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Jazz waive guard Nigel Williams-Goss

The Utah Jazz have waived guard Nigel Williams-Goss.

NBA preseason ends Saturday, and the regular season starts Tuesday. Teams around the league will steadily trim their rosters.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 188 lbs, Willliams-Goss played 10 games with the Jazz in 2019-20, averaging 1.4 points per game.

In the G League, he played in 17 games with the Salt Lake City Stars, and averaged 15.3 points on 50.8 percent shooting, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 29.6 minutes per game.

He played college hoops at Gonzaga.

Knicks rookie Obi Toppin excited for preseason debut in MSG

There won’t be fans in the stands at Madison Square Garden tomorrow due to the global coronavirus pandemic, but it’ll still be a very cool experience for Knicks rookie forward Obi Toppin to play his first game there. Via New York Newsday:

“It’s going to be amazing,” Toppin said. “I’m from here. I’ve been watching the Knicks all my life. My family’s been a fan of the Knicks since I wasn’t even born. Me having an opportunity to step on the court with these guys and compete against another team is going to be amazing. I can’t wait for that time to come.

“I think I’ve been to a couple, no more than five games growing up. But my grandfather on my mom’s side had season tickets and he’d go to every game. You go to dinner with him and he’ll tell you a thousand stories of him going there.”

The Knicks went 1-1 in their two preseason games against the Pistons, and on Wednesday and Friday they’ll play a pair against the Cavs.

Grizzlies sign Zhaire Smith and Bennie Boatwright, waive Jahlil Tripp and Marko Guduric

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard Zhaire Smith and forward Bennie Boatwright.

At the same time, the team waived guards Jahlil Tripp and Marko Guduric.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 205 lbs,. Smith over the course of two NBA seasons has appeared in 13 games (two starts) with the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per game.

He’s also played in the G League, where for the Delaware Blue Coats he averaged 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 28.2 minutes per outing.

The 21-year-old was traded by the 76ers to the Pistons on November 23, and was waived by the Pistons on Dec. 2.

he played college hoops at Texas Tech University, and is from Garland, Texas.

Boatwright (6-10, 235) spent the 2019-20 season with the Memphis Hustle but did not play due to injury. The 24-year-old played four seasons at the University of Southern California, where he was selected 2018-19 All-Pac 12 First Team after appearing in 31 games (28 starts) and averaging 18.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 33.5 minutes while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (90-210 3P) during his senior year.

A native of California, Boatwright went unselected in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Tripp (6-5, 215) appeared in two preseason games and averaged 3.0 points in 3.6 minutes after signing with the Grizzlies on Nov. 28. Undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, the 23-year-old Brooklyn native was named the 2019-20 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and selected All-WCC First Team as a senior at Pacific University.

Guduric (6-6, 201) appeared in 44 games as a rookie last season and averaged 3.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 11.0 minutes. The 25-year-old Serbia native played for KK Crvena Zvezda before going unselected in the 2017 NBA Draft and competed with Fenerbahçe in Turkey before joining the NBA.

Giannis Antetokounmpo agrees to Bucks contract extension

The Milwaukee Bucks will be retaining the services of Giannis Antetokounmpo for years to come.

On Tuesday, the superstar forward tweeted that he has agreed to sign the Bucks’ contract extension offer.

Per multiple reports, it’s a super-max deal for five years, $228 million.

Many NBA teams whose future plans were to target Giannis in free agency must now sigh in dispair, and focus their attention elsewhere.

This is a major win for Milwaukee. It will also make their free agent signing efforts easier.

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In G League, Long Island Nets name Bret Brielmaier as head coach

The Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, have named Bret Brielmaier as the team’s head coach. Brielmaier becomes the fourth head coach in Long Island history after spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.

“Bret has been an integral part of the Nets family for the past four seasons, and we are thrilled that he’ll be coaching the Long Island Nets,” said Long Island Nets General Manager Matt Riccardi. “His experience and vision are a perfect fit for leading the development of emerging players on Long Island, and we are eager to see the growth he inspires in our next generation of Nets talent.”

Prior to joining the Nets organization in 2016, Brielmaier spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and was a member of the coaching staff when Cleveland won its 2016 NBA championship. The Mankato, Minn., native also spent four seasons (2009-13) with the San Antonio Spurs, beginning his career as a player development assistant before becoming the team’s video coordinator for his final three seasons.

Brielmaier played four collegiate seasons (2004-08) at the University of Arizona under the direction of Hall of Fame head coach Lute Olson. He was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams before earning his first coaching job as an undergraduate assistant coach under Arizona interim head coach Russ Pennell during the 2008-09 season.

Chris Paul to make Suns debut tonight in preseason

Chris Paul will reportedly make his debut in a Phoenix Suns uniform tonight in preseason. Via Arizona Sports:

After not playing in the Phoenix Suns’ preseason opener on Saturday against the Jazz, Chris Paul said he’s playing Monday night in Utah.

The point guard was listed as questionable on the injury report with right ankle soreness, the same ailment that had him out on Saturday, but the 35-year-old said after shootaround he will make his debut.

Phoenix stayed in Utah and will play the Jazz again on Monday, a new twist in the NBA schedule for the 2020-21 season during the COVID-19 pandemic that will see teams playing the same matchup in the same arena in back-to-back games.

Rookie Isaac Okoro hits preseason game-winner for Cavs

NBA preseason began Friday. On Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers won in a really fun way, with a rookie hitting a game-winner. Via the News Herald:

It was the preseason opener of their 51st season, but for the 2020-21 Cavaliers, their game against the Pacers played Dec. 12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was like a playoff game, or at least the first game in franchise history.

The Cavaliers are truly in a new beginning under Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and it could not have ended better. Rookie Isaac Okoro made a layup, was fouled with 0.3 seconds to play and then made the free throw to win a 107-104 thriller.

Unfortunately, no fans were there to witness it. They are banned from preseason games because of the novel coronavirus, which means the FieldHouse will also be fanless Dec. 14 when the Cavs host the Pacers in their second of four preseason games. State and local officials have set the maximum number of fans at 300 for regular-season games.

Okoro finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Cavs will face the Pacers again tonight, then head to New York for two preseason bouts with the Knicks.

Wizards rookie Deni Avdija plays well in NBA preseason debut

Washington Wizards rookie Deni Avdija looks very good in his NBA preseason debut yesterday. Via the Washington Times:

Even for Deni Avdija, a rookie who comes to the Washington Wizards already with professional experience in Israel, it took a moment to settle in after stepping onto the court for his first NBA preseason game Sunday night.

“In the beginning, I’m going to be honest and I’ll say, like, ‘Whoa,’” Avdija said postgame. “Like, you’re in Barclays Center and you’re playing against all those players you saw on TV.”

But Avdija wasn’t star-struck — at least not for long — in a matchup against Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets. In Washington’s first preseason game, the first-round draft pick soon came into his own, showing a confidence that helped buoy his team during the 119-114 loss.

The 19-year-old finished with 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go along with four rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. While Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook didn’t play — meaning Wizards fans didn’t get a real hint of what the squad might look like this season — Avdija’s debut shows early promise that he could be a key contributor in his first year.

Avery Bradley’s defense should help Heat this season

Defensive-minded guard Avery Bradley left the Lakers this offseason and joined the Heat. Here’s the Miami Herald quoting Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra’s analysis of the squad’s new addition:

“You see him as a 6-2, 6-3 guard, but he’s able to literally defend one through four,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And offensively, he’s a player that can fit in any system, because he can play off the ball, you can put the ball in his hands. He can play as a point guard. You can play him running off of dribble hand offs. Or he can just play off of your great players or your great offensive threats. And he’ll find a way to be effective. And that’s what we’ve already seen in a couple of days.

“I know he’s going to make Tyler [Herro] and [Kendrick Nunn] better just from practices. His level of intensity and his on-ball defense is incredible. It’s an area we felt we could improve, not only in player development, but with a personnel addition. He has checked that box, just with what we’ve seen in a short period of time.”

Point-of-attack perimeter defense was a Heat weakness opponents tried to take advantage of last season, with teams repeatedly running isolation sets against players such as Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson in the playoffs.

Bradley (6-3, 180), who turned 30 on Nov. 26, will certainly help in that area this season.

Pistons waive LiAngelo Ball, Louis King and Anthony Lamb

The Detroit Pistons have waived guard LiAngelo Ball and forwards Louis King and Anthony Lamb.

King played on a two-way contract with the Pistons last season while Lamb and Ball were signed on December 3, 2020.

Ball, King and Lamb did not play in the first Pistons preseason game on Friday, but King and Lamb did get a few minute of action on Sunday.

Per the Detroit News, “King’s departure is somewhat surprising because he was one of the Pistons’ two-way contracts last season. A 6-foot-7 forward, King played in 10 games last season and averaged 2 points, 1 rebound and shot 36% on 3-pointers.”

Ball’s two brothers, Lonzo and LaMelo, are both in the NBA. But LiAngelo has been considered a longshot to make the league.