NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Oklahoma City Thunder president and general manager Sam Presti announced today that forward Aleksej Pokusevski has been waived.
Pokuševski played in 150 games (65 starts) over his four seasons with the Thunder, averaging 20.6 minutes, 7.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.
The Toronto Raptors yesterday signed guard D.J. Carton to a 10-day contract.
Carton, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, is averaging 18.6 points, 5.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 35.4 minutes in 29 Showcase Cup and regular season games (all starts) with Iowa in the NBA G League this season. He is shooting .527 (184-349) from the field, .395 (51-129) from three-point range and .796 (74-93) at the foul line. Carton has scored in double figures 24 times, including 20+ points in 14 games. He has recorded three 30-point performances, highlighted by a career-best 38 points Feb. 13 at Rip City.
A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, Carton has played three seasons in the G League with Iowa (2022-24) and Greensboro (2021-22). He holds career averages of 15.3 points, 5.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 31.4 minutes in 61 regular season games (46 starts).
Prior to his time in the G League, Carton played collegiately at Ohio State (2019-20) before transferring to Marquette (2020-21). He was named 2019 Iowa Mr. Basketball and Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in high school.
The Brooklyn Nets yesterday signed guard/forward Jaylen Martin to a two-way contract.
Martin (6’6″, 216) has appeared in 15 games (eight starts) for the Westchester Knicks in the NBA G League this season, averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.9 minutes per game. He also appeared in 16 Showcase Cup games (five starts) for Westchester, recording averages of 9.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.8 minutes per contest. The Tallahassee, Fla., native went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft after spending the 2022-23 season with the YNG Dreamerz of Overtime Elite. The 20-year-old posted averages of 14.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 23.3 minutes per game in 10 regular season Overtime Elite games last season and finished second in the league’s Most Improved Player voting.
Brooklyn’s roster now stands at 17 players.
The Washington Wizards have signed forward Justin Champagnie to a 10-day contract.
Champagnie (6-6, 206) has started in all 34 games with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League this season, averaging 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. Champagnie is shooting .494 from the field in 37.6 minutes per game and his 15 double-doubles rank fourth in the G League this season.
The 22-year-old has previously spent time with the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, averaging 2.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in 41 total NBA games in his three-year career. Champagnie (pronounced sham-penny) attended the University of Pittsburgh for two seasons and was named a first team All-ACC selection as a sophomore after averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Pete Nance to a Two-Way contract, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Nance (6-11, 230) played in two games for the Cavaliers this season after signing a 10-day contract with the team on January 18. He has also appeared in 29 games (24 starts) this season for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League affiliate, averaging 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.34 blocks in 31.5 minutes. He posted the first Charge triple double in over two years on January 10 at Indiana, finishing with 27 points, a career-high 12 assists and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal, “I’m from right down the road, grew up a lifelong Cavs fan and so to be able to be in practice and just be around the team and be around these guys, obviously, it’s a dream come true,” Pete Nance said. “It’s something I’ve thought about my whole life, for sure, so it’s just a really awesome moment for me.”
Nance went undrafted after one season at University of North Carolina (2022-23) and four seasons at Northwestern University (2018-22), averaging 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 25.3 minutes in 137 games (104 starts) during his collegiate career. Last season at UNC, the Akron-born native started all 30 games and averaged 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.13 blocks in 30.0 minutes, while leading the team in blocks (34), finishing second in free throw percentage (.816) and ranking third in three-pointers made (32). Nance was also a member of the recent Cavaliers 2023 Summer League Championship team, appearing in all six games, averaging 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20.4 minutes.
Some positive-minded weekly Houston Rockets team notes:
Amen Thompson is averaging 12.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals in six games as a starter this season. He is the first rookie to have recorded at least 75 points, 72 rebounds, 25 assists and 10 steals over a span of six starts since Antoine Walker in 1996-97.
Aaron Holiday has scored in double-figures in four straight games, marking his longest streak since a career-best 9-game span in December of 2019. He has scored at least 18 points in three straight games for the first time in his career after having 18+ points once prior this season.
Houston has outrebounded its opponent in eight of the past 11 games after doing so three times the 12 games prior. The Rockets have also outrebounded the opposition by double-digits seven times over the past 11 games after doing so six times the first 43 games of the season.
The Rockets have scored 20+ fast break points in seven of the past 17 games after doing so four times the first 37 games of the season. Houston has already matched last season’s total with 11 games of scoring 20+ fast break points.
The Miami Heat yesterday signed guard Delon Wright.
