Month: October 2017

Timberwolves sign Shawne Williams

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed free agent forward Shawne Williams.

Williams, 31, last played in the NBA in 2014-15, averaging 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 63 games for the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons. In eight NBA seasons, the 6-9 forward has career averages of 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 314 games. Williams was drafted in the first round (17th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He played his first two seasons with the Pacers and has also seen action with the Dallas Mavericks (2008-10), New York Knicks (2010-11), New Jersey Nets (2011-12) and Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13).

Mavericks sign Jameel Warney, waive Brandon Ashley

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent forward Jameel Warney and requested waivers on forward Brandon Ashley.

Warney (6-8, 260) was signed as a free agent on July 27, 2016 and played in three preseason games last year for the Mavericks averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest. He was waived on October 16, 2016. He played for the Texas Legends of the G League in 2016-17 and averaged 17.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 blocks and 29.2 minutes in 44 games (34 starts).

Warney went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after four successful seasons at Stony Brook University where he averaged 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.0 blocks and 30.7 minutes in 135 career collegiate games. In his senior season with the Seawolves, Warney averaged 19.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 3.0 blocks in 33 games on his way to earning America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career at Stony Brook as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,132), rebounds (1,275), blocks (275) and games (135).

Ashley (6-9, 230) was signed on August 3, 2017 and played in five games (one start) for the Mavericks this preseason. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game.

Suns sign Tidjan Keita

The Phoenix Suns have signed forward Tidjan Keita (pronounced tid-JON kay-EE-tah).

Keita, a 6-10, 205-pound forward with a 7-3 wingspan, played for the Toronto Raptors at NBA Summer League 2017 in Las Vegas, appearing in two contests. The 20-year-old went undrafted as an international early entry candidate in the 2017 NBA Draft and participated in a pre-draft workout with the Suns in Phoenix on May 29. Prior to declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft, the native of Paris, France played at Cegep de Thetford in Quebec, Canada.

The Suns’ roster now stands at 19 players.

Warriors sign Trevor Thompson

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Trevor Thompson, the team announced today.

Thompson, 23, posted career-best averages of 10.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.50 blocks and 23.0 minutes in 32 games (20 starts) with Ohio State last season. The 7’0” center recorded a team-best 11 double-doubles and was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2017. He played with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League this past July, averaging 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 7.8 minutes in four games.

Nuggets sign Gary Harris to contract extension

Nuggets sign Gary Harris to contract extension

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Gary Harris to a contract extension, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced.

According to ESPN.com, it’s a a four-year, $84 million contract extension that “includes $74 million in guaranteed money, and team and individual bonus clauses worth the remaining $10 million.”

Harris, 23, had the most productive year of his young career last season, averaging 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.25 steals per game in 57 contests (56 starts). He also shot .502 from the field and .420 (107-255 3FG) from beyond the arc in 2016-17, ranking eighth in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and first among all shooting guards in field goal percentage.

Additionally, out of the 155 NBA players that made at least 60 three-pointers this past season, Harris was one of just two that shot over 50% from the field and 40% from long range. He became just the second Nugget in team history to accomplish this feat as well.

The Fishers, Indiana native was acquired by the Nuggets in a draft-night trade after he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 19th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 188 career games (138 starts) over three seasons with Denver, averaging 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.10 steals in 26.3 minutes per game. Harris has improved his points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, field goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage in each of his first three seasons.

Spurs waive Amida Brimah and London Perrantes

The San Antonio Spurs today have waived Amida Brimah and London Perrantes.

Brimah was signed on Sept. 25 and averaged 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 5.7 minutes over three games this preseason with the Spurs. Perrantes, signed on Aug. 23, averaged 1.0 points in 4.8 minutes in three preseason games with the Silver and Black.

San Antonio’s roster now stands at 17 players.

Nets exercise contract options on D’Angelo Russell, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert

The Brooklyn Nets have exercised the team’s 2018-19 contract options on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, D’Angelo Russell and Caris LeVert.

Hollis-Jefferson, selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by Portland and acquired by the Nets via trade on draft night, has appeared in 107 career games (67 starts) in two seasons, registering averages of 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 22.2 minutes per game. During the 2016-17 season, the 22-year-old saw action in a team-high 78 contests (50 starts) and averaged 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 22.6 minutes per contest.

Russell spent the first two seasons of his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers before being acquired by the Nets via trade on June 22, 2017. He was selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 28.2 minutes per game in 80 games (48 starts) in his inaugural season en route to All-Rookie Second Team honors. In the 2016-17 season, the 21-year-old appeared in 63 games (60 starts) and increased his production across the board, averaging 15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.7 minutes per game.

LeVert saw action in 57 games (26 starts) in his rookie season, recording averages of 8.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.7 minutes per game. The 23-year-old was originally selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers before being acquired in a trade by Brooklyn on July 7, 2016.

Nets sign Tahjere McCall and Kamari Murphy

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Tahjere McCall and forward Kamari Murphy.

McCall (6’5”, 195) finished his collegiate career at Tennessee State (2015-17) after spending two years at Niagara University (2012-14). While at Tennessee State, McCall earned All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team honors twice and was the conference’s defensive player of the year in both seasons. The Philadelphia native saw action in 117 career collegiate games (93 starts), recording averages of 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals in 26.0 minutes per game.

Murphy (6’9”, 218) played the last two seasons (2015-17) at the University of Miami after beginning his collegiate career at Oklahoma State University (2012-14). He started all 33 games with the Hurricanes during his senior campaign, averaging 7.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game. The Brooklyn native appeared in 131 games (97 starts) over the course of his four-year collegiate career, averaging 5.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 24.6 minutes per contest.

Both McCall and Murphy were members of the Nets’ 2017 Las Vegas Summer League team.

Lakers sign Travis Wear

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Travis Wear, General Manager Rob Pelinka announced today.

Wear most recently was a member of the Lakers’ entry in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, where he contributed 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists as Los Angeles won their first summer league championship. The 6-foot-10 forward played in 42 games (13 starts) for the South Bay Lakers last season, tallying 12.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

The Lakers training camp roster stands at 19.