Magic Waive Tre Scott, Myron Gardner
The Magic have placed a pair of players on waivers, cutting forwards Tre Scott and Myron Gardner, according to the NBA’s official transaction log.
Scott, who has played professionally since 2020, has spent time in Puerto Rico, France, and Canada but has primarily competed in the G League in recent years. He split last season between the Greensboro Swarm and the Osceola Magic (Orlando’s affiliate), averaging 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 22.6 minutes per game across 41 total appearances.
Gardner also played for Osecola in 2023/24, appearing in 47 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the team. He posted averages of 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 15.4 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .425/.317/.600.
Both Scott and Gardner also played for Orlando’s Summer League team in Las Vegas this July. Because the Magic hold both players’ G League returning rights, Scott and Gardner will be in line for Exhibit 10 bonuses if they reported back to Osceola and spend at least 60 days with the NBAGL club this season.
Orlando now has 18 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed deals, Trevelin Queen on a two-way pact, and Jarrett Culver and Jalen Slawson on Exhibit 10 contracts. The team figures to fill out its 21-man roster before training camp begins.
Magic Sign Myron Gardner To Exhibit 10 Contract
7:45pm: Orlando has now confirmed the signing of Garnder, via a press statement (via Twitter).
3:50pm: The Magic are signing free agent wing Myron Gardner to an Exhibit 10 contract, a league source tells Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Chris Haynes (Twitter link) first reported that the two sides had reached a deal, citing agent Jake Cohen.
Gardner, who began his college career at Georgetown, transferred to Little Rock and then went undrafted in 2023 after deciding to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility.
Gardner caught on with the Osceola Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate, and appeared in 47 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the team last season, averaging 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 15.4 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .425/.317/.600. He also played for Orlando’s Summer League team in Las Vegas this July.
Since the Magic control Gardner’s G League returning rights, signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract will allow the team to award him a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived by Orlando and then spends at least 60 days with Osceola.
Once Gardner’s signing is official, the Magic will have 17 players under contract, including 15 on guaranteed standard deals and Trevelin Queen on a two-way deal. The club still has a pair of two-way slots open, and while Gardner could theoretically vie for one of those spots, I’d be surprised if that’s the plan, given his limited contributions at the G League level in 2023/24.
2023/24 NBA G League Draft Results
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2023/24 season on Saturday afternoon.
The 29 G League teams affiliated with NBA franchises participated in the event, as did the unaffiliated Mexico City Capitanes. The G League Ignite, which is made up of top prospects and veteran mentors, doesn’t take part in the draft.
[RELATED: NBA G League Announces Schedule For 2023/24 Season]
The first player selected in today’s G League draft was former Nuggets and Thunder forward Jack White, who recently fell victim to a roster crunch in Oklahoma City.
White spent last season on a two-way contract with Denver, then signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Thunder that included a $600K partial guarantee.
That guarantee made him ineligible to suit up for the Oklahoma City Blue this season, so he entered the G League draft, where the Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate, snared him with the No. 1 overall pick.
Outside of White, there was only one other player drafted today who has prior NBA experience. That player is Scottie Lewis, the 56th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He appeared in just two games for the Hornets while on a two-way deal in 2021/22. The Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s affiliate, drafted him today with the No. 32 overall pick.
Former Tulsa wing Brandon Rachal has never appeared in an NBA regular season game, but he was among Saturday’s draftees who has at least signed an NBA contract, having inked a pair of Exhibit 10 deals with Brooklyn in 2021 and 2022. Rachal made G League history today by becoming the first player drafted by the Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers‘ expansion franchise.
Here are the full 2023/24 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Jack White
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Teafale Lenard Jr.
