Inside Hoops – Page 614 – NBA Blog

Heat sign guard Matt Williams

The Heat have signed guard Matt Williams.

Williams appeared in eight Summer League games (six starts) with the HEAT in Orlando and Las Vegas and averaged 9.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the field, 39 percent from three-point range and a perfect 2-of-2 from the foul line. He started all six games in Las Vegas with Miami and shot 45 percent from three-point range, leading the team in three-point field goals made four times, including a 5-of-8 performance from beyond the arc vs. Washington on July 10 and a 6-of-9 output from downtown vs. Memphis on July 15.

The University of Central Florida graduate finished his collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made (274) and became the 18th player in program history to score at least 1,000 points. He appeared in 36 games (all starts) as a senior and averaged 15.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 36.5 minutes while shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from three-point range and 81.1 percent from the foul line. He set the single-season school and conference records for three-point field goals made (126) and set the Knights’ single-game three-point field goals made record after connecting on 11 against USF on January 17. He capped the season scoring the fifth-most points for a single-season in school history and earned the team’s MVP award.

Spurs re-sign Pau Gasol

The Spurs have re-signed forward/center Pau Gasol.

According to ESPN, it’s a three-year deal worth $48 million, with a partial guarantee on the third season.

During the 2016-17 season, Gasol appeared in 64 games in his first year with the Silver and Black, averaging 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.09 blocks in 25.4 minutes while shooting .502 (303-604) from the field, a career-best .538 (56-104) from beyond the arc and .707 (130-184) from the foul line. On April 12 at Utah he scored his 20,000th career point to become just the second European player to eclipse 20,000 points for their career, joining Dirk Nowitzki.

A 16-year NBA veteran, Gasol is a four-time All-NBA selection who has won two NBA Championships. The six-time All-Star was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2010-11 and 2014-15 while earning All-NBA Third Team honors in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

In 1,119 career NBA games (1,081 starts), Gasol has averaged 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.65 blocks while shooting .510 (7,651-15,008) from the floor and .754 (4,569-6,062) from the free throw line in 34.7 minutes. He has appeared in 131 career playoffs games, averaging 15.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.77 blocks in 36.1 minutes.

The 2002 Rookie of the Year was originally drafted with the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Hawks before being dealt on draft night to the Grizzlies, where he spent his first six-plus seasons (2001-2008) and averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 476 games.

After being acquired in the middle of the 2007-08 season by the Lakers, Gasol spent the next six-plus seasons (2008-2014) with Los Angeles, where he won titles in 2009 and 2010. The NBA’s 2012 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winner averaged 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 429 games with the Lakers. Gasol then signed with the Bulls in the summer of 2014 and spent the last two seasons in Chicago (2014-16), where he averaged 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 150 total games.

Gasol is one of four players in NBA history to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks in his career, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

A native of Barcelona, Spain, Gasol has played for the Spanish Senior National Team since 2001, including appearances in the last four Summer Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016), helping Spain capture silver medals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.

Spurs sign Matt Costello to a two-way contract

The Spurs have signed forward Matt Costello to a two-way contract.

Costello, 6-10/240, most recently played with Minnesota in the 2017 MGM Resorts Summer League, leading all players in rebounding in Las Vegas and averaging a double-double of 11.3 points and 12.0 rebounds to go along with 1.75 steals and 1.25 blocks in 25.8 minutes. He also appeared in the 2017 Orlando Pro Summer League with Orlando.

Spending last season with the Iowa Energy of the NBA G League, Costello averaged 9.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.65 blocks in 25.3 minutes over 23 games (14 starts). After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, the forward played for Atlanta last preseason, averaging 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.0 minutes.

Costello played four years at Michigan State and is the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (146). During his senior season, Costello averaged 10.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.20 blocks in 22.9 minutes, earning All-Big Ten honors.

Two-way contracts were added to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and will go into effect for the 2017-18 season. Each team will now be able to have the standard 15 players on their roster, as well as up to two additional players on two-way contracts. Two-way players will spend the bulk of the season in the NBA G League, which includes San Antonio’s exclusively owned and operated affiliate, the Austin Spurs.

Heat sign Derrick Walton Jr. to two-way contract

The Heat have signed guard Derrick Walton Jr. to a two-way contract.

Walton appeared in four Summer League games (one start) with the Magic in Orlando and averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 20.5 minutes while shooting 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from the field, 50 percent (6-of-12) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from the foul line. His 50 percent shooting from downtown tied for the third-highest during the Orlando Summer League with a minimum of 10 attempts.

Walton appeared in 127 games (126 starts) at the University of Michigan, becoming the only player in program history to score at least 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds and dish out 400 assists. Among the school’s all-time leaders, he finished second in free throw percentage (.837), third in starts, fourth in assists (499), tied for fourth in three-point field goals made (233), seventh in steals (146), eighth in minutes (4,053), tied for 15th in games played and 22nd in points (1,471). He helped lead the Wolverines to the 2017 Big Ten Championship and was named the Big Ten Tournament MVP as he continued to guide Michigan to a Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament after defeating No. 2 Louisville in the previous game. Additionally, he dished out a single-game school record 16 assists at Nebraska on March 5, 2017 and recorded just the fifth triple-double in Michigan history after tallying 10 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists against Youngstown State on December 19, 2015.

Pistons sign Luis Montero to two-way contract

The Pistons have signed guard/forward Luis Montero to a two-way contract.

