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Hornets sign Treveon Graham

The Hornets have signed guard/forward Treveon Graham.

“We were impressed by Treveon’s play last season in the D-League and followed him closely during his four-year career at VCU,” said Hornets General Manager Rich Cho. “We are excited to add someone with Treveon’s ability on both sides of the ball to our training camp roster.”

The Hornets have Nic Batum at shooting guard, Marco Belinelli as a backup, and the often-injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at small forward.

The 6-5 Graham appeared in 46 games (20 starts) for the Idaho Stampede in the NBA D-League last season, averaging 15.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.4 minutes per contest. He recorded four double-doubles and tallied 11 games with 20-plus points, including four games with 30-or-more. Graham most recently competed with the Utah Jazz at the 2016 Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and with the Orlando Magic at the 2016 Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League, earning 2016 All-Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League honors.

The Washington, D.C. native spent four seasons at Virginia Commonwealth (2011-15), where he posted career averages of 13.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.4 minutes per game. Graham earned consecutive All-Atlantic 10 First Team accolades in 2014-15 and 2013-14, while also being named the 2015 Atlantic 10 Tournament MVP. He was also selected to the 2013 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team as a sophomore. He left VCU ranked fifth all-time in scoring with 1,667 career points.

Pistons sign Ray McCallum Jr

The Pistons on Tuesday signed free-agent guard Ray McCallum Jr.

McCallum, 25, played 41 games last season with the Spurs and the Grizzlies, averaging 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11.6 minutes per game. The 36th overall pick in the 2013 Draft by Sacramento, McCallum spent his first two seasons with the Kings where he averaged 6.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 20.6 minutes in 113 games (40 starts).

In 2014-15, he averaged 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 21.1 minutes in 68 games (30 starts) – all career highs.

Hawks sign forward Matt Costello

The Hawks on Tuesday signed free agent forward Matt Costello.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this deal merely brings Costello to Hawks training camp.

Costello, a four-year player at Michigan State, was an All-Big Ten selection as a senior after averaging 10.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocks in 22.9 minutes in 35 games (.561 FG%, .752 FT%). He played in 138 career games for the Spartans (2012-16) and is the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots with 146.

The 6’9 Costello was a member of the Hawks’ 2016 Summer League in Las Vegas, where he averaged 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists while playing in all six games.

Heat sign Dion Waiters

The Heat on Tuesday signed guard Dion Waiters.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the deal is a two-year, $6 million contract with a player option for the second season.

“Dion is not a Room Exception player,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He wanted to play for the Miami HEAT and chose to forgo other more lucrative financial opportunities to be a part of our championship organization. We are very honored that he made the commitment to come to South Florida and sign with us. Dion is young, athletic and explosive, which fits in with our roster. He will add a great dimension for us at the off-guard spot. I really like the depth and versatility that we now have in our perimeter positions. Welcome aboard Dion!”

According to the Sun Sentinel, “Waiters previously had bypassed the Oklahoma City Thunder’s since-rescinded $6.8 million qualifying offer for 2016-17 and took a pay cut from last season’s $5.1 million salary at a time when several teams have in excess of $10 million remaining in salary-cap space.”

Waiters has appeared in 289 games (110 starts) over his four-year NBA career and averaged 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.01 steals and 28.3 minutes while shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from three-point range and 70.7 percent from the foul line. The former fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft was named to the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team and earned NBA Rookie of the Month honors in February of 2013.

Wizards re-sign Bradley Beal

The Wizards on Tuesday re-signed shooting guard Bradley Beal.

According to CSN Mid-Atlantic, the deal is a five-year max contract worth $128 million.

“Bradley has proven himself as one of the top young shooting guards in the league, and we feel that he has the potential to rise to an elite level as he enters the prime of his career as one of the cornerstones of our team,” Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said. “He is an outstanding member of the community and a great example of the type of player and person we want to represent our franchise.”

Beal has averaged 16.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting .426 from the field and .397 from three-point range in 247 games (213 starts) in his four seasons with the Wizards.

Last season, he averaged a career-high 17.4 points and shot a career-high .449 from the field to go along with 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and a .387 three-point percentage in 55 games (35 starts) for Washington. In 2014-15, he finished ninth in the NBA in three-point percentage (.409) and he set the Wizards rookie record with 91 threes made in 2012-13. He currently ranks fourth among the team’s all-time leaders in threes made (440) and fifth all-time in three-point percentage (.397).

