Thunder Sign, Waive Jaylen Hoard
Former Trail Blazers forward Jaylen Hoard had a brief stint on the Thunder‘s training camp roster, but has since been released. While photos tweeted by the Thunder on Sunday showed Hoard participating in camp, the NBA’s official transactions log indicates that the team waived him on Sunday.
Hoard, 21, signed a two-way contract with Portland in July 2019 after going undrafted out of Wake Forest. He spent the entire 2019/20 season with the club, though he didn’t see much action at the NBA level, logging just 103 minutes in 13 games.
The Blazers don’t have their own G League affiliate, so Hoard spent time as a rookie with the Texas Legends. He averaged 16.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.8 APG in 24 games (27.6 MPG) for Dallas’ NBAGL affiliate.
The Thunder have been turning over the spots at the back of their 20-man roster during the last week, having also released Antonius Cleveland and Melvin Frazier shortly after signing them. The moves are presumably being made with G League rights and/or Exhibit 10 bonuses in mind.
A report from French outlet L’Equipe first indicated last week that Hoard would sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder. Interestingly, that L’Equipe report also suggested that big man Vincent Poirier will be heading to the Sixers in the still-not-official deal involving Al Horford, Danny Green, and Terrance Ferguson.
Poirier’s inclusion in that deal has been speculated by cap expert Albert Nahmad, among others, since his contract is a perfect fit for salary-matching purposes and would allow the Thunder to keep their recently-created $27.5MM trade exception. The trade will likely be completed this week once the salary aggregation restrictions on Green and Poirier lift.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Dort, Jazz, Wolves
The Trail Blazers, who already had one open spot on their 15-man roster, will now have the opportunity to sign two players if they want to, since Trevor Ariza‘s decision to opt out of the summer restart makes him eligible to be replaced by a substitute player.
Despite their roster flexibility, it’s not a lock that the Trail Blazers will add a rotation player before heading to Orlando, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. As Quick explains, Gary Trent Jr. appears to be the most likely candidate to replace Ariza in the starting lineup, and rookies Nassir Little and Jaylen Hoard could be wild cards.
Quick also speculates that Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts could get creative with his lineups to cover for the fact that the team will be without its top two small forwards (Ariza and Rodney Hood). Quick suggests we could see three-guard lineups featuring Anfernee Simons alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, or bigger five-man units that utilize Zach Collins at the four and Carmelo Anthony at the three.
Here’s more from out of the Northwest:
- With the NBA’s transaction window now open, it’s decision time for the Thunder and two-way player Luguentz Dort. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman takes a closer look at the club’s options as it weighs whether to move Dort to the 15-man roster.
- Tony Jones of The Athletic discusses whether the Jazz might make any changes to their 15-man roster for the summer restart and explores how two-way players Jarrell Brantley and Justin Wright-Foreman fit into the team’s plans.
- After wearing a Fitbit patch on their jerseys since 2017/18, the Timberwolves are seeking a new sponsor for next season that will help “create impact in our community” and “be a champion for social advancement,” COO Ryan Tanke told Jabari Young of CNBC.
Northwest Notes: Towns, Blazers, Bazemore, Thunder
For Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves, any barriers that have kept him from leading the team are now removed this year, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes.
Towns, a perennial All-Star who’s averaged 36.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in his first two games of the season, is set to lead Minnesota as the club seeks its second postseason berth in the last 16 years.
“I’m in a spot right now where I got to lead these guys,” Towns said. “I’ve got to lead them. And no matter what I go through in life or whatever I went through, I got to make sure I take those experiences, teach the guys, especially young guys, how to go from boys to men, no pun intended.”
Behind Towns’ strong play, the Timberwolves could wind up contending for a spot in the postseason. Their major concern, however, is the glut of other West teams that are also expected to make concerted efforts for a late seed: Dallas, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Antonio.
There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:
- Since the Trail Blazers don’t have a G League affiliate of their own, their two-way players – Moses Brown and Jaylen Hoard – will join the Texas Legends, G League affiliate of the Mavericks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
- Trail Blazers forward Kent Bazemore is here to disrupt, Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com writes. Bazemore, an accomplished defender who’s spent eight seasons in the NBA, was acquired by the team this past summer in a deal with Atlanta. “It’s good to kind of see the ball go in, but that’ll come,” he said. “Just find your rhythm as you kind of get used to things, get the jitters out. My defense is going to be the constant thing for me regardless of if the shot’s falling for me or not. I just want to find other ways to impact the game. We’ve got two of the best scorers at their position in the league and Hassan down low, Ant Simons did a great job for us off the bench. My job is to go out there and disrupt.”
