Vince Edwards

International Notes: Exum, Leaf, Motiejunas, Edwards

It doesn’t appear an NBA return is in the cards this offseason for former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum. According to a report from Dorde Matic of MozzartSport.com (hat tip to Eurohoops.net), Exum is on track to sign a contract with KK Partizan, a EuroLeague team based in Belgrade, Serbia.

Exum, 26, battled injuries during his NBA career and was limited to just 245 regular season appearances across seven years (2014-21) in Utah and Cleveland. He spent last season in Barcelona after being cut by the Rockets last fall.

Exum indicated in March that he was open to an NBA return but also wouldn’t mind continuing his career in Europe. It appears that’s the plan for the time being.

Here are a few more updates from around the international basketball world:

  • Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link) hears that former UCLA standout T.J. Leaf will join the Beijing Ducks for the 2022/23 campaign after finishing last season with the Guangzhou Loong Lions. A previous report indicated that Leaf, the No. 18 overall pick in 2017, was on track to join Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, but a deal between the two sides was never officially completed. The veteran forward appeared in 146 games for Indiana and Portland from 2017-21.
  • Former NBA forward Donatas Motiejunas, a first-round pick in 2011, is finalizing a new two-year contract with AS Monaco after spending the 2021/22 season with the club, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The 31-year-old appeared in a total of 251 NBA games for Houston, New Orleans, and San Antonio from 2012-19.
  • Vince Edwards, a 2018 second-round pick who spent the ’21/22 season with the Iowa Wolves in the G League, has signed with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, the French team announced in a press release. The 26-year-old forward appeared in just two games at the NBA level, but he has played in the NBAGL extensively since going pro four years ago. This will be his first stint in Europe.

Timberwolves Sign, Waive Vince Edwards

OCTOBER 16: The Wolves have waived Edwards, according to an announcement from the team. Minnesota’s roster should now be set for the regular season, with 16 players under contract, including 14 on standard deals.


OCTOBER 15: The Timberwolves have signed forward Vince Edwards, per a team press release.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 contract. Edwards will likely be waived before the season starts and will be in line for a bonus of up to $50K if he sticks with the Iowa Wolves for at least 60 days.

Edwards was the 52nd overall pick of the 2018 draft after a very respectable four-year college career at Purdue. He played in two games for the Rockets in 2018-19, but only saw action for 16 total minutes. He’s spent the majority of the past three seasons in the G League, most recently with the OKC Blue.

2020/21 NBA G League Draft Results

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2020/21 season on Monday afternoon.

In a typical year, the G League draft lasts four rounds and teams are only required to make two selections. However, this year’s draft was just three rounds and teams weren’t required to make any picks.

Because only 17 of 28 NBA G League affiliates (plus the G League Ignite) are participating in the revamped season at Walt Disney World in Florida, and because teams aren’t permitted to bring extra players to training camp for health and safety reasons, roster spots will be at a premium in the NBAGL this season, and the draft reflected that. Only 25 players were selected.

With the first overall pick, the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ affiliate – nabbed former Wizard Admiral Schofield. The 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 33 games (11.2 MPG) as a rookie before being traded to the Thunder during the offseason. Oklahoma City waived him last month.

With the second overall pick, which they acquired in a trade earlier in the day, the Memphis Hustle selected former Baylor standout Freddie Gillespie, who had been in camp with the Mavericks. Gillespie recently spoke to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors about his desire to make it to the NBA and his plans to begin his professional career in the G League. He’s now in position to suit up for the Grizzlies‘ affiliate.

Here are the full 2020/21 G League draft results:

Round One:

  1. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Admiral Schofield (Tennessee)
  2. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Freddie Gillespie (Baylor)
  3. Canton Charge (Cavaliers): Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
  4. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
  5. Lakeland Magic (Magic):  Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State)
  6. Canton Charge: Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
  7. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
  8. Lakeland Magic: DJ Hogg (Texas A&M)
  9. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Patton (Creighton)
  10. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Armoni Brooks (Houston)
  11. Raptors 905 (Raptors): Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
  12. Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
  13. Oklahoma City Blue: Vince Edwards (Purdue)
  14. Austin Spurs (Spurs): Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield)
  15. Raptors 905: Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
  16. Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
  17. Iowa Wolves: Dakarai Tucker (Utah)
  18. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): No pick
  19. N/A

Round Two:

  1. Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State)
  2. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
  3. Westchester Knicks: No pick
  4. Iowa Wolves: No pick
  5. Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
  6. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
  7. Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight (Seton Hall)
  8. Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
  9. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Selom Mawugbe (Azusa Pacific)
  10. Raptors 905: No pick
  11. Memphis Hustle: No pick
  12. Austin Spurs: Anthony Mathis (Oregon)
  13. Erie BayHawks (Pelicans): No pick
  14. Greensboro Swarm: No pick
  15. Austin Spurs: Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown)
  16. Santa Cruz Warriors: No pick
  17. Memphis Hustle: No pick
  18. Oklahoma City Blue: Rob Edwards (Arizona State)
  19. Salt Lake City Stars: No pick

Round Three:

  1. Greensboro Swarm: No pick
  2. Erie BayHawks: No pick
  3. Westchester Knicks: No pick
  4. Delaware Blue Coats: Braxton Key (Virginia)
  5. No picks from 43-57

The teams that didn’t make any picks will fill their rosters with affiliate players and returning rights players, meaning they didn’t need to draft anyone and/or didn’t have the open spots to do so.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted (via Twitter), NBAGL teams overwhelmingly opted for youth, passing on most of the notable veteran NBA players in the draft pool. That group included Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Emeka Okafor, and Shabazz Muhammad, among others.

Former Nets first-rounder Dzanan Musa removed his name from the draft pool before the event began, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

Kings Waive Vince Edwards

The Kings have waived small forward Vince Edwards, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

Edwards signed a camp deal with the team this week and was just briefly part of Sacramento’s roster. The move appears designed to get Edwards a $50K bonus if he plays for the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton, though I believe the club would have to acquire his NBAGL returning rights from the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s affiliate.

Edwards spent the 2019/20 season in the G League, appearing in 38 total games for the Oklahoma City Blue and the Charge. He averaged 9.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG on .456/.379/.708 in 23.2 minutes per contest.

The Kings now have 18 players on their camp roster, including 17 on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal. They’ll need to make a couple more moves to set their squad for the regular season.

Kings Sign Vince Edwards To Camp Deal

DECEMBER 17: The Kings officially signed Edwards on Wednesday, per RealGM’s transactions log. While Edwards was initially expected to compete for a regular season roster spot, I’m not sure he still has a chance to make the 15-man squad, given the delay in signing him.


NOVEMBER 27: The Kings are signing small forward Vince Edwards to a one-year, minimum-salary deal, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (via Twitter). Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract, while Jason Jones of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Edwards will have the chance to compete for a regular season roster spot.

Edwards, who was the 52nd overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Rockets, but appeared in just two NBA games during his stint with Houston. He has spent the majority of his first two professional seasons playing in the G League.

In 69 total NBAGL games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Canton Charge, and Oklahoma City Blue, Edwards has averaged 9.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG on .417/.347/.654 shooting in 26.5 minutes per contest.

New Kings general manager Monte McNair previously worked in Houston’s front office, so he got a first-hand look at Edwards when he was a Rocket in ’18/19.

In-Market Bubble Updates: Pistons, Wolves, Cavs

As the NBA’s bottom eight teams gear up to conduct group workouts starting next week, the Pistons have 15 players in attendance for the first phase of their in-market bubble. However, that 15-man group includes five G Leaguers, with a number of notable names from the NBA roster absent.

As Eric Woodyard of ESPN details, head coach Dwane Casey said on Wednesday that Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Christian Wood, and Langston Galloway aren’t participating.

“All of our young guys are here. Derrick Rose and Blake are not here, which is totally understandable,” Casey said. “Both are working out, and it’s nothing physical. They’re both 100 percent. Blake’s working out in LA, and Derrick is in and out of town.”

As for Wood and Galloway, both players are set to reach unrestricted free agency this fall, so Casey said he understood why they’d be reluctant to participate in workouts with the club over the next few weeks.

“We’re not reading anything into that either way,” Casey said, per Woodyard. “So it’s just something I totally get because if I’m a free agent, I wouldn’t attend anyway to the team you’re not under contract with.”

Here’s more on those mini-camps taking part in “bubbles” across the country:

  • The majority of the Timberwolves‘ key players, including Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and restricted free agent Malik Beasley, are participating in their in-market bubble, as are G Leaguers Canyon Barry and Lindell Wigginton (Twitter link via Woodyard). Free-agent-to-be Evan Turner, Omari Spellman, and Juan Hernangomez won’t be in attendance. Hernangomez is an RFA and is currently overseas, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), while Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that Spellman’s camp is hoping to find the big man a new home.
  • Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com provides details on the Cavaliers‘ in-market bubble plans for the next two-and-a-half weeks, with group practices set to begin next Wednesday. Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova, both eligible for free agency, won’t attend, but G Leaguers Levi Randolph, Marques Bolden and Vince Edwards have been invited to participate.
  • A personal matter will also prevent center Andre Drummond from attending the Cavaliers‘ mini-camp, though he wanted to be there, sources tell Fedor. “He’s been pretty engaged in everything,” one source said of Drummond. “It’s not like he’s gone dark. He wanted to be there. It’s nothing malicious. It’s not a sign or anything like that. It’s not going to cause a rift.”
  • The NBA sent a memo to the league’s bottom eight teams warning them that if they “require or coerce” players to participate in the optional workouts, they’ll be subject to league punishment, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

And-Ones: Doncic, Crawford, Cook, Edwards

Luka Doncic, who played in both the Rising Stars and All-Star games this weekend, has another non-Mavericks event circled on his calendar for later this year. Asked about his potential participation for Slovenia in this June’s Olympics qualifying tournament, Doncic responded, “I’m gonna play for sure” (Twitter link via Donatas Urbonas).