In 21 playoff appearances, Beal holds averages of 21.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals and has led the team in scoring during both of his playoff runs (19.2 ppg over 11 games in 2014 and 23.4 ppg over 10 games in 2015). He joins Magic Johnson as the only other player in NBA history to average at least 19 points, five rebounds and 4.5 assists in multiple playoff appearances before the age of 22 and ranks fourth in NBA history with 10 games of 20+ points before the age of 22 (behind LeBron James, Tony Parker and Kobe Bryant).

Michael Jordan donates money for good cause

NBA legend and Hornets majority owner Michael Jordan is trying to do some good. Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting:

Michael Jordan speaks out, donates money

Charlotte Hornets majority owner Michael Jordan is once again in the news for giving away money, this time in response to the racial unrest between African-Americans and the law enforcement community.

In a lengthy letter published Monday on the The Undefeated website, Jordan said he is giving $1 million each to two organizations that he says are working to build trust between blacks and law enforcement: the Institute for Community-Police Relations, launched in May by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Cameron Payne undergoes foot surgery

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cameron Payne had a procedure today to fix a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot, team Executive VP and General Manager Sam Presti announced.

Selected in the lottery of the 2015 NBA Draft (No. 14 overall) out of Murray State, Payne averaged 5.0 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 57 games during his rookie season. Payne recently topped all scorers in the Orlando Summer League, averaging 18.8 points to go along with 4.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in four games.

Payne is expected to be ready for the start of 2016-17 season.

D-League: Noel Gillespie named head coach of Greensboro Swarm

Noel Gillespie has been named head coach of the Greensboro Swarm, the Charlotte Hornets’ new NBA Development League affiliate. Gillespie brings more than 14 years of NBA experience to Greensboro, including the last six as a full-time assistant coach.

“We are very excited to have Noel Gillespie as the head coach of our new D-League team,” said Hornets General Manager Rich Cho. “His impressive background in player development and his significant experience make him an ideal fit for this role. We are confident that he will be a great leader for the Swarm and will work well with Coach Clifford and the Hornets coaching staff in recognizing and growing potential talent within our system.”

Gillespie joins the Swarm from the Denver Nuggets, where he has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach. Prior to his time in Denver, he spent 10 seasons with the Phoenix Suns. Gillespie started with the Suns in 2003-04, spending one season as assistant video coordinator and four seasons as video coordinator before becoming the team’s advance scout in 2008-09. He was promoted to assistant coach and advance scout in 2009-10, spending one season in the role before being named a full-time assistant coach starting with the 2010-11 season. In 2007, while with the Suns, he was an assistant coach for the Western Conference All-Star Team and the sophomore team at the Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas.

Gillespie is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He got his start in the NBA as a video assistant with the Indiana Pacers in 2001-02 and served as a graduate assistant coach at Florida State University in 2002-03 before joining the Suns.

“I’m honored and excited to become a part of this organization and coach in Greensboro, a city that shares my passion for the sport of basketball,” said Gillespie. “To coach players and create an environment that allows them to reach their full potential is a great opportunity that I am very enthusiastic about.”

Sixers sign guard Brandon Paul

The 76ers have signed guard Brandon Paul.

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this deal merely brings Paul to training camp.

Paul appeared in each of the Sixers’ six games at Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 in Las Vegas and averaged 11 points, three rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes per game. He scored 20 points (8-14 FG, 4-6 3FG) and grabbed six rebounds in the Sixers’ 108-71 victory over the D-League Select Team on July 13.

Last season, Paul started 25 of 33 games with FIATC Joventut in the Spanish Liga ACB, where he led the team in scoring with 13 points per game. In 2014-15, Paul appeared in 43 games, making 24 starts, for the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League, where he averaged 15 points, four rebounds and two assists in 26.3 minutes per contest. In his first professional season, 2013-14, Paul saw action in 22 games with Nizhny Novgorod in the Russian VTB United League, while also appearing in two games with the Charge.

Paul played four seasons at the University of Illinois prior to entering the 2013 NBA Draft. He was named Third Team All-Big Ten following his senior season, during which he averaged 17 points per game, leading the Illini to a 23-13 record and an appearance in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Trail Blazers sign guard Tim Quarterman

The Trail Blazers have signed free agent guard Tim Quarterman to a partially-guaranteed training camp contract, team president of basketball operations Neil Olshey announced today.

Undrafted out of LSU, Quarterman (6-6, 187) posted averages of 11.2 points (41.5% FG, 34.3% 3PT, 63.2% FT), 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.97 steals in 33 games (27 starts) his junior 2015-16 season.

Quarterman, 21, played three seasons for the Tigers, averaging 8.4 points (39.7% FG, 31.0% 3PT, 66.0% FT), 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.04 steals in 98 games (43 starts).