Timberwolves assign Leandro Bolmaro and Nathan Knight to G League

The Minnesota Timberwolves have assigned guard Leandro Bolmaro and transferred two-way forward Nathan Knight to the Iowa Wolves, the team’s NBA G League affiliate.

Bolmaro has appeared in five contests for the Timberwolves, has scored a total of five points and grabbed four rebounds.

In three games with the Timberwolves, Knight has totaled four points and two rebounds.

Timberwolves assign McKinley Wright IV to G League

The Minnesota Timberwolves have assigned guard McKinley Wright IV to the Iowa Wolves, the team’s NBA G League affiliate.

In 4:08 of action on Oct. 20 against the Houston Rockets, Wright IV recorded three points, marking his first NBA points. The Minneapolis native played and started in all five games for the Timberwolves entry in the 2021 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 7.2 points on 44.4% shooting, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 26.0 minutes per contest.

G League: Raptors 905 coaching staff announced

Raptors 905, NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, announced Thursday its coaching staff for the 2021-22 season.

Joining Head Coach Patrick Mutombo’s staff are Travon Bryant, Chris Thomas, Ashton Smith, and Alex Beene. Assistant coaches John Bennett and Arsalan Jamil return to the bench for their second and fourth seasons, respectively.

Bryant joins the 905 after spending the last season as a player development coach with the Detroit Pistons. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Blue (NBAG) where he spent two seasons, helping lead the Blue to a first-place finish in the Midwest division before joining the Brooklyn Nets as a player development coach. From 2000-04, Bryant attended Missouri (NCAA) before competing professionally overseas for 11 seasons, playing in Greece, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, France, and Japan.

Thomas brings over 15 years of basketball experience to Raptors 905, including coaching and scouting roles in the NBA and overseas. Thomas has served as a head coach for the last six seasons in top leagues across the world including stops in Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Slovenia. Thomas has also served as an advanced scout for the Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls.

Smith transitioned to coaching last season with the Hamilton Honey Badgers (CEBL) after a 10-year professional career nationally and overseas. Smith most notably played 24 games for the 905 in its inaugural season. The Scarborough native played four seasons (2008-12) for Indiana University of Pennsylvania earning NCAA DII All-American honours and graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science.

Beene joins Raptors 905 after serving as the Director of Analytics for the University of Memphis the last two seasons. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of RaYnge, a company that is committed to effecting positive change in sports analytics by providing comprehensive analytical reporting presented in a way that is simple, readable, and actionable. Beene broke into the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015, as a Business Intelligence analyst, a role he held for two seasons before stops with Indiana and Sacramento in Basketball Analytics.

Raptors 905 now prepare for the 2021-22 NBA G League Draft Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, before opening training camp Oct. 25, 2021. The team tips off its regular season Nov. 11, 2021, when the team welcomes the Westchester Knicks to Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

Fanbo Zeng signs with G League Ignite

Fanbo Zeng, a top international prospect from China, has signed to play with NBA G League Ignite, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.

A native of Harbin, China, Fanbo was among ESPN’s top-ranked forwards in the class of 2022. He spent two years at Windermere Prep in Florida before returning to China in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a sophomore in 2019-20, Fanbo averaged 15.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.1 assists to earn Class 3A First Team All-State and Orlando Sentinel All-Area First Team honors.

NBA G League Ignite is a first-of-its-kind program that gives top young prospects a chance to begin their professional careers while receiving mentorship and life skills training in preparing for the NBA Draft.

Fanbo joins an elite group of young talent, including Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster, MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels and Scoot Henderson on Ignite’s latest roster. The mix of top youth standouts and NBA and G League veterans look to continue the program’s success after its inaugural season, which featured strong debuts by elite prospects Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd, and international standout Princepal Singh.

G League: Long Island Nets hire James Maye, Jimmie Oakman, Lance Harris as assistant coaches

The Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, have named James Maye, Jimmie Oakman and Lance Harris as assistant coaches on Head Coach Adam Caporn’s staff.

