NBA News Blog – Page 254 – NBA Blog

Knicks re-sign center Nerlens Noel

The New York Knicks have re-signed center Nerlens Noel.

Noel, 6-10, 220-pounds, averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.20 blocks and 1.09 steals over 24.2 minutes in 64 games (41 starts) for New York last season. He ranked third in the NBA in blocks per game and was the only player in the NBA to average at least two blocks and one steal. He was signed by New York as a free agent on November 25, 2010.

Originally selected by New Orleans with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Noel holds career averages of 7.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.51 blocks and 1.28 steals over 425 games (208 starts) with New York, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Philadelphia. As a rookie with Philadelphia, the Malden, MA-native earned All-Rookie First Team honors after averaging 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.77 steals and 1.89 blocks over 30.8 minutes in 75 games (71 starts).

He spent one season at the University of Kentucky, averaging 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 4.42 blocks and 2.08 steals over 31.9 minutes in 24 games (24 starts). He earned 2013 SEC Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors and led the SEC conference in total blocks with 106 en route to being named All-SEC first team.

Detroit Pistons re-sign guard Frank Jackson

The Detroit Pistons have re-signed guard Frank Jackson.

Jackson, 6-3, 205, averaged 9.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 18.5 minutes over 40 games (six starts) with Detroit in 2020-21. Jackson shot .457 from the field, .407 from distance and .813 from the free-throw line a season ago while under a two-way contract with the Pistons. He had four games with at least 20 points and scored in double figures in 21 contests.

The Duke product was drafted 31st overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2017 NBA Draft and made his NBA debut for the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 17, 2018. Jackson holds career averages of 7.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 16.9 minutes over 160 NBA games (24 starts).

Detroit Pistons re-sign guard Cory Joseph

The Detroit Pistons have re-signed guard Cory Joseph.

Joseph, 6-3, 200, averaged 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals in 26.4 minutes over 19 games (11 starts) as a Piston. Overall, Joseph played in 63 games in 2020-21, averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals in 23.0 minutes with Sacramento and Detroit. He was acquired by the Pistons, along with draft considerations, from the Sacramento Kings on Mar. 25, 2021 in exchange for guard Delon Wright.

The Toronto native holds career NBA clips of 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.8 steals in 663 games (134 starts). Joseph has suited up for San Antonio, Indiana, Toronto, Sacramento and Detroit through 10 NBA seasons. He was drafted 29th overall by the Spurs in the 2011 NBA Draft following his freshman campaign at Texas.

Thunder sign rookie forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

The Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday signed rookie forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Robinson-Earl (6-9, 230) spent two seasons at Villanova and during his sophomore season he posted averages of 15.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 34.4 minutes per game. As a sophomore, he led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding.

The Thunder acquired the rights to Robinson-Earl (No. 32 overall pick), from the New York Knicks on July 30, 2021 in exchange for the rights to the No. 34 and No 36 picks.

Pelicans sign rookie Trey Murphy III

The New Orleans Pelicans announced yesterday that the team has signed rookie forward Trey Murphy III.

Murphy III, the 17th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, was acquired by the Pelicans from the Memphis Grizzlies on August 7, 2021. He appeared in 25 games (20 starts) for the University of Virginia last season, averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range. In his first two collegiate seasons at Rice University, Murphy III appeared in 61 games (25 starts) for the Owls and averaged 10.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game.

Mavericks sign Sterling Brown

The Dallas Mavericks announced yesterday that they have signed free agent guard Sterling Brown.

Brown (6-5, 219) was selected by Philadelphia with the 46th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. His draft rights were traded to Milwaukee, where he spent the first three seasons of his career.

Brown spent last season with the Houston Rockets, where he averaged career highs in points (8.2), rebounds (4.4) and assists (1.4) in 51 games (14 starts). Over four NBA seasons, Brown has averaged 5.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 215 appearances (26 starts).

A native of Maywood, Illinois, Brown played four seasons at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he averaged 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He finished his collegiate career in 2017 as the school’s all-time leader in wins (109).

Brown will wear #0.

Lakers sign Chaundee Brown Jr. and Mac McClung

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Chaundee Brown Jr. and Mac McClung, it was announced yesterday.

In 112 games (74 starts) for Wake Forest and Michigan, Brown Jr. averaged 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 24.6 minutes. In his lone season at Michigan, Brown Jr. averaged 8.0 points and 3.1 rebounds and was named to the 2021 NCAA All-East Regional Team.

In 79 games (78 starts) for Georgetown and Texas Tech, McClung averaged 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal in 27.9 minutes. A 2020-21 All-Big 12 Second Team selection, McClung averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his lone season at Texas Tech.

Trail Blazers sign Tony Snell

The Portland Trail Blazers yesterday signed free agent guard/forward Tony Snell.

