July 2015 – Page 3 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Nuggets sign Nikola Jokic

The Denver Nuggets have signed center Nikola Jokić to a multi-year contract, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Jokić, 6-10, 250, was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Jokić, 20, has spent the last three seasons playing for KK Mega Vizura of the Adriatic League. This past season he appeared in 38 games (37 starts), averaging 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.00 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game. He was also named Adriatic League Round MVP four times.

The Serbian native appeared in five games (all starts) for the Denver Nuggets at the 2015 Samsung Summer League in Las Vegas. He averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.40 blocks in 21.0 minutes per game.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer pleads not guilty to DUI

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer enjoyed great success on the court last season but had some trouble off it. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting the latest:

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has entered a plea of not guilty in his driving under the influence case, according to his attorney.

Budenholzer entered the plea in Fulton County State Court last week in writing with the court and Judge Diane E. Bessens. The court has a scheduled plea and arraignment hearing tomorrow at 9 a.m. With the filing of the plea and two motions, neither Budenholzer nor his attorney Michael Hawkins will attend. The plea and motions were filed with the court on July 22.

Budenholzer faces misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence alcohol less safe and defective or no taillights from an arrest Aug. 28, 2013 after being stopped by police at 10:30 p.m. at 10th Street and Crescent Avenue in Midtown.

Nets will host Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul in October for preseason game

The Brooklyn Nets will host Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul of the Turkish Basketball League for a preseason game on October 5, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at Barclays Center, General Manager Billy King announced today.

“We are excited to be hosting Fenerbahce, as it will be a reunion for Bojan Bogdanovic with his former team,” said King. “Our fans will have an opportunity to see one of the best coached teams in all of Europe when they come to Brooklyn.”

As a member of Fenerbahce, Nets guard/forward Bojan Bogdanovic led the team to the Turkish Basketball League Championship in 2013-14. This past season, the club reached the finals of the Turkish Cup and the final four in the Euroleague.

Celtics sign first round draft picks Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guards Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter.

Both players were selected in the first round of the Draft, and were therefore guaranteed to get signed to contracts. So, these signings are standard and were expected.

Rozier was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He appeared in five contests for the Celtics during the Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 27.6 minutes per game. Rozier recorded his best game in the Vegas Summer League on July 12 with 22 points, two rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 28 minutes of action against the Philadelphia 76ers.

He also played in three games for the Celtics during the Utah Summer League and averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals in 28.3 minutes per game. Rozier tallied his best game in the Utah Summer League on July 9 against the San Antonio Spurs with 16 points, three rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 28 minutes.

The 6’1” guard out of University of Louisville ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring and was selected to the Second Team All-ACC. Rozier was named one of 17 watch list finalists for the 2015 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and a Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 candidate for the nation’s top player.

Hunter was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He appeared in five games for the Celtics during the Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 15.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 24.4 minutes per game. Hunter tallied his best game in the Vegas Summer League on July 18 with 18 points on 7-14 (.500) shooting, five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 24 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs.

He also played in three contests for the Celtics during the Utah Summer League and averaged 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 19.0 minutes per game. Hunter recorded his best game in the Utah Summer League on July 9 with 18 points, including shooting a perfect 4-4 from the three-point line, one rebound and one block in 19 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs.

The 6’6” guard out of Georgia State was a two-time AP All-American Honorable Mention. Hunter was also the first player in school history to earn conference player of the year honors twice and three straight First-Team All-Conference honors. In just three seasons, he became Georgia State’s all-time leading scorer with 1,799 points, while also topping career lists for three-pointers made, three-point attempts, free throw percentage, free throws made and free throw attempts.

Mavericks sign Jamil Wilson and Brandon Ashley

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent forwards Jamil Wilson and Brandon Ashley.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume these are non-guaranteed deals that merely bring these two players to training camp.

Wilson (6-7, 230) spent the 2014-15 season with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League. In 41 games (23 starts) for the Jam, he averaged 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 block in 26.2 minutes. The Milwaukee native played his final three seasons of college basketball at Marquette University (2011-14) where, as a senior, he averaged 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 32 games.

