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The Bucks have guard Jabari Brown, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
Signed to a contract on Sept. 23, Brown did not play in Milwaukee’s preseason game at Chicago on Oct. 3.
The Bucks roster now stands at 18 players.
As preseason continues, all teams will keep waiving players until they are down to 15 or fewer players.
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The Lakers have announced the hirings of Jennifer Swanson as Head Physical Therapist, Stacey Robinson as Massage Therapist, and Sean Light as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. The trio will report to Head Athletic Trainer Marco Nuñez, joining Assistant Athletic Trainer Nina Hsieh, Strength and Conditioning Coach Tim DiFrancesco, and Equipment Manager Carlos Maples on the training staff.
The team has also hired Lorena Martin as Director of Sports Performance Analytics and Jae Kim as Basketball Data Analyst, both of whom will report to Director of Basketball Analytics Yuju Lee.
The team also hired Joshua Wright as Assistant to the Head Coach, reporting to Head Coach Luke Walton.
Swanson brings over 12 years of experience working with professional and collegiate athletes from the NFL, NHL, MLS, and MLB, among others, to her position. Most recently, she served as Director of Sports Performance with the Chicago Bulls from 2013-16, integrating the medical, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, massage therapy, and nutrition programming into customized individual plans to decrease injury risk and maximize on-court performance. She obtained her doctorate in physical therapy from Duke University in 2004 and a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science with a minor in psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2001. In addition, the Gilroy, CA native completed a sports physical therapy residency at the University of Pittsburgh/Center for Rehab Services in 2006, where she also spent one year as a physical therapy intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers. She is a board certified specialist in sports and orthopedics, as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
Martin most recently completed three years of postdoctoral research at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Martin’s credentials include post-doctorates in epidemiology, biostatistics, and GIS spatial analysis, a doctorate in exercise physiology, and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in psychology. She also spent time as a visiting scientist at the SALK Institute for Biological Studies in the Belmonte Gene Expression Laboratory. In addition, Dr. Martin has taught multiple courses at various universities including the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Northwestern University in the fields of research methods, statistics, sports performance, and data science, which later resulted in her developing a course in sports performance analytics for Northwestern University. Additionally, she published a sole-authored book, Sports Performance Measurement and Analytics, earlier this year based on sports performance research, her experiences as a former professional tennis player, and knowledge from her previous work with professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, and ATP Tour, as well as within hospital and clinical research settings.
Robinson comes to the Lakers after working with Joubert Physical Therapy in Beverly Hills for the last 10 years, helping with the athletic rehabilitation of a variety of clients, including professional athletes. Last year, she performed sports massage, tissue work, and stretching on individual New York Yankees players. Her professional sports experience as a massage therapist extends to working with the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons during training camp, and the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. She holds a business degree with an associate of science minor from Fullerton Junior College while simultaneously attending the Institute of Professional Practical Therapy, where she earned her sports massage therapy certification.
Light joins the team after serving as a strength and conditioning coach for the past four seasons with minor league affiliates in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system. He assisted at spring training with the parent club each of the last four years, and was previously a strength and conditioning intern with the New York Yankees in 2012. He graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2010, where he played three years of Division I basketball. Light is a registered strength and conditioning coach and massage therapist.
Kim was most recently analytics manager for the University of California, Berkeley men’s basketball team for the 2015-16 season. In his role, he composed regular analytical scouting reports for the coaching staff and assisted in the recruitment process, promoting the Golden Bears program to prospective athletes. Kim received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Haas School of Business while at Cal. A native of South Korea, he studied statistics and worked as a legislative assistant for the National Assembly of South Korea.
Wright holds a degree in kinesiology from Georgetown College, where he was a member of the football team. Last season, the Elizabethtown, KY native volunteered with the Wake Forest men’s basketball program.
Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on something cool that guard Ramon Sessions is doing:
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Charlotte Hornets point guard Ramon Sessions is contributing $1 million to his alma mater, Nevada, to build a new basketball practice facility.
