NBA News Blog – Page 166 – NBA Blog

Pacers trade Malcolm Brogdon to Celtics

The Boston Celtics have acquired guard Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for center Daniel Theis, guard/forward Aaron Nesmith, forwards Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan, guard Nik Stauskas and a 2023 first round draft choice.

“We would like to welcome Malcolm and his family to the Celtics,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens. “We are very excited about what Malcolm brings both on and off the court. His resume speaks for itself. He is the kind of playmaker, shooter, and impact defender that we need in our continued pursuit of Banner 18.”

Brogdon, a 6’5” guard, led the Pacers in scoring last season with 19.1 points, along with 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 33.5 minutes per game. The former Virginia Cavalier joins the Celtics after spending the previous three seasons in Indiana where he averaged 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 35.2 percent from three over 146 games. Brogdon is one of four active players in the NBA to have recorded 5,000 or more points, 1,500 or more assists, and 500 or more three-pointers in fewer than 350 games. The Atlanta, GA native spent the first three seasons of his career in Milwaukee where he was honored as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year during the 2016-17 season. In his final season in Milwaukee, he became just the eighth player in NBA history to achieve a 50-40-90 season (shooting better than 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the free throw line) when he shot 50.5/42.6/92.8. A member of the NBPA Executive Committee as a Vice President, Brogdon was honored by the PBWA with the 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award for his commitment to education, gender, and health equality as well as his support for criminal justice and voting reform through the Brogdon Family Foundation.

Brogdon will wear #13 with the Celtics.

New Orleans Pelicans sign rookie Dyson Daniels

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed rookie guard Dyson Daniels.

Daniels, who was drafted by the Pelicans with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, averaged 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals for NBA G League Ignite during the 2021-22 season. Daniels joined Ignite from the NBA Global Academy Australia.

Daniels represented the Australian national team at the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

Denver Nuggets re-sign Davon Reed

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Davon Reed to a multiyear contract, General Manager Calvin Booth announced today.

Reed, 6-5, 208, appeared in 48 games (five starts) for the Nuggets in 2021-22, averaging 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 50.3% from the field and 43.0% from three in 13.9 minutes. Reed signed a total of three 10-day contracts with Denver (12/4, 12/9 and 12/30) before being signed to a two-way contract for the remainder of the season.

He also appeared in eight games (all starts) with the Nuggets’ G-League affiliate Grand Rapids Gold, averaging 15.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.90 steals in 35.8 minutes per game. He played for the Nuggets in both last year’s preseason and Las Vegas Summer League entries as well.

Reed, 27, previously appeared in 31 career NBA games for the Phoenix Suns (21 games in 2017-18) and Indiana Pacers (10 games in 2018-19). He has appeared in 94 career G-League games (89 starts) for Northern Arizona, Fort Worth, Sioux Falls and Grand Rapids, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

The New Jersey Native was drafted with the 32nd overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. He spent four years at the University of Miami where he was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team and ACC All-Third Team in 2017.

Utah Jazz sign rookie Walker Kessler

The Utah Jazz have signed rookie center Walker Kessler.

Kessler (7-1, 245, Auburn) was originally drafted by Memphis in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft (22nd overall) with his draft rights being acquired by Minnesota before being traded to Utah. During his final collegiate season at Auburn, the 20-year-old averaged 11.4 points on 60.8 percent from the field, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks (tied for first in NCAA) and 1.1 steals in 34 games (all starts), being named to the 2021-22 All-SEC First Team and All-SEC Defensive Team, also earning 2021-22 SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He was additionally named to the AP All-American Third Team and selected as the 2021-22 NABC Defensive Player of the Year.

The native of Newnan, Ga. spent his first collegiate season at North Carolina in 2020-21, where he appeared in 29 games, averaging 4.4 points on 57.8 percent from the field and 3.2 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per contest.

Timberwolves sign Kyle Anderson

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday signed forward Kyle Anderson.

Anderson, 6-8, spent the last four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies where he averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 248 games (148 starts). During the 2020-21 season, he registered a career-high 12.4 points per game on 46.8% shooting, while leading the team in steals (84) and steals per game (1.2). In eight seasons in the NBA, Anderson has tallied 3,366 points, 2,220 rebounds, 1,167 assists and 510 steals throughout 505 games (248 starts).

The Fairview, N.J. native, has seen action in 47 postseason matchups (eight starts) during five trips to the playoffs. He holds playoff career averages of 5.3 points on 51.0% shooting, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 16.2 minutes per game. Anderson was originally selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 30th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Orlando Magic re-sign Mo Bamba

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent center Mo Bamba, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced yesterday (Friday, July 8).

Bamba (7’0”, 235, 5/12/98) played in 71 games (69 starts) last season with Orlando, averaging 10.6 ppg., 8.1 rpg., 1.2 apg. and a team-high 1.66 blkpg. in 25.7 minpg., while shooting .381 (107-281) from three-point range. He ranked sixth in the NBA in blocked shots and tied for 28th in rebounding. Bamba led (or tied) the team in scoring seven times, in rebounding 25 times and in assists twice. He scored in double figures 41 times, 20+ points four times and 30+ points once, including a career-high 32 points on Jan. 19 @ Philadelphia. Bamba had 10+ rebounds 25 times, including a career-high-tying 18 rebounds on Oct. 29 @ Toronto and had 20 double-doubles. He also had at least one blocked shot 55 times and two-or-more blocks 37 times, including a career-high six blocked shots on Nov. 29 @ Philadelphia and Apr. 5 vs. Cleveland.

