NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/4/17
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
4:25pm:
- The Lakers have re-assigned rookie big man Ivica Zubac to the D-League (Twitter link). Zubac will be in uniform for the L.A. D-Fenders tomorrow night for the team’s game against Iowa.
- The Pistons officially announced in a press release this afternoon that they’ve sent Henry Ellenson to the Grand Rapids Drive. As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets, fellow rookie Michael Gbinije likely would’ve joined him, but he’s battling a forearm injury.
- Forward Troy Williams has been recalled by the Grizzlies from his assignment with the Iowa Energy, per a team release. Williams averaged 24.3 PPG in three games during his D-League stint, including 32 in 28 minutes on December 27.
2:28pm:
- Richaun Holmes, who has completed and passed all the elements of the NBA’s concussion protocol, has been assigned to the D-League by the Sixers, the team announced today in a press release. While some NBADL rehab assignments don’t include game action, the Sixers suggest that Holmes is expected to suit up tonight for the Delaware 87ers.
12:55pm:
- A pair of Nuggets rookies, Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez, have been assigned to the D-League, according to a press release. Despite having a fairly young roster, Denver hasn’t used the D-League much this season, since the team doesn’t have its own affiliate. Beasley and Hernangomez will join the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s NBADL squad.
- The Raptors have sent Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet back to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). The duo has bounced back and forth between the NBA and NBADL all season — it’s the 13th D-League assignment for Caboclo and the ninth for VanVleet.
- Maurice Ndour is headed to the D-League, having been assigned to Westchester today by the Knicks (Twitter link). New York’s D-League affiliate is in action tonight against Grand Rapids, and Ndour is expected to suit up for the game.
- The Suns have assigned rookie forward Derrick Jones to the D-League, the team announced today (Twitter link). It’s the fourth NBADL assignment of the season for Jones, who has averaged 14.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 14 games for Northern Arizona.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/17/16
Here are the D-League assignments and recalls for Saturday:
10:01pm:
- The Bulls recalled Paul Zipser from Windy City after sending him down earlier in the day, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
- The Pistons recalled forward Henry Ellenson and guard Michael Gbinije from their Grand Rapids affiliate, the team announced in an email. Both have appeared in six games for Detroit this season with limited playing time.
- The Wizards recalled guard Sheldon McClellan from the Delaware 87ers, tweets J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. McClellan averaged 10.7 points in six games with the D-League team.
3:17pm:
- The Hawks have recalled Mike Scott from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Scott helped lead the Long Island Nets to a pair of victories during his assignment this week, contributing 20.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in a pair of starts for the club.
- After being assigned to Santa Cruz for Friday night’s game, Warriors center Damian Jones has been recalled to the NBA, according to an official announcement (Twitter link). Jones nearly posted a double-double for Golden State’s D-League affiliate last night, putting up 17 points, nine boards, and two blocks.
12:09pm:
- The Nuggets have recalled shooting guard Malik Beasley from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The 20-year-old was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s D-League affiliate, on December 9 and averaged 18.5 points per game in his two contests with the team.
- The Bulls have assigned forward Paul Zipser to the D-League, according to an announcement from the club. Zipser has seen action in just seven NBA games this season, most recently playing nine minutes Friday night.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/9/16
Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
10:30pm:
- The Nuggets assigned guard Malik Beasley to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the NBA D-League, the team announced via press release. The rookie has appeared in in nine games this season for Denver, averaging 2.9 points in 6.0 minutes per outing.
- The Hawks confirmed via press release that Scott was recalled from Delaware. The forward was there on a rehab assignment as he continues to make his way back from a knee injury.
1:26pm:
- The Nets have assigned Chris McCullough to their D-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, according to a team press release. McCullough is averaging 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for Long Island this season.
- The Bulls have assigned Jerian Grant, R.J. Hunter and Paul Zipser to the Windy City Bulls, according to a team press release.
- The Hawks have recalled Mike Scott from the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Atlanta doesn’t have its own affiliate, so Scott played his two games for the Delaware 87ers, the affiliate of the Sixers.
- The Jazz have assigned Joel Bolomboy to their D-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website. This will be Bolomboy’s third assignment of the season.
- The Lakers have recalled Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles D-Fenders, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).
Nuggets Ink Malik Beasley
AUGUST 9th: The signing is official, the team announced.
JULY 12th: The Nuggets and No. 19 overall pick Malik Beasley have agreed to a deal, Malika Andrews of The Denver Post reports. “Thankful to be a part of that less than 1 percent,” Beasley posted on his official Twitter account. “This is only the beginning too. GrindTime!!”
Beasley will earn the rookie scale, which is approximately $2.77MM over his first two seasons and Denver will hold team options on the third and fourth years, Andrews notes. Jamal Murray, the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to sign his rookie-scale contract soon, the scribe adds.
The 19-year-old appeared in 34 games for Florida State this past season, averaging 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.8 minutes per night. His shooting line on the year was .471/.387/.812.
Draft Rumors — Morning: Maker, Young, Hawes
The 2016 NBA Draft is mere hours away and trade chatter is likely to ramp up significantly as the event nears. Here’s the latest rumors and notes from around the league:
- A number of teams have ruled out selecting Thon Maker in the first round over concerns that his age has been misrepresented, Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers tweets. Multiple league sources tell Fischer they believe Maker to be 21-23 years of age, while he is officially listed as being just 19-years-old.
- The Hornets are offering the No. 22 overall pick as a sweetener if teams will take the contracts of Spencer Hawes or Jeremy Lamb off their hands via trade, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays (via Twitter). Charlotte wants to clear cap room to aid it in pursuing free agents this offseason, Wojnarowski adds.
- Several Western Conference teams have been aggressively pursuing Nets forward Thaddeus Young, who Brooklyn is looking to deal to the highest bidder in an effort to land a first round pick, Wojnarowski tweets.
- Teams picking after the Grizzlies, who own the No. 17 overall pick, believe Memphis is split between selecting Malachi Richardson and Malik Beasley, Fischer tweets.
- The Hawks have contacted teams drafting in the late teens of the first round offering to trade back from No. 12 overall in exchange for an established rotation player, Fischer relays (on Twitter).
- The Clippers have made calls to teams owning first-rounders in the mid to late teens and are offering up the No. 25 and No. 33 overall picks in return, Fischer tweets.
Central Rumors: Cavaliers, Love, Bucks, Pistons
After winning a championship, the Cavaliers may not be as inclined to retool their roster as they otherwise might have been, but the team is still expected to listen to any trade inquiries it receives on Kevin Love, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Appearing on Zach Lowe’s podcast (hat tip to RealGM.com), Windhorst identified the Celtics as the ideal trade partner for Love, suggesting that the Cavaliers “really like” Avery Bradley and could also ask for Marcus Smart and a draft pick (not the No. 3) if Boston shows interest in making a deal.
While we wait to see if those hypothetical trade talks come to fruition, let’s round up a few more items from out of the Central division…
- While plenty of reports have suggested Thursday could be a busy trade night around the NBA, Bucks general manager John Hammond isn’t expecting much movement at the top of the board, telling reporters that “people feel good about this draft” (Twitter link).
- Hammond spoke a little more about the Bucks‘ draft and trade options, telling reporters that Milwaukee is targeting three or four players with the No. 10 pick, and hasn’t ruled out a big man at that spot (Twitter links via Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Hammond was also asked about rumors that the Celtics may be targeting Khris Middleton, and while he declined to comment on that report, he noted that many Bucks players have “great value around the league” (Twitter links via Gardner).
- Wes Washpun (Northern Iowa), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), Retin Obasohan (Alabama), Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech), Cinmeon Bowers (Auburn), and Gracin Bakumanya (Democratic Republic of Congo) participated in a workout for the Bucks today, the team announced in a press release.
- The Pistons are hosting Florida State’s Malik Beasley for a workout today, according to David Mayo of MLive.com (Twitter link). Beasley is ranked 17th on Chad Ford’s ESPN big board and 23rd at DraftExpress.com, so he’s a candidate to be on the board when Detroit picks 18th overall.
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News doesn’t mention Beasley in his list of five potential targets for the Pistons at No. 18, instead naming Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), and Ivica Zubac (Croatia), among others.
Atlantic Rumors: Ingram, Sixers, Knicks, Raptors
The 76ers, according to multiple reports, are strongly leaning toward using the No. 1 pick in this year’s on Ben Simmons. However, that doesn’t mean the club isn’t doing its due diligence on other options. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter), former Duke forward Brandon Ingram is scheduled to meet with and work out for the Sixers on Monday. Barring a significant turn of events, Philadelphia probably isn’t using its first overall pick on Ingram, but with the club rumored to be exploring trade possibilities that could involve another lottery pick, it makes sense for the team to do its homework.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:
- The Sixers also have a pair of first-round picks in the mid-20s, and Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the team could be eyeing former FSU guard Malik Beasley with one of those selections. According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links), Beasley, who is recovering from stress fracture surgery, has been cleared to play but is believed to have shut down workouts due to a promise. Kennedy hints that such a promise may have come from a team in the middle of the first round.
- Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek was asked about Arron Afflalo‘s player option decision during an appearance on WFAN, and while Hornacek said the team hasn’t been informed yet of Afflalo’s decision, he expects the veteran guard to opt out “to see what’s out there” (link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com).
- Asked during the same interview about the chances of the Knicks signing a max player in free agency, Hornacek said that’s “absolutely” in play (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv).
- Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri is in the midst of a European scouting trip, making stops in Serbia, Istanbul, and Italy to check out draft prospects, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Raptors scouting director Dan Tolzman tells Smith that the trip will also provide the team with an opportunity to start thinking big picture about how the 2017 draft will compare to 2016, and which year’s picks will be more valuable. Toronto has two first-rounders this year, and could have two more in ’17.
