Trey Lewis

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)

And-Ones: Ignite, BayHawks, Go-Go, Practices, Lewis

With the 2021 G League bubble coming to an end last week, players on the G League Ignite have essentially gone their separate ways and are expected to train individually ahead of the draft, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

The roster has four players in particular — Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix — who are projected to be drafted in 2021. Green and Kuminga are recognized as probable high lottery picks.

The team’s facilities in Walnut Creek, California remain available for players to use, Stein adds. The Ignite finished its inaugural season with an 8-7 record, having competed with a unique mix of young players and veterans.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Fred Katz of The Athletic takes a look at how the G League arrangement between the Wizards and Pelicans worked this season. Washington opted not to have an affiliate in the G League bubble, though the team did reach an agreement to send multiple players to New Orleans’ team, the Erie BayHawks, instead.
  • Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times examines how the coronavirus pandemic has virtually decimated practices in the NBA this season. Woike explores how the pandemic has made it difficult for teams to schedule practices in an unprecedented campaign, something the league hopes will improve as the year goes on. “We use the games as practice,” Nets star James Harden said. “… The most important thing is being ready once the postseason starts.”
  • Maccabi Rishon (Israel) has released guard Trey Lewis, announcing the news on social media today. Lewis, 28, holds several years of overseas experience, also playing with the Jazz’s G League affiliate during the 2018/19 season. He went undrafted in 2015 after playing at Penn State, Cleveland State and Louisville.

And-Ones: McMillan, T. Lewis, J. Jones, Free Agency

After initially planning to sit out the 2020/21 season following his dismissal from the Pacers, Nate McMillan has had an apparent change of heart, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Sources tell Agness that McMillan is hoping to be on an NBA coaching staff next season and has already heard from several teams.

While we don’t know all the clubs McMillan has talked to, it’s safe to assume Houston is one. After word broke on Wednesday that the Rockets were hiring Stephen Silas as their head coach, a report indicated that the team was looking to add a couple former head coaches – including McMillan – to Silas’ new staff.

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

  • In international basketball news, former Salt Lake City Stars guard Trey Lewis is signing with Israeli team Maccabi Rishon, per JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link), while former Capital City Go Go wing Jalen Jones is joining Italy’s Pallacanestro Varese, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Lewis was in camp with the Jazz in 2018, while Jones appeared in 32 NBA games with three teams from 2017-19.
  • Earlier this week, the NBA sent teams its proposed game presentation protocols for 2020/21, assuming that few – or no – fans are permitted in arenas, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Those protocols would include enhanced theatrical lighting and pre-recorded arena noise (possibly from NBA 2K).
  • In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks estimates the starting salaries for this year’s free agents, including Fred VanVleet ($18-20MM), Joe Harris ($14-16MM), and Danilo Gallinari ($14-16MM), among many others.
  • With an apparent divide between the NBA and NBPA on whether to start the season on December 22 and January 18, Ethan Strauss of The Athletic wonders if a staggered start that allows some well-rested teams to headline the Christmas Day slate might be a good compromise.

Jazz Release Trey Lewis

The Jazz have made their first roster cut of the preseason, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived guard Trey Lewis. Lewis will clear waivers on Friday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

Lewis, who went undrafted out of Louisville in 2016, has played in Germany and France since beginning his professional career. He joined the Jazz for the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues in July and made a strong enough impression that the club signed him in August, bringing him to training camp.

Although Lewis won’t crack Utah’s 15-man regular season roster, he looks like a candidate to land with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s G League affiliate, assuming he opts to sign an NBAGL contract rather than heading back overseas.

The Jazz now have 19 players on their preseason roster, including 14 on fully guaranteed contracts and two on two-way deals.

Jazz Sign Trey Lewis

The Jazz have signed Trey Lewis, according to Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News (via Twitter). The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

Lewis played at Louisville with Jazz star Donovan Mitchell. Woodyard has previously written about the duo’s close relationship.

The 6’2″ guard played for Utah’s two Summer League teams this offseason. During his four games in Las Vegas, he averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds. and 2.3 assists per contest.

Lewis went undrafted in 2017 and spent his 2017/18 season playing aboard. He split time between JL Bourg-en-Bresse of the LNB Pro A in France and Ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany

Jazz Host 32 Free Agents At Veteran Mini-Camp

The Jazz are hosting a veteran mini-camp on Friday and Saturday, with 32 players set to participate in the event, the team announced in a press release.

While the list of participants isn’t exactly star-studded, there are a handful of intriguing names, including several players who have spent time in NBA training camps and some who have played in regular season games. Lavoy Allen, K.J. McDaniels, Diamond Stone, Jarrod Uthoff, and Mike Tobey are among the free agents at Utah’s mini-camp who have logged NBA minutes.

