Tag: George King

PHOTOS: Former Buffs in the NBA summer league

Photos: Former Buffs in the 2022 summer league

The 2022 Las Vegas Summer League wrapped on Sunday with a pair of former Colorado Buffaloes — Jabari Walker and George King — winning it all with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Also playing in the league were McKinley Wright IV (Phoenix Suns), D’Shawn Schwartz (New York Knicks), Tyler Bey (Philadelphia 76ers) and Jeriah Horne (Sacramento Kings). It is, however, yet to be seen how many of those forever Buffs will get NBA playing time.

But especially with Spencer Dinwiddie and Derrick White, who both impressed in the NBA playoffs, Colorado has quite the group of young talent playing in the pros.

Check out the best pictures from the Buffs’ presence in the summer league:

CU Buffs in the NBA: Summer league roundup

Here’s how all six former Buffs performed in the NBA summer league

Colorado Buffaloes fans saw quite a few familiar names make their way to the Las Vegas Summer League.

All eyes were on Portland Trail Blazers rookie Jabari Walker, the most recent Buff playing in the circuit. Walker not only went home as a summer league champ, but he also signed a three-year contract in the process.

But, there were a few other notable players that also used to play college basketball at the CU Events Center. There were a total of six former Buffs who earned NBA summer league roster spots.

Let’s check in on them and recap how each of them performed:

Six former Buffs playing in the NBA Summer League

Who are you looking forward to watching in the Summer League?

The Colorado Buffaloes watched Jabari Walker get selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft.

He is headed for the Summer League, and a handful of other former Buffs are also set for Summer League action. The hope is for them to improve their craft and hopefully make a run at a big league roster spot when the 2022-23 season begins. As we’ve seen with McKinley Wright IV and Tyler Bey, staying on the NBA team as a rookie isn’t always easy, so the Summer League remains a valuable opportunity.

Let’s take a look at the six former Colorado men’s basketball players that will be playing in the 2022 Summer League:

Former Buff George King added to USA Basketball World Cup Qualifying Team

George King will represent the U.S. on a big stage

Former Colorado Buffaloes star George King has been a busy man lately. He has spent time with the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League and has now been added to the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team.

This is a terrific opportunity for King to showcase his talents on the national stage and get some much-needed playing time in hopes of earning another NBA contract.

The injury to Paul Watson opened up the space for King to be added to the roster.

King has performed well with the Clippers G League affiliate, averaging 11.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 33.2 minutes in 17 contests. The highlight of it was swapping jerseys with fellow Buffs alum McKinley Wright IV earlier this year.

King signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks earlier this season and he has appeared in just five games between the Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns.

King will join the team late as training camp started on Feb. 18 in preparation for games on Thursday and Sunday, so it will be worth monitoring to see if King gets any playing time or not.

Nonetheless, being added to the roster is a big step for him, and hopefully, he can perform well and perhaps earn another 10-day NBA contract with a solid showing.

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LOOK: McKinley Wright IV and George King swap jerseys following G-League game

George King and McKinley Wright IV exchanged jerseys following a G-League game

Former Buffs McKinley Wright IV and George King showed each other the ultimate sign of respect on Thursday when they faced each other in an NBA G-League game.

The two played together in Boulder for one season back in 2017-18 with King being a seasoned vet responsible for leading Wright and that talented 2017 class. But with both of them now chasing their NBA dreams, they crossed paths again when King’s Agua Caliente Clippers hosted Wright’s Iowa Wolves.

Wright, as he has done all season for the Wolves, was a scoring machine and finished the contest with 19 points and six assists. However, King and his 14-point, 10-rebound double-double helped the Clippers come away victorious, 116-108.

After the game, Wright and King met up and exchanged jerseys.

It’s going to be even sweeter, though, when they do this following an NBA game.

Both have played sparingly in the NBA this season with Wright in Minnesota and King, who was recently released by the Dallas Mavericks following a 10-day contract, returning to the Clippers organization.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Explaining the NBA’s hardship exception and the free agents who signed as replacement players

Explaining what hardship exceptions and replacement players mean as COVID-19 protocols hit the NBA.

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread, the NBA has required a large share of “replacement players” to fill in for the players who are in health and safety protocols. And so far, more than 100 players have reportedly entered the league’s health and safety protocols so far this month, per ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.

But how exactly do the “replacement players” work?

Essentially, the NBA’s hardship exception allows teams to exceed the 15-man roster limit if more than three players on the roster are each going to miss extended time due to illness or injury. Typically, teams weren’t allowed to apply for the hardship exception before Jan. 5.

But starting last season, the league changed the policy to allow earlier exceptions. And as of earlier this week, effective Dec. 19 until Jan. 19, the NBA is allowing teams to sign one replacement player for each player on their roster who tests positive for COVID-19.

While there are some big names (e.g. Isaiah Thomas, Lance Stephenson, CJ Miles) who have signed as replacement players, there are lots of promising young NBA hopefuls who are hoping to use this opportunity as a chance to stick around the league.

Not all of the players below were signed through hardship exceptions and some transactions (e.g. DeMarcus Cousins and Wesley Matthews to the Milwaukee Bucks) may have happened anyway during a normal season.

But below, based on the NBA’s transaction log and reporting from the league’s top insiders, you can find a live tracker of all the players who have signed new deals with NBA teams over the course of the past month.

George King inks 10-day deal with Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs have signed George King to a contract.

The NBA is just another sports league ravaged by COVID-19 lately. The NFL, NHL and college sports have been impacted severely over the past couple of weeks as the virus has broken out.

With all of the teams bothered by COVID-19 issues, the NBA announced a new rule to allow more players to be signed, as reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

With these changes taking place, NBA teams flocked to sign players to 10-day deals to give them more flexibility.

In turn, former Colorado Buffaloes star George King signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, as reported by Charania.

King has bounced around quite a bit, including a summer league contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and then a preseason run with the Los Angeles Clippers before eventually being released.

After a successful run in Colorado, King was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 59th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and played in just one NBA game for the Suns. Instead, he was primarily used in the G League.

King then bounced around in the international world of hoops for some time before making his way back to the states.

Reggie Bullock and Josh Green tested positive for Dallas, and with the way things have gone down in the NBA, there could be more positive results coming soon.

King could get a chance to get some decent run during his 10-day deal with games on Tuesday, Thursday and a Christmas Day matchup against the Utah Jazz.

The oldest players in summer league this year

Summer league is usually for recently drafted players or young free agents giving the NBA dream a shot, but not all time. There are also veterans who use that platform to try and reignite their NBA careers. Among those older guys playing this summer …

Summer league is usually for recently drafted players or young free agents giving the NBA dream a shot, but not all time. There are also veterans who use that platform to try and reignite their NBA careers.

Among those older guys playing this summer are very recognizable names like Michael Beasley and Kenneth Faried, both of whom are suiting up for the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as Brandon Knight (Brooklyn Nets) and many others.

Below, check out the oldest players participating in summer league this year.

Ranking the top 5 Philadelphia 76ers to ever wear the number 3 jersey

Sixers Wire is now ranking the top five players to wear the number 3 jersey in Philadelphia 76ers history.

When one thinks of the number 3 in Philadelphia 76ers history, they automatically think Allen Iverson and for good reason. The guy is one of the all-time greats in franchise history and the number is retired in his honor.

However, there are 17 total players in the history of the franchise who wore the number 3. None of those guys had that type of success that Iverson had, but four other players deserve some recognition for wearing the uniform number in franchise history.

Just as we did with the number 1, we are going to rank the top five players in franchise history to wear the number 3 in Sixers history. The criteria will include individual success, longevity with the franchise, and team impact. With that said, let’s get into it!

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