NBA News Blog – Page 428 – NBA Blog

Celtics sign PJ Dozier to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics today signed guard PJ Dozier to a two-way contract.

Dozier, 21, is set to compete on his second two-way contract in as many NBA seasons, having previously held a two-way position with Oklahoma City in 2017-18. He made his NBA debut with the Thunder on Feb. 8, 2018 at the Lakers, one of two contests he saw action in.

In 43 games played (38 starts) with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League last season, Dozier (6-7, 201 lbs.) produced 12.9 points (46.5% FG, 34.0% 3-PT), 5.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.4 minutes. The University of South Carolina product scored at least 20 points on five occasions, including a season-high 26 points (10-19 FG) on Jan. 28 against the South Bay Lakers.

Dozier participated in five games on Oklahoma City’s 2018 NBA Las Vegas Summer team in July, averaging 11.0 points on 52.0% shooting and 1.40 steals in 23.0 minutes.

A native of Columbia, SC, Dozier capped off his two-year collegiate career on a high note in 2017 after contributing to the Gamecocks’ first-ever NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance. He averaged 15.6 points (50.8% FG), 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in five tournament games and was selected to the NCAA Tournament All-Region team.

Raptors sign Kay Felder

The Toronto Raptors signed guard Kay Felder today.

Felder, 5-foot-9, 176 pounds, averaged 3.6 points, 1.3 assists and 8.8 minutes in 16 games with Chicago and Detroit last season. He also appeared in 20 games with Grand Rapids in the NBA G League, posting averages of 16.8 points, 5.8 assists and 30.1 minutes.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Felder owns career averages of 3.8 points, 1.3 assists and 9.1 minutes in 58 NBA games with Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. He was picked in the second-round (54th overall) by Atlanta in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Felder played three collegiate seasons at Oakland (2013-16) where he averaged 17.5 points, 7.8 assists and 35.9 minutes in 101 appearances. As a junior, Felder led the NCAA in assists per game (9.2) and was named Horizon League Player of the Year. He left the Golden Grizzlies as the Horizon League’s all-time leader with 788 career assists.

Thunder add Bob Beyer to coaching staff

The Oklahoma City Thunder last night (Monday) added Bob Beyer to their coaching staff.

Beyer joins Billy Donovan’s staff after spending the past four seasons with the Detroit Pistons, most recently serving as associate head coach for the last two seasons.

Beyer’s coaching career spans more than 30 years at both the NBA and collegiate level. His NBA coaching experience dates back to the 2003-04 season where he first served as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. Beyer later spent 2007-12 on Stan Van Gundy’s Orlando Magic staff, where he helped lead the team to a 259-135 (.657) record and five straight postseason appearances, including a spot in the 2009 NBA Finals.

Prior to joining the NBA ranks, Beyer’s collegiate experience was highlighted by a stint at Texas Tech University under Bob Knight from 2001-03 and as head coach at Siena from 1994-97.

Beyer graduated from Alfred University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in history and minors in coaching, writing and secondary education. He earned his master’s degree in curriculum planning and development while later coaching at Albany.

Rockets sign forward Bruno Caboclo

The Houston Rockets on Monday signed forward Bruno Caboclo, whose last name is pronounced “cuh-BO-clo.”

Caboclo (6-9, 218) was originally the 20th overall pick by Toronto in the 2014 NBA Draft. He spent his first three and a half seasons with the Raptors prior to being traded to Sacramento this past February.

Last season, the 22-year-old appeared in a total of 36 G League games while on assignment with Raptors 905 and the Reno Bighorns, averaging 14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks. Caboclo also averaged 2.4 3-pointers made.

Nets sign Jordan McLaughlin and Mitchell Creek

The Brooklyn Nets signed guard Jordan McLaughlin and guard/forward Mitchell Creek today.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume the signings are non-guaranteed deals that merely bring Creek and McLaughlin to Nets training camp.

Creek (6’5”, 216), joins the Nets after spending the last eight seasons playing internationally for both Adelaide of the Australian National Basketball League (2010-18) and BG Gottingen of the German Basketball League (2018). Overall, the Australian native appeared in 200 games (101 starts) for Adelaide, averaging 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.0 minutes per contest. In 2017-18, Creek was named to the All-NBL Second Team after guiding Adelaide to the finals of the NBL playoffs. He concluded the season ranked second on his team in points (14.8) and steals (1.2), third in rebounds (6.0) and fourth in assists (2.6). He then averaged 11.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.4 minutes per contest in seven games for BG Gottingen. In international competition, Creek won a gold medal in 2017 while representing Australia in the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon.

Creek was also a member of the Dallas Mavericks’ 2018 Las Vegas Summer League team, appearing in five games and averaging 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game.

McLaughlin (6’1”, 185) joins the Nets after four years at the University of Southern California. He started all but one of his 128 career games for the Trojans, recording averages of 12.9 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 33.5 minutes per contest. As a senior, McLaughlin recorded a USC single-season record 281 assists, which ranked first in the Pac-12 and third in the NCAA, and averaged 12.8 points, a career-high 7.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and a career-high 2.0 steals in 35.3 minutes per game. The Etiwanda, Calif., native ranks second all-time in USC history in assists (738), third in steals (213), fourth in points (1,648) and fifth in 3-pointers made (185). He is also one of just three Pac-12 players all-time to record 700 or more assists and 1,600 or more points during his career.

McLaughlin was a member of the Nets’ 2018 Las Vegas Summer League team, appearing in five games and averaging 7.0 points, 4.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game.

Hawks sign Alex Poythress and Daniel Hamilton

The Atlanta Hawks signed forward Alex Poythress guard/forward Daniel Hamilton today.

Poythress’ deal is confirmed by the team to be a two-way contract. Hamilton’s contract is probably a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings him to training camp.

The Hawks are in serious rebuilding mode. There isn’t a single player on the roster right now that is considered a star in today’s NBA. The good news is, this means there’s plenty of opportunity for almost everybody on this super-young roster to step up and quickly put their name on the map.

Eyes will certainly be on rookies Trae Young and Kevin Huerter, and young power forward John Collins, among others.

And then there’s Jeremy Lin. Maybe we’ll see Linsanity 2.0. Don’t count on it, because Lin is older now and coming back from serious injury. But if it were to happen, this is the year and the roster for such a blessing to occur.

As for today’s pair of signings, here’s more on each player:

Hamilton spent last season on a two-way contact with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. In six games with the Thunder, he averaged 2.0 points and 1.3 assists in 4.7 minutes (.455 FG%, .400 3FG%). He started 45 games with the Blue, averaging 16.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.8 minutes (.406 FG%, .813 FT%).

As a rookie in 2016-17, Hamilton appeared in 49 contests (47 starts) with the Blue, compiling 14.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 31.2 minutes (.426 FG%, .374 3FG%, .767 FT%).

Following two seasons at Connecticut, Hamilton was selected with the 56th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft by Denver, before his rights were traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for cash considerations.

As a sophomore for the Huskies, he was one of two Division I players in the country (joining Ben Simmons) with 450 points, 300 rebounds and 150 assists. On the season, he averaged 12.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.9 minutes, which earned him Second Team All-AAC honors.

A native of Los Angeles, CA, he attended Crenshaw High School before transferring to St. John Bosco for his final two seasons. He will wear No. 5.

Poythress (POY-thress) finished last season with the Indiana Pacers, where he appeared in 25 games. He began the season on a two-way contract with the Pacers and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (originally signing on August 22, 2017), before his contract was converted on December 28, 2017.

In seven starts with the Mad Ants, he averaged 20.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks in 24.0 minutes (.482 FG%, .675 FT%).

As a rookie in 2016-17, the 6’9” forward signed a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on April 1, 2017 and averaged 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.2 minutes (.463 FG%, .800 FT%) in six contests. He also appeared in 46 games (45 starts) with the Mad Ants prior to signing with the 76ers, and put in 18.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 blocks in 31.1 minutes (.528 FG%, .403 3FG%, .783 FT%). Poythress earned All-NBA G League Second Team and All-NBA G League Rookie team honors, also earning a spot in the NBA G League All-Star Game that season.

In four seasons at University of Kentucky (2012-16), he finished his career with 966 points, 597 rebounds and 77 blocks, becoming the 12th player in program history with at least 900 points, 500 rebounds and 70 blocks. As a senior in 2015-16, Poythress compiled 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in 23.6 minutes (.601 FG%, .706 FT%), playing 31 games and starting 23.

He was named Tennessee’s Mr. Basketball following his senior year at Northeast High School in Clarksville, TN, also earning Parade and McDonald’s All-America honors. Poythress was born in Savannah, GA. He will wear No. 22.

Only players with three-or-fewer years of NBA experience are permitted to sign two-way contracts. Per league rules, teams are allowed to have up to two two-way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Hawks will primarily play for the team’s NBA G League Affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, but can spend up to 45 days with Atlanta, not including any time prior to the start of Erie’s training camp and after the conclusion of their season.

Tom Chambers reportedly charged with assault

Here’s the Deseret Morning News reporting on long-retired NBA star Tom Chambers:

Former Utah Jazz and Utah Utes power forward Tom Chambers was charged with assault stemming from an incident that happened in April of this year, the Arizona Republic reported.

Police said the incident happened on April 15 in a Scottsdale, Arizona, restaurant, according to the Republic. Another patron, 22-year-old Alexander Berglet, began to insult the former NBA player, TMZ reported, and Chambers told police he reacted after Berglet said, “Your mom should have killed you when you came out of the womb as ugly as you are, your arms are silly, your chest is this. Your belly is big.”

Full article

Grizzlies sign guard Markel Crawford

The Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday signed guard Markel Crawford to the team’s training camp roster.

Crawford (6-4, 210) appeared in seven games (one start) for the Grizzlies during NBA Summer League 2018 in Las Vegas and averaged 9.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 18.4 minutes while shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three-point range. The 23-year-old Memphis native also saw action in three games as a reserve during the 2018 Utah Jazz Summer League and averaged 5.7 points in 12.8 minutes.

Unselected in the 2018 NBA Draft, Crawford started 25 of his 32 games last season as a redshirt senior at Ole Miss and averaged 9.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.19 steals in 30.9 minutes. He spent his first four collegiate seasons at the University of Memphis following his high school career at Melrose High School in Memphis.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “Crawford transferred to Ole Miss for his final year of eligibility, but played in 95 games for the Tigers between 2014 and 2017. He averaged 8.0 points in his three years under former Memphis coaches Josh Pastner and Tubby Smith.”

Jazz sign center Isaac Haas

The Utah Jazz have signed center Isaac Haas.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume it is a non-guaranteed contract for training camp.

Haas (7-2, 290, Purdue) competed for the Jazz at the 2018 Utah Jazz Summer League and NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He saw action in four games at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, totaling 15 points, 19 rebounds, four steals and three blocks in those contests.

He appeared in 35 games (all starts) as a senior in 2017-18, posting averages of 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23.4 minutes per game. A finalist for the 2018 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, Haas also earned an AP Honorable Mention and All-Big Ten Third team recognition following his final collegiate season.

Playing in 139 career games (76 starts) at Purdue, the Hokes Bluff, Ala. native finished his career ranked 20th in points (1,555), 20th in rebounds (643), fourth in field goal percentage (.589), seventh in blocked shots (124) and fourth in games played.

Hornets waive Mangok Mathiang

Yesterday, the Charlotte Hornets waived Mangok Mathiang.

Mathiang signed a two-way contract with Charlotte on Aug. 2, 2017. In 2017-18, the 6-10 forward from Louisville appeared in four games with the Hornets, averaging 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per contest. He also appeared in 43 games (36 starts) for the Hornets G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, averaging 10.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists in 25.3 minutes per game.