G League. They gave the second two way to Sekou Dombouya.
Is Sekou the fastest top 10 pick to become a GLeague player? Thatās crazy that heās on a 2 way
Michigan players on G-League Roster:
Stauskas - Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets)
Walton - Motor City Cruise (Pistons)
Smith - Sioux Falls SkyForce (Heat)
Brown - South Bay Lakers
Teske - Lakeland Magic
Simpson - Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Matthews - Canton Charge (Cavs)
Watson - College Park Skyhawks (Hawks)
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Hey now, he was a top 15 pick, joining a long line of elite Pistons players taken at #15 along with greats such as Austin Daye and Rodney Stuckey. Unfortunately not quite as good as the 15th picks that were used on Kawhi and Giannis though.
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You beat me to it, but with more flair than I would have brought to the post. Well doneā¦
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Sekou was not a top ten pick. Youāre thinking of Killian Hayesā future. 
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I think DJ Wilson is with the OKC Blue.
Nevermind - I donāt think heās anywhere?
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Oh sh*t, I may have to get over to the Deltaplex this season! (I assume they still play there)
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and then the Spurs fleeced the Pacers, getting Leonard + for George Hill. Almost of Traylor for Dirk proportions.
I canāt say I watched him actually play a game likeā¦ ever, but Iām still a bit surprised that Wilson couldnāt etch out some kind of role as a 3rd string/emergency big with his size/athleticism/skill package being relatively decent in theory.
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I think Wilson caught lightning in a bottle that one year at Michigan. He found the perfect role as a long 4 that could hit threes mixed with being an undersized 5 that could attack less athletic centers.
In the NBA he isnāt big enough or athletic enough to do that same thing. Heās sort of just a guy and never found that one trait he was able to lean on. He was never a great defender or rebounder - just ok. Just my opinionā¦I thought he would latch on somewhere and get a shot.
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All the sudden um could put together one hell of a TBT team. It felt like for awhile um had a bunch of nba guys then barely anybody on the outside fringe of the nba, not true anymore. Those are the type guys that play in and dominate that tourney.
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Yeah Iāve been saying that for the last year or so. But that takes someone to unite them all and thatās gonna be hard to do I think
Wilson was just so thrown off by contact even in the college gameā¦
How about Stuās mom? Maybe she can gather the troopsā¦
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Wilson almost always looked good against the Pistons. However, I do have to consider who he was playing.
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Alright, gonna drop one now, then in two weeks, etc.
A REMINDER: When I report something negative about a player here, it is generally because they are playing badly. I do not hate any of these people, nor do I wish failure upon them.
To start with injury updates:
Caris Levert is back practicing full-speed, and has done things like say heās āgood to goā, then when asked if he was coming back this weekend said āwell I wouldnāt say thatā. Reading the tea leaves, I image we see him return next week.
Isaiah Livers, as a back of the bench 2nd round pick is harder to find updates on. A week ago he was announced as āpreparing to start returningā, which is a delightful word salad meaning nothing. I do think there is a very clear role for him on this team though - the team has 2 true wings (Bey and Grant) with Josh Jackson sometimes masquerading as a 3. Theyāre low on offense (see Luka Garza getting rotation minutes last night) and especially three-point shooting. It would not shock me if, when he returns, we see him get some cracks.
Franz Wagner has gotten off to an EXTREMELY fast start - especially considering how poor his summer league and pre-season were. In 33 mpg, heās 13.6 points per game on 51.9% from the floor and 41.7% from 3 (nearly 5 attempts a game). This is far more aggressive than he was in his disturbing summer/pre-season stints and a great sign. We all know the three-point shot is a mercurial skill for Franz, so that bares watching. Heās chipped in 2 assists, and a steal per game, and 4 blocks in 5 games. Nate Duncan has singled him out as a pleasant surprise without even addressing his shooting - he was very impressed with Franzās defense and general on-court IQ/knowing what heās supposed to do and where heās supposed to be. Nateās view was that he thinks Franz has what it takes to be āa top tier glue-guy.ā
Ignas Brazdeikis, on the other hand, is off to a rough start. Heās seen his minutes drop in successive games (and didnāt play the 5th), as heās shot 10% from the field. Ignas is on a two-way. Brazdeikis is now 9 days into his 45 days of service time on his deal (and his presence on the roster is largely due to a bunch of injuries (Isaac, Fultz, Okeke, Moore, Carter-Williams)). Once that service time expires, itās any guess what happens. Iāve written here before that Ignas seems to be a āquadruple A playerā - one of those guys who can dominate the minors (as heās done), but as a ball-dominant player, struggles to fit in when there are a number of guys more deserving to play with the ball. For anyone interested, Alex Caruso has talked about the phenomenon pretty intelligently: https://thesportsrush.com/nba-news-you-want-to-be-cfo-and-they-need-bathroom-cleaners-lakers-alex-caruso-on-why-g-league-players-dont-make-it-in-the-nba/ Personally, I think Europe should be considered strongly if this doesnāt turn.
Jordan Pooleās torrid pre-season hasnāt really continued to the regular season. He did have a really good game the other day, but in aggregate, itās not great - 41% from the floor, 23% from 3. There are however, some good things here, and the struggle comes down toā¦frankly a pretty thirsty diet of Steph Curry-esque three-point attempts. Jordan is shooting 55% from 2 (his two point shooting improvement last year was the one consistent improvement he made as he went through wild three-point swings) and contributing 4 assists (his assist rate is up to 24%). Really, the three-point shooting is the only thing holding him back from a pretty sparkling start
Mo Wagner still likes to foul! He is averaging 5.6 fouls per 36, consistent with last year. He hasnāt yet shot very well (35%/28%), but his new-found passing game (found last year, quietly) is still in place, averaging nearly 3 dimes a game. The Magic roster is weird - theyāre trying to basically play 4 centers in the rotation at the moment, which means using Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. as power forwards. When Isaac and Okeke return, that could well be in jeopardy if the shooting doesnāt turn here.
In an attempt to speak as neutrally as possible about the individual, and not talk about the dreaded āpā word on a sports forum, I will just note that Trey Burke has found himself in COVID health and safety protocol. Prior to that, he played sparingly, and in a way that didnāt make it clear he was in the rotation - most of his minutes came in garbage time of the Mavericks opening night body-bagging at the hands of the Hawks.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is doing what he does and what youād imagine he would do - 15 ppg, 46%/43% shooting. The bummer here, largely, is that heās the teamās second option because Porzingis is absolutely washed. Until further notice, this team is going to be Timmy spacing while Luka/Brunson dribble and dribble and dribble. None of this is an indictment of Tim - heās a well above-average player, and if he could find a situation where he was a 3rd/4th option heās a championship caliber wing.
Duncan Robinson is off to a slow start - 35% from the field/31% from 3. At this point Iām not terribly concerned.
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LOL. Never change, Mo. (Except in the ways required to keep you in the NBA)
As always, these recaps very much appreciated, @mgl.
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not totally surprised by Franz having an efficient game by the numbers and this should be sustainable through his long career. The challenge for him is whether he will ever develop the mentality of being the best player on the team.
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