Montero, 6-7, 190, played 49 games last season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League. In 36 games with Sioux Falls (15 starts), Montero averaged 8.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 24.4 minutes per game. He was traded to Reno on March 2, 2017 and averaged 8.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 13 games with the Bighorns. Montero played in four games with the with the Santa Cruz Warriors during the 2015-16 season and averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocks in 28.3 minutes per game. He saw action in 12 NBA games with the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2015-16 season and averaged 1.2 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Montero played one year at Westchester Community College (2013-14) where he averaged 15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have two Two-Way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. Two-Way players for the Pistons will provide services primarily for the Grand Rapids Drive, the team’s G League affiliate, but can spend up to 45 days with the Pistons, not including any time prior to the start of the Drive’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Report: Knicks to hire Gerald Madkins

As the memory of Phil Jackson steadily fades, the Knicks will soon make another front office hire. Here’s the NY Post reporting:

According to multiple league sources, Gerald Madkins will be named the Knicks new assistant general manager, leaving the Clippers, where he was director of basketball operations since September 2012.

Madkins, 48, who played parts of three NBA seasons with the Cavaliers and Warriors, has been an executive with four other NBA teams — including the Knicks, for whom he served as a scout from 2003-2007.

Sources said Madkins was “going to New York” after his time in Los Angeles, but the Knicks have not formally announced the hire. That could come this week. One other source, acknowledging the team’s interest, said any definitive claims of a hire were “premature.” But that could be a matter of a variation on Yogi Berra’s claim that “it’s not done till it’s done.”

Hawks add Nicolas Brussino off waivers

The Hawks have claimed guard/forward Nicolas Brussino off waivers, it was announced today by General Manager and Head of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk. He was waived by the Dallas Mavericks on July 20.

Brussino, 6’8, appeared in 54 games as a rookie last season with the Mavericks, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.6 minutes. He also spent time with the Texas Legends of the NBA G League, averaging 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.8 minutes (.628 FG%, .520 3FG%, .842 FT%) in five contests.

Prior to Dallas, the 24-year-old played professionally in his native Argentina with Penarol (2015-16) and Regatas Corrientes (2012-15). He has also been a member of the Argentinian National Team since 2012, including participating in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Jazz sign Ekpe Udoh

The Utah Jazz announced yesterday (Friday) that the team has signed forward/center Ekpe Udoh (pronounced EPP-ay You-Doe) to a multi-year contract.

Standing 6-10 with a 7-foot-4½-inch wingspan, Udoh (6-10, 245, Baylor) enters his first season with the Jazz, after a successful stint with Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey) from 2015-17. During the 2016-17 season, he appeared in 61 games (47 starts) in the Euroleague and Turkish Basketball Super League, averaging 11.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game. Udoh led Fenerbahce to their first ever Euroleague title and was named Final Four MVP. He averaged 14.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.5 blocks in wins against Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus in the semifinals and finals, respectively. He finished the season leading the Euroleague during league play in rebounds per game (7.8) and blocks per game (2.1) while setting a single-season Euroleague record with 68 blocks.

The 30-year-old was also named a 2017 All-Euroleague First Team member and Turkish Super League All-Star as well as a runner-up for the Best Defender Trophy.

Originally selected in the first round (sixth overall selection) of the 2010 NBA Draft by Golden State, Udoh has appeared in 270 career games (52 starts) over five seasons in the NBA with Golden State, Milwaukee and the LA Clippers. He owns career averages of 4.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 16.9 minutes.

Udoh played two collegiate seasons at Michigan (2006-08) where he was named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team as a sophomore before transferring to Baylor. During his lone season with the Bears, he set a Big 12 and Baylor record with 133 blocks leading to All-Big 12 and All-American recognition by conference coaches and media after averaging 13.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.7 blocks in 35.1 minutes over 36 games.

A fan favorite known throughout his basketball travels for establishing book clubs and holding movie nights with fans, Udoh was born and raised in Edmond, Okla., where he attended Santa Fe High School. Of Nigerian descent, his full given name is Ekpedeme, which translates to “Lion.”

He will wear No. 33 for the Jazz.

Nets sign Yakuba Ouattara

The Brooklyn Nets yesterday (Friday) signed Yakuba Ouattara to a two-way contract.

Ouattara (6’3”, 185) spent the 2016-17 season playing for AS Monaco Basket of the French LNB Pro A league. In 32 total games, he averaged 11.8 points on 51.4 percent (147-of-286) shooting from the floor, including a 40.0 percent (40-of-100) clip from beyond the arc, while pulling down 3.3 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per contest.

A native of Tepa, Ghana, Ouattara has been a member of the French national team because of the unavailability of a Ghanaian national team. The 25-year-old began playing professionally in 2012 and spent two seasons playing for Elan Chalon (2012-14) in the French LNB Pro A league before joining AS Monaco Basket for the past two seasons (2015-17).

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Nets will provide services primarily to the team’s NBA G League affiliate – the Long Island Nets – but can spend up to 45 days with Brooklyn, not including any time prior to the start of Long Island’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Grizzlies sign second rounder Dillon Brooks

Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced yesterday (Friday) that the Grizzlies signed 2017 second round draft pick Dillon Brooks.

Brooks (6-6, 220), selected 45th overall pick by the Houston Rockets and traded to the Grizzlies for a future second round draft pick, appeared in 35 games (27 starts) and averaged 16.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.09 steals in 25.3 minutes last season as a junior at the University of Oregon. The 21-year-old, who led the Ducks to their first Final Four since 1939, was named the 2017 Pac-12 Player of the Year and earned All-Pac 12 First Team and All-America First Team honors from USA Today. In addition, Brooks also was one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Award, given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top collegiate small forward.

The Mississauga, Canada native appeared in 109 games (98 starts) over his three-year career at Oregon and averaged 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes.