Inside Hoops – Page 272 – NBA Blog

Knicks sign Dwayne Bacon

The New York Knicks have signed guard Dwayne Bacon.

Bacon, 6-6, 221-pounds, appeared in all 72 games (50 starts) for Orlando last season, recording career highs of 10.9 points and 3.1 rebounds with 1.3 assists over 25.7 minutes. In four NBA seasons, he holds career averages of 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists over 19.4 minutes in 207 games (80 starts) with Charlotte and Orlando.

He was originally selected by New Orleans in the second round (40th overall pick) of the 2017 NBA Draft after two seasons at Florida State University (2015-17). The Lakeland, FL-native, averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 28.8 minutes in 69 games (67 starts) with the Seminoles. He was named to the 2015-16 ACC All-Freshman team and to the 2016-17 All-ACC Second team.

Pelicans sign Jose Alvarado and Daulton Hommes to two-way contracts

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Jose Alvarado and forward Daulton Hommes to two-way contracts.

Alvarado, 6-0, 179, started all 26 games during the 2020-21 season for Georgia Tech, where he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-ACC Second Team honors after averaging 15.2 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. In four seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Alvarado appeared in 106 games (104 starts) and finished with career averages of 13.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.1 steals in 34.9 minutes played.

Hommes, 6-8, 215, most recently played for Vanoli Cremona of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A, averaging 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 28 games while shooting .468 from the floor, .427 from deep, and .863 from the foul line. Undrafted in 2019 out of Point Loma Nazarene University, Hommes appeared in 36 games (six starts) with the G League’s Austin Spurs in the 2019-20 season, in which he averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 19.6 minutes per game.

Pelicans re-sign Josh Hart

The New Orleans Pelicans have re-signed guard Josh Hart.

“Josh brings tenacity, competitiveness and infectious energy to our team every time he steps on the court,” said Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin. “We are excited to welcome him back and grateful that he wanted to continue his evolution with our Pelicans family.”

Hart, who was originally acquired by New Orleans from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team trade on July 6, 2019, appeared in 47 games (four starts) for the Pelicans last season, averaging 9.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 28.7 minutes per game.

Selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Hart has appeared in 242 games (65 starts) with the Lakers and Pelicans over four seasons, holding career averages of 8.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 26.0 minutes per contest.

The Silver Spring, Maryland native appeared in 146 games (77 starts) over four collegiate seasons at Villanova University, averaging 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.0 minutes. As a senior, Hart was named the Big East Player of the Year after averaging 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists during the 2016-17 season.

Knicks re-sign Taj Gibson

The New York Knicks have re-signed center/forward Taj Gibson.

Gibson, 6-10, 232-pounds, originally signed with New York on July 8, 2019, and has appeared in 107 games (59 starts) for the Knicks, recording 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds over 18.3 minutes. Last season, he averaged 5.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over 20.8 minutes in 45 regular season games (three starts) and 5.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in five postseason games (three starts).

Prior to New York, Gibson spent 10 seasons with Chicago, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. The 12-year veteran holds career averages of 9.3 points on 51.8-percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds and one assist over 24.9 minutes in 844 regular season games (443 starts). Additionally, Gibson has appeared in 71 postseason contests, averaging 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds over 22.3 minutes.

He was originally selected by Chicago with the 26th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft after three seasons at the University of Southern California.

Knicks re-sign Alec Burks

The New York Knicks have re-signed guard/forward Alec Burks.

Burks, 6-6, 214-pounds, averaged 12.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 49 games (five starts) for New York last season after signing as a free agent on November 22, 2020. He connected on a career best 41.5-percent from downtown and hit at least 100 three-pointers (102) for the second consecutive season. He recorded 11 20-point performances, one 30-point performance and a career best five straight 20-point performances from March 18-27.

Originally selected by Utah with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Burks holds career averages of 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 22.2 minutes in 544 games (91 starts) with New York, Philadelphia, Golden State, Cleveland, Sacramento and Utah.

The Grandview, MO-native spent two seasons at the University of Colorado, where he earned 2009-10 Big 12 Rookie of the Year honors during his freshman season. Burks was also one of two unanimous selections for first-team All-Big 12 in 2010-11, during which he led his team in scoring at 20.5 points.

Knicks re-sign Derrick Rose

The New York Knicks have re-signed guard Derrick Rose.

“Derrick’s arrival last season played a major role in our team’s success and the culture we instilled,” New York Knicks President Leon Rose said, “He continues to be a great player and teammate and is an extension of Coach Thibodeau on the court. We look forward to him being a key piece of our team moving forward.”

Rose, 6-3, 200-pounds, finished third in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year voting after averaging 14.7 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds over 25.6 minutes in 50 games with Detroit and New York last season. The 14.7 points ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring among players coming off the bench (min 30 games). After being traded to New York on Feb. 8, 2021, Rose produced 14.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds over 26.8 minutes in 35 games helping guide the Knicks to a 24-11 record in games he played. Over the final 20 games of the season, Rose averaged 17.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds off the bench, while shooting 54-percent from the floor, 41.7-percent from downtown, and 93.2-percent from the line. He was one of two players in the NBA to average at least 15 points and shoot 50/40/90 over the final six weeks of the season. The other was Chris Paul.

The Chicago-native returned to New York this past season for a second stint with the Knicks, after being acquired from Chicago via trade on Jun. 22, 2016. He’s averaged 16.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds over 30.5 minutes in 99 games (67 starts) in his two seasons as a Knick.

The 12-year veteran has appeared in 646 NBA games (507 starts) and holds career averages of 18.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds over 12 seasons with Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Detroit.

Career highlights for the first-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft include: 2011 NBA MVP; 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year; three consecutive NBA All-Star selections (2010, 2011, 2012); 2009 NBA All-Rookie Team; two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Month; five-time Eastern Conference Player of the Week and three-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.

Pistons sign rookies Luka Garza and Chris Smith to two-way contracts

The Detroit Pistons have signed rookie center Luka Garza and rookie forward Chris Smith to two-way contracts.

Garza, 6-11, 235, earned unanimous 2020-21 National Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.6 minutes in 31 games as a senior at Iowa. He led the nation in points (747) and field goals made (281) while shooting .553 from the field and .440 from 3-point range in 2020-21. Garza was a two-time unanimous All-America First Team selection and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year while becoming Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,306), marking the seventh-highest scoring total in Big Ten history.

Garza became the first Big Ten player to average at least 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in consecutive seasons since 1994. He finished his career as a Hawkeye with averages of 18.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 127 games.

Smith, 6-9, 215, played four seasons at UCLA and averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 105 career games for the Bruins. He averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in eight games as a senior prior to a season-ending injury. As a junior, Smith posted averages of 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists and was named the Pac 12’s Most Improved Player of the Year while earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors.

Miami Heat sign rookie guard D.J. Stewart

The Miami Heat have signed rookie guard D.J. Stewart.

Stewart, who went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, has been playing for the Heat at Summer League, including two games played at the California Classic in Sacramento where he averaged 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.00 steals while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and totaled a +14 plus/minus.

He faces an uphill battle when it comes to making the Heat’s regular season roster.

Stewart played two seasons of college basketball at Mississippi State In 64 games (50 starts) for the Bulldogs, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 32.4 minutes per game, on 42.5% FG shooting.

He finished his college hoops career with 792 career points, the 11th-most by an MSU player during their freshman and sophomore seasons, and was named to the All-SEC Second Team last year after scoring 528 points, the sixth-most by a sophomore in school history, while also becoming just one of 11 players nationally to score at least 500 points and dish out at least 100 assists.

Additionally, the two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection scored a season-high 32 points against Dayton on December 12 to become just the 13th sophomore in school history to post a 30-point game since 1954 and was the only player in program history to record three consecutive 20-point games during NCAA/NIT postseason play after doing so from March 20 – March 27.

Celtics sign-and-trade Evan Fournier to Knicks

The Boston Celtics have traded Evan Fournier in a sign-and-trade agreement, along with a 2023 second round draft pick, and a conditional 2022 second round draft pick (Charlotte’s, protected top 55) to the New York Knicks in exchange for cash considerations.

The transaction creates a trade exception for Boston.

“We identified Evan as a key addition as we entered free agency and are ecstatic that he’s joining us,” said New York Knicks President Leon Rose, “He’s a great teammate, a fierce competitor, and a perfect complement to our returning players. He wants to be a part of what we are building here, and we are happy to have him join our family.”

Fournier, 6-7, 205-pounds, spent last season with the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics, averaging 17.1 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds over 30.0 minutes in 42 games (36 starts). He established career highs of 2.8 three-pointers per game and 41.3-percent shooting from behind the arc, which was seventh best in the NBA among players who attempted at least six threes per game. This marked the third time in his career that he shot at least 40-percent from downtown and the eighth time that he hit 35-percent of those shots or better. On March 25, Fournier was traded to Boston where he produced 13.0 points (46.3-percent 3P), 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 29.5 minutes in 16 games (10 starts) helping lead the Celtics to the NBA Playoffs. He averaged 19.7 points in 26 games (all starts) for Orlando, which would’ve been a career best for a single season.

Most recently the Saint-Maurice, France-native represented his country in the Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan, earning the silver medal after averaging a team best 18.7 points to go along with 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 28.2 minutes in six games. This was his first Olympic medal, the first for France since 2000 and just the third Olympic medal overall for the men’s basketball team.

Originally selected by Denver with the 20th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Fournier holds career averages of 14.3 points on 37.9-percent from downtown, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists over 28.5 minutes in nine seasons with the Nuggets, Magic, and Celtics. He is one of 34 NBA players to average more than 15.0 points and shoot greater than 35-percent from beyond the arc in each of the last six seasons (2015-16 thru 2020-21).

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Pelicans re-sign Willy Hernangomez and Didi Louzada

The New Orleans Pelicans have re-signed center Willy Hernangómez and guard Didi Louzada.

“The passion Willy and Didi have for their teammates and our greater Pelicans community is reflected every day in their approach to the game,” said Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin. “Their joyful outlook, work ethic, attention to detail and desire to grow and evolve as professionals has been infectious and we look forward to continuing towards our goals together deep into the future.”

Signed as a free agent on November 30, 2020, Hernangómez appeared in 47 games (12 starts) for New Orleans during the 2020-21 season, averaging 7.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.0 minutes per game. Hernangómez shot a career-best .563 from the field and tallied 11 double-doubles on the year.

Selected 35th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, the native of Madrid, Spain, has appeared in 256 career regular season games with New York, Charlotte, and New Orleans, holding averages of 7.1 points on .537 shooting from the field, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 15.0 minutes.

Louzada, who was originally signed by New Orleans on April 27, 2021, appeared in three games for the Pelicans last season. The Brazilian native previously played two seasons (2019-21) for the Sydney Kings of NBL Australia, where he appeared in 45 games and averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

Selected with the 35th pick in the 2019 draft by Atlanta, Louzada’s draft rights were acquired by New Orleans along with draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes, in exchange for the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter, Solomon Hill, and a future second-round draft pick on July 6, 2019.