Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Pelicans sign Jalen Jones to two-way contract

Pelicans sign Jalen Jones to two-way contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed free agent forward Jalen Jones to a two-way contract.

Jones, 6-7, 220, was a member of the Pelicans’ 2017 Summer League team, appearing in six contests and averaging 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in Las Vegas.

Undrafted in 2016 out of Texas A&M, Jones spent his first professional season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League, where he averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals while earning NBA G League All-Rookie First Team and All-NBA G League Third Team honors, as well as being named to the 2017 NBA G League All-Star Game in New Orleans.

Beginning with the 2017-18 season, each NBA team is able to carry 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 majority of the year in the NBA G League, but can be called up to their NBA team for a maximum of 45 days during the season.

Magic waive Patricio Garino

The Orlando Magic have waived guard-forward Patricio Garino (pronunciation: gah-REE-no), President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

He was signed as a free agent by Orlando on April 3, 2017.

Garino (6’6”, 203, 5/17/93) appeared in five games last season during his rookie campaign with Orlando, averaging 1.4 rpg. in 8.6 minpg. He made his NBA debut on April 4 at Cleveland, recording one rebound in four minutes. Prior to joining the Magic, Garino played in 49 games (46 starts) with the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League, averaging 11.2 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.49 stlpg. in 29.2 minpg., while shooting .430 (58-of-135) from 3-point range.

The Orlando roster now stands at 15 players.

Mavericks sign guard Gian Clavell

Mavericks sign guard Gian Clavell

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent guard Gian Clavell.

Clavell (6-4, 185) recently competed for the Miami Heat’s summer league teams in both Orlando and Las Vegas. In five games in Las Vegas, he averaged 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 24.6 minutes while shooting 45.2 percent (19-of-42) from the field, 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from 3-point range and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the foul line.

A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Clavell also played for Brujos de Guayama in the BSN league this summer. He averaged 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in three games for the Puerto Rican club.

The former Colorado State standout went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft after earning Mountain West Player of the Year honors as a redshirt senior last season. In 27 games for the Rams in 2016-17, he averaged a MWC-best 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.0 steals in 36.6 minutes.

Clavell spent two years at Northwest Kansas Technical College (2012-14) before transferring to CSU. He attended high school in Miami (at Hialeah Gardens HS), as did fellow Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (Miami Christian School), who also hails from Puerto Rico.

Clavell was included on the Puerto Rican national team’s preliminary list for the FIBA Americup 2017.

Warriors re-sign JaVale McGee

Warriors re-sign JaVale McGee

The Golden State Warriors have re-signed free agent center JaVale McGee.

McGee, 29, averaged 6.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 9.6 minutes over 77 games (10 starts) in his first season with the Warriors in 2016-17, while hitting a career-best 65.2 percent from the field. In 10 starts, McGee tallied averages of 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game. The nine-year NBA veteran ranked second among all centers in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) with a 25.3 mark, trailing only Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns. In 16 postseason games (one start), McGee led all players in field goal percentage (.732) and averaged 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 9.3 minutes, helping Golden State to its fifth NBA championship in franchise history.

Originally selected by the Washington Wizards with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, McGee owns career averages of 7.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.58 blocks over 493 games (170 starts) with the Wizards, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and Warriors.

Timberwolves sign Anthony Brown to two-way contract

Timberwolves sign Anthony Brown to two-way contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Anthony Brown to a two-way contract.

Brown, 24, spent most of this past season with the Erie BayHawks in the NBA G League, averaging 20.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37.7 minutes over 24 games. He signed with the New Orleans Pelicans on November 21, appearing in nine games and averaging 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds before being waived on December 9. He was signed to a 10-day contract by Orlando on January 22, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two games.

Originally selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round (34th pick) of the 2015 NBA Draft, Brown appeared in 29 games as a rookie, averaging 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game. A Stanford graduate, Brown was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player in 2013-14, helping lead Stanford to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2008.

Two-way contracts were added to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and will go into effect prior to the 2017-18 season, allowing teams to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular-season roster. Players signed to a two-way contact can accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season and will spend the remainder of their time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. Brown is the first Timberwolves player to sign a two-way contract.

Blake Ahearn named head coach of Austin Spurs

The Spurs announced today that they have named Blake Ahearn head coach of the Austin Spurs, their G League team.

Ahearn joins the Spurs after serving one season as the head coach of his high school alma mater, De Smet Jesuit in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to that he spent one season as the head coach at Clayton High School in St. Louis.

Ahearn played professionally for eight seasons, including a three-game stint with the San Antonio Spurs during the 2008-09 season. Over the course of three seasons he appeared in a total of 22 NBA games between San Antonio, Miami and Utah. Ahearn also spent time in the NBA G League where he was a two-time First Team selection (2009 and 2012) and was named the 2008 Rookie of the Year. In 2015 he won an NBA G League Championship with the Santa Cruz Warriors. Ahearn also played professionally in Spain, Italy, China, Ukraine and Puerto Rico.

The St. Louis native played collegiately at Missouri State University from 2003–07. He is the NCAA’s all-time leader in free throw percentage, connecting on 94.6 percent (435-460) of his shots from the foul line. Ahearn also holds the single-season record, shooting 97.5 percent (117-120) from the free throw line during the 2003-04 season as a freshman. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2004 and earned All-MVC First Team honors his junior and senior seasons.

Bulls sign Ryan Arcidiacono to two-way contract

Bulls sign Ryan Arcidiacono to two-day contract

The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Ryan Arcidiacono (pronounced “ar-chee-dee-ACK-uh-no”) to a two-way contract.

Arcidiacono (6-3, 195) appeared in five games for the Bulls’ Summer League squad this year and averaged 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.80 steals and 24.0 minutes per contest.

Arcidiacono played four seasons at Villanova and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the Wildcats’ championship run in 2016. He was named First-Team All-Big East and Big East Co-Player of the Year in 2015. He averaged 11.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.7 apg and 1.17 spg for his college career and shot .397 from the field, .358 from long range and .800 from the foul line. Arcidiacono went undrafted in 2016 and appeared in three preseason games for the San Antonio Spurs and eight games for the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League.

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. A Two-Way player for the Bulls will provide services to the team’s G League affiliate – the Windy City Bulls – but can spend up to 45 days with Chicago, not including any time prior to the start of Windy City’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.

Bucks re-sign Tony Snell

The Milwaukee Bucks have re-signed restricted free agent guard Tony Snell.

“Tony was an integral part of our team’s improvement last season and we’re excited to re-sign him,” said General Manager Jon Horst. “He is a tireless worker, a terrific teammate and a man of great character. We look forward to having him back with the Bucks as we continue to build toward a championship.”

Snell had the best season of his four-year NBA career in 2016-17 – his first with the Bucks – as he set new career-highs in points (8.5), rebounds (3.1), assists (1.2) and minutes (29.2) per game while playing and starting a career-high 80 games. Snell also set new personal bests in 3-point percentage (.406) and field goal percentage (.455) during the 2016-17 season after he was acquired by the Bucks in October.

“I’m grateful to the Bucks ownership and everyone in the organization for believing in me,” Snell said. “We’re building something special here and I’m fortunate to work with great coaches and teammates. I can’t wait to get the season started and continue our positive momentum from last season.”

A 6-foot-7 guard, Snell has career averages of 6.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 21.4 minutes per game. Originally selected out of New Mexico with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, Snell has appeared in 293 games (147 starts) in four seasons.

Kings hire Brandon D. Williams as Assistant General Manager

Kings hire Brandon D. Williams as Assistant General Manager

The Sacramento Kings today hired Brandon D. Williams as Assistant General Manager, according to General Manager Vlade Divac. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In his new role with Sacramento, Williams will support all facets of the day-to-day operation of the Kings front office, including roster composition, player evaluation and development, contractual negotiations, free agency procurement, collegiate, G-League and NBA scouting processes and player personnel matters.

“We are so excited that Brandon is joining our front office team,” said Divac. “He is an experienced and talented basketball executive. His knowledge of player development and basketball operations combined with his legal skills will be a strong addition to our team.”

Williams joins the Kings organization after spending the previous four seasons as an executive with Philadelphia, most recently serving as Vice President of Basketball Administration and General Manager of the NBA G-League’s Delaware 87ers. In addition to aiding the 76ers front office in matters regarding prospect evaluation, player development, staffing recruitment and contract negotiations, the former Davidson Wildcat standout helped facilitate several NBA call-ups and coaching promotions as the 87ers General Manager.

Before working in basketball operations from a team perspective, Williams spent nine seasons in the league office as Director of NBA Player Development (2005-07) and Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations (2007-13), overseeing standards relating to on-court operations, quality of game play, monitoring conduct and discipline and officiating performance via the Standard Observers Program. During early development of the contemporary NBA minor league system thriving today, Williams was regularly consulted on various issues to improve synergy in the league’s affiliation and assignment systems. In 2012, the Louisiana native obtained a law degree from Rutgers University.

A veteran of nine professional seasons in the NBA, CBA, D-League and abroad, Williams’ playing career was punctuated by championships with the San Antonio Spurs (1998-99) and Sioux Falls Skyforce (2004-05)—where he played for current Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger. His playing resume includes appearances with the Golden State Warriors (1997-98), San Antonio Spurs, Huntsville Flight (G-League), Atlanta Hawks (2002-03), Sioux Falls and significant experience oversees in France, Greece, Germany, Italy and Israel.