Tariq Owens Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Fans In Arenas, W. Chandler, 2021 Draft, More

December 11th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

For the time being, only five teams – the Jazz, Pelicans, Magic, Rockets, and Grizzlies – are continuing with their plans to have some fans in arenas when the regular season begins, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.

The Mavericks and Heat each confirmed today that they won’t have fans for their preseason games, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami also won’t host fans for its Christmas Day game, as Chiang notes.

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

The NBA intends to administer a daily point-of-care, rapid coronavirus testing system for the 2020/21 season, according to Shams Charania and Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter links). Those tests would return results within 30 minutes in teams’ home markets and within 90 minutes on the road. In the event of invalid results, the player would undergo another rapid test at least 30 minutes after the first one and could participate in team activities while awaiting the result, sources tell The Athletic.
Veteran forward Wilson Chandler is expected to leave Zhejiang Guangsha, his team in China, a source tells Sportando. Chandler, who finished the 2019/20 season with Brooklyn, signed to play in the Chinese Basketball Association in the fall. It’s unclear whether or not his reported exit is related to an NBA opportunity.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have published their first list of the top 100 prospects for the 2021 NBA draft. Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham leads the way, followed by USC’s Evan Mobley and Jalen Green of the G League Ignite.
Speaking of Green and the Ignite, they’re scheduled to scrimmage on December 15 and 17 against a group of veteran G Leaguers, according to Givony (all Twitter links). It’s unclear whether or not those games will be streamed, but NBA teams will get access to the film, according to Givony, who says Isaiah Briscoe, Tariq Owens, and Bryce Alford will be among the vets scrimmaging against the Ignite.

NBA Announces Official Rosters For Summer Restart

July 20th, 2020 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced the official summer rosters for each of the 22 teams involved in the resumption of the 2019/20 season. A total of 350 players make up the 22 squads, with only eight clubs carrying the maximum allowable 17 players. The Trail Blazers have the smallest summer roster, with just 13 players.

Injured players who didn’t make the trip to Orlando – such as Nets stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant – don’t show up on the official rosters list, but injured players who traveled with their teams – including Mavericks big man Dwight Powell and Pacers swingman Jeremy Lamb – are included, even if they won’t play this summer.

Besides players who are injured, voluntarily opted out, or were ruled out after contracting COVID-19, there are a few more notable omissions on the list, which we’ll round up here:

Houston Rockets: William Howard
- A two-way player, Howard recently reached a two-year deal with ASVEL Basket in France, so it makes sense that he won’t be playing for the Rockets this summer.
Los Angeles Clippers: Johnathan Motley, Mfiondu Kabengele
- As previously reported, Motley and Kabengele didn’t travel to Orlando with the Clippers and won’t be playing this summer.
Milwaukee Bucks: Cameron Reynolds
- The Bucks only brought one of their two-way players (Frank Mason III), as Reynolds doesn’t show up on their official roster. The reason for his absence is unclear.
New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Gray
- Darius Miller also isn’t listed on the Pelicans’ roster, but he’s injured, so it appears that Gray – a two-way player – is the player being replaced by Sindarius Thornwell, who was signed as a substitute player earlier this month. That would mean that Gray was one of three Pelicans players who contracted COVID-19 in June.
Philadelphia 76ers: Ryan Broekhoff
- Broekhoff was signed as a substitute player to fill the Sixers’ open two-way slot, but later announced that he hadn’t traveled to Orlando because his wife, who is “high risk,” tested positive for COVID-19. Based on his omission from Philadelphia’s roster, it appears that Broekhoff won’t be joining the club after all.
Phoenix Suns: Tariq Owens
- The Suns left one of their two-way slots open and apparently didn’t bring their lone two-way player to Orlando. The reason for Owens’ absence is unclear.
Portland Trail Blazers: Moses Brown
- Despite only having 13 players available in Orlando, the Trail Blazers won’t have Brown – their second two-way player – with them. The reason for his absence is unclear.
Washington Wizards: Gary Payton II
- Like the Pelicans, the Wizards signed a substitute player (Jarrod Uthoff) without announcing who he’d be replacing. It appears that player is Payton, who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

Suns Sign Tariq Owens To Two-Way Contract

January 15th, 2020 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 15: The Suns have officially signed Owens to a two-way contract, the club confirmed today in a press release.

JANUARY 14: The Suns intend to sign Tariq Owens to a two-way contract in advance of Wednesday’s deadline, sources tell Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link). January 15 is the last day that teams can sign players to two-way deals this season.

Owens, a 6’10” forward, played college ball at Tennessee and St. John’s before joining Texas Tech for the 2018/19 season. He helped lead the team to the national title game by averaging 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 38 games (25.4 MPG), then signed a training camp deal with the Suns last summer.

Although he didn’t make the team’s regular season roster, Owens has spent the year with Phoenix’s G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns. He has recorded 9.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 23 NBAGL contests (24.3 MPG).

No corresponding roster move will be necessary to bring aboard Owens, since Jared Harper has been the Suns’ only two-way player all season long. Owens will be eligible to spend up to 24 days in the NBA before the end of the G League regular season in March, though I imagine he’ll continue to spend the majority of his time with Northern Arizona.

Suns Waive Three Players

October 15th, 2019 at 5:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns are trimming their roster down in preparation of opening night. Guard David Kramer, center Norense Odiase, and forward Tariq Owens have all been waived, according to the team.

All three players were on Exhibit 10 deals. It wouldn’t be surprising if each player finds his way to the franchise’s G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns.

Phoenix’s roster is down to 16 players. That figure includes Jared Harper, who is on a two-way deal.

Suns Sign Tariq Owens

July 18th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have signed undrafted rookie Tariq Owens to a one-year contract, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

Owens, a 6’10” forward, played college ball at Tennessee and St. John’s before joining Texas Tech for the 2018/19 season. He helped lead the team to the national title game by averaging 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 38 games (25.4 MPG).

The Suns carried Owens on their roster this month for Summer League play, though he didn’t see any action.

The undrafted free agent likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he looks like a candidate to end up with the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate.