Nuggets Cut Kellan Grady
The Nuggets have waived camp invitee Kellan Grady, according to the NBA.com transaction log.
Grady, who went undrafted out of Kentucky this June, spent his first four college seasons at Davidson and was the team’s primary offensive weapon across those four years, averaging 17.4 PPG with a .366 3PT% in 115 games. He transferred to the Wildcats for his “super-senior” year in 2021/22 and averaged 11.4 PPG with a .415 3PT% in 34 games (32.9 MPG) last season.
The Nuggets signed Grady to an Exhibit 10 contract in July and he suited up for Denver’s Summer League team in Las Vegas.
Now that he has been waived, Grady will likely report to the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s G League affiliate. The terms of his agreement with the team call for him to receive a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with Grand Rapids.
The Nuggets now have 19 players under contract — 15 on guaranteed deals, a pair on two-way contracts, and Chasson Randle and Grant Golden on Exhibit 10 pacts.
Kellan Grady Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Nuggets
JULY 9: Grady has officially signed his Exhibit 10 contract with Denver, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
JUNE 27: Undrafted Kentucky guard Kellan Grady is signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Nuggets, according to Kyle Tucker of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Grady spent his first four college seasons at Davidson and was the team’s primary offensive weapon across those four years, averaging 17.4 PPG with a .366 3PT% in 115 games. He transferred to Kentucky for his “super-senior” year in 2021/22 and averaged 11.4 PPG with a .415 3PT% in his 34 games (32.9 MPG) as a Wildcat.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract that makes the player eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived before the regular season begins and then joins his team’s G League affiliate. It can also be converted into a two-way deal before the season.
The Nuggets have now reportedly reached Exhibit 10 agreements with two undrafted free agents: Grady and Adonis Arms. Those signings can become official after the NBA’s new league year begins on Friday.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Wizards
The Hornets hosted a pre-draft workout with six prospects on Monday, the team tweets. That group included Keon Ellis (Alabama), Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite), Kellan Grady (Kentucky), Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers), Brandon Horvath (Utah State) and Žiga Samar (Fuenlabrada/Spain).
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks are bringing in six prospects on Tuesday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. That group includes Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite), Jules Bernard (UCLA), Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse), Savion Flagg (Sam Houston State), Foster Jr., and Alondes Williams (Wake Forest).
- If the Hawks waive Danilo Gallinari, they would have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use in free agency, as well as $4.1MM biannual exception. In a story for The Athetic, Kirschner takes a look at potential free agent targets for Atlanta, including Kyle Anderson, Bruce Brown and Gary Harris.
- Draft prospects Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall) and Collin Gillespie (Villanova) visited the Magic on Monday, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.
- The Wizards will host six prospects on Tuesday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. That group includes Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Florida), Jaden Hardy (Ignite), Anthony Polite (Florida State), Taz Sherman (West Virginia), Collin Welp (UC Irvine) and Isaiah Whaley (UConn).
Jazz Notes: Far From Contending, Mini-Camp, Prospect Workouts
All four of the 2021/22 Conference Finalists — the Warriors, Mavericks, Celtics and Heat — proved how far the Jazz are from contending for a championship, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News opines.
Todd notes that head coach Quin Snyder, whose status remains uncertain for next season, said Utah was very close to competing at the highest level at his end-of-season press conference.
“This year, I thought that our record didn’t necessarily reflect what we could do in the playoffs. I felt like we were this close to having a spark and kicking it in and finding that unity, that extra secret sauce, and taking off. And obviously that didn’t happen,” Snyder said, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Todd disagrees. Even assuming the Jazz had advanced past Dallas in the first round (they lost in six games), Todd is doubtful the Jazz would have been able to take the Suns to seven games in the second round, as Dallas was able to do.
She also doesn’t think the Jazz would have fared any better than the Mavs did against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, if they’d gotten past Phoenix.
Ultimately, the Todd believes the flawed roster was too much to overcome, and Utah’s front office will have a tough job improving it this summer.
