Inside Hoops – Page 714 – NBA Blog

Lakers sign Yi Jianlian

Forward Yi Jianlian is back in the NBA. The Lakers officially signed him today.

“We’re excited to have a player of his worldwide accomplishments,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “We look forward to bringing him to training camp and hopefully having him make an impact on our team.”

The Lakers frontcourt revolves around Luol Deng, Julius Randle, and if he’s ready, rookie Brandon Ingram, plus Timofey Mozgov at center. Jianlian adds some forward depth.

Yi, who hails from the Guangdong Province in China, recently concluded competing for his country at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, averaging 20.4 points (3rd overall in group play competition), 6.6 rebounds (6th), 1.4 steals (t-6th), and 1.0 blocks (t-6th) per game over his five contests while shooting 46.7% from three-point range.

Drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, Yi last appeared in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2011-12 season. Over his five-year NBA career, the 6’11’’ Yi averaged 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 22.2 minutes per game over 272 contests (163 starts) with the Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, and Mavericks.

Prior to joining the NBA, the 28-year-old played professionally for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association beginning in 2002, and played the last four seasons with the organization as well. He is a four-time CBA champion, eight-time CBA MVP, and two-time CBA Finals MVP, in addition to a decorated international career that includes winning three gold medals at the FIBA Asia Championships (2015, 2011, and 2005) and gold at the 2006 Asian Games.

Bucks sign Jason Terry

The Bucks today signed veteran guard Jason Terry.

Terry, 38, is a 17-year NBA veteran who spent the last two seasons playing for the Houston Rockets. In 2015-16, Terry played in 72 games (seven starts) with the Rockets and averaged 5.9 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.

The Bucks backcourt is built around Matthew Dellavedova, Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton, and they also may use forward-sized Giannis Antetokounmpo as a point guard. Terry will add depth to that group.

“Jason is a true professional who understands what it takes to be successful in this league,” Bucks General Manager John Hammond said. “He’ll be an invaluable resource for our young group as we continue to develop into a championship-caliber team on and off the court, and he’s still one of the best shooters in the game who can help stretch the floor for us. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Milwaukee.”

The 6-2 guard was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 10th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and spent the first five seasons of his career with the Hawks. Terry then moved to Dallas where he played with the Mavericks for eight seasons, including the Mavs’ 2011 NBA Championship team, before playing with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets for one season each prior to his stint in Houston.

Jazz sign rookie Marcus Paige

The Jazz signed 2016 second-round pick guard Marcus Paige today. He will wear jersey #16.

Paige (6-2, 175) played four seasons at North Carolina, averaging 13.1 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range in 141 career games. He helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2016 NCAA Championship Game. Paige was recognized as an Academic All-American in three seasons, including First Team honors following his senior season. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in 2015 and 2016 as well as the 2014 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year.

The 22-year-old was a member of the Jazz entry at the 2016 Utah Jazz Summer League (July 4-7) and NBA Summer League (July 8-15) in Las Vegas, averaging 7.0 points, 1.6 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 19.7 minutes of action in nine games. He reached double-figures in back-to-back contests, scoring 10 points against New Orleans on July 10 and 11 points against Portland on July 12.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native played high school basketball at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa, helping them to a 2011 AAAA State Championship. Paige was selected as the 2012 Gatorade Iowa Boys Basketball Player of the Year and Iowa Mr. Basketball.

Nets hire Gianluca Pascucci and BJ Johnson

The Nets on Monday named Gianluca Pascucci as director of global scouting and BJ Johnson as coordinator of player evaluation.

“We are thrilled to add Gianluca and BJ to our front office,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “Collectively, they bring valuable experiences that cross many platforms and their extensive knowledge of both the NBA and the global game will be tremendous assets to our scouting department. Both will be excellent additions to our culture and we are excited about welcoming them to Brooklyn.”