Draft Notes: Celtics, Beasley, Papagiannis, Hawks
It’s a busy day for Celtics pre-draft workouts, as the team is working out a six-player group and taking a closer look at two more prospects in individual workouts. Those solo workouts belong to Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (Twitter link), and it sounds like it was a good showing for Murray — he hit a record 79 of 100 three-pointers during his session, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. In our community mock draft, Hoops Rumors readers have Murray coming off the board seventh overall and Sabonis being picked 13th..
As for Boston’s larger workout group, in addition to Farad Cobb and Cheick Diallo, whose participation had previously been reported, the Celtics are also working out Terry Allen (Richmond), Zach Auguste (Notre Dame), Adam Pechacek (Czech Republic), and Adam Smith (Georgia Tech), according to Forsberg.
Let’s round up a few more draft updates from around the league…
- Because former Florida State shooting guard Malik Beasley is coming off stress fracture surgery on his right leg, he won’t be able to work out for teams prior to the draft, but can meet and interview with them, according to ESPN.com’s Chad Ford (Twitter link). A report last week indicated that Beasley would be paying a visit to the Bulls today.
- Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis, who worked out for Phoenix on Tuesday, has upcoming workouts with the Celtics, Bulls, and Pistons, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The 7’2″ center currently ranks 50th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress.com.
- Former Wichita State guard Ron Baker is schedule to have a pre-draft workout with the Hawks this Friday, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
- Oregon’s Elgin Cook, the 77th-ranked prospect on DraftExpress.com, recently workout for the Raptors and will audition next for the Nets, who are hoping to trade for a pick, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Central Notes: Bucks, Lue, Bulls, Pistons
It’s a busy Wednesday for the Bucks, who are hosting seven prospects for workouts in Milwaukee, according to the team’s website. Utah big man Jakob Poeltl is getting a close look from the team in an individual workout, while the other six prospects are participating in a group workout. Those players are Jameel McKay (Iowa State), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Wayne Selden (Kansas), Angel Rodriguez (Miami), Andrew Andrews (Washington), and Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova).
Here’s more from out of the Central division, including a couple more pre-draft workout updates:
- In an interesting piece at Cleveland.com, Chris Haynes details a phone call that took place between Tyronn Lue and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin earlier this year, when Lue tried to convince Griffin that David Blatt shouldn’t be fired. However, the GM had already up his mind, and by the end of the call, Lue had agreed to become Cleveland’s new head coach. Now, Lue is preparing his team for the NBA Finals, while Blatt has signed a two-year contract to coach a team in Turkey.
- Florida State guard Malik Beasley is scheduled to visit the Bulls on June 8th and 9th, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Chicago currently holds the 14th and 48th overall picks in this year’s draft.
- Within his latest mailbag, David Mayo of MLive.com explains why he doesn’t think Ryan Anderson is a realistic target for the Pistons, and looks into Andre Drummond‘s long-term ceiling.
Draft Updates: Trimble, Thompson, Diallo
Maryland guard Melo Trimble didn’t have a standout showing at the combine, and remains undecided on whether to stay in the draft. He figures to wait until the May 25th deadline to make a decision, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria – who adds the Nuggets to the list of teams to meet with Trimble at the combine, and the Spurs and Hawks to the list of teams planning to work him out – hears from an NBA scout that Trimble’s best bet is to return to school to improve his game (Twitter link).
As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Insider link) writes, Trimble acknowledges that his original plan was to enter the draft and hire an agent this year, but admits that he’s “up in the air right now.” An up-and-down sophomore year, in which he was plagued by hamstring issues, has complicated Trimble’s situation.
As we wait to see what Trimble decides, let’s round up several more draft notes and updates…
- Ohio State big man Trevor Thompson has decided to withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school, he tells Goodman (Twitter link). As we noted when he declared for the draft in March, Thompson wasn’t viewed as a top-100 prospect and would have had a long climb to become draft-worthy.
- In a piece for USA Today Sports, Derek Bodner identifies five prospects who improved their stock at the NBA combine in Chicago last week, including Kansas center Cheick Diallo. Diallo’s strong showing at the combine appears to have cemented his decision to remain in the draft — he is signing with Bill Duffy and BDA Sports Management for representation, according to Goodman (Twitter link). Zagoria has since confirmed that agreement (via Twitter).
- Seton Hall guard Isaiah Whitehead tweeted on Sunday that he plans to make a decision by Thursday on whether or not to remain in the draft. Sources are telling Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Whitehead – who has workouts with Boston and Chicago on his schedule after Thursday – figures to remain in the draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
- Villanova junior Josh Hart said after a workout with Philadelphia on Monday that he’s “still 50-50” about keeping his name in the draft, and he’s “not sure when that will change,” per Marc Narducci of Philly.com. It sounds like Hart’s decision could go down to the wire as the May 25th deadline nears.
- Florida State guard Malik Beasley, UNC power forward Brice Johnson, and Purdue big man A.J. Hammons have signed with ASM Sports for representation on and off the court, according to a report from SportsBusiness Journal.