Tag: Mojave King

5 players remain unsigned from the 2023 NBA draft class

Of the 58 prospects selected in the NBA draft, five remain unsigned.

The bulk of the offseason transactions across the NBA have been completed as teams and players reached terms on contracts and extensions when free agency opened last month.

Of course, there are still some other moves to make as rosters are finalized ahead of training camp in early October. Teams can carry up to 21 players on rosters during the offseason, including three two-way contracts this year.

The 2023 NBA draft class is mostly signed as well. Of the 58 prospects drafted on June 22, five remain unsigned after the Los Angeles Clippers agreed to a pact with Jordan Miller, the 48th pick, on Monday. The five remaining unsigned players were selected in the second round.

Rookie Wire took a look at each player and their contract status.

NBA Rising Stars 2023: Full rosters revealed in draft announcement

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the four seven-player teams for the 2023 NBA Rising Stars game.

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the four seven-player teams for the 2023 NBA Rising Stars competition set to take place on Feb. 17 as part of All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The showcase will feature four seven-player teams competing in a mini-tournament consisting of three games for the second straight year. Each game will be played to a final target score, meaning a game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of a running clock.

The pool of 28 players for the game consists of 11 first-year players, 10 second-year players and seven players from the G League. The rookies and sophomores were selected by assistant coaches, and the G League players were chosen by the league office.

The G League players will comprise one of the four teams.

The three teams from the NBA will be coached by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams. The three former players each selected seven players to their teams on Tuesday in an order determined by career All-Star appearances: Gasol (6), Williams (3) and Noah (2).

Here are the four rosters for the NBA Rising Stars competition.

NBA Rising Stars 2023: Player pool revealed for annual showcase

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the list of 28 players set to participate in the annual Rising Stars game on Feb. 17.

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the list of 28 players set to participate in the annual Rising Stars game on Feb. 17 as part of All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The showcase game will feature four seven-player teams competing in a mini-tournament consisting of three games for the second straight year. Each game will be played to a final target score, meaning a game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of a running clock.

The pool of 28 players for the game consists of 11 first-year players, 10 second-year players and seven players from the G League. The rookies and sophomores were selected by assistant coaches and the G League players were chosen by the league office.

The 21 NBA players were selected by assistant coaches across the league. Each team submitted a rookie ballot and sophomore ballot featuring four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players of any position, in order of preference.

The three NBA teams will be coached by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams. Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry, who previously coached the Grand Rapids Gold, will lead the G League team. Assistants from the All-Star Game staffs will also coach in the event.

TNT will televise the competition beginning at 9 p.m. EST.

Mojave King, Leonard Miller officially sign contracts with G League Ignite

The news of the two players joining the Ignite was previously reported over the summer.

New Zealand guard Mojave King and Canadian guard Leonard Miller  signed contracts with the NBA G League Ignite, the team announced on Wednesday.

King played the last two seasons in the NBL as part of the Next Stars program with the Cairns Terrapins and Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 3.6 points and one rebound on 37% shooting from the field in 26 games with the 36ers last season.

The 20-year-old also spent one year with the NBA Academy in Canberra, Australia. He emerged as one of the top prospects at the 2019 NBA Academy Games in front of scouts and teams and likely would have been a five-star prospect had he attended college in the United States.

Miller, who will turn 19 in November, tested the NBA draft this year but opted to withdraw and sign with the Ignite. He participated in the combine in May, averaging 7.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in two scrimmage games.

The news of the two players joining the Ignite was reported over the summer, but the team had not announced the signings until Wednesday.

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They will join Scoot Henderson on the Ignite this season, along with Efe Abogidi, Sidy Cissoko and Shareef O’Neal. Starting this season, the team will play its home games in Henderson, Nevada, and have a full 50-game schedule. It will be eligible for the playoffs.

The stated goal of the Ignite is to provide development opportunities for those prospects looking to play professionally. The team offers the players a platform to showcase their skills in front of scouts and executives against G League competition.

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Mojave King to sign with G League Ignite after two seasons in NBL

King played the last two seasons in the National Basketball League as part of the “Next Stars” program.

Mojave King, a 6-foot-5 prospect from the National Basketball League, will reportedly sign with the NBA G League Ignite for the 2022-23 season, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

King, who was born in New Zealand, played the last two seasons in the NBL as part of the Next Stars program. He averaged 3.6 points and one rebound on 37% shooting from the field in 26 games with the Adelaide 36ers last season.

He played the 2020-21 season with the Cairns Taipans.

The 20-year-old also spent one year with the NBA Academy in Canberra, Australia. He emerged as one of the top prospects at the 2019 NBA Academy Games in front of scouts and teams, and likely would have been a five-star prospect had he attended college in the United States.

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The Ignite have helped produce several draft picks in their previous two seasons, including Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Dyson Daniels and MarJon Beauchamp. Starting this season, the team will play its home games in Henderson, Nevada.

King is the sixth player to commit to the program for the 2022-23 season, joining Scoot Henderson, Leonard Miller, Efe Abogidi, Sidy Cissoko and Shareef O’Neal.

