NBA News Blog – Page 773 – NBA Blog

Cleveland Cavaliers sign rookie forward Dwight Powell

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Dwight Powell, the 45th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Powell played four years at Stanford, appearing in 136 games (105 starts) with averages of 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game. The 6-11, 240-pound forward from Ontario, Canada is a two-time First Team All-Pac 12 selection. He averaged 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals during his senior season and was the Pac 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Powell also played for Canada in the World University Games in the summer of 2013.

During the 2014 Samsung NBA Summer in Las Vegas, Powell appeared in three games (one start) for the Cavaliers and averaged 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. He was originally acquired along with center Brendan Haywood in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Scotty Hopson and cash considerations on July 12, 2014.

Utah Jazz announce staff additions

The Utah Jazz today announced that the team has hired Patrick Beilein and Lamar Skeeter as player development/video analysts, and named Taylor Snarr as coordinator of analytics.

For the past two seasons, Beilein served as the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan, a Division II school location in Buckhannon, W.V. He took the team to a 20-12 record during the 2013-14 season, an eight-win improvement over his inaugural campaign. Prior to his first head coaching job, Beilein served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Bradley University for one season (2011-12) and as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire during the 2010-11 campaign. From 2008-10, he served as a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan under his father, John Beilein.

Beilein also played for his father at West Virginia University, helping to lead the Mountaineers to appearances in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight. He finished his four-year career with 1,001 points and ranks second in school history in career three-point field goals with 241, just the third player to surpass 200 in a career.

Skeeter spent the past season with the Atlanta Hawks, serving as the basketball operations intern in the summer of 2013 before transitioning to the player development/video intern for the 2013-14 campaign. Prior to his stint in Atlanta, he spent one season (2012-13) as the basketball operations intern for the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League then former head coach and current Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen. Skeeter also spent one season as a graduate assistant at Walsh University, his alma mater, in North Canton, Ohio.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Skeeter graduated from Walsh with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business management. He also competed for the school’s Division III basketball team from 2007-11.

Snarr spent the 2013-14 campaign as the basketball analytics intern for the Jazz, working directly with SportVU’s player tracking system. A graduate of BYU-Hawaii, Snarr has over five years of professional experience with data and research analysis. Most recently, Snarr worked with the Utah Department of Corrections as a research consultant from 2011 through June 2014.

Rockets re-sign Francisco Garcia

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced that the team has re-signed unrestricted free agent guard/forward Francisco Garcia.

Garcia (6-7, 195, Louisville) has averaged 8.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 535 career games (137 starts) with Sacramento and Houston. Last season with the Rockets, Garcia averaged 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.7 minutes. Acquired by the Rockets in a trade with the Kings on Feb. 20, 2013, Garcia averaged 6.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.78 steals in 18 games (five starts) during his first season with Houston. He was also a big contributor in Houston’s 2013 playoff series with Oklahoma City, averaging 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in six games (three starts) against the Thunder. Garcia, who was the longest tenured King when acquired by the Rockets, averaged 5.2 points, 1.7 boards and 1.1 assists in 17.8 minutes per outing over 40 games (15 starts) with Sacramento in 2012-13. Entering his ninth NBA season, Garcia was originally selected by the Kings as an early entry candidate out of Louisville with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Atlanta Hawks add Charles Lee and Ben Sullivan to coaching staff

The Atlanta Hawks have added Charles Lee and Ben Sullivan to the coaching staff, it was announced today by Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

“Charles and Ben bring unique skills and abilities to our staff. Both have strong backgrounds in player development that will complement our emphasis on internal team improvement,” Budenholzer said. “We feel very fortunate to add them and are excited to see how they positively impact our group.”

Lee, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Bucknell, was the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year for the Bisons and ranks 22nd on the school’s all-time scoring list. After graduating with a degree in business management, the Gaithersburg, MD native played professionally in Israel, Belgium and Germany.

Sullivan most recently worked in basketball development and as an assistant video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs. He played collegiately at Cal-State Northridge and University of Portland, competing professionally in China, Germany and Chile following graduation. Sullivan joined University of Portland’s coaching staff in 2009, then was an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark College in Portland before joining the Spurs.

Lee and Sullivan join Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins and Neven Spahija on Budenholzer’s staff. Additionally, Jim Thomas, a member of the coaching staff in 2013-14, has been moved into a front office role as a scout, a position he previously served in with Oklahoma City, New York and Toronto.