Pascucci joins the Nets after spending the past four years as vice president of player personnel for the Houston Rockets. During his time in Houston, he also served as the general manager of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the D-League affiliate of the Rockets. It marked Pascucci’s second stint in Houston, as he previously served as the team’s international scout for six seasons (2002-08).

William “BJ” Johnson joins Brooklyn’s staff after spending the past six years as USA Basketball’s assistant men’s national team director. Johnson worked with all levels of USA Basketball men’s teams, with his primary focus on developing the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team program. Johnson began his career with USA Basketball in 2005 as manager of competitive programs, where he was involved with all facets of the men’s and women’s programs, including player personnel and basketball operations during trials, training camps and competitions.

USA beats Serbia, wins Olympic gold

After a tough first first, the USA stepped up and dominated Serbia, winning 96-66 on Sunday in Brazil to win 2016 Olympic gold.

Kevin Durant led the way for the USA, shooting 10-of-19, including 5-of-11 three-pointers, for 30 points. DeMarcus Cousins also had a great game, coming off the bench to contribute 13 points and 15 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play.

Klay Thompson added 12 points, on 11 shots.

For a full recap, read our Team USA Basketball page.

USA women win 2016 Olympic gold

The 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team (8-0) rolled to a sixth straight Olympic gold medal and remained undefeated at the 2016 Olympic Games with an impressive 101-72 win over Spain (6-2) on Saturday afternoon at Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro.

The U.S. women now have won eight gold medals in Olympic competition, own a 49-game Olympic win streak and an overall record of 66-3 since beginning play in 1976.

Serbia (4-4) beat France (4-4) 70-63 to win the bronze medal.

The game was close for the first 13 minutes before the USA began to pull away. Led by four players in double digit scoring, including Diana Taurasi with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point and Lindsay Whalen with 17 points and six assists, the USA got 55 points off its bench, outrebounded Spain 51-28 and scored 23 points off of 17 Spanish turnovers.

“Obviously it was an incredible tournament for us,” said USA head coach Geno Auriemma. “From the very first game that we played to today, with very few exceptions I thought we played basketball at a really high level. I can’t say enough about our players. How quickly they’ve come together, how much they’ve been able to accomplish in less than a month that we’ve been together.

“It wasn’t as easy as sometimes it looked, these last two games especially with France and today against Spain,” Auriemma continued. “These are very good teams that we’re playing, and you could see that it wasn’t just a cake walk, that it was a struggle. Then finally, because of our depth and because of the experience on our team, we were able to separate ourselves. But the way we played, we respected our opponents and we respected the game itself, we earned a lot of respect from a lot of people around the world, and I’m really proud of that.”

The first quarter saw six tied scores and four lead changes before the USA closed with seven straight points to take a 21-17 lead into the second quarter. The first 10 minutes saw eight different U.S. players score and 14 points from non-starters.

“Tonight was a good game,” Whalen said. “Spain is a tough team. They really pushed us. We worked hard this month to get to this point, really our whole lives to get here. We’re glad we played well tonight.”

The run stretched into the second quarter when Sue Bird made a 3 at 9:36 to bring the score to 24-17. Spain responded and cut into the margin with its own 3-pointer at 6:54 to bring the score to 27-24. The USA held Spain scoreless for the next 3:37, however, while it tallied 10 points, including back-to-back 3s from Taurasi, to lead 37-24. Spain ended its drought at 3:17, but the USA again closed strong, outscoring Spain 12-6 to go ahead 49-32 at halftime.

Maya Moore scored nine of her 14 points in the second, while the U.S. defense buckled down in the second period to hold Spain to 5-of-18 shooting (.278) from the field. Moore also finished with six assists.

The USA was a red-hot 77.8 percent from the field (14-18 FGs) while it raced to 32 points in the third quarter, and it held Spain to 33.3 percent from the field (6-18 FGs) and just 17 points in the period to all but seal the win. Nine U.S. players put points on the board in the third, including two more 3s from Taurasi and six points from Elena Delle Donne, who tallied 10 in the game.

