Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Lakers sign Derrick Williams to 10-day contract

Derrick Williams’ NBA career isn’t over just yet. Not for the next week and a half, at least.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed Williams to a 10-day contract today.

Williams, a forward, most recently appeared in 15 games (six starts) for the Tianjin Gold Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 20.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Formerly the second overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, Williams holds career averages of 8.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 426 games (112 starts) with Minnesota, Sacramento, New York, Miami and Cleveland.

The Lakers roster stands at 17, including two two-way players.

Michael Carter-Williams suffers season-ending shoulder injury

Michael Carter-Williams suffers season-ending shoulder injury

Hornets guard Michael Carter-Williams has suffered a posterior labral tear in his left shoulder. The injury was confirmed after Carter-Williams underwent an MRI and was examined by Hornets team orthopedist Dr. Marc Cook of Novant Health. The injury occurred with 4:05 left in the second quarter of Charlotte’s game at Toronto on March 4.

Carter-Williams will undergo surgery to address the injury and will miss the remainder of the season.

In his first season with the Hornets, Carter-Williams has appeared in 52 games and is averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game. In 287 career games, he has averaged 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Blazers sign Georgios Papagiannis to 10-day contract

The Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday signed center Georgios Papagiannis to a 10-day contract.

Papagiannis, 20, holds career averages of 4.2 points (51.0% FG, 85.7% FT), 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 12.4 minutes in 38 games over two seasons with the Sacramento Kings.

Originally selected by Phoenix with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft out of Greece, Papagiannis was dealt to Sacramento in a draft day trade.

In 33 games over two seasons with the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, Papagiannis (7-2, 240) posted averages of 13.7 points (51.3% FG, 77.2% FT), 8.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 2.24 blocked shots and 30.6 minutes.

He will wear No. 19 for the Trail Blazers.

Jaylen Brown seems mostly okay after scary fall

Like a ton of NBA players who can defy gravity, Jaylen Brown is extremely athletic. Sometimes, the ability to fly high in the air can result in a scary crash landing. His fall Thursday was frightening. Fortunately, hours later, Brown mostly seems alright, though an official diagnosis from the team will likely come tomorrow. Here’s WEEI reporting:

Celtics guard Jaylen Brown left the floor under his own power and waved to the fans after suffering a brutal fall onto his head and neck following a breakaway dunk in Thursday’s victory over the Timberwolves.

Brown remained on the floor as a hush fell over the arena after throwing down a dunk with 1:31 left in the third quarter while being fouled. He attempted to hang onto the rim to catch himself, but lost his grip and fell with his body parallel to the floor. Celtics teammates prayed nearby as Brown’s body seized up and he appeared dazed virtually to the point of unconsciousness.

Full article

And here’s the Boston Herald:

Brown went down hard after the jam with 1:31 left in the period. He was fouled on the play by Andrew Wiggins and appeared to grasp the rim for an extra beat. His momentum carried his lower body forward, and he came down on his back, neck and head.

Al Horford immediately rushed over and made sure Brown stayed down until help arrived. Marcus Smart kneeled in seeming prayer on the sideline by the C’s bench. A stretcher was wheeled out while the crowd remained quiet. Brown eventually stood and was able to walk to the Celts dressing room as the crowd erupted in applause.

Full article

Timberwolves sign Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose isn’t done with basketball just yet.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed Rose, a former league MVP, on Thursday.

Rose, a 6-3 guard, appeared in 16 games (seven starts) with Cleveland this season, averaging 9.8 points, 1.8 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game. He was traded to Utah in a three-team deal on Feb. 8 before being waived by the Jazz on Feb. 10. A three-time All-Star, Rose has averaged 19.2 points on 45.1% shooting and 5.8 assists in 486 games over nine seasons. His best season came in 2010-11, when under Tom Thibodeau he became the youngest player to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award after averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 assists, while leading the Chicago Bulls to the best record in the NBA and the Eastern Conference Finals.

Magic sign Rodney Purvis to 10-day contract

The Orlando Magic signed guard Rodney Purvis to a 10-day contract today.

Purvis (6’4”, 205, 2/14/94) has played and started in 37 games this season for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s NBA G League affiliate, averaging 20.5 ppg., 4.0 rpg., 3.5 apg. and 1.35 stlpg. in 38.5 minpg. As of March 7, he ranks eighth in the NBA G League in points per game and second in minutes per game. He has led the team in scoring 17 times and in assists 10 times. The first-year player out of Connecticut has reached double figures in 34 games and has scored 30 points four times, including a season-high 40 points on Dec. 21, 2017 at Westchester.

Purvis was recently selected to participate in the USA World Cup Qualifying Team training camp Feb. 15-20 and the G League International Challenge on Feb 18. After training camp, Purvis was then selected to the 12-man team for the USA’s World Cup Qualifying first round, second-window games, including Cuba on Feb. 23 and Puerto Rico on Feb. 26 in Santa Cruz, Calif., where he averaged 13 ppg. in 23.0 minpg., while shooting 50 percent from the field. The FIBA World Cup Qualifying games are being used to qualify 31 of the 32 nations that will compete in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Purvis played in 137 career games (100 starts) during four years at both North Carolina State (2012-13) and the University of Connecticut (2014-17), averaging 11.6 ppg., 3.0 rpg. and 1.8 apg. in 29.1 minpg. Last season, he appeared in 33 games (32 starts), averaging 13.8 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 2.5 apg. and 1.03 stlpg. in 36.9 minpg. As a sophomore (2014-15), Purvis led the Huskies in scoring during the postseason, averaging 17.8 ppg., and was named to the 2015 American Athletic Conference’s All-Tournament Team.

Purvis will wear No. 15 with Orlando.

The Magic roster now stands at 17 players.

Grizzlies sign Xavier Rathan-Mayes to 10-day contract

The Grizzlies signed guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (X-avier RUH-tan Mays) to a 10-day contract today, as a Call-Up from the NBA G League’s Westchester Knicks.

Rathan-Mayes (6-4, 208) has appeared in 39 games (37 starts) for Westchester and has averaged 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.10 steals in 35.7 minutes with 14 double-doubles and three triple-doubles. The 23-year-old Canadian native went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft following his junior year at Florida State University, where he was a 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Defensive Team selection.

Bucks sign Shabazz Muhammad

The Bucks signed Shabazz Muhammad today.

Muhammad appeared in 32 games (two starts) with the Minnesota Timberwolves this season and averaged 3.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game before being waived on March 1. The 25-year-old has spent his entire NBA career with the Timberwolves after being selected by Minnesota with the 14th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft out of UCLA. In 267 games (16 starts) over five seasons with the Timberwolves, Muhammad averaged 9.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field.

Muhammad will wear No. 15 for the Bucks.

Milwaukee’s roster now stands at 17 players.

Hawks sign Antonius Cleveland to second 10-day contract

The Hawks signed guard Antonius Cleveland to a second 10-day contract today.

Earlier this season, Cleveland was on a two-way contract with Dallas, appearing in 13 games with the Mavericks. In seven NBA G League games this season (six with the Santa Cruz Warriors and one with the Texas Legends), he’s averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 26.6 minutes (.547 FG%, .500 3FG%, .826 FT%).