Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Magic and James Ennis reportedly agree to contract

The Magic will reportedly be retaining the services of swingman James Ennis, who last season averaged 5.8 points per game for the Sixers and then 8.5 PPG for the Magic. It’s a one-year contract. Via the Orlando Sentinel:

Earlier in the week, the veteran forward declined to exercise his $2.13 million player option for 2020-21. Coming back for the same length of time on a new deal would seem to indicate Ennis could be getting more money or that he’s on track to be the Magic’s starting small forward.

In fact, Ennis will become the only small forward on the roster. Rookie Chuma Okeke is more of a power forward, although he could end up playing at the small forward spot. The Magic on Thursday declined to extend a qualifying offer to small forward Wes Iwundu, making him a free agent.

Rockets and Christian Wood reportedly agree to a contract

Forward-center Christian Wood will reportedly leave the Pistons and head to the Rockets. While the Pistons are rebuilding, the Rockets have been a solid playoff team under James Harden’s leadership, but could be headed for a breakup. It’s an interesting situation to join. Here’s the Detroit News:

Wood agreed Friday night to a three-year deal for $41 million with the Houston Rockets, a league source confirmed to The Detroit News. The deal cannot be signed until Sunday afternoon, when the NBA moratorium on free agency ends.

Wood, 25, became one of the top targets in free agency after averaging 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc in his final 13 games. He finished the season with career highs of 29, 30 and 32 points in three of the last four games.

Nets and Joe Harris reportedly agree to deal

The Nets have a heck of a roster heading into 2020-21. On paper, they should be one of the best teams in the Eastern conference. Today, as free agency began, they reportedly retained the services of a player with a very important jumpshot. Here’s the New York Post:

Nets general manager Sean Marks had called re-signing Joe Harris offseason priority No. 1. Mission accomplished.

Harris agreed to a four-year, $75 million contract to stay in Brooklyn on Friday, the very first night of free agency. The deal was first reported by ESPN, confirmed by The Post and celebrated by Nets owner Joe Tsai in a humorous tweet that included former presidential candidate — and Nets fan — Andrew Yang…

An unrestricted free agent, Harris had steadfastly expressed a desire to stay in Brooklyn, where he had developed from a waiver-wire pickup to an NBA 3-point shooting champion. The idea of contending for a championship this season with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving returning from injury made him want to come back even more.

Bulls reportedly agree to deal with Garrett Temple

The Bulls are rebuilding, have some nice young talent, but have a long way to go. For immediate short-term help, they are reportedly adding a solid veteran role player to their mix. Via the Chicago Tribune:

The Chicago Bulls and veteran guard Garrett Temple have agreed to a one-year contract, his agency Priority Sports announced Friday night.

The deal, which was first reported by ESPN, is said to be worth $5 million. The acquisition of Temple adds an experienced player to one of the youngest rosters in the league and creates some wing depth off the bench. For a young team that struggled to close out games last season, Temple’s addition in the locker room should be beneficial.

Temple, 34, started 35 games for the Brooklyn Nets last season and averaged a career-best 10.3 points with 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. His shooting percentage from three was down last season (32.9%), but he has been solid from beyond the arc in his career (34.7%).

Sixers waive Norvel Pelle and Marial Shayok

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has waived Norvel Pelle and Marial Shayok.

Pelle signed a standard NBA contract with the team on Feb. 7, 2020 after previously signing a two-way contract in July 2019. In 24 NBA games, Pelle posted 2.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 9.7 minutes per contest. He also appeared in eight G League games last season, averaging 13.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 22.5 minutes per game for the Delaware Blue Coats. A native of Antigua and Barbuda, Pelle began his professional career in 2013 with Delaware, which chose him with the No. 6 overall pick in the NBA Development League draft.

Shayok was drafted by Philadelphia with the No. 54 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He signed a two-way contract with the team on July 7, 2019 and appeared in four NBA games last season. Shayok saw action in 35 G League games (33 starts) and posted 23.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.0 minutes per contest. Originally from Ottawa, the Canadian played his college basketball at Iowa State and Virginia.

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.”