When Gottfried was fired and Kevin Keatts hired, there was obviously going to be some roster turnover. There always is.
Everyone knew Dennis Smith Jr would be heading to the NBA, but there were rumors all over the place about players transferring or going pro. Some thought Abu would leave for the pros. Others thought Markell Johnson, Ted Kapita and Mav Rowan might transfer.
As it turns out, Abu and Johnson made the right move and stayed while Mav Rowan and Ted Kapita did the unthinkable and just went pro.
For Rowan, it looks like things might end up working out to a degree. He was selected #3 overall in the G-League draft by the Lakeland Magic (an affiliate of the Orlando Magic) after being cut after 3 days by a Serbian team.
As for Kapita, well, look, you never want to judge someone because you don’t know their situation, but man did Big Ted make a mistake. The kid was oozing with raw talent and the more we hear about Keatts style of play, the more we think he would have fit perfectly in this system.
A tweet from a few weeks ago hinted that Kapita finally did ink a G-League deal with the Erie BayHawks, but with no guarantees, and as a tryout player.
Fast-forward a few weeks and the G-League draft has come and gone, but still no news on Kapita. The Erie BayHawks selected 5 players in the draft and he was not one of them. Their final roster has yet to be posted, but we aren’t even sure if he was in the draft to begin with.
If you are confused by how the G-League builds it’s rosters (as we were), here is a nice rundown.
It seems as if Kapita didn’t get picked up by the league, thus did not get entered into the draft. Instead, it seems as if he just tried out as a ‘local tryout player’ and was awarded a contract to come to camp (likely without guarantees). The tweet is vague, so it’s unclear if he has already passed the tryout and will be on the team, or if he tried out to get to camp and now he will try out again to get on the roster (we believe the latter is more likely.)
I’m just going to say it. If your situation is this complicated, this early in your career, then it’s probably likely that you would have benefitted from a year or two more of college basketball. I know the money is enticing and there are a few stories of going from unknown to NBA star, but it’s a cruel world out there. If you don’t have the skills, then no one cares about you. They don’t have time to train you or work with you. You’re on your own, out of sight and out of mind. At least in college you have coaches who care about you and whose job it is to push you and make you better. You have publicity built in, especially being in the ACC where TV camera and NBA scouts are fixated on your games every night. But, who am I to judge. These agents sell a dream and if you don’t have good counsel around you then I guess it’s easy to buy into that.
We have contacted people on the Kapita and the BayHawks sides, but we have yet to hear anything. We’ll keep you updated.
UPDATE: No, Ted Kapita did not make the G-League roster.
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