Tag: G League

Report: Lakers sign Thunder summer league center Kylor Kelley

Report: Lakers sign Thunder summer league center Kylor Kelley.

The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the summer league with a chance to see their rookies for the first time in action in Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell. It also provided a chance for others on the roster to show out.

The multi-week event helps undrafted gems and G League players leave notable impressions for the rest of the NBA. One player that reaped the benefits of that was center Kylor Kelley.

The 26-year-old has played in the G League and overseas since being undrafted in 2020 out of Oregon State. He spent last season with the Maine Celtics, who lost to the OKC Blue in the 2024 G League Finals.

Kelley signed with the Blue’s summer league squad and started a handful of contests at center. He must’ve played well as the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly signed him to an Exhibit 10 deal.

This allows the Lakers to own Kelley’s G League rights and he should see plenty of action next season with the South Bay Lakers. He’s the latest example of the Thunder aiding an undrafted player into a new deal.

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Austin Spurs reportedly hosting open tryouts

Do you have what it takes to play in the G League?

The Austin Spurs have themselves a new head coach (former New York Knicks Director of Player Development Scott King, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski), but depending on what it is you, dear reader, elect to do with the following news, they might also have a new player.

According to recent reporting from KENS 5 reporter Jeff Garcia, the Austin Spurs are hosting open tryouts. The tryouts will be on this coming Saturday, Sept. 7, at St. Michael’s Athletic Center. You can find that at 3000 Barton Creek Blvd, Austin, Texas, 78735. Should you make a go of it, you will need to be there by 8:30 in the morning that day to check in.

You will also need to register ahead of the event (click here to do so), as well as providing all the requested information in the requisite paperwork.

At the event, you can expect to be assessed through drills run by the coaching staff, and as many as three prospects will be named as eligible to join the Austin Spurs straining camp.

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Woj: San Antonio Spurs hire Scott King as Austin Spurs head coach

This will help to shore up San Antonio’s player developmental pipeline.

The San Antonio Spurs organization have themselves a new coach according to recent reporting from ESPN senior reporter Adrian Wojnarowski. But before you start getting worried about moving on from iconic Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, it is not the parent club that is getting a new coach.

Woj reports that the “San Antonio Spurs are hiring New York Knicks player development coach Scott King as the head coach of the G League Austin Spurs,” which will help to shore up San Antonio’s player developmental pipeline in an era where the league’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) demands successful teams must do so.

The Spurs are still several seasons away from needing to navigate the potential pitfalls of operating as a second apron ball club.

But perhaps with a player as promising (and impactful) as Victor Wembanyama on the team, they may also need to lean on such options less.

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Celtics have signed Drew Peterson to two way deal for 2024-25

A career 38.5% shot from beyond the arc at the G League level, Peterson is an intriguing if still raw talent.

The Boston Celtics have announced that they have filled one of their three two way roster slots for the coming 2024-25 NBA season. The player in question is a familiar face for fans of the team, with the slot going to 2023-24 Celtics two way forward Drew Peterson.

Terms of the deal have not officially been made public, but the move shores up the Celtics’ development pipeline with a known commodity in terms of Peterson’s play. At the NBA level last season, the University of Southern California alum put up a solid 3.7 points per game with Boston in 3 games played. And at the G League level, Peterson logged 12 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3 assists per game over 4 appearances.

A career 38.5% shot from beyond the arc at the G League level, Peterson is an intriguing if still raw talent that could conceivably play his way into an NBA role in the next season or two with luck.

Boston still has guard JD Davison pending as a two way unrestricted free agent, and could bring him back — or go another way with his and the third open two way spot Boston has left to fill for this season to come.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Explaining why Ron Holland may fall in the 2024 NBA Draft after his season with the G League Ignite

What is going on with Ron Holland right now?

Every year, there are players expected to hear his name called early in the draft but who fall lower than initially anticipated. One of the players in the 2024 NBA Draft who could deal with such a slide is Ron Holland.