- The Thunder’s rivalry with the Warriors has dissolved without the likes of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, contends Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. Nevertheless, Oklahoma City delivered a crushing defeat to Golden State on Sunday, winning 120-92 at home.
Trail Blazers Sign Jaylen Hoard To Two-Way Deal
JULY 1: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Hoard to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
JUNE 21: The Trail Blazers have reached agreement on a two-way contract with Jaylen Hoard of Wake Forest, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi.
The 6’8″ forward out of France had a strong freshman season with the Demon Deacons, averaging 13.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 31 games. He has been playing internationally since 2015.
Portland didn’t issue any two-way deals last season. The Blazers are one of just two teams without a G League affiliate, so Hoard will get much of his training with another organization.
Southeast Draft Notes: Hornets, Heat, Magic, Hawks
The Hornets have looked into the possibility of moving up in the draft from their current spot in the lottery at No. 12, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell acknowledges that it may be difficult for Charlotte to put together the sort of trade capital necessary to make a deal happen, but says GM Mitch Kupchak is active.
Meanwhile, the Hornets will continue to explore their draft options by bringing in six more prospects for workouts tomorrow, according to the team. Marques Bolden (Duke), Tacko Fall (UCF), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Jalen Hudson (Florida), and Luka Asceric (Mega Bemax) are among the players set to participate.
Here are a few more draft-related items from around the Southeast:
- In addition to bringing in Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) on Thursday, as was previously reported, the Heat will also have Nassir Little (UNC) in town for a workout, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Amir Hinton (Shaw) also worked out for Miami this week (Twitter link via The Preparation).
- The Magic worked out Aubrey Dawkins (UCF), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Markis McDuffie (Wichita State), and Dererk Pardon (Northwestern) today, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
- The Hawks, who hold six of the top 44 selections in the draft, continue to be very active in the pre-draft process, bringing in Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Adam Mokoka (Mega Bemax), Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State), Jordon Varnado (Troy), and Kenny Wooten (Oregon) for a look today. Tomorrow’s Hawks workout will feature Goga Bitadze (Mega Bemax), Jonathan Galloway (UC Irvine), Rayjon Tucker (Arkansas Little Rock), and Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), according to the team.
Sixers Notes: Marjanovic, Butler, Harris, Workouts
Boban Marjanovic only spent a half season with the Sixers, but it was enough to make him want to stay. In an interview with the Serbian website Zurnal (translated by Stefan Djordjevic of EuroHoops), Marjanovic said his preference in free agency is to remain in Philadelphia.
“ I don’t know what will happen. … I should, almost 90 percent, stay in Philadelphia but that’s not known yet, just speculation,” he said. “It was nice for me there, so why not.”
“The team is great, the players are talented,” Marjanovic added. “I think we had a chance to be the team playing the Finals this year but we had that bad luck of conceding the last-second basket. The city lives for basketball and sports in general. They have hockey, baseball, football, they follow everything, everything is organized until the very end and everybody knows who and what you are. Wherever you appear, everybody recognizes you because they follow all of it. A very nice experience.”
There’s more news from Philadelphia:
- The Sixers are in position to get another top free agent if they lose Jimmy Butler or Tobias Harris, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. If Butler leaves and they keep Harris, it would only take a small move to reach $38.15MM in cap space ( 35% of the cap), such as trading away Jonah Bolden‘s nearly $1.7MM salary or the No. 24 pick. If Butler stays and Harris goes, they can only get to $30MM in cap room by renouncing all their other free agents. They can reach a 30% max slot by finding a team willing to take Zhaire Smith and their first-rounder without sending any salary back.
- The Sixers are busy with workouts ahead of the June 20 draft. Today’s session featured Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, Delaware’s Eric Carter, Fairfield’s Jonathan Kasibabu, Buffalo’s C.J. Massinburg, Michigan’s Charles Matthews and Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tomorrow, Philadelphia will welcome Temple’s Shizz Alston Jr., Australia’s Harry Froling, Alabama’s Donta Hall, Wake Forest’s Jaylen Hoard, Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins and Belmont’s Dylan Windler (Twitter link).
- Villanova’s Phil Booth and Eric Paschall will both participate in a session on Saturday, Pompey writes in a full story.
Draft Notes: Magic, K. Johnson, Bazley, Fall, Mann
The Magic had a full day of pre-draft workouts today, bringing in two separate groups featuring six prospects apiece. As Josh Robbins of The Athletic details (via Twitter), Orlando’s first group this morning was made up of Darius Bazley (Princeton HS), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Terance Mann (Florida State), KZ Okpala (Stanford), and Miye Oni (Yale).
Later in the day, the Magic auditioned Barry Brown (Kansas State), Tacko Fall (UCF), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown), John Konchar (IPFW), and Cameron Lard (Iowa State), according to Robbins (via Twitter).
Several of the prospects who worked out today for Orlando shared additional details on their respective workout schedules, so we’ll round up some of those updates…
- Keldon Johnson, the No. 19 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, said he has worked out for the Celtics and also has sessions on tap with the Heat, Hornets, and Timberwolves, per Robbins (via Twitter).
- Potential first-round pick Darius Bazley said today that he has worked out for the Spurs and has a workout lined up with the Pistons, tweets Robbins.
- Big man Tacko Fall has workouts scheduled with the Pacers, Knicks, Lakers, Cavaliers, and Hornets, according to Robbins (via Twitter). He may add more teams to that list if his schedule allows for it.
- The Nets, Knicks, Bulls, and Cavaliers will work out FSU’s Terance Mann prior to the draft, tweets Robbins.
Trail Blazers Notes: Kanter, Aminu, Workout, Durant
Enes Kanter received a hero’s welcome Saturday as he returned to Oklahoma City for his annual youth basketball camp, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. The former Thunder center remains popular with local fans, many of whom encouraged him to return to OKC in free agency. While Kanter might be too pricey for the Thunder to consider, he can count on receiving a lot of offers after rebuilding his stock in Portland following his release by the Knicks.
The Trail Blazers were aggressive in recruiting Kanter, who also received interest from the Thunder and Lakers. Repeated calls and texts from coach Terry Stotts, GM Neil Olshey and Damian Lillard were enough to tip the scales in Portland’s favor, which became fortunate when starting center Jusuf Nurkic was lost for the season with a broken leg.
“I’m glad that Portland happened,” Kanter said. “I love Portland, I love the people there, I love the fans there. I just want to go – and Portland counts, too – somewhere I can win games. I’m going into my ninth year. I just want to go somewhere where I have a good situation, have some playing time and just win.”
There’s more Trail Blazers news to pass along:
- Al-Farouq Aminu‘s agent is open to negotiating an extension with Portland before his client hits free agency, but the Blazers may not be able to afford a substantial raise, relays Jason Quick of The Athletic. “He wants to be there,” Raymond Brothers said. “He’s still committed to the Blazers. He likes the city, the team, the coach, he likes Neil. He’s happy. He just wants to win.” Any extension would be limited to $48MM over four years. Aminu made $6.96MM this season.
- The Trail Blazers brought in six players Friday for their first pre-draft workout, notes Casey Holdahl of NBA.com. The session featured Wake Forest’s Jaylen Hoard, Memphis’ Jeremiah Martin, Arizona State’s Luguentz Dort, Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie, St. John’s Shamorie Ponds and Shaw University’s Amir Hinton. Portland enters the draft with just one pick, its first-rounder at No. 25.
- Lillard is asking an Oakland-based rapper to help convince Kevin Durant to come to Portland, relays Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Mistah F.A.B. joined Lillard on Instagram Live following Game 1 of the NBA Finals and asked him which free agent the Blazers should pursue. “Just go in there and tell KD, say ‘KD, just go to Portland, bruh. I’m a Portland fan,'” Lillard responded. “You a Portland fan now, so just be like, ‘Bruh they left Oakland anyways, so just go to Portland.'”
Draft Notes: Vick, Caroline, Kings
The NBA Draft is less than one month away. As we await the big night, let’s take a look at some workout notes:
- Lagerald Vick (Kansas) will work out for the Knicks on Monday, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Vick will also work out with the Thunder and Bulls in the coming days.
- Jordan Caroline (Nevada) will work out for the Suns, Nuggets, and Hornets, per ESPN’s Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). Caroline made All-Team Mountain West during both his junior and senior seasons.
- Justin Simon (St. Johns) has worked out for the Celtics, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link). Simon is not ranked in ESPN’s Top 100.
- The Kings worked out six prospects on Thursday, according to the team’s website. Alex Robinson (TCU), Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra), Justin James (Wyoming), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Dean Wade (Kansas State), and Bennie Boatwright (USC).
