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The Utah Jazz have assigned forward Elijah Hughes to the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team.
Hughes (6-6, 226, Syracuse) has appeared in six games with the Jazz this season, averaging 2.7 points in 4.5 minutes per game.
The Orlando Magic have signed free agent guard Chasson Randle (CHASE-in) to a two-way contract.
In addition, the Magic have waived guard Frank Mason III.
Randle (6’2”, 185, 2/5/93) appeared in two games this season with Oklahoma City of the NBA G League, averaging 20.0 ppg., 3.5 rpg. and 2.0 apg. in 26.3 minpg. Last season, he played in three games with Golden State, averaging 1.7 ppg. and 1.7 apg. in 13.3 minpg. Randle also appeared in 23 games last season with Tianjin of the Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 24.9 ppg., 4.1 apg. and 3.4 rpg. in 32.6 minpg.
Undrafted by an NBA franchise in 2015, Randle has played in 78 career NBA regular season games (two starts) with Philadelphia, New York, Washington and Golden State, averaging 5.3 ppg., 1.7 apg. and 1.2 rpg. in 13.9 minpg. He has also appeared and started in 31 career NBA G League regular season games with Delaware, Westchester, Capital City and Oklahoma City, averaging 21.3 ppg., 3.8 apg., 3.7 rpg. and 1.21 stlpg. in 32.7 minpg. Randle has also played professionally in the Czech Republic, Spain and China.
Randle played in 144 career games (142 starts) during four seasons at Stanford University (2011-15), averaging 16.5 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 2.5 apg. and 1.16 stlpg. in 33.3 minpg. He was named to the All-Pac 12 First Team after both his junior (2013-14) and senior (2014-15) seasons. Randle finished his collegiate career as Stanford’s all-time leading scorer with 2,375 career points, as well as the Cardinal’s all-time leader in games played, minutes played (4,791) and three-point field goals (304).
Randle will wear #25 with the Orlando Magic.
The National Basketball Association game scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 16, between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
Due to a positive test within the Spurs and subsequent contact tracing, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tomorrow’s game against the Pistons.
As soon as the Nets traded for James Harden, the obvious question was if he’d be more of a shooting guard or if Kyrie Irving would play that role. And even though Harden was a shooting guard early in his career, he’s clearly proven to be an assist-producing machine. The obvious guess was that he should be the Nets’ PG, with Irving playing off the ball a bit more as a pure scorer. Well, Irving agrees. Via the NY Post:
James Harden dissected Golden State with 16 assists Saturday night, the most by a player in Brooklyn Nets history. And as he continues to look like the most effective point guard in the league, the Nets’ former point guard has officially bestowed the position on him.
“I feel like he’s doing a great job of managing the point guard role,” Kyrie Irving said after the Nets’ 134-117 victory over the Warriors on Saturday night. “We established that maybe four days ago now. I just looked at him, and I said, ‘You’re the point guard, and I’m going to play shooting guard.’
“That was as simple as that. So he’s been taking control of the responsibilities and doing an incredible job. It just makes my job easier to just go out and play free and just make plays. It’s a luxury. I just want to continue it.”
The Nets offense is already excellent and should get even better as the season progresses, especially as roles get more clearly defined and chemistry further develops.
The Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday waived guard Ashton Hagans.
Hagans appeared in two games for the Timberwolves. He was signed to a two-way contract on Nov. 28.
The Dallas Mavericks have recalled two-way rookie Nate Hinton from the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and have transferred him to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League.
Hinton (6-3, 210) has appeared in six games for Dallas this season, averaging 1.3 points and 3.2 minutes. He recorded a season-best five points (2-7 FG, 1-2 FT) in seven minutes vs. Houston (1/23/21).
Hinton has appeared in two games with Long Island, averaging 5.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.4 minutes.
The 2020-21 NBA G League season tipped off on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and features 18 teams competing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, opted not to travel to the NBA G League’s campus. NBA teams without an NBA G League affiliate participating in Orlando have the opportunity to assign roster players and transfer two-way players using the league’s flexible assignment and two-way rules.
The Houston Rockets today announced they have called up center Ray Spalding from their NBA G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, and signed him to a two-way contract.
In a related move, the Rockets have waived guard Brodric Thomas.
In two games for the Vipers this season, Spalding (6-10, 225) averaged 18.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.50 blocks while shooting 60.0% from the floor. He was with the Rockets during the 2019 preseason prior to joining Rio Grande Valley.
Spalding was an early entry candidate for the 2018 NBA Draft following his junior season at Louisville and was the 56th overall pick by Philadelphia before his right were acquired by Dallas. He appeared in one game for the Mavericks in addition to 13 games for Phoenix in 2018-19.
The Nets are getting Kevin Durant back in time for tomorrow’s game against Stephon Curry, Draymond Green and the Warriors. Via the NY Post:
The Nets superstar rejoined the team for practice Friday, following a six-day quarantine with negative COVID-19 tests after he came into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus last Friday. He will be a full go for Saturday night’s game against the Warriors as the Nets tip off a five-game West Coast road trip…
The week off marked Durant’s second COVID-19 quarantine of the season, though this one was much messier. He was a late scratch for the start of last Friday’s game against the Raptors because of an inconclusive COVID-19 test for the person he came into contact with, then was allowed to play late in the first quarter. But Durant was eventually taken off the floor in the third quarter when that person’s COVID-19 test came back positive.
The Nets are 15-12 this season. A record good enough for 3rd best in an Eastern conference with just four teams with records above .500 through Thursday’s games.
Miami’s third leading scorer is set to return tomorrow. Via the Sun Sentinel:
Tyler Herro is back with the Miami Heat after another pit stop in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Held out of Thursday night’s 101-94 victory over the Houston Rockets at the start of the Heat’s seven-game trip, Herro was on the team flight to Salt Lake City, where the Heat will face the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
While it was the first game Herro missed this season due to pandemic protocols, he previously was held out of a practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, after a housemate tested positive, with that ultimately proving to be a false positive.
The Heat are 11-14 this season. Their leading scorers are Bam Adebayo at 19.7 points per game, Jimmy Butler at 19.5 ppg, and Herro at 17.0 ppg.
It’s been a little while, but the Pacers are back in the win column. Via the Indianapolis Star:
It didn’t matter it was against the previously 6-18 Detroit Pistons. Nate Bjorkgren’s Pacers would have taken a win against anyone, in the middle of their longest losing streak since a first-round sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat in Orlando last summer.
In the middle of Indiana’s three-game trip, and on the back-end of a back-to-back, the Pacers recovered from the kind of slow start that has plagued them of late to knock off the Pistons 111-95 on the heels of big games from their three stars.
All three just missed the mark on double-doubles: Domantas Sabonis finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, to go with eight rebounds and eight assists. Malcolm Brogdon followed with 18 points and nine rebounds while also adding a pair of 3s. Myles Turner finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, coming off a three-point, three-rebound game in Wednesday’s loss to Brooklyn.
A bright spot for Detriot in the loss was the play of undersized 6-foot-8 center Isaiah Stewart, who shot 8 of 9 for 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals.