2022/23 NBA G League Draft Results
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2022/23 season on Saturday afternoon.
The 28 G League teams affiliated with NBA franchises participated in the event, as did – for the first time – the 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, Format For 2022/23 Season]
The first player selected in today’s G League draft was 2020 second-round pick Sam Merrill, a swingman who was in camp with the Kings this fall but missed out on earning a regular season roster spot.
Merrill’s contract with Sacramento included a partial guarantee of $150K, making him ineligible to suit up for the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton this season. The Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers‘ affiliate, snared him with the No. 1 overall pick.
The No. 2 pick was another player who was under contract with an NBA team up until last week. Joe Wieskamp was the odd man out in San Antonio, having been waived by the Spurs (despite having a guaranteed 2022/23 salary) to help the team get down to 15 players for the start of the season. The Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks‘ affiliate, grabbed him with the second overall selection today.
Among the other notable picks was No. 4 overall Jared Rhoden, who was selected by the Hawks‘ affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks. Atlanta claimed Rhoden off waivers near the end of the preseason in the hopes of securing his affiliate rights, but it appears he didn’t meet the criteria — the Skyhawks instead secured his G League rights in today’s draft.
The player with the most NBA experience selected in today’s draft was Norris Cole. The veteran guard, with 360 NBA regular season appearances under his belt, went 48th overall to the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets‘ affiliate. Cole, who turned 34 this month, will be looking to take the same path Isaiah Thomas and Lance Stephenson did last season, making an NBA comeback after impressing in Grand Rapids.
Finally, it’s also worth noting that today’s No. 10 overall pick, Amauri Hardy, is the older brother of Mavericks rookie Jaden Hardy. Dallas’ affiliate, the Texas Legends, picked him.
Here are the full 2022/23 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Sam Merrill
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Joe Wieskamp
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Aaron Wheeler
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Jared Rhoden
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Jericole Hellems
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Kadeem Jack
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Terrell Brown Jr.
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Michael Weathers
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Taze Moore
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Amauri Hardy
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Ty Gordon
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Mamoudou Diarra
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Abu Kigab
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): Warith Alatishe
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Mayan Kiir
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Theo John
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Nate Roberts
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Keith Williams
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Taz Sherman
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Devon Daniels
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Jai Smith (Overtime Elite)
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Adrian Delph
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Tyrn Flowers
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Nick King
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): David Collins
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Derek Culver
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Ryan Turell (Yeshiva — Division III)
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Tom Digbeu
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Kendall Smith
Round Two:
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Rashad Vaughn
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): Jassel Perez (Dominican Republic)
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Tyson Jolly
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Hasahn French
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): No pick
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Landon Kirkwood
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): Justin Kier
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): No pick
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jayce Johnson
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Remy Martin
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Noah Starkey (Southern Nazarene – Division II)
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Philip Flory
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Zak Irvin
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jahvon Blair
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon McCoy
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): John Meeks
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Seth Allen
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Norris Cole
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): No pick
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Austin Trice
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): No pick
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): No pick
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Isaac Johnson
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Elijah Lufile
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Eron Gordon
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jack Nolan (Washington University in St. Louis – Division III)
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Armon Fletcher
Round Three:
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): J.J. Moore
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): No pick
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): No pick
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Jachai Taylor
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): No pick
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Trey McGowens
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Kevin Kangu
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Wayne Stewart Jr. (Texas A&M-Commerce – Division II)
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): No pick
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): No pick
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): No pick
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): No pick
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): No pick
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Dazon Ingram
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
- Mexico City Capitanes (N/A): No pick
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): No pick
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Alan Griffin
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): No pick
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): No pick
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
- Ontario Clippers (Clippers): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): No pick
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Nick Hornsby
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): No pick
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 4.
Cole, Wieskamp Headline G League Draft Pool
Norris Cole and Joe Wieskamp are among 128 players who are eligible for the annual NBA G League draft, which will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Cole, 34, played for Miami, New Orleans and Oklahoma City during his NBA career, which spanned 2011-17. He’s played for a variety of European teams since, most recently JL Bourg in France. He also played for Team USA this summer.
Wieskamp was waived by the Spurs on Monday. Wieskamp, 23, was drafted 41st overall in 2021 by the Spurs and spent most of his rookie season on a two-way contract with the team. He was converted to a rest-of-season standard contract in March, then re-signed with San Antonio in August on a two-year deal that includes a guaranteed $2.175MM salary for 2022/23.
Jared Rhoden, who was waived by both the Trail Blazers and Hawks this preseason, is another prominent name on the list.
Here is the full list of players eligible to be drafted, as provided by a G League press release:
Name (Position, School)
- Warith Alatishe (F, Oregon State)
- Chris Allen (G, Iowa State)
- Seth Allen (G, Virginia Tech)
- Arsenio Arrington (F, Aquinas)
- Ron Artest III (F, Cal State Northridge)
- Marcus Azor (G, UMass-Dartmouth)
- Gracin Bakumanya (C, France)
- Kentrell Barkley (G, East Carolina)
- Jahvon Blair (G, Georgetown)
- Vander Blue (G, Marquette)
- Shannon Bogues (G, Stephen F. Austin)
- Tim Bond (F, Eastern Michigan)
- Terrell Brown Jr. (G, Washington)
- Patrick Burnett (G, York (NE))
- Devante Carter (G, Nicholls State)
- Naz Carter (G, Washington)
- Dimon Carrigan (F, West Virginia)
- Gary Chivichyan (G, Pacific)
- Tamenang Choh (G, Brown)
- Chris Clarke (F, Texas Tech)
- Norris Cole (G, Cleveland State)
- David Collins (G, Clemson)
- Derrick Colter (G, Duquesne)
- Markel Crawford (G, Memphis)
- Derek Culver (C, West Virginia)
- Jared Cunningham (G, Oregon State)
- Tulio Da Silva (F, Missouri State)
- Sam Daniel (F, Florida Tech)
- Devon Daniels (G, North Carolina State)
- Adrian Delph (G, Appalachian State)
- Keron Deshields (G, Tennessee State)
- Mamoudou Diarra (F, Tennessee Tech)
- Tom Digbeu (G, Australia)
- Devonaire Doutrive (G, Boise State)
- Malik Dunbar (F, Auburn)
- Nojel Eastern (G, Howard)
- Tarkus Ferguson (G, Illinois-Chicago)
- Armon Fletcher (G, Southern Illinois)
- Philip Flory (G, Wisconsin-Stevens Point)
- Tyrn Flowers (F, Long Island)
- Hasahn French (F, Saint Louis)
- Both Gach (F, Utah)
- Eron Gordon (G, Valparaiso)
- Ty Gordon (G, Nicholls State)
- Kadre Gray (G, Laurentian)
- Alan Griffin (G, Syracuse)
- Haowen Guo (G, China)
- Blake Hamilton (G, Buffalo)
- Amauri Hardy (G, Oregon)
- Jericole Hellems (F, North Carolina State)
- Jay Henderson (G, Louisville)
- J.R. Holder (G, Jacksonville)
- Tra-Deon Hollins (G, Nebraska-Omaha)
- Nick Hornsby (F, Sacramento State)
- Ron Houston (G, Bethany)
- Pe’Shon Howard (G, USC)
- Kevin Hunt Jr. (G, Denver)
- Dazon Ingram (G, Central Florida)
- Zak Irvin (G, Michigan)
- Jimond Ivey (G, Akron)
- Kadeem Jack (C, Rutgers)
- Demetrius Jackson (G, Notre Dame)
- Anthony January (F, Cal State-San Bernardino)
- Theo John (C, Duke)
- Isaac Johnson (F, Appalachian State)
- Jayce Johnson (C, Marquette)
- Tyson Jolly (G, Iona)
- Kevin Kangu (G, Lenoir-Rhyne)
- Justin Kier (G, Arizona)
- Abu Kigab (F, Boise State)
- Mayan Kiir (F, New Mexico State)
- Nick King (F, Middle Tennessee State)
- Landon Kirkwood (G, Barry)
- Ishmael Lane (C, Northwestern State)
- Gabe Levin (F, Long Beach State)
- Trey Lewis (G, Louisville)
- Elijah Lufile (F, Oral Roberts)
- Tevin Mack (G, Clemson)
- Sterling Manley (C, North Carolina)
- Melik Martin (G, Drexel)
- Remy Martin (G, Kansas)
- Brandon McCoy (C, UNLV)
- Brandon McGhee (G, CSU Pueblo)
- Trey McGowens (G, Nebraska)
- Martaveous McKnight (G, Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
- John Meeks (G, Charleston)
- Sam Merrill (G, Utah State)
- JJ Miles (F, East Carolina)
- JJ Moore (F, Rutgers)
- Taze Moore (G, Houston)
- Barra Njie (G, Sweden)
- Jack Nolan (G, Washington U – St. Louis)
- Mike Nuga (G, UNLV)
- Daniel Orton (C, Kentucky)
- Mike Parks Jr. (F, Memphis)
- Jassel Perez (G, Dominican Republic)
- Kavion Pippen (C, Southern Illinois)
- M.J. Randolph (G, Florida A&M)
- Jared Rhoden (G, Seton Hall)
- Nate Roberts (C, Washington)
- Wesley Saunders (G, Harvard)
- Taz Sherman (G, West Virginia)
- Fred Sims Jr. (G, Chicago State)
- Jai Smith (F, Overtime Elite)
- Kendall Smith (G, Oklahoma State)
- Andre Spight (G, Northern Colorado)
- Derek St. Hilaire (G, New Orleans)
- Noah Starkey (C, Southern Nazarene)
- Wayne Stewart Jr. (F, Texas A&M – Commerce)
- Taren Sullivan (F, Findlay)
- Sean Sutherlin (G, Minnesota)
- Jordan Swopshire (F, Colgate)
- Jachai Taylor (F, Queens (NC))
- Marlon Taylor (G, LSU)
- JD Tisdale Jr. (G, Rogers State)
- Austin Trice (F, Old Dominion)
- Jahlil Tripp (F, Pacific)
- Buay Tuach (G, Loyola Marymount)
- Jordan Tucker (F, Butler)
- Ryan Turell (F, Yeshiva)
- Rashad Vaughn (G, UNLV)
- Dantez Walton (F, Northern Kentucky)
- Michael Weathers (G, SMU)
- Aaron Wheeler (F, St. John’s)
- Joe Wieskamp (G, Iowa)
- Keith Williams (G, Cincinnati)
- Kam Williams (G, Ohio State)
- Dion Wright (F, St. Bonaventure)
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Magic, Williams, Heat, Hawks
The Wizards are scheduled to work out six draft-eligible players on Monday, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Oklahoma’s Jordan Goldwire, Arkansas’ Chris Lykes, Kansas’ Remy Martin, Kansas State’s Mike McGuirl, Alabama’s Jaden Shackelford and Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley will attend the session.
As noted by Robbins, all six players are guards. The Wizards, who own the 10th and 54th overall picks in the draft, are coming off a season in which they finished with a 35-47 record, missing the playoffs.
Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division:
- Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel examines how UNLV’s Donovan Williams could fit with the Magic. Aside from having the No. 1 pick, Orlando also owns the No. 32 and No. 35 selections in the event. Williams, a 6’6″ guard, averaged 12.7 points per game this past season.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel explores whether the Heat‘s individual defensive weaknesses are overstated. Winderman ponders whether Miami could compensate for some defensive issues by putting more points on the board. While players such as Tyler Herro improved defensively this season, others (such as Duncan Robinson) did not. Robinson fell out of Miami’s rotation during the postseason as a result.
- The Hawks will work out five players on Monday ahead of the June 23 draft, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. Atlanta will bring in Ochai Agbaji (Kansas), Olek Balcerowski (Spain), Shareef O’Neal (LSU), Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt) and Jalen Williams (Santa Clara). The team will pick 16th and 44th this year.
Draft Notes: O’Neal, Eason, Lakers, Weathers, Nembhard, Mobley
LSU junior Shareef O’Neal is eligible to be selected in the draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The son of Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef O’Neal was mistakenly included in the list of withdrawals released by the league last week. He has upcoming team workouts, Charania adds.
We have more draft-related info:
- Another LSU player, wing Tari Eason, has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Spurs, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. He has already worked out for a number of teams, including the Bulls, Thunder and Knicks. Eason is ranked No. 18 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- The Lakers hosted six prospects on Monday, including UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That group also included Remy Martin (Kansas), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Haowen Guo (Shanghai Sharks) and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech).
- SMU’s Marcus Weathers worked out for the Spurs on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard and USC’s Isaiah Mobley were also among the six prospects San Antonio hosted, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Nembhard, a point guard, projects as a potential first-rounder. He’s ranked No. 35 on ESPN’s list.
Draft Decisions: Agbaji, Cockburn, Dickinson, Wong, More
Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji has decided to withdraw from the 2021 NBA draft and will return to school for his senior year, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Agbaji, who was the No. 67 prospect on ESPN’s big board, averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game for the Jayhawks last year, knocking down 37.7% of his three-point attempts in 30 games (33.7 MPG). Agbaji projected as a potential second-round pick, according to Givony, who refers to him as one of the best defenders at the NCAA level.
