Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Cavaliers reach buyout agreement with Ricky Rubio

The Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday reached a buyout agreement with guard Ricky Rubio, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced.

Rubio has been away from the team since the start of the 2023-24 season.

“Ricky Rubio embodied everything a franchise would want from such an accomplished player, who helped instill a confidence and leadership quality that still resonates within our team,” said Altman. “When you measure his impact, particularly during the 2021-22 season, Ricky was instrumental in our 22-win improvement that year. His willingness to mentor our younger players speaks to the gravity of his tenure in Cleveland and the success we are having with this current Cavaliers group. We wish Ricky nothing but the best and remain supportive of his decision to continue focusing on his mental health.”

Rubio (6-3, 190) has appeared in 698 games (603 starts) with Minnesota, Utah, Phoenix, and Cleveland, holding career averages of 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.76 steals in 29.6 minutes. He currently has the 10th-most assists among active NBA players (5,160) and has also averaged more than 6.0 assists and at least 1.30 steals in 10 of his 12 NBA seasons. Originally drafted by the Timberwolves with the fifth overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, the 12-year NBA veteran was a 2012 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. He has also made three playoff appearances with Utah in 2018 and 2019 as well as Cleveland in 2023, appearing in 14 career postseason games (11 starts) and averaging 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.50 steals in 26.1 minutes. A longtime member of the Spanish National Team, Rubio has played in three Olympics (2020, 2016, 2008), winning silver 2008 and bronze in 2016. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he scored 38 points against the United States, breaking the record for most points scored against USA during Olympic competition. He also led Spain to a gold medal in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

In two seasons with the Cavaliers (2021-22, 2022-23), Rubio appeared in 67 games (10 starts) with averages of 9.2 points, 5.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 22.9 minutes. During the 2021-22, his best in Cleveland, Rubio appeared in 34 games (eight starts) with a career-high tying average of 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.44 steals in 28.5 minutes, before missing the final 48 games with a season-ending ACL tear. Prior to the injury, Rubio became one of 12 active NBA players to record 5,000 career assists. He also recorded a career-high 37 points, shooting 8-9 (.889) from the three-point line, 10 assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench on Nov. 7 at New York, becoming the first player in NBA history with at least 30 points, 10 assists and eight three-pointers in a game in a reserve role. He also became the first player in Cavs team history to make his first eight three-point attempts in a game.

Rubio was traded to Indiana on February 7, 2022, after his injury in a deal that brought Caris LeVert to Cleveland but did not appear in a game for the Pacers. He resigned with the Cavaliers as a free agent on July 7, 2022, and appeared in 33 games during the 2022-23 season, making his season debut on Jan. 12 at Portland, where he chipped in nine points and three rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench. It was his first game back since suffering the ACL injury on Dec. 28, 2021, at New Orleans.

Cleveland’s roster now stands at 16 players, including three Two-Way players.

Bulls guard Zach LaVine might return to action soon

The Chicago Bulls could have scoring guard Zach LaVine back in action soon.

Per the Chicago Tribune:

Zach LaVine is working back from a foot injury that has sidelined the Bulls star for more than a month as trade rumors swirl around his potential exit from Chicago.

LaVine has been out since Nov. 29, when the Bulls shut him down because of inflammation on the exterior of his right foot. The team set an estimated recovery window of three to four weeks on Dec. 6.

The Bulls are 10-5 in LaVine’s absence, having undergone an offensive transformation amid a crucial turning point in the season — both on and off the court.

The Bulls are 15-20, which is the 10th best record in the Eastern Conference.

Jordan Clarkson gets first triple-double by a Jazz player in very long time

Per the Deseret News:

Despite the Utah Jazz leading the Dallas Mavericks by as many as 39 points, the Delta Center was packed through the final minutes on Monday night as fans hoped to watch history.

Those who decided to see this one through to the end saw a nearly 16-year drought come to an end as Jordan Clarkson became the first Jazz player since Carlos Boozer on Feb. 13, 2008 to record a triple-double in the regular season (Ricky Rubio did it in the playoffs in 2018).

With 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, the Jazz’s longest tenured player earned his first career triple-double and became just the 38th player to record one coming off the bench.

FULL ARTICLE

Hornets fall to Nuggets, lose 11th straight game

Per the Charlotte Observer:

With the never-ending game of musical injury chairs in full motion once again, this time courtesy of Terry Rozier’s illness, Steve Clifford relied on his decades of experience Monday night.

It’s probably the best method for the Charlotte Hornets coach to keep his sanity.

“That’s one thing as I’ve gotten older, is I’ve gotten better,” Clifford said. “You have to have a feel for your team, and you have to know you are not going to coach a team that is 17-12 the same way you coach a team that’s 5-23. You can’t, you know?

“And you can still be firm, you can be demanding. But I do think NBA players, they do know what’s right and they know what’s wrong. And how you deal with them, message with them is everything. This is a brutal trip, even if you have everybody.”

But the Hornets don’t and that was very evident after halftime, when the Denver Nuggets mashed their foot on the gas pedal and left Charlotte’s makeshift rotation in the mountain dust. Things unraveled quickly in the third quarter of the Hornets’ 111-93 defeat to the Nuggets at Ball Arena, ensuring the visitors would begin 2024 in the same fashion 2023 ended — adding another number in the wrong column.

FULL ARTICLE

Spurs sign forward Mamadi Diakite to two-way contract

The San Antonio Spurs yesterday signed forward Mamadi Diakite to a two-way contract.

Diakite, 6-9, 225, most recently appeared in 19 regular season and Showcase Cup games (5 starts) for the G League’s Westchester Knicks, averaging 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.05 blocks per game. The 26-year-old has appeared in 49 NBA games with Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and Cleveland and was part of the Bucks’ 2021 NBA Championship team.

Originally from Conakry, Guinea, he went undrafted in 2020 after spending five years at the University of Virginia where he helped the Cavaliers capture the 2019 NCAA National Championship as a redshirt junior and was named 2019-20 ACC All-Defensive and All-ACC Second Team as a redshirt senior, averaging 13.7 points and 6.8 rebounds in 30 games (all starts).

Diakite will wear No. 29 for the Spurs.

San Antonio’s roster now stands at 18.

Celtics enter 2024 with NBA-best 26-6 record

Per the Boston Herald:

Jaylen Brown stole a pass in the backcourt, took a dribble toward the rim and had the presence of mind to lay it off to Derrick White in the lane. The Celtics guard isn’t typically known for his athleticism, but took the pass, took a step and hammered it home for a one-handed tomahawk dunk.

White stopped upon landing and took a brief moment to look at his Celtics teammates on the bench. Luke Kornet lost his mind again. White, back in his first NBA home facing the team that drafted him, was showing off a bit. And the Celtics were laughing their way into a big new year by leaving 2023 with a bang.

The Celtics won but struggled against a pair of lower-tier teams to end last week at TD Garden. Not so much on Sunday night. Victor Wembanyama looked the part of a future star, but he and his five-win Spurs were no match for the best team in the NBA. The Celtics celebrated the new year with a dominant 134-101 victory in San Antonio.

The Celtics’ New Year’s resolution for 2024? Keep playing like this, and they could be on a parade around Boston in June.

FULL ARTICLE

Knicks sign Miles McBride to contract extension

The New York Knicks have signed guard Miles McBride to a contract extension.

Per the NY Post:

Miles McBride agreed to a three-year, $13 million extension, multiple sources confirmed to The Post.

The deal is fully guaranteed and frontloaded, decreasing in annual salary each year, which helps McBride from a cash value standpoint, sources said.

McBride, a defensive-minded point guard, has been used sparingly since getting drafted 36th overall in 2021.

But he should get an increased role after the team dealt Immanuel Quickley in a package to Toronto, leaving McBride as probably the first backup point guard after Jalen Brunson.

