NBA News Blog – Page 525 – NBA Blog

Cavaliers sign Jeff Green

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jeff Green.

According to Cleveland.com, “Joe Vardon has reported that Green will receive a one-year, $2.3 million deal — a prove-it veteran’s minimum contract that is guaranteed for the 2017-18 campaign. Green made $15 million last season. The 30-year-old forward, who has spent time with five different organizations during his career, is coming off a down year, averaging a career-low 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds with the 29-win Orlando Magic.”

Green (6-9, 235) spent last season with the Orlando Magic, appearing in 69 contests (11 starts) with averages of 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game. He also shot a career-high .863 from the foul line and scored in double figures on 35 occasions.

A nine-year NBA veteran, Green has played in 705 games (484 starts) over his career with the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando, owning averages of 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 31.1 minutes per game. He has also appeared in 38 postseason contests (15 starts), averaging 11.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per game.

The 6-9 forward, who hails from Cheverly, Maryland, and played collegiately at Georgetown, was originally selected by Boston with the fifth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft before being traded to Seattle prior to the start of his rookie campaign. He earned All-Rookie First Team honors in 2007-08 and has averaged double figures in scoring in eight of his nine NBA seasons.

Pelicans sign rookie Frank Jackson

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed rookie guard Frank Jackson.

Originally selected by Charlotte with the 31st overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Duke University, Jackson was acquired by New Orleans in exchange for the draft rights to Dwayne Bacon (40th overall) and cash considerations.

Jackson, 6-4, 202, spent one season at Duke where he finished tied for fourth on the Blue Devils in scoring (10.9 ppg) and second in three-point percentage (39.5). In 36 games, Jackson averaged 12.4 points over 16 starts during his freshman season.

Jackson starred at Lone Peak High School (Highland, UT) where he participated in both the Jordan Brand Classic and McDonald’s All-American Game (where he was named Co-MVP) as a senior while being named a Second Team All-American by MaxPreps and Third Team All-American by USA Today.

Grizzlies sign Tyreke Evans

Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace today announced that the team signed guard Tyreke Evans.

“We are excited for Tyreke Evans to return to the city of Memphis and FedExForum, where he enjoyed so much success as a member of the Memphis Tigers,” Wallace said. “Tyreke has proven his talent throughout his NBA career as both a scorer and playmaker, and we are pleased to add a player of his versatility to the Grizzlies.”

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “if Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace had autonomy in 2009 he would have selected Tyreke Evans in the NBA draft. Wallace never gave up on the versatile guard. Evans and the Grizzlies agreed Friday to a one-year, $3.3 million contract, a league source told The Commercial Appeal.”

Evans (6-6, 220) has appeared in 473 games (376 starts) and averaged 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.30 steals in 32.2 minutes over his eight-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans. He owns career shooting percentages of 44.4 percent from the field, 29.5 percent from three-point range and 75.7 percent from the free throw line.

The 27-year-old was named the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.51 steals in 37.2 minutes for the Kings in his first professional season. He is one of just 11 NBA players to amass at least 7,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 600 steals since he joined the league.

A native of Chester, Pa., Evans was selected with the fourth overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Memphis, where he was named the National Freshman of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association and averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.08 steals in 29.0 minutes in 37 games (34 starts) for the Tigers.

Bulls sign Justin Holiday

The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Justin Holiday.

According to multiple reports, Holiday’s contract is for two years, $9 million.

Holiday (6-6, 185) spent the 2016-17 season with the New York Knicks and averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 20.0 minutes in 82 games (four starts). The 28-year-old posted shooting marks of .433 from the field, .355 from three and .825 from the foul line. Holiday was one of only 17 players in the league last season to appear in all 82 games (Basketball-Reference).

This marks Holiday’s second stint in Chicago. He was acquired by the Bulls from the Atlanta Hawks for Kirk Hinrich on Feb. 18, 2016, as part of a three-team trade with the Utah Jazz. Holiday appeared in 27 games (four starts) for Chicago and averaged 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 18.9 minutes played. Holiday scored a career-best 29 points in a Bulls’ win over Philadelphia on April 13, 2016. On June 22, 2016, Holiday was traded to New York along with Derrick Rose and a 2017 second-round pick in exchange for Jose Calderon, Jerian Grant and Robin Lopez.

The Chatsworth, Calif., native spent four years at the University of Washington. In his four seasons in the NBA, Holiday is averaging 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 15.8 minutes played. He is shooting .408 overall, .342 from distance and .800 on free throws for his career.

Timberwolves sign Taj Gibson

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed veteran forward Taj Gibson today. News of the agreement was reported earlier in free agency. The signing is now official.

Per multiple reports, the contract is for two years, $28 million.

Gibson, 32, reunites with Wolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau after spending five seasons with him in Chicago from 2010-15. Under Thibodeau’s tutelage, the 6-9 forward averaged 9.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 24.2 minutes per game over 352 contests (49 starts). He enjoyed a career year in 2013-14 when he posted averages of 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 82 contests, finishing second in the Kia Sixth Man Award voting.

Gibson adds seven years of playoff experience to the Wolves roster, including reaching the Eastern Conference Finals with Thibodeau and the Bulls in 2010-11. Over 61 career playoff games, including 12 starts, he has averaged 8.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21.6 minutes per contest. Gibson’s best postseason came in 2013-14 when he averaged 18.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in five games.

