Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Pelicans waive Matt Ryan

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived forward Matt Ryan.

Ryan, 6-7, 215, appeared in 28 games (one start) for New Orleans during the 2023-24 season, averaging 5.4 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting .451 from three-point range.

Across three seasons, Ryan has appeared in 63 career games with New Orleans, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga product owns career averages of 4.4 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.5 assists per game while shooting .411 from deep.

Pelicans sign Javonte Green

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard/forward Javonte Green.

Green, 6-5, 205, appeared in nine games (five starts) with the Chicago Bulls during the 2023-24 season, averaging 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game. Green also played in 10 games last season with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 12.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.

Across five seasons, Green has appeared in 195 games (55 starts) for Chicago and Boston, averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per contest. Prior to the NBA, the Petersburg, Va. native played four seasons at Radford University while averaging 14.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks in 25.4 minutes across 133 games (122 starts).

Warriors legend Alvin Attles has passed away

Per the Golden State Warriors:

Warriors legend Alvin Attles passed away yesterday at the age of 87. He was surrounded by family at his East Bay home.

Attles, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2019, joined the Philadelphia Warriors in 1960 as the club’s fifth-round draft choice and has been affiliated with the franchise ever since, a span of over 60 years that represents the longest stint with a single franchise for any one person in NBA history. He is one of only six Warriors in franchise history to have his number retired (#16), along with Rick Barry (#24), Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Tom Meschery (#14), Chris Mullin (#17) and Nate Thurmond (#42).

Attles enjoyed an 11-year playing career with the Warriors, averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 711 regular-season games, spending the final two years as the club’s player/coach. The North Carolina A&T product amassed a regular-season coaching record of 557-518 (.518) at the helm of the Warriors during his 13-plus year coaching career, the most wins by a head coach in franchise history, and guided Golden State to its first championship in the team’s West Coast Era with a 4-0 series sweep over the Washington Bullets in the 1975 NBA Finals. Attles completed his coaching career at the conclusion of the 1982-83 campaign to become the Warriors’ general manager, heading the team’s basketball operations for three years.

Miami Heat 2024-25 preseason game schedule

The Miami HEAT 2024-25 preseason schedule includes three games being played inside the Kaseya Center.

The five-game schedule will open in Charlotte against the Hornets on October 8 (7PM) before returning to Miami for three straight home games: First vs. the Atlanta Hawks on October 10 (7:30PM), followed by additional home games on October 13 vs. the New Orleans Pelicans (3:30PM) and October 15 vs. the San Antonio Spurs (7:30PM).

The HEAT will conclude the preseason in Memphis against the Grizzlies on October 18 (8PM).

Raptors sign Jared Rhoden

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard Jared Rhoden.

Rhoden, 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, averaged 4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 14.4 minutes in 17 games with Detroit last season. He shot 50 per cent (33-66) from the field and .387 (12-31) from beyond the arc. Rhoden scored in double figures twice, including a career-high 16 points (6-12 FG, 4-8 3PT) Apr. 14 at San Antonio.

A native of Baldwin, New York, Rhoden holds career averages of 4.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 14.3 minutes in 31 career contests with the Pistons after signing a two-way contract in December 2022. During this stretch he also appeared in 53 regular season games with Motor City in the NBA G League, averaging 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 35.8 minutes.

Prior to the NBA, Rhoden played four collegiate seasons (2018-22) at Seton Hall where he posted averages of 10.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 26.0 minutes in 122 career games with the Pirates. In 31 games as a senior, he averaged 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 33.1 minutes and was named to the All-Big East First Team.

Mavericks 2024-25 preseason game schedule

The Dallas Mavericks 2024-25 preseason schedule begins with a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 7 at American Airlines Center.

The team’s four-game preseason slate also includes home games against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 10 and Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 17.

Dallas’ lone road game in the preseason will be at the L.A. Clippers on Oct. 14 in their new arena, the Intuit Dome.

Tickets for home preseason games will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m.

