Inside Hoops – Page 946 – NBA Blog

Sixers sign Tim Frazier to second 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced they have signed guard Tim Frazier to a second 10-day contract. Frazier is the 34th “Call-Up” of the 2014-15 NBA Development League season.

Frazier signed his first 10-day contract with the Sixers on Feb. 5 and appeared in three games with two starts, averaging five points, five rebounds and nine assists. Through the first three games of his NBA career, Frazier tallied 26 assists, the seventh-most by any player dating back to 1985-86.

This past Sunday, Frazier played in the D-League All-Star Game and posted 11 points and a game-high 10 assists in leading the Eastern Conference to a 129-94 win over the Western Conference.

In his lone D-League game since his original 10-day contract with the Sixers expired, Frazier recorded his third triple-double of the season with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in Maine’s 87-86 win over Fort Wayne on Feb. 17.

In 28 games with 27 starts for the Red Claws in the D-League, Frazier is averaging 16 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals. At the time of his second call-up, Frazier ranked third in the league in assists and tied for fifth in steals.

Celtics happy to land Isaiah Thomas

Celtics happy to land Isaiah Thomas

The Boston Celtics, who thanks to a weak Eastern conference are still in a position to compete for a spot in the NBA playoffs, are happy to add talented guard Isiah Thomas to their mix. Here’s ESPN Boston reporting:

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made Isaiah Thomas one of his primary targets at the start of free agency this past summer. Four months later, he finally got his man.

The Celtics obtained Thomas from the Phoenix Suns at Thursday’s trade deadline in exchange for Marcus Thornton and Cleveland’s 2016 first-round pick. Boston is hoping Thomas can inject the sort of offensive spark the team needs while building toward a brighter future.

The 26-year-old Thomas, who signed a modest four-year, $27 million contract in July, joins rookie Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley in a primary three-guard rotation. The Celtics hope Thomas’ ability to create scoring opportunities in the pick-and-roll — something they sorely lack at the guard position — will invigorate an offense that ranks 23rd in offensive rating this season.

The 5-foot-9 Thomas has potential to give Boston’s offense a big-time jolt. In his final season with Sacramento during the 2013-14 campaign, Thomas averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 assists over 34.7 minutes per game. Despite playing only 25.7 minutes per game this season in Phoenix’s overstocked backcourt, he still averaged 15.2 points on four fewer shots per game and his 3-point percentage climbed to a career-best 39.1 percent.

Lakers stand pat at NBA trade deadline

Lakers stand pat at NBA trade deadline

Here’s the Orange County Register reporting on the 13-40 Los Angeles Lakers, who are without Kobe Bryant and with a limited present are focused on the future:

As much of the NBA descended into chaos, the Lakers remained intact at the league’s annual trade deadline.

While confused team executives and media members alike were trying to sort out the flurry of blockbuster deals in the minutes before Thursday’s noon deadline, things were pretty much normal for the Lakers.

Jeremy Lin shot free throws in one corner, while Nick Young held court in another. Good news: He and the dolphin species made up last week in Hawaii, following a well-documented incident a year ago in Mexico.

As this unfolded, the Laker most likely to have been traded sheepishly peeked out from the door leading to the team’s weight room.

“I thought J-Hill was gone, too,” Young said, teasing, as Jordan Hill listened in. “Fortunately they didn’t break any of us up.”

Hornets a better team when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is active

Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting on the Hornets, who are set to welcome Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back into action any day now:

Over this season and last season the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets are 10 games above .500 when small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist plays.

They are 14 games below .500 when Kidd-Gilchrist sits out.

Coincidence? Hardly. Hornets coach Steve Clifford has an expression for what Kidd-Gilchrist does for his team’s bottom line. Clifford says Kidd-Gilchrist “does winning things.”

Those things don’t always pop off box scores. Kidd-Gilchrist is top 50 in the NBA in only one statistical category this season (40th in rebounding average at 7.2 per game).

But how he impacts games, particularly defensively on a defense-centric roster, is significant and growing.

San Antonio Spurs sign Reggie Williams

San Antonio Spurs sign Reggie Williams

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Reggie Williams.

Williams has appeared in three games for the Spurs since being signed to the first of two 10-day contracts on Jan. 28.

Williams, 6-6/210, appeared in 13 games this season for the Blue of the NBA D-League, averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.08 steals in 31.9 minutes. He has also spent time in the D-League with the Blue in 2013-14 and the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2009-10. In 69 career D-League games, he has averaged 22.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists in 37.7 minutes.

In the NBA, the Virginia native has suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder (2013-14), Charlotte Hornets (2011-13) and the Golden State Warriors (2009-11). In 183 total games, he has averaged 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.5 minutes.

Williams has also played internationally for San Miguel Beerman of the Philippines (2014), Caja Laboral of Spain (2011) and JDA Dijon of France (2008-09). He played collegiately at the Virginia Military Institute (2004-08).

Winning time for Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are 36-17 and in the mix to compete for an NBA championship this season. The time to win is now. Here’s the Oregonian reporting:

After all those roster rebuilds, after all that front office turmoil, after all the hyperbole about being a contender, the Trail Blazers on Thursday reinforced that there is a new era in Rip City.

“It’s winning time,” Wesley Matthews said.

The Blazers were a part of the busiest and most frenetic trade deadline in NBA history on Thursday, when they traded Thomas Robinson, Will Barton, Victor Claver and a lottery-protected 2016 first-round draft pick to the Denver Nuggets for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

The addition of Afflalo, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard known for his tenacious defense and lethal long-range shooting, not only strengthened the Blazers’ bench for the stretch run, but also offered a no-doubt-about-it signal that the franchise believes it is primed for a deep playoff push. The Blazers’ window for contending has cracked open and President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey’s move to add Afflalo and Gee made it clear the franchise is ready to climb inside.

Rockets add Pablo Prigioni and KJ McDaniels

Rockets add Pablo Prigioni and KJ McDaniels

The 36-17 Houston Rockets don’t need a ton of help, and as the NBA trade deadline passed they came away with a few new additions that should help their bench a bit. Here’s the Houston Chronicle blog reporting:

Hoping to swing for the fences, the Rockets settled for a few trade deadline cuts they hope will become solid singles.

The Rockets did not come close to reaching the Suns’ asking price for guard Goran Dragic, backing away when it was clear they could not keep the free agent to be after the season. Instead, while several Western Conference playoff teams loaded up, the Rockets made smaller moves to pick up Knicks veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni and 76ers rookie small forward/shooting guard KJ McDaniels.

Neither is certain to move immediately into the Rockets’ rotation, though Prigioni offers a different style of point guard behind Pat Beverley than Jason Terry while still a catch-and-shoot threat. With Corey Brewer getting most of the small forward and shooting guard minutes off the bench, McDaniels is likely to serve an apprenticeship, with potential to fill the role if Brewer leaves as a free agent and the Rockets sign McDaniels.

For now, the Rockets settled for players they like, even if they do not have a clear role to play. To get Prigioni, the Rockets sent guard Alexey Shved and the Rockets’ second-round picks in 2017 and 2019 to New York.

Teams continue to employ Hack-a-DeAndre strategy

Teams continue to employ Hack-a-DeAndre strategy

DeAndre Jordan is awful at shooting free throws. He’s hitting 40.8% FT this season, and is 42.2% FT for his NBA career. Opposing teams sometimes try to use this to their advantage. Here’s ESPN Los Angeles reporting:

Hack-a-Jordan. Deck-a-DeAndre. Jab-a-D.J.

Call it what you want, but the intentional fouling of DeAndre Jordan reached a new low on Monday as the Los Angeles Clippers center was sent to the free throw line a career-high 28 times, 14 in the fourth quarter alone. That was partly due to the fact that he made only 10 of those attempts.

“I dropped out of college,” Jordan said, “but percentage-wise I don’t think that’s good.”

Despite his struggles at the free throw line, Jordan scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, just two boards shy of his third straight 20-20 game as the Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs 119-115, winning their third straight game against a Western Conference playoff team without Blake Griffin.

The story after the game, however, was Jordan’s constant trips to the free throw line and a strategy that dragged the game on for almost three hours. It is nothing new for Jordan, who has now been sent to the free throw line 54 times over the past two games.

Russell Westbrook says Thunder do not need to consult him on roster moves

Russell Westbrook says Thunder do not need to consult him on roster moves

Here’s the Oklahoman reporting on Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook, who is content to stick to his role as a star player and not someone that helps make roster decisions:

Years from now, Thursday’s blockbuster trade will likely stand as one of the most important decisions this franchise made over its first decade in Oklahoma City.

And hours before general manager Sam Presti pulled the trigger, Russell Westbrook – one of the franchise’s two cornerstone – said he and Kevin Durant had no desire to be consulted on the decision.

“Not my job,” Westbrook said. “My job is to come out and play. We have a great general manager, great owner and great coach who have done a great job thus far putting this team together. So I’m pretty sure they know what’s best for us.”

When asked if Presti ever comes to them to gather their opinion, Westbrook reiterated his previous answer in the most Westbrook way possible.

“I don’t want to repeat the same answer, so whatever I just said last time use it as that answer,” he said.

Kings sign David Stockton to 10-day contract

Kings sign David Stockton to 10-day contract

The Sacramento Kings announced today that the team has signed David Stockton to a 10-day contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Stockton, a 5-11, 165-pound guard, is averaging 16.6 points (.460 FG%, .364 3pt%, .806 FT%), 3.6 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 27.5 minutes per game in 31 contests for the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s NBA D-League affiliate. Among D-League leaders, he ranks fourth in assists and second in steals per game. Undrafted, Stockton was selected by the Maine Red Claws in the third round of the 2014 NBA Development League Draft on November 1, 2014. He was later traded to the Reno Bighorns on draft night.

Like his father, Hall of Fame guard John Stockton, he played collegiately at Gonzaga (2010-11 – 2013-14).

Stockton will wear jersey number 9 and will be available for the Kings’ contest tonight at Sleep Train Arena versus the Boston Celtics.

The roster now stands at 15 players.