NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
The Brooklyn Nets have acquired forward Jared Dudley and a protected 2021 second round draft pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Darrell Arthur.
Dudley has appeared in 788 career games with Phoenix, Washington, Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte, recording averages of 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.4 minutes per game.
Arthur was acquired in a trade with the Denver Nuggets on July 13.
The Dallas Mavericks have signed second-round pick Ray Spalding.
Spalding (6-10, 215) was selected by Philadelphia with the 56th overall pick in this past year’s draft after a three-year college career at Louisville (2015-18). His draft rights were acquired by Dallas, along with the draft rights to the 60th overall pick Kostas Antetokounmpo, in exchange for the 54th overall selection Shake Milton.
As a junior in 2017-18, Spalding averaged 12.3 points (second on team), a team-high 8.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, a team-best 1.5 steals, 1.7 blocks and 27.7 minutes in 36 games (34 starts) for the Cardinals. He ranked fourth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.543), sixth in rebounding (8.7 rpg), third in offensive rebounding (3.14 orpg), 10th in steals (1.5 spg) and ninth in blocks (1.7 bpg). He was one of just two Division I players to average at least 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 steals in 2017-18 (Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson). Spalding also posted 11 of his 13 career double-doubles as a junior.
The 6-10 forward played in all five games (started four) for Dallas at MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2018 in Las Vegas, where he averaged 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 17.0 minutes.
Spalding attended Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. He was a two-time first team all-state selection who led Trinity to a 24-6 record as a senior and a 118-21 record in his four-year career.
The Detroit Pistons hired Tim Grgurich and Micah Nori as assistant coaches today.
Grgurich, a longtime NBA veteran and highly respected assistant, most recently served as an assistant coach for Milwaukee as a member of Jason Kidd’s staff and has spent the last 27 years with a number of NBA teams including the Seattle Supersonics (1991-98), Portland Trail Blazers (1998-2001; 2004-05), Milwaukee Bucks (2001-02; 2016-18), Phoenix Suns (2002-04), Denver Nuggets (2005-10) and Dallas Mavericks (2011-16). He was honored earlier this month with the 2018 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA).
Grgurich spent many years on George Karl’s staffs in Seattle, Portland and Milwaukee and also overlapped with Pistons head coach Dwane Casey when they both served under Karl’s Supersonics teams from 1994-98, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 1996. The duo also spent one season together with Rick Carlisle in Dallas (2011).
Grgurich was the lead assistant for Jerry Tarkanian at the University of Las Vegas-Nevada, preparing emerging NBA standouts such as Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony, Armen Gilliam and Sidney Green. The Runnin’ Rebels won the 1990 NCAA Championship and made three Final Four appearances while he was part of the program.
He began his coaching career at the University of Pittsburgh, his alma matter, where he was also a three-year letterman in both basketball and baseball.
Nori joins the Pistons after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets. Prior to Denver, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. Overall, Nori has spent 20 years working in the NBA – including 15 seasons with the Toronto Raptors in various roles. He served as an assistant coach during his last four seasons with the Raptors organization and previously served as Toronto’s director of NBA scouting and as an advance scout.
A native of Middleton, OH, and multi-sport athlete, Nori was four-year starter and captain of Indiana’s baseball team that won the 1996 Big Ten Championship. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Organization from Miami (OH) University.
The Lakers waived Malik Newman today.
In five Las Vegas Summer League games for the Lakers, Newman scored 3.2 points per game in 9.8 minutes.
The 6-foot-3 guard played college basketball at Kansas.
The Lakers already have point guards Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo on the roster.
Center/forward Channing Frye is back on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Frye (6-11, 255) split last season between Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game over 53 games (one start). He owns career averages of 9.0 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting .387 from three-point range in 22.8 minutes per game through 854 contests (439 starts) with New York, Portland, Phoenix, Orlando, Cleveland and the Lakers.
Frye previously played with Cleveland from parts of 2015-16 through 2017-18, and was a member of Cleveland’s 2016 NBA Championship winning team. With the Cavs, he has appeared in 144 games (19 starts), averaging 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per contest.
The 12-year NBA veteran has competed in 49 playoff games with Portland, Phoenix and Cleveland, averaging 7.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting .444 from beyond the arc in 17.6 minutes per game. With Cleveland during the 2016 and 2017 Playoffs, he played in 29 games, holding averages of 7.0 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting .558 from the field, .541 from deep and .857 from the free throw line in 13.5 minutes per game. His .541 three-point percentage is the highest in Cavaliers playoff history (minimum 50 attempts).
