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Nuggets Sign Axel Toupane To Second 10-Day

March 14th, 2016 at 10:17am CST by Arthur Hill

MONDAY, 10:17am: The signing is official, the Nuggets announced (Twitter link). It’ll cover six games, against the Heat, Magic, Hornets, Hawks, Cavs and Sixers.

SUNDAY, 10:37am: The Nuggets will sign Axel Toupane to a second 10-day contract, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. The rookie swingman has impressed the Denver coaching staff since signing with the team on March 3rd, averaging 4.6 points in 13.4 minutes of action. He scored 10 points Thursday in a win over Phoenix.

“Axel has been terrific,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told Dempsey. “I like guys — and it’s appropriate for guys on a 10-day contract — to fit in before you try to stand out. Axel comes in here — yeah, he knows Joffrey [Lauvergne] for a long time — but he doesn’t try to be anything he’s not. He knows his role, he works hard.”

Toupane, who collects $30,888 on each 10-day deal, was an affiliate player with the Raptors before joining the Nuggets. He had been with Toronto’s D-League team since being cut in the preseason. Denver picked him up after Danilo Gallinari tore two ligaments in his right ankle. This is Toupane’s first season in North America after several years with Strasbourg IG in his native France.

“Everybody did a great job to work with me on the team and make me feel part of the family,” Toupane said, according to Dempsey. “I had no expectation coming here. I just wanted to, every time the coach called my name, just go all out and give everything I had. I’m just happy to be here and just go hard and give everything I have.”

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Nuggets Sign Axel Toupane To 10-Day Deal

March 3rd, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 2:49pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. The contract will cover five games, against the Nets, Mavs, Knicks, Suns Wizards.

TUESDAY, 9:36am: The Nuggets plan to sign Raptors affiliate player Axel Toupane to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old swingman has been playing for Toronto’s D-League team since the Raptors cut him from the NBA roster at the end of the preseason. Denver has an open roster spot and a need on the wing with Danilo Gallinari expected to miss the next month after tearing two ligaments in his right ankle, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported overnight.

Toupane is averaging 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game for Raptors 905, Toronto’s D-League outpost. It’s his first season in North America, as he spent the past several years with Strasbourg IG in his native France. He went scoreless in about 22 minutes of preseason action spread over two games on the NBA roster this past fall.

He’ll bolster the team’s depth in the wake of the Gallinari injury, one that presents a serious challenge to Denver’s ability to compete, in part because fellow small forward Wilson Chandler was already out for the season. The 27-year-old Gallinari is in the midst of a career year, fresh off a renegotiation and extension that ties him to Denver until at least the summer of 2017, when he can opt out. The eighth-year veteran’s 19.5 points per game are by far a career high, and he’s the leading scorer for the Nuggets, who have faint playoff hopes as they sit six games back of the eighth-place Rockets.

The Nuggets can’t receive an additional disabled player exception and already spent the one they had for Chandler in their deadline-day trade for D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak. A wrist injury threatens to sideline Jameer Nelson for the season, but Denver is still one long-term injury shy of qualifying for a 16th roster spot via hardship.

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NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players

November 3rd, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.

NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)

Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)

Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)

Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)

Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)

Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.

Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.

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Raptors Part Ways With Four

October 24th, 2015 at 2:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors have officially released Shannon Scott, Axel Toupane, Michale Kyser, and Ronald Roberts, the team announced. Scott, Toupane, and Kyser all had partial guarantees of $25K included in their deals, and Roberts’ pact includes a partial guarantee of $75K. Toronto will be responsible for these payments unless the players are claimed off waivers. The Raptors’ roster count is now at 15 players.

Roberts, 23, played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippines last season after inking a deal in January. Prior to signing overseas, he played in the D-League after the Sixers released him. He spent less than a week on Philadelphia’s NBA roster in December, having been signed to replace Jorge Gutierrez and let go to accommodate Furkan Aldemir. The Adam Pensack client was also with the Sixers during the preseason, and he played for Philly’s summer league team after going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s last summer.

Kyser’s numbers at Louisiana Tech weren’t overwhelming, as he put up 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game as a senior this past season, but at 6’10”, he patrolled the paint well, blocking 2.9 shots per contest. He put up 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 0.8 BPG in 14.6 MPG in four summer league appearances.

