Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Wizards to reportedly keep Davis Bertans

It’s a big day for the Wizards. The good news is they reportedly will retain the services of shooter Davis Bertans. It’s a pretty full contract, but that’s for another time. Because the bad news is, star point guard John Wall may want to hit the road. Here’s the Washington Post:

The first few hours of NBA free agency were busy ones for the Washington Wizards. They checked off their top offseason priority and re-signed sharpshooting forward Davis Bertans to a lavish, five-year deal worth $80 million hours after teams were allowed to officially open negotiations, according to a report from ESPN.

But Washington’s dream of having Bertans play alongside Bradley Beal and John Wall may not come to fruition. Wall has made it clear that he wants a trade out of Washington, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. His desire to leave follows a report from the Athletic this week that the Wizards and the Houston Rockets had discussed a deal centering on trading Wall for Russell Westbrook.

Wall’s desire puts Washington in a tricky situation. The 30-year-old, who was expected to play his first basketball game for the Wizards in two years after coming back from an Achilles’ injury, is owed more than $130 million over the next three years.

Lakers to reportedly sign Montrezl Harrell

An excellent NBA big-man is changing teams but not cities. The OC Register:

In a stunner, Montrezl Harrell – one of the most productive players and biggest personalities from the last few Clippers teams – is headed across the Staples Center hallway.

The Lakers have agreed to a two-year, $19 million deal with Harrell, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, and until recently, one of the team’s most vocal rivals. The deal was first reported by ESPN.

Arguably the biggest splash of the Lakers’ offseason so far, Harrell averaged a career-best 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 63 games last season with just two starts. While he hit a wall in the playoffs last season after missing nearly a month of the NBA “bubble,” Harrell figures to be a productive off-the-bench scorer for his new team in the same city.

Knicks will reportedly add Alec Burks

Free agency tipped off today. Here’s the New York Post with a report that the Knicks are about to add a solid rotation player:

The Knicks’ free-agent foray got off to a slow start, but they made one signing Friday, grabbing swingman Alec Burks on a one-year, $6 million deal, according to a source.

Burks started his career at Utah, where new Knicks assistant GM Walt Perrin drafted him in the first round in 2011. A journeyman, Burks played with the Sixers and Warriors last season but he’s a scorer.

Three-team NBA trade sends Enes Kanter to Trail Blazers, Mario Hezonja to Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies today announced that the team acquired the 2020 draft rights to Texas Christian University guard Desmond Bane (No. 30 overall, first round) from the Boston Celtics and forward Mario Hezonja (HEH-zone-yuh) from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team trade.

As part of the deal, Memphis traded two future second round draft picks to Boston and cash considerations to Portland, and the Celtics traded center Enes Kanter to the Trail Blazers.

As part of the transaction, the Celtics will receive the better draft pick between Houston’s second round selection in 2023, and whichever 2023 second round draft pick is worst between Memphis or Dallas. Boston will also receive Memphis’s own 2025 second round draft pick.

Kanter, a nine-year NBA veteran, played for the Celtics during the 2019-20 season after joining the team as a free agent last summer. In 58 games (seven starts) for Boston, he averaged 8.1 points (57.2% FG, 70.7% FT), 7.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 16.9 minutes.

It is a return to Portland for Kanter, 28, who was signed by the Trail Blazers in February 2019 and was a part of the team’s run to the 2019 Western Conference Finals. In 23 games (eight starts) with the Trail Blazers, Kanter averaged 13.1 points (57.7% FG, 73.5% FT), 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He averaged 11.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 28.8 minutes in 16 games (14 starts) during Portland’s playoff run.

Originally selected out of Kentucky with the 3rd overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, Kanter holds career averages of 11.6 points (54.3% FG, 77.6% FT) and 7.6 rebounds in 641 games (223 starts) with Utah, Oklahoma City, New York, Boston and Portland.

Bane (6-6, 215) was selected to the 2019-20 All-Big 12 First Team and named a Top 10 finalist for the 2019-20 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award after posting 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.47 steals in 36.1 minutes over 32 games (all starts) last season as a senior at TCU. Bane led the Big 12 in 3-pointers made (92) and attempted (208) and 3-point field goal percentage (.442) and averaged a Big 12-high 36.0 minutes in conference games, including six games in which he played at least 40 minutes.

