Amile Jefferson

And-Ones: Jefferson, Somacescu, Musa, FAs By Position

Veteran power forward Amile Jefferson, who appeared in 30 games for the Magic between 2018-20 and was in camp with the Celtics last December, has returned to his alma mater and will be part of the Duke staff going forward. The Blue Devils announced today in a press release that Jefferson has been named the director of player development for the men’s basketball team.

“This is an honor to be back at Duke and I’m so grateful to Coach (Mike) Krzyzewski for considering me for this opportunity,” Jefferson said in a statement. “I’d also like to thank Coach (Jon) Scheyer for his help through the process and look forward to his leadership in the future. Duke has been a part of my story and my life and it’s a privilege to give back to the program and the University that has meant so much. I can’t wait to work with these guys — helping them develop, grow and learn — and be a small part of something bigger than myself.”

In addition to playing in the NBA and the G League since going pro in 2017, Jefferson – who won a title with Duke in ’15 – has spent some time overseas, playing for Turkish team Galatasaray in 2020/21. It’s unclear if the 28-year-old will look to resume his playing career at some point or if he’s prepared to transition to coaching full-time.

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

  • Up-and-coming Romanian-born point guard Tudor Somacescu, who turned 16 in June, became the 12th player to sign with the Overtime Elite league, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes. Somacescu is the youngest player to sign with Overtime Elite to date, per Givony.
  • Dzanan Musa, a first-round pick in 2018, has joined Spanish team CB Breogan, according to agent Misko Raznatovic. Musa appeared in 49 across two seasons with Brooklyn before being traded to Detroit last November. The Pistons waived him a month later and he spent most of the 2020/21 season with Anadolu Efes.
  • Point guard looks like the strongest position in this year’s free agent class, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who writes that as many as 10 starting-caliber players could be available on the open market. Based on Hollinger’s system, Dennis Schröder barely cracks the top-10 list of free agent point guards, while Derrick Rose comes in at No. 11.
  • In two more stories for The Athletic, Hollinger also previewed this year’s crop of free agent shooting guards and small forwards. There are no elite shooting guards available, but the class includes several reliable rotation options. At small forward, despite his injury, Kawhi Leonard easily headlines a group that doesn’t include a ton of surefire starters.

Amile Jefferson Signs With Turkish Team

Free agent power forward Amile Jefferson has signed with Galatasaray, the Turkish club announced today in a press release. The contract will cover the remainder of the 2020/21 season.

Jefferson, 27, spent part of the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves after going undrafted out of Duke. He subsequently signed a two-way deal with the Magic for the ’18/19 season and then was promoted to Orlando’s standard roster at the start of the ’19/20 campaign before being waived in February.

Despite spending parts of three seasons on NBA rosters, Jefferson has seen limited playing time, averaging 1.4 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 30 total games (4.7 MPG). He has thrived at the G League level, however, recording 18.5 PPG, 12.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 88 NBAGL contests (34.2 MPG) for the Iowa Wolves and Lakeland Magic.

Jefferson was with the Celtics during the preseason after signing an Exhibit 10 contract, but was waived 10 days ago when the club set its regular season roster. He’ll look to help jump-start a Galatasaray squad that is off to a slow start this season, with a 5-9 record in Turkish League play.

Celtics Waive Amile Jefferson

The Celtics got down to the roster limit by waiving power forward Amile Jefferson, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Jefferson, 27, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston two weeks ago, so he could wind up with the Celtics’ G League affiliate. He played a combined 30 games for the Magic in his first two NBA seasons before being waived in February. Jefferson got into 18 games last season, but played just 4.1 minutes per night.

Boston’s roster appears to be set for the regular season, with all 15 slots filled, as well as a pair of two-way players.

Celtics Sign Amile Jefferson To Exhibit 10 Deal

The Celtics have signed former Duke big man Amile Jefferson to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jefferson, 27, spent five seasons with the Blue Devils, including being team captain for three of them. The Philadelphia native helped lead Duke to the 2015 National Championship.

A right foot fracture in 2015/16 limited Jefferson to just nine games and he was granted medical redshirt approval by the ACC to return for a fifth season. Jefferson’s fifth season at Duke included being teammates with now Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum.

Jefferson has spent parts of the last two seasons suiting up for the Magic, appearing in 30 games and averaging 1.4 PPG and 1.5 RPG for Orlando. He also had a stint in the G League with the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate Iowa Wolves.

Jefferson’s Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary pact that allows a player to make a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

Sixers Trade James Ennis To Magic

4:03pm: The trade is now official, the Magic announced in a press release. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement that Ennis will add “shooting, athleticism, and toughness” to the team.

Orlando also confirmed the release of Amile Jefferson, which we noted in a separate story.

2:00pm: The Sixers have reached an agreement to trade James Ennis to the Magic in exchange for a second-round pick, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ennis’ approval was required to complete the deal, adds Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). He has veto power over any trade because he’s on a one-year Bird restriction.

