2023/24 NBA G League Draft Results
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2023/24 season on Saturday afternoon.
The 29 G League teams affiliated with NBA franchises participated in the event, as did the unaffiliated Mexico City Capitanes. The G League Ignite, which is made up of top prospects and veteran mentors, doesn’t take part in the draft.
[RELATED: NBA G League Announces Schedule For 2023/24 Season]
The first player selected in today’s G League draft was former Nuggets and Thunder forward Jack White, who recently fell victim to a roster crunch in Oklahoma City.
White spent last season on a two-way contract with Denver, then signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Thunder that included a $600K partial guarantee.
That guarantee made him ineligible to suit up for the Oklahoma City Blue this season, so he entered the G League draft, where the Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate, snared him with the No. 1 overall pick.
Outside of White, there was only one other player drafted today who has prior NBA experience. That player is Scottie Lewis, the 56th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He appeared in just two games for the Hornets while on a two-way deal in 2021/22. The Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s affiliate, drafted him today with the No. 32 overall pick.
Former Tulsa wing Brandon Rachal has never appeared in an NBA regular season game, but he was among Saturday’s draftees who has at least signed an NBA contract, having inked a pair of Exhibit 10 deals with Brooklyn in 2021 and 2022. Rachal made G League history today by becoming the first player drafted by the Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers‘ expansion franchise.
Here are the full 2023/24 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Jack White
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Teafale Lenard Jr.
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): David Muoka
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Javonte Perkins
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Will Richardson
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Pavel Savkov
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): David Shriver
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Isiaih Mosley
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Logan Johnson
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Karolis Lukosiunas
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Myles Burns
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): J.J. Romer Rosario
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Bryson Warren (Overtime Elite)
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Olisa Akonobi
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Walter Ellis
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Marcus Burk
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Nana Opoku
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Maxime Carene
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jamal Bey
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Manny Camper
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Jaycee Hillsman
- Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Brandon Rachal
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): Elijah Harkless
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Anthony Nelson
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Kok Yat (Overtime Elite)
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Lance Thomas
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Arinze Chidom
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Jared Wilson-Frame
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Myron Gardner
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Wendell Green Jr.
Round Two:
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): J.D. Tsasa (North Canyon High School)
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Scottie Lewis
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Eric Williams Jr.
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Tray Maddox
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Kalob Ledoux
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): No pick
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Sincere Carry
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Alex Hunter
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Sam Daniel (Florida Tech)
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Nojel Eastern
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): David Bell
- Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): Stephan Hicks
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): No pick
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Darius Mickens (Cal State San Bernadino)
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): No pick
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Keyshawn Bryant
- Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Kevin McClain
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Davion Warren
- Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): David Sloan
- Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): No pick
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Isaiah Wade (Central Oklahoma)
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Isaac Johnson
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Denzel Mahoney
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): No pick
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): No pick
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): No pick
Round Three (supplemental picks):
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Robert Johnson
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Kyree Walker
Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).
G League training camps open on Monday, with this year’s NBAGL Showcase Cup tournament tipping off on November 10. The Showcase Cup will be played over about a month-and-a-half and will be followed by the G League regular season, which begins on December 27.
Nets Waive Brandon Rachal
The Nets have waived guard Brandon Rachal, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. Because the move was technically completed on Monday, Rachal is on track to clear waivers later today, assuming he goes unclaimed.
Rachal, who went undrafted out of Tulsa in 2021, spent his first professional season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate. He averaged 13.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in 28 appearances (27.3 MPG), posting a shooting line of .542/.233/.569.
Since the Nets already held Rachal’s NBAGL rights, the purpose of signing him to an Exhibit 10 deal and then waiving him was presumably to ensure that he receives a $50K bonus for returning to Long Island this season and spending at least 60 days with the G League club.
Brooklyn has one open spot on its 20-man training camp roster.
Contract Details: Fernando, Herro, Nance, Adams
The Rockets used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Bruno Fernando a four-year deal and a guaranteed salary of $2,717,391 for the 2022/23 season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Fernando’s salary will dip to $2,581,522 for 2023/24 before rising back up to $2,717,391 for ’24/25 and increasing to $2,853,260 for ’25/26. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets, the second and third years of Fernando’s deal are non-guaranteed, while the fourth year is a team option.
Here are some details on a few more new contracts from around the NBA:
- Tyler Herro‘s four-year extension with the Heat will pay him annual salaries of $27MM, $29MM, $31MM, and $33MM beginning in 2023/24, for a base value of exactly $120MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The deal also includes $2.5MM in annual incentives that are currently considered unlikely.
