Jarnell Stokes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: USA Basketball, Ingram, Lakers, Turiaf

June 7th, 2016 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of reports earlier this week that Stephen Curry and other stars won’t be playing for Team USA this summer in Brazil, USA Basketball announced today that there are plenty of young players set to participate in next month’s training camp as part of a 25-man select team. The select team will train with the Olympic squad as it prepares for the 2016 Olympics, and is made up of players with three years or less of NBA experience, as well as a handful of incoming rookies.

The full roster of Team USA’s select team can be found right here. Among the most interesting names? Top prospects Brandon Ingram and Kris Dunn; dunk contest standouts Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon; and former top picks Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

Within a piece that focuses on D’Angelo Russell and his NBA future, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes that Brandon Ingram – the favorite to be selected second overall in this year’s draft – is scheduled to have dinner with Lakers officials on Wednesday night and to work out privately for the club on Thursday.
In an interview with BasketUSA.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), former NBA big man Ronny Turiaf expressed some interest in returning to the court following a hip injury that has sidelined him since 2014. According to Sportando’s translation, Turiaf is leaving the door open to a possible return to the NBA or to a major European club.
Coming off a season in which he won the D-League’s MVP award, Jarnell Stokes is looking forward to trying to get another shot from an NBA team this offseason, as he tells Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. Since being selected in the second round of the 2014 draft, Stokes has been traded three teams and has yet to find a good NBA fit.
Former Sixers guard Pierre Jackson will work out this week at the Knicks‘ free agent mini-camp, and is lined up to work out for the Trail Blazers and Mavericks later this month, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Heat Notes: Dragic, Wade, Johnson, Stokes

May 1st, 2016 at 7:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Goran Dragic‘s performance in today’s Game 7 win over the Hornets showed why Miami traded two first-round picks to get him last season, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Dragic scored 25 points and handed out four assists as the Heat easily dispatched Charlotte. It was a welcome performance after an uneven season that had many observers questioning whether Dragic was a good fit alongside Dwyane Wade. Both guards need to control the ball to be effective, and although they were friendly off the court, their styles of play sometimes clashed. But today Dragic was at his best, connecting on 11 of 17 shots from the field while holding Hornets point guard Kemba Walker to just 3 of 16. “That’s the Goran Dragic we all love,” Wade said. “He puts so much pressure on the defense and allows the other guys to chill out, especially me. When he’s playing that way for us, we’re a tough, tough team to beat.”

There’s more on a victorious day in Miami:

After being sidelined since late January, Tyler Johnson was happy to get back on the court today, relays Christy Cabrera Chirinos of The Sun-Sentinel. Johnson scored five points in his first action since having surgery on his left rotator cuff in February. “The last couple games, I’ve been available, but to finally get in there was a blessing,” Johnson said. “It was good to see the ball go in the basket for the first time in a while.”
The Heat not only won their first playoff series since LeBron James left in 2014, they showed they could succeed without Chris Bosh, writes Dave Hyde of The Sun-Sentinel. Bosh has been out of action since the All-Star break when doctors reportedly discovered blood clots in his left calf.
The fate of Jarnell Stokes will help shape the role of the D-League in the future, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Stokes, who played for Miami’s affiliate in Sioux Falls, was the league’s MVP for both the regular season and the championship series, a feat he accomplished despite being part of three organizations during the year. However, Winderman says the D-League’s reputation will take a hit if Stokes can’t turn those awards into a steady NBA job.

And-Ones: Salary Cap, Draft, Jersey Ads

April 15th, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Croatian power forward Marko Arapovic will enter this year’s NBA draft, as he announced on Twitter, and the same is true for Slovenian shooting guard Blaz Mesicek, as his agent, Benjamin Stevic, told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Both hold a degree of intrigue, with Givony having slotted the 6’6″, 18-year-old Mesicek at No. 32 in his 2017 mock draft, though he’s not in Givony’s top 100 prospects for this year. The 6’9″, 19-year-old Arapovic is 96th among this year’s prospects, as Givony ranks them, and he’s No. 100 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. International prospects aren’t bound to NCAA rules, so they can hire agents and withdraw from the draft as late as June 13th.

