Joe Wieskamp signs with Dallas Mavericks

Former Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp has his next NBA landing spot, signing with the Dallas Mavericks.

Joe Wieskamp has his next NBA home. The Dallas Mavericks announced they signed the former Iowa Hawkeyes star on Monday.

The 6-foot-6, 205 pound small forward has been searching for his next landing spot since being cut from the Toronto Raptors following his summer league stint with the team.

In four games, Wieskamp averaged 13.5 points per game with 42.8% field goal shooting while with the Raptors’ summer league squad. He also had a 27-point outing against the Golden State Warriors in summer league action that included an 8-of-11 shooting day overall and a 3-of-6 day from beyond the arc.

Now, it’s back to Texas for Wieskamp.

His career started with San Antonio. The Spurs selected Wieskamp with the No. 41 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. During his rookie season in San Antonio, Wieskamp appeared in 29 games, tallying 61 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and three blocks.

On Aug. 22, 2022, Wieskamp inked a two-year, $4.4 million deal with the Spurs, but he was waived ahead of last season by San Antonio. That led him to Toronto where he appeared in nine games. Wieskamp scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds and registered three assists in those nine appearances in Toronto.

For his career, Wieskamp has appeared in 38 games, averaging 1.8 points per game on 32.9% field goal shooting and 30.9% 3-point shooting.

Of course, Wieskamp was a star in Iowa City. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the league’s media and coaches in the 2020-21 season. Alongside National Player of the Year Luka Garza, Wieskamp helped direct the Hawkeyes to a 22-9 mark and No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Wieskamp averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game over the course of his Iowa career. He became the first Hawkeye junior in school history with more than 1,250 points, 550 rebounds, 175 3-pointers, 100 assists and 75 steals. Wieskamp started all 97 games of his Hawkeye career.

The Muscatine, Iowa, native was recently inducted into his high school Hall of Fame. At Muscatine High School, Wieskamp became the state of Iowa’s all-time scoring leader on Feb. 6, 2018. A two-time Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and first-team all-state honoree in 2017 and 2018, Wieskamp finished his high school career with a remarkable 2,376 career points.

The Muscatine native also registered school records for points in a game (54), 3-pointers in a single season (62), scoring average (26.1 points per game) and career rebounds (908). He tallied 46 career double-doubles at Muscatine High School and recorded double-figure scoring in 88 of his 91 career games.

The Mavericks announced two other moves on Monday. Dallas also signed forward Greg Brown III and guard Jordan Walker.

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Joe Wieskamp set to be inducted into Muscatine Hall of Fame

One of Iowa’s recent greats, guard Joe Wieskamp is getting his proper due. Wieskamp will be inducted into the Muscatine Hall of Fame today.

It’s a no-brainer for so many different reasons.

Former Iowa Hawkeyes standout guard Joe Wieskamp is set to be inducted today into the Muscatine High School Hall of Fame and will have his jersey retired as well. The ceremony is open to the public in the Muscatine High School gymnasium at 2 p.m. CT and will take place in between sessions of the Joe Wieskamp Basketball Skills Camp.

The 6-foot-6, 205 pound guard made history while at Muscatine High School. While a Muskie, Wieskamp became the state of Iowa’s all-time scoring leader on Feb. 6, 2018. A two-time Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and first-team all-state honoree in 2017 and 2018, Wieskamp finished his high school career with a remarkable 2,376 career points.

The Muscatine product also registered school records for points in a game (54), 3-pointers in a single season (62), scoring average (26.1 points per game) and career rebounds (908). He tallied 46 career double-doubles at Muscatine High School and recorded double-figure scoring in 88 of his 91 career games.

Then, Wieskamp donned the Tigerhawk and started all 97 games of his Iowa career. Wieskamp became the first Hawkeye junior in school history with more than 1,250 points, 550 rebounds, 175 3-pointers, 100 assists and 75 steals.

He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the league’s media and coaches in the 2020-21 season. Alongside National Player of the Year Luka Garza, Wieskamp helped direct the Hawkeyes to a 22-9 mark and No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Wieskamp averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game over the course of his Iowa career. He was a second-round pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2021 NBA draft. On Aug. 22, 2022, Wieskamp inked a two-year, $4.4 million deal with the Spurs, but he was waived ahead of last season by San Antonio.