Here’s more from Utah:
- As our JD Shaw previously reported, the Jazz held a free agent mini-camp on Tuesday featuring a couple of G League standouts. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune provides (via Twitter) the full list of 18 participants, many of whom have NBA experience: Tyler Johnson, Wes Iwundu, Patrick McCaw, Allen Crabbe, Alize Johnson, Chris Silva, Louis King, T.J. Leaf, Deividas Sirvydis, Aaron Henry, Carlik Jones, Derrick Alston, Isaiah Miller, Jared Wilson-Frame, Kevon Harris, and Tyrique Jones.
- The Jazz don’t control a pick in the upcoming draft at the moment, but they’re still working out 12 prospects on Thursday, according to Larsen (Twitter links). The first group features Texas Tech’s Adonis Arms, Mississippi State’s Iverson Molinar, St. John’s swingman Julian Champagnie, Kentucky’s Kellan Grady, Arkansas’ Stanley Umude, and Loyola Chicago’s Lucas Williamson. The second group will be Michigan’s Eli Brooks, Illinois’ Austin Hutcherson, Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty of Miami (FL), Bowling Green’s Daeqwon Plowden, and Georgia Tech’s Jordan Usher. Champagnie and Molinar are Nos. 75 and No. 83 on ESPN’s big board, respectively.
- After working out for the Wizards earlier today, Illinois center Kofi Cockburn told reporters that he has a workout lined up with the Jazz as well (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic). He’s No. 85 on ESPN’s board.
Hawks Notes: Simmons, Gobert, Hunter, Workouts
The Hawks will be in the mix to acquire a second star if one becomes available this offseason, Chris Kirschner writes in a mailbag for The Athletic. While Atlanta won’t have the cap flexibility to pursue top free agents, Kirschner expects the team to do its homework on a handful of possible trade candidates.
Several people within the Hawks’ organization wanted to acquire Ben Simmons prior to this year’s trade deadline, according to Kirschner, who suggests Simmons could be a player worth monitoring this summer. Given the way the 25-year-old’s season played out and the fact that he’ll be returning from back surgery, his price would presumably be even lower than it was at the deadline. However, there’s no indication at this point that the Nets are looking to move on from the three-time All-Star.
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- According to Kirschner, the Hawks will likely keep an eye on Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in case the Jazz decide to make major roster changes in the coming months. Kirschner, who views Gobert as a likelier target for Atlanta than Mitchell, has heard that Utah is fond of forward De’Andre Hunter.
- The Hawks will hold a pre-draft workout on Wednesday for the following six players, tweets Kirschner: Anthony Duruji (Florida), Tari Eason (LSU), Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Kellan Grady (Kentucky), Kameron McGusty (Miami), and Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga). Eason is the No. 16 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, while the others are further down the board.
- Pointing to the comments recently made by team owner Tony Ressler, Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com explains why the Hawks look like a “must-watch team” this offseason.
44 Prospects Announced For 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp
The NBA G League has formally announced its field of 44 draft prospects for the 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp.
The event, which will take place May 16 and 17 in Chicago, “gives draft prospects an opportunity to display their skills in front of NBA and NBA G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives over the course of the camp by playing in five-on-five games and participating in strength and agility drills.”
The top performers from the camp will be invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will take place from May 18-22 in Chicago. Some NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Clippers wing Terance Mann, and Heat wing Max Strus.
