NBA News Blog – Page 420 – NBA Blog

Jazz hire Barnett Frank as Director of Performance Science

The Utah Jazz hire Barnett Frank as the Director of Performance Science to its performance healthcare staff.

Frank joins the Jazz most recently from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned a PhD in human movement science and worked as a post-doctoral research fellow. During his time in Chapel Hill, Frank worked closely with University of North Carolina athletics, researching and implementing cutting edge technology and techniques to help support their athletes’ performance, recovery and health, coordinated through the school’s Department of Exercise and Sports Science.

Prior to his tenure at North Carolina, the Bethel, Conn. native attended Indiana University, Bloomington where he graduated with a degree in kinesiology, specializing in athletic training.

In his new role as Director of Sports Science with the Jazz, Frank and the team’s performance healthcare staff will work on applying world-class performance science in order to enhance player readiness, recovery and rehabilitation.

Pistons sign Zach Lofton and Johnny Hamilton

The Detroit Pistons have signed Zach Lofton and Johnny Hamilton.

It’s likely that the signings are non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the players to training camp.

Lofton, 6-4, 180, played last season at New Mexico State where he averaged 20.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Hamilton, 7-0, 230, played his senior year at the University of Texas – Arlington and averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Hamilton set a UT-Arlington single-season record with 77 blocks last season.

Both Lofton and Hamilton were members of the Pistons’ 2018 NBA Summer League team.

Thunder hire Chris Fisher as TV play-by-play announcer

The Oklahoma City Thunder have hired Chris Fisher as their new TV play-by-play announcer. He will join Michael Cage, Lesley McCaslin, Nick Gallo, Antonio Daniels and John Rhadigan for the Thunder’s 70 game broadcasts on FOX Sports Oklahoma during the 2018-19 season.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Fisher comes to Oklahoma City from Los Angeles where he has been the radio voice for USC basketball for eight years as well as host for Trojan football broadcasts. Fisher’s television work includes basketball play-by-play for FOX Sports, the PAC 12 Network and Time Warner Cable. During his career, Fisher also worked in broadcasting for minor league baseball teams in Oregon and Virginia.

“Chris is an exciting addition to the Thunder family and our broadcast team. He is considered a rising star in sports broadcasting and we are thrilled to welcome him,” said Dan Mahoney, Thunder VP of Broadcasting. “Besides being an experienced, talented broadcaster with a passion for basketball, Chris is a first-rate person. We believe that on and off the air he will be an excellent representative of our team, our community and our partners at FOX Sports Oklahoma.”

“The incredible relationship between the Thunder and its fans is well recognized in professional sports. I am thankful the organization has put its faith in me and I look forward to continuing to promote this amazing partnership,” Fisher said.

Fisher’s initial broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma will be Sunday, Oct. 7 as the Thunder hosts the Atlanta Hawks in a 2 p.m. preseason game at the BOK Center in Tulsa. He will join the rest of the broadcast crew for the three other preseason games which will be streamed live via the Thunder Mobile App. Fisher will also appear during the Thunder’s live Media Day show, beginning at 12:30 today streaming on the Thunder App.

The Thunder’s 2018-19 broadcast schedule includes 70 games on FOX Sports Oklahoma and 12 national exclusives on ABC or TNT. All games are broadcast on radio with Matt Pinto on WWLS 98.1 FM The Sports Animal and the full statewide Thunder Radio Network.

Spurs sign Drew Eubanks, Nick Johnson, Jaron Blossomgame and Okaro White

The San Antonio Spurs have signed Jaron Blossomgame, Drew Eubanks, Nick Johnson and Okaro White.

It’s likely that all four signings are non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the players to Spurs training camp.

Blossomgame, 6-7/220, was a member of the Austin Spurs 2018 G League Championship roster, leading the team by averaging 8.2 rebounds to go along with 16.5 points and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes. Named to the All-NBA G League Third Team last season, he posted 14 double-doubles and tallied 17 games with over 20 points. Blossomgame was originally drafted by the Spurs in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft (59th overall) after playing four seasons at Clemson University, where he averaged 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30.7 minutes and was named to the All-ACC First Team in 2016.

Eubanks, 6-10/245, joins the Spurs on a two-way contract after playing with the Silver and Black in the 2018 NBA Summer League. Averaging 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.72 blocks and 1.1 assists in 31.3 minutes last season as a junior at Oregon State, he shot .624 (164-263) from the floor and finished eighth in the nation in field goal percentage. Appearing in all 94 games over his three-year career with the Beavers, Eubanks ranks third in school history in career blocks (163).

Johnson, 6-3/200, was named the G League Finals MVP last season after helping Austin to the G League title. He appeared in 28 games for the Houston Rockets in the 2014-15 season, averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes after being drafted by Houston in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft (42nd overall). Johnson has appeared in a total of 102 NBA G League games and spent one season playing for Bayern Munich in Germany in 2016-17. Johnson played three seasons at the University of Arizona, where he averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30.9 minutes, being named the 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year in his final season with the Wildcats.

White, 6-8/205, spent the last two seasons as a member of the Miami Heat and holds career averages of 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 41 games in his NBA career. He was named to the 2017 G League All-Star during team, posting 18.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists that season. White spent two seasons playing internationally in Italy and Greece after a four-year career at Florida State University, where he helped the Seminoles to their first ever ACC Championship in 2012 and was named to the All-ACC defensive team in 2014.

Timberwolves sign Darius Johnson-Odom and Jonathan Stark

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guards Darius Johnson-Odom and Jonathan Stark.

The signings are likely non-guaranteed deals that merely bring the two players to training camp.

Johnson-Odom, 28, spent the 2017-18 season with Italy’s Vanoli Cremona, averaging 18.7 points 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 29 games. He spent parts of two seasons in the NBA, playing in three games for Philadelphia in 2013-14 and four games for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012-13. Johnson-Odom has also played professionally overseas in Italy, Greece, Turkey, China and Russia as well as two seasons in the NBA G League.

Stark, 23, played with the Timberwolves’ entry in the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 8.2 points, 2.0 rebounds,1.8 assists and 17.0 minutes in five games. He played his college basketball at Tulane (2013-15) and Murray State (2016-18). As a senior with the Racers, Stark was named Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Player of the Year after averaging 21.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 32 games. He was the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament MVP and was named First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference in 2017 and 2018.

With today’s signings, the Wolves have finalized the team’s training camp roster at 18 players.

Nets sign Alan Williams to two-way contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward/center Alan Williams to a two-way contract.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Nets will provide services primarily to the team’s NBA G League affiliate – the Long Island Nets – but can spend up to 45 days with Brooklyn, not including any time prior to the start of Long Island’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Williams (6’8”, 265) joins Brooklyn after three seasons (2015-18) with the Phoenix Suns. In 62 career games, he averaged 6.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per contest. During the 2017-18 season, Williams appeared in five games, averaging 4.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 14.1 minutes per game. He also appeared in three games with the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League last season, averaging 16.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 23.4 minutes per game.

The Phoenix, Ariz., native went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft after a four-year collegiate career at UC Santa Barbara (2011-15). Williams led the nation in rebounding in both his junior (11.5) and senior seasons (11.8) and finished as UCSB’s all-time leading rebounder (1,125). He was named First Team All-Big West for three consecutive seasons (2012-15), becoming just the third player in school history to accomplish that feat.

Warriors sign guard Tyler Ulis

The Warriors have signed free agent guard Tyler Ulis. It’s likely just a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings Ulis to Warriors training camp.

Ulis, 22, averaged 7.8 points 4.4 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 1.00 steals and 23.4 minutes in 71 games (43 starts) last season with the Phoenix Suns. The 5’10” guard owns career averages of 7.6 points, 4.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 21.1 minutes in 132 games (58 starts) over two seasons with the Suns. The April 2017 NBA Rookie of the Month was originally selected by Phoenix in the second round (34th overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Raul Neto out with hamstring injury

Utah Jazz guard Raul Neto has suffered a right hamstring injury. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Entering his fourth season with the Jazz, the 6-foot-1, 179-pound guard appeared in 41 games last year, owning averages of 4.5 points, 1.8 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per contest, also seeing action in eight postseason games.

According to the Deseret News, “this injury is the latest setback for the Brazilian, who missed half of the 2017-2018 regular season because of a variety of unrelated injuries. He re-signed with Utah over the summer on a two-year, $4.4 million contract.”

Donovan Mitchell undecided on trying to defend dunk title

Nobody is thinking about 2019 All-Star weekend yet. But when the guy who won the 2018 dunk title is in front of you, it makes sense to ask if he’s thinking of trying to defend it. Here’s the Deseret News reporting on young Jazz star Donovan Mitchell:

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is certainly focused on reaching new heights in his sophomore campaign, but the rising star hasn’t decided on whether or not he’ll be defending his slam dunk title.

“I don’t know … that’s a good question,” Mitchell said during Monday’s Utah Jazz Media Day. “I don’t know, we’ll see. I’ll leave it there.”

All-Star Weekend 2019 will be played in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 15-17.

As a rookie, Mitchell reached a new level of popularity after winning the slam dunk crown at Los Angeles’ Staples Center as a late addition.

Full article

Grizzlies sign Ismaila Kane

The Memphis Grizzlies signed forward Ismaila Kane today.

The signing is probably a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings Kane to Grizzlies training camp.

Kane (6-9, 200) appeared in 13 games last season for Atlanta Metropolitan of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and averaged 14.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.69 blocks. The Senegalese native went unselected in the 2018 NBA Draft.