Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Raptors sign Armoni Brooks to 10-day contract, and release D.J. Wilson

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard Armoni Brooks to a 10-day contract.

And in a corresponding move, the Raptors have released forward D.J. Wilson.

Brooks, 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, is averaging 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 16.8 minutes in 41 games (eight starts) with Houston this season. He is shooting .347 (87-251) from the field and has scored in double figures 10 times, including a season-high 21 points Dec. 10 at Milwaukee. The Rockets waived Brooks at the NBA trade deadline who also appeared in two games with College Park in the NBA G League earlier this month.

A native of Waco, Texas, Brooks holds career averages of 7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 19.8 minutes in 61 games (13 starts) with Houston (2020-22). He signed a two-way contract with the Rockets in April 2021 following two seasons in the G League with College Park (2019-20) and Rio Grande Valley (2020-21). Brooks is averaging 12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 23.7 minutes in 60 career G League contests.

Prior to the G League, Brooks played three collegiate seasons at Houston (2016-19) where he was named All-AAC Second Team as a junior. He went undrafted in 2019.

Injured Clippers swingman Paul George remains out, but seen shooting around

The Clippers remain without injured stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but at least there was a positive PG13 sighting. Per the OC Register:

Paul George hasn’t been cleared for takeoff, so don’t bother checking the departure board, not just yet.

But the Clippers’ star wing looked characteristically fluid as he put up shots – with his right hand – Saturday before the team’s practice at Honey Training Center.

The seven-time All-Star has missed the past 33 games – a span in which the Clippers are holding steady, at 17-16 – since being shelved with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

It’s the type of injury that often sidelines baseball pitchers for a year following Tommy John surgery to repair it, but that operation is relatively unheard of for basketball players, according to Dr. Alan Beyer, executive medical director at Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine.

George underwent an MRI on Feb. 25, which indicated, Coach Tyronn Lue said that day: “Just that he feels better. He’s making progress, but he’s gonna need more time.”

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Zion Williamson will reportedly at least be around the Pelicans again soon

It’s unclear if Pelicans forward will play at all this season, but at least he will reportedly soon be around the team again. Via the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

While Zion Williamson remains sidelined indefinitely from a right foot injury he suffered last summer, he is expected to rejoin the New Orleans Pelicans next week, sources told The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate.

Williamson has spent the majority of the past two months in Portland, Oregon, with a few members of his inner circle. In early January, the team announced that he would be away from the team while he recovered from right foot surgery.

Williamson has yet to play a game this season after fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He was supposed to go through a full practice in December, but he began experiencing soreness in his right foot, and he has remained sidelined.

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Pistons coach Dwane Casey is good at beating his former team

Coach Dwane Casey’s Detroit Pistons have been in a rebuilding phase, but despite that, his squad suddenly turns into a winner when facing his former team. Via the Toronto Star:

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse, frustrated all night by a whistle that was blown a little too often for his liking, finally had it and lost it on an official.

He was ejected, but the 19,548 fans at Scotiabank Arena gave him a hero’s goodbye, cheering him back to the locker-room. Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey, who Nurse replaced as Raptors head coach in 2018, cracked a smile at the scene.

Toronto was down 16 points late in the third quarter when Nurse was ejected but the Raptors almost came back in a 108-106 loss to Detroit on Thursday…

Casey had been Toronto’s head coach with Nurse working as one of his assistants until May 2018 when Casey was fired in the off-season. Casey has a 9-3 record against the Raptors including six straight victories.

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Boston Celtics sign Malik Fitts and Kelan Martin to second 10-day contracts

The Boston Celtics have signed forwards Malik Fitts and Kelan Martin to their second 10-day contracts.

Fitts, 24, has competed in 11 NBA games over the past two seasons with the LA Clippers, Utah, and Boston, averaging 0.8 points, and 1.3 rebounds in 4.5 minutes. The California native played in seven games with the Jazz in 2021-22 and produced career highs of six points and seven rebounds at Toronto on Jan. 7.

Martin, 26, has played in 94 games over parts of three NBA seasons with Minnesota, Indiana, and Boston, averaging 5.6 points on 41.5% shooting (30.9% 3-PT, 88.9% FT), 2.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 13.4 minutes. The Kentucky native produced 6.3 points (41.7% FG), 2.0 rebounds, and 16.4 minutes in 27 games (one start) for the Pacers this season, reaching double figures in scoring on three occasions.

