Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

76ers sign Louis King to a two-way contract, waive Saben Lee

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Louis King to a two-way contract.

And in a related move, the team has waived Saben Lee.

King joins the 76ers organization after most recently appearing in 18 NBA G League games this season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, where he averaged 20.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals, making him one of 15 G League players with such averages.

Prior to Rio Grande Valley, King spent time with the Sacramento Kings as a two-way player where he averaged 18.3 points while shooting .412 from three-point range in six G League games.

King, a Jersey City, New Jersey native played his high school career at Hudson Catholic before attending the University of Oregon.

Signed to a two-way deal by the Detroit Pistons as an undrafted free agent in 2019, King has averaged 4.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 26 career NBA games.

King will wear No. 7 with the 76ers.

Mavericks sign AJ Lawson to a two-way contract

The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard AJ Lawson to a two-way contract.

And in a related move, the Mavericks have also requested waivers on two-way guard Tyler Dorsey.

Lawson (6-6, 224) joins Dallas after beginning the season with the G League’s College Park Skyhawks and Iowa Wolves, where he averaged 19.9 points (.527 FG%), 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 33.5 minutes in 13 total games (all starts). Lawson also made his NBA debut while on a Two-Way contract for the Timberwolves in 2022-23 and recorded two points (1-1 FG) and one board in 2 minutes at Orlando on Nov. 16.

The 22-year-old started all five games for the Mavericks at the 2022 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging a team-high 15.6 points (.519 FG%, .500 3FG%, .846 FT%), 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes. He signed a Two-Way deal with Minnesota on July 26 before being waived by the franchise on Oct. 14 and joining the Skyhawks for the start of the 2022-23 season. Lawson signed another Two-Way contract with the Timberwolves on Nov. 15 but was again waived by the club on Dec. 7 and returned to College Park.

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, Lawson signed with College Park on Sept. 22, 2021, and averaged 11.8 points (.481 FG%), 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 31.8 minutes in 33 games (26 starts) for the Skyhawks during the 2021-22 campaign. The Toronto native later signed with the Guelph Nighthawks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League on April 26, 2022, and averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 30.5 minutes in 10 games (all starts) for the club.

Lawson was a three-year player at the University of South Carolina, where he totaled 1,153 points, 325 rebounds, 167 assists and 101 steals in 81 games (80 starts) for the Gamecocks. He earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2018-19 (13.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg) and Second Team All-SEC accolades as a junior in 2020-21 (16.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.5 spg).

Lawson will wear No. 9 for the Mavericks.

Dorsey (6-5, 183) signed a Two-Way deal with Dallas on July 23 and appeared in three games with the Mavericks. He recorded nine points (4-4 FG, 1-1 3FG) and two boards in his Mavericks debut against Memphis on Oct. 22.

Dorsey also saw action in 16 games (all starts) for the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, and averaged 24.2 points (4th in the G League), 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32.5 minutes while shooting 45.6% (115-252 FG) from the field, 45.7% (58-127 3FG) from beyond the arc and 84.0% (63-75 FT) from the foul line.

The latest on a rumor involving James Harden and the Rockets

Via the Houston Chronicle:

Former Houston Rockets star and current 76ers guard James Harden wasn’t exactly in the Christmas spirit as he addressed reporters Sunday after a 119-112 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Philadelphia’s victory was in-part overshadowed by a pregame report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that detailed Harden’s interest in a potential return to Houston in 2023. Harden was dismissive of Wojnarowski’s report when speaking with the media postgame, noting he is “excited” to be in Philadelphia.

“I’m here, we’re playing very well, I don’t know where the report came from,” Harden said. “But I’m very excited to be here. We are playing well, and we’re continuing to get better.”

Injuries have been big part of Heat season so far

Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

[Miami Heat] point guard Kyle Lowry said the injury reports have become the story of the Heat’s struggles.

“It’s our season,” he said. “It’s been our season this year. Let’s get our injuries out of the way now, then come March, April, May, June, we’ll all be healthy.”

According to SpoTrac’s tracker, the Heat have lost 124 player/games to injury this season, second only to the 183 lost by the Orlando Magic, with the Cleveland Cavaliers third at 121 such games lost.

With 13 players having missed time due to injury, SpoTrac ranks the Heat tied for third in the NBA in that regard, behind only the 14 players who have missed injury time of the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dallas Mavericks unveil Dirk Nowitzki statue outside arena

Via the Forth Worth Star-Telegram:

The Dallas Mavericks unveiled a statue to honor Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki prior to their game on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nowitzki statue depicts his famous one-legged jumper, a shot that changed the game. He was a unicorn when he got to the U.S.; a 7-footer who could shoot, pass and dribble and wasn’t just a back-to-the-basket guy. Now, those skills aren’t rare to see in big men. They’re basically required.

The The tributes for Notwitzki officially started in 2019 with Dirk Nowitzki Way, a street that was renamed in Dallas to honor the greatest Mavericks player of all time. Then in January, the Mavs retired his No. 41 jersey. Then in September, Germany retired the No. 14 jersey he wore for his country.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry injury update: out two more weeks

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder on December 14 at Indiana and has missed the team’s last four (4) games, was recently re-evaluated. The re-evaluation, according to the team, indicated that Curry is making good progress.

He will be re-evaluated again in two (2) weeks.

Nuggets forward Jeff Green sustains finger and hand injuries

Denver Nuggets forward Jeff Green sustained a left finger sprain and hand fracture in the fourth quarter of last night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

He will be re-evaluated in four weeks and updates will be provided as necessary.

The Nuggets are 20-11 this season, which ties them with the Memphis Grizzlies for the best record in the Western conference.

Coming off the bench for most of the season, Green is averaging 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis reportedly sustains hand injury

Via the Sacramento Bee:

Kings center Domantas Sabonis faces an uncertain prognosis after sustaining a hand injury in Friday’s loss to the Washington Wizards at Golden 1 Center.

X-rays confirmed Sabonis suffered an injury to his right hand in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 125-111 loss to the Wizards, sources told The Sacramento Bee on Saturday, confirming a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.