Spurs Sign Amida Brimah, Julian Washburn
The Spurs have added a pair of players to their offseason roster, signing Amida Brimah and Julian Washburn to one-year contracts, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Those deals are be Exhibit 10 contracts, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.
Brimah, who played his college ball at UConn, went undrafted in 2017 and joined the Spurs for training camp. The 7’0″ center has yet to make his NBA debut, but spent the 2017/18 season with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate, averaging 6.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 2.6 BPG in 48 games (22.6 MPG).
Washburn, meanwhile, is a former UTEP small forward who went undrafted in 2015 and has spent time with the Austin Spurs and international clubs since then. He helped the Spurs’ G League squad win the NBAGL title earlier this year, starting both games in the club’s best-of-three series sweep over the Raptors 905. Most recently, Washburn played for the Cantebury Rams in New Zealand.
The Spurs now have 18 players under contract. That number will increase by one when Drew Eubanks finalizes his reported two-way deal, but will decrease by one when the club officially removes Manu Ginobili from its roster.
Spurs Waive Amida Brimah, London Perrantes
The Spurs have waived guard London Perrantes and big man Amida Brimah, the team announced in a press release. The cuts drop San Antonio’s roster down to 17.
The club had initially signed Perrantes back in August after he went undrafted in June. The University of Virginia product had played and performed well for the Heat during the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues.
Brimah, also undrafted this past June, was initially picked up in late September.
Spurs Sign Amida Brimah
The Spurs have officially announced their roster for training camp, and the 19-man squad includes one new name. According to the team, free agent center Amida Brimah is now a member of the Spurs.
Brimah, who played his college ball at the University of Connecticut, averaged 7.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.6 BPG in 33 contests (24.7 MPG) during his senior year. The seven-foot prospect went undrafted in June, but caught on with the Bulls for Summer League action, appearing in four games for the team in Las Vegas.
Terms of Brimah’s deal aren’t known, but it figures to be a non-guaranteed summer contract. He’s a long shot to make the Spurs’ regular season roster, but should be a good bet to end up with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League squad, as an affiliate player.
Atlantic Notes: James, Celtics, Pre-Draft Workouts
Rumors are swirling that LeBron James will look to leave Cleveland for a second time after next season and potentially head out west. If he is not on the Cavaliers after 2017/18, James’ departure would have a domino effect across the league. A. Sherrod Blakely joined Mike Felger and Gary Tanguay at CSN New England to discuss Celtics general manager Danny Ainge‘s potential moves if James heads out West and weakens the Eastern Conference.
Blakely believes that no matter James’ future, Ainge should not focus on what’s going around the league, focusing instead on his own team. The Celtics have the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft and are coming off a year where they were the first seed in the East. The Celtics have their own issues to address, including the impending free agency of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, and others.
In any case, the Celtics are in the best position of any Eastern Conference team to unseat the Cavaliers as the class of division and a James departure after next season only strengthens that.
Here are other notes from around the Atlantic Division:
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical previewed the Celtics‘ offseason agenda and gave three key points the team should focus on. Marks feels Boston needs to properly allocate its cap space and not be tempted by dealing its first overall pick on a rental player such as Paul George, while being open-minded on the trade market.
- The Raptors announced a two-day free agent camp starting today in which 23 free agents will work out for the team. Some notable names on the list include former Knicks forward Cleanthony Early, former Kings and Rockets forward Tyler Honeycutt, and former NBA D-League player Damien Inglis.
- Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter) provided a list of players the Nets worked out today, including Jamel Artis, Milton Doyle, Isaac Humphries, Alpha Kaba, L.J. Peak and Sindarius Thornwell.
- The 76ers announced the following players will particpate in a pre-draft workout on Friday morning: Jamel Artis (Pittsburgh); Amida Brimah (Connecticut); Isaac Humphries (Kentucky); London Perrantes (Virginia); Davon Reed (Miami); and Jeremy Senglin (Weber State).
Draft Notes: Josh Jackson, Fultz, Smith Jr., Heat
Kansas forward Josh Jackson paid a visit to Kings today, but didn’t go through a workout, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Jackson is expected to be one of the first players selected next week and probably won’t be around for Sacramento’s pick at No. 5. There have been rumors that the Kings would like to move up, but a report today said they aren’t willing to give the Sixers the fifth and 10th picks to get No. 3.
There’s more from a full day of draft workouts:
- Washington’s Markelle Fultz, projected as the top pick, has decided not to visit the Kings, according to Voisin (Twitter link).
- Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer examines which top three team might have given Jackson a guarantee. A report Monday by John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 suggested that either the Celtics, Lakers or Sixers has promised to take Jackson if he’s still on the board when their pick comes up. Jackson canceled a workout this week with Boston and agreed to a second session in L.A.
- Along with a second workout for Lonzo Ball, the Lakers will audition six other players on Friday, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Their names have not been released.