Over his career, Gibson owns averages of 9.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game in eight seasons between Chicago and Oklahoma City. He was named to the 2009-10 NBA All-Rookie First Team after being selected by the Bulls with the 26th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves sign Jeff Teague

Point guard Ricky Rubio is gone, but new leadership is on board in Minnesota.

The Timberwolves signed guard Jeff Teague today. Per multiple reports, the deal is for three years, $57 million.

Teague, 29, played in all 82 regular season games for Indiana this past season, averaging 15.3 points and a career-best 7.8 assists per contest while shooting 44.2% from the floor, including a 35.7% mark from beyond the arc. Teague enjoyed perhaps his best season in 2014-15 with Atlanta when he averaged 15.9 points on 46.0% shooting, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals in 30.5 minutes per game en route to being named an Eastern Conference All-Star for the first time in his career.

The 6-2 guard owns career averages of 12.6 points and 5.5 assists in 600 games (465 starts) over eight seasons with the Hawks and Pacers. Teague is a career 35.5% shooter from beyond the arc, including connecting on a career-high 40.0% mark in 2015-16. He has appeared in 393 of a possible 410 contests over the last five years and played in at least 79 contests in four of the last five seasons. Last season Teague became the first Pacers player to play in all 82 regular season games since 2007-08.

Originally selected with the 19th overall pick by the Hawks in the 2009 NBA Draft, Teague has lead his teams to the NBA Playoffs in each of his eight NBA seasons, averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 assists in 66 postseason contests. The Indianapolis, Indiana, native averaged 17.0 points and 6.3 assists in four postseason games with the Pacers just a season ago.

Orlando Magic waive C.J. Watson

The Orlando Magic have waived guard C.J. Watson, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

Watson (6’2”, 175, 4/17/84) appeared in 62 games (nine starts) last season with Orlando, averaging 4.5 ppg., 1.8 apg. and 1.4 rpg. in 16.3 minpg. He was signed as a free agent by the Magic on July 9, 2015 and played in 95 games (11 starts) during the last two seasons (2015-17) with Orlando, averaging 4.5 ppg., 2.1 apg. and 1.6 rpg. in 17.6 minpg.

Wizards sign forward Mike Scott

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent forward Mike Scott.

“Mike’s toughness and ability to stretch the floor make him a good addition to our frontcourt reserves,” Grunfeld said. “His skillset fits in well with our offensive system and his tenacity fits in well with our overall team dynamic.”

Scott played four-and-a-half seasons with the Atlanta Hawks after being drafted by the team with the 43rd pick (second round) of the 2012 NBA Draft. During a three-year stretch (2013-14 to 2015-16, 223 games), Scott averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting .346 from three-point range as a key contributor off the Hawks’ bench. He averaged a career-high 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 80 games for the Hawks during the 2013-14 season and shot a career-high .392 from three-point range over 75 games during the 2015-16 season.

The 6-8, 237-pound forward has appeared in 281 total games, averaging 7.1 points and 3.0 rebounds, over his NBA career. He has also appeared in 32 career playoff games, averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds.

A native of Chesapeake, VA, Scott was named to the All-ACC First Team as a senior at the University of Virginia after averaging 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds. He finished third in Cavaliers history in rebounds and double-doubles and 16th overall in points.

Raptors sign Malcolm Miller and Alfonzo McKinnie

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard-forward Malcolm Miller to a two-way contract and forward Alfonzo McKinnie to a multi-year contract.

Miller, 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 18.7 minutes in 29 games last season for Alba Berlin of the German Bundesliga. In 2015-16, he averaged 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 31.9 minutes in 47 games for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League and was second on the team with 84 made three-pointers.

A native of Laytonsville, Maryland, Miller played four seasons at Holy Cross and was named Second-Team All-Patriot League during his senior year.

McKinnie, 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, averaged 14.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 30.5 minutes in 50 games last season for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League. He reached double-figure scoring 41 times, including a season-high 29 points March 4 versus Sioux Falls. The Chicago, Illinois native was named to the 2017 NBA G League All-Star Game in New Orleans and scored 16 points in 22 minutes of action.

McKinnie won a silver medal for USA Basketball at the 2016 FIBA 3×3 World Championship in Guangzhou, China. He split the 2015-16 season between the East Side Pirates (Luxembourg) and Heromsillo (Mexico), where he averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 26.0 minutes in 24 games.

McKinnie played two collegiate seasons with Wisconsin-Green Bay (2013-15) and two seasons at Eastern Illinois (2010-12).

Raptors sign rookie OG Anunoby

The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday they have signed forward OG Anunoby (O G Ann-uh-no-bee) to a rookie scale contract. Anunoby is under contract through the 2018-19 season, with two team option years to follow.

The Raptors selected Anunoby with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Anunoby, 6-foot-8, 232 pounds, played two seasons at Indiana (2015-17), averaging 6.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 17.4 minutes. He totaled 48 steals and 47 blocks in 50 career games (10 starts).

Anunoby averaged 11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 25.1 minutes this past season. He recorded at least one block or one steal in all 16 of his games played. Anunoby set career highs of 21 points November 27 versus Mississippi Valley State and seven steals January 15 versus Rutgers. He sustained a season-ending injury to his right knee January 18 at Penn State.