Here’s more from around the league:

The latest official projection for next year’s salary cap is $92MM, according to a memo the NBA sent to executives around the league, notes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). That’s an increase on the $90MM projection reported in February, though many had already estimated the cap would wind up in the $92MM to $95MM range.
Owners sense the league is prosperous and the collective bargaining agreement is working, commissioner Adam Silver said today about this week’s board of governors meetings, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com relays (Twitter link). Silver remains optimistic about avoiding a work stoppage next year as negotiations with the players union progress toward a new labor deal, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
The addition of jersey ads, which the board of governors have formally approved for the start of the 2017/18 season, are liable to raise the salary cap $2MM to $3MM annually based on projections circulating around the league, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Silver estimates the ads will generate $100MM in annual revenue, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
French power forward/center Mathias Lessort intends to enter the 2016 NBA draft, YouFirstBasket.com announced (via Twitter). The 20-year-old is a long shot to be selected, not appearing among the top 100 players on either Ford’s or Givony’s rankings.
Vanderbilt junior center Damian Jones intends to enter the draft and will sign with Austin Brown of CAA, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). Jones is ranked as the No. 21 overall prospect by Givony and comes in at No. 43 according to Ford. Jones has long planned to go into the draft this year, having said as much in October.
Former Pelicans big man Jarnell Stokes was named the MVP of the NBA D-League, the Sioux Falls Skyforce announced. In 28 D-League appearances, Stokes averaged 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per contest.
Wichita State senior shooting guard Ron Baker has signed with agent Aaron Mintz of CAA, Goodman tweets. The 23-year-old is the No. 98 overall prospect in this year’s draft according to Givony.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Heat Rumors: Whiteside, Ennis, Stokes, Dragic

March 5th, 2016 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hassan Whiteside may face a choice this summer between money and winning, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat center figures to get a maximum offer from someone, especially with the rising salary cap, but it may not be Miami. Winderman notes the Heat are accustomed to getting hometown discounts from players who want to be part of the franchise tradition and like the idea of being in South Florida. Whiteside said it may be tempting to be the star of another team, but that won’t affect his decision when free agency arrives. “I feel like a lot of people want to be that,” he said. “But I want to win more than anything. I don’t really want to be the face of a losing franchise. You want to be a face of a winning program. And it’s always easier to get people to come to Miami.”

There’s more news out of Miami:

James Ennis and Jarnell Stokes are on the open market, but league rules keep them off-limits to Miami, Winderman writes in the same piece. Teams are prohibited from reacquiring players that they’ve traded away for a full calendar year or the time their contracts would have expired. The Heat traded Ennis to Memphis on November 10th and dealt Stokes to New Orleans on February 18th. Both are now free agents. Ennis and Stokes can play with the Heat’s summer league team, but neither can sign with Miami until the anniversaries of their respective trades. Stokes is currently with Miami’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls.
A year after being traded to Miami, point guard Goran Dragic is playing at a more comfortable pace, Winderman writes in a separate story. Coach Erik Spoelstra changed the team’s philosophy after the All-Star break, telling players to run up court and start the offense more quickly. That benefits Dragic, who has always preferred an up-tempo approach. “He’s feeling more comfortable with organization, with the team, with his teammates, the style of play, when to attack,” Spoelstra said. “He’s gaining confidence because he knows his teammates want him to be aggressive.”
Joe Johnson was immediately impressed with the way his new teammates play defense, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “It’s great they’re defensive minded,” said Johnson, who signed with Miami a week ago. “You don’t see that in young ages. They know and understand to be on the court, they’ve got to make an impact somewhere.”

Heat Rumors: Stokes, Johnson, Whiteside

February 27th, 2016 at 3:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jarnell Stokes, who was traded from Miami to New Orleans at the deadline and then waived by the Pelicans, has rejoined the Heat’s D-League affiliate, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Despite the trade, Sioux Falls retained the rights to Stokes under a D-League provision because he appeared in more than 10 games for the Skyforce this season. (Twitter link). The 6’9″ center/power forward has played five games for Miami, scoring 7 points in 14 minutes. Stokes is not eligible to rejoin the Heat this season, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, as traded players cannot go back to the team that dealt them away.

