September 2018 – Page 4 – NBA Blog

Klay Thompson impressed by Celtics

Every once in a while, an NBA player on a good team will actually name other good teams when asked. Not always. But here’s Boston.com reporting what Warriors SG Klay Thompson had to say:

The Celtics aren’t the only ones who like the team they’ve built in Boston.

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is a fan, too.

“I like the team out East in Boston,” Thompson told ESPN during Warriors media day on Monday. “They’ve got a very nice young team. One through five, man, they’ve got a team that kind of mirrors ours, as far as their length, guys who can shoot and play defense, and an unselfish way about things. So, I think that they are going to be a team to reckon with.”

Full article

On Dwight Howard and the Wizards

The Wizards center spot used to be manned by Marcin Gortat, but now the job belongs to Dwight Howard. What’s the realistic impact Dwight may have? Here’s NBC Sports Washington reporting:

As the Wizards opened training camp this week at the Medstar Performance Center in Southeast Washington, head coach Scott Brooks’ first message to his team was about defense and how he believes they can make a significant leap this season. Part of his thinking is rooted in the fact they added Dwight Howard through free agency this summer, as Howard gives them a level of rim protection they have not enjoyed in years.

It also wasn’t that long ago that the Wizards were a top-shelf defensive team. When Washington first began making playoff runs with John Wall and Bradley Beal running the show, they were an above average team on defense. From the 2012-13 season through 2014-15, they were top 10 in points allowed.

Their roster has changed significantly from those days and some of their best defenders like Trevor Ariza moved on. But last year they were 15th in defensive rating and 15th in points allowed, and Brooks feels a jump into the top 10 isn’t out of the question.

Howard himself believes they can be even better than that.

Full article

Pistons sign Chris McCullough

The Detroit Pistons signed forward Chris McCullough to their training camp roster today.

McCullough, 6-11, 200, has played in 59 career NBA games with the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards. Last season, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 19 games with Washington. He also averaged 11.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 12 games in the NBA G League with the Erie Bayhawks, Northern Arizona Suns and Wisconsin Herd last season.

McCullough was drafted 29th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets. He played collegiately at Syracuse University where he averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 16 games.

Hornets make multiple moves in basketball operations department

The Charlotte Hornets have added Nate Mitchell, George Rodman, Matt Carroll, Gary Sacks, Kevin Grevey, Anthony Gacona, Quinton Crawford and Alexander Powell to the team’s basketball operations staff. Additionally, Drew Perry, David Duquette, Jakub Kudlacek, Phil Park and Jon Moul have all been retained in new roles.

Nate Mitchell joins the Charlotte Hornets as an Assistant Coach, bringing four years of coaching experience at the G League level and international coaching experience with the Canadian Men’s National team. Mitchell most recently spent the last three seasons as an Assistant Coach of the Raptors 905, the Toronto Raptors G League affiliate. Prior to his experience with the Raptors 905, Mitchell spent one season as an assistant with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League. Mitchell began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Fresno State Men’s Basketball team.

George Rodman comes to the Charlotte Hornets for his first season as Director of Basketball Analytics & Strategy after spending five years with the Orlando Magic. While working in Orlando, Rodman held the position of Basketball Operations Manager and also served as the Erie Bayhawks’ General Manager. Prior to being in Orlando, Rodman spent four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs as a Basketball Statistical Analyst. Rodman graduated in 2006 from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management.

Matt Carroll enters his first season as Director of Player Programs/Player Development Assistant. Carroll brings ten years of NBA playing experience having spent seven seasons in Charlotte as well as time in Portland, San Antonio and Dallas. In his new role, Carroll will be responsible for player programs, player appearances and player development. Along with his new responsibilities, Carroll will continue in his role as a community ambassador and radio analyst for the team’s broadcasts on WFNZ.

