Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Timberwolves re-sign Jarred Vanderbilt Jordan and McLaughlin

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday re-signed forward Jarred Vanderbilt guard Jordan McLaughlin.

Vanderbilt, 22, set career-highs across the board last season including seeing action in 64 games (30 starts) for the Timberwolves, averaging 5.4 points on 60.6% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 17.8 minutes per game.

The Kentucky product saw one of his best games of the 2020-21 season in Minnesota’s 119-111 victory over the Miami Heat on Apr. 16, when in 21:35 of action off the bench, Vanderbilt scored nine points and grabbed a career-high and game-high 14 rebounds, including nine rebounds in the fourth quarter. His 14 rebounds equaled the most by a Timberwolves reserve since Anthony Tolliver grabbed 15 rebounds vs. Boston on Mar. 27, 2011, at Target Center.

The 6-9 forward holds career averages of 4.1 points on 59.7% shooting and 4.3 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game with Denver and Minnesota.

Vanderbilt was originally drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 41st overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft.

McLaughlin, 25, wrapped up his second season with the Timberwolves, appearing in 51 games (two starts), averaging 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 18.4 minutes per game last season.

On Feb. 12 at Charlotte, he registered a career-high-tying four steals (Mar. 1, 2020, vs Dallas) in 22:15 minutes of play off the bench, becoming the 17th player in club history to have multiple games with 4+ steals off the bench. McLaughlin dished out a team-high seven assists off the bench on Jan. 20 vs Orlando while scoring six points, becoming the 14th Timberwolves players to have five or more games off the bench with at least seven assists.

The Pasadena, Calif. native played four seasons at the University of Southern California averaging 12.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 58 assists and 1.7 steals in 128 games.

Cavaliers re-sign Brodric Thomas to a two-way contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have re-signed guard Brodric Thomas to a Two-Way contract, Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman announced yesterday.

Thomas (6-5, 185), who signed his first Two-Way contract with the Cavaliers on February 24, 2021, played in 32 regular season games (one start) for Cleveland and Houston last season. He recently appeared in five games for the Cavaliers in the 2021 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 25.7 minutes.

The undrafted guard from Truman State also played in the NBA G League in 2020-21, where he was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team and to the NBA G League All-Rookie Team. In six games with the Cleveland Charge (then Canton Charge), the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team, Thomas averaged 21.3 points on .462 shooting from the field, including .462 (24-52) from three-point range, 6.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.17 steals and 1.17 blocks in 33.8 minutes. Prior to his stint with the Charge, Thomas appeared in eight games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.62 steals and 1.12 blocks in 33.3 minutes.

OKC Thunder sign Paul Watson Jr. to a two-way contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed forward Paul Watson Jr. to a Two-Way Contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Watson Jr. (6-6, 210) has appeared in 37 games (two starts) and averaged 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10.4 minutes as a member of the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.

During the 2019-20 season, Watson Jr. appeared in 30 G League games (all starts) for the Raptors 905 and averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 35.3 minutes per game.

Grizzlies waive Marc Gasol

The Memphis Grizzlies have waived center Marc Gasol.

Nothing is official, but this could be the end of Gasol’s NBA career. Per the Memphis Commercial Appeal on September 10, “Gasol has not publicly announced any decisions on his future. If Memphis does becomes his final NBA stop, it brings his career full circle after the Lakers traded his draft rights in 2008 in a deal involving older brother Pau.”

Gasol was acquired by the Grizzlies from the Los Angeles Lakers with a 2024 second round draft pick for the draft rights to center Wang Zhelin (57th overall in 2016) on Sept. 10.

Gasol (7-1, 255) holds regular season career averages of 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 32.2 minutes in 891 games (866 starts) over 13 seasons with the Grizzlies, Raptors and Lakers. During his 11 seasons in Memphis (2008-19), Gasol was a three-time NBA All-Star (2012, 2015, 2017), a two-time All-NBA selection (First Team in 2014-15, Second Team in 2012-13), and the 2012-13 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The Barcelona, Spain, native led the Grizzlies to seven consecutive playoff appearances (2011-17), including a trip to the 2013 Western Conference Finals.

Celtics trade Kris Dunn and Carsen Edwards to Grizzlies for Juancho Hernangomez

The Boston Celtics have acquired forward Juancho Hernangómez in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for guards Kris Dunn and Carsen Edwards, and the right to swap second round draft picks in 2026, the team announced today.

Hernangómez, 25, holds career averages of 5.7 points on 43.0% shooting (35.1% 3-PT, 69.3% FT), 3.5 rebounds, and 16.4 minutes in 257 games (57 starts) with Denver and Minnesota. The five-year pro was originally selected by the Nuggets with the 15th overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft.

In 52 games with the Timberwolves in 2020-21, Hernangómez produced a career-high 7.2 points on 43.5% shooting (32.7% 3-PT) to go along with 3.9 rebounds, and 17.3 minutes. He reached the 20-point mark twice, including a season-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting (5-8 3-PT) at Denver on Jan. 5, and scored at least 15 points on seven occasions.

Edwards played in 68 games over two seasons with the Celtics after being selected in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft, averaging 3.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 9.2 minutes. Dunn was acquired by Boston as part of a three-team deal earlier this offseason on Aug. 7.

As part of the transaction, Memphis will own the right to swap a 2026 second round draft pick (the better of Miami’s or Dallas’s) with Boston’s 2026 second round draft pick.

Miami Heat sign Caleb Martin to a two-way contract

The Miami Heat have signed Caleb Martin to a two-way contract.

Per the Miami Herald, “Martin joins undrafted Kansas rookie guard Marcus Garrett as the two Heat players with two-way contracts. Teams can carry up to two players on two-way deals, and those players can be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games. Garrett is a former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year with a developing offensive game.”

And per the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “because of where the Heat stand against the NBA luxury tax, they are expected to go with only 14 players under standard contract when their regular season opens Oct. 21 at FTX Arena against the Milwaukee Bucks: Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Dewayne Dedmon, Markieff Morris, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Victor Oladipo, KZ Okpala, Udonis Haslem and Omer Yurtseven.”

Martin appeared in 53 games (three starts) with the Charlotte Hornets last season and averaged 5.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 15.4 minutes. He scored in double-figures six times, including a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double vs. the Lakers on April 13. He split the previous season between the Hornets and their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, starting in all 28 games he appeared in for the Swarm and averaged 21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.61 steals and 36.9 minutes while shooting 47 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range. He led the team in three-point field goals made and finished second in points, scoring average and field goals made.

Martin helped lead Nevada to a 29-4 record and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2019 as a senior after appearing in 34 games (33 starts) averaging 19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.44 steals and 34.1 minutes while leading the team in points, scoring average, steals, field goals made, three-point field goals made and free throws made.

Cedric Ceballos remains in hospital dealing with serious COVID-19 issues

A popular former NBA player has been in an intense battle with COVID-19. Via ESPN.com:

Former NBA All-Star and Slam Dunk Contest champion Cedric Ceballos tweeted Monday that he’d been moved out of isolation and was “COVID-19 free” but was still in the intensive care unit and dealing with several things relating to the virus.

Thanking those wishing him well in recent days, Ceballos said that while he is out of isolation, he still is unable to “breathe, walk or function” on his own yet.

Utah Jazz sign Derrick Alston Jr.

The Utah Jazz have signed forward Derrick Alston Jr.

Alston Jr. (6-9, 190, Boise State) appeared in 28 games (all starts) during his final collegiate season in 2020-21, owning averages of 17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32.5 minutes per contest, garnering 2020-21 All-Mountain West First Team honors. His 17.0 points per game ranked fourth in the Mountain West Conference last season.

Originally a walk-on to the Boise State basketball Team, Alston was a four-year player seeing action in 104 games (79 starts) with career averages of 14.2 points, 3.9 boards and 1.9 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest. The Houston native left the program ranked 10th in all-time points (1,479), ninth in threes made (190) and first in free throw percentage (82.1).

In G League, Santa Cruz Warriors name new GM and head coach

Some Golden State G League news came out yesterday. Via the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

The Santa Cruz Warriors, the NBA G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, announced Friday that David Fatoki has been named general manager and Seth Cooper will serve as head coach for the 2021-22 season.

Additional basketball operations staff roles, including the assistant coaching staff and training staff, will be announced at a later date.