Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

OKC Thunder sign Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to contract extension

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a multi-year contract extension.

“We are excited to have Shai representing our organization for many years to come and couldn’t be happier for him and his family,” said Presti. “He is a tremendous basketball player, but is also a leader that infuses optimism, confidence and collaboration into all of his interactions professionally and personally. We are looking forward to watching his individual growth and the collective development of our team as we continue on our path toward sustainable success in Oklahoma City.”

According to the Oklahoman, it’s a “five-year deal worth $172 million in base salary — an average of $34.4 million per season.”

In three NBA seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has appeared in 187 games (178 starts) and registered averages of 16.3 points 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.9 minutes.

During the 2020-21 season, Gilgeous-Alexander became the second player in NBA history (Larry Bird) to average at least 23.7 points and 5.9 assists on 50.8 percent shooting and 41.8 percent 3-point shooting. He is one of four third-year players in the last 20 years to average 22+ points on 50+ percent shooting (A. Stoudemire, C. Bosh and A. Davis). He finished the 2020-21 season with 25 20-point performances and 10 30-point efforts during his 35 appearances.

Dating back to 2019, Gilgeous-Alexander increased his scoring averages from 10.8 ppg as a rookie to 19.0 ppg during his sophomore season before leading the Thunder in scoring with 23.7 ppg this past year. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 12.9 point per game scoring increase during the first three years of his career is the second largest in the NBA (CJ McCollum) during the past decade.

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Gilgeous-Alexander was selected No. 11 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft after one season at the University of Kentucky. He was later named to the NBA’s Rising Stars teams in both 2019 and 2020.

Oklahoma City originally acquired Gilgeous-Alexander from the Los Angeles Clippers on July 10, 2019.

Utah Jazz re-sign Mike Conley

The Utah Jazz have re-signed guard Mike Conley.

“We’re excited to be bringing Mike back to our team after his past two stellar seasons with us,” said Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik. “He has had a profound impact both on and off the court and has made our team more competitive and our community better.”

Conley (6-1, 180, Ohio State) averaged 16.2 points, knocking down a career-best 2.7 threes per game on a career-high 41.2 percent from three, along with 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 2020-21, earning his first All-Star selection. He became the most veteran player in NBA history, at 14 years of experience, to make a first All-Star team. He saw action in six games (all starts) during Utah’s 2021 NBA Playoff run, where he averaged 15.3 points on 48.6 percent from beyond the arc, 7.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per contest.

Entering his 15th NBA season, Conley has appeared in 886 games (850) with Memphis (2007-19) and Utah (2019 – pres.), owning averages of 14.9 points, 5.7 assists, 3,0 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 32.3 minutes per game. He’s currently one of only seven active NBA players to have accrued over 13,000 points, 5,000 assists, 2,500 rebounds and 1,200 steals (J. Harden, A. Iguodala, L. James, K. Lowry, C. Paul and R. Westbrook).

Sacramento Kings re-sign Richaun Holmes

The Sacramento Kings have re-signed center Richaun Holmes to a contract, according to General Manager Monte McNair.

“This is a great day for Richaun and the entire Kings organization,” said McNair. “Richaun brings toughness, skill and versatility to the court. His energy is the perfect fit for our style of play and he represents the values of this organization. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and this tremendously talented team we’re building.”

According to the Sacramento Bee, “a league source told The Sacramento Bee that Holmes agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $55 million with a fourth-year player option and a trade kicker.”

The 37th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft achieved career-high averages of 14.2 points (.637 FG%, .794 FT%), 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 29.2 minutes per game through 61 games (all starts) during the 2020-21 season. Entering his seventh season in the NBA, Holmes has averaged 9.5 points (.597 FG%, .741 FT%), 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 20.7 minutes per game in 331 games (123 starts) with Philadelphia (2015-16 – 2017-18), Phoenix (2018-19) and Sacramento (2019-20 – 2020-21).

“I am thankful to Vivek and Monte for this opportunity to continue my career in Sacramento. I’ve played some of my best basketball in Sacramento but the best is yet to come. I look forward to continuing to push towards the playoffs and beyond.”

