“Over the last two years, Vince Carter has been a committed leader, respected mentor and influential example on the court, in the locker room and in the Atlanta community. Throughout his historic 22-year journey covering an unprecedented four different decades, his evolving career arc was perhaps like none other in league history – from Top 5 Draft Pick to Rookie of the Year to Slam Dunk Champion to superstar and eight-time All-Star to Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year and valuable role player. It’s an honor to the Hawks organization that he completed his Hall-of-Fame career wearing Atlanta across his chest and representing our city.” — Atlanta Hawks
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Nets sign guard Tyler Johnson, who last played for Suns
The Brooklyn Nets, who yesterday waived guard/forward Theo Pinson, signed guard Tyler Johnson today.
Johnson (6’4, 190) is a six-year NBA veteran who appeared in 31 games (three starts) this season with the Phoenix Suns, recording averages of 5.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16.6 minutes per game. In 301 career games (71 starts) split between Miami (2014-19) and Phoenix (2019-20), the 28-year-old has registered averages of 10.5 points on 43.0 percent shooting from the field and 35.8 percent shooting from 3-point range, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.7 minutes per contest.
Per the New York Daily News, “he should give the Nets some additional depth at the point guard position as the Nets attempt to make a playoff run without Kyrie Irving. The Nets nearly signed Johnson to a four-year, $50 million contract when he was a restricted free agent in 2016, but the Heat ultimately matched the offer sheet.”
Johnson averaged double figures in points in three straight seasons (2016-19), with his most productive season coming in 2016-17 with Miami, when he saw action in a career-high 73 games and averaged career bests in points (13.7), rebounds (4.0), assists (3.2), steals (1.2) and minutes (29.8). Johnson also made two postseason appearances with Miami (2016 and 2018), appearing in 10 playoff contests.
The Grand Forks, N.D., native went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, beginning his first professional season with the NBA G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce. Johnson played in 15 games with the Skyforce before signing two 10-day contracts and a multi-year deal with Miami in early 2015. Prior to beginning his professional career, Johnson spent four years (2010-14) at Fresno State, earning All-Mountain West Conference Second Team honors as a senior.
Brooklyn’s roster now stands at 17 players.
Spurs sign 7-foot center Tyler Zeller
The San Antonio Spurs have signed center Tyler Zeller.
Zeller, 7-0/255, holds career averages of 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.6 minutes, while shooting .509 from the field in 412 total games. The former UNC Tarheel was selected by Dallas with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft before being dealt in a Draft night trade to Cleveland (2012-14), where he spent his first two seasons. A seven-year NBA veteran, Zeller has also spent time with Boston (2014-17), Milwaukee (2017-18), Brooklyn (2017-18), Atlanta (2018-19) and Memphis (2018-19). In 2014-15, his first year with the Celtics, he averaged career-bests in scoring (10.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg) while playing in all 82 games.
Zeller will wear No. 40 for the Spurs.
Knicks hire William Wesley, Alex Kline and TJ Zanin
The New York Knicks hired William Wesley today, as Executive Vice President, Senior Basketball Advisor.
Also today, the Knicks hired Alex Kline and TJ Zanin as scouts.
“We are very excited to announce the hiring of William Wesley, someone that I have known for over 40 years and consider to be family,” Knicks President Leon Rose said. “He is one of the most well-connected and respected people in the basketball community and he will be a tremendous asset and resource to both myself and the New York Knicks.”
Per the New York Post, “Wesley, a longtime friend of Knicks president Leon Rose and former consultant at CAA, is known for his connections with stars around the league. He also previously worked with Thibodeau, considered a frontrunner to become the Knicks’ next head coach, while at CAA.”
“My long history with and respect for Jim Dolan and Leon Rose, as well as the chance to be part of the New York Knicks made this an opportunity I wanted to pursue,” Knicks Executive Vice President – Senior Basketball Advisor William Wesley said. “I look forward to joining the current staff and moving the organization toward a successful future.”
