March 2016 – Page 7 – NBA Blog

Knicks sign Tony Wroten

The New York Knicks signed guard Tony Wroten today.

According to ESPN.com, “Kurt Rambis said that Wroten, who has played just eight games since last February due to an ACL injury, will not play or practice with the team. “This was more to garner his rights and put him situations where we can look at him this summer,” Rambis said.”

Wroten, 6-6, 205-pounds, holds career averages of 11.1 points, on 41.3-percent shooting, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds over 21.2 minutes in 145 games (34 starts) in four seasons with Memphis and Philadelphia. This season, he averaged 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 18.0 minutes in eight games with Philadelphia before being waived on Dec. 24.

The Seattle, WA-native was originally selected by Memphis with the 25th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft following his freshman season at the University of Washington.

Pelicans sign Tim Frazier to 10-day contract

The New Orleans Pelicans signed guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day contract today after receiving a hardship exception from the NBA.

Frazier, 6-1, 170, most recently played for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, where he has appeared in eight games this season, averaging 15.0 points, 9.6 assists, 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Undrafted out of Penn State, Frazier began his professional career with the Red Claws in 2014-15, appearing in 41 games and averaging 16.1 points, 9.5 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals on his way to being named to the 2015 D-League All-Star Game, D-League All-Rookie First Team, D-League All-Defensive Second Team, All-D-League First Team, D-League Rookie of the Year and the 2015 D-League Most Valuable Player. Frazier earned GATORADE Call-Ups with Philadelphia and Portland, averaging 2.3 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 46 career NBA games.

New Orleans’ roster stands at 17. Frazier will wear #2 for the Pelicans.

Damon Stoudamire now a college basketball head coach for Pacific

University of the Pacific Director of Athletics Ted Leland has announced the hiring of Damon Stoudamire as Men’s Basketball Head Coach. Stoudamire becomes the 22nd head coach in school history. A press conference will be held at 1:30 pm at the Vereschagin Alumni House to announce the hiring where Dr. Leland and Coach Stoudamire will speak.

Stoudamire honed his skills under legendary coach Lute Olson at Arizona where he played four seasons before beginning a 13-year NBA career. He has spent the last seven years coaching basketball as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies, Arizona Wildcats, and most recently the Memphis Tigers.

“I am humbled and honored to be named head men’s basketball coach at University of the Pacific,” said Stoudamire. “I’d like to thank President Eibeck and Dr. Leland for believing in me and giving me this unbelievable opportunity! I’m truly blessed to be able to lead our Tigers into the future!”

Most recently, Stoudamire spent the 2015-16 season as an assistant with the University of Memphis where he was considered one of the top collegiate recruiters in the country. Prior to his last stint at Memphis, Stoudamire spent two seasons on the University of Arizona basketball staff from 2013-15. In his two seasons in Tucson, Stoudamire helped lead the Wildcats to consecutive 30-win seasons (33-5 in 2013-14; 34-4 in 2014-15), two Pac-12 Conference regular-season titles, one Pac-12 Conference Tournament crown and back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances.

Bucks sign Jared Cunningham to 10-day contract

The Milwaukee Bucks today signed guard Jared Cunningham to a 10-day contract, pursuant to the NBA’s hardship exception.

Cunningham, 24, most recently played in the D-League for the Idaho Stampede, where in three games (all starts) he averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per outing. Cunningham began the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where in 40 games (three starts) he averaged 2.6 points in 8.9 minutes per game before being traded to and then waived by Orlando on February 18.

The NBA’s hardship exception is a temporary roster spot that allows teams to exceed the 15-man maximum roster. A hardship can be deemed to exist when a team has four players who are sick or injured and have missed at least three consecutive games, and will continue to be unable to play as determined through an independent physician.

Grizzlies sign Xavier Munford to 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard Xavier Munford to a 10-day contract. This as a “Call-Up” from the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, and pursuant to the NBA’s hardship roster rules that allow the team to go above the 15-player roster limit.

Munford (6-3, 180) has appeared in 41 games (37 starts) for Bakersfield and averaged 20.4 points (.490 FG/.412 3P/.811 FT), 4.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.00 steals in 33.7 minutes. A 2016 D-League All-Star, he ranks sixth among qualifying players in assists per game and 11th in scoring average.

The 23-year-old has played 89 career games (53 starts) over two seasons with the Jam and averaged 15.2 points (.475 FG/.366 3P/.796 FT), 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 27.3 minutes. He helped guide Bakersfield to the D-League Playoffs in 2015 and averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.33 steals in 38.0 minutes over three postseason games.

