Inside Hoops – Page 1071 – NBA Blog

Magic trade Arron Afflalo to Nuggets

The Orlando Magic have acquired guard/forward Evan Fournier (forn-yay) and the draft rights to guard Roy Devyn Marble (56th overall pick) from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Arron Afflalo, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced tonight.

“We’re excited to welcome Evan (Fournier) and his family to Orlando,” said Hennigan. “We believe Evan’s intriguing blend of talent and skill will be a benefit to our backcourt and to the continued growth and development of our team. Roy had an outstanding collegiate career and we look forward to adding him to our team.”

“We’d like to thank Arron (Afflalo) for his two seasons here in Orlando,” continued Hennigan. “Arron is a consummate professional and competitor, and we certainly wish him all the best.”

Fournier (6’7”, 204, 10/29/92) played in 76 games last season with the Nuggets, averaging 8.4 ppg., 2.7 rpg. and 1.5 apg. in 19.8 minpg., while shooting .376 (89-237) from three-point range. He led (or tied) the team in scoring six times and in assists twice. Fournier scored in double figures 27 times and had 20+ points four times, including a career-high 27 points on Feb. 23 vs. Sacramento.

Originally selected by Denver in the first round (20th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft, Fournier has appeared in 114 career NBA regular season games, all with the Nuggets, averaging 7.4 ppg., 2.1 rpg. and 1.4 apg. in 16.9 minpg., while shooting .381 (111-291) from three-point range. He also played in four career playoff outings, averaging 4.8 ppg. and 1.0 apg. in 13.3 minpg.

Marble (6’6”, 200, 9/21/92) played in 136 career games during four years at the University of Iowa, averaging 12.5 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.29 stlpg. in 27.6 minpg. He ranks second on the school’s all-time games played list with 136. Marble also ranks in Hawkeyes’ history in scoring (fifth, 1,694 points), assists (sixth, 397) and steals (seventh, 176).

As a senior (2013-14), Marble played and started in 33 games, averaging 17.0 ppg., 3.6 apg., 3.2 rpg. and 1.82 stlpg. in 30.2 minpg. He was named First Team All-Big Ten after leading the team in scoring and ranked second in assists. Marble scored in double figures 27 times.

During his junior campaign (2012-13), Marble played and started in 37 games, averaging 15.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg., 3.0 apg. and 1.14 stlpg. in 30.5 minpg. He led the Hawkeyes in scoring and assists, and was named Third Team All-Big Ten.

Marble is the son of Roy Marble, a former NBA player and the all-time leading scorer in Iowa history.

Lakers trade for draft rights to Jordan Clarkson

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired the draft rights to Jordan Clarkson, selected 46th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, from the Washington Wizards in exchange for cash considerations, it was announced tonight by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Clarkson, a 6’5’’ junior guard from Missouri, was named Second Team All-SEC by the coaches in his lone season with the Tigers. An early entry candidate, Clarkson ranked among NCAA leaders in both free throws made (72nd) and percentage (101st), as well as field goals (51st) in 2013-14. The San Antonio, TX native spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Tulsa, where he was selected First Team All-Conference USA in 2011-12, following his C-USA All-Freshman team honors in 2010-11.

Knicks draft Cleanthony Early, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, trade for Louis Labeyrie

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, the team has drafted Cleanthony Early from Wichita State with the 34th overall selection and Thanasis Antetokounmpo from Athens, Greece and the Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League with the 51st overall selection. Both picks were acquired yesterday from Dallas.

Early, 6-8, 219-pounds, averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in 36 games for the Shockers last season. The Middletown, NY native was named to the All-Valley First Team as a junior and senior after being named the NJCAA Division III Player of the Year twice for Sullivan County Community College.

Antetokounmpo, 6-7, 215-pounds, averaged 12.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 50 games for the 87ers last season after playing professionally in Greece for two seasons.

