NBA News Blog – Page 529 – NBA Blog

Bucks sign Bronson Koenig and JeQuan Lewis

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed undrafted rookie Bronson Koenig from the University of Wisconsin to a Two-Way contract. Additionally, the Bucks have signed undrafted rookie JeQuan Lewis from Virginia Commonwealth University to a free agent contract.

Koenig played four years at the University of Wisconsin, appearing in 148 games (94 starts), while making the Final Four twice (2014, 2015) and the National Championship game in 2015. As a senior, he played 36 games (35 starts), led the Badgers in scoring (14.5 ppg) and made a single-season, school record 103 3-pointers. He finished his collegiate career with the school record for 3-pointers made (270). A La Crosse, Wis., native, Koenig earned All-Big Ten Second Team and the Big Ten All-Tournament Team accolades following his senior campaign.

NBA rules permit teams 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 Bucks will provide services primarily for the team’s G League affiliate – the Wisconsin Herd – but can spend up to 45 days with Milwaukee, not including any time prior to the start of the Herd’s training camp and at the conclusion of his season.

Lewis averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 35 games (all starts) as a senior at VCU and earned All-Atlantic 10 First Team and All-Atlantic 10 Tournament Team honors. A 6-0 guard, he is the only player in VCU annals to record 1,400 points, 500 assists and 200 steals during his career. He ranks fifth in program history in steals (203) and sixth in assists (503).

Koenig and Lewis are both set to compete for the Bucks entry in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Spurs sign rookie Derrick White

The San Antonio Spurs have signed first round draft pick Derrick White to his rookie contract.

White, 6-4/190, was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft (29th overall). Currently playing with San Antonio in the 2017 Utah Jazz Summer League, the rookie is averaging 11.5 points, 2.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 21.8 minutes in his first two appearances.

The Parker, Colorado native spent the 2016-17 season at the University of Colorado, where he was named to the All-Conference First Team in the Pac-12, as well as the All-Defensive Team and All-Tournament Team.

In his lone season in Boulder, he averaged 18.1 points, 4.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.44 blocks and 1.24 steals in 32.8 minutes while shooting .507 (205-404) from the floor, .396 (57-144) from three-point range and .813 (148-182) from the free throw line. White became one of three players in the last 20 seasons to average at least 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.00 blocks for a season in Division I college basketball, along with Chicago’s Dwyane Wade and the first overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, Philadelphia’s Markelle Fultz.

Prior to joining the Buffalos, White played three seasons at Division II University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he is the school’s all-time leader in career points (1,912) and assists (343). He earned All-America honors in his final season, averaging 25.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists. White averaged 22.0 points in his three-year career at UCCS, helping the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Suns sign second round draft pick Davon Reed

The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Davon Reed, the team’s selection with the 32nd overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Reed, who the Suns describe as “a sweet-shooting wing who plays with intensity on both ends of the floor,” was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for his senior season at the University of Miami in 2016-17. The 22-year-old also earned All-ACC Third Team honors after averaging career-highs of 14.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 33 games for the Hurricanes. At 6-6 and 208 pounds with a 7-1 wingspan, Reed ranked sixth in ACC play by shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line and 10th by shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range in 2016-17.

Overall, Reed finished his four-year career at Miami ranked fourth in school history in games played (131), fifth in minutes played (3,679), seventh in three-point makes (202) and 16th in scoring (1,343). In addition to many other academic honors throughout his college career, he won the ACC’s Skip Prosser Award in 2017, presented annually to the conference’s top scholar-athlete in men’s basketball. A native of Ewing, New Jersey, Reed was a star prep player at Princeton Day School.

Reed will make his professional debut as a member of the Summer Suns at NBA Summer League 2017 in Las Vegas.

Bucks sign rookie D.J. Wilson

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed first-round draft pick D.J. Wilson to a rookie scale contract.

Wilson, a 6-foot-10 forward, was selected by the Bucks with the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Sacramento-native averaged 11.0 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game as a junior with the University of Michigan in 2016-17. He led the team in blocks with 57 and shot 53.8 percent from the field with a 37.3 percent mark from 3-point range. Wilson helped Michigan to a Big Ten Tournament championship and an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament in 2017 after averaging a combined 15.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over seven games in both tournaments.

Wilson, 21, is currently competing at the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Pistons sign Eric Moreland

The Detroit Pistons have signed free agent center Eric Moreland.

Moreland, 25, appeared in 44 games (41 starts) with the Canton Charge of the NBA’s G League last season, averaging 12.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.7 blocks, 1.7 steals and 33.4 minutes. He was named a NBA G League All-Star, named to the All-NBA G League Third Team and to the NBA G League All-Defensive Team last season.

The 6-10, 238-pound forward/center last appeared in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings during the 2015-16 season. He averaged 1.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.5 blocks and 6.0 minutes in eight games. For his NBA career, Moreland has appeared in 11 games, averaging 0.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 4.5 minutes with the Kings. The Houston, TX native went undrafted out of Oregon State in the 2014 NBA Draft. During his final season with the Beavers as a junior, Moreland averaged 8.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.4 assists and 29.4 minutes in games. He finished his college career as Oregon State’s all-time leader in blocked shots (184).

Kings add Phil Ricci to coaching staff

The Sacramento Kings today have added Phil Ricci as an assistant player development coach on Head Coach Dave Joerger’s staff.

