Nigel Hayes

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/17/18

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Raptors have assigned rookie forward Nigel Hayes to their G League affiliate, Raptors 905, in time for tonight’s game against the South Bay Lakers, per an official tweet from the team. Hayes, 23, has averaged 15.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 39 G League games so far this season.
  • The Knicks have recalled rookie guard Damyean Dotson one day after assigning him to the G League, according to an official tweet from the team. Dotson, 23, is averaging 8.5 MPG and 2.9 PPG in 35 games in the NBA this season.
  • Lakers rookie big man Thomas Bryant has been assigned to the South Bay Lakers in time for tonight’s game against Hayes and Raptors 905, the team announced today. Bryant, 20, has averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 33 G League games this season.

Raptors Sign Nigel Hayes To Second 10-Day Deal

MARCH 16: The Raptors have officially signed Hayes to a second 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.

MARCH 14: The Raptors are signing Nigel Hayes to another 10-day contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team’s roster will remain at 15.

The Wisconsin product has appeared in two games for Toronto during his first 10-day deal, scoring a total of six points in six minutes of action.

Hayes played for the Lakers earlier this season on a 10-day contract. He didn’t see much action in Los Angeles, tallying just 11 minutes over two contests. He came to training camp with the Knicks, but the team waived him before the season began.

Hayes’ initial 10-day pact with Toronto will expire on Thursday night, so the club will make his second deal official at some point after that.

Atlantic Notes: Hornacek, Raptors, Bolden, Hayes

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek admires the continuity the Raptors have maintained in rising to the top spot in the East, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Toronto’s All-Star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry has been together for five seasons, along with center Jonas Valanciunas, and Dwane Casey has been the coach the whole time.

“Since we’re playing Toronto, you could use them as a great example,” Hornacek said. “They were a pretty decent team, but you look back three years ago, they were talking about blowing that team up. They’ve stayed with it. They’ve stayed with those guys. Now, three years later, they look like one of the best teams in the league because now they have a lot of familiarity with each other.”

Over that same five-year stretch, New York had four coaches and 130 starting lineups, with 13 of those this season. Only six current Knicks were with the team last year, and just three of them are currently active.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The way he has handled all that chaos over the past two seasons should earn Hornacek another year as Knicks coach, argues Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Hornacek has one year left on his contract, and with Kristaps Porzingis likely sidelined until at least December, Bondy thinks it may be wise to let Hornacek deal with another losing season rather than bring a new coach into that environment.
  • Jonah Bolden‘s Israeli team wants to hold onto him for another season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. A second-round pick by the Sixers last summer, Bolden has a $650K opt-out clause in his contract, but Maccabi Tel Aviv has contacted Philadelphia officials about leaving him overseas for one more year.
  • Raptors forward Nigel Hayes has spent the past year improving his outside shot to help his chances at sticking on an NBA roster, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Questions about his shooting contributed to Hayes going undrafted out of Wisconsin, but he has hit 45% from long distance in the G League. He hopes to capitalize on his latest chance, a 10-day contract with Toronto. “When I’m out there on the court, when I’m given opportunity, I’m not only playing for them,” he said of the Raptors. “There’s 29 other [NBA] teams that are watching and seeing my improvements and what I can do, or how I can be an asset to their team.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/10/18

Here are Saturday’s G League moves from around the NBA:

  • The Raptors assigned Nigel Hayes and Alfonzo McKinnie to their Raptors 905 affiliate for today’s game against Canton, according to a tweet  from the G League team.
  • The Knicks sent Isaiah Hicks to their Westchester affiliate for tonight’s game in Milwaukee, the team announced (Twitter link).
  • The Pacers assigned Alex Poythress to their Fort Wayne affiliate, according to a post on the team website.
  • The Thunder recalled Dakari Johnson from Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in an email.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/8/18

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • Lakers rookie big man Thomas Bryant has been assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, according to a tweet from the team’s official account. Bryant, 20, is averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 30 G League games this season.
  • The Bulls have assigned 10-day contract signee Jarell Eddie to their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, per a tweet from the Bulls. Eddie, 26, is averaging 17.1 points and shooting 47.5% from long range in 21 games with Windy City.
  • Both Nigel Hayes and Alfonzo McKinnie have been assigned to the Raptors‘ G League affiliate, Raptors 905, according to the assignment page on the NBA’s official G League website.

Raptors Sign Nigel Hayes To 10-Day Deal

MARCH 6: The Raptors have formally signed Hayes to a 10-day contract, according to the league’s official transactions log. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link), head coach Dwane Casey didn’t rule out Hayes appearing in Tuesday’s game vs. Atlanta, but he doesn’t expect it to happen, pointing out that the rookie still has to learn the offense.

