NBA News Blog – Page 595 – NBA Blog

Rockets sign P.J. Hairston

The Rockets have signed free agent guard/forward P.J. Hairston.

Hairston (6-6, 220) was originally the 26th overall pick by Miami in the 2014 NBA Draft. He spent his first season and a half with Charlotte before being acquired in a three-team trade by Memphis on Feb. 16, 2016.

In 66 games with 52 starts for the Hornets and Grizzlies last season, Hairston averaged 6.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. He also hit two or more 3-pointers 19 times in 2015-16, including a career-high 5 at the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 26, 2016.

Windy City Bulls hire Bobby Lutz and A.J. Guyton as assistant coaches

The Windy City Bulls, who are the Chicago Bulls’ D-League affiliate, have announced the remainder of their coaching and basketball operations staff as well as team medical personnel for the 2016-17 season.

Bobby Lutz and A.J. Guyton will join Nate Loenser’s staff in November as assistant coaches, while Josh Kreibich has been named coordinator of basketball operations.

“I am thrilled that Bobby and A.J. will be joining our staff for the upcoming season,” said Loenser. “Bobby brings a tremendous amount of coaching experience, and A.J. is someone who is very well respected within the Chicago Bulls organization. His experience playing here is invaluable to us.”

Lutz brings over 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to Windy City, spending the last five seasons as an assistant at North Carolina State. During his tenure with the Wolfpack, Lutz helped guide the team to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2015. Prior to his time at North Carolina State, Lutz spent a season as an assistant for Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State. From 1999-2010, he served as the head coach at the University of North Carolina Charlotte where he led the 49ers to three Conference USA titles while averaging more than 18 wins per season. Lutz was a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award in 2005 and is the school’s all-time winningest coach.

Guyton returns to the Chicago Bulls organization where he began his professional playing career in 2000.. The Peoria, Ill., native spent three seasons in the NBA before playing overseas for the remainder of his 10-year professional career. Guyton got his start in coaching in 2010 when he was an assistant coach at Illinois Central College. In 2012, he led the Bloomington Flex to the Premier Basketball League Championship as the team’s head coach. Guyton played college basketball at the University of Indiana Bloomington from 1996-2000 where he was a consensus First-Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year in his senior season. In 2014, Guyton was inducted to the University of Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame.

Kreibich comes to Windy City after spending the last two seasons as the director of basketball operations at Northern Arizona University. Prior to his stint with the Lumberjacks, he served as an assistant coach at Concordia University in Austin, Texas, from 2012-2014.

Arnold Lee has been named certified athletic trainer while Dr. Adam Yanke and Dr. Jeremy Alland of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center will serve as team physicians. Additionally, Dr. Brian Cole and Dr. Kathleen Weber of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center will serve as consulting team physicians.

Lee joins Windy City after working as an intern for the Chicago Bears during the 2016 pre-season. From 2013-2016, he worked as the head athletic trainer at Chicago’s Kennedy King College. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Lee holds a B.S. in Kinesiology and a Masters in Athletic Training from California Baptist University.

The Windy City Bulls are preparing for their inaugural season in the heart of Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Beginning in November, the team will play 24 home games at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The NBA Development League, which is entering its 16th season, will expand to 22 teams for the 2016-17 season with the additions of the Windy City Bulls, Greensboro Swarm and Long Island Nets. Last season saw 32 D-League players called up to the NBA a total of 42 times.

Cameron Payne suffers broken bone in foot

Thunder guard Cameron Payne suffered an acute fracture to his fifth metatarsal (long bone in foot) in Tuesday night’s Blue-White Scrimmage, which took place in front of fans at a high school.

According to News9 OKC, “it’s the same bone he had surgery on in late July.”

The 14th overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft averaged 5.0 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 57 games during his rookie season.

Payne will see his attending physician and additional specialists this week to determine the next course of action.

Khris Middleton out six months after hamstring surgery

Bucks guard Khris Middleton underwent successful surgery yesterday to repair his ruptured left hamstring. The surgery was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York by Dr. David Altchek.

Middleton is expected to be sidelined for approximately six months. A timeline for his return to basketball activity will be established at a later date.

Middleton suffered the injury during preseason workouts on Sept. 20.

Middleton, 25, averaged a career-high 18.2 points, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals last season along with 3.8 rebounds in 79 games. Originally selected by Detroit (39th overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft, Middleton has career averages of 13.2 points, 2.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 267 career games (201 starts).

Spurs waive Ryan Richards

The Spurs have waived forward/center Ryan Richards.

The Spurs training camp roster now stands at 19.

The vast majority of the league’s training camps opened on Tuesday. In the next few weeks, the vast majority of players around the NBA who were signed to non-guaranteed contracts will be let go.

Golden State Warriors promote Kent Lacob to GM of Santa Cruz Warriors

The Warriors today promoted Kent Lacob to general manager of the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. Ryan Atkinson, who joined the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2013, has earned a promotion to assistant general manager.

Lacob is entering his second season with the Warriors organization after serving as Golden State’s coordinator of basketball operations last season. In that role, he assisted with scouting efforts, preparation for the NBA Draft, analytics projects and the team’s efforts with implementing wearable technology. The Woodside, CA, native attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he played guard for the men’s basketball team and was named captain of the club as a senior in 2014-15. He graduated with a degree in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology and a minor in Commercial Entrepreneurship.

