Kevin Anderson

Draft Notes: Magic, Sochan, Hardy, Daniels

While such comments typically produce eye rolls, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman insists the Magic haven’t decided who they’ll take with the top overall pick, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Weltman says “it’s still early in the process,” even though draft night is Thursday. “Dialogue is always ongoing,” Weltman said. “But, most importantly, we get to do what we want. That’s the real benefit of having the No. 1 pick.”

Orlando is expected to draft either Jabari Smith or Chet Holmgren.

We have more draft-related info:

  • Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan attended the Wizards’ pre-draft workout on Monday but didn’t participate due to an injury, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Sochan sat out with a mild hamstring strain. Washington owns the No. 1o pick. Sochan is ranked No. 15 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
  • G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy, ranked No. 22 by ESPN, worked out for the Sixers on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. St. Joseph’s forward Jordan Hall, Delaware guard Kevin Anderson, Alabama guard Keon Ellis, Baylor wing Kendall Brown and UNLV shooting guard Bryce Hamilton joined him, Pompey adds in another tweet. Philadelphia owns the No. 23 pick.
  • G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels cancelled a visit with the Kings after receiving a green room invitation, Sean Cunningham of KTXL tweets. Daniels is ranked No. 6 by ESPN. Daniels is the second-ranked point guard behind Jaden Ivey, who revealed that he hasn’t had contact with the team holding the No. 4 pick.

D-League Links: Draft, Cavs, Dentmon, Head

The annual NBA D-League draft takes place tonight, as the league's 16 teams look to stock up their rosters for the coming season. Former first-round pick JaJuan Johnson is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick, but there are plenty of familiar names among the list of players eligible to be drafted. Let's round up a few D-League updates as the draft approaches….

  • The D-League's official site has the complete list of draft-eligible players, with its picks for the top 25 prospects in bold.
  • As we've discussed in previous posts, NBA teams are permitted to retain the rights to three camp invitees and assign them to their D-League affiliates. For instance, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets, the Cavaliers protected the rights to Micheal Eric, Kevin Jones, and Kevin Anderson. These players are ineligible to be drafted by a rival team tonight, though they could still be signed by another NBA team, if the club was willing to use one of its 15-man roster spots.
  • D-League teams have announced their camp invitees in advance of the draft, as Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside writes. Among the notable names: Justin Dentmon and Luther Head of the Austin Toros, Seth Tarver of the Idaho Stampede, Troy Hudson and Keith Benson of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, and D.J. Kennedy of the Erie BayHawks.

Cavaliers Waive Kevin Anderson, Justin Holiday

After opening camp with the maximum allowed 20 players, the Cavaliers have begun to make cuts. The Cavs formally announced today that Kevin Anderson and Justin Holiday have been released, reducing the team's roster to 18 players.

Anderson, a 23-year-old point guard, graduated from Richmond in 2011 and played overseas in France last season. Holiday, the older brother of Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday, graduated from Washington in 2011 and played in Belgium last season.

With Anderson and Holiday off the roster, the Cavs have just one player, Donald Sloan, on a non-guaranteed contract. Daniel Gibson, Micheal Eric, Kevin Jones, and Samardo Samuels are all on partially guaranteed deals.

Cavaliers Sign Kevin Anderson

FRIDAY, 2:32pm: The Cavaliers have formally announced their training camp roster, which includes Anderson, making his signing official.

THURSDAY, 3:25pm: Kevin Anderson will take part in the Cavaliers' training camp, competing to earn a roster spot, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. We had heard earlier this month that Anderson worked out for the Cavs, so the team must have liked what it saw enough to take a flier on the Richmond product.

Anderson, 23, was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as a junior before graduating from Richmond in 2011. After going undrafted, the 6'0" point guard played with SIG Strasbourg in France in 2011/12, averaging 12.5 PPG and 3.5 APG.

When Anderson's deal becomes finalized, he'll become the 19th player under contract for the Cavs, though only 13 of the team's deals are fully guaranteed. Daniel Gibson, Micheal Eric, Kevin Jones, and Samardo Samuels all have partial guarantees, while Anderson figures to join Donald Sloan as the two Cavs with no guaranteed money on their deals.

Free Agent Notes: Whiteside, Anderson, Foote

With the 2012/13 basketball season fast approaching both in North America and overseas, players still on the free agent market are looking to find jobs within the next few weeks. Here's the latest on a handful of players still in search of employment:

  • The Timberwolves were "encouraged" by Hassan Whiteside's workout yesterday, but haven't decided whether to offer him a contract, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500.
  • Kevin Anderson, who played his college ball at the University of Richmond, worked out with the Cavaliers this week, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. After going undrafted in 2011, Anderson played in France last season.
  • Jeff Foote had a brief NBA stint last season when the Hornets signed him to a 10-day contract, but he'll be heading overseas for the coming season. Lithiuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas announced today that they've signed the big man out of Cornell (translation via Sportando).
  • In a piece for Ridiculous Upside, Gino Pilato says Allen Iverson, who still wants to return to the NBA, should consider playing in the D-League.