August 2017 – Page 8 – NBA Blog

Mavericks sign Brandon Ashley

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent forward Brandon Ashley.

Ashley (6-9, 230) played on both of the Mavericks’ summer league teams this past July. In two games in Orlando, he averaged 8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 21.0 minutes. In six games (all starts) in Las Vegas, he averaged 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 block in 20.0 minutes while shooting 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the floor.

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, Ashley spent the 2015 preseason with Dallas but was waived by the club on Oct. 24, 2015. He joined the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, for the 2015-16 season. In 33 games (all starts) for the Legends, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.4 blocks and 31.7 minutes en route to being named a 2016 NBA D-League All-Star.

In February 2016, Ashley signed with Germany’s Alba Berlin. In 14 games for Alba, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 19.6 minutes.

The San Francisco native was an early entry candidate for the NBA Draft after his junior season at the University of Arizona. He started all 38 games as a junior, averaging 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 27.8 minutes while helping the Wildcats return to the Elite Eight for the second straight year. Ashley was also named Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 and the Most Outstanding player of the Pac-12 tournament as a junior.

Thunder sign Daniel Hamilton to two-way contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Daniel Hamilton to a two-way contract.

Hamilton spent the 2016-17 season with the Oklahoma City Blue, appearing in 49 games (47 starts) and averaging 14.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 31.2 minutes per game. His rebounds led all qualifying rookie guards in the G League.

The California native led the Blue with 15 double-doubles and added the team’s only triple-double of the season, the fifth in team history.

“Daniel has shown significant strides in his development since entering our program,” said Presti. “We are thrilled that he will receive the first two-way contract in Thunder history as we expect him to spend time with both teams this season as he continues to evolve as a player.”

Hamilton competed with the Thunder in the 2017 Mountain Dew Orlando Pro Summer League, where he started four games and averaged 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and an Orlando Summer League-high 6.8 assists in 31.0 minutes per game.

Hamilton was drafted No. 56 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft after spending two seasons at the University of Connecticut. In his time at UConn, he was named American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year, an AAC All-Conference Second Teamer and the Most Outstanding Player of the 2016 AAC Championship.

Starting in the 2017-18 season, each team is allowed two players on two-way contracts, in addition to the standard 15 players on the roster. Players on two-way contracts spend most of the season in the NBA G League, but can be called up to their NBA team for a maximum of 45 days.

Pelicans sign Ian Clark

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard Ian Clark.

Clark, 6-3, 175, most recently played for the 2017 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. In 77 games last season with Golden State, Clark averaged 6.8 points while shooting .487 from the field, including .374 from three-point range, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.8 minutes per contest. Clark additionally appeared in 16 postseason games, averaging 6.8 points while shooting .506 from the floor, including .361 from three-point range and .941 from the free throw line.

Undrafted out of Belmont University in 2013, Clark has appeared in 196 career regular season games with Utah, Denver and Golden State, holding averages of 4.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists. Additionally, Clark has appeared in 32 career postseason contests, including two trips to the NBA Finals with Golden State, averaging 5.5 points while shooting .500 from the field, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 11.7 minutes per game.

Hornets sign Marcus Paige and Mangok Mathiang to two-way contracts

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed forward/center Mangok Mathiang (MANG-go MATH-ee-ang) and guard Marcus Paige to two-way contracts.

Mathiang (6-10, 230, Louisville) was a member of the Hornets entry at the 2017 Orlando Pro Summer League, where he saw action in five games, averaging 4.4 points on 53.3 percent from the field, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 offensive rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game.

Born in Sudan, Africa, Mathiang lived in Melbourne, Australia for several years before moving to the United States where he spent four years at Louisville (2013-17), appearing in 114 career games (44 starts), owning averages of 4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 18.0 minutes per contest, serving as team captain as a redshirt senior in 2016-17. In his final collegiate season, Mathiang averaged 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 20.8 minutes per contest, helping the Cardinals to a 25-9 record.

Paige (6-1, 164, North Carolina), was originally drafted with the 55th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, with his draft rights being traded to Utah the following day. The 23-year-old appeared in 46 games (40 starts) with the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League last season, averaging 12.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32.7 minutes per contest.

The Marion, Iowa native played four collegiate seasons at North Carolina (2012-16), owning career averages of 13.1 points on 40.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 141 games, helping the Tar Heels to a 2016 NCAA Championship Game appearance as a senior.

Paige was named to the 2014-15 All-ACC Third Team and 2013-14 All-ACC First Team, also earning the 2013-14 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year award. Additionally, he was recognized as an Academic All-American in three seasons, including First Team honors following his senior year.

Mathiang and Paige become the first Hornets players to ever sign a two-way contract. The 2017-18 season is the first year NBA teams can utilize two-way contracts, in which teams will be permitted to carry two such players on their roster in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. Charlotte’s two-way players will spend time with the team’s NBA G League squad, The Greensboro Swarm, as well as the main club, but are allowed no more than 45 days in the NBA, not including any time prior to the start of the Swarm’s training camp and at the conclusion of the season.

Pelicans sign Charles Cooke to two-way contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard Charles Cooke to a two-way contract.

Cooke, 6-5, 196, was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves 2017 Summer League team after going undrafted in June. Over five games in Las Vegas, Cooke averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest.

A product of the University of Dayton, Cooke led the Flyers in both scoring (15.8) and rebounding (5.1) during his senior season, while being named to the Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team.

Beginning with the 2017-18 season, each NBA team is able to carry the standard 15 players on their roster, as well as up to two additional players on two-way contracts. Two-way players will spend the majority of the year in the NBA G League, but can be called up to their NBA team for a maximum of 45 days during the season.

Pelicans sign Jalen Jones to two-way contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent forward Jalen Jones to a two-way contract.

Jones, 6-7, 220, was a member of the Pelicans’ 2017 Summer League team, appearing in six contests and averaging 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in Las Vegas.

Undrafted in 2016 out of Texas A&M, Jones spent his first professional season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League, where he averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals while earning NBA G League All-Rookie First Team and All-NBA G League Third Team honors, as well as being named to the 2017 NBA G League All-Star Game in New Orleans.

Magic waive Patricio Garino

The Orlando Magic have waived guard-forward Patricio Garino (pronunciation: gah-REE-no), President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

He was signed as a free agent by Orlando on April 3, 2017.

Garino (6’6”, 203, 5/17/93) appeared in five games last season during his rookie campaign with Orlando, averaging 1.4 rpg. in 8.6 minpg. He made his NBA debut on April 4 at Cleveland, recording one rebound in four minutes. Prior to joining the Magic, Garino played in 49 games (46 starts) with the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League, averaging 11.2 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.49 stlpg. in 29.2 minpg., while shooting .430 (58-of-135) from 3-point range.

The Orlando roster now stands at 15 players.

Mavericks sign guard Gian Clavell

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent guard Gian Clavell.

Clavell (6-4, 185) recently competed for the Miami Heat’s summer league teams in both Orlando and Las Vegas. In five games in Las Vegas, he averaged 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 24.6 minutes while shooting 45.2 percent (19-of-42) from the field, 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from 3-point range and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the foul line.

A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Clavell also played for Brujos de Guayama in the BSN league this summer. He averaged 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in three games for the Puerto Rican club.

The former Colorado State standout went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft after earning Mountain West Player of the Year honors as a redshirt senior last season. In 27 games for the Rams in 2016-17, he averaged a MWC-best 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.0 steals in 36.6 minutes.

Clavell spent two years at Northwest Kansas Technical College (2012-14) before transferring to CSU. He attended high school in Miami (at Hialeah Gardens HS), as did fellow Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (Miami Christian School), who also hails from Puerto Rico.

Clavell was included on the Puerto Rican national team’s preliminary list for the FIBA Americup 2017.

Warriors re-sign JaVale McGee

The Golden State Warriors have re-signed free agent center JaVale McGee.

McGee, 29, averaged 6.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 9.6 minutes over 77 games (10 starts) in his first season with the Warriors in 2016-17, while hitting a career-best 65.2 percent from the field. In 10 starts, McGee tallied averages of 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game. The nine-year NBA veteran ranked second among all centers in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) with a 25.3 mark, trailing only Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns. In 16 postseason games (one start), McGee led all players in field goal percentage (.732) and averaged 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 9.3 minutes, helping Golden State to its fifth NBA championship in franchise history.

Originally selected by the Washington Wizards with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, McGee owns career averages of 7.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.58 blocks over 493 games (170 starts) with the Wizards, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and Warriors.

Timberwolves sign Anthony Brown to two-way contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Anthony Brown to a two-way contract.

Brown, 24, spent most of this past season with the Erie BayHawks in the NBA G League, averaging 20.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37.7 minutes over 24 games. He signed with the New Orleans Pelicans on November 21, appearing in nine games and averaging 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds before being waived on December 9. He was signed to a 10-day contract by Orlando on January 22, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two games.

Originally selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round (34th pick) of the 2015 NBA Draft, Brown appeared in 29 games as a rookie, averaging 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game. A Stanford graduate, Brown was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player in 2013-14, helping lead Stanford to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2008.

Two-way contracts were added to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and will go into effect prior to the 2017-18 season, allowing teams to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular-season roster. Players signed to a two-way contact can accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season and will spend the remainder of their time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. Brown is the first Timberwolves player to sign a two-way contract.