Month: October 2014

Warriors waive Aaron Craft, Jason Kapono, Sean Kilpatrick, James Michael McAdoo, Mitchell Watt

Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Aaron Craft, guard/forward Jason Kapono, guard Sean Kilpatrick, forward James Michael McAdoo and forward Mitchell Watt, the team announced following tonight’s preseason finale against the Denver Nuggets.

Craft appeared in four preseason games, averaging 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.00 steal in 14.7 minutes per contest.

Kapono appeared in five preseason games, averaging 3.2 and 1.6 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game.

Kilpatrick signed with the Warriors on October 20 and did not appear in a preseason game for Golden State.

McAdoo appeared in five preseason games, averaging 5.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.20 steals in 13.0 minutes per contest.

Watt appeared in two preseason games, averaging 3.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and a team-leading 1.50 blocks in 9.5 minutes per game.

The team’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Jazz exercise contract options on Trey Burke and Rudy Gobert

trey burke

The Utah Jazz today elected to exercise its third-year team options for guard Trey Burke and center Rudy Gobert. The contract options for both players are through the 2015-16 NBA season.

Burke (6-1, 190, Michigan) is entering his second NBA season after averaging 12.8 points, a team-leading 5.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 70 games (68 starts) during his rookie campaign. He was named to the 2014 All-NBA Rookie First Team and finished third in 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year balloting. Burke was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month three times (December, January and April), becoming the first Jazz player to win multiple Rookie of the Month awards. He also registered 12 games with 20-plus points, and handed out 10 or more assists on seven occasions. Burke was also selected to the 2014 NBA Rising Stars Challenge and won the 2014 Skills Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans.

The 22-year-old Gobert (7-1, 245, France) is also entering his second NBA season after appearing in 45 games (all as a reserve) for the Jazz in 2013-14 and averaged 2.3 points and 3.4 rebounds as a rookie. He led Utah in rebounding on three occasions in his rookie campaign and was second on the team in blocks per game (0.9). Gobert was named to the 2014 All-NBA Summer League Second Team after averaging 11.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 23.8 minutes over four games in Las Vegas. He also won a bronze medal with the France Men’s Basketball Team at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Both Burke (ninth overall) and Gobert (27th overall) were selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft, and their rights were acquired by the Jazz in separate draft night trades.

NBA preseason ends Friday night. The 2014-15 regular season begins Tuesday, October 28.

Spurs sign Robert Vaden and Fuquan Edwin

Spurs sign Robert Vaden and Fuquan Edwin

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard Robert Vaden and forward Fuquan Edwin. We assume these are non-guaranteed deals that likely expire pretty immediately, since preseason ends tonight.

Vaden, 6-5/205, most recently played for Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium. This past season he appeared in 10 games, averaging 9.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 27.0 minutes He has also played internationally for Telekom Baskets Bonn of Germany (2012-13), BK SPU Nitra of Slovakia (2010-11) and Aget Imola of Italy (2009-10).

The Indiana native also spent two seasons playing in the NBA D-League for the Tulsa 66ers (2010-12). In 81 career NBDL games, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.8 minutes.

Vaden, who played collegiately at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2007-09) and Indiana University (2004-06), was drafted 54th overall in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. Immediately following the draft, his rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Edwin played collegiately at Seton Hall University from 2010-14. In 127 career games with the Pirates, he averaged 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.32 steals and 1.4 assists in 30.3 minutes. Following his senior season, the New Jersey native was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

This past summer, Edwin participated in the Orlando Summer League with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Rockets claim Earl Clark off waivers, waive Josh Powell

earl clark

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has claimed forward Earl Clark off waivers and requested waivers on Josh Powell.

Clark (6-10, 234, Louisville), a sixth year forward appeared in 54 games during the 2013-14 season with Cleveland (45 games) and New York (nine games) averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.2 minutes. Over the course of his career, Clark has appeared in 251 games, including 54 starts, with the Cavaliers, Knicks, Magic and Suns. He holds career averages of 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 14.1 minutes. Clark was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 23, 2014.

