NBA News Blog – Page 594 – NBA Blog

Dallas Mavericks sign Jaleel Cousins

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent center Jaleel Cousins. It’s probably a non-guaranteed deal.

Jaleel is the brother of Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins (6-11, 255), a native of Mobile, Alabama, went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after averaging 8.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 25.0 minutes per contest while appearing in all 33 games his senior season at South Florida. Prior to his transfer to South Florida, he spent one season at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.

Cousins played in all five games for the Mavericks at the 2016 Orlando Pro Summer League. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.

He will wear number 32 for the Mavericks.

Pelicans sign Quincy Ford

The New Orleans Pelicans today signed guard/forward Quincy Ford.

Ford, 6-8, 225, was a member of the Utah Jazz’s summer league team, appearing in eight games, averaging 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Undrafted in 2016 out of Northeastern University, Ford appeared in 130 games for the Huskies, averaging 12.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists during his collegiate career.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 20.

Miami Heat sign Vashil Fernandez, waive Stefan Jankovic

The Miami HEAT today signed center Vashil Fernandez and waived Stefan Jankovic.

Fernandez, the all-time leading shot blocker at Valparaiso University, played all four seasons with the Crusaders appearing in 131 games (85 starts) and averaged 4.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.21 blocks and 19.8 minutes while shooting 54.8 percent from the field. As a senior, he led the NCAA in blocks per game (3.31) and was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He finished his career with 289 blocks, surpassing the previous school record of 228 held by Raitis Grafs from 1999-2003, including 119 during his senior campaign, setting the school’s single-season block record, a record he held the previous season with 98 rejections.

Fernandez will wear number 14.

Janković appeared in one preseason game with the HEAT, totaling 3:40 minutes of action.

Bucks trade Michael Carter-Williams to Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have acquired guard Michael Carter-Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for guard Tony Snell.

“We’re excited to add Michael to our roster,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “He is a two-way player who adds versatility and depth to our backcourt rotation.”

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “the Bucks continue to try to shore up the shooting guard position after the loss of Khris Middleton, who had surgery for a torn hamstring and is out at least six months. The Bulls wanted a reliable backup for Rajon Rondo.”

And according to the Chicago Sun-Times, “Carter-Williams has declined steadily, going from NBA Rookie of the Year with the 76ers to a bench player with the Bucks. So how does he fit with the Bulls? He doesn’t give them the outside shooting they crave. He’s a career 25.5 percent shooter from three-point range. What he gives coach Fred Hoiberg is on-the-ball defense off the bench, as well as a point guard who can play with pace.”

Carter-Williams (6-6, 190) was the 11th-overall selection by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2013 NBA Draft. He tipped off his professional career by being named the 2013-14 Kia Rookie of the Year and a unanimous All-Rookie First Team selection. Carter-Williams was traded to Milwaukee in 2014-15, and by averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists through his first two NBA seasons, he joined Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Grant Hill, Steve Francis and LeBron James as the only players to post such numbers during their first two years. He currently owns career averages of 14.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 190 games (170 starts) over three seasons.

The Syracuse product competed in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge and Taco Bell Skills Challenge at 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend. He was selected to the 2015 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge team but did not play due to injury. Carter-Williams was also invited to participate in the 2015 USA Basketball Men’s National Team minicamp in Las Vegas.

In three games to date during the 2016 preseason, Snell, 24, has averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 16.0 minutes. He appeared in 64 games (33 starts) for the Bulls last season and averaged 5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 20.3 minutes per contest. The 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft out of the University of New Mexico, Snell has played in 213 career games (67 starts) for the Bulls, and averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists. In his last two seasons, Snell has shot 37.1 percent (2014-15) and 36.1 percent (2015-16) from the three-point arc.

Atlanta Hawks waive Matt Costello

The Atlanta Hawks have waived forward Matt Costello, it was announced today by General Manager Wes Wilcox.

The Hawks frontcourt has some nice depth to it. It was always going to be tough for Costello to make this team.

The roster stands at 19.

Magic waive Cliff Alexander, Branden Dawson and Kevin Murphy

The Orlando Magic waived forwards Cliff Alexander and Branden Dawson and guard Kevin Murphy today, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced tonight following their preseason game vs. Atlanta.