McBride, 23-years-old (6-1, 195-pounds), is averaging 1.9 points (50-percent FG; 41.2-percent 3PT) in 18 games for the New York Knicks this season. He holds career averages of 2.8 points and 1.0 assists over 10.0 minutes per game in 122 games (four starts) in parts of three seasons with the Knicks. McBride is also averaging 19.0 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds in two games this season for the Westchester Knicks, the official NBA G League affiliate of the New York Knicks.

The Cincinnati, OH-native, was originally selected by Oklahoma City with the 36th pick of the 2020 NBA draft before being traded to the New York Knicks. A two-year standout at West Virginia, McBride recorded 12.6 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 28.0 minutes in 60 games (30 starts). He was also named to the 2020-21 All-Big 12 Second Team and the 2019-20 Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

Knicks trade RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley to Raptors for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn

The Toronto Raptors announced Saturday that they have acquired guard Immanuel Quickley, guard-forward RJ Barrett and a 2024 second-round draft pick (via Detroit) from the New York Knicks in exchange for guard-forward OG Anunoby, forward Precious Achiuwa and guard Malachi Flynn.

“We’re excited about welcoming Immanuel and RJ to our team. Immanuel is a young, talented playmaker who we believe will provide a spark on both ends of the court. RJ is a versatile wing who is, of course, well-known in his hometown, and seeing him in a Raptors uniform will be a special moment for our fans and for all Canadians,” Toronto vice-chairman and president Masai Ujiri said. “It’s never easy to say goodbye, especially when players like OG and Malachi have spent their careers with our team. We wish Precious, Malachi and OG all the best.”

Quickley, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, is averaging a career-high 15.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 24.0 minutes in 30 contests this season. He is shooting .454 (152-335) from the floor, including .395 (64-162) from beyond the arc, and scored in double figures in 23 games.

In his fourth season, Quickley was a finalist for the 2022-23 KIA NBA Sixth Man of the Year and was named to the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In 253 career games (27 starts) with the Knicks, he averaged 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 24.1 minutes.

New York acquired Quickley’s draft rights after he was picked 25th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2020 NBA Draft. A native of Havre de Grace, Maryland, Quickley played two seasons at Kentucky (2018-20), earning SEC Player of the Year and All-SEC First Team honours as a sophomore.

Barrett, 6-foot-7, 224 pounds, is averaging 18.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 29.5 minutes in 26 games (all starts) this season. He is shooting .423 (164-388) from the field, .331 (43-130) from three-point range, and scored 20 or more points 10 times. Barrett had a season-high 27 points Dec. 11 against the Raptors.

A native of Toronto, Barrett is in his fifth NBA season and owns career averages of 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 33.2 minutes in 297 games (296 starts) with New York. He was picked third overall by the Knicks in the 2019 NBA Draft after one season at Duke (2018-19) where he was first-team All-ACC selection.

Anunoby was picked 23rd overall by the Raptors in the 2017 NBA Draft. He averaged 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 28.7 minutes in 395 games (321 starts) over seven seasons with Toronto. Anunoby helped the Raptors capture their first NBA championship in 2019 and was an All-Defensive Second Team selection last season.

Achiuwa averaged 8.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 21.6 minutes in 153 games (40 starts) with Toronto after he was acquired from Miami in August 2021.

Flynn was picked 29th overall by the Raptors in the 2020 NBA Draft. He averaged 5.4 points, 2.0 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 15.0 minutes in 175 career games (21 starts).

Injury update on Pistons forward/center Isaiah Stewart

Detroit Pistons forward/center Isaiah Stewart, who suffered a right great toe sprain during the team’s game against Philadelphia on December 15, is expected to be sidelined the next 10-14 days to allow for rest and rehabilitation.

He had been playing to pain tolerance since the injury was originally sustained and missed last night’s game at Boston.

Stewart will be re-evaluated periodically.