In addition, the Knicks acquired the draft rights to Louis Labeyrie, the 57th overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft from Indiana for cash considerations. Labeyrie, 6-10, 200-pounds, is a 22-year-old Gonesse, France native who played professionally in his home country for the past three seasons.

Boston Celtics draft Marcus Smart, James Young

The Boston Celtics selected guard Marcus Smart with the fifth overall pick and guard/forward James Young with the 17th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Smart, a 6’4” guard, was selected with the sixth overall pick. He was a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, and was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team, USBWA All-District VI and NABC All-District 8 teams. Smart finished his two-year OSU career with 189 steals, the second-most in school history, and averaged 2.94 steals per game in his career, a school record. During his sophomore season at Oklahoma State he led the Cowboys with 18.0 points, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game. His 2.9 steals per game ranked third in the nation. Smart garnered All-America honors from the Associated Press (Honorable Mention) and NABC (Third Team).

Young, a 6’6” guard/forward, was selected with the 17th pick in the first round. Young was part of the Kentucky squad that finished runner-up for the 2014 NCAA National Championship. In the national championship game he posted a team-high 20 points and a game-high seven rebounds against Connecticut. He was selected to the All-Final Four Tournament Team and All-SEC Second Team. He was the second highest scorer on Kentucky this past season with 14.3 points and finished 10th in the SEC in three-point shooting connecting on 34.9 percent of his attempts. Young was also named to the All-SEC Freshman team and led the Wildcats with 82 three-pointers which was the seventh most in a single season in Kentucky history and second all-time for a freshman. Young increased his three-point accuracy during the NCAA tournament when he connected on 42.6 percent of his attempts and also shot 85.0 percent from the free throw line.

Nuggets, Bulls deal Gary Harris, Jusuf Nurkic, Anthony Randolph Doug McDermott in draft-day trade

The Denver Nuggets have acquired the draft rights to G Gary Harris and the draft rights to C Jusuf Nurkic from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for F Anthony Randolph and the draft rights to F Doug McDermott, General Manager/Executive Vice President Tim Connelly announced tonight.

As part of the deal, Denver also received a second-round pick in 2015.

Harris, 6-4, 210, was taken 19th overall after averaging 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a sophomore at Michigan State last season. He was an All-Big Ten selection and received honorable mention in the Associated Press All-America voting.

Harris, 19, started 67 of 69 games in his college career and became just the third player in Michigan State history to score 1,000 points in two seasons. He also was the Big 10 Freshman of the year after averaging 12.9 points in 2012-13.

Nurkic, 7-0, 280, was selected 16th overall. The 19-year-old big man averaged 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 28 games for Cedevita Zagreb of the Adriatic League in 2013-14.

In the second round, the Nuggets selected Nikola Jokic with the 41st overall pick. Jokic, 6-10, 254, averaged 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists for Mega Vizura Belgrade of the Serbian League last season.

Grizzlies trade for draft rights of Jarnell Stokes

The Memphis Grizzlies acquired the draft rights to University of Tennessee forward/center and native Memphian Jarnell Stokes, who was selected with the No. 35 overall pick in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, from the Utah Jazz for a 2016 second round draft pick, the team announced tonight.

Stokes (6-9, 263) played three collegiate seasons at the University of Tennessee, averaging 13.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.08 blocks on .530 shooting in 29.7 minutes in 87 games. The 20-year-old leaves the Volunteers ranked fourth in school history in double-doubles (40), eighth in total rebounds (836) and 14th in blocks (94). He led the Southeastern Conference in offensive rebounding in each of his final two years in Knoxville.

A First Team All-SEC selection as a junior last season, Stokes posted 15.1 points and a conference-best 10.6 rebounds on .531 shooting in 32.4 minutes in 37 games, guiding Tennessee to three NCAA Tournament victories and a trip the the Sweet 16. He upped his averages to 18.0 points and 12.8 rebounds in four tournament games, including a 26-point, 14-rebound performance on March 21, 2014 vs. Massachusetts.

Stokes was named Second Team All-SEC after posting 12.4 points and 9.6 rebounds on .528 shooting in 28.8 minutes in 33 games as a sophomore and earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors after averaging 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds on .534 shooting in 25.6 minutes in 17 games in his first collegiate season.

Magic, Sixers trade Elfrid Payton, Dario Saric on draft night

The Orlando Magic have acquired the draft rights to guard Elfrid Payton (10th overall pick) from Philadelphia in exchange for the draft rights to Dario Saric (12th overall pick), a second round pick in 2015 and a future first round pick (the pick that was acquired by Orlando from Philadelphia in the Dwight Howard trade), General Manager Rob Hennigan announced tonight.

Payton (6’3”, 190, 2/22/94) played in 100 career games during three years at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, averaging 14.3 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 4.9 apg. and 1.97 stlpg. in 31.6 minpg. He is the school’s all-time leader in steals with 197.

As a junior (2013-14), Payton played and started all 35 games, averaging a team-high 19.2 ppg., 6.0 rpg., 5.9 apg. and 2.29 stlpg. in 35.9 minpg., while shooting .509 (237-466) from the floor. He led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 23-12 record and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005. Payton was named the 2013-14 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year and a Lou Henson All-American. He earned First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors for the second straight season and was the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Payton led the conference in steals for the second straight year with 80. He scored 20+ points 14 times, had 30-or-more points four times and attempted a school-record 302 free throws (second in the nation). Payton was also one of only ten NCAA Division I players to record a triple-double with 34 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on Jan. 4 vs. Lousiana-Monroe.

During his sophomore season (2012-13), Payton played and started all 33 games, averaging a team-high 15.9 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 5.5 apg. and 2.42 stlpg. in 35.5 minpg., earning First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. He was the only player in NCAA Division I to average 15.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 5.0 apg. and 2.00 stlpg. Payton led the Sun Belt Conference in assists and steals, ranked second in minutes played, third in scoring, fifth in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.60) and ninth in field goal percentage (.475).

As a freshman (2011-12), Payton played in all 32 games (11 starts), averaging 7.2 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 3.0 apg. and 1.16 stlpg. in 22.7 minpg., leading the team in assists.

Zach LaVine drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves tonight selected guard Zach LaVine from UCLA with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

LaVine, a 6-5 guard, appeared in all 37 games, making one start, as a freshman at UCLA this past season. He averaged 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, earning Pac 12 All-Freshman honors. He connected on 37.5% from three-point range, finishing the year with 48 made three-pointers, the second-highest made three-pointers by a UCLA freshman in school history. LaVine scored in double figures in 17 games, including nine of his first 10 contests.

Originally from Seattle, Wash., LaVine was a three-year varsity basketball letterwinner at Bothell High School. He was named the 2013 Associated Press Washington state player of the year after averaging 28.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a senior. His play earned him Class 4A All-State honors, in addition to being named Washington’s Mr. Basketball by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association.

Orlando Magic draft Aaron Gordon 4th overall

The Orlando Magic selected forward Aaron Gordon in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft.

Gordon (6’9”, 225, 9/16/95) played and started in all 38 games during his only season at the University of Arizona, averaging 12.4 ppg., 8.0 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.03 blkpg. in 31.2 minpg. He helped the Wildcats to a 33-5 record, a Pac-12 regular season championship and an Elite Eight appearance in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Gordon led Arizona in rebounding (seventh in conference), while ranking second in both scoring and blocked shots (11th in conference).

Gordon was named First Team All-Pac-12 and the 2013-14 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Gordon also earned Third Team All-American honors by The Sporting News and Honorable Mention by The Associated Press. He was one of six finalists for the Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year Award.

Andrew Wiggins selected first in 2014 NBA Draft

With the first pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected… Andrew Wiggins.

Hopefully Cavs star Kyrie Irving is pleased with the selection. Wiggins was expected to go in the two few picks, and was a strong favorite to go first overall, so this is not a surprise.

Here’s Wiggins, in the black/white blazer, black bow tie and a smile: