September 2017 – Page 8 – NBA Blog

Lakers announce staff additions and promotions

The Los Angeles Lakers have promoted Jordan Wilkes to Director of Player Development and Josh Wright to Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, and have hired Kristen Andrews as Manager of Nutrition and Wellness, and Adi Vase as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, it was announced today.

With the team since the 2013-14 season, Wilkes is responsible for assisting General Manager Rob Pelinka in the day-to-day operations of the team, focusing on the personal growth of the players on the roster, while providing resources and assisting in the development of life skills off the court and outside of basketball. The L.A. native and University of California, Berkeley graduate spent the last three seasons as a basketball operations assistant with the Lakers, managing player databases, scouting local college and NBA games, scheduling draft workouts and offseason activities, as well as directing Camp Lakers in the summers of 2015 and 2016.

Andrews joins the Lakers staff after spending the 2016-17 MLS season as the Sports Performance Dietitian for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Responsible for the team’s nutrition and wellness program, Andrews creates and implements nutrition support strategies to maximize player fitness, performance and recovery. A graduate of the University of Arkansas with a Master’s of Science from Cal State-Long Beach, Andrews also arranges all team meals throughout the season, both at home and on the road.

Vase and Wright round out Gunnar Peterson’s strength and conditioning staff. Most recently an Athletic Development Quality Assurance Assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, Vase also has prior experience with the Universities of Kentucky and Oregon. Wright has been promoted to his new position after joining the staff last year as a coaching assistant and was responsible for coaching-staff wellness throughout the year.

Juan Carlos Navarro and FC Barcelona form long-term agreement

Juan Carlos Navarro and FC Barcelona Lassa like each other. They really like each other. Here’s Eurocupbasketball.com reporting:

Expect to see the legendary Juan Carlos Navarro remain at the heart of FC Barcelona Lassa’s basketball ambitions in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for a long time to come. On Tuesday, the club announced a new 10-year agreement with Navarro that will cover the rest of his playing career and continue into a new era for him as part of the management of the club’s basketball section. The announcement came as soon as Navarro returned to the team after winning another medal at EuroBasket. The club communicated that at the end of the coming season, Navarro and Barcelona will decide together whether the ageless EuroLeague icon will continue playing or move to the front office.

Magic promote Jay Hernandez and Matt Hill, hire Randy Wittman

The Orlando Magic have promoted Jay Hernandez and Matt Hill to assistant coach, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

In addition, Randy Wittman has been added to the staff as a coaching consultant.

Hernandez enters his fourth season with the Orlando Magic and first as assistant coach. He originally joined the Magic as assistant coach/player development prior to the 2014-15 campaign, where he was responsible for on-court skill development, as well as game scouts. Hernandez established and collaborated with various departments to implement a return from injury protocol that incorporates analytics with an on-court simulation. He has also been responsible for organizing and running on court pre-draft workouts for the last three seasons.

Hernandez played one season at the University of New Hampshire (1996-97) and three seasons at Hofstra University (1998-2001). He helped Hofstra to a berth in the NIT in 1999, then back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001 as team captain. Hernandez went on to play professionally in Puerto Rico for three seasons.

Hernandez has a dual MBA in both marketing and management from Hofstra. He and his wife, Allison, have three children, McKayla (20), Michael (14) and Morgan (12). McKayla currently plays basketball at Molloy College.

Hill begins his sixth season with the Orlando Magic and first as an assistant coach. He began his career in 2012, joining the Magic as a video analyst/opposition. Hill was later promoted in 2015 to manager of advanced scouting/player development.

Hill starred at Southeast High School in Lincoln, Neb., where he was named Nebraska’s “Mr. Basketball” and the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Nebraska as a senior in 2006. He left as the school’s all-time leader in career points (1,242), rebounds (755) and blocked shots (244). Hill then played at the University of Texas from 2006-11, where he was teammates with several current NBA players, including Kevin Durant, Avery Bradley, Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson and current Magic guard D.J. Augustin. During his senior campaign (2010-11), he served as team captain and appeared in all 36 games (two starts).

A native of Lincoln, Neb., Hill has a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications from the University of Texas. He was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

A 25-year NBA coaching veteran, Randy Wittman was named consultant for the Orlando Magic in September 2017. Wittman has served as head coach with Cleveland (1999-01), Minnesota (2006-09) and Washington (2011-16), compiling a record of 278-406 (.406). While at Washington, he guided the Wizards to the Eastern Conference Semifinals twice (2013-14 and 2014-15).

This marks Wittman’s second stop in Orlando. He served as an assistant coach under Brian Hill during the 2005-06 season. Wittman has also been an assistant coach with Indiana (1992-93), Dallas (1993-94), Minnesota (1994-99, 2001-05) and Washington (2009-11).

Originally selected in the first round (22nd overall) by Washington in the 1983 NBA Draft, Wittman played nine seasons in the NBA. He appeared in 543 career regular season games with Atlanta, Sacramento and Indiana, averaging 7.4 ppg., 2.2 apg. and 1.4 rpg. in 21.4 minpg., while shooting .501 from the field.

Wittman was a two-time academic All-American while at Indiana University. He helped the Hoosiers capture the 1981 NCAA Championship and was named co-Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior in 1983. Wittman was inducted into the IU Hall of Fame in 1995 and was named to Indiana’s Silver Anniversary Basketball Team in March of 1996.

