NBA News Blog – Page 842 – NBA Blog

Atlanta Hawks will sign Pero Antic

According to the agent for Pero Antic, the European power forward/center has agreed to a two-year contract with the Hawks. Misko Raznatovic stated the news Wednesday on Twitter.

The Hawks have not announced the signing as there likely are details that must be finalized. According to Raznatovic, the second year of the deal is an option.

Antic, 6-foot-11, 260 pounds, played in the Greek League the past two seasons. He helped Olympiacos to consecutive Euroleague championships.

Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Warriors waive Dwayne Jones, Scott Machado and Kevin Murphy

The Golden State Warriors have waived forward/center Dwayne Jones, guard Scott Machado and guard Kevin Murphy, the team announced today.

Jones was signed by Golden State as a free agent on the final day of the 2012-13 regular season (April 17, 2013) and appeared briefly in two playoffs games with the Warriors. Prior to signing with the Warriors, he had appeared in 21 games for the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League, averaging 8.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contests.

Machado was originally signed by Golden State as a free agent call-up from the Santa Cruz Warriors on April 7, 2013, and appeared briefly in five playoff games with the Warriors. He also appeared in six games with the Houston Rockets last season and spent significant time in the D-League, averaging 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in 28 contests combined between Santa Cruz and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Murphy was acquired from the Utah Jazz on July 10, 2013, as part of the three-team trade highlighted by the acquisition of Andre Iguodala. As a rookie last season with the Jazz, Murphy appeared in 17 games and averaged 0.9 points in 3.1 minutes per contest. He also appeared in 14 games with the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, averaging 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28.6 minutes per contest.

Golden State’s roster currently stands at 13 players.

Dallas Mavericks sign second round draft pick Ricky Ledo

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed second round pick Ricky Ledo.

The Mavericks acquired the draft rights to 43rd overall pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a 2014 second round pick that was originally sent to the Mavericks from Boston (via Brooklyn) in a deal that also included the draft rights to 16th overall pick Lucas Nogueira.

Ledo (6-7, 195) attended Providence University where he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA, but continued to practice with the Friars.

Before arriving in Providence, Ledo was a Jordan All-American at South Kent (Conn.) High School where he averaged 23.4 points and 6.2 rebounds in his senior season. Scout.com ranked him as the No. 5 shooting guard and No. 17 overall prospect after his senior season of high school.

Dallas Mavs sign Monta Ellis

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard Monta Ellis. According to multiple reports, it is a a three-year deal worth over $25 million.

Ellis (6-3, 185) is an eight-year veteran guard with career averages of 19.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 36.0 minutes in 516 games (437 starts) with Golden State and Milwaukee. In 2007, he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player and has since averaged 19 points or more in each of the past six seasons.

According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, “the Mavs are optimistic that Ellis will benefit from playing with pass-first point guard Jose Calderon and Nowitzki, whose shooting ability creates space for teammates.”

2009-10 was a breakout season for Ellis when he averaged 25.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 41.4 minutes per game with Golden State. On March 13, 2012, Ellis was traded to Milwaukee, along with Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown, in exchange for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson ending his nearly seven-year tenure with the Warriors.

Last season, Ellis started all 82 games for Milwaukee and averaged 19.2 points, 6.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 37.5 minutes per contest.

The Jackson, Miss., native, jumped directly to the NBA Draft from Lanier High School where he was named 2005 Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year and USA Today All-American. The Warriors selected him with the 40th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Jonas Valanciunas wins 2013 NBA Summer League MVP award

The National Basketball Associated announced Monday that Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has been named Most Valuable Player of the NBA Summer League 2013, as selected by a panel of media members.

Valanciunas averaged 18.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 29.3 minutes in four outings. He shot .561 (23-41) from the field and .879 (29-33) from the foul line. He recorded highs of 23 points in Toronto’s opener versus Miami and 13 rebounds in a victory over San Antonio. Valanciunas scored in double figures in all four games and posted two double-doubles.

Valanciunas was joined by Kent Bazemore (Golden State), John Henson (Milwaukee), Jeff Taylor (Charlotte) and Cody Zeller (Charlotte) as members of the All-NBA Summer League 2013 Team. The team, which consisted of two frontcourt players and three backcourt players, was selected by journalists.

Valanciunas earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honours as he averaged 8.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 23.9 minutes in 62 games this past season. He was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for March, averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and shooting .620 from the field in 15 games.

Toronto Raptors sign guard D.J. Augustin

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed free-agent point guard D.J. Augustin (aug-us-TEEN).

“Adding a young, experienced point guard to our roster was one of our objectives going into this off-season,” said Raptors President and General Manager, Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri. “D.J. will provide experience and give us depth in the backcourt.”

Augustin, 6-foot, 183 pounds, has appeared in 358 regular-season games (with 147 starts) posting averages of 9.6 points, 4.0 assists and 24.5 minutes. He is shooting .872 at the free throw line, which ranks 13th in the NBA over the last five seasons.

Augustin arrives in Toronto following one season at Indiana where he averaged 4.7 points, 2.2 assists and 16.1 minutes in 76 regular-season games. He also appeared in 19 playoff games for the Pacers, reaching double-digits in points four times, including a 16-point performance May 5 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals versus New York.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Augustin was drafted ninth overall by Charlotte in the 2008 NBA Draft. He scored a career-high 31 points January 20, 2011 versus Philadelphia and finished the 2010-11 season averaging a career-best 14.4 points. Augustin was named to the All-Rookie Second Team during the 2008-09 season after averaging 11.8 points and 3.5 assists.