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): David Muoka
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Javonte Perkins
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Will Richardson
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Pavel Savkov
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): David Shriver
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Isiaih Mosley
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Logan Johnson
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Karolis Lukosiunas
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Myles Burns
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): J.J. Romer Rosario
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Bryson Warren (Overtime Elite)
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Olisa Akonobi
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Walter Ellis
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Marcus Burk
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Nana Opoku
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Maxime Carene
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jamal Bey
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Manny Camper
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Jaycee Hillsman
- Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Brandon Rachal
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): Elijah Harkless
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Anthony Nelson
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Kok Yat (Overtime Elite)
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Lance Thomas
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Arinze Chidom
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Jared Wilson-Frame
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Myron Gardner
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Wendell Green Jr.
Round Two:
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): J.D. Tsasa (North Canyon High School)
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Scottie Lewis
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Eric Williams Jr.
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Tray Maddox
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Kalob Ledoux
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): No pick
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Sincere Carry
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Alex Hunter
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Sam Daniel (Florida Tech)
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Nojel Eastern
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): David Bell
- Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): Stephan Hicks
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): No pick
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Darius Mickens (Cal State San Bernadino)
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): No pick
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Keyshawn Bryant
- Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): Kevin McClain
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Davion Warren
- Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): David Sloan
- Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers): No pick
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Isaiah Wade (Central Oklahoma)
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Isaac Johnson
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Denzel Mahoney
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): No pick
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): No pick
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): No pick
Round Three (supplemental picks):
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Robert Johnson
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Kyree Walker
Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).
G League training camps open on Monday, with this year’s NBAGL Showcase Cup tournament tipping off on November 10. The Showcase Cup will be played over about a month-and-a-half and will be followed by the G League regular season, which begins on December 27.
NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2023 Draft
The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2023 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 242 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 192 are from colleges, two played in the NBA G League, and 48 are international early entrants.
Those are big numbers, but they fall well short of the 353 early entrants who initially declared for the draft in 2021 and the 283 who entered last year. Beginning in 2021, the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in seniors having to decide between staying at college for one more season or declaring for the draft as an “early” entrant.
This year’s total of 242 early entrants figures to shrink significantly by May 31 and again by June 12, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like the pool will remain extremely crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants certain to exceed 58, the number of picks in the draft.
Our tracker of early entrants for the 2023 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.
Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:
Newly added players:
College players:
These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.
- Damezi Anderson, F, Detroit (senior)
- Marcus Bagley, F, Arizona State (sophomore)
- Will Baker, C, Nevada (junior)
- Josh Bannan, F, Montana (junior)
- Grant Basile, F, Viginia Tech (senior)
- T.J. Bickerstaff, F, Boston College (senior)
- Keylan Boone, G/F, Pacific (senior)
- Jordan Brown, F/C, Louisiana (senior)
- Tyler Burton, F, Richmond (senior)
- Wesley Cardet Jr., G, Chicago State (sophomore)
- Dylan Cardwell, C, Auburn (junior)
- Clarence Daniels II, F, New Hampshire (junior)
- Alou Dillon, F, Purdue-Northwest (senior)
- Eric Gaines, G, UAB (junior)
- Myron Gardner, G/F, Little Rock (senior)
- Jacksun Hamilton, F, Wisconsin-Parkside (sophomore)
- Joey Hauser, F, Michigan State (senior)
- A.J. Hoggard, G, Michigan State (junior)
- Ithiel Horton, G, UCF (senior)
- Jordan Ivy-Curry, G, Pacific (junior)
- Djordjije Jovanovic, G/F, Ontario Clippers (NBAGL) (born 2003)
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton (junior)
- Jackson Kenyon, F, Miami (OH) (senior)
- Bol Kuir, C, San Diego (freshman)
- Pelle Larsson, G, Arizona (junior)
- Madison McCall, G, Lesley (MA) (senior)
- Demetrius Mims, G, Gannon (PA) (senior)
- Isaiah Miranda, F/C, NC State (freshman)
- Jelanie Morgan, G/F, Lesley (MA) (freshman)
- Jordan Nesbitt, G/F, Hampton (sophomore)
- Toby Okani, G/F, Illinois-Chicago (junior)
- Nick Ongenda, C, DePaul (senior)
- Nijel Pack, G, Miami (FL) (junior)
- Rob Perry, G, Murray State (senior)
- Uros Plavsic, C, Tennessee (senior)
- Luis Rodriguez, G, UNLV (senior)
- Dontrell Shuler, G, Cal State San Bernardino (senior)
- Russel Tchewa, C, South Florida (senior)
- Tyler Thomas, G, Hofstra (senior)
- Drew Timme, F/C, Gonzaga (senior)
- Keisei Tominaga, G, Nebraska (senior)
- Nae’Qwan Tomlin, F, Kansas State (senior)
- Mady Traore, F, New Mexico State (freshman)
- Damjan Vukcevic, F, Los Angeles Trade Tech (freshman)
- Anton Watson, F, Gonzaga (senior)
- Tyler Willoughby, G, Voorhees (SC) (senior)
- Tyrese Wineglass, G, Southwestern Adventist (TX) (junior)
International players:
These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.
