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Raptors sign center Greg Monroe

The Toronto Raptors’ signing of center Greg Monroe became official today.

Per multiple reports, it’s just a one-year deal.

“Greg is a proven big man in this league,” said Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster. “We believe Greg’s experience will be a great addition to not only our frontcourt, but to our team culture as we continue to build towards our goal of an NBA championship.”

Monroe is capable of delivering some instant offense, but isn’t known for his defense. He will likely play backup to starting center Jonas Valanciunas, and perhaps play some limited minutes as a backup to power forward Serge Ibaka.

Standing 6-foot-11, 265 pounds, Monroe averaged 10.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 20.4 minutes in 51 games (14 starts) with Milwaukee, Phoenix and Boston last season. He shot .565 (218-386) from the field and recorded nine double-doubles. Monroe appeared in 11 postseason games with the Celtics, averaging 4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 9.5 minutes.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Monroe owns career averages of 13.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 28.9 minutes in 589 NBA games (415 starts) with Detroit, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Boston. He has averaged at least 10.0 points in each of the last seven seasons.

Monroe was originally selected by the Pistons with the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He played collegiately at Georgetown, posting averages of 14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 32.6 minutes in 65 career games (2008-10). Monroe was named First Team All-Big East as a sophomore and selected Big East Rookie of the Year his freshman season.

The big Raptors story of the summer was their trade of DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard. And one of the biggest stories entering the season will be if Leonard is healthy and if he’s as effective as he was prior to injury.

Thunder sign Tyler Davis to two-way contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday signed center Tyler Davis to a Two-Way Contract.

In three seasons at Texas A&M, Davis (6-10, 266) appeared in 102 games (100 starts) and averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 26.0 minutes. At the end of the 2017-18 season, Davis was named to the All-SEC First Team after leading the conference in field goal shooting (58.5 percent) for a third consecutive season.

Davis led the Aggies in scoring this past season (14.9 points per game) as he helped lead Texas A&M to the Sweet 16 for a second time in three seasons. He is one of five players in school history to amass 1,000-plus points, 500-plus rebounds and 100-plus blocks. Davis was formerly named Mr. Basketball in the state of Texas following his senior season at Plano West High School.

Each team is allowed to have two players signed to Two-Way Contracts. This is in addition to the standard league maximum of up to 15 players on the roster. Players on Two-Way Contracts spend most of the season in the NBA G League, but can be called up to their NBA team for a maximum of 45 days.

Ty Ellis named head coach of G League team Stockton Kings

The Sacramento Kings today named Ty Ellis as Head Coach of the team’s NBA G League affiliate Stockton Kings.

Ellis arrives in Stockton having spent the previous 20 years involved in basketball as a collegiate and professional player and coach at the NBA G League, USA Basketball and NBA levels. He takes the helm ahead of the Kings 2018-19 debut season in California’s central valley after relocating from Reno, NV where the club played for 10 seasons.

The opportunity marks Ellis’ second instance as a head coach for an inaugural NBA G League campaign after being tapped to lead the Northern Arizona Suns (Prescott Valley, AZ) in 2016. Under his direction, Johnny O’Bryant and Elijah Millsap earned Gatorade Call-Ups and subsequent multiyear contracts with NBA teams.

Most recently, the Dallas native served as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns (2017-18) after spending the summer working under Jeff Van Gundy as an assistant during the 2017 USA AmeriCup Team—helping guide the American squad to a 5-0 record and the FIBA Americas Gold Medal. Additionally, Ellis was among only four NBA G League coaches invited to participate in the 2017 NBA Draft Combine tasked with aiding prospects through scrimmages and drills.

Ellis entered the coaching ranks in 2012 after an 11-year playing career domestically and abroad. In 2001, Ellis was drafted by the Huntsville Flight to play in the inaugural season for the NBA D-League. He spent the following decade playing overseas in the top European leagues, including stops in Germany (Frankfurt Skyliners), Turkey (Besiktas Cola Turka), Basket Napoli (Italy), and six years in Spain’s first league (Liga ACB). His international resume also features four years as a member of the Georgian National Team (2006-09), highlighted by 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists during the 2009 Division B Eurobasket tournament.

Following his retirement from the court in 2012, Ellis accepted his first coaching position with the Tulsa 66ers (NBA D-League), where he served as an assistant for one year before taking similar roles with the Reno Bighorns (2013-14), Grand Rapids Drive (2014-15) and Bakersfield Jam (2015-16).

Ellis enjoyed a four-year collegiate career at Southern Nazarene University (1997-2001), ranking fourth all-time in Crimson Storm history with 1,822 career points and second with 248 3-pointers made.

Darrun Hilliard signs with team in Spain

Here’s Euroleague.net with news that a former NBA player has signed to play in Spain:

Hoping to return to the Final Four that will be hosted next spring in its own city for the first time, KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz found some perimeter talent right before training camp starts, announcing on Monday the addition of swingman Darrun Hilliard to its roster for the 2018-19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. Hilliard (1.98 meters, 25 years old) has played his entire three-year pro career to date in the NBA, including 14 games last season with San Antonio.

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If Dwyane Wade continues his playing career, it will be with Heat

NBA and Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade could retire any season now. Nobody can say for sure. He could call it quits tomorrow, or go for another few seasons. The guess right now is he’ll probably keep going, at least through 2018-19. So a logical thought is to wonder if he’d hop on board with a championship contender. Apparently not. It’s Miami Heat or nobody according to Wade, as reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Dwyane Wade said during a Saturday appearance at the Jr. NBA World Championships in Lake Buena Vista that he remains undecided about his playing future, but that if he does return to the court in 2018-19 it will be with the Miami Heat.

Wade’s comments came in the wake of speculation of possibly continuing his career in China, where his signature sneaker line is based, or even rejoining former Heat teammate LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Heat only. If I play the game of basketball this year, it’ll be in a Miami uniform,” he told media at the event at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, with audio of that session provided by the NBA. “If I don’t, I’ll be living in Miami and somewhere else probably.”

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Myles Turner changes diet, takes up yoga

Young Pacers center Myles Turner put up modest stats last season — 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game — but that was in just 28.2 minutes per outing. He’ll be worth watching this season, both in terms of his level of play as well as how many minutes the team gives him. Those things are related, of course. Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with more on Turner:

He’s changed his diet. He’s picked up yoga. Oh, and the NBA’s Eastern Conference doesn’t have LeBron James in it anymore.

“The East is open,” Turner said. “It’s going to be competitive. We’ve got a lot of good acquisitions in the off-season — our bench got stronger and we have high hopes for ourselves.”

The Pacers fell to James and the Cavaliers in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs last season, but have bolstered their roster by signing players such as Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott and Kyle O’Quinn and drafting Aaron Holiday.

“Guys see an opportunity and everybody is going to try and seize it,” Turner said.

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Zhaire Smith undergoes foot surgery

Almost every prized Sixers rookie in recent years has suffered a foot, knee or leg injury prior to the start of their NBA career. Zhaire Smith is honoring the tradition.

Smith yesterday evening underwent surgery to repair an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. He suffered the injury during Tim Grgurich’s development camp in Las Vegas on Monday, Aug. 6.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley, Associate Attending Orthopedic Surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Additional information regarding Smith’s recovery and return-to-play timetable will be provided as available and when appropriate.

Mavericks re-sign forward Jalen Jones

Jalen Jones transferred schools in college, went undrafted, did big things in the G League, saw limited time with the Mavericks last season, and is returning to to Dallas in 2018-19. The Mavs re-signed him today.

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward saw action in 12 games for the Mavericks last season averaging 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game after Dallas was awarded his two-way contract via a waiver claim on Jan. 10, 2018. He most recently competed for the Mavericks at the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas where he averaged 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 20.8 minutes in five games.

After going undrafted in 2016 out of Texas A&M, Jones spent the 2016-17 season with the G League’s Maine Red Claws. In 46 games (all starts) for the Red Claws, he averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 36.0 minutes per game en route to earning NBA G League Third Team honors and being named to the 2017 G League All-Star Team.

A native of Dallas, Jones began his college career at SMU before transferring to Texas A&M after his sophomore season. Jones was named to the All-SEC Second Team by the coaches as a junior and the All-SEC First Team by the coaches during his senior campaign. As a senior for the Aggies in 2015-16, he averaged 15.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 27.3 minutes per game in 33 games (28 starts).

On Dwight Howard and the Wizards

The Wizards in recent seasons always seem pretty good, but never take that next step towards rising up and being closer to great. Now they’ve added Dwight Howard, who still puts up nice stats but needs to show that he actually impacts a game beyond some numbers in the usual stat categories. Here’s a look on the positive side of things regarding the Wizards and new center Dwight Howard, from NBC Sports Washington:

Howard is already 15th all-time in total rebounds. Last season, he surpassed Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. He has long since eclipsed Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Ben Wallace.

Howard is objectively one of the best rebounders of all-time and he hasn’t slowed down much, if at all, from his younger days. Last season, he grabbed 12.5 rebounds per game, good for third in the NBA.

If Howard can keep that up with the Wizards and get Wall out in the open court a second or two quicker than in the past, the Wizards could be uniquely dangerous.

“He’s the best rebounder in the league. It creates offense for our guys that can play fast and can shoot,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said.

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Mavericks waive Terry Larrier

The Dallas Mavericks waived forward Terry Larrier today.

The move is not a surprise. Larrier was a longshot to get a regular season contract.

The 6-foot-8, 195-pound native of Bronx, N.Y. went undrafted as an early-entry candidate in the 2018 NBA Draft. He competed in six total summer league games for the Memphis Grizzlies (4 games) and the Mavericks (2 games) and averaged 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per contest.

Larrier native began his career at Virginia Commonwealth University before transferring to the University of Connecticut as a sophomore. Before declaring for the draft, Larrier averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 34.0 minutes in 29 games (28 starts) as a junior.

He was originally signed by the Mavericks on July 31, 2018.