The Atlanta Hawks have requested waivers on Lamar Patterson, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.
The team and Patterson agreed to his release to allow Patterson to address a personal matter.
Month: February 2017
Rudy Gobert fined by NBA
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has been fined $25,000 for making physical contact with a game official, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 5:19 remaining in the third quarter of the Jazz’s 109-95 win over the Bucks on Feb. 24 at BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Mavericks sign Quinn Cook to 10-day contract
The Dallas Mavericks have signed rookie guard Quinn Cook to a 10-day contract.
Cook (6-2, 180) went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft and signed as an rookie free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played in six preseason games for the Cavaliers before being waived on Oct. 24. He played the 2015-16 season with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League and averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 33.8 minutes in 43 games (37 starts) on his way to being named a 2016 D-League All-Star, Third Team All NBA D-League and the 2016 D-League Rookie of the Year.
Cook was recently named Most Valuable Player of the D-League All Star Game last weekend in New Orleans. This season, he is averaging 26.1 points, 6.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 38.9 minutes in 35 games with Canton.
The Washington, D.C., native was a four-year player at Duke University and, as a senior, helped lead the Blue Devils to the 2015 National Championship. He played 143 games (112 starts) while at Duke and had career collegiate averages of 10.9 points, 3.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 27.8 minutes per contest.
Cook will wear number 2 for the Mavericks.
Mavericks sign Ben Bentil to 10-day contract
The Dallas Mavericks have signed rookie forward Ben Bentil to a 10-day contract.
Bentil (6-9, 235) was drafted by Boston in the second round (51st overall pick) of the 2016 NBA Draft. He signed with the Celtics on July 27, 2016, but was later waived by the club on Oct. 21 after appearing in three preseason games with the team.
On Oct. 31, Bentil was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. After appearing in just one D-League game for the Mad Ants, he left the team in mid-November to play in China for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. On Jan. 16, Bentil returned to the Mad Ants after appearing in 11 games for Xinjiang.
In 13 D-League games (three starts) for the Mad Ants this season, Bentil averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 24.1 minutes per game.
A native of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, Bentil played two seasons at Providence from 2014-16. As a sophomore in 2015-16, he led the Big East in scoring (21.1 ppg), field goals made (246) and free throws made (194) en route to earning First Team All-Big East and Big East Most Improved Player honors. Bentil declared for the NBA Draft following his sophomore season.
Bentil will wear No. 42 for the Mavericks.
Warriors clinch spot in 2017 NBA Playoffs
|
The Golden State Warriors have already clinched a berth in the 2017 NBA Playoffs by virtue of Saturday’s 112-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Oracle Arena, becoming the first team to secure a playoff spot this season. Golden State, which owns an NBA-best 49-9 (.845) mark on the season, has earned a playoff appearance in the month of February for the second consecutive season. The 2017 NBA Playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 15.
The Warriors, who are slated to make their fifth-straight playoff appearance for the first time since qualifying for the postseason in each of the first six years of the league’s existence (1946-47 to 1951-52), won the 2015 NBA Championship and earned two Western Conference Championships since their return to the playoffs in 2013. Golden State owns a 40-24 (.625) postseason record in that span.
Bucks sign Axel Toupane to 10-day contract
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Axel Toupane (tu-PON) to a 10-day contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
Toupane, 24, has appeared in 28 games with Raptors 905 of the NBA D-League this season and has posted averages of 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 27.6 minutes per game.
A native of France, Toupane also played with Raptors 905 for 32 games during the 2015-16 season and averaged 14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists before signing a 10-day contract with the Denver Nuggets on March 3, 2016. He signed a second 10-day contract with the Nuggets on March 14 and then signed a multi-year contract on March 25. Toupane played in 21 games with Denver and averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. He was waived by the Nuggets on Oct. 15.
Toupane played professionally for Strasbourg IG of the French Pro National Basketball League A from 2011 to 2015. He went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Toupane will wear uniform number 6.
Milwaukee’s roster now stands at 15 players.
Pelicans sign Reggie Williams to 10-day contract
|
The New Orleans Pelicans, who waived injured forward Omri Casspi earlier today, have signed free agent guard Reggie Williams to a 10-day contract.
Williams, 6-6, 210, previously appeared in five games for New Orleans this season after being signed on December 10, averaging 5.0 points while shooting .500 from three-point range, and 1.2 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game. Williams has appeared in 27 games this season for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League, averaging 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.3 minutes per contest.
Undrafted in 2008 out of Virginia Military Institute, Williams has appeared in 205 career regular season games with Golden State, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New Orleans, averaging 7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.1 minutes.
Williams will wear #5 and is available to play in tonight’s game at Dallas.
Pelicans waive Omri Casspi
|
The New Orleans Pelicans have waived forward Omri Casspi, who yesterday was diagnosed with a broken thumb and is out of action for the next 4-6 weeks.
Casspi, 6-9, 225, was acquired from Sacramento along with DeMarcus Cousins on February 20. In his Pelicans debut, Casspi recorded 12 points and two rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Casspi has appeared in 23 total games this season, averaging 6.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.3 minutes per contest.
Kristaps Porzingis ankle injury seems minor
Here’s NY Newsday with some good Knicks news:
|
After a disappointing trade deadline, Knicks fans got a little reprieve Friday afternoon when Kristaps Porzingis said doctors detected no structural damage to his sprained right ankle and that it’s possible he could play as soon as Monday.
“Feeling better,” he said. “There’s a lot of swelling, but I can walk around no problem and the swelling is going down, too.”
Asked about playing Monday, when the Knicks face the Raptors, he said he thought it was “a possibility.”
“Right now again, I don’t want to say anything that’s gonna get me in trouble,” Porzingis said. “I don’t want to say that I’ll play. But it all depends on them. If they see that I’m ready and I can go, then I’ll play, sure.”
Suns sign Ronnie Price for rest of season, waive Jared Sullinger and Mike Scott
|
The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Ronnie Price for the remainder of the season. The Suns have also waived forward Mike Scott and center/forward Jared Sullinger.
Currently in his third tenure with the Suns, Price has made two appearances since signing the first of two 10-day contracts with the team on Jan. 27.
A 12th-season NBA veteran, Price played with the Suns in 2015-16 and averaged a career-best 5.3 points while appearing in a career-high 62 games. In addition to last season, he averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 assists in 36 games with Phoenix in 2011-12. For his career, the 6-2, 190-pound point guard has averaged 3.8 points and 1.8 assists in 532 games with Sacramento, Utah, Phoenix, Portland, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the NBA’s 2016-17 GM Survey, the 33-year-old floor general tied with Suns forward Jared Dudley as each received the second-most votes in response to the question, “Which active player will make the best head coach someday?”
Undrafted out of college in 2005, the Friendswood, Texas native was a four-year performer at Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) and the first player to enter the NBA directly from that school.
Scott and Sullinger were both acquired by the Suns in deals with Atlanta and Toronto, respectively, before the trade deadline yesterday.
The Suns’ roster now stands at 14 players