The building will be named after Sessions, a Myrtle Beach native in his second stint playing professionally in Charlotte. Other NBA players, including Stephen Curry (Davidson) and Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), have made similar donations to build practice sites.
“For me, giving back to the University of Nevada means a lot,” Sessions said in a statement released by Nevada. “This was always a second home for me, a place that gave me a chance when a lot of schools didn’t.”
Rockets team pregame notes for preseason game vs Knicks tonight:
· The Rockets and Knicks split the 2015-16 season series but Houston has won 20 of the past 22 meetings.
· New York hasn’t swept a season series vs. Houston since going 2-0 in 2002-03.
· James Harden averaged a series-high 25.0 points against the Knicks last season and had 19 assists with just 5 turnovers in the two games.
· Clint Capela averaged 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 70.0% from the floor vs. New York in 2015-16.
Connections:
· Rockets center Nene and Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony were teammates in Denver for Anthony’s first seven and half NBA seasons.
· Rockets forward Trevor Ariza and Knicks guard Sasha Vujacic were teammates with the L.A. Lakers for part of 2007-08 and won the title the following season in 2008-09.
· Rockets forward Corey Brewer and Knicks center Joakim Noah were teammates at Florida for all three of their collegiate seasons and won the national title in each of their final two seasons.
· Rockets forward Trevor Ariza was the 43rd overall pick by New York in the 2004 NBA Draft and spent his first one and a half seasons with the Knicks, appearing in 116 games with 22 starts.
Injury/Status Report:
· For the Rockets, Patrick Beverley (Left Knee Soreness) is out.
· For the Knicks, Joakim Noah (Sore Left Hamstring) is questionable and Lou Amundson (Sore Lower Back) is out.
Rockets News & Notes:
· The Rockets scored 131 points in their preseason opener against Shanghai on 10/2… Houston’s high in scoring last season was 132 points at the L.A. Clippers on 1/18/16… the Rockets were 23-9 when scoring 110+ points in 2015-16.
· Houston outrebounded Shanghai 52-41 in its preseason opener on 10/2… the Rockets were 26-9 when outrebounding opponents last season, including 10-2 when doing so by double-digits… Houston outrebounded opponents by 2.3 rebounds per game in wins last season (-5.5 rpg in losses).
· James Harden had team-high of 16 points and 10 assists with just one turnover in the preseason opener vs. Shanghai on 10/2… he recorded 23 double-doubles in 2015-16 and had 10+ assists with just one turnover twice.
· Clint Capela started the preseason opener vs. Shanghai on 10/2 and had 10 points with a team-high 11 rebounds… he averaged 8.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in 35 starts last season… Capela scored in double-figures 20 times last season after doing so once as a rookie in 2014-15.
It’s just preseason. The law states that needed to be the first sentence here. Because, it’s true. It’s just preseason, and often in preseason the best players on an NBA team play very limited minutes. It’s just a warmup. But when an NBA team plays an international team, preseason or not, the international team takes it seriously. And then anything can happen. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:
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Game on the line.
Russell Westbrook on the bench.
It’ll be a regular-season rarity for the Thunder, and should the situation arise in a game that counts, Oklahoma City will hope to handle it better than it did in Monday’s preseason debut.
With Westbrook watching — he played only the first and third quarters — multiple Thunder players tried to fill the go-to role down the stretch of Monday’s 142-137 overtime loss to Real Madrid…
Real Madrid made 20 of 37 3-pointers — many of them clean looks as a result of sloppy defensive rotations — in rallying from 22 points down for an upset win…
Victor Oladipo scored 34 points. Enes Kanter added 29 points and 10 rebounds.
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The Utah Jazz have hired DeSagana Diop as a coaching associate.
Diop will assist the Jazz coaching staff in a variety of capacities including work on the court during practices and individual player workouts, video editing and analysis, and other team preparation.