Gary Sacks joins the Hornets as a Scout after previously working with the Los Angeles Clippers for more than 20 seasons. Sacks worked in a variety of scouting and basketball operations roles including rising to the team’s Vice President of Player Personnel from 2012 to 2014 and serving as the Assistant General Manager until 2017. Anthony Gacona returns to the team as a Scout, a role he previously served in from 2012 to 2015. Kevin Grevey joins the team as a Scout after previously having served as a Scout for the Los Angeles Lakers for the last 17 seasons.

Quinton Crawford joins the Hornets organization as the Head Video Coordinator. Prior to coming to Charlotte, Crawford spent two years with the Orlando Magic. He started as their Assistant Video Coordinator, and was promoted to Head Video Coordinator/Player Development a year later in August of 2017. Before Orlando, Crawford held the position of Assistant Video Coordinator for the Sacramento Kings. A former graduate assistant for Pepperdine University, Crawford was also a NBA Summer League intern in the summer of 2014. Crawford was a two-year letter winner for men’s basketball at the University of Arizona.

Alexander Powell joins the Hornets as a Basketball Analyst after finishing a four-year playing career at Kenyon College. In addition to his playing career, Powell worked as a Sports Information Statistician during his college tenure and previously interned for the Hornets as a Basketball Analytics Intern.

The Hornets Basketball Operations staff additions also include Justin Jordan, Brett Levy, Jackson Simmons and Jordan Surenkamp as Assistant Video Coordinators. Jordan joins the organization having recently completed his collegiate playing career at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Levy most recently served in a similar capacity with the Brooklyn Nets for three seasons and previously worked for the Mavericks as a Player Development Intern. Simmons joins the Hornets after serving last season as the Director of Basketball Operations for Western Carolina. Surenkamp joins the team having previously worked as a Video Coordinator for the Long Island Nets.

Additionally, Drew Perry has been retained as the Director of Pro Scouting, David Duquette has been retained as the Director of Basketball Strategy/Team Counsel. Jakub Kudlacek has been retained as the Director of International Scouting. Phil Park enters his first season as Coordinator of Basketball Operations and Jon Moul has been retained as a Basketball Operations Assistant.

Bulls sign JaKarr Sampson and Kaiser Gates

The Chicago Bulls have signed free agents Kaiser Gates and JaKarr Sampson to round out their 2018-19 training camp roster.

Gates (6-8, 227) played in three games on the Bulls’ 2018 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League team, averaging 6.7 points per game. Prior to his Summer League experience, Gates played three seasons at Xavier (2015-18), appearing in in 97 games (22 starts). He finished his career with an average of 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Gates’ statistical averages improved in each season at Xavier, averaging 7.2 points, 4.6 rebounds per game and scoring in double figures in 11 games in his final season. As a junior in 2017-18, his .378 shooting percentage from behind the arc ranked second on the Big East-champion Musketeers.

Sampson (6-9, 214) enters his fourth season in the NBA with career averages of 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 169 contests (78 starts). Sampson comes to Chicago after spending the 2017-18 season with the Sacramento Kings as a Two-Way player. He played in 22 games (6 starts) and averaged 4.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.00 blocks per game in 15.6 minutes per contest for the Kings. During his time in the G League, he played in 35 games (33 starts) for the Reno Bighorns. With Reno, Sampson put up averages of 17.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.06 steals in 28.7 minutes per game. A native of Cleveland, Sampson spent his first two NBA seasons with the 76ers and Nuggets after being named the 2013 Big East Rookie of the Year.

Warriors hire, promote multiple people in basketball operations department

The Golden State Warriors have announced promotions and additions within the team’s basketball operations department, including a pair of promotions on the coaching staff, elevating Bruce Fraser to Assistant Coach and Chris DeMarco to Assistant Coach / Director of Player Development.