Last season, Holmes finished the year ranking second in the NBA in field goal percentage with .637 percent. The mark placed Holmes first in Kings franchise history for field goal percentage in a season for a player with at least 500 field goal attempts.

Also during the 2020-21 campaign, Holmes recorded a career-high six blocks in a game on three occasions: Jan. 11 vs. Indiana, Jan. 22 vs. New York and Feb. 1 at New Orleans. Holmes ranked eighth in the NBA in blocks per game with 1.6 upon season’s end.

Trail Blazers re-sign Norman Powell

The Portland Trail Blazers have re-signed free agent guard/forward Norman Powell, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

Powell, 28, returns to Portland after being acquired by the Trail Blazers from Toronto in exchange for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. on March 25, 2021.

“Re-signing Norm was a priority this offseason and we are pleased that he chose to make a long-term commitment to Portland,” said Olshey. “We look forward to him building off his career year and are confident he will play an integral role in the future success of our franchise.”

Per the Oregonian, “the Blazers entered free agency with limited cap flexibility, given that they were over the league’s $112.4 million salary cap with four starters, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington set to make roughly $98 million combined. Because the Blazers traded for Powell, they inherited his “Bird rights,” which allowed Portland to sign him to a five-year deal and exceed the salary cap while doing so. Losing Powell, who became an unrestricted free agent, would have been a big blow to the team’s offseason plans.”

During the 2020-21 season, Powell averaged 18.6 points (47.7% FG, 41.1% 3-PT, 87.1% FT), 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.19 steals and 32.0 minutes in 69 games (58 starts) with Toronto and Portland. His averages for points, assists, steals and minutes were all career highs, as were his shooting splits from the three-point line and the foul stripe. He was one of 14 players in the league to average at least 18.0 points while shooting better than 40.0% from the three-point line during the 2020-21 season.

An NBA Champion with Toronto in 2019, Powell has reached the playoffs in every season of his career. In 73 postseason games (14 starts), he has averaged 8.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist. His averages of 17.0 points and 2.0 assists for Portland during the 2021 NBA Playoffs were both career bests.

Powell was originally selected out of UCLA by Milwaukee with the 46th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft and dealt to Toronto in a draft-night trade. In six NBA seasons with Toronto and Portland, he holds career averages of 10.4 points (46.3% FG, 37.7% 3-PT, 83.7% FT), 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 21.2 minutes in 376 games (147 starts).

Lakers sign head coach Frank Vogel to contract extension

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed head coach Frank Vogel to a contract extension, it was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Vogel, the 27th head coach in Lakers franchise history and the 23rd in the Los Angeles era, has amassed a 94-49 regular season record in two seasons with the team. He has tallied a record of 18-9 in the postseason, while leading the franchise to it’s 17th NBA Championship in 2020.

In the shortened 71-game 2019-2020 season, Vogel’s team finished first in the conference with a 52-19 record, earning the franchise it’s 24th Pacific Division title. He earned Western Conference Coach of the Month honors for October/November after a franchise record-tying 17-2 start to the season. The team shot a league-leading 48.0 percent from the field and tallied 13 consecutive road victories, tied for the third-best road streak all-time.

Los Angeles went on to set an NBA record by defeating 18 consecutive conference opponents on the road. Vogel guided the team to a birth in the NBA Finals by winning the first three playoff series in five games apiece. In game six of the NBA Finals, the Lakers became the third team in the last 50 seasons to clinch an NBA title in a wire-to-wire win, leading the HEAT by as many as 36 points in the contest.

Vogel also led the Lakers to the league’s No. 1 ranked defense last season, which is the third time in Vogel’s career that he has led his team to the No. 1 ranking.

