Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Sixers sign Marco Belinelli

The Philadelphia 76ers signed guard-forward Marco Belinelli.

Belinelli appeared in 52 games (one start) with Atlanta this season, averaging 11.4 points and 2.0 assists in 23.3 minutes per game, while shooting .372 from three-point range on a career-high 4.8 attempts per contest. His .927 free-throw percentage ranks fourth-best in the NBA. He has scored in double figures 31 times this season and has five 20-point performances.

In his 11th NBA season, Belinelli has played in 696 career games (217 starts) with Atlanta, Charlotte, Sacramento, San Antonio, Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and Golden State. All told, he holds averages of 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23.2 minutes per game. A career .377 three-point shooter, Belinelli has connected on 945 threes over his 10-plus NBA seasons.

In 2013-14 with San Antonio, the Italy native enjoyed his most successful season from beyond the arc, finishing fifth in the NBA, shooting a .430 clip from long distance. At State Farm All-Star Saturday Night that year, Belinelli won the 2014 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest.

That season was capped off with a playoff run that would end with the Spurs defeating Miami in the 2014 NBA Finals. Belinelli appeared in 23 playoff games for San Antonio, posting 5.4 points per game, while shooting .421 from three-point range. In his career, Belinelli has appeared in 48 total playoff games (13 starts) with San Antonio, Chicago and New Orleans.

Originally selected by Golden State with the 18th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-5 guard-forward played professionally in Italy before entering the NBA.

Belinelli will wear No. 18 for the 76ers. He will be the first native Italian to play for Philadelphia.

Suns sign Josh Gray to second 10-day contract

The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Josh Gray to a second 10-day contract after initially signing him on February 2.

Gray made his NBA debut against Utah on February 2 and has averaged 6.8 points, 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 17.5 minutes in four games with the Suns. He has eight steals, including four on Wednesday against San Antonio and three on Saturday against Denver, becoming the first Suns rookie to total at least eight steals through his first four career games since Richard Dumas in 1993.

A 6-1, 180-pound guard, Gray was originally called up him up from the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League. In 31 games with the NAZ Suns this season he averaged 17.9 points, shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals (t-1st in G League). The NBA G League Player of the Week for games played Jan. 1-7, Gray has four games scoring 30-plus points this season including a career-high 32 points in a win over the Agua Caliente Clippers on Jan. 26.

The 29th GATORADE Call-Up in the NBA this season and sixth in NAZ Suns history, Gray is Northern Arizona’s all-time leader in points (1,228), assists (410), field goals made (474), field goals attempted (1,065), steals (148), games (81) and minutes (2,250). Overall in 81 career NBA G League games, all with Northern Arizona over the past two seasons, Gray has averaged 15.2 points, 5.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals. On Nov. 27, 2016, he recorded the only triple-double in NAZ Suns history with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 11 steals and five steals against Sioux Falls.

The 24-year-old went unselected in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Louisiana State University. Gray tried out for the NAZ Suns prior to their inaugural season in 2016-17, earning an invite to training camp where he made the team and went on to have one of the better seasons by a local tryout in G League history.

A native of Lake Charles, La., Gray began his collegiate career at Texas Tech University in 2012-13 before transferring to Odessa College for the 2013-14 season then completing his career with two seasons at LSU from 2014-2016.

Kings waive Joe Johnson

The Sacramento Kings, who are undergoing a youth movement and are building for the future, not the present, waived veteran guard/forward Joe Johnson today.

Johnson appeared in 32 games this season for the Utah Jazz and averaged 7.3 points (.420 FG%, .274 3pt%, .833 FT%), 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 21.9 minutes per game. Over the course of his 16-year career, the seven-time NBA All-Star has accrued averages of 16.2 points (.442 FG%, .372 3pt%, .802 FT%), 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 34.9 minutes per game through 1253 games (1090 starts) with six teams; Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Miami and Utah.

Jazz sign Naz Mitrou-Long to 10-day contract

The Utah Jazz have signed Naz Mitrou-Long to a 10-day contract.

Mitrou-Long (6-4, 218, Iowa State) has appeared in 32 games (27 starts) for the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated G League team, the Salt Lake City Stars, this season averaging 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.6 minutes per contest. He originally signed a two-way contract this season with the Jazz on Dec. 23, appearing in one game with Utah, tallying three points against Denver on Dec. 26, before being waived on Jan. 13. Additionally, Mitrou-Long spent training camp with the team this year, playing in two preseason games, averaging 4.0 points and 1.0 assists in 7.0 minutes per contest.

A four-year collegian at Iowa State, he averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists during his senior season with the Cyclones, earning 2017 All-Big 12 Second Team honors. The guard also shot 47 percent from the field and led the conference with 2.8 three-point field goals per game, also connecting on a team-high 98 three-point attempts, which was the third highest in a single-season in school history.

Over his four years at Iowa State, Mitrou-Long appeared in 131 games (83 starts) averaging 9.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists, helping to lead the Cyclones to three Big 12 Championships. He would finish his collegiate career with 260 three-point field goals, the second most in school history, in addition to becoming just one of 11 players ever for Iowa State to tally 1,200 points, 300 rebounds and 200 assists over his career.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Mitrou-Long played high school basketball at Findlay College Prep in Henderson, Nev.

Jazz waive Derrick Rose

InsideHoops.com

The Utah Jazz on Saturday waived guard Derrick Rose.

Rose (6-3, 190, Memphis), a former NBA MVP, isn’t the player he used to be. He played in 16 games (seven starts) this season for the Cavaliers, averaging 9.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes per outing.

Over his nine-year NBA career, the 29-year-old Chicago native has averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 34.2 minutes through 486 games (476 starts) with the Bulls, Knicks and Cavaliers.

According to the Deseret News, “former Jazzman Joe Johnson was also part of the three-team deal with Rose and was originally sent to Sacramento. However, the veteran scorer will agree to a contract buyout to sign with the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.”

Mavericks waive Josh McRoberts

The Dallas Mavericks on Saturday requested waivers on forward/center Josh McRoberts.

McRoberts (6-10, 240) was acquired by the Mavericks on July 7, 2017, along with a second round pick and cash considerations, from the Miami Heat in exchange for center A.J. Hammons.

The 10-year career veteran saw action in two games for the Mavericks this season after spending the first 37 games of the season on the inactive list while rehabbing a left foot injury.

Grizzlies waive Brandan Wright

The Memphis Grizzlies waived forward/center Brandan Wright today.

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, if he clears waivers Wright intends to sign with the Rockets. That’s a great addition to the bench of an already potent team.

Wright (6-10, 235) appeared in 67 games (eight starts) over three seasons (2015-18) with the Grizzlies and averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.3 minutes. Selected with the eighth overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft following his collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, the 30-year-old has appeared in 427 regular season games (62 starts) over 10 NBA seasons and has averaged 7.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 16.2 minutes for the Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 16 players.

Pelicans waive Mike James and Rashad Vaughn

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived guards Mike James and Rashad Vaughn.

James, 6-1, 189, who was originally signed to a two-way contract by the Pelicans on January 14, appeared in four games with New Orleans, totaling four points and six assists in 18 minutes.

Vaughn, 6-6, 202, who was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for forward Dante Cunningham on February 8, did not appear in any games for New Orleans.

New Orleans’ roster currently stands at 15, including one two-way player (Charles Cooke).

Kings trades were about the future, not the present

The Sacramento Kings are 17-36 this season through Thursday’s games, which is the third worst record in the NBA. They’re all about the future, not the present. As for recent trades involving the Kings and their larger meaning, here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting:

The two most important assets the Kings acquired at Thursday’s trade deadline were Miami’s second-round draft pick in 2020 and the little more than $3 million cash.

That’s because the deals weren’t about immediate improvement. Instead, the Kings are keeping the focus on the future, and they believe trading George Hill, Malachi Richardson and waiving Georgios Papagiannis makes that possible…

Of the three players received in the deal, only guard Iman Shumpert figures to be around after this season, because he has an $11 million player option for 2018-19. Bruno Caboclo is in the last year of his deal and Joe Johnson is seeking a buyout, a request the Kings are likely to fulfill.

Full article

Hawks waive Marco Belinelli

The Atlanta Hawks waived guard/forward Marco Belinelli today.

Belinelli, in 52 games with the Hawks (one start) this season, averaged 11.4 points, 2.0 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 23.3 minutes (.410 FG%, .372 3FG%, .927 FT%), ranking fourth in the NBA in free throw percentage. He scored in double-figures 30 times (five 20-point outings).

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “the Hawks held Belinelli, the veteran reserve shooting guard, out of Tuesday’s game against the Grizzlies and he did not travel with the team for Thursday’s game at the Magic as the team considered several trade options ahead of the NBA trade deadline.”

In 696 career contests (217 starts), he’s put up 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23.1 minutes (.423 FG%, .377 3FG%, .840 FT%).

Belinelli was originally acquired from Charlotte on June 20, 2017 along with Miles Plumlee and a 2017 second round draft pick in exchange for Dwight Howard and a 2017 second round draft pick.