Month: September 2017

Thunder sign Bryce Alford, Markel Brown, Isaiah Canaan and Rashawn Thomas

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed guards Bryce Alford, Markel Brown, Isaiah Canaan and forward Rashawn Thomas.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume the signings are only for training camp.

Alford (6-3, 185) spent four years at UCLA, leaving as the school’s No. 5 all-time leading scorer with 1,922 career points. He set UCLA’s career record for most three-pointers made (329), eclipsing a record previously set by Jason Kapono (317 three-pointers from 2000-03). In his career, Alford appeared in 141 total games and averaged 13.6 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Brown (6-3, 190) spent the 2016-17 season in Russia with BC Khimki, playing in 32 games and averaging 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist. The Oklahoma State product spent two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and appeared in 109 games (35 starts) and averaged 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Canaan (6-0, 201) is a four-year NBA veteran, having spent the 2016-17 season with the Chicago Bulls. In 185 games (60 starts) with the Bulls, Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers, he averaged 8.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Thomas (6-8, 230) concluded his collegiate career with Texas A&M Corpus Christi as the all-time leading scorer (2,034 points). The Oklahoma City native was named the 2015-16 Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Southland.

Hawks sign John Jenkins

The Atlanta Hawks signed John Jenkins today.

Jenkins was originally Atlanta’s first-round pick (23rd overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft and spent his first three NBA seasons with the Hawks. He has also played with Phoenix and Dallas in his five-year NBA career. In 145 career regular season games (eight starts), he’s averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.8 minutes (.448 FG%, .364 3FG%, .849 FT%).

He starred collegiately at Vanderbilt, where he was a two-time First Team All-Southeastern Conference performer. Jenkins attended Station Camp High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

He will wear jersey No. 30.

Knicks trade of Carmelo Anthony to Thunder now official

The Carmelo Anthony era in New York is officially over.

The Knicks acquired center Enes Kanter, forward Doug McDermott and Chicago’s 2018 second-round draft pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Anthony today.

“This is a deal we feel works for both this franchise and Carmelo. We thank him for his seven seasons in a Knicks uniform and all that he accomplished off the court for the City of New York by using his platform to address social issues,” President Steve Mills said. “We will continue to focus on this team looking forward towards the immediate and long-term future. As we have said recently, this is a new beginning for the New York Knicks.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Carmelo to Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization,” said Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. “In addition to his skill level, experience, and unique talents, Carmelo is another high character, professional player for our roster.”

Anthony, (6-8, 240) a 10-time All-Star and 14-year NBA veteran joins the Thunder having appeared in 976 career games (all starts) while averaging 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.06 steals in 36.2 minutes.

Anthony currently ranks 25th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (24,156 points) and he is one of six players in league history (alongside Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce) to record 24,000 points, 6,000 rebounds, 2,500 assists, 1,000 steals and 1,000 3-point field goals.

Anthony led the NBA in scoring during the 2012-13 season (28.7 points per game) and during the 2009-10 season, he became the third youngest player in NBA history to reach the 12,000-point plateau (behind LeBron James and Kobe Bryant).

A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Anthony is the United States Olympic Men’s National Team’s all-time leading scorer. After winning Gold in Rio de Janeiro, Anthony was named the 2016 Basketball Co-Male Athlete of the Year.

Originally selected by the Denver Nuggets with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Anthony helped lead Syracuse to a National Championship during his freshman season in which he was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.

Kanter, 6-11, 245-pounds, is a six-year NBA veteran who holds career averages of 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 445 games played for Utah and Oklahoma City. In 72 games for the Thunder last season, the 25-year-old Switzerland native averaged 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, while recording the second-most point-rebound double-doubles in the NBA off the bench with 18.

McDermott, 6-8, 225-pounds, is a three-year NBA who holds career averages of 8.0 points in 183 games played for Chicago and Oklahoma City. In 66 games for the Bulls and Thunder last season, the 25-year-old Grand Forks, ND native averaged 9.0 points and 22.8 minutes.

“We acquired two 25-year-old players in this deal that we can develop, while sticking with our overall strategy of emphasizing youth and athleticism. With this trade, we have added scoring and aggressiveness to our frontcourt, and bolstered the team’s perimeter shooting,” Knicks General Manager Scott Perry said. “We are glad to have finalized a trade that made sense for all of us.”

Sixers add Kris Humphries and Emeka Okafor to training camp roster

The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to terms with forward Kris Humphries and center Emeka Okafor and signed those players to their training camp roster.