Originally selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2018 NBA Draft by Orlando, Bamba has played in 226 career NBA regular season games (75 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 7.7 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.44 blkpg. in 18.6 minpg.

Prior to this year’s NBA Draft, Bamba decided to change his uniform number to #11, which he had when he was in high school. He wore #5 during his first four NBA campaigns with the Magic.

Brooklyn Nets re-sign Nic Claxton

The Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, July 7 re-signed center Nic Claxton to a multi-year contract.

“Nic is an ascending player who has only begun to scratch the surface of what he’s capable of on both ends of the court,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “With his defensive versatility and developing offensive skillset, we believe Nic has a bright future ahead of him and we’re looking forward to his continued growth in Brooklyn.”

Claxton has spent his entire three-year NBA career with the Nets after being selected with the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft by Brooklyn. In 94 games (20 starts), Claxton holds career averages of 7.3 points on 64.6 percent shooting from the field, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.7 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old South Carolina native has increased his games played, starts, points per game, field goal percentage and rebounds per game in each of his three seasons. In the 2021-22 campaign, Claxton saw action in 47 games (19 starts), registering averages of 8.7 points on 67.4 percent shooting from the field, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 20.7 minutes per game. After the All-Star break, Claxton posted a team-best defensive rating of 106.1 and ranked third on the team in net rating (7.4), trailing only Kevin Durant (10.0) and Kyrie Irving (9.6). Claxton has also appeared in 16 playoff games across the last two seasons, averaging 4.5 points on 62.3 percent shooting from the field, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 14.2 minutes per contest. In four games in Brooklyn’s first round series versus Boston in 2022, Claxton recorded averages of 10.5 points on 79.2 percent shooting from the field, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks in 24.5 minutes per game.

Prior to beginning his NBA career, Claxton spent two collegiate seasons (2017-19) at the University of Georgia. As a sophomore, he averaged a team-high 13.0 points, 8.6 rebounds (third in the SEC), 1.1 steals and 2.5 blocks (10th in the nation) while adding 1.8 assists in 31.6 minutes per game on his way to being named to the All-SEC Second Team. Overall, Claxton appeared in 65 games for the Bulldogs, averaging 8.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.9 blocks in 23.0 minutes per contest.

Miami Heat sign Orlando Robinson

The Miami Heat on Thursday, July 7 signed center Orlando Robinson.

Robinson recently appeared in three games (all starts) with the HEAT’s Summer League team in the California Classic averaging 8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.33 steals and 1.0 assists while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. He previously played three seasons at Fresno State where he started in all 90 career games. In his final season as a junior, Robinson started all 36 games with the Bulldogs and averaged 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.19 blocks, 1.00 steals and 33.2 minutes. He became just one of two players in NCAA history to accumulate at least 700 points, 300 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season. Robinson was named to the All-Mountain West First Team, the NABC All-District 17 First Team and was selected as a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American. He led the team in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals made, free throws made and minutes and finished second on the team in assists and steals. Additionally, he recorded 18 20-point games, including three 30-point performances, and posted 12 double-doubles.

Trail Blazers re-sign Drew Eubanks

The Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, July 7 re-signed center Drew Eubanks, it was announced by General Manager Joe Cronin.

“Drew’s work ethic and style of play left an imprint on us last season,” said Cronin. “His toughness and ability to finish at the rim will be assets to our frontcourt depth.”

Eubanks, 25, played in 22 games (all starts) for the Trail Blazers last season, posting averages of 14.5 points (64.6% FG, 78.4% FT), 8.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.5 minutes per game. He scored 20-plus points on five occasions for Portland and recorded six double-doubles. For the 2021-22 season, Eubanks averaged career-highs of 7.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 71 games (31 starts) with Portland and San Antonio.

A four-year NBA veteran out of Reynolds High School in Troutdale and Oregon State University, Eubanks (6-9, 245) holds career averages of 5.9 points (59.0% FG, 75.3% FT), 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 170 games (37 starts) with Portland and San Antonio.

Nuggets sign Bruce Brown

The Denver Nuggets on Thursday, July 7 signed guard Bruce Brown to a multiyear contract, General Manager Calvin Booth announced.

Brown, 6-4, 202, appeared in 72 games (45 starts) for the Brooklyn Nets last season, averaging a career-high 9.0 points while posting 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.6 minutes per game. Brown shot 50.6% from the field and set career-highs in three-point FG’s (38) and three-point percentage (40.4%). He also appeared in four playoff games (four starts), averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.8 minutes per game.

The four-year NBA veteran has appeared in 269 career games (181 starts) for Detroit and Brooklyn, holding career averages of 7.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 48.2% from the field and 32.7% from three in 23.4 minutes per game.

The 25-year-old native of Boston, Massachusetts was selected with the 42nd overall pick by Detroit in the 2018 NBA draft after playing two seasons at the University of Miami where he was teammates alongside Nuggets guard Davon Reed.