Philadelphia will receive the Lakers’ 2020 second-rounder in return, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). It would be 59th overall if L.A. remains in its current position in our Reverse Standings.

Because Orlando has a full roster, an opening must be created before the deal can be finalized. The most likely move is an early termination for Gary Clark‘s second 10-day contract, which expires tomorrow night.

The Sixers needed to clear two players off their roster after agreeing to a deal last night with the Warriors that will bring Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III  in exchange for three second-round picks.

Magic To Waive Forward Amile Jefferson

The Magic plan to waive forward Amile Jefferson, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

Orlando needs to open up a roster spot to make room for incoming forward James Ennis. The Magic agreed to acquire Ennis from the Sixers for a second-round pick on Thursday.

Jefferson, 26, has made 18 mostly brief appearances with the Magic this season, averaging 0.8 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 4.1 MPG. He also appeared in 12 games with Orlando last season.

Jefferson signed a two-year contract with Orlando in early November after playing for the team on a two-way deal last season. However, the second year of the minimum contract was not guaranteed. Jefferson, who was on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves for a good portion of the 2017/18 season, spent a majority of this season in the G League.

With Jefferson on his way out, it appears Orlando will retain Gary Clark for now. His second 10-day contract with the club expires on Friday night, so the club would have to re-sign him to a rest-of-season deal to keep him beyond that point.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/20/19

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

  • The Magic recalled forward Amile Jefferson and swingman Melvin Frazier from Lakeland, the team’s PR department tweets. Jefferson has played three games for Lakeland, averaging 23.7 PPG and 13.0 RPG in 34.0 MPG. Frazier has also played three games for Lakeland this season, averaging 13.7 PPG in 32.3 MPG.
  • The Timberwolves recalled guard Jaylen Nowell from the Iowa Wolves, the team’s PR department tweets. He’s averaged 21.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG in 33.1 MPG through 15 games in the G League this season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/19/19

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

  • The Raptors recalled Dewan Hernandez from their G League affiliate, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Toronto needs all hands on deck as a result of various frontcourt injuries this week.
  • The Magic have assigned Melvin Frazier and Amile Jefferson to the Lakeland Magic, the team announced on Twitter. Lakeland plays the South Bay Lakers in its first game of the G League showcase.
  • The Pacers have assigned Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, per the team’s transaction log. This is Johnson’s third G League stint of the week.
  • Justin Robinson has been assigned to the Capital City Go-Go, per the WizardsTwitter feed. The G League squad takes on the Iowa Wolves in its first match of the showcase in Las Vegas.
  • The Mavericks have recalled Isaiah Roby from the Texas Legends, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
  • The Thunder have recalled Deonte Burton from the Oklahoma City Blue, per the team’s website. Burton has played seven games in the G League this season, averaging 16.1 points per game.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/11/19

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

  • The Magic have recalled shooting guard Melvin Frazier and power forward Amile Jefferson from their G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, the team’s Twitter account reveals. The second-year players have seen limited time in Orlando this season. Jefferson has played limited minutes in five games, Frazier in four.
  • The Wizards tweet that they have assigned rookie small forward Admiral Schofield and rookie guard Justin Robinson to the Capital City Go-Go. Schofield has played in 10 games for the Wizards, while Robinson has appeared in five contests.
  • The Rockets have recalled second-year center Isaiah Hartenstein from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (via Twitter). The No. 43 overall pick in 2018 has seen action in 36 NBA games since last season.
  • The Nuggets have recalled Jarred Vanderbilt from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team tweets. The second year forward out of Kentucky has logged time in three games for Denver this season.
  • The Kings have recalled power forward Wenyen Gabriel from their Stockton affiliate, according to the team’s Twitter. The rookie has played in seven NBA games thus far.
  • The Warriors have recalled rookie forward Alen Smailagic from Santa Cruz, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
  • The Mavericks have sent rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, according to a Mavericks press release. The 6’8″ Roby has yet to play in an NBA game for Dallas. He is averaging 11.8 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 1.6 BPG in 25.0 minutes for the Legends.
  • The Sixers have assigned second year power forward Jonah Bolden to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team has tweeted. The UCLA alum has suited up for two games in Philadelphia this season.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/10/19

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

  • The Hornets recalled Cody Martin from the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced. The move concluded Martin’s fifth stint in the G League this season.
  • The Rockets have sent Isaiah Hartenstein down to the G League, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston relays (Twitter link). The big man has appeared in eight games for Houston this season.
  • The Kings have assigned Wenyen Gabriel to the Stockton Kings, the team announced on its Twitter feed. The power forward has seen action in seven games for Sacramento this season.
  • The Magic have sent Melvin Frazier Jr. and Amile Jefferson to the G League, the team’s Twitter feed reveals. Frazier and Jefferson suited up for the Lakeland Magic earlier tonight.