Day: September 24, 2017

Nets sign Akil Mitchell

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward Akil Mitchell.

Mitchell (6’9”, 250) appeared in four games for the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s NBA G League affiliate, during the 2016-17 season, averaging 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.6 minutes per contest. He joined the team in late February after his rights were originally acquired by Long Island in the fourth round of the 2016 NBA G League Expansion Draft.

Prior to his time with the LI Nets, Mitchell appeared in 25 games for the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s National Basketball League last season, averaging 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 22.7 minutes per game while shooting .556 from the field (105-of-189). Mitchell has also played professionally for Antibes in France’s LNB Pro A (2015-16) and for the NBA G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2014-15) after four years (2010-14) at the University of Virginia. The Charlotte, N.C., native was named to the 2013-14 All-ACC Defensive Team as a senior (2013-14) and the All-ACC third team as a junior (2012-13). He finished his career at Virginia ranking third all-time in games played (133) and seventh in rebounds (798).

Bucks sign Joel Anthony and Gerald Green

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent center/forward Joel (Jo-EL) Anthony and guard/forward Gerald Green to training camp contracts.

Anthony, 35, appeared in 19 games last season for the San Antonio Spurs and averaged 1.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per contest.

Undrafted out of UNLV, Anthony played his first seven seasons with the Miami Heat and won back-to-back NBA Championships in 2012 and 2013. Over his ten-year NBA career he has averaged 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots over 490 games (110 starts) with Miami, Boston, Detroit and San Antonio.

Green, 31, appeared in 47 games last season for the Boston Celtics and averaged 5.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per contest.

A ten-year NBA veteran, Green was the 18th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He sports career averages of 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist over 544 games (116 starts) with Boston, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, New Jersey, Indiana, Phoenix and Miami. Green spent two years (2009-11) playing professionally overseas in Russia and China.

Lots of preseason travel for Timberwolves

The Timberwolves are doing a ton of traveling this preseason. The good kind of traveling. Where you get on planes and go visit interesting places. Not the bad kind of travel, where the referee is forced to blow a whistle at you. Well, maybe they’ll do that as well. We’ll see! Anyway, here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The Timberwolves rolled out the basketballs on a new season Saturday morning, convening in a University of California-San Diego gym more than 1,500 miles away from their downtown Minneapolis training facility.

Why, you very well might ask?

Well, it’s sort of on their way to China, where they will play two preseason games against defending NBA champion Golden State next week.

It’s also a sunny and chic version of Mankato, Minn., — former training-camp home to both the Wolves and the NFL’s Vikings — and a getaway where they’ll drill during the day with the Pacific Ocean shimmering in the distance and bond at night.

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