Scott played for the Spurs summer league team that won the title in Las Vegas, and he also saw action for San Antonio’s squad at the Salt Lake City summer league, averaging 5.3 points and 2.4 assists in 22.6 minutes per game over nine total appearances. The 6’2″ 22-year-old who went undrafted this summer was a full-time starter only in his senior season at Ohio State, when he averaged 8.5 PPG, 5.9 APG and 2.4 turnovers in 30.5 MPG.

The 6’7″ Toupane has been a mainstay for France’s Strasbourg IG over the past few seasons, and he averaged 7.0 points in 18.3 minutes per game with 35.4% three-point shooting in 2014/15. He put up 4.3 PPG in 10.9 MPG for the Raptors in summer league, missing all four of his three-point attempts.

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Raptors Sign Shannon Scott For Camp

August 21st, 2015 at 3:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

AUGUST 21ST, 3:07pm: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link).

AUGUST 6TH, 10:54am: The Raptors and undrafted Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott have agreed to a partially guaranteed deal, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’ll have to be for the minimum salary, since that’s all Toronto has left to give to outside free agents. The level of the guarantee isn’t immediately clear, but the Raptors gave camp invitees Michale Kyser and Axel Toupane matching $25K guarantees on their deals earlier this summer, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Scott played for the Spurs summer league team that won the title in Las Vegas, and he also saw action for San Antonio’s squad at the Salt Lake City summer league, averaging 5.3 points and 2.4 assists in 22.6 minutes per game over nine total appearances. The 6’2″ 22-year-old was a full-time starter only in his senior season at Ohio State, averaging 8.5 PPG, 5.9 APG and 2.4 turnovers in 30.5 MPG this past season.

The Raptors are setting up a battle for their final regular season roster spot, as they’ve been carrying 14 fully guaranteed salaries plus partial guarantees for Kyser, Toupane and Ronald Roberts. Scott joins that group, one in which Roberts would seem to have a slight financial edge with a $75K partial guarantee. Point guards Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph and Delon Wright are among those 14 Raptors with full guarantees, so Scott faces an uphill battle, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Toronto isn’t obligated to carry more than 13 players into the regular season, so it would seem Scott, Kyser, Toupane and Roberts are all strong candidates to end up with Raptors 905, Toronto’s new one-to-one D-League affiliate. The Raptors organization can claim the D-League rights to as many as four of the players it cuts at the end of the preseason.

If the Raptors carry a 15th man on opening night, who do you think should get the nod? Leave a comment to let us know.

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Raptors Sign Axel Toupane

July 23rd, 2015 at 9:56am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors have signed swingman Axel Toupane off their summer league squad, the team announced (Twitter link). Toupane, who turns 22 today, went undrafted in 2014. The move, along with the official signing of Michale Kyser, brings Toronto’s roster to 17 players. Toupane’s deal is partially guaranteed, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), and it’s almost certainly for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Raptors can give after using their room exception on Bismack Biyombo.

The 6’7″ Toupane has been a mainstay for France’s Strasbourg IG over the past few seasons, and he averaged 7.0 points in 18.3 minutes per game with 35.4% three-point shooting in 2014/15. He put up 4.3 PPG in 10.9 MPG for the Raptors in summer league, missing all four of his three-point attempts.

Toupane faces long odds to make the opening-night roster, especially since the Raptors already have 14 fully guaranteed contracts. He, Kyser and Ronald Roberts all have partially guaranteed deals, and while they’re presumably battling for the 15th and final regular season spot, teams need only carry 13 players. Thus, it would seem Toupane has a far better shot to wind up with Raptors 905, which is Toronto’s new one-to-one D-League affiliate. NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to as many as four of the players they waive at the end of the preseason.

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International Prospects’ Draft Decisions

June 17th, 2013 at 7:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for international early entrants to withdraw from the 2013 draft arrives today at 4:00pm central time, so plenty of updates are trickling in on players deciding whether they're in or out. We'll track all of those decisions in this post throughout the day, with new updates being added to the top of each list:

In:

  • Lucas Nogueira and Raul Neto are staying in the draft, agent Aylton Tesch tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (on Twitter).
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo will remain eligible to be drafted, his agent announced today on Twitter.
  • German power forward Daniel Theis will be keeping his name in the draft, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
  • Sergey Karasev will remain in the draft, agent Justin Zanik tells Givony (Twitter link).
  • Givony reports (via Twitter) that Alex Abrines and Marko Todorovic are staying in the draft, with agent Igor Crespo saying, "That was the plan all along."
  • French forward Livio Jean-Charles will remain in the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
  • Rudy Gobert will also remain in the draft, according to Ford (Twitter link), which is no surprise, considering he projects as a potential lottery pick.

