Tahjere McCall

Nets Sign Tahjere McCall To 10-Day Deal

1:14pm: The Nets have officially signed McCall to a 10-day contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.

11:46am: The Nets are poised to sign G League guard Tahjere McCall to a 10-day contract, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter). Brooklyn has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding roster move will be necessary to accommodate McCall.

A former Tennessee State standout, McCall has spent his first two professional seasons with the Long Island Nets since going undrafted in 2017.

McCall’s numbers in the G League have been relatively modest – 9.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 60 games (27.1 MPG) – but he’s a strong perimeter defender and will now get an opportunity to stick with Brooklyn for at least 10 days.

The Nets are already carrying 14 players on standard NBA contracts and a pair on two-way deals, so adding McCall will give them a full 17-man squad.

Nets Waive Gordon, McCall, Scott

The Nets got down to the roster limit by waiving forward Drew Gordon and guards Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release.

Gordon will join Brooklyn’s G League affiliate in Long Island and is expected to be called up during the season after turning down offers to play overseas. The older brother of Aaron Gordon, most of his professional experience has come in Europe. He has played nine NBA games, all for the Sixers in 2014/15.

McCall and Scott both signed Exhibit 10 contracts yesterday and appear headed back to the G League. Both played for Brooklyn’s affiliate in Long Island last season.

Nets Sign Tahjere McCall, Shannon Scott

The Nets have signed a pair of guards, Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott, the team announced today in a press release. Both players received Exhibit 10 contracts, per Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link).

McCall, 24, spent last season with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, averaging 9.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in 37 games. Scott, a strong defender out of Ohio State, was also a regular starter for Long Island last season, recording 7.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.2 SPG in 49 games.

Both players figure to be waived within the next couple days, but will likely return to Long Island for the 2018/19 season. Having signed Exhibit 10 deals, they’ll now be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K, which won’t count against Brooklyn’s cap and should exceed the full-year salaries they’d earn on standard G League contracts.

The Nets’ roster is back up to 20 players for now. The team will make three cuts by Monday.

Nets Waive Tahjere McCall, Kamari Murphy

The Nets have released a pair of preseason signees, Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The club has waived Tahjere McCall and Kamari Murphy, both of whom were signed yesterday.

The hasty turnaround is no surprise, the Nets hold both players’ G League rights so they’ll presumably end up suiting up for the club’s affiliate in Long Island.

Nets Sign Kamari Murphy, Tahjere McCall

2:03pm: The Nets have issued a press release confirming the signing of Murphy and also announcing a deal with another undrafted free agent, rookie guard Tahjere McCall. McCall finished his college career at Tennessee State, averaging 14.3 PPG and 5.1 APG last season.

Both players will likely end up playing for the Long Island Nets. As for Brooklyn, the club is now carrying 19 players.

1:02pm: The Nets have reached an agreement to sign undrafted rookie forward Kamari Murphy, a league source tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). No corresponding roster move will be necessary, since Brooklyn waived three players on Wednesday.

The signing of Murphy appears to be aimed at gaining his G League rights as an affiliate player. The Brooklyn native, who played for the Nets in Summer League action, will likely be cut by the team before the regular season begins and then would be on track to join the Long Island Nets for the start of the G League season.

Murphy, who spent two seasons at the University of Miami after starting his college career at Oklahoma State, averaged 7.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 2016/17.

Draft Notes: Mitchell, Jackson, Tatum, Ferguson

Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell will hold a last-minute workout for the Knicks today, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The sophomore out of Louisville, whose session was originally scheduled for Tuesday, is being considered with the No 8 pick, Begley adds, along with French point guard Frank Ntilikina, Kentucky guard Malik Monk, Arizona big man Lauri Markkanen and others. Team president Phil Jackson is intrigued by Mitchell’s defensive prowess and athleticism and likes the fact that he prefers to work out in a group setting to showcase his defense. Joining Mitchell today will be Villanova’s Josh Hart, Miami’s Davon Reed, Iowa State’s Naz Long and others.

There’s more draft news on the eve of the big event:

  • The Celtics have received Josh Jackson‘s medical records, but the Kansas forward still refuses to work out for the team, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Boston appears to be leaning toward Duke’s Jayson Tatum with the No. 3 pick, Ford states, but no decision has been made.
  • Ford still has Jackson as the third selection in his latest mock draft, which was released today. Markelle Fultz remains No. 1, followed by Lonzo Ball, with the rest of the top 10 as Tatum, Jonathan Isaac, De’Aaron Fox, Dennis Smith Jr., Monk, Zach Collins and Markkanen.
  • Terrance Ferguson recently pulled out of workouts with the Pistons, Hawks and Bucks, tweets Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. It’s possible that Ferguson received a draft promise from the Nuggets or Nets or he may have been responding to poor workouts (Twitter link).
  • A 7-footer with a soft shooting touch, Markkanen is drawing comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki, writes Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Some scouts believe the 20-year-old Finnish star is the best 3-point shooter in the draft. “It’s probably not fair to him to have some young guy compared to a Hall of Fame player and champion,” Markkanen said of Nowitzki. “We have similarities because of the height, being from Europe and shooting. But I have a long way to go before I’m in the same category as him. Hopefully, I can get there one day.”
  • The Wizards will work out six players today, the team announced on its website. They are French center Alpha Kaba, Cincinnati’s Troy Caupain Jr., VCU’s JeQuan Lewis, Eastern Michigan’s Jalen Ross, Niagara’s Tahjere McCall and East Tennessee State’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hawks, Workouts

The Celtics and Sixers have been active this offseason and are poised to make significant moves both in this Thursday’s NBA Draft and free agency. However, those teams’ upgrades highlight the Wizards‘ potential lack of movement this offseason, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post writes.

Philadelphia acquired Boston’s first overall pick in exchange for its third overall pick and is poised to land Washington’s Markelle Fultz at No. 1. Meanwhile, the Celtics picked up another future first-rounder and are monitoring the free agent and trade market, with names like Jimmy Butler, Paul George, and even Kristaps Porzingis at the forefront. The Sixers also still have last year’s first overall pick, Ben Simmons, who missed 2016/17 due to injury, ready to go.

“If you’re a Philly fan, you’ve got to be thrilled. These are the kinds of moves you want to see, and if you’re a Boston fan, you have to feel great as well,” one longtime Eastern Conference scout said to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “How that affects [Washington]? It’s like you’re a bystander.”

Here are additional notes around the Southeast Division:

  • The Hawks enter Thursday’s draft with the 19th overall pick and while the team may look to move up, general manager Travis Schlenk says it’s not a priority, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.
  • Assistant coach Neven Spahija has been granted Mike Budenholzer’s blessing  to leave the Hawks and sign as head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv through 2020, according to David Pick (via Twitter).
  • The Wizards are set to host their final pre-draft workout and J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic tweets that the attendees will include international prospect Alpha Kaba, Cincinnati’s Troy Caupain, VCU’s JeQuan Lewis., Hartford’s Jalen Ross, Tennessee State’s Tahjere McCall, and East Tennessee State’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea.
  • Walt Disney and the Magic have agreed to a three-year agreement to have the Disney logo appear on jerseys starting in 2017/18, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes.  The Magic become the eight team to secure a sponsorship deal with players wearing logos on jerseys. Check out the full list here.
  • Kansas State’s Wesley Iwundu is scheduled to have a second workout with the Magic, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). The Magic have the 25th, 33rd, and 35th picks in the draft.

Sixers Notes: Fultz, Ball, Embiid, Simmons, Korkmaz

With the No. 3 pick in this month’s draft, the Sixers aren’t overly likely to have a chance to draft either Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t doing its due diligence on those top prospects. President of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo told reporters today, including Derek Bodner (Twitter link) that they’ve talked to Fultz’s reps about the possibility of working him out, though it seems like he may only audition for the Celtics.

Meanwhile, Colangelo said the Sixers haven’t yet met with Ball, but would still like to do so, as Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com tweets. With the exception of those two point guards, Philadelphia has workouts lined up for all of this year’s top prospects, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

Here’s more on the Sixers:

  • According to Colangelo, the Sixers have their eye on six or seven prospects with the No. 3 overall pick (Twitter link via Bodner). In addition to Fultz and Ball, I’d imagine guys like De’Aaron Fox, Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, and Malik Monk are under consideration.
  • Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons won’t participate in Summer League play for the Sixers, Colangelo confirmed today (Twitter link via Bodner). Both players are coming off season-ending injuries, so it seems the team will take it slow and look to get them ready for the fall.
  • 2016 first-round pick Furkan Korkmaz, a draft-and-stash prospect, may play for the Sixers in the Summer League, depending on his international commitments (Twitter link via Bodner). For now, Korkmaz is traveling to Philadelphia to visit the Sixers and work out with some of the club’s players, per Pompey (Twitter link). The young shooting guard wants to come stateside for the 2017/18 season, but has a pricey buyout – $2MM, according to David Pick – and the 76ers may want to stash him for a little while longer.
  • Tyler Cavanaugh (George Washington), Derrick White (Colorado), Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State), Isaiah Briscoe (Kentucky), Reggie Upshaw Jr. (Middle Tennessee State), and Melo Trimble (Maryland) worked out today for the Sixers, as Pompey writes for The Inquirer.