September 2018 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Several Blazers to be busy with FIBA World Cup qualifiers

Here’s NBC Sports Northwest reporting on a pair of Trail Blazers players who will be busy with international competition as the NBA season approaches:

When the Portland Trail Blazers get together for pre-camp workouts soon, they are going to be without two players who were starters last season. And those two players could be missing right up to or past the start of training camp on Sept. 25.

Al-Farouq Aminu (Nigeria) and Jusuf Nurkic (Bosnia and Herzegovena) are scheduled to represent their countries in the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifying rounds. The format of the World Cup has been changed and teams now will be required to play qualifying rounds in 2018 to move into the 2019 Cup finals, scheduled to be played in China.

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Dewayne Dedmon suffers ankle injury

Atlanta Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon sustained a left ankle injury during a workout around one week ago, on Monday, August 27.

An X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an avulsion fracture and he has been placed in a walking boot. He will be re-evaluated in one week, and his status will be updated as appropriate.

The Hawks are in rebuilding mode. Their core includes Jeremy Lin, Kent Bazemore, and a lot of youth. The team will probably give Dedmon decent minutes this season.

NBA news: Pacers sign coach Nate McMillan to contract extension

The Indiana Pacers have signed head coach Nate McMillan to a multi-year contract extension.

McMillan will enter his third season as Pacers’ coach after serving as the team’s Associate Head Coach for three seasons under Frank Vogel. In his first two seasons, the 54-year-old McMillan has a 90-74 record and helped guide the Pacers to two playoff appearances. Before the 2017-18 season, the Pacers were projected by many to be a lottery team, but ended up one of the biggest surprises in the NBA with a 48-34 record and a No. 5 seed in the East. The Pacers lost to Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, but extended the Cavaliers in a closely-contested seven-game series. McMillan finished sixth in Coach of the Year balloting.

“I’m really proud of what Nate and our coaching staff have done,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “Nate is very deserving of this extension. We have a wonderful culture and he has been a big part of implementing that culture. He’s dedicated leader, a very good coach and we’re lucky to have him here with the Pacers.”

“I’m very appreciative of Kevin and Mr. Simon (team owner, Herb Simon) for this show of faith in what we are doing,” said McMillan. “Going back two years ago when I was hired, the trust Larry (Bird) and Mr. Simon had in myself and my staff meant a lot. Now with this extension, it’s an affirmation of what we all – front office, coaches, players, staff – are trying to accomplish.”

Spurs sign rookie Chimezie Metu

The San Antonio Spurs have signed forward Chimezie Metu.

Metu, 6-11/225, was selected by the Spurs in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft (49th overall). He recently played with San Antonio in the 2018 NBA Summer League, averaging 11.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.4 minutes in five appearances.

Last season as a junior at the University of Southern California, the Lawndale, Calif. native was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and received honorable mention for the All-Defensive Team. He averaged a team-high 15.9 points to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 1.74 blocks in 31.0 minutes.

Over his three-year career at USC, he averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 27.0 minutes while shooting .533 (495-928) from the floor in his 71 appearances. In his sophomore season, Metu was named the 2017 Pac-12 Most Improved Player and received All-Pac-12 Second Team honors. He finished his collegiate career third in school history with 168 total blocks.

Pelicans sign Darius Morris

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Darius Morris.

Morris, 6-4, 195, most recently played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League, appearing in three games at the end of the regular season and averaging 19.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

Selected 41st overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, the University of Michigan product has appeared in 132 career regular season games with the Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets, holding averages of 3.3 points, 1.4 assists and 1.0 rebounds. Additionally, Morris has appeared in 65 career G League games with Los Angeles and Rio Grande Valley, averaging 19.1 points, 6.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals

Trail Blazers sign Gary Payton II, Cameron Oliver and Chinanu Onuaku

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed forward Cameron Oliver, center Chinanu Onuaku and guard Gary Payton II, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

The deals are likely all non-guaranteed and just for training camp.

Oliver (6-8, 225) averaged 10.8 points (49.7% FG, 33.7% 3-PT, 55.9% FT), 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 39 NBA G League games played with Wisconsin and Delaware during his rookie 2017-18 season. Undrafted out of Nevada, Oliver, 22, earned All-Mountain West First Team and Defensive Player of the Year honors his final 2016-17 season.

Onuaku (6-10, 245) has logged six career games for the Houston Rockets over the past two seasons, averaging 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 12.3 minutes. Selected by the Rockets with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Louisville, Onuaku, 21, holds career NBA G League averages of 12.3 points (61.7% FG, 70.7% FT), 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.07 steals, 1.39 blocks and 26.8 minutes in 83 games (79 starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Payton II (6-3, 190) holds career NBA averages of 3.1 points (39.6% FG, 20.6% 3-PT, 42.9% FT), 1.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 11.0 minutes in 29 games (six starts) over the past two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. Payton II, 25, went undrafted out of Oregon State, where he was a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year winner and two-time First Team All-Pac-12 member.

In two NBA G League seasons split between Rio Grande Valley, the South Bay Lakers and Wisconsin Herd, Payton II averaged 15.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.00 steals and 31.7 minutes in 69 games (54 starts).

Oliver will wear No. 23, Onuaku will wear No. 21 and Payton II will wear No. 5 for Portland.

The Trail Blazers will tip-off their 2018-19 training camp on Monday, Sept. 24.

Lakers, Luol Deng agree to buyout

The Los Angeles Lakers yesterday (Saturday) requested waivers on forward Luol Deng. This after the team and Deng agreed to a contract buyout.

“We want to thank Luol for his time with the Lakers,” said Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka. “We made this move to further our future salary cap and roster flexibility, as we continue to build this Lakers team according to our current overall vision.”

Acquired as a free agent in 2016, Deng appeared in 57 career games (50 starts) for the Lakers, averaging 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 26.3 minutes.

According to ESPN.com, “Luol Deng agreed to a significant give-back of $7.5 million in his contract buyout with the Los Angeles Lakers, clearing $38 million in salary cap space for 2019 free agency, league sources told ESPN. The Lakers can now offer a free-agent star a maximum contract in July to partner with LeBron James. The Lakers are targeting the top players in a potentially starry 2019 marketplace, including Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard, Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler.”

And according to the Daily Breeze, “Deng was one of the Lakers’ dubious legacies from a spending whirlwind in the 2016 offseason, and the former Bulls, Cavaliers and Heat forward never produced as hoped in Los Angeles after signing a four-year, $72 million deal. He averaged just 7.5 points per game in 57 total contests, playing only once last season as the Lakers sought minutes for a young core under a new front-office regime.”