Travis Wear

World Cup Notes: Olynyk, Canada, Select Team

As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, a knee injury will prevent Heat forward Kelly Olynyk from playing for Team Canada during this year’s World Cup in China. The Heat confirmed as much today in a press release announcing Olynyk’s right knee bone bruise.

According to Wojnarowski and the Heat, Olynyk is expected to be ready for the start of the NBA regular season. However, it’s not clear whether he’ll be healthy enough to fully participate in training camp next month. If he’s not, it could mean added reps for the likes of Meyers Leonard, James Johnson, Duncan Robinson, and/or some camp invitees.

As for Team Canada, their World Cup squad takes yet another hit. It has been overshadowed by all the Team USA withdrawals, but Team Canada has also experienced an exodus of NBA players from its roster, as we detailed last week. Olynyk joins Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Dwight Powell, and many other Canadians on the list of players won’t be participating in the 2019 World Cup.

Here are a few more notes related to the World Cup:

Lakers Sign Johnathan Williams To Two-Way Deal

Less than 24 hours after their first game of the 2018/19 regular season, the Lakers have made a change to one of their two-way contract slots, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed power forward Johnathan Williams and waived forward Travis Wear.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]

Williams, who was in camp with the Lakers, averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG in six preseason games (14.5 MPG) with the team. The Gonzaga product was released last Saturday by Los Angeles when the team initially cut its down roster down to the regular season limit, but didn’t remain a free agent for long.

As for Wear, the former UCLA standout has had multiple stints with the Lakers, appearing in 17 regular season contests for the franchise last season. The 28-year-old is a solid three-point shooter, having converted 36.4% of his three-point attempts in the NBA and 38.1% in the G League. The South Bay Lakers still hold Wear’s rights in the event he decides to return to the NBAGL, notes Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link).

It’s not clear if the Lakers envision an NBA role for Williams, but it’s worth noting that the team is fairly thin at the center position, with few viable options behind JaVale McGee. Williams could get a look at the five before reporting to South Bay.

Lakers Sign Travis Wear To Two-Way Deal

1:54pm: The Lakers have officially signed Wear to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

11:29am: The Lakers have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Travis Wear to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Wear has had multiple stints with the Lakers over the last couple years. He participated in training camp with the club in 2016 and played for the Lakers’ G League affiliate in each of the last two seasons. In the second half of the 2017/18 campaign, he signed a pair of 10-day contracts with L.A., followed by a rest-of-season deal.

In 17 games for the Lakers last season, Wear averaged 4.4 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 13.4 minutes per contest, knocking down 36.2% of his three-pointers. He was more effective for the South Bay Lakers, recording 16.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and a .445/.419/.855 shooting line in 34 G League games.

Wear will join Alex Caruso as the two Lakers currently on two-way contracts. The club had signed Malik Newman to a two-way deal at the start of the month, but cut him last week, opening up a slot for Wear.

Free Agent Rumors: Crawford, Ellington, Bjelica, Williams

The Sixers are interested in veteran free agent guard Jamal Crawford, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Crawford could fortify a bench that has lost Ersan Ilyasovaand Marco Belinelli since the start of free agency. Crawford, 38, averaged 10.3 PPG in 20.7 MPG for the Timberwolves last season. The Pelicans, Cavaliers, Warriors and Nuggets are also reportedly in the mix for Crawford, who opted out of his contract with Minnesota and left $4.54MM on the table.

In other news regarding the free agent market:

  • Unrestricted free agent shooting guard Wayne Ellington has drawn significant interest but he’s viewed as a good bet to re-sign with the Heat, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports tweets. Miami has a cap hold of $8.15MM on Ellington, who appeared in 77 games and averaged 11.2 PPG in 26.5 MPG while shooting 39.2% from long range.
  • The Jazz have a strong interest in Nemanja Bjelica, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The Timberwolves pulled their qualifying offer to the power forward in order to sign Anthony Tolliver, thus making Bjelica an unrestricted free agent.
  • The Knicks are interested in Alan Williams if he clears waivers, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Suns waived the power forward/center on Monday. The Knicks have also reached out to free agent power forwards Amir Johnson and Trevor Booker, Berman adds.
  • Williams hasn’t ruled out a return to the Suns but his agent has already heard from a handful of teams interested in his services, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. Williams, who appeared in only five games last season due to a knee injury, had a non-guaranteed salary of $5.5MM for next season and will likely get through waivers.
  • The Lakers have renounced their free-agent exception rights to guard Andre Ingram and power forward Travis Wear, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Lakers had a cap hold of $1.338MM on Ingram and $1.5MM on Wear. Ingram appeared in two games with Los Angeles last season, while Wear saw action in 17 games.
  • The Suns renounced their free-agent exception rights to center Alex Len, according to the RealGM transaction log. The Suns had a $7.96MM cap hold on Len. He appeared in 69 games last season but became expendable when they drafted Deandre Ayton.

