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Jazz sign Ersan Ilyasova, who had not played in NBA yet this season

The Utah Jazz signed forward Ersan Ilyasova today.

Ilyasova (6-9, 235, Turkey) spent the 2019-20 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he averaged 6.6 points on 46.6 percent from the field and 4.8 rebounds in 63 games (eight starts). The 33-year-old has had a 12-year NBA career, competing in 808 games (423 starts), owning career averages of 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists with Milwaukee (2006-07, 2009-15, 2018-20), Detroit (2015-16), Orlando (2015-16), Oklahoma City (2016-17), Philadelphia (2016-17, 2017-18) and Atlanta (2017-18). He’s one of just 26 active players to have totaled over 8,000 points and 4,500 rebounds.

Originally drafted with the 36th overall pick (second round) in the 2005 NBA Draft by Milwaukee, Ilyasova has additional playing experience in Europe, competing for Fenerbahce Ulker in 2004-05 and 2011-12 and with FC Barcelona from 2007-09. He’s also represented the Turkish National Team since 2006 in nine different events, averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 52 international contests.

Ilyasova will wear no. 77 for the Jazz.

The Jazz have a 27-9 record, which is the best in the entire NBA. They’re being led in scoring this season by Donovan Mitchell at 24.7 points per game, Jordan Clarkson at 17.9 ppg (coming off the bench for all 36 of his games played), Mike Conley at 16.1 ppg, Bojan Bogdanovic at 15.7 ppg, Rudy Gobert at 14.2 ppg, and Joe Ingles at 11.5 ppg. The team is ranked 4th in the NBA in both offense and defense.

Pelicans sign Sindarius Thornwell to another 10-day contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Sindarius Thornwell to a second 10-day contract.

Thornwell, 6-4, 215, has previously appeared in 11 games (one start) this season with New Orleans, averaging 1.4 points in 4.8 minutes per contest.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 16 players.

The Pelicans are just 15-21 this season, which ties them with the Thunder for the 11th best record in the Western conference. They’re being led in scoring this season by Zion Williamson at 25.6 points per game, Brandon Ingram at 23.9 ppg, Lonzo Ball at 14.5 ppg, and Eric Bledsoe at 12.6 ppg.

Raptors sign Henry Ellenson to 10-day contract

The Toronto Raptors have signed forward-center Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract.

Ellenson 6-foot-10, 240 pounds, averaged a team-high 21.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 30.6 minutes in 15 games (13 starts) with Raptors 905 in the NBA G League bubble. He shot .493 (107-217) from the field, .424 (53-125) from three-point range and .882 (30-34) at the free throw line. Ellenson scored 20+ points seven times and recorded five double-doubles.

A native of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Ellenson helped Raptors 905 (12-3) earn the top seed for the G League playoffs and reach the semifinals. In the postseason, he averaged 24.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 36.0 minutes in two games and scored a season-high 35 points in Raptors 905’s first-round victory over Team Ignite.

Ellenson played one season at Marquette (2015-16) prior to being picked 18th overall by Detroit in the 2016 NBA Draft. He is averaging 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 9.2 minutes in 81 career NBA games (two starts) with Detroit, New York and Brooklyn.

Utah Jazz reveal new ‘Earned Edition’ uniforms

The Utah Jazz revealed today their new Nike NBA Earned Edition uniforms that will debut with the second half start of the 2020-21 NBA season on March 12 against the Houston Rockets at Vivint Arena. Only teams that advanced to the NBA playoffs last season qualified for the Earned Edition.

The 2020-21 Utah Jazz Earned Edition brings back the green color into the uniform set, echoing the classic road uniform the team originally wore upon arrival in Salt Lake City in 1979.

The jersey features the enlarged J-note colored in gold and white. The side panels have a new design, evoking the shape and style of the upper portion of the J-note logo. The uniform also includes a silver Nike logo on the shorts and the jersey as well as the 5 For The Fight partnership patch representing the campaign for cancer research.

The Nike NBA Earned Edition gives the Jazz five total uniform options this season joining “Association” (White), “Icon” (Blue), “Statement” (Gold) and “City” (Dark Mode).

Heat rookie Precious Achiuwa is playing well in limited minutes

The Miami Heat continue to do a great job on draft day. Via the Miami Herald:

This sounds familiar: A Miami Heat rookie outperforming his draft position.

It happened with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro in past years, and it’s happening — to a lesser extent — with Precious Achiuwa, the 20th overall pick who has contributed more than several players picked ahead of him.

Achiuwa leads all rookies in field-goal percentage (57.9) and is second among all rookies (behind Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart) and 30th in the league in rebounds per 36 minutes at 10.3, ahead of Bam Adebayo’s 10.1.

Achiuwa ranks 18th in scoring among rookies at 6.1 per game.

The Heat are just 18-18 this season, which is the Eastern conference’s sixth best record. They’re being led in scoring by Jimmy Butler at 20.5 points per game (just 22 games played), Bam Adebayo at 19.2 ppg, and Tyler Herro at 15.8 ppg.

A glance at the Mavericks as second half of season begins

The Mavs haven’t stood out thus far this season, but there’s certainly reason for optimism for the rest of 2021. Via the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

Remember that in January that the Mavericks were hit hard by COVID-19, with a number of players, including Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleber, Josh Richardson, Dwight Powell and Dorian-Finney Smith, missing time. All-Star guard Luka Doncic continued to perform at a high level and Tim Hardaway Jr. was a consistent scorer, but the Mavs went 3-8 over the last 18 days of the month.

