingman is entering a potential contract year — his 2023/24 salary is currently non-guaranteed and he also has the ability to opt out of his deal after the season.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Second-year Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado has long admired Tony Parker‘s game and got the chance to work with the former Spurs star this offseason, meeting Parker at the Las Vegas Summer League and then traveling to San Antonio to train with him. “Actually, I (direct messaged) him and said, ‘I’m a big fan of you,'” Alvarado said, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “‘Is there any chance me and you can get in the gym this summer? I would love that.’ He replied right away.”
- Kelly Iko of The Athletic takes a look at where things stand with the Rockets‘ rotation, noting that Tari Eason is making a strong case for regular playing time, while Bruno Fernando appears to have passed Usman Garuba on the depth chart at center. Iko also isn’t sure that any of the players acquired in last week’s trade with Oklahoma City (Derrick Favors, Theo Maledon, and Maurice Harkless) will make the regular season roster.
- Given how significantly they overhauled their roster this offseason, the Jazz will likely need more than just a few preseason games to develop a real sense of chemistry, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “It’s going to take us a while to get used to everyone and learn everyone,” Jordan Clarkson said. “We’re still just getting the basics down. We’re not even at the point of knowing guys’ spots and individual games.”
Mavericks Eyeing Facundo Campazzo
The Mavericks are weighing the possibility of signing free agent point guard Facundo Campazzo, according to Marc Stein, who tweets that the team has yet to make a decision one way or the other.
Stein first reported over a month ago that the Mavs were considering adding another ball-handler after having lost Jalen Brunson in free agency. Superstar Luka Doncic and veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie will handle the majority of the point guard responsibilities, but the club is short on reliable veteran options behind those two.
As Stein notes (via Twitter), the Mavericks came into training camp intending to give their in-house backups a shot to claim point guard minutes behind Doncic and Dinwiddie, with Frank Ntilikina, Josh Green, and Tyler Dorsey among the players in the mix. However, the fact that the team is still mulling adding Campazzo or another veteran suggests that none of those players has put a stamp on the role so far this fall.
The Mavs have 14 players on standard guaranteed contracts, so if they don’t mind the additional luxury tax penalty that would come with carrying a 15th man into the regular season, they could comfortably add one.
Campazzo, 31, spent the last two seasons with the Nuggets after establishing himself as one of the best point guards in Europe in his 20s. He averaged 5.6 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 130 appearances (20.1 MPG) across his two seasons in Denver, making just 37.2% of his shots from the floor.
Following the expiration of his contract with the Nuggets, Campazzo looked like a candidate to head back overseas, but he spoke in August about wanting to continue playing in the NBA. He’s still an unrestricted free agent, as he continues to exhaust all his options stateside.
As Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News observes (via Twitter), Campazzo has one notable connection to the Mavericks — he’s good friends with Doncic, having played alongside the All-NBA guard with Real Madrid from 2015-18.
Nuggets Release Adonis Arms, Grant Golden
4:41pm: The Nuggets have officially waived both Arms and Golden, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. That leaves the team with 18 players under contract for the time being.
3:07pm: The Nuggets will waive Exhibit 10 signee Adonis Arms, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link).
The 6’5″ guard will now be able to sign on with Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, according to Wind, who adds that the Nuggets could ink another player to an Exhibit 10 contract by Monday.
Arms went unsigned out of Texas Tech this past summer. During his 2021/22 season with the team, he averaged 8.6 PPG on .448/.308/.744 shooting, along with 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.0 SPG.
Denver is currently fielding a full 15-man roster. Both its two-way player slots are also occupied. Kellan Grady and Grant Golden will be the team’s remaining Exhibit 10 players when Arms’ release becomes official.
Texas Notes: Roby, Bates-Diop, Fernando, Silas
Forward Isaiah Roby has been a fan of the Spurs‘ organization since childhood, reports Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. After the fourth-year power forward was waived by the Thunder over the summer, San Antonio claimed him off waivers.
“[The Spurs] were the team my grandpa really liked watching,” the Dixon, Illinois native said. “… Ever since then, I’ve had an interest in the Spurs and the way they play basketball.”
Roby was initially drafted with the No. 45 pick out of Nebraska by the Pistons. The Mavericks traded for his draft rights later that summer. He suited up for the team’s G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, before being flipped to the Thunder in January 2020. He averaged 10.1 PPG on .514/.444/.672 shooting splits in 45 games during his 2021/22 season with Oklahoma City. The 6’8″ forward also contributed 4.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.8 BPG.
