July 2016 – Page 9 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Spurs sign rookie Dejounte Murray

The Spurs have signed rookie guard Dejounte Murray.

The Spurs selected Murray with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

All players selected in the first round of the Draft are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they want to begin their NBA career right away. So, this signing was expected.

The 6-5/170 lb. guard recently completed his freshman season at the University of Washington, where he averaged 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.82 steals in 33.5 minutes while starting all 34 games. The former Huskies guard was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, leading all Pac-12 freshmen in points, assists and steals, while finishing second in the conference in rebounds. He scored in double figures in 26 contests, including 10 with at least 20 points and two with 30-or-more, and set a new school record for assists by a freshman, finishing the season with 151 helpers.

Originally from Seattle, Murray was one of two freshmen to average at least 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season, along with LSU’s Ben Simmons.

Raptors re-sign DeMar DeRozan

The Raptors have re-signed guard DeMar DeRozan.

“Our top priority in the offseason was to make sure DeMar remained a Raptor,” said Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri. “He has been a foundation for our franchise, a leader who exemplifies the culture we are developing and a key contributor in our success.

“We are delighted that after seven seasons DeMar wanted to remain in Toronto to help us continue to build a championship program.”

The deal is reportedly a $139 million dollar contract, over five years.

DeRozan played a major role in last season’s franchise-record 56 regular season wins and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

DeRozan, point guard Kyle Lowry, and center Jonas Valanciunas are the heart of the team. Where they go, the team goes.

DeRozan, 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, averaged a career and team-best 23.5 points (tied for eighth in the NBA) with 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 35.9 minutes (eighth in the NBA) in 78 contests in 2015-16. He shot career bests of .338 (47-139) from three-point range and .850 (555-653) at the foul line, a sixth consecutive season above 80 per cent. His 555 free throws made and 653 free throw attempts were career highs and franchise records. He ranked second in the league in free throws made and third in attempts
DeRozan paced the club in scoring 47 times and in assists a career-high 16 outings. He scored 20 or more points 54 times and 30-plus on 14 occasions. He led the team with a season high-tying 38 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists March 12 versus Miami for his 10th career double-double. He also had 38 points March 4 vs. Portland, setting a franchise record with 24 made free throws before intentionally missing his 25th attempt to seal the victory.

DeRozan appeared in his second All-Star Game on February 14 in Toronto, finishing with 18 points in 19 minutes as a reserve. He was named co-winner for Eastern Conference Player of the Month in January along with teammate Kyle Lowry, averaging 23.9 points in 14 games with eight games of 20-plus points.

Spurs sign Pau Gasol

The Spurs have signed forward-center Pau Gasol.

With Tim Duncan having recently retired and sailed off into the moonlight, Gasol will have a big role on the team next season. Though, Spurs leaders should continue to be Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. And next comes Gasol, who may be utilized as an undersized center.

Gasol’s deal is reportedly a $30 million dollar contract, over two years.

Gasol, 7-0/250, is a 15-year veteran and a four-time All-NBA selection who has won two NBA Championships. The six-time All-Star was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2010-11 and 2014-15 while earning All-NBA Third Team honors in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Last season, Gasol was the only player in the NBA to average at least 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. In 72 games with the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting .469 (467-995) from the field and .792 (229-289) from the foul line in 31.8 minutes.

In 1,055 career NBA games (1,042 starts), Gasol has averaged 18.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.68 blocks while shooting .510 (7,348-14,404) from the floor and .755 (4,439-5,878) from the free throw line in 35.3 minutes. He has appeared in 115 career playoffs games, averaging 16.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 38.0 minutes. The Catalonia native has also played for the Spanish Senior National Team since 2001, including appearances in the last three Summer Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012), helping Spain capture silver medals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

The 2002 Rookie of the Year was originally drafted with the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks before being dealt on draft night to the Grizzlies, where he spent his first six-plus seasons (2001-2008) and averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 476 games. Gasol remains the all-time leading scorer in Grizzlies franchise history.

