NBA News Blog – Page 774 – NBA Blog

Utah Jazz sign guard Dee Bost

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed free-agent guard Dee Bost.

According to the Deseret News via Twitter, “Bost’s deal with Jazz/Stampede is worth $65,000, per sources. He’ll attend Jazz camp but will likely play in D-League for Idaho.”

Bost (6-2, 176, Mississippi State) played for the Idaho Stampede last season, averaging 15.2 points, a team-high 8.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds and team-leading 2.1 steals in 40.5 minutes in 50 games (all starts). He ranked second in the D-League in assists and minutes per game, and fourth in steals during the 2013-14 campaign. Bost scored in double figures in 41 games, including 14 contests recording 20-plus points. He also registered five triple-doubles and 10 double-doubles and was selected to participate in the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game.

The 24-year-old guard attended training camp with the Portland Trail Blazers prior to the 2013-14 season. Bost spent the 2012-13 season with Budućnost Podgorica of Montenegro, where he appeared in 54 games (44 starts) and averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game.

He played four seasons at Mississippi State, averaging 15.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 36.3 minutes during his senior campaign and was named to the 2012 All-SEC First Team. Bost also appeared on the 2009 SEC All-Freshman Team and the All-SEC Second Team for two consecutive seasons (2010, 2011). He was not selected in the 2012 NBA Draft.

A native of Charlotte, N.C., Bost played high school basketball at Concord High School in Concord, N.C. He was named the 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Charlotte Observer. Bost played one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., helping lead the team to a perfect 29-0 record and the 2008 National Prep Championship.

Bost will wear uniform #2 for the Jazz.

Isaiah Thomas undergoes left wrist surgery

Phoenix Suns guard Isaiah Thomas today underwent a successful arthroscopy of his left wrist, the team has announced. He is expected to participate fully in the team’s training camp. The procedure was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgeries in New York.

The Suns acquired Thomas from the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade on July 12. A product of the University of Washington, Thomas is a three-year NBA veteran who averaged career-highs of 20.3 points on 45.3 percent shooting, 6.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 72 games with the Kings last season. For his career, Thomas holds averages of 15.3 points on 44.7 percent shooting from the field, 36.0 percent from behind the arc and 85.7 percent from the stripe.

Miami Heat sign Reggie Williams

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Reggie Williams.

Williams, a five-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 180 regular season career games (32 starts) averaging 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 19.7 minutes while shooting 46.0 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and 74.3 percent from the foul line. The 6’6”, 210-guard has previously played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors (2009-11), Charlotte Bobcats (2011-13) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2013-14). He enjoyed his finest NBA season as a member of the Warriors in 2010-11 when he appeared in 80 games (nine starts) and averaged 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 20.3 minutes while shooting 42.3 percent from three-point range, connecting on a career-high 102 three-point field goals.

He split the 2013-14 season between the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League and the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association. He appeared in three games for the Thunder and averaged 3.7 points and 5.7 minutes. He also appeared in 25 games (21 starts) for Tulsa and averaged 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from three-point range and 73.2 percent from the foul line. In 10 games (all starts) for San Miguel, Williams averaged 29.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 44.8 minutes while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range.

Williams, who led the NCAA in scoring average in consecutive seasons (2006-07 and 2007-08) at Virginia Military Institute, went undrafted by the NBA upon graduation. After playing overseas in France for one season with JDA Dijon, he was drafted by the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the 2009 NBA Development League Draft. In his lone season with the Skyforce, Williams was named to the 2010 NBA D-League All-Star Team and earned All-NBA D-League First Team honors after averaging 26.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 40.0 minutes while shooting 57.6 percent from the field, 41.0 percent from three-point range and 82.4 percent from the foul line.

P.J. Tucker suspended 3 games after DUI

Phoenix Suns’ forward P.J. Tucker has been suspended three games without pay for pleading guilty to driving while under the extreme influence of intoxicating liquor, in violation of the law of the State of Arizona, the NBA announced today.

Tucker’s suspension will begin with the first game of the 2014-15 NBA regular season.

Sale complete: Steve Ballmer now officially owns the Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that the transaction in which Steve Ballmer purchased the Los Angeles Clippers closed today following the entry of an order by a California court confirming the authority of Shelly Sterling, on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust, to sell the team.The NBA Board of Governors previously approved the sale and Mr. Ballmer is now the Clippers Governor.

“I am humbled and honored to be the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,” Mr. Ballmer said. “Clipper fans are so amazing. They have remained fiercely loyal to our franchise through some extraordinary times. I will be hard core in giving the team, our great coach, staff and players the support they need to do their best work on the court. And we will do whatever necessary to provide our fans and their families with the best game-night experience in the NBA. I look forward to meeting our fans at our STAPLES Center Fan Festival on Monday, Aug. 18 at 12:30 pm PT.”

“This is an amazing new day in Clippers history,” Clippers President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Doc Rivers said. “I couldn’t be more excited to work together with Steve as we continue to build a first-class, championship organization. I am already inspired by Steve’s passion for the game, his love of competition and desire to win the right way and I know our players and fans are going to be inspired as well.”

