Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Thunder sign head coach Mark Daigneault to contract extension

The Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday signed Head Coach Mark Daigneault to a multi-year contract extension.

During the 2022-23 season, Daigneault led the Thunder to a 40-42 record and an NBA Play-In game victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Thunder’s 16-win improvement ranked second in the NBA and at the conclusion of the season, Daigneault finished second in 2023 NBA Coach of the Year voting.

Daigneault was named the fourth head coach in Thunder history on November 11, 2020 after originally joining the organization in 2014 where he served as head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue for five seasons. With the Blue, Daigneault led the team to three straight division titles and four playoff appearances before joining the Thunder bench as an assistant coach in 2019.

NBA Paris Game 2024, featuring Nets vs. Cavs, scheduled for January 11

The NBA Paris Game 2024 will feature the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers playing the league’s third regular-season game in Paris at the Accor Arena on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024.

The NBA Paris Game 2024 will mark the Nets’ second game in Paris, having played a preseason game in the French capital in 2008.

Brooklyn currently features 2021-22 NBA All-Defensive First Team and 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team member Mikal Bridges, 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team member Cam Johnson and three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons. The Nets have made five consecutive playoff appearances.

The Cavaliers will be playing their first game in Europe. Cleveland currently features four-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell, 2022 NBA All-Stars Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, and 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Defensive First Team member Evan Mobley. The Cavaliers won their first NBA championship in 2016 and made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances from 2015 to 2018.

The NBA Paris Game 2024 will air live on beIN SPORTS and NBA League Pass.

Sacramento Kings sign 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov

The Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, July 20 signed forward Sasha Vezenkov.

Vezenkov was named the 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP after he averaged 17.6 points (55.3 FG%, 38.3 3pt%, 84.0 FT%), 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 40 games (39 starts) for Olympiacos. He also received the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy and was selected to the All-EuroLeague First Team for a second consecutive season.

During the 2022-23 season, Vezenkov competed in the Greek Basket League for Olympiacos, posting averages of 16.7 points (58.0 FG%, 39.4 3pt%, 80.3 FT%), 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. For his performance, Vezenkov was chosen as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second season in a row and helped lead his team to win the Greek League Championship.

A native of Bulgaria, Vezenkov began his career in the Greek Basket League with Aris Basketball Club, spending four seasons with the team from 2011-15. He joined FC Barcelona for the next three years (2015-18) before joining Olympiacos prior to the 2018-19 season.

Vezenkov was originally selected with the 57th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets. Sacramento acquired his draft rights in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2022 NBA Draft.

Nets sign guard Armoni Brooks to two-way contract

The Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, July 20 signed free agent guard Armoni Brooks to a two-way contract.

Brooks (6’3″, 195) has appeared in 74 games (16 starts) across two seasons with the Houston Rockets (2021-22) and Toronto Raptors (2022), recording career averages of 6.9 points on 36.6 percent shooting from the field, 33.0 percent shooting from 3-point range and 75.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.4 minutes per game.

In his rookie season (2021) with the Rockets, Brooks appeared in 20 games (five starts), posting averages of 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 26.0 minutes per contest while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from distance.

The 25-year-old also played in four playoff games with the Raptors during the 2022 postseason.

Most recently, Brooks competed on Brooklyn’s Las Vegas Summer League team, notching averages of 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.6 minutes per game through five games while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from 3-point range (on 8.4 attempts per game) and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.

In addition to his NBA experience, the Texas native has logged 88 games of NBA G League experience split between the College Park Skyhawks and Rio Grande Valley Vipers, registering averages of 13.1 points on 44.0 percent shooting from the field, 38.7 percent shooting from distance and 83.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 24.6 minutes per game.

Brooks went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft after spending three years (2016-19) at the University of Houston, where he earned American Athletic Conference Sixth Man of the Year honors as a sophomore and All-AAC Second Team honors as a junior.

Nets waive RaiQuan Gray

The Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, July 18 waived forward RaiQuan Gray.

Gray was selected 59th overall by Brooklyn in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native signed a two-way deal with the Nets on April 8, 2023. Gray tallied 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a block in 35 minutes in his lone game with Brooklyn on April 9, 2023, against the Philadelphia 76ers. In 44 career NBA G League games (22 starts) with the Long Island Nets, Gray holds averages of 10.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals across 25.8 minutes per contest.

Spurs re-sign Tre Jones

The San Antonio Spurs yesterday re-signed guard Tre Jones.

Jones, 6-1/185, is coming off his third season with the Silver and Black. In 68 games (65 starts) last season, he averaged career-highs of 12.9 points, 6.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game. During the year, Jones recorded his first career triple-double against the Sacramento Kings on April 2, following it up with his second vs. the Timberwolves on April 8 to become just the fifth player in Spurs history to record multiple in the same season. The Minnesota native scored a career-best 26 points on Dec. 8 in a win over Houston and dished out a career-high 13 assists on Nov. 26 vs. the LA Lakers.

Selected by San Antonio in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft (41st overall), Jones has appeared in 174 total games for the Spurs, averaging 7.9 points, 4.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds, while shooting 46.9% from the floor. In his second NBA season (2021-22), the former Duke Blue Devil posted a 5.07 assist-to-turnover ratio, which set a record for the best single-season assist/turnover ratio in Spurs franchise history.

Sixers re-sign Montrezl Harrell

The Philadelphia 76ers yesterday re-signed Montrezl Harrell.

Harrell rejoins Philadelphia after seeing action in 57 games with the 76ers in 2022-23 where he posted averages of 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds on 59.8% shooting from the floor. Harrell has shot at least 55% from the field in all eight years of his career, making him one of four players in the league to do so dating back to 2015-16.

Across eight NBA seasons, Harrell has played in 515 games with Houston, the Clippers, the Lakers, Washington, Charlotte and Philadelphia, averaging 12.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.5 minutes per contest. He holds a career shooting percentage of 61.9%, the fourth-highest in NBA history.

Originally selected by Houston with the No. 32 overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, Harrell earned NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2019-20, after posting 18.6 points (58.0 FG%), 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks in 27.8 minutes over 63 games with the LA Clippers.

Jazz sign Omer Yurtseven

The Utah Jazz, two days ago, signed center Omer Yurtseven.

Yurtseven (7-0, 255, Georgetown) is entering his third NBA season, having spent two campaigns (2021-23) with the Miami Heat, owning averages of 5.2 points on 53.3 percent shooting and 4.9 rebounds per contest in 65 career games (12 starts). During the 2021-22 campaign, the 25-year-old totaled 11 double-figure scoring outings, including two 20-plus point outings and eight double-doubles. He’s appeared in 17 postseason contests in two seasons.

A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Yurtseven was a three-year collegiate player at NC State (2016-18) and Georgetown (2019-2), appearing in 81 games (61 starts) with career averages of 12.1 points on 53.9 percent from the field, along with 7.1 boards, and 1.4 blocks in 23.6 minutes per contest. Following his sophomore season, he was selected to the 2017-18 All-ACC Third Team.

Yurtseven began his professional career with the Fenerbahçe SK U18 squad in 2013-14 and, in 2014-15, appeared in six games for the Fenerbahçe senior squad. He competed in 19 games (one start) for Fenerbahçe in 2015-16 before opting to go to college.

Thunder sign Vasilije Micic

The Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, July 17 signed guard Vasilije Micić to a multi-year contract.

Micić (6-5, 203) joins the Thunder after a decorated Euroleague career where he won league MVP honors in 2021 and helped lead Anadolu Efes to a pair of Euroleague championships in 2021 and 2022. In 31 Euroleague games this past season, Micić averaged 16.0 points, 5.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 31.3 minutes before receiving Euroleague Final Four MVP honors.

In 2017 Micić helped lead the Serbian national team to a silver medal at EuroBasket 2017 after starting his involvement with the national team in 2011 where he also won a silver medal at the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.

Oklahoma City acquired the draft rights to Micić from the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 8, 2020. Micić was originally selected by Philadelphia with the 52nd overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Suns trade Cameron Payne to Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs, in a trade two days ago (Monday), acquired guard Cameron Payne, a 2025 second round pick (via New Orleans) and cash considerations from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a protected second round pick in 2024.

Payne, 6-1/180, appeared in 48 games (15 starts) for the Suns last season, averaging 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 20.2 minutes per game. An eight-year veteran in the NBA, Payne has appeared in 327 total regular season games with Oklahoma City, Chicago, Cleveland and Phoenix, holding career averages of 8.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 36.3% from three-point range.