July 2016 – Page 14 – NBA Blog

Nets sign Trevor Booker

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent forward Trevor Booker to a multi-year contract. Booker’s deal is reportedly an 18$ million dollar contract over two years.

Booker (6’8”, 228) has appeared in 393 games (112 starts) in six NBA seasons with Washington (2010-14) and Utah (2014-16), recording averages of 6.5 points on .515 from the field, 5.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 20.3 minutes per game.

“Trevor is a seasoned big with a defensive mindset who will bring toughness, rebounding and a competitive edge to our team,” said Nets’ General Manager Sean Marks.

He also made a playoff appearance in 2014 with the Wizards, registering averages of 3.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game in nine contests. This past season, the 28-year-old saw action in 79 games with the Jazz, averaging 5.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.7 minutes per game while setting single-season career-highs in minutes played (1,632), rebounds (452), assists (84) and steals (59). The Newberry, S.C. native was originally selected with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft by Minnesota before his rights were traded to Washington on draft night. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Booker played four years at Clemson (2006-10), earning All-ACC second-team honors as a junior, All-ACC first-team recognition as a senior and All-ACC defensive team honors in each of his final two seasons. He helped lead the Tigers to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a school-record 93 victories during his four-year tenure.

Mavericks re-sign Deron Williams

The Dallas Mavericks have re-signed free agent guard Deron Williams.

D-Will’s deal is reportedly a $10 million dollar contract for one year.

Years ago, Williams was considered one of the top point guards in the league, right up there with the likes of Chris Paul. Then came injuries. Lots of injuries. And since then — when healthy — Williams has been solid, sometimes good or very good.

Last season with Dallas, Williams averaged 14.1 points, a team-high 5.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 32.4 minutes in 65 games (63 starts). He shot .414 from the field (321-775 FGs), .344 (97-282 3FGs) from three-point range and a career-high .869 (179-206 FTs) from the free throw line. Among league leaders, he ranked 19th in assists and 15th in free throw percentage.

Williams (6-3, 200) is a 11-year NBA veteran with career averages of 16.8 points, 8.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 34.8 minutes in 781 games (727 starts) for three teams (Utah, New Jersey/Brooklyn and Dallas). Overall, he has shot .445 (4,611-10,364 FGs) from the field, .357 (1,093-3,062 3FGs) from three-point range and .822 (2,788-3,393 FTs) from the free throw line.

Mavericks waive JaVale McGee

The Dallas Mavericks have waived center JaVale McGee.

Throughout his NBA career, McGee has shown flashes of big-time talent, but lots of other flashes of silly mistakes, some of which brought him some unwanted attention.

McGee (7-0, 270) averaged 5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 10.9 minutes in 34 games after signing with Dallas on August 13, 2015.

Mavericks sign A.J. Hammons

The Dallas Mavericks today signed second round draft pick center A.J. Hammons.

The Mavericks selected Hammons with the 46th overall selection of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Hammons (7-0, 250) played four seasons with the Purdue Boilermakers and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America as a senior at Purdue. In his final season, he averaged 15.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.1 assists while shooting .592 from the floor.

The skilled center finished his four years at Purdue ranked on many of its all-time lists including rebounds (3rd), blocks (2nd) and scoring (17th). Hammons garnered Second Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors as a junior and was named Big Ten All-Freshman Team in his first collegiate season.

The Gary, Ind., native attended high school at basketball-power Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) where he was named a McDonald’s All-American.

Mavericks sign Dorian Finney-Smith

The Dallas Mavericks have signed undrafted free agent forward Dorian Finney-Smith.

Finney-Smith (6-8, 220) signs with Dallas after going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. He played his final three collegiate seasons at Florida after transferring from Virginia Tech following his freshman year. In 134 career collegiate games, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.

Finney-Smith led the Gators in rebounding in all three of his seasons at Florida (2013-16) and he led the team in scoring in each of his final two (2014-16). His 1,220 points at Florida rank 36th in school history. What’s more, he became the first Florida player to join the 1,000-point club after transferring to the school.

As a senior in 2015-16, Finney-Smith averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 31.8 minutes in 36 games en route to being named Second Team All-SEC by the coaches and Third Team All-SEC by the Associated Press.

Mavericks re-sign Dwight Powell

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-signed forward-center Dwight Powell.

Powell’s deal is reportedly a $37 million dollar contract over four years.

Powell (6-11, 240) holds career averages of 5.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 12.5 minutes per game in 98 games (two starts) with Boston and Dallas. He averaged 5.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 14.4 minutes per game in 69 games (two starts) with the Mavericks last season.

Powell was acquired by Dallas along with Rajon Rondo on Dec. 18, 2014, in a deal that sent Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson, a 2015 first-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick to Boston.

The 6-11 Canadian was selected to play for the World Team at the 2016 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend.

A former standout at Stanford, Powell was originally drafted by Charlotte with the 45th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, before having his draft rights traded along with Brendan Haywood to Cleveland in exchange for Scotty Hopson and cash considerations. On Sept. 25, 2014, Powell was dealt to Boston along with Malcolm Thomas, Erik Murphy, John Lucas III, two future second-round picks and a trade exception in exchange for Keith Bogans and two future second-round picks.

