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Washington Wizards guard John Wall has been fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Wall made his comments to the media postgame following the Wizards’ 95-88 loss to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 31.
The Knicks’ season will end without a playoff berth, and without a healthy Derrick Rose, who may be wearing another team’s jersey next season. Here’s ESPN NY reporting:
New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee, the team announced Sunday.
Those close to Rose expect him to be at full health two months after the surgery, which will be scheduled shortly. Rose, 28, had played in 64 of the Knicks’ 76 games this season…
Rose and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, have both said publicly that Rose, who becomes a free agent this coming offseason, would like to return to New York.
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard Gary Payton II to a multi-year contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
Payton, 24, appeared in 49 games (all starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League this season, and averaged 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 32.7 minutes per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field.
A 6-3 guard, Payton went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after playing two seasons at Oregon State. Payton averaged 14.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals in 63 games with the Beavers and became the first player to be voted Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year two times. He was also an All-Pac-12 First Team selection during both of his seasons at Oregon State.
Payton is the son of NBA All-Star Gary Payton who played 28 games for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2002-03 season. Payton will wear uniform number 0. Milwaukee’s roster now stands at 15 players.
The Philadelphia 76ers today signed forward Alex Poythress from the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. Pursuant to the NBA’s roster hardship exception, the Sixers roster now stands at 16.
Poythress has appeared in 46 games (45 starts) for Ft. Wayne this season, posting averages of 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes per game. He is shooting 57% from the field and 40% from beyond the three-point line. Poythress, a 2017 NBA D-League All Star selection, ranks in the Top 15 in the D-League in points, field goals made and attempted, offensive rebounds and blocks per game.
Poythress appeared in 112 career games at the University of Kentucky, finishing his four-year career averaging nine points, five rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes per game, while shooting 55% from the field. He helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament National Finals in 2014.
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The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on forward Terrence Jones, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
Jones, 25, was signed to a contract on March 4, and appeared in three games for the Bucks.
Milwaukee’s roster now stands at 14 players.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows Portland center Jusuf Nurkić has a non-displaced right leg fibular fracture, it was announced today by Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers president of basketball operations.
Nurkić will be sidelined for two weeks, at which time he will be reevaluated.
In 20 games since joining Portland, Nurkic is averaging 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.25 assists in 29.2 minutes.
Lance Stephenson is once again a member of the Indiana Pacers. The team signed him to a contract today.
Stephenson, a 6-5 guard/forward, was drafted by the Pacers in the Second Round of the 2010 NBA Draft as the 40th overall pick. He played four seasons with the Pacers and averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the regular season. He played in 42 games in the playoffs with the Pacers, including twice in the Eastern Conference Finals, and in those 42 playoff games he averaged 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
According to the Indianapolis Star, “Stephenson, the tenacious, versatile and mercurial combo guard who once flourished in a blue and gold Indiana uniform, will make his stunning return to the Pacers later this week and be reunited with George. He signed a three-year, $12 million deal Thursday that includes a team option in the final year of the contract.”
“We’re very happy to have Lance back as part of our team,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We always knew he wanted to come back here, and we feel now is the right time, not only for the rest of this season, but moving forward. We look forward to having a long relationship with him, because we know what he can bring to our franchise, both on and off the court.”
After the Pacers, Stephenson played for Charlotte, the L.A. Clippers, Memphis, New Orleans and most recently with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has career averages of 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Stephenson will join the team in Cleveland for Sunday’s game.
New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik and forward Quincy Pondexter will miss the remainder of the season.
Asik, who was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection, is expected to return to basketball activities in 3-4 weeks.
Pondexter underwent left knee arthroscopic surgery on January 4, 2017. Further updates on his rehab progress will be announced appropriately.
The Phoenix Suns have signed forward Jarell Eddie (pronounced juh-RELL) to a second 10-day contract. Eddie initially signed with the Suns on March 19.
Eddie has played in five games since joining the Suns and averaged 4.8 points in 12.5 minutes, scoring a career-high 13 points in his debut with the team on March 19 at Detroit.
This is Eddie’s second NBA season as he is a three-year NBA Development League veteran, most recently playing with the Windy City Bulls before being signed by the Suns. Eddie played 26 NBA games with the Washington Wizards last season, averaging 2.4 points and 5.7 minutes with a high of 12 points at Brooklyn on Dec. 26, 2015.
A 6-7, 220-pound forward, Eddie began 2016-17 with the Austin Spurs of the D-League before being traded to Windy City on Jan. 25. He has averaged 14.1 points in 45 D-League games overall this season, scoring 17.8 per game on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 49.3 percent from beyond the arc in 20 games after joining Windy City.
The 41st GATORADE Call-Up in the NBA this season, this was the third call-up of Eddie’s career as, in addition to his time with the Wizards, he signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks in 2014-15 though did not appear in a game. In his three D-League seasons, Eddie has averaged 13.6 points and 3.7 rebounds, shooting 45.9 percent from the field, 44.2 percent from long range and 87.6 percent from the line in 100 games with Austin and Windy City. The champion of the three-point shootout at the 2015 NBA D-League All-Star Game, one of Eddie’s assistant coaches with Austin in 2014-15 was current Suns Head Coach Earl Watson.
A native of Tampa, Florida, Eddie played four seasons at Virginia Tech before going undrafted in 2014. As a senior in 2013-14, he led the Hokies in points and rebounds with a career-high 13.3 points per game in addition to 5.4 boards.
The New Orleans Pelicans today signed guard Quinn Cook to a second 10-day contract.
Cook, 6-2, 179, who was originally signed by New Orleans on March 19, has appeared in three games with the Pelicans, averaging 1.0 points and 0.7 assists in 2.7 minutes per game. Cook has played in a total of eight NBA games this season (five with Dallas), posting averages of 3.8 points and 1.8 assists in 10.6 minutes per contest.