Additional promotions include: Nick U’Ren as Director of Basketball Operations, Jonnie West as Director of Basketball Operations, James Laughlin as Director of Video Operations, Khalid Robinson as Special Assistant to the Head Coach, David Fatoki as Assistant Manager of Basketball Operations, Chloe Walkup as Assistant Manager of Basketball Operations, and Jacob Rubin as Basketball Operations Assistant.

The Warriors have also hired Mike Dunleavy Jr. as Pro Scout and Nick Kerr as Assistant Video Coordinator.

Along with the previously announced hiring of Rick Celebrini as Director of Sports Medicine and Performance, additions to the training staff include: Carl Bergstrom as Performance Coach, Gerry Ramogida as Performance Therapist and Brett Ballesteros as Assistant Athletic Trainer & Assistant Performance Coach. Additionally, Kyle Barbour has been promoted to Assistant Performance Coach while Drew Yoder (Head Athletic Trainer) and Roger Sancho (Assistant Athletic Trainer) return to the training staff.

Dunleavy Jr. enjoyed a 15-year NBA career that included four-plus seasons with the Warriors (2002-07), posting career averages of 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 27.7 minutes over 986 career regular season games. Originally selected by Golden State with the third overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, Dunleavy also spent time with the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks. He was named a Second Team All-American as a junior at Duke University in 2001-02 after helping the Blue Devils to an NCAA Championship in 2000-01.

Kerr joins the Warriors after spending last season as Quality Assurance Assistant for the San Antonio Spurs. Previously, Kerr served as a graduate assistant at the University of California, Berkeley, where he played his final collegiate season after three years at the University of San Diego.

Bergstrom enters his first season with the Warriors after spending five seasons as the Assistant Performance Coach for Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps. Bergstrom has held multiple performance roles in sports, from the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks to the Canadian Women’s Olympic Soccer Team. He has also worked with many individual professional and Olympic athletes in full-time and consulting capacities. Bergstrom earned his bachelor’s degree in human kinetics, kinesiology and exercise science as well as his Masters of Kinesiology from The University of British Columbia.

Ramogida joins the Warriors after serving as Director of Chiropractic for Fortius Sport & Health, an athletic development center located in British Columbia, and as a consultant for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He has been a member of the Canadian medical staff at the World Track and Field Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007) and Olympic Summer Games (2004, 2008) and worked for the United Kingdom Athletics team during the 2012 Olympics in London. Ramogida earned his Bachelors of Science from the University of British Columbia and his Doctor of Chiropractic from Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Ore.

Ballesteros joins the Warriors for a second stint after previously serving as Assistant Athletic Trainer during Golden State’s 2014-15 championship season. Following his season with the Warriors, he served as an athletic training intern with Stanford University’s football and track and field programs. Ballesteros earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Loyola Marymount University and is currently working on his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California.

Thunder sign K.J. McDaniels, Bryce Alford, Richard Solomon and Abdul Gaddy

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guards Bryce Alford, Abdul Gaddy, forward K.J. McDaniels and center Richard Solomon.

The signings are likely non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the players to Thunder training camp.

Alford (6-3, 185) spent the 2017-18 season with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League where he made a league-leading 186 three-pointers on the year, good for the second-most in NBAGL history. In his time with the Blue, the UCLA product appeared in 50 games (27 starts) and averaged 15.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30.9 minutes per game, shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Gaddy (6-3, 185) spent last season playing in Germany with s.Oliver Baskets where he appeared in 36 games (12 starts) and averaged 8.1 points, 4.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 0.92 steals in 25.0 minutes, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor. The Washington native also played three seasons in Latvia and Italy after spending the 2013-14 campaign with the Maine Red Claws of the NBAGL. In 46 games (32 starts) with Maine, he posted averages of 9.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 27.2 minutes while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 42.0 percent from long range.

McDaniels (6-6, 205) is a four-year NBA veteran, having spent time in Brooklyn, Houston and Philadelphia. In that time, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.1 minutes and saw action in four playoff contests with Houston in 2016. The Clemson product most recently played for the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBAGL during the 2017-18 season, appearing in 31 games and averaging 16.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.19 steals and 1.32 blocks in 27.4 minutes while shooting 48.7 percent from the field.

