Month: October 2018

Kings sign Troy Williams to two-way contract

The Sacramento Kings have signed forward Troy Williams to a two-way contract.

In two NBA seasons, Williams has accrued averages of 6.2 points (.449 FG%, .290 3pt%, .661 FT%), 2.6 rebounds, .8 assists and 16.9 minutes per game in 51 played games with three teams; Memphis (2016-17), Houston (2016-18), and New York (2017-18).

An undrafted product out of the University of Indiana, Williams has appeared in 52 games and 32 starts in two seasons in the NBA G League and has averaged 16.7 points (.462 FG%, .332 3pt%, .742 FT%), 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 25.0 minutes per game for Iowa (2016-17) and Rio Grande Valley (2016-18). In 19 games during the 2017-18 season with Rio Grande, Williams accrued career-highs in points (19.8), field goal percentage (.462), three-point percentage (.333), rebounds (6.1), assists (2.2), steals (1.9), and minutes (29.0).

Kings scoring big, but so are opponents

In Kings Game 1 this season the team lost 123-117 to the Jazz. Willie Cauley-Stein led the team with 23 points, De’Aaron Fox scored 21, Buddy Hield 19 and Nemanja Bjelica 18. In Kings Game 2 this season, the squad lost 149-129 to the Pelicans. Cauley-Stein scored 20, Marvin Bagley had 19 off the bench, Fox scored 18, and Frank Mason off the bench had 18 as well. Here’s the Sacramento Bee with more:

The Kings’ plan to play at a high pace is showing on the scoreboard in the early going.

Sacramento is averaging 123 points and has shot better than 50 percent in both regular-season games. However, their opponents are also scoring at a high level while shooting with accuracy…

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said the team’s offense isn’t an issue and the high number of points being scored against them is a result of faster play, which has also led to a lot of fouls. Sacramento was whistled 26 times Friday, just one more than New Orleans.

“With pushing the pace, that means both teams are going to get more possessions,” Fox said. “Right now, we are getting a lot of fouls and putting the team on the free-throw line a lot. That’s definitely affecting our defense.”

The speed of the game also suits what the Pelicans want to do, coach Alvin Gentry said.

“I think we’ve got to lock in a little more defensively, but I want us to play at that pace,” he said. “More so than anything, I think we did a good job of finding the hot hand. When (Nikola Mirotic) got going, we ran a lot of good stuff with him.”

Boban Marjanovic scores 13 points in 16 minutes for Clippers

Whenever Boban Marjanovic makes an appearance on the court, it’s a fun event. And it needs to happen more often, because he has a habit of scoring around a point per minute when he gets to string a bunch of minutes together. At least, that’s what it feels like. Normally we’d go check the stats and give an exact number, but in this case just enjoy the magic of the Boban and read what happened yesterday. Here’s the OC Register reporting:

Trust him, Coach Doc Rivers told his Clippers before Friday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they’ve got stuff worth sticking to.

In a 108-92 victory against the Thunder – who were without superstar guard Russell Westbrook, who continued his recovery from arthroscopic right knee surgery – the Clippers looked secure in their sets until they didn’t … and then they did again when it mattered most.

The coalescing that needed to hurry and happen for the Clippers (1-1) to close out games was found Friday, at least, with a lineup that featured Luc Mbah a Moute, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lou Williams, Boban Marjanovic and Tobias Harris, whose 14 fourth-quarter points led the late charge before 14,816 fans at Staples Center…

After being mostly stymied in three minutes of first-half action, Marjanovic entered the game late in the third quarter to cause some of the havoc Clippers fans have come to love from him.

The 7-foot-3 center plucked five rebounds off the rim and scored 13 points in 15 minutes, picking up for Gallinari, who cheered enthusiastically from the bench alongside fellow starters Bradley and Patrick Beverley.

Jonas Jerebko hits game-winner for Warriors

When you think of big game-winning plays for the Warriors, Jonas Jerebko probably isn’t the first name you had in mind. But life is unpredictable sometimes. Learn to accept this. And, here’s the Deseret News reporting:

As Jonas Jerebko was out shooting warmup shots 90 minutes before Friday night’s Utah-Golden State game, all eyes were glued to another guy, one Steph Curry.

Jerebko was all business as he fired up shots from every angle, but he couldn’t help but grin when a couple of women near mid-court unfurled a big blue-and-yellow Swedish flag.

A few minutes later, while hordes of fans leaned over the rails to try to get autographs from Curry as he exited the court, only a handful asked for Jerebko’s signature.

A couple of hours later, Jerebko was all smiles as he of all players was the one who broke Jazz players hearts with a tip-in off a Kevin Durant miss with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 124-123 victory in the home opener for Utah.

–

Lakers sign Johnathan Williams to two-way contract, waive Travis Wear

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Johnathan Williams to a two-way contract. And in a related move, the team has waived forward Travis Wear.

Williams (6-9, 230) played in all six preseason games for the Lakers, averaging 6.8 points (.516 FG%) and 4.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have up to two players under two-way contracts on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. The Lakers roster remains at 16, including two two-way players.

Pacers sign Davon Reed to two-way contact, waive C.J. Wilcox

The Indiana Pacers have signed Davon Reed to a two-way contract.

Also, the team has waived C.J. Wilcox.