- Miguel Allen, F, Spain (born 2003)
- Idrissa Ba, C, France (born 2002)
- Elian Benitez, G, France (born 2003)
- William Beugre-Kassi, G/F, France (born 2004)
- Sasa Ciani, F, Croatia (born 2003)
- Ege Demir, F/C, Turkey (born 2004)
- Thijs De Ridder, F, Belgium (born 2003)
- Nikola Djurisic, G/F, Serbia (born 2004)
- Ruben Dominguez, G, Spain (born 2003)
- Quinn Ellis, G, Italy (born 2003)
- Juan Fernandez, F/C, Spain (born 2002)
- Clement Frisch, F, France (born 2002)
- Sananda Fru, F, Germany (born 2003)
- Gloire Goma, G, Spain (born 2003)
- Hassane Gueye, F, France (born 2003)
- Ondrej Hanzlik, F, Spain (born 2002)
- Ilias Kamardine, G, France (born 2003)
- Konstantin Kostadinov, F, Spain (born 2003)
- Oleksandr Kovliar, G, Estonia (born 2002)
- Liutauras Lelevicius, G, Lithuania (born 2003)
- Gilad Levy, C, Israel (born 2002)
- Ruben Lopez, F, Spain (born 2002)
- Assemian Moulare, G, France (born 2003)
- Daniel Onwenu, G, Brazil (born 2002)
- Ivan Perasovic, F, Croatia (born 2002)
- Mantas Rubstavicius, G, Lithuania (born 2002)
- Musa Sagnia, F/C, Spain (born 2003)
- Marcio Santos, F/C, Brazil (born 2002)
- Enzo Shahrvin, F, France (born 2003)
- Birahima Sylla, G, France (born 2003)
- Dez Andras Tanoh, G, Hungary (born 2002)
- Hugo Toom, F, Estonia (born 2002)
- Armel Traore, F, France (born 2003)
- Ricards Vanags, G/F, Latvia (born 2002)
Other notable draft-eligible early entrants:
The NBA typically sends its teams a list of “also-eligible” names. That list isn’t public. However, we’re assuming that at least one projected top-three pick is on it: Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite. Overtime Elite standouts Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson would also be on this list, as would Henderson’s Ignite teammate Leonard Miller.
Players removed:
Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.
That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.
In any case, we’ve removed the following names from our early entrant list, at least for the time being.
- Jalen Carey, G, Rhode Island (senior)
- Jalen Cook, G, Tulane (junior)
- Ta’Lon Cooper, G, Minnesota (senior)
- Austin Crowley, G, Southern Mississippi (senior)
- Eli Ndiaye, C, Spain (born 2004)
- Kario Oquendo, G, Georgia (junior)
- Tylor Perry, G, North Texas (senior)
- Zhuric Phelps, G, SMU (sophomore)
- Tyrese Samuel, F, Seton Hall (senior)
- Primo Spears, G, Georgetown (sophomore)
- Noah Thomasson, G, Niagara (senior)
- Deshawndre Washington, G, New Mexico State (junior)
- Warren Washington, F, Arizona State (senior)
