Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Nets sign Tahjere McCall and Kamari Murphy

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Tahjere McCall and forward Kamari Murphy.

McCall (6’5”, 195) finished his collegiate career at Tennessee State (2015-17) after spending two years at Niagara University (2012-14). While at Tennessee State, McCall earned All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team honors twice and was the conference’s defensive player of the year in both seasons. The Philadelphia native saw action in 117 career collegiate games (93 starts), recording averages of 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals in 26.0 minutes per game.

Murphy (6’9”, 218) played the last two seasons (2015-17) at the University of Miami after beginning his collegiate career at Oklahoma State University (2012-14). He started all 33 games with the Hurricanes during his senior campaign, averaging 7.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game. The Brooklyn native appeared in 131 games (97 starts) over the course of his four-year collegiate career, averaging 5.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 24.6 minutes per contest.

Both McCall and Murphy were members of the Nets’ 2017 Las Vegas Summer League team.

Lakers sign Travis Wear

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Travis Wear, General Manager Rob Pelinka announced today.

Wear most recently was a member of the Lakers’ entry in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, where he contributed 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists as Los Angeles won their first summer league championship. The 6-foot-10 forward played in 42 games (13 starts) for the South Bay Lakers last season, tallying 12.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

The Lakers training camp roster stands at 19.

Utah Jazz waive Torian Graham

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived guard Torian Graham.

Graham (6-5,195, Arizona State) appeared in 33 games (23 starts), averaging 18.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Sun Devils during the 2016-17 season. He ranked first in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals made per contest (3.3), second in scoring average, seventh in minutes per game (34.8) and his 108 threes on the year were tied for the 14th most in NCAA Division I.

The Durham, N.C. native competed with the Dallas Mavericks entry at the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, seeing action in three contests.

Following the move, the roster now stands at 19 players.

Heat sign Tony Mitchell, waive Larry Drew II

The Miami Heat have signed forward Tony Mitchell and waived guard Larry Drew II.

Mitchell has appeared in 78 NBA G League games (52 starts) and averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 points, 2.8 assists, 1.28 steals and 32.7 minutes while shooting 42.5 percent from the field. He earned G League Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 while being named to the All-G League First Team and All-G League Rookie Team. The 2013 All-Star also captured back-to-back Slam Dunk titles in 2013 and 2014. Mitchell has spent the last three seasons overseas playing for a variety of teams, most recently he split last season between three teams, appearing in 35 games (13 starts) averaging 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 21.6 minutes while shooting 42 percent from the field.

Mitchell has appeared in three career NBA games, all with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2013-14 season, totaling six points, one rebound, one assist and a steal while shooting 60 percent (3-of-5) from the field.

Drew II, who was signed by the HEAT on September 5, appeared in one preseason game totaling one rebound, one assist and a steal in 5:00 minutes of action on October 5 at Brooklyn.

Joel Embiid dominates in preseason debut

When actually on the court playing basketball, Joel Embiid does awesome things. Here’s NBC Sports Philly reporting:

Joel Embiid didn’t miss a beat.

After being sidelined since Jan. 27 with a torn meniscus, Embiid made his long-awaited preseason debut on Wednesday. He picked up right where he left off from his standout rookie year.

“It felt great,” Embiid said after the Sixers’ 133-114 win over the Nets. “I’m glad I’m back.”

Embiid had 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block in just under 15 minutes. He shot 4 for 9 from the field and an overwhelming 14 for 18 from the free throw line (see highlights). The center also attempted (and missed) a pair of threes. Even with a monster stat line, Embiid noted he thought his defense should have been stronger.

Full article

Thunder sign Yannis Morin and Chris Wright

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed center Yannis Morin and forward Chris Wright, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today.

Morin (6-10, 210) played five games (one start) with the Thunder in the 2017 Orlando Pro Summer League and averaged 2.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game. He spent the 2016-17 season with Le Havre in France, where he appeared in 37 games (28 starts) and averaged 6.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.84 blocks and 1.00 steal in 24.5 minutes per game.

The center played five total seasons in France, spending three seasons with Cholet Basket and one season each with Denain ASC Voltaire and Le Havre.

Wright (6-8, 226) was a member of the Oklahoma City Blue during the 2016-17 season. He appeared in 20 games (four starts) and averaged 9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.35 steals in 21.9 minutes per game.

The Ohio native previously appeared in 32 NBA games with the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors and averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per contest.

Timberwolves sign Andrew Wiggins to contract extension

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Andrew Wiggins to a multi-year contract extension.

According to the St Paul Pioneer Press, “Wiggins believes he’s worth the five-year extension worth nearly $150 million he signed with the Timberwolves on Wednesday, which comes into play following this season and theoretically keeps him in Minnesota through the 2022-23 campaign. He thinks his play has warranted that type of deal. The people who matter most tend to agree.”

Wiggins, 22, registered a career-high 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 37.2 minutes in 82 games last season, making a career-best 103 three-pointers on a career-high 35.6% shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Wiggins averaged 26.0 points over the final 30 games in 2016-17, including 28.3 ppg in eight April starts. The 6-8 forward registered five 40+ point games a season ago, including a career-best 47-point performance on November 13 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I’m pleased that we’ve reached an agreement with Andrew on a contract extension,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “Andrew is one of the best young players in the NBA and he has the talent and work ethic to get even better and be a foundation for our franchise for many years.”

“I’m very excited to continue my career with the Timberwolves,” said Wiggins. “I love it here. The fans and organization have supported me from my first day here in Minnesota. I want to thank Glen Taylor, Tom Thibodeau, the entire coaching staff and my teammates for believing in me. We’ve had some good times over the last three seasons, but the best is yet to come. I look forward to doing right by them and bringing this team to the postseason.”

For his career, Wiggins has played in 245 of a possible 246 games, averaging 20.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 36.2 minutes per game. Only three players (LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony) scored more points before their 22nd birthday and Wiggins’ 4,995 career point total ranks sixth on the Wolves’ all-time scoring list. Wiggins won the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year following the 2014-15 season in which he averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, becoming the first Wolves player to win Rookie of the Year honors.

“We’re very excited that Andrew has decided to commit his future to the Timberwolves,” said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau. “We feel strongly that he is just scratching the surface of the player he will become. Andrew is among the elite young talents in our league and the sky is the limit for him. We look forward to watching his development in the coming years.”

More from the Pioneer Press: “Wiggins attributed the delay in the deal to the fact he was navigating the final stages of the contract without an agent after he parted ways with his agent, Bill Duffy, in August. Flying solo at the end of the process, Wiggins said he just wanted to take the time to make sure he did things correctly.”

Wiggins was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and traded to the Wolves on Aug. 23, 2014.

Cavaliers sign guard Isaac Hamilton

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Isaac Hamilton, Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Hamilton (6-4, 194) played collegiately at UCLA for three years where he averaged 13.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 104 games (all starts). He went undrafted at this year’s NBA Draft and appeared in three games for the Indiana Pacers in the 2017 Orlando Pro Summer League, averaging 5.3 points in 14.2 minutes per game.