July 2017 – Page 19 – NBA Blog

Jodie Meeks to sign with Wizards

Here’s the Washington Post with an update on the Wizards, on the second day of league free agency:

On Sunday, the Washington Wizards added shooting depth to its bench unit by agreeing to terms with free agent Jodie Meeks.

Washington will bring in Meeks on a short-term deal for two years and $7 million by using its bi-annual exception: a salary-cap exception the team can use every two years.

Meeks, who will turn 30 years old in August, has played for five teams over his eight-year career. Known as a three-point threat, Meeks shot a career-best .409 percentage through a scattered and injury-plagued 2016-17 season with the Orlando Magic.

Raptors to re-sign Serge Ibaka

The Raptors, who won 51 games last regular season and remain one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, will reportedly retain one of their key frontcourt contributors. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

Serge Ibaka is headed back to the Raptors.

NBA sources have confirmed a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the free agent power forward/centre has agreed to a three-year, $65 million (all figures US) contract with Toronto.

The deal won’t become official until the NBA’s moratorium on free agent signings is lifted Thursday but it will keep the 6-foot-10, 27-year-old in Toronto and is a major step towards keeping the Raptors roster intact for at least the short-term future.

Timberwolves to add Taj Gibson

The Minnesota Timberwolves are making big moves this offseason. The latest adds nice depth to their frontcourt. Here’s the St Paul Pioneer Press:

Slowly, but surely, Tom Thibodeau is getting his old band back together.

Minnesota has agreed to a two-year, $28 million deal with free-agent forward Taj Gibson, a source confirmed. The deal can’t be signed until Thursday, per NBA rules.

Gibson, 32, played under Thibodeau for five years in Chicago. He provides needed depth to a front court that features Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng.

Pacers name Chad Buchanan new General Manager

Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard announced he has named Chad Buchanan as General Manager. Buchanan replaces Pritchard, who in May assumed his current role. Pritchard also announced that Vice President of Basketball Operations Peter Dinwiddie has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations.

The 44-year-old Buchanan joins the Pacers after spending the last three seasons as assistant general manager for the Charlotte Hornets. Prior to that, Buchanan was with the Portland Trail Blazers for 10 years, serving as a scout, acting General Manager in 2011-12 and director of college scouting.

“I know Chad from when I was at Portland and I thought back then he was extremely sharp and gifted when it comes to talent and what teams need to improve,” said Pritchard. “I’m very pleased we can add someone of his caliber and look forward to working with him. He is very well respected and will fit into the culture we have here.”

Buchanan attended Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa) and was an assistant coach there for five years (1997-2002). He then became an assistant coach/assistant director of player personnel for the ABA’s Kanas City Knights in 2002-03, and served as an assistant coach at Drake in 2003-04 before landing in Portland.

Pistons sign Luke Kennard to his rookie contract

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has signed guard Luke Kennard to his rookie contract.

Kennard, 6-6, 206, was selected 12th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft from Duke. He averaged 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 31.2 minutes during his two-year career as a Blue Devil. As a sophomore at Duke last season, Kennard averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 31.2 minutes in 37 games. A consensus Second Team All-American as a sophomore, Kennard led Duke in scoring (19.5 ppg), while shooting 43.8% from beyond the arc. A final-five candidate for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award and a member of the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team, he was named the MVP of the 2017 ACC Tournament, averaging 20.0 points and 5.3 rebounds, helping Duke to the ACC Tournament Championship. During his sophomore year, he ranked second in the ACC in scoring (19.5), three-point field goal percentage (43.8%), fourth in free throw percentage (85.6%), seventh in three-pointers per game (2.38) and eighth in field goal percentage (48.9).

A native of Middletown, OH, Kennard averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 26.7 minutes in 36 games as a freshman. His three 20-point games as a freshman were the most by a Duke freshman and he ranked seventh among ACC freshmen in scoring (11.8 ppg).

Tarik Black waived by Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on forward/center Tarik Black, it was announced today by General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Black was acquired via waiver claim on December 28, 2014 and has averaged 5.5 points (.543 FG%) and 5.1 rebounds in 144 career games (43 starts) with the Lakers.

Celtics sign Jayson Tatum and Ante Zizic

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed 2017 first round draft pick Jayson Tatum and 2016 first round draft pick Ante Zizic.

Tatum, selected third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, averaged 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.35 steals, 1.14 blocked shots and 33.3 minutes in 29 games (27 starts) in his lone season at Duke. During his single season at Duke he set a single-season record with six games of at least 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. The 19-year-old Missouri native ranked second on his team and second among ACC freshmen in both points and rebounds en route to being named Third Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and to the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2016-17. He was named as one of the five final candidates for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. As a senior at Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis, Missouri he was named as the 2016 Gatorade Boys National Player of the Year.