MARCH 5: The Raptors will fill their open roster spot by signing G League forward Nigel Hayes to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The move will give Toronto a full 15-man NBA roster.

Hayes, 23, signed a training camp contract with the Knicks last August, then was cut by New York before the regular season began. The former Wisconsin standout landed with the Westchester Knicks in the G League and has played very well for New York’s affiliate in his first professional season, averaging 16.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG on .450/.441/.744 shooting.

Hayes’ new deal with the Raptors will represent his second NBA stint — he signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers in January and appeared briefly in two games for L.A.

While it remains to be seen if Hayes will see any real action for the Raptors, the deal benefits the organization in another way, as Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic points out (via Twitter) — the Raptors 905 (26-17) are just behind Westchester (28-14) in the G League standings, so poaching Hayes bodes well for Toronto’s affiliate.

Of course, the move isn’t just about the G League playoff race for the Raptors. As Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets, Hayes had a good workout for Toronto prior to last year’s draft, so the club has had its eye on the rookie for a while.

Lakers Will Not Re-Sign Nigel Hayes

The Lakers will not re-sign forward Nigel Hayes after his 10-day contract expired tonight, Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times tweets. The 23-year-old rookie saw action in two games during his stint with the club, seeing a grand total of 11 minutes.

Hayes, an undrafted combo forward out of Wisconsin, will hit the open market while Los Angeles frees up a roster spot with which they can test drive other free agents.

With a glut of forwards already on board in L.A., Hayes’ chances of breaking into the Lakers’ rotation were slim from the start.

Hayes previously went through training camp with the Knicks.

Lakers Sign Nigel Hayes To 10-Day Deal

JANUARY 19: The Lakers have officially signed Hayes to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Sunday.

JANUARY 18: The Lakers plan to sign forward Nigel Hayes to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Wisconsin last summer but did end up briefly catching on with the Knicks in training camp.

Hayes averaged 14.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game across three seasons with the Badgers and will slot into a Lakers depth chart that could use depth down low.

In 30 games with the G League’s Westchester Knicks this season, Hayes has averaged 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.

Lakers Notes: Ball, Zubac, Hayes

Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball is headed for an MRI on his left knee after he experienced soreness this morning, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. There is no word on the severity of Ball’s soreness but Youngmisuk noted that the MRI is “precautionary.”

Ball, 20, has already missed time this season due to injury. The second overall pick from last year’s NBA Draft missed six games in late December-early January due to a right shoulder injury. Los Angeles will face the Grizzlies on the road on Monday and depending on the MRI, the team may be without Ball.

The rookie has played well since he returned from the aforementioned injury. All told, Ball is averaging 10.2 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 7.1 RPG in 36 games this season. In addition to facing scrutiny about his play, Ball has had to answer questions about his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, who has criticized the Lakers’ organization and its coaches.

Check out other Lakers news below:

  • After the Lakers waived Andrew Bogut, Croatian big man Ivica Zubac believed he would see an increased role for the Lakers, but that has not been the case, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. Zubac, 20, has appeared in just 11 games for the Lakers — something that’s hard to believe since he entered the summer at the Lakers’ starting center. Instead, Zubac has seen frequent action in the G League. “I think I really improved in those games,” Zubac said. “It’s harder when you’re not playing in the NBA but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” 
  • Tomorrow is the deadline for two-way deals and one name connected to the Lakers recently has been Wisconsin product Nigel Hayestweets Adam Johnson of 10Days2Ways.

Knicks Waive Trey Burke, Two Others

The Knicks have announced three roster cuts, confirming today in a press release that they’ve waived point guard Trey Burke, guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, and forward Nigel Hayes.

Burke is the most noteworthy player of the group. The former ninth overall pick signed a contract with the Knicks earlier this week, and given the team’s uncertain point guard picture, it looked like there may be an opportunity for him to sneak onto the regular season roster. That won’t happen after all.

Rathan-Mayes and Hayes look like good bets to land with the Westchester Knicks as G League affiliate players. Burke could also end up in the G League, though he’ll likely exhaust his NBA opportunities first, and overseas league may be an option for the former Michigan standout too.

As for the Knicks, they’re still carrying 16 players on their NBA roster, but don’t necessarily need to make any additional cuts before the season begins. Joakim Noah is in the midst of serving a 20-game ban and will open the year on the suspended list, giving the Knicks the chance to add a 16th player until Noah returns. Jarrett Jack – the only non-guaranteed player left on the roster – appears to be the beneficiary.