Humphries, a 13-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 800 career games (203 starts) with Utah, Toronto, Dallas, New Jersey/Brooklyn, Boston, Washington, Phoenix and Atlanta. The Minnesota native holds career averages of seven points and five rebounds in 18 minutes per game. He averaged a double-double in consecutive seasons from 2010-12 with the Nets.

Originally selected with the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the then-Charlotte Bobcats, following an NCAA Tournament win with UConn, Okafor has played nine NBA seasons. He has competed in 590 career games (584 starts) with Charlotte, New Orleans and Washington and holds career averages of 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game.

Training camp will be held from Tuesday, Sept. 26 through Friday, Sept. 29.

Clippers trade DeAndre Liggins to Hawks, who quickly waive him

The Atlanta Hawks have acquired guard/forward DeAndre Liggins and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for draft considerations, the team announced today.

Liggins, 29, holds career averages of 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 119 appearances over four seasons with Orlando, Oklahoma City, Miami, Cleveland and Dallas.

UPDATE: The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club has waived DeAndre Liggins, the team announced today.

Tony Parker should return sooner than expected

Tony Parker is up there in age but he remains a key member of the Spurs, who enter the 2017-18 season in their usual place, as a contender. It was unclear when Parker would return from injury, but good news has emerged. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

With the San Antonio Spurs set to report to the team facilities Monday for media day, point guard Tony Parker received some positive news Friday when doctors cleared him to participate in the club’s upcoming training camp, after he suffered a season-ending torn quadriceps tendon in May during the Western Conference semifinals.

“The thing is, I did an MRI on Friday, and the doctor said they were really happy with the MRI,” Parker told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “It looked very good. So they cleared me. But it’s still going to be like another, I think, two months to get back in shape and getting my leg stronger.” …

“In my mind, hopefully, I can be back by mid-November, end of November,” Parker said. “But overall, it’s great news. Because at first, the doctors thought it would be the end of January. So it’s still like great news.”

Full article

Several key players gone from Jazz

The Jazz are a different team this upcoming season. They lost some key parts during the offseason, the biggest being young star Gordon Hayward. Here’s the Deseret News reporting:

A lot has changed in the last four and a half months since the Utah Jazz were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors, following a 51-win season and a fifth-place finish in the Western Conference.

The Jazz lost their premier player, Gordon Hayward, to the Boston Celtics in a free agency move that gave the Utah franchise nothing in return. They also lost starting point guard George Hill, who chose to sign with Sacramento, again with nothing in return. Also moving on were former first-round draft choice Trey Lyles, who was traded to Denver, part-time starting point guard Shelvin Mack and backup center Jeff Withey, who signed with the Mavericks and veteran Boris Diaw, who was waived.

Jazz picked up seven new players, six of whom who are expected to be on the 13-man active roster, led by former lottery pick Ricky Rubio. The Jazz also have first-round draft picks Donovan Mitchell and Tony Bradley as well as veterans Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh. The Jazz also signed swingman Royce O’Neal, but he’ll most likely be fighting for a spot on the 15-man roster.

Full article

 

Bulls and Dwyane Wade reportedly agree to buyout

The Bulls aren’t what they were. Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo are gone. The team won’t be a contender in 2017-18. So why would Dwyane Wade, as his NBA career winds down, want to stick around? And why would the Bulls, clearly now in a rebuilding period, still need him? As has been expected, the two sides will part ways. Here’s the Chicago Tribune reporting:

Three months after trading Jimmy Butler and waiving Rajon Rondo, the Bulls reached agreement on a buyout with Dwyane Wade on Sunday night, the eve of training camp. A source said Wade gave up roughly $8 million to $9 million of the $23.8 million he stood to make after picking up his player option on June 20, two days before the Butler deal.

The move clears the way for Wade to sign with a contender like the Cavaliers, Thunder or Spurs or possibly return to his beloved Heat. More importantly, it allows the Bulls to start fresh with their full rebuild and eliminate a potential distraction since Wade preferred to play for his fourth championship at this stage of his career.

“I just felt it was time for me, turning 36, that I want to be competing for a championship,” Wade told the Tribune in a phone interview. “I said when I got here, it was always a dream for me to play here. And getting that opportunity was special. And I can’t even say it wasn’t what everyone expected because we went to the playoffs. And trying to restore this franchise to respectability was our goal. The organization decided to go in a different direction, which I respect.”

Full article

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).