After being acquired in the middle of the 2007-08 season by the Lakers, Gasol spent the next six-plus seasons (2008-2014) with Los Angeles, where he won titles in 2009 and 2010. The NBA’s 2012 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winner averaged 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 429 games with the Lakers. Gasol then signed with the Bulls in the summer of 2014 and spent the last two seasons in Chicago (2014-16), where he averaged 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 150 total games.

Gasol is one of six players in NBA history to reach 19,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks in his career, along with and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

Raptors sign Jared Sullinger

The Raptors have signed free-agent power forward Jared Sullinger.

“We are delighted that Jared chose to join the Raptors,” said Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri. “He provides us with another experienced front court player that can rebound and score.”

Sullinger’s deal is reportedly a $5.6 million dollar contract, just for one year.

Sullinger, 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, averaged 10.3 points, a career-high 8.3 rebounds and 23.6 minutes in a career-best 81 games with Boston last season. He holds career averages of 11.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 24.9 minutes in 258 games, all with the Celtics. In the playoffs, Sullinger has averaged 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 16.1 minutes in 10 contests.

Sullinger was drafted 21st overall by Boston in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Hornets sign Christian Wood

The Hornets have signed forward Christian Wood, who has played very well for the Sixers in 2016 Summer League.

Wood appeared in 17 games for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-16, posting averages of 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game as a rookie. The 6-11 forward also played in 32 games with the Delaware 87ers in the NBA D-League, where he averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game while shooting .529 from the field and .707 from the free-throw line. The UNLV product logged 25 games of double-digit scoring, including 12 games with 20-or-more points and two games with 40-or-more points. The 20-year-old rookie netted a D-League career-high 45 points on Feb. 28 against the Canton Charge.

The Long Beach, Calif., native went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft following a two-year collegiate career at UNLV. In 63 total games, he averaged 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game. During the 2014-15 season, Wood averaged 15.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, ranking second in the Mountain West Conference in both rebounds (329) and blocks (90).

Nets sign rookie Caris LeVert

The Nets have signed rookie guard/forward Caris LeVert to a multi-year contract.

Selected with the 20th pick in the first round of the 2016 Draft, LeVert’s draft rights were acquired by Brooklyn in a trade with the Pacers.

All players selected in the first round of the Draft are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they want to begin their NBA career right away.

LeVert (6’7”, 205) played four seasons at Michigan and helped the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including trips to the National Championship game in 2013 and the Elite Eight in 2014. In 103 career games (70 starts) for the Wolverines, LeVert averaged 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. As a senior, the Pickerington, Ohio, native posted averages of 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 30.9 minutes per game while shooting .506 from the field and .446 from 3-point range in 15 games (14 starts) during an injury-shortened season. He earned 2014 All-Big Ten second-team and 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament team honors following his sophomore season, when he averaged 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 34.0 minutes per game in 37 games.

Spurs sign Davis Bertans

The San Antonio Spurs signed forward Davis Bertans today.

The 6-10 210-pound Bertans was taken in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2011 Draft by Indiana before San Antonio acquired his draft rights, along with Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard and Erazem Lorbek, from the Pacers on draft night in 2011.

The 23-year-old spent the last two seasons with Laboral Kutxa (2014-16) in the First Division of the Spanish League. Last season Bertans played in 22 games and averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 24.2 minutes while shooting .416 (42-101) from three-point range. He also made 15 Euroleague appearances, averaging 7.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 20.2 minutes while shooting .474 (27-57) from long distance.

Prior to joining Laboral Kutxa, Bertans spent three seasons with BC Partizan Belgrade (2011-14) in the Serbian League. He also played two seasons with Union Olimpia in Slovenia (2009-11) after playing on a variety of levels in Latvia. Bertans has been part of the Latvian National Team since 2011.

Knicks sign Maurice Ndour

The Knicks signed forward Maurice Ndour today.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this is a non-guaranteed contract.

