NBA News Blog – Page 246 – NBA Blog

Spurs re-sign Keita Bates-Diop

The San Antonio Spurs have re-signed forward Keita Bates-Diop.

Bates-Diop, 6-8/230, spent last season on a two-way contract with the Silver and Black, averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.2 minutes over 30 games. Originally selected by the Timberwolves in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft (48th overall), Bates-Diop spent the better part of two seasons in Minnesota before being traded to Denver on Feb. 5, 2019. The former Ohio State Buckeye has appeared in 104 NBA games, with career averages of 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.3 minutes.

A four-year player at Ohio State, Bates-Diop was named the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior, averaging 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.65 blocks in his final season.

Spurs sign Joe Wieskamp to a two-way contract

The San Antonio Spurs have signed guard Joe Wieskamp to a two-way contract.

Wieskamp, 6-6/210, was drafted by the Spurs with the 41st overall selection in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. He played in all eight of San Antonio’s 2021 Summer League games, including five in Las Vegas where he averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23.4 minutes.

Coming off his junior season at the University of Iowa, Weiskamp was named to the 2021 Second Team All-Big 10 and was one of five finalists for the 2021 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. He averaged 14.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 29.3 minutes while shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range, including 49.5 percent in Big Ten Conference games. The Iowa native started all 97 games he appeared in, averaging 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.8 minutes while shooting 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. Prior to joining the Hawkeyes, he graduated as the state of Iowa’s all-time high school leading scorer.

Weiskamp will wear No. 15 for the Silver & Black.

Bulls reportedly signing Stanley Johnson and Alize Johnson

The Chicago Bulls are reportedly adding a pair of forwards to their roster. Via the Chicago Sun-Times:

A source confirmed that the Bulls got some much needed frontcourt depth by adding wing Stanley Johnson and power forward Alize Johnson…

Stanley Johnson, who was the No. 8 overall pick from the 2015 NBA Draft, might have the bigger upside, showing promise in his early days with the Pistons, before an inability to shoot from outside caught up with him.

Alize Johnson is another explosive leaper and he will join former dunk contest winners Zach LaVine and Derrick Jones Jr.

Rockets re-sign Anthony Lamb to a two-way contract

The Houston Rockets have re-signed forward Anthony Lamb to a two-way contract.

Lamb (6-6, 225) was eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft following his senior season at Vermont. He began last season with the Canton Charge of the G League before being acquired by the Rockets affiliate, Rio Grande Valley.

After averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Vipers en route to earning G League Most Improved Player honors, Lamb signed a two-way contract with Houston on March 8. He appeared in 24 games for the Rockets and scored 20-plus points twice over his final 11 games played.

Spurs waive Chandler Hutchison

The San Antonio Spurs have waived Chandler Hutchison. Via the San Antonio Express-News:

The Spurs waived the 25-year-old small forward Saturday, a little more than a month after acquiring him as part of the monster five-team trade in July that resulted in Russell Westbrook landing with the Los Angeles Lakers…

With 17 guaranteed contracts — not including two-ways — the Spurs needed to waive or trade at least two players by the start of the season to make the roster legal.

Pistons trade Sekou Doumbouya, Jahlil Okafor to Nets for DeAndre Jordan, draft picks

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired forward Sekou Doumbouya and center Jahlil Okafor from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for center DeAndre Jordan, second round draft picks in 2022, 2024 (via Washington), 2025 (via Golden State) and 2027 and cash considerations.

“We appreciate everything DeAndre has contributed to our organization over the past two seasons both on and off the court and wish him and his family the best moving forward,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks.

Doumbouya (6’8”, 230) has appeared in 94 games (30 starts) across two seasons (2019-21) with the Pistons, recording averages of 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game.

Okafor (6’10”, 270) has seen action in 247 games (116 starts) in six seasons with Detroit (2020-21), New Orleans (2018-20), Brooklyn (2017-18) and Philadelphia (2015-17), posting averages of 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game.

Jordan originally signed as a free agent with Brooklyn on July 6, 2019, and appeared in 113 games (49 starts) in two seasons (2019-21) with the Nets, recording averages of 7.9 points on 71.1 percent shooting from the field, 8.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks in 21.9 minutes per game. In the 2020-21 campaign, Jordan averaged 7.5 points on 76.3 percent shooting from the field, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocks in 21.9 minutes per contest across 57 games (43 starts). The 33-year-old has played in 932 games (756 starts) in 13 seasons with Brooklyn, New York (2019), Dallas (2018-19) and the L.A. Clippers (2008-18), posting averages of 9.4 points on 67.4 percent shooting from the field, 10.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.6 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game.

