Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

San Antonio Spurs sign Gorgui Dieng

The San Antonio Spurs have signed center Gorgui Dieng.

It’s reportedly a one-year deal.

Dieng, 6-10/250, spent the 2021-22 season with the Atlanta Hawks where he averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 8.4 minutes in 44 games while shooting 47.3% from the field. He is making his second stint in San Antonio after appearing in 16 games for the Spurs in 2020-21, averaging 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 11.3 minutes.

Per the San Antonio Express News, “the move re-kindled speculation that the Spurs could be willing to trade starting center Jakob Poeltl as it continues to rebuild after missing the playoffs the last three seasons. The Spurs also have forward/center Zach Collins on their roster.”

A 10-year NBA veteran, Dieng holds career averages of 7.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.5 minutes in 597 total games played. Selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft (21st overall) by the Utah Jazz, he was dealt to the Timberwolves on draft night and spent his first six-plus seasons with Minnesota.

A native of Senegal, Dieng won the 2013 NCAA Championship in his final season as a junior at the University of Louisville.

Dieng will wear No. 41 for the Silver and Black.

Atlanta Hawks sign Trent Forrest to a two-way contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed free agent guard Trent Forrest to a two-way contract.

Forrest saw action in 60 games (six starts) for the Utah Jazz as a two-way player during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.8 minutes (.490 FG%, .792 FT%). In his six starts, the 6-4 guard notched 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 28.4 minutes of action (.611 FG%, .429 3FG%, .889 FT%). Utah compiled a 4-2 record when inserting Forrest into the starting lineup. In a win against Denver on Feb. 2, 2022, Forrest poured in a career-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting from the floor, in addition to two rebounds, a career-high tying eight assists and one steal in 39 minutes as a starter.

After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, Forrest signed a two-way contract with the Jazz prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, and then again before the 2021-22 campaign. He signed a standard NBA contract on April 10, 2022. Over his two-year career, Forrest has seen action in 90 games (six starts), owning career averages of 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 11.9 minutes (.478 FG%, .851 FT%). He has also appeared in four postseason contests.

A product of Florda State, Forrest appeared in 137 games (69 starts) over his four-year collegiate career, tallying 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 25.4 minutes (.462 FG%, .748 FT%). He finished his Seminole career as the all-time winningest player in program history with 104 wins, ranked third in total steals (224) and games played (137), while ranking fifth in total assists (455) and 10th in free throws made (336). The Chipley, Florida, native was selected to the 2019-20 All-ACC Second Team and All-ACC Defensive Team, while garnering All-ACC Academic Team honors in each year at Florida State (2017-20).

Heat and Spurs will reportedly play a 2022-23 regular season game in Mexico City

Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

There will be a south-of-the-border element for the Miami Heat when the NBA schedule is released in coming days.

The Heat, under current NBA plans, are scheduled for a Dec. 17 game in Mexico City, one that will count against the San Antonio Spurs’ home schedule.

It will be the Heat’s first regular-season game outside of the United States or Canada since defeating the Brooklyn Nets 101-89 on Dec. 9, 2017 in front of a listed 19,777 in Mexico City.

The game at Mexico City Arena is part of the Spurs’ expansion beyond their AT&T Center home.

2022-23 Philadelphia 76ers preseason game schedule

The Philadelphia 76ers 2022-23 preseason will feature four exhibition games. The slate begins when the 76ers travel to Brooklyn on Monday, Oct.3 to take on the Nets at Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The team then returns back home to face Cleveland on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at The Center at 7 p.m. ET, which will be followed by a second meeting with the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 10 on the road at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Philadelphia’s preseason slate wraps up at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. ET.

All four of the 76ers preseason games will air on the radio on the team’s flagship radio station, 97.5 The Fanatic. Both home games (Oct. 5 vs. Cleveland and Oct. 12 vs. Charlotte) will be telecast on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Suns re-sign Ish Wainright

The Phoenix Suns have re-signed forward Ish Wainright, to a two-way contract.

Wainright (6-5, 235 pounds) played in 45 regular season games for the Suns last season, averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game. Over his final two games of the season, he totaled a combined 35 points on 14-of-29 from the field and 7 of 16 from three-point range, plus 11 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists. He scored all of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter on April 6 at the LA Clippers, joining Cam Johnson and Jamal Crawford as the only Suns players in the last 25 years to score 20-plus points in a period while coming off the bench. Wainright also appeared in seven games during the postseason.

Most recently, Wainright averaged 11.0 points on 42.1% from the field and 41.4% from three-point range plus 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in five games for the Suns at the 2022 NBA Summer League last month in Las Vegas. He also represented Uganda at the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in July, averaging team highs of 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

The Suns initially signed the 27-year-old on Oct. 21, 2021 and he made his NBA debut on Nov. 19. Wainright played the previous three seasons internationally in Germany and France. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he played collegiately at Baylor where he earned Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors as a senior in 2017.

Thunder re-sign Mike Muscala

The Oklahoma City Thunder have re-signed forward/center Mike Muscala.

Last season with the Thunder, Muscala played in 43 games, averaging 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game, while shooting a career-high 42.9 percent from three-point range.

In nine NBA seasons with Oklahoma City, Atlanta, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Bucknell product has appeared in 432 career games (30 starts) and posted averages of 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

Bulls sign Goran Dragic

The Chicago Bulls yesterday signed guard Goran Dragić.