There’s more news out of Miami:

Tyler Johnson, who hasn’t played since undergoing surgery on his left shoulder February 3rd, hopes to be back on the court by the end of the season, Winderman writes in the same story. The Heat haven’t set a timetable for the backup guard’s return, which was initially estimated at three months. However, Johnson is encouraged by how much he has recovered so far. “I feel like I’m progressing really well,” Johnson said. “I’m going to shoot to get back. Even if it was possible, it would probably be in April.”
Former Net Joe Johnson, who is rumored to be signing with Miami this weekend, is the best talent available in this year’s buyout market, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Johnson, who was waived by Brooklyn on Thursday after agreeing to a buyout, has been a durable player who was the focus of the offense with both the Nets and Hawks, Bontemps writes.
One way for free-agent-to-be Hassan Whiteside to increase his value is to improve his free-throw shooting, and Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post suggests he is doing that. The 7’0″ center recently changed his approach at the line and is hitting 67.9 percent over his last six games. He averages 53 percent for his career and 56.4 percent for the season. “You know that feeling when you get under the covers in the bed and you snuggle up? You know that comfortable feeling?” Whiteside said in explaining his improved performance. “I feel that. I feel comfortable.”

Pelicans Waive Jarnell Stokes

February 19th, 2016 at 10:14am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have waived the freshly acquired Jarnell Stokes to make room on the roster for their new contract with Bryce Dejean-Jones, the team announced via press release. Stokes had just come via trade from the Heat on Thursday, though Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate reported then that the Pelicans were thinking about releasing him. New Orleans also received cash in the deal for Stokes, which totals a little more than $700K, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, and Kushner indicates that will go toward funding the partial guarantee for next season in the Dejean-Jones deal (Twitter link).

The Pelicans are also going to pay the remainder of Stokes’ guaranteed salary of $845,059 for this season if he clears waivers, which would come to about $273K, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). His contract carries a non-guaranteed minimum salary of $980,431 for next season.

Stokes, 22, is only about a year and a half removed from having become the 35th pick in the 2014 draft. However, he’s made it into only 26 NBA games, fewer than the 39 D-League contests he’s played while on assignment from the Grizzlies and Heat. The power forward is averaging 20.6 points and 10.2 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game across 16 D-League appearances this season.

New Orleans still has 15 players on its roster in the wake of the Stokes release and the Dejean-Jones signing. All 15 are signed through at least the end of the season.

Pelicans Acquire Jarnell Stokes From Heat

February 18th, 2016 at 11:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:17pm: The Heat traded Jarnell Stokes and a little more than $700K in cash to the Pelicans for New Orleans’ top-55 protected 2018 second-round pick. It’s a money saving move for the Heat, even though they’re the ones relinquishing cash. It offloads the team’s remaining salary commitment to Stokes and lowers the team’s projected tax hit by about $2.1MM. Miami wound up wiping out its entire projected tax bill in the Brian Roberts trade. New Orleans is contemplating a buyout with Stokes, according to Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate (Twitter links).

Stokes is making the minimum salary of $845,059, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season also on his contract. The power forward who went 35th overall in the 2014 draft originally signed a three-year deal with the Grizzlies, who traded him and that contract to the Heat in the Mario Chalmers swap this past November. It’s because he’s on a three-year deal that the Pelicans can’t absorb him using the minimum-salary exception, which is just for two-year deals. The same is true of the disabled player exception they have for relief from Quincy Pondexter‘s injury, which is just for a one-year deal. Thus, the Pelicans took him into the $947,276 trade exception they created in December when they offloaded Ish Smith, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter), reducing its value to a virtually unusable $102,217.

The Heat meanwhile create a new trade exception equivalent to the $845,059 salary for Stokes, as Pincus points out. Miami seemingly had little use for the power forward who appeared for a total of only 14 minutes across five games at the NBA level while a member of the Heat. He meanwhile logged 494 minutes in 16 D-League contests on assignment to Miami’s affiliate. He spent enough time with the Sioux Falls Skyforce that he was named a D-League All-Star.

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reported that the Heat had traded Stokes (Twitter link), and Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports revealed that he was going to the Pelicans (on Twitter). Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweeted that a highly protected draft pick was going Miami’s way, with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald adding that it’s a second-rounder (Twitter link). RealGM provided pick specifics. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported the cash involved (via Twitter).