According to McDonald, Roby was apparently surprised to be waived by the Thunder during the offseason. In San Antonio, he joins another rebuilding effort that features plenty of intriguing young prospects, with presumably more to come in the next few seasons. The Spurs have liked what they’ve seen from Roby so far.
“He is really more skilled than I was expecting, and he’s a little bigger than I expected,” head coach Gregg Popovich observed. “He handles himself really well.”
There’s more out of the Lone Star State:
- Spurs forward Keita Bates-Diop is in the running for the last open spot on San Antonio’s standard 15-man roster, having turned in solid performances in two preseason games as a starter, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. McDonald notes that Bates-Diop may start tonight against the Pelicans in the team’s third preseason contest after averaging 9.5 PPG in the first two. “His game improves with every increase in his confidence,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “That’s why he’s still here.” Though Bates-Diop may not ultimately start for the Spurs, McDonald predicts he’ll remain in San Antonio through opening night, thus guaranteeing he gets paid his full $1.9MM salary. “Whether you just signed a new deal or you’re on a one-year or whatever it is, you should always feel like you’re battling for it,” Bates-Diop said. “You don’t want to get too comfortable.”
- The Rockets front office is excited about the fit of 6’9″ fourth-year center Bruno Fernando as a rim-runner, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Iko notes that Fernando becoming a lob threat will open up the downhill offensive games of starting guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green.
- Rockets head coach Stephen Silas has yet to clear the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, reports Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). Berman adds (Twitter link) that assistant coach John Lucas, acting as the team’s head coach while Silas remains ill, has expressed optimism that Silas will clear protocols and be able to travel later to join the team in Miami for its next preseason game.
Northwest Notes: Paschall, Nnaji, Simons, Little
The long process of waiting for a phone call in free agency caused Eric Paschall to consider a career change, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Paschall didn’t receive a qualifying offer after playing for Utah last season and he spent nearly a month as an unrestricted free agent before signing a two-way contract with the Timberwolves in late July.
“It was just a lot, you know what I’m saying?” Paschall said. “I feel like mentally I wasn’t in the greatest place. Just tired. I was like, ‘I might just stop playing basketball.’ … You see the other players getting picked up, you’re not getting a call. You’re calling your agent every day. So I was at a point where I was like I might walk away.”
Paschall credits former teammate Donovan Mitchell and other players with helping him stay focused on the game. Dell Demps, who joined Minnesota’s front office over the summer, was a strong advocate for signing Paschall.
“It wasn’t really the easiest decision. Had to have a lot of tough conversations about it,” Paschall said of accepting the two-way offer. “But I feel like I’m in a pretty good place now. Pretty happy that I’m here.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- After spending the summer in the weight room, Nuggets power forward Zeke Nnaji has added 10 pounds of muscle and increased his vertical leap by four inches, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Nnaji will be competing with veteran center DeAndre Jordan for backup minutes in the front court. “I’ve really taken a giant leap coming into my third year,” he said. “This is an important year for me.”
- After running the Trail Blazers’ offense during the second half of last season, Anfernee Simons has to adjust to playing alongside Damian Lillard, notes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Simons has gotten off to a rough start to the preseason, making just six of 25 shots from the field, as he settles into his new role. “It’s a different kind of dynamic from last year because, obviously, I was like the primary ball-handler at all times,” Simons said.
- Nassir Little is in a battle for the Trail Blazers’ starting small forward spot after injuries wiped out his summer, Fentress adds in a separate story. Little suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder in January, then had core muscle surgery in May and wasn’t able to play 5-on-5 until last week.
Hawks Waive Four Camp Invitees
The Hawks appear to be culling their roster ahead of the official start of the NBA regular season. Atlanta announced today in a press release that it has waived power forward Chris Silva, plus guards Armoni Brooks, Malik Ellison, and Tyson Etienne.
Since going undrafted out of South Carolina in 2019, Silva has bounced around the NBA for the past five seasons, between the Heat, Kings, and Timberwolves. He inked 10-day deals during the 2021/22 season with Miami and Minnesota. In 10 total NBA games last year, the 6’8″ big man averaged 2.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG, across 9.1 MPG. He has also logged time with both the Heat and Timberwolves’ NBAGL clubs, the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Iowa Wolves, over the years. Silva averaged 17.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 0.9 BPG for Iowa over the course of 17 games, including 15 starts.
