Inside Hoops – Page 182 – NBA Blog

Celtics sign rookie J.D. Davison to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed 2022 second round draft pick J.D. Davison to a two-way contract.

Davison (6-3, 195), competed in 33 games (six starts) as a freshman at the University of Alabama in 2021-22, averaging 8.5 points on 46.3% shooting (30.1% 3-PT), 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 25.8 minutes. The Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team selection and two-time SEC Freshman of the Week led the team and ranked seventh in the SEC in assists, having tallied double-digit assists on two occasions.

A 19-year-old native of Montgomery, Alabama, Davison scored a collegiate career-high 20 points and made four three-point field goals in a Dec. 4 win against no. 3 Gonzaga. He tallied 11 points (5-9 FG) and nine assists in the team’s lone NCAA Tournament game against Notre Dame on March 18.

Celtics re-sign Luke Kornet

The Boston Celtics have re-signed forward/center Luke Kornet.

“We are thrilled that Luke chose to come back,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens. “Luke is a skilled big who can play off the roll or pop and is a good rim protector on defense. On top of that, he’s always added value as the consummate pro who puts team above self.”

Kornet, a 7’2” center/forward, appeared in 12 games for the Celtics during the 2021-22 season, averaging 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. He also made appearances for the Cavaliers and the Bucks where he totaled four points and four rebounds over 18 minutes in three contests. Kornet re-joined the Celtics on February 11, 2022 for the remainder of the season after his stops in Cleveland and Milwaukee. He also appeared in 21 games for the Maine Celtics during the 2021-22 season averaging 13.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.3 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game.

Celtics re-sign Sam Hauser

The Boston Celtics have re-signed forward Sam Hauser.

“We are very excited that Sam chose to continue his journey with us,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens. “He has a chance to make a real impact with his size, feel, and shooting – both stationary and on the move. He’s hard-working, unselfish, and competitive – a great combination for a young player.”

Hauser, a 6’8” forward, appeared in 26 games for the Celtics during the 2021-22 season when he averaged 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.1 minutes per game while shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three. Hauser began his rookie campaign with the Celtics as a two-way player, appearing in a total of 23 games for the Maine Celtics where he averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 34.3 minutes per game, while shooting 41.9 percent from three. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native had his two-way contract converted to a standard NBA contract on February 11, 2022, becoming the first Celtic two-way player to have his contract converted to a standard NBA contract during his rookie season.

Mavericks sign JaVale McGee

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent center JaVale McGee.

McGee (7-0, 270) holds career averages of 8.0 points (.576 FG%), 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 17.0 minutes per game in 821 games (336 starts) with Washington, Denver, Philadelphia, Dallas, Golden State, the L.A. Lakers, Cleveland and Phoenix.

The 15-year veteran spent the 2021-22 campaign with Phoenix and averaged 9.2 points (.629 FG%), 6.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 15.8 minutes in 74 games (17 starts) for a Suns team that won an NBA-best 64 games during the regular season.

McGee returns for his second stint with Dallas after he appeared in 34 games (2 starts) for the Mavericks in 2015-16 and averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10.9 minutes.

The three-time NBA champion (2017, 2018, 2020) won his most recent title as a member of the Lakers, whose squad featured Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd as its lead assistant and Mavericks Assistant Coach Jared Dudley as a player. McGee was also a member of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team that won gold in Tokyo last summer.

A native of Flint, Michigan, McGee was selected by Washington with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft after two seasons at the University of Nevada. As a sophomore, he was a Second Team All-WAC honoree and WAC All-Defensive Team selection.

JaVale is the son of former USC standout Pamela McGee, who won two national championships for the Trojans (1983, 1984) and a gold medal representing the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team. Pamela and JaVale became the first American mother-son duo to win Olympic gold medals.

McGee will wear No. 00 for the Mavericks, joining Eric Montross (1996-97) as the only players to don No. 00 for the franchise.

Pacers trade Malcolm Brogdon to Celtics

The Boston Celtics have acquired guard Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for center Daniel Theis, guard/forward Aaron Nesmith, forwards Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan, guard Nik Stauskas and a 2023 first round draft choice.

“We would like to welcome Malcolm and his family to the Celtics,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens. “We are very excited about what Malcolm brings both on and off the court. His resume speaks for itself. He is the kind of playmaker, shooter, and impact defender that we need in our continued pursuit of Banner 18.”

Brogdon, a 6’5” guard, led the Pacers in scoring last season with 19.1 points, along with 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 33.5 minutes per game. The former Virginia Cavalier joins the Celtics after spending the previous three seasons in Indiana where he averaged 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 35.2 percent from three over 146 games. Brogdon is one of four active players in the NBA to have recorded 5,000 or more points, 1,500 or more assists, and 500 or more three-pointers in fewer than 350 games. The Atlanta, GA native spent the first three seasons of his career in Milwaukee where he was honored as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year during the 2016-17 season. In his final season in Milwaukee, he became just the eighth player in NBA history to achieve a 50-40-90 season (shooting better than 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the free throw line) when he shot 50.5/42.6/92.8. A member of the NBPA Executive Committee as a Vice President, Brogdon was honored by the PBWA with the 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award for his commitment to education, gender, and health equality as well as his support for criminal justice and voting reform through the Brogdon Family Foundation.

