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Suns sign second round pick Alec Peters

The Phoenix Suns have signed forward Alec Peters, the team’s selection with the 54th overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Peters, a prolific three-point shooter at 6-9 and 232 pounds, was named the Horizon League Player of the Year as a senior following a four-year career where he became Valparaiso’s all-time leader in scoring (2,348), rebounding (997), field goals made (790), free throws made (479) and games started (134). In 2016-17, the skillful forward was the only player in Division I to rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring and rebounding as he led his conference with 23.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

For his career, Peters averaged 17.5 points in 134 games for the Crusaders and his 2,348 total points are third most in Horizon League history. Named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team as a senior, the 22-year-old was also a three-time All-Horizon Academic Team member. A native of Washington, Illinois, Peters was a first-team all-state selection in each of his final two seasons at Washington High School.

Lakers reportedly signing Andrew Bogut

The Lakers will reportedly sign defensive-minded center Andrew Bogut. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

Free-agent center Andrew Bogut has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to agent David Bauman.

The deal is for a veterans minimum of $2.3 million, Bauman confirmed on Twitter. Sources told ESPN the deal is not fully guaranteed.

Bogut suffered a broken leg during his Cleveland Cavaliers debut in February and missed the rest of the season.

Heat sign Josh Richardson to contract extension

The Miami Heat have signed guard Josh Richardson to a multi-year contract extension.

According to the Palm Beach Post, “Richardson inked his four-year, $42 million contract extension today, the team announced. The deal, reported last week and confirmed by the Post, starts in 2018-19 and includes a player option for the fourth year. The extension was a nice birthday gift for the 6-foot-6 guard, who turned 24 on Friday.”

Richardson, who was originally selected by the HEAT in the second round (40th overall) in the 2015 NBA Draft, appeared in 53 games (34 starts) last season with Miami and averaged 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.13 steals and 30.5 minutes. He outperformed every major statistical category from his rookie campaign and was one of eight HEAT players to average double-figures in points, marking the most for any team in the NBA last season. As a rookie in 2015-16, Richardson shot 46.1 percent (53-of-115) from three-point range, the highest percentage by a HEAT rookie in team history while also tying the third-highest percentage by any rookie in NBA history (with a minimum of 100 attempts). Additionally, he shot 58.9 percent (33-of-56) during the month of March in his rookie season, marking the second-highest percentage for a single month in NBA history (with a minimum of 50 attempts) while capturing Rookie of the Month honors.

Richardson, who played four seasons at Tennessee, appeared in 136 career games (110 starts) for the Volunteers and averaged 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.08 steals and 28.2 minutes while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 75.8 percent from the foul line. He finished his career ranking third in school history in games played, ninth in minutes (3,802), ninth in starts, 10th in steals (147), 16th in blocks (88) and 28th in points (1,252).

Timberwolves sign Amile Jefferson and Melo Trimble

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Amile Jefferson and guard Melo Trimble.

The deals are probably non-guaranteed, and just for training camp.

Jefferson, 24, played with the Timberwolves in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 2.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 11.0 minutes in five games. He was a fifth-year senior at Duke University in 2016-17 and averaged 10.9 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 61.3% from the field. Jefferson was a member of Duke’s 2015 NCAA Championship team and was a teammate of the Timberwolves’ Tyus Jones. For his career, Jefferson played in a school-record 150 games (103 starts), averaging 7.2 points on 62.0% shooting and 6.3 rebounds. He finished his career at Duke ranked first in games played, second in field goal percentage, third in offensive rebounds (361), seventh in blocks (138) and 11th in total rebounds (944). Jefferson was named to the ACC All-Academic Team four times.

Trimble, 22, played three seasons at the University of Maryland, averaging 15.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals in 104 games. In his junior season in 2016-17, Trimble averaged 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 33 games and was named First Team Big Ten by the coaches and media. He also was an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. In 2015-16, Trimble averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists and was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection as he led Maryland to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2003. As a freshman in 2014-15, Trimble averaged 16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists and was named First Team All-Big Ten by the media and Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches. Trimble played for Philadelphia in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 10.3 points and 1.3 steals in three games.

Knicks sign Jarrett Jack

The Knicks have signed guard Jarrett Jack.

