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The San Antonio Spurs two days ago (Monday) waived forward Lamar Stevens.
Stevens was acquired from Cleveland as part of a three-team trade with the Cavaliers and Miami Heat on July 6, when the Spurs also received Cedi Osman, two future second round picks and cash considerations in exchange for a future second round pick.
The Orlando Magic, in a trade two days ago (Monday), acquired the unprotected swap rights to a 2026 first round draft pick from Phoenix or Washington in exchange for three future second round draft picks – the 2024 pick from Denver, the 2026 least-favorable pick between Orlando, Milwaukee or Detroit (via the L.A. Clippers) and the 2028 pick from Boston (protected 31-45), President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced.
During the next seven NBA drafts (2024-30), Orlando has eight first round picks and 12 second round picks.
The Philadelphia 76ers two days ago signed Filip Petrušev.
During the 2022-23 season, Petrušev played in 72 games (34 Euroleague, 33 Liga ABA, five tournament play) for Serbian club Crvena zvezda, averaging 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 57.3% from the field. Petrušev helped lead the team to its 23rd Basketball League of Serbia title, the most in league history. In Euroleague play, Petrušev earned Week 17 MVP honors.
This summer, with Philadelphia in the 2K24 Summer League 2023 in Las Vegas, Petrušev averaged 12.5 points on 61.1% shooting and 4.5 rebounds in two appearances.
A native of Serbia, Petrušev was originally selected by the 76ers with the No. 50 selection in the 2021 NBA Draft after he spent the 2020-21 season with KK Mega Basket. He earned league MVP honors, as well as the league’s Rising Star award as the top player under the age of 22.
Prior to playing professionally overseas, Petrušev spent two collegiate seasons at Gonzaga (2018-20). As a Bulldog, he was named the 2019-20 West Coast Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore when he averaged 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 56.2% from the floor.
The Dallas Mavericks yesterday signed first-round pick Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
Dallas acquired the draft rights to Prosper, the 24th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, along with center Richaun Holmes from Sacramento in exchange for cash considerations on July 6.
“O-Max was considered one of the best wing defenders in college basketball last year and plays with tremendous energy,” said Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison. “We are excited to put pen to paper and officially sign him.”
Prosper, who turned 21 years old on July 3, averaged 12.6 points (.439 FG%, .821 FT%), 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 25.2 minutes per game in five games (all starts) for the Mavericks’ NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023 team that finished 4-1 in Las Vegas.
The 6-8 forward recorded a 40.5-inch max vertical jump and measured with a 7-1 wingspan at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine this past summer.
Prosper spent two seasons at Marquette, where he averaged 12.5 points (.512 FG%), 4.7 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game in 36 games (all starts) as a junior last season. He played his freshman year at Clemson before transferring to Marquette.
Both growing up in Montréal, Prosper played alongside Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin in AAU and eventually at the NBA’s Latin American Academy in Mexico City. He is one of three Canadians on the Mavericks’ roster (along with AJ Lawson and Dwight Powell) and helped the Canadian national team to third-place finish at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Latvia.
Prosper will wear No. 18 for the Mavericks.
The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Azuolas Tubelis to a two-way contract.
Tubelis was a consensus 2022-23 Second Team All-American as a junior at the University of Arizona, averaging 19.8 points on 57.0% shooting and 9.1 rebounds in 35 regular-season games (34 starts). These numbers made Tubelis the seventh player in Pac-12 history, and first since the 2005-06 season, to lead the conference in points (19.8) and rebounds (9.1).
During Arizona’s Pac-12 Tournament championship run last season, Tubelis averaged 18.7 points and 10.3 rebounds en route to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
During his three seasons as a Wildcat, he averaged 15.6 points and 7.5 rebounds, finishing 15th in school history with 1,510 total points. Arizona compiled a 78-20 (.796) record in Tubelis’ three seasons with the program, including back-to-back seasons with a win percentage of at least .800 (2021-22; 2022-23), Arizona’s first such stretch since 2013-15.
Originally from Lithuania, Tubelis represented his home country in international play in 2016, 2018 and 2019
The Chicago Bulls have signed forward Torrey Craig.