Once everyone returned Dallas rebounded, and as of right now the team is looking to keep going strong after winning nine of their last 11 games before the break. This was largely thanks to Doncic, who is averaging 31.7 points on 51.9 percent shooting with 7.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game in his last 10 games.

Going into Wednesday night’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, the Mavs are running high on a three-game winning streak and are 18-16 on the season…

As of right now, the Mavericks are nestled into that No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and are looking to move up during the second half. With Doncic, this is a reasonable expectation since he tends to exceed any and all expectations when it comes to his on-the-court performance.

Pelicans recall Wenyen Gabriel, Naji Marshall and Will Magnay from G League

The New Orleans Pelicans have recalled forward Wenyen Gabriel from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League.

Additionally, the Pelicans transferred two-way players Naji Marshall and Will Magnay from Erie back to New Orleans.

Gabriel, 6-9, 205, who was assigned to the BayHawks on March 3, appeared in Erie’s lone postseason game against Lakeland, registering four points, four rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes off the bench.

Marshall, 6-7, 220, appeared in 12 regular season games for Erie, averaging 15.5 points on .490 shooting from the field, including .349 from three-point range, to go with 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.9 minutes. In Erie’s one postseason game, Marshall registered 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block.

Magnay, 6-10, 234, appeared in 10 regular season games, averaging 9.1 points on .576 shooting from the field, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 blocks in 22.2 minutes.

Mavericks recall Nate Hinton from G League

The Dallas Mavericks have recalled rookie two-way guard Nate Hinton from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League.

Hinton (6-5, 210) appeared in two G League games for the Long Island Nets before being flex-transferred to Santa Cruz on Feb. 13. He averaged 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 23.0 minutes in 10 regular season games (two starts) for the Warriors while helping the club advance to semifinals of the G League playoffs.

The 2020-21 NBA G League season began on Wednesday, Feb. 10, with 18 teams competing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

The Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, opted not to travel to the NBA G League’s campus. NBA teams without an NBA G League affiliate participating in Orlando have the opportunity to assign roster players and transfer two-way players using the league’s flexible assignment and two-way rules.

Nets sign Blake Griffin, who recently accepted buyout from Pistons

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent forward Blake Griffin.

Per the New York Post, “Griffin officially came to Brooklyn on Monday, after having been bought out by Detroit. The veteran power forward sacrificed $13 million to leave the Pistons, for whom he averaged 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20 games this season.”

“We’re fortunate to be able to add a player of Blake’s caliber to our roster at this point in the season,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “Blake is a versatile frontcourt player with a long track record of success in our league, and we’re excited about the impact he’ll make for us both on and off the court in Brooklyn.”

Per the Post, “James Harden — who rejected a two-way, $103 million extension from Houston to join the Nets — said that move showed just how serious Griffin is about earning a championship.”

Griffin (6’10”, 250) has appeared in 642 games (all starts) across 11 NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers (2010-18) and Detroit Pistons (2018-21), recording averages of 21.4 points on 49.5 percent shooting from the field, 33.1 percent shooting from 3-point range and 69.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 8.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 34.7 minutes per contest. In the 2020-21 season, Griffin has seen action in 20 games with the Pistons, averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. A six-time NBA All-Star (2011-15, 2019), Griffin has spent the bulk of his NBA career with the Clippers, averaging 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 35.1 minutes per game in 504 games with the franchise.

Griffin is also a five-time All-NBA selection, taking home second-team honors three times as a Clipper (2012-14) and third-team honors twice with the Clippers (2015) and Pistons (2019). Since making his debut in the 2010-11 season, Griffin ranks ninth in the league in field goals made (5,130), 10th in points (13,724) and 15th in rebounds (5,605). Griffin has also made seven playoff appearances in his career, including six straight seasons (2011-17) with the Clippers, helping lead the franchise to three Western Conference Semifinals appearances (2012, 2014-15). In 53 career playoff games, Griffin has averaged 21.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 35.3 minutes per contest.

Per the New York Daily News, “Griffin attempted at least three three-pointers in every game he played for the Pistons this season. He has 14 games with at least five attempts from deep, three games with 10 attempts, and one game where he thought he was Stephen Curry and made 8-of-16 treys in an overtime loss to the Cavaliers. Griffin, however, only converted threes at a 31.5% clip this season in Detroit, up from just 24% from deep last season. Those numbers project to increase due to the talent he’ll now play with in Brooklyn.”

The Oklahoma City native was selected with the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Clippers and sat out the 2009-10 season due to a knee injury. He made his regular season debut the following season and secured Rookie of the Year honors after posting averages of 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 37.9 minutes per game. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Griffin spent two years (2007-09) at the University of Oklahoma, earning the Naismith College Player of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year awards as a sophomore.

Hawks forward Cam Reddish remains out with Achilles soreness

Atlanta Hawks forward Cam Reddish, who has missed the last six games due to right Achilles soreness, underwent a non-surgical procedure earlier today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex.

He will be placed in a walking boot, and the team will review his status in about one week.

Per AJC.com, “the Hawks return from the all-star break with a road game against the Raptors on Thursday. They return home for two games against the Kings and Cavaliers Saturday and Sunday.”