Eastern Notes: Monroe, Carter-Williams, Love

February 15th, 2016 at 4:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Monroe isn’t available but Michael Carter-Williams is “undeniably gettable,” sources tell Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. That conflicts with one side of an earlier report indicating that Milwaukee had let other teams know it was open to giving up Monroe for the right price, but it confirms the other part, about the team’s willingness to trade Carter-Williams just a year after acquiring him from the Sixers at last year’s deadline. The Bucks are turning away calls on Jabari Parker, Stein and Windhorst also write. See more from the Eastern Conference:

Cleveland has made it clear it wants a star in return for Kevin Love, not the role players and draft picks the Celtics are offering, league sources tell Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Some executives around the league are growing stronger in their belief that the Cavs are more likely to entertain Love trades in the summer than they are now. the ESPN scribes add.
The market is strong for the first-rounders that the Sixers have from the Thunder and Heat this year, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, and with a below-average draft class and several teams devoid of first-round selections, it would be wise for Philadelphia to thinking about trading the picks, Marks opines.
The Heat have recalled Jarnell Stokes from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). Miami sent Stokes, whom the team is reportedly dangling in search of a second-round pick and tax relief, on assignment late last week so he could play in the D-League All-Star Game this past weekend, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (on Twitter).

Heat Notes: Whiteside, Stokes, Bosh

February 13th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat own the best defense in the Eastern Conference in terms of points per game, giving up only 96.3 per contest. Some of their success can be attributed to Hassan Whiteside, though the center hasn’t started a game since January 20th. The team is reportedly gauging what the trade market would bear for the 26-year-old.

Here’s more out of Miami:

The Heat are looking to net a second-round pick in exchange for Jarnell Stokes, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports. Jackson notes that moving Stokes for a pick would lessen the team’s luxury tax bill this season.
Miami is keeping an eye on the market for 3-point shooters this trade deadline, which is something that Chris Bosh endorses, Jackson writes in the same piece. “I’m always a believer in making do with what you have, [though] we could always use another shooter. Everybody could,” Bosh said. The Heat are making just 32.3% of their shots from behind the arc this season. “To get in that upper part of the East, it’s tough to do that without shooting,” Bosh added.
Bosh is taking a cautious approach to his injured calf, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. “I didn’t feel it was wise to continue to push it, especially with this elongated week that we have off,” said Bosh, who dropped out of tonight’s 3-point contest because of the injury.

And-Ones: Oden, D-League, NBA Draft

February 10th, 2016 at 10:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA is enamored with the idea of expanding rosters from the current regular season maximum of 15 to as many as 17 as part of the next CBA, with the additional spots to be designated for two-way D-League contracts, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. While the concept is still very much in the planning stages, the current idea is that the D-League portion of the contracts would be valued in the neighborhood of $75K to $100K per season, according to the NBA.com scribe. If the player were called up to the NBA, he would then earn a prorated portion of his NBA salary, Howard-Cooper adds.

“I think it’s something that makes a lot of sense for our league,” D-League president Malcolm Turner said. “I don’t want to get ahead of where we are, in terms of planning conversations, but I think it’s clearly a logical next step in our evolution. As you expand, you have rosters to fill, and we want to do so in a way that allows us to add more and better talent to the league faster. A two-way system can be facilitating.”

Here’s the latest from around the league:

Former 2007 No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden was released by the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association recently, throwing his playing future into question, Doug Lesmerises of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Oden indicated that his deal with Jiangsu was month-to-month, so letting him go saved the team a month’s worth of salary, Lesmerises notes. When asked if he intended to continue his playing career, Oden said, “I mean, if the opportunity is there, and it’s the right opportunity, of course. I’ve just got to look at the opportunities. I haven’t heard about anything yet. I’ll take what I can.” Oden last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 23 games for the Heat.
LSU’s Ben Simmons, Duke’s Brandon Ingram and Croatian big man Dragan Bender top the latest 2016 NBA draft rankings from ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required).
One factor contributing to why the Knicks fired Derek Fisher prior to the All-Star break is that the league office frowns upon teams parting ways with coaches during All-Star week, as it detracts from the festivities, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
The Heat have assigned power forward Jarnell Stokes to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Stokes’ sixth trip to Sioux Falls on the season.