2019 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results
The NBA G League conducted its 2019 expansion draft on Wednesday, allowing the latest iteration of the Erie BayHawks to acquire the rights to up to 14 players.
Erie has been a G League mainstay in recent years. However, after serving as the affiliate for the Atlanta Hawks last season, the BayHawks were relocated to College Park and renamed the Skyhawks. As such, the Erie BayHawks team that participated in today’s expansion draft is technically a new G League franchise — it’ll be the affiliate for the Pelicans in 2019/20.
[RELATED: NBA G League Affiliations For 2019/20 Season]
As Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days recently outlined, each of the G League’s other 27 teams were permitted to protect the rights for up to 12 players. Although the BayHawks could select up to 14 players in the expansion draft, they weren’t permitted to acquire more than two players from any one team.
Here are the 14 players whose rights were acquired by New Orleans’ G League affiliate, with each player’s previous NBAGL team noted in parentheses:
- Taylor Braun (South Bay Lakers)
- Trey Burke (Westchester Knicks)
- Quinton Chievous (Capital City Go-Go)
- Xavier Gibson (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Isaac Hamilton (Canton Charge)
- Isaiah Hartenstein (Grande Valley Vipers)
- Derrick Jones Jr. (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Scottie Lindsey (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Erik McCree (Lakeland Magic)
- Codi Miller-McIntyre (College Park Skyhawks)
- Xavier Silas (Iowa Wolves)
- Matt Williams Jr. (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Kyle Wiltjer (Canton Charge)
- Michael Young (Northern Arizona Suns)
Not all of the players whose rights the BayHawks acquired today will actually suit up for the team. In fact, many won’t.
Multiple players selected by Erie – Burke, Hartenstein, and Jones – are currently under contract with NBA teams and won’t be available to the BayHawks as long as they remain on those NBA deals. Other players will spend the 2019/20 season playing overseas.
However, if any of the players selected in today’s expansion draft sign contracts to play in the G League in ’19/20, the BayHawks will have their rights. Erie will hold each of these 14 players’ NBAGL rights for the next two seasons.
Wizards Waive Michael Young
The Wizards have waived one of their players on a two-way contract, announcing today in a press release that rookie forward Michael Young has been released. The move opens up one of Washington’s two-way contract slots, with forward Devin Robinson still holding the other.
Young, 23, was one of the first players to sign a two-way contract back in July. The Wizards don’t have a G League affiliate of their own, so the former Pitt standout spent time with the Sixers’ and Suns’ affiliates, averaging 12.4 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 23 total G League contests.
According to contract data from Basketball Insiders, Young’s two-way contract was for two years, with $50K guaranteed in each season. The Wizards will remain on the hook for that full amount, though salaries for two-way players don’t count against a team’s cap.
January 15 is the deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts for 2017/18, so the Wizards will have nearly two weeks to fill the opening created by waiving Young.
Wizards Sign Mike Young To Two-Way Contract
The Wizards have signed Michael Young to a two-way contract, according to a team announcement. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Washington also announced that Young will play for the organization’s Summer League team in Las Vegas.
Young played at the University of Pittsburgh and was named All-ACC Third Team in each of this final two seasons at the school. The Pennsylvania native scored 19.6 points per game while pulling down 6.8 rebounds during his senior season with the Panthers.
Each team is allowed to sign two players to a two-way contract, which is a feature of the new CBA. Players signed to these deals will spend most of the 2017/18 campaign playing in the NBA G-League since they cannot spend more than 45 days with their NBA team, as our glossary page on two-way contracts shows.
The Wizards do not have a G-League team of their own, so Young will have to play for another club via the league’s flex assignment rule. Candace Buckner of The Washington Post notes that the power forward will likely spend most of his time with the Delaware 87ers.
Atlantic Notes: Pre-Draft Workouts, 76ers, Nets
Although likely no other pre-draft workout will top the excitement of Markelle Fultz‘s with the 76ers on Saturday, followed by media availability, and the subsequent finalizing of the blockbuster trade that would bring Fultz to Philly, the Sixers held another session on Tuesday, Keith Pompey of Philly.com reports. Participants included Kris Jenkins (Villanova), Michael Young (Pittsburgh), Kadeem Allen (Arizona), Michael Ojo (Florida State), and Youssoupha Fall (France).