The 22-year-old Richmond, Ind. native appeared in 141 games (114 starts) over during his four-year collegiate career at TCU (2016-20) and averaged 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.4 minutes while shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 43.3 percent from 3-point range and 80.4 percent from the free throw line. He left TCU as the Horned Frogs’ all-time leader in 3-pointers (249), wins (84) and games played (141) and ranks third in program history in points (1,784) and fifth in 3-point percentage (.433).

Hezonja (6-8, 220) has appeared in 330 games (69 starts) and has averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.5 minutes over his five-year NBA career (2015-20) with the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers. The 25-year-old Dubrovnik, Croatia native was selected by Orlando with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft.

Boston Celtics City Edition uniforms for the 2020-21 NBA season

The Boston Celtics today unveiled their 2020-21 City Edition uniform, paying homage to the franchise’s illustrious history and championship-driven ethos.

CELTICS CITY EDITION UNIFORMS AS DESCRIBED BY THE TEAM

Designed to replicate the signature look of the franchise’s 17 NBA Championship banners, Boston’s City Edition uniform features a solid white base with green coloring projected on the wordmark, number, and taping. The wordmark, new to the Celtics uniform collection, features the font that appears on the banners that hang from the rafters in TD Garden, and includes the organization’s full ‘Boston Celtics’ name on the jersey for the first time ever. The green border on the jersey and shorts brings together the full uniform to project a re-imagined representation of a ‘banner’. To round out the look, an NBA logo also inspired by the team’s championship banners, is featured on the belt buckle of the shorts.

Recently announced as the team’s jersey patch partner, Vistaprint’s patch on the left shoulder features its wordmark in a unique nameplate, a nod to the iconic Celtics warmups from the 1980’s.

“A banner is created to celebrate and recognize a past accomplishment, and our 17 NBA Championship banners hanging in the rafters of TD Garden highlight what has been an incredible run of excellence throughout the franchise’s nearly 75-year history,” said Celtics Chief Marketing Officer Shawn Sullivan. “But while this uniform pays tribute to the past, it also symbolizes our always present championship-driven mindset, and we want our fans to share that mentality as we pursue Banner 18.”

Thunder trade Ricky Rubio to Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas today announced the team has acquired guard Ricky Rubio and the draft rights to Jaden McDaniels (28th overall) from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for forward James Johnson and the draft rights to Aleksej Pokuševski (17th overall) and Minnesota’s 2024 Second Round Pick.

The Timberwolves are also acquiring the draft rights to Leandro Bolmaro (23rd overall) from the New York Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Mathias Lessort (50th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft) and the Detroit Pistons’ 2023 Second Round Pick.

“Ricky is a great fit to what we are building here in Minneapolis and we are thrilled to welcome him back to the Timberwolves organization,” said Rosas. “He will be a solid addition to our core in All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell and First Overall Pick Anthony Edwards. Ricky is an elite playmaker and someone who will boost our defense and bring a veteran presence to our team.”

Originally drafted by the Timberwolves with the fifth overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, Rubio played in 353 games over six seasons with Minnesota averaging 10.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. He ranks among the top-10 in numerous franchise records including ranking second in total assists (2991), second in total steals (747) and 10th in games played (353). Rubio holds the record for the most assists in a single game in Timberwolves history after dishing out 19 dimes against the Washington Wizards on Mar. 13, 2017. The 6-3 guard played in 65 games for the Phoenix Suns last season, averaging 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, his most since averaging 5.7 rebounds in 2014-15, and 8.8 assists in 31.0 minutes per game.

“Ricky is a needed piece when it comes to being a culture builder, a team-first player and the impact he has on and off the court,” said Timberwolves Head Coach Ryan Saunders. “I’m thrilled to welcome him back to Minneapolis.”

The El Masnou, Spain native began his national team career on Spain’s Under-16 team in 2005, winning a bronze medal at the 2005 FIBA Europe U16 Championships. Rubio was named MVP of the 2006 FIBA Europe U16 Championships after leading Spain to the gold medal where he averaged 22.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 6.5 steals per game during the tournament, including two triple-doubles and a quadruple-double (posted 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals in the championship game against Russia). Rubio was named to the Spanish team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where at age 17 he became the youngest ever to participate in the gold-medal game.

