Month: April 2017

Nikola Jokic an offensive talent for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on a very talented, important part of the Nuggets:

Nikola Jokic an offensive talent for Nuggets

Nikola Jokic makes little secret about what side of the basketball he prefers.

“Offense will always beat defense,” Jokic said back in January, a couple weeks before he arrived in New Orleans during all-star weekend to showcase a skill set with more varied components than a bowl of gumbo.

Jokic will never be known for his defensive prowess the way he is for his passing and playmaking ability, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone pointed to several ways the 22-year-old big man can make improvements as a defender.

“Getting stronger is one,” Malone said before Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans. “Obviously he’s never going to be Karl Malone. We don’t want him to be that. But he can work on his body and get it as strong as possible.”

Danilo Gallinari may become free agent this summer

Here’s the Palm Beach Post reporting on a talented Nuggets forward who may be an option for the Heat this offseason:

Danilo Gallinari may become free agent this summer

Did Heat fans get a glimpse of the future on Sunday?

Denver’s 6-foot-10 wing man, Danilo Gallinari, who dropped 29 on Miami in the Nuggets’ win, is expected to decline his $16.1 million player option this summer and become a free agent. He likely will be second best player at his position behind Utah’s Gordon Hayward.

But is he a viable option if the Heat cannot sign Hayward?

Gallinari, 28, is having his second best scoring season, averaging 17.7 points, a bit under the 19.5 points he averaged in 2015-16. Both years he averaged a little more than five rebounds and two assists per game.

Nets sign Archie Goodwin to multi-year contract

Nets sign Archie Goodwin to multi-year contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed Archie Goodwin to a multi-year contract.

Goodwin was originally signed to a 10-day contract by the Nets on March 15 and signed a second 10-day contract on March 25. In seven games with Brooklyn, Goodwin has averaged 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 12.4 minutes per game while shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the field.

In 160 games in four NBA seasons with Brooklyn, New Orleans and Phoenix, Goodwin has recorded averages of 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.4 minutes per game.

Goodwin was selected with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Suns via Golden State on draft night. He spent one year at the University of Kentucky, earning SEC All-Freshman team honors.

Derrick Rose done for season with knee injury

The Knicks’ season will end without a playoff berth, and without a healthy Derrick Rose, who may be wearing another team’s jersey next season. Here’s ESPN NY reporting:

New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee, the team announced Sunday.

Those close to Rose expect him to be at full health two months after the surgery, which will be scheduled shortly. Rose, 28, had played in 64 of the Knicks’ 76 games this season…

Rose and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, have both said publicly that Rose, who becomes a free agent this coming offseason, would like to return to New York.

Kevin Durant could return as early as Saturday

Here’s the Bay Area News Group reporting on the Warriors, who could have Kevin Durant back in action by next weekend:

The Kevin Durant Return Watch will continue for at least two more games after Sunday’s game at Oracle Arena against the Washington Wizards, as coach Steve Kerr ruled the All-Star forward out of the Tuesday’s home game against Minnesota and Wednesday’s road contest at Phoenix.

That puts Saturday’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans as the most likely date of Durant’s long-awaited return. That would give him a three-game regular-season tuneup for the NBA playoffs. Then again, Kerr joked Sunday that could be up in the air as well.

Bucks sign Gary Payton II

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Gary Payton II to a multi-year contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Payton, 24, appeared in 49 games (all starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League this season, and averaged 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 32.7 minutes per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field.

A 6-3 guard, Payton went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after playing two seasons at Oregon State. Payton averaged 14.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals in 63 games with the Beavers and became the first player to be voted Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year two times. He was also an All-Pac-12 First Team selection during both of his seasons at Oregon State.

Payton is the son of NBA All-Star Gary Payton who played 28 games for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2002-03 season. Payton will wear uniform number 0. Milwaukee’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Sixers sign Alex Poythress

The Philadelphia 76ers today signed forward Alex Poythress from the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. Pursuant to the NBA’s roster hardship exception, the Sixers roster now stands at 16.

Poythress has appeared in 46 games (45 starts) for Ft. Wayne this season, posting averages of 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes per game. He is shooting 57% from the field and 40% from beyond the three-point line. Poythress, a 2017 NBA D-League All Star selection, ranks in the Top 15 in the D-League in points, field goals made and attempted, offensive rebounds and blocks per game.

Poythress appeared in 112 career games at the University of Kentucky, finishing his four-year career averaging nine points, five rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes per game, while shooting 55% from the field. He helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament National Finals in 2014.

Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic suffers broken leg

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows Portland center Jusuf Nurkić has a non-displaced right leg fibular fracture, it was announced today by Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers president of basketball operations.

Nurkić will be sidelined for two weeks, at which time he will be reevaluated.

In 20 games since joining Portland, Nurkic is averaging 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.25 assists in 29.2 minutes.