Inside Hoops – Page 734 – NBA Blog

Suns sign Jared Dudley

The Phoenix Suns today signed forward Jared Dudley, a nine-year NBA veteran who played five of those seasons with the Suns, to a multiyear contract.

“We are excited to welcome Jared back to the Phoenix Suns family,” said General Manager Ryan McDonough. “Jared’s work ethic, professionalism and knowledge of the game will provide a great example for our young players to try to emulate.”

Dudley’s deal is reportedly a $30 million dollar contract over three years.

Dudley returns to Phoenix where he previously played five seasons with the Suns from 2008-2013, averaging 9.8 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range in 356 games. One of the best three-point shooters in Suns history, he comes back to the team ranked seventh on the franchise’s all-time three-point makes list with 437 and third with his 41.2 percent mark from behind the arc, trailing only Steve Nash and Raja Bell.

Initially acquired by the Suns in a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats on Dec. 10, 2008, Dudley averaged double-digits scoring in each of his final three seasons with the Suns, including career-highs of 12.7 points and 4.6 rebounds with Phoenix in 2011-12. In addition to his shooting ability, the 2009-10 Dan Majerle Hustle Award winner and versatile defender led the Suns in steals in three of his four full seasons with the team. One of the league’s most durable players, the 6-7, 225-pound forward played in 356 of a possible 381 games during his first tenure with the Suns and is one of only three players in the NBA, along with David West and Luis Scola, to play in at least 65 games in each of the past nine seasons.

In 81 games with the Washington Wizards last season, Dudley started 41 and averaged 7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists while ranking seventh on the NBA leaderboard by shooting 42.0 percent from three-point range. For his career, the nine-year veteran holds averages of 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 47.0 percent from the field, 39.9 percent from three-point range and 73.6 percent from the free throw line in 676 games (253 starts) with the Bobcats (2007-08), Suns (2008-13), Los Angeles Clippers (2013-14), Milwaukee Bucks (2014-15) and Wizards (2015-16).

The 22nd overall selection of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Bobcats, Dudley joined the NBA following a standout four-year career at Boston College where he was named ACC Player of the Year in 2006-07. A San Diego native, Dudley represents his hometown’s area code in his Twitter handle (@JaredDudley619) and has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most entertaining players to follow.

Dudley will wear uniform No. 3, the same number he wore during his first five seasons with the Suns. Rookie forward Dragan Bender will now wear No. 35

Lakers sign Timofey Mozgov

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Timofey Mozgov, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mozgov’s deal is reportedly a $65 million dollar contract over four years. Those are bigger dollar numbers than were expected for him.

“Timofey is a player who has shown the ability to change the game at the defensive end, and fills an area of need for us at the center position,” said Kupchak. “We are very pleased to add him to our team.”

Mozgov joins the Lakers after winning the 2016 NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In six NBA seasons with the Cavs, Denver Nuggets, and New York Knicks, the 7-1 Mozgov has a career field goal percentage of 53.7% and holds averages of 6.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game over 369 contests (208 starts). He started all 20 games of Cleveland’s run to the 2015 NBA Finals, averaging 10.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 26.5 minutes while shooting 50.0% from the field.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Mozgov has represented his home country internationally, winning bronze medals at the 2012 Olympics in London and at the 2011 FIBA European Championships. Prior to beginning his NBA career with the Knicks in 2010, the 29-year-old played professionally in Russia for six seasons.

Knicks re-sign Lance Thomas

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has re-signed forward Lance Thomas.

Thomas, 6-8, 235-pounds, provided consistent scoring off the bench for New York this past season, averaging 8.2 points over 22.3 minutes in 59 games. Although he missed 23 games due to injury, the Brooklyn, NY-native recorded career highs in points scored (484), scoring average (8.2), three-point field goals (44) and attempts (109) and free throw percentage (.857).

The Duke University graduate finished his second season with the Knicks in 2015-16, his fifth overall in the NBA (also with New Orleans and Oklahoma City), and was originally acquired as part of a three-team deal with Cleveland and Oklahoma City on Jan. 5, 2015.

Bucks sign Mirza Teletovic

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent forward Mirza Teletovic (MEER-za Tel-LET-O-vich), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Teletovic’s deal is reportedly a $30 million dollar contract over three years.

Teletovic, 30, is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and most recently played for the Phoenix Suns. He had a noteworthy 2015-16 campaign with the Suns as he averaged career highs in points (12.2), field goal percentage (.427), 3-point percentage (.393) and 3-pointers made (2.3) per game. Teletovic also competed in a career-best 79 games (one start) in 2015-16, and set an NBA record for most 3-point makes by a reserve in a single regular season (179).

The 6-9 forward began his NBA career in Brooklyn, playing three seasons for the Nets (2012-2015) after signing with the team as a free agent on July 11, 2012. He played under Bucks head coach Jason Kidd in Brooklyn during the 2013-14 season.

Teletovic helped the Nets reach the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the team. He appeared in all 12 of Brooklyn’s playoff games in 2013-14 and averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 43.9 percent shooting from the field in 18.3 minutes per contest.

Prior to entering the NBA, Teletovic played professionally for 10 seasons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium and Spain. He has also represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team seven times (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015).

Utah Jazz sign Joe Johnson

The Utah Jazz have signed free-agent guard/forward Joe Johnson.

Johnson’s deal is reportedly a $22 million dollar contract over two years.