Powell (6-9, 225, NC State), a seven year NBA veteran appeared in one preseason game for the Rockets this year collecting one rebound in six minutes played. Powell also played in the regular season finale of the 2013-14 season versus New Orleans on April 16th, recording four points and five rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Nets trade Marquis Teague, pick to 76ers for Casper Ware

Nets trade Marquis Teague to 76ers for Casper Ware

The Brooklyn Nets have traded guard Marquis Teague, along with the 2019 second round draft pick that was obtained from Milwaukee this past June, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Casper Ware, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

The pick the Sixers receive will be the more favorable of Milwaukee’s or Sacramento’s second-round selection in 2019.

Ware appeared in nine games for Philadelphia last season, where he averaged 5.3 points and 1.1 assists in 12.9 minutes per game.

Teague was acquired from the Chicago Bulls on January 21, 2014. Selected out of Kentucky in the first round (29th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Chicago, Teague appeared in 40 games for the Bulls and the Nets last season, averaging 2.7 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11.1 minutes per game. In 88 career games, Teague holds NBA averages of 2.3 points and 1.4 assists per game.

Pistons exercise contract options on Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

andre drummond

The Detroit Pistons have exercised team options on the contracts of center Andre Drummond and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the team announced today.

Both players’ contracts are now extended through the 2015-16 NBA season.

Drummond is clearly a building block for the Pistons; a rebounding machine with a lot of potential. Caldwell-Pope is still proving his value in the league.

Hornets waive Justin Cobbs, Dallas Lauderdale, Brian Qvale

hornets

The Charlotte Hornets have waived guard Justin Cobbs, forward Dallas Lauderdale and center Brian Qvale, General Manager Rich Cho announced today.

Cobbs saw action in two preseason games, averaging 1.0 point and 1.0 rebound in 4.5 minutes. Lauderdale and Qvale each appeared in one preseason game, seeing 3:13 worth of action.

The Hornets roster currently stands at 15 players.

Nets exercise contract options on Mason Plumlee and Sergey Karasev

nets

The Brooklyn Nets have exercised the third-year contract options on forward/center Mason Plumlee and guard/forward Sergey Karasev, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. Both players will remain under contract through at least the 2015-16 season.

Selected out of Duke in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft (22nd overall), Plumlee was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team following his first season with Brooklyn. In 74 games (22 starts) last season, Plumlee averaged 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.79 blocks in 18.2 minutes per game for the Nets. He led all rookies in PER, Win Shares, Win Shares/48 Minutes, True Shooting Percentage, Field Goal Percentage and Dunk Rate and was second among qualifying rookies in blocks per game. This past offseason, Plumlee was selected as a member of USA Basketball Men’s National Team and won a gold medal in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in September.

Karasev, who was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade on July 10, 2014, was selected by Cleveland in the first round (19th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft. The native of Russia averaged 1.7 points and 0.7 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game in 22 appearances with the Cavaliers last season.

Pelicans waive Kevin Jones and D.J. Stephens

Pelicans waive Kevin Jones and D.J. Stephens

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived forward Kevin Jones and guard D.J. Stephens.

Jones, 6-8, 260, spent the 2013-14 season with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League where he averaged 16.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, earning a selection to the 2014 NBADL All-Star Game. This summer, Jones was a member of the Indiana Pacers’ summer league team. The West Virginia product appeared in three preseason games, totaling seven points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.

Stephens, 6-5, 188, began his professional career with Ilysiakos B.C. of Greece where he averaged 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. After appearing in 12 games, Stephens returned to the United States, signing a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on March 26, appearing in three games and averaging 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds. Stephens concluded the 2013-14 season in Turkey, appearing in seven games for Anadolu Efes, where the Texas native averaged 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds. The former Memphis Tiger appeared in three preseason games with the Pelicans, totaling five points and two rebounds in 11 minutes.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 15.