Inside Hoops – Page 698 – NBA Blog

Atlanta Hawks waive Matt Costello

The Atlanta Hawks have waived forward Matt Costello, it was announced today by General Manager Wes Wilcox.

The Hawks frontcourt has some nice depth to it. It was always going to be tough for Costello to make this team.

The roster stands at 19.

Magic waive Cliff Alexander, Branden Dawson and Kevin Murphy

The Orlando Magic waived forwards Cliff Alexander and Branden Dawson and guard Kevin Murphy today, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced tonight following their preseason game vs. Atlanta.

Alexander (6’8”, 245, 11/16/95) played in two preseason games with Orlando, averaging 1.0 ppg. in 5.1 minpg. Dawson (6’6”, 225, 2/1/93) appeared in two preseason outings with the Magic, averaging 3.0 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 6.6 minpg. Murphy (6’5”, 185, 3/6/90) played in two preseason contests with Orlando, averaging 2.5 ppg. in 6.6 minpg.

All three players were originally signed as free agents on September 8.

The Magic roster now stands at 16 players.

Rockets may soon cut P.J. Hairston

Here’s the Houston Chronicle with some insight on the Rockets’ roster plans:

The Rockets have 18 players on the roster after waiving Taylor. P.J. Hairston, who like Taylor did not travel with the Rockets on the trip to China, is also unlikely to make the final roster. Signed on Sept. 30, the Rockets could be keeping Hairston on the roster longer to have him on the roster long enough to make sure they would have his NBA Development rights.

That could leave Tyler Ennis, Gary Payton II and Bobby Brown vying for a roster spot as a third point guard.

Chris Paul suffers minor hand injury

No cause for alarm here. Clippers point guard Chris Paul hurt his hand, but it appears there’s nothing to worry about. Here’s the Orange County Register reporting:

Seeing Chris Paul in running shoes and sweatpants before a Clippers practice certainly isn’t good news. And, seeing Paul, the Clippers’ star point guard, standing in running shows and sweats with a hand wrapped, well that means the news is certainly worse.

Luckily for the Clippers, appearances can sometime be deceiving.

While Paul didn’t practice Sunday because of his hand injury, he’s not expected to miss any real time. Paul’s officially being called “day-to-day” with a sprained left thumb, and injury he likely would be able to play with if the Clippers were in the regular season.

“He’ll play in definitely one of the two (remaining preseason games), and that tells you it’s not that serious,” Doc Rivers said.

Rockets waive Isaiah Taylor

The Rockets waived guard Isaiah Taylor today, General Manager Daryl Morey announced.

Taylor (6-3, 170) was an early entry candidate for the 2016 NBA Draft following his junior season at Texas. He appeared in three games for the Rockets this preseason.

As preseason continues, teams around the league will cut players until they’re down to the regular season roster maximum of 15. The season begins Tuesday, October 25.

Mavericks waive Jameel Warney

The Mavericks waived forward Jameel Warney today.

Warney (6-8, 260) was originally signed as a free agent on July 27 and played in three preseason games for the Mavericks averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest.

The native of New Brunswick, N.J., played in all six games for the Mavericks at the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He averaged 6.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 block in 16.5 minutes per contest. He led Dallas in field goal percentage, shooting .593 from the floor while making .875 from the foul line.

Warney went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after four successful seasons at Stony Brook University where he averaged 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.0 blocks and 30.7 minutes in 135 career collegiate games. In his senior season with the Seawolves, Warney averaged 19.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 3.0 blocks in 33 games on his way to earning America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career at Stony Brook as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,132), rebounds (1,275), blocks (275) and games (135).

Preseason: Celtics beat Knicks 119-107

Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, the Celtics beat the Knicks 119-107.

In the win, R.J. Hunter led the Celtics with 17 points (6-of-8 shooting), plus two steals in just 12 minutes. Avery Bradley had 17 points (6-of-8), and two steals in 17 minutes. And new addition Al Horford shot 5-of-5, including 2-of-2 three-pointers, for 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks in just 16 minutes.

In the loss, The Knicks were led by 6-foot-8, 216-pound forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in just 19 minutes of play. Backup center Willy Hernangomez was also solid with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes.

It’s preseason, and teams around the league, including Boston and New York, are essentially just warming up, and playing their starters very limited minutes.

Still, observations can be made:

We saw little from Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas today. No big deal.