The coaching associate position was created by the Jazz to provide prospective coaches an opportunity to gain further experience in an apprenticeship role in order to better prepare them for a future career in coaching.
Prior to joining the Jazz, Diop spent the previous two seasons working on the coaching staff of the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League (2014-16), serving one year as a player development coach before being promoted to assistant coach prior to last season.
A former first-round pick (eighth overall) of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2001 NBA Draft directly out of high school, Diop played 12 seasons (2001-13) and appeared in more than 600 career games with the Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Bobcats before. Known for his shot blocking abilities, Diop was a member of the 2006 Mavericks team that reached the NBA Finals.
A native of Senegal, Diop was a McDonald’s High School All-American coming out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, and is also a former member of the Senegalese national team.
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The Timberwolves yesterday (Sunday) announced that Ed Pinckney has joined President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff as Assistant Coach.
Pinckney joins Andy Greer, Ryan Saunders and Rick Brunson as Assistant Coaches on Thibodeau’s staff.
Pinckney rejoins the Timberwolves after serving as an Assistant Coach in Minnesota from 2007-09. He spent last season as an Assistant Coach with Denver, and spent the previous five seasons with Thibodeau in Chicago. The 10th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by Phoenix, Pinckney spent 12 seasons in the NBA, playing for Phoenix, Sacramento, Boston, Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Miami.
The Hawks have signed guard Josh Magette (Mah-jet). It’s probably a non-guaranteed contract.
Magette played in 45 games (all starts) in 2015-16 with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, averaging 11.5 points, 9.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 38.0 minutes, leading the D-League in assists per game and steals per game.
He’s also played for Koroivos (Greece) and Landstede (Netherlands).
He will wear uniform No. 7.
A native of Hoover, Alabama (Spain Park HS), Magette played four years at Alabama-Huntsville, where he was Gulf South Conference co-Player of the Year as a senior in 2012.
The team’s roster stands at 20.
The Cavaliers today signed point guard Toney Douglas to a contract. And in a related move, the Cavs have waived forward/center Eric Moreland.
Douglas (6-2, 190) appeared in 61 games for the New Orleans Pelicans last season averaging 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 20.7 minutes per game. He has played for six teams in his seven year career and has career averages of 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 19.2 minutes per game. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 29th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Rockets team notes for game vs Shanghai Sharks tonight:
· This game marks the first time a professional team from China is facing an NBA team in the United States… the Sharks play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
Connections:
· The Sharks are owned by former Rocket Yao Ming… on Feb. 2, 2016, Yao will become just the sixth player in Rockets history to have his number retired.
· Rockets guard Bobby Brown spent the past two years playing in the CBA… last season, he was with the Shenzhen Leopards and averaged 29.2 points, 6.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
· Sharks center Wu Guanxi was a member of the Rockets entry in the 2016 Samsung NBA Summer League… Rockets Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, K.J. McDaniels, Chinanu Onuaku, Gary Payton II, Isaiah Taylor and Kyle Wiltjer all played on that team.
· Sharks guard Jimmer Fredette played five seasons in the NBA and was teammates with Rockets forward Ryan Anderson and guard Eric Gordon in New Orleans for the 2014-15 season.
Injury/Status Report:
· The Rockets have no injuries to report.
Rockets News & Notes:
· This marks the 50th season in Rockets franchise history… the San Diego Rockets were established as an expansion team for the 1967-68 season and moved to Houston prior to the 1971-72 season.
· Houston is one of three teams (Dallas and San Antonio) to have gone .500 or better in each of the past 10 seasons… the Rockets have also made the playoffs in four straight seasons, which is tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history.
· Since joining the Rockets in 2012-13, James Harden has scored 533 more points than any other player in the league… he also has made 461 more free throws than any other player has attempted over that span.
· In 27 games played post All-Star break last season, Patrick Beverley averaged 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists after averaging 8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.8 apg his first 44 games played.