Nets guard Markel Brown has broken hand

Brooklyn Nets guard Markel Brown has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand, General Manager Billy King announced today. Brown, who was injured while working out in Las Vegas earlier today, had his hand placed in a cast and will be held out of basketball activities for a period of 4-6 weeks.

Brown, the 44th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night in exchange for cash considerations. He recently completed his senior season at Oklahoma State, averaging 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35.3 minutes per game and earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the second consecutive season. During his junior season, Brown averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 34.1 minutes per game.

Over the course of four seasons, the 6’3” guard played in 134 games, averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.00 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. He became the only player in Oklahoma State history to record 300 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in his career and his 969 career points in Big 12 games are an Oklahoma State record. Brown was named Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2010 after a standout career at Peabody Magnet High School in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Cavaliers sign center Alex Kirk

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed free agent center Alex Kirk, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

An early entry candidate, the 7-0, 245-pound center went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft after appearing in 101 games (86 starts) over three seasons at the University of New Mexico. He averaged 10.0 points on .488 shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game over his collegiate career, where he was also a two-time All-MWC Defensive Team selection. Last season, he averaged 13.3 points on .490 shooting from the field, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 32.0 minutes per game, while receiving his second All-MWC Defensive Team honor.

During the 2014 Samsung NBA Summer in Las Vegas, Kirk played five games for the Cavaliers Summer League team entry and averaged 5.2 points on .524 shooting and 3.4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.

Wizards hire Roy Rogers as assistant coach

The Washington Wizards announced today that the team has named Roy Rogers as an assistant on the staff of Head Coach Randy Wittman.

Rogers comes to Washington after spending the 2013-14 season with the Brooklyn Nets. He began his NBA coaching career with the Nets, serving as an assistant coach from 2008-2010. He then served as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics as part of Doc Rivers’ staff in 2010-11 before joining the Detroit Pistons for two seasons (2011-2013) under head coach Lawrence Frank.

Prior to his first stint with the Nets, Rogers coached in the NBA Development League with the Austin Toros (2007-08), Tulsa 66ers (2005-07) and Huntsville Flight (2004-05). Selected 22nd overall in the 1996 NBA Draft out of the University of Alabama, Rogers spent three years in the NBA, averaging 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in his NBA career split between four teams (Vancouver, Boston, Toronto and Denver). He also played four seasons (2000-04) of professional basketball internationally with stops in Russia, Italy, Greece and Poland.

Rogers will join returning assistants Don Newman, Don Zierden and Pat Sullivan and newcomer David Adkins, who was hired earlier this summer, on the Wizards’ bench.

Suns sign first-round draft picks T.J. Warren and Tyler Ennis

The Phoenix Suns have signed 2014 first-round draft picks T.J. Warren (14th overall selection) and Tyler Ennis (18th overall), the team announced today.

All first-round NBA draft picks are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they wish to play in the league right away. Therefore, these signings are standard and were expected.

Both Warren and Ennis made their Suns’ debuts as members of Phoenix’s entry at NBA Summer League 2014 in Las Vegas. Warren was named to the All-NBA Summer League Second Team after averaging a team-high 17.8 points on 54.4 percent shooting, while Ennis posted team-highs of 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals in addition to 4.2 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Warren, a 6-foot-8 forward from Durham, N.C., earned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year honors this past season to complete a two-year career at North Carolina State. In his sophomore season, Warren ranked third in the nation with 24.9 points per game while also averaging 7.1 rebounds and shooting an ACC-best 52.5 percent from the field. Named a Second Team AP All-American, Warren also excelled on the defensive end, leading the ACC in steals in conference games.

One of the best scorers in this year’s draft, Warren is a creative shot-maker who can get points in a variety of ways. Warren set a single-season North Carolina State record with 871 points this past season, including a career-high 42 points against Boston College. Warren became just the third player in ACC history to lead the conference in scoring and field goal percentage in the same season, in addition to posting back-to-back games with 40-plus points to join Hall of Famer David Thompson as the only two players to do so in Wolfpack history.

A 6-foot-3, 19-year-old from Brampton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, Ennis is considered to be one of the best pure point guards in recent drafts. Ennis played one season at Syracuse, earning All-ACC Second Team honors after averaging 12.9 points and 5.5 assists in 2013-14. Ennis has also shined in international competition, leading Canada with a tournament-high 20.8 points per game at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship.

One of the most clutch players in college basketball as a freshman, Ennis earned a reputation for his late-game heroics, including a buzzer-beater from near half-court in Syracuse’s win at Pittsburgh. Ennis’ poise was also on display with his superb decision-making as he ranked sixth in the nation with a 3.60 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Miami Heat sign guard Tyler Johnson

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Tyler Johnson.

Most recently, Johnson appeared in 11 Summer League games with the HEAT and averaged 12.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 22.2 minutes while shooting 54.8 percent from the field, 46.7 percent from three-point range and 81.4 percent from the foul line.

Johnson played four seasons at Fresno State University, appearing in 127 career games (87 starts) and averaged 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.10 steals and 27.9 minutes while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from three-point range and 71.6 percent from the foul line. He finished his collegiate career ranked No. 16 on Fresno State’s all-time scoring list (1,346 career points). As a senior, he was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team and shot 43.2 percent from three-point range, the sixth-highest single-season three-point field goal percentage in school history.