Reed, a 6-5, 208-pound guard, played 21 games for the Phoenix Suns during the 2017-18 season. In those 21 games he averaged 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Reed also spent time with the Suns G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, during the 2017-18 season. In his 12 games in the G League, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Reed played collegiately at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the second round (32nd overall pick) of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Nuggets and head coach Michael Malone agree to contract extension

The Denver Nuggets and Head Coach Michael Malone have agreed to a contract extension, Vice Chairman of KSE Josh Kroenke and President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Malone led the Nuggets to a 46-36 record in 2017-18, their best overall record since 2013. Since Malone took over prior to the 2015-16 season, the Nuggets have improved on their win total by a total of 16 wins (+3 after first season, +7 after second and +6 after third), making Denver one of three teams in the NBA to increase their win total in each of the last three seasons (Minnesota and Boston).

With Malone at the helm, the Nuggets have become one of the top offensive teams in the NBA. Denver finished the 2017-18 season with the sixth best offensive rating, including being ranked first overall from February 1st through the end of the season. It also marked the second straight season with a top-six rated offense after finishing 20th in 2015-16. The team also set a new franchise record for made three-pointers in a season (940) during the 2017-18 campaign. They ranked sixth in the NBA in made three-pointers per game and seventh in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage. The Nuggets have also finished top-five in assists per game in each of the last two seasons.

Through 247 games as Denver’s head coach, Malone has compiled a record of 120-127 (.486), ranking him fifth in franchise history in wins among head coaches. He holds a career regular season record of 159-194 (.450) over five seasons with Denver and Sacramento.

Pelicans add Tim Frazier, waive Troy Williams

Pelicans add Tim Frazier, waive Troy Williams

The New Orleans Pelicans have claimed guard Tim Frazier off waivers. And in a subsequent move, the team has waived forward Troy Williams.

Frazier, 6-1, 170, appeared in four preseason games for Milwaukee, averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists before subsequently being waived on October 15.

This will be Frazier’s second stint in New Orleans, after originally joining the club on March 16, 2016. In 81 career games with New Orleans, Frazier has averaged 8.3 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals. Undrafted out of Penn State in 2014, Frazier has appeared in 186 career regular season games with Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans and Washington, holding averages of 5.2 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds.

Williams, 6-7, 218, appeared in four preseason contests for New Orleans, averaging 8.5 points and 1.0 rebounds.

New Orleans’s roster now stands at 16 players.

Suns sign Jamal Crawford, waive Davon Reed

The Phoenix Suns today signed guard Jamal Crawford. The team has also waived guard Davon Reed.

The Suns are young, rebuilding team that is focused on the future. In a limited role off the bench, Crawford can help the team’s second unit. He’s also a positive influence, has a good head on his shoulders, and other signed as a player definitely should be able to help coach young teammates progress in the right direction. He just needs to be more cautious about his shot selection, now more than ever.

Crawford, an 18-year NBA veteran, is the only three-time winner of the Sixth Man of the Year Award (2009-10, 2013-14, 2015-16) and also won the NBA’s Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award in 2017-18. Crawford ranks fifth in NBA history with 2,153 career three-pointers, 30th with 1,262 games played and 57th with 18,906 career points; his 10,766 career points in a reserve role are second-most in the NBA over the past 35 years behind only Dell Curry. Crawford is the NBA’s all-time leader with 53 career four-point plays.

For his career, the 38-year-old has averaged 15.0 points, 3.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 34.9 percent from three-point range in 18 seasons with seven teams: Chicago (2000-2004), New York (2004-2008), Golden State (2008-09), Atlanta (2009-2011), Portland (2011-12), the LA Clippers (2012-2017) and Minnesota (2017-18). A career 86.2 percent shooter from the free throw line (37th-best in NBA history), Crawford led the league by shooting 92.7 percent from the stripe with the Trail Blazers in 2011-12. He owns three career games scoring 50-plus points, including a career-high 52 points with the Knicks against Miami on Jan. 26, 2007, and is one of four players in NBA history to score at least 50 points with three different teams along with Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Bernard King and Moses Malone.

The 6-5, 185-pound guard joins the Suns after playing last season with Minnesota where he helped the Timberwolves reach the NBA Playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Crawford was Minnesota’s leading scorer off the bench, averaging 10.3 points in 80 appearances during the regular season and 11.8 points in five postseason games.

Crawford has appeared in the postseason eight times for his career, including each of the last six seasons, averaging 14.3 points, 2.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 74 playoff games. He has been a member of four teams that have reached the Conference Semifinals.

Originally selected with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft by Cleveland, Crawford joined the NBA following one season at the University of Michigan. Born in Seattle, he attended Rainier Beach High School and remains active in giving back to the community in his hometown and beyond.

Reed was selected by the Suns with the 32nd overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft and averaged 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds in 21 games as a rookie last season.

The team’s roster currently stands at 16 players.

All eyes on Kawhi Leonard as season begins

Eyes around the league will be on the Raptors as the new season begins, partially because they’re a good team but primarily to see how Kawhi Leonard looks wearing his new uniform. And how he plays in that uniform. Mostly how he plays. Here’s the Toronto Star discussing the talk of the town up North:

If one was to lock a group of mad basketball scientists in a room and tell them to design the kind of player they’d want for the current NBA era, it’s not hard to figure what they would eventually come up with.

They’d want someone “long” to use one of the euphemisms of the day, lanky with arms that hang down around the knees, a 6-foot-7 frame that’s at the same time muscular and lithe.

They’d want someone capable of defending multiple positions and playing them on offence, a wing who could check some bigs, a big who could score against slower players and physically dominate smaller ones. Someone who can shoot three-pointers and attack the basket because multi-faceted is the way the game is going.

They’d want someone who can be considered low maintenance, someone “coachable” who can be plugged into a system and thrive.

It wouldn’t take long for those great minds to come up with what they want and they’d emerge unscathed and with a player in mind.

A player like Kawhi Leonard.

Full article