Jack, 6-3, 200-pounds, holds career averages of 11.0 points and 4.5 assists over 28.1 minutes in 805 games over 12 seasons with Portland, Indiana, Toronto, New Orleans, Golden State, Cleveland and Brooklyn. The Fort Washington, MD-native appeared in two games for New Orleans last season after averaging 12.8 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds over 32.1 minutes in 32 games for Brooklyn in 2015-16. He was originally selected by Denver with the 22nd overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves sign Shabazz Muhammad

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Shabazz Muhammad.

Muhammad, 24, averaged 9.9 points on 48.2% shooting in 19.4 minutes per game over 78 contests (one start) with the Timberwolves last season, including averaging 11.6 points on 50.3% shooting (36.0% from three-point range) over his final 52 appearances. He scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds on Apr. 4 at Golden State, his second career double-double and one of eight 20+ point efforts last season.

Over his four-year career in Minnesota, Muhammad has averaged 9.7 points on 47.6% shooting and 3.0 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game over 235 games. Muhammad recorded his 23rd career game of 20+ points off the bench April 12, 2017 at Houston, surpassing Sam Mitchell (22) for the most such games in franchise history.

Pelicans sign Tony Allen

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent guard/forward Tony Allen.

Allen, 6-4, 213, most recently played for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2010-17, appearing in 462 regular season games (359 starts) and averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals. This past season for Memphis, Allen averaged 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 71 games (66 starts).

Originally drafted 25th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2004 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State, the Chicago native has appeared in 798 regular season games with Boston and Memphis (441 starts), holding career averages of 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals. During his 13-year career, Allen has been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times (2012, 2013, 2015) and the Second Team three times (2011, 2016, 2017), joining LeBron James (6) and Chris Paul (9) as the only active NBA players named to at least six NBA All-Defensive Teams.

Additionally, Allen has appeared in 112 career postseason games (50 starts), averaging 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals, while helping Boston capture the 2008 NBA Championship.

Jazz sign Nazareth Mitrou-Long

The Utah Jazz have signed free agent guard Nazareth Mitrou-Long (pronunciation: me-TRUE).

Mitrou-Long (6-4, 218, Iowa State) averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists during his senior season with the Cyclones, earning 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. Connecting on a team-high 98 three-point attempts, the total 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.

The 24-year-old was most recently a member of the Sacramento Kings entry at the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas as well as the Indiana Pacers roster at the 2017 Orlando Summer League. Mitrou-Long averaged a combined 9.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 22.8 minutes between the two leagues.

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

Bulls sign Diamond Stone

The Chicago Bulls signed center Diamond Stone today.

Stone (6-11, 255) was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 40th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and landed with the L.A. Clippers after a draft-night trade. In 2016-17, Stone averaged 1.4 points in 3.4 minutes through seven games for the Clippers. Through 13 games in the NBA G League with both the Santa Cruz Warriors (four games) and Salt Lake City Stars (nine games), Stone posted 16.2 points and 7.0 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game. He also shot .491 from the field and .826 from the free throw line.

The 2015 McDonalds All-American played one season collegiately at Maryland in 2015-16, where he averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game while shooting .568 from the field. Stone was named AP Big Ten Newcomer of the Year and earned All-Big Ten Third Team honors. During his high school career, Stone won a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Americas U-16 Championship and led his high school team, Dominican (Milwaukee, Wis.), to four straight state championships.

According to CSN Chicago, “Stone’s deal is partially guaranteed, meaning the Bulls could send him to the Windy City Bulls for more seasoning in the G League. Stone is 20 years old.”

Hornets unveil Classic edition uniforms

The Charlotte Hornets have unveiled their Classic edition uniforms for the 2017-18 season, bringing back the design worn by the original Charlotte Hornets from their inception in 1988 through 1997. Like the previously released white Association and teal Icon editions, the uniform features the logo of Nike’s Jordan Brand. The Hornets – the only team in U.S. professional sports to have the iconic Jumpman logo on its uniforms – will feature five different uniforms in their 2017-18 uniform collection.

“Since we brought the Hornets name back in 2014, our fans have practically been begging for us to wear a version of the original Hornets uniform,” said Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield. “We could not be more excited to give them what they want and to see the historic pinstriped, teal Charlotte uniform back on an NBA court.”

Based on the uniform worn during the Hornets’ first decade, the teal jersey includes the familiar crossover v-neck and mutli-colored pinstripes in royal blue, light blue, purple and green. The shorts feature the classic Hornets logo on the waist and the identical royal blue, teal and white trim as the original. The Hornets will wear the Classic edition uniforms for three home games during the 2017-18 season: November 15 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, December 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks and January 13 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.