The 6-11 forward, who hails from White Plains, New York, and played collegiately at Arizona, was originally selected by the New York Knicks with the eighth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He earned First Team All-Rookie honors in 2005-06.
The Denver Nuggets signed rookie center Thomas Welsh to a two-way contract today.
Welsh, 7-0, 255, appeared in two games for the Nuggets Las Vegas Summer League team, averaging 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 31.3 minutes per game.
Welsh was selected by Denver with the 58th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He played four seasons at UCLA where he averaged 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 53.7% from the field. He was one of five finalists for the 2017-18 Kareem Abdul-Jabar award, given to the nation’s top center, and finished his Bruins career ranked third in career rebounds (1,035), third in blocks (143) and sixth in career double-doubles (37). As a senior the California native posted averages of 12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 40.7% from three (45-of-112 3FG) and 82.8% from the free throw line. His 10.8 rebounds per game was UCLA’s highest per game average since David Greenwood in 1977-78.
The Lakers signed guard/forward Jeffrey Carroll today.
In 118 career games (77 starts) for Oklahoma State from 2014-18, Carroll averaged 12.0 points (.451 FG%), 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 25.1 minutes per game. As a senior last season, Carroll notched 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.7 minutes.
Carroll most recently played in six Las Vegas Summer League games for the Lakers, notching 4.2 points (.480 FG%) and 2.0 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game.
The Celtics re-signed guard Marcus Smart today.
According to the Boston Herald, “the Celtics appeared to be bidding against themselves as they renewed serious negotiations and agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal with Marcus Smart Thursday. But they were willing to pass on a potentially bargain year of Smart at the qualifying offer of $6,053,719 to lock him up for multiple years and avoid an far more uncertain dance next summer when he could be an unrestricted free agent.”
Smart, 24, produced 10.2 points in 2017-18 to go along with a career-high 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 29.9 minutes over 54 games played (11 starts). He played a key role in Boston’s league-leading defense, which allowed just 99.5 points per 100 possessions with him on the court (3rd among guards who appeared in half of their team’s games).
Smart also ranked in the top-25 in defensive deflections per game, and the top-10 in charges drawn per game among players who appeared in half of their team’s games in 2017-18.
“Keeping Marcus in a Celtics uniform was a top priority, and we’re excited to have accomplished that,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “His intensity is unmatched, and the level of toughness that he brings to the team throughout the course of the entire season is second to none.”
“This is where I want to be, and I’m ready to put a green jersey back on and get to work,” said Smart. “I’m determined to help my teammates bring another championship to the best fans in the world.”
Smart missed the final 15 games of the regular season due to injury, before returning in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs against Milwaukee. He averaged 9.8 points, 5.3 assists and 1.73 steals in 15 postseason games, including a 19-point performance (6-13 FG, 4-10 3-PT) in Boston’s victory over Philadelphia in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 3.
A four-year NBA veteran and the team’s longest tenured Celtic, Smart has averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.48 steals and 28.7 minutes over 261 career games (83 starts).
The L.A. Clippers signed free-agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute today.
Per multiple reports, the deal is for one year, $4.3 million.
“Luc is the ultimate professional,” said Frank. “He is a very smart player and an outstanding defender who leads by example and provides a strong cultural presence in the locker room. Luc is a class act that we welcome back to the Clippers.”
The Clippers’ forward rotation currently includes Danilo Gallinari and Tobias Harris. Mbah a Moute should be in the backup mix off the bench behind them.
Mbah a Moute, 31, appeared in 61 games for the Houston Rockets last season, averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.18 steals in 25.6 minutes. The 6’8”, 230-pound forward spent the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons with the Clippers, averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 19.7 minutes over 155 appearances (137 starts). He holds career averages of 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds across 10 NBA seasons with Milwaukee, Sacramento, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Houston and L.A.
A native of Cameroon, Mbah a Moute was selected 37th overall by Milwaukee in the 2008 NBA Draft after three collegiate seasons at UCLA, where he was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman team in 2006.
The Atlanta Hawks waived guard Jaylen Morris today.
Morris played in six games last season with the Hawks, averaging 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 16.4 minutes. He was signed to a multi-year contract on March 21 after signing consecutive 10-day contracts on February 28 and March 11.