Johnson (6-7, 240, Arkansas) is a 15-year veteran and seven-time NBA All-Star who owns career averages of 16.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting .372 from three-point range in 36.0 minutes over 1,143 career games (1,073 starts) with Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Brooklyn and Miami. This past season with the Nets and Heat, he averaged 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Johnson recorded 10 games of 20-plus points, three double-doubles and 13 games with three-or more three-point field goals made. Johnson has made the playoffs in 11 of his 15 seasons, appearing in 101 career playoff games (95 starts), averaging 16.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Originally selected in the first round (10th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft by Boston, Johnson earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2010 and was selected as an NBA All-Star from 2007-12 as well as in 2014. He has appeared in 79-plus regular season games in 10 different seasons, including all 82 games five times, and ranks ninth on the NBA’s all-time list for both three-pointers made (1,832) and attempted (4,928).

Prior to the NBA, Johnson played two seasons at the University of Arkansas from 1999-01. He averaged 15.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.3 minutes and was All-SEC Second Team selection by the conference coaches in 2001.

Born in Little Rock, Ark., Johnson played high school basketball at Little Rock Central and was named 1999 Arkansas Mr. Basketball following his senior season. He also won a bronze medal with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup 2006.

He will wear jersey #6 for the Jazz.

Knicks sign center Marshall Plumlee

The Knicks have signed center Marshall Plumlee.

It is likely that Plumlee will play very limited minutes.

Plumlee, 7-0, 250-pounds, went undrafted by an NBA franchise after completing a four-year college career at Duke University (2012-16) with averages of 3.4 points, on 66.5-percent shooting, and 3.8 rebounds over 14.3 minutes in 124 games (36 starts). He played in 13 NCAA Tournament games and was a member of the 2015 National Championship squad. The West Lafayette, IN-native had his most productive season as a senior, averaging 8.3 points, on 68.8-percent shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 1.61 blocks over 30.5 minutes in 36 games (all starts). His 119 offensive rebounds rank sixth on Duke’s all-time single-season list. He joins his brothers – Miles and Mason – in the NBA, who currently play for Milwaukee and Portland, respectively.

In four starts for New York’s entry in the 2016 Orlando Pro Summer League, Plumlee has averaged 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Timberwolves sign Brandon Rush

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed guard/forward Brandon Rush.

Rush, 31, shot 41.4 percent (65-for-157) from three-point range while averaging 4.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 14.7 minutes in 72 games last season for the Golden State Warriors. Rush started 25 games for the Warriors last year, averaging 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21.0 minutes per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, including 49.4 percent from three-point range.

The 6-6 guard/forward has career averages of 7.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in eight NBA seasons with Golden State, Utah and Indiana. Rush is a career 40.3 percent (478-for-1186) shooter from beyond the arc, making him one of just 11 active players to own a career 40 percent mark from three-point range in at least 1,000 career attempts.

Rush was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 13th pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft and traded the following month to the Indiana Pacers. He played three seasons with Indiana. In 2009-10, Rush played in all 82 games (64 starts) and averaged 9.4 points and a career-high 4.2 rebounds. On Dec. 19, 2011, he was traded to Golden State where he averaged a career-best 9.8 points per game while appearing in 65 games in that shortened season. Rush was traded to Utah in the summer of 2013 and played the 2013-14 season with the Jazz before signing as a free agent with Golden State in the summer of 2014.

Mitch McGary suspended for drug violation

OKC Thunder power forward Mitch McGary was suspended without pay by the NBA for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.

McGary’s suspension will begin with the next NBA regular season game that he is eligible and physically able to play.

McGary played 15.2 minutes per game as a rookie, averaging 6.3 points and an impressive 5.2 rebounds. But last season, his second in the league, he was mostly an observer, playing just 3.6 minutes in 20 games.

Knicks sign Courtney Lee

The Knicks have signed guard Courtney Lee.

Lee’s deal is reportedly a $50 million dollar contract over four years.

They team today added center Joakim Noah and guard Brandon Jennings, and recent traded for guard Derrick Rose.

“As a coaching staff, we are all excited to fill out our roster with this caliber of player,” Head Coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We believe that the players we have will give us a good mix of versatility and flexibility on both sides of the ball. This will help us get to the level we want to achieve.”

Lee, 6-5, 200-pounds, has averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.02 steals over 27.3 minutes in 600 career games over eight seasons with Orlando, New Jersey, Houston, Boston, Memphis and Charlotte. He has appeared in 50 career playoff games, including a trip to the 2009 NBA Finals with the Magic.

Last season, the Indianapolis, IN-native, averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.08 steals over 79 games with the Grizzlies and Hornets. He was originally selected by Orlando with the 22nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, following four seasons at Western Kentucky University.

Knicks sign Brandon Jennings

The Knicks have signed guard Brandon Jennings.

Jennings’ deal is reportedly a $5 million dollar contract for one season.

Jennings, 6-1, 170-pounds, has averaged 15.5 points, 5.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.31 steals over 32.3 minutes in 460 career games over seven seasons with Milwaukee, Detroit and Orlando. The Compton, CA-native, was originally selected by the Bucks with the 10th overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, following one professional season in Italy (Lottomatica Roma), after finishing his high school career at Oak Hill Academy (VA). He appeared in 48 games last season for Detroit and Orlando, averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 assists over 18.1 minutes.

Jennings was named to the 2010 NBA All-Rookie First Team after winning four Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards and also took home three Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. In 2009, the then-20-year-old scored 55 points on Nov. 14 against Golden State, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 50 in a game. He has appeared in 11 post-season games, averaging 16.7 points, 3.7 assists and 1.55 steals over 34.7 minutes.

Jennings’ shooting ability is limited. His career shooting percentage is just 39%, and he shot below that last season.