Ashley (6-9, 230) signs with Dallas after averaging 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steal and 21.7 minutes in seven games (two starts) for the Atlanta Hawks’ summer league team that competed in Las Vegas. He was an early entry candidate for the 2015 NBA Draft out of the University of Arizona and went undrafted after his junior season. Ashley started all 38 games as a junior, averaging 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 27.8 minutes while helping Arizona return to the Elite Eight for the second straight year. He was also named Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 and the Most Outstanding player of the Pac-12 tournament as a junior.

Pacers re-sign Lavoy Allen

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have re-signed veteran free agent Lavoy Allen to a contract.

“We think he’s ready to step in and play more minutes at two different positions,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “This is a great opportunity for him to play night in and night out at a high level.”

Allen, a 6-9, 260-pound forward/center is entering his fifth season in the NBA and his third with the Pacers after being acquired via trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2014. He was drafted by the 76ers as the 50th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He has career averages of 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Pacers sign Shayne Whittington, Glenn Robinson III and Rakeem Christmas

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have re-signed Shayne Whittington and signed Glenn Robinson III and Rakeem Christmas.

Whittington, a 6-11, 250-pound forward/center out of Western Michigan University, is entering his second season in the NBA after signing with the Pacers last year as an undrafted rookie. With the Pacers, he appeared in 20 games during the 2014-15 season. He was also assigned to play with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League during their playoff run that resulted in a trip to the NBA D-League Finals. Whittington appeared in five postseason games with the Mad Ants, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds.

“Shayne has been with us for more than a year and shown us a lot of good things,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He has grown as a player, has improved and we expect him to continue to do so to be a part of what we do. He’s a hard worker with a variety of skills for a big man.”

Robinson, a 6-7, 222-pound guard/forward, is in his second season in the NBA after being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (40th overall pick) of the 2014 NBA Draft. He played 25 games with the Timberwolves before being waived. He was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia, with whom he played 10 games. Overall in 35 games as a rookie, he averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.

Collegiately, Robinson played two years at the University of Michigan with career averages of 12.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He hails from northern Indiana, where he was named an Associated Press All-State selection at Lake Central High School.

“Glenn comes to us with a set of skills we think will blend in with our team,” said Bird. “We expect him to be very good on the defensive end and he can score the ball. We look forward to seeing him improve throughout the year.”

Christmas, 6-9, 250, was acquired by the Pacers on July 23rd from the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a second-round pick in June’s NBA Draft. He was selected 36th overall by Minnesota and was traded later draft night to the Cavaliers. He played collegiately at Syracuse where in his senior season he averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. In his four-year career with the Orange, he played 142 games.

Celtics re-sign Jae Crowder

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have re-signed forward Jae Crowder.

“Jae epitomizes everything that we look for in a Celtic,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “His infectious energy on both ends of the court and his versatile skill set enabled him to win over both the coaching staff and our fan base after his acquisition last season.”

Crowder was acquired by the Celtics from the Dallas Mavericks on December 18, 2014. He averaged 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steal in 24.2 minutes per game in 57 contests with Boston.

The 6’6” forward tallied a season-high tying 22 points on 8-14 (.571) shooting from the field, seven rebounds and one block in 30 minutes of action on February 22 against the Los Angeles Lakers. For the duration of the 2014-15 season, Crowder appeared in 82 contests and averaged 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.1 minutes per game.

He was originally the 34th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers before being traded on Draft night to Dallas, and has averaged 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 17.9 minutes per game on his career.

Heat waive Henry Walker

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have waived forward Henry Walker.

(Yes, Henry Walker is the player formerly known as Bill Walker.)

Walker appeared in 24 games (13 starts) for the HEAT last season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.00 steals and 26.1 minutes per game. He led the team in steals six times, in blocks four times, in rebounds twice and in assists once.

He also appeared in 17 games (eight starts) for the Sioux Falls Skyforce last season, averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.00 steals and 27.8 minutes, while shooting 46.8 percent from the field.

Cavaliers re-sign Matthew Dellavedova

The Cleveland Cavaliers have re-signed guard Matthew Dellavedova, General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Dellavedova played in 67 games (13 starts) in the 2014-15 regular season, averaging 4.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 20.6 minutes per game. He shot a career-high .407 from the three-point line and .763 from the free throw line. The 6-4 guard also led the Cavaliers with a 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio for the season, which ranked fourth in the NBA.

Dellevadova appeared in all 20 games (seven starts) during Cleveland’s NBA Finals run in the 2015 Playoffs and averaged 7.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 24.9 minutes per game.