A native of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Dragić (6-3, 190) has appeared in 888 career games (530 starts) recording averages of 13.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 27.9 minutes per game while shooting 46.0 percent from the field, 36.2 from three-point range and 76.7 from the free-throw line. Over the course of his 14-year NBA career, Dragić has made stops in Brooklyn (2021-22), Toronto (2021-22), Miami (2015-21), Houston (2011-12) and Phoenix (2008-11, 2012-15).

Dragić has also appeared in 60 playoff games (37 starts) across six postseason appearances, recording averages of 14.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 26.9 minutes while shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from three-point range and 76.3 percent from the free-throw line – helping lead the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance in 2020 and the Suns to the Western Conference Finals in 2010. During his 2017-18 season with the Heat, Dragić was named an NBA All-Star. He also earned All-NBA Third Team honors, as well as the NBA Most Improved Player Award with the Suns in the 2013-14 campaign. Dragić was originally drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 45th overall pick in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft, and his draft rights were traded to Phoenix.

Prior to the NBA, Dragić competed professionally in Europe for four years (2004-08). He also has a decorated international career playing for Slovenia. In 2017, he led his home country to its first-ever FIBA European Championship at the 2017 EuroBasket. Dragić was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and earned Slovenia’s Sportsman of the Year award.

Dragić will wear No. 7.

Bucks add DeMarre Carroll to coaching staff

The Milwaukee Bucks yesterday made the following updates to Mike Budenholzer’s coaching staff:

Charles Lee, who has served as an assistant coach with the Bucks the past four seasons, has been promoted to associate head coach. The 2022-23 season will mark Lee’s ninth on Budenholzer’s staff after he joined the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach in 2014. In addition to winning the 2021 NBA Championship with the Bucks, Lee has made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons with Budenholzer in Atlanta and Milwaukee, including three Eastern Conference Finals appearances.

A native of Gaithersburg, Maryland, Lee got his start in coaching at his alma mater, Bucknell, where he served as an assistant coach for two seasons. As a player with the Bison, Lee was the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year and won two Patriot League championships. After his playing career at Bucknell, Lee played professionally in Israel, Belgium and Germany.

Vince Legarza, who most recently served as an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz the past four seasons, has been hired as an assistant coach. Prior to his stint in Utah, he spent three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves in their Player Development department. Legarza got his start in the NBA with the Hawks where he served two seasons in the team’s Basketball Operations and Player Development departments. The San Francisco native is a graduate of Miami University (OH) where he spent five seasons playing on the men’s basketball team, including three years as a captain.

Blaine Mueller, who is entering his fifth season with the Bucks, has been promoted to assistant coach. Mueller, a Watertown, Wisconsin native and University of Wisconsin graduate, spent the last three seasons as the Bucks head video coordinator. He started with the Bucks in 2018 as a video and player development assistant before being promoted to head video coordinator prior to the 2019-20 season. Before joining the Bucks, Mueller spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Lindenwood University.

DeMarre Carroll, an 11-year NBA veteran who appeared in 578 career games with Memphis, Houston, Denver, Utah, Atlanta, Toronto, Brooklyn and San Antonio, has also joined Budenholzer’s staff as an assistant coach. A former first round pick out of Missouri, Carroll most recently played with the Spurs and Rockets during the 2019-20 season. The Birmingham, Alabama native played under Budenholzer in Atlanta for two seasons from 2013-15, including the 2014-15 season when the Hawks won 60 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Sidney Dobner has been promoted to head video coordinator. Dobner is entering her fifth season with the Bucks organization, serving most recently as assistant video coordinator last season. After a collegiate and professional playing career, the Newbury Park, California native got her start with the Wisconsin Herd in 2018 as a video assistant/coaching associate before joining the Bucks Basketball Operations department for the 2019-20 season and then transitioning to a video and player development assistant for the 2020-21 season.

Suns sign Duane Washington Jr.

The Phoenix Suns have signed free agent guard Duane Washington Jr.

Washington (6-3, 197 pounds) averaged 9.9 points on 40.5% shooting from the field, 37.7% from three-point range and 75.4% from the free throw line in 48 games as a rookie with the Indiana Pacers last season. Among qualified NBA rookies, he ranked 12th in points per game, third in three-point percentage and ninth with 81 made three-pointers. Washington set a Pacers rookie record by making seven three-pointers at New Orleans on Jan. 24. He also appeared in 11 games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League last season, averaging 19.5 points, 4.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds.

The 22-year-old went undrafted in 2021 following a three-year career at Ohio State where he earned All-Big Ten honors in his final season after averaging a team-high 16.4 points. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Washington grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

2022-23 Pelicans preseason game schedule

The New Orleans Pelicans today announced their 2022-23 preseason schedule.

The Pelicans will open preseason play with a road contest against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, October 4. The team then returns home to face the Detroit Pistons at the Smoothie King Center on Friday, Oct. 7. New Orleans will go back on the road for matchups against the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat on Oct. 9 and 12, respectively, before concluding preseason play against the Atlanta Hawks at Legacy Arena – home of the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate.

The complete 2022 Pelicans preseason schedule is below:

DATE DAY OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (CT)

Oct. 4 Tue. at Chicago, United Center (Chicago, IL) 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 7 Fri. vs. Detroit, Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, LA) 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 9 Sun. at San Antonio, AT&T Center (San Antonio, TX) 6:00 p.m.

Oct. 12 Wed. at Miami, FTX Arena (Miami, FL) 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 14 Fri. vs. Atlanta, Legacy Arena (Birmingham, AL) 7:00 p.m.