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Trail Blazers re-sign Matisse Thybulle

The Portland Trail Blazers have re-signed guard/forward Matisse Thybulle.

Per multiple reports, the team matched the three-year, $33 million offer sheet Thybulle had signed with the Dallas Mavericks.

Thybulle, 26, was originally acquired by the Trail Blazers on Feb. 9, 2023. In 22 games (22 starts) with Portland last season, he recorded 7.4 points (43.8% FG, 38.8% 3-PT), 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game. The two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection (2022, 2021) ranked first in the NBA in steals per 36 minutes (2.5), steals per 100 possessions (3.4) and steals to turnover ratio (3.46) during the 2022-23 regular season.

A Washington alum, Thybulle has accrued NBA career averages of 4.6 points (44.7% FG, 33.4% 3-PT), 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 20.5 minutes per game in 267 games (100 starts) for Philadelphia (2019-23) and Portland.

Timberwolves re-sign Nickeil Alexander-Walker

The Minnesota Timberwolves have re-signed guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The 6-5 guard completed his fourth season in the NBA where he appeared in 59 total games (three starts), including 36 games with the Utah Jazz and 23 with the Wolves. This season, Alexander-Walker averaged 6.2 points on 44.4% shooting, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Acquired by the Wolves during the 2023 Trade Deadline from the Jazz, Alexander-Walker owns career averages of 8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 217 games (38 starts).

The Toronto native made his Canadian Senior National Team debut in the Olympic qualifiers in 2021 where in three games, he averaged 16.7 points on 45.0% shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Alexander-Walker was originally drafted out of Virginia Tech by the Brooklyn Nets with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Sixers re-sign Paul Reed

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has re-signed Paul Reed.

The Sixers reportedly matched Reed’s three-year, $23 million Jazz offer sheet.

Per ESPN.com, “one of the terms of the offer sheet provided a unique twist on Reed’s contract: The first season of the contract is fully guaranteed, but the next two years worth $15.7 million become guaranteed if the Sixers advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, sources said. Given where the two franchises stand, it was more likely the Sixers would have to guarantee those 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons than the Jazz.”

Reed, 24, averaged career highs in points (4.2), rebounds (3.8), and blocked shots (0.7) in 2022-23, while shooting 59.3% from the field. He tallied five double-doubles in 69 games last season, including a 16-point, career-high 14-rebound performance at Miami on March 1. Reed averaged 1.6 offensive rebounds per game in 2022-23, a mark that ranked second among 76ers. He was one of two NBA players to collect at least 100 offensive rebounds in fewer than 800 minutes played.

A three-year pro, Reed played in all 11 of Philadelphia’s 2023 NBA Playoff games. He made two starts during this latest postseason run, recording double-doubles in wins at Brooklyn (Round 1, Game 4) and at Boston (Round 2, Game 1).

Originally selected with the No. 58 overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, Reed is second in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage (17.7%) since entering the league (min. 200 minutes played). In three NBA seasons, the Florida native has posted double-figure points 14 times and 10-or-more rebounds on eight occasions.

In 2021, while playing for the 76ers’ NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, Reed claimed G League Most Valuable Player honors, was named the G League’s Rookie of the Year, and was selected to both the All-G League and All-G League Defensive Team.

Reed played his college basketball at DePaul, appearing in 93 games (58 starts) over three seasons, posting 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per contest. As a junior, Reed averaged a double-double with 15.1 points and 10.7 rebounds, as he was named to the All-Big East Second Team.

Celtics sign J.D. Davison to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed guard J.D. Davison to a two-way contract.

Davison, 6-3/195, was originally selected by the Celtics with the 53rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Davison appeared in 12 games during his rookie campaign and averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 assists in 5.5 minutes per game. He recorded season highs with eight points, three made field goals, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks vs. Atlanta on April 9.

With the Maine Celtics, he appeared in 44 games and averaged 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 0.8 steals while shooting 49.7 percent from the field this season. The Alabama native finished fourth in the NBA G League during the regular season with 339 assists, which also ranks third all-time in franchise history and is the second-most assists in a single season by a Maine player, behind Tim Frazier (2014-15). Davison helped lead Maine to its first Playoff appearance in six years.

Bucks re-sign Jae Crowder

The Milwaukee Bucks have re-signed forward Jae Crowder.

Acquired by the Bucks last season as part of a four-team trade on Feb. 9, Crowder appeared in 18 games (3 starts) with Milwaukee during the 2022-23 season and averaged 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.9 minutes per game. The Marquette product also shot 47.9% from the field, 43.6% from three and 83.3% from the free-throw line.

Mike Conley wins 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy for winning the 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award. The annual award is designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the NBA Sportsmanship Award. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected one finalist from each of the NBA’s six divisions. Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists, with nearly 300 players submitting their votes through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.

This is the fourth such honor of Conley’s career, the most in league history, after winning the award as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2018-19. He becomes the first player in Timberwolves history to win the award.

In his 16th NBA season, Conley appeared in 67 games (66 starts) for the Timberwolves and Utah Jazz, averaging 11.9 points and a 42.8% shooting along with 6.7 assists per game. On Apr. 8 at San Antonio (Austin), Conley finished with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 shooting and five assists. It marked Conley’s fifth game this season with 5+ triples, his most such games with five or more threes in a single season is eight during the 2016-17 season. With his basket at the 7:17 mark of the fourth quarter on Apr. 8, Conley reached 15,000 career points, becoming the 149th player in NBA history to surpass 15,000 career points.

The NBA Sportsmanship Award trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, a six-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion. Dumars played 14 NBA seasons and won the inaugural Sportsmanship Award in the 1995-96 season.

Kings re-sign Trey Lyles

The Sacramento Kings on Friday, July 7 re-signed Trey Lyles.

Since joining the Kings in February 2022, Lyles, 27, has appeared in 98 games (20 starts) and averaged 8.3 points (46.8 FG%, 36.3 3PT%, 82.7 FT%), 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.3 minutes per game. During the 2022-23 season, Lyles recorded 562 total points, which were the second most points scored off the bench for the Kings.

Originally selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft out of Kentucky, Lyles has appeared in 523 games (126 starts) in his career.

Nets sign Dennis Smith Jr.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent guard Dennis Smith Jr.

Smith Jr. (6’2″, 205) spent the 2022-23 season with the Charlotte Hornets, appearing in 54 games (15 starts) and recording averages of 8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and a career-high 1.4 steals in 25.7 minutes per game. Smith Jr. ranked third in the league in steals per game among players to play 26.0 or fewer minutes per game, trailing only Washington’s Delon Wright (1.8 steals in 24.4 minutes per game) and Chicago’s Alex Caruso (1.5 steals in 23.5 minutes per game). Charlotte’s defense improved by 10.7 points per 100 possessions with Smith Jr. on the court, and his on/off ‘defensive impact’ ranked as the second-best in the league among players to log at least 1,000 minutes. Smith Jr. also posted a career-best 3.18 assist-to-turnover ratio in his lone season with the Hornets.

In six seasons split between Charlotte, Portland (2021-22), Detroit (2021), New York (2019-21) and Dallas (2017-19), the 25-year-old has registered averages of 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.2 minutes per contest across 270 games (150 starts).

He earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors with the Mavericks in 2017-18 after averaging 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.7 minutes per game over 69 games (all starts).

Smith Jr. was selected with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft by Dallas after spending one year (2016-17) at North Carolina State University, where the Fayetteville, N.C., native secured ACC Freshman of the Year and All-ACC Second Team honors in his lone season with the Wolfpack.

Timberwolves sign rookie Leonard Miller

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed rookie forward Leonard Miller.

Miller, 6-10, averaged 16.9 points and led the NBA G League Ignite with 10.1 rebounds per game last season. In his NBA Summer League debut on July 7 against the New Orleans Pelicans, Miller notched a double-double with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Miller scored a season-high 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds on March 9 vs. the College Park Skyhawks. Miller set an Ignite team-record with 21 rebounds to go along with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting on March 12 vs. the Texas Legends. He tallied 17 double-doubles and improved his averages to 20.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game following the 2023 All-Star break.

The Toronto native’s draft rights were originally acquired by the Wolves from San Antonio Spurs on June 23.

Timberwolves sign Shake Milton

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Shake Milton.

Last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Milton, 6-5, appeared in 76 games (11 starts) and averaged 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and a career-high 3.2 assists in 20.6 minutes per game. He scored 20+ points in six of his 11 starts last season, led by a 29-point effort against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 27. In five seasons in the NBA, all with the 76ers, Milton has tallied 2,368 points, 604 rebounds and 694 assists throughout 254 games (45 starts).

The Owasso, Okla. native, has seen action in 34 postseason (four starts) matchups during four trips to the playoffs. He holds playoff career averages of 5.2 points on 42.5% shooting, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 12.5 minutes per game. The 76ers originally acquired Milton’s draft rights as the 54th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft from the Dallas Mavericks.