Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Knicks forward Julius Randle injured, out with ankle sprain

Via the NY Post:

All-Star forward Julius Randle will have his sprained left ankle reevaluated in two weeks, the team announced Thursday, meaning he will miss at least the final five games of the regular season — beginning Friday night against the Cavaliers — and possibly the start of the playoffs.

As long as the Knicks are not in the play-in round, the playoffs for them would start no earlier than April 15.

Historically, the league has played the eight Game 1’s on the first two playoff days (this year that would be April 15-16).

Randle, the team’s leading scorer at 25.1 points per game, has started all 77 games this season before departing late in the second quarter of Wednesday’s win over the Heat after landing on the foot of Miami forward Bam Adebayo.

FULL ARTICLE

Hornets sign Kobi Simmons to Two-Way contract

Charlotte Hornets have signed guard Kobi Simmons to a Two-Way contract.

Simmons has scored 1,803 points in three seasons (2019-21, 22-23) with the Greensboro Swarm, an all-time record for the Hornets’ G League affiliate. In 98 contests (78 starts) with the Swarm, Simmons has averaged 18.4 points (46.2 FG%, 36.2 3P%, 78.9 FT%), 4.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.5 minutes per game. Prior to the Swarm, he spent two seasons with the Memphis Hustle and the Cleveland Charge.

Simmons made his NBA debut for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2017-18 season. He notched career highs with 20 points and seven assists in a Grizzlies win over the Detroit Pistons on April 8, 2018. Simmons has appeared in 33 games (12 starts) for the Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers, recording 5.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.5 minutes per game. His professional experience also includes one season (2021-22) playing for BM Slam Stal Ostrow WLKP of the Polish EBL.

Simmons played one season at the University of Arizona (2016-17), where he averaged 8.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.5 minutes per game across 37 contests (19 starts). He helped the Wildcats earn a Pac-12 championship, a trip to the Sweet 16 and the No. 4 spot in the final AP poll.

Trail Blazers sign Shaquille Harrison to 10-day contract

The Trail Blazers have signed guard Shaquille Harrison to a 10-day contract.

Harrison, 29, played in 32 games (all starts) for the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League, recording averages of 13.6 points (49.3% FG, 70.7% FT), 6.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 32.5 minutes during the 2022-23 season.

A Tulsa alum, Harrison spent two seasons with the Northern Arizona Suns (2016-2018) and played for the Delaware Blue Coats during the 2021-22 season.

Trail Blazers sign Skylar Mays to 10-day contract

The Trail Blazers have signed guard Skylar Mays to a 10-day contract.

Mays, 25, has played in 29 games (14 starts) for the Mexico City Capitanes and Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League during the 2022-23 season, accruing averages of 14.1 points (43.1% FG, 88.2% FT), 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assist, 0.7 steals and 27.6 minutes.

Originally selected with the 50th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Mays has appeared in 61 career games (five starts) and averaged 3.3 points (46.9% FG, 33.8% 3-pt, 88.2% FT), 1.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 8.0 minutes per game for the Hawks.

Hornets sign Xavier Sneed to 10-day contract

The Charlotte Hornets have signed forward Xavier Sneed to a 10-day contract.

Sneed averaged 12.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 31.2 minutes per game across 32 contests (all starts) with the Greensboro Swarm this season. The veteran wing scored a career-high 30 points in a Greensboro Swarm win over the Windy City Bulls on Feb. 5, 2023 and totaled 20 or more points nine times this season. He made his NBA debut last season, appearing in nine games with Memphis and Utah.

He also played 15 games (14 starts) in 2021-22 with the Salt Lake City Stars and the Swarm, averaging 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.6 minutes per game. In 13 games (10 starts) with the Swarm in 2020-21, Sneed posted 8.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.9 steals in 23.3 minutes per game.

Jazz sign Luka Samanic to 10-day contract

The Utah Jazz have signed forward Luka Šamanić to a 10-day contract.

Šamanić (6-10, 227, Croatia) joins the Jazz having most recently played for the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League, where he appeared in 27 games (all starts), averaging 22.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 29.4 minutes per contest. The 23-year-old has two years of NBA experience with the San Antonio Spurs (2019-21), where he appeared in 36 games (five starts), averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per contest.

Drafted in the first round (19th overall pick) of the 2019 NBA Draft by San Antonio, Šamanić has additional professional experience with Union Olimpija of the Adriatic League (2018-19) and the FC Barcelona II and FC Barcelona U18 squads from 2016-18.

Nets sign Moses Brown to second 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Moses Brown to a second 10-day contract.

Brown (7’2″, 245) signed his first 10-day contract with the Nets on March 17 and played four minutes in his lone appearance on March 26 at Orlando. Prior to joining Brooklyn, the fourth-year pro previously played for Portland, Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers. In 127 career games (39 starts), Brown holds averages of 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per contest on 57.1 percent shooting from the field. The 23-year-old has also played in 50 career games (19 starts) across four seasons in the NBA G League, including five total games (four starts) this season for the Ontario Clippers and Westchester Knicks. Brown holds career NBA G League averages of 15.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.0 minutes per game.

A Queens, N.Y., native, Brown attended Archbishop Molloy High School and became the first player from the school to be named a McDonald’s All-American since Kenny Anderson in 1989. He played one collegiate season (2018-19) at UCLA, where he was named a PAC-12 All-Defensive Team honorable mention and a semifinalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. Brown went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft and later signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brandon Ingram named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for games played March 20-26.

Ingram led New Orleans to a 3-0 week, recording averages of 31.3 points, 10.0 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in 33.0 minutes per game, while shooting .525 from the field, .462 from deep, and 1.000 from the foul stripe. Among Western Conference players with winning records on the week, Ingram ranked first in points and assists per contest.

Jaylen Brown named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the NBA announced today. Brown earns his third career nod and this award marks the 67th overall honor for a Celtics player in franchise history. Brown joins Derrick White (2/12) and Jayson Tatum (10/23) as the third player to receive the recognition this season. The last team to have three players earn a weekly honor in a single season was Toronto (2019-20).

Brown led the Celtics to a 3-0 week with wins over San Antonio (137-93), Indiana (120-95), and Sacramento (132-109), while averaging 31.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 34.6 minutes per game. Brown was the only player in the Eastern Conference to average at least 30 points while shooting better than 55.0 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from three-point range.

Cavs clinch spot in 2023 NBA playoffs

Via Cleveland.com:

Where were you in 1998?

That year has become rooted in Cavs history — an inescapable smudge that no one could erase. It was the last time the organization made the playoffs without LeBron James — the multi-time franchise savior whose presence single-handedly controlled the team’s destiny. With him, Cleveland was a pillar of stability and prosperity. Without him, rubble.

Until Sunday night.

The Cavs crushed Houston, 108-91, ending a five-year playoff drought and clinching a berth without LeBron for the first time in more than two decades. It’s their fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven games. The victory also pulls the Cavs closer to third-seeded Philadelphia who had an abundance of breathing room a few days ago.

“You want to appreciate every step along the way and it’s definitely a blessing,” All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said. “I don’t want to downplay the moment. But in the same token, and I told the guys in there, this is what you come to expect. You made your first one, appreciate it, enjoy it, celebrate it for the city, for the organization, for your individual guys who have made it, but at the same token like, three seed is in play. That’s the goal. That’s the focus. We should come to a point now where that’s what is expected of us — making the playoffs and continuously pushing forward.”

FULL ARTICLE