Alexander (6’8”, 245, 11/16/95) played in two preseason games with Orlando, averaging 1.0 ppg. in 5.1 minpg. Dawson (6’6”, 225, 2/1/93) appeared in two preseason outings with the Magic, averaging 3.0 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 6.6 minpg. Murphy (6’5”, 185, 3/6/90) played in two preseason contests with Orlando, averaging 2.5 ppg. in 6.6 minpg.

All three players were originally signed as free agents on September 8.

The Magic roster now stands at 16 players.

Rockets waive Isaiah Taylor

The Rockets waived guard Isaiah Taylor today, General Manager Daryl Morey announced.

Taylor (6-3, 170) was an early entry candidate for the 2016 NBA Draft following his junior season at Texas. He appeared in three games for the Rockets this preseason.

As preseason continues, teams around the league will cut players until they’re down to the regular season roster maximum of 15. The season begins Tuesday, October 25.

Mavericks waive Jameel Warney

The Mavericks waived forward Jameel Warney today.

Warney (6-8, 260) was originally signed as a free agent on July 27 and played in three preseason games for the Mavericks averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest.

The native of New Brunswick, N.J., played in all six games for the Mavericks at the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He averaged 6.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 block in 16.5 minutes per contest. He led Dallas in field goal percentage, shooting .593 from the floor while making .875 from the foul line.

Warney went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft after four successful seasons at Stony Brook University where he averaged 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.0 blocks and 30.7 minutes in 135 career collegiate games. In his senior season with the Seawolves, Warney averaged 19.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 3.0 blocks in 33 games on his way to earning America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career at Stony Brook as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,132), rebounds (1,275), blocks (275) and games (135).

Preseason: Celtics beat Knicks 119-107

Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, the Celtics beat the Knicks 119-107.

In the win, R.J. Hunter led the Celtics with 17 points (6-of-8 shooting), plus two steals in just 12 minutes. Avery Bradley had 17 points (6-of-8), and two steals in 17 minutes. And new addition Al Horford shot 5-of-5, including 2-of-2 three-pointers, for 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks in just 16 minutes.

In the loss, The Knicks were led by 6-foot-8, 216-pound forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in just 19 minutes of play. Backup center Willy Hernangomez was also solid with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes.

It’s preseason, and teams around the league, including Boston and New York, are essentially just warming up, and playing their starters very limited minutes.

Still, observations can be made:

We saw little from Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas today. No big deal.

Adding Horford sounded like a good move by Boston this offseason, and it sure looks that way on the court. Through the four preseason games he’s played, the former Atlanta Hawk is averaging 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in just 18 minutes per game. And he’s shooting 61.3% FG.

It’ll be interesting to watch Boston’s power forward rotation. The minutes breakdown there will be a compelling coaching decision.

For the Knicks, not having Derrick Rose (currently on trial in California) hurts. Rose has played just one preseason game for his new squad, and looked good. But chemistry development that should have taken place in preseason is now postponed.

But while Rose remains out, Joakim Noah was healthy enough to make his preseason debut. He had five points, five rebounds, an assist and two steals in 19 minutes. He looked rusty, which is to be expected. It’s hard to have a firm opinion on where he’s at just yet.

Kristaps Porzingis is fascinating to watch. As was the case most of last season. Within the first half-quarter of tonight’s game he hit a pair of threes and ran a fast break, which he finished with a bucket. That wound up being most of his production last night — minutes were limited. But he can do amazing things for a young player who stands 7-foot-3.

The Celtics are now 4-1 in preseason. The Knicks are 2-2.

Trail Blazers waive Luis Montero

The Trail Blazers waived guard Luis Montero today.

Signed as an undrafted free agent on July 9, 2015, Montero played in 12 games for the Trail Blazers as a rookie in 2015-16, averaging 1.2 points (26.3% FG, 11.1% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 0.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists.

During the 2016 NBA preseason, Montero recorded three points (1-1 3-PT), one assist and one block in his lone contest against Utah on Oct. 3.

Portland’s roster now stands at 17 players.