Ricci brings nearly twenty years of collegiate and professional basketball experience to Sacramento, including a playing career that spanned a half dozen countries and the NBA Development League.

The northern California native and former Galt Warrior standout spent a decade playing abroad in Spain, Japan, Korea, France, Israel and the Czech Republic, where he guided Nymburk to an appearance in the 2010 European Cup for the first time in club history.

Prior to embarking overseas, the 6-7 forward parlayed a successful stint at Delta Community College (Stockton, CA) to a scholarship at Oregon State, where he averaged 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in route to All-Pac 10 First Team honors as a senior (2002). A year later, he registered 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest with Huntsville of the Development League after spending the summer as a member of the Kings training camp roster.

Bulls re-sign Cristiano Felίcio

The Chicago Bulls have re-signed forward/center Cristiano Felίcio.

Felίcio first joined the Bulls as a member of their 2015 Summer League squad. In his two seasons in Chicago, the product from Brazil has averaged 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game while shooting .573 from the field. Last season, he posted 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game with a field goal percentage of .579. He saw time in all six of the Bulls’ postseason games against the Celtics, and averaged 3.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes with .600 shooting.

In 2016-17, Felίcio notched the first double-doubles of his career (three), all off the bench. He led Chicago in both total rebounding percentage (16.5) and offensive rebounding percentage (13.1), and posted a true shooting percentage of .603, which was highest on the team among players who averaged at least 15.0 minutes per game

Rockets sign Zhou Qi

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed free agent forward/center Zhou Qi (pronounced Joe Chee).

“We feel Zhou Qi has the potential to become the best Chinese player since Yao Ming,” said Morey. “We’re excited to have him join the Rockets and will continue to develop his talents with our coaches and training staff.”

Zhou (7-1, 210) was the 43rd overall pick by Houston in the 2016 NBA Draft. He spent the past three seasons playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), helping the team win its first championship in 2016-17.

This past season, Zhou averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 58.6% from the floor. He also ranked second in the CBA in blocks (2.3 bpg) and was named Defensive Player of the Year. Zhou hit 20 3-pointers in 2016-17 after having 10 his first two seasons combined.

The 21-year-old is also a member of the Chinese National Team and competed in the 2016 Olympics. He had a team-high 13 points for Team China in an exhibition game vs. Team USA on Aug. 26, 2016.

Pistons sign Langston Galloway

The Detroit Pistons today signed free agent guard Langston Galloway.

Galloway, 25, appeared in 74 games (two starts) with New Orleans and Sacramento last season, averaging 7.9 points, while shooting 39.0% from beyond the arc, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 20.2 minutes. He started the season with New Orleans where he averaged 8.6 points, while shooting 37.7% from three, 2.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 20.4 minutes before being traded to Sacramento on February 20, 2017. In the 19 games following the trade, Galloway averaged 6.0 points, while shooting 47.5% from beyond the arc, 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 19.7 minutes with Sacramento. He tied a single-game career-high in points [26 vs. Memphis (12/5/16)] and connected on a career-high six 3-pointers twice [vs. Charlotte (11/19/16) and vs. Memphis (12/5/16)] last season. Galloway connected on three-plus 3-pointers 20 times, scored 10-plus points 22 times and 20-plus points five times during his 2016-17 campaign.

The 6-2, 200-pound guard has tallied NBA career averages of 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 24.8 minutes in 201 games with New York, New Orleans and Sacramento. Galloway had his best season during his rookie year with the New York Knicks, where he averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 32.4 minutes in 45 games (41 starts). He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, becoming the first undrafted player in Knicks history to make an NBA All-Rookie team.

The Baton Rouge, LA native was undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s University in the 2014 NBA Draft. At St. Joseph’s, Galloway averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 34 games as a senior, earning All-Atlantic 10 first team honors. He finished his college career as the Hawks’ second all-time leading scorer with 1,991 points behind only Jameer Nelson (2,094) and finished first in career 3-pointers made (343).

Hornets sign rookie Dwayne Bacon

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed 2017 second-round draft pick Dwayne Bacon.

The Hornets originally acquired Bacon’s draft rights along with cash considerations in exchange for Frank Jackson’s draft rights on draft night.

A 6-7 forward, Bacon was named to the 2016-17 All-ACC Second Team following his sophomore season at Florida State, where he averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 28.8 minutes per contest.

A finalist for the 2017 Julius Erving Award, which honors the nation’s top small forward, Bacon ranked 11th in the ACC in points per game. He also led Florida State in field goals made (221), three-point field goals made (57) and free throws made (104) and ranked third on the squad in rebounds per game (4.2). He totaled 10 games with 20-or-more points and led the Seminoles to a 2017 NCAA Tournament appearance, averaging 22.5 points per contest in two NCAA Tournament outings.

In 2015-16, the Lakeland, Fla., native set Florida State freshman single-season records in total points (536), field goals made (197) and free throws made (110). He was also named to the 2015-16 All-ACC Freshman Team and 2015-16 All-ACC Academic Team following his first collegiate season.

In the team’s entry in to the 2017 Mountain Dew Orlando Pro Summer League, Bacon led the Hornets in scoring, averaging 15.7 points to go along with 5.2 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game. His 29 points in the Hornets summer finale, an 86-78 win over the Orlando Magic, marked a high output from any Charlotte player during the five games played.