Per the New York Times, “for decades, Wesley has been known as one of the most powerful outsiders in the industry. His actual influence has been a source of much speculation and puzzlement — he rarely gives interviews or talks about his business — and has almost entirely been linked to his networking ability. But his meticulously low profile belies what many have described as the huge sway he wields in basketball.”
And per New York Newsday, “Wesley’s biggest strength is in connections throughout the professional and college ranks. With the possibility of a huge amount of cap space in what could be a huge free-agent market next summer, Wesley and Rose are the Knicks’ latest chance to provide an alluring home to stars, something the organization has long failed at, including last summer when they could not even get a sit-down with any of the stars on the market.”
Zanin joins the Knicks after working as a regional scout for the Dallas Mavericks last season, following two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets as director of college scouting (2015-17). Prior to his time in Charlotte, the West Chester, PA-native spent time with the Brooklyn Nets (2013-15) and the Los Angeles Clippers (2010-13) as a scout. In addition to his NBA responsibilities, Zanin worked with USA Basketball and Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski as a scout for eight years (2009-17), contributing to four gold medals (2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championships and 2012 and 2016 Olympics).
Kline joins the Knicks after spending the last four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans as a scout and basketball operations assistant (2016-20). Prior to joining the NBA, the Pennington, NJ-native ran the recruiting website “The Recruit Scoop”, which wrote detailed scouting reports on high school and college prospects. In 2013 and 2014, he was named to Forbes 30 under 30 list, at the ages of 18 and 19.
Thunder sign guard Luguentz Dort to multi-year contract
The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Luguentz Dort to a multi-year contract, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today.
During the 2019-20 season, Dort has appeared in 29 games (21 starts) for the Thunder and averaged 6.2 points to go along with 1.9 rebounds and 0.79 steals in 22.0 minutes per game. Oklahoma City has posted a 16-5 record (.762) with Dort in the team’s starting lineup this season.
The Montreal, Canada native scored a career-best 23 points Jan. 29 at Sacramento after shooting 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc and became just the fourth Thunder rookie to knock down five or more threes in a single game. Additionally, Dort registered the second-best shooting night by a Thunder rookie on Feb. 23 versus San Antonio when he went a perfect 6-of-6 from the field en route to 15 points during the Thunder’s victory versus the Spurs.
Dort was signed to a Two-Way Contract by the Thunder last July after one season at Arizona State where he earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Pac-12 All-Defense Team honors.
Martin Schiller wins NBA G League Coach of Year award
Salt Lake City Stars head coach Martin Schiller has won the 2019-20 NBA G League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year award, the G League announced today.
Schiller earned the honor in a vote by the league’s 28 head coaches and general managers.
In his third season as head coach of the Utah Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, Schiller guided the Stars to the best record in the Western Conference (30-12, .714). Salt Lake City improved on last season’s winning percentage of .540 (27-23).
The Stars excelled on defense under Schiller, ranking second in the NBA G League in points allowed (106.1) and fourth in defensive rating (105.0). They held opponents to the third-lowest field goal percentage (44.5) and the lowest three-point field goal percentage (31.4). On offense, Salt Lake City ranked third in the NBA G League in both field goal percentage (48.0) and three-point field goal percentage (36.8).
Schiller was selected as the NBA G League Coach of the Month for December after guiding Salt Lake City to a league-best 9-1 record, including a 4-0 mark on the road. The Stars won 14 consecutive games from Nov. 15 to Dec. 27, tying the second-longest single-season winning streak in NBA G League history. They also won their final six games of the season.
With Schiller at the helm, Salt Lake City won the 2019 G League Winter Showcase in December in Las Vegas. Schiller coached two players who earned Call-Ups this season, William Howard (Houston Rockets) and Juwan Morgan (Jazz).
