Month: April 2018

On Raptors success this season

Maybe you could see it in Casey’s reaction to C.J. Miles’ great performance in a win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, when Miles made five of 10 three-pointers.

“It’s huge. We need more. We need more,” said Casey, speaking of Miles’ good gunning. “If we’re going to be a three-point-shooting team, we’ve got to be a three-point-making team … It’s great to see C.J. (shooting well). We need C.J.’s threes with the second unit, because I think he makes the second unit click.”

A big part of Toronto’s offensive transformation this season has started from behind the arc — and not only, as Casey said, with Miles spreading the floor for Toronto’s vaunted bench mob. A year after ranking among the league’s bottom 10 teams in three-pointers attempted and made — a behind-the-times stat that had president Masai Ujiri demanding change — this year the Raptors are chucking at franchise record-shattering levels. Heading into Monday’s games only one playoff-bound team had shot more threes than the Raptors (that’d be Houston). Only two playoff-bound teams had made more threes than Toronto (Houston and Cleveland).

— Toronto Star

Hornets name Mitch Kupchak president and GM

Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan announced today that the team has named Mitch Kupchak President of Basketball Operations & General Manager.

Kupchak, who brings more than 30 years of NBA front office experience to Charlotte, including 17 seasons as an NBA General Manager, will be responsible for leading the organization’s day-to-day basketball operations.

“In every role and in every stop during his tenure in the NBA, Mitch Kupchak has brought the highest levels of success to his teams. He’s a proven winner,” Jordan said. “Having won championships as both a player and an executive, we have confidence that Mitch is the right person to lead our basketball operations, build a winning culture and bring sustained success to our organization, for our fans and for the city of Charlotte.”

“I’m excited to join the Hornets organization and I want to thank Michael for this opportunity,” said Kupchak. “I am well aware of the passion for basketball in Charlotte and throughout the entire state of North Carolina‎, and I am confident that we can build the Hornets into a successful team that our great fans can be proud of.”

Kupchak joins the Hornets after a very distinguished and successful career as a front office executive and player with the Los Angeles Lakers. He began working in the team’s front office in 1986 under two NBA Hall-of-Famers: legendary NBA executive Jerry West and Bill Sharman, the first person to win a championship as a player, coach and executive. Kupchak was named general manager in 2000, serving in that capacity for 17 seasons. During Kupchak’s tenure as general manager, the Lakers won four NBA Championships and six Western Conference Championships, posting a 747-607 (.552) regular-season record and winning 63 percent (111-66) of their postseason contests.

Cavaliers sign Okaro White

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Okaro White to a contract for the remainder of the season, which ends next week.

White (6-8, 204) signed a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers on March 18. He has played in six games (four starts) with the Miami Heat this season, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game. The second-year forward from Florida State has appeared in 41 career games (four starts) with the Heat, holding averages of 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes.

Prior to his stint with Miami, White was a NBA G League All-Star in 2016-17 after averaging 18.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 33.0 minutes over his 23 appearances with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He also played professionally with Aris B.C. of the Greek Basketball League where he was the Greek Basketball Player of the Year in 2015-16 and was a member of Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna in Italy in 2014-15.

Grizzlies sign MarShon Brooks to multi-year contract

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard MarShon Brooks to a multi-year contract.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “Brooks will sign for the remainder of the season and return to the Grizzlies for the 2018-19 campaign with a fully guaranteed deal, Yahoo Sports reported.”

Brooks signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies on March 27.

Brooks (6-5, 200) has appeared in three games as a reserve for the Grizzlies and has averaged 23.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.67 steals in 25.3 minutes while shooting 57.1 percent from the field, 64.7 percent from three-point range and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. Brooks has recorded the most points (70) in franchise history of any player in his first three games with the team and is just the second Grizzlies player to average at least 20 points per game in his first three contests (Lorenzen Wright in 2001-02).

The 29-year-old led Memphis with 21 points in 21 minutes in his season debut on March 27, a 108-103 victory over Portland, his first NBA game in nearly four years (April 16, 2014). He then scored 24 points in 18 minutes on March 30 at Utah and a season-high 25 points in 36 minutes on April 4 at New Orleans. Brooks is the first player in franchise history to score at least 20 points in his first three games with the club; no other Grizzlies player had scored at least 20 points in his first two games with the team.

Before signing a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies, Brooks starred for three seasons with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, where he appeared in 36 games (28 starts) during the 2017-18 season and averaged 36.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.00 steals in 37.6 minutes while leading the team to a 26-12 regular season record.

Selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft following a four-year collegiate career at Providence, Brooks has appeared in 167 regular season games (49 starts) during his three-year NBA career and has averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17.7 minutes for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies. He was named to the 2011-12 NBA All-Rookie Team with the Nets. The Long Branch, New Jersey native also has played in the NBA G League for the Maine Red Claws and Santa Cruz Warriors and has competed internationally for Emporio Armani Milano in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.

Celtics sign Jonathan Gibson

The Boston Celtics signed guard Jonathan Gibson today.

Gibson’s lone NBA experience came last season in 2016-17, when he averaged 6.2 points (36.8% FG, 33.3% 3-PT, 72.4% FT), 1.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 13.6 minutes played in 17 games with the Dallas Mavericks.