The Mavericks star didn’t get the chance to suit up for his home country during the 2019 FIBA World Cup, since Slovenia wasn’t able to qualify for the event. This June’s tournament will represent the last chance the squad has to earn a spot in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Doncic and the Slovenians won’t have it easy — they’ll have to beat Lithuania and Poland, among others, in that qualifying tournament to secure one of four Olympic berths up for grabs this summer.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former NBA guard Jordan Crawford is working out for German team Brose Bamberg, according to Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. If the audition – which will take place within the next 10 days – goes well, Crawford will sign a rest-of-season deal with the German club, Borghesan adds.
  • In a conversation with Ian Begley of SNY.tv, veteran NBA agent Todd Ramasar provided an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at his typical approach to the NBA trade deadline.
  • The Canton Charge and Oklahoma City Blue completed a trade sending Tyler Cook to the Thunder‘s G League affiliate and Vince Edwards to Cleveland’s NBAGL team (Twitter link). Both players have some NBA experience, with Cook having spent time with the Cavaliers this season on a two-way deal, a standard contract, and a pair of 10-day pacts.
  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony examines a few of the notable prospects who took part in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during All-Star weekend in Chicago.

Thunder Sign, Waive Barefield, Edwards, Jack

3:49pm: As expected, the Thunder have now waived Barefield, Edwards, and Jack, the team announced in a follow-up press release. OKC’s roster is back down to 16 players, including a pair on two-way contracts.

9:36am: The Thunder are making some last-minute roster moves to line up players for their G League affiliate, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed guard Sedrick Barefield, as well as forwards Vince Edwards and Kadeem Jack.

Barefield, an undrafted rookie out of Utah, averaged 16.8 PPG and 3.8 APG with a .408/.388/.825 shooting line in 31 games (32.2 MPG) in 2018/19, which was his final college season. He played for Atlanta’s Summer League team in July.

Edwards, a 2018 second-round pick, spent his rookie year on a two-way contract with the Rockets. He averaged 9.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 31 games (30.6 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, appearing in just two games for Houston.

Jack, a former Rutgers forward, is a G League veteran, having appeared in a total of 129 games for a handful of NBAGL squads. He last played for the South Bay Lakers early in 2018/19.

It appears as if the Thunder should be able to designate all three signees as affiliate players for their own G League team – the OKC Blue – since Jack was waived by South Bay last season and the other two players have never signed NBAGL contracts. All three will likely be released by the Thunder shortly.

Malcolm Brogdon Gets Qualifying Offer From Bucks

The Bucks took the decision down to the wire, but they have extended a qualifying offer to Malcolm Brogdon that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Brogdon’s offer is $3,021,354, according to Basketball Insiders, and that will also count as his cap hold.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been limited by injuries the past two seasons. He put up a 15.6/4.5/3.2 line in 64 games before suffering a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March. Brogdon has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most efficient shooters, averaging 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and a league-best 93% from the foul line this year.

The Bucks may be reluctant to match a huge offer for Brogdon when they have other free agent concerns in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers have been mentioned among interested teams, but there are lingering concerns about the long-term condition of his foot.

There are a few more decisions on qualifying offers to catch up on:

  • The Nuggets extended a QO to two-way player Brandon Goodwin, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The point guard got into 16 NBA games during his rookie season.
  • The Hawks opted not to give a QO to Justin Anderson, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Journal Constitution (Twitter link). Anderson appeared in 48 games for Atlanta after being acquired in a trade with the Sixers last summer.
  • Jerian Grant will also be an unrestricted free agent after the Magic passed on a QO, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Acquired from the Bulls during the offseason, Grant appeared in 60 games for Orlando.
  • The Clippers didn’t extend a QO to G League Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
  • Rockets two-way players Trevon Duval and Vince Edwards didn’t receive qualifying offers, and neither did Warriors two-way player Marcus Derrickson, according to Keith Smith. However, Damion Lee – Golden State’s other two-way player – received a QO (Twitter links).

Rockets Set Roster For Regular Season

OCTOBER 15: The two-way contracts for Edwards and Clark are official, the Rockets confirmed today. Houston’s roster is now set for the regular season.

OCTOBER 13: The Rockets have waived Bruno Caboclo, and forward Tim Bond, along with guards Angel Rodriguez and Brandon Sampson and forward , sources tell Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Additionally, Houston plans to convert Vince Edwards and Gary Clark to two-way players, Feigen adds.

Edwards, 22, was the Jazz’s second-round pick in this year’s draft but was immediately traded to Houston. He saw limited action in the preseason, playing double digits in minutes just once as he posted six points, four rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes on Tuesday against China’s Shanghai Sharks.

As for Clark, the undrafted forward out of Cincinnati signed with the Rockets and made a case for the team’s final roster spot. Instead, both he and Edwards appears set to split the year between the G League and NBA. Two-way deals permit players to spend up to 45 days in the NBA with the rest coming with the G League affiliate.

Houston elected to keep its 15th roster spot vacant for the time being to allow for both roster and financial flexibility.

Of the four waived players, Caboclo has the most significant NBA experience, appearing in 37 games with the Raptors over the past four seasons. The Rockets signed Rodriguez, Sampson and Bond to Exhibit 10 contracts, so the club will have the opportunity to make them affiliate players with the G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers, assuming they go unclaimed on waivers.