Tag: Keita Bates-Diop

Keita Bates-Diop reportedly agrees to deal with San Antonio Spurs

Former Ohio State basketball star Keita Bates-Diop has agreed to a two-way deal with the San Antonio Spurs per a report.

We have another former Ohio State hoops player on the move. According to reports, former Buckeye swing-man Keita Bates-Diop has agreed to a two-way deal with the San Antonio Spurs. In layman’s terms, that means Bates-Diop can be on the Spurs active roster for up to 45 days and would spend his time otherwise with the team’s G-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs.

This news comes on the same day that one of his former teammates, Jae’Sean Tate, agreed to a deal with the Houston Rockets.

Like Tate, Bates-Diop played for Ohio State from 2014-2018 and became the team’s main scoring threat his last season when he almost took OSU to a regular-season Big Ten title. In Chris Holtmann’s first year in Columbus, he was voted as the Big Ten Player of the Year and was eventually drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft.

The news of Bates-Diop’s deal was first reported by Yahoo senior NBA writer Vincent Goodwill.

Bates-Diop was traded to the Denver Nuggets last season and has had a disappointing start to his career. So far in his 74 games in the league, he has averaged just 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 16.9 minutes per contest.

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Kyle Kuzma hits game-winner to snap Lakers 3-game losing streak

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a 3-game losing streak with a game-winner against the Denver Nuggets by Kyle Kuzma.

In major need of a mood boost, the Los Angeles Lakers won a thrilling game thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer from Kyle Kuzma that came off of a beautifully executed sideline out of bounds play to help knock off the Denver Nuggets, 124-121. The Nuggets played their reserves for the entirety of the 4th quarter.

The Nuggets, as they have in several games over the last week, played their starters and key players only sparingly. Instead, they closed the game with a reserve laden group starring Mason Plumlee, PJ Dozier and rookie Bol Bol, whose total of career NBA games played is still in the single-digits. Things were looking dicey as the Lakers trailed within the final minute but a lay-up by LeBron James, plus the foul, which gave the Lakers a 121-119 lead with 45 seconds left.

Monte Morris split a pair of free-throws with 30 seconds left that could have tied the game, but LeBron missed a jumper over Bol Bol. Denver then went fullcourt without a timeout and PJ Dozier was fouled by Kyle Kuzma with 4.8 seconds left. L.A. challenged the call, but it was unsuccessful, sending Dozier to the line with a chance to take the lead. But he missed the second free-throw, giving L.A. an opportunity to win the game.

On the following possession, a sideline out of bounds play reminiscent from assistant coach Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee days, Kuzma ended the Lakers losing streak at three games to give them a much-needed change after losing their last three straight games.

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If Ohio State was fielding a starting team based on current (sort of) NBA players, here’s what it would look like

If you could assemble a starting team in the NBA from just former Ohio State players currently on NBA rosters, what would it look like?

Just a few days ago, we put together a hypothetical NFL starting squad using only former Ohio State players on current NFL rosters. It was such a success, we decided to do the same thing with the basketball team. And while there’s not as many bodies to choose from, you could still put one together that wouldn’t be all that bad.

However, what is worth noting is that the Ohio State pipeline to the NBA has slowed down to a trickle. It’s no mystery why the success of the Buckeye team on the court in recent years has fallen off a little bit. When simply look at how many guys OSU is sending to the next level versus what was happening in the earlier days of the Thad Matta era, there has definitely been a decline.

Anyway, this exercise was pretty easy in one regard, but tough in another. There are only a total of four former Ohio State players currently in the NBA, so they make the team automatically. On the flip side, we had to go with a center that just left the NBA last year and is currently playing in Moscow, so yeah, we took some liberties there.

Anyway, off we go …

First up … The point guard

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Ohio State basketball All-Decade Starting Five

We’ve been looking at some of the best from the decade that just passed us by. Here’s our All-Decade Ohio State basketball starting five.

We’ve already taken a look at the Ohio State football All-Decade Team, both on the offense and defense, and now we’re going to identify the starting five players for hoops from the years 2010-2019. It’s absolutely ridiculous when you start looking at all the phenomenal basketball players that came through the program during the decade — especially early on.

That means some really good Buckeye hoopsters won’t get on this team, but it would be one heck of a bench.

The drill is not to determine the best five of the decade, but rather the best at each position. We’ll pick a point guard, shooting guard, two wings, and a big man, but even that is a bit squishy with the multiple roles and positions of today’s game.

So here it is, the Buckeyes Wire All-Decade Ohio State basketball starting five.

Next … The point guard

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Analyzing every deal from 2020 NBA trade deadline with Ben Golliver

Alex Kennedy and Ben Golliver break down every deal from the 2020 NBA trade deadline, the biggest winners/losers, possible buyouts and more.

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On this episode of The HoopsHype Podcast, Alex Kennedy is joined by Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. They break down every deal from the 2020 NBA trade deadline, the biggest winners and losers, possible buyout candidates and more. Time-stamps are below!

1:35: Alex and Ben discuss their biggest winners of the deadline.

5:12: Alex and Ben discuss their biggest losers of the deadline.

7:55: Did the Golden State Warriors make the right move trading D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and a top-three protected 2021 first-round pick? Alex and Ben debate whether Golden State should’ve waited to see if a better offer emerged over the offseason, what to expect from Minnesota’s new-look team and more.

13:50: Breaking down the three-team deal that sends Marcus Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers. How much better does Morris make them? And what does this deal mean for the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards?

16:05: Alex and Ben discuss Darren Collison’s options if he decides to make an NBA comeback. If you were Collison, would you sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers or another team (such as the Denver Nuggets or Philadelphia 76ers, who have shown interest in him)?

20:15: The Cleveland Cavaliers added Andre Drummond and they didn’t have to give up very much to the Detroit Pistons. Alex and Ben discuss the trade, why they like the move for Cleveland and what Detroit was thinking. They also talk about what this trade says about the evolution of the NBA.

25:10: Alex and Ben discuss the four-team, 12-player trade between the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. They break down Atlanta’s acquisition of Clint Capela, Houston’s addition of Robert Covington and the Rockets’ decision to go super small.

32:45: The Miami Heat acquired Andre Iguodala in a three-team deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves, parting ways with Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters and James Johnson. The Heat also added Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill from the deal. Alex and Ben discuss Iguodala’s fit in Miami and the two-year, $30 million extension he signed with the Heat, as well as Memphis’ return for the 36-year-old.

37:25: Alex and Ben rattle off the remainder of minor deals that went down before the deadline and discuss their significance.

39:25: After the trade deadline, focus shifts to the buyout market. Alex and Ben talk about a number of veterans who could potentially be bought out and what kind of impact they could make on a contending team.