Adding Horford sounded like a good move by Boston this offseason, and it sure looks that way on the court. Through the four preseason games he’s played, the former Atlanta Hawk is averaging 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in just 18 minutes per game. And he’s shooting 61.3% FG.

It’ll be interesting to watch Boston’s power forward rotation. The minutes breakdown there will be a compelling coaching decision.

For the Knicks, not having Derrick Rose (currently on trial in California) hurts. Rose has played just one preseason game for his new squad, and looked good. But chemistry development that should have taken place in preseason is now postponed.

But while Rose remains out, Joakim Noah was healthy enough to make his preseason debut. He had five points, five rebounds, an assist and two steals in 19 minutes. He looked rusty, which is to be expected. It’s hard to have a firm opinion on where he’s at just yet.

Kristaps Porzingis is fascinating to watch. As was the case most of last season. Within the first half-quarter of tonight’s game he hit a pair of threes and ran a fast break, which he finished with a bucket. That wound up being most of his production last night — minutes were limited. But he can do amazing things for a young player who stands 7-foot-3.

The Celtics are now 4-1 in preseason. The Knicks are 2-2.

Trail Blazers waive Luis Montero

The Trail Blazers waived guard Luis Montero today.

Signed as an undrafted free agent on July 9, 2015, Montero played in 12 games for the Trail Blazers as a rookie in 2015-16, averaging 1.2 points (26.3% FG, 11.1% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 0.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists.

During the 2016 NBA preseason, Montero recorded three points (1-1 3-PT), one assist and one block in his lone contest against Utah on Oct. 3.

Portland’s roster now stands at 17 players.

Nuggets waive JaKarr Sampson, D.J. Kennedy and Axel Toupane

The Nuggets waived guard D.J. Kennedy and forwards JaKarr Sampson and Axel Toupane on Saturday, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced.

Kennedy, was signed by Denver on Aug. 16, 2016 and has appeared in one preseason game for the Nuggets, posting four points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals in 12 minutes of play.

Sampson was signed by Denver on Feb. 22, 2016 and played the final 26 games (22 starts) of the 2015-16 season, averaging 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 18.0 minutes. He has appeared in one game this preseason, tallying 10 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block in 20 minutes.

Toupane signed with the Nuggets on Mar. 24, 2016 and averaged 3.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 14.5 minutes over the final 21 games of the 2015-16 season. He has appeared in one game this preseason, posting 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes.

The Nuggets roster now stands at 17 players.

Cavaliers re-sign J.R. Smith, waive Toney Douglas

The Cavaliers have re-signed guard J.R. Smith.

In a related move, the Cavaliers have waived guard Toney Douglas.

“Bringing J.R. back as part of our core group was a priority for us,” said Cavs General Manager David Griffin. “He’s a special part of this family and we are very pleased to have reached an agreement that we all can feel good about. We know he can’t wait to get back on the court with his brothers and we are certain that everyone in this organization and city feels the same way.”

Smith played in 77 games (all starts) with Cleveland in the 2015-16 regular season, averaging 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 30.7 minutes. The 6-6 guard ranked seventh in three-pointers made with a franchise single season record 204 triples. He also shot .400 from beyond the arc, which was tied for 18th-best in the NBA. Smith led Cleveland in steal-to-turnover ratio (1.37) and scored 10 or more points 50 times and 20 or more points 11 times last season.

During Cleveland’s championship run in the 2016 Playoffs, Smith started in all 21 games, averaging 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 34.8 minutes per game. He made a franchise playoff-record 65 three-pointers, which were also the fourth-most threes made by any NBA player in a single postseason. Smith scored in double figures in each of the last five games of the NBA Finals, as Cleveland went 4-1 over that stretch against Golden State and took home the franchise’s first ever NBA title.

Over his 12-year NBA career, Smith owns averages of 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.02 steals in 26.9 minutes over 839 regular season games (295 starts) with New Orleans, Denver, New York and Cleveland. He currently ranks 17th in league history in three-pointers made with 1,679. His 28 career regular season games with at least seven three-pointers and 14 contests with eight or more three-pointers both rank second in NBA history. Smith has made the most three-pointers in the Eastern Conference since the Cavs acquired him in a three-team trade on Jan. 5, 2015 (335 three-pointers).

The Akron Beacon Journal reports: “It feels great,” Smith said of being back with a reported four-year contract worth $57 million. “I didn’t take my physical yet, so I can’t practice, but it feels good to be in the gym, be around the guys and to be a part of it.”