Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Health update on Bulls guard Zach LaVine

Here’s the Chicago Tribune with the latest on star Bulls scoring guard Zach LaVine:

The short-handed Chicago Bulls could lose yet another key player ahead of the All-Star break after Zach LaVine will reportedly fly to Los Angeles to receive special treatment on his left knee, according to ESPN.

LaVine sat out Saturday’s 106-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an aggravation in his left knee. The guard previously played two games through back spasms before finally sitting out the next two games.

OKC Thunder sign guard Aaron Wiggins to multi-year contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Aaron Wiggins to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Wiggins was signed to a Two-Way Contract in August and has appeared in 31 games (18 starts) for the Thunder this season while averaging 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21.9 minutes per game. His 31 games played are tied for most among all rookie two-way players this year, while his points per game rank third among those players.

In six games (three starts) with the Oklahoma City Blue, he averaged 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.33 steals in 26.3 minutes per game.

The North Carolina native played three seasons at the University of Maryland, where he was a 2021 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection and named the 2019-20 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.

Dallas Mavericks extend contract of Dorian Finney-Smith

The Dallas Mavericks have extended the contract of forward Dorian Finney-Smith.

Finney-Smith (6-7, 220) is currently in his sixth season with the Mavericks, and has averaged 7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 26.9 minutes in 369 career games (257 starts). He went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft and signed with Dallas on July 8, 2016 before signing a multi-year deal with the Mavericks in 2019.

This season, Finney-Smith is averaging a career-high 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 32.6 minutes in 55 games (all starts). On the defensive end, he has spent the third-most possessions in the league guarding the opponent’s highest usage player on the floor.

The Portsmouth, Va., native played his final three collegiate seasons at Florida after transferring from Virginia Tech following his freshman year. In 134 career collegiate games, he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game. As a senior in 2015-16, Finney-Smith averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 31.8 minutes in 36 games en route to being named Second Team All-SEC by the coaches and Third Team All-SEC by the Associated Press.

Will Kyrie Irving’s availability change for Nets this season?

Will the Nets eventually have Kyrie Irving available as a full-time player this season? Well, maybe? It’s possible. Many things are possible. This is one such example. Via the NY Post:

Kyrie Irving expressed optimism Thursday night that an eventual relaxation of COVID-19 vaccination mandates could alter his part-time status with the Nets at some point this season.

General manager Sean Marks, whose sinking team executed the blockbuster trade of James Harden on Thursday, shortly before losing its 10th consecutive game, also sounds hopeful the unvaccinated Irving eventually will be able to participate in home games in Brooklyn.

“The decision on the [New York City] mandate, that’s obviously far above my pay grade and not something that I’m overly concerned about now,” Marks said Friday. “I mean, I think we’re always going to be optimistic.”

Celtics sign rookie forward Sam Hauser

The Boston Celtics have signed rookie forward Sam Hauser.

Originally signed by the Celtics as a two-way player this past offseason, Hauser, 24, has produced 19.0 points on 48.0% shooting (42.4% 3-PT), 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 20 games played with the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League. Hauser has reached the 30-point mark twice with Maine this season – including his most recent game against Grand Rapids on Feb. 6 – and leads the team with 84 three-point field goals.

Hauser has played in 10 games for Boston this season, tallying 12 points and six rebounds in 41 minutes of action. He produced 9.0 points (50.0% FG, 46.2% 3-PT), 4.8 rebounds, and a team-high 2.0 assists in five games for the Celtics during the 2021 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League.

Boston Celtics sign Luke Kornet

The Boston Celtics have signed center Luke Kornet.

Kornet, 26, returns to Boston after being acquired by the team as part of a three-team deal with Chicago and Washington on March 25. He played in 18 games (two starts) with the Celtics last season, averaging 4.4 points on 47.3% shooting, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 blocked shots. The Texas native scored in double figures four times in 2020-21, three of which came as a member of the Celtics.

In five NBA seasons with New York, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, and Milwaukee, Kornet has produced 5.7 points on 40.3% shooting, 2.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 blocked shots, and 15.0 minutes in 136 games (35 starts).

Utah Jazz sign Danuel House Jr.

The Utah Jazz have signed forward Danuel House Jr.

House Jr. (6-6, 215, Texas A&M) is in his sixth NBA season and previously signed three 10-day contracts with Utah on Jan. 6, Jan. 18 and Jan. 28 and played in seven games (one start) with the Jazz, averaging 8.3 points on 41.7 percent from three, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists. In his NBA career, he has also played with Washington (2016-17), Phoenix (2017-18), Houston (2018-22) and New York (2021-22), owning career averages of 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 19.3 minutes per game.

