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Jaron Blossomgame

Spurs Waive Jaron Blossomgame

October 8th, 2018 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have waived former second-round pick Jaron Blossomgame, according to Jabari Young of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move opens up a spot on San Antonio’s 20-man preseason roster.

Blossomgame, who played his college ball at Clemson, was drafted by the Spurs with the 59th overall pick in 2017. He signed a G League contract for his rookie season, becoming a starting forward for an Austin Spurs squad that won the NBAGL championship this past spring.

In 50 games (48 starts) last season, Blossomgame averaged 16.5 PPG and 8.1 RPG. He also played for San Antonio’s Summer League team this July, posting 13.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG in five contests in Las Vegas.

Those performances earned Blossomgame a camp invite, but now that he has been waived by the Spurs, San Antonio will no longer hold his NBA rights. The 25-year-old could still end up playing for Austin in the G League, but he’ll be free to sign with any other NBA team if he clears waivers later this week.

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Spurs Sign Okaro White To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 21st, 2018 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have made another addition to their training camp roster, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, who tweets that veteran forward Okaro White has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with San Antonio. Per RealGM’s transactions log, the Spurs have also officially completed reported deals with Drew Eubanks, Olivier Hanlan, and Jaron Blossomgame.

White, who signed a two-year contract with the Cavaliers during the final week of the 2017/18 season, was waived by Cleveland in August before the team owed any guaranteed money for that second year. Formerly a member of the Heat, White has appeared in 41 NBA games over the last two seasons for Miami, averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.4 minutes per contest.

The Florida State alum, who missed a good chunk of the ’17/18 campaign with a broken foot, talked earlier this year about how he’s still working to mentally get over that injury. It appears he’ll have the opportunity to work on it this fall with San Antonio.

The Spurs now have a full 20-man roster, with 15 players on fully guaranteed salaries, four on non-guaranteed deals, and one (Eubanks) on a two-way pact. However, one of those 15 guaranteed contracts is Manu Ginobili‘s — the club will still need to officially release him at some point after he announced his retirement.

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Spurs Cut Two Players, Sign Jaron Blossomgame

September 21st, 2018 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs are making some changes to their roster in advance of training camp. After agreeing to terms with Olivier Hanlan, San Antonio has also signed former second-round pick Jaron Blossomgame to a training camp deal, as he confirmed to Jeff Garcia and Michael Rehome of The Spurs Zone.

“I’m excited for the opportunity,” said Blossomgame, who was drafted by the Spurs with the 59th overall pick in 2017 and played for the Austin Spurs last season. “I’ve played really well in open gym, so it’s exciting.”

In a pair of moves that will open up roster spots, the Spurs waived Amida Brimah and Julian Washburn, just a few days after having signed them, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Brimah and Washburn weren’t expected to compete for roster spots, having presumably been signed for their G League rights.

Blossomgame, however, could be given the opportunity to vie for an opening on San Antonio’s 15-man regular season squad. The 25-year-old, who played his college ball at Clemson, was a starting forward for an Austin team that won the NBAGL championship this past spring. In 50 games (48 starts), Blossomgame averaged 16.5 PPG and 8.1 RPG. He also played for San Antonio’s Summer League team this July, posting 13.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG in five contests in Las Vegas.

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Jaron Blossomgame To Join Austin Spurs

July 7th, 2017 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

1:30pm: Blossomgame will be joining the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate, but not on a two-way contract, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. Wright indicates that Blossomgame will get a standard G League contract, as the Spurs retain his NBA rights. That will give the club the flexibility to add two other players on two-way contracts.

10:39am: Reports of Blossomgame signing a two-way contract are “not accurate,” per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).

It’s not clear whether the Spurs intend to sign Blossomgame to an NBA contract or if no decision has been made yet. Since he was a draft pick, San Antonio holds Blossomgame’s NBA rights, so the two sides figure to work something out at some point.

8:27am: The Spurs will sign 2017 second-round pick Jaron Blossomgame to a two-way contract, according to Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days (via Twitter). The deal is not yet official.

Blossomgame, a 6’7″ forward, was ranked as the 50th-best prospect in this year’s draft class by DraftExpress. In his senior season at Clemson, Blossomgame averaged 17.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 33 games. The Spurs made him the 59th overall pick in the draft last month.

As we’ve detailed, two-way contracts are a new addition to the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that allow teams to control two extra players who primarily play for the club’s G League affiliate. They can be called up to the NBA roster, but only for up to 45 days per season.

Blossomgame is the third late-second-round pick to agree to a two-way contract, along with the Pacers’ Edmond Sumner (No. 52) and the Suns’ Alec Peters (No. 54). I expect most second-round selections will avoid having to sign two-way deals, but I wouldn’t be surprised if teams picking late in the draft spoke to players and agents before draft day to see if they’d be amenable to doing a two-way deal.

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Pre-Draft Workouts: Hart, Smith Jr., Kennard, Adebayo

June 17th, 2017 at 1:33pm CST by Joshua Fischman

It’s that time of the summer, days until the NBA draft, when your favorite team is doing its due diligence and working out every prospect and his brother. Here is the latest in pre-draft workout news:

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Draft Notes: Josh Jackson, Fultz, Smith Jr., Heat

June 14th, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kansas forward Josh Jackson paid a visit to Kings today, but didn’t go through a workout, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Jackson is expected to be one of the first players selected next week and probably won’t be around for Sacramento’s pick at No. 5. There have been rumors that the Kings would like to move up, but a report today said they aren’t willing to give the Sixers the fifth and 10th picks to get No. 3.

