2022/23 NBA G League Draft Results
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2022/23 season on Saturday afternoon.
The 28 G League teams affiliated with NBA franchises participated in the event, as did – for the first time – the 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, Format For 2022/23 Season]
The first player selected in today’s G League draft was 2020 second-round pick Sam Merrill, a swingman who was in camp with the Kings this fall but missed out on earning a regular season roster spot.
Merrill’s contract with Sacramento included a partial guarantee of $150K, making him ineligible to suit up for the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton this season. The Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers‘ affiliate, snared him with the No. 1 overall pick.
The No. 2 pick was another player who was under contract with an NBA team up until last week. Joe Wieskamp was the odd man out in San Antonio, having been waived by the Spurs (despite having a guaranteed 2022/23 salary) to help the team get down to 15 players for the start of the season. The Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks‘ affiliate, grabbed him with the second overall selection today.
Among the other notable picks was No. 4 overall Jared Rhoden, who was selected by the Hawks‘ affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks. Atlanta claimed Rhoden off waivers near the end of the preseason in the hopes of securing his affiliate rights, but it appears he didn’t meet the criteria — the Skyhawks instead secured his G League rights in today’s draft.
The player with the most NBA experience selected in today’s draft was Norris Cole. The veteran guard, with 360 NBA regular season appearances under his belt, went 48th overall to the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets‘ affiliate. Cole, who turned 34 this month, will be looking to take the same path Isaiah Thomas and Lance Stephenson did last season, making an NBA comeback after impressing in Grand Rapids.
Finally, it’s also worth noting that today’s No. 10 overall pick, Amauri Hardy, is the older brother of Mavericks rookie Jaden Hardy. Dallas’ affiliate, the Texas Legends, picked him.
Here are the full 2022/23 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Sam Merrill
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Joe Wieskamp
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Aaron Wheeler
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Jared Rhoden
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Jericole Hellems
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Kadeem Jack
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Terrell Brown Jr.
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Michael Weathers
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Taze Moore
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Amauri Hardy
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Ty Gordon
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Mamoudou Diarra
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Abu Kigab
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): Warith Alatishe
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Mayan Kiir
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Theo John
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Nate Roberts
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Keith Williams
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Taz Sherman
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Devon Daniels
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Jai Smith (Overtime Elite)
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Adrian Delph
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Tyrn Flowers
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Nick King
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): David Collins
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Derek Culver
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Ryan Turell (Yeshiva — Division III)
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Tom Digbeu
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Kendall Smith
Round Two:
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Rashad Vaughn
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): Jassel Perez (Dominican Republic)
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Tyson Jolly
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Hasahn French
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): No pick
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Landon Kirkwood
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): Justin Kier
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): No pick
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jayce Johnson
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Remy Martin
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Noah Starkey (Southern Nazarene – Division II)
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Philip Flory
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Zak Irvin
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jahvon Blair
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon McCoy
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): John Meeks
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Seth Allen
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Norris Cole
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): No pick
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Austin Trice
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): No pick
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): No pick
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Isaac Johnson
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Elijah Lufile
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Eron Gordon
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jack Nolan (Washington University in St. Louis – Division III)
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Armon Fletcher
Round Three:
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): J.J. Moore
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): No pick
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): No pick
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Jachai Taylor
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): No pick
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Trey McGowens
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Kevin Kangu
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Wayne Stewart Jr. (Texas A&M-Commerce – Division II)
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): No pick
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): No pick
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): No pick
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): No pick
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): No pick
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Dazon Ingram
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): No pick
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): No pick
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Alan Griffin
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): No pick
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): No pick
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): No pick
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Nick Hornsby
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): No pick
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 4.
Cole, Wieskamp Headline G League Draft Pool
Norris Cole and Joe Wieskamp are among 128 players who are eligible for the annual NBA G League draft, which will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Cole, 34, played for Miami, New Orleans and Oklahoma City during his NBA career, which spanned 2011-17. He’s played for a variety of European teams since, most recently JL Bourg in France. He also played for Team USA this summer.
Wieskamp was waived by the Spurs on Monday. Wieskamp, 23, was drafted 41st overall in 2021 by the Spurs and spent most of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He was converted to a rest-of-season standard contract in March, then re-signed with San Antonio in August on a two-year deal that includes a guaranteed $2.175MM salary for 2022/23.