- North Carolina State’s Dennis Smith Jr. may be in danger of slipping on draft night, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. However, some members of Philadelphia’s front office are intrigued by Smith and the team may trade down to get him, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now.
- UCLA’s T.J. Leaf will visit Miami on Thursday to work out for the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat see him as a stretch four who can hit 3-pointers and rebound and will give him serious consideration with their No. 14 pick, Jackson adds.
- Duke’s Harry Giles canceled a workout with the Heat that was scheduled for Thursday, Jackson relays in the same story.
- Kentucky’s Bam Adebayo will be part of a group workout for the Nuggets on Friday, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
- The Nuggets will host six players Thursday, the team announced in an email. Participating will be Florida’s Canyon Barry, Air Force’s Hayden Graham, Miami’s Kamari Murphy, Baylor’s Johnathan Motley, Arizona’s Kobi Simmons and Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss.
- Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig, who has upcoming sessions with the Lakers and Warriors, is impressing teams with his shooting, Scotto relays (Twitter link).
- Creighton’s Cole Huff has workouts set for the Celtics on Thursday and the Lakers on Monday, tweets Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.
- North Carolina’s Justin Jackson has workouts lined up with the Knicks, Hornets, Bucks and Trail Blazers, according to Begley.
- Jackson will be part of a Pacers workout Thursday, along with Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame, Houston’s Damyean Dotson, Marquette’s Luke Fischer, Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet and Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell, the team announced on its website.
- Northeastern’s T.J. Williams has an upcoming workout with the Knicks and has already auditioned for the Jazz, Lakers, Clippers, Timberwolves and Raptors, Begley writes in a separate piece.
- Iowa’s Peter Jok, IUPUI’s Darell Combs, Syracuse’s Andrew White III, Connecticut’s Amida Brimah, Siena’s Marquis Wright and Lehigh’s Tim Kempton Jr. will work out Thursday for the Wizards, the team announced on its official blog.
- The Hawks hosted six players for a workout earlier today, according to the team. Participants were Kempton, California’s Jabari Bird, Loyola-Chicago’s Milton Doyle, Gonzaga’s Przemek Karnowski, Middle Tennessee State’s Reggie Upshaw and Colorado’s Derrick White.
- Six players worked out today for the Jazz, the team tweeted. On hand were Indiana’s James Blackmon, Dayton’s Charles Cooke, Weber State’s Jeremy Senglin, Eastern Washington’s Jake Wiley, Alabama’s Jimmie Taylor and Texas A&M CC’s Rashawn Thomas.
Northwest Notes: Hill, Favors, Workouts
Keeping Gordon Hayward in Utah is the top priority for the Jazz this offseason, but re-signing him alone isn’t going to help the team climb in the Western Conference standings, Benjamin Mehic of the Deseret News writes.
The team must also shore up its point guard position. George Hill will be a free agent this summer and the team will have trouble finding a top-notch point guard replacement should he bolt. Hill has expressed a desire to return, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors mentioned in the team’s offseason preview. However, many players say flattering things about their current team as they head into free agency only to leave for another club.
If Hill is lured away, the most likely option for the Jazz is promoting Dante Exum to the starting unit, though that could hurt the team in the win column since Exum hasn’t quite proven himself in the league yet.
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Derrick Favors doesn’t appear to be in the Jazz’s long-term plans and if they look to deal him this summer, the Lakers could be a good fit, Mehic contends in the same piece. The scribe believes Jordan Clarkson, who is reportedly on the trade block, would be a nice addition for Utah and he envisions Favors along with one of the team’s draft selections to be enough to get a deal done.
- The Nuggets held a pre-draft workout earlier today, according to their website. Laurynas Birutis, Amida Brimah, Terrance Ferguson, Isaiah Hicks, Amile Jefferson, and Matt Jones were all in attendance.
- The Blazers have brought in several prospects for workouts, according to the team’s website. Antonio Blakeney, John Collins, Josh Hart, T.J. Leaf, Sindarius Thornwell, and Paris Bass all took part in drills for the club.
Draft Notes: Knicks, J. Jackson, Suns, Lakers
There are a number of potential player/team matches in the top 10 of this year’s draft that might make sense on paper, but should be avoided in reality, according to the staff at The Ringer. Danny Chau identifies De’Aaron Fox as a less than ideal fit for the Sixers, while Jonathan Tjarks makes the case for why the Knicks should steer clear of Dennis Smith Jr.
Other picks to be avoided, in the views of The Ringer’s NBA writers? The Mavericks and Lauri Markkanen; the Kings and Jayson Tatum; and the Magic and Jonathan Isaac.
Here are a few more draft-related items from around the basketball world:
- Former North Carolina swingman Justin Jackson is scheduled to work out for the Knicks on June 13, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York has the No. 8 pick, and most experts don’t expect Jackson to come off the board quite that early, but the ACC Player of the Year is viewed as a potential lottery pick.
