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Suns sign Shaquille Harrison to multi-year contract

The Suns today signed guard Shaquille Harrison to a multi-year contract. This after previously signing him to 10-day contracts on February 21 and March 3.

Harrison has appeared in nine games with the Suns, the first nine games of his NBA career, averaging 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 13.4 minutes. Per 36 minutes, Harrison has averaged 11.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 3.6 steals and 1.5 blocks in his nine games. Making his first career start in the Suns’ most recent game at Charlotte, Harrison scored a career-high 14 points in addition to recording four assists and two steals in 21 minutes. Harrison snagged four steals in two of his first four career games as he joined Alvan Adams as the only players in Suns history to record multiple performances of at least four steals through four career games.

A 6-4, 190-pound guard, Harrison was originally called up from the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League. In 36 games with the NAZ Suns this season, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals (10th in G League). In five games after taking over the starting point guard role on February 2, Harrison averaged 14.0 points on 48.3 percent shooting, 9.2 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals, guiding the NAZ Suns to a 4-1 record in those games. On February 9 at the South Bay Lakers, Harrison scored 25 points and dished out a career-high 12 assists.

The 33rd GATORADE Call-Up in the NBA this season and league-high fourth from the NAZ Suns, Harrison has averaged 10.3 points on 45.8 percent shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 84 career G League games, all with the NAZ Suns over the past two seasons.

The 24-year-old went unselected in the 2016 NBA Draft out of the University of Tulsa. In addition to two seasons with the Suns’ NBA G League affiliate, Harrison participated in Phoenix’s training camp prior to the 2016-17 season and played for the Suns’ Summer League team in 2017, averaging 10.3 points on 61.1 percent shooting in three games.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Harrison left Tulsa as the only player in Golden Hurricane basketball history to start every game in a four-year career. He averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 133 games for his career, finishing second in program history with 461 career assists and third with 244 steals.

Lakers sign Travis Wear to second 10-day contract

The Lakers today signed forward Travis Wear to a second 10-day contract.

Wear has averaged 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes through five games with the Los Angeles Lakers. The UCLA product earned his first NBA Call-Up on March 2 after 33 games (29 starts) with the South Bay Lakers, where he averaged 16.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range.

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

Hawks sign Jaylen Morris to second 10-day contract

The Atlanta Hawks today signed guard Jaylen Morris to a second 10-day contract.

In five games with the Hawks, he’s averaging 4.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.5 minutes.

Morris has also started 39 games this season for the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s NBA G League affiliate, and has averaged 12.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 31.4 minutes (.517 FG%, .673 FT%).

Bucks sign Brandon Jennings to 10-day contract

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Brandon Jennings to a 10-day contract.

Jennings, 28, most recently played for the Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. In seven games with the Herd, Jennings averaged 21.4 points, 7.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 37.0 minutes per contest. He was acquired by the Herd on Feb. 13.

Prior to his stint in the G League, Jennings played with Shanxi Zhongyu in the Chinese CBA. He appeared in 13 games, averaging 27.9 points, 6.8 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.

The Bucks selected Jennings with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. The 6-1, 170-pound guard appeared in 291 games with Milwaukee over four seasons and averaged 17.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Jennings recorded a franchise-rookie-record 55-point game with the Bucks on Nov. 14, 2009 vs. Golden State.

An eight-year NBA veteran, Jennings has played in 541 career games (429 starts) with Milwaukee, Detroit, Orlando, New York and Washington. He holds career averages of 14.3 points, 5.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

Mavericks sign Jameel Warney to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks have signed forward Jameel Warney to a 10-day contract.

Warney (6-8, 260) joins Dallas after spending the past two seasons (2016-18) with the Mavericks’ G-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. He owns career G-League averages of 18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.2 blocks and 32.1 minutes per game in 84 games (69 starts).

In 40 games (35 starts) for Texas in 2017-18, Warney averaged 19.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 35.3 minutes per game. He was one of two Legends named to the Midseason All-NBA G League team (along with Mavericks two-way forward Johnathan Motley).

The 6-8 power forward played for the U.S. national team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup, where he took home MVP honors after leading Team USA to a gold medal finish. He also helped Team USA to two FIBA World Cup Qualifying wins this past November. In recognition of his performances, Warney was named the 2017 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.

Before joining the Legends, Warney spent the 2016 training camp with Dallas. He averaged 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 9.2 minutes per game in three preseason games. Warney also played for Dallas’ 2016 Vegas summer league team and the Mavericks’ 2017 Orlando summer league squad.

The New Brunswick, N.J., native went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after four seasons at Stony Brook, where he finished as the winningest player in program history. He also finished as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,132), rebounds (1,275), blocks (275) and games played (135). Warney was named the America East Conference Player of the Year in each of his final three seasons at Stony Brook (2014-16).

As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 19.8 points (.628 FG), 10.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 3.0 blocks and 32.9 minutes per game in 33 games for the Seawolves. He led the America East Conference in scoring (19.0 ppg), rebounding (10.7 rpg), blocks (3.0 bpg) and field goal percentage (.627) that year. Warney also led Stony Brook to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 by scoring a school-record 43 points in the America East Tournament championship game.

Warney will wear No. 32 for the Mavericks.

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

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.