Augustin earned consensus first-team All-American honours and first-team All-Big 12 honours during his two-year collegiate career at the University of Texas. He was the recipient of the 2008 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard and was a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Awards.

Utah Jazz sign guard John Lucas III

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has agreed to terms with free-agent guard John Lucas III. Lucas joins Utah after spending the 2012-13 season with the Toronto Raptors.

A 5-11, 165-pound guard out of Oklahoma State, Lucas owns career NBA averages of 5.1 points, 1.5 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 11.8 minutes over five seasons with Houston, Chicago and Toronto. The veteran guard averaged 5.3 points and 1.7 assists in 13.1 minutes in a career-high 63 games last season with the Raptors. The season prior, Lucas averaged career-bests of 7.5 points, 2.2 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes in 49 games (two starts) with Chicago. Lucas, who played his first two NBA seasons in Houston (2005-07), has also played professionally in the NBA Development League, Spain, China and Italy.

The 30-year-old Bellaire, Texas, native finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma State after spending his first two years at Baylor.

An All-Big 12 First Team selection and All-American as a junior and senior for the Cowboys (2003-05), he left the school with career averages of 16.3 points and 4.3 assists in 68 games at Oklahoma State. The Big 12 co-Player of the Year as a junior in 2004, Lucas was named Most Outstanding Player of the East Rutherford Regional of the NCAA Tournament after sinking one of the most stories shots in Oklahoma State history, drilling a three-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining in the Regional Final against Saint Joseph’s, which advanced the Cowboys to the 2004 Final Four. Lucas is the son of John Lucas, Jr., the former NBA coach and longtime player who was the first overall pick of the 1976 NBA Draft.

Houston Rockets re-sign Aaron Brooks, sign Reggie Williams

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has re-signed guard Aaron Brooks to a one-year deal and have inked unrestricted free agent guard Reggie Williams to a multi-year contract.

Brooks (6-0, 161, Oregon) returned for his fifth season with the Rockets in 2012-13, averaging 1.4 points and 0.9 assists in seven games with Houston. Originally selected by the Rockets in the first round (26th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Brooks has averaged 11.6 points and 3.4 assists in 325 games (149 starts) with Houston, the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. He was named the 2009-10 NBA Most Improved Player after finishing first in the NBA in 3-pointers made (.398, 209-525 3FG) and setting the franchise single-season record for treys. Brooks became just the sixth player in NBA history to make at least 200 3-pointers (209) and dish out 400 or more assists (434) in the same season. In addition to earning NBA Rookie of the Month honors for 2007 NBA Summer League, Brooks played in two games with the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 2007-08.

Williams (6-6, 205, Virginia Military Institute) has averaged 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 20.0 minutes per game over 177 career outings (32 starts) with the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Bobcats. He entered the NBA as a GATORADE Call-Up from the NBA D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce, signing the first of two 10-day contracts with the Warriors on Mar. 2, 2010. Williams appeared in 24 games for Golden State his rookie season, averaging 15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 32.6 minutes per outing. In his 10 starts in 2009-10, he averaged 16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 41.5 minutes. He appeared in a career-high 80 games (nine starts) for the Warriors in 2010-11, averaging 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.3 minutes per contest. He also ranked ninth in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (.423, 102-241 FG) during the 2010-11 campaign. Williams signed with the Bobcats as a free agent on Dec. 15, 2011, appearing in 73 games (13 starts) over his two seasons in Charlotte.

Prior to the NBA, Williams appeared in 30 games for JDA Dijon Bourgogne in France’s ProA league, averaging 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 29.0 minutes in 2008-09. As a collegian, he appeared in 112 career games over four seasons at VMI, averaging 22.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals. Williams actually led the nation in scoring his junior (28.1) and senior (27.6) seasons, becoming the ninth player in NCAA Division I history to lead the country in scoring in multiple campaigns. He finished his collegiate career as the all-time leading scorer in both VMI and Big South Conference history with 2,556 points. Williams was named First-Team All-Big South as a junior and senior, as well as earning Second-Team All-Big South honors as a sophomore.

Cleveland Cavaliers sign Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum has struggled with injuries throughout his NBA career and didn’t play a single game for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, but talented centers will always be at a premium in today’s game. So, although no one is sure how good he even is at basketball right now, or how his health will hold up in the coming season, Bynum has a new NBA home.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed Bynum to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

According to multiple outlets, the deal is for two years, $24 million. And according to the Associated Press, “the Cavaliers guaranteed Bynum only $6 million in the first year of the deal, but he could earn an additional $6 million through performance incentives. Cleveland holds a $12 million team option for the second season.”

“We are very happy to welcome Andrew to Cleveland and the Cavaliers organization,” said General Manager Chris Grant. “His talent, size and experience clearly have the potential to very positively impact our team. He has the ability to strengthen the foundation we are creating and continue to be very excited about. At the same time, we are fully aware of where he is in his journey to get back on the court and will provide every resource possible to support and enhance this process.”

Bynum was originally selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft out of St. Joseph H.S. in Metuchen, NJ. In seven seasons, the 7-0, 285-pount center has appeared in 392 games with 300 starts, averaging 11.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game while shooting .566 from the floor. The 25-year old missed the 2012-13 season with knee injuries. The previous season, 2011-12, Bynum, a two-time NBA Champion, averaged career-highs of 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds for the Lakers and Head Coach Mike Brown, while being voted as a NBA All-Star starter for the Western Conference.

Cavaliers waive Kevin Jones and Chris Quinn

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived forward Kevin Jones and guard Chris Quinn, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Jones played in 32 games this past season for the Cavs, averaging 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game.

Quinn played in seven games for the Cavs, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 assists in 11.3 minutes per game.