- Larry Nance Jr.‘s two-year extension with the Pelicans will pay him $10,375,000 in 2023/24 and $11,205,000 in ’24/25, tweets Anil Gogna of NoTradeClause.com. Because Nance’s second-year raise exceeds 5%, he’ll be ineligible to be traded during the 2022/23 season.
- Steven Adams‘ two-year extension with the Grizzlies features a flat base salary of $12.6MM in both 2023/24 and ’24/25, with no options or incentives, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Adams’ new deal doesn’t exceed the extend-and-trade limits, so he’ll remain trade-eligible this season.
- As expected, the recent contracts signed by Kaiser Gates (Nets), Brandon Rachal (Nets), and Sacha Killeya-Jones (Thunder) all included Exhibit 10 language.
Nets Waive Kaiser Gates, Sign Brandon Rachal
The Nets have waived forward Kaiser Gates and signed forward Brandon Rachal, the team announced today.
Brooklyn still has 20 players under contract, including two-way players Alondes Williams and David Duke, plus Exhibit 10 talents Chris Chiozza and RaiQuan Gray.
Gates, 25, was also signed to an Exhibit 10 contract. It’s reasonable to expect he’ll play for the Nets’ G League affiliate in Long Island. He appeared in 12 games with Long Island last season, averaging 9.1 points per contest on 41% shooting from the floor.
Rachal, 6’6″, turned 23 years old on Friday. He also played for Long Island last season, holding per-game averages of 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 28 outings. He shot 54% from the floor and 23% from behind-the-arc (31 three-pointers attempted).
Excluding two-way players, the Nets must trim their roster to 15 by 5:00 pm ET on October 17. The team is looking to rebound after a tumultuous offseason and compete for a title in 2023.
Nets Sign, Waive Jordan Bowden, Brandon Rachal
OCTOBER 15: The Nets confirmed today that they’ve waived Bowden and Rachal, as expected.
OCTOBER 12: The Nets have signed a pair of shooting guards, Jordan Bowden and Brandon Rachal, to non-guaranteed training camp contracts, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
Bowden, who went undrafted out of Tennessee in 2020, played for the Long Island Nets as a rookie, averaging 7.8 PPG and 2.9 RPG on .436/.362/.500 shooting in 14 games (20.6 MPG) for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.
Rachal began his college career at LSU before making the move to Tulsa. He went undrafted earlier this year after recording 15.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.6 SPG in 23 games (31.6 MPG) as a senior.
The signings give Brooklyn a full 20-man preseason roster, but both Bowden and Rachal figure to be waived soon, since they’re likely ticketed for Long Island. The Nets have Bowden’s returning G League rights and can make Rachal an affiliate player. They can also give both guards Exhibit 10 bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days in the G League.
Draft Notes: Executive Roundup, Duarte, Monyyong, Lakers, Mini-Combine
In a Draft Confidential column for The Athletic, Hall-of-Fame reporter David Aldridge interviews anonymous team executives and college coaches to get their inside scoop on the 2021 draft’s burning questions.
Some of the topics discussed: the Jalen Green versus Jalen Suggs debate, who will be the fourth guard taken after Suggs, Green, and Cade Cunningham are off the board (James Bouknight, Moses Moody, Davion Mitchell, and Keon Johnson are the top candidates), draft promises, some of the late risers (Joshua Primo, Nah’Shon Hyland, Miles McBride, and others), and a whole lot more.
We have more news from the draft:
- Former Oregon guard Chris Duarte worked out for the Wizards on Thursday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 24-year-old sharpshooting guard also had workouts scheduled with the Thunder and Pelicans.
- Ruot Monyyong had a workout with the Kings on Thursday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Monyyong isn’t expected to be drafted, but could be a candidate for a two-way contract or Summer League invitation.
- The Lakers worked out six players today, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register: Nah’Shon Hyland, Austin Reaves, Trey Murphy III, Oscar Da Silva, DJ Funderburk, and Chaundee Brown Jr. Hyland and Murphy are projected to be first-round picks, and could be in play for the Lakers with the No. 22 selection.
- 11 players participated in a mini-combine in Minneapolis, in front of 25 teams, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. The participants were: McKinley Wright IV, Jalen Crutcher, Denzel Mahoney, Moses Wright, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Matt Coleman III, Colbey Ross, Jordan Schakel, Matt Mitchell, Brandon Rachal, and M.J. Walker.