There’s more from a full day of draft workouts:

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Southeast Notes: J. Johnson, Heat, Hawks, Hornets

June 13th, 2017 at 5:09pm CST by Joshua Fischman

When James Johnson was asked about whether his affection for the Heat could translate into a team-friendly contract in free agency this offseason, the forward took a measured stance Sunday, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Johnson reiterated his love the organization, while maintaining that a business decision must be made:

“I love this place so much and the opportunity they gave me. I couldn’t thank them enough. Down the line, it’s hard in this phase of my career to try to find somewhere that you call home or you want it to be home and things like that. So you know the love I have for this team is up there. But it’s just something I got to let the agent and Pat [Riley] discuss and try to figure out, and then just give my last say so at the end.”

Johnson enjoyed a career season in 2016/17, averaging 12.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 3.6 APG.

Here’s what else you should know from the Southeast division:

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Draft Rumors: Ball, Kohs, Hawks, Blossomgame

June 12th, 2017 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Lakers are impressed with Lonzo Ball‘s passing, scoring, and leadership potential, some team observers of his workout with the team believe he came in out of shape, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Ball is still viewed as the odds-on favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, but if the Lakers do go in another direction, conditioning concerns could play a part in that decision.

Here are a few more draft-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

  • In advance of today’s deadline, Latvian prospect Verners Kohs has withdrawn his name from the 2017 NBA draft, per agent Arturs Kalnitis (via Twitter). The 6’8″ small forward is ranked 13th by DraftExpress among 1997-born international prospects.
  • The Hawks will likely be in the market for a big man when they pick at No. 19 in next week’s draft, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who identifies nine players Atlanta may be targeting with that selection.
  • Utah State’s Jalen Moore, who worked out for Philadelphia today, has auditions for the Celtics and Bulls coming up later this week, and has already worked out for the Bucks, Magic, and Thunder, per Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).
  • Camerato also passes along some workout info for Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame, tweeting that he has sessions lined up with the Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Bucks, and Nuggets.
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Draft Notes: Smith Jr., Collins, Leaf, Sixers

June 11th, 2017 at 9:36pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers have a short list of players they’re said to be targeting with the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft but they opted to bring North Carolina State guard Dennis Smith Jr. for a workout just in case they trade down, Mark Medina of the Orange County Register writes.

Smith Jr., a possible top-10 pick, participated in a group workout this weekend with a series of other draft hopefuls, including Syracuse’s Tyler Lydon. The guard impressed in the audition, his talent a cut above the rest.

Smith Jr. was sure to do his homework prior to his day with the Lakers and thinks that he can fill a void.

“I checked one of the stats and they’re bottom 10 in almost everything relative to pick-and-roll scoring,” he said. “I think I can contribute to that.”

There are more draft notes from around the league:

  • While he may not be around when the Jazz pick 24th in this month’s draft, TJ Leaf believes he would be a good fit with the franchise, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News writes. “Obviously draft number’s a big deal as well, but if I drop a couple of places and go to a team with a perfect fit, that’s who we want,” Leaf said after a recent workout in Utah. “We see a team like this — great coach, great system — and I think I’d fit well here, so that’s why I scheduled this one.“
  • After an unexpectedly dominant first season at Gonzaga, Zach Collins is a potential one-and-done lottery pick. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee recently profiled the sharp-shooting big man, offering him up as a legitimate option for when the Kings pick at No. 10.
  • The Sixers will bring in Kyle Kuzma of Utah and Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame for workouts tomorrow, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Kuzma is projected as a late first-round pick by NBADraft.net, while Blossomgame is expected to drop into the second round. Billy Garrett (DePaul), Jalen Moore (Utah State), V.J. Beachem (Notre Dame), and Dominique Hawkins (Kentucky) will also audition for Philadelphia.
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Knicks Draft Notes: Smith Jr., Mitchell, Williams-Goss

June 8th, 2017 at 3:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Dennis Smith Jr. met with Knicks team president Phil Jackson and according to the prospect’s trainer, he would love a chance to play with Carmelo Anthony, as Adam Zagoria of Fan Rag relays.

“Those guys are proven, USA [Basketball], Olympic players, I think he would mesh well. And Junior wants to learn now, too,” Smith’s longtime trainer Shawn Farmer. “He doesn’t just want to go in and think he knows everything. He wants to get up under those guys’ wing and learn from those guys.”

Farmer added playing in the triangle wouldn’t upset Smith. “He saw it was successful prior years with Kobe [Bryant] and all of those kids [on the Lakers]. So Junior is one of the smartest basketball players I’ve ever been around and I’ve played professionally in Europe. I’ve been around a lot of pros and not being biased, he’s such a smart kid,” Farmer said.

The NC State product was expected to work out for New York on Wednesday, but that never took place, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (ESPN Now link). The point guard also met with the Magic on Wednesday, so it’s possible that he received a draft promise from Orlando and decided not to go through drills with the Knicks, though that is merely my speculation.

Here’s more from the Big Apple:

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