Here are more pre-draft workout updates from the Atlantic division:
- On Sunday, the Nets had a group workout, featuring Terrance Ferguson (Australia), Semi Ojeleye (SMU), Chance Comanche (Arizona), and JaCorey Williams (Middle Tennessee State), tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
- Another draft-eligible player who has worked out for the Nets recently is Harry Giles, who worked out for Brooklyn last week, NetsDaily.com tweeted.
Eastern Draft Notes: Knicks, Smith, Hornets, Bulls
Former North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith Jr. is in town to work out for the Knicks, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets that the workout will take place tomorrow.
Smith, who was previously said to have a tentative session lined up with New York, has frequently been mentioned as a potential target for the club at No. 8. By that point, top point guards like Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, and De’Aaron Fox will almost certainly be off the board, but Smith may still be available, and the Knicks are in the market for a point guard of the future.
Here are a few more draft-related notes from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Hornets, who have the No. 11 overall pick, are another team that may be seeking a point guard in this year’s lottery, prompting Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer to examine the potential fit for French prospect Frank Ntilikina. New York (No. 8) and Dallas (No. 9) are viewed as possible landing spots for Ntilikina, but if he’s there when Charlotte picks, the Hornets – who have had trouble securing a reliable backup for Kemba Walker – may have to seriously consider him.
- Donovan Mitchell (Louisville), Kobi Simmons (Arizona), and Milton Doyle (Loyola) were among the prospects the Bulls brought in to participate in a group workout on Monday, per Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Mitchell could be a target for Chicago at No. 16 if he’s still on the board.
- The Wizards conducted a pre-draft workout on Monday and will hold another one today, according to a pair of announcements from the club. The team worked out Frank Mason III (Kansas), Michael Young (Pittsburgh), Tyler Dorsey (Oregon), Isaac Humphries (Kentucky), Ben Moore (SMU), and Moses Kingsley (Arkansas) on Monday. Tuesday’s participants will be Marcus Keene (Central Michigan), Justin Robinson (Monmouth), Przemek Karnowski (Gonzaga), Kris Jenkins (Villanova), Landen Lucas (Kansas), and Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Florida State).
Central Notes: Pistons, Valentine, Bucks, Pacers
Having remained at No. 12 after Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery, the Pistons are scouting a wide range of prospects and won’t necessarily target a player at a position of need next month, per GM Jeff Bower (link via Rod Beard of The Detroit News). As Bower explained, a player’s value and long-term potential may make him the best pick for Detroit, even if he doesn’t immediately fit into the team’s rotation.
Our list of draft picks by team shows that the Pistons’ 12th overall selection is currently their only pick in this year’s draft. That could make it difficult for the club to bring in second-round prospects for workouts, but Bower remains hopeful that those players will be willing to audition for the team, recognizing that they could be undrafted free agents, or that the Pistons could acquire a second-round pick.
“Some guys aren’t going to want to come in and work out if they don’t see a vehicle at the end of it,” said the Pistons’ GM. “The reality of it is we are looking for guys where we don’t have a second-round pick now — we could (via a trade) — but those possibilities change, so you want to try to be prepared. … Our relationships with agents are strong. They like our program and like their guys to have the exposure to us.”
Here’s more from around the Central division:
- After being nagged by ankle issues during his rookie season, Bulls guard Denzel Valentine has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle, a person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press (link via USA Today). Valentine’s recovery timetable isn’t expected to stretch out too long — the AP report suggests he’s expected to play for Chicago in Summer League action in July.
- UCLA’s T.J. Leaf is headlining the Bucks‘ workouts today, but the team is looking at several prospects, per a press release. Landen Lucas (Kansas), Devin Robinson (Florida), Wesley Iwundu (Kansas State), Jacob Wiley (Eastern Washington), Jabari Bird (California), Derrick White (Colorado), and Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan) are also in attendance.
- The Pacers also have another group of prospects in for workouts today. According to a team release (and Twitter link), Indiana is taking a closer look at Dillon Brooks (Oregon), Ben Moore (SMU), Semi Ojeleye (SMU), Sindarius Thornwell (South Carolina), Michael Young (Pittsburgh), and Evan Bradds (Belmont).
- Paul George‘s future is the main topic of conversation looming over the Pacers‘ offseason, but the team has other issues to address, including re-signing Jeff Teague, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical details in his Pacers offseason preview. We looked earlier this month at five key questions facing Indiana this summer.