Isaiah Miller

Timberwolves To Sign Isaiah Miller To Exhibit 10 Contract

After going undrafted on Thursday night, UNC Greensboro guard Isaiah Miller tweeted that he would be joining the Timberwolves, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News confirms (via Twitter) that Miller is signing an Exhibit 10 contract with Minnesota.

Miller put together an impressive résumé during his four-year college career, winning the Southern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award three consecutive times from 2019-21 and earning Player of the Year honors in 2020 and 2021.

As a senior in 2020/21, Miller recorded 19.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 2.6 SPG in 29 games (30.8 MPG). While he’s a strong defender who fills up the box score, Miller will have to work on improving his shot — he made just 24.1% of his three-point attempts and 57.7% of his free throws in four college seasons.

The Wolves also reportedly agreed to a two-way contract with undrafted rookie McKinley Wright IV, as we relayed late last night. Both signings can become official once the NBA’s new league year begins next week.

Southeast Notes: Mosley, Barnes, Wizards, Gallinari, Hornets

Jamahl Mosley has interviewed for head coaching jobs before, but he said the experience with the Magic was different because of the relationships involved. In an interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Mosley talks about his prior experience with president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman in Denver and front office official Anthony Parker in Cleveland.

“I started to sense that there was a little bit of a joy to where it was going,” said Mosley, who was officially hired Sunday morning. “That happened after the second or third interview. It felt good. And I met the DeVos family, and you just saw family. That’s when it really kind of set in.”

Mosley chose to sidestep a question about the end of his time in Dallas, where he served as an assistant to Rick Carlisle for the past seven years. There was an expectation that Mosley might become the Mavericks‘ next head coach when Carlisle left for Indiana, but the front office chose Jason Kidd instead.

“It’s me moving forward, and that’s the best thing,” Mosley said. “I’m moving into a situation that allows me to grow, allows me to walk into exactly what I started out doing, and that’s developing and helping young men become better individuals on and off the court.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Magic, who hold picks No. 5 and 8 in this year’s lottery, brought in Florida State forward Scottie Barnes for a private workout over the weekend, Robbins tweets. Barnes is ranked sixth on ESPN’s big board and is considered a possible top-five pick.
  • With Bradley Beal eligible for free agency next summer, the Wizards may value veteran help more than the No. 15 pick they hold in the draft, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. He notes that not many teams are willing to part with useful players in exchange for a mid-round draft choice, but he proposes a few trades involving the Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, Grizzlies and Pacers.
  • Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari has confirmed on Instagram that he will play in the Tokyo Olympics. Gallinari has been representing Italy in international competitions since he was a teenager, but this will be his first Olympic Games.
  • The Hornets are hosting six players today in a pre-draft workout, according to a tweet from the team. Taking part are West Virginia’s Derek Culver, prep school player Jimma Gatwech, Nikita Mikhailovskii of Avtodor (Russia), UNC-Greensboro’s Isaiah Miller, Georgetown’s Jamorko Pickett and Kentucky’s Olivier Sarr.

Draft Notes: Combine, Hinton, Krejci, Pinson, Miller

When the NBA announced in a memo to teams earlier this week that the 2020 draft lottery has been moved up by five days, the league also informed clubs that possible dates and formats for a 2020 combine are still being evaluated, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

The combine typically takes place in May after the lottery, but holding such a big event in person this spring was impractical due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While it remains to be seen whether any sort of in-person combine can take place, the NBA told teams which 105 prospects received the most votes to be invited to such an event. If the league is able to move forward with a combine in some form, that number would likely be whittled down to about 70 players, says Bontemps.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

  • Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links) compares the list of 105 prospects in the NBA’s memo to ESPN’s big board of 2020’s top 100 prospects, noting that ESPN is higher on Houston guard Nate Hinton, while NBA teams seem to be higher on Czech guard Vit Krejci, who plays for Zaragoza in Spain.
  • Missouri guard Xavier Pinson indicated in an Instagram video this week that he’ll return to school for at least one more year after testing the draft waters. As a sophomore in 2019/20, Pinson averaged 11.1 PPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.8 RPG in 31 games (24.0 MPG).
  • UNC Greensboro guard Isaiah Miller will also remove his name from draft consideration, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Miller declared for the draft following a junior year in which he averaged 17.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.8 SPG in 32 games (28.4 MPG).

Draft Notes: Early Entrants, Haliburton, Hayes, Avdija

The list of early entrants for the 2020 draft continues to grow, with a trio of guards among the latest underclassmen to announce their intent to test the waters this spring.

Wichita State sophomore guard Dexter Dennis, Colgate junior guard Jordan Burns, and UNC Greensboro junior guard Isaiah Miller all made their draft announcements on Twitter.

Dennis averaged 9.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 28 games (25.8 MPG) for the Shockers in 2019/20; Burns, a former Patriot Tournament MVP, posted 15.8 PPG, 4.5 APG, and 1.7 SPG in 34 games (32.4 MPG) for the Raiders; and Miller recorded a team-high 17.8 PPG to go along with 2.8 SPG as he earned Player of the Year – and Defensive Player of the Year – honors in the Southern Conference.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • Even after the departure of Leon Rose, the head of the agency’s basketball department, Creative Artists Agency is having no problem continuing to fill out its roster with promising young players. CAA announced on Thursday (via Twitter) that projected lottery pick Tyrese Haliburton will be represented by the firm.
  • Ethan Strauss of The Athletic shares his “unconventional” top five for the 2020 draft, valuing efficiency and production over hype and athleticism and focusing on versatile players who have at least one elite skill. Based on those criteria, French wing Killian Hayes top Strauss’ board, followed by Obi Toppin, Haliburton, Onyeka Okongwu, and Isaac Okoro.
  • With the help of draft expert Fran Fraschilla, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com takes an in-depth look at Israeli swingman Deni Avdija, who is another candidate to be one of the first five players off the board in the 2020 draft. Fraschilla cautions that Avdija’s shot needs some work, but views him as this year’s top international prospect – above Hayes – and believes he belongs in the upper tier of the draft class.