Wieskamp signed multiple 10-day contracts with the Toronto Raptors last season and a multi-year deal with the Raptors in February. But, Toronto waived Wieskamp following his Summer League stint on Monday. Wieskamp closed his stay in Las Vegas with a 27-point outing on 8-of-11 shooting.

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Former Iowa basketball stars Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp ink new NBA deals

A pair of former Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball stars, Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp, inked new NBA deals.

A pair of former Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball stars just inked new NBA deals. Luka Garza signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Wieskamp re-signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

Garza appeared in 32 games with the Detroit Pistons last season, averaging 5.8 points on 44.9% field goal shooting and 3.1 rebounds per game. The former Naismith Trophy winner averaged 20.6 points on 51.8% shooting and 9.5 rebounds per game with the Pistons’ G-League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. Still, he was released by Detroit following last season and spent this summer with the Portland Trail Blazers’ summer league team.

While terms of the agreements were not released, Garza joined forward CJ Elleby in signing with the Timberwolves on Tuesday. Garza was originally drafted No. 52 overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2021 NBA draft.

Meanwhile, Wieskamp is re-signing with the Spurs. San Antonio didn’t release terms of the contract, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that it’s a two-year, $4.4 million deal.

Wieskamp averaged 2.1 points on 35.7% field goal shooting and 32.6% 3-point shooting in 7.1 minutes per game during his rookie season with San Antonio. He also appeared in 28 games for the Austin Spurs, where he averaged 15.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.11 steals in 32.4 minutes in the NBA G League.

Wieskamp was taken by San Antonio with the No. 41 overall selection in the 2021 NBA draft after averaging 13.2 points per game on 41.2% 3-point shooting during his career with the Hawkeyes.

Of course, Keegan Murray has been impressing this summer as well. Murray won the NBA 2K23 Summer League MVP and it made social media go wild. All of this was no surprise to his former head coach Fran McCaffery.

“They knew exactly what they were getting and they were excited about him from the beginning. Not only in terms of his character and his complete skill set, but I think the fit with the other guys on the team, what coach (Mike) Brown wants to do.

“I am thrilled for him in every way. I’m thrilled for the organization. I think it’s safe to say we look at this team as a playoff team. It’s not easy in the West as we know, but I think the way that this team has been put together has been really impressive. I was equally impressed today with Jordi’s workout, the stuff they were doing, the intensity level with which they approached everything and the way the young guys have picked things up that they’re trying to do. I can’t imagine a better fit for Keegan Murray,” McCaffery said of Murray’s play in the Summer League back in July.

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Spurs convert rookie Joe Wieskamp to standard NBA deal

Wieskamp has spent most of the season in the G League and is averaging 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 24 games.

On Friday, the San Antonio Spurs announced that they converted the two-way contract of rookie Joe Wieskamp to a standard NBA deal. The terms of the contract are not known.

Wieskamp is averaging 2.1 points on 40% shooting from 3-point range in 17 games with San Antonio. He has spent the majority of the season in the NBA G League and is averaging 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 24 games with the Austin Spurs.

The 41st pick recorded his best game of the season with the Spurs on Jan. 4 after producing a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field in a loss to the Toronto Raptors.

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Wieskamp initially signed a two-way contract with the Spurs in August after a strong showing in the Las Vegas Summer League. He will now have the opportunity to stay with the organization and continue his development beyond this season.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Joe Wieskamp led Austin Spurs to win with clutch 3-point shot

Wieskamp led the Austin Spurs to a double-overtime victory behind timely scoring and clutch shooting.

San Antonio Spurs rookie Joe Wieskamp led the Austin Spurs to a double-overtime victory over the Greensboro Swarm behind timely scoring and clutch shooting.

Wieskamp finished with 22 points, six rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot during the 108-105 win. He went 8-of-10 from the field and a career-high 6-of-7 from 3-point range, including a game-tying shot to send the game to overtime.

With 6.7 seconds left in regulation, and the Spurs down by three points, Wieskamp flew around a screen to catch the inbound pass. He pulled up from 27 feet and drilled the 3-pointer to force overtime. The shot capped off another strong outing on assignment with Austin.