Snell, 29, played in 47 games (23 starts) for Atlanta during the 2020-21 season, posting averages of 5.3 points (51.5% FG, 56.9% 3-PT, 100% FT), 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 21.1 minutes. His 56.9% shooting from the three-point-line (62-of-109) is the best mark in NBA history among players to attempt at least 40 three-pointers in a season.

An eight-year NBA veteran, Snell (6-6, 213) holds career averages of 6.4 points (43.3% FG, 39.7% 3-PT, 84.4% FT), 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 22.4 minutes in 548 games (298 starts) with Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Atlanta. He was selected by Chicago with the 20th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft out of New Mexico.

Wizards hire Pat Delany, Joseph Blair, Mike Miller and Zach Guthrie as assistant coaches

The Washington Wizards announced today the hiring of Pat Delany, Joseph Blair, Mike Miller and Zach Guthrie as assistant coaches on Head Coach Wes Unseld Jr’s staff.

“We have assembled an experienced staff that brings a diverse background of all aspects of coaching from NBA head coaching experience, G League head coaching experience, advance scouting and video coordination,” said Unseld. “We’re excited to get to work and implement our systems and philosophies heading in to training camp. Mike Miller will serve as the head coach of our summer league team as we have begun to install our principles.”

Delany brings 20 years of basketball experience to the Wizards, having last served as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic (2018-2021) and Charlotte Hornets (2014-2018) under Steve Clifford. Prior to his stints with Orlando and Charlotte, Delany spent the 2013-14 season as the head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League, where he led the Skyforce to a 31-19 record. He also spent 11 seasons with the Miami Heat, including six seasons as advance scout (2007-2013), four as video coordinator (2003-2007) and one as a video intern (2002-2003). Delany started his NBA career as a video intern for the Boston Celtics (2001-2002).

Blair begins his first season with Washington after spending the 2020-2021 season as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Prior to joining Minnesota, he spent the 2019-2020 season as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers. Before his career as an NBA assistant coach, Blair spent four seasons (2015-2019) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets G League affiliate. After serving three years as an assistant, he was named team’s head coach (2018-19) and led the Vipers to the 2019 G League title over the Long Island Nets. He also spent two seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Arizona (2013-2015). Prior to coaching, Blair played professionally from 1996-2009 that included stops in France, the USBL, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Russia. He played four years collegiately at Arizona, where he was a key member of Arizona’s 1994 Final Four team. Following his collegiate career, he was drafted with the 35th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by Seattle.

Miller comes to the Wizards bringing roughly three decades of coaching experience with him. Miller spent the 2020-2021 season as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2019-2020 season as an assistant with the New York Knicks before he assumed the role of interim head coach in December 2019. Prior to joining the Knicks, Miller spent four years as the head coach of the New York Knicks’ G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks (2015-2019), where he won G League Coach of the Year in 2018 and led the team to the G League Playoffs in three of his four seasons as head coach. In his four years with Westchester, Miller guided the Knicks to an 108-92 (.540) overall record. He also spent two seasons as an assistant with San Antonio’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. Prior to coaching at the professional level, Miller spent time as the head coach at Eastern Illinois University (2005-12) and Texas State University (1994-00). He has also served as an assistant coach at the collegiate level for UC Riverside (2012-13), Kansas State (2001-05), Texas State (1992-94), Sam Houston State (1990-91) and Western Illinois (1989-90).

Guthrie joins Washington after spending the 2020-2021 season with the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to Dallas, Guthrie spent five seasons (2015-2020) as a member of the Utah Jazz organization, with the last four serving as an assistant coach. Guthrie also served as the manager of advanced scouting for the Orlando Magic (2012-2015) and was the assistant video coordinator for two years with the San Antonio Spurs. He began his career as a basketball operations intern with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League in 2007 where he worked under coach Quin Snyder.

In addition to the assistants listed above, the Wizards have retained assistant coaches Ryan Richman and Dean Oliver. The team has promoted Alex McLean to assistant coach/Director of Player Development, with Landon Tatum, Mike Williams, and Ryan Lumpkin returning to the player development staff. Eric Sebastian will return as Director of Coaching Operations.

Thunder naming Nick Collison as Special Assistant to Sam Presti

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that Nick Collison will be named Special Assistant to Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

In his new role, Collison will continue to enhance his front office acumen while working closely with Presti and other key front office personnel on short-term and long-range initiatives and projects for the Thunder across many facets of basketball operations.

Prior to taking on his current position, Collison served the past two seasons as Basketball Operations Representative for the Thunder. In his previous role, Collison had touchpoints throughout the organization and the opportunity to develop his basketball operations skillset following his 14-season playing career with the Thunder franchise.

Collison is part of a group of other former Thunder players who are currently contributing to the organization as staff members, including Eric Maynor (Thunder Player Development Coach), Nazr Mohammed (Oklahoma City Blue General Manager/ Thunder Pro Personnel Evaluator), Mike Wilks (Thunder Assistant Coach) and Anthony Morrow, who will serve in the role of Lifestyle Services and Engagement Associate for the 2021-22 season.