- The Suns are kicking off their pre-draft workouts today by taking a look at a handful of intriguing prospects, including Kyle Kuzma (Utah), Johnathan Motley (Baylor), Kobi Simmons (Arizona), and Josh Hart (Villanova). Troy Caupain (Cincinnati) and Tidjan Keita (France) round out the team’s Monday workout group (Twitter link).
- Another Pacific team, the Lakers, is working out a handful of draft prospects on Memorial Day. According to a press release from the club, the Lakers are taking a closer look at Dwayne Bacon (Florida State), Jordan Bell (Oregon), Amida Brimah (Connecticut), Kennedy Meeks (UNC), Derrick Walton Jr. (Michigan), and local prospect Bryce Alford (UCLA).
Draft Notes: Kanter, Bucks, Swanigan
Kerem Kanter has withdrawn from the draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. Kanter, who is the younger brother of NBA player Enes Kanter, graduated from Green Bay and will play for Xavier this year.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- The Bucks will work out six players today, according to the team’s website. Frank Mason III, T.J. Williams, Luke Fischer, Isaac Humphries, Amida Brimah and Kennedy Meeks will all participate in drills for Milwaukee.
- St John’s Bashir Ahmed is expected to withdraw from the draft and return to the school, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Ahmed scored 13.4 points per game in college last season.
- Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan will work out for the Knicks on Wednesday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog tweets. Swanigan, like all prospects on the fence, has until this Wednesday to make a final decision on whether or not he’ll stay in the draft.
Draft Workouts: Nets, Smith Jr., Magic, Bucks, Celtics
The Nets will be the only non-playoff team without a close eye on Tuesday night’s lottery results, since the Celtics have swap rights to their first-round pick. But after that swap is made, the Nets will hold the rights to the first-round picks for the two teams in action on Monday night, the Celtics and the Wizards. And Brooklyn is busy exploring its options for those two late first-round selections, along with its second-round pick.
According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, the Nets will bring in Rawle Alkins, Melo Trimble, Kobi Simmons, Davon Reed, Amida Brimah, and Omer Yurtseven for a group workout on Tuesday. On Thursday, Brooklyn will take a closer look at Josh Hart and Tyler Dorsey. Meanwhile, Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan is also expected to be a part of that Thursday workout, per Nathan Baird of The Journal & Courier (Twitter link).
As Brooklyn does its homework on the non-lottery prospects in this year’s draft class, let’s check out a few more workout-related updates, including an additional note on Swanigan:
- As Baird notes in his previously-linked tweet, Swanigan also has a workout lined up for May 22 with the Magic. That session will take place just two days before the deadline to withdraw from the draft and retain his eligibility — Swanigan appears likely to take that decision down to the wire.
- One of this year’s top point guard prospects, Dennis Smith Jr., worked out today for the Magic, as Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel details.
- The Bucks brought in six prospects – JaJuan Johnson, Dwayne Bacon, Trevon Bluiett, Tyler Dorsey, Damyean Dotson, and Davon Reed – for a group workout on Monday, according to the team.
- Georgia guard J.J. Frazier has workouts lined up with the Bucks, Kings, and Lakers after getting a look from the Timberwolves today, tweets Adam Zagoria. L.J. Peak and Antonio Blakeney are among the prospects joining Frazier at Minnesota’s group workout today, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
- Marcus Keene, Tacko Fall, Michael Ojo, and others are participating in a group workout on Monday with the Celtics, sources tell Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Draft Updates: Tuesday Night
Underclassmen who submitted their names for draft consideration have until tomorrow — May 25th — to decide whether or not to remain in the draft. If those players don’t withdraw from consideration by Wednesday’s deadline, they’ll forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and will be available to NBA teams in June. Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft:
- Seton Hall sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead intends to remain in the draft and will sign with agents Andy Miller and Stephen Pina of ASM Sports, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets. Whitehead is a projected second round pick, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him as the No. 59 overall player.
- Villanova junior swingman Josh Hart is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his senior season, Evan Daniels of Scout.com tweets.
- Northwestern State junior point guard Zeke Woodley intends to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
- Freshman center Moustapha Diagne is withdrawing from the draft and will attend junior college next season with an eye on making the jump to division one the following year, Goodman tweets.
- Gonzaga junior center Przemek Karnowski is withdrawing from the draft and returning to school for his senior season, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com relays (Twitter link).
- Center Amida Brimah and guard Rodney Purvis have withdrawn from the 2016 NBA Draft and are returning to UConn for their senior seasons, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.
- San Diego State sophomore small forward Malik Pope is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his junior season, the player announced on his Twitter feed.
- Thon Maker is being viewed as a potential first-rounder after his excellent showing in front of NBA personnel in New York City, Zagoria tweets. The 19-year-old is currently slotted No. 40 overall by Givony.
- Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson, Conor Clifford and Ike Iroegbu are withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for the 2016/17 season, Goodman tweets.