Jazz sign forward Jack Cooley

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed free-agent forward Jack Cooley.

Cooley (6-9, 246, Notre Dame) played for Trabzonspor in the Turkish Basketball League during the 2013-14 season, averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 22.9 minutes in 28 games (19 starts).

The 23-year-old forward played four years at Notre Dame (2009-13), averaging 13.1 points and 10.1 rebounds during his senior season. He also led the team with 41 blocked shots and earned 2013 All-Big East First Team honors. Cooley totaled 32 double-doubles throughout his career with the Fighting Irish, including 19 his senior campaign. He also earned the 2012 Big East Most Improved Player award and was named to the 2012 All-Big East Second Team. Cooley became the 53rd player in Notre Dame history to reach the 1,000-point mark and finished with 1,017 career points and grabbed 792 career rebounds. He was not selected in the 2013 NBA Draft.

A native of Evanston, Ill., Cooley played high school basketball at Glenbrook South in Glenview, Ill. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance from Notre Dame.

Cavs hire Jim Boylan, Bret Brielmaier, Larry Drew, James Posey as assistant coaches

The Cavaliers have finalized their coaching staff and named Jim Boylan, Bret Brielmaier, Larry Drew and James Posey as assistant coaches on head coach David Blatt’s staff, Cavs General Manager David Griffin and Blatt announced today. They join Tyronn Lue, who was named associate head coach earlier this summer. Phil Handy will also serve as Director of Player Development and Assistant Coach, along with Vitaly Potapenko, who has been tabbed to continue as the team’s Assistant Director of Player Development.

Boylan joins Blatt’s staff after serving as an assistant for the Cavaliers during their 2013-14 campaign. Prior to joining the Cavaliers, he spent five seasons as the lead assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, with the last 50 games of the 2012-13 season as the interim head coach. Boylan began his NBA coaching career with the Cavaliers as an assistant in 1992 under Lenny Wilkins and has since worked as an assistant with Chicago, Vancouver, Phoenix and Atlanta.

Brielmaier returns for his second season in Cleveland, having joined the team last July for the 2013-14 campaign. Prior to last year, Brielmaier spent four seasons in San Antonio, most recently as the team’s video coordinator. A graduate of the University of Arizona, he played four years for the Wildcats before starting his coaching career as the undergraduate assistant in 2008. In 2009, he joined the staff of the Spurs as a player development assistant and later promoted to video coordinator.

Drew joins the staff after one season as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Prior to his stint with the Bucks, he spent three seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, leading them to postseason appearances in each of those seasons. A first round selection by Detroit in the 1980 NBA Draft, Drew appeared in 714 career NBA games with averages of 11.4 points and 5.2 assists with the Pistons, Kansas City/Sacramento, L.A. Clipper and L.A. Lakers. The Kansas City native began his coaching career in 1992 and has served as an assistant coach with the Lakers, Pistons, Washington Wizards, New Jersey Nets and Hawks.

Posey joins the coaching staff after a successful first season as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. Posey, a 12-year NBA veteran, appeared in 864 career games with averages of 8.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals with the Nuggets, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Boston, New Orleans and Indiana. The Twinsburg, OH native also won two NBA Championships as a player with Miami (2005-06) and Boston (2007-08).

Handy returns to the staff after holding a similar role with the team last season. He joined the Cavaliers in 2013 after a two-year stint with the Lakers (2011-13). Prior to that, Handy spent five years as an AAU coach in Northern California. Over a 13-year period, he operated his own professional basketball training business, servicing NBA, European, college and many of the top-ranked high school players in the state. A former University of Hawaii basketball standout, Handy spent time in the NBA with Golden State and Portland, along with eight-years of playing experience overseas in Israel, France, England, Germany, Italy and Australia.

Potapenko returns to the staff as the Assistant Director of Player Development. Prior to joining the Cavs in July 2013, he spent the previous year as an assistant coach with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D- League. That season, his team posted a 32-18 record en-route to their first NBADL Finals appearance. Potapenko was selected 12th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1996 NBA Draft and spent his first three seasons with the team. Potapenko went on to have an 11-year NBA career with the Cavaliers, Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics and Kings, with averages of 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Grizzlies sign second round pick Jarnell Stokes

The Memphis Grizzlies signed 2014 second round draft pick Jarnell Stokes to a multi-year contract, the team announced today.

