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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

October 28th, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.

Southeast Notes: Waiters, Hornets, Wizards

October 22nd, 2019 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Dion Waiters and the Heat don’t appear to be on the same page right now. Waiters reportedly expressed displeasure with his role during the preseason, which prompted the team to suspend him for opening night, which in turn led to the veteran guard once again expressing his displeasure — this time on social media.

Given where things stand right now, it’s fair to wonder if the Heat will increase their efforts to move Waiters, who has been mentioned in multiple trade rumors over the last year. However, as Sean Deveney of Heavy.com writes, Waiters didn’t have much trade value before this week, and his suspension won’t exactly improve his stock.

“They’ve been trying to trade him since last Christmas,” one general manager said of the Heat guard. “No one was trying to take him on then. After this kind of thing, it would be really hard to take him on now. He has had this kind of junk attached to him just about his whole career.”

Waiters has a $12.1MM cap hit this season, with a $12.65MM guaranteed salary to follow in 2020/21, the final year of his deal. Moving that contract would likely cost the Heat at least one asset, and the team has already traded away many of its future draft picks.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels, who signed new multiyear contracts with the Hornets this week, each received $500K partial guarantees for 2019/20, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Charlotte used its mid-level exception to lock up Martin for three years and McDaniels for four. Neither contract features any guaranteed money beyond this season.
Echoing comments he made in September, Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak reiterated this week that his club doesn’t plan to be an active player in 2020 free agency. “I think we can build a culture here and get enough assets and have a promising enough future and really attract the kind of free agent you want to spend that kind of money on,” Kupchak said. “But I don’t think you can do it right now.” As Marks recently pointed out (via Twitter), Charlotte is one of just four teams that projects to have significant cap room next summer.
Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington passes along health updates on a few injured Wizards players, noting that Troy Brown (calf), C.J. Miles (foot), and Moritz Wagner (back) were all able to practice on Monday. However, Brown and Miles seem unlikely to be ready for the team’s opener on Wednesday, as does Isaiah Thomas (thumb), per head coach Scott Brooks (Twitter link via Hughes).

Hornets Sign McDaniels To Standard Deal; Convert Simmons To Two-Way

October 20th, 2019 at 3:12pm CST by clarkcrum

3:12pm: As noted as a possibility below, the Hornets have converted Simmons’ contract to a two-way deal, per an official release from the team.

3:10pm: Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Hornets rookie forward Jalen McDaniels, who just last night had his non-guaranteed one-year deal converted to a two-way contract, has now agreed to sign a partially guaranteed multi-year deal with the Hornets to finalize Charlotte’s 15-man roster.

Per Charania’s report, it appears that the Hornets will either waive Kobi Simmons or convert his deal to a two-way contract, but there has yet to be a report on that front. If Simmons is converted to a two-way deal, he’ll join Robert Franks as the team’s two two-way players to begin the 2019/20 season.

As for McDaniels, he goes from the last unsigned 2019 NBA Draft pick signed to a partially guaranteed contract holder in the span of 10 days. The 6’10” forward averaged 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 34 games (31.0 MPG) for San Diego State last season.

Hornets Convert Jalen McDaniels To Two-Way Contract

October 19th, 2019 at 11:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets continue to tweak their roster in advance of the regular season deadline, announcing tonight in a press release that Jalen McDaniels has had his contract converted into a two-way deal.

Earlier on Saturday, Charlotte waived two-way player Ahmed Hill. Caleb Martin briefly replaced Hill in that two-way slot, but later returned to the regular roster by agreeing to a three-year contract. McDaniels and Robert Franks are now the Hornets’ two-way players.

The No. 52 overall pick in the 2019 draft, McDaniels was the last of this year’s draft picks to sign a contract, agreeing to a one-year, non-guaranteed pact with the club. Having that deal turned into a two-way contract will give the former San Diego State forward a chance to stick with the franchise through his rookie season — he’ll be eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Hornets, spending the rest of his time with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.

McDaniels averaged 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 34 games (31.0 MPG) in 2018/19. The Hornets faced some criticism in some circles for drafting the 6’10” forward, who has been sued by two former female high school classmates who claim that he recorded them without their consent while they were performing sexual acts.

Hornets Convert Caleb Martin To Two-Way Deal

October 19th, 2019 at 4:22pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving two-way player Ahmed Hill earlier today, the Hornets have filled that newly-opened two-way slot by converting rookie forward Caleb Martin‘s Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way pact, the team announced in a press release.

It appears that Martin, whose twin brother Cody Martin was selected by the Hornets in the second round of this year’s draft, will remain on the same roster as Cody after playing with him at Nevada as well.