His 22 points scored on Thursday tied a season-high as he has scored at least 20 points in three of his six games with Austin. Wieskamp, who is signed to a two-way contract, is now averaging 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and one assist on 45% shooting from 3-point range.

The latest effort by Wieskamp certainly shows his potential as a player that can space the floor. He left college known as a shooter and he has shown that ability to start the season with Austin.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Meet Joe Abunassar, the forefather of private trainers who has helped turn hundreds of NBA prospects into pros

“That dude runs Iron Man races. He is very committed.”

Now that the NBA offseason is officially underway, it’s impossible not to think about how much the players have been through in the last year.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis secured the franchise’s 17th title on Oct. 11, then returned to practice a few months later so that the NBA’s 2020-21 season could, in fact, start in 2020. James would go onto labor through an ankle injury in April, and Davis was sidelined with a groin strain. The Lakers were ultimately eliminated in just the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The league has said that injuries are actually down from a year ago, though, and it’s not like the quality of the basketball has suffered. All in all the league’s quick turnaround is a testament to how well players are conditioned, and that’s thanks to the proliferation of private coaches.

Joe Abunassar is one of the forefathers of that profession, and the owner of IMPACT Basketball in Las Vegas is as busy as ever. He’s had to work with pro clients — accustomed to the regular rhythm of the year — to stay in shape while simultaneously preparing his college-aged clients to stand out in a year unlike any other.

“It’s been a long journey for me,” Abunassar told For The Win. “Every year we are adding; every year we are learning from our guys.”

JaQuori McLaughlin, who was named Big West Conference Player of the Year last season, was a driving force back in March, leading UC Santa Barbara to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the first time in a decade.

Before playing in Las Vegas Summer League for the Golden State Warriors, McLaughlin was working out with Abunassar twice a day. They focused on lifting weights and perfecting his jump shot as well as keeping a keen eye on his diet and his sleep schedule.

“It was huge for me,” McLaughlin recently told For The Win. “I was a good shooter coming in but he helped me tweak a few little things, like having a stronger base when I shoot and having a higher follow-through. I was working on my consistency, shooting the same shot every single time, so that was the main thing.”

***

The Sacramento Kings finished 31-41, a few spots out of the play-in tournament, but the season gave rise to hope for the future. Tyrese Haliburton, the No. 12 selection in 2020, far exceeded expectations and looked like a potential foundation player.

For that, in no small part, Haliburton credits some of his time with Abunassar. With such an uncertain timeline for when games would be played in 2020, the Iowa State product opted to focus more of his time on work with a trainer.

“I was really working very hard,” said Haliburton, during a recent conversation with For The Win. “Some people get to this draft process and they like to relax and they think they have made it. But for me, I really turned it up. That was important for me. I took those months of the pandemic and the months of uncertainty and used that as growth for my game instead of using it as an excuse by any means and just chilling.”

Haliburton is one of several players around the league who spent the extended offseason in 2020 with Abunassar, who has worked with some of the top names in the league for more than two decades.

He has become a favorite among agents hoping to help their clients get in the best shape of their lives before the NBA draft, and recently helped a new group, including McLaughlin, that played through a stilted college season unlike any we’ve seen before.

But Abunassar is hardly unaccustomed to adversity — or to making his own way.

Back in the late 1980s, Abunassar was a student manager under head coach Bobby Knight for the Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball team. He got his first coaching gig as an assistant at the University of Wyoming.

After a few years there, he had the opportunity for a new job at Bowling Green University. But during that offseason, he was asked if he would be willing to help out a few players who were preparing for the 1995 NBA Draft. Those prospects were Joe Smith, who went No. 1 overall, and future league MVP and champion Kevin Garnett.

Abunassar ended up falling in love with the training process and rose to prominence working alongside Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Ty Lue early in their playing careers during the late 1990s.

“He’s been around pros,” Haliburton said. “He’s seen all the way from All-Stars to guys who were out of the league in a couple of weeks. He’s seen everything, so he understands it. So he was able to teach me tricks of the trade and how I can stay in this game for a long time.”

***

It’s all about replicating a professional environment.

At his gym, the players arrive in the morning and visit with the medical staff, doing anything needed in terms of stretching or treatment just like they would in an NBA facility. They then get on the court for an hour and a half to work on skills training. Then, they spend another hour and a half in the weight room before breaking for lunch, prepared by IMPACT’s nutritionist.

After lunch, they return for a second session, which is usually shooting. This is also an opportunity for a player to work on a specific focus they need to improve. Others, like Kyle Lowry, return at night for pilates. The full day of work is a customizable program that involves recovery, treatment, strength and conditioning as well as the work on the basketball court.

During the course of the pandemic, Abunassar closely monitored the restrictions from the NBA while also following no-contact guidelines from the state. All offseason, he and his staff constantly pivoted in order to safely run the gym.

“Everyone in the world had to adjust for what is going on this year,” Abunassar said. “It’s going to take everyone a little bit longer to get into peak form but I think everyone understands that.”

For players like Haliburton, the pre-draft process was also different in that prospects weren’t flying in and out for workouts between their meetings with NBA teams. Instead, because these players were in the gym for six consecutive months, Abunassar notes that his clients had more time to improve their bodies and their games.

Before his rookie season, Denver Nuggets big man Zeke Nnaji was able to gain fifteen pounds of muscle, radically transform his body. Meanwhile, in that same group, Dallas Mavericks rookie Josh Green was able to restore his perimeter abilities and get his shooting touch. Haliburton told us that he had a pretty radical body transformation as well.

Haliburton came into the pre-draft process at 168 pounds and weighed in at 185 pounds by the time his sessions with Abunassar concluded. Altogether, he gained about 17 pounds — including a lot of muscle.

“Joe had a big input on that, especially while we were in his facility,” said Haliburton.

During his time in Abunassar’s gym, Haliburton said that he also had the chance to work with some basketball legends.

Though it was decades after first working with Abunassar, former NBA players like Billups and Gilbert Arenas would stop by the gym and pull prospects like Haliburton aside to offer him tips before he embarked on the next chapter of his basketball journey.

***

Joe Wieskamp, who was selected at No. 41 overall in the 2021 NBA draft after three seasons playing for the University of Iowa, also spent time with Abunassar during the offseason.

“He was awesome. That dude runs Iron Man races; he is very committed. He is working out in the morning and he’s in the gym all day and he’s in the gym at night,” Wieskamp told For The Win, ahead of the draft. “Training with a guy like that who has it all together motivates you when you’re on the court. He’s been through it for more than a decade. He knows what it takes and he knows what these teams do in these workouts.”

Wieskamp said he worked with Abunassar on skill development, including sprinting into the catch and reading the closeout, getting his shots off quick after shot fake sidesteps and going to the rim.

Ultimately, for Abunassar, the core tenets of IMPACT he used with Wieskamp have remained the same during his entire time in the industry: skills training, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mentality.

“If you walk in our building, whether it’s a 12-year-old from New Jersey or Kyle Lowry, it’s all the same approach,” Abunassar said. “Guys are coming back to us because they’re getting better.”

The industry as a whole, however, has changed fairly dramatically. Back when Abunassar was getting started, most teams in the NBA did not have development coaches on their staff.

The head coach would work the players out during practice but the practice of hiring strength coaches, sports psychologists and physical therapists was far from the common practice that it is today. These days, most teams have between six to 10 employees who are strictly focused on development.

Meanwhile, in recent years, some trainers have also gained large followings on social media and become a part of the basketball influencer culture in on Instagram. That has never been Abunassar’s approach.

“I’ve been at it a long time and the real key is that we focus only on player development. We haven’t gotten involved in a lot of other things,” Abunassar said. “We are focused on what we are doing in the building, not so much on Instagram and social media and all the videos.”

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Spurs second-round pick Joe Wieskamp to sign two-way contract

Wieskamp averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in five games with the Spurs in the Las Vegas Summer League.

San Antonio Spurs second-round pick and former Iowa Hawkeyes guard Joe Wieskamp will reportedly sign a two-way contract, according to Scott Dochterman of The Athletic.