Key dates for the 2024-25 NBA season

The 79th NBA regular season will tip off on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, and conclude on Sunday, April 13, 2025. The NBA Play-In Tournament 2025 will take place from Tuesday, April 15 – Friday, April 18, followed by the start of the NBA Playoffs 2025 on Saturday, April 19. Game 1 of the NBA Finals 2025 is set for Thursday, June 5.

The regular-season schedule includes defined dates and opponents for 80 of each team’s 82 games, along with two games designated as TBD dates and opponents. Those two games for each team, to be played Dec. 10-16, will be determined based on the results of Group Play games in the NBA Cup 2024. The Group Play schedule, which comprises 60 games that will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 – Dec. 3, was announced on Aug. 13.

Jazz sign Oscar Tshiebwe, waive Taevion Kinsey

The Utah Jazz have signed forward Oscar Tshiebwe to a two-way contract.

And in a related move, the team has waived guard Taevion Kinsey.

Tshiebwe (6-9, 260, Kentucky) spent the 2023-24 season on a two-way deal with the Indiana Pacers—appearing in eight NBA games and averaging 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game. He was named Kia NBA G League Rookie of the Year and All-NBA G League First Team after appearing in 23 regular season games (21 starts) for the Indiana Mad Ants and averaging 16.2 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27.2 minutes per contest.

A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshiebwe spent two collegiate seasons at West Virginia before transferring to Kentucky for his final two seasons—averaging 14.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per contest in 107 total games (105 starts).

At Kentucky, Tshiebwe was the unanimous National Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year as a junior in 2021-22, leading the nation in rebounding with 15.2 boards per game and ranking second with 28 double-doubles. As a senior in 2022-23, he was a unanimous second-team All-America selection and led the nation in rebounding (13.7 rpg) for a second consecutive season.

Kinsey (6-5, 190, Marshall) appeared in 34 regular season games (23 starts) in one season with the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.

Jazz sign Kyle Filipowski

The Utah Jazz have signed center/forward Kyle Filipowski.

Filipowski (7-0, 248, Duke) played in eight games (five starts) for the Jazz at the 2024 Salt Lake City Summer League and NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas, owning averages of 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steal in 22.2 minutes per contest. The Westtown, N.Y., native was drafted by the Jazz with the 32nd overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

During his two-year collegiate career, he played in 72 games (all starts), averaging 15.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 29.8 minutes per contest. He was only the seventh Duke player in the past 50 years to total over 1,000 points in their first two seasons.

As a sophomore during the 2023-24 season, he averaged 16.4 points on 50.6 percent from the field, along with 8.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 36 games, earning Consensus 2023-24 All-American Second Team and All-ACC First Team honors. During his first collegiate season in 2022-23, he recorded averages of 15.1 points, 9.0 boards, and 1.6 assists in 36 games, garnering 2022-23 All-ACC Second Team and All-ACC Freshman Team honors, as well as being named the ACC’s Freshman of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

The 20-year-old finished his high school career at Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Mass., where he was named the 2021 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year. He competed at the 2022 Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit following his high school career.

Team USA wins 2024 Olympic gold medal

Per ESPN.com:

It is now five straight Olympic golds for the USA after a hard-fought 98-87 victory over the resilient and prideful host nation of France on Saturday.

The indelible moment came from Stephen Curry, who made four uber clutch 3-pointers in a two-minute second stretch of the fourth quarter to turn away a French uprising. Curry assured his first gold with a ridiculous fall away bomb over two defenders after a behind-the-back dribble, silencing the home fans with his “put them to sleep” trademark move.

“Before every shot you take, you think it’s going in,” Curry said. “All I saw was the rim. I didn’t see who was in front of me. I knew it was kind of a late clock situation, but that one impressed myself.”

After making nine 3-pointers in the semifinals and putting in 36 points, Curry made 8-of-12 triples in the final for 24 golden points.

“I’ve seen that from Steph a few times but it never gets old,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s a global game with a lot of great players, but we still feel we have the greatest players.”