- The Kings will also work out six more prospects on Friday, per their website. Ky Bowman (Boston College), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), Brandon Randolph (Arizona), Marial Shayok (Iowa State), Donta Hall (Alabama), and Josh Sharma (Stanford) are all expected to be in attendance.
Full List Of 2019 NBA Draft Combine Participants
The NBA has revealed its list of 66 players who have been invited to next week’s draft combine in Chicago and who are expected to attend. The combine will take place from May 15-19.
While a small handful of top prospects often skip the event, that won’t be the case this year — Zion Williamson and Ja Morant are on the league’s list of 66 names, along with R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter, and many more. Of course, those top prospects may not participate fully in all of the workouts and scrimmages at the combine.
A few more names figure to be added to this list, as a select number of the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp earlier in the week are expected to receive invites to the combine.
Here’s the full list of 66 names announced by the NBA today, in alphabetical order:
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G, Virginia Tech (sophomore)
- R.J. Barrett, G/F, Duke (freshman)
- Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky (freshman)
- Darius Bazley, F, Princeton HS (OH) (N/A)
- Bol Bol, C, Oregon (freshman)
- Jordan Bone, G, Tennessee (junior)
- Brian Bowen, F, USA (born 1998)
- Ky Bowman, G, Boston College (junior)
- Ignas Brazdeikis, F, Michigan (freshman)
- Moses Brown, C, UCLA (freshman)
- Brandon Clarke, F, Gonzaga (junior)
- Nicolas Claxton, F, Georgia (sophomore)
- Jarrett Culver, G/F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Luguentz Dort, G, Arizona State (freshman)
- Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Carsen Edwards, G, Purdue (junior)
- Bruno Fernando, F, Maryland (sophomore)
- Daniel Gafford, F/C, Arkansas (sophomore)
- Darius Garland, G, Vanderbilt (freshman)
- Quentin Grimes, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Kyle Guy, G, Virginia (junior)
- Jaylen Hands, G, UCLA (sophomore)
- Jaxson Hayes, F/C, Texas (freshman)
- Tyler Herro, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- Jaylen Hoard, F, Wake Forest (freshman)
- Talen Horton-Tucker, G, Iowa State (freshman)
- De’Andre Hunter, F, Virginia (sophomore)
- Ty Jerome, G, Virginia (junior)
- Cameron Johnson, G, UNC (senior)
- Keldon Johnson, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- Mfiondu Kabengele, C, Florida State (sophomore)
- Louis King, F, Oregon (freshman)
- Romeo Langford, G, Indiana (freshman)
- Dedric Lawson, F, Kansas (junior)
- Jalen Lecque, G, Brewster Academy (NH) (N/A)
- Nassir Little, F, UNC (freshman)
- Charles Matthews, G, Michigan (junior)
- Jalen McDaniels, F, San Diego State (sophomore)
- Ja Morant, G, Murray State (sophomore)
- Zach Norvell Jr., G, Gonzaga (sophomore)
- Jaylen Nowell, G, Washington (sophomore)
- Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (sophomore)
- Chuma Okeke, F, Auburn (sophomore)
- Update: Okeke has elected to skip the combine.
- KZ Okpala, F, Stanford (sophomore)
- Miye Oni, G/F, Yale (junior)
- Eric Paschall, F, Villanova (senior)
- Shamorie Ponds, G, St. John’s (junior)
- Jordan Poole, G, Michigan (sophomore)
- Jontay Porter, F, Missouri (sophomore)
- Kevin Porter Jr, G, USC (freshman)
- Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (freshman)
- Cam Reddish, F, Duke (freshman)
- Naz Reid, C, LSU (freshman)
- Isaiah Roby, F, Nebraska (junior)
- Luka Samanic, F, Croatia (born 2000)
- Admiral Schofield, G, Tennessee (senior)
- Simisola Shittu, F, Vanderbilt (freshman)
- Killian Tillie, F, Gonzaga (junior)
- PJ Washington, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Tremont Waters, G, LSU (sophomore)
- Quinndary Weatherspoon, G, Missippi State (senior)
- Coby White, G, UNC (freshman)
- Kris Wilkes, G, UCLA (sophomore)
- Grant Williams, F, Tennessee (junior)
- Zion Williamson, F, Duke (freshman)
- Dylan Windler, G, Belmont (senior)
Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga) and Matisse Thybulle (Washington) are among the potential first-round picks who aren’t on the NBA’s list of combine participants, as noted by Jeremy Woo of SI.com and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links).