Atkinson joined the Santa Cruz Warriors as director of basketball operations prior to the 2013-14 campaign, where he managed team travel and served as a liaison between the coaching staff and the front office. The Atlanta, GA, native, who earned a master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s in Sport Management from Missouri Western State University, also worked as a clubhouse attendant with the Oakland Athletics from 2009 to 2016.

Timberwolves add Rasual Butler, John Lucas III and Toure` Murry to training camp

The Timberwolves finalized the team’s 2016-17 Training Camp roster today by signing forward Rasual Butler and guards John Lucas III and Toure’ Murry.

Butler, 37, has appeared in 809 games over his 13-year NBA career, averaging 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds. In 2015-16, he played in 46 games for the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 2.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game. Butler, the 53rd overall selection in the 2002 NBA Draft by Miami, has played with the Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards and Spurs. Butler played six games under current Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago during the 2010-11 NBA season.

In his eight-year NBA career, Lucas III, 33, has averaged 4.8 points, 1.5 assists and 12.3 minutes in 237 games. The 5-11 guard most recently played in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons in 2014-15, averaging 4.7 points and 2.9 assists in 21 games. Lucas has enjoyed NBA stints with the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Pistons. Lucas III played under Thibodeau from 2010-12 in Chicago. He is the son of former NBA player John Lucas Jr., who played 14 years in the NBA from 1976-90.

Murry, 26, has played in 56 games with three teams between two NBA seasons, including appearing in 51 contests with the Knicks in 2013-14 where he averaged 2.7 points. Originally undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Wichita State, the 6-5 guard spent 2015-16 in the NBA D-League, starting the season with the Texas Legends before being acquired in a trade by the Sioux Falls Skyforce late in the season. Murry played in 45 games between the two stops, averaging 11.5 points, 4.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game. Murry played for the Timberwolves entry in the 2016 Summer League, averaging 6.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals in eight games.

Butler will wear No. 12, Lucas III will wear No. 11 and Murry will don No. 23.

Spurs add Joel Anthony, Nicolas Laprovittola, Ryan Richards to training camp

The Spurs training camp roster stands at 20 players, and includes the additions of center Joel Anthony, guard Nicolás Laprovíttola and forward-center Ryan Richards.

Anthony (6-9, 245), a nine-year NBA veteran, spent the last two seasons with the Detroit Pistons. The UNLV product has also played for the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, where he spent his first six-plus seasons and won back-to-back NBA championships in 2012 and 2013. Anthony has appeared in 471 career games, averaging 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.11 blocks in 14.7 minutes.

Laprovíttola (6-4, 180) is a native of Argentina and has played professionally since 2007, most recently splitting last season between Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania) and Movil Estudiantes (Spain). In 20 games with Lietuvos, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds before making the move to Movil. In 20 games with Estudiantes, he posted averages of 13.8 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Laprovíttola is also a member of the Argentinian National Team and competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he averaged 8.2 points, 2.7 assist and 2.2 rebounds in six games.

Richards (6-11, 265) was originally drafted by the Spurs with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft. He split last season between Iran-Super League’s Shahdary Gorgan and Lebanon-Pepsi LBL’s Sagesse-Al Kekmeh Beirut. In 26 games with Shadary, he averaged 20.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 37.6 minutes. After transferring to Sagasse-Al Kekmeh Beruit midway through the season, he averaged 15.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in six games.

Pistons sign Nikola Jovanovic and Trey Freeman to training camp

The Pistons today signed Nikola Jovanovic and Trey Freeman to contracts that bring those two players to training camp.

Jovanovic, a 6-11, 235 played three years at the University of Southern California and averaged 10.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 98 games for the Trojans. He averaged 12-plus points and 7.0 rebounds in both his sophomore and junior years and shot better than 50% from the field in all three of his collegiate years. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Jovanovic became the 36th player in USC history to record 1,000-plus points.

Freeman averaged 22.1 points as a senior at Old Dominion University last season. In 135 career collegiate games, he’s averaged 17.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists at Campbell University (2011-13) and Old Dominion (2014-16). A 6-2 guard from Virginia Beach, VA, Freeman earned First-Team All-Conference USA honors in both his junior and senior years.

Nets sign Chase Budinger and Jorge Gutierrez

The Nets today signed free agent forward Chase Budinger and guard Jorge Gutierrez.

Budinger (6-7, 215) has appeared in 407 career NBA games (50 starts) with Phoenix (2015-16), Indiana (2015-16), Minnesota (2012-15) and Houston (2009-12) and holds averages of 7.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.7 minutes per contest. The California native was selected 44th overall out of the University of Arizona in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons before being traded on draft night to the Rockets.

Gutierrez (6-3, 195) most recently suited up for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2015-16 season, and has also had NBA stints with the Milwaukee Bucks (2014-15) and the Nets (2013-15). In 47 total NBA games, the Mexico native holds averages of 2.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 10.3 minutes per contest.

Gutierrez, who began his professional career playing for Pioneros de Quintana Roo in Mexico (2012-13), has had four stints in the NBA D-League over the past four seasons, all with the Canton Charge. In 2014 he was named to the All-NBA D-League Second Team and was twice named to the league’s all-defensive team (2013, 2014).