Jared Rhoden, who was waived by both the Trail Blazers and Hawks this preseason, is another prominent name on the list.
Here is the full list of players eligible to be drafted, as provided by a G League press release:
Name (Position, School)
- Warith Alatishe (F, Oregon State)
- Chris Allen (G, Iowa State)
- Seth Allen (G, Virginia Tech)
- Arsenio Arrington (F, Aquinas)
- Ron Artest III (F, Cal State Northridge)
- Marcus Azor (G, UMass-Dartmouth)
- Gracin Bakumanya (C, France)
- Kentrell Barkley (G, East Carolina)
- Jahvon Blair (G, Georgetown)
- Vander Blue (G, Marquette)
- Shannon Bogues (G, Stephen F. Austin)
- Tim Bond (F, Eastern Michigan)
- Terrell Brown Jr. (G, Washington)
- Patrick Burnett (G, York (NE))
- Devante Carter (G, Nicholls State)
- Naz Carter (G, Washington)
- Dimon Carrigan (F, West Virginia)
- Gary Chivichyan (G, Pacific)
- Tamenang Choh (G, Brown)
- Chris Clarke (F, Texas Tech)
- Norris Cole (G, Cleveland State)
- David Collins (G, Clemson)
- Derrick Colter (G, Duquesne)
- Markel Crawford (G, Memphis)
- Derek Culver (C, West Virginia)
- Jared Cunningham (G, Oregon State)
- Tulio Da Silva (F, Missouri State)
- Sam Daniel (F, Florida Tech)
- Devon Daniels (G, North Carolina State)
- Adrian Delph (G, Appalachian State)
- Keron Deshields (G, Tennessee State)
- Mamoudou Diarra (F, Tennessee Tech)
- Tom Digbeu (G, Australia)
- Devonaire Doutrive (G, Boise State)
- Malik Dunbar (F, Auburn)
- Nojel Eastern (G, Howard)
- Tarkus Ferguson (G, Illinois-Chicago)
- Armon Fletcher (G, Southern Illinois)
- Philip Flory (G, Wisconsin-Stevens Point)
- Tyrn Flowers (F, Long Island)
- Hasahn French (F, Saint Louis)
- Both Gach (F, Utah)
- Eron Gordon (G, Valparaiso)
- Ty Gordon (G, Nicholls State)
- Kadre Gray (G, Laurentian)
- Alan Griffin (G, Syracuse)
- Haowen Guo (G, China)
- Blake Hamilton (G, Buffalo)
- Amauri Hardy (G, Oregon)
- Jericole Hellems (F, North Carolina State)
- Jay Henderson (G, Louisville)
- J.R. Holder (G, Jacksonville)
- Tra-Deon Hollins (G, Nebraska-Omaha)
- Nick Hornsby (F, Sacramento State)
- Ron Houston (G, Bethany)
- Pe’Shon Howard (G, USC)
- Kevin Hunt Jr. (G, Denver)
- Dazon Ingram (G, Central Florida)
- Zak Irvin (G, Michigan)
- Jimond Ivey (G, Akron)
- Kadeem Jack (C, Rutgers)
- Demetrius Jackson (G, Notre Dame)
- Anthony January (F, Cal State-San Bernardino)
- Theo John (C, Duke)
- Isaac Johnson (F, Appalachian State)
- Jayce Johnson (C, Marquette)
- Tyson Jolly (G, Iona)
- Kevin Kangu (G, Lenoir-Rhyne)
- Justin Kier (G, Arizona)
- Abu Kigab (F, Boise State)
- Mayan Kiir (F, New Mexico State)
- Nick King (F, Middle Tennessee State)
- Landon Kirkwood (G, Barry)
- Ishmael Lane (C, Northwestern State)
- Gabe Levin (F, Long Beach State)
- Trey Lewis (G, Louisville)
- Elijah Lufile (F, Oral Roberts)
- Tevin Mack (G, Clemson)
- Sterling Manley (C, North Carolina)
- Melik Martin (G, Drexel)
- Remy Martin (G, Kansas)
- Brandon McCoy (C, UNLV)
- Brandon McGhee (G, CSU Pueblo)
- Trey McGowens (G, Nebraska)
- Martaveous McKnight (G, Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
- John Meeks (G, Charleston)
- Sam Merrill (G, Utah State)
- JJ Miles (F, East Carolina)
- JJ Moore (F, Rutgers)
- Taze Moore (G, Houston)
- Barra Njie (G, Sweden)
- Jack Nolan (G, Washington U – St. Louis)
- Mike Nuga (G, UNLV)
- Daniel Orton (C, Kentucky)
- Mike Parks Jr. (F, Memphis)
- Jassel Perez (G, Dominican Republic)
- Kavion Pippen (C, Southern Illinois)
- M.J. Randolph (G, Florida A&M)
- Jared Rhoden (G, Seton Hall)
- Nate Roberts (C, Washington)
- Wesley Saunders (G, Harvard)
- Taz Sherman (G, West Virginia)
- Fred Sims Jr. (G, Chicago State)
- Jai Smith (F, Overtime Elite)
- Kendall Smith (G, Oklahoma State)
- Andre Spight (G, Northern Colorado)
- Derek St. Hilaire (G, New Orleans)
- Noah Starkey (C, Southern Nazarene)
- Wayne Stewart Jr. (F, Texas A&M – Commerce)
- Taren Sullivan (F, Findlay)
- Sean Sutherlin (G, Minnesota)
- Jordan Swopshire (F, Colgate)
- Jachai Taylor (F, Queens (NC))
- Marlon Taylor (G, LSU)
- JD Tisdale Jr. (G, Rogers State)
- Austin Trice (F, Old Dominion)
- Jahlil Tripp (F, Pacific)
- Buay Tuach (G, Loyola Marymount)
- Jordan Tucker (F, Butler)
- Ryan Turell (F, Yeshiva)
- Rashad Vaughn (G, UNLV)
- Dantez Walton (F, Northern Kentucky)
- Michael Weathers (G, SMU)
- Aaron Wheeler (F, St. John’s)
- Joe Wieskamp (G, Iowa)
- Keith Williams (G, Cincinnati)
- Kam Williams (G, Ohio State)
- Dion Wright (F, St. Bonaventure)
Rockets Notes: Gordon, Eason, Christopher, Porter Jr.
The Rockets continue to value Eric Gordon very highly and despite several teams inquiring about his availability, including the Sixers, Heat, Bucks, Suns and Lakers, Houston has not shopped the veteran guard and has turned down trade offers for his services, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Gordon has been working out with his young teammates in preparation for next season and is taking a wait-and-see approach to his future with the franchise.
“I know how the business works,” Gordon said, per Feigen. “I don’t know what is going to happen. All I can worry about is how I play basketball, and I’ll see what happens. Anything can happen in this business.”
Gordon’s brother, Eron Gordon, who went undrafted out of Valparaiso, is a member of Houston’s Summer League squad and said it’s a “special” opportunity.
“It’s definitely pretty special. It’s pretty special for my family. Not too many times in the world two brothers play on a major, professional sports team. So, it’s definitely a special moment for the Gordon family,” Eron said.
As Feigen notes, Eron is very unlikely to make the NBA club, but the Rockets value both brothers’ professionalism, which is why he was given a chance.
“His being on a roster definitely means a lot to me,” Eric said. “As soon as he starts playing, he’ll figure it out.”
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- First-rounder Tari Eason, the No. 17 pick of last month’s draft, has produced solid results during Summer League and looks like he could be a quality contributor for the Rockets, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. “Everything that I bring here I think translates to an NBA court. I don’t think I’m playing out of myself, doing too much,” Eason said. “I think that my ability to space the floor, rebound, defend, and knock down an open three are all things that I’ve tried to showcase to the people that I could do here, and I think all those things would translate.” Eason put up 22 points and 10 rebounds in his latest outing.
- Second-year guard Josh Christopher is still trying to find the right balance between being aggressive and playing under control, Feigen writes in another story for The Houston Chronicle. Christopher has an innate ability to attack the paint, but he’s still working on making good decisions and proper reads instead of relying on talent alone, Feigen notes.
- Kevin Porter Jr. believes the team’s rookies will help bring a defensive identity Houston has lacked the past couple of seasons, as Feigen relays. “Oh man, I think we’re shaping up good,” Porter said. “Watching these past games in the summer league, I’ve been paying attention to the defensive end. We look like we have the pieces to be a phenomenal defensive team. We already know what we can do on the offensive end so we’re not much worried about that. Defensively, that’s what I’ve been focusing on. I’m excited.” The Rockets ranked 27th in defensive rating in 2020/21 and 29th last season, so there’s certainly room for improvement on that end.
