NBA News Blog – Page 582 – NBA Blog

Xavier Munford named D-League Performer of Week

Xavier Munford of the Greensboro Swarm today was named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Munford (6-3, 180, Rhode Island) helped Greensboro to a 2-1 week behind averages of 27.7 points (fourth in the league), 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals. On Nov. 21, he scored a season-high 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting to go with three rebounds and three assists in a 116-111 loss to the Delaware 87ers. On Nov. 25, he recorded 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 109-88 victory over the Erie BayHawks.

Munford is in his third NBA D-League season and first with Greensboro. He is averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. Last season, Munford was selected to play in the NBA D-League All-Star Game as a member of the Bakersfield Jam before signing with the Memphis Grizzlies on March 16. He appeared in 14 games with the Grizzlies, averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Other top performers considered included Canton’s Chris Evans, Iowa’s Wayne Selden Jr., Los Angeles’ Josh Magette, Texas’ Manny Harris and Windy City’s J.J. Avila.

Kevin Love and Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love and Warriors forward Kevin Durant today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Love led the Cavaliers to a 3-0 week behind an East-leading 30.7 points to go with 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He connected on 19-of-29 three-point attempts (65.5 percent) and made all 21 of his free-throw attempts. On Nov. 23, he scored a season-high 40 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists in a 137-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Love set an NBA record with 34 first-quarter points, the second-highest total in any quarter in league history.

Durant helped the Warriors to a 4-0 week behind averages of 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.75 blocked shots (tied for second in the West). He connected on 9-of-18 attempts (50.0 percent) from three-point range. On Nov. 23, he scored 28 points (on 11-for-15 shooting from the field) and added six rebounds and five assists in a 149-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He closed the week with 28 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high six blocks and five assists as Golden State extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 115-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 26.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s James Harden, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, New York’s Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.

Bill Foran named Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year

The National Strength and Conditioning Association announced that Miami HEAT Assistant Coach/Strength & Conditioning Coach Bill Foran has been named the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. Foran, who becomes the fourth recipient of the award, will receive the honor at the NSCA’s Coaches Conference which is held in Nashville, TN from January 4 through January 6. Past winners of the award include Ashley Jones of the Edinburgh Rugby team in Scotland, Casey Bond of the Colorado Avalanche and Joe Kenn of the Carolina Panthers.

Foran, who has been the HEAT’s strength and conditioning coach since its inception and is currently in his 29th season with the organization, supervises a combination of strength training, plyometrics, conditioning, stretching and nutrition to ensure Miami’s players’ produce maximum results on the court. In addition to this honor, Foran was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named as the 2009 Co-NBA Strength Coach of the Year.

Bradley Beal fined for grabbing at throat of Evan Fournier

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been fined $15,000 for grabbing at the throat of Orlando Magic guard/forward Evan Fournier, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Beal was assessed a technical foul, occurred with 7:40 remaining to play in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 94-91 win over the Magic on Nov. 25 at Amway Center.

To view the incident, click on this link.

Notes from around the NBA

– Chicago Bulls: Coach Fred Hoiberg’s team has won five of its last six games, including a 3-1 start to its six-game road trip. Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 40 points in Sunday’s victory over the Lakers, his eighth consecutive game with at least 20 points.

– Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: New Orleans is 2-0 since his return as Holiday finished with 21 points and seven assists in a win over Portland and 22 points and nine assists in an overtime victory against Charlotte.

– Memphis Grizzlies: Winners of four consecutive games, the Grizzlies held Dallas to 64 points and Minnesota to 71 points in their two most recent victories.

– Jonathan Gibson, Mavericks: The 29-year-old rookie guard scored 26 points against Orlando on Saturday in his second career game, becoming the first undrafted player in 24 years to score that many points in one of his first two games. Gibson, who was signed on Nov. 17, spent last season in China and led Dallas in scoring at Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 in Las Vegas.

– Alan Williams, Suns: The Phoenix native has recorded point-rebound double-doubles in each of his last two games. Like Gibson, the 23-year-old Williams is an undrafted player who starred in China and thrived at Samsung NBA Summer League (where he was the top rebounder in each of the last two years). Williams’ mom, Jeri, was recently sworn in as the first female chief of the Phoenix Police Department.

– Jamal Murray, Nuggets: The rookie guard scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win over the Jazz – which followed a recent 19-point performance against the Trail Blazers.

– Cody Zeller, Hornets: The fourth-year center leads the NBA in field goal percentage at 62.3, up from a career-high 52.9 last season.

— Per NBA News

Pelicans waive Archie Goodwin

That was quick. The New Orleans Pelicans waived guard Archie Goodwin today.

Originally signed by New Orleans on Nov. 7, Goodwin, 6-5, 205, appeared in three games for the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points in 10.0 minutes per contest.

The Pelicans roster currently stands at 14.

This is the 4th year of Goodwin’s NBA career. His first three seasons were spent with the Suns. Last season, with Phoenix, he averaged 8.9 points in 19.5 minutes per game.

Clippers assign Diamond Stone to D-League

The L.A. Clippers have assigned center Diamond Stone to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League.

Stone has appeared in three games for the Clippers this season.

Stone, the 40th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, played one season at the University of Maryland, where he was named the AP Big Ten Newcomer in 2016. The Milwaukee native averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 35 games (all starts), helping lead the Terrapins to the Sweet Sixteen.

Bucks assign Rashad Vaughn to D-League

The Milwaukee Bucks have assigned guard Rashad Vaughn to the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League, pursuant to the flexible assignment rule, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Vaughn has appeared in nine games for the Bucks this season and averaged 6.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

The NBA D-League’s flexible assignment system enables the eight independent NBA teams to assign players to the NBA D-League for development or rehabilitation from injury. Upon receipt from an independent NBA team, the NBA D-League will identify any NBA D-League team willing to accept the assigned player. The assigning independent NBA team will then choose the destination for assignment between those teams. If no NBA D-League team is willing to accept the assigned player, he will be assigned to one of the hybrid affiliate teams pursuant to a lottery.

Donald Sterling and NBA settle legal dispute

Donald Sterling and the NBA are no longer entangled in any form other than in history books.

The former owner of the Clippers and the NBA have settled all remaining legal disputes, according to Sterling’s attorney, Bobby Samini.

By settling, any funds that were held in escrow from the sale, indemnifying the NBA from legal action taken by Sterling, can be released.

— OC Register

Mavericks waive Quincy Acy, sign Jonathan Gibson

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent guard Jonathan Gibson. And in a related move, the Mavericks also requested waivers on forward Quincy Acy.

Gibson (6-2, 185) was a standout for the Mavericks at the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and received an invite to Mavericks training camp in Dallas. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.0 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 14.8 minutes in seven preseason contests with the Mavericks.

The native of West Covina, Calif., spent last season with the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in China. He averaged 42.0 points in 36 games with the Eagles. In addition to his incredible scoring production, he registered 6.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting .509 from the field, .413 from behind-the-arc and .861 from the free throw line in Qingdao.

Gibson went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft after four successful seasons at New Mexico State where he averaged 11.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 131 career collegiate games. In his senior season with the Aggies, Gibson averaged 17.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 34 games on his way to All-WAC Second Team honors.

Gibson will wear No. 3 for the Mavericks.

Acy (6-7, 240) was originally signed by Dallas on July 20, 2016 and saw action in six games this season. He averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game.