Knicks sign second round draft pick Miles McBride

The New York Knicks have signed guard Miles McBride, the 36th overall pick (second round) of the 2021 NBA Draft, to a contract

McBride, 6-2, 200-pounds, averaged 15.9 points on 41.4-percent shooting from downtown, 4.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals over 34.2 minutes in 29 games as a sophomore at West Virginia University last season. He was one of 30 players selected to the 2020-21 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America team and was the only player in the Big 12 last season with multiple 30-point games (two). The Cincinnati, OH-native averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds in his two seasons with the Mountaineers earning him 2019-20 Big 12 All-Freshman and 2020-21 All-Big 12 second team honors.

McBride is currently competing for New York’s NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas, NV.

Atlanta Hawks re-sign Lou Williams

The Atlanta Hawks have re-signed scoring guard Lou Williams.

“Lou proved invaluable to our team after we acquired him last season, providing scoring, ballhandling and leadership off our bench,” said Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Travis Schlenk. “He’s a respected veteran who our guys really look up to and enjoy playing with, and we’re certainly pleased that he’s continuing his career in an Atlanta uniform.”

In 66 games last season (24 with the Hawks and 42 with the Clippers), the 6’1 guard averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 21.6 minutes (.410 FG%, .399 3FG%, .867 FT%).

In 1,067 career games (122 starts) with Philadelphia, Atlanta, Toronto, the LA Lakers, Houston and the LA Clippers, the 17th-year veteran has career averages of 14.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 24.7 minutes (.420 FG%, .351 3FG%, .841 FT%). He has played in 89 career postseason games (two starts), averaging 11.4 points, 2.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 23.3 minutes (.400 FG%, .820 FT%).

Originally selected in the second round (45th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by the 76ers, Williams is a three-time winner of the NBA’s Sixth Man Award (2015, 2018, 2019, tied with Jamal Crawford for the most in league history) and the NBA’s all-time leading bench scorer (13,042 points as a bench player). Among all active players, he ranks seventh in points (15,239), third in games played (1,067), 12th in three-pointers made (1,420) and assists (3,684), fifth in free throws made (3,975) and 15th in free-throw percentage (.841). Williams is the only player since 1970-71 (when starters were first tracked) to have at least 15,000 career points with less than 400 games as a starter.

Williams starred at South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, where he was named Georgia’s Mr. Basketball in 2005, in addition to First-Team Parade All-American and Naismith Prep Player of the Year honors.

Miami Heat re-sign Max Strus

The Miami Heat have re-signed guard/forward Max Strus.

“As one of our young developing players, Max proved he can be very productive for us,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He stepped up when needed last season and produced. His shooting and overall game is going to help our team immensely.”

Strus came off the bench in all 39 games in which he appeared for the HEAT last season and averaged 6.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game. He topped the HEAT in plus/minus four times, steals twice and blocks once and was Miami’s leading scorer off the bench eight times. He also led the HEAT reserves in plus/minus 13 times, steals six times, minutes four times, assists three times and rebounds and blocks once each. He scored in double figures six times, including a pair of 20-point games, handed out double-figure assists once and recorded one double-double.

Originally signed by the HEAT on November 30, 2020, he had the two-way conversion option in his contract exercised on December 18, 2020. In 41 NBA regular season games over his two-year career, he has averaged 5.9 points, 1.0 rebounds and 12.5 minutes while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor, 33.6 percent from three-point range and 68 percent from the foul line.

Lakers re-sign Talen Horton-Tucker

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed guard Talen Horton-Tucker, it was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

In 65 games (four starts) last season, Horton-Tucker averaged 9.0 points (.458 FG%), 2.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 20.1 minutes per game. Horton-Tucker scored in double figures 27 times last season and tallied four double-doubles.

Knicks sign Quentin Grimes to his rookie contract

The New York Knicks announced today that the team has signed guard Quentin Grimes, the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, to his rookie contract.

Grimes, 6-5, 205-pounds, earned third team All-America honors at the University of Houston last season, after averaging 17.8 points on 40.3-percent shooting from downtown, with 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals over 32.7 minutes in 30 games. The Houston, TX-native played two seasons (2019-21) for the Cougars after beginning his collegiate career at Kansas University (2018-19). He was named MVP of the 2018 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship after helping lead Team USA to a gold medal.

Grimes is currently competing for New York’s NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas, NV.