“You play these eight games and you want to win so bad,” Taurasi said. “The one thing we didn’t do is we didn’t take any possessions off. We played every single game like it’s a gold medal game, and that’s why I think you see everyone is emotionally and physically spent right now. And that takes a certain character of team and individuals. I’ve never been a part of anything like this.”

Spain, which was playing in its fourth Olympic Games and its first medal game, outscored the USA 23-20 in the fourth quarter as the USA cruised to the 101-72 win.

Breanna Stewart, who finished with 11 points, pushed the USA into triple digits with the USA’s last field goal with 35 seconds remaining to make it 101-70.

“I’m just really happy,” said Sue Bird. “We just did something that’s pretty incredible. When you get together as a team and you know you only have a month to do something, it’s remarkable in so many ways that we were able to put this together and do it in a fashion that leaves no question marks. This put us on the map as arguable one of the best teams and we had fun doing it. Not only that, you can talk about the 100-point games or the margin of victory, but we played our butts off. We really did. I don’t think I’ve ever been around a group that’s this talented and also played this hard. Again, I’m just super happy. I’m proud of my teammates. I’m proud I’m part of this group. I’m happy for coach Auriemma and the rest of the staff, and it’s just a really fun day today.”

Serbia dominates Australia in Olympic semifinals

The Olympic semifinals were Friday, and Serbia dominated their matchup with Australia and will play the USA on Sunday in the Gold Medal Game. Here’s the Deseret News reporting:

Jazz forward Joe Ingles didn’t mince words when discussing Team Australia’s surprisingly lop-sided semifinal loss to Serbia Friday.

“For us it was pathetic,” said Ingles, who had seven rebounds, two steals and 12 points in Australia’s 87-61 loss to Serbia. “We haven’t played like that all tournament. (It was) totally not like our team.”

Australia beat Serbia in group play 95-80 on Aug. 8, but Serbia clearly had a different game plan and mindset in Friday’s semifinal win as they led start to finish in every way.

Jazz sign rookie Joel Bolomboy

The Jazz on Friday signed 2016 second round pick Joel Bolomboy (pronounced “Ball-um-boy”).

A 6-9, 235-pound forward from Weber State University), Bolomboy averaged 17.1 points on 57.3 percent shooting and grabbed 12.6 rebounds (third in the nation) during his senior year, setting a school single-season record by tallying 415 total rebounds. He was named the 2016 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Conference First Team selection. Bolomboy finished his four-year career as the all-time leader in rebounds for Weber State as well as the Big Sky Conference.

The 22-year-old was a member of the Jazz entry at the 2016 Utah Jazz Summer League (July 4-7) and NBA Summer League (July 8-15) in Las Vegas, averaging 7.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 19.3 minutes of action in nine games. In Las Vegas, he averaged 9.5 points on 53.3 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six contests. He recorded one double-double, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. New Orleans on July 10. In the team’s summer league finale against the L.A. Lakers on July 15, Bolomboy led the Jazz in scoring, recording 20 points, shooting 9-for-12 from the floor, adding seven rebounds, one steal and one block.

Born in the Ukraine, Bolomboy played high school basketball at Keller Central in Fort Worth, Texas.

He will wear jersey #22 for the Jazz.

Lakers hire Jud Buechler, Brian Keefe and Theo Robertson as coaches

The Lakers have hired Jud Buechler, Brian Keefe, and Theo Robertson as player development coaches on Head Coach Luke Walton’s staff, joining associate head coach Brian Shaw and assistant coaches Jesse Mermuys and Mark Madsen.

Additionally, it was announced that Casey Owens has been named assistant coach/advance professional scout and Will Scott has been named to the staff as video coordinator.

Buechler enjoyed a 12-year playing career highlighted by winning three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1996-98, and was a member of the 1995-96 Bulls team that went 72-10 in the regular season. The Poway, CA native also suited up for the Nets, Spurs, Warriors, Pistons, Suns, and Magic between the 1990-91 and 2001-02 seasons and appeared in 720 regular season and 71 postseason games.