Solomon (6-11, 235) played with Usak Sportif in Turkey for the 2017-18 campaign, where in 19 games (three starts), he averaged 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor. Additionally, the California native spent time in France and Japan following a one-year stint with the Oklahoma City Blue in 2014-15. He appeared in 28 games (one start) with the Blue, posting averages of 8.5 points on 61.8 percent shooting and 6.9 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per contest.

Jazz hire Barnett Frank as Director of Performance Science

The Utah Jazz hire Barnett Frank as the Director of Performance Science to its performance healthcare staff.

Frank joins the Jazz most recently from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned a PhD in human movement science and worked as a post-doctoral research fellow. During his time in Chapel Hill, Frank worked closely with University of North Carolina athletics, researching and implementing cutting edge technology and techniques to help support their athletes’ performance, recovery and health, coordinated through the school’s Department of Exercise and Sports Science.

Prior to his tenure at North Carolina, the Bethel, Conn. native attended Indiana University, Bloomington where he graduated with a degree in kinesiology, specializing in athletic training.

In his new role as Director of Sports Science with the Jazz, Frank and the team’s performance healthcare staff will work on applying world-class performance science in order to enhance player readiness, recovery and rehabilitation.

Pistons sign Zach Lofton and Johnny Hamilton

The Detroit Pistons have signed Zach Lofton and Johnny Hamilton.

It’s likely that the signings are non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the players to training camp.

Lofton, 6-4, 180, played last season at New Mexico State where he averaged 20.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Hamilton, 7-0, 230, played his senior year at the University of Texas – Arlington and averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Hamilton set a UT-Arlington single-season record with 77 blocks last season.

Both Lofton and Hamilton were members of the Pistons’ 2018 NBA Summer League team.

Thunder hire Chris Fisher as TV play-by-play announcer

The Oklahoma City Thunder have hired Chris Fisher as their new TV play-by-play announcer. He will join Michael Cage, Lesley McCaslin, Nick Gallo, Antonio Daniels and John Rhadigan for the Thunder’s 70 game broadcasts on FOX Sports Oklahoma during the 2018-19 season.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Fisher comes to Oklahoma City from Los Angeles where he has been the radio voice for USC basketball for eight years as well as host for Trojan football broadcasts. Fisher’s television work includes basketball play-by-play for FOX Sports, the PAC 12 Network and Time Warner Cable. During his career, Fisher also worked in broadcasting for minor league baseball teams in Oregon and Virginia.

“Chris is an exciting addition to the Thunder family and our broadcast team. He is considered a rising star in sports broadcasting and we are thrilled to welcome him,” said Dan Mahoney, Thunder VP of Broadcasting. “Besides being an experienced, talented broadcaster with a passion for basketball, Chris is a first-rate person. We believe that on and off the air he will be an excellent representative of our team, our community and our partners at FOX Sports Oklahoma.”

“The incredible relationship between the Thunder and its fans is well recognized in professional sports. I am thankful the organization has put its faith in me and I look forward to continuing to promote this amazing partnership,” Fisher said.

Fisher’s initial broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma will be Sunday, Oct. 7 as the Thunder hosts the Atlanta Hawks in a 2 p.m. preseason game at the BOK Center in Tulsa. He will join the rest of the broadcast crew for the three other preseason games which will be streamed live via the Thunder Mobile App. Fisher will also appear during the Thunder’s live Media Day show, beginning at 12:30 today streaming on the Thunder App.

The Thunder’s 2018-19 broadcast schedule includes 70 games on FOX Sports Oklahoma and 12 national exclusives on ABC or TNT. All games are broadcast on radio with Matt Pinto on WWLS 98.1 FM The Sports Animal and the full statewide Thunder Radio Network.