Here’s the list of 44 draft-eligible attendees:
- Max Abmas (Oral Roberts)
- James Akinjo (Baylor)
- Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
- Jules Bernard (UCLA)
- Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse)
- Jamaree Bouyea (San Francisco)
- Eli Brooks (Michigan)
- Keion Brooks Jr. (Kentucky)
- Tevin Brown (Murray State)
- Gabe Brown (Michigan State)
- Tyler Burton (Richmond)
- Darius Days (LSU)
- Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech)
- Allen Flanigan (Auburn)
- Kyle Foster (Howard)
- Javon Freeman-Liberty (DePaul)
- Kellan Grady (Kentucky)
- AJ Green (Northern Iowa)
- Brison Gresham (Texas Southern)
- Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
- Jordan Hall (St. Joseph’s)
- Quenton Jackson (Texas A&M)
- Hyunjung Lee (Davidson)
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech)
- Brady Manek (North Carolina)
- Tyrese Martin (Connecticut)
- David McCormack (Kansas)
- Kevin McCullar (Texas Tech)
- Kameron McGusty (Miami FL)
- Pete Nance (Northwestern)
- JD Notae (Arkansas)
- Shareef O’Neal (LSU)
- MJ Randolph (Florida A&M)
- Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall)
- Jermaine Samuels (Villanova)
- Marcus Sasser (Houston)
- Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State)
- Luke Travers (Perth Wildcats)
- Ryan Turell (Yeshiva University)
- Fabian White Jr. (Houston)
- Bryson Williams (Texas Tech)
- Vince Williams Jr. (VCU)
- Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
- Kok Yat (Overtime Elite)
The list of attendees features 13 players on ESPN’s big board, notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (via Twitter), so some players have a chance to be drafted.
The top-ranked prospect at the camp is Scheierman (No. 69), who averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals on .508/.469/.802 shooting this season for South Dakota State (35 games, 33.3 minutes per contest).
Draft Decisions: Wigginton, Cumberland, Lamb, More
The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants is this Wednesday, May 29. That means that a number of college underclassmen who tested the draft waters this spring are now faced with a decision on whether to keep their names in the draft pool or pull out and head back to school for at least one more year.
Here’s a round-up of some of the latest reported early entrant decisions:
- Iowa State sophomore guard Lindell Wigginton has decided to keep his name in the 2019 draft, he announced on Sunday (via Twitter). Wigginton doesn’t show up in ESPN’s top-100 list, so he’s far from a lock to be drafted.
- The Bearcats got some good news today, as guard Jarron Cumberland will return to Cincinnati for his senior season, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
- A spokesman tells Goodman (Twitter link) that Vermont forward Anthony Lamb will also head back to school for his senior year.
- Two Davidson early entrants, sophomore guard Kellan Grady and junior guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson, are pulling out of draft and going back to school, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports relays (via Twitter).
- Notre Dame guard TJ Gibbs will be heading back to school for his senior year, tweets Rothstein.
- Missouri State junior forward Tulio Da Silva is withdrawing from the 2019 draft and retaining his college eligibility, a source tells Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Portland State’s Holland Woods, a sophomore guard, is withdrawing from the 2019 NBA draft, according to Rothstein (via Twitter).
Draft Updates: K. Johnson, Silva, Lawson, Toppin, More
Like Kentucky teammates PJ Washington and Tyler Herro, freshman guard Keldon Johnson has decided that he’ll keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool rather than leaving the door open to return to the Wildcats, the school announced in a press release.
Johnson’s decision to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility doesn’t come as a real surprise. Like Washington and Herro, Johnson is projected to be a first-round pick, coming in as the No. 20 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.
Speaking of that big board, another prospect in that top 100 has declared for the 2019 NBA draft, according to Givony, who reports that Brazilian wing Marcos Lousada Silva has submitted the necessary paperwork.
Silva, the 61st overall prospect on ESPN’s board, impressed scouts and executives at the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, and has had a productive season in the Brazilian league. NBA scouts have taken notice of the youngster’s high energy level and defensive versatility, Givony adds.
The following prospects are also testing the 2019 NBA draft waters as early entrants, joining the ever-growing list:
- Vrenz Bleijenbergh, F, Belgium (born 2000) (link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando)
- Kellan Grady, G, Davidson (sophomore) (link via David Scott of The Charlotte Observer)
- A.J. Lawson, G, South Carolina (freshman) (Twitter link via Lawson)
- Jeremiah Tilmon, F, Missouri (junior) (press release via school)
- Obi Toppin, F, Dayton (freshman) (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of Sports Illustrated)