Wieskamp was named to the All-Big Ten second team last season after averaging 14.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He was the only player in the country to register at least 400 points, 200 rebounds, 70 3-pointers and 25 steals.

The 41st overall pick averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in five games with the Spurs in the Las Vegas Summer League. He produced his best game on Aug. 12 after recording 17 points and seven rebounds in a win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Wieskamp will split his time next season between San Antonio and Austin in the NBA G League. He will have the opportunity to develop with Austin while gaining some NBA experience throughout the season with the parent club in San Antonio.

Players this season signed to two-way contracts are eligible to spend no more than 50 games in the NBA. They will earn a flat salary equal to 50% of the minimum salary applicable to a player with zero years of service.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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A roundup of NBA sleepers draft analysts are higher on than others

Who owns the most real estate on Davion Mitchell Island? Who is buying stock in Sharife Cooper?

Everyone loves Cade Cunningham. It’s not a hot take for an analyst to say that Cunningham is their favorite player in the class. That’s not particularly interesting to read, either.

But what is fascinating, however, is when an analyst deviates from the norm and ranks someone significantly higher than where the prospect falls in other rankings. What does that tell us about their individual scouting process and what they value? Further, what does that tell us about the potential draftee?

Some folks call it “buying stock” in a player. Others, like ESPN’s Zach Lowe or The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, call it owning real estate on a player’s island. I like to refer to it as a “draft crush” when I wind up higher than consensus in my evaluation of a player.

My process is ridiculously tedious but the results can be fairly useful. I’ve tracked the evolution of more than sixty unique mock drafts, big boards and draft models from trusted analysts and popular accounts on Twitter.

Each placement is assigned a value based on Kevin Pelton’s draft pick trade value chart. I do this because, as Pelton notes, the difference in relative value between the No. 5 overall pick and the No. 7 overall is much more stark than, say, that of the No. 45 pick and the No. 47 pick.

After composing an aggregate score based on each ranking, I can see where each analyst strays from the pack.

I’ll leave the conclusions drawn from these results up to the reader. But if nothing else, this can eventually be used as a bragging point if one writer was higher than consensus on a draftee who eventually ends up outperforming his draft position.

Final 2021 NBA Mock Draft: Latest intel, trade rumors and predicting all 60 picks

Wasn’t it just the 2020 NBA draft? How is the 2021 NBA draft already here? Crazy, maybe, but the league is about to have a ton of new faces.

Wasn’t it just the 2020 NBA draft? How is the 2021 NBA draft already here? Crazy, maybe, but the league is about to have a ton of new faces.

The names that you’re most likely to hear at the top are Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley. But the draft will start heating up once guys like Jalen Suggs, Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Kuminga start to find their new homes.

This draft will also be unique in that there will be fewer players in attendance than usual. According to one prospect who recently spoke to For The Win, due to COVID-19 restrictions, those not invited to the green room are not allowed to come to the stage and shake the hand of the commissioner as they have been in years past.

Regardless of who is actually in the building, however, it is certain to be an exciting and life-changing night for the next generation of NBA talent.

Based on conversations I’ve had with scouts around the league, and from reports and tea leaves left in other mock drafts from trusted draftniks, below is how I project the events will unfold at Barclays Center and on ESPN and ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET on July 29.

Why NBA draft prospect Joe Wieskamp thinks he could be the next Duncan Robinson

Joe Wieskamp is a 6-foot-7 wing from the Iowa Hawkeyes who is seen as one of the best sharpshooting prospects in this draft class.

Joe Wieskamp is a 6-foot-7 wing from the Iowa Hawkeyes who is seen as one of the best sharpshooting prospects in this draft class.

Wieskamp averaged 14.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 46.2 percent from beyond the arc this past season. He recorded a 42-inch max vertical at the 2021 NBA draft combine, the fifth-best mark among all participants. He also had the fourth-fastest lane agility time, clocking in at 10.7 seconds, among all participants as well.

The former Iowa standout discussed playing alongside the collegiate player of the year in Luka Garza, why he decided to stay in this draft class and how his game will translate to the NBA. He also told us about his fiancé and his golden retriever puppy.

Please note this interview was minorly edited in its transcript for clarity.