While many of the participants in this weekend’s mini-camp won’t ever play in an NBA game, the event has paid dividends for the Jazz in the past. As Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News writes, Royce O’Neale made a strong impression on the franchise during a free agent mini-camp in 2016, which eventually led to O’Neale signing a contract with Utah last summer and becoming a key part of the rotation in 2017/18.

“We tried to get him that summer (2016), tried to sign him but he decided to go to Spain and made the right choice for him because he got better over there and it ended up working out in the long run for him,” Jazz director of scouting Bart Taylor said. “Royce is a great story and we like to say it puts pressure on us to find another one.”

Taylor is optimistic about identifying another future contributor among this year’s group.

“There’s some good talent out here,” Taylor said. “I like to joke with all our guys and say there’s three or four guys out here that’ll play in the NBA, but you’ve got to find them. So there’s definitely a few guys out here that we like, a lot of guys actually that we really like but we’re just trying to see how they do over the course of the three practices and hopefully one of them does turn into Royce.”

Here’s the full list of participants for Utah’s free agent mini-camp:

Latest On Paul George

There’s a near-unanimous view around the league that Paul George will sign with the Lakers next summer despite Friday’s trade to the Thunder, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Lowe states that the chances of George heading to L.A. are about 75%, and the Celtics and Cavaliers had that in mind as they were working to obtain him.

The Lakers also subscribe to that view, which is why they weren’t willing to part with Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball to get George from the Pacers now. Lowe adds that Indiana didn’t have any interest in former Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, who was subsequently dealt to the Nets.

The ESPN writer shares more information about Friday’s major deal:

  • The Celtics wanted to see if they could land Gordon Hayward in free agency before completing a trade for George. They were reluctant to deal two starters in exchange for George without knowing whether they were getting Hayward.
  • Boston’s last offer for George didn’t include Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, the 2018 Nets pick or the Lakers/Kings pick that Boston received from Philadelphia. There were reports that the Celtics offered Indiana three picks at some point, but Lowe believes those were a combination of Boston’s future selections and protected 2019 first-rounders from the Grizzlies and Clippers. All of those draft choices could have fallen into the 20s, Lowe notes, and the Pacers wanted something more likely to be in the top 10.
  • A three-way trade involving the Pacers, Cavaliers and Nuggets was discussed on Friday. The deal would have sent George to Cleveland, Kevin Love to Denver and Gary Harris, Trey Lyles and a protected first-rounder to Indiana. Lowe describes the Cavaliers, Nuggets and Celtics as “stunned” when news broke that George was headed to Oklahoma City.
  • The Trail Blazers tried to get George on draft night, offering a package that included several picks and at least one player, but the Pacers turned it down.

Northwest Notes: Henderson, Jazz, Wolves

Earlier in his career, Gerald Henderson‘s top priority as a free agent might have been to find a team that would give him the opportunity to start. However, with his Trail Blazers contract set to expire, Henderson will prioritize contending teams this offseason, recognizing that being a starter isn’t as important to him as it once was.

“It’s great to start; starting the game is a special thing,” Henderson said, according to Cody Sharrett of Blazers.com. “To be a starter in the NBA is a cool thing, I’ve done it for a long time, but what’s really more important to me is playing significant minutes in times where a team needs you and more of your impact while you’re out on the floor – just being a part of what’s going on. You look at different teams, sometimes the best player comes off the bench, it all depends on what kind of team you have. I’d probably say three or four years ago, [starting] was much more important to me.”

Let’s check in on a few more items from out of the Northwest…

  • The Jazz are hosting six more players for pre-draft workouts today, the team announced (via Twitter). The list of participants: Josh Gray (LSU), Rosco Allen (Stanford), Tanner Plomb (West Point), Trey Lewis (Louisville), Brannen Greene (Kansas), and James Webb III (Boise State).
  • The Timberwolves worked out Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere individually on Tuesday, and also had Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova), Tim Quarterman (LSU), Wes Washpun (Northern Iowa), Devin Thomas (Wake Forest), and Josh Scott (Colorado) in for a group workout, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links). Damion Lee (Louisville) had also been scheduled to participate, but pulled out due to an injury.
  • The Trail Blazers are hosting multiple free agent mini-camps and are saying they may end up signing multiple participants from those camps, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Russ Smith and Erick Green were among the free agents in attendance at Portland’s first veteran mini-camp.
  • As Erik Horne of The Oklahoman details, Andre Roberson enjoyed a breakout season in 2015/16, and is becoming a reliable two-way wing just in time for the opening of his contract extension window. If the Thunder don’t sign Roberson to an extension this year, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.