Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Jazz sign Nate Wolters to two-way contract

The Utah Jazz have signed guard Nate Wolters to a two-way contract.

Wolters (6-4, 190, South Dakota State) played for Crvena Zvezda in Serbia during the 2016-17 season, where he helped lead his team to the Serbian National Championship. He appeared in 65 games, averaging 8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 17.1 minutes.

Originally selected in the second round (38th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft by Washington, Wolters was then traded to Philadelphia and soon after acquired by Milwaukee. The guard has appeared in 79 career NBA games (31 starts) over two seasons with the Bucks and New Orleans. He owns career averages of 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 19.7 minutes. Wolters also played 12 games (eight starts) with the (now) NBA G League’s Grand Rapids Drive in 2014-15, where he averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 31.5 minutes. He has additional international experience playing in Turkey with Besiktas where he averaged 11.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 21 league games (18 starts).

A native of St. Cloud, Minn., Wolters played four collegiate seasons at South Dakota State (2009-2013) appearing in 128 games (110 starts) and averaging 18.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 33 minutes of action.

Cleveland Cavs Free Annual Wine & Gold Scrimmage is October 2, 2017

It’s Wine vs. Gold when the Cleveland Cavaliers take the court for their annual intra-squad scrimmage, a fun-filled family event to give fans a first live look at the 2016-17 NBA Eastern Conference Champions as they prepare for the upcoming 2017-18 season. The 2017 Wine & Gold Scrimmage will take place on Monday, October 2nd at 6:00 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena. FREE tickets will be available beginning Tuesday, September 19th at NOON at any of Discount Drug Mart’s northeast Ohio locations or online at Cavs.com.

There is a limit of six (6) tickets per transaction and seating will be general admission. Fans 17 years of age and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

In keeping with the popular tradition of past Wine & Gold scrimmages, immediately following the game, Cavs players will give the scrimmage-worn practice jerseys off their backs to lucky fans randomly chosen from those in attendance. The Wine & Gold Scrimmage will also be the first opportunity for fans to see the Cavs newly designed court that reflects the team’s updated modernized brand. The new shield logo, displayed on center court, represents the “tool of the defender” and the Cavaliers commitment to “Defend The Land.”

Throughout the night, fans will get a sample of the Cavs award-winning game presentation, including popular lights-out player introductions, Humongotron flames, performances from the Cavalier Girls dance team, Scream Team hip-hop troupe, and the always-entertaining antics from mascots Moondog and Sir C.C, and more!

Doors to the arena will open at 5:00 p.m., one hour prior to tipoff so fans can enjoy concourse activities and special offers while taking in the fun of being back in The Q for Cavs basketball.

Jazz announce two assistant general managers, new director of basketball operations

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has named David Morway and Justin Zanik as assistant general managers.

In addition, the organization has promoted Steven Schwartz to director of basketball operations.

Morway, who spent the 2016-17 campaign as a basketball operations consultant with the Jazz, previously served as the assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. Prior to his time in Milwaukee, Morway spent 14 years with the Indiana Pacers, his last four, as the organization’s general manager. Preceding his time in the NBA he was the assistant to the president of the San Diego Padres for three years before founding Professional Excellence Sports, Inc. a sports management firm. A graduate of the University of Arizona, he also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego.

Zanik returns to the Jazz after spending the 2016-17 season as the assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. Previously he was the assistant general manager of the Jazz from 2013-16, facilitating contract negotiations and managing the team’s salary cap as well as its international scouting efforts. He came to the Jazz from ASM Sports, serving as the agency’s vice president from 2004-2013. At ASM Sports he oversaw all aspects of career management for the group’s basketball clients. A certified agent for the NBAPA since 2003, Zanik graduated with a degree in economics from Northwestern University.

Schwartz, who enters his third year with the Jazz, previously worked as a basketball operations assistant to Head Coach Quin Snyder. In addition, he also assisted General Manager Dennis Lindsey with the league’s collective bargaining agreement and salary cap, responsibilities he will now continue in an expanded role. The native of Fort Worth, Texas received his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Texas along with his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law.

Nets sign Tyler Zeller

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent center Tyler Zeller to a multi-year contract.

Zeller has appeared in 340 career games (131 starts) in five NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2012-14) and Boston Celtics (2014-17), recording averages of 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game. The Washington, Ind., native averaged a career-high 10.2 points to go along with 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.1 minutes per game during the 2014-15 season with Boston. This past season, Zeller saw action in 51 games (five starts), registering averages of 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per contest.

The 27-year-old Zeller was originally selected with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to Cleveland on draft night. He then earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors with averages of 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26.4 minutes per game in his inaugural campaign with the Cavaliers. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Zeller spent four years (2008-12) at the University of North Carolina, where was a member of the 2009 national champion Tar Heels. He also garnered ACC Player of the Year and second-team All-America honors by the Associated Press as a senior.

Pistons sign Dwight Buycks to two-way contract

The Detroit Pistons have signed guard Dwight Buycks to a two-way contract.

Buycks, 6-3, 190, averaged 25-plus points in each of the last two seasons with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association. In 20 career NBA games with the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers, Buycks has averaged 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

A native of Milwaukee, WI, Buycks played collegiately at Marquette University his junior and senior seasons and averaged 7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 68 games.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have two Two-Way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. Two-Way players for the Pistons will provide services primarily for the Grand Rapids Drive, the team’s G League affiliate, but can spend up to 45 days with the Pistons, not including any time prior to the start of the Drive’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Grizzlies sign Vince Hunter

Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace today announced that the team has signed forward Vince Hunter.

Hunter (6-8, 208) appeared in 26 games (16 starts) for Avtodor Saratov of Russia’s VTB United League during the 2016-17 season and averaged 14.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.35 steals and 1.31 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game. Hunter competed in four games during the 2016 NBA Preseason with the Grizzlies and recorded 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 19.4 minutes per game and has played for the Grizzlies Summer League team in Las Vegas each of the last two years. Undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, the University of Texas-El Paso product has also played professionally in Greece (Panathinaikos), Romania (BCM U Pitesti) and the NBA G League (Reno Bighorns).

Spurs sign Darrun Hilliard to two-way contract

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard Darrun Hilliard to a two-way contract.

Hilliard, 6-6/220, has played the last two seasons with the Detroit Pistons, averaging 3.6 points and 1.0 rebounds in 9.9 minutes in 77 career appearances. Hilliard also appeared in seven games with Detroit’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, averaging 24.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 33.6 minutes.

Originally selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft (38th overall), the third-year guard was traded to the Houston Rockets on June 28, 2017. He was then sent to the Los Angeles Clippers the same day before being waived on June 29. Hilliard spent four seasons at Villanova, averaging 11.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 26.8 minutes in 132 games, earning First Team All-BIG EAST honors in his senior season.

Two-way contracts were added to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and will go into effect for the 2017-18 season. Each team will now be able to have the standard 15 players on their roster, as well as up to two additional players on two-way contracts. Two-way players will spend the bulk of the season in the NBA G League, which includes San Antonio’s exclusively owned and operated affiliate, the Austin Spurs.

Trail Blazers sign Archie Goodwin

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed guard Archie Goodwin to a training camp contract, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

In four NBA seasons with Phoenix, New Orleans and Brooklyn, Goodwin (6-5, 205) holds averages of 6.3 points (42.9% FG, 23.6% 3-PT, 70.0% FT), 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 14.5 minutes in 165 career games (15 starts).

He will wear No. 2 for the Trail Blazers.

Former Sports Illustrated writer Luke Winn hired by Raptors

The Toronto Raptors have hired Luke Winn as the club’s Director, Prospect Strategy. Winn joins the Raptors after working at Sports Illustrated for the past 15 years, most recently as a senior writer covering college basketball.

Winn has reported on college hoops since the 2004-05 season, and has numerous international events. His work at SI included in-depth player features and original analytics research.

For the Raptors, Winn will research and scout draft prospects, and provide input on personnel decisions.