Free Agent Stock Watch 2018: Los Angeles Lakers

For better or worse, the Lakers have known exactly what they wanted and how to get it for several seasons now. Now that the 2018 free agency period is upon us, we’ll see if the salary cap posturing was worth it. In an effort to make themselves an appealing destination for LeBron James and/or Paul George the club has neglected and even outright punted up-and-coming talent.

Given what’s at stake, any of Los Angeles’ own free agents will have to wait for dominoes to start falling before they can find out what kind of role – if any – is still available to them with the Lakers. Because of its history and location and all the inherent marketing opportunities that come along with being a celebrity in Hollywood, this organization is capable of things that nobody else is. Love it or hate, we’re going to see that on full display this summer.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, 25 (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $18MM deal in 2017
In today’s NBA there will always be a market for 3-and-D perimeter threats so whether it comes in Los Angeles or elsewhere, Caldwell-Pope should have no problem finding a suitor. That fact that he’s still only 25 years old only makes him all that more appealing. The problem, however – and the one thing standing between him and the max deal he allegedly sought last offseason – is that despite the guard’s legitimately impressive .423 three-point percentage after the All-Star Break, he’s never been a reliable go-to scoring option on a competitive team and appears to have a finite ceiling. Is the two-guard an untapped star or an elite niche player? I’d wager on the latter and caution any team desperate enough to pay him like the former.

Channing Frye, C, 35 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $32MM deal in 2014
Frye saw a reduced role in 2017/18 after serving as a valuable depth piece for the championship-contender Cavaliers the past two seasons. Still, despite seeing his usage trend downward, the veteran is as sneaky dangerous as ever. It’s hard to imagine Frye earning much more than the veteran’s minimum in his 13th season but it’s easy to picture him knocking down critical threes for a contender come the 2019 postseason.

Andre Ingram, SG, 32 (Down) – Signed to a one-year deal in 2018
Ingram had a memorable cup of coffee this season but isn’t likely to parlay the impressive debut into a full-time gig anytime soon. That said, the 32-year-old could find himself on the 10-day radar for depth-hungry teams late next season. That’s an improvement over a seemingly symbolic late-season addition in 2018.

Brook Lopez, C, 30 (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $63MM deal in 2015
Lopez has done an admirable job developing a three-point shot late in his career and that will likely help him prolong it, but don’t expect him to land another featured role like he had with the Nets anytime soon either. Lopez is on the wrong side of 30 and has never been a particularly feared rim protector. Expect the veteran to contribute meaningful minutes to a contender at a drastically reduced rate; playoff-bound teams don’t have the cap space and the rest shouldn’t even be looking.

Julius Randle, C, 23 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $14MM deal in 2014
Watching the Lakers mishandle Randle over the course of the past two seasons would have been outright inexcusable if they didn’t have a legitimate chance of landing a premier free agent or two this summer. They do, so we’ll let them off the hook, but if any other franchise were to drag an absolute workhorse through the mud for two seasons just because they wanted to keep their options open for free agency, we’d be laughing at them. Randle, a restricted free agent, is going to get paid this offseason and he should, my only hope – for the sake of the young man’s dignity – is that it comes from an organization that hasn’t made it abundantly clear that he’s a third or fourth priority. Fun prediction: Randle makes an All-Star team before any of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram or Kyle Kuzma.

Isaiah Thomas, PG, 29 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $27MM deal in 2014
For a fleeting moment in time, the stars aligned such that Thomas – an undersized, volume-shooting journeyman – was an honest-to-goodness MVP candidate. That, however, doesn’t mean that Thomas is or ever was a max player. While the drop in Thomas’ value here in 2018 can be lazily chalked up to his hip injury and the fact that he’ll be 30 years old by the end of next season, it wouldn’t have even felt right this time last season for a team to commit north of $25MM to a ball-dominant guard with a Napolean Complex. I can see Thomas as a world-class reserve combo guard if his hip holds up into the second-half of his career, I’m just not confident that he would share my vision.

Travis Wear, SF, 27 (Down) – Signed to a one-year deal in 2018
The Lakers brought Wear aboard as a last-season depth add and while he may not break camp with the team next season, he may have shown enough during his brief stint with the franchise to warrant a call-up earlier in the season next year. The Lakers may not have much of an interest in investing substantially in the forward but he’s a familiar face that could end up back in purple and gold eventually.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/7/18

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

  • The Lakers recalled center Thomas Bryant and forward Travis Wear from their South Bay affiliate, the G League team tweeted. The South Bay season is over following a loss to Austin in the Western Conference Finals.
  • The Hawks announced the recall of forwards Tyler Cavanaugh and Jeremy Evans from their Erie affiliate, which lost to Raptors 905 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/5/18

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

  • With the South Bay Lakers set to face the Austin Spurs in the NBAGL’s single-elimination Western Conference Finals, the Lakers assigned Travis Wear to the G League to play in the game, according to the club (Twitter link). Wear has been a key contributor for South Bay this season, averaging 16.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 33 contests.
  • The Spurs‘ affiliate also received reinforcements for Thursday night’s Western Conference Final, as the team assigned Derrick White to Austin, per a press release. White has put up 20.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 24 G League games this season.
  • The G League’s Eastern Conference Final isn’t happening until Friday, but the Hawks have gotten a head-start by assigning Tyler Cavanaugh and Jeremy Evans to the Erie BayHawks for that contest, tweets Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Erie will face Toronto’s affiliate, the Raptors 905, for the right to play in this year’s Finals.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/4/18

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

  • The Lakers have recalled Travis Wear, according to a tweet from their South Bay affiliate. Wear is expected to be in uniform tonight after scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds Tuesday in South Bay’s win over Reno in the Western Conference semifinals.
  • The Pacers have recalled Ike Anigbogu from Fort Wayne, the team announced on its website. He had five points, five rebounds and a block last night in the Mad Ants’ loss to Erie in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
  • The Hawks recalled Tyler Cavanaugh and Jeremy Evans from Erie, according to the team’s website. Cavanaugh had one point in Tuesday’s game, while Evans posted 24 points and seven rebounds.
  • The Spurs announced the recall of Derrick White. He had 20 points and six assists Monday as Austin defeated Rio Grande Valley and advanced to the Western Conference finals.

Pacific Notes: Ayton, Wear, Caruso, Fox, Thomas

Potential top pick DeAndre Ayton indicated during a radio interview that he and Devin Booker could form a duo similar to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant during their Lakers years if he winds up with the Suns, the team’s SB Nation blog The Bright Side tweets“Honestly, I could see myself in Phoenix,” the University of Arizona freshman center said in a CBS Sports Radio interview. “I could see a little Shaq and Kobe 2.0.” The Suns currently have the worst record in the league and will likely remain there. If they get the No. 1 selection, they could draft Ayton and then trade the first-rounders owed to them by the Heat and Bucks to move up and draft a point guard, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. If they fall to the No. 2 pick and Ayton is off the board, they would be happy to land Euro guard Luke Doncic and then move those same picks to get frontcourt help, Bordow adds.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

  • The Lakers have been forced to recall forward Travis Wear and guard Alex Caruso during the G League playoffs due to injuries, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register  notes. They will likely stay with the Lakers for their game against the Jazz on Tuesday if Brandon Ingram is still recovering from a concussion and Lonzo Ball remains sidelined with a knee contusion.
  • The Kings want to see rookie point guard De’Aaron Fox take ownership of the team and become a better playmaker during the remaining games, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Fox needs to realize he can impact the game without having a hot shooting night, coach Dave Joerger told Jones. “He’s got to demand from the rest of his team that he’s the leader, and going forward, set the tone for what he’s looking for,” Joerger said. “And get the ball out faster, or ‘give me some space and I’ll get you a shot.’ Those kinds of things where you go to the next level of leadership or you can kind of just finish the season.” 
  • Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will be represented once again by Excel Sports Management, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. Sam Goldfeder will be his agent, Mullen adds. Excel had been representing Thomas before signing with Goodwin Sports last fall.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 4/1/18

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

  • The Lakers recalled Travis Wear from their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, after their playoff matchup against the Oklahoma City Blue on Saturday, the team announced on Twitter. Wear enjoyed a strong regular season for South Bay, averaging 16.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 33 games.
  • The Hawks recalled forward Tyler Cavanaugh to their affiliate in Erie, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
  • The Thunder recalled rookie center Dakari Johnson from their Oklahoma City Blue affiliate after yesterday’s playoff game, the team announced in an email.