Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

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.

Gabe Vincent wins 2019-20 G League Most Improved Player award

Sioux Falls Skyforce guard Gabe Vincent yesterday won the 2019-20 NBA G League Most Improved Player award. The winner is decided in a vote by the G Legaue’s 28 head coaches and general managers.

In his second G League season, Vincent (6-foot-3, 200 pounds, UC Santa Barbara) put up 20.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 31 outings. He hit a G League-leading 4.2 three-pointers per game, and shot 40.3 percent from three-point range.

Vincent’s first 20 games of this G League season were played as a member of the Stockton Kings. His final 11 games with the Skyforce, who are the G League affiliate of the Miami Heat, who signed Vincent to a two-way contract on January 8, 2020. He played in six NBA games for the Heat this season.

In the G League, Vincent scored at least 30 points six times this season. Three of those performances came in December, when he averaged 24.9 points and shot 49.1 percent from the field with Stockton. He scored a career-high 35 points against the South Bay Lakers on Dec. 17 and matched that total against the Canton Charge on Dec. 21, making nine three-pointers in each game.

The Skyforce started the season 10-13 before adding Vincent to its roster. Sioux Falls went 9-2 with him in the lineup and finished 22-20 overall. 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.

Vincent spent the entire 2018-19 NBA G League season with Stockton. He averaged 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 24 games.

Raptors 905 guard Paul Watson and Santa Cruz Warriors guard Mychal Mulder finished second and third, respectively, in voting for the 2019-20 NBA G League Most Improved Player Award.

Wizards forward Davis Bertans reportedly will not rejoin Wizards in Disney quarantine bubble

As the NBA attempts to restart play in late July at the single-site location of Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, individual players must decide if they want to be involved. Presumably, most do want to play — or else the Players Union likely would have stated so by now. But certainly some players on the 22 teams the NBA is including in their return-to-play plan, for various reasons, may not want to participate. Here’s the Washington Post reporting:

Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans, the team’s best three-point shooter and its prized upcoming free agent, will not play in Orlando when the NBA season resumes July 30.

Bertans has opted to end his season after the long hiatus from playing, according to several people with knowledge of his plans.

Bertans, who has not practiced for months since the NBA shut down in mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic, felt that attempting to come back and play would “not be the smartest thing to do,” according to a person familiar with his mind-set. Bertans, 27, is expected to be one of the top players in the upcoming free agent class and is the Wizards’ highest priority to re-sign.

We’re now already in late June, which means if other players don’t plan to participate, chances are their wishes will become public very soon, likely in the next few days.

New date for 2020 NBA draft reportedly may be October 16

Here’s the New York Post tracking the latest reports regarding the rescheduled NBA draft:

NBA prospects now have a date they can attach to their dreams, but it will entail waiting nearly four more months for that memorable evening.

The 2020 NBA Draft will be held Oct. 16, according to multiple reports, four months after it was originally scheduled.

The cutoff date for early entries will be Aug. 17 – though the date for college players to withdraw from the draft is Aug. 3…

International and non-college players have until Oct. 6 to withdraw from the draft.

The NBA hopes to resume play in late July, using Disney Wide World of Sports as their single-site location. Right now, their competitive plan regarding the structure of the remaining games and playoffs is set, but nothing else is official yet.

It seems likely that once the new 2020 draft date gets set in stone, it won’t change. Because it can be done remotely, with all parties operating from their homes if needed. And the draft does have to happen — presumably.

No matter what happens with coronavirus cases in sports or the world, the league can stick with the rescheduled draft date should they decide they must. So our guess is, once the league makes the draft’s new date official, they’ll probably stick with it.

Klay Thompson recovering from injury, now reportedly training without restriction

Warriors guard Klay Thompson’s comeback from injury continues. Here’s NBC Sports Bay Area reporting:

Klay Thompson has reached the next phase of his return.

The Warriors star guard has been training without restriction on his knee and has been ramping up workouts over the past few weeks, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported Friday, citing sources.

Per Slater, Thompson’s knee was medically cleared a few weeks ago and he has been running, jumping, dunking and doing everything he’s permitted to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He’s been going through his diligent shooting workouts but has yet to return to the Warriors’ San Francisco facility since it reopened. Thompson instead has been working out in Los Angeles and in Oakland.

The Warriors’ season, which Thompson compeletely missed, is over. With a 15-50 record, they were one of the eight teams the NBA did not include in its plans to resume the season this summer.

Nuggets staff partake in Juneteenth march

This year, Juneteenth is finally getting the increased attention that it clearly deserves.

Here’s the Denver Post with an off-court Nuggets report:

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, assistant general manager Calvin Booth and other team staffers took part in a silent Juneteenth march through Denver on Friday.

The holiday commemorates the day — June 19th 1865 — when the last enslaved African Americans in the U.S. learned of their freedom.

For the first time, the NBA is joining the commemoration by treating it as a holiday and granting all league office employees paid time off. Kroenke Sports and Entertainment treated it as a holiday as well, and Malone encouraged members of the organization to participate.