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2022 NBA Draft Big Board 1.0: Debut rankings of the top 101 prospects

Let’s be honest. Ranking the best NBA draft prospects is a fool’s errand. But evaluating this class is an especially challenging assignment.

Let’s be honest. Ranking the best NBA draft prospects is a fool’s errand. But evaluating this class is an especially challenging assignment.

One of the top pre-season prospects (Patrick Baldwin Jr.) is playing for a mid-major program that has just two wins so far this season. Other top prospects (AJ Griffin and Peyton Watson) are not getting much playing time for their high-major programs. Meanwhile, guard Jean Montero is playing in the inaugural Overtime Elite league. How do we compare his productivity to other prospects? I’m frankly not sure.

But nevertheless, my big board exists. Rather than going small, I decided to blow it up and do the opposite. Why did I go ahead and rank 101 prospects if this class has been so challenging to evaluate? There are two distinct reasons.

One is that I’m absolutely crazy and get a very fulfilling satisfaction with the completion of a mock draft and big board because it feels complete. It looks awesome seeing as many names as I can fit on one article, even if the science behind the rankings is a bit inconclusive.

The other reason is that as I make more big boards throughout the year, it’s interesting to track the progress (and regression) of certain prospects. I am inevitably wrong about most of these placements! But this article serves as a barometer for where I feel certain players are at in their development right now.

Note that several notable prospects (e.g. freshmen Max Christie, Matthew Cleveland, Nolan Hickman, Hunter Sallis, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Jeremy Sochan, Kobe Bufkin) were excluded because I expect them to go back to school to improve their draft stock.

More likely than not, some of those players will declare for the 2022 NBA draft. When that happens, I obviously will not have them outside of my top 101.

Until then, as we prepare to turn the calendar into a new year, here are the debut rankings for 101 of my favorite prospects.

All stats are accurate as of Dec. 14 and are from Sports-Reference unless noted otherwise.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith battle for No. 1

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Basketball News and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our last update, the players who have improved the most spots are Ismael Kamagate (Paris), Moussa Diabate (Michigan), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Hugo Besson (New Zealand), Efe Abogidi (Washington State),  Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Max Christie (Michigan State), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame),  Josh Minott (Memphis), Zach Edey (Purdue), and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).

Some of the top prospects who did not make the cut this time included Hunter Sallis (Gonzaga), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Tennesse), Kobe Bufkin (Michigan), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jahvon Quinerly (Albama), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Jaylin Williams (Auburn), Matthieu Gauzin (Le Mans), Isaiah Wong (Miami), Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2022 aggregate NBA mock draft: Debut ranking of all notable prospects

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, Yahoo, SB Nation, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Collegiate teams who had more than two players appear on a mock were Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA. Three players will be on the G League’s Ignite roster and one is on Overtime’s Elite squad.

Additionally, seven players are rostered in Spain and four are playing in Australia’s NBL. There are also three players on Serbia’s KK Mega Basket included.

Freshmen one-and-done candidates who didn’t make the list but could climb on to join during the season: Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), Josh Minott (Memphis), Kowacie Reeves (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky), Nathan Bittle (Oregon) and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor).

Some of the most notable collegiate returners who were snubbed from these rankings: Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Zach Edey (Purdue), Adam Miller (LSU), Colin Castleton (Florida) and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Relevant international prospects to know who were not included below: Fedor Zugic, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Jayson Tchicamboud, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Yoan Makoundou, Tom Digbeu and Makur Maker.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Main Image: Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group

2021 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Chet Holmgren

Let’s look ahead to next year’s draft.

We are only a couple of weeks removed from the 2021 NBA draft and it’s silly to publish a mock draft for next year. But let’s do it anyway.

Because frankly, far away as though it may seem, ten months can go by fast. Although a lot is going to change, some things stay the same. For example, I published my first mock draft of the 2020 cycle in May 2019 and all three of the first projected picks heard their names called within the first three picks nearly fifteen months later. Much of the rest, of course, is utterly wrong and embarrassing. But it is still helpful to track progression and regression.

Before we discuss the next crop of future NBA talent, however, let’s address the elephant in the room. You have probably noticed that the headline said this mock draft highlights 59 picks. No, that isn’t a typo.

Allow me to explain. The Milwaukee Bucks have forfeited the rights to their second-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft due to violating league rules regarding an attempted transaction made back in Nov. 2020. While it sucks for the additional person who is going to go undrafted, undrafted free agency isn’t the worst thing.

Otherwise, the order of this draft was determined by reversing the NBA futures odds courtesy of Tipico SportsBook. The teams whose odds fell outside the eight best in each conference composed the projected lottery. Meanwhile, all picks involved with previous trades were included in the order as well.

Another quick housekeeping note: My mock drafts tend to be fairly data-driven. But that can sometimes lead to some blind spots for evaluating prospects playing outside the NCAA (e.g. high school, AAU, FIBA, etc.), which made pre-season mock drafts particularly difficult.

That’s no longer the case thanks to the help from our fantastic new partners over at Cerebro Sports, a stats and analytics resource that scrapes box scores to determine how top basketball prospects have stacked up against all their previous competition.

With all that in mind, far away as we may be from draft night on June 22, here is how I see everything shaking out just based on what we know so far: