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The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract with former No. 1 overall draft pick Kwame Brown.
Agent Mark Bartelstein announced the move Friday.
Brown will be reunited with Sixers coach Doug Collins. Collins was Brown’s first coach in Washington in 2001. Brown has averaged 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds over an 11-year career.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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The Nuggets continue to pursue restricted free-agent center JaVale McGee, who has a five-year, $50 million offer on the table, a source said. But McGee’s representatives don’t appear to be in a hurry to get a deal done and will continue to negotiate.
The Nuggets can match any offer another NBA team would make to McGee, 24.
In the 20 regular-season games he played for the Nuggets last season, the 7-footer averaged 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds and made five starts.
— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post
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The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have signed free agent guard D.J. Augustin to a contract. Per club policy terms of the contract were not released.
“D.J. is an excellent pick-up for this team,” said Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. “He’s an amazing kid that will fit well here with the Pacers’ family. His experience will be valuable as we move our franchise forward. Our priority is to keep our own players and then to fill in the holes that exist. D.J. helps us accomplish that.”
The 6-0, 180-pound Augustin joins the Pacers after spending the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Charlotte Bobcats. Drafted as the ninth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Bobcats, he has career averages of 10.9 points and 4.4 assists per game. As a rookie, he was named to the 2008-09 All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 11.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 72 games played.
“I’m very excited,” said Augustin. “It’s a great organization basketball-wise, they made the playoffs last year and to be part of a winning organization feels great.”
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The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Jerryd Bayless to a multi-year contract, Grizzlies General Manger and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to add Jerryd Bayless to our team,” Wallace said. “He is a rapidly-improving young player who is coming off his best season in the NBA. Jerryd will address two areas of need: three-point shooting and backup point guard play. He is a very hard-working player whose best days as a professional are ahead of him.”
Bayless (6-3, 200) established new career highs in scoring (11.4 points), assists (3.8), steals (0.77) and minutes (22.7) in 31 games (11 starts) last season with the Toronto Raptors. The 23-year-old also set personal bests for field goal percentage (.424), three-point field goal percentage (.423) and free throw percentage (.852).
In 11 games as a starter, Bayless posted 17.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists on .450 shooting (.429 three-point shooting) in 34.6 minutes. Those averages surged to 21.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists on .543 shooting (.571 three-point shooting) in 37.5 minutes during a five-game run as a starter from March 11-17, 2012. Bayless recorded 28 points, six rebounds and nine assists in an overtime victory over Memphis on March 16, 2012 at FedExForum.
The Phoenix, Ariz. native owns NBA career averages of 8.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .412 shooting in 229 games (36 starts) over four seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Hornets and Toronto Raptors. After becoming the first freshman since Sean Elliot (1985-86) to lead the University of Arizona in scoring, Bayless was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to Portland on draft night.
The Memphis Grizzlies signed 2012 draft selection Tony Wroten, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
Wroten (6-6, 203) was selected by the Grizzlies in the first round (No. 25 overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old became the first freshman in University of Washington history to earn First Team All-Conference honors, ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.0 points), eighth in assists (3.7) and second in steals (1.9) in 35 games for the Huskies.
In his lone collegiate season, Wroten set numerous school freshman records, including scoring average, most points (559), assists (130) and steals (66), and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors. He also joined Detlef Schrempf (1984-85) as the second player in program history to compile at least 500 points, 150 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season.
The Seattle, Wash. native led the Huskies with 12 games of 20-or-more points, including a UW freshman-record 29 points on March 8, 2012 vs. Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament. He tallied 22 points against Oregon on March 20, 2012 in the NIT Quarterfinals.
Wroten was a member of the 2010 USA U-17 World Championship Team that posted a perfect 8-0 record and captured the gold medal while attending Garfield High School, which also produced Brandon Roy.
The left-hander joins fellow Washington standout Quincy Pondexter on the Grizzlies’ roster.
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The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-signed guard Patty Mills. Per club policy details of the contract were not released.
“Patty came in and impressed us from the moment he joined us last season,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “He gives us some added depth at the guard position and we are excited to have him back in San Antonio.”
Mills, a 6-0, 185-pound product out of St. Mary’s (CA), was signed by the Spurs this past season on March 27. In 16 games (three starts), Mills averaged 10.3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 16.3 minutes. In his final two games of the regular season Mills set career-highs for points and assists. On April 25, he registered a career-best 27 points at Phoenix only to surpass that the following night in Golden State scoring 34 points and handing out a career-high 12 assists.
A native of Australia, Mills spent part of the 2011-12 season playing overseas in his home country and China. Originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Mills appeared in 74 games in Portland, averaging 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in 11.1 minutes.
Mills is a member of the Australian National Team which qualified for the 2012 Olympics.
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Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has re-signed forward/guard Cartier Martin. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
“Cartier has been with our team for parts of the past three seasons and he has always made a positive contribution both on the court and in the locker room,” said Grunfeld. “In addition to his three-point shooting touch, he is a good defender and gives us another solid veteran to help solidify our bench.”
Martin averaged a career-high 9.3 points to go along with 3.4 rebounds while shooting .440 from the field and .387 from three-point range in 17 games (two starts) with the Wizards last season. He was originally signed to consecutive 10-day contracts by the team (on March 28 and April 8, respectively) before being signed for the remainder of the season on April 18. Martin topped 20 points twice for the Wizards last season (including a career-high 22 points in an April 21 win at Miami) and scored in double figures six times.
Martin holds career averages of 5.0 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting .371 from three-point range in 120 games between Washington, Charlotte and Golden State. The 6-7 product of Kansas State had previously appeared for the Wizards in both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons and has averaged 5.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 77 games as a member of the team.
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Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins underwent a successful procedure on his right groin, the team announced today.
This past season, Perkins appeared in 65 games (all starts) for the Thunder and recorded averages of 5.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.12 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game.
Perkins is expected to miss 4-6 weeks before returning to normal offseason activities.
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The Atlanta Hawks have signed veteran guard Lou Williams to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/GM Danny Ferry. Per club policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
“Upon learning of his situation, Lou was a player we really targeted for our club,” said Ferry. “He’s a young and experienced professional who is capable of providing leadership as a starter or a reserve, and his versatility is a tremendous plus for our backcourt.”
The 25-year-old Williams, is a 6-1 veteran who comes to Atlanta following seven seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he has emerged as one of the best sixth men in the NBA. He brings career averages of 11.3 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 455 games to the Hawks (.421 FG%, .337 3FG%, .798 FT%).
A hometown product who played his high school ball at South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, GA, Williams was selected by the Sixers in the second-round of the 2005 NBA Draft. The 45th pick overall, he was the recipient of the 2005 Naismith Award, signifying the nation’s top high school player and took home top honors in the state of Georgia (“Mr. Basketball”) after his junior and senior seasons. Named to the 2005 McDonald’s High School All-America team, Williams was a four-time All-State player at South Gwinnett and led the Comets to a 103-16 record over his career. He is also the second all-time leading scorer in Georgia high school basketball history.
Coming off a playoff performance where he averaged 11.5 ppg, 3.0 apg and 2.1 rpg in 27.5 minutes per contest, Williams was Philadelphia’s leading scorer in 2011-12 at a career-best 14.9 points per game clip. Having led the Sixers in total points (956) despite not starting a single game, he became the first player to accomplish this feat since Dell Curry did so for Charlotte in 1993-94. His play received praise from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, who voted him second behind Oklahoma City’s James Harden for this year’s KIA Sixth Man Award. Third on the team in assists (3.5 apg), Williams also averaged 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals, and converted 40.7% of his FGs, 36.2% of his three-pointers and 81.2% shooting from the FT line.
Originally committed to play for the University of Georgia before declaring himself available for the NBA, Williams had his #23 retired at South Gwinnett High.
The Indiana Pacers agreed to a one-year deal with unrestricted free-agent point guard D.J. Augustin on Thursday, filling the vacancy created when Darren Collison was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Augustin’s $4 million qualifying offer as a restricted free agent was withdrawn by the Charlotte Bobcats, who had been negotiating a sign-and-trade deal with Indiana. When the offer was rescinded, Augustin officially became an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team.
— Reported by the Sports Xchange