The Sacramento Kings waived center Deyonta Davis today.
In two seasons with Memphis, Davis has accrued averages of 4.3 points (.593 FG%, .640 FT%), 3.2 rebounds and 12.1 minutes.
Month: September 2018
Bogdan Bogdanovic will undergo knee surgery
Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic exited Serbia’s 91-65 World Cup Qualifying victory over Estonia on Monday after experiencing left knee discomfort early in the first quarter. Further evaluation revealed a minor injury to his left knee.
On Monday, a minor arthroscopic procedure is scheduled at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, to be performed by Dr. Riley Williams.
The Kings expect Bogdanovic to make a full recovery.
Raptors sign Eric Moreland
The Toronto Raptors have signed center Eric Moreland.
Moreland, 6-foot-10, 238 pounds, owns career averages of 2.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 11.0 minutes in 78 NBA games with Sacramento and Detroit. He is shooting .543 (70-129) from the field and has scored in double digits three times.
A native of Houston, Texas, Moreland averaged 2.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 12.0 minutes in 67 contests (three starts) with the Pistons last season. He recorded career highs of 16 points and 17 rebounds in 41 minutes Apr. 11 at Chicago.
Moreland played four collegiate seasons at Oregon State (2010-14). He averaged 7.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 25.0 minutes in 89 career games. Moreland left as the school’s all-time leader in total blocks (184) and ranked fifth in total rebounds (762).
Pacers sign Omari Johnson, Ben Moore and Elijah Stewart; C.J. Wilcox out for season
The Indiana Pacers have signed free agents Omari Johnson, Ben Moore and Elijah Stewart to contracts.
The players are likely just training camp additions.
Additionally, guard C.J. Wilcox, who was signed to a two-way contract in August, suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during an offseason workout. Wilcox underwent successful surgery to repair the tendon and will miss the entire 2018-19 regular season.
Timberwolves coaching staff additions and promotions
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced additions to the team’s coaching staff for the upcoming season, naming Malik Allen and Larry Greer as Assistant Coaches, Pat Zipfel as Advance Scout, and Brian Randle as Assistant Video Coordinator.
The team also announced it has promoted Daisuke Yoshimoto to Special Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations/Player Development Coach, Steve Molina to Video Coordinator and Kwadzo Ahelegbe to Assistant Video Coordinator.
Allen joins the Timberwolves after spending the last four seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Detroit Pistons. He finished a 10-year playing career in 2011, having played in 478 career games with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Milwaukee, New Jersey and Orlando. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game during his playing career. A native of Willingboro, N.J., Allen played four years at Villanova University.
Greer moves to the Timberwolves bench after spending last season as the team’s Advance Scout. His NBA career has included stops in Houston (2005-07), Portland (2007-12) and Oklahoma City (2015-17). Greer’s background also includes 17 seasons as an Assistant Coach in the college ranks with stops at Arizona State University (2012-15), Boston University (1994-2003), Brandeis University (1989-92) and Wright State University (2003-05). His brother, Andy, is also an assistant on Coach Thibodeau’s staff.
Zipfel rejoins the Timberwolves after spending the last three seasons as the Head Coach at Mansfield University. Zipfel’s career has included stints as Advance Scout under Coach Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls from 2013-15. Prior to joining Thibodeau’s staff with the Bulls, Zipfel was an Advance Scout on Rick Adelman’s staff with the Timberwolves. His NBA career has also included stops with the Houston Rockets (2007-11), Portland Trail Blazers (2004-07) and L.A. Clippers (2000-03).
Randle joins the Timberwolves’ video department after spending the last 10 seasons overseas playing professionally in Germany, Israel and Italy, including reaching the Eurocup Final Four with Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem in Israel last season. Randle was a student-athlete at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, being named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in 2006.
Yoshimoto has spent the last two seasons as Special Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations. He joined the Timberwolves in 2016 after working in the video departments in Chicago, Denver and New Jersey.
Molina started with the Timberwolves prior to last season after working as an intern with the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers. A graduate from Marquette University, Molina was a student manager during his four years in Milwaukee.
Ahelegbe joined the Timberwolves prior to last season after playing professionally overseas after college. A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Ahelegbe was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2011.
Heat name Anthony Carter Player Development Coach
The Miami HEAT have added Anthony Carter to their coaching staff, as Player Development Coach.