Zizic, selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, competed internationally with Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul in Turkey and KK Cibona Zagreb in Croatia last season. He played in a total of five different competitions last season; the Euroleague, Basketball Champions League, Adriatic League, the Turkish BSL and the Croatian A-1 league and played a total of 65 games. He appeared in 21 games for Darussafaka Dogus in the Turkish BSL where he averaged 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and shot 68.8 percent from the field in 17.8 minutes per game. He also appeared in 20 games for Darussafaka Dogus in the Euroleague, helping them to a quarter-finals appearance against Real Madrid. In those 20 games in the Euroleague, Zizic averaged 9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and shot 64.9 percent from the field. He had his highest scoring average per game in the Adriatic League for KK Cibona where he averaged 20.0 points and 9.2 rebounds while blocking 1.23 shots per game. He was named as the 2015-16 Adriatic League Top Prospect which is given to the league’s best young player, aged 22 or under. Previous winners of this award include current NBA players Nikola Jokic and Daric Saric.

Bucks announce additions to basketball operations staff

The Milwaukee Bucks have fortified the team’s basketball operations staff for the 2017-18 season, naming Ryan Hoover as Vice President of Global Scouting and Matt Bollero as Director of Scouting. The team also promoted Dave Dean to Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager of the Wisconsin Herd.

In addition, the Bucks have made the following appointments: B.J. Domingo as Scout, Patrick Haneman as Basketball Strategy and Operations Manager, and Lexi Phillips as Basketball Operations Coordinator.

“As our basketball operations department takes shape, I’m very excited to add Ryan and Matt to our staff,” said General Manager Jon Horst. “Additionally, Dave has been a trusted colleague during my tenure with the Bucks and will be a great resource as we begin our G League team operations in Oshkosh. They are all exceptional talent evaluators and well respected among their peers in the NBA. I look forward to working with them as we continue to build a championship-caliber organization.”

Hoover spent the last 13 seasons with the Detroit Pistons, including seven (2006-12) as Director of Player Development and two (2012-14) as Pro Personnel Scout. He was a part of five Eastern Conference Finals teams, two Eastern Conference Championship teams (2004-05) and won an NBA Championship in 2004. Most recently, he worked as the Pistons’ Director of Corporate Partnerships (2015-17) and served as an on-air contributor for Pistons Television and Radio broadcasts. Hoover joined the Pistons in 2004 as a basketball operations intern. A native of Mount Clemens, Mich., Hoover graduated from Oakland University in 2003 and played four years on the Oakland men’s basketball team.

Bollero comes to Milwaukee after an eight-year stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves, most recently as the Pro Personnel Scout. He started with Minnesota as Basketball Operations Assistant in 2009 and was promoted to Manager of Basketball Analytics in 2013. Bollero helped coordinate basketball scouting efforts for Team China in the 2012 Summer Olympics and participated as a Team Director and Assistant Coach at EuroCamp in Treviso, Italy, in 2010 and 2011. A native of Chicago, Ill., he received his undergraduate degree from DePauw University in 2008 where he was a member of the men’s basketball and golf teams. He earned a Master’s degree in Sports Administration from Xavier (OH) University in 2009.

Dean spent the last nine seasons as the Director of Basketball Administration with the Bucks. He began his NBA career with Milwaukee in 2001 as a Public Relations intern and was promoted to Player Personnel/Scouting Assistant in 2002. A Greendale, Wis., native, Dean graduated from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 2000.

Hawks sign rookie John Collins

The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club has signed rookie forward John Collins to his rookie contract, it was announced today by General Manager and Head of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk.

Collins, the 19th overall pick by the Hawks in the 2017 NBA Draft, averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 26.6 minutes (.622 FG%, .745 FT%) in 33 games (all starts) as a sophomore at Wake Forest last season on his way to garnering All-ACC First Team and ACC Most Improved Player honors, as well as Second Team All-America recognition by the Basketball Times. He led the conference in FG% and 20-point/10-rebound games (10), while ranking second in rebounding and third in scoring in helping the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

For his career, Collins tallied 13.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.7 minutes (.601 FG%, .729 FT%) in 64 games (34 starts). As a freshman, he averaged 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.4 minutes (.547 FG% – tops on the team) in 31 contests (one starting assignment).

Magic sign rookie Jonathan Isaac

The Orlando Magic have signed rookie forward Jonathan Isaac to his NBA rookie contract, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

Isaac (6’10”, 210, 10/3/97) was selected in the first round (sixth overall) of NBA Draft 2017. He played and started in 32 games last season (2016-17) as a freshman at Florida State University, averaging 12.0 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 1.2 apg., 1.53 blkpg. and 1.16 stlpg. in 26.2 minpg., while shooting .508 (130-256) from the floor, .348 (31-89) from three-point range and .780 (92-118) from the free throw line.

Isaac led the Seminoles in rebounding and blocked shots, while finishing second in scoring and steals. He was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team and earned All-ACC Honorable Mention honors. Isaac’s 7.8 rebounds per game set a school record for a freshman and were the most among all freshmen in the ACC in 2016-17. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Week twice (Nov. 21, Jan. 23) and helped Florida State notch 26 wins, one shy of the school record, including 12 in conference play, which tied the school record for most ACC wins in a season.

In 2015-16, Isaac played for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., averaging 17.6 ppg. and 10.0 rpg., while shooting .510 from the floor. He competed in the Jordan Brand All-American Game (eight points, six rebounds and one block in 18 minutes) and was also a member of the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team that faced the World Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit (seven points and four rebounds). Isaac also attended the International School in Hollywood, Fla., for two seasons (2013-15). He averaged 29.5 ppg. and 9.0 rpg. in 2014-15.