Gibson (6-2, 185 lbs.) comes to the Celtics after having spent this basketball season competing internationally with the Qingdao Double Star Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association, where he averaged 33.7 points on 44.6% shooting (37.4% 3-PT, 82.8% FT) to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 38 games (27 starts). The California native ranked fourth in the CBA in scoring, while his 3.9 three-point field goals per game ranked sixth.

The Celtics were able to sign Gibson after the league granted the team a hardship roster spot, following injuries to other Celtics players.

A four-year New Mexico State University product from 2006-07 to 2009-10, Gibson will wear No. 60 for the Celtics.

Grizzlies sign Omari Johnson, waive Marquis Teague

The Memphis Grizzlies today signed forward Omari Johnson to a multi-year contract. In addition, the team waived guard Marquis Teague.

Johnson (6-9, 220) started 38 of his 44 appearances this season with the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, and averaged 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.9 minutes while shooting 46.0 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from three-point range (136-326 3P) and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. He owned the G League’s highest three-point percentage among players with at least 300 three-point field goal attempts.

The 28-year-old Kingston, Jamaica native also has played in the G League for the Maine Red Claws (2014-16) and internationally for the Mississauga Power (2011-12) and Island Storm (2012-13) of the Canadian NBL, C.B. Valladolid (2013-14) of the Spanish ACB and Neptunas (2016-17) of the Lithuanian LKL. He went unselected in the 2011 NBA Draft following his senior season at Oregon State University.

Teague (6-2, 180) appeared in three games as a reserve and averaged 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.33 steals in 24.7 minutes for the Grizzlies after signing a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the Hustle on March 24 and re-signing with the Grizzlies on April 3. He started all 47 of his games with the Hustle and averaged 17.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 26.5 minutes.

Selected in the first round (29th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft following his freshman year at the University of Kentucky, Teague has appeared in 91 regular season games (three starts) during his three-year NBA career and has averaged 2.4 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 10.0 minutes for the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies. The Indianapolis, Indiana native has appeared in 161 G League games (125 starts) and has averaged 15.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 30.8 minutes for the Iowa Energy, Oklahoma City Blue, Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Memphis Hustle.

Jazz sign David Stockton for remainder of season

The Utah Jazz today signed guard David Stockton for the remainder of the season.

Stockton has appeared in three games for the Jazz, averaging 3.3 points on 66.7 percent from the field in 3.0 minutes per contest.

Prior to his stint in Utah, Stockton played for the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, where he appeared in 39 games (15 starts), averaging 16.3 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 28.2 minutes per game this season. He was also selected to the official 12-member 2017 USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team, coached by Jeff Van Gundy, where he saw action in two wins against Cuba and Puerto Rico, owning averages of 8.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 18.4 minutes per game.

The Spokane, Wash., native has additional NBA experience, signing a 10-day contract with the Kings on Feb. 20, 2015, and then to a multi-year contract by Sacramento on April 12, 2015. During his stint with the team, he saw action in three contests with averages of 2.7 points and 3.0 assists in 11.0 minutes.

Stockton has played in the NBA G League the past four seasons with the Reno Bighorns (2014-18), having averaged 18.0 points, 7.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 142 career games (106 starts). He was named to the 2015 All NBA D-League Rookie Second Team following his first professional season.

He has also competed internationally, having played with the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League (2016-17), appearing in 10 games (six starts), averaging 8.3 points, 5.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds and Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian ABA League (2016), where he averaged 13.8 points, 6.0 assists, 2.8 boards and 2.3 steals in league play.

Stockton was a four-year collegiate player at Gonzaga, appearing in 138 career games (39 starts), posting averages of 4.8 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 19.9 minutes per game. In his senior season, he averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 27.8 minutes per game. He helped Gonzaga to four-straight NCAA Tournaments and earned 2014 All-WCC Tournament Team honors, helping the squad to a 2014 WCC Tournament Championship.

Pelicans sign Jordan Crawford

The New Orleans Pelicans today signed guard Jordan Crawford.

Crawford, 6-4, 195, has appeared in 21 games with New Orleans over the past two seasons, averaging 13.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per contest. Crawford appeared in two games with the Pelicans this season, averaging 9.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 18.5 minutes of action before being waived on October 21.

Drafted 27th overall in 2010 by New Jersey, Crawford has appeared in 278 career regular season games with Atlanta, Washington, Boston, Golden State and New Orleans, averaging 12.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 24.6 minutes per contest.

Crawford will wear #27 for the Pelicans. New Orleans’s roster stands at 16, including one two-way player (Charles Cooke).

Russell Westbrook triple-doubles usually mean a Thunder win

Last season, the Thunder was 33-9 when Westbrook posted a triple double and 13-25 when he didn’t. This season, the Thunder is 19-5 when Westbrook posts a triple double and 25-28 when he doesn’t.

So over two seasons, OKC is 52-14 when Westbrook posts a triple double and 38-53 when he doesn’t. Which is absurd, a team depending on a solitary player to produce at that kind of production level to be successful.

And that script certainly played out Tuesday night in Golden State’s 111-107 victory over the Thunder.

Westbrook didn’t have a triple double. Through no fault of his own. Westbrook had 44 points on 15-of-26 shooting, 16 rebounds and six assists.

— The Oklahoman