Undrafted in the 2014 Draft, Munford transferred to the University of Rhode Island as a junior and completed his collegiate career with averages of 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 35.5 minutes in 61 games (all starts) over two seasons.

Memphis’ roster now stands at 18 players.

NBA notes from around the league, March 14

NBA notes from around the league, through games of Sunday, March 13.

The Hornets have won seven consecutive games for the first time since March 2002.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has recorded all four of his career triple-doubles in the last 11 games. He is the first player in franchise history with four triple-doubles in a season.

Spurs big man Tim Duncan needs three points to pass John Havlicek (26,395) for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

After passing Kevin Johnson on Sunday for 19th place on the career assists list, Cavaliers forward LeBron James needs 11 assists to pass Muggsy Bogues (6,726) for the 18th spot.

Warriors guard Klay Thompson has joined teammate Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history with 200 three-pointers made in four consecutive seasons.

Stephen Curry celebrates his 28th birthday today.

Pistons center Andre Drummond leads the NBA with 55 double-doubles. The franchise single-season record is 69 by Bob Lanier in 1972-73.

With 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Friday’s victory over New Orleans, 36-year-old Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes became the oldest player to record his first career triple-double.

Suns rookie Devin Booker has scored 27 or more points in four of his last six games, including recent back-to-back games of 32 and 35 points. He became the first Phoenix rookie with consecutive 30-point games since Walter Davis in 1977.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert is averaging 13.8 rebounds in his last nine games.

The Delaware 87ers, the Philadelphia 76ers’ National Basketball Development League affiliate, are the first NBA D-League or NBA team ever to have four players score 45 or more points in a game in a season. Sean Kilpatrick, Jordan McRae, Russ Smith and Christian Wood have all accomplished the feat.

Kilpatrick, now on his second 10-day contract with the Nets, has scored in double figures in four of his last five games for Brooklyn, including two 19-point performances.

On the Warriors and Spurs

In the NBA’s Western Conference race, the Golden State Warriors (59-6) lead the San Antonio Spurs (56-10) by 3.5 games for the No. 1 seed. The NBA’s top two teams, both unbeaten at home and newly crowned division champions, play three more times in the regular season, starting in San Antonio on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Warriors have lost 32 consecutive regular-season games at San Antonio, their last victory coming Feb. 14, 1997. (The Warriors did win at San Antonio during the 2013 playoffs.) The Spurs and Warriors also meet Thursday, April 7 at Golden State (10:30 p.m., TNT) and Sunday, April 10 at San Antonio (7 p.m., NBA TV).

Raptors having excellent season

The Toronto Raptors (44-20) are closing in on the franchise’s first 50-win season and third consecutive trip to the playoffs. They are also within striking distance of the Cavaliers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Toronto trails Cleveland (47-18) by 2.5 games but owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-1. The Raptors have won nine of 11 and wrap up a seven-game homestand tonight against Chicago (7:30 p.m. ET) before playing 10 of 17 on the road to close the season. The Cavaliers have eight home and nine road contests remaining among their 17 games, beginning tonight at Utah (10:30 p.m., ESPN) in the finale of a four-game road trip.

Unclear how long Jae Crowder will be out

In announcing that Jae Crowder will be sidelined by a high ankle sprain, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens suggested the fourth-year swingman would miss “a couple of weeks minimum.”

It’s the “minimum” part that left some Boston fans a bit uneasy. While even two weeks is a lengthy period for the team to navigate without possibly their best two-way player, a small sample of recent high-ankle sprains across the NBA suggests a recovery timeline that trends closer to 4-6 weeks.

— ESPN Boston

Tim Frazier named D-League Performer of Week

Maine Red Claws guard Tim Frazier was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week today, for games played Monday, March 7 through Sunday, March 13. It’s the second straight nod for Frazier and the fifth of his career.

The 6-1, 170-pound Frazier (Penn State) helped the Red Claws to a 3-0 week averaging 12.7 points on 60.0 percent shooting to go with 9.7 assists (second in the league), 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 steal.

Last year’s NBA D-League MVP returned to Maine after starting the season with the Portland Trail Blazers and has led the team to a 7-1 record since his return. Through eight games, Frazier is averaging 15.0 points on 55.7 percent shooting to go with 9.4 assists, 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals.

Other top D-League performers considered for the weekly honor were Bakersfield’s Xavier Munford, Grand Rapids’ Henry Sims, Iowa’s D.J. Stephens, Maine’s Corey Walden, Sioux Falls’ Rodney McGrunder and Texas’ Tu Holloway.