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Wizards announce Tony Brown, Sidney Lowe, Chad Iske, Mike Terpstra and Maz Trakh as assistant coaches

The Washington Wizards announced today that the team has named Tony Brown, Sidney Lowe, Chad Iske, Mike Terpstra and Maz Trakh as assistants on Head Coach Scott Brooks’ staff. Eric Sebastian, director of coaching operations, and Kamran Sufi, advance scout, were also named by the team while David Adkins will remain as the team’s director of player development.

“The staff we have put together here in Washington is an impressive group of basketball minds with extensive coaching experience and knowledge of the game,” said Brooks. “I look forward to working alongside this versatile group every day in our quest to bring the best out of our players.”

Brown joins the Wizards as Brooks’ top assistant after spending the last two seasons with Brooklyn. He was an assistant on Lionel Hollins’ staff before taking over as interim head coach on January 11 (finishing 11-34). The Chicago native has also served as an assistant coach with Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Boston, Toronto, Detroit and Portland. Brown played seven seasons in the NBA after being selected with the 82nd pick in the fourth round of the 1982 Draft.

Lowe comes home to Washington after serving as an assistant with Minnesota for the last two seasons. The former DeMatha star has spent eight years as a head coach and 12 years as an assistant coach in the NBA and NCAA. Prior to his time in Minnesota, Lowe served three seasons (2011-14) as an assistant with the Utah Jazz after previously serving as the head coach at North Carolina State University (2006-11). Following five seasons as an assistant with Cleveland (1994-99) and one season with Minnesota (1999-2000), Lowe was named head coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies in June of 2000, eventually moving with the team to Memphis before stepping down shortly into the 2002-03 campaign. Lowe was originally selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first pick of the second round (25th overall) in the 1983 NBA Draft.

Iske joins Brooks after spending the 2015-16 campaign as associate head coach for the Sacramento Kings. He was also an assistant coach for two seasons (2013-15) with the Philadelphia 76ers. Prior to his time with the Sixers, Iske spent 14 seasons with the Denver Nuggets as the team’s scouting coordinator, video coordinator and as an advance scout before being promoted to an assistant coach in 2008.

Terpstra enters his first season with Washington after spending the 2015-16 season with the men’s basketball program at Boise State. He served as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2013-15 and brings over 20 years of coaching experience after working in various capacities at the college, junior college and high school levels, with additional experience in the NBA Development League and the CBA. Following his college playing career at Northwest Nazarene, Terpstra played professionally in Turkey and England.

Trakh served as the west coast advance scout for Golden State during the 2015-16 and brings more than 20 years of coaching experience in varying capacities to the Wizards. Prior to his time with the Warriors, he served as an assistant coach with the Thunder from 2010-2012 and was a member of Maurice Cheeks’ staff in Detroit during the 2013-14 season. After playing at Southern Utah University, Trakh served as an assistant coach at Long Beach State, Riverside Community College and UC Irvine before being named head coach at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA.

Sebastian returns to the NBA for his 16th season. He spent the last seven seasons as the director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis, where he helped the Tigers make four NCAA Tournaments and develop five future NBA players. He assisted Head Coach Josh Pastner with all aspects of the program, including on-campus recruiting, statistical analysis, game scheduling, team travel, practice facility upgrades and in-game management. Sebastian began his career with the Denver Nuggets where he worked 15 seasons (1994-2009), the last six as Director of Media Relations.

Sufi spent 2015-16 season as a regional advance scout with the Golden State Warriors, the 2014-15 season as advance scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2013-14 season as advance scout with the Detroit Pistons. Before his time in Detroit, he worked a season each with the Shanghai Sharks, Shandong Lions and Xinjiang Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Adkins returns for his third season with Washington. He is known as an elite developer of talent, helping to hone the skills of numerous NBA players. In addition to his five years of the University of Maryland, the DMV native has coached at DeMatha Catholic, Montrose Christian, Herndon and Washington-Lee. He has helped more than 50 players earn college scholarships, including 41 Division I scholarships, in his 20+ years on the sidelines.

Clippers will keep Luc Mbah a Moute

Mbah a Moute started a lot yet played few minutes last season

Forward Luc Mbah a Moute played five season for the Bucks, then played for the Timberwolves, Kings, Sixers, then the Clippers last season. He started 61 of the 75 games he played for LAC, but that’s deceptive — he played a mere 17.0 minutes per game, averaging 3.1 points an 2.3 rebounds. Still, the Clippers like him enough to bring him back for 2016-17. Here’s the OC Register:

The Clippers and free agent Luc Mbah a Moute have agreed to a deal to bring back the versatile, veteran forward for the next two seasons.

According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal is worth $4.5 million with Mbah a Moute having an option for the second year. The Clippers were able to keep him by using their bi-annual exception.

Four days into free agency and the Clippers seem to be mostly wrapped up, with a replacement for departed center Cole Aldrich the only glaring item on the agenda.

Mavs will likely land Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut

The Warriors are going to sign Kevin Durant. That’s the biggest news of the summer, and it’ll remain that way, unless LeBron James decides to leave the Cavs. Which is definitely not likely. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

The Dallas Mavericks will be adding a pair of Golden State Warriors — forward Harrison Barnes and center Andrew Bogut — in the wake of Kevin Durant’s decision, according to league sources.