Bolmaro, a 6-6 forward, played his first season with FC Barcelona’s primary team for the 2019-20 season. He appeared in 13 games (two starts) across the club’s ACB and EuroLeague schedule. The Las Varillas, Argentina native averaged 4.4 points and 0.9 steals in 12.9 minutes in seven games in Spain’s top pro league. Bolmaro joined FC Barcelona’s “B” team for the second consecutive season and averaged 14.6 points, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals in 26.8 minutes in nine games in Spain’s third division, LEB Silver. The 20-year-old joined FC Barcelona’s “B” team in 2018-19, averaging 10.4 points in 33 games in Spain’s second division, LEB Gold.

McDaniels, a 6-9 forward joins the Timberwolves after spending one season at the University of Washington where he averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 blocks. He was the only player in any of the major conferences to average at least 1.4 blocks and 1.4 three-pointers made per game in 2019-20. The Federal Way, Washington native is the younger brother of Charlotte Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels.

Johnson was originally acquired by the Wolves in a three-team deal from the Miami Heat on Feb. 6, averaged 12.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 14 games with Minnesota.

Pokuševski (7-0, 195) averaged 10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals in 22.6 minutes in 11 games with Olympiacos B in the Greek Second Division, HEBA A2 in the 2019-20 season as the team went 17-4 and earned a second-place finish in A2. At the 2019 U18 European Championships, the Serbian native averaged 10.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.7 steals and led with event with 4.0 blocks per game.

Quickley, 6-3, 188-pounds, averaged 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists, shooting 46.2-percent from the field, including 39.7-percent from three over 67 games (27 starts) at Kentucky. The Havre de Grace, MD-native was named the 2019-20 SEC Player of the Year after helping guide the Wildcats to the SEC regular season championship. During his sophomore season, the 2019-20 All-SEC-First Team selection recorded 16.1 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 42.8-percent from downtown over 33.0 minutes in 30 games (20 starts).

Heat guard Gabe Vincent signs Two-Way Qualifying Offer

Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent has signed his Two-Way Qualifying Offer.

Vincent, who was named the 2019-20 NBA G League Most Improved Player, originally signed with the HEAT to a two-way contract on January 8, 2020. He appeared in nine games with Miami last season totaling 22 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals in 82:46 minutes of action while leading the team in steals and plus/minus once each.

Vincent also split last season between the HEAT’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Stockton Kings. He appeared in 11 games with the Skyforce and averaged 16.4 points, 1.9 assists, 1.7 rebounds, 1.10 steals and 24.7 minutes.

Prior to joining the HEAT, he appeared in 20 games (three starts) with Stockton and averaged 23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.30 steals and 31.8 minutes while shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three-point range and 89.7 percent from the foul line.

In college, Vincent played all four years at UC Santa Barbara, appearing in 113 collegiate games (105 starts), finishing as the school’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made (243) and among the Top 10 in points (1,441) and assists (116).

Pistons trade Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas to Hawks for Dewayne Dedmon

In a trade today, the Atlanta Hawks have acquired guards Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for center Dewayne Dedmon.

In a subsequent move, the Hawks waived Thomas.

Snell, originally the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, has averaged 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22.5 minutes (.428 FG%, .385 3FG%, .838 FT%) in 501 career games (275 starts) with Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit. In 38 playoff contests (eight starts), he’s averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes.

Last season in 59 games (57 starts) with the Pistons, the 6-foot-6 Snell averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 27.8 minutes (.445 FG%, .402 3FG%, 32-32 FTs), ranking tied for 24th in the NBA in three-point percentage.

In two seasons with the Pistons, Thomas has played in 34 games, averaging 2.3 points. He’s also appeared in three postseason contests. Thomas was originally a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers (38th overall) in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Dedmon was re-acquired by the Hawks from the Sacramento Kings on February 6, 2020. Last season in 10 games (eight starts) with the Hawks, he averaged 8.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals in 23.3 minutes. In 136 games (106 starts) over three seasons with Atlanta, Dedmon compiled 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 blocks in 24.9 minutes (.499 FG%, .358 3FG%, .802 FT%).

Warriors waive Ky Bowman

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Ky Bowman.

Bowman played in 45 games (12 starts) for the Warriors in the 2019-20 season. He averaged 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 22.9 minutes per game.

In the G League, Bowman played in 12 games (all starts) with the Santa Cruz Warriors, where he put up 14.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.25 steals in 31.7 minutes per game.

Bowman originally joined the Warriors as a free agent on July 31, 2019.