Brogdon will wear #13 with the Celtics.

New Orleans Pelicans sign rookie Dyson Daniels

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed rookie guard Dyson Daniels.

Daniels, who was drafted by the Pelicans with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, averaged 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals for NBA G League Ignite during the 2021-22 season. Daniels joined Ignite from the NBA Global Academy Australia.

Daniels represented the Australian national team at the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

Denver Nuggets re-sign Davon Reed

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Davon Reed to a multiyear contract, General Manager Calvin Booth announced today.

Reed, 6-5, 208, appeared in 48 games (five starts) for the Nuggets in 2021-22, averaging 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 50.3% from the field and 43.0% from three in 13.9 minutes. Reed signed a total of three 10-day contracts with Denver (12/4, 12/9 and 12/30) before being signed to a two-way contract for the remainder of the season.

He also appeared in eight games (all starts) with the Nuggets’ G-League affiliate Grand Rapids Gold, averaging 15.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.90 steals in 35.8 minutes per game. He played for the Nuggets in both last year’s preseason and Las Vegas Summer League entries as well.

Reed, 27, previously appeared in 31 career NBA games for the Phoenix Suns (21 games in 2017-18) and Indiana Pacers (10 games in 2018-19). He has appeared in 94 career G-League games (89 starts) for Northern Arizona, Fort Worth, Sioux Falls and Grand Rapids, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

The New Jersey Native was drafted with the 32nd overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. He spent four years at the University of Miami where he was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team and ACC All-Third Team in 2017.

Utah Jazz sign rookie Walker Kessler

The Utah Jazz have signed rookie center Walker Kessler.

Kessler (7-1, 245, Auburn) was originally drafted by Memphis in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft (22nd overall) with his draft rights being acquired by Minnesota before being traded to Utah. During his final collegiate season at Auburn, the 20-year-old averaged 11.4 points on 60.8 percent from the field, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks (tied for first in NCAA) and 1.1 steals in 34 games (all starts), being named to the 2021-22 All-SEC First Team and All-SEC Defensive Team, also earning 2021-22 SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He was additionally named to the AP All-American Third Team and selected as the 2021-22 NABC Defensive Player of the Year.

The native of Newnan, Ga. spent his first collegiate season at North Carolina in 2020-21, where he appeared in 29 games, averaging 4.4 points on 57.8 percent from the field and 3.2 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per contest.

Timberwolves sign Kyle Anderson

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday signed forward Kyle Anderson.

Anderson, 6-8, spent the last four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies where he averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 248 games (148 starts). During the 2020-21 season, he registered a career-high 12.4 points per game on 46.8% shooting, while leading the team in steals (84) and steals per game (1.2). In eight seasons in the NBA, Anderson has tallied 3,366 points, 2,220 rebounds, 1,167 assists and 510 steals throughout 505 games (248 starts).

The Fairview, N.J. native, has seen action in 47 postseason matchups (eight starts) during five trips to the playoffs. He holds playoff career averages of 5.3 points on 51.0% shooting, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 16.2 minutes per game. Anderson was originally selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 30th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Orlando Magic re-sign Mo Bamba

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent center Mo Bamba, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced yesterday (Friday, July 8).

Bamba (7’0”, 235, 5/12/98) played in 71 games (69 starts) last season with Orlando, averaging 10.6 ppg., 8.1 rpg., 1.2 apg. and a team-high 1.66 blkpg. in 25.7 minpg., while shooting .381 (107-281) from three-point range. He ranked sixth in the NBA in blocked shots and tied for 28th in rebounding. Bamba led (or tied) the team in scoring seven times, in rebounding 25 times and in assists twice. He scored in double figures 41 times, 20+ points four times and 30+ points once, including a career-high 32 points on Jan. 19 @ Philadelphia. Bamba had 10+ rebounds 25 times, including a career-high-tying 18 rebounds on Oct. 29 @ Toronto and had 20 double-doubles. He also had at least one blocked shot 55 times and two-or-more blocks 37 times, including a career-high six blocked shots on Nov. 29 @ Philadelphia and Apr. 5 vs. Cleveland.

Originally selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2018 NBA Draft by Orlando, Bamba has played in 226 career NBA regular season games (75 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 7.7 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.44 blkpg. in 18.6 minpg.

Prior to this year’s NBA Draft, Bamba decided to change his uniform number to #11, which he had when he was in high school. He wore #5 during his first four NBA campaigns with the Magic.