Trail Blazers sign Phil Pressey and Cliff Alexander

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed guard Phil Pressey and forward Cliff Alexander, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.

Pressey, 24, holds NBA averages of 3.1 points (33.3% FG, 35.7% 3-PT, 66.0% FT), 1.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 125 games (11 starts) over the past two seasons with the Boston Celtics.

Undrafted out of Missouri, Pressey (5-11, 175) averaged career highs in scoring (11.9 ppg) and assists (7.0 apg) his junior 2012-13 season, finishing No. 13 nationally in assists per game on his way to First Team All-SEC and All-SEC tournament honors.

Also undrafted, Alexander, 19, averaged 7.1 points (56.6% FG, 67.1% FT), 5.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.32 blocked shots in one season at Kansas in 2014-15. His field goal percentage led Kansas and ranked fourth in the Big 12 last season.

The 2014 Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year, Alexander (6-8, 240) was a 2014 McDonald’s All-American, a member of Team USA at the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit and earned co-MVP honors at the 2014 Jordan Brand Classic.

Sixers sign guard Scottie Wilbekin

Sixers sign guard Scottie Wilbekin

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed guard Scottie Wilbekin.

Wilbekin was eligible for the 2014 NBA Draft following a standout career at Florida. As a senior, he was named SEC Player of the Year and earned Third Team All-America by the Associated Press. Wilbekin was also a two-time SEC All-Defensive selection and finished his career with 167 steals.

Last season, Wilbekin played 32 games for Cairns Taipans of the Australian National Basketball League and was named the club’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named First Team All-NBL after averaging 15 points, four assists, four rebounds and one steal per game with the Taipans. He later joined AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League, averaging eight points and four assists in nine games played.

Wilbekin competed for the Sixers in the 2014 Orlando Pro Summer League and the 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he finished second on the team in scoring with 14 points per game and averaged three 3-pointers made per game.

Hawks sign Lamar Patterson and Terran Petteway

Hawks sign Lamar Patterson and Terran Petteway

The Atlanta Hawks have signed guard/forwards Lamar Patterson and Terran Petteway (tur-RAN PET-uh-way), it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

Both players competed for the Hawks in the recently-completed NBA Las Vegas Summer League.

Patterson started all seven games for the summer Hawks, averaging team-bests of 13.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals while adding 5.1 rebounds in 25.8 minutes (.452 FG%, .375 3FG%).

Chosen by Milwaukee in the second round (48th overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft, he was acquired by the Hawks on draft night in exchange for a 2015 second round pick. Patterson played in 29 games last season for Tofas in Turkey, putting up 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.6 minutes.

The 6-foot-5 Patterson played at Pittsburgh from 2009-14, seeing action in a school-record 148 games (starting his final 106 contests). He was named All-Atlantic Coast Conference Second Team as a senior after averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 32.6 minutes (.441 FG%, .388 3FG%, .754 FT%) in 36 contests.

In Las Vegas, Petteway appeared in seven games (six starts) and averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 block in 26.0 minutes.

An early-entry candidate for the 2015 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-6 junior led Nebraska in scoring last season, averaging 18.2 points (fourth in the Big Ten) along with 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists (14th) and 1.1 steals (5th). Petteway was selected Third-Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media, also earning Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America accolades. He topped the Conference in scoring (18.2) as a sophomore, leading the Cornhuskers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998. Petteway began his college career at Texas Tech (2011-12) before transferring to Nebraska.

Mavericks sign John Jenkins and Jarrid Famous

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard John Jenkins and free agent forward Jarrid Famous.

Jenkins (6-4, 215) joins the Mavericks after spending the past three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks where he was drafted with their first round pick (23rd overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. In 98 career games (5 starts) as a Hawk, Jenkins averaged 5.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.8 minutes while shooting .451 from the floor, .375 from three-point range and .849 from the foul line.

As a standout Vanderbilt, Jenkins played three seasons for the Commodores before foregoing his senior year to enter the 2012 NBA Draft. He led the Southeastern Conference in scoring as both a sophomore and a junior and left Nashville as Vanderbilt’s 10th all-time leading scorer. In his final season as a Commodore, Jenkins averaged 19.9 points and tied the SEC single-season record with 134 made three-pointers. He was named First Team All-SEC and Third Team All-America.

Famous (6-11, 240) signs with Dallas after competing for the Washington Wizards at the 2015 Las Vegas NBA Summer League. In five games (all starts) for the Wizards’ summer league squad, he averaged 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 20.2 minutes.

Famous went undrafted out of South Florida in 2011. He spent the 2014-15 season with the Iowa Energy and Texas Legends of the NBA D-League, before signing with GlobalPort Batang Pier in the Philippines.

Carmelo Anthony may join August Team USA mini-camp

Here’s the New York Post reporting that Carmelo Anthony still has interest in Team USA, which is not involved in international competition this summer but is sorting itself out for 2016:

Carmelo Anthony may join August Team USA mini-camp

Carmelo Anthony chose not to come to Las Vegas to catch a Knicks summer league game or attend the Players Choice Awards or union meetings, but he will be descending on Sin City next month for the red, white and blue.

According to a source, Anthony has informed U.S. Olympic Team officials he will attend the Aug. 11-13 minicamp as the team gears up for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Anthony is still rehabbing from February’s left-knee surgery so he will not be a fully active participant, according to a source. Team USA CEO Jerry Colangelo has encouraged roster members to come to the minicamp even if they can’t play due to injury.