He will be involved in all aspects of player development for the HEAT and implementing Miami’s player development and mentorship programs with the HEAT’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The former HEAT guard was recently an assistant coach with the Skyforce the last two seasons after serving as assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings (2015-16) and the Austin Spurs (2013-15). Carter, whose career spanned 13 years and 623 games (181 starts), spent his first four NBA seasons with the HEAT, appearing in 246 regular season games (80 starts). He helped Miami to a pair of postseason appearances where he set the record for the most assists in a three-game series against the Detroit Pistons in the 2000 First Round matchup. After his stint in Miami, he went on to play with San Antonio, Minnesota, Denver, New York and Toronto.
Luke Walton will be given time as Lakers transform
When you add LeBron James to a team, it doesn’t automatically mean the squad will instantly start winning and have no growing pains. Chances are, the Lakers will win more than they lose early on, but as new key players learn to play with each other, there will be winning streaks but also some losing. One step back, two steps forward, on and on. Here’s ESPN.com reporting that Magic Johnson understand this, and won’t hold it against head coach Luke Walton if there are some early-season bumps:
Saying he understands that the revamped Los Angeles Lakers will need time to mesh, Magic Johnson said he told head coach Luke Walton not to worry if the team gets off to a bumpy start this season.
“As I was talking to Luke [with GM Rob Pelinka], we said don’t worry about if we get out to a bad start,” Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, said Thursday as the team’s brass met with the media. “We have seen that with LeBron [James] going to Miami, and we have seen that when he came back to Cleveland. He is going to struggle because there are so many new moving parts. But eventually we are going to get it, and we are going to be really a good team.”
The Lakers added veterans such as James, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley in free agency to go with a young developing core of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. In addition to adding multiple players who have been at their best with the ball in their hands, the Lakers injected their locker room with some strong and unique personalities.
On the role of Dirk Nowitzki this season
Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki, whose career is winding down and his role continues to diminish:
His role on the court won’t change a bit. He’ll still be featured in the pick-and-pop and the spot-up shooting roles. And the one-legged fadeaway that he pioneered will come out of mothballs every so often. What is unknown is at what points Nowitzki will be on the court during the course of games. His 22 to 24 minutes of playing time could come at the start of each half, but that would mean either Wesley Matthews assumes the sixth man role or Luka Doncic isn’t starting. And if Doncic isn’t a starter, something has gone haywire. It might make sense to bring Nowitzki off the bench as the sixth man, pairing him with J.J. Barea and maybe another guard to be named. That grouping has always been very effective. But no matter what, season No. 21 will be a celebration of Nowitzki’s basketball life. It seems likely to be his last. Maybe.
On Warriors forward-center Kevon Looney
Here’s NBC Sports Bay Area with a look at what Kevon Looney’s role on the Warriors may be in 2018-19:
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With new acquisition DeMarcus Cousins expected to rehab well into the regular season, there is open competition at center that includes Looney. Though he’s likely to earn some starts at center, he’s more likely to be used as a reserve big man in a small lineup. His offense has been spotty, but there is reason to anticipate improvement. He’s smart and operates well within the team’s switching defensive schemes, gaining the trust of his teammates. As long as he is healthy, though, Looney will get minutes.
Doc Rivers discusses the state of the Clippers
Here’s the Daily Breeze reporting what Clippers coach Doc Rivers had to say about his squad as the 2018-19 season approaches:
Instead of teeing it up on a golf course, Doc Rivers spent Wednesday morning on a terrace at the Clippers Training Center, sipping coffee and explaining to reporters why, entering his sixth season as the Clippers coach, he’s so excited about the challenge that his job presents.
“I could’ve stayed in Boston and been safe, but you want the challenge, and I looked at the Clippers as the ultimate challenge,” said Rivers, who was joined Wednesday by Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations.
“Historically, we’ve had some shaky (times),” Rivers continued. “But lately we’ve been really good, we just haven’t been the best. And my two goals are, one, to win a title, and two, when you hear that (Clippers) name, you think very positive.
“When you hear free agents and they say, ‘L.A.,’ they’re just not meaning the other team. Five, six years ago, you didn’t hear that, but now … when people say, ‘I want to go to L.A.,’ they mean both teams. And sometimes they mean only our team. To me, that’s a level of success that tells you that we’re doing something right here.”