Inside Hoops – Page 874 – NBA Blog

Spurs sign center Boban Marjanovic

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed center Boban Marjanovic.

Marjanovic, 7-3/290, is from Serbia and last played for Crvena Zvezda in 2014-15. In 24 Euroleague games, he averaged 16.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 27.3 minutes. A professional since 2006, Marjanovic was named All-Euroleague First Team in 2015 and has been named Serbian Super League MVP on three occasions.

In 19 Serbian League contests last season, he averaged 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.6 minutes.

The 26-year-old’s debut on the Serbian National Team came at the EuroBasket 2011.

Seth Curry playing great at summer league

Playing well at summer league can definitely get a player invited to an NBA training camp, or even signed for the season. Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune reporting on Stephen Curry’s brother Seth, who has stepped up here in Las Vegas:

The fourth-seeded Pelicans are also pushing to remain unbeaten for the first time as they will take a 4-0 record into Saturday against the 12th-seeded Golden State Warriors (3-2) at 9 p.m., which will be televised on NBA-TV.

Guard Seth Curry, the younger brother of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, has emerged as the Pelicans’ summer league star. He has showcased his ability to make an assortment of shots from quick pull-up jumpers, bank shots and driving layups.

Curry is the leading scorer in the NBA Summer League with a 25.3 scoring average.

In the Pelicans’ 97-81 victory against the Washington Wizards in Thursday’s second round of the summer league’s single-elimination tournament, Curry scored 26. He has not totaled less than 20 points in a game and he started the summer league with a 30-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.

Bucks sign first round pick Rashad Vaughn

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed their first round selection (17th overall) from the 2015 NBA Draft, Rashad Vaughn, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Vaughn, a 6-foot-6-inch guard out of UNLV, was named the Mountain West Conference’s Freshman of the Year, Honorable Mention All-League and Second Team NABC All-District 17 in 2014-15 after averaging a team-high 17.8 points, along with 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He started all 23 games in which he played for the Rebels before suffering a season-ending knee injury, and at the time of the injury, his scoring average ranked second in the MWC and third in the nation among freshmen.

Vaughn scored in double figures in 21 of his 23 games, including in each of his last 19 contests. He registered 20 or more points nine times and 30 or more two times. He scored a season-high 31 points vs. Utah State on Jan. 24, 2015, which tied the league’s freshman class single-game record for most points scored against a conference opponent.

In five NBA Summer League games to date, Vaughn is averaging 16.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

Spurs officially sign David West

The San Antonio Spurs’ signing of rugged power forward David West became official today.

According to KSAT San Antonio, “West took a big paycut to join the Spurs. He was scheduled to make $12 million this season with the Indiana Pacers. West reportedly will make $1.4 million with the Spurs.”

It’s been an amazing offseason for the Spurs, who retained Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan while adding amazing frontcourt pieces in star LaMarcus Aldridge and former star West. They could use another shooter in the backcourt with Marco Belinelli gone, but their frontcourt is easily one of the best in the league.

West, 6-9/240, joins the Spurs after spending the past four seasons with the Indiana Pacers. Last season he appeared in 66 games, averaging 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 28.7 minutes while shooting .471 (323-686) from the field and .739 (119-161) from the foul line. In Indiana, West appeared in 285 total games, averaging 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30.6 minutes while shooting .487 (1,632-3,350) from the field and .776 (701-903) from the charity stripe.

A 12-year NBA veteran, West was originally drafted by the New Orleans Hornets with the 18th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He spent eight seasons (2003-11) in New Orleans where he was named an All-Star in 2007 and 2008. The New Jersey native appeared in 530 total games for the Hornets, averaging 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 32.4 minutes.

For his career, West has appeared in 815 NBA games, averaging 15.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.8 minutes while shooting .489 (5,108-10,441) from the field and .820 (2,405-2,933) from the foul line. The former Xavier Musketeer has seen action in 73 playoff games, averaging 15.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 35.2 minutes.

Nets sign Andrea Bargnani

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward/center Andrea Bargnani, General Manager Billy King announced today. The agreemeent for this deal was announced days ago, but the signing is now official.

“Andrea will give us the ability to space the floor and complement our other front court players,” said King.

According to ESPN.com, “the Nets are basically taking a $1.4 million gamble on Bargnani (and also giving him a second-year player option) in hopes that he’s able to revive his career. Low risk, potentially high reward.”

Bargnani (7’0”, 245) has appeared in 504 games (377 starts) in nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors (2006-13) and New York Knicks (2013-15), recording averages of 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game. He’s shot .438 from the field, including .346 from three-point range, and .824 from the free throw line. Bargnani has also appeared in 11 career postseason games (eight starts), posting averages of 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. During the 2014-15 season, the 29-year-old Bargnani appeared in 29 games (22 starts) with the Knicks, averaging 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.1 minutes per game.

Originally selected with the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by Toronto, the native of Rome, Italy earned All-Rookie First Team honors after averaging 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game in 65 games (two starts) during the 2006-07 season. Prior to entering the NBA Draft, Bargnani played professionally for four years in Italy with Stella Azzurra Roma in Serie B (2002-03) and Benetton Treviso in Serie A (2003-06). In his final season in Italy, Bargnani led Benetton Treviso to the 2006 Serie A championship.

Will Nets bring Joe Johnson off bench?

Here’s ESPN NY reporting on a mere possibility for the Brooklyn Nets. For now, it’s assumed Joe Johnson will continue to start. But as his age advances, perhaps the team will manage his minutes a bit more closely. For now, we’ll assume he’ll keep starting. But, read:

Will the Brooklyn Nets bring veteran Joe Johnson off the bench next season?

Play-by-play man Ian Eagle, who is as plugged in on the Nets as anyone given that he’s been around the organization for several years, mentioned the possibility during his appearance on a YES Network podcast.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if he came off the bench this year,” Eagle said. “That would not shock me in the least bit.”

In that role, Johnson, 34, could anchor the second unit — coming in fresh against the opponent’s reserves — while still closing out games as the team’s go-to guy late in the fourth quarter.

Nuggets interested in contract extension for Danilo Gallinari

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on a key member of the Nuggets frontcourt:

Nuggets interest in contract extension for Danilo Gallinari

Wilson Chandler’s contract extension could be just the beginning for the Nuggets. If they have their way, they’d like to open talks on an extension for Danilo Gallinari as well, according to a league source.

Gallinari is heading into the final year of his contract, which is scheduled to pay him $11.5 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Gallinari always has been viewed as an important piece of the Nuggets re-tooling — now rebuilding — effort, ever since he was traded to Denver from New York in 2011 in the Carmelo Anthony deal. When he’s been on the court he’s shown why. He averaged a career-high 16.2 points in 2012-13 before an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and two subsequent surgeries, set him back 19 months.

Allen Crabbe out with sprained ankle

Here’s the Oregonian reporting on a Trail Blazers summer league injury:

The Trail Blazers will be without shooting guard Allen Crabbe the rest of Las Vegas Summer League. But they will have him back well before the start of training camp.

A magnetic resonance imaging test performed on Crabbe’s left ankle revealed a ‘severe sprain’ but did not show any serious damage, the team announced on Thursday.

His recovery is expected to take four to six weeks, so he will not play again in Las Vegas but will be back with time to spare before the start of the 2015-16 season.

Jordan Hill says Kobe Bryant really likes to talk when on the court

Kobe Bryant is a leader. And leaders generally like to talk. A lot, sometimes. Here’s Jordan Hill discussing former teammate Kobe Bryant, as reported by ESPN LA:

Jordan Hill joined the Los Angeles Lakers in March 2012, and in the three seasons that followed, the forward learned what it was like playing with star Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

“When he’s on the floor, it’s like [exhales], all you hear is Kobe’s mouth,” Hill said when he was introduced by the Indiana Pacers, who acquired him through free agency this summer.

“He’s on the floor, all you hear is Kobe’s mouth, like during practice and games, it get loud. It get loud. A lot of people can’t handle that, I guess.”

Josh Smith to join Clippers

Josh Smith has talent, but also makes questionable decisions on the court that can either help or hurt a team depending on the day of the week, the sneakers he’s wearing, etc. But the Clippers are rolling the dice and adding him to their squad. Here’s the Orange County Register reporting:

Josh Smith tortured the Clippers in the second half of Game 6 of the second round last season, helping lead Houston to a 19-point comeback that helped end their season.

Thursday, he signed on to make sure something like that wouldn’t happen again.

The Clippers agreed to a contract with Smith, a versatile 6-foot-9 forward, worth one year at the league minimum.