Brooks, a 6’3″ combo guard, has spent most of his time in the league thus far with the Rockets after going undrafted out of Houston in 2019. The Rockets waived the 24-year-old in February 2022 and he finished last season with Toronto. In 54 games between the Rockets and Raptors last year, Brooks held modest averages of 5.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG.
Ellison was passed over in the 2020 draft out of Hartford. For his initial pro hoops deal, the 6’6″ shooting guard joined Czech club BC Kolin for a brief stint in 2021, then linked up with the Hawks’ NBAGL affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, near the start of the 2021/22 season. The 26-year-old did sign a 10-day hardship exception deal with Atlanta, but never left the bench for the team, and eventually returned to the Skyhawks once his deal was up. He is thus still technically an NBA rookie. In 26 games with the Skyhawks last year, Ellison mostly came off the bench, averaging 6.8 PPG and 4.7 RPG on .443/.316/.833 shooting splits.
Etienne, 23, signed his training camp deal with the Hawks after going undrafted out of Wichita State, where he was honored as the 2021 AAC Co-Player Of The Year, this past summer. In his final season at Wichita State, Etienne averaged 14.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.1 SPG.
The now-ex-Hawks were all training camp invitees, signed to Exhibit 10 contracts. Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that all four players are likely to join the College Park Skyhawks. Should that happen, they’ll be eligible for bonuses worth as much as $50K.
The Hawks now have 14 players signed to their standard 15-man roster heading into their regular season opener next week, including the partially guaranteed contracts of Tyrese Martin and Vit Krejci. Trent Forrest and Jarrett Culver are their two-way contract signees.
Jamal Cain Gets Two-Way Contract With Heat
1:15pm: The Heat have issued a press release confirming that their series of moves – converting Cain to a two-way deal, waiving Days, and signing Mulder – are now official.
10:33am: The Heat will convert Jamal Cain‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
The team will waive Darius Days from his two-way contract to accommodate the move, and his roster spot will be given to Mychal Mulder.
Cain, a 23-year-old small forward, signed the Exhibit 10 deal in July after going undrafted out of Oakland. He played for the Heat’s Summer League team and has been impressive during the preseason, causing Miami officials to fear that he might not clear waivers if he was let go.
The Heat still have plans for Days, assuming he clears waivers, Chiang writes in a full story. His two-way contract was converted to an Exhibit 10 deal on Saturday, and he appears headed to Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls if he’s not claimed by another team.
Days was given a two-way contract in mid-July after a strong Summer League showing with the Spurs. He appeared in two preseason games, but saw limited action.
Mychal Mulder Joins Heat On Exhibit 10 Deal
1:13pm: Mulder has officially signed with the Heat, according to the team. As we relayed in another story, two-way player Darius Days has been waived to create an opening on the 20-man preseason roster for Mulder.
9:26am: The Heat will sign Mychal Mulder to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
The 28-year-old guard finished last season in Miami after signing a two-way deal in late March. He appeared in just two games, but was also part of the Heat’s Summer League team. Mulder started last season on a two-way contract with the Magic and averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 rebounds in 15 games before being released in January.
Miami currently has a full 20-man roster, so someone will have to be waived before Mulder can officially be signed. Orlando Robinson, Jamaree Bouyea, Jamal Cain and Dru Smith are all in camp on Exhibit 10 deals.
Mulder is expected to wind up with Miami’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls once the preseason ends, Chiang adds (via Twitter).
Bradley Beal In Health And Safety Protocols
Bradley Beal will miss Monday’s game at Charlotte after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Wizards announced (via Twitter).
Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Beal tested positive for COVID-19 and is exhibiting some minor symptoms, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
Beal will return “upon receiving clearance under the current NBA guidelines,” the team added. Washington will wrap up the preseason Friday against the Knicks, so Beal may not play again until the regular season opener October 19.
The NBA revised its COVID-related protocols over the summer and now requires testing for vaccinated players only when they show symptoms of the virus. Unvaccinated players still must be tested once per week. Players are subject to isolation measures after a positive test.
Beal, who signed a five-year extension in July, has only appeared in one preseason game, scoring nine points in 18 minutes.