Suns sign second round pick Alec Peters

The Phoenix Suns have signed forward Alec Peters, the team’s selection with the 54th overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Peters, a prolific three-point shooter at 6-9 and 232 pounds, was named the Horizon League Player of the Year as a senior following a four-year career where he became Valparaiso’s all-time leader in scoring (2,348), rebounding (997), field goals made (790), free throws made (479) and games started (134). In 2016-17, the skillful forward was the only player in Division I to rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring and rebounding as he led his conference with 23.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

For his career, Peters averaged 17.5 points in 134 games for the Crusaders and his 2,348 total points are third most in Horizon League history. Named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team as a senior, the 22-year-old was also a three-time All-Horizon Academic Team member. A native of Washington, Illinois, Peters was a first-team all-state selection in each of his final two seasons at Washington High School.

Lakers reportedly signing Andrew Bogut

The Lakers will reportedly sign defensive-minded center Andrew Bogut. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

Free-agent center Andrew Bogut has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to agent David Bauman.

The deal is for a veterans minimum of $2.3 million, Bauman confirmed on Twitter. Sources told ESPN the deal is not fully guaranteed.

Bogut suffered a broken leg during his Cleveland Cavaliers debut in February and missed the rest of the season.

Heat sign Josh Richardson to contract extension

The Miami Heat have signed guard Josh Richardson to a multi-year contract extension.

According to the Palm Beach Post, “Richardson inked his four-year, $42 million contract extension today, the team announced. The deal, reported last week and confirmed by the Post, starts in 2018-19 and includes a player option for the fourth year. The extension was a nice birthday gift for the 6-foot-6 guard, who turned 24 on Friday.”

Richardson, who was originally selected by the HEAT in the second round (40th overall) in the 2015 NBA Draft, appeared in 53 games (34 starts) last season with Miami and averaged 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.13 steals and 30.5 minutes. He outperformed every major statistical category from his rookie campaign and was one of eight HEAT players to average double-figures in points, marking the most for any team in the NBA last season. As a rookie in 2015-16, Richardson shot 46.1 percent (53-of-115) from three-point range, the highest percentage by a HEAT rookie in team history while also tying the third-highest percentage by any rookie in NBA history (with a minimum of 100 attempts). Additionally, he shot 58.9 percent (33-of-56) during the month of March in his rookie season, marking the second-highest percentage for a single month in NBA history (with a minimum of 50 attempts) while capturing Rookie of the Month honors.

Richardson, who played four seasons at Tennessee, appeared in 136 career games (110 starts) for the Volunteers and averaged 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.08 steals and 28.2 minutes while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 75.8 percent from the foul line. He finished his career ranking third in school history in games played, ninth in minutes (3,802), ninth in starts, 10th in steals (147), 16th in blocks (88) and 28th in points (1,252).

Timberwolves sign Amile Jefferson and Melo Trimble

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Amile Jefferson and guard Melo Trimble.

The deals are probably non-guaranteed, and just for training camp.

Jefferson, 24, played with the Timberwolves in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 2.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 11.0 minutes in five games. He was a fifth-year senior at Duke University in 2016-17 and averaged 10.9 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 61.3% from the field. Jefferson was a member of Duke’s 2015 NCAA Championship team and was a teammate of the Timberwolves’ Tyus Jones. For his career, Jefferson played in a school-record 150 games (103 starts), averaging 7.2 points on 62.0% shooting and 6.3 rebounds. He finished his career at Duke ranked first in games played, second in field goal percentage, third in offensive rebounds (361), seventh in blocks (138) and 11th in total rebounds (944). Jefferson was named to the ACC All-Academic Team four times.

Trimble, 22, played three seasons at the University of Maryland, averaging 15.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals in 104 games. In his junior season in 2016-17, Trimble averaged 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 33 games and was named First Team Big Ten by the coaches and media. He also was an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. In 2015-16, Trimble averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists and was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection as he led Maryland to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2003. As a freshman in 2014-15, Trimble averaged 16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists and was named First Team All-Big Ten by the media and Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches. Trimble played for Philadelphia in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 10.3 points and 1.3 steals in three games.

Knicks sign Jarrett Jack

The Knicks have signed guard Jarrett Jack.

Jack, 6-3, 200-pounds, holds career averages of 11.0 points and 4.5 assists over 28.1 minutes in 805 games over 12 seasons with Portland, Indiana, Toronto, New Orleans, Golden State, Cleveland and Brooklyn. The Fort Washington, MD-native appeared in two games for New Orleans last season after averaging 12.8 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds over 32.1 minutes in 32 games for Brooklyn in 2015-16. He was originally selected by Denver with the 22nd overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves sign Shabazz Muhammad

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Shabazz Muhammad.

Muhammad, 24, averaged 9.9 points on 48.2% shooting in 19.4 minutes per game over 78 contests (one start) with the Timberwolves last season, including averaging 11.6 points on 50.3% shooting (36.0% from three-point range) over his final 52 appearances. He scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds on Apr. 4 at Golden State, his second career double-double and one of eight 20+ point efforts last season.

Over his four-year career in Minnesota, Muhammad has averaged 9.7 points on 47.6% shooting and 3.0 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game over 235 games. Muhammad recorded his 23rd career game of 20+ points off the bench April 12, 2017 at Houston, surpassing Sam Mitchell (22) for the most such games in franchise history.

Pelicans sign Tony Allen

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard/forward Tony Allen.

Allen, 6-4, 213, most recently played for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2010-17, appearing in 462 regular season games (359 starts) and averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals. This past season for Memphis, Allen averaged 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 71 games (66 starts).

Originally drafted 25th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2004 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State, the Chicago native has appeared in 798 regular season games with Boston and Memphis (441 starts), holding career averages of 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals. During his 13-year career, Allen has been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times (2012, 2013, 2015) and the Second Team three times (2011, 2016, 2017), joining LeBron James (6) and Chris Paul (9) as the only active NBA players named to at least six NBA All-Defensive Teams.

Additionally, Allen has appeared in 112 career postseason games (50 starts), averaging 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals, while helping Boston capture the 2008 NBA Championship.