Ndour, 6-9, 200-pounds, spent this past season playing for Spanish Cup champion Real Madrid (Spain), averaging 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds over 9.1 minutes in 18 games. He appeared in five games for New York’s Summer League entry in Las Vegas, NV last summer, averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds. He then signed with the Dallas Mavericks on July 23, 2015, and appeared in four preseason games before being waived on Oct. 26, 2015.

The Sindia, Senegal-native, appeared in 66 games (61 starts) over two seasons at Ohio University, posting 14.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.82 blocks, while being named to the All-MAC Second team in both his junior and senior seasons. Undrafted by an NBA franchise in 2015, Ndour played for Senegal’s 2015 national team. He played high school basketball in Japan.

Hornets to add Christian Wood

While there are still some good free agents left, most starter-worthy players have already signed deals. Still available is a lot of bench depth. Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on the Hornets, who will add forward Christian Wood. Through three games in Vegas Summer League playing for the Sixers, Wood is averaging 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds with 48.1% FG — impressive numbers in just 18.7 minutes per game. And through six games for the Sixers in total 2016 summer league action, Wood is averaging 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in just 17.7 minutes per outing.:

The Charlotte Hornets will sign former Philadelphia 76ers power forward Christian Wood, an informed source confirmed late Wednesday.

Wood, 6-10, averaged 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in his rookie season with the 76ers. He played part of the season with the Sixers’ Development League franchise in Delaware.

Nets sign Luis Scola and Greivis Vasquez

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward Luis Scola and guard Greivis Vasquez.

“Luis and Greivis are ideal fits for the team culture we are building in Brooklyn,” said Nets’ General Manager Sean Marks. “Both are terrific competitors who will provide leadership and veteran experience to our locker room. Luis adds toughness, scoring and passing ability to our frontline, while Greivis is effective from either backcourt position, both as a facilitator and a scorer.”

Scola (6’9”, 241) joins the Nets after spending the 2015-16 season with the Toronto Raptors. Scola appeared in and started 76 games, averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game. In nine NBA seasons split between Houston (2007-12), Phoenix (2012-13), Indiana (2013-15) and Toronto, Scola owns career averages of 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.2 minutes per game in 707 games (504 starts). He has also appeared in 48 career postseason games, recording averages of 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. The 36-year-old was originally selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by San Antonio, but did not make his NBA debut until the 2007-08 season after his draft rights were traded to Houston. As a rookie, Scola earned All-Rookie First Team honors with averages of 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 24.7 minutes per game. Prior to the NBA, the Buenos Aries, Argentina native began his professional career in his home country with Ferro Carril Oeste in 1995-96 at the age of 15. He played three years in Argentina before moving to Spain, where he played nine seasons with three clubs, including seven seasons with Tau Ceramica (2000-07). Scola earned Euroleague First Team honors in 2005-06 and 2006-07, was named the MVP of the Spanish League in 2004-05 and 2006-07 and garnered Rookie of the Year honors in 2000. Scola is also a decorated player on the international stage. Representing his native Argentina, Scola will become a four-time Olympian when he competes at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He earned a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, as well as a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Vasquez (6’6”, 217) has appeared in 398 games (157 starts) in six NBA seasons with Memphis (2010-11), New Orleans (2011-13), Sacramento (2013), Toronto (2013-15) and Milwaukee (2015-16), recording averages of 9.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 23.8 minutes per game. He has also appeared in 24 career postseason games, averaging 6.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 18.0 minutes per game. This past season with the Bucks, the 29-year-old saw action in just 23 games due to right ankle surgery, registering averages of 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 20.0 minutes per game. The native of Caracas, Venezuela was originally selected with the 28th pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Grizzlies, becoming the first Venezuelan-born player drafted in the NBA. Prior to the NBA, Vasquez spent four years at the University of Maryland, helping to lead the Terrapins to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Vasquez earned All-ACC second-team honors as a sophomore and junior before completing his standout collegiate career by garnering ACC Player of the Year, All-ACC first-team and consensus second-team All-American recognition as a senior. Vasquez is a member of the Venezuelan team that will compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.