The Warriors and Mavs have agreed to a trade that will send Bogut into Dallas’ cap space, according to league sources. The Mavs also reached a verbal agreement on a four-year, $94 million maximum deal with Barnes.

Sources told ESPN that the Warriors will renounce their rights to Barnes as a restricted free agent with Durant heading to Golden State, meaning there will be no three-day waiting period while his previous team ponders whether to match the offer.

Thunder team reaction to Kevin Durant decision to sign with Warriors

Kevin Durant is leaving the Thunder in free agency and signing with the Warriors. Here are statements on Durant’s decision from the OKC Thunder:

Thunder Chairman Clayton I. Bennett:

“Kevin’s contributions to our organization during his nine years were profound, on and off the court. He helped the Thunder grow and succeed in immeasurable ways and impacted the community just the same. We thank him for his leadership, his play, and how he represented Oklahoma City and the entire state of Oklahoma.”

Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti:

“Kevin made an indelible mark on the Thunder organization and the state of Oklahoma as a founding father of this franchise. We can’t adequately articulate what he meant to the foundation of this franchise and our success. While clearly disappointing that he has chosen to move on, the core values that he helped establish only lead to us thanking him for the many tangible and intangible ways that he helped our program.”

Kevin Durant will sign with Warriors

Thunder superstar small forward Kevin Durant will sign with the Golden State Warriors.

He announced his decision via the “Players Tribune.”

On Golden State, Durant will team with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to form what looks like an incredible, ultra-talented squad that on paper has potential to be a dynasty.

Wrote Durant:

It really pains me to know that I will disappoint so many people with this choice, but I believe I am doing what I feel is the right thing at this point in my life and my playing career.

I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization — the friends and teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years, and all the fans and people of the community. They have always had my back unconditionally, and I cannot be more grateful for what they have meant to my family and to me.

Kings, Matt Barnes agree to deal

Small forward Matt Barnes played for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28.8 minutes per game. Pretty similar stats to what he put up the three previous seasons while playing for the Clippers. He brings toughness, versatility, hustle, and an occasional bad temper. And he’s reportedly going to bring all that and more to the Kings, who he played for in the second season (2004-05) of his NBA career.

According to Sam Amick of USA today, Barnes and the Kings came to an agreement today. The deal is reportedly for two years, $12 million, with the second year a player option.

The Kings this offseason have reportedly added Arron Afflalo and Anthony Tolliver, while losing Rajon Rondo in free agency to the Bulls.

The squad’s leader is center DeMarcus Cousins, followed by small forward Rudy Gay.

Rajon Rondo to sign with Bulls

The Bulls traded Derrick Rose away this offseason, and Pau Gasol is a free agent. So for now, the team is built around Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson, Robin Lopez and a supporting cast.

The team needs a point guard.

Enter Rajon Rondo.

According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated, Rondo has agreed to sign with the Bulls for two years, $28 million.

Rondo played for the Kings last season and had his best year in a long time, averaging 11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists and almost two steals per game, on 45.4% shooting.

Jamal Crawford returning to Clippers

Jamal Crawford is 36 years old, past his prime and in the golden years of his career, but still able to score. This past regular season for the Clippers he averaged 14.2 ppg on 40.4% shooting. The squad apparently thinks he has enough game left to bring him back on a multi-year deal.

According to Sam Amick of USA Today, the deal is for $42 million over three years, with the third year a partial guarantee. Overall, that’s $14 million per season.

That’s a bigger and longer contract than we expected Crawford to receive at this point in his career. Even with the new cap and higher salaries taken into account. It seemed more likely that he’s receive a one or at most two-year deal. But, people like having Jamal around. So, he’ll remain with the LAC.

Al Horford to sign with Celtics

Big move for Boston, landing a versatile, undersized but talented center with a nice outside shot, Al Horford. The Hawks will miss him, but they have Paul Millsap and new addition Dwight Howard up front and so it isn’t surprising that Horford is signing elsewhere. Here’s the Boston Herald blog reporting:

In certainly the most expensive free agent signing in franchise history, the Celtics will pay Horford $113 million over the next four years. According to Yahoo/The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Horford and the Hawks finished $6 million apart on a five-year max contract offer, and were unable to close the gap.

At 7:16 p.m. Horford posted on his Twitter page “CELTICS PRIDE!!!!!!” followed by a line of 18 shamrocks. Die-hards will clearly read into that number, since the Celtics are one NBA title away from that number of championships.

Horford also painted his Twitter page and avatar in Celtics green and added “Boston Celtics star Forward/Center” to his Twitter bio.

The Celtics have a 30-year-old All-Star center in his prime, and an entirely different look to what they can now do at both ends of the floor.

Manu Ginobili will play next season

Writing in Spanish on his website, veteran Spurs guard/forward Manu Ginobili, whose career is winding down, let the world know he’s playing again next season. Though, he’s still a free agent, and needs to agree to a deal. Here’s the San Antonio Express-News blog reporting:

Manu Ginobili has made a decision for the 2016-17 season.

The 38-year-old forward will return to the NBA next season he announced on his website.

“I have decided to continue playing in the NBA,” Ginobili wrote. “I didn’t really have many doubts, but as I have done lately, I wanted to let a little time pass and view this past season from a little distance. The reality is that this year I feel more secure and (the decision is) clearer than the year before.”