Out:

  • Mouhammadou Jaiteh has decided to withdraw his name from the 2013 NBA Draft, his agent tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link).  He'll return to France for the season.
  • French prospects Louis Labeyrie and Axel Toupane have withdrawn their names from the draft, their agent told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (on Twitter).
  • Greek small forward Linos Chrysikopoulos has removed his name from the draft pool, agent Mike Main tells Givony (Twitter link).
  • Big man Walter Tavares has withdrawn his name, agent Guillermo Bermejo tells Givony (Twitter link).
  • Adin Vrabac, Artem Pustovyi and Bogdan Bogdanovic have also pulled out of the draft, reports Givony (via Twitter).
  • Philipp Neumann has withdrawn his name from consideration, tweets Givony.
  • Francois Affia Ambadiang has pulled out of the draft, agent Alex Saratsis tells Givony (Twitter link).
  • Givony adds four more names to the list of players exiting the draft: Nemanja Besovic, Matias Bortolin, Djordje Drenovac, and Marko Ramljak (Twitter link).
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Draft Updates: Jaiteh, 76ers, Bobcats, Workouts

June 13th, 2013 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As June 27th inches closer, here are today's draft-related items:

  • Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer relays a report (via the News Herald) which confirms that Anthony Bennett will visit the Cavaliers on Monday. The 6'8 forward will not work out for the club, as he is still recovering from rotator cuff surgery. 
  • The Timberwolves are expected to host Shabazz Muhammad and Archie Goodwin for workouts on Sunday, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. 

Earlier updates:

  • With the deadline for international prospects to withdraw from the draft coming on Monday, Mouhammadou Jaiteh is considering pulling his name out, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Kennedy says a decision is expected to come by Saturday for Jaiteh, who will only stay in if he'll be a first-round pick.
  • Kennedy adds within the same piece that the 76ers are one of several teams looking to acquire a pick late in the first round.
  • ESPN.com's David Thorpe (Insider link) believes Anthony Bennett would be an ideal fit for the Bobcats.
  • Although his stock has taken a hit lately, Shabazz Muhammad still has a chance to be drafted in the top 10, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
  • The Pelicans will get their workouts underway on Friday, and Michael Carter-Williams is expected to be in attendance, tweets John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  • Chris Babb, Tim Hardaway Jr., Solomon Hill, Tony Mitchell, Andrew Smith, and Axel Toupane will work out for the Pacers on Friday, the team announced today.
  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that Ben McLemore is working out for the Magic, who have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
  • The Lakers worked out the following prospects today, according to the team's official Twitter account: Kenny Kadji, Peyton Siva, Brandon Triche, Dewaye Dedmon, C.J. Harris, and B.J. Young.
  • The Wizards announced their Friday workout participants, while the Bucks (Twitter link) announced the players who worked out for them today. Both groups consist primarily of second-round prospects, with the exception of Otto Porter in Washington.
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Draft Updates: Theis, Gobert, Napier, Jefferson

April 26th, 2013 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

We heard earlier today that Miami's Shane Larkin will enter this year's draft, but he's not the only prospect making a decision on whether or not to go pro. Here are a few more Friday updates on potential early entrants:

  • German big man Daniel Theis has elected to enter the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link), who has Theis ranked eighth among 1992-born international prospects.
  • Rudy Gobert, who may be this year's top international prospect, has officially entered his name in the draft, agent Bouna Ndiaye tells DraftExpress (Twitter link). We had previously heard that the French big man, who Givony projects as a potential lottery pick, would likely declare his intent.
  • Ndiaye also confirms that two of his other clients, Louis Labeyrie and Axel Toupane, have officially entered the draft, tweets Givony.
  • Junior guard Shabazz Napier has decided to return to UConn for his senior season, the school announced today (Twitter link).
  • Baylor's Cory Jefferson has also decided to return to school rather than go pro, as Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com details.
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