While he was projected the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on HoopsHype’s Aggregate Mock Draft as recently as just a few months ago in January, a lot has changed since then. Now, the projections are far lower.

Holland was a McDonald’s All-American who helped lead Team USA to win gold medals at the FIBA U-17 World Cup and the FIBA U-16 Americas Championship. Some recruiting services had him as the top player in his class before he eventually chose to play for the G League Ignite.

While he was often the focal point of his offense, it was a bit of a disastrous season for the program. Eventually, in fact, the G League made the correct decision to pull the plug on the Ignite.

Holland suffered a ruptured tendon in his right thumb at the end of January and had season-ending surgery. But when it was all said and done, his year looked pretty good on paper.

He averaged 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game during his 29 appearances playing against pros. So why do many feel that his draft stock is sliding? Here are some of the latest reports.

Streaky shooting

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (via ESPN): His poor decision-making and streakiness as a shooter were concerns that were amplified by his outsized role last season, but the 18-year-old has plenty of room to continue to improve. His season was cut short by a ruptured tendon in his right thumb, which forced him to miss the Ignite’s final 19 games.

Pre-draft process

Sam Vecenie (via The Athletic): “His range is seen as quite wide right now. He hasn’t had a strong pre-draft process; he struggled to impress teams during visits and at his pro day, according to league sources. However, Holland isn’t the type of player who typically impresses in those situations, so teams would be wise not to over-index on that portion of the process.”

This is a more appropriate range

NBA scout, via Raphael Barlowe (via Andscape): “I think Ron is really in his normal range. I always had him around picks 15-25. I think he’ll go top 20, but it’s all in the eyes of the beholder. When he was promoted as a potential No. 1 pick or as a top-5 pick last summer and fall, a lot of people in the media followed suit. Now you’re seeing he’s dropping on these mock drafts even though he had good numbers, but I don’t think he’s falling. He [is] around where he should have always been.”

Lack of team success

Jonathan Wasserman (via Bleacher Report): “The losses, poor shooting and suspect decision-making have turned certain scouts off, but even without a reliable jump shot or high-level creation, he still put up big numbers using his speed, improved ball-handling, athleticism around the basket and streak shotmaking.”

After the Ignite failed to reach expectations this season, Holland could potentially face some of those consequences on draft night. But he still projects as one of the most intriguing players in this class.

At BetMGM, the draft position over/under for Holland was set at 9.5 and he was +120 to go in the top ten.


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Alex Caruso details excitement over reunion with Mark Daigneault

Alex Caruso details excitement over reunion with Mark Daigneault.

After nearly a decade, Mark Daigneault and Alex Caruso were reunited as a coach-player duo. This time around, it’s with the Oklahoma City Thunder instead of the G League’s OKC Blue.

Caruso was sent to the Thunder in a trade that shipped Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls. The 30-year-old is a smoother fit in OKC than the latter was due to his 3-and-D abilities.

After going undrafted in 2016, Caruso had his first real stop in the NBA with the Blue. He used that opportunity to springboard his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he carved out an NBA career.

He signed with the Bulls in 2021 and enjoyed individual success. He was named to back-to-back All-Defensive Teams and shot 40.8% from 3 on 4.7 attempts last season in a clunky Chicago offense.

Daigneault underwent a similar unorthodox path. The 39-year-old went from the Blue’s head coach to Thunder assistant to Thunder head coach in 2020.

Even when they lost, it was evident how bright his future was in the league. Daigneault’s coaching proxy was rewarded when he was named the Coach of the Year this past season. He shepherded the youngest first seed in league history.

After both individuals had their unique paths to success, they now have a chance to be productive at the NBA level. Caruso said he talked to Daigneault after the deal and both exchanged pleasantries and jabs.