Before joining the Stars, the Austrian-born Schiller served as an assistant coach in the German Bundesliga with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (2015-17) and Artland Dragons (2010-15). He has been an assistant coach for the German National Team since 2015.
The NBA G League Coach of the Year Award is named for the late Hall of Famer Dennis Johnson, a star NBA guard and NBA G League coach. During his playing career with the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics, Johnson won three NBA championships, earned five NBA All-Star selections and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team six times. He was in his third season coaching in the NBA G League when he passed away in 2007.
Chase Buford of the Wisconsin Herd and Nate Reinking of the Canton Charge finished second and third, respectively, in voting for the 2019-20 NBA G League Coach of the Year Award.
The NBA G League canceled the remainder of its 2019-20 season on June 4. The regular season was suspended on March 12 and had been scheduled to conclude on March 28.
Rockets sign David Nwaba, waive Isaiah Hartenstein
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey today announced that the team has signed free agent guard/forward David Nwaba.
And in a related move, the Rockets have waived center Isaiah Hartenstein.
Nwaba (6-5, 219) was eligible for the 2016 NBA Draft following his senior season at Cal Poly. In four NBA seasons, he has appeared in 161 games with 37 starts while averaging 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.
In 20 games for Brooklyn this season, Nwaba shot 42.9% from 3-point range. He is shooting 49.2% from the floor for his career and was named All-NBA Development League All-Defensive Team in 2016-17.
Hartenstein was the 43rd pick by Houston in the 2017 NBA Draft and appeared in a total of 51 games as a Rocket.
With NBA transactions restarted, Nets waive Theo Pinson
With NBA transactions having restarted as the league prepares to hopefully reopen later this summer, the Brooklyn Nets waived guard/forward Theo Pinson today.
Pinson played in 51 games over two seasons with Brooklyn, posting averages of 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11.3 minutes per game. He also saw action in 43 games with Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, recording averages of 19.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.8 minutes per contest.
The Nets roster stands at 16 players. Per multiple reports, the team is expected to soon sign 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard Tyler Johnson, whose most recent team was the Phoenix Suns.
With NBA signings back on, Grizzlies add forward Anthony Tolliver
The Memphis Grizzlies have signed forward Anthony Tolliver for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
Signed by Memphis to a 10-day contract on March 2, Tolliver (6-8, 240) has appeared in five games and has averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 19.2 minutes for the Grizzlies. The 35-year-old has competed in 33 games (nine starts) this season and has averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.6 minutes for Portland, Sacramento and Memphis.
Undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft following his collegiate career at Creighton, the Springfield, Missouri native has appeared in 711 games (101 starts) over his 12-year NBA career and has averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19.6 minutes while shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range.
First NBA signing in a long time: Kings sign Corey Brewer
The Sacramento Kings have signed guard/forward Corey Brewer, according to General Manager Vlade Divac.
The 13-year league veteran, NBA Champion (2011) and two-time NCAA Champion (2006 & 2007) returns to Sacramento following his first stint on the team during the 2018-19 season. In February 2019, Brewer signed back-to-back 10-day contracts with the Kings before re-signing through the rest of the season.
Over 24 games for the Kings, Brewer averaged 4.1 points (.446 FG%, .333 3pt%, .733 FT%) and 1.2 assists in 14.7 minutes per contest. Throughout 814 career games (310 starts), Brewer has amassed averages of 8.7 points (.425 FG%, .284 3pt%, .713 FT%), 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 23.0 minutes per game with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2007-11, 2013-14), Dallas Mavericks (2010-11), Houston Rockets (2014-17), Los Angeles Lakers (2016-18), Oklahoma City Thunder (2017-18), Philadelphia 76ers (2018-19) and Kings (2018-19).
While with the Timberwolves, Brewer registered his career-high 51 points versus Houston (4/11/14), joining Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Rick Barry as the only players to record 50 or more points and at least six steals in a game, while also becoming the sixth player in NBA history to score 50 or more points without having scored at least 30 points previously.