July 2018 – Page 10 – NBA Blog

Lakers sign rookie Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

The Los Angeles Lakers signed rookie guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk today.

The 47th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft out of the University of Kansas, Mykhailiuk earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors last season, with averages of 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Mykhailiuk shot a Big 12-leading 44.4 percent from three-point range and set the KU single-season record with 115 three-point field goals made.

A native of Cherkasy, Ukraine, Mykhailiuk began his collegiate career at 17 years old as the youngest player in Big 12 history, and would go on to make three trips to the Sweet Sixteen, including one Final Four appearance in his four-year career. Mykhailiuk has also represented the Ukraine at the international level, leading the U-20 National Team in scoring during the 2016 FIBA European Championship.

Rockets re-sign Gerald Green

The Houston Rockets re-signed free agent guard/forward Gerald Green today.

Per multiple reports, the deal is a one-year, $2.4 million contract.

Green originally signed with the Rockets on Dec. 28, 2017 and averaged 12.1 points over the remainder of the season. He hit the third-most 3-pointers of any reserve in the league over that span.

For the season, Green averaged 2.7 3-pointers made in 22.7 minutes per game. No other player in NBA history averaged more than 2.5 3FGM in fewer than 25.0 mpg in a single season.

Over the past seven seasons, Green averaged 10.8 ppg in 21.5 mpg. He is one of only five players with at least 400 games played over that span to have averaged at least 10.0 ppg in fewer than 22.0 mpg.

Nuggets sign Torrey Craig

The Nuggets signed free agent forward Torrey Craig to a multi-year contract today.

“We are thrilled to have Torrey back on our roster. His journey to the NBA was an atypical one and this contract is a testament to his tremendous work ethic and drive,” stated Connelly.

Craig, 27, was signed to a two-way contract with Denver during the 2017-18 season where he averaged 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 39 games (five starts) for the Nuggets. He also appeared in 15 games (12 starts) for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of G League last season, averaging 22.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.00 blocks and 1.13 steals in 5.0 minutes per game. He also shot .477 from the field and .386 from three for the Skyforce.

The South Carolina native went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft and prior to joining the Nuggets he spent three seasons starring in the Australian National Basketball League. He played for the Brisbane Bullets during the 2016-17 season where he was named both the Australian NBL Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Improved Player while earning All-NBL Second Team honors. He played collegiately at the University of South Carolina-Upstate for four years, earning NABC All-District First Team honors three times and was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Pacers sign Kyle O`Quinn

The Indiana Pacers have signed free agent forward/center Kyle O’Quinn.

The deal is reportedly just a one-year, $4.5 million contract.

The Pacers’ frontcourt rotation currently revolves around Myles Turner, Thaddeus Young and Domantas Sabonis. There is no dominant star among that group, though Turner and Sabonis have potential and are considered team building blocks. Quinn will likely be used as support for that mix of talent.

O’Quinn set new career highs during the 2017-18 season as he averaged 7.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game for the New York Knicks. He spent the last three seasons with New York and averaged 6.1 points and 5.2 rebounds over 221 games. O’Quinn was originally selected with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, and has averaged 5.8 points and 4.9 rebounds over six NBA seasons with New York and Orlando.

“We talk about our culture here and Kyle fits it perfectly,” said Pacers’ President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “Not only is he a good, solid player, he’s an outstanding person who will help us on the floor and in the locker room. When I met with him last week I was very impressed with his professionalism and thrilled with his desire to be a part of what we are building here.”

Pelicans re-sign Ian Clark

The New Orleans Pelicans have re-signed guard Ian Clark.

Clark, 6-3, 175, appeared in 74 games with New Orleans during the 2017-18 regular season and averaged 7.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19.7 minutes per game. After the All-Star break, Clark averaged 11.0 points while shooting .488 from the field and .368 from three-point range, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game. Clark additionally appeared in nine postseason games, averaging 7.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting .424 from the floor, including .357 from three-point range.

Undrafted out of Belmont University in 2013, Clark has appeared in 270 career regular season games with Utah, Denver, Golden State and New Orleans, holding career averages of 5.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 13.1 minutes per game. Additionally, Clark has appeared in 41 career postseason contests, averaging 6.0 points while shooting .475 from the field and .354 from three-point range, 1.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 13.7 minutes per game.

Timberwolves sign Anthony Tolliver

The Timberwolves have signed forward Anthony Tolliver.

Looking at the roster as it stands now, Tolliver will likely back up Taj Gibson at power forward, and could see some backup small forward.