Both Fitts and Martin competed in one game for the Celtics during their first 10-day contracts, which were signed on Feb. 23.

Celtics sign Nik Stauskas

The Boston Celtics have signed guard Nik Stauskas.

Per Boston.com, “Stauskas scored 100 points combined in his last two G-League games for the Grand Rapids Gold, including a 57-point explosion on Tuesday. Stauskas set the record for points in a half with 38.”

Originally selected by Sacramento with the eighth overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, Stauskas, 28, has averaged 6.8 points (38.9% FG, 35.4% 3-PT, 81.4% FT), 2.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.4 steals, and 19.8 minutes in 337 NBA games (63 starts) over six NBA seasons with the Kings, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Portland, Cleveland, and Miami. Stauskas competed in two games with the Heat earlier this season, tallying 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting (2-4 3-PT) and three boards.

Stauskas has played in 26 games (25 starts) with the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League this season, averaging 23.8 points on 47.6% shooting (41.6% 3-PT, 87.9% FT), 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 38.0 minutes. He scored a career-high and set the franchise scoring record with 57 points on 20-of-29 shooting (11-15 3-PT) against the Wisconsin Herd on March 1, and tallied 43 points on 16-of-21 shooting (9-13 3-PT) the very next night against the Lakeland Magic, becoming the second player in G League history to produce 100+ points in a two-game span.

Stauskas will wear no. 13 for Boston.

No return date yet for Knicks guard Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose has barely been on the court for the New York Knicks this season, and it’s unclear when his availability will change. Via New York Newsday:

Derrick Rose appeared on the floor at the Knicks’ morning shootaround Friday, not in uniform and not ready to rejoin the team on the court. But the Knicks at least had him with them, helping to provide some measure of leadership as they struggle through a downward spiral.

Rose hasn’t played since Dec. 16. He had ankle surgery later in December and had a second procedure last week to deal with an infection at the site of the first surgery.

“He can’t really do much,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Just gotta be patient, let it clear up. That’s it.”

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Lakers issues this season are on both ends of the court

The Lakers have all sorts of issues this season, and it isn’t just on one end of the floor. They’re 16th in the league in defensive efficiency. And the offense? Here’s the Los Angeles Times:

Since winning the NBA title in 2020, there’s been a steady erosion of that identity. The team tried to recapture its defensive magic the following season despite losing role players like guard Danny Green and center JaVale McGee, but injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis sabotaged any hopes of dominating on defense.

This summer the Lakers continued to move away from that style, focusing their attention more on offensive-minded acquisitions in a quest to take pressure off of James’ shoulders.

The results have been a twofold failure. One, the offense has been the more consistent issue despite the investments. The team is 24th in offensive efficiency. Second, because of that, James has had to take on more offensive responsibilities, with league scouts excusing some tendencies to rest on the defensive end because, as one put it, “he can’t be doing everything.”

Following the loss to the Clippers, James said that defensive issues start on the perimeter at the point guard spot and push back to the big men who have been unable to quickly transition from the outside back to the inside once a shot goes up. A healthy Davis would mitigate some of that. But he’s not healthy.

“It’s been challenging for us this year defensively,” James said Thursday.

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Miami Heat will soon have Victor Oladipo in action

The Miami Heat, who at 42-22 have the best record in the Eastern Conference, are about to get stronger. Via the Miami Herald:

League sources confirmed an ESPN report that [Victor] Oladipo is expected to make his season debut during the Heat’s season-long seven-game homestand that begins Saturday. The Athletic reported Thursday that the plan is for Oladipo to make his return in Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets.

The Heat overcame all of these absences in Brooklyn on Thursday behind a dominant performance from center Bam Adebayo, who finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Tyler Herro also stepped up with 27 points and eight assists.

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Trail Blazers sign Drew Eubanks to second 10-day contract

The Trail Blazers have signed center Drew Eubanks to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today.

Eubanks, 25, has averaged 9.3 points (70.6% FG, 66.7% FT), 7.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 22.3 minutes in three games (all starts) since signing his first 10-day contract with Portland on February 22. For the season, Eubanks is averaging 4.9 points (54.5% FG, 74.1% FT), 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 12.7 minutes in 52 games (12 starts) with San Antonio and Portland.

A product of Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, Eubanks (6-9, 245) played three seasons at Oregon State from 2015-18 before going undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 4.7 points (57.0% FG, 74.3% FT), 3.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.67 blocks in 151 games (18 starts) for the Spurs and Trail Blazers.