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Nets sign forward Treveon Graham

The Brooklyn Nets signed free agent forward Treveon Graham today.

The 6-foot-5, 219-pound, 24-year-old spent the last two seasons on Charlotte Hornets. In the 2017-18 season, he played in 63 games, averaging 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game.

Before starting his NBA career, the Washington, D.C., area native spent his first professional season with the Idaho Stampede in the G League.

Graham went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft. He enjoyed a standout four-year career at Virginia Commonwealth University, earning first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors twice (2014 and 2015) and second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors once (2013).

Graham will surely come off the bench for Brooklyn, probably behind Caris LeVert and Joe Harris, among others. He’ll have to work hard to get any real minutes.

Mavs sign Daryl Macon to two-way contract

The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Daryl Macon to a two-way contract.

Undrafted in 2018, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard played a four-year collegiate career at the University of Arkansas.

This summer, Macon played in seven summer league games for the Miami Heat, averaging 7.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 22.4 minutes per outing.

The Little Rock, Ark., native began his career at Holmes Community College in Goodman, Miss., where he twice earned Region XXIII Player of the Year and National Junior College Athletic Association All-America honors.

Macon transferred to Arkansas after his sophomore season at Holmes and averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 28.0 minutes in 71 games (51 starts) in two seasons as a Razorback. As a senior, Macon improved his averages to 16.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting .447 from the field, .421 from behind-the-arc and .875 from the foul line on his way to being named Second Team All-Southeastern Conference.

The 2018-19 season will mark the second year NBA two-way contracts will be implemented. NBA teams are allowed to have up to two players under two-way contracts who will spend the bulk of the season in the NBA G League and not more than 45 days with their NBA team.

Two-way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league. Only players with four-or-fewer years of NBA experience are able to sign two-way contracts, which can be for either one or two seasons.

Heat sign Yante Maten to two-way contract

The Miami Heat have signed forward Yante Maten to a two-way contract.

Maten appeared in seven Summer League games (one start) with the HEAT in both Sacramento and Las Vegas and averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 44.6 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three-point range and 76.9 percent from the foul line. He posted five double-figure scoring games, including 19 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line while grabbing seven rebounds and blocking two shots in a, 110-106, win against New Orleans in the first round of the Las Vegas tournament.

Maten, the 2018 SEC Player of the Year, played four seasons at the University of Georgia appearing in 128 career collegiate games (97 starts). Among the school’s all-time lists, he finished second in points (1,886), third in blocks (198), fourth in rebounds (889) and free throws made (518), sixth in field goals made (655), 13th in free throw percentage (.755) and 15th in field goal percentage (.483). He scored the most points during a single season by a senior (636), including the fifth-most overall, in school history while appearing in 33 games (all starts) and averaging 19.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.48 blocks and 34.3 minutes while shooting 46.4 percent from the field last season. He also led the conference in scoring average, becoming just the fifth player in school history to accomplish the feat. Additionally, Maten became the first Bulldog in 25 years to earn three All-SEC honors in his career and just the sixth player in program history to achieve the feat.

Thunder sign rookie Hamidou Diallo

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed guard Hamidou Diallo today.

Diallo (6-5, 198) was acquired by the Thunder earlier this month. Originally selected on June 22 by the Brooklyn Nets with the 45th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, the Kentucky product started all 37 games as a redshirt freshman and averaged 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 24.8 minutes per game and scored in double figures in 16 games.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Diallo represented the U.S. in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup where in seven games he averaged 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 18.2 minutes per contest. He also won gold at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.

Rockets re-sign center Clint Capela

The best-remaining free agent is off the market, and back where he likely belongs.

The Houston Rockets re-signed restricted free agent center Clint Capela today.

Capela has been an excellent fit on the Rockets, and the team re-sign the defensive-minded, undersized yet highly effective center if they wanted to continue as one of the very best teams in the league.

According to ESPN.com, it’s a a five-year, $90 million. And per ESPN, “had he instead signed a $4.3 million qualifying offer, he would have entered 2019 as an unrestricted free agent.”

Capela was selected by Houston with the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was runner-up for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award this past season after averaging career-highs of 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.85 blocks. Capela led the league in field goal percentage (.652) while ranking eighth in rebounding and second in blocks.

According to the Houston Chronicle, “Capela had been seeking a deal similar to the contracts received by Rudy Gobert (four years, $102 million) and Steven Adams (four years, $100 million). But those deals were in 2016 when the NBA cap spike sent contracts for free agents that summer skyrocketing. His deal exceeds those for other centers this summer.”

The 24-year-old recorded 42 double-doubles in 74 games played in 2017-18 after having a total of 25 in 154 games played across his first three seasons. The Rockets were 25-2 when he scored at least 15 points, including 11-0 when he scored 20 or more. Houston was also 36-5 when Capela had at least two blocks, including 21-0 when he had three or more.

During the regular season, Capela was the first player in NBA history to have averaged at least 13.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 1.80 bpg in fewer than 28.0 mpg. He was also the first player to have averaged at least 12.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, and 2.00 bpg in fewer than 31.0 mpg in a single postseason.

Clippers waive C.J. Williams

The L.A. Clippers waived guard C.J. Williams today.

Williams, 28, appeared in 38 games for the Clippers last season, averaging 5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.6 minutes. He appeared in 16 games for L.A.’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario as part of his two-way contract, averaging 16.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 29.5 minutes. A four-year letterman at North Carolina State, the 6’5”, 230-pound guard spent time playing internationally with teams in France, Greece and Italy, and in the NBA G League, before signing with the Clippers in October 2017.

Pelicans sign forward Troy Williams

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent forward Troy Williams.

Williams, 6-7, 220, was a member of the New York Knicks’ 2018 Summer League team, appearing in five contests and averaging 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 20.6 minutes per game.

During the 2017-18 season, Williams appeared in 21 contests for the Knicks and the Houston Rockets, averaging 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game. He also played in 19 games (17 starts) last season for Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League, averaging 19.8 points while shooting 46.4% from the field, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.1 minutes per game.

Originally undrafted in 2016 out of Indiana University, Williams has appeared in 51 career regular season games for Memphis, Houston and New York, holding averages of 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 16.9 minutes per game.

Hornets sign Jaylen Barford, Zach Smith and Isaiah Wilkins to training camp roster

The Charlotte Hornets have signed guard Jaylen Barford and forwards Zach Smith and Isaiah Wilkins to the team’s training camp roster.

In two years at Arkansas, the 6-3 Barford averaged 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 28.3 minutes per game in 71 contests. An undrafted free agent, Barford recorded averages of 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 35 games as a senior in 2017-18. The Jackson, Tennessee, native finished the season amongst the SEC leaders in the following categories: field goals made (first, 224), points scored (third, 628), points per game (third, 17.9), three-point field goals (fourth, 87) and field goal percentage (sixth, .470). As a junior, he averaged 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Smith, an undrafted free agent from Texas Tech University, appeared in 117 career games over four years (2014-18). In 117 contests, he finished his collegiate career with averages of 8.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28.7 minutes per game. The Plano, Texas native averaged 6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in 23 games as a senior in 2017-18. Smith received All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for both of his final two seasons.

Wilkins was a four-year collegiate player at Virginia (2014-18) where he appeared in 132 career games, posting averages of 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game. Wilkins recorded averages of 6.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks as a senior in 2017-18. The Lilburn, Georgia, native was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-ACC Defensive Team.

With the addition of Barford, Smith and Wilkins the Hornets roster stands at 18 players.

Celtics sign Walt Lemon Jr. to a two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed guard Walt Lemon Jr. to a two-way deal.

Lemon Jr., 25, made his NBA debut on Feb. 23 of last season after signing a pair of 10-day contracts with the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 3.4 points (43.8% FG) and 7.0 minutes in five games played. The Chicago, IL native spent the majority of his season competing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League, where he produced 22.4 points (49.4% FG, 31.3% 3-PT, 76.8% FT), 4.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.03 steals and 36.6 minutes in 40 games (all starts).

A four-year product of Bradley University from 2010-11 to 2013-14, Lemon Jr. has also competed professionally for multiple teams in Europe.

Jimmy Butler undergoes procedure on hand

Minnesota Timberwolves guard/forward Jimmy Butler underwent an elective right hand procedure on Tuesday, July 24.

The team says that Butler has already returned to offseason activities.

It’s unknown if those offseason activities include playing basketball at regular intensity right away, but the team is clearly suggesting that it was a minor procedure.