Wright, a nine-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 494 career NBA games (84 starts) and averaged 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.22 steals and 20.8 minutes while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 80.5 percent from the foul line.
Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel, by “adding Delon Wright the Heat get needed depth at point guard, with Rozier dealing with a knee sprain and Richardson with a dislocated shoulder, with both to be out beyond the Heat’s Feb. 23 return from their eight-day All-Star break. Wright first needs to clear the NBA 48-hour waiver period after agreeing to a buyout from the lottery-bound Washington Wizards. It is the second consecutive year the Heat have bolstered at the All-Star break, last year adding Kevin Love and Cody Zeller in the same timeframe.”
The former first round draft pick (20th overall) in 2015 has totaled 337 steals off the bench since 2018-19, the second-most in the NBA by any reserve over that span. He finished last season averaging 1.84 steals per game, the second-most in the NBA and just ahead of third-place finisher Jimmy Butler (1.83). His 18 games with at least three steals last season ranked as the fourth-most in the league. Wright has recorded nine multi-steal games this season, including a season-high five takeaways on January 5 at Cleveland. He recorded his 600th career steal on February 7 vs. Cleveland and dished out his 1,500th career assist on January 15 vs. Detroit.
Additionally, Wright’s older brother Dorell was drafted by the HEAT in the first round (19th overall) in the 2004 Draft and was a member of Miami’s 2006 NBA Championship team.
Wright will wear number 4.
The Brooklyn Nets have relieved Jacque Vaughn of his head coaching duties. An interim head coach will be named in the near future.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class for the past eight years. The consistent positivity and passion he poured into our team daily will remain with the players and staff he interacted with throughout his tenure. We thank Jacque for all he has done for the Nets and the borough of Brooklyn, and wish him, Laura and their family nothing but the best in the future.”
Over parts of three seasons as head coach in Brooklyn, Vaughn compiled a record of 71-68 (.511).
Per the New York Post, “Nets actually started the season well, winning 13 of their first 23 games. But very little has gone right since, and Vaughn was made the scapegoat for the team’s many shortcomings. Star wing Mikal Bridges sounded the alarm after the ugly loss to the Celtics, questioning the team’s effort.”
Per New York Newsday, “the Nets have spiraled this season, having lost 18 of their last 24 games. In their last game before the All-Star break, the Nets lost by 50 points in Boston, the worst loss of their Brooklyn era and second-worst loss in franchise history. The Nets are 21-33 this season and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games out of the play-in portion of the NBA playoff race.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder recently (Monday, February 12) signed guard Adam Flagler to a Two-Way Contract.
Flagler (6-3, 195) has appeared in 14 games (four starts) for the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, this season and averaged 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 21.2 minutes per game, while shooting 42.0% from beyond the arc.
The Georgia native played three seasons at Baylor University, where he appeared in 91 games (63 starts) and averaged 13.0 points, 3.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game. In his senior season, he was named to the 2023 All-Big 12 First Team and NABC All-District First Team.
The Philadelphia 76ers recently (Tuesday, February 13) signed veteran guard Kyle Lowry.
In his 18th NBA season, Lowry holds career averages of 14.4 points (36.8% 3FG), 4.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.3 steals in 31.7 minutes per game across 1,115 outings (866 starts) with Memphis, Houston, Toronto, and Miami. Lowry ranks in the top-10 among active players in assists (fifth, 6,897), three-pointers made (seventh, 2,140), steals (eighth, 1,446) and triple-doubles (10th, 21).
Originally from North Philadelphia, Lowry’s decorated basketball career includes an Olympic gold medal (2016), six NBA All-Star appearances (2015-20), an All-NBA Third Team selection (2015-16), and the 2019 NBA championship. During Toronto’s run to the title in 2019, Lowry started each of the Raptors’ 24 playoff games for Head Coach Nick Nurse, averaging 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in 37.5 minutes per game.
Through 37 appearances (35 starts) with Miami in 2023-24, Lowry is averaging 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 28.0 minutes per contest. He posted a season-high 28 points (9-15 FG, 7-10 3FG) on Nov. 22 against Cleveland.
Prior to being selected by Memphis with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Lowry played collegiately at Villanova for two seasons (2004-06). He helped lead the Wildcats to two NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2005 and the Elite Eight the following year. He was named 2005 Philadelphia Big Five Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore, he was named to the All-Big East Second Team. Lowry’s No. 1 was retired by the school in Feb. 2020. Prior to his time at Villanova, Lowry starred at both Northeast and Cardinal Dougherty High Schools.
Lowry will wear No. 7 for Philadelphia. Mo Bamba will now wear No. 5.