The 6-foot-8 forward spent the 2017-18 season on the Pistons, where he averaged 8.9 points per game, his highest single-season scoring average since the 2009-10 season. Tolliver shot an NBA career-best 43.6 percent from three-point range, hitting a career-high 2.0 threes per outing, on 4.6 attempts on average. The 43.6 percent ranked seventh in the NBA and third among players 6-8 or taller. Tolliver’s 46.4 percent from the floor also was a single-season career-best mark.

During his career, Tolliver has played in 599 regular season games, averaging 6.5 points on 42.1 percent shooting, and 36.7 percent three-point shooting.

Tolliver played for the Timberwolves during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

He has also played with San Antonio, Portland, Golden State, Atlanta, Charlotte, Phoenix, Detroit and Sacramento.

Pelicans sign Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed forward Julius Randle and guard Elfrid Payton.

Randle’s contract is reportedly a two-year, $18 million deal. And Payton’s contract is reportedly a one-year deal.

Payton wasn’t really thought of as a long-term part of the Magic. He hasn’t yet proven if he’s worthy of starting on a good team vs being a bench contributor. He definitely belongs in almost any team’s backcourt rotation. And should presumably continue to improve.

Randle was thought of as a long-term part of the Lakers’ future. At least until the emergence of Kyle Kuzma, the signing of LeBron James, and the need for salary cap flexibility. Randle probably wanted a serious long-term contract from the Lakers. But this isn’t the right time for them to commit to that. They would have liked to keep him. But business is business, and right now the Lakers’ business is making roster moves devoted to getting some stars around LeBron James by next offseason.

Payton, 6-4, 185, played last season with the Orlando Magic (44 games) and Phoenix Suns (19 games), averaging 12.7 points, 6.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 28.7 minutes per contest. In 300 career NBA regular season games with Orlando and Phoenix, Payton has averaged 11.2 points, 6.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 29.5 minutes per game.

A native of Gretna, La., Payton starred at John Ehret High School before playing collegiately at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. After a three-year collegiate career where he was a two-time member of the First-Team All-Sun Belt and the 2014 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, Payton was selected 10th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by Philadelphia before being acquired by Orlando in a draft night trade.

Randle, 6-9, 250, had previously spent his entire four-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers after being selected seventh overall in the 2014 NBA Draft out of the University of Kentucky. This past season, Randle appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Lakers, averaging a career-high 16.1 points on a career-high .558 shooting from the field to go with 8.0 rebounds – including 2.2 on the offensive end – and 2.6 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.

In 238 career regular season games (182 starts), Randle holds career averages of 13.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game

Pistons hire Gregg Polinsky as director of player personnel

The Detroit Pistons made a front office move this past Friday, naming Gregg Polinsky the team’s new director of player personnel.

Polinsky is coming off a massive work stretch with the Brooklyn Nets, where he worked a variety of roles over the last 19 seasons. His most recent role with the Nets was director of college scouting. He originally joined the Nets back in 1999, working as a scout. By 2004 he was named Nets director of scouting. He later served as director of player personnel for eight years.

Before his work in the NBA, Polinsky was Georgia Southern University’s head coach from 1995-99. His ccoaching career began with a job as an assistant at Howard College from 1981-83.

Polinsky played college ball at the University of New Mexico. He has a degree in physical education from Northern Arizona University.

Knicks sign rookie Mitchell Robinson

The Knicks have signed rookie center Mitchell Robinson to a multi-year contract.

Per the New York Post, “according to a source, the deal is for three years at $4.8 million, but the third year is not fully guaranteed. The package also includes a fourth-year team option. The deal averages roughly $1.6 million per year, which is how much it would count against the salary cap for the key free agency of summer 2019.”

Robinson, 20, was selected in the second round with the 36th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. The 7-0, 225-pound center was named to the 2017 McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand All-American teams. Robinson averaged 25.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 7.1 blocks as a senior at Chalmette High School in Louisiana.

Robinson is currently participating with the team’s entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Thunder re-sign Jerami Grant

The Thunder yesterday re-signed forward Jerami Grant to a multi-year contract.

According to the Norman Transcript, “Grant had reportedly agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal earlier in the week and the Thunder have not disputed that reporting.”

Grant appeared in 81 games (one start) for Oklahoma City during the 2017-18 season and averaged 8.4 points on a career-high 53.5 percent (244-456) shooting, 3.9 rebounds and 0.95 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game.

“We are thrilled to have Jerami continue his development and career with the Thunder,” said Presti. “Jerami’s versatility and overall speed are an important aspect to our effort to evolve and build on our style of play going forward. We believe Jerami’s best basketball is in front of him.”

Grant scored his 1,000th point in a Thunder uniform this past season on March 18 at Toronto, making him the fourth player in Oklahoma City history with 1,000 points and 100 blocks in his first 150 games.

Originally selected 39th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Maryland native holds career averages of 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 21.9 minutes per contest.