Maye joins Long Island after spending the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach with the NBA G League’s Greensboro Swarm. He previously spent one season (2018-19) as an assistant coach with NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go. Prior to beginning his coaching career, Maye played 14 professional seasons (2003-17), mainly overseas and for one season (2006-07) in the NBA G League with the Dakota Wizards. He also played five collegiate seasons (1998-03) at UNC Greensboro, where he currently ranks fifth all-time in scoring with 1,574 career points, and later earned a Master of Business Administration from the American College of Thessaloniki in Greece.

Oakman will enter his fourth season with the Long Island Nets and his second as assistant coach. He originally joined the Long Island staff ahead of the 2018-19 season as head video coordinator and served in the same role the following season with added player development responsibilities. Prior to working with the Nets, Oakman spent three seasons (2015-18) as Boston University’s director of basketball operations and one season (2014-15) as the team’s special assistant and director of advance scouting. The University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate also previously served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons (2011-14) at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H.

Harris joins Long Island after spending the 2020-21 season with the Brooklyn Nets as a video seasonal assistant. He previously spent one season (2019-20) as an assistant coach at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. Prior to beginning his career in basketball operations, Harris played professionally overseas for more than a decade (2007-19) in Slovenia, France, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Ukraine and Greece following four collegiate seasons (2003-07) at Kansas State.

MarJon Beauchamp signs in G League with the Ignite

MarJon Beauchamp, a former four-star recruit, has signed with NBA G League Ignite, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.

Beauchamp joins an Ignite roster that features top young standouts Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster Jr., Scoot Henderson and Dyson Daniels. The team is coached by former NBA player Jason Hart.

“I chose the Ignite path because I know it’s going to prepare me both on and off the court,” Beauchamp said. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase my skills while staying humble and learning what it takes to be a professional.”

Beauchamp played at Yakima Valley College, where he averaged 30.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from three-point range in 12 games.

Ignite is coming off a successful inaugural season that produced NBA Lottery picks Jalen Green (No. 2 overall, Houston Rockets) and Jonathan Kuminga (No. 7 overall, Golden State Warriors). This year’s team will make its official debut Friday, Nov. 5 against the South Bay Lakers to tip off the 2021 NBA G League Showcase Cup.

G League: Cleveland Charge name Dan Geriot new head coach

The Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League, downtown Cleveland’s newest professional sports team playing home games at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, announced today that Dan Geriot has been promoted to become the fifth Head Coach in Charge team history.

Coach Geriot joins the Charge after spending the last six seasons in various roles on the staff for our own Cleveland Cavaliers.

“This is a very exciting day for the Cleveland Charge and I’m looking forward to having someone of Dan’s experience and innovative approach step in as head coach of this team,” said Charge General Manager Brendon Yu. “During his tenure with the Cavaliers, Dan displayed a unique ability to build strong relationships with players and assisted with their overall development both on and off the court. I’m confident that he will be able to bring that same passion and commitment to the Charge.”

“Dan has been an integral part of my coaching staff for a little over two years and I’m extremely happy for the opportunity presented to him to lead the Charge,” said Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “His work ethic and commitment to the organization confirms his desire to coach the game at the highest levels of competition. The continuity this move provides also creates a seamless transition across the entirety of our player development program here in Cleveland between the Charge and the Cavaliers. I’m looking forward to watching Dan help those young men achieve their basketball goals.”

Geriot has been a Cavaliers Assistant Coach since the 2019-20 season, where he was responsible for assisting and reporting directly to Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff along with scouting upcoming opponents and presenting game plans, as well as the individual development for the frontcourt players. Geriot was previously an assistant video coordinator/coaching assistant with the Cavs from 2016-18 and was a seasonal video coordinator with the team for the 2015-16 championship season. Prior to joining the Cavs, Geriot was with Campbell University as an assistant coach from 2013-15 and was with Princeton University as an assistant coach from 2011-13. The Springfield, Pennsylvania native has a degree in political science and history from the University of Richmond, where he played four collegiate seasons and led the Spiders to two NCAA tournaments in 2010 (First Round) and 2011 (Sweet 16).

All four previous Charge Head Coaches have ended their tenure with NBA call-ups: Alex Jensen (Utah), Jordi Fernandez (Denver), Steve Hetzel (Charlotte), and Nate Reinking (Cleveland).