Caleb averaged 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 34 games as a senior for the Wolf Pack. In five preseason games with the Hornets, he recorded 9.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 20.6 minutes per game.

While Martin and Robert Franks are occupying the Hornets’ two-way slots for the time being, that could change. Rod Boone of The Athletic tweeted earlier today that Kobi Simmons and Jalen McDaniels, who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts, are candidates to get two-way deals in Charlotte. Boone also hears that converting Martin to a two-way deal may be a procedural move to get him back on the regular roster on a new standard contract (Twitter link).

For now, the Hornets have 17 players under contract — 13 on guaranteed salaries, Simmons and McDaniels on non-guaranteed deals, and Martin and Franks on two-way pacts.

Marks’ Latest: Sabonis, Rockets, Grizzlies, Nets

October 19th, 2019 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

If the Pacers and Domantas Sabonis are able to bridge the gap in contract negotiations and finalize an extension for the big man by Monday’s deadline, count on it being worth more than the four-year, $72MM deal Myles Turner signed a year ago, says ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link). Sources tell Marks that the terms Turner received on his rookie scale extension are considered a “non-starter” when it comes to Sabonis’ next deal.

As we relayed on Friday night, a report from The Athletic indicated that the Pacers are exploring trade options involving Sabonis, since the two sides remain far apart in extension talks. However, Indiana’s asking price in those trade discussions reportedly remains too high so far.

Here are a few more items of interest from Marks:

Marks suggests that the Rockets will likely apply for a disabled player exception for Gerald Green, who is expected to miss the entire season with a broken foot. However, because Green is on a minimum-salary deal, that DPE – if granted – would only be worth about $810K.
Ivan Rabb‘s 2019/20 salary will become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived today, so the Grizzlies have a decision to make. The team has 17 candidates for its regular-season roster with only 15 spots available, so veterans like Rabb and/or Miles Plumlee could be released, Marks notes.
Expect the Nets to be “at the front of the line” if Alfonzo McKinnie goes unclaimed on waivers, according to Marks, who points out that the forward would be a good fit for Brooklyn’s open two-way contract slot or to replace Wilson Chandler when the veteran goes on the suspended list.
Marks believes Hornets second-round pick Jalen McDaniels is a good candidate to be converted into a two-way contract or to agree to a longer-term deal than the one-year pact he signed last week.

Southeast Notes: McDaniels, Waiters, Wagner, Fultz

October 11th, 2019 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rookie forward Jalen McDaniels‘ contract with the Hornets is a non-guaranteed one-year contract with an Exhibit 10 provision, John Hollinger of The Athletic reports. McDaniels, a second-round selection, didn’t come to an agreement with Charlotte until Thursday.

While McDaniels could make the opening-night roster, it’s quite possible he’ll be waived and end up in the G League via the Exhibit 10, according to Hollinger. If so, the Hornets will lose their NBA rights to him and another team could sign him at any time, though no one besides Charlotte can sign McDaniels to a two-way contract this season.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

It’s still undecided whether Dion Waiters will start or come off the bench for the Heat this season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Waiters is still working his way back into top shape, Jackson adds. Waiters, whose contract runs through the 2020/21 season, was limited to 44 games last season after recovering from ankle surgery and faces a logjam at the wing positions.
Second-year big man Moritz Wagner sees Washington as an ideal place to establish himself, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Acquired from the Lakers this summer, Wagner is in the mix for playing time in the Wizards‘ frontcourt after playing sparingly in Los Angeles as a rookie. “They are trying to develop something new and establish a winning culture,” he said. “Everyone here is part of that, it’s brand new. As a young player, that’s what you want.”
Magic guard Markelle Fultz appears to be playing with confidence and letting his combination of size, athleticism, and instincts help establish himself in the league, according to Dan Devine of The Ringer, who provides a detailed examination of Fultz’s preseason performances.

Hornets Sign Jalen McDaniels

October 10th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have officially signed second-round pick to Jalen McDaniels to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Charlotte waived Thomas Welsh earlier this afternoon, opening up a spot on the 20-man roster.

McDaniels, who declared for the draft this spring after spending two seasons at San Diego State, averaging 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 34 games (31.0 MPG) in 2018/19. The 6’10” forward was selected with the 52nd overall pick in the 2019 draft.

The Hornets faced some criticism in some circles for selecting McDaniels, who has been sued by two former female high school classmates who claim that he recorded them without their consent while they were performing sexual acts.

McDaniels had been the last 2019 draft pick whose status remained up in the air. As our tracker shows, 54 of this year’s draftees had previously signed NBA contracts, while three will spend the 2019/20 season overseas and two are signing G League deals.

The terms of McDaniels’ first NBA contract aren’t clear, but the Hornets are only carrying 13 players with fully guaranteed salaries, so there’s room on the roster for him to become one of the 14 or 15 players that starts the regular season with the club.

Hornets Rumors: Kemba, Vets, Future Plans, McDaniels

September 12th, 2019 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that the team was somewhat blindsided by Kemba Walker earning All-NBA honors and becoming eligible for a super-max contract earlier this year. Although Walker wasn’t demanding the full super-max (approximately $221MM over five years), the gap between what he sought and what Charlotte was willing to offer was too significant to bridge the gap.

“We had great years with him, and we didn’t get into the playoffs,” Kupchak said of the All-Star point guard. “What makes us think that next year (would) be different? I’ve got to step back and look at where we’ve been and where we’re going. Chart out a course that gives us the best chance to build something that is sustainable for more than a year or two.”

The Hornets have faced criticism for not getting what they could for Walker in a pre-deadline trade in February, but Kupchak tells Bonnell that the club was confident in its chances of re-signing Kemba at that point and wasn’t impressed with the offers it received on the trade market.

“Almost every offer revolved around draft picks. It was always lottery-protected,” Kupchak said. “When you do something like that, you’re saying you’re going to draft a player in the teens, we don’t know how good he’s going to be, and it’s going to take three or four years (to realize value). We wanted to keep Kemba — under the right conditions.”

We don’t know the specifics on what the Hornets were offered for Walker, so we’ll take Kupchak at his word that those offers didn’t provide enough value to be worthwhile.

Still, it’s fair to take the front office to task for the assertion that it didn’t see Walker’s All-NBA nod and super-max eligibility coming. The former UConn standout scored 41 points on opening night last fall and played at an elite level all season, singlehandedly keeping Charlotte in the playoff hunt. To claim the team was blindsided by Kemba’s super-max eligibility is either disingenuous or signals a worrisome lack of foresight.

Here’s more from Bonnell on the Hornets:

Head coach James Borrego is under no obligation to give significant minutes to Nicolas Batum, Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who will earn a combined $85MM in 2019/20. “I’m not going to coach a team based on contracts, what you’re making, where you were drafted, if you were drafted,” Borrego said. “To me, that’s not my job. My job is to get the most out of them, whether they were drafted or not drafted.”
While those veterans will get a chance to compete for roles, Borrego wants to make sure the team’s young prospects play consistent minutes, either in Charlotte or in the G League. “We’re not going to have draft picks on our bench who are just sitting there,” the head coach told Bonnell. “If they’re not playing meaningful minutes for us in Charlotte, I promise you they will be playing minutes in Greensboro.”
The Hornets “didn’t even contemplate” using their mid-level exception this offseason, according to Kupchak, who explained to Bonnell that no one in that price range would have “changed the course of this organization.”
The Hornets also won’t rely on free agency going forward to reshape their roster, preferring instead to use any future cap flexibility to re-sign young players or to accommodate trades. “Free agent signings, for us, are not something we need to concentrate on going forward. We’re not going to get the ‘Big Fish,'” Kupchak said. “We have to create a culture where those kinds of players would want to come here. And, quite frankly, we’re not there yet. For us to hoard cap room (for that purpose) is not in the best interest of the organization.”
In a tweet, Bonnell adds a couple more Hornets-related items, reporting that there’s no indication the club is involved in ongoing trade talks that would jettison a veteran contract. Additionally, Charlotte would like to get unsigned second-rounder Jalen McDaniels locked up in a developmental role, per Bonnell. It sounds like the team’s preference may be for McDaniels to sign a G League contract.

Hornets Sign Ahmed Hill To Two-Way Contract

September 5th, 2019 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 5: The Hornets have officially signed Hill to a two-way deal, the team confirmed today in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 4: The Hornets are signing undrafted free agent Ahmed Hill to a two-way contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

A 6’5″ guard out of Virginia Tech, Hill posted 13.1 PPG on .443/.391/.812 shooting in 35 games in his senior year with the Hokies. After going undrafted, he joined the Nets’ Summer League roster and appeared in six games in Las Vegas, averaging 6.8 PPG on 44.8% shooting in 18.2 minutes per contest.

As our two-way contract tracker shows, Charlotte previously filled one of its two-way slots by signing rookie forward Robert Franks, so the team won’t have any openings after officially adding Hill.

That puts No. 52 overall pick Jalen McDaniels in an interesting spot. With 17 players on standard contracts and point guard Kobi Simmons expected to join that group shortly, the Hornets will have a full 20-man offseason roster.

It’s possible that Charlotte will eventually waive a player to make room for McDaniels, but the club’s agreement with Hill could signal that the former San Diego State forward will begin his professional career overseas or on a G League contract.