The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants in this year’s draft is on Wednesday, so there are plenty of other prospects making decisions on their future today. Here are a few of the other early entrants who are pulling out of the draft and returning to school:
- Warith Alatishe, F, Oregon State (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
- Maurice Calloo, F, Oregon State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Kofi Cockburn, C, Illinois (Twitter link via Andrew Slater of Pro Insight)
- Hunter Dickinson, C, Michigan (link via Jonathan Givony of ESPN)
- Remy Martin, G, transferring to Kansas from Arizona State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Jaden Shackelford, G, Alabama (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Roman Silva, C, Oregon State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Deon Stroud, G, Fresno State (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Sidney Wilson, G/F, SIU-Edwardsville (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Isaiah Wong, G, Miami (link via Givony)
While a number of prospects are removing their names from the 2021 draft pool, some early entrants have made the decision to go pro. UCLA’s Chris Smith is one, posting a farewell message to Bruins fans on Instagram. Sources tell Rothstein (Twitter link) that Saint Louis forward Hasahn French is also going pro rather than returning to college.
Jared Butler, Aaron Henry Among Prospects Withdrawing From Draft
A pair of early-entry prospects who were ranked within the top 60 on ESPN’s big board have pulled out of the draft in advance of Monday’s withdrawal deadline.
Baylor guard Jared Butler was one of those two players, announcing in a Twitter video on Monday morning that he has decided to return to the Bears for his junior year. Butler explained his decision in a conversation with ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
“After going through this process, making an important decision for the rest of my life, I truly felt like I couldn’t go wrong with either decision,” Butler said. “It came down to making the most out of my development as a player and as an adult. In the end I felt like coming back to school would set me up in both aspects in a way that I couldn’t deny. Even though the opportunity to reach my dream of playing in the NBA was readily at hand, I think next year it will still be there, possibly even with greater opportunities.”
Butler emerged as Baylor’s leading scorer in 2019/20 as a sophomore, averaging 16.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.6 SPG in 30 games (30.4 MPG). He also showed improvement on his outside shot, making 38.1% of 6.7 three-point attempts per contest. He came in at No. 46 on Givony’s top-100 list at ESPN.com, making him a strong candidate to be drafted had he decided to go pro.
Meanwhile, Michigan State swingman Aaron Henry has also decided to withdraw from the draft after testing the waters, as Givony writes in a separate story. Henry had been the No. 55 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Henry’s numbers as a sophomore in 2019/20 were somewhat modest — 10.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 30 games (29.1 MPG). However, Givony describes him as a “long, athletic wing with strong two-way potential” and points out that he’s in position to take on a larger role for a Spartans team that won’t have Cassius Winston back next season.
“Cassius leaves big shoes to fill. He was asked to do everything for Michigan State,” Henry told ESPN. “I’m hoping to step into a bigger role with the ball in my hands. Things will definitely look different. Everyone is going to need to step up and be a piece to the puzzle. NBA teams want to see me in a bigger role. They want to see me be the man on a team. I’m not afraid of that. Let’s get to it.”
Here are a few more early entrants who tested the waters and have now pulled out of the draft ahead of Monday’s withdrawal deadline:
- Darius Days, F, LSU (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
- Jay Huff, F, Virginia (link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN)
- Makur Maker, C, Hillcrest Academy (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Note: Maker will attend Howard University.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili, F, Seton Hall (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Remy Martin, G, Arizona State (video link via school)
- Obadiah Noel, G, UMass-Lowell (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Stadium)
Draft Notes: Carr, Martin, Teague, Olaniyi
University of Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr is declaring for the draft but won’t hire an agent, Evan Daniels of 247Sports tweets. Carr averaged 15.4 PPG, 6.7 APG and 5.3 RPG in his sophomore season for the Golden Gophers. The 6’2” Carr played one season at Pittsburgh, then sat out a season after transferring.
We have more draft declarations:
- Arizona State point guard Remy Martin has entered his name in the draft pool, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. Martin averaged 19.1 PPG and 4.1 APG as a junior. The 6’0” Martin is a two-year starter after coming off the bench as a freshman.
- Baylor’s MaCio Teague will test the draft waters but he’ll keep his options open, according to his Twitter feed. The 6’3” Teague averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.6 RPG in his junior season. Teague played two seasons at UNC Asheville, then sat out a year after transferring.
- Stony Brook’s Elijah Olaniyi is declaring for the draft but won’t hire an agent, he tweets. The 6’5” shooting guard averaged 18.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG in his junior season. Olaniyi has played 91 career games for the Seawolves.