Keefe comes to L.A. after spending the last two seasons serving as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks. Prior to his stint with the Knicks, Keefe spent seven seasons working with the Oklahoma City Thunder after joining the franchise in the summer of 2007, where he was a player development coach for two years before spending his last five seasons as an assistant coach. During his time with the Thunder, the team reached the post-season five times including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2012. Before joining the Thunder, Keefe worked for two seasons as an assistant video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs and was a member of the coaching staff that won an NBA Championship in 2007.

Robertson joins the Lakers after spending the previous two seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where he was part of the 2015 NBA championship as the team’s video intern, working with Steve Kerr’s coaching staff assisting with game preparation. He was promoted to video coordinator/player development prior to the 2015-16 season, working on-court with players in addition to his game-planning responsibilities.

Owens transitions to his role with the Lakers after spending last season serving as Head Coach for their D-league affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders. In his first season as Head Coach of the D-Fenders, Owens led the team to its second Western Conference Championship and a trip to the D-League Finals. In addition, Owens helped produce two NBA Call-Ups in Justin Harper (Detroit Pistons) and Jeff Ayres (L.A. Clippers). Owens got his start with the D-Fenders as an assistant coach for the team during the 2013-14 season. A 17-year veteran of professional basketball, Owens has worked in coaching, player development and scouting at the NBA, NBA D-League, Continental Basketball Association, and international levels, and worked with the Lakers coaching staff throughout their 2015 training camp and preseason and 2016 NBA Summer League.

Scott has assisted the Lakers in the video room since the 2011-12 season, while simultaneously working for the D-Fenders. The Los Angeles native was promoted to assistant coach/video coordinator with the D-Fenders last season, where his responsibilities grew to include scouting upcoming opponents and assisting in on-court player development, as the team reached the D-League Finals. During the summers of 2014 and 2015, Scott served as video coordinator of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, where he developed video scouting reports on opponents and was intimately involved in game-planning and daily coaching operations.

Grizzlies add Bob Bender, Bob Thate to coaching staff

The Grizzlies have hired Bob Bender as an assistant coach and Bob Thate as shooting coach on head coach David Fizdale’s staff.

Bender comes to Memphis after working last season as a scout for the Brooklyn Nets. His professional coaching experience includes: two seasons (2002-04) with the Philadelphia 76ers, first as an assistant coach/player development and then as an assistant coach; nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks (2004-13) as an assistant coach, where he worked alongside Fizdale for the first four seasons; and one season with the Milwaukee Bucks (2013-14) as an assistant coach. Bender began his coaching career as an assistant at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski (1983-89) and later served as head coach at Illinois State University (1989-93) and the University of Washington (1993-2002). He was named the 1992 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year at Illinois State and the 1996 Pac-10 Coach of the Year at Washington.

A Duke graduate, Bender is the only individual to play for two different teams in two different NCAA Championship games, one as a freshman on Bob Knight’s undefeated 1976 Indiana team and the other as a point guard at Duke in the 1978 title game against Kentucky. The Quantico, Va. native was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the sixth round of the 1979 NBA Draft but did not play in the NBA.

Thate joins the Grizzlies after serving in the same capacity for four years (2012-16) with the Los Angeles Clippers and three years with the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn), tutoring superstars such as Blake Griffin and Jason Kidd. Griffin shot 52.1 percent from the foul line during the 2011-12 season but saw his free throw percentage rise to 72.8 percent and 72.7 percent over the last two seasons, respectively, under Thate. Kidd shot 37.0 percent from three-point range over the final eight years of his NBA career after first working with Thate in 2005 (32.9 percent in his first 11 seasons).

A graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, Thate earned All-America recognition after setting the school’s single-season records for scoring average (27.2 points) and points scored (598) in the 1969-70 season. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1970 NBA Draft but instead embarked on a four-year professional career in France and a combined 23 years of coaching at the Division I college and high school levels, including stints at Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University, the University of California-Irvine and Long Beach State (now California State University, Long Beach).