“I was smiling ear to ear talking to him on the phone just because I was excited to play for him again,” Caruso said. “He told me, ‘Don’t be a smarta–.’ I told him, ‘I can’t wait for him to cuss me out at the first practice when I mess something up.’

“We’ll hit the ground running. It’ll be great just like it always is.”

As the Thunder embarks on a contention window, Daigneault will get more shots to help carve out the roster that best suits the team’s style. One of his first shots at helping bring in a win-now player involved a former G League player he coached. That’s the value of building those relationships.

Even though Caruso is only under contract for one year, it’s evident his pairing with the Thunder is a match made in heaven. Both sides mutually benefit from their presence.

“A lot of growth from when we first started together,” Caruso said. “There’s a lot of positives and a lot of learning experiences we could take from those years.”

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How Shareef Abdur-Rahim transformed the NBA G League into one of basketball’s best talent incubators

The NBA G League is a treasure

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When it first began in the early 2000s, the NBA G League (then known as the D League) was seen as more of a demotion than a place for the world’s best basketball players to hone their game.

If your team sent its rookies there, it probably meant they couldn’t play. If a veteran was assigned to a D League team, it may have been a career death sentence. At a certain point, it wasn’t even used for injury habilitation.

These days, that’s completely changed.

The NBA G League has blossomed into one of the most important team-building tools the NBA has to offer. Each and every team has an affiliate and most of your favorite up-and-coming players in the NBA has spent a minute or two playing or practicing with a G League squad for one reason or another.

NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim has played a large part in the continued sea change in the G League’s global perception.

We got a chance to speak with him about it for the latest episode of “Let’s Talk Sports Biz.”

OKC Blue’s Jahmi’us Ramsey named to All-NBA G League third team

OKC Blue’s Jahmi’us Ramsey named to All-NBA G League third team.

The G League announced its three All-NBA G League teams on Thursday. OKC Blue’s Jahmi’us Ramsey was named to the third team.

The 22-year-old played a pivotal role in the Blue winning their first G League championship this season. He served as a slashing scorer off the bench.

During the team’s playoff run, Ramsey averaged 16 points and shot 44% from 3 in five games.

In 30 games with the Blue, Ramsey averaged 20.6 points on 53.1% shooting, 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

He also signed a pair of 10-day deals with the Toronto Raptors this season. In seven games with Toronto, he averaged 6.7 points and 3.1 rebounds.

The third team consists of the following five players:Image

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OKC Thunder’s Olivier Sarr suffers ruptured Achilles tendon

OKC Thunder’s Olivier Sarr suffers ruptured Achilles tendon.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that two-way player Olivier Sarr suffered a left Achilles tendon rupture in the OKC Blue’s win over the Maine Celtics on Monday to capture the G League championship.

A timeline for Sarr’s return will be provided in the ensuing months.

It’s a tough break for Sarr, who’s been with the Thunder for the last three seasons as a two-way center. He played a pivotal role in the Blue’s title run as a rebounding big.

Considering how serious the injury is, Sarr will spend the next several months rehabbing it and hoping to continue his NBA career. The 25-year-old went undrafted in 2021 out of Kentucky.

In 15 games with the Thunder this season, Sarr averaged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds.

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Thunder recall Ousmane Dieng, Lindy Waters III following G League championship

Thunder recall Ousmane Dieng, Lindy Waters III following G League championship.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Tuesday that they have recalled Ousmane Dieng and Lindy Waters III from the G League’s OKC Blue.

This comes a day after the Blue captured the 2024 G League championship in a decisive win over the Maine Celtics in the G League Finals.

Dieng received G League Finals MVP after he scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Game 3 win. Waters III totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The second-year wing spent a significant amount of time with the Blue this season. The 20-year-old relished in the on-ball opportunities as the Blue’s best player. He continues to be a developmental project for the Thunder.

The first-seeded Thunder awaits their first-round opponent after the play-in tournament concludes on Friday. Game 1 at OKC will be held on Sunday, April 21.

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