Category: NBA News Blog

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Heat sign Briante Weber, waive Corey Hawkins

Heat sign Briante Weber, waive Corey Hawkins

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Briante Weber and waived guard Corey Hawkins.

Weber played all four seasons at Virginia Commonwealth, appearing in 127 games (65 starts) and averaged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.94 steals and 23.4 minutes while shooting 42.6 percent from the field. He finished as VCU’s all-time career steals leader (374), shattering the previous 29-year old record by 117, capping his career third on the NCAA’s steals list, just 12 shy from becoming the all-time career leader before missing the final 10 games of his senior season due to injury. He became the first player in conference history to be named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons, including his senior, junior and sophomore seasons, and also set a program record with a recorded 45.5-inch vertical leap.

As a senior, Weber appeared in 20 games (19 starts) and averaged 8.1 points, 4.3 assists, 3.90 steals, 3.7 rebounds and 26.5 minutes while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point range. Despite missing the last 10 games of the season, he led the team in steals (78) and finished second in assists (85). Additionally, he dished out a career-high 10 assists against Oregon on November 25 and recorded a season-high nine steals vs. Toledo on November 18.

Weber will wear number 25.

Hawkins appeared in two games with the HEAT this preseason totaling six points, two rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes of action.

Health of Lamar Odom is improving

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News reporting good news on Lamar Odom:

The conversations surrounding Lamar Odom have taken a swift departure.

No longer do they contain dire predictions about Odom’s slim chances of survival. That seemed understandable, given the former Lakers and Clippers forward was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital last week after falling unconscious at a local brothel.

Instead, Odom has shown enough steady improvement in recent days at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center that he has started physical therapy, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

Odom has not experienced any setbacks after breathing without the help of a ventilator in the past three days. He showing marked improvement with his breathing, vision and the ability to have simple conversations, sources said.

Jazz exercise contract options on Exum, Hood, Burke, Gobert

utah jazz

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has elected to exercise its third-year team options for guards Danté Exum and Rodney Hood, as well as its fourth-year options on guard Trey Burke and center Rudy Gobert. The options for all four players are for the 2016-17 season.

The 20-year-old Exum (6-6, 190, Australia) is entering his second NBA season after appearing in all 82 games (41 starts) as a rookie and averaging 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes. Exum became only the 10th rookie in Jazz history to play in all 82 games, scoring in double figures in 13 games and leading the team in assists 11 times. He helped the Jazz to a 24-17 record as a starter and was selected to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in New York.

Hood (6-8, 206, Duke) is entering his second NBA season after averaging 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists, hitting .365 (62-170) from three-point range, in 21.3 minutes of 50 appearances (21 starts) during his rookie campaign. The 22-year-old was selected as the NBA’s Western Conference Rookie of the Month during the final month of the season after upping his averages to 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals in seven games during April. He scored 20-plus points in three of those games, and five times overall on the season.

Burke (6-1, 191, Michigan), 22, is entering his third NBA season and has appeared in 146 games (111 starts) during his first two seasons, owning averages of 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 31.2 minutes. He averaged12.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game in 76 games (43 starts) during the 2014-15 season. He scored 10-plus points on 52 occasions and 20-plus points in 11 contests , posting three double-doubles as a second-year player. A 2014 All-NBA Rookie First Teamselection, Burke was chosen to participate in the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend in each of his first two seasons.

The 23-year-old Gobert (7-1, 245, France) is also entering his third NBA season after appearing in all 82 games (37 starts) in 2014-15 andaveraging 8.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 26.3 minutes while placing third in NBA Most Improved Player balloting and fifth in voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year. In his second year, Gobert improved both his scoring and rebounding averages by more than six per game over his rookie season, and tallied the second most blocked shots in the NBA (189), including an NBA-best 134 blocks after the All-Star break. Gobert logged 25 double-doubles on the season and became just the third player in Jazz history to block 180-plus shots in a season (Mark Eaton, Andrei Kirilenko). The Jazz finished 22-15 in Gobert’s 37 starts. For his career, Gobert has appeared in 127 games (37 starts), owning averages of 6.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 20.4 minutes .

Exum (fifth overall) and Hood (23rd overall) were Jazz selections in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft, while both Burke (ninth overall) and Gobert (27th overall) were 2013 first-round picks whose rights were acquired by the Jazz in separate draft-night trades.

Cavs waive Chris Johnson, sign Jack Cooley

Cavs waive Chris Johnson, sign Jack Cooley

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward/center Jack Cooley to a contract, General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

And in a related move, the Cavs have waived Chris Johnson.

Cooley (6-10, 250) appeared in 16 games for the Utah Jazz last season. He also played in 20 games for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, averaging 16.8 points on .572 shooting, 12.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game. Cooley played on the Cavs 2014 Summer League team.

Johnson appeared in four preseason games for the Cavs.

Gordon Hayward day-to-day with back contusion

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz forward/guard Gordon Hayward:

Hayward has been diagnosed by the Jazz medical staff with a low back contusion, resulting from a fall suffered after being fouled during a shot attempt with 2:18 remaining in the fourth quarter of Monday’s preseason game vs. Portland.

As a result, Hayward will not be able to participate in tonight’s open practice at EnergySolutions Arena. His status moving forward is day-to-day, and further updates will be provided when appropriate.

Pelicans sign Nate Robinson

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed guard Nate Robinson.

Robinson, 5-9, 180, appeared in 42 games last season for Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers, posting averages of 5.7 points, 2.3 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game. Selected 21st overall out of the University of Washington by Phoenix in the 2005 NBA Draft, Robinson has appeared in 616 career regular season games (106 starts) with New York, Boston, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Chicago, Denver and the LA Clippers, while holding averages of 11.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 22.5 minutes per game.

Robinson has appeared in 32 career playoff games, averaging 8.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.4 rebounds.

The only three-time slam dunk champion in NBA history, Robinson will wear #2 for the Pelicans.

New Orleans’ roster stands at 20.

Pelicans waive Mirza Begic

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has waived center Mirza Begić. Originally signed by the team on October 14, Begić did not appear in a preseason game for New Orleans.

Begić, 7-1, 265, most recently played for Laboral Kutxa Baskonia of the Spanish ACB League. Undrafted in 2007, Begić has played professionally since 2003 in Slovenia, Italy, Lithuania, Greece and Spain. A native of Yugoslavia, Begić is a two-time Slovenian League All-Star (2007, 2009), a Lithuanian League All-Star (2010), and led the Euroleague in blocked shots in 2011 with 2.3 blocks per game.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 19.