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Knicks sign Paul Watson

The New York Knicks signed forward Paul Watson today.

It’s likely a non-guaranteed deal that won’t last past the end of preseason.

Watson, 6-8, 210-pounds, appeared in five games for New York’s 2018 Summer League entry in Las Vegas and averaged 2.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and a steal over 12.0 minutes. He spent the 2017-18 season with the Westchester Knicks where he averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds over 26.7 minutes in 45 games (23 starts). Watson played four seasons (2013-17) at Fresno State, posting 10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds over 29.7 minutes in 135 games (128 starts). He was named 2014 Mountain West Rookie of the Year as voted on by the coaches.

Kyrie Irving says he plans to re-sign with Celtics

There was no real reason to expect Kyrie Irving to leave the Celtics as a free agent next summer. He’s got a great role. An excellent team. A young squad that should keep getting better. And right now, the team has just as clear a path to the NBA Finals as his LeBron James-led Cavs squad did.

Kyrie wanting out of Cleveland was a surprise, too. But there’s no reason to expect the same in regard to Boston. And now he’s said so himself, not in those exact words, but close enough. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting:

The annual Celtics season ticketholder fan fest is a generally fun affair, notable mainly for skills contests among the players.

But Kyrie Irving made Thursday night’s event something that will be spoken of for years. While the All-Star guard has been hinting strongly since he returned to town for training camp that he will be remaining with the club when he opts out of his contract next summer, he went a loud step further during a panel discussion on the parquet floor.

Rising from his chair, microphone in hand, Irving told the crowd, “If you’ll have me back, I plan on re-signing here next year.”

Evidently, it wasn’t such a spur of the moment remark. Irving told team officials he planned on making the statement tonight, though he saved it for the larger crowd after an earlier media session backstage.

The Celtics are must-watch these days, because they’re an excellent team, fun to watch, and also to see how they work Gordon Hayward into the mix.

LeBron James, Brandon Ingram look good in preseason win

Preseason is mostly a warmup period for many teams, but for the Lakers and other squads who made major offseason changes and have major chemistry development ahead of them, it’s more than that. The Lakers have a ton of lineup and rotation decisions to make. None will be fully settled in preseason, but coach Luke Walton has a lot of work ahead of him figuring this thing out.

And as for last night, here’s the Daily Breeze:

It was a tag-team act. LeBron James got the Lakers started. Brandon Ingram made sure they finished.

Breaking out of a sluggish start without their top two point guards, the Lakers finally managed their first preseason victory, 128-123 over the Sacramento Kings, behind 18 points from James in another one-half cameo followed by 31 points from Ingram, who guided the team down the stretch.

As Ingram made a key steal and two free throws in the final minute, James could be seen clapping and smiling from the bench.

It wasn’t a game the Lakers felt wholly good about – their third straight preseason effort with iffy defense and too many fouls. But between James’ second-quarter surge and Ingram’s strong offensive effort, they were finally able to get over a hump and see some potential from a budding young player.

The Lakers are must-see right now, and will stay that way for the near future.

Knicks sign guard Billy Garrett

The New York Knicks have signed guard Billy Garrett.

Garrett, 6-6, 210-pounds, appeared in three games for New York’s 2018 Summer League entry in Las Vegas and averaged 2.3 points over 9.4 minutes. He spent the 2017-18 season with the Westchester Knicks where he averaged 11.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals over 27.2 minutes in 50 games (14 starts). Garrett played four seasons (2013-17) at DePaul, posting 13.1 points, 3.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds over 29.2 minutes in 125 games (119 starts). He was named 2014 Big East Rookie of the Year.

Arena in Detroit no longer accepts paper tickets

Paper tickets are apparently now as worthless as the paper they’re printed on, at least for Detroit pro basketball and hockey games, according to the Detroit Free Press, as quoted below:

If you’re going to a Detroit Red Wings or Detroit Pistons game at Little Caesars Arena, whoever has your tickets better not forget their phone.

That’s because the LCA, which opened a season ago, will no longer accept paper tickets for Wings or Pistons games.

This announcement came during the summer and may have flown under the radar, but now as the NHL and NBA have returned, you need to know that Ticketmaster’s mobile ticketing technology will be used at the doors of the new arena.

Regardless of how any of us feel about this move, it’s the wave of the future and is bound to happen sooner or later at other arenas in the coming years. Ideally, some sort of safeguard comes to exist in case somebody does forget their phone, or if their phone battery dies, etc, though.

Sixers flight overseas took almost 22 hours

The Sixers just spent a tremendous amount of time on airplanes. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

The team’s flight from Philadelphia to the world’s most populated city took 21 hours, 38 minutes because of a snow storm in Calgary. The plane made a scheduled stop in the Canadian city for gas. However, the Sixers were delayed three hours there because of the weather.

The Sixers were scheduled to arrive at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Shanghai time. However, they didn’t get here until midday.

“As crazy as it was for others, I was actually doing work and fell asleep,” coach Brett Brown said of the flight. “And I was a bit surprised when you felt the plane take off again, and I did wake up and saw a Sunoco sign when I thought we were over the South Pacific.

“Other than that, it was a long trip.”

China is an important basketball market for the entire world and especially the NBA, but I have to wonder how it affects players to take a trip like that. Obviously there’s no long term effect, so it’s not a huge deal. And on the positive side, aside from promoting the league in general, the teams that do make the trip, and of course some of the individual stars on those teams, probably gain a nice amount of new international fans.

Knicks sign forward Phillip Carr

The New York Knicks have signed forward Phillip Carr.

It’s probably just a non-guaranteed deal that will end during or at the conclusion of preseason.

Carr, 6-8, 190-pounds, played three seasons (2015-18) at Morgan State University, posting 13.4 points and 8.5 rebounds over 32.9 minutes in 87 games (85 starts). Carr was named to the All-MEAC First Team, twice (2017-18) and was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year during his junior season.

Hawks waive Cole Aldrich

The Atlanta Hawks waived center Cole Aldrich today.

The team originally signed him on September 18, 2018. He was signed for training camp purposes and was a longshot to make the regular season roster.

The 6-foot-11, 253-pound center, a lottery pick in the 2010 NBA draft, has played for the Thunder, Rockets, Kings, Knicks, Clippers and Timberwolves. In the 2017-18 season for Minnesota, Aldrich received just 2.3 minutes per game of playing time. He could latch on with another team, but that’s no guarantee.

Jerryd Bayless out with knee sprain

Philadelphia 76ers guard Jerryd Bayless suffered a sprain of the posterolateral corner in his left knee during practice on Sunday, September 30. He is out and will begin treatment immediately.

The clinical evolution of rehabilitation will determine his return to competition, and he will be re-evaluated in approximately three to four weeks.

Starters for this upcoming season in the Sixers backcourt will definitely be Ben Simmons and probably JJ Redick. Bayless is in the mix for backup minutes, but it’s crowded in the guard spot on that bench.

The big question in regard to Sixers guard this season is if Markelle Fultz will emerge.

Timberwolves announce promotions and additions to basketball staff

The Minnesota Timberwolves have made some additions and promotions in their basketball staff, promoting Todd Checovich to Scout/General Manager of the Iowa Wolves, Nick Restifo to Senior Basketball Operations Analyst and Troy Sutton to Head Strength and Conditioning Coach.

The team has also named Cole Fisher as Basketball Operations Analyst, Kurt Joseph as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach and Danny Wilson as Assistant Equipment Manager.

Checovich enters his sixth season with the Timberwolves after spending the last two years as Manager of Basketball Operations where he helped coordinate the team’s college scouting efforts in preparation for the NBA Draft. Prior to joining Minnesota, he spent one season as Basketball Operations Intern with the Maine Red Claws. Originally from New Hampshire, Checovich played four years of collegiate basketball at Colgate University before earning his law degree from Villanova University School of Law.

Restifo originally joined the Timberwolves in January 2017 as a Basketball Operations Analyst. Prior to joining the Wolves, he was an Associate Data Scientist, Advanced Analytics at Darden Restaurants while also spending time as a writer for NylonCalculus.com and as a Basketball Analytics Coordinator at the University of New Haven.

Sutton is entering his third season with the Timberwolves, first in his position as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach after serving as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach the previous two seasons. His 14+ year career has included stops with Northwestern and Ohio State, most recently serving as the Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Northwestern under Head Strength Coach Jay Hooten.

Fisher joins Minnesota’s analytics staff after internships with the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors over the last year. In addition, Fisher has also created a web application to help accurately predict future NBA success for current G League players, as well as other web applications.

Joseph joins the Timberwolves after spending last season as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate. Prior to joining the Wolves, Joseph was a weight room assistant with the New York Knicks, where his duties consisted of aiding in team practice, implementing the strength and conditioning program, implementing all prehab and corrective exercise protocols as directed.

Wilson spent the last two seasons as the Head Equipment/Clubhouse Manager for the Saint Paul Saints. Wilson has also served as a Locker Room Assistant during Timberwolves home games since 2000, assisting both the home and visiting teams and referees with their needs before, during and after games.