Stokes (6-9, 263) was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round (35th overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft and traded to Memphis on draft night for a 2016 second round draft pick.

Before entering the NBA Draft, Stokes played three years at the University of Tennessee (2011-14), averaging 13.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.08 blocks on .530 shooting in 29.7 minutes in 87 games. The 20-year-old left the Volunteers ranked fourth in school history in double-doubles (40), eighth in total rebounds (836) and 14th in blocks (94). He led the Southeastern Conference in offensive rebounding in each of his final two years in Knoxville.

A First Team All-SEC selection as a junior last season, Stokes posted 15.1 points and a conference-best 10.6 rebounds on .531 shooting in 32.4 minutes in 37 games, guiding Tennessee to three NCAA Tournament victories and a trip to the Sweet 16. He boosted his averages to 18.0 points and 12.8 rebounds in four tournament games, including a 26-point, 14-rebound performance on March 21, 2014 vs. Massachusetts. Stokes was named Second Team All-SEC as a sophomore and earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors in his first collegiate season.

The Memphis native and Southwind High School graduate averaged 12.2 points and 9.4 rebounds in 26.6 minutes and recorded three double-doubles in five games (four starts) last month for the Grizzlies during the 2014 Orlando Pro Summer League. He ranked second among all players in rebounds per game.

Pistons sign Cartier Martin and Aaron Gray

The Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Stan Van Gundy announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Cartier Martin and center Aaron Gray to contracts.

Martin, a 6-7, 220-pound forward has career averages of 5.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 14.3 minutes in 220 games for Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Golden State and Charlotte. Martin played in a career-high 59 games last season with Atlanta and Chicago averaging 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 14.7 minutes. He played in 53 games for the Hawks, scoring a season-high 17 points in 17 minutes at Dallas (10/30) and finished the year averaging 5.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

A native of Crockett, TX, Martin went undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Kansas State University after averaging 13.8 points (.399 3FG), 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 112 games during his four-year career. He had a breakout junior season, averaging career-highs in points (18.0) and rebounds (6.6) in 28 games and averaged 17.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 35 games as a senior. He has played professionally in Turkey, Italy and China, while also spending time in the NBA Development League with the Iowa Energy, where he was selected as a NBA D-League All-Star in 2009.

Gray, a 7-0, 270-pound center holds career averages of 3.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 12.1 minutes in 318 career games with Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and Sacramento. He split time between Toronto and Sacramento during 2013-14 season, appearing in 37 games and averaging 1.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 9.6 minutes.

A native of Tarzana, CA, the 29-year-old spent the majority of last season with the Kings after being traded in December. Gray averaged 1.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 10.2 minutes in 33 games with Sacramento.

Gray played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh from 2003-07, where he averaged 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 blocks and 20.9 minutes in 113 games. During his junior year with the Panthers, Gray earned the Big-East 2005-06 Most Improved Player and was named to the All-Big East First Team after averaging 13.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks in 33 games. He followed up his junior season with a solid senior year, averaging 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks in 36 games and again, was named to the All-Big East First Team.

Raptors sign Jordan Hamilton

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed forward-guard Jordan Hamilton.

Hamilton, 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 17.0 minutes in 60 games (12 starts) last season with Denver and Houston. He scored in double figures 20 times, including a season-high 19 points November 8 at Phoenix. The Rockets acquired Hamilton from the Nuggets on February 20 in exchange for Aaron Brooks.

A product of University of Texas, Hamilton was selected 26th overall by Dallas in the 2011 NBA Draft. His rights were traded on draft night to Denver as part of a three-team deal involving Portland. In 126 career games (15 starts), he has averaged 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 13.3 minutes, while shooting .358 (114-for-318) from three-point range.

Shaun Livingston out at least 6-8 weeks after toe surgery

Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on the big toe of his right foot earlier this week and is expected to be out a minimum of six-to-eight weeks, the team announced today.

The procedure, a debridement (cleaning out of debris) in his right big toe, was performed on Wednesday, August 13, by Dr. Richard Ferkel at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys, CA. As part of his rehabilitation from the surgery, Livingston will be in a splint for the first three weeks of his recovery.

Livingston, 28, signed with the Warriors as a free agent on July 11, 2014. At that time he was diagnosed with a sprained right big toe and his right foot was placed in a cast as part of treatment for the injury. During a re-evaluation last week, it was determined that the injury was still present.