The Houston-native has additional NBA G League experience, competing for Delaware (2016-17), Northern Arizona (2017-18) and Rio Grande Valley (2017-19), playing in 60 total games (42 starts), averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.0 minutes per contest.

Celtics trade Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and draft picks to Spurs for Derrick White

The San Antonio Spurs have acquired guards Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford, a protected 2022 first round pick and the rights to swap 2028 first round draft picks with Boston in a trade with the Celtics for guard Derrick White.

Richardson, 6-5/200, is a seven-year NBA veteran who has spent time with Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas and Boston. Originally drafted by the Heat with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft, Richardson has appeared in 44 games this season for the Celtics and is averaging 9.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.7 minutes while shooting .397 (62-156) from three-point range. The former Tennessee Volunteer enjoyed a career year with Miami in 2018-19, averaging 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.08 steals in 34.8 minutes. Richardson in holds career averages of 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.06 steals in 30.0 minutes over 417 NBA games.

Langford, 6-4/215, joins the Spurs after spending the past two-plus seasons with Boston. This season the University of Indiana alum is averaging 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.5 minutes in 44 games. Originally selected by the Celtics with the 14th overall pick in first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, Langford has appeared in 94 NBA games, averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 14.7 minutes.

Originally selected by San Antonio in the first round (29th overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft, White, 27, has averaged 11.6 points (44.5% FG, 34.4% 3-PT, 83.6% FT), 3.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 25.7 minutes in five seasons (237 games) with the Spurs. The Colorado native has averaged double-digit scoring over each of the past three seasons, including a career-high 15.4 points/game mark in 2020-21.

In 49 games with San Antonio this season (48 starts), White has produced 14.4 points on 42.6% shooting, 5.6 assists, and 1.0 steals over 30.3 minutes. He has reached the 20-point mark nine times this season, including a season-high 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting (3-6 3-PT) against New York on Dec. 7, and has connected on at least three 3-point field goals on 14 occasions. White produced 18 points and a career-high 14 assists at Detroit on Jan. 1, one of his two double-doubles this season.

Richardson will wear No. 7 for the Silver and Black, while Langford will wear No. 35.

Rockets trade Daniel Theis to Celtics for Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando and Enes Freedom

The Houston Rockets have traded center Daniel Theis to Boston in exchange for guard Dennis Schröder, center Bruno Fernando and center Enes Freedom.

In a related move, the Rockets have waived guards D.J. Augustin and Armoni Brooks.

Schröder (6-3, 172) was the 17th overall pick by Atlanta in the 2013 NBA Draft and is in his ninth season. For his career, Schröder has appeared in 606 games with 263 starts while averaging 14.3 point, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 rebounds, including 17.0 ppg and 5.2 apg dating back to 2016-17. Schröder was runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award while playing for Oklahoma City in 2019-20.

Fernando (6-9, 240) was the 34th overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2019 NBA Draft before his rights were acquired by the Hawks. In three seasons, Fernando has appeared in 109 games with 13 starts while averaging 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. The 23-year-old averaged 10.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.4 apg and 1.3 bpg while assigned to the G League this season.

Freedom (6-10, 250) was the third overall pick by Utah in the 2011 NBA Draft and is in his 11th season. In 748 career games with 259 starts, he is averaging 11.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg in 21.5 mpg.

Theis, 29, has played in 285 games (141 starts) over five NBA seasons with Boston, Chicago, and Houston, averaging 7.5 points on 54.1% shooting (32.7% 3-PT), 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 blocked shots, and 19.6 minutes. He has played in 26 games for Houston this season (21 starts), contributing 8.4 points (46.9% FG), and 5.0 rebounds in 22.5 minutes.

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Celtics in July of 2017, Theis produced 7.2 points on 55.4% shooting (34.5% 3-PT), 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 blocks, 13 double-doubles, and 18.8 minutes in 236 games (106 starts) over parts of four seasons with the Celtics from 2017-18 to 2020-21. He played a critical role during the Celtics Eastern Conference Finals run in the 2020 NBA Playoffs, averaging 8.9 points (52.1% FG), 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots, and 28.4 minutes, while starting each of Boston’s 17 postseason contests.

Augustin was acquired by Houston in March of last season and appeared in a total of 54 games as a Rocket.

Brooks made his NBA debut with the Rockets last April and played in a total of 61 games for Houston.