Craig, 6-7, 221, recorded career-high averages in points (7.4), rebounds (5.4), assists (1.5), blocks (0.8) and minutes (24.7) while appearing in 79 games (60 starts) with the Phoenix Suns in 2022-23. Craig shot a career-best .395 from three-point range and made 100 three-pointers (100-253 3FG) on the season. He was the only Suns player to total at least 50 steals (50) and 50 blocks (62) in 2022-23.
The Boston Celtics have signed guard Dalano Banton.
Banton, 6-9, 204 lbs., appeared in 31 games with the Toronto Raptors last season and averaged 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 9.0 minutes per game. In 64 games as a rookie, he averaged 3.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 10.9 minutes per game during the 2021-22 season. He also appeared in seven regular season games (all starts) with Raptors 905 where he averaged 24.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 33.6 minutes.
In his sophomore season at Nebraska, he averaged 9.6 points, team highs of 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists, and 27.2 minutes in 27 games, becoming the first player since 1974 to lead the Huskers in both rebounding and assists. A native of Toronto, Banton was selected with the 46th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, becoming the first Canadian selected by the Raptors in the draft.
The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent forward Darius Bazley.
Bazley (6’9″, 216) appeared in 43 games (one start) in 2022-23 split between the Oklahoma City Thunder (36 games) and Phoenix Suns (seven games), averaging 5.2 points on a career-high 45.4 percent shooting from the field and a career-high 37.7 percent shooting from 3-point range and 3.2 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game.
Across four NBA seasons with the Thunder (2019-23) and Suns (2023), the 23-year-old Bazley has played in 228 career games (118 starts) and holds averages of 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.6 minutes per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor, 31.0 percent from distance and 67.3 percent from the free-throw line.
He also competed in seven playoff games as a reserve during the 2020 postseason for Oklahoma City and posted averages of 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from 3-point range and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line.
The Cincinnati native was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz before his draft rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and then to the Thunder.
Bazley earned a selection in the 2018 McDonald’s All-American game and was five-star recruit out of Princeton High School in Ohio.
After graduating, Bazley spent one year participating in an internship with New Balance while training for the NBA Draft.
The Boston Celtics have signed guard Jay Scrubb to a two-way contract.
Scrubb, 6-5/220, has appeared in 24 career NBA games (one start) with the Los Angeles Clippers (2020-22), and Orlando Magic (2022-23) and owns career averages of 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.
The Louisville, Kentucky native appeared in two games for the Magic last season and averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 15.0 minutes per game. He also appeared in 28 games (25 starts) with the Lakeland Magic of the NBA G League, where he finished sixth in the league in total points scored (625) and ranked eighth in scoring with 22.3 points per game and averaged 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.0 minutes.
Scrubb was selected with the 55th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and became the first Junior College player selected in the NBA Draft since 2004. Scrubb earned First-Team NJCAA All-American honors in each of his two years at John A. Logan College and was named the 2019-20 National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year. He started in 55 of his 59 games played, and averaged 21.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists from 2018-20.
The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Mike Miles Jr. to a Two-Way contract.
Miles (6-2, 205) is a local North Texas product who attended Lancaster High School before playing his collegiate basketball at Texas Christian University. In his three-year collegiate career at TCU, Miles averaged 15.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 83 career games (78 starts) on his way to twice being named All-Big 12 Second Team. In his final season, he averaged 17.9 points (third-best in the Big 12), 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 32.0 minutes in 27 games (all starts) and was a finalist for both the John Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
“Mike has been a winner at every level of basketball, from his gold medal experience with Team USA in 2021 to his state championship game run at Lancaster High School to multiple winning seasons at TCU,” General Manager Nico Harrison said. “Mike is a strong, physical guard who competes on both ends of the floor. This past season at TCU, he showcased his dynamic scoring ability while maintaining great efficiency. He will bring some local Dallas toughness and competitive spirit to our group.”
The standout guard at Lancaster led the Tigers to a 36-1 season and a state tournament finals berth as a senior. Miles averaged 21.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals and was named 5A Player of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, USA Today Boys Basketball Player of the Year in Dallas and SportsDay’s All-Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year by the Dallas Morning News.
Miles helped Team USA bring home a gold medal from the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia. The guard finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals with no turnovers in 30 minutes of action in Team USA’s 83-81 win over France in the championship game.
Miles will wear No. 14 for the Mavericks.