As a senior at Stanford, Powell was named All-Pac-12 First Team while averaging 14.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He was also named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Suns sign Jared Dudley

The Phoenix Suns today signed forward Jared Dudley, a nine-year NBA veteran who played five of those seasons with the Suns, to a multiyear contract.

“We are excited to welcome Jared back to the Phoenix Suns family,” said General Manager Ryan McDonough. “Jared’s work ethic, professionalism and knowledge of the game will provide a great example for our young players to try to emulate.”

Dudley’s deal is reportedly a $30 million dollar contract over three years.

Dudley returns to Phoenix where he previously played five seasons with the Suns from 2008-2013, averaging 9.8 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range in 356 games. One of the best three-point shooters in Suns history, he comes back to the team ranked seventh on the franchise’s all-time three-point makes list with 437 and third with his 41.2 percent mark from behind the arc, trailing only Steve Nash and Raja Bell.

Initially acquired by the Suns in a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats on Dec. 10, 2008, Dudley averaged double-digits scoring in each of his final three seasons with the Suns, including career-highs of 12.7 points and 4.6 rebounds with Phoenix in 2011-12. In addition to his shooting ability, the 2009-10 Dan Majerle Hustle Award winner and versatile defender led the Suns in steals in three of his four full seasons with the team. One of the league’s most durable players, the 6-7, 225-pound forward played in 356 of a possible 381 games during his first tenure with the Suns and is one of only three players in the NBA, along with David West and Luis Scola, to play in at least 65 games in each of the past nine seasons.

In 81 games with the Washington Wizards last season, Dudley started 41 and averaged 7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists while ranking seventh on the NBA leaderboard by shooting 42.0 percent from three-point range. For his career, the nine-year veteran holds averages of 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 47.0 percent from the field, 39.9 percent from three-point range and 73.6 percent from the free throw line in 676 games (253 starts) with the Bobcats (2007-08), Suns (2008-13), Los Angeles Clippers (2013-14), Milwaukee Bucks (2014-15) and Wizards (2015-16).

The 22nd overall selection of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Bobcats, Dudley joined the NBA following a standout four-year career at Boston College where he was named ACC Player of the Year in 2006-07. A San Diego native, Dudley represents his hometown’s area code in his Twitter handle (@JaredDudley619) and has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most entertaining players to follow.

Dudley will wear uniform No. 3, the same number he wore during his first five seasons with the Suns. Rookie forward Dragan Bender will now wear No. 35

Lakers sign Timofey Mozgov

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Timofey Mozgov, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mozgov’s deal is reportedly a $65 million dollar contract over four years. Those are bigger dollar numbers than were expected for him.

“Timofey is a player who has shown the ability to change the game at the defensive end, and fills an area of need for us at the center position,” said Kupchak. “We are very pleased to add him to our team.”

Mozgov joins the Lakers after winning the 2016 NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In six NBA seasons with the Cavs, Denver Nuggets, and New York Knicks, the 7-1 Mozgov has a career field goal percentage of 53.7% and holds averages of 6.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game over 369 contests (208 starts). He started all 20 games of Cleveland’s run to the 2015 NBA Finals, averaging 10.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 26.5 minutes while shooting 50.0% from the field.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Mozgov has represented his home country internationally, winning bronze medals at the 2012 Olympics in London and at the 2011 FIBA European Championships. Prior to beginning his NBA career with the Knicks in 2010, the 29-year-old played professionally in Russia for six seasons.

Knicks re-sign Lance Thomas

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has re-signed forward Lance Thomas.

Thomas, 6-8, 235-pounds, provided consistent scoring off the bench for New York this past season, averaging 8.2 points over 22.3 minutes in 59 games. Although he missed 23 games due to injury, the Brooklyn, NY-native recorded career highs in points scored (484), scoring average (8.2), three-point field goals (44) and attempts (109) and free throw percentage (.857).

The Duke University graduate finished his second season with the Knicks in 2015-16, his fifth overall in the NBA (also with New Orleans and Oklahoma City), and was originally acquired as part of a three-team deal with Cleveland and Oklahoma City on Jan. 5, 2015.

Bucks sign Mirza Teletovic

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent forward Mirza Teletovic (MEER-za Tel-LET-O-vich), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Teletovic’s deal is reportedly a $30 million dollar contract over three years.

Teletovic, 30, is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and most recently played for the Phoenix Suns. He had a noteworthy 2015-16 campaign with the Suns as he averaged career highs in points (12.2), field goal percentage (.427), 3-point percentage (.393) and 3-pointers made (2.3) per game. Teletovic also competed in a career-best 79 games (one start) in 2015-16, and set an NBA record for most 3-point makes by a reserve in a single regular season (179).

The 6-9 forward began his NBA career in Brooklyn, playing three seasons for the Nets (2012-2015) after signing with the team as a free agent on July 11, 2012. He played under Bucks head coach Jason Kidd in Brooklyn during the 2013-14 season.

Teletovic helped the Nets reach the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the team. He appeared in all 12 of Brooklyn’s playoff games in 2013-14 and averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 43.9 percent shooting from the field in 18.3 minutes per contest.

Prior to entering the NBA, Teletovic played professionally for 10 seasons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium and Spain. He has also represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team seven times (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015).