LaMarcus Aldridge un-retires from NBA, re-signs with Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have re-signed free agent forward LaMarcus Aldridge.

Per ESPN.com, “after retiring with heart concerns five months ago, seven-time All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge is returning to the Brooklyn Nets on a one-year, $2.6 million deal, his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, told ESPN on Friday. Aldridge, 36, has been medically cleared by a number of doctors — including those both independent and Nets-affiliated — to make a return for his 16th season, Schwartz told ESPN.”

Aldridge (6’11”, 265) has appeared in 1,029 career NBA games (985 starts) across 15 seasons with Brooklyn (2021), San Antonio (2015-21) and Portland (2006-15), averaging 19.4 points on 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 81.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 blocks in 34.2 minutes per contest.

A seven-time NBA All-Star (2012-16, 2018-19), Aldridge most recently saw action in 26 contests (23 starts) for the Nets (five games) and Spurs (21 games). In his five games as a Net, Aldridge recorded averages of 12.8 points on 52.1 percent shooting from the field, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game.

The Dallas native is a five-time All-NBA selection, taking home second-team honors twice (2015, 2018) and third-team honors on three occasions (2011, 2014, 2016). Among active players, Aldridge currently ranks fourth in field goals made (8,059), fifth in rebounds (8,478), seventh in points (19,951), eighth in blocks (1,140) and 10th in games played (1,029). Aldridge is one of just two active players to register 19,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists, joining LeBron James. The 36-year-old, who helped lead San Antonio to the conference finals in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, has appeared in the postseason nine times in his career, averaging 20.8 points on 45.5 percent shooting from the field and 82.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line to go along with 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks in 37.1 minutes per game in 72 total contests (all starts).

The second overall pick in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft, Aldridge played collegiately at the University of Texas for two seasons (2004-06), appearing in 53 career games (all starts) for the Longhorns and averaging 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks in 30.2 minutes per game. Following his final season in Austin, Aldridge was named First-Team All-Big 12 and the conference’s defensive player of the year.

Mavericks sign rookie JaQuori McLaughlin, waive EJ Onu

The Dallas Mavericks have signed rookie free agent guard JaQuori McLaughlin to a two-way contract.

And in an additional move, Dallas has requested waivers on center EJ Onu.

McLaughlin (6-4, 190) signs with Dallas after going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft. He finished his collegiate career at UC Santa Barbara, where he helped the Gauchos win the Big West regular season and tournament titles in his senior year. He averaged 16.0 points (.488 FG%, .408 3FG%), 3.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game en route to being named the Big West Player of the Year and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in his final collegiate season.

In his five-year collegiate career, which included time at Oregon State, McLaughlin averaged 11.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 32.8 minutes in 126 games (123 starts). McLaughlin is just the third player in UC Santa Barbara history to score 1,000 or more points and dish out 300 or more assists.

The Port Angeles, Washington, native averaged 19.3 points, 9.1 assists and 5.5 steals per game as a senior at Peninsula High School and was named Washington Mr. Basketball, an award that has also recently been awarded to Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

McLaughlin will wear #30 for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks roster now stands at 19 players.

Nets waive forward Alize Johnson

The Brooklyn Nets have requested waivers on forward Alize Johnson.

Johnson originally joined the Nets on two 10-day contracts (signed on March 22 and April 1) before signing a multi-year deal with Brooklyn on April 11. In 18 games with the Nets during the 2020-21 season, the 25-year-old recorded averages of 5.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per contest. Johnson has seen action in 49 games across three seasons with Brooklyn and Indiana (2018-20), registering averages of 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game.

Utah Jazz add Irv Roland to coaching staff

The Utah Jazz have added Irv Roland to their coaching staff.

Roland, a seven-year NBA coaching veteran, last worked for the Houston Rockets from 2017-19 where they reached the Western Conference Finals in 2018. He began his NBA career with the Boston Celtics in 2004 where he assisted with video analysis. In 2005, he joined the New Orleans Hornets, also in the team’s video department, and worked there until 2010. He continued his journey in coaching, moving to Phoenix and was an assistant coach for the Suns from 2013-17.

Additionally, Roland works throughout the offseason with current and former NBA players.

A native of Midwest City, Okla., Roland played college basketball at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.