Day: July 20, 2017

Pelicans sign Rajon Rondo

Pelicans sign Rajon Rondo

The New Orleans Pelicans today announced that the team has signed free agent guard Rajon Rondo.

“We are excited to welcome Rajon to the New Orleans Pelicans,” said Pelicans Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Dell Demps. “Throughout his NBA career, Rajon has showed that he’s a great competitor, leader and teammate with significant playoff experience.”

A four-time NBA All-Star and member of the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics, Rondo has appeared in the postseason seven times, including two NBA Finals appearances, with playoff career averages of 14.4 points, 9.1 assists and 6.0 rebounds in 37.9 minutes throughout 96 playoff contests (all starts),

Rondo (6-1, 186 lbs) appeared in 69 games for the Chicago Bulls in the 2016-17 season, averaging 7.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per contest.

Originally drafted by Phoenix with the 21st overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft, Rondo has played in 714 career NBA contests with Boston, Dallas, Sacramento and Chicago, holding averages of 10.7 points, 8.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

Jazz sign Eric Griffin to two-way contract

jazz

The Jazz have signed center/forward Eric Griffin to a two-way contract.

Griffin (6-8, 205, Campbell) competed with the Jazz during both the 2017 Utah Jazz Summer League in Salt Lake City and NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In three games in Salt Lake City, Griffin averaged 8.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 17.8 minutes per game while shooting .588 percent from the field. He displayed steady improvement once the team arrived to Las Vegas, averaging 10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.0 blocks in 25.5 minutes over four games (one start), including two double-doubles.

Prior to summer league, the Orlando, Fla., native most recently competed for Hapoel Galil Gilboa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, where he averaged 14.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 31.7 minutes per game this past season.

Additionally, Griffin has international experience playing in the United Arab Emirates, where he helped lead Al-Nasr Dubai SC to the 2015-16 Cup Final, as well as Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Italy. Stateside, he spent the 2014-15 season with the (now) NBA G League’s Texas Legends, where he was selected as an All-Star and chosen to the All-League Third Team and All-League Defensive Second Team after posting 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 49 games (48 starts). Griffin has also attended NBA training camps with Miami (2013), Dallas (2014) and Detroit (2015)

Griffin finished his collegiate career at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., where in just two seasons (2010-12) he finished as the school’s career field goal percentage leader (.559) and ranked third on the Camels’ all-time blocks list with 134 rejections. As a senior he averaged 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.4 blocks in 30.3 minutes and was selected All-Big South First Team. He also competed at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn., and Garden City Community College in Kansas before arriving at Campbell.

The 2017-18 season will mark the first year NBA teams can utilize two-way contracts. Teams will be permitted to carry two such players on their roster in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. Utah’s two-way players will spend time with the team’s exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team, the Salt Lake City Stars, as well as the Jazz, but no more than 45 days in the NBA, not including any time prior to the start of the Stars’ training camp and at the conclusion of the season. Griffin becomes the first Jazz player to sign a two-way contract.

Heat re-sign Udonis Haslem

Heat re-sign Udonis Haslem

The Miami Heat have re-signed forward Udonis Haslem.

“It is a great, great, day to have Udonis Haslem sign a contract for his 15th season with the Miami HEAT,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He isn’t just Mr. 305, he is a true patriarch of the team. Today we are proud to announce that he is back to lead the HEAT again.”

Haslem, a three-time NBA Champion, has played his entire 14-year NBA career with the HEAT and currently holds the fourth-longest streak by any active player with only one team in the league. He has appeared in 830 career regular season games (498 starts) averaging 7.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 25.7 minutes while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 75.6 percent from the foul line. Last season he came off the bench in all 16 regular season games in which he saw action and averaged 1.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 8.1 minutes. The Miami native is the franchise all-time leader in offensive, defensive and total rebounds and also ranks among the HEAT’s all-time leaders in games played (2nd), starts (2nd), minutes (2nd), double-doubles (3rd), field goals made (5th), field goals attempted (6th), points (7th), field goal percentage (7th), free throws made (8th), free throws attempted (8th), double-figure scoring efforts (8th), blocks (9th), steals (10th), assists (16th) and free throw percentage (18th). Additionally, he is the only undrafted player in NBA history to lead a franchise in total rebounds.

Haslem has also seen action in 147 postseason games (84 starts) as a member of the HEAT and has averaged 5.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 21.7 minutes while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 71.3 percent from the foul line. In addition to being the HEAT’s all-time leader in offensive rebounds in postseason play he also ranks among Miami’s all-time postseason leaders in games played (2nd), total rebounds (2nd), games started (3rd), minutes (3rd), defensive rebounds (3rd), double-doubles (4th), field goals made (5th), field goals attempted (5th), free throws made (5th), steals (5th), dunks (5th), points (6th), free throws attempted (6th), double-figure scoring efforts (tied-6th), blocked shots (7th) and assists (10th).

Haslem has served as captain of the HEAT each of the past 10 seasons, the longest tenure in franchise history, and enters the 2017-18 season just 25 games short from tying the all-time franchise record for games played.

Nets sign Jarrett Allen

Nets sign Jarrett Allen

The Brooklyn Nets have signed Jarrett Allen, the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, to a multi-year contract.

Allen (6’11”, 234) spent one season (2016-17) at the University of Texas, appearing in 33 games and recording averages of 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 32.1 minutes per contest. He led his team in rebounding, blocked shots and minutes played while ranking second in scoring. Allen shot 56.6 percent (179-of-316) overall from the field, reaching double figures in scoring 25 times and in rebounding on 14 occasions.

The Round Rock, Texas, native recorded 12 double-doubles on the year (tied for third-most by a freshman in UT history), including eight in Big 12 Conference play. He ranked fourth on the school’s all-time chart in total rebounds (278) and rebounding average (8.4) by a freshman. Following the season, Allen was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team and to the league’s all-newcomer list.

Celtics sign Daniel Theis

The Boston Celtics have signed rookie center Daniel Theis.

Theis (6-9, 243 lbs) has played professionally in Germany since 2010-11, most recently with Brose Bamberg which he joined at the start of the 2014-15 season. The Saltzgitter, Germany native played in 74 games across the Basketball Bundesliga League (BBL), Euroleague and German Cup in 2016-17. He averaged 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.24 blocks and 18.9 minutes in 41 BBL games, and was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Theis, who was eligible for the 2013 NBA Draft but went undrafted, also appeared in 30 games for Brose Bamberg during the 2016-17 Euroleague campaign where he averaged 9.6 points (41.0% 3-pt) and 4.6 rebounds in 19.7 minutes.

A three-time Beko BBL All-Star, Theis is the first German-born player to have signed a contract with the Celtics. Theis has appeared in 12 games for for the German National Team.

Celtics sign Guerschon Yabusele

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed 2016 first round draft pick Guerschon Yabusele.

Yabusele, selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, spent last season with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League. The native of Dreux, France started the season with Shanghai and appeared in 43 games where he averaged 20.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.35 steals and 1.05 blocks in 30.3 minutes per game. He also shot 52.7 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from three. After he appeared in 43 games for Shanghai he moved to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League on March 29 and appeared in a total of seven games for the Red